bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Influence of Background Illumination on the Photoresponse of Micropixel Avalanche
Authors: Jafarova Elmira A. , Dovlatov Ali Huseyn A. , Aliyeva Lala A. , Tapdygov Eldar S. , Askerova Kamala A.
Published: February 2022

Micropixel avalanche photodiodes (MAPD) with deeply buried pixels have no structural components made on its front surface and therefore almost its entire surface is photosensitive. MAPD possesses high photodetection efficiency (PDE), multiplication gain ~105, photosensitivity from a single photon and wide range of dynamic linearity of photoresponse up to 5×103 photons/mm2. The influence of the background light on the gain and linearity of the photoresponse of the MAPD-3N type samples was investigated. External light sources have different effects on the output signal of MAPD whichever it is pulsed or continuous light. It is shown that in contrast to pulsed external light, the light from the permanent source leads to reducing of the output signal. But a constant background light does not deteriorate the linearity of the photoresponse in the whole range of linearity of the device.
Novelty of Frequency Domain Data in Smart Structures using ?-Analysis
Authors: Moutsopoulou Amalia John , Stavroulakis Georgios E. , Pouliezos Anastasios D.
Published: February 2022

This paper deals with the advantages of robust control in smart structures. First we present the implementations of H infinity control in the frequency domain. A dynamic model for smart structure under wind excitations is considered. Then robust control theory is used a model to synthesize controllers achieving stabilization with guaranteed performance for smart structures. We use ?-analysis to express   the control problem as a mathematical optimization problem and then find the controller that solves the optimization problem in the frequency domain.
Short Communication for Shipbuilding Industry in Vietnam
Authors: Nguyen Dinh Tuyen , Nguyen Danh Chan
Published: February 2022

According to Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (SBIC), in 2017, shipbuilding value reached more than VND 3,071 billion, equal to 69% of the plan. Other fields have increased significantly, such as: Ship repair reached VND 488.3 billion, equal to 125% of the plan; supporting industry reached VND 264.5 billion, equal to 123% of the plan. Although shipbuilding has not reached the plan, but looking back on the period from 2008 to now, this field is always in a situation of hardship and bottomless decline because of lack of jobs, these are quite satisfactory numbers. The cause of the decline is due to the world shipping and shipbuilding industry has experienced an extremely difficult period due to the heavy influence of the world economic crisis from 2008 up to now. The Vietnamese shipbuilding and shipping industry is also not out of that situation. For the shipbuilding industry to develop, specific policies, with specific support addresses, are needed, which are well-designed and visionary shipbuilding development programs.
Sustainable Energy for the Development Strategies in the Maritime Field
Authors: Nguyen Phuoc Quy Phong , Nguyen Dinh Tuyen
Published: February 2022

Along with events like global warming and environmental pollution, fossil energy exhaustion is also a big problem. When people are increasingly dependent on this material while fossil fuels are increasingly depleted. In the face of that risk, many countries around the world have been looking for new types of energy that are capable of regenerating and providing continuous energy. Renewable energy is found from the resources around people like wind, water, sunlight, ... and sea water is one of them. Sea waves and tides are two extremely large sources of renewable energy that have been discovered. According to the study, these two energy sources are capable of providing huge electricity to the world.
Simulation of Rainfall Runoff Process Using HEC-HMS Model for Upper Godavari Basin Maharashtra, India
Authors: Patil Vaishnavi Kiran , Saraf Vidya R. , Karad Omkesh V. , Ghodke Swapnil B. , Gore Dnyanesvar , Dhekale Shweta S.
Published: February 2022

The Hydrologic Engineering Centers Hydrologic Modeling System (HEC-HMS) is a popularly used watershed model to simulate rainfall- runoff process. Hydrological modeling is a commonly used tool to estimate the basin’s hydrological response due to precipitation. It allows to predict the hydrologic response to various watershed management practices and to have a better understanding of the impacts of these practices. It is evident from the extensive review of the literature that the studies on comparative assessment of watershed models for hydrologic simulations are very much limited in developing countries including India. In this study, modified SCS Curve Number method is applied to determine loss model as a major component in rainfall-runoff modeling. The study of HEC-HMS model is used to simulate rainfallrunoff process in Nashik region (Upper Godavari basin), Maharashtra. To compute runoff volume, peak runoff rate, and flow routing methods SCS curve number, SCS unit hydrograph, Exponential recession and Muskingum routing methods are chosen, respectively. The results of the present study indicate that HEC-HMS tool applied to watershed proved to be useful in achieving the various objectives. The study confirmed a significant increase in runoff as a result of urbanization. It is a powerful tool for flood forecasting  Index
Farmers Establishment Impact on the Forest Dynamic of Monogaga Protected Forest, in the Southwest of Côte d’Ivoire: Remote Sensing and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Approach
Authors: Douffi Kouakou Guy-Casimir , Koné Moussa , Kouassi Kouadio Ignace , N’Guessan Yao Joachim , Bakayoko Adama
Published: February 2022

