Topographic characteristics of keratoconus among a sample of Jordanian patients

· AIM: To identify topographic characteristics of keratoconus in a Jordanian sample.· METHODS: This study characterized 210 corneas affected with keratoconus presenting to Jordan University Hospital. Patients were diagnosed based on clinical examinations and Pentacam imaging. Eyes of males(n =101) were of a similar proportion to females(n =109). All of the 111 patients were affected bilaterally.Ages ranged between 13 and 44 y with a mean age of25.2y.· RESULTS: Results revealed significant differences between males and females at the level of the flat curvature power, basement membrane thickness and size of the anterior chamber. Eyes were arranged in three groups based on severity levels: mild, moderate and severe determined by the mean curvature power(Km).Results show that the flat(K1) and steep(K2) curvature powers, corneal asphericity coefficient(QV), thinnest point, pachy apex and basement membrane thickness are significantly different among the three groups, but not the corneal and anterior chamber volumes.Morphological analyses, based on sagittal maps, show no differences in keratometric values between eyes with different sagittal patterns except for the vertical location of the pachy apex relative to the pupil center and the thinnest point. Eyes with the island front elevation map are significantly more affected than eyes with the U shape and the ridge pattern.· CONCLUSION: All keratometric values measured except for corneal and anterior chamber volumes vary significantly with disease severity. The vertical pachy apex location correlates well with severity levels while the horizontal location seems to have no effect. Ourstudy also indicates that front elevation maps may be a better predictor of the severity of keratoconus than sagittal maps.

On wave dispersion of rotating viscoelastic nanobeam based on general nonlocal elasticity in thermal environment

The present research focuses on the analysis of wave propagation on a rotating viscoelastic nanobeam supported on the viscoelastic foundation which is subject to thermal gradient effects.A comprehensive and accurate model of a viscoelastic nanobeam is constructed by using a novel nonclassical mechanical model.Based on the general nonlocal theory(GNT),Kelvin-Voigt model,and Timoshenko beam theory,the motion equations for the nanobeam are obtained.Through the GNT,material hardening and softening behaviors are simultaneously taken into account during wave propagation.An analytical solution is utilized to generate the results for torsional(TO),longitudinal(LA),and transverse(TA)types of wave dispersion.Moreover,the effects of nonlocal parameters,Kelvin-Voigt damping,foundation damping,Winkler-Pasternak coefficients,rotating speed,and thermal gradient are illustrated and discussed in detail.

Solriamfetol impurities:Synthesis,characterization,and analytical method(UPLC-UV)validation

Given that impurities may affect the quality and safety of drug products,impurity identification and profiling is an integral part of drug quality control and is particularly important for newly developed medications such as solriamfetol,which is used to treat excessive daytime sleepiness.Although the highperformance liquid chromatography analysis of commercial solriamfetol has revealed the presence of several impurities,their synthesis,structure elucidation,and chromatographic determination have not been reported yet.To bridge this gap,we herein identified,synthesized,and isolated eight processrelated solriamfetol impurities,characterized them using spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques,and proposed plausible mechanisms of their formation.Moreover,we developed and validated a prompt impurity analysis method based on ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection,revealing that its selectivity,linearity,accuracy,precision,and quantitation limit meet the acceptance criteria of method validation stipulated by the International Council for Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use.Thus,the developed method was concluded to be suitable for the routine analysis of solriamfetol substances.

