Zahmah social force model for pedestrian movement

The Social Force Model is one of the well-known approaches that could successfully simulate pedestrian’s movement realistically. However, it is not suitable to simulate a complex pedestrian movement. Hence, this research proposed a novel model which improved the Social Force Model for simulating high density crowd such as Tawaf. Tawaf is an Islamic ritual, which requires agents to encircle the Kaabah. This ritual has been complex yet unique, due to its capacity, density, and various demographic backgrounds of the agents. A certain set of rules that must be followed by each agent, which introduces anomalies in the flow around the Kaabah. The agents also will be assigned with unique attributes such as; gender, walking speed and intention outlook to make the simulations more realistic. The findings of this research will contribute to the simulation activities of pedestrians in a highly dense population

Modeling user rating preference behavior to improve the performance of the collaborative filtering based recommender systems

One of the main concerns for online shopping websites is to provide efficient and customized recommendations to a very large number of users based on their preferences. Collaborative filtering (CF) is the most famous type of recommender system method to provide personalized recommendations to users. CF generates recommendations by identifying clusters of similar users or items from the user-item rating matrix. This cluster of similar users or items is generally identified by using some similarity measurement method. Among numerous proposed similarity measure methods by researchers, the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) is a commonly used similarity measure method for CF-based recommender systems. The standard PCC suffers some inherent limitations and ignores user rating preference behavior (RPB). Typically, users have different RPB, where some users may give the same rating to various items without liking the items and some users may tend to give average rating albeit liking the items. Traditional similarity measure methods (including PCC) do not consider this rating pattern of users. In this article, we present a novel similarity measure method to consider user RPB while calculating similarity among users. The proposed similarity measure method state user RPB as a function of user average rating value, and variance or standard deviation. The user RPB is then combined with an improved model of standard PCC to form an improved similarity measure method for CF-based recommender systems. The proposed similarity measure is named as improved PCC weighted with RPB (IPWR). The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the IPWR similarity measure method is performed using five state-of-the-art datasets (i.e. Epinions, MovieLens-100K, MovieLens-1M, CiaoDVD, and MovieTweetings). The IPWR similarity measure method performs better than state-of-the-art similarity measure methods in terms of mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE), precision, recall, and F-measure

Structural study of the coordination behavior of a tetradentate NO3-donor amino alcohol ligand toward a CdII:HgII mixture

In this work, the reaction of 2,2′,2″-nitrilotriethanol (NTE) with a 1:1 mixture of CdI2 and HgI2 is investigated. The complex [Cd(NTE)2][Hg2(μ-I)2I4] was synthesized and identified by elemental analysis, FT-IR, 1H NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure of the [HNTE]Cl salt is also presented. In the crystal structure of the complex, the cadmium atom has a CdN2O6 environment in a slightly distorted cube geometry. This geometry is one of the rare cube geometries with a minimum distortion among the Cambridge Structural Database structures for cadmium complexes. The anionic moiety has a binuclear structure with the mercury atoms being in tetrahedral environments. In the network of the complex, in addition to O−H · · · I hydrogen bonds, there are I · · · I interactions which lead to ten-membered rings.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Endocardial ablation of ventricular ectopic beats arising from the basal inferoseptal process of the left ventricle

Background Idiopathic ventricular ectopy (VE) shows predilection to sites within the left ventricular (LV) base such as the outflow tract/aortic sinuses, LV summit, and areas adjacent to the aortomitral continuity. We characterize VE arising from the inferior septum of the LV base that was successfully managed by LV endocardial ablation from the inferoseptal recess of the LV. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence, electrocardiographic (ECG) findings, electrophysiological findings, and anatomical features associated with VE arising from the basal inferoseptal process of the LV (ISP-LV) ablated using an LV endocardial approach via the inferoseptal recess of the LV. Methods A total of 425 consecutive patients undergoing VE ablation between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2016 at 3 centers were evaluated. Demographic characteristics, ECG findings, and procedural data were analyzed for patients with ISP-LV VEs. Results Seven (1.5%) had a site of origin from the ISP-LV. Common ECG findings were a right bundle branch block concordant pattern or an atypical left bundle branch block early transition pattern, suggestive of a basal origin with a left superior axis, a biphasic QRS complex in lead aVR, and a small s wave in lead V6. Earliest activation was seen in an area below the outflow tract accessed from the inferoseptal recess inferior to the His bundle. In 3 cases, transient junctional rhythm was seen during ablation. All cases were ablated successfully with no complications. Conclusion VE arising from the ISP-LV represents a distinct subset of idiopathic arrhythmia and can be successfully treated by endocardial catheter ablation from the inferoseptal recess. They share common surface ECG and electrophysiological findings with special anatomical features that need recognition for successful catheter ablation

Thermal, physical properties and flammability of silane treated kenaf/ pineapple leaf fibres phenolic hybrid composites