The deforestation is a major problem in Côte d’Ivoire. Monogaga protected forest is strongly cleared for agriculture. Thus, the research aims to determine the influence of the farmer’s occupancies on the forest dynamic. The supervised classification by Neural net has been applied with success to Landsat imagery of 1986 and 2017. It has been preceded by the vegetation physiognomic characterization. The vegetation units are the closed forest, the degraded forest and the fallow-crops. The neural Net classification has been used to discriminate the closed forest area. To the dynamic level, the loss of closed forest proportion between 1986 and 2017 is 86.52%. The annual deforestation rate in regular (linear) and irregular (exponential) level is respectively 2.88% and 6.46% on 30 years. The anthropogenic units descended of the degradation represent some more 90 % of land cover, with a contribution of the crops at more than 40%. These same units are also implied in regeneration to a proportion of some more 90%, always with the crops proportion of 60%. Several mutations are in use. It’s the degradation, conservation and regeneration, with a predominance of degradation. The result shows the bad conservation. This survey showed that the protected forest is submitted to agricultural pressure and all other anthropogenic activities. It is important to have a forest conservation politics and more efficient management.
Comparison between Regenerator Model and the Instantaneous Direct Solar Radiation for Port Harcourt
Authors: Amadi Rex kemkom Chima , Ideriah F. J. K. , Nkoi B.
Published: February 2022

This paper compares the result generated by the Regenerator technique and the Ideriah’s method for instantaneous solar radiation. It considered the generation of the actual power input from the regenerator. The actual power input to the photovoltaic panel was calculated from a power model derived from the regenerator’s standard power that is nominally provided, regenerator material and reflectivity of the material. The amount of visible radiation absorbable by photovoltaic plates was further derived in the model and a value of 0.386Pi was obtained. The Ideriah’s model was used to calculate global solar radiation from extraterrestrial solar radiation. It utilized the concept of transmittance to arrive at the amount of insolation received locally (i.e. at the point of interest). It also calculated the amount of insolation at optical thicknesses (Air mass values) representing top of the hour from 5.0am to 7.0pm. Comparison & result showed that the regenerator model gave 84% to 97% correctness or an approximated average correctness of 94% when compared to the Ideriah’s model. Chi-square was used to test the relationship between the results. Chi-square results showed a high level of significance in the similarity of the results obtained. Python software was used to simulate the results and graph presentation.
Exergetic and Energetic Analysis of a Traditional Semi-Industrial Comorian Ylang-Ylang Essential Oil Wood Fire Distiller
Authors: Ahamadi Malik El'Houyoun , Saindou Abderemane , Rakotondramiarana Hery Tiana
Published: February 2022

In this article a study of the energy performance of a distillation system of ylang-ylang essential oil on a wood fire was carried out. To do this an analysis using the first and the second low of thermodynamics was made for each component of the distillation system.  The analysis showed that the energy efficiency depends on the fration of oil to be distilled and that the whole system is very deficient. The exergetic and energetic analysis shows that it is in the combustion chamber that has a large amount of destroyed exergy and a strong energetic loss. The velocity of the air entering at the combustion chamber greatly influences the efficiency of the chamber. Indeed it has been found that the destruction of the exergy increases with the velocity of the air incoming air.
Factorial Study of Bottlenecks in Nigerian Petroleum Refineries
Authors: Adeleke Tunde Basit , Igboanugo A. C. , Chime N. B.
Published: February 2022

Bottlenecks in the refineries lead to the disruption of refinery operations which result in production loss and time wastage. Nigerian refineries are four and they have not been able to work optimally as they have failed to produce up to their installed capacity. A lot of factors are contributing to this and are known as bottlenecks. This study was taken so as to identify those bottlenecks in the refineries with a view of making them known so that actions can be taken to tackle them and get Nigerian Refineries move from their pariah states to a welcome state. Kendall’s Coefficient of Concordance (K.C.C) and Principal Component Analysis (P.C.A) which are tools in factor analysis were employed.   The K.C.C helped in ranking the identified variables according to their order of importance while the PCA helped to achieve parsimony through factor reduction. The results obtained revealed that the experts ranking of the thirty two scale items were in agreement at an alpha level of 0.01 and the computed coefficient of concordance was 0.51which is substantial. The thirty two scale items were able to be reduced into mere five clusters by PCA. A lone variable cluster which was labeled creatively ‘Government interference’ came up trump and account for most of the challenges being experienced in the Refineries. Other clusters labeled creatively were Eclectic issues, organizational management, Supply Chain Architecture and Personnel Management. The import of this is that government interference needs to be removed if refineries are to work optimally and the remaining four clusters should also be looked at in order to tackle these bottlenecks.
Application of Expert Methods for Predicting Liquidus Temperature of TIG Weldments
Authors: Uwoghiren F. O. , Ozigagun A. , Adeleke Tunde Basit
Published: February 2022

