74 research outputs found
Six Characters in Search of an Author by Luigi Pirandello. 2003.
No full textDesigns for AUC production of Six Characters in Search of an Author. Written by Luigi Pirandello. Directed by Frank Bradley. Scenery and Lighting by Stancil Campbell. Design assistant Vanessa Korany. Costumes by Dina El Sheikh. Technical Direction by Hazem Shebl. Falaki Main Stage Theatre. American University in Cairo. Egypt. 2003
Localization in Ultra Narrow Band IoT Networks: Design Guidelines and Trade-Offs
No full textLocalization in long-range Internet of Things networks is a challenging task, mainly due to the long distances and low bandwidth used. Moreover, the cost, power, and size limitations restrict the integration of a GPS receiver in each device. In this work, we introduce a novel received signal strength indicator (RSSI) based localization solution for ultra narrow band (UNB) long-range IoT networks such as Sigfox. The essence of our approach is to leverage the existence of a few GPS-enabled sensors (GSN)s in the network to split the wide coverage into classes, enabling RSSI based fingerprinting of other sensors (SN)s. By using machine learning algorithms at the network backed-end, the proposed approach does not impose extra power, payload, or hardware requirements. To comprehensively validate the performance of the proposed method, a measurement-based dataset that has been collected in the city of Antwerp is used. We show that a location classification accuracy of 80% is achieved by virtually splitting a city with a radius of 2.5km into seven classes. Moreover, separating classes, by increasing the spacing between them, brings the classification accuracy up-to 92% based on our measurements. Furthermore, when the density of GSN nodes is high enough to enable device-to-device communication, using multilateration, we improve the probability of localizing SNs with an error lower than 20m by 40% in our measurement scenario.sponsorship: This work was supported in part by FWO SBO Project SAMURAI. (Corresponding author: Hazem Sallouha.) (FWO SBO Project SAMURAI)status: Publishe
In vitro antifungal activity of Burkholderia gladioli pv. agaricicola against some phytopathogenic fungi
No full textThe trend to search novel microbial natural biocides has recently been increasing in order to avoid the environmental pollution from use of synthetic pesticides. Among these novel natural biocides are the bioactive secondary metabolites of Burkholderia gladioli pv. agaricicola (Bga). The aim of this study is to determine antifungal activity of Bga strains against some phytopathogenic fungi. The fungicidal tests were carried out using cultures and cell-free culture filtrates against Botrytis cinerea, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium digitatum, Penicillium expansum, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Phytophthora cactorum. Results demonstrated that all tested strains exert antifungal activity against all studied fungi by producing diffusible metabolites which are correlated with their ability to produce extracellular hydrolytic enzymes. All strains significantly reduced the growth of studied fungi and the bacterial cells were more bioactive than bacterial filtrates. All tested Bulkholderia strains produced volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which inhibited the fungal growth and reduced the growth rate of Fusarium oxysporum and Rhizoctonia solani. GC/MS analysis of VOCs emitted by strain Bga 11096 indicated the presence of a compound that was identified as 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethenyl)-cyclohexene, a liquid hydrocarbon classified as cyclic terpene. This compound could be responsible for the antifungal activity, which is also in agreement with the work of other author
Fare policy analysis for public transport : a discrete-continuous modeling approach using panel data
No full textThesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2008.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Includes bibliographical references (p. 115-117).In many large metropolitan areas, public transport is very heavily used, and ridership is approaching system capacity in the peak periods. This has caused a shift in attention by agency decision-makers to strategies that can more effectively manage the demand for public transport, rather than simply increase overall demand. In other words, a need has arisen to understand not only why people use public transport as opposed to other modes but also how they use public transport, in terms of their ticket, mode, and time-of-day choices. To that end, fares become an increasingly important policy tool that can trigger certain behavioral changes among riders. This thesis develops a methodology to model, at the disaggregate level, the response of public transport users to fare changes. A discrete-continuous framework is proposed in which ticket choice is modeled at the higher (discrete) level and frequencies of public transport use, based on mode and time-of-day, are modeled at the lower (continuous) level. This framework takes advantage of the availability of smartcard data over time, allowing individual-specific behavioral changes with various fare policies to be captured. This