Organization of Multi-Agent Systems: An Overview

In complex, open, and heterogeneous environments, agents must be able to reorganize towards the most appropriate organizations to adapt unpredictable environment changes within Multi-Agent Systems (MAS). Types of reorganization can be seen from two different levels. The individual agents level (micro-level) in which an agent changes its behaviors and interactions with other agents to adapt its local environment. And the organizational level (macro-level) in which the whole system changes it structure by adding or removing agents. This chapter is dedicated to overview different aspects of what is called MAS Organization including its motivations, paradigms, models, and techniques adopted for statically or dynamically organizing agents in MAS.Comment: 12 page

A New Modulus of Smoothness for Uniform Approximation

نظريات التقريب الافضل باستخدام مقياس النعومه الاعتيادي لا تعطي تقريبا منتظمة. كذلك نحتاج في بعض الاحيان لتطوير درجة التقريب الافضل قريبا من نهايات الفترة. لذا نحتاج لتطوير مقياس النعومة الاعتيادي. في هذا البحث عرفنا مقياسا جديدا للنعومة للحصول على تقريبا منتظما وتطوير درجة التقريب الافضل بدلالة هذا المقياس من النعومة. عرفنا هذا المقياس للدوال  . كذلك قدمنا بعض النظريات المباشرة بدلالة هذا المقياس. بعض تطبيقات هذا المقياس تم تقديمها في هذا البحث ايضاThe estimates of best approximation using classical modulus of smoothness is not uniform. Also we sometimes need to improve the degree of best approximation near the end points. Thus we need to improve this classical modulus of smoothness. Here we define a new modulus of smoothness to achieve uniform estimates of  best approximation and an improvement of  a degree of such version of best approximation.  Our modulus of smoothness is for k-monotone functions. Estimates for using our  modulus of smoothness are introduced. Applications for these estimates are also introduce

AC Conductivity and Dielectric Properties of Cu–Zn ferrites

In this work, we have studied the effects of the 2 Zn ions on the electric and the dielectric properties of the Cu spinel ferrite. The mixed Cu-Zn spinel ferrite, of chemical formula 1 s s 2 4 Cu Zn Fe O , where s stepped by 0.2 according to ( 0.0 s 1.0), were prepared from purity metal oxides using the standard ceramic preparation. The AC conductivity was determined for the ferrite samples in the applied frequency range (10 10 )Hz 4 6 . In this range of frequency, the AC conductivity increases rapidly as a function of the applied frequency. The dielectric properties for the ferrite samples were also determined at room temperature. The general trend for all samples was found to decrease continuously with increasing of the applied frequency. The measurements of the electric and the dielectric properties show that, the behavior of the ferrite samples is similar to that of the semiconductor materials. The results of the electric and dielectric properties are inadequate to previous studies for various ferrite compounds. The electric conductivity for the samples was explained using the electron hopping model.In this work, we have studied the effects of the 2 Zn ions on the electric and the dielectric properties of the Cu spinel ferrite. The mixed Cu-Zn spinel ferrite, of chemical formula 1 s s 2 4 Cu Zn Fe O , where s stepped by 0.2 according to ( 0.0 s 1.0), were prepared from purity metal oxides using the standard ceramic preparation. The AC conductivity was determined for the ferrite samples in the applied frequency range (10 10 )Hz 4 6 . In this range of frequency, the AC conductivity increases rapidly as a function of the applied frequency. The dielectric properties for the ferrite samples were also determined at room temperature. The general trend for all samples was found to decrease continuously with increasing of the applied frequency. The measurements of the electric and the dielectric properties show that, the behavior of the ferrite samples is similar to that of the semiconductor materials. The results of the electric and dielectric properties are inadequate to previous studies for various ferrite compounds. The electric conductivity for the samples was explained using the electron hopping model

Air Pollution Levels by Re-suspended and Airborne Dust Due to Traffic Movement at the Main High Traffic Crossroads of Hilla City, Iraq

