121 research outputs found

    Mathematical modeling of infectious diseases

    No full text
    In this dissertation, we studied mathematical models of infectious diseases that consist of ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and partial differential equations (PDEs). An ODE model is formulated to describe the dynamics of wild mosquitoes when Wolbachia-infected female and male mosquitoes are introduced in the wild as a biological control, where we assume imperfect maternal transmission of Wolbachia to offspring and incomplete cytoplasmic incompatibility. In order to reduce the population of wild mosquitoes with minimal release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes in the wild, we develop an optimal control model. The optimal controls are found by using the Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. We also formulated an ODE optimal control model to describe the dynamics of dengue-infected humans when Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes are introduced in the wild along with efforts on educational campaigns to motivate individuals for using personal protection in order to reduce humans-mosquitoes. In this optimal control model, we also determined the most cost-effectiveness control strategy among different control interventions to reduce dengue infections in humans. In the host (Daphnia)- parasite (fungal spores) system, we study the disease dynamics of Daphnia in a water column where both algae and spores sink and diffuse. We formulated the Daphnia-spores-algae model using advection-diffusion partial differential equations (PDEs). We studied the effects of algal carrying capacity, sinking rates of algae and spores, and the water column maximum depth on the disease dynamics of Daphnia.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2022-05-01The student, Iftikhar Ahmed, accepted the attached license on 2020-03-09 at 19:30.The student, Iftikhar Ahmed, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2020-03-09 at 19:53.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2020-04-09 at 09:53.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #14891 on 2020-08-25 at 17:38:59Made available in DSpace on 2020-08-27T00:46:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 AHMED-DISSERTATION-2020.pdf: 4056767 bytes, checksum: c83f5c5853a82825a3189995932eb031 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4211 bytes, checksum: 98a7cfff986fa83b2048c0c29805815f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020-04-09Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115842 Lift date: 2022-08-27T00:46:59Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115842 Lift date: 2022-08-27T00:50:22Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 115842 Lift date: 2022-08-27T00:51:40Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemAuthor requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemLimite

    افتخار جالب اور اردو افسانے کی نئی لسانی تشکیلات

    No full text
    This essay highlights Iftikhar Jalib’s views on the importance of introducing new linguistic formations and abandoning the conventional use of language in Urdu poetry and prose. The essay limits itself to the Urdu short stories of Iftikhar Jalib, that apply what the author calls the mythical technique, through which the story is constructed in the light of mythical ideas from the Greek and Hindu traditions as well as stories from the Islamic scriptur

    Automatic code generation from UML class and statechart diagrams

    No full text
    筑波大学University of Tsukuba博士(工学)Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering2005Includes bibliographical referencesdoctoral thesi

    Re-envisioning assessment of interlanguage pragmatic competence through computer-mediated communicative tasks

