A case study for developing eco-efficient street lighting system in Saudi Arabia

It is now well-known phenomenon that energy efficiency has highest short-term pay out period to decrease overall energy consumption. The replacement of conventional lighting technology with innovative lighting solutions can save up to 40 % of lighting energy. The ecological evaluation of street light provision system in King Abdulaziz University (KAU), Jeddah is carried out using Sustainable Process Index (SPI) methodology. This study is carried out selecting three commonly used street illuminating devices i.e. High Pressure Sodium (HPS) lamps, Compact Fluorescent (CF) lamp and Light Emitting Diode (LED). The results show that energy consumption can be decreased by a factor of 1 to 4 by replacing HPS lamp with high efficiency LED lamp. Similarly, environmental assessment results reveal that ecological footprint as well as carbon footprint caused by lighting service can also be lowered by replacing HPS and CF lamps with LED lamps

Association between adolescent idiopathic scoliosis prevalence and age at menarche in different geographic latitudes

BACKGROUND: Age at menarche is considered a reliable prognostic factor for idiopathic scoliosis and varies in different geographic latitudes. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis prevalence has also been reported to be different in various latitudes and demonstrates higher values in northern countries. A study on epidemiological reports from the literature was conducted to investigate a possible association between prevalence of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and age at menarche among normal girls in various geographic latitudes. An attempt is also made to implicate a possible role of melatonin in the above association. MATERIAL-METHODS: 20 peer-reviewed published papers reporting adolescent idiopathic scoliosis prevalence and 33 peer-reviewed papers reporting age at menarche in normal girls from most geographic areas of the northern hemisphere were retrieved from the literature. The geographic latitude of each centre where a particular study was originated was documented. The statistical analysis included regression of the adolescent idiopathic scoliosis prevalence and age at menarche by latitude. RESULTS: The regression of prevalence of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and age at menarche by latitude is statistically significant (p < 0.001) and are following a parallel declining course of their regression curves, especially in latitudes northern than 25 degrees. CONCLUSION: Late age at menarche is parallel with higher prevalence of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Pubarche appears later in girls that live in northern latitudes and thus prolongs the period of spine vulnerability while other pre-existing or aetiological factors are contributing to the development of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. A possible role of geography in the pathogenesis of idiopathic scoliosis is discussed, as it appears that latitude which differentiates the sunlight influences melatonin secretion and modifies age at menarche, which is associated to the prevalence of idiopathic scoliosis