يتضمن هذا البحث عمليه مراقبه وتقييم لمستويات تلوث الهواء الناتج عن الغبار المتصاعد والمحمول بالهواء بسبب حركه المرور في تقاطعات الطرق الأكثر ازدحاما في مدينه ألحله وهي تقاطع نادر وتقاطع ألثوره. إن الغبار المتصاعد هو واحد من أكثر مصادر تلوث الهواء المساهم في التلوث الجوي الكلي وخصوصا عندما تكون الطرق غير مبلطه أو تحت الصيانة وبحمل مروري عالي مثل مايحصل ألان في تقاطع نادر الذي هو تقاطع رئيسي غير مبلط حاليا كونه تحت عمليه صيانة لأقامه مجسر عليه. تم إيجاد تراكير الدقائق العالقة الكلية للموقعين بواسطة جهاز اخذ العينات المحمول خلال ساعة الازدحام المروري وفي جو مشمس ومعتدل ولأربعه شهور( كانون الأول 2011, شباط 2012, نيسان 2012, أيار 2012 ). قد أكدت النتائج مساهمه الطرق غير ألمبلطه في تلوث الهواء. بينت النتائج أن معدل مستويات الدقائق العالقة في تقاطع نادر أعلى من معدلاتها في تقاطع ألثوره طوال فتره الدراسة حيث كان اقل مستوى للدقائق العالقة في تقاطع نادر(5676,67 مايكرو غرام\م3 ) هو أعلى من أعلى مستوى للدقائق العالقة في تقاطع ألثوره (4096,41 مايكرو غرام\م3 ). كما بينت النتائج أن تركيز الغبار المتصاعد ألمقاسه في هذه الدراسة (426.06-9348.95) مايكرو غرام\م3 هي أعلى بكثير من الحدود المسموحه في المواصفات ألقياسيه لوكالة حماية البيئة الامريكيه.This research includes a monitoring and an evaluation of the air pollution levels generated by the re-suspended and airborne dust due to traffic movement at the main busy crossroads of Hilla City, Nader Crossroad and Al-Thowra Crossroad, Iraq. The re-suspended dust is one of the most important contributors towards overall atmospheric pollution, especially when the roads are unpaved or under maintenance with high traffic load such as Nader Crossroad, which was under maintenance to construct a bridge on it. The concentrations of the total suspended particulate matters were determined at the two locations using portable air sampler during traffic rush hour on sunny moderated weekdays for four months, December 2011, February 2012, April 2012, and May 2012. The results have confirmed the contribution of the unpaved roads in air pollution. The results showed that the average TSP levels at Nader Crossroad was higher than the average TSP levels at Al-Thowra Crossroad during the total period of the study in which the minimum TSP level at Nader Crossroad was 5676.67 μg/m3, which was higher than the maximum TSP level at Al-Thowra Crossroad, 4096.41 μg/m3. In addition, the re-suspended dust concentrations that were measured in this study and ranged from 426.06 to 9348.95 μg/m3 are much higher than the American Environmental Protection Agency acceptable limits of national ambient air quality standards for the particulate matter. &nbsp

