We propose the use of a truncated ball lens in a collimating system to transform a spherical wave from a highly divergent source into a plane wave. The proposed scheme, which incorporates a hyperbolic lens, is discussed, and the overall system is found to have a large acceptance angle and to be free of spherical aberration. Diffraction and polarization effects are neglected, as well as skew rays.
In the title compound, C(24)H(17)NO(2)S, the dioxine and thiazoline rings are distorted from planarity towards a half-chair and an envelope conformation, respectively. The configurations of the dioxine ring, the thiazoline ring and the attached phenyl ring are conditioned by the sp(3) state of the two bridgehead C atoms. The phenanthrene system is nearly coplanar with the dioxine ring, while the attached phenyl ring is orthogonal to the thiazoline ring.
From January 1980 to December 1982, there were 222 MEDEVAC patients admitted to Mid Hospital, out of whom 206 had their case notes available for this study. The median age of the 206 patients MEDEVAC was 24.5 years and the male to female ratio was 1.2 : 1. The Kenyah, Iban, Punans, Kelabit, Kayan and Murut ethnic groups contributed most of the cases. There was some seasonal variation in the number of MEDEVAC done, the high months being July and December and the low periods in May/June and October/November. Most of the MEDEVAC were requested by ground staff at the remote rural clinics and also district hospitals. The median duration of stay of the patients was 9.7 days. The top five causes for MEDEVAC were: bronchopneumonia; accidental falls; gastroenteritis; peptic ulcers; and appendicitis. 7.8% of the MEDEVAC died in hospital. The management of cases ranged from conservative management to blood transfusions to surgical interventions. Based on the criteria set, 63.6% of the MEDEVAC were considered justified.
The dielectrophoretic (DEP) separation of cell, using microelectrodes structure, has been limited to small scale due to size of the substrate. This work was carried out to extend the capability of microelectrodes system by orientating the microelectrodes in three dimensions (3-D) for larger scale dielectrophoretic separation of microorganism. The designed 3-D separation chamber consists of microelectrodes on two opposing walls. Based on the FEMLAB simulation, the electric field was seen to be generated across the chamber, rather than between adjacent electrodes in the same plane like in the small scale system. This configuration led to a stronger electric field in the bulk medium. The experimental results showed that the 3-D microelectrodes chamber behaved similar to the system with microelectrodes on one wall. The effects of the main parameters such as voltage, frequency and flow rates were similar to that of the systems with all the electrodes on one wall, but on the overall, capture more cells. A gap size between 250 – 500 μm resulted in an electric field which is strong enough to hold cells while giving a reasonable cross sectional area at the same time. Although there is some improvement achieved by 3-D system, it is still not very much, as compared to the small scale system.
Satellite data and aerial photos have proved to be useful in efficient conservation and management of mangrove ecosystems. However, there have been only very few attempts to demonstrate the ability of drone images, and none so far to observe vegetation (species-level) mapping. The present study compares the utility of drone images (DJI-Phantom-2 with SJ4000 RGB and IR cameras, spatial resolution: 5cm) and satellite images (Pleiades-1B, spatial resolution: 50cm) for mangrove mapping-specifically in terms of image quality, efficiency and classification accuracy, at the Setiu Wetland in Malaysia. Both object- and pixel-based classification approaches were tested (QGIS v.2.12.3 with Orfeo Toolbox). The object-based classification (using a manual rule-set algorithm) of drone imagery with dominant land-cover features (i.e. water, land, Avicennia alba, Nypa fruticans, Rhizophora apiculata and Casuarina equisetifolia) provided the highest accuracy (overall accuracy (OA): 94.0±0.5% and specific producer accuracy (SPA): 97.0±9.3%) as compared to the Pleiades imagery (OA: 72.2±2.7% and SPA: 51.9±22.7%). In addition, the pixel-based classification (using a maximum likelihood algorithm) of drone imagery provided better accuracy (OA: 90.0±1.9% and SPA: 87.2±5.1%) compared to the Pleiades (OA: 82.8±3.5% and SPA: 80.4±14.3%). Nevertheless, the drone provided higher temporal resolution images, even on cloudy days, an exceptional benefit when working in a humid tropical climate. In terms of the user-costs, drone costs are much higher, but this becomes advantageous over satellite data for long-term monitoring of a small area. Due to the large data size of the drone imagery, its processing time was about ten times greater than that of the satellite image, and varied according to the various image processing techniques employed (in pixel-based classification, drone >50 hours, Pleiades <5 hours), constituting the main disadvantage of UAV remote sensing. However, the mangrove mapping based on the drone aerial photos provided unprecedented results for Setiu, and was proven to be a viable alternative to satellite-based monitoring/management of these ecosystems. The improvements of drone technology will help to make drone use even more competitive in the future.
