In this paper, we study the performance of cooperative spectrum sensing (CSS) over generalized fading channels, where each secondary user (SU) utilizes an energy detector in order to detect the presence of the primary user (PU). We derive an asymptotic probability of energy detection over generalized fading channels. Furthermore, we optimize the performance of the CSS under Bayesian criterion by applying an optimal fusion rule. The results has shown that in high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) scenarios, and for different fading channels, the optimal fusion rule outperforms both AND rule and OR rule.
Routing in VANETs is very challenging due to the high mobility of the network. Therefore the existing routing protocols should be improved in order to be compatible with the frequent change of the network topology. In this paper, we improve the performance of the Dynamic Source Routing (DSR) protocol by enhancing the reliability of the network. This can be achieved by taking into account the QoS and the high speed constrains while selecting the paths. Thus, our solution is a new QoS-based DSR protocol that can increase the stability and the reliability of the network. The simulation results show that the proposed protocol succeeded in improving the packet delivery ratio and reducing the probability of packet loss compared to the classical DSR protocol.
Children's with chronic medical problems do not have the opportunity of real life studying, to participate natural conditions, (to learn and study). Their medical case prevents them from the natural terms of life like eating, drinking, moving, and study. These normal activities to normal children; therefore we are trying to give these mishap children the full opportunity to pursue their life to learn and try to gain experience, accepting their situation of hospitalization most of the time, we also try to offer these children feeling secure within their environment. By managing and providing support & supervision to ensure participation & socialization for this group of children. Here we offered them to learn life skills that can help them prevent them of self Poisoning, how to avoid gaining weight and drinking more water than they suppose to.
The traditional role of informational technology (IT) in healthcare has focused on process improvement. Automation of labor intensive procedures have resulted productivity and efficiency gains. However, barriers to the full transformational role of IT in healthcare remain. They include; the complex nature of healthcare, lack of opportunities for constructive engagement between IT and healthcare professionals and a failure to recognize IT as a critical enabler in delivering improved healthcare. In order to reflect on the transformations that IT has had on healthcare and those challenges that still remain, hospital staff from different departments of a local government hospital and abroad have been invited to discuss the impact IT has had on their work and what it means not only in terms of reducing costs and enhancing future patient care but also potential loss in physician autonomy. Case reports and a pertinent discussion of the issues raised will be presented.
As the relationship between microbial diversity and the surrounding environment, whether natural or artificial, is still unclear, many studies in microbial communities aim at achieving a better understanding of how microbial communities function in their environments. In this paper, we propose an approach for extracting structural and functional features from 16S rRNA sequences, to enrich the feature set in Machine Learning-based tasks, e.g. in health studies, predicting Breast Cancer, and in bioreactor studies, detecting Glucose end metabolites. The introduced pipeline is composed of two main phases, including estimating the taxonomic composition, and predicting the metabolic capabilities. As a future work, we intend on evaluating the proposed approach using annotated datasets, as well as, investigating the impact of structural and functional features on the performance of learned models as microbial community features are generally the presented bacterial species, and considering the predicted genes and metabolic pathways can equally have informative character.
Marketing strategies differ not only according to the product or service being promoted but also the customer segment being targeted. Relationship based marketing focuses on developing a long sustainable relationship with customers whereas transaction based marketing has come to be viewed as having an emphasis solely on completing the trade or item of service. The complexity of healthcare delivery with patients being seen as customers with a differing needs can cloud the distinction between transactional and relationship based approaches. The common denominator for both marketing strategies is value which in healthcare is difficult to define. The purpose of this short paper is to compare and contrast the roles that transaction based and relation based marketing have in the delivery of health care in two different settings using six criteria which are as follows; goal orientation, customer contact, organizational focus, customer responsiveness, quality concern and time perspective.
A systematic seismic vulnerability assessment of a benchmark 8-story structure representing preseismic code frame buildings in a highly populated and seismically active area in the UAE is conducted in this study. Detailed structural design and fiber-based modeling are carried out for the reference structure. Forty earthquake records are selected to represent potential earthquake scenarios in the study area. Over 1000 inelastic pushover analyses (IPAs) and incremental dynamic analyses (IDAs) are performed to select the performance criteria and to derive fragility relationships for the reference building. It is concluded that this category of pre-code structures is substantially vulnerable to seismic loads. The derived fragility curves for the retrofitted reference structure using Buckling Restrained Braces (BRBs) proved that such technique is efficient in reducing the seismic losses of pre-code frame structures and increasing public safety.
In this study, an attempt is made to capture the size effect of martensite phase in Dual Phase (DP) steels on their mechanical properties. The method used for predicting such a phenomenon is the "core and mantel" model which is calibrated through micro-pillar compression experiments. It is shown that this method is successful in capturing size effect and might be favorable for its simplicity and low simulation cost as compared to other advanced models.
In this study, CWP will be investigated as an alternative ingredient in concrete-making. The first phase will focus on studying the main properties and characteristics of the ceramic waste powder "CWP". In the second phase, the ceramic waste powder will be used as supplementary cementing material (SCM) with different dosages replacing cement. In this phase, the effect of CWP as SCM on the properties of fresh and hardened concrete will be investigated. The expected outcomes of the study should shed light on how CWP could be utilized effectively as an alternative ingredient of concrete and the optimum dosage. The main outcome from this study is to provide guidelines on recycling and using a solid waste which will help solving an environmental problem and at the same time contribute to making sustainable concrete structures.
Continuous steel-reinforced concrete slabs in UAE are vulnerable to corrosion damage due to the marine environment, high temperature, and saline ground water. Non-metallic basalt fiber-reinforced polymer (BFRP) reinforcing bars have a great potential to overcome corrosion problems by replacing steel bars in concrete structures. This paper examines the flexural response of continuous concrete slabs internally-reinforced with BFRP bars. A total of six continuous concrete slabs, 200 x 500 x 5000 mm each, internally-reinforced with BFRP bars were constructed and tested. The main variables were the BFRP reinforcement ratio in the sagging region (2.5 fb and 0.8 fb), where fb is the BFRP balanced reinforcement ratio, and the hogging-to-sagging BFRP reinforcement ratio (0.5, 0.72, and 1). The flexural response of the slabs with the BFRP rupture mode of failure was more sensitive to the hogging-to-sagging BFRP reinforcement ratio than that of the slabs with the concrete crushing mode of failure.