methodology is applied to London's public transport system using Oyster smartcard data collected between November 2005 and February 2008. The results indicate a strong inertia effect in terms of ticket choice among public transport users in London. An individual's prior ticket choice is found to be a very important factor in determining their future ticket choice. This is also evident when we simulate the effects of two policy changes on ticket choices. We find that the impact of changing the prices of period tickets may take several months or more to fully materialize. In terms of the frequency of public transport use, the results indicate estimated short and long-run fare elasticities of -0.40 and -0.64, respectively, for travel on the London Underground and equivalent estimates of -0.08 and -0.13 for travel on bus.(cont) The estimated Underground fare elasticities are comparable to those in the literature. The bus fare elasticities, on the other hand, are relatively smaller, in absolute value, than prior estimates. This difference reflects the small variations in bus fares in the dataset on which the model was estimated and the low fare sensitivity for users under such variations. Furthermore, we apply the model, in conjunction with related assumptions and findings from previous research, to evaluate an AM peak pricing scheme on the London Underground, in which travelers are charged £2.00 between 8:30am and 9:15am, rather than the current fare of £1.50. This application estimates that such a policy could potentially decrease AM "peak-of-the-peak" demand on the Underground by about 9%, with the reduction in ridership shifting either to a different mode or to a different time period.by Hazem Marwan Zureiqat.S.M
Connecting Moral Status to Proper Legal Status
No full textThis chapter entertains three proposals as to the connection between an animal’s moral status and what legal status it ought to have. The first proposal is this strong claim: that an act wrongs an animal is a justification for criminalizing it. The second proposal is this moderate claim: that an act constitutes an injustice to an animal is a justification for criminalizing it. Both of these proposals can be vindicated if an argument for legal moralism that the author constructs, drawing on the work of Michael Moore, is sound. Meanwhile, Martha Nussbaum, Alasdair Cochrane, and Robert Garner have each argued for the second proposal. The chapter demonstrates that all four of these arguments are unsound. The third proposal is this claim: it is obligatory for legislators to eliminate any aspect of the law that facilitates the wronging of animals. This proposal, the author argues, is sound. Comparatively weak though this proposal is, the chapter extracts from it radical implications for animal ownership and state funding of medical research on animal subjects
Value of triple rule-out CT in the emergency department
No full textAbstractBackgroundTriple-rule-out (TRO) computed tomographic (CT) angiography is a recent technique for evaluation of the coronary arteries, aorta, pulmonary arteries, and adjacent intrathoracic structures simultaneously for patients with acute chest pain.ObjectivesTo assess the validity and efficacy of Triple-rule-out (TRO) computed tomographic (CT) angiography in diagnosis of different vascular causes of chest pain in the emergency department.MethodsBetween April 2013 and December 2014, 40 patients presenting with non-specific acute chest pain to the emergency department performed Triple-rule-out (TRO) computed tomographic (CT) angiography utilizing a biphasic contrast injection technique. The CT angiographic images were interpreted prospectively for detection of any pulmonary, coronary or aortic vascular abnormalities.ResultsThe study revealed 20 cases (50%) with only coronary lesions, 5 cases (12.5%) with only pulmonary lesions, 10 cases (25%) with only aortic lesions and 3 cases (7.5%) with combined coronary/aortic lesions. 2 cases (5%) showed no significant vascular abnormality.ConclusionAn optimized TRO protocol with concomitant reduced radiation exposure and efficient contrast agent administration provides a reliable tool for evaluation of coronary, aortic and pulmonary arteries in the emergency department
Achieving Low latency and High Packet Reception Ratio in Media Access Control Layer in VANET
No full textVehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) or inter-vehiclecommunication (IVC) makes possible the development of a number ofinnovative and powerful transportation system applications. VANETtechnology proves an important extension of both cellular andwireless local area networks (WLANs) currently used in thetransportation industry. It is widely recognized that thetransportation industry serves as an ideal platform for a largenumber of existing and future wireless applications, many of whichhave yet to be developed for commercial use.Safety messaging is one of the most critical uses for VANET,supporting a number of potential safety applications, e.g. emergencyelectronic brake lights, lane change and pre-crash warning, amongothers. Many applications require extremely low latency (less than100ms) and highly reliable (over 99\% packet delivery ratio)communication services. In order to satisfy