Abstract: Online sensors in water distribution networks primarily serves two purposes: (1) Assures quality of water delivered to consumers;(2) Early detection of contamination events so as to minimize its consequences. Most of the multi-objective techniques consider thesecond purpose and almost ignore the first purpose. In this study, a sensor placement problem is formulated to cover these two…
Abstract: With developments and innovations in technology, new materials and methods have enabled architects and engineers to plan and construct large-scale facilities. However, these developments may also result in serious problems which include budget overruns, completion delays and distress on the part of the facility owner. To avoid these problems, many types of delivery systems which cont…
Abstract: In this paper, the rotational behavior of asymmetric base-isolated buildings is compared with the similar asymmetric fixed-base buildings. A vast range of lead rubber bearings with different periods is considered to evaluate the effect of the isolation degree on seismic responses of the structures. The simulation results confirm that the base isolators are able to reduce rotation of …
Abstract: Storage dams play a very important role in irrigation especially during lean periods. For proper regulation one should make sure theavailability of water according to needs and requirements. Normally regression techniques are used for the estimation of a reservoirlevel but this study was aimed to account for a non-linear change and variability of natural data by using Gamma Test, for…
This study examined the effectiveness of two cancer prevention interventions in improving balanced diet among French children aged 12–14 years. The educational techniques used were taken from the taxonomy of behaviour change techniques (BCTs; Abraham & Michie, 2008). Allocation to intervention group (intervention versus control) was randomised at the school-level, the ntervention group recei…
Abstract Four donor-acceptor type polymers based on quinoline and biquinoline have been synthesized by Pd catalyzed direct C-H (hetero)arylation reaction. Polymers P1 and P2 are alternate copolymers of thiophene-benzothiadiazolethiophene (TBTT) unit with quinoline and biquinoline unit, respectively. P3 is a random copolymer containing cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT), benzothiadiazole and quinolin…
Abstract : Poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride) copolymer and poly(styrene-alt-maleic anhydride)-block-poly(styrene) block copolymer with narrow molecular weight distributions were synthesized by nitroxide mediated radical polymerization (NMP) and the anhydride units were selectively converted to thiophene units. The thiophene decorated poly(styrene-altmaleic anhydride) copolymer was emulsified …
Abstract: The temperature memory effect (TME) in differential scanning calorimeter test of a thermoplastic polyurethane is investigated in two ways: one is termedTME1, in which the material is cooled down for full crystallization during thermal cycling; while the other is termed TME2, in which the material is cooled, but before any crystallization occurs. In the case of single heating stop tem…
Abstract: PET is one of the most important commercial polymer and much effort is being made to modify PET by melt copolymerization with a second glycol or diacid comonomer in a way that yields an amorphous material with a high Tg. In this study, various amounts (0–100 %) of tricyclodecanedimethanol (TCDDM) were used to copolymerize ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid to form a series of c…
Abstract: Ortho-imine functionalized oligophenol was synthesized via enzymatic polymerization of 2-((4- nitrophenylimino)methyl)phenol (NPIMP). Enzymatic polymerization was catalyzed by Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) oxidizer yielded oligophenol with imine functionality on the side-chain.Effects of various factors including reaction pH, temperature and solvent…
Abstract: This work reports two series of structurally different aromatic polyimides based on 4,4´-diaminodiphenylmethane (DPM) and 4,4´-diaminotriphenylmethane (TPM) and three commercial dianhydrides. All TPM-based polyimides formed membranes due to their high molecular weight (inherent viscosities ~0.93–1.14 dl/g), they exhibited high thermal stability (5 %: 490–544 °C), glass transit…
Abstract: Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based polymer electrolyte membranes complexedwith Ammoniumhexafluorophosphate (NH4PF6) with different molar concentration are prepared by solution casting method. Increase in the amorphous nature by the addition of Ammonium salt and the formation of polymersalt complex are confirmed by X ray diffraction studies and infrared spectroscopy respectively. The glass…