Liquidus temperature is regarded as the minimum temperature required for an alloy to completely transform into the liquid state. Uncontrolled temperature leads to excessive heat generated in the material which create wider heat affected zone, alters the microstructure of the material and also induce residual stresses in the material. Optimizing this process is one sure way of producing a quality weld. In this study, the application of expert systems such as response surface method to optimize the liquidus temperature was pursued. The central composite design matrix was employed to collect data from the sets of experiments. The specimen was made from mild steel plates and welded with the tungsten inert gas process. The result of the response surface method shows that current has a very strong influence on the liquidus temperature. The model for optimizing liquidus temperature has a P-value < 0.0001. The model developed had a very high noise to signal ratio (S/N). Finally, the numerical solution obtained shows that a current of 130Amp, a voltage of 20.94volts, and a speed of 0.48m/min produced a result with liquidus temperature of 1365.05oC.
Control of Squirrel-Cage Induction Electromotor with Constant Magnetization Current
Authors: Motto Frederic Biya , Tchuidjan Roger , Ndzana Benoît , Tatsa Colince Tchinda
Published: February 2022

In this paper, we study the control algorithm of electromagnetic torque and rotation speed of squirrel-cage induction electromotor with constant magnetization current. We can ensure the constant magnetization current by acting on stator voltage vector. We distinguish two methods of construction of the given magnetization current. The first method is based on variation of stator voltage amplitude from the information just of rotor rotation speed. The second method is based on the stator voltage frequency and amplitude from the stator current information. The second method permits to influence the characteristic equation roots of the control system and to have magnetization current dynamic properties.
Genetic Feature Construction: a parallel implementation of a genetic programming tool for feature construction
Authors: Tsoulos Ioannis G , Tzallas Alexandros , Tsalikakis Dimitrios
Published: February 2022

In this paper a parallel implementation of a recently introduced method for feature construction is described. This technique utilizes parallel genetic algorithms along with RBF neural networks to create new features from the original ones by discovering the hidden relations between patterns. The method is tested on series of classification problems from a variety of areas and the results are reported. The accompanied software is written entirely in ANSI C++ using the well established MPI library for parallelization.
Evaluation of Oil Desorption from Shale and Sandstone by Surfactant Solutions with Implication to Oily Drillcuttings Decontamination
Authors: Muherei Mazen Ahmed
Published: February 2022

In this paper, batch experiments of shale/sandstone aqueous systems were conducted to evaluate desorption of spiked oil from shale and sandstone using surfactant solutions. The desorption experimental study was designed to determine if selected surfactants in aqueous solutions with varying pH, initial oil on shale/sandstone, surfactant concentrations, surfactant type, solid/liquid ratio, with and without sonication and at different contact time could enhance the desorption of spiked oil (Sarapar147) from pre-spiked shale and sandstone. The experiments tested the influence of the selected variables in batch experiments. The early screening results obtained for sandstone and shale show that sandstone are very much easier to clean than shales. Furthermore, the desorption efficiencies was lower for water compared to surfactant solutions particularly for sandstones.  Nevertheless, ultrasound was able to improve the desorption efficiencies for sandstone washings but not for shale washings. In the other hand, the results of the full factorial experiments showed that the variations of solution pH, mechanical interruption by ultrasound, and prolonged desorption times did not significantly improve the desorption process. These results give strong evidence to the existence of a considerable and irreversibly bound fraction of oil to shale.
Modeling Human Development Index of Bali with Spatial Panel Data Regression
Authors: Lasdiyanti Mita , Kencana Eka N. , Suciptawati Putu
Published: February 2022

Human development index (HDI) is an index that represents the successfulness of human development in a region. For Bali, one of 34 provinces in Indonesia, the progress of HDI in the period 2010–2017 showed an increasing trend. In the year 2010, the Bali’s HDI is accounted for 70.10, gradually increase to 74.30 in the year 2017. However, in 2017 there are some regions with their HDIs are below of Bali’s HDI, namely Jembrana, Buleleng, Klungkung, Bangli, and Karangasem. The aim of this work is to model the HDI of 9 regencies of Bali so that the main determinant to increase the HDIs especially for the regencies with lower HDIs could be determined. The model consists of one dependent variable (HDI) with three indicators as the independent ones, there are (a) life expectancy, (b) education, and (b) standard of living. By applying spatial panel data analysis, five models were built i.e. CEM, FEM (individual), FEM (time), REM, and spatial error FEM to determine the effect of each indicator. The result shows the best model is spatial error FEM in which education has the biggest influence compare than the others.
Performance Benchmarking of Water Supply Systems in Kandahar City using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)
Authors: Haziq Mohammad Aslam , Mosameem Abdul Rahman , Muslim Esmatullah , Dost Rahmatullah , Qani Nazir Ahmad
Published: February 2022