A search for narrow resonances in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV is presented. The invariant mass distribution of the two leading jets is measured with the CMS detector using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.4 fb^{-1}. The highest observed dijet mass is 6.1 TeV. The distribution is smooth and no evidence for resonant particles is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section for narrow resonances with masses above 1.5 TeV. When interpreted in the context of specific models, the limits exclude string resonances with masses below 7.0 TeV, scalar diquarks below 6.0 TeV, axigluons and colorons below 5.1 TeV, excited quarks below 5.0 TeV, color-octet scalars below 3.1 TeV, and W^{'} bosons below 2.6 TeV. These results significantly extend previously published limits.
Understanding fluid dynamics under extreme confinement, where device and intrinsic fluid length scales become comparable, is essential to successfully develop the coming generations of fluidic devices. Here we report measurements of advancing fluid fronts in such a regime, which we dub superconfinement. We find that the strong coupling between contact-line friction and geometric confinement gives rise to a new stability regime where the maximum speed for a stable moving front exhibits a distinctive response to changes in the bounding geometry. Unstable fronts develop into drop-emitting jets controlled by thermal fluctuations. Numerical simulations reveal that the dynamics in superconfined systems is dominated by interfacial forces. Henceforth, we present a theory that quantifies our experiments in terms of the relevant interfacial length scale, which in our system is the intrinsic contact-line slip length. Our findings show that length-scale overlap can be used as a new fluid-control mechanism in strongly confined systems.
The title molecule, C(13)H(13)N(3)O(3).H(2)O, is in the form of a monohydrated zwitterion. The tetrahydropyridinium ring adopts an envelope conformation and is nearly coplanar with the plane of the imidazoline ring. The water solvate molecule plays an important role as a bridge between zwitterions, forming molecular chains running along the c direction, which are interconnected by N-H.O hydrogen bonds into molecular ribbons. The crystal packing is further stabilized by another N-H.O and one O-H.N hydrogen bond, which interconnect the molecular ribbons.
A sample of hydronium perchlorate, H(3)O(+) x ClO(4)(-), crystallized from ethanol at ambient temperature, was found to be orthorhombic (space group Pnma) at both 193 and 293 K, with no phase transition observed in this temperature range. This contrasts with the earlier observation [Nordman (1962). Acta Cryst. 15, 18-23] of a monoclinic phase (space group P2(1)/n) at 193 K for crystals grown at that temperature from perchloric acid. The hydronium and perchlorate ions lie across a mirror plane but it is not possible to define at either temperature a simple description of the H-atom positions due to the three-dimensional tumbling of the hydronium cation.
The title compound, [Sn(CH(3))(2)(C(5)H(10)NO(2)S(2))(2)], has crystallographic mirror symmetry (C-Sn-C on mirror plane) and the coordination polyhedron around the Sn atom is a tetrahedron [C-Sn-C 139.3 (2) degrees and S-Sn-S 82.3 (1) degrees ] distorted towards a skew-trapezoidal bipyramid owing to an intramolecular Sn.S contact [3.0427 (6) A]. The molecules are linked into a linear chain by intermolecular O-H.O hydrogen bonds [O.O 2.646 (3) A].
A search for narrow resonances decaying to bottom quark-antiquark pairs is presented, using a data sample of proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=8 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.7 fb^{-1}. The search is extended to masses lower than those reached in typical searches for resonances decaying into jet pairs at the LHC, by taking advantage of triggers that identify jets originating from bottom quarks. No significant excess of events is observed above the background predictions. Limits are set on the product of cross section and branching fraction to bottom quarks for spin 0, 1, and 2 resonances in the mass range of 325-1200 GeV. These results improve on the limits for resonances decaying into jet pairs in the 325-500 GeV mass range.
Life jacket is one of the safety appliances that can be found on the ship that provide buoyancy and prevention against drowning. Before the ship can sail, every element of safety of the vessel should be confirmed. Despite the establishment of standards for life jacket, both local and international, there have been cases of drowning associated with the usage of life jackets by the passengers of passenger boat/vessels for open-deck situation. Moreover, deficiency of information on safety instruction is reason the passengers are lack of personal safety information during on board. Thus, the evaluation on safety standard of life jackets and passenger vessel are vital for assessing the provision of the life jacket on board passenger vessel with respect to compatibility between life jacket and passenger vessel. In this paper, A Vessel Life Jacket Compatibility Mobile Apps (VELIT) was developed using software development methodology called Rational Unified Process (RUP) to automate the safety assessment process based on model called LCI (Life Jacket Compatibility Index). VELIT apps synchronized the safety assessment aspect and which allow user to compute the element in the model and produce the result of the safety assessment in real time. The VELIT apps are expected to be used in maritime area especially for ship safety assessment process.