    No full text
    Assessment of second language (L2) pragmatic knowledge is still a new and understudied area of research. Some researchers (Hudson, Detmer, & Brown, 1992, 1995; Roever, 2006, Walters, 2007) have played an important role in advancing the field, but their theories have followed speech act framework often criticized for pragmatic construct under-representation (Grabowski, 2009; Roever, 2011; Youn, 2015). Methodologically, past studies mainly used closed role-plays based on predetermined interactional outcomes (Youn, 2015). Kasper and Rose (2002) doubted the validity and authenticity of closed role-play tasks. In order to address these research gaps, and as a contribution to the general understanding of Second Language Pragmatic Testing (SLPT), this study combines second language pragmatics and computer-mediated communication to assess the pragmatic knowledge of second language users of English. It uses Purpura’s (2004) framework of communicative language ability for developing interactive, email-based role-play tasks to assess test takers’ pragmatic ability with regard to sociolinguistic, sociocultural and psychological meanings, and the use of polite formulaic expressions. Using mixed methods (Greene, 2007), qualitative and quantitative evidence was provided to support test inferences. A thorough needs analysis was conducted first through semi-structured interviews and then through an online survey by involving different ESL stakeholders including 153 faculty members at a large Mid-Western university. The online questionnaire results provided insight into the instructors’ perceptions of different email situations. The results of the needs analysis also helped to determine appropriate role-play situations. A set of communicative role-play tasks were developed following Davidson and Lynch’s (2002) test specification theory. Role-play cards were used to enhance standardization, and test takers were allowed to communicate naturally without following fixed interactional outcomes. A group of 52 graduate ESL students completed email role-play tasks. Two native-speaking raters evaluated the pragmatic ability of test takers and assigned scores using an empirically driven analytical scoring rubric on the email threads. Given that most students scored high, there appears to be a correlation between the ESL proficiency level of students and their scores in the pragmatic ability tests. Furthermore, inter-rater reliability analysis shows an overall high inter-rater reliability (0.85). There was some agreement between the hypothesized task difficulty typology and actual scores of three ability groups assessed in the present study. Qualitative analysis of interactive email data revealed a lack of knowledge of norms (as expected in Midwestern US academic settings) of appropriateness and politeness by the lower proficiency groups. Therefore, the low stakes test might have a great potential for developing instructional materials in an academic email communication context. Based on the findings of the present study, suggestions on inclusion of sociopragmatic competence into the ESL writing curriculum are made. Systematic curricular inclusion of email pragmatics in ESL courses will assist ESL learners in developing their email pragmatic competence in academic settings.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'Closed Access', the embargo will last until 2021-05-01The student, Iftikhar Haider, accepted the attached license on 2019-01-12 at 12:47.The student, Iftikhar Haider, submitted this Dissertation for approval on 2019-01-12 at 13:20.This Dissertation was approved for publication on 2019-04-19 at 07:56.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #13355 on 2019-08-22 at 16:19:42Made available in DSpace on 2019-08-23T20:44:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 3 HAIDER-DISSERTATION-2019.pdf: 1789574 bytes, checksum: afde9c112561852d1a89a435f907e371 (MD5) LICENSE.txt: 4212 bytes, checksum: b412d9fa16f3824b5d3b4f8da3379341 (MD5) PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt: 4558 bytes, checksum: 4daf856737e653163fb39d848eb6a9ac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2019-04-19Embargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 112245 Lift date: 2021-08-23T20:44:50Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 112245 Lift date: 2021-08-23T20:46:41Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 112245 Lift date: 2021-08-23T20:47:38Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemEmbargo set by: Seth Robbins for item 112245 Lift date: 2021-08-23T20:48:32Z Reason: Author requested closed access (OA after 2yrs) in Vireo ETD systemLimited Restriction Lifted for Item 112245 on 2021-08-24T09:15:20Z

    EPISTEMOLOGI STUDI HADIS KONTEMPORER KESARJANAAN MUSLIM DAN BARAT (STUDI KOMPARATIF ANTARA HARALD MOTZKI DAN IFTIKHAR ZAMAN)