Abstract: An investigation of the structure and mechanical behavior of melt-spun isotactic polypropylene (iPP) fibers subjected to thermal treatment in an inert atmosphere is described. Two iPP formulations, Basell Pro-fax PH835 and ExxonMobil Achieve 3854, synthesized by the Ziegler-Natta and metallocene catalysts respectively, and spun at take-up velocities of 1000 to 3000 m/min are consider…
Abstract: Two types of s i l a n e s , including 3 - glycidoxy propyl trimethoxy silane (GPTMS) and 3- amino propyl triethoxy silane (APTES), were grafted onto polystyrene sulfonic acid-co-maleic acid (PSSA_MA) first, followed by the grafting reaction to the silica surface. The modification of PSSA_MAonto silica was confirmed through FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectrum), NMR (Nuclear mag…
Abstract: A novel superabsorbent composite based on kappa- Carrageenan (κC) was prepared by graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AAm) onto κC in the presence of bentonite powder using methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as a crosslinking agent, ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator, and sodium carbonate as a pore-forming agent. The swelling behavior in distilled water and in solutions with dif…
Abstract: Dextrin as a biodegradable natural polymer has hydrophilic nature that capable to increase the swelling properties and biodegradability of the synthetic hydrogels. This study describes the synthesis of a poly (acrylic acid-coacryloyl tetrasodium thiacalix[4]arene tetrasulfonate) grafted dextrin superabsorbent hydrogels (ADA) via solution polymerization. The effects of acryloyl tetra…
Abstract: Blending of two or more pure polymers is an effective way to produce composites with tunable properties. In this paper, we report dynamic Monte Carlo simulation results on the crystallization of crystalline/crystalline (A/B) symmetric binary polymer blend, wherein the melting temperature of A-polymer is higher than B-polymer. We study the effect of segregation strength (arises from …
Abstract: Crystallization behavior of conductive composite has a great effect on the formation of conductive network. But very few studies have exposited, specially on the micro level, the evolution of conductive network during the crystallization of matrix. In this study, the conductive network was found to be destroyed by crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) matrix, and…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to determine if a blended learning component can aid professional development, improve student ability and be approved at the foreign language level using the lesson study (LS) method at a university in Japan. Design/methodology/approach – This paper introduces the three main theoretical concepts of blended learning, learner autonomy and technology i…
Abstract: In this work, rubber seed oil (RSO) was extracted with cyclohexane at room temperature for 24 h. The yield of RSO was about 40 %. The RSO was purified by using sodium hydroxide to eliminate some free fatty acids. Then the RSO was modified by simultaneous epoxidation and hydroxylation. Hydroxylated RSO (HRSO) had the hydroxylation extents 120 and 230 mgKOH/g with 2 h and 4 h reaction…
Abstract: Novel ion-stimulus-responsive copolymeric hydrogels were synthesized by free radical crosslinking copolymerization from the monomers N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and 2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) in the presence of a crosslinker, diethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (DEGDMA). The influences of the reaction parameters, the comonomer composition and the ionic strength o…
Abstract: Phenylene-bridged cross-linked poly(alkoxysilane)s produced by the condensation of 1,4-bis(triethoxysilyl) benzene (BTEB) with different lengths of aliphatic diols in proper stoichiometric ratios were successfully prepared. The synthesized phenylene-bridged poly(alkoxysilane)s were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), solid-state 13C and 29Si cross polariz…
Abstract: The microporous membranes of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear- lower-density polyethylene (LLDPE) blend were prepared based on melt-stretching mechanism and the influence of cocrystallization behavior on the structure and properties of stretched microporous membranes was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), small-…
Abstract: The paper describes the preparation of High Density Polyethylene [HDPE]/Halloysite Nanotube [HNT] nanocomposites by melt compounding HDPE with varying amounts ofHNTs (ranging from 1 to 10%w/w) in the absence and presence of MA-g-HDPE as compatibiliser using corotating twin screw extruder. The effect of HNT loading and compatibiliser amount on morphology and rheological properties was…
Abstract: High-molecular-weight poly(p-arylene sulfide ketone) (PPSK) was prepared by nucleophilic substitution reaction of 4,4’-diflurobenzophenone (DFBP) and sodium sulfide in the compound solvents of diphenyl sulfone (DPS) and 1,3- dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone (DMI) with catalysts under elevated temperature. The inherent viscosity (ηint) of the PPSK synthesized was 0.703 dl/g. PPSK was cha…
