Impact of External Walls Insulation Location and Distribution on Energy Consumption in Buildings: A Case Study of Northern Cyprus

This study aims to investigate the impact of walling in terms of insulation location and distribution on energy consumption in building. The number of seven wall assemblies with the same thermal mass varying in thermal insulation location and distribution was studied. Dynamic thermal simulation was employed using EDSL Tas software as the main research tool. Continuous (24 hours) air conditioning and Northern Cyprus climatic references were applied in Famagusta as well. The outcomes revealed that utilization of thermal insulation indicated significant improvement on the overall energy performance of the buildings. It also indicated a significance when locate insulation layer in the outside of the building external walls. This project is the first part of a much larger project that intends to propose the suitable wall construction in the case of Northern Cyprus which not only create a knowledge base of passive techniques in terms of walling but it also address areas of material, thickness and the hybrid technologies

READING STRATEGY USE AMONG IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS ACROSS DIFFERENT PROFICIENCY LEVELS

This study investigated the type and the frequency of the use of strategies in reading comprehension among Iranian EFL learners with varying proficiency levels, that is, Advanced versus Intermediate learners. It was hypothesized that there was no significant relationship between learners’ proficiency level and the type and the frequency of use of reading strategies. Sixty learners, aged 15-27, were selected from the intermediate and advanced EFL learners in Omid Language Center of Marand. Preliminary English Test (PET) and Original Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) Questionnaire were used as the main data collection tools. The result reveals that there are differences between Intermediate and Advanced learners on the use of global and problem- solving strategies because Advanced learners use these strategies more than Intermediate learners. But there are no differences between Advanced and Intermediate learners on the use of support strategies. It is believed that the present study can have insightful implications for EFL learners and teachers

READING STRATEGY USE AMONG IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS ACROSS DIFFERENT PROFICIENCY LEVELS

This study investigated the type and the frequency of the use of strategies in reading comprehension among Iranian EFL learners with varying proficiency levels, that is, Advanced versus Intermediate learners. It was hypothesized that there was no significant relationship between learners’ proficiency level and the type and the frequency of use of reading strategies. Sixty learners, aged 15-27, were selected from the intermediate and advanced EFL learners in Omid Language Center of Marand. Preliminary English Test (PET) and Original Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) Questionnaire were used as the main data collection tools. The result reveals that there are differences between Intermediate and Advanced learners on the use of global and problem- solving strategies because Advanced learners use these strategies more than Intermediate learners. But there are no differences between Advanced and Intermediate learners on the use of support strategies. It is believed that the present study can have insightful implications for EFL learners and teachers

Existence results for a class of (p,q) Laplacian systems

We establish the existence of a nontrivial solution for inhomogeneous quasilinear elliptic systems:−∆pu = λ a(x) u |u|γ−2 + α (α + β)–1 b(x) u |u|α−2 |v|β + f    in Ω,−∆qv = µ d(x) v |v|γ−2 + β (α + β)–1 b(x) |u|α v |v|β−2 + g    in Ω,(u,v) ∈ W01,p(Ω) × W01,q(Ω).Our result depending on the local minimization

Improved Dual-Output Step-Down Soft-Switching Current-Fed Push-Pull DC-DC Converter

Multi-port DC-DC converters are gaining more significance in modern power system environments by enabling the connection of multiple renewable energy sources, so the efficient operation of these converters is paramount. Soft switching methods increase efficiency in DC-DC converters and increase the reliability and lifespan of devices by relieving stress on components. This paper proposes a method for soft-switching of a dual-output step-down current-fed full-bridge push-pull DC-DC converter. The converter enables two independent outputs to supply different loads. The topology achieves zero-current switching on the primary side and zero-voltage switching on the secondary side, eliminating the need for active-clamp circuits and passive snubbers to absorb surge voltage. This reduces switching losses and lower voltage and current stresses on power electronic devices. The paper thoroughly investigates the proposed converter's operation principle, control strategy, and characteristics. Equations for the voltage and current of all components are derived, and the conditions for achieving soft switching are calculated. Simulation results in EMTDC/PSCAD software validate the accuracy of the proposed method.Comment: 2023 55th North American Power Symposium (NAPS

Efficient Vision Transformer for Accurate Traffic Sign Detection

This research paper addresses the challenges associated with traffic sign detection in self-driving vehicles and driver assistance systems. The development of reliable and highly accurate algorithms is crucial for the widespread adoption of traffic sign recognition and detection (TSRD) in diverse real-life scenarios. However, this task is complicated by suboptimal traffic images affected by factors such as camera movement, adverse weather conditions, and inadequate lighting. This study specifically focuses on traffic sign detection methods and introduces the application of the Transformer model, particularly the Vision Transformer variants, to tackle this task. The Transformer's attention mechanism, originally designed for natural language processing, offers improved parallel efficiency. Vision Transformers have demonstrated success in various domains, including autonomous driving, object detection, healthcare, and defense-related applications. To enhance the efficiency of the Transformer model, the research proposes a novel strategy that integrates a locality inductive bias and a transformer module. This includes the introduction of the Efficient Convolution Block and the Local Transformer Block, which effectively capture short-term and long-term dependency information, thereby improving both detection speed and accuracy. Experimental evaluations demonstrate the significant advancements achieved by this approach, particularly when applied to the GTSDB dataset