Two Water Supply Systems (WSSs) have been operating and providing drinking water services to two discrete districts, namely, Second Ayno Maina (AM-WSS), District 10, owned and managed by a private sector: AFCO Corporation, and Central Kandahar (CK-WSS), Share-Naw, District 2, owned and managed by government entity: Department of Kandahar Water Supply and Sewerage, for four and ten years respectively. Both the WSSs use groundwater as source of drinking water, and due to overpopulation and urbanization, they tend to expand their services and improve their performances, despite the fact that the primary step to do so is the performance assessment of the existing systems, lacking at the moment and needs a careful consideration. Therefore, the research study is aimed at assisting the responsible authorities of the performances being carried by their existing systems and satisfaction level of their customers against the services provided, along with their international comparisons, with similar-typed associated water supply schemes. Two sets of primary data were collected, including service-provider-driven and customer-driven, from relevant authorities and districts respectively. More specifically, for consumer-driven data collection, 66 and 75 questionnaires were distributed to the consumers of (AM-WSS) and (CK-WSS) respectively. Both the data set was classified as the input and output performance indicators (PIs), and was analyzed using SPSS, DEAP and Ms. Excel softwares, in compliance with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology. The findings showed that (AM-WSS) had a relative technical efficiency, te of 1 (100 %), whereas CK-WSS had a te of 0.545. As a result, CK-WSS was the only System considered and recommended for amendments. Furthermore, the analysis of the findings showed that CK-WSS needed to focus on decreasing the staff size and total expenditure by 45 % to comply with optimization. The team recommends to train their personnel and reduce the number by 45 %, and additionally recommends to collect, keep and register all the necessary data of the schemes in an organized manner for future demands, plans, rehabilitation, performance, and improvements of the corresponding components of their systems.
Effective Water Management Framework Based on Internet of Things (IOT) Technology
Authors: Odiagbe Moses , Eronu Emmanuel Majeyibo , Shaibu Farouq E.
Published: February 2022

The low cost effective wireless sensor network that The low cost effective wireless sensor network that allows for embedded system to monitor and control virtually any space and environment and to form the so called Internet of Things or Internet of Everything. The research work is intended to address a general problem associated with effective water utilization management, among others is the issue of water leakages, there is the need to effectively detect cases of leakages and address them appropriately. However, the sensitivity of the flow rate sensors used poses a number of challenges, hence the need to setup an appropriate calibration scheme that will allows for the flow rate sensor, effective adoption and usage ,isolating false alarm due to deficiencies associated with operation of the flow rate sensor as well as detecting leakages  . A frame work build around a flow rate sensor, solenoid valve, a microcontroller equipped with internet connectivity and a log in service monitoring and control platform on the cloud is used. Several simulated tests were carried out to explore a number of leakage scenarios. Based on the analysed data obtained overtime, appropriate algorithms were developed to allow for quick detection, remote monitoring and control of deduced cases of leakages. The work has significantly addressed the challenges poses to the effect leakages with the adopted framework.
Experimental Study on Behavior of Bench-Scale Steel Structure Retrofitted with CFRP Composites under Ambient Vibration
Authors: Tuhta Sertaç , Abrar Obaidullah , Günday Furkan
Published: February 2022

Usage of FRP composites for the retrofitting purpose of the structures against the harmful effect of dynamic loads are gaining popularity, it is used in a wide variety of disciplines including civil engineering. Thus, there is a great need to study the behavior of FRP composites for strengthening purposes of structures using empirical methods. In this study, a bench-scale steel structure model was strengthened with CFRP composite and tested using operational modal analysis. To conduct operational modal analysis a bench-scale earthquake simulator and ambient vibration emulator were used. Same steel structure model was tested without strengthening procedure. Obtained dynamic responses (maximum-minimum displacements and accelerations before and after application of CFRP) of steel structure model have compared to each other. This study shows that floor displacements of the model have been decreased along the height of the structure up to 41.43 %. Therefore, the results of the experiment confirm the effectiveness CFRP composites for the strengthening of steel structures.
Study on Steganography Concealing Data
Authors: Alexander Anu Sara , Manikandan L. C.
Published: February 2022

Steganography is a process of hiding or concealing confidential information from unauthorized access. Steganography used in various fields such as military, aerospace and industrial applications. Steganography techniques are used for secure transmission of data from sender to receiver. The computer programmers, begins applying steganography techniques to video as well as audio files. This time multimedia data like image, audio, video are used as a cover media by steganography systems because public often send digital pictures in email and other Internet communication. The purpose of this review is to bring the idea of Steganography for young researchers.
Appraisal Mechanism for Improving Teaching Service Delivery in Universities
Authors: Stephen Bliss U. , Chukwudebe Gloria , Dike Damian O. , Chukwuchekwa Nkwachukwu
Published: February 2022