Abstract: In this study, metal-semiconductor Zn@ZnO coreshell particles were prepared by the heat treatment of raw Zn powder under air atmosphere, and the prepared Zn@ZnO particles were incorporated into poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to obtain high dielectric permittivity polymer. The results indicate that the Zn@ZnO particles remark ably increased the dielectric constant of the PVDF compos…
Purpose – Representing both “central university administration” and academics, deans are increasingly being confronted with the competing managerial and academic values. Being able to manage the competing values is pivotal to the success of a dean. However, there is dearth of research studying this. Considering the for-profit private sector may face greater challenge in dealing with the c…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors associated with occupational stress and job satisfaction among Irish primary school principals. A principal’s job has become increasingly demanding and complex in recent decades. However, there is little current research into their levels of stress and job satisfaction, particularly based on nationally representative data. In ord…
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine relationship between teacher competences and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) with empowerment as a mediating factor. Design/methodology/approach – The study took a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical design. Using cluster and random sampling procedures, data were obtained from 383 usable questionnaires. Data were analyzed th…
Abstract : A new Titanium (IV) complex, dichlorobis (salicylato)titanium(IV) [TiL2Cl2] (1) {LH= Salicylic acid} has been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, IR and UV-visible spectroscopy. As a post-metallocene complex it’s olefin polymerization activity has been investigated at room temperature in aqueous emulsion. In presence of tetraphenylborate as cocata…
Abstract: Flexible piezoelectric composite films of ([PZT/]x/ [PVDF]1-x (x=0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3)with 0–3 connectivity were synthesized from 0.2 wt% Li2CO3 added PZT ceramic powders in the morphotropic phase boundary (MPB) and PVDF polymer by solution cast technique under optimized thermal processing conditions. It is seen that crystallinity and β phase are enhanced with the addition of Li in th…
Abstract: A novel iron phthaocyanine (FePc) polymer was prepared via the polymerization of phthalonitrile with ferrous chloride and investigated for morphology, crystallinity, conductivity, dielectric and magnetic properties at different annealing temperatures from 300 °C to 700 °C. The results showed that the elevating annealing temperature could significantly change the morphology and mic…
Abstract: For side-chain liquid crystalline polyazomethine/ fullerene C60 nanocomposite (C60 loading is 0.25 wt%), both real and imaginary components of the dielectric permittivity were investigated in wide regions of temperature and frequency. Analysis of frequency dependent permittivity allowed finding three relaxations (α, β1 and β2) in the nanocomposite. They were attributed to specific…
Abstract: The kinetics of UV light photoinitiated polymerization system (PPS) with non-uniform initiator concentration is theoretically presented. Analytic formulas are derived for the cross linking time (T*), defined by the depletion level of the initiator, which is an exponentially increasing function of the thickness, whereas it is inverse proportional to the UV light intensity. Typical T* …
Abstract: Device-to-device (D2D) connectivity is one of the main enablers for future fifth generation (5G) radio access networks. In this paper, we introduce a new model for user cooperation in 5G radio access networks termed frequency-selective soft forwarding (SF). SF is based on soft-processing by a target user equipment (TUE) of selectively forwarded soft information data by a set of coope…
In order to support anywhere and anytime services of Beyond 4G networks, new deployment solutions will be required that can cost-effectively address the capacity demand of the future and also offer consistently high bit rates and decent quality of service throughout the network coverage area. In this article we look into an advanced outdoor distributed antenna system (DAS) concept, dynamic DA…
Active safety systems such as anticollision radar play a major role in reducing traffic accidents. The principal task of the radar is to detect the presence of targets and estimate their positions. To make this task, the system called coded anticollision radar use a code at transmission and correlation at reception. The actual used codes are the BPRS sequences but they are not sufficient to sha…
