Abstract: Landcover classification using automated classification techniques, while employing remotely sensed multi-spectral imagery, is one of the promising areas of research. Different land conditions at different time are captured through satellite and monitored by applying different classification algorithms in specific environment. In this paper, a SPOT-5 image provided by SUPARCO has been studied and classified in Environment for Visual Interpretation (ENVI), a tool widely used in remote sensing. Then, Artificial Neural Network (ANN) classification technique is used to detect the land cover changes in Abbottabad district. Obtained results are compared with a pixel based Distance classifier. The results show that ANN gives the better overall accuracy of 99.20% and Kappa coefficient value of 0.98 over the Mahalanobis Distance Classifier.
Abstract: This paper aims at improving the performance of the tableting process using statistical quality control and fuzzy goal programming. The tableting process was studied. Statistical control tools were used to characterize the existing process for three critical responses including the averages of a tablet’s weight, hardness, and thickness. At initial process factor settings, the estimated process capability index values for the tablet’s averages of weight, hardness, and thickness were 0.58, 3.36, and 0.88, respectively. The L9 array was utilized to provide experimentation design. Fuzzy goal programming was then employed to find the combination of optimal factor settings. Optimization results showed that the process capability index values for a tablet’s averages of weight, hardness, and thickness were improved to 1.03, 4.42, and 1.42, respectively. Such improvements resulted in significant savings in quality and production costs.
Abstract: Landfill leachate emerges as a promising feedstock for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). In the present investigation, direct air-breathing cathode-based MFCs are fabricated to investigate the potential of landfill leachate. Three MFCs that have different cathode areas are fabricated and investigated for 17 days under open circuit conditions. The maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) is observed to be as high as 1.29 V. The maximum cathode area specific power density achieved in the reactor is 1513 mW m-2. Further studies are under progress to understand the origin of high OCV obtained from landfill leachate-based MFCs.
Abstract: Metal Ship and Robotic Car is one of the hands-on activities in the course, the Fundamental of Engineering that can be divided into three parts. The first part, the metal ships, was made by using engineering drawings, physics and mathematics knowledge. The second part is where the students learned how to construct a robotic car and control it using computer programming. In the last part, the students had to combine the workings of these two objects in the final testing. This aim of study was to investigate the effectiveness of hands-on activity by integrating Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) concepts to develop scientific and engineering skills. The results showed that the majority of students felt this hands-on activity lead to an increased confidence level in the integration of STEM. Moreover, 48% of all students engaged well with the STEM concepts. Students could obtain the knowledge of STEM through hands-on activities with the topics science and mathematics, engineering drawing, engineering workshop and computer programming; most students agree and strongly agree with this learning process. This indicated that the hands-on activity: “Metal Ship and Robotic Car” is a useful tool to integrate each aspect of STEM. Furthermore, hands-on activities positively influence a student’s interest which leads to increased learning achievement and also in developing scientific and engineering skills.
Abstract: Microgravity is known to be a major abiotic stress in space which affects plants depending on the duration of exposure. In this work, tomatoes seeds were exposed to long hours of simulated microgravity condition using a one-axis clinostat. The seeds were sown on a 1.5% combination of plant nutrient and agar-agar solidified medium in three Petri dishes. One of the Petri dishes was mounted on the clinostat and allowed to rotate at the speed of 20 rpm for 72 hours, while the others were subjected to the normal gravity vector. The anatomical sections of both clinorotated and normal gravity plants were made after 72 hours and observed using a Phase-contrast digital microscope. The percentage germination, as well as the growth rate of the normal gravity seeds, was higher than the clinorotated ones. The germinated clinorotated roots followed different directions unlike the normal gravity ones which grew towards the direction of gravity vector. The clinostat was able to switch off gravistimulation. Distinct cellular arrangement was observed for tomatoes under normal gravity condition, unlike those of clinorotated ones. The root epidermis and cortex of normal gravity are thicker than the clinorotated ones. This implied that under long-term microgravity influence, plants do alter their anatomical features as a way of adapting to the stress condition.