Study of measurement of B meson radiative decays with the Belle II detector

V magistrskem delu na simuliranem vzorcu podatkov detektorja Belle II opravimo študijo meritve razvejitvenih razmerij redkih radiativnih razpadov $B^{scriptscriptstyle 0}rightarrow rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}gamma$ in $B^{scriptscriptstyle0}rightarrow K^{scriptscriptstyle *0}gamma$ ter od tu določimo razmerje elementov matrike CKM $|V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts}|$. Vzorec velikosti $375$ fb$^{-1}$ vsebuje simulirane podatke trkov elektronov in pozitronov pri veliki luminoznosti nadgrajenega trkalnika eksperimenta Belle II. Eksperiment bo tekom delovanja v naslednjih letih zbral vzorec velikosti $50$ ab$^{-1}$, kar pomeni 50-krat več razpadov mezonov $B$, kot jih je trenutno na voljo. Iz simuliranih podatkov najprej ekskluzivno rekonstruiramo oba izbrana radiativna razpada. Nato iz vzorca z uporabo pionskega veta in metod strojnega učenja izločimo čim več dogodkov ozadja. Iz kinematičnih porazdelitev določimo signalni donos obeh razpadov ter ocenimo učinkovitosti rekonstrukcij. Izkoristki rekonstrukcije imajo vrednosti $epsilon_{scriptscriptstyle rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}}=9$ in $epsilon_{scriptscriptstyle K^{scriptscriptstyle ast 0}}=22.7$, ki so v primerjavi z dosedanjimi študijami na podatkih iz merjenega vzorca detektorja Belle višji. Iz signalnih donosov izračunane vrednosti razvejitvenih razmerij imajo vrednosti $mathcal{B}(B^{scriptscriptstyle 0}longrightarrowrho^{scriptscriptstyle 0} gamma)=(12pm3)cdot10^{-7}$ in $mathcal{B}(B^{scriptscriptstyle 0}longrightarrow K^{scriptscriptstyle ast0}gamma)=(4.19pm0.08)cdot10^{-5}$. Rezultati se v okviru statistične negotovosti ujemajo s teoretičnimi napovedmi in s svetovnim povprečjemza razpadni način $rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}$ je relativna statistična negotovost primerljiva z rezultati študij izvedenih na meritvah detektorja Belle in znaša 26%, medtem ko je za razpadni način $K^{scriptscriptstyle ast 0}$ izboljšana in znaša 1.9%. Vrednost izračunanega razmerja elementov matrike CKM znaša $left|V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts}right|= 0.268pm 0.041$. Rezultati imajo glede na aktualno svetovno povprečje večjo statistično negotovost, h kateri prispevajo slabši rezultati razpadnega načina $rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}$, vendar na podlagi naše študije ocenjujemo, da bo statistična negotovost na vzorcu, ki ustreza velikosti $50$ ab$^{-1}$, izboljšana za velikostni red. Negotovost razmerja $left|V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts}right|$ bo tako končno omejena predvsem z negotovostmi nekaterih parametrov potrebnih za izračun $left|V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts}right|$, ki so določeni teoretično ali iz drugih meritev.Using a simulated data sample of the Belle II detector measurements with an integrated luminosity of $375$ fb$^{-1}$ we performed a study of measurement of branching ratios for two rare $B$ meson radiative decays $B^{scriptscriptstyle 0}rightarrow rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}gamma$ and $B^{scriptscriptstyle 0}rightarrow K^{scriptscriptstyle*0}gamma$. The obtained branching ratios were then used to determine the value of $lvert V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts} rvert$ ratio of the Cabibbo–Kobayashi–Maskawa matrix elements. The sample contained simulated data of electron-positron collisions from an upgraded high luminosity Belle II experiment, which will in its future operation period accumulate $50$ ab$^{-1}$ of data. From the data sample, we first performed na exclusive reconstruction of events for both decay chains. We proceeded with the elimination of background events with the usage of pion veto and machine learning techniques. We then obtained signal yields from fits to kinematic distributions of events and determined the reconstruction efficiencies, which were found to be $epsilon_{scriptscriptstyle rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}}=9$ and $epsilon_{scriptscriptstyle K^{scriptscriptstyle ast 0}}=22.7$. In comparison to the results from older Belle studies, our reconstruction efficiencies are higher. The branching ratios determined from the signal yields have values of $mathcal{B}(B^{scriptscriptstyle 0}longrightarrowrho^{scriptscriptstyle 0} gamma)=(12pm3)cdot10^{-7}$ and $mathcal{B}(B^{scriptscriptstyle 0}longrightarrow K^{scriptscriptstyle ast0}gamma)=(4.19pm0.08)cdot10^{-5}$, and are within the statistical uncertainty in agreement with theoretical predictions and world average valuesin our case the relative statistical uncertainty for the $rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}$ decay mode has a value of 26% and is comparable with results from older studies with Belle data, while the uncertainty of the $K^{scriptscriptstyle *0}$ mode branching ratio has a value of 1.9% and is improved in same comparison. Finally, we calculated the value of ratio CKM elements $left|V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts}right|= 0.268pm 0.041$ which is also in agreement with the world average values, albeit statistical uncertainty is larger descending from results obtained from $rho^{scriptscriptstyle 0}$ mode. Nevertheless, we estimate that the statistical uncertainty will be improved by an order of magnitude when the sample of size $50$ ab$^{-1}$ will be used. We conclude, that in the future, the uncertainty of the ratio $left|V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts}right|$ will be dominated by uncertainties of some of the parameters used to calculate the value of $left|V_{scriptscriptstyle td}/V_{scriptscriptstyle ts}right|$ that are calculated theoretically or determined from other measurements

