Impact of Solar Wind Depression on the Dayside Magnetosphere under Northward Interplanetary Magnetic Field

We present a follow up study of the sensitivity of the Earth's magnetosphere to solar wind activity using a particles-in-cell model [Baraka and Ben Jaffel, 2007], but here during northward IMF. The formation of the magnetospheric cavity and its elongation is obtained with the classical structure of a magnetosphere with parallel lobes. An impulsive disturbance is then applied to the system by changing the bulk velocity of the solar wind to simulate a decrease in the solar wind dynamic pressure followed by its recovery. In response to the imposed disturbance, a gap [abrupt depression] in the incoming solar wind plasma appears moving toward the Earth. The gap's size is a ~15 RE and is comparable to the sizes previously obtained for both Bz<0 and Bz =0. During the initial phase of the disturbance, the dayside magnetopause (MP) expands slower than the previous cases of IMF orientations as a result of the depression. The size of the MP expands nonlinearly due to strengthening of its outer boundary by the northward IMF. Also, during the initial 100 {\Delta}t, the MP shrank down from 13.3 RE to ~9.2 RE before it started expanding; a phenomenon that was also observed for southern IMF conditions but not during the no IMF case. As soon as they felt the solar wind depression, cusps widened at high altitude while dragged in an upright position. For the field's topology, the reconnection between magnetospheric and magnetosheath fields is clearly observed in both northward and southward cusps areas. Also, the tail region in the northward IMF condition is more confined, in contrast to the fishtail-shape obtained in the southward IMF case. An X-point is formed in the tail at ~110 RE compared to ~103 RE and ~80 RE for Bz =0 and Bz <0 respectively. Our findings are consistent with existing reports from many space observatories for which predictions are proposed to test furthermore our simulation technique.Comment: 48 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in Annales Geophysicae (ANGEO Communicates

Building Hadith ontology to support the authenticity of Isnad

The two fundamental sources of Islamic legislation are Qur’an and Hadith. Hadiths, or prophetic traditions, are narrations originating from the sayings and actions of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Isnad or Sanad is the chain of narrators attesting to the historical authenticity of a particular Hadith. It helps differentiate between the accepted and rejected Hadiths. In this paper we build a domain specific ontology (Hadith Isnad Ontology) to support the process of authenticating/judging Isnad. We evaluate the ontology through Hadith example and DL-Queries. The developed ontology will be used (in a future work) to automatically generate a suggested judgment of Hadith Isnad

Personalization framework for adaptive robotic feeding assistance

The final publication is available at link.springer.comThe deployment of robots at home must involve robots with pre-defined skills and the capability of personalizing their behavior by non-expert users. A framework to tackle this personalization is presented and applied to an automatic feeding task. The personalization involves the caregiver providing several examples of feeding using Learning-by- Demostration, and a ProMP formalism to compute an overall trajectory and the variance along the path. Experiments show the validity of the approach in generating different feeding motions to adapt to user’s preferences, automatically extracting the relevant task parameters. The importance of the nature of the demonstrations is also assessed, and two training strategies are compared. © Springer International Publishing AG 2016.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A soa-based e-government data integration

Data Integration presents a core issue in the Palestinian e-Government Technical Framework. The currently used data integration model relies on the Integrated Central Database which lacks quality attributes such as: interoperability and flexibility. We purpose a SOA-based approach for data integration that achieves the above attributes. We present and analyze the current architecture and implementation of the Palestinian e-Government Integrated Central Database model. We transform the current model into a SOA framework that is realized using Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) and Web Services. The proposed framework offers database replication and connectivity functionalities for the Central Database. The proposed framework is evaluated using a scenario-based software architecture evaluation method and proves that it achieves the framework goals of quality attributes: interoperability and flexibility. Moreover, a prototype of the framework is implemented and validates the framework correctness. A specific usage is presented and further proves that the framework accomplishes its functionality and quality attributes

A Report on the “MathBroker” Project for Brokering Mathematical Web Services?