Most universities have set up appraisal of lecturers’ class competencies to be done by students. The setbacks have been that students don’t feel free to give honest assessment, difficulty in collating the appraisal results, lecturers not trusting an appraisal system done solely by only students, and the assessment not considering positive or negative factors affecting teaching delivery.  These taken together, have led to de-emphasis on teaching delivery appraisal. To solve this, questions that better reflect what defines of a good lecturer were modeled to achieve validity. The system was set up to protect anonymity of the students appraising staff. The work also presents a mathematical model that factors in the complexity of teaching to achieve fairness. An interaction of three weights (class size, credit unit and number of lecturers taking the course) was used to attain fairness and foster lecturers’ trust in this single-source appraisal. The grand or final teaching delivery score is a weighted average of the assessment scores computed from each of the courses taken by the appraised lecturer in the year under consideration. A web-based application was developed to deploy the appraisal mechanism advanced in this work. The application proved an effective platform for easy collation of appraisal outcome, roll out of questions covering multiple aspects of teaching delivery that improve learning and assessable by students. The interaction of three weights ensured that this single-source appraisal is not tilted unduly against the appraised staff while not unmasking the evaluators.
Using Internet of Things (IoT) Technique to Improve the Management of Medical Equipment
Authors: Fang Nai-Chuan
Published: February 2022

As we’ve continued to explore Internet of Things (IoT) in its various applications, there has been no shortage of innovation. From medical quality to patient safety applications use in the healthcare industry, IoT has shown its worth across the board. Just as it’s helped organizations in healthcare industry thrive, the power of IoT could also mean big things for the management of medical equipment. That is to say, connected equipment’s sensors could pave the way for a fundamental change in the depth and quality of service medical equipment is able to provide. In our study, we constructed the life cycle of gastroendoscope, is used to look inside the oesophagus (gullet), stomach and first part of the small intestine (duodenum). From the procurement of equipment, the use of management to investment efficiency tracking can be applied through IoT to improve the efficiency of management. For example, we can use IoT unique identification function to carry out the inventory management, retirement and other operations. In addition, it can also be used in the management of the medical equipment to track the location, use of records, cleaning records and maintenance management. Finally, we can extract the above information to analyze the investment to evaluate the efficiency of the medical equipment. In summary, we use IoT technique in the different stages of the medical equipment life cycle, because it can provide a more accurate management model, so that users can more efficiently manage the use of equipment to improve it’s investment efficiency. The internet of things will improve the management of medical equipment that can go a long way in not only increasing equipment efficiency, but medical quality as well.
Advances in Upgrading Process of Petroleum Residue: A Review
Authors: Alawad Ishag , Al Zubaidi Isam
Published: February 2022

Due to the depletion of light crude oil reserves, heavy crude oil and residues are the alternatives to meet ?the ?increasing global demand for light oil products. Heavy crude oil and residues are characterized by the presence of heavy ?hydrocarbon ?compounds which contain high levels of impurities such as metals, nitrogen, and sulfur-containing compounds. ?Methods of ?upgrading are required to increase refining efficiencies and to obtain high-quality products.? Upgrading processes can be categorized into three categories; ?carbon rejection processes, hydrogen addition processes, and a combination of the two. The catalyst can be used with any of these processes for better improvement. Many types of research have been carried out to develop a high-performance process which is stable, high commercial products yield, and low solids formation. In this work, recent advances on petroleum residues upgrading with catalyst, solvents, and thermal cracking were reviewed. Advantages and disadvantages of each process were discussed along with conditions and main features. Nanoparticles catalysts and supercritical fluids based-processes are the trends of upgrading due to the excellent performance of these processes.
Influence of British Pottery on Pottery Practice in Nigeria
Authors: Peters Edem Etim , Gadzama Ruth Mataba
Published: February 2022

The pottery narratives of Nigeria majorly linked with the activities of a great British potter Michael Cardew who Established pottery centres in Nigeria, and trained many Nigerians in Pottery. Cardew studied under Bernard Leach (1887 – 1979) who travels extensively and taught pottery around the world.Leach studied pottery under Master Kenzan VI in Japan and returned to England in 1920 to establish his own pottery at St. Ives with Shoji Hamada. The impact in pottery created by Cardew in Nigeria from 1950 is a direct British Pottery influence imparted to him by leach at St. Ives. A British potter and artist, Kenneth C. Murray studied pottery under Bernard Leach at St. Ives in 1929 and returned back to Uyo in Nigeria to produce and teach students pottery. Murray produced pottery wares from the Kiln he built at Uyo and took his students to exhibit the ware along with other art works at Zwember gallery (Britain) in 1937. Chief Adam Joshua Udo Ema also studied pottery in 1949 in Britain and later returned to work as a pottery officer at Okigwe Pottery centre as well as established three pottery centres in Nigeria Namely; Ikot Abasi Pottery centre at Etinan, Pottery centre at Mbiafun Ikono, and pottery centre at Ikot Ntot in Abak. Many other Nigerian studied pottery in Nigeria. Lady Kwalii pottery experience was influenced by Michael Cardew. Her pottery influence seen pottery products exhibited in various parts of the world depicted a coordination of Niger and British Pottery influences. A case study design is considered for methodological approach. Data were taken from primary and secondary sources and analyzed respectively. British influence on Nigeria is indeed outstanding.
Investigating Phase Over-Current (OC) Protection in Medium-Voltage networks
Authors: Onah Aniagboso John
Published: February 2022