Airline industry is one of the largest industries in the world of transport because it is the most important transport in the global transport system. The airline industry has played a very important role in the economic development in Malaysia. Due to the increase in its operating business, the demand for air travel increases day by day. Hence, this study focused on the number of passengers using air transport in Malaysia. The monthly data from January 2005 to December 2015 were obtained from Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) in Sepang, Selangor. The data is divided into 2 parts, which are in sample data from January 2005 to December 2014 and out sample data from January 2015 to December 2015. The study was conducted to predict airline passengers in Malaysia using the Box-Jenkins model and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model. Both models were studied to choose the best model. Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and Mean Squared Error (MSE) were used to measure the performance of both models. SARIMA was selected as the best model for Box-Jenkins with MAPE and MSE were 7.3458388 and 2.67011 respectively while Multilayer Feed Forward Neural Network (MFFNN) with seven input variables, with MAPE and MSE, 7.251 and 0.0006 respectively were selected as the best model for Multilayer Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN). In conclusion, these studies have proven that the Multilayer Feed Forward Neural Network (FFNN) model is the best model for considering airplanes in Malaysia compared to the SARIMA model.
Sustainability has become a focus area for practitioners and scholars due to the growing socio-economic issues. The sustainability of airport operations is being raised in various international platforms. This paper aims to identify the dimensions of sustainability and evaluate sustainable practices in airports of selected ASEAN countries. The various dimensions associated with the environmental aspect are energy management, emissions management, water and effluents management, solid waste management. It was understood that noise management, employee development, and community investment belong to the social dimension. Similarly, the factors such as economic contribution, passenger experience, airport safety, and security are inclined to economic dimensions of sustainability. It was found that environmentally sustainable practices have greater importance than social and economic initiatives in the airport context which provide quantifiable benefits for airports in the long term. Airport operators in South East Asia strived to mitigate carbon emissions, reduce waste and effluents, enhance the economic contribution, satisfy passengers, and meet employee needs. Compared to the total economic and social benefits obtained from these airports, the negative impacts of airport operation (such as noise emission from aircraft) are minimal but significant. The most common sustainable initiatives in airports, such as employee development, energy management, and passenger safety, supported sustainable development goals (SDG) 8, SDG 9, and SDG 11. A weak connection is observed between SDG 14 & SDG 15 and the airport's sustainable practices. The new technological innovations are concentrated in busy and profitable airports. A slow trend towards the adoption of new technologies for sustainable practices is observed in airports. The paper concludes that major airport operators in South-East Asia have effectively responded to the growing sustainability challenges in aviation markets. The sustainable dimensions and practices discussed will be valuable resource for airports striving to achieve sustainability goals.
The multi-scale and nonlinear nature of the ocean dynamics dramatically affects the spreading of matter, like pollutants, marine litter, etc., of physical and chemical seawater properties, and the biological connectivity inside and among different basins. Based on the Finite-Scale Lyapunov Exponent analysis of the largest available near-surface Lagrangian data set from the Global Drifter Program, our results show that, despite the large variety of flow features, relative dispersion can ultimately be described by a few parameters common to all ocean sub-basins, at least in terms of order of magnitude. This provides valuable information to undertake Lagrangian dispersion studies by means of models and/or of observational data. Moreover, our results show that the relative dispersion rates measured at submesoscale are significantly higher than for large-scale dynamics. Auxiliary analysis of high resolution GPS-tracked drifter hourly data as well as of the drogued/undrogued status of the buoys is provided in support of our conclusions. A possible application of our study, concerning reverse drifter motion and error growth analysis, is proposed relatively to the case of the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 aircraft.
Eddy current testing (ECT) is an accurate, widely used and well-understood inspection technique, particularly in the aircraft and nuclear industries. The coating thickness or lift-off will influence the measurement of defect depth on pipes or plates. It will be an uncertain decision condition whether the defects on a workpiece are cracks or scratches. This problem can lead to the occurrence of pipe leakages, besides causing the degradation of a company’s productivity and most importantly risking the safety of workers. In this paper, a novel eddy current testing error compensation technique based on Mamdani-type fuzzy coupled differential and absolute probes was proposed. The general descriptions of the proposed ECT technique include details of the system design, intelligent fuzzy logic design and Simulink block development design. The detailed description of the proposed probe selection, design and instrumentation of the error compensation of eddy current testing (ECECT) along with the absolute probe and differential probe relevant to the present research work are presented. The ECECT simulation and hardware design are proposed, using the fuzzy logic technique for the development of the new methodology. The depths of the defect coefficients of the probe’s lift-off caused by the coating thickness were measured by using a designed setup. In this result, the ECECT gives an optimum correction for the lift-off, in which the reduction of error is only within 0.1% of its all-out value. Finally, the ECECT is used to measure lift-off in a range of approximately 1 mm to 5 mm, and the performance of the proposed method in non-linear cracks is assessed.