An Optimal Framework for Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis

Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is a kind of progressive dementia that is frequently accompanied by brain shrinkage.With the use of the morpho-logical characteristics of MRI brain scans,this paper proposed a method for diagnosing moderate cognitive impairment(MCI)and AD.The anatom-ical features of 818 subjects were calculated using the FreeSurfer software,and the data were taken from the ADNI dataset.These features were first removed from the dataset after being preprocessed with an age correction algorithm using linear regression to estimate the effects of normal aging.With these preprocessed characteristics,the extreme learning machine served as a classifier for the diagnosis of AD and MCI.For determining accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,and area under the curve,ten-fold cross validation was used.The accuracy of AD diagnosis was 87.62 percent on average after 100 runs,while the area under curve was 94.25 percent.The sensitivity of the MCI diagnosis was 83.88 percent,while the accuracy was 73.38 percent.The age correction can help diagnose MCI more accurately.The outcomes showed that the proposed strategy for diagnosing AD and MCI was more effective than existing methods.

Microgrid Optimal Scheduling

This paper presents the optimal scheduling of renewable resources using interior point optimization for grid-connected and islanded microgrids (MG) that operate with no energy storage systems. The German Jordanian University (GJU) microgrid system is used for illustration. We present analyses for islanded and grid-connected MG with no storage. The results show a feasible islanded MG with a substantial operational cost reduction. We obtain an average of $1 k daily cost savings when operating an islanded compared to a grid-connected MG with capped grid energy prices. This cost saving is 10 times higher when considering varying grid energy prices during the day. Although the PV power is intermittent during the day, the MG continues to operate with a voltage variation that does not 10%. The results imply that MGs of GJU similar topology can optimally and safely operate with no energy storage requirements but considerable renewable generation capacity.

Smart Python Agents for Microgrids

Microgrids are revolutionary power systems that interconnect a mix of renewable power generation, load, storage systems, and inverters in a small-scale grid network. Operating microgrids while maintaining a consistent grid voltage and frequency during the islanding and disruption of renewables has been a challenging research problem. In this paper, a preliminary microgrid agent implementation is presented using SPADE (Smart Python Agent Development Environment) as a powerful development framework that has been used extensively in many application domains. Agents autonomously managed and operated microgrid individual components. A multiagent microgrid system was modeled to seamlessly operate and optimize energy balance by coordinating the actions of agents. Agents were built to forecast energy demand and solar power and coordinate to balance generation with load while maintaining optimal power flow and adequate network voltage and frequency.

Angular Dependence of Lateral and Levitation Forces in Asymmetric Small Magnet/Superconducting Systems

The dipole-dipole interaction model is used to calculate the angular dependence of lateral and levitation forces on a small permanent magnet and a cylindrical superconductor in the Meissner state lying laterally off the symmetric axis of the cylinder. Under the assumption that the lateral displacement of the magnet is small compared with the physical dimensions of the system, we obtain analytical expressions for the lateral and levitation forces as functions of geometrical parameters of the superconductor as well as the height, the lateral displacement and the orientation of magnetic moment of the magnet. The effect of thickness and radius of the superconductor on the levitation force is similar to that for a symmetric magnet/superconducting cylinder system, but within the range of lateral displacement. The splitting in the levitation force increases with the increasing angle of orientation of the magnetic moment of the magnet. For a given lateral displacement of the magnet, the lateral force vanishes when the magnetic moment is perpendicular to the surface of the superconductor and has a maximum value when the moment is parallel to the surface. For a given orientation of the magnetic moment, the lateral force has a linear relationship with the lateral displacement. The stability of the magnet above the superconducting cylinder is discussed in detail.

On Exact Solutions of Second Order Nonlinear Ordinary Differential Equations

In this paper, a new approach for solving the second order nonlinear ordinary differential equation y’’ + p(x;y)y’ = G(x;y) is considered. The results obtained by this approach are illustrated by examples and show that this method is powerful for this type of equations.