We report on the past achievements and on the current status of a project on the development of a software framework for brokering mathematical services in the Web. The World Wide Web is currently evolving from an infrastructure for delivering static Web pages coded in HTML to an infrastructure for providing dynamic Web services that use XML as the common format for object data and metadata. These services communicate with clients (and other services) using the SOAP protocol [6], their interfaces are described in the Web Service Description Language WSDL [9], their behavior is described by semantic Web technologies like OWL-S [4], interface/behavior descriptions are stored in Web registries such as the one developed by the ebXML initiative [5] that can be queried by clients for lookup of appropriate services. While most Web developers focus on the use of Web service technologies for business applications, projects like our―MathBroker‖ project or the European MONET project [7] aim to support the area of computer mathematics where services provide functionality related to eg computer algebra or automate

Building a SOA-Based Model for Purchase Order Management in E-Commerce Systems

Purchase Order Management (POM) is one of the most popular E-Commerce applications conducted between B2C and B2B systems. In many cases nowadays POM components use integration approaches that lack interoperability and manageability features. The purpose of this paper is to build a SOA based model for POM in E-Commerce system that achieves the goals of interoperability and manageability. In this paper a technical model of POM E-Commerce system is presented and analyzed. A new POM model based on SOA solution is proposed that overcomes the shortcoming of currently used model. The main contribution of this paper is to align a SOA-based model to the B2C and B2B E-Commerce domain

A community-engaged infection prevention and control approach to Ebola.

The real missing link in Ebola control efforts to date may lie in the failure to apply core principles of health promotion: the early, active and sustained engagement of affected communities, their trusted leaders, networks and lay knowledge, to help inform what local control teams do, and how they may better do it, in partnership with communities. The predominant focus on viral transmission has inadvertently stigmatized and created fear-driven responses among affected individuals, families and communities. While rigorous adherence to standard infection prevention and control (IPC) precautions and safety standards for Ebola is critical, we may be more successful if we validate and combine local community knowledge and experiences with that of IPC medical teams. In an environment of trust, community partners can help us learn of modest adjustments that would not compromise safety but could improve community understanding of, and responses to, disease control protocol, so that it better reflects their 'community protocol' (local customs, beliefs, knowledge and practices) and concerns. Drawing on the experience of local experts in several African nations and of community-engaged health promotion leaders in the USA, Canada and WHO, we present an eight step model, from entering communities with cultural humility, though reciprocal learning and trust, multi-method communication, development of the joint protocol, to assessing progress and outcomes and building for sustainability. Using examples of changes that are culturally relevant yet maintain safety, we illustrate how often minor adjustments can help prevent and treat the most serious emerging infectious disease since HIV/AIDS

What Kigali’s open‑air markets reveal about achieving food and nutrition security: the role of African indigenous crops

Background: Household dietary diversity in Rwanda remains low and significantly contributes to the double burden of malnutrition. Rwanda has one of the highest under five stunting rates globally, and malnutrition remains one of the most pressing public health issues; therefore, factors that shape food and nutrition security are of utmost concern. Globally, the variety of foods available in open-air markets has been shown to affect dietary diversity. Furthermore, the consumption of indigenous foods can contribute to a diverse diet and improve nutrition status. At present, there are limited data on foods available for purchase in open-air markets in Africa. Therefore, this study was designed to provide data on food availability in the largest open-air markets of Rwanda’s most populated city, Kigali, and to highlight which foods indigenous to Africa can be purchased. Methods: All consumables were inventoried between October and December of 2020 in three open-air markets of Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda. Consumables were organized by the site of domestication and the nutritional contents of some African indigenous crops were compared to similar non-indigenous items. Results: A variety of raw and processed consumables was available in the open-air markets inventoried; however, only 25.8% of available species are indigenous to Africa. All Rwanda’s staples, including sweet potatoes, plantains, beans, maize, banana, and cassava, are endemic to other continents. Indigenous plant species, which are often drought-resistant and more nutritious, for example, Africa’s pineapple fruits (Myrianthus holstii), could not be purchased in Kigali’s open-air markets. Pineapple fruits are richer in iron, vitamin C, protein, and vitamin A than banana, which is the most consumed fruit in Rwanda. Conclusions: Given rapid population growth, limited arable land, and erratic climate patterns, policies to conserve and promote indigenous species, especially those already adapted to harsh environmental conditions, should be enacted in Rwanda. The cultivation of native vegetables and fruits in home gardens, and the conservation of edible wild species, can improve dietary diversity and enhance food and nutrition security across the entire country

The Exact Hausdorff Measure of the Zero Set of Fractional Brownian Motion

Let {X(t), t is an element of R-N} be a fractional Brownian motion in R-d of index H. If L(0,I) is the local time of X at 0 on the interval I subset of R-N, then there exists a positive finite constant c(=c(N,d,H)) such tha