Learning Boolean Halfspaces with Small Weights from Membership Queries

We consider the problem of proper learning a Boolean Halfspace with integer weights $\{0,1,\ldots,t\}$ from membership queries only. The best known algorithm for this problem is an adaptive algorithm that asks $n^{O(t^5)}$ membership queries where the best lower bound for the number of membership queries is $n^t$ [Learning Threshold Functions with Small Weights Using Membership Queries. COLT 1999] In this paper we close this gap and give an adaptive proper learning algorithm with two rounds that asks $n^{O(t)}$ membership queries. We also give a non-adaptive proper learning algorithm that asks $n^{O(t^3)}$ membership queries

Sustainable Mortar Made with Local Clay Bricks and Glass Waste Exposed to Elevated Temperatures

The present study involved assessing the replacement of fine aggregate in the mortar with sustainable local materials like clay bricks and glass included 168 specimens (cubes and prisms). Seven mixtures were cast for this work, one control mix (R1) with 100% natural sand whereas mixes from R2 to R5 have 10% and 20% replacing natural sand with waste clay bricks and waste glass separately and respectively. Mix R6 was included 20% replacing sand with combination waste materials (10% waste clay bricks with 10% waste glass). Mix R7 has involved the same percent of replacing the previous mix R6 but with adding Polypropylene fibers 1% by volume. The samples have put in an electrical oven for one hour at 200, 400, and 600 ᵒC then cooled to room temperature to be tested and compared with samples at normal temperature 24 ᵒC. Different mechanical tests were adopted involved flow tests, density, weight loss, compressive strength, flexural strength, and water absorption. The results at different temperatures were discussed where many findings were specified. The flexural strength at 400 ᵒC was showed improving by 56% for 20% waste clay brick and 69% with 10% waste glass, as well all combination mixes illustrated higher strength than the control. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091729 Full Text: PD

Investigation some properties of recycled lightweight concrete blocks as a fine aggregate in mortar under elevated temperature

The main objective of this study is to assess the effect of utilizing waste material (lightweight concrete blocks) as partial replacing of fine aggregate. To do so, seven mix designs were utilized to prepare 168 mortar specimens (84 cubes and 84 prism) with the replacement ratios of 10% and 20% waste material fine aggregate instead of traditional sand at different temperatures of 24 ᵒC, 200 ᵒC, 400 ᵒC, and 600 ᵒC. The combination of two type waste material together in one mixture (waste lightweight concrete blocks with waste clay bricks or waste lightweight concrete blocks with waste glass) was tested with and without fiber (1% polypropylene fiber by volume). The physico-mechanical properties of mortar specimens involving flow rate, fresh density, weight loss, compressive strength, flexural strength and water absorption were determined. The hardened tests were implemented at age of 28 days. The results demonstrated fresh density experienced a decrease when utilizing recycled materials especially waste lightweight concrete block at 20%. Compressive strength showed improving with replacing normal sand by waste materials and that enhancing was clear at high temperatures. The specimens that utilized waste lightweight concrete block with waste glass aggregate illustrated clearly reduction in water absorption comparing with control mix at different temperatures

Examining the Impact of E-Governance on the Performance of Corporations: A Case Study of Companies in Jordan

The goal of this study was to investigate the impact that e-governance technologies have on the effectiveness of organizations in Jordans public sector that are responsible for providing services to the public. In particular, the focus of the study was on issues pertaining to work engagement, innovative and imaginative thinking, as well as the effect on society and the environment. In order to achieve this objective, a quantitative research methodology that centered on the administration of an online survey was implemented as the primary tool. The sample was chosen through the use of a stratified random sampling method, and the data analysis was carried out through the utilization of both descriptive and inferential statistics. According to the conclusions of the study, implementing e- governance tools in a firm, such as ERP, CRM, and online collaboration tools, can considerably improve a businesss overall performance. The range of the explained variation was from 53% to 68.9%, demonstrating a substantial association between e-governance and increased performance in the areas of employee engagement, innovation and creativity, and social and environmental impact. The findings of this research offer extremely useful insights into the exact areas of a companys performance that are most affected by the implementation of e-governance systems. The research suggests that businesses should make the implementation of e-governance tools, in particular enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), and online collaboration tools, a top priority in order to improve their performance in the aforementioned domains. The conclusions of this study have wider-reaching consequences for organizations and governments all over the world, making it possible for its contributions to have an impact beyond Jordans borders. The research sheds light on how essential e-governance is to the improvement of business performance and the realization of sustainable development objectives. In further investigations, it might be beneficial to try out new approaches to data collection, broaden the scope of the sample to incorporate companies operating in a variety of sectors, and investigate how e-governance affects performance in areas of the business not directly related to it