Predicting Students’ Performance Using Machine Learning Techniques

الهدف الرئيسي لاي مؤسسة تعليمية هو تزويد الطلبة بافضل معرفة وتجربة تعليمية. تحديد الطلبة الذين يحتاجون الى دعم و اهتمام إضافي و اتخاذ التدابير المناسبة لتحسين مستواهم العلمي يلعب دورا اساسيا لتحقيق هدف المؤسسة التعليمية. في هذا البحث, اربع تقنيات أو طرق خاصة ب Machine Learning تم استخدامها لبناء Classifiers تقوم بالتنبأ بمستوى أو أداء الطلبة العلمي في أحد دروس الحاسوب المقام في جامعة المثنى-كلية الاداب. تتضمن التقنيات المستخدمة كل من التقنيات الاتية: Artificial Neural Network, Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree, Logistic Regression. هذا البحث يهتم بتاثير استخدام الانترنت كمصدر للتعلم و كذلك تاثير استخدام الطالب لمواقع التواصل الاجتماعي على مستوى الطالب الدراسي. هذه التاثيرات تم استخدامها ك Features لقياس فيما اذا كان الطالب يستخدم الانترنت للدراسة ام لا و كذلك لقياس الوقت الذي يقضية الطالب بتصفح مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي. تم بناء اكثر من نموذج و تمت المقارنة بينهم باستخدام مقياس الاداء  ROC index و كذلك تم استخدام دقة التصنيف للمقارنة بين النماذج. تم جمع المعلومات المستخدمة في بناء النماذج من خلال استمارة استبيان تم ملئها من قبل الطلبة و كذلك من سجل درجات الطلبة. حقق نموذج ANN أعلى نسبة أداء و التي تساوي 0.807 و حقق نسبة دقة تساوي 77.04%. و بالاضافة الى ذلك و باستخدام نموذج , Decision Tree تم التعرف على اربعه عوامل مهمة تقوم بالتاثير على مستوى الطالب بصورة كبيرةThe ultimate goal of any educational institution is offering the best educational experience and knowledge to the students. Identifying the students who need extra support and taking the appropriate actions to enhance their performance plays an important role in achieving that goal. In this research, four machine learning techniques have been used to build a classifier that can predict the performance of the students in a computer science subject that is offered by Al-Muthanna University (MU), College Of Humanities. The machine learning techniques include Artificial Neural Network, Naïve Bayes, Decision Tree, and Logistic Regression. This research pays extra attention to the effect of using the internet as a learning resource and the effect of the time spent by students on social networks on the students’ performance. These effects introduced by using features that measure whether the student uses the internet for learning and the time spent on the social networks by the students. The models have been compared using the ROC index performance measure and the classification accuracy. In addition, different measures have been computed such as the classification error, precision, recall, and the F measure. The dataset used to build the models is collected based on a survey given to the students and the students’ grade book. The ANN (fully connected feed forward multilayer ANN) model achieved the best performance that is equal to 0.807 and achieved the best classification accuracy that is equal to 77.04%. In addition, the decision tree model identified five factors as important factors which influence the performance of the students

Multiplex polymerase chain reaction identification of Candida species colonized sputum of patients suffering from various respiratory tract disorders in Duhok, Iraq

Background: Candida species are part of the body normal flora. Under certain conditions, these opportunistic microorganisms may lead to infection. The purpose of this study was to identify Candida species isolated from sputum from patients suffering from respiratory tract disorders.Methods: A total of 59 sputum samples taken from patients attending Azadi hospital at Duhok province, Kurdistan Region/Iraq. For primary isolation, sputum samples were cultured on sabouraud dextrose agar (SDA). Suspected colonies of Candida isolates were then sub cultured on chromogenic Candida agar for presumptive identification. Genomic DNA extraction was performed using a genomic DNA extraction kit. For rapid identification of Candida spp, specific primers based on the genomic sequence of DNA topoisomerase 11 of C. albicans, C. parapsilosis I, C. parapsilosis II, C. guilliermondi, C. dubliniensis, C. krusei, C. kefyr and C. glabrata, C. tropicalis I, C. tropicalis II, C. lusitaniae were used. The Multiplex PCR products were separated by electrophoresis in 1.5% agarose gel, visualized by staining with ethidium bromide, and photographed.Results: Three Candida species namely C. albicans, C. glabrata and C. tropicalis were differentiated by their colour produced on Chromogenic Candida agar. PCR with the primer mixes yielded 4 different sized of PCR products corresponding to C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. Keyfer and C. tropicalis II, C. glabrata was the most common species (33.33%), followed by C. albicans (16.66%). The highest rate of isolation of Candida species was between the ages of 36 to 45.Conclusion: This study concluded that phenotypic characteristics on selective agar medium such as chromogenic Candida agar are useful for presumptive identification of Candiada spp with the support of molecular method such as multiplex PCR.

