Efficient Cooperative Anycasting for AMI Mesh Networks

We have, in recent years, witnessed an increased interest towards enabling a Smart Grid which will be a corner stone to build sustainable energy efficient communities. An integral part of the future Smart Grid will be the communications infrastructure which will make real time control of the grid components possible. Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) is thought to be a key enabler for monitoring and controlling the customer loads. %RPL is a connectivity enabling mechanism for low power and lossy networks currently being standardized by the IETF ROLL working group. RPL is deemed to be a suitable candidate for AMI networks where the meters are connected to a concentrator over multi hop low power and lossy links. This paper proposes an efficient cooperative anycasting approach for wireless mesh networks with the aim of achieving reduced traffic and increased utilisation of the network resources. The proposed cooperative anycasting has been realised as an enhancement on top of the Routing Protocol for Low Power and Lossy Networks (RPL), a connectivity enabling mechanism in wireless AMI mesh networks. In this protocol, smart meter nodes utilise an anycasting approach to facilitate efficient transport of metering data to the concentrator node. Moreover, it takes advantage of a distributed approach ensuring scalability

Simulation Of Internet Applications Over General Packet Radio Service

The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) has been designed as an evolutionary step towards the migration from 2nd Generation Wireless Communication Systems to 3rd Generation Wireless Communication systems. The major challenges in GPRS are on its ability to offer lower access delay, better data throughput and radio resource utilization compared to the existing cellular networks. And also on how GPRS can be implemented on the existing cellular networks with little impact on the existing voice services. This thesis examines the performance of the GPRS Air Interface through simulation. A GPRS network simulator was developed in OPNET™. Performance is judged in terms of Access Delay, Throughput, Point-to-Point delay and Radio Resource utilization over GPRS Network. Some Internet services (e.g. WWW, E-mail and FTP), which are expected to be the most commonly used applications over GPRS are evaluated. The results show that for small number of users in a cell, the access delay in GPRS is small compared to that of GSM and does not depend very much on the number of radio resources allocated for GPRS Service.GPRS offers higher data throughput than that of traditional Circuit Switched GSM where the maximum data rate per a physical channel is 9.6 Kb/s. However, the data throughput in GPRS become much less than that of GSM under high traffic load. When eight physical channels on a TDMA frame are used for GPRS under good channel conditions, the theoretical data throughput for the GPRS according to ETSI, is supposed to be 171 Kb/s. But our simulation results show that it is very difficult to achieve this kind of throughput due to signaling, protocol overhead the dynamic nature of the wireless channel that changes its state from good to bad resulting into retransmissions thereby reducing the overall throughput. These results could be useful for Radio Network Planners in implementing GPRS on the existing cellular Networks

Gender Dalam Perspektif Islam

Historically and factually, the status of women always goes through changes. In a society following a patriarchal paradigm, the position of women is less beneficial because they are in a suborniate position below men. Consequently, the position of women is always considered to be lower and they are subject to men. In addition, this assumption seems to get legitiation from theological doctrines, including al Qur'an and al Hadits which become the main sources of Islamic teachings. This article traces out the historical-theological root of gender inequality perspective of Moslem femeinist

Impact of Bulk Procurement System (BPS) and Price Regulation on Profitability of Oil Marketing Companies in Tanzania

The aim of this study is to analyse the impact of price regulation and BPS on the profitability of OMCs. Four Companies that were in the operation before and after the introduction of price regulation and BPS used for analysis. In order to maintain confidentiality, these companies will be anonymously named as Company “A”, Company “B”, Company “C”, and company “D”. The study covers a period from 2011 to 2013. Secondary data from audited financial statements and management reports were collected and analysed. Profit margin and return on investments were calculated to establish the profitability of oil companies. Data collected was analyzed using SPSS. Regression model and trend analysis of profit margin before and after the introduction of price regulation and BPS was also carried out. The study found that after the introduction of price control and bulk procurement system company “B”, is the most affected in its financial performance compared to other companies. In addition, the study found that, there is a relationship between dependent and independent variable. The study concluded that introduction of price control and BPS slightly reduced the profit of OMCs. However, it stabilize the price and ensure sustainable profit to OMCs at the sometimes protect customer and create an equal playfield for all OMCs. The study recommends that EWURA as a regulator should investigate further to improve suitability and applicability of price cap formula. The investigation should focus on protecting the profitability of wholesalers and retailers without jeopardize the welfare of the customer and the economy at large. On the other hand, the study recommends that OMCs should strive to reduce operational costs so as to increase their operating profits. The OMCs should make sure that they work efficiently by minimizing their operating expenditures so as to increase their profitability. The importing company should use money market to hedge against the risk of rising international oil prices as this constitutes a significant proportion of their direct costs. Keywords: Bulk Procurement System (BPS), Price regulation, petroleum products, profitability, OMC