Vibrations in Magnet/Superconductor Levitation Systems

处于 Meissner 状态在一个很薄的超导的磁盘上面升在空中的一个小磁铁的问题被分析。偶极子偶极子相互作用模特儿被雇用为超导的磁盘的特别半径与增加的悬浮高度为小颤动减少的相互作用精力，悬浮力量，磁性的僵硬和频率导出分析表达式，它在对试验性的结果的好同意。然而，频率由为磁铁的特别高度增加磁盘的半径 monotonically 增加直到浸透。另外，当系统比系统在水平配置的那 whrn 在垂直配置时，颤动的频率更高。

An Experimental Simulation of a Design Three-Port DC-DC Converter

Traditional DC-DC converter topologies interface two power terminals: a source and a load. The construction of diverse and flexible power management and distribution (PMAD) systems with such topologies is governed by a tight compromise between converter count, efficiency, and control complexity. The broader impact of the current research activity is the development of enhanced power converter systems suitable for a wide range of applications. Potential users of this technology include the designers of portable and stand-alone systems such as laptops, hand-held electronics, and communication repeater stations. High power topology options support the evolution of clean power technologies such as hybrid-electric vehicles (HEV’s) and solar vehicles. DC-DC converter is considered as an advanced environmental issue since it is a greenhouse emission eliminator. By utilizing the advancement of these renewable energy sources, we minimize the use of fossil fuel. Thus, we will have a cleaner and pollution free environment. In this paper, a three-port DC-DC converter is designed and discussed. The converter was built and tested at the energy research laboratory at Taibah University, Al Madinah, KSA.

How Can Lean Manufacturing Lead the Manufacturing Sector during Health Pandemics Such as COVID 19: A Multi Response Optimization Framework

Lean manufacturing has been used for the last few decades as a process and performance improvement tool.Initially known as Toyota production system(TPS),lean is now used in almost all service and manufacturing sectors to deliver favorable results such as decreased operational cost,increased customer satisfaction,decreased cycle time,and enhanced profits.During the coronavirus disease(COVID 19)pandemic,the manufacturing sector struggled immensely and could not function well even after lockdown was eased in many countries.Many companies found out there are not ready to conform with new regulations made by authorities in many countries.This paper proposes the use of simulation and multi response optimization in addition to other typical lean tools in order to arrive at optimum performance at the end of each project through an established optimization framework.The framework is used in a real case study performed at an aluminum extrusion factory.Lean manufacturing helps organizations to operate with smaller number of resources.It standardizes all processes so that most of the jobs can be done by most of the workers,but this is not enough to create a healthy,sanitized work place.Our framework utilizes the strengths of lean tools and adds pandemic readiness factor to them to ensure improvement in performance and health pandemic readiness.Implementation of the framework in the case company resulted in 50%reduction in labor,$730000 in expected annual cost savings,reduction in inventory levels,improved employee morale and the achievement of pandemic ready status.

Levitation and lateral forces between a point magnetic dipole and a superconducting sphere

The dipole–dipole interaction model is employed to investigate the angular dependence of the levitation and lateral forces acting on a small magnet in an anti-symmetric magnet/superconducting sphere system. Breaking the symmetry of the system enables us to study the lateral force which is important in the stability of the magnet above a superconducting sphere in the Meissner state. Under the assumption that the lateral displacement of the magnet is small compared to the physical dimensions of our proposed system, analytical expressions are obtained for the levitation and lateral forces as a function of the geometrical parameters of the superconductor as well as the height, the lateral displacement, and the orientation of the magnetic moment of the magnet. The dependence of the levitation force on the height of the levitating magnet is similar to that in the symmetric magnet/superconducting sphere system within the range of proposed lateral displacements. It is found that the levitation force is linearly dependent on the lateral displacement whereas the lateral force is independent of this displacement. A sinusoidal variation of both forces as a function of the polar and azimuthal angles specifying the orientation of the magnetic moment is observed. The relationship between the stability and the orientation of the magnetic moment is discussed for different orientations.