Silane treated pineapple leaf fibre (PALF) and kenaf fibre were analyzed by Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) that indicated the treated hybrid composite showed better thermal stability as compared to untreated hybrid composites. Dynamic mechanical analysis was carried out to evaluate the storage modulus (E′), loss modulus (E″), and tan delta as a function of temperature. Storage modulus of treated hybrid composites displayed highest storage and loss modulus as in comparison of untreated hybrid composites. The peak heights of tan α were highest in treated hybrid composites. Cole-Cole analysis was also carried out to understand the phase behaviour of the composite samples. Thermal mechanical analysis was used to study mechanical stability of hybrid composites in the presence of temperature. The effect of different fibre ratios in hybridization on density, void content, water absorption (WA), thickness swelling (TS) of PALF/KF hybrid composites were also analyzed. Treated hybrid composites were not very affective to improve the flammability of PALF/KF hybrid composites. The overall results showed that treated PALF/KF/phenolic hybrid composites improved the thermal and dynamic mechanical properties over untreated PALF/KF hybrid composites

Confirmation of root-knot nematode resistant gene Rmi1 using SSR markers

Background: The Root Knot Nematode (RKN) is a serious economic threat to various cultivated crops worldwide. It is a devastating pest of soybean and responsible to cause severe yield loss in Pakistan. The cultivation of resistant soybean varieties against this pest is the sustainable strategy to manage the heavy loss and increase yield. There is an utmost need to identify RKN resistant varieties of soybean against cultivated in Pakistan. The presented study is an attempt to identify and confirm the presence of resistant gene Rmi1 in soybean. Method: Molecular studies have been done using Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) marker system to identify resistant soybean varieties against Root Knot Nematode (RKN) using fifteen (15) indigenous cultivars and four (4) US cultivars. DNA was isolated, purified, quantified and then used to employ various SSR markers. The amplified product is observed using gel documentation system after electrophoresis.  Results: Diagnostic SSR markers Satt-358 and Satt-492 have shown the presence of Rmi1 gene in all resistance carrying genotypes. Satt-358 amplified the fragment of 200 bp and Satt-492 generated 232 bp bands in all resistant genotypes. This study confirmed the Rmi gene locus (G248A-1) in all internationally confirmed resistant including six (6) native varieties.Conclusion: These investigations have identified six (6) resistant cultivars revealing the effective and informative sources that can be utilized in breeding programs for the selection of RKN resistance soybean genotypes in Pakistan.

Magnesium hydroxide reinforced kenaf fibers/epoxy hybrid composites: mechanical and thermomechanical properties

The present article deals with the fabrication of magnesium hydroxide (MH) filler reinforced kenaf/epoxy hybrid composites with different loading (10%, 15%, 20% and 25% by wt). Tensile, impact, flexural, morphological, thermal stability and dynamic mechanical properties of the developed MH/kenaf/epoxy hybrid composites were evaluated and compared. The analysis of the results revealed that the incorporation of the stiff MH particles into the kenaf/epoxy composites enhanced their tensile, flexural and impact properties, as well as their residual content. Enhancement in both storage (E′) and loss (E″) moduli, as well as a considerable decrease in damping factor (Tan δ), was observed in the hybrid composites, compared to the kenaf/epoxy composites. Moreover, a remarkable improvement in properties was noticed for the 20% MH hybrid composites, which was ascribed to better dispersion and interfacial interaction between the kenaf fibers and the epoxy within composites, enabling more efficient interfacial stress transfer. Overall, the 20% MH/kenaf/epoxy hybrid composites presented better mechanical strength, thermal stability and dynamic properties compared to the rest of the hybrid composites developed in this study

Localization of the relative phase via measurements

When two independently-prepared Bose-Einstein condensates are released from their corresponding traps, the absorbtion image of the overlapping clouds presents an interference pattern. Here we analyze a model introduced by Javanainen and Yoo (J. Javanainen and S. M. Yoo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 161 (1996)), who considered two atomic condensates described by plane waves propagating in opposite directions. We present an analytical argument for the measurement-induced breaking of the relative phase symmetry in this system, demonstrating how the phase gets localized after a large enough number of detection events.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur

Mechanical and thermal properties of montmorillonite-reinforced polypropylene/rice husk hybrid nanocomposites

© 2019 by the authors. In recent years, there has been considerable interest in the use of natural fibers as potential reinforcing fillers in polymer composites despite their hydrophilicity, which limits their widespread commercial application. The present study explored the fabrication of nanocomposites by melt mixing, using an internal mixer followed by a compression molding technique, and incorporating rice husk (RH) as a renewable natural filler, montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay as water-resistant reinforcing nanoparticles, and polypropylene-grafted maleic anhydride (PP-g-MAH) as a compatibilizing agent. To correlate the effect ofMMTdelamination andMMT/RHdispersion in the composites, the mechanical and thermal properties of the composites were studied. XRD analysis revealed delamination of MMT platelets due to an increase in their interlayer spacing, and SEM micrographs indicated improved dispersion of the filler(s) from the use of compatibilizers. The mechanical properties were improved by the incorporation of MMT into the PP/RH system and the reinforcing effect was remarkable as a result of the use of compatibilizing agent. Prolonged water exposure of the prepared samples decreased their tensile and flexural properties. Interestingly, the maximum decrease was observed for PP/RH composites and the minimum was for MMT-reinforced and PP-g-MAH-compatibilized PP/RH composites. DSC results revealed an increase in crystallinity with the addition of filler(s), while the melting and crystallization temperatures remained unaltered. TGA revealed that MMT addition and its delamination in the composite systems improved the thermal stability of the developed nanocomposites. Overall, we conclude that MMT nanoclay is an effective water-resistant reinforcing nanoparticle that enhances the durability, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of composites