In conventional multiple-input multiple- systems, each antenna is connected to a radio-frequency (RF) chain. Due to the tiny wavelength of millimeter waves (mmWave), tens of antennas can be packed into a small area in mmWave transceivers. However, implementing an RF chain for each antenna is impractical due to the high cost and power of mixed-signal devices. In order to reduce the cost and ge…
The draft document of the new IEEE 802.15.4e specification assumes receiver initiated transmission (RIT) to reduce energy consumption of wireless sensors by turning off the radio periodically, even if they operate in mesh topology. The original contribution from this paper is developing and evaluating the RIT strategies intended for street lighting systems using wireless sensor networks to cont…
Pre-registration as an important feature in FIMPv6, ensures providing the continuous mobility services for the end-users roaming across heterogeneous wireless networks, and is achieved by obtaining the timely and precise link layer (L2) trigger in the handover preparation. Firing the L2 trigger in the timely manner for deterministic handovers hence is crucial for guaranteeing the handover perfo…
High performance of MIMO-OFDM wireless systems is very much desirable. In this paper, we study the performance analysis of scheduling schemes for multiuser MIMO-OFDM systems employing Orthogonal Space-Frequency Block Coding in g–l fading scenario over frequency selective fading channels. We analyze the advantages of user scheduling in MIMO-OFDM systems employing OSFBC and adaptive modulation…
We treat the problem of movement prediction as a classification task. We assume the existence of a (gradually populated and/or trained) knowledge base and try to compare the movement pattern of a certain object with stored information in order to predict its future location. We introduce a novel distance metric function based on weighted spatial and velocity context used for location prediction…
With the exponential growth in mobile data traffic taking place currently and projected into the future, mobile operators need cost effective ways to manage the load of their networks. Traditionally, this has been achieved by offloading mobile traffic onto Wi-Fi networks due to their low cost and increasingly ubiquitous deployment. Recently, LTE operating in the unlicensed spectrum has drawn s…
Abstract: Energy is a scarce and most vital resource in a wireless sensor network (WSN). Since space-time block coding requires less transmission energy than SISO technique for the same bit error rate (BER), therefore, it is one of the most practical diversity technique for WSN studies. In this work, we have investigated the energy utilization of a simple multiple-input single-output system usi…
Body area networks (BAN) are being developed to serve the mankind, for detection of diseases and tracking of patients. And ultra wideband (UWB) has become the most preferred candidate for the physical layer of BAN. However, UWB BAN will suffer from the interferences from existing wireless networks. Though a number of mitigation techniques have been developed for UWB they will not be feasible f…
The estimation of tag read and no-read zones is the most important preliminary planning step in radio-frequency identification (RFID) system installations. Today, in the ultra-high frequency band (UHF: 860–960 MHz), this estimation is based on either a free-space or a simplified multipath channel model for the signal propagation in the wireless link between the interrogator and the tag. Using…
In this paper, we present an efficient data channel assignment (DCA) scheme for a mixed cell (i.e., a 3G cell with embedded WLANs). Our effort is essential to increase the data request (i.e., a call) handling capacity in 3G systems, with a ‘low request dropping probability’. In UMTS-first DCA scheme prefers 3G channel in dual coverage and reduces vertical handoffs from 3G to WLAN. But it de…
Modeling and analysis of communication link duration in vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) is crucial as it directly affects many performance metrics such as packet delivery ratio, throughput and end-to-end delay. In this paper, we investigate the properties of communication link duration in one-dimensional VANETs for different fading channel conditions. We employ a stochastic microscopic mobil…
Abstract: This paper proposes a mobility management protocol for 6LoWPAN wireless sensor networks. In this protocol, the 6LoWPAN architecture is proposed, and both the hierarchical IPv6 address structure and the address configuration algorithm for 6LoWPAN WSN are presented. Based on the proposed architecture, the intra-network and inter-network mobility handover algorithms are proposed. In the…
We address the multicast problem in a wireless multihop network in the presence of errors. Finding the multicast schedule that minimizes the expected number of transmissions, while accounting for both the wireless broadcast advantage (WBA) and the wireless unreliable transmission (WUT) characteristics, has not been solved optimally before. We formally define the problem and propose an initial a…