Overcurrent protection is protection against excessive currents or current beyond the acceptable current rating of equipment. It generally operates instantly. Short circuit is a type of overcurrent. Magnetic circuit breakers, fuses and overcurrent relays are commonly used to provide overcurrent protection. There is always a need to protect expensive power equipment. Protective relaying is a very important part of any electric power system that comes into play during trouble, fault or abnormal condition. The purpose is to isolate unhealthy part of electrical power system while the rest continue their normal operation. The entire electric power system from source to load centers is exposed and subject to natural hazards. The effects of these hazards are capable of interrupting normal operations of the system. Since these hazards cannot be prevented, precautions are taken to minimize or eliminate their effect on the system. The relay is a basic component of any protection scheme. The information (or signals) received from the power system actuates the relay, when necessary, to perform one or more switching actions. The signals are proportional to the magnitudes and phase angles of power system voltages and currents. When the relay receives these signals, it decides to close (or open) one or more sets of normally open (or closed) contacts, and consequently, the trip coil of a circuit breaker will be energized to open the power circuit. This paper investigates over-current relay protection scheme applied to medium-voltage electrical network. Methods of current and time grading have been applied in the coordination of the overcurrent relays in a radial network. Different time/current characteristics of relays such as the normal inverse (NI), very inverse (VI), and extreme inverse (EI) have been examined in order to obtain optimum discrimination.
Assessment of Change in the Built-Up Index of Uyo Metropolis and Its Environs Using Remote Sensing
Authors: Eyoh Aniekan Effiong , Ekpa Akwaowo
Published: February 2022

The research was aim at assessing the change in the Built-up Index of Uyo metropolis and its environs from 1986 to 2018, using remote sensing data. To achieve this, a quantitative analysis of changes in land use/land cover within the study area was undertaken using remote sensing dataset of Landsat TM, ETM+ and OLI sensor images of 1986, 2000 and 2018 respectively. Supervised classification, using the maximum likelihood algorithm, was used to classify the study area into four major land use/land cover types; built-up land, bare land/agricultural land, primary swamp vegetation and secondary vegetation. Image processing was carried out using ERDAS IMAGINE and ArcGIS software. The Normalised Difference Built-up Index (NDBI) was calculated to obtain the built-up index for the study area in 1986, 2000 and 2018 as -0.20 to +0.45, -0.13 to +0.55 and -0.19 to +0.63 respectively. The result of the quantitative analysis of changes in land use/land cover indicated that Built-up Land had been on a constant and steady positive growth from 6.76% in 1986 to 11.29% in 2000 and 44.04% in 2018.
Assessment of Selected Biomass Energy Potential in Afghanistan
Authors: Noori Abdul Ghani , Salam P. Abdul , Fazli Agha Mohammad
Published: February 2022

Biomass plays a major role in satisfying the energy needs of Afghanistan, especially in the residential sector where fuel demand is primarily met in the form of fuelwood, charcoal, crop residues and animal manure. Till now, enough work has not been undertaken to assess the biomass energy potential in the country to support renewable energy development plans and more sustainable use of biomass resources. This paper is limited to the assessment of biomass energy potential from the following resources: (A) forest fuelwood and charcoal, (B) crop residues (wheat, rice, barley and maize residues) and (C) cattle manure for the years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The study assesses a total biomass energy potential of 97,310 TJ during the period 2012-13 and 99,012 TJ during the period 2013-14. It is observed that only about 52% of the estimated biomass energy potential is being exploited. The estimated energy potential of the selected biomass could contribute up to 69% in the primary energy consumption of Afghanistan (140,966 TJ) during the year 2012-13.
Wind Data Analysis, Annual Resource Estimation And Comparison With Measured Annual Energy Yield at the University Wind Turbine
Authors: Muriithi James Maina , Ngetha Harrison , Byiringiro Jean , Volkmer Kevin , Carolus Thomas
Published: February 2022

Evaluation of the power potential of a particular type of wind turbine at a specific site is necessary for economic decisions. Therefore, the information of a wind turbine and that of a site have to be measured or predicted and then combined with the power curve of a wind turbine. The main objective of this research was to predict the power potential of the existing small wind turbine with a diameter of 3m and the wind turbine site at the University of Siegen and compare with the annual energy calculated from the measured one year of wind and turbine data. Techniques for prediction of the wind speed distribution of a site were determined and modeled. The power curve of the wind turbine was modeled from data recorded by applying a technique from the novel methods for modelling the power curve. In this research, artificial neural network, Weibull and Rayleigh are the techniques modeled to predict wind speed distribution at the wind turbine site. Rayleigh and Weibull were chosen since the two models depict a better wind speed distribution and require the mean and the standard deviation of the wind speed at the wind turbine site. A neural network trained with the backward propagation levernberg-Marquardt algorithm was applied to predict the wind speed and power potential of the wind turbine site. A comparison between Weibull, Rayleigh and the Levernberg-Marquardt trained neural network wind speed was made. The power curve of the wind turbine was successfully evaluated from wind data and wind turbine data recorded. The results indicate that the annual mean wind speed of the region is 2.54 (m/s) and about 20% of the wind availability was blowing from the west. The annual energy yield predicted from the trained neural network was 372 (kWh) closer to that determined from measured wind speed 360 (kWh) than that determined from Weibull and Rayleigh 337 and 233 (kWh) respectively. The three prediction models are applicable in any region to predict the annual energy of a particular wind turbine site with minimal data available.
Elaboration of an Antimicrobial, Biodegradable and Aromatic Film Against the Natural Contamination of Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
Authors: Racowski Ilana , Almeida Catia Palma de Moura , Silva Camila Martim de Andrade , De Carvalho Gabriela Tapias
Published: February 2022