Structural, electronic and phononic properties of PtSe2: From monolayer to bulk

The layer dependent structural, electronic and vibrational properties of the 1T phase of two dimensional (2D) platinum diselenide are investigated by means of state-of-the-art first-principles calculations. The main findings of the study are: (i) monolayer platinum diselenide has a dynamically stable 2D octahedral structure with 1.66 eV indirect band gap, (ii) the semiconducting nature of 1T-PtSe2 monolayers remains unaffected even at high biaxial strains, (iii) top-to-top (AA) arrangement is found to be energetically the most favorable stacking of 1T-PtSe2 layers, (iv) the lattice constant (layer-layer distance) increases (decreases) with increasing number of layers, (v) while monolayer and bilayer 1T-PtSe2 are indirect semiconductors, bulk and few-layered 1T-PtSe2 are metals, (vi) Raman intensity and peak positions of the A1g and Eg modes are found to be highly dependent on the layer thickness of the material, hence; the number of layers of the material can be determined via Raman measurements.TUBITAK under the project number 117F09

A Significant Addition of Left Ventricular Fractional Shortening to Ejection Fraction correlated with Global Longitudinal Strain Value in Predicting Major Acute Cardiovascular Event in patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome

Background: Global longitudinal strain (GLS) was a proven predictor of systolic function improvement and myocardial remodeling after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) for a residual left ventricular function defined their prognosis. However, not all echocardiography devices are equipped by speckle tracking (STE) as compare to the availability of M-mode modality which capable on assessing fractional shortening (FS) instead. Methods: This study evaluated clinical and echocardiography parameters on myocardial infarction (MI) and non-MI ACS patients.  Clinical outcome was defined as composite major acute cardiovascular event (MACE) on 6 months of follow up. Results: Over 145 patients, GLS>-9.4% was found to be an independent predictor of MACE despite of troponin, age, ejection fraction (EF), prior reperfusion and infarct location [(HR 5.89 (1.82-16.51)]. There is negative correlation between FS and GLS (Spearman r -0,717; p<0,01). By using logistic regression analyses, it was found that the addition of FS<25% to biplane Simpson EF<50% could be useful to rule in the presence of GLS>-9.4% (AUC 0.831). Conclusion: GLS had a prognostic value in patients with ACS. Left ventricular conventional M-mode FS in addition to Simpson EF were well correlated with GLS as well they can be considered as an alternative in predicting the incident of MACE in patient with ACS.   Keywords: global longitudinal strain, prognostic, fractional shortening, acute coronary syndromeLatar belakang: Global longitudinal strain (GLS) secara signifikan terbukti dapat digunakan sebagai prediktor perbaikan fungsi sistolik dan remodeling miokard pada pasien dengan sindroma koroner akut (SKA), dimana fungsi sistolik residual dari ventrikel kiri akan sangat mempengaruhi prognosis pasien. Namun, tidak semua alat ekokardiografi memiliki modalitas speckle tracking (STE) dibandingkan dengan ketersediaan modalitas M-mode yang dapat menghitung Fractional Shortening (FS). Metode: Penelitian ini mengevaluasi parameter klinis dan ekokardiografis ventrikel kiri pada pasien SKA dengan atau tanpa infark. Perjalanan klinis pasien akan dinilai ada tidaknya kejadian kardiovaskular mayor akut (KKVM) dalam waktu 6 bulan. Hasil: Dari 145 pasien, nilai GLS>-9.4% didapatkan signifikan sebagai prediktor KKVM dan independen terhadap status troponin, umur, fraksi ejeksi, tindakan reperfusi, dan lokasi infark [(HR 5.89 (1.82-16.51)]. Terdapat korelasi negatif yang baik antara FS dan GLS (Spearman r -0,717; p<0,01). Dengan menggunakan analisa regresi logistik, didapati bahwa penambahan parameter FS <25% terhadap EF Simpson<50% dapat digunakan untuk menginklusikan pasien dengan nilai GLS>-9.4% (AUC 0.858). Kesimpulan: GLS memiliki nilai prognostik pada pasien SKA. Nilai FS ventrikel kiri konvensional yang didapatkan dari M-mode, jika ditambahkan pada EF Simpson, memiliki korelasi yang baik dengan GLS, sehingga dapat dipertimbangkan sebagai parameter alternatif yang dapat memprediksi KKVM pada pasien SKA Kata kunci: global longitudinal strain, prognosis, fractional shortening, sindroma koroner aku