Abstract: One of the common aims of transport policy makers is to switch people’s travel to active transport. For this purpose, a variety of transport goals and investments should be programmed to increase the propensity towards active transport mode choice. This paper aims to investigate whether built environment features in neighbourhoods could enhance the odds of active transportation. The present study introduces an index measuring public transport accessibility (PTAI), and a walkability index along with socioeconomic variables to investigate mode choice behaviour. Using travel behaviour data, an ordered logit regression model is applied to examine the impacts of explanatory variables on walking trips. The findings indicated that high rates of active travel are consistently associated with higher levels of walking and public transport accessibility.
Abstract: The high terrains of Garhwal (Uttarakhand) Himalaya are the niches of a number of rare and endemic plant species of great therapeutic importance. However, the wild flora of the area is still under a constant threat due to rapid upsurge in human interferences, especially through multifarious tourism growth and peri-urban encroachments. After getting the status of a ‘Special State’ of the country since its inception in the year 2000, this newly borne State led to very rapid infrastructural growth and development. Consequently, its townships started expanding in an unmanaged way grabbing nearby agricultural lands and forest areas into peri-urban landscapes. Simultaneously, a boom in tourism and pilgrimage in the state and the infrastructural facilities raised by the government for tourists/pilgrims are destroying its biodiversity. Field survey revealed 242 plant species of therapeutic significance naturally growing in the area and being utilized by local inhabitants as traditional medicines. On conservation scale, 6 species (2.2%) were identified as critically endangered, 19 species (7.1%) as the endangered ones, 8 species (3.0%) under rare category, 17 species (6.4%) as threatened and 14 species (5.2%) as vulnerable. The Government of India has brought mega-biodiversity hot spots of the state under Biosphere Reserve, National Parks, etc. restricting all kinds of human interferences; however, the two most sacred shrines of Hindus and Sikhs viz. Shri Badrinath and Shri Hemkunt Sahib, and two great touristic attractions viz. Valley of Flowers and Auli-Joshimath Skiing Track oblige the government to maintain equilibrium between entries of visitors vis-à-vis biodiversity conservation in high terrains of Uttarakhand Himalaya.
Abstract: In this paper, the flow of different classes of patients
into a hospital is modelled and analyzed by using the queueing
network analyzer (QNA) algorithm and discrete event simulation.
Input data for QNA are the rate and variability parameters of the
arrival and service times in addition to the number of servers in each
facility. Patient flows mostly match real flow for a hospital in Egypt.
Based on the analysis of the waiting times, two approaches are
suggested for improving performance: Separating patients into
service groups, and adopting different service policies for sequencing
patients through hospital units. The separation of a specific group of
patients, with higher performance target, to be served separately from
the rest of patients requiring lower performance target, requires the
same capacity while improves performance for the selected group of
patients with higher target. Besides, it is shown that adopting the
shortest processing time and shortest remaining processing time
service policies among other tested policies would results in,
respectively, 11.47% and 13.75% reduction in average waiting time
relative to first come first served policy.
Abstract: The ionizing radiations cause different kinds of damages in electronic components. MOSFETs, most common transistors in today’s digital and analog circuits, are severely sensitive to TID damage. In this work, the threshold voltage shift of CD4007 device, which is an integrated circuit including P-channel and N-channel MOS transistors, was investigated for low dose gamma irradiation under different gate bias voltages. We used linear extrapolation method to extract threshold voltage from ID-VG characteristic curve. The results showed that the threshold voltage shift was approximately 27.5 mV/Gy for N-channel and 3.5 mV/Gy for P-channel transistors at the gate bias of |9 V| after irradiation by Co-60 gamma ray source. Although the sensitivity of the devices under test were strongly dependent to biasing condition and transistor type, the threshold voltage shifted linearly versus accumulated dose in all cases. The overall results show that the application of CD4007 as an electronic buffer in a radiation therapy system is limited by TID damage. However, this integrated circuit can be used as a cheap and sensitive radiation dosimeter for accumulated dose measurement in radiation therapy systems.