The search for foods that do not use chemical preservatives in their composition has been growing over the years, and as a result, studies on active packaging have been intensified, which has as principle, in addition to protecting, transporting and containing the food, interact with it. In this context, the present study has developed an active antimicrobial, aromatic and biodegradable packaging in order to reduce the natural contamination of sliced Mozzarella cheese, which has shelf life of five days after manipulation. For this, a film was developed containing cassava starch, a plasticizing agent, gum arabic and oregano essential oil, as an antimicrobial agent. The research used the serial dilution methodology for counting and to aid in the isolation of the product natural contamination. The diffusion methodology in Agar in PDA medium with chloramphenicol was used to identify the antimicrobial power of the polymer matrix and the Casting method for film manufacture. With the results, it was possible to identify that only the film with the addition of oregano essential oil showed fungicidal action when compared to the same film without it, forming an inhibition halo of about 25 mm against Hyphopichia burtonii yeast isolated from the product itself, when stored under conditions stipulated by the supplier (Styrofoam trays stored in conventional refrigerator).
Fuzzy Logic for Refining the Evaluation of Learners’ Performance in Online Engineering Education
Authors: Krouska Akrivi , Troussas Christos , Sgouropoulou Cleo
Published: February 2022

Intelligent tutoring systems have been widely used for optimizing the educational process by creating a student-centered learning environment. As a matter of fact, an integral part of intelligent tutoring systems is the evaluation of the learners’ performance. In traditional learning, the instructors calculate the grade of the students derived from the assessment units and other factors, such as the difficulty of the exercises or their effort, in order to produce the final students’ score in the course. However, in most cases, the evaluation of learners’ performance in intelligent tutoring systems takes place by calculating an average grade of students without taking into account the aforementioned factors. In view of the above, this paper presents a novel way for refining the evaluation of students’ performance using fuzzy logic. As a testbed for our research, we have designed and implemented an intelligent tutoring system holding social networking characteristic for teaching the engineering course of “Compilers”. More specifically, the system is responsible for acquiring information about students such as their grades, the kinds of misconceptions, the level of tests’ difficulty as well as their effort including their social interaction, i.e. participation in forums, making comments in posts and posting regarding the educational process. Taking these into consideration, fuzzy logic model diagnoses the accuracy of students’ grade and the system suggests that the instructor redefine students’ grade properly. Our system was evaluated using t-test and the results show high accuracy and objectivity in the evaluation of students’ performance.
Properties of Reactive Powder Concrete Using Local Materials and Various Curing Conditions
Authors: K. Gamal I. , Elsayed K. M. , Makhlouf Mohamed Hussein , Alaa M.
Published: February 2022

Reactive Powder Concrete RPC is comprise of (cement, quartz powder, sand, and superplasticizer) mixture with low water/cement ratio. It has not coarse aggregates and characterized by highly dense matrix, high strength concrete, excellent durability, and economic. This study aims to investigate fresh and hardened properties of locally cast RPC with several available economical materials such as silica fume (SF), fly ash (FA), steel fiber (STF), and glass fiber (GF). Experimental investigation were performed to study the effectiveness of partial replacement of cement by SF or FA to reach ultra-high strength concrete, effect of additional materials STF or GF in order to improve the fracture properties of the RPC mixes, and influence of the treated with normal water as well as with hot water. Fifteen different RPC mixes were cast with 20, 25, 30, and 35% cement replacement by SF, 25% cement replacement by FA, and another proportions taken combination between SF and FA with percentages 15, 20, 25% FA and constant 10% SF. Varying fiber types (steel fiber or glass fiber) added to concrete by different percentages 1, 2, and 3%. Specimens were treated with normal water 25?C and hot water at 60?C and 90?C by 2 mixes with silica fume content 25% of binder and steel fiber content 2% by total volume. Performance of the various mixes is tested by the slump flow, compressive strength, flexure strength, splitting tensile strength, and density. The production of RPC using local materials is successfully get compressive strength of 121 MPa at the age of 28 days at standard conditions and normal water curing 25°C with Silica fume content 25% of binder and steel fiber content 2% by total volume of RPC and water/binder ratio of 0.25.  The results also showed the effect of curing by hot water 60 and 90°C, it is observed that compressive strength increases proportionally with curing temperatures and a compressive strength of 149.1 MPa at 90°C for 1days was obtained.
Strategic Development in Logistics in Vietnam
Authors: Vu Hai Nam
Published: February 2022