    No full text
    Contemporary hadith studies are distinguished by the dynamics of discourse on hadith studies that emerge in two distinct spheres, Muslim and Western scholars. Each of these areas have produced epistemological structures that do not complement one another and frequently come into conflict. Despite the fact that the hadith material examined is the same, their orientations and techniques of development differ. Communication gaps frequently occur, and it is not unusual for one group to refuse to accept the presence of another. The question therefore becomes how to develop a hadith epistemology capable of serving as a bridge between the two paradigms of hadith thinking mentioned above, allowing the standstill in scientific discussion that has happened so far to be resolved. There will be no more intellectual cynicism based on the assumption that each other is not capable of being scientific. The academic issues raised above inspired the author to delve further into the ideas of Harald Motzki-Germany (1948-2019) and Iftikhar Zaman-Pakistan (1960-...) in the study of hadith. The epistemological building developed by both of them is significant enough to be synergized into a form of creative synthesis that is expected to give birth to the epistemological structure of contemporary hadith studies and create a deadlock in the communication and scientific dialogue by producing an engagement between two groups of hadith scholarship that is based on assumptions and testing methods that is acceptable to both parties. This dissertation's problem formulation takes the form of a series of questions. First, how has the structure of hadith studies evolved in Muslim intellectual traditions (Muslim scholars) and Western scholars? Why does this dichotomy result in different academic traditions in the realm of hadith studies while the material object under investigation is the same? Second, what are Harald Motzki and Iftikhar Zaman’s fundamental/core concepts (primary ideas) in hadith studies? Third, what is the epistemological framework of hadith studies as represented by these two scholars from distinct academic traditions? Fourth, what are the consequences of Harald Motzki and Iftikhar Zaman’s ideas for the advancement of contemporary hadith studies? The author applies the analytical-comparative technique to link ideas, clarify the breadth of possibilities, and emphasize shared ground of thinking while preserving and clarifying existing disparities. Epistemology and the history of ideas serve as a theoretical framework for identifying basic (fundamental) beliefs about the topic of the problem under study. The historical-philosophical approach to the genetic structuralism model is important in this study. The author takes a historical method to tracing all of the foundations of thinking, revealing a framework of diversity, change, and continuity. Meanwhile, a philosophical method is employed to show the fundamental structure of the two persons' views, despite their disparate socio-cultural origins. Several results drawn from this research demonstrate that: first, the disparities in hadith study traditions between Muslim and Western scholars are related to variances in epistemological frameworks developed in each location. The most basic distinction is epistemology, which has an impact on every facet of the evolving scientific architecture. The intellectual effort of Muslim and Western academics has formed the heart of hadith studies, resulting in epistemological grounds that frequently contradict. The two academic traditions’ epistemological structures differ in terms of bibliographic corpus, assumptions, analytical methods, and terminology. Secondly, Motzki and Zaman's thoughts on the study of hadith represent their essential principles. Motzki’s key concepts are framed in the logic of showing the authenticity of hadith, whereas Zaman depends on the link between the variety of isna>d (the act of relating the chain of narration) and the diversity of matn (the text), created via the theory of the science of rija>l . Third, the epistemological framework of Motzki’s hadith studies belong to the paradigmatic group, which corresponds to traditionalist middle ground. The reference source is Mus}annaf ‘Abdul Razza>q, while the historical method relies on biographical literature. Motzki also employed the historical critical method, which combines form with redaction criticism. Meanwhile, Motzki’s theoretical framework is based on dating (when, who, and where) and a sanad (the chain of narration) and matn calendar pattern. Meanwhile, Zaman established an epistemological framework that indicates an interaction effort between two schools of thought: the classical heritage of hadith studies and the Western historical critical tradition. Zaman provided a novel interpretation of the common link theory, which was integrated with other Western academic ideas to explain the presence of isna>d routes by which matn versions are narrated. The study of rija>l theory was primarily developed to determine which transmitters were the most skilful and meticulous in preserving and transmitting hadith. Although the hadith is not explicitly dated, the resources offered by the notion of the science of rija>l allow us to identify when, where, and by whom the hadith was widely spread. Fourth, the implications of the thoughts of Motzki and Zaman on the development of hadith studies can be recognized, first, by means of investigation. These two scholars were able to shift the direction or basic assumptions that had previously believed by Western academics, who oftentimes disputing the reliability of the sunnah or hadith, to be something whose validity can be academically proven. Second, it demonstrates the relationship between Muslim and Western scholarship, particularly in hadith studies; they are not all mutually exclusive. Third, through this relatively recent research, Motzki and Zaman have produced new achievements in current hadith studies, inspiring future scholars. In general, this style of inquiry is rare among Muslim and Western academics since Western researchers base their studies on fundamental skepticism, making them hesitant to draw inferences from extant classical literature. It contrasts with Motzki, who used a traditional-historical technique to date the content from the book Mus}annaf ‘Abdul Razza>q, demonstrating the legitimacy of classical literary material. Meanwhile, Zaman proposed a theory that offered a new and more significant meaning to numerous classical literatures via a Western lens, which had previously questioned the information in transmission mechanism included in the hadith’s chain of narration

    Code Generation From Uml Statecharts

    No full text
    The Unified Modeling Language (UML) statechart diagram is a powerful tool for specifying the dynamic behavior of reactive objects. Generating code from statechart diagrams is a challenging task due to its dynamic nature and because many of the statechart concepts are not supported by the object oriented programming languages. Most of the approaches for implementing UML statecharts diagram either suffer from maintenance problems or implement only a subset of UML statecharts

    Revealing the quasiparticle electronic and excitonic nature in cubic, tetragonal, and hexagonal phases of FAPbI3