Effects of Magnet Size and Geometry on Magnetic Levitation Force

我们作为超导体磁铁系统的尺寸的一个函数为悬浮力量获得分析关系。力量根据 thedipole 偶极子相互作用模型被计算了。悬浮力量上的超导体的厚度的效果被调查。结果证明几何学的影响和磁铁的厚度在小悬浮距离变得显著地大。而且，接近点偶极子导致悬浮力量的一个不精密的评价的永久磁铁。

Fault Classification and Localization in Power Systems Using Fault Signatures and Principal Components Analysis

A vital attribute of electrical power network is the continuity of service with a high level of reliability. This motivated many researchers to investigate power systems in an effort to improve reliability by focusing on fault detection, classification and localization. In this paper, a new protective relaying framework to detect, classify and localize faults in an electrical power transmission system is presented. This work will extract phase current values during ( )th of a cycle to generate unique signatures. By utilizing principal component analysis (PCA) methods, this system will identify and classify any fault instantaneously. Also, by using the curve fitting polynomial technique with our index pattern obtained from the unique fault signature, the location of the fault can be determined with a significant accuracy.

Control of Instable Chaotic Small Power System

In this paper, we aim to control an instable chaotic oscillation in power system that is considered to be small system by using a linear state feedback controller. First we will analyze the stability of the mentioned power system by means of modern nonlinear theory (Bifurcation and Chaos). Our model is based on a three bus power system that consists of multi generators containing both dynamic and static loads. They are considered to be in the form of an induction motor in parallel with a capacitor, as well as a combination of constant power along with load impedance, PQ. We consider the load reactive power as the control parameter. At this stage, after changing the control parameter, the study showed that the system is experiencing a subcritical Hopf bifurcation point. This leads to a chaos within the system period doubling path. We then discuss the system controllability and present that the all chaotic oscillations fade away through the linear controller that we impose on the system.

Real-Time Operation of Microgrids

Microgrid (MG) systems effectively integrate a generation mix of solar, wind, and other renewable energy resources. The intermittent nature of renewable resources and the unpredictable weather conditions contribute largely to the unreliability of microgrid real-time operation. This paper investigates the behavior of microgrid for different intermittent scenarios of photovoltaic generation in real-time. Reactive power coordination control and load shedding mechanisms are used for reliable operation and are implemented using OPAL-RT simulator integrated with Matlab. In an islanded MG, load shedding can be an effective mechanism to maintain generation-load balance. The microgrid of the German Jordanian University (GJU) is used for illustration. The results show that reactive power coordination control not only stabilizes the MG operation in real-time but also reduces power losses on transmission lines. The results also show that the power losses at some substations are reduced by a range of 6% - 9.8%.

Novel Unilateral Dental Expander Appliance(UDEX):A Compound Innovative Materials

True unilateral posterior crossbite in adults is a challenging malocclusion to treat,especially when we need to correct cross-arch segments with unwanted effects on non-cross segments.Conventional expansion methods are expected to have some shortcomings;the Unilateral dental expander appliance used to restore unilateral cross bite dental arch is an uncommon appliance;for this,a designed new device is needed.This paper aimed to invite a new unilateral dental expander appliance(UDEX)to treat unilateral dental posterior crossbite in adults using available dental material,easy to use and handle,well tolerated by the patient,and biocompatible with oral structure.It could find that in all dental markets and dental clinics—an eighteen-year-old female with bilateral crossbite and upper and lower dental arch crowding.During active orthodontic treatment,a quad-helix expander had broken from one side at soldering between band and wire attachment.The patient did not show up to the clinic for a while due to COVID 19 pandemic lockdown,leading to a true unilateral crossbite at the dental arch’s upper left side,especially at the molar premolars area.This unilateral cross bite was treated using a new specially designed expanded appliance as a unilateral posterior cross bite dental maxillary expander.As a result of this study,orthodontic treatment was finished within(15)months,much less than expected.We obtained Class I molar and canine relationships with uncrossed dental arches in both upper arch sides,proper overbite and overjet with well-leveled and aligned teeth as it confirmed by clinical examination and radiographic images(OPG Orthopantomogram)and cephalometric radiograph(WebCeph analysis digitalized computer program).Conclude from that,the newly designed unilateral dental expander(UDEX)is proven to be useful for treating real unilateral posterior crossbites as single molar or premolar tooth and multiple joint unilateral crossed posterior teeth.Also,it could easily modify it for future unilateral crossed purposes.This appliance was fabricated using readily available dental material,well tolerated by patients,and reduced the need for excessive patient compliance.An orthodontist could fabricate devices,or cautious laboratory work is required;it can rapidly achieve favorable results.