Vietnam transport and logistics activities are on the rise along with the increase in import and export activities. According to a recent announcement by the World Bank (WB), Vietnam is ranked at position 39 with a significant improvement in its LPI (Logistics performance index). 3.27, ranking 3 in ASEAN (after Singapore position 7 and Thailand position 32) ranking of 2018 logistics activities, is considered to have better logistics service performance than comparable income markets. Surveying enterprises of Vietnam Report transport and logistics industry shows that they expect that legal corridors, infrastructure and IT applications will be prioritized to improve enterprises' efficiency in transport services and logistics in Vietnam. Along with the development trend of e-commerce, the entry into Vietnam market of big foreign retailers increases the risk of acquiring local logistics channels, which makes domestic enterprises face many disadvantages. According to Vietnam Report, management agencies need to see this issue, supplement necessary legal corridors (such as regulations on the limit of foreign ownership ratios in e-commerce enterprises, logistics), appropriately adjust tax regulations to avoid price transfer and tax evasion, thereby creating a fair, competitive environment for logistics enterprises.
Economic Prospects of Vietnam in the Integration Period
Authors: Vu Hai Nam , Nguyen Thi Cam Huyen
Published: February 2022

In the reports of international organizations and economic researchers, there seems to be "common formulas" for the advance economies of Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. It is not necessary to think of different theories and policies, but to make a determination, to drastically implement the signs, experiences, lessons and universal values ??of the "tigers" that go ahead. The leader of Singapore's transformation summarized the principle of a nation's success as having a decisive leadership class, an effective management apparatus and a disciplined society. To turn tigers, Vietnam needs to achieve a growth rate of 7% or more over the next twenty years. So how to achieve that goal, avoiding going into the car's woes of economies that have fallen into the middle-income trap. Only with such a growth rate can Vietnam be in the best position to protect its independence and sovereignty.
The Anomalous Magnetic Moment of the Electron and Proton Cores According to the Planck Vacuum Theory
Authors: Daywitt William C.
Published: February 2022

Despite the resounding success of the quantum electrodynamic (QED) calculations, there remains some confusion concerning the Dirac equation’s part in the calculation of the anomalous magnetic moment of the electron and proton. The confusion resides in the nature of the Dirac equation, the fine structure constant, and the relationship between the two. This paper argues that the Dirac equation describes the coupling of the electron or proton cores to the invisible Planck vacuum (PV) state (involving e2 ); and that the fine structure constant ( = e2/e2 ) connects that equation to the electron or proton particles measured in the laboratory (involving e2).
Experimental Study on Shear Strength Parameters of Soil Mixed with Glass Fiber
Authors: Abd-elmagied Mohamad Farouk
Published: February 2022

Determining the shear strength properties of the soil is a vital step in investigation its stress-strain behavior. Moreover, suction plays a vital role in the shear strength of the unsaturated soil. This paper investigates the influence of the fiber glass on the shear strength parameters of (c-?) soil with different ratios. To achieve this purpose, the samples of (c- ?) soil from El-Fardos gardens housing compound, Benha city, Egypt, were prepared at their maximum dry densities with corresponding optimum moisture content. Direct shear box test of 60 x 60 mm under a relentless rate of 1 mm/min was employed with the proposed range of ASTM D 3080. Different fiber glass ratios of 0.1, 0.50 and 1.00 % of soil sample weight were used. The results confirmed that the peak shear strength parameters increased with increasing the fiber ratio.
Design of Construct Carrying GmDREB6 to Enhance Soybean Gene Expression Related to Abiotic Stress Response
Authors: Nguyen Lan Thi Ngoc , Vaciaxa Phutthakine , Lo Thu Thi Mai , Nguyen Yen Thi Hai , Pham Nhan Thi Thanh , Le Son Van , Chu Mau Hoang
Published: February 2022

Glycine max (L.) Merrill is a crop that brings a lot of economic and nutritive values, however soybean is quite sensitive to stress. The applications of gene technology can improve resistance of soybean plants against external stress factors. The aim of this study was to conduct a transgenic vector containing GmDREB6 gene and determine the expression of gene encoding GmDREB6 in Nicotiana tabacum before transforming into soybean plants. The GmDREB6 artificial gene was synthesized containing nucleotide fragment encoding 230 amino acids, nucleotide fragment encoding cmyc antigen and nucleotide fragments with cut-off points of XbaI/SacI enzyme pair. The results indicated that the 35S-GmDREB6-cmyc construct was designed and transferred into tobacco plants. The GmDREB6 was incorporated in the genome and was expressed in transgenic tobacco plants at the transcriptional level. The transgenic vector pBI121_GmDREB6 well worked on the model tobacco plants. Therefore, it can be used for transferring into soybean plants to enhance soybean tolerance to abiotic stress.