Arsenic management in contaminated irrigation water for rice cultivation

Arsenic (As) contaminated irrigation water (groundwater) is a threat to irrigated rice cultivation. Studies were conducted during three consecutive Boro seasons (fully dependent on irrigation) at highly As contaminated areas in Bangladesh to determine a suitable water management practice to reduce As accumulation in rice. In this study, two water management techniques were evaluated: 1) alternate wetting and drying (AWD) and continuous standing water (CSW) with surface (25 μg L-1 As); and 2) groundwater (419 μg L-1 As). A high yielding rice variety, BRRI dhan28, was grown. Results showed that the yield obtained by two management techniques were almost similar, except in CSW with groundwater application where significant yield reduction was observed. Significantly lower As content was found in the straw (77.23%) and rice grain (38.14%) of AWD with groundwater and CSW (straw 70.41% and 26.36%) with surface water application compared to CSW with ground water application. Among the water management practices, AWD with groundwater application showed similar benefit to CSW with surface water irrigation. Thus, alternate wetting and drying (AWD) with groundwater or surface water irrigation with CSW can be advocated as an appropriate agronomic practice for rice cultivated in As contaminated soils of Bangladesh

A Review of Different Applications of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) in Monitoring Rehabilitation

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that affects movement. The lack of dopamine in the brain cells causes patients have lesser ability to regulate movement and emotions as time goes on. There is no cure for this disease. Although drug therapies are successful for some patients, most of the patients usually develop motor complications. In this paper, we presented our work towards the comparison of several wireless sensor network (WSN) systems for monitoring Parkinson’s patients. The designs of each system are explored. The parts being considered to design a wireless sensor network and limitations are discussed. These findings helped us to suggest a possible wireless sensor network system to supervise Parkinson’s diseases patients for a more extended period of time

Improving the mechanical behavior of pervious concrete using polypropylene and waste rope fibers

Urbanization has led to the damage of infrastructure due to floods and water accumulation on roads and sidewalks. To address this problem, pervious concrete was designed to drain water smoothly. However, pervious concrete has certain drawbacks, such as brittleness and poor tensile strength. To overcome these shortcomings, it is reinforced with fiber. Polypropylene fibers are commonly used for this purpose. On the other hand, managing waste plastic is a major problem as it has a significant environmental impact and requires large areas for landfills. Waste rope fibers (WRF) are among these wastes. There have been very limited investigations on the use of WRF in pervious concrete. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of polypropylene (PP) fibers and waste rope fibers (WRF) on the mechanical and structural properties of pervious concrete. PP and WRF fibers were added in proportions of 0.25%, 0.5%, and 0.75% by volume of concrete. A range of tests (compressive strength, tensile strength, density, permeability, load-deflection behavior, and ductility) were conducted to evaluate the resulting concrete. The results indicated that although the permeability was decreased by adding fibers, the fibers significantly improved the mechanical and structural properties of pervious concrete. The highest values for compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and ultimate load were 83.4%, 72.4%, and 89.62% for PP fibers-based mixtures, while they were 49.9%, 41.9%, and 102.83% for mixtures made with WRF at an addition rate of 0.5% for both types of fibers. The results also demonstrated that the existence of fibers improved the ductility of the concrete, which means that WRF can be used successfully in producing eco-friendly pervious concrete with better performance than the control specimen.</jats:p