Modeling and Simulation Study of Space Data Link Protocol

This research paper describes the design and implementation of the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) standards REF _Ref401069962 \r \h \* MERGEFORMAT [1] for Space Data Link Layer Protocol (SDLP). The primer focus is the telecommand (TC) part of the standard. The implementation of the standard was in the form of DLL functions using C++ programming language. The second objective of this paper was to use the DLL functions with OMNeT++ simulating environment to create a simulator in order to analyze the mean end-to-end Packet Delay, maximum achievable application layer throughput for a given fixed link capacity and normalized protocol overhead, defined as the total number of bytes transmitted on the link in a given period of time (e.g. per second) divided by the number of bytes of application data received at the application layer model data sink. In addition, the DLL was also integrated with Ground Support Equipment Operating System (GSEOS), a software system for space instruments and small spacecrafts especially suited for low budget missions. The SDLP is designed for rapid test system design and high flexibility for changing telemetry and command requirements. GSEOS can be seamlessly moved from EM/FM development (bench testing) to flight operations. It features the Python programming language as a configuration/scripting tool and can easily be extended to accommodate custom hardware interfaces. This paper also shows the results of the simulations and its analysis.

Suitability of Irbid Clay as Compacted Liners for Landfill, Jordan

The goal of this study is to investigate the possibility of using the Irbid city clayey soil as compacted clay liner. The geotechnical properties and the permeability characteristics of compacted clayey soil sample obtained from the eastern part of Irbid city were determined to evaluate their suitability as compacted clay liner. Falling head permeability test, unconfined compressive strength and volumetric shrinkage test were conducted on soil samples that were compacted at about 0% and 3% wet of its optimum water content. The leakage rates expected through clay-only and composite geomembrane-clay liners were determined. It could be concluded based on the results of the geotechnical tests and leachate rate calculations that Irbid clay is appropriate to be used as compacted landfill liner material.

Multi-Objective Grey Wolf Optimization Algorithm for Solving Real-World BLDC Motor Design Problem

The first step in the design phase of the Brushless Direct Current(BLDC)motor is the formulation of the mathematical framework and is often used due to its analytical structure.Therefore,the BLDC motor design problem is considered to be an optimization problem.In this paper,the analytical model of the BLDC motor is presented,and it is considered to be a basis for emphasizing the optimization methods.The analytical model used for the experimentation has 78 non-linear equations,two objective functions,five design variables,and six non-linear constraints,so the BLDC motor design problem is considered as highly non-linear in electromagnetic optimization.Multi-objective optimization becomes the forefront of the current research to obtain the global best solution using metaheuristic techniques.The bio-inspired multi-objective grey wolf optimizer(MOGWO)is presented in this paper,and it is formulated based on Pareto optimality,dominance,and archiving external.The performance of theMOGWO is verified on standard multi-objective unconstraint benchmark functions and applied to the BLDC motor design problem.The results proved that the proposedMOGWO algorithm could handle nonlinear constraints in electromagnetic optimization problems.The performance comparison in terms of Generational Distance,inversion GD,Hypervolume-matrix,scattered-matrix,and coverage metrics proves that the MOGWO algorithm can provide the best solution compared to other selected algorithms.The source code of this paper is backed up with extra online support at https://premkumarmanoharan.wixsite.com/mysite and https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/75259-multiobjective-non-sorted-grey-wolf-mogwo-nsgwo.