Identification of Candida spp. isolated from vaginal swab by phenotypic methods and multiplex PCR in Duhok, Iraq

Background: Candida species are the second most common cause of vulvovaginitis worldwide. The purpose of this study was to identify the species of vaginal Candida isolates by using phenotypic and Multiplex PCR techniques.  Methods: 91 isolates from patients admitted to Azadi hospital and Maternity hospital in Duhok city were collected. The vaginal swab specimens were inoculated on Sabouraud dextrose agar. Colonies were then sub cultured on Chromogenic Candida agar. Genomic DNA extraction was performed using a Genomic DNA Extraction kit. For rapid identification of Candida spp., specific primers based on the genomic sequence of DNA topoisomerase 11 of C. albicans, C. parapsilosis I, C. parapsilosis II, C. guilliermondi, C. dubliniensis, C. krusei, C. kefyr and C. glabrata, C. tropicalis I, C. tropicalis II, C. lusitaniae were used. The multiplex PCR products were separated by electrophoresis in 1.5% agarose gel, visualized by staining with ethidium bromide, and photographed.  Results: 4 Candida species, namely C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. krusei and C. tropicalis were distinguished by Chromogenic Candida agar on the basis of colony colour and morphology. PCR with the primer mixes yielded 7 different sized of PCR products corresponding to C. albicans, C. guilliermondii, C. dubliniensis, C. glabrata, C. kefyr, C. krusei and C. tropicalis II. The analysis revealed C. glabrata and C. albicans were the most common species isolated with the percentage 40% and 30% respectively.Conclusions: This study concluded that phenotypic characteristics on selective agar medium such as chromogenic candida agar are useful for presumptive identification of Candiada spp. with the support of molecular method such as multiplex PCR.  

Characteristics of Some Standards Performance of Agricultural Tractor: Review

تعتبر الزراعة في جميع أنحاء العالم، وخاصة في الدول المتقدمة، المصدر الرئيسي للمعيشة والتقدم، وأصبح من الخطأ أو غير المنطقي زيادة الإنتاج الزراعي إما أفقياً من خلال استصلاح الأراضي الجديدة غير الصالحة للزراعة أو رأسياً باستخدام الأساليب الزراعية المتقدمة إذا اعتمدت الزراعة على الأساليب البدائية. يهتم مجال الميكنة الزراعية، أولاً وقبل كل شيء  بالتنمية الشاملة والمتكاملة للبشر ومجتمعاتهم على النحو الذي توفره وسائل وأساليب مفهومة وعلمية وعملية واقتصادية من أجل تطوير بلادهم والارتقاء بمستوى معيشتهم. حيث تقوم بعمليات التدريب وإعداد الكوادر البشرية فنيا وإداريا لشغلها. أساس عمل الجرار في الميدان هو إدارة وتشغيل الآلات الزراعية من خلال أحد مصادر استغلال القدرة فيها. أكثر هذه المصادر استخدامًا هو شريط التوتر، وقضيب التوتر هو الأقل كفاءة من بين هذه المصادر نظرًا لاعتماده على التفاعل بين العجلة والتربة. تتم مراجعة دراسة معايير الأداء المعيارية للجرار الزراعي، والتي قد تساعد الباحثين في تخطيط تجاربهم مع ميكانيكا الأداء أكثر فائدة وفي الاتجاه الصحيح للحصول على نتائج أكثر دقة. أداء الجر 0.5 للأحزمة و 0.4 للإطارات، تراوحت نسب الفرق بين 10٪ و 17٪ لضغط الإطارات. تهدف عمليات تدقيق أداء الجرارات إلى توفير المعلومات والبيانات والقراءات للباحثين وأصحاب المصلحة في ميكانيكا الجرارات لسنوات قادمة.Agriculture is considered in all parts of the world, especially in developed countries, the main source of livelihood and progress, and it has become wrong or illogical to increase agricultural production either horizontally through reclamation of new non-arable lands or vertically using advanced agricultural methods if agriculture relied on primitive methods. The agricultural mechanization field is concerned with, first and foremost, the comprehensive and integral development of humans and their communities as provided by understandable, scientific, practical and economical means and methods in order to develop and advance their countries and standard of living, as well as the operations training and preparation of human cadres technically and administratively to get filled. The basis of the work of the tractor in the field is to manage and operate agricultural machinery through one of the sources of exploiting the capacity in it. The most used of these sources is the tension bar, and the tension bar is the least efficient of these sources due to its dependence on the interaction between the wheel and the soil. The study of standard performance parameters of agricultural tractor, is reviewed herewith, which may help to the researchers in planning their experiments abut performance mechanics more useful and in right direction to get more accurate results. Traction performance 0.5 for belts and 0.4 for tires,  the percentages of difference ranged between 10% and 17% for tire pressure. Tractor performance audits aim to provide information, data and readings to researchers and stakeholders in tractor mechanics for years to come