these criticalrequirements, an efficient media access control (MAC) layer isnecessary. At the time of this writing, a de facto standard of VANETMAC is being developed.Extensive VANET MAC research with regard to safety applications hasyet to be done. The proposed base for the VANET future standard usesan 802.11a media access layer whose performance-although studied-isknown to contain deficiencies and was accomplished outside theVANET context. These factors motivated the author to initiate thestudy of VANET and MAC.In this work, MAC for VANET MAC is extensively researched, and ahistory of MAC is initially reviewed. The special and criticalrequirements of VANET MAC are presented and four major categorieswere investigated and analyzed. Because the under-development of802.11p is based on the IEEE 802.11a, special consideration is givenwith regard to the performance of 802.11a MAC and associatedrequirements. Extensive research enhancements centering on safetyapplications of the 802.11 MAC are conducted. The author's researchgenerated a platform in which VANET performance can bequantitatively evaluated, analyzed, and verified. The quantitativebehavior of the current protocols/algorithms, which include delayand packet delivery ratio, are presented on this platform.Furthermore, the future protocol and algorithm proposals can beadded into this platform so that a faster research cycle can beachieved. Through theoretical analysis and simulation, thisinvestigation shows that current proposed VANET MAC and 802.11a MACenhancements have yet met the critical requirements of VANET. Thefuture work may focus on how to use this theoretical model andsimulation tool to assist MAC layer protocol design. Meanwhile, whennew algorithms are proposed or accepted by the standard, this modeland tool can serve as a fast and convenient platform, where the newalgorithm can be easily added for the sake of evaluation andverification. The feasibility of relaxing some assumptions includedtherein, such as the hidden node problem in a two dimensional space,may also be studied to make the platform closer to a real system
Analysis of residential energy consumption characteristics: A comparative study between two cities in China and the U.S
No full textThe author has granted permission for their work to be available to the general public.This study compares and analyzes residential energy use patterns in the two dominant housing typologies in two cities with similar climates in the U.S. and China (Houston, TX and Xiamen, China). The study included developing four residential models representing a single-family-house and a multi-family-house in both Houston and Xiamen using the building performance simulation tool, eQuest. Inputs for the models were based on existing building codes, census data, government surveys, validated previous studies, and a household survey conducted in Xiamen, China. The models were used to study the impact of building physical characteristics and occupant behavior on residential energy consumption patterns in both cities. The results of the simulation were then analyzed and the outcomes of the analysis were used to identify opportunities for reducing Chinese residential energy use. The research outcomes indicate that the low energy efficiency of building envelopes and systems in Chinese houses are a major issue in Chinese residential buildings. Avoiding the potential increase in energy use in the Chinese residential sector requires taking steps to improve the efficiency of building envelopes, systems, and appliances. The research provides specific recommendations for Chinese energy conservation policy-makers as well as developers and companies working in the Chinese residential sector. The research also provides the foundation for future studies aiming to improve the energy efficiency of Chinese houses.Architectur
Algebraic Model for Handling Access Control Policies
No full textAbstractConfidentiality of information is an important aspect that developers should take into consideration when building systems. One way to achieve confidentiality is to define access control policies that give authorization rules for allowing users to access resources. In large organizations, managing policies becomes a complex task. Usually, based on the defined policies, developers would need to manipulate policies such as composing them and enforcing predefined security constraints. In this paper, we present an algebraic model for specifying access control policies. It consists of a few number of operators which gives simplicity in specifying policies. The proposed model enables us to specify policies and enforce predefined security constraints. Furthermore, the model allows us to combine policies and analyze their effect on predefined constraints. Furthermore, it enables comparing the sensitivity of objects (e.g. files) and authority of subjects (e.g. users)
A nucleon-nucleon non local interaction
No full textThis thesis was scanned from the print manuscript for digital preservation and is copyright the author.
Researchers can access this thesis by asking their local university, institution or public library to
make a request on their behalf. Monash staff and postgraduate students can use the link in the References field
- …