Effects of some fruits on the processing and composition of camel milk ice cream

The present study was conducted to process and evaluate the chemical composition of ice cream made from camel milk, flavored with vanilla, baobab and papaya fruits. Camel milk, baobab and papaya were examined for chemical composition before the processing. Ice cream samples were made using one level of vanilla (3%) as control and two levels of each baobab and papaya (3% and 5%). Then ice cream samples were packed into plastic cups and stored in a freezer at -18 oC for 8 weeks. The chemical composition was examined every two weeks. The data showed significantly (P<0.05) higher total solids and ash in baobab (5%) ice cream samples, while high fat content was found in vanilla (3%) and papaya (5%). Also, high protein content was found in papaya ice cream samples. It was concluded that processing of ice cream using baobab (3%) and papaya (3%) gives ice cream with good chemical properties. The study recommended processing of ice cream from camel milk adding baobab and papaya fruits. Further studies should be conducted by adding local fruits and other additives to enhance the chemical properties of ice cream from camel milk as functional food

Do ether functionalized ionic liquids improve the CO2 solubility?

CO2 absorption using a solvent is accepted as the most compatible technology. In the recent years ionic liquids (ILs) have shown to be good candidates for CO2 capture. They exhibit major advantages compared to amine-based systems. Their negligible vapor pressure, high thermal and chemical stability and tunability outweigh the disadvantages of lower absorptive capacity and kinetics. In this work a comprehensive study of the ILs [C2mim]-, [C4mim]-, [C6mim]-, [C7mim]- and [C8mim] tricyanomethanide (TCM) has been carried out. Furthermore, in order to evaluate the presence of ether groups in the alkyl chain of the imidazolium, this work includes 1-(2-methoxythyl)-3-methylimidazolium- and 1[2-(2- methoxyethoxy)ethyl]-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide. These non-flourinated and low-viscous ILs are studied for the first time as a solvent for CO2 capture. Two different methods (volumetric vs gravimetric) were applied to study the thermodynamics (i.e., absorptive capacity and Henry’s law coefficient) and kinetics (i.e., diffusion coefficient) at several temperatures and pressures up to 150 bars. The experimentally determined phase behavior of the IL and CO2 systems are correlated using the Peng-Robinson equation of state. Furthermore, the thermal operating window (e.g., glass transition and decomposition temperature) and physical properties (e.g., density, viscosity, conductivity and surface tension) were determined. It will be shown at the conference that TCM-based ILs are promising sorbents for pre-combustion CO2 capture due to their high (physical) absorptive capacity, their low regeneration energy consumption (low heat of absorption) and improved kinetics (due to their low viscosity) compared to the conventional ILs

Model Penyelesaian Sengketa Mahar Berutang pada Masyarakat Mandailing Natal Sumatera Utara

Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji model-model penyelesaian pembayaran mahar berutang yang menjadi tradisi di sebagian masyarakat Mandailing Sumatera Utara. Masalah difokuskan pada bagaimana hukum bekerja dan efektif untuk membangun keteraturan baru dan akhirnya menciptakan keharmonisan dalam hal mahar berutang yang dijadikan penyelesaian dalam kawin lari lalu terjadi perceraian pada pernikahan tersebut. Guna mendekati masalah ini digunakan pendekatan sosioantropologi hukum. Penelitian ini juga termasuk ke dalam kategori penelitian hukum non doktrinal atau penelitian hukum empirik (sosiolegal). Data-data dikumpulkan melalui wawancara mendalam terhadap tokoh-tokoh adat dan beberapa partisipan yang melakukan praktik-praktik kawin lari (Marlojong) tersebut dan dianalisis secara kualitatif. Kajian ini menyimpulkan bahwa mahar berutang yang dilakukan pada perkawinan Marlojong pada dasarnya bertujuan positif yaitu untuk mengikat hubungan rumah tangga antara suami dan istrinya agar tetap bersama selamanya. Namun dalam praktiknya, terdapat beberapa kasus yang menunjukkan bahwa mahar berutang adalah sumber konflik yang tidak hanya melibatkan suami istri tetapi juga melibatkan dua keluarga besar. Ketika mahar berutang melahirkan konflik, maka jalan keluar yang ditempuh ada 3 (tiga) model penyelesaian

GENDER DALAM PERSPEKTIF ISLAM

Historically and factually, the status of women always goes through changes. In a society following a patriarchal paradigm, the position of women is less beneficial because they are in a suborniate position below men. Consequently, the position of women is always considered to be lower and they are subject to men. In addition, this assumption seems to get legitiation from theological doctrines, including al Qur'an and al Hadits which become the main sources of Islamic teachings. This article traces out the historical-theological root of gender inequality perspective of Moslem femeinist