Study the Influence of Gas Pressure on the Tensile Behavior of TIG Stainless Steel Sheets

يمثل عمل هذا البحث دراسة تأثير استخدام ضغوط مختلفة لغاز الاركون على سلوك الشد لصفائح الفولاذ المقاوم للصدأ نوع (304) الملحومة بغاز التنجستن الخامل. استخدمت مديات مختلفة من ضغوط الغاز (13-15)كغم قوة/سم2وتيارات لحام (80-100) أمبيرلأيجاد تاثيراتها على خواص الشد الميكانيكية (0.2% اجهاد الخضوع، اجهاد الشد الاقصى والاستطالة) لوصلاتاللحام التناكبية.تم استخدام برنامج تصميم التجارب(DOE) (نسخة 10) لعمل مصفوفة التجارب. تم تطبيق منهجية الاستجابة السطحية (RSM) لأيجاد النماذج الرقمية للخواص الثلاثة والتي تم تحليلها بأستخدام تحليل التباين (ANOVA) للتحقق احصائيا" من ملائمة النماذج الناتجة. اظهرت النماذج التربيعية المستحصلة بمستوى ثقة (95%) بأن الزيادة في كل من ضغط الغاز والتيار بشكل منفصل ادت الى زيادة عالية في اجهاد الخضوع والاستطالة وكلاهما تناسب عكسيا"، بينما اعطى التأثير المشترك لهما القيم الادنى. كان لضغط الغاز تأثيرا كبيرا" على اجهاد الشد الاقصى من التيار.This research work represents the study of the effect of using different gas pressures of argon on the tensile behavior of tungsten inert gas (TIG) welded stainless steel sheets type (304). Different ranges of gas pressures (13-15 Kgf/cm2)and welding currents (80-100 Apm) were used to determine their influenceon the tensile mechanical properties (0.2% yield stress, ultimate tensile stress and elongation) of butt welded joints.Design of experiment (DOE) ‘version 10’ was used to establish the design matrix of experiments. Response surface methodology (RSM) technique was employed to obtain mathematical models for the three properties, which were analyzed by the analysis of variance (ANOVA) to verify statistically the adequacy of the resulted models. The resultant quadratic models with a confidence level of 95% revealed thatthe increase in both gas pressure and currentindividually results in a higher increase in the yield stress and elongation,and both were proportionated inversely,while their combined effect gave the lowest values.The gas pressure had a greater impact on the ultimate tensile stress than current. After numerical optimization, the maximum values of the mechanical properties were obtained with a maximum desirability value at the optimum values of gas pressure and current. Finally, confirmation tests were conducted at the optimum values of gas pressure and current to verify the validation of the maximum values of properties, and the error wasfound less than (4%) between the experimental and predicted results

Challenges and Prospects of Implementing ISO 9001:2015 in Lebanese Higher Education Institutions

Over the past three decades, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has been promoting and advocating the standardization of quality management systems and their requirements for almost all of the technology and business fields. Recently, ISO has been expanding its activities into other topics related to social and environmental policy. ISO 9001 is one of the most well-known and widely implemented international standards of quality. Since its first inception in 1987, ISO 9001 has been modified four times in order to cover a wider variety of sectors. Through its evolution till 2015, ISO 9001 has been considered as a standard that may be suitable to meet higher educational organizations needs and requirements. Consequently, a significant number of higher education institutions induced the confidence of their stakeholders by implementing ISO 9001 into their systems. However, the contribution of the Lebanese educational institutions is still limited and exclusive to a small number of universities. The aim of this paper is to investigate the challenges of implementing ISO 9001:2015 into the Lebanese higher education institutions, shed the light on the importance of having its compliance to the quality management system requirements, and propose a solution to address these challenges. Keywords: ISO 9001:2015, higher education institutions, quality management systems, standards.