A hybrid system for Parkinson’s disease diagnosis using machine learning techniques

International Journal of Speech Technology - Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that progresses slowly and its symptoms appear over time, so its early diagnosis is not easy....     

Water as a Human Right: The Understanding of Water in the Arab Countries of the Middle East

The international community has affirmed the human right to water in a number of international treaties, declarations and other documents. Most notably, the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted in November 2002 a General Comment on the Right to Water setting out international standards and obligations relating to the right to water. Based on the UN concept of water as a human right for selected Arab countries in the Middle East (Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon), the paper analyses if and to what extent these concepts are acknowledged. It aims to identify the scale of knowledge of and commitment to the UN concept in the region, and the main areas of concern in each country regarding water as a human right. The paper summarizes the main challenges facing strategic and coordinated action towards the UN concept of water as a human right, identifies what types of processes and institutions need to be developed to meet the challenges of the concept, and provides best practice examples from countries that have shown innovation. Objectives and priority ideas for activities of non-governmental organizations are recommended.

Water as a Human Right: The Understanding of Water in the Arab Countries of the Middle East

All authors

Simone Klawitter & Hadeel Qazzaz

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900620500036414

Published online:

22 January 2007

Table 1.?Egypt: evaluation of the UN criteria

CSVDisplay Table

Water as a Human Right: The Understanding of Water in the Arab Countries of the Middle East

All authors

Simone Klawitter & Hadeel Qazzaz

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900620500036414

Published online:

22 January 2007

Table 2.?Palestine: evaluation of the UN criteria

CSVDisplay Table

Water as a Human Right: The Understanding of Water in the Arab Countries of the Middle East

All authors

Simone Klawitter & Hadeel Qazzaz

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900620500036414

Published online:

22 January 2007

Table 3.?Jordan: evaluation of the UN criteria

CSVDisplay Table

Water as a Human Right: The Understanding of Water in the Arab Countries of the Middle East

All authors

Simone Klawitter & Hadeel Qazzaz

https://doi.org/10.1080/07900620500036414

Published online:

22 January 2007

Table 4.?Lebanon: evaluation of the UN criteria

CSVDisplay Table

     

Epoxidized vegetable oil and bio‐based materials as PVC plasticizer

Phthalate esters received a considerable attention owing to its various applications and the harmful health effects resulting from phthalate exposure; thus, finding an alternative to phthalate derivatives became a necessity. Phthalate esters are commonly used as plasticizer in polymer formulation; in particular for poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) formulation. According to the researches in the last 18 years, epoxidized vegetable oils are one of the alternatives that are strongly encouraged to substitute phthalate esters since they were proven to be valid in various applications, eco‐friendly and sustainable resource. However, most of the production practices for epoxidized vegetable oil are via conventional epoxidation that concentrates on a catalyst that is homogeneous and non‐reusable. This type of catalyst, however, causes several problems later in the process. Therefore, the selective epoxidation of vegetable oils process requires new catalytic systems that are more aligned with the green chemistry principles. This article reviews the harmful health effects associated with the exposure to phthalate esters products, explains the usage of oleochemicals resources as a substitute to phthalate esters and describes different approaches for the epoxidation of vegetable oils. Finally, it draws attention to the usage of epoxy and bio‐based compounds as plasticizers in PVC manufacturing. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46270.     

Investigation of heat transfer augmentation in a horizontal tube using different rectangular cut ring inserts

Experimental and computational investigations have studied the heat transfer, friction factor, and enhancement of heat transfer in a horizontal tube equipped with rectangular cut ring inserts and different diameter ratios (D/d) and pitch-to-tube diameter ratios (p/d_t). In the present study, air having a Reynolds no. range of 6700–20,100 was used as a working fluid. Three diameter ratios (D/d) were considered experimentally and numerically as 1.2, 1.25, and 1.3, and the pitch-to-tube diameter ratio (p/d_t) was (1, 0.625, and 0.5). Air was forced as working fluid through the tube and a uniform heat flux of 2000, 3500, and 5000 W/m² was applied through the tube's exterior surface. On the basis of the turbulence model k–ɛ with various parameters, three-dimensional numerical simulations using the ANSYS Fluent software 17.2 were investigated. Under the same working conditions, the results manifested a higher heat transfer rate and friction factor as compared to the plain tube. The results evinced that the Nusselt number for a horizontal tube equipped with rectangular cut ring inserts having various pitch ratios and diameter ratios is discovered to be higher than that for the plain tube. With the increased ring spacing, the overall improvement in heat transfer occurred. And, with a rise in Re, the total enhancement ratio decreased. Consequently, the greatest overall improvement attained was 38% at Reynolds number (Re = 12,860) with the pitch ratio (p/d_t = 1). The three diameter ratios (D/d) of 1.3, 1.25, and 1.2 gives in this study the average thermal performance factor in the value of 1.6, 1.5, and 1.4, respectively. Using the Nusselt number and friction factor, the results are correlated as a function of the Reynolds number, diameter ratio, and pitch ratio.     

Intelligent Aquila Optimization Algorithm-Based Node Localization Scheme for Wireless Sensor Networks

In recent times, wireless sensor network (WSN) finds their suitability in several application areas, ranging from military to commercial ones. Since nodes in WSN are placed arbitrarily in the target field, node localization (NL) becomes essential where the positioning of the nodes can be determined by the aid of anchor nodes. The goal of any NL scheme is to improve the localization accuracy and reduce the localization error rate. With this motivation, this study focuses on the design of Intelligent Aquila Optimization Algorithm Based Node Localization Scheme (IAOAB-NLS) for WSN. The presented IAOAB-NLS model makes use of anchor nodes to determine proper positioning of the nodes. In addition, the IAOAB-NLS model is stimulated by the behaviour of Aquila. The IAOAB-NLS model has the ability to accomplish proper coordinate points of the nodes in the network. For guaranteeing the proficient NL process of the IAOAB-NLS model, widespread experimentation takes place to assure the betterment of the IAOAB-NLS model. The resultant values reported the effectual outcome of the IAOAB-NLS model irrespective of changing parameters in the network.