Abstract: This paper will explore the political biographies of social workers in a neoliberal era. The findings are based on a research project for a successfully completed professional doctorate in social work. The methodology deployed for the research is a combination of constructivist grounded theory and biographical inquiry. The paper will present findings from 14 biographical interviews and will focus on one case study of a participant whose life story is richly informed by political social work. The 14 participants reflect different genders, ethnic identities, cultural and linguistic identities, age and length of social work careers. The participants also reflect different forms of political engagement, such as, as political activists and members of political parties, including parliamentarians. The findings demonstrate how deeply ingrained the social work identity is amongst the participants and how their political identity has remained strongly social democratic in nature despite the many changes in the social work profession since the rise of neoliberalism as a thought collective and policy package. The individual case study will explore the early roots of political identity in the childhood and nurturing years and the interface with subsequent social work and political careers. It will also explore the evolution of the participant’s political identity in the social work career. The case study will also present findings on how the participant has contributed to the political field with policy involvement and initiatives. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on how this particular group of social workers can best contribute to the future direction of the social work profession.
Abstract: This study statistically models the surface f0 contour and the underlying pitch target of a well-studied third sandhi tone of Mandarin Chinese. Although the growth curve analysis on the surface f0 contours indicates non-neutralization of this sandhi tone (T3) and the base T2, their underlying pitch targets do show neutralization. These results in Mandarin are also consistent with the perception of native speakers, where they cannot distinguish the third T3 from the base T2, compensating contextual variation. It is possible to use the proposed statistical procedure of testing underlying pitch targets to verify tone sandhi processes in other tonal languages.
Abstract: Space technologies have changed the way we live in the present day society and manage many aspects of our daily affairs through Remote sensing, Navigation & Communications. Further, defense and military usage of spacecraft has increased tremendously along with civilian purposes. The number of satellites deployed in space in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and the Geostationary Orbit (GEO) has gone up. The dependency on remote sensing and operational capabilities are most invariably to be exploited more and more in future. Every country is acquiring spacecraft in one way or other for their daily needs, and spacecraft numbers are likely to increase significantly and create spacecraft traffic problems. The aim of this research paper is to propose innovative design concepts for adaptive spacecraft. The main idea here is to improve existing design methods of spacecraft design and development to further improve upon design considerations for futuristic adaptive spacecraft with inbuilt features for automatic adaptability and self-protection. In other words, the innovative design considerations proposed here are to have future spacecraft with self-organizing capabilities for orbital control and protection from anti-satellite weapons (ASAT). Here, an attempt is made to propose design and develop futuristic spacecraft for 2030 and beyond due to tremendous advancements in VVLSI, miniaturization, and nano antenna array technologies, including nano technologies are expected.
Abstract: The analysis of transformation of institutional changes outlines two important characteristics. These are: the speed of the changes and their sequence. Successful transformation must be carried out in three different stages; On the first stage, macroeconomic stabilization must be achieved with the help of fiscal and monetary tools. Two-tier banking system should be established and the active functions of central bank should be replaced by the passive ones (reserve requirements and refinancing rate), together with the involvement growth of private sector. Fiscal policy by itself here means the creation of tax system which must replace previously existing direct state revenues; the share of subsidies in the state expenses must be reduced also. The second stage begins after reaching the macroeconomic stabilization at a time of change of formal institutes which must stimulate the private business. Corporate legislation creates a competitive environment at the market and the privatization of state companies takes place. Bankruptcy and contract law is created. he third stage is the most extended one, which means the formation of all state structures that is necessary for the further proper functioning of a market economy. These three stages about the cycle period of political and social transformation and the hierarchy of changes can also be grouped by the different methodology: on the first and the most short-term stage the transfer of power takes place. On the second stage institutions corresponding to new goal are created. The last phase of transformation is extended in time and it includes the infrastructural, socio-cultural and socio-structural changes. The main goal of this research is to explore and identify the features of such kind of models.
Abstract: In any communication, security is the most important issue in today’s world. In this paper, steganography is the process of hiding the important data into other data, such as text, audio, video, and image. The interest in this topic is to provide availability, confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data. The steganographic technique that embeds hides content with unremarkable cover media so as not to provoke eavesdropper’s suspicion or third party and hackers. In which many applications of compression, encryption, decryption, and embedding methods are used for digital image steganography. Due to compression, the nose produces in the image. To sustain noise in the image, the LSB insertion technique is used. The performance of the proposed embedding system with respect to providing security to secret message and robustness is discussed. We also demonstrate the maximum steganography capacity and visual distortion.