Aesthetics of the everyday / Aesthetics of the mundane

The thesis inquires on the aesthetics of everyday life. It explores the topic from several angles. From one end I try to uncover what constitutes the everyday and how can we recognise aesthetic experiences in the daily. From here on I look into the workings of the aesthetic experience and the role of the spectator. To bring forward some key concepts I use a case study — a short essay from Aldous Huxley. This theoretical part is supported with an exploration of my previous work and empirical examples of possible aesthetics of the everyday. The core of the theoretical reasoning is built upon linguistics, reception aesthetics and Dewey’s notion of the aesthetic experience. To construct my own view of the aesthetics of the everyday I employ the fore mentioned theories and take some of the key views alongside the idea of is-ness, a term strongly tied to awareness, rehash them and infuse them with my own ideas. Besides this pragmatic portion of the work, the thesis explores the subject from a more poetic point of view. The examples of possible aesthetic experiences in the everyday offer a more subtle view on the topic. The research is further explored through imagery that constitutes another integral part of my practice. Volume I, which is comprised by word based research it is extended in Volume II, a photo book of images that are either part of my research material or actual examples of the aesthetics of the everyday. Volume III which cannot be contained in a book format should be developed as an exhibition and conclude this part of the research into the aesthetic of the everyday. This last volume is yet to be realised

Banal Accordionalism: Stereotyping of Slovenian Identity in the Music Show

Od njenega izuma dalje velja harmonika za kamen spotike tako v samem zvočnem in glasbenem smislu kot tudi pojmovnem in ideološkem. Skozi zgodovino so se ideje okoli tega inštrumenta vedno spreminjale. Harmonika je dandanes v slovenski družbi splošno znan simbol slovenstva. Gre za ponos in ikono narodnozabavne glasbe, ki je pogosto dojeta tudi kot nadaljevanje ljudske glasbe, pri njenih uporabnikih pa tudi kot bolj »domača« in bolj slovenska kot ostale glasbene zvrsti oz. inštrumenti. Je Slovenija dežela »emancipatorjev« harmonike ali ji na dolgi rok pravzaprav tovrstna pozornost škodi? Teoretski pojem banalni harmonikalizem poskuša zajeti in razložiti konotacije, ki se oblikujejo okoli harmonike in nanjo lepijo, pri čemer igrajo mediji eno pomembnejših vlog in imajo pri produkciji pomenov velik vpliv, še zlasti v obdobju, ko poslušalci postanejo gledalci in glasbo gledajo bolj kot poslušajo. Narodnozabavna glasba ima ugodne kulturne, politične, tehnične, ekonomske in druge pogoje za razvoj. Ansambli so predstavljeni kot velika homogena skupina, ki so povezana s svojo folkloro in tradicijo, ter ponosni na svojo narodno identiteto. Hkrati pa s poudarjenim tradicionalizmom, stereotipizacijo podob in izključevanjem postaja tovrstna glasba monokulturen, zaprt in rigiden sistem.Ever since its invention, the accordion has been a stumbling block both in terms of its sonic and musical aspects, as well as its conceptual and ideological ones. Throughout history, ideas about this instrument have continuously evolved. Today, the accordion is a widely recognized symbol of Slovenian identity. It represents pride and an icon of Oberkrainer music, often perceived as a continuation of traditional folk music, and among its users, it is seen as more "homegrown" and Slovenian compared to other musical genres. Is Slovenia a land of accordion "emancipators", or does such attention harm it in the long run? The theoretical concept of banal accordionalism aims to capture and explain the connotations that form around the accordion and are attached to it, with media being one of the key mechanisms that significantly influence the creation of meanings, especially in an era when listeners become viewers and music is watched more than what it is heard. Oberkrainer music benefits from favourable cultural, political, technical, economic, and other conditions for development. Oberkrainer bands are presented as a large homogeneous group connected by their folklore, tradition, and pride in their national identity. However, with its emphasized traditionalism, stereotypical imagery, and exclusionary practices, it becomes a monocultural, closed, and rigid system