    No full text
    The development of three-dimensional (3D) hybrid organic-inorganic perovskites has sparked much interest because of their rich light-harvesting capabilities in solar cells. However, the understanding of the electronic and optical properties, particularly the excitonic shifts upon structural phase transition with temperature in these materials, is not fully clear. Here, we report the accurate description of electronic and optical properties of mostly studied FAPbI(3) across the cubic-tetragonal-hexagonal phases, using the relativistic GW method and Bethe-Salpeter Equation (BSE), including the spin-orbit coupling effects. Our GW calculations reveal that the bandgap values vary from 1.47 to 3.54 eV from the room temperature cubic phase to the low temperature hexagonal phase. Our optical analysis shows that excitonic peaks are blue-shifted, and exciton binding energies estimated by the model BSE approach increase from 74 to 567 meV going from the cubic to hexagonal phases. Our results may have important impacts on the practical uptake of hybrid perovskite based solar cells under different climatic conditions. (c) 2022 Author(s). All article content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

    A Service of zbw Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre for Economics University Quality and Graduate Wages in the UK University Quality and Graduate Wages in the UK

    No full text
    Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen. Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. The Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in Bonn is a local and virtual international research center and a place of communication between science, politics and business. IZA is an independent nonprofit organization supported by Deutsche Post Foundation. The center is associated with the University of Bonn and offers a stimulating research environment through its international network, workshops and conferences, data service, project support, research visits and doctoral program. IZA engages in (i) original and internationally competitive research in all fields of labor economics, (ii) development of policy concepts, and (iii) dissemination of research results and concepts to the interested public. Terms of use: Documents in University Quality and Graduate Wages in the UK Iftikhar Hussain Sandra McNally Shqiponja Telhaj D I S C U S S I O N P A P E R S E R I E S IZA Discussion Papers often represent preliminary work and are circulated to encourage discussion. Citation of such a paper should account for its provisional character. A revised version may be available directly from the author. ABSTRACT University Quality and Graduate Wages in the UK * We examine the links between various measures of university quality and graduate earnings in the United Kingdom. We explore the implications of using different measures of quality and combining them into an aggregate measure. Our findings suggest a positive return to university quality with an average earnings differential of about 6 percent for a one standard deviation rise in university quality. However, the relationship between university quality and wages is highly non-linear, with a much higher return at the top of the distribution. There is some indication that returns may be increasing over time. JEL Classification: I23, J2

    Corrigendum to “Promising electrochemical study of titanate based anodes in direct carbon fuel cell using walnut and almond shells biochar fuel” [J. Power Sources 434 (2019) 126679](S0378775319306500)(10.1016/j.jpowsour.2019.05.085)

    No full text
    © 2019 Elsevier B.V. The authors regret that the family name of author Asia Rafique was wrongly added as ‘Asia Iftikhar’ in the original article, the corrected name is “Asia Rafique”. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused

    Nexus between nitrous oxide emissions and agricultural land use in Agrarian economy: An ARDL bounds testing approach

    No full text
    This paper analyses the relationship between Nitrous Oxide emissions, agricultural land use, and economic growth in Pakistan. Agriculture largely contributes to Nitrous Oxide emissions. Hence, models of agriculture induced Nitrous Oxide emissions are estimated in addition to models of total Nitrous Oxide emissions. Estimated models accommodate more flexible forms of relationship between economic growth and emissions than those of the widely adopted models in testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve. The Auto-Regressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to co-integration and the vector error correction model approach is applied to test the Environmental Kuznets’s Curve hypothesis for Pakistan and to detect the directions of causality among variables using the time series data for the period 1971 to 2012. Results indicate that an N-shaped rather than an inverted U-shaped relationship exists in the case of Pakistan. The tipping values for total Nitrous Oxide emissions and agriculturally induced Nitrous Oxide emissions indicate that Pakistan passes through a phase of increasing environmental degradation. Increases in agricultural land use and per capita energy use will increase the level of Nitrous Oxide emissions. However, controlling Nitrous Oxide emissions from agricultural land use and per capita, energy use without adversely affecting economic development will be a serious policy challenge for Pakistan
    corecore