Abstract: Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can facilitate continuous monitoring of patients and increase early detection of emergency conditions and diseases. High density WSNs helps us to accurately monitor a remote environment by intelligently combining the data from the individual nodes. Due to energy capacity limitation of sensors, enhancing the lifetime and the reliability of WSNs are important factors in designing of these networks. The clustering strategies are verified as effective and practical algorithms for reducing energy consumption in WSNs and can tackle WSNs limitations. In this paper, an Energy-efficient weight-based Clustering Protocol (EWCP) is presented. Artificial retina is selected as a case study of WSNs applied in body sensors. Cluster heads’ (CHs) selection is equipped with energy efficient parameters. Moreover, cluster members are selected based on their distance to the selected CHs. Comparing with the other benchmark protocols, the lifetime of EWCP is improved significantly.
Abstract: Whey is an excellent food ingredient owing to its high nutritive value and its functional properties. However, composition of whey varies depending on composition of milk, processing conditions, processing method, and its whey protein content. The aim of this study was to prepare a whey powder from raw whey and to determine the influence of different processing temperatures (160 and 180 °C) on the physicochemical, functional properties during storage of 180 days and on whey protein denaturation. Results have shown that temperature significantly (P < 0.05) affects the pH, acidity, non-protein nitrogen (NPN), protein total soluble solids, fat and lactose contents. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher foaming capacity (FC), foam stability (FS), whey protein nitrogen index (WPNI), and a lower turbidity and solubility index (SI) were observed in whey powder processed at 160 °C compared to whey powder processed at 180 °C. During storage of 180 days, slow but progressive changes were noticed on the physicochemical and functional properties of whey powder. Reverse phase-HPLC analysis revealed a significant (P < 0.05) effect of temperature on whey protein contents. Denaturation of β-Lactoglobulin is followed by α-lacalbumin, casein glycomacropeptide (CMP/GMP), and bovine serum albumin (BSA).
Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to optimize series-parallel system reliability using Genetic Algorithm (GA) and statistical analysis; considering system reliability constraints which involve the redundant numbers of selected components, total cost, and total weight. To perform this work, firstly the mathematical model which maximizes system reliability subject to maximum system cost and maximum system weight constraints is presented; secondly, a statistical analysis is used to optimize GA parameters, and thirdly GA is used to optimize series-parallel systems reliability. The objective is to determine the strategy choosing the redundancy level for each subsystem to maximize the overall system reliability subject to total cost and total weight constraints. Finally, the series-parallel system case study reliability optimization results are showed, and comparisons with the other previous results are presented to demonstrate the performance of our GA.
Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to show a relation between CR structure and F-structure satisfying polynomial equation. In this paper, we have checked the significance of CR structure and F-structure on Integrability conditions and Nijenhuis tensor. It was proved that all the properties of Integrability conditions and Nijenhuis tensor are satisfied by CR structures and F-structure satisfying polynomial equation.
Abstract: Accelerated life cycle test is applied to various products or components in order to reduce the time of life cycle test in industry. It must be considered for many test conditions according to the product characteristics for the test and the selection of acceleration parameter is especially very important. We have carried out the general life cycle test and the accelerated life cycle test by applying the acceleration factor (AF) considering the characteristics of brushless DC (BLDC) motor for washing machine. The final purpose of this study is to verify the validity by analyzing the results of the general life cycle test and the accelerated life cycle test. It will make it possible to reduce the life test time through the reasonable accelerated life cycle test.
Abstract: Business process management (BPM) is a well-known holistic discipline focused on managing business processes with the intention of achieving higher level of BPM maturity and better organizational performance. In recent period, traditional BPM faced some of its limitations like model-reality divide and lost innovation. Following latest trends, as an attempt to overcome the issues of traditional BPM, there has been an introduction of applying the principles of social software in managing business processes which led to the development of social BPM. However, there are not many authors or studies dealing with this topic so this study aims to contribute to that literature gap and to examine the link between the level of BPM maturity and the usage of social BPM. To meet these objectives, a survey within the companies with more than 50 employees has been conducted. The results reveal that the usage of social BPM is higher within the companies which achieved higher level of BPM maturity. This paper provides an overview, analysis and discussion of collected data regarding BPM maturity and social BPM within the observed companies and identifies the main social BPM principles.