AC impedance studies on metal/nanoporous silicon/p-silicon structures

Alternating current (AC) impedance measurements have been performed on 10−15 thick porous silicon layers on a (100) p-type silicon (p(+)Si) substrate with the aluminium (Al) top electrode in a sandwich configuration in the range of 20 Hz to 1 Hz and in the temperature ranging between 152 K−292 K. The ac conductivity sac was found to increase with frequency f according to the universal power low: sAf=acs where the exponent s is a frequency and temperature dependent quantity. Hopping process is found to be dominant at low temperatures and high frequencies while a thermally activated free band process is responsible for conduction at higher temperatures. Capacitance is found to decrease with frequency but increase with temperature. Frequency dependence of loss tangent is observed with a temperature dependent minimum value

Dual-band microstrip loop antenna for wireless application

In recent years, microstrip and printed antennas are widely used in order to fulfill the commercial needs. The emergence of wireless applications requires compact antenna easy manufacture. The purpose of this project is to design of dual band microstrip loop antenna for wireless applications with a reduction in size. The aim of this antenna was to operate from 2 GHz to 4 GHz. A square microstrip patch antenna has been chosen as antenna design pattern due to its low-profile structure. The development of this project comprised two main stages where the first level is a software simulation (CST Microwave studio2012) and secondly is a hardware development. CST Microwave studio2012 has been used to simulate the antenna design for a purpose of preliminary design which the inherent of the advantages of the antenna can be identified, then the second stage is the development of the microstrip patch antenna which have been fabricated on FR4 substrate and tested using the network analyzer which has range between to 1GHz to 14GHz. Based on this project, the antenna parameters such as return loss, radiation pattern, voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) and bandwidth have been investigated. For further investigation, a substrate material with higher dielectric constant can be used to reduce a microstrip antenna size. The dual band antenna performance shows agreement between both simulation and measurement results

Perceptions of healthcare professionals and managers regarding the effectiveness of GP-led walk-in centres in the UK.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify the perceptions of healthcare professionals regarding the effectiveness and the impact of a new general practitioner-led (GP-led) walk-in centre in the UK. SETTING: This qualitative study was conducted in a large city in the North of England. In the past few years, there has been particular concern about an increase in the use of emergency department (ED) services provided by the National Health Service and part of the rationale for introducing the new GP-led walk-in centres has been to stem this increase. The five institutes included in the study were EDs, a minor injuries unit, a primary care trust, a GP-led walk-in centre and GP surgeries. PARTICIPANTS: Semistructured interviews were conducted with healthcare providers at an adult ED, an ED at a children's hospital, a minor injuries unit, a GP-led walk-in centre, GPs from surrounding surgeries and GPs. RESULTS: 11 healthcare professionals and managers were interviewed. Seven key themes were identified within the data: the clinical model of the GP-led walk-in centre; public awareness of the services; appropriate use of the centre; the impact of the centre on other services; demand for healthcare services; choice and confusion and mixed views (positive and negative) of the walk-in services. There were discrepancies between the managers and healthcare professionals regarding the usefulness of the GP-led walk-in centre in the current urgent care system. CONCLUSIONS: Participants did not notice declines in the demand for EDs after the GP-led walk-in centre. Most of the healthcare professionals believed that the GP-led walk-in centre duplicated existing healthcare services. There is a need to have a better communication system between the GP-led walk-in centres and other healthcare providers to have an integrated system of urgent care delivery

Investigating the Problems encountered by EFL Students in Translating English Idioms into Arabic or Vice Versa

Translating idioms is an indispensable part of human life which involves language, thought and action.  This study aims to investigate the problems encountered by EFL students in translating English idioms into Arabic or vice versa and set up some solutions. The study hypothesizes that university students are unable to translate idioms from English to Arabic and vice versa.  To fulfil this study, the descriptive-analytic method is used and to be followed.   A questionnaire is used as data collection instruments.  The sample of the study consisted of (20) students from the third and fourth school year at Onaizah Colleges, Qassim, K.S.A.  The study found that the differences in the average of the consensus are in favour of the variables that translating idioms is a problematic area for Saudi EFL students. Likewise,  EFL students are confused in translating idioms from English to Arabic and vice versa due to poor vocabulary and fixed idiomatic expressions.  Moreover, EFL students translate the idioms from English to Arabic and vice versa literally.  The study recommends that EFL students should be exposed to a variety of vocabulary, fixed and idiomatic expression in translation tasks. Also, they must be aware of the cultural differences in translation idioms.  The study further recommends that deploying fixed and idiomatic expressions in schools' and colleges' aisles could benefit the students in translation

Inkjet printed LED based pH chemical sensor for gas sensing

Predictable behaviour is a critical factor when developing a sensor for potential deployment within a wireless sensor network (WSN). The work presented here details the fabrication and performance of an optical chemical sensor for gaseous acetic acid analysis, which was constructed using inkjet printed deposition of a colorimetric chemical sensor. The chemical sensor comprised a pH indicator dye (bromophenol blue), phase transfer salt tetrahexylammonium bromide and polymer ethyl cellulose dissolved in 1-butanol. A paired emitter-detector diode (PEDD) optical detector was employed to monitor responses of the colorimetric chemical sensor as it exhibits good sensitivity, low power consumption, is low cost, accurate and has excellent signal to noise ratios. The chemical sensor formulation was printed directly onto the surface the emitter LED, and the resulting chemical sensors characterised with respect to their layer thickness, response time and recovery time. The fabrication reproducibility of inkjet printed chemical sensors in comparison to drop casted chemical sensors was investigated. Colorimetric chemical sensors produced by inkjet printing, exhibited an improved reproducibility for the detection of gaseous acetic acid with a relative standard deviation of 5.5 % in comparison to 68.0 % calculated for drop casted sensors (n = 10). The stability of the chemical sensor was also investigated through both intra and inter-day studies

A framework for cloud-based healthcare services to monitor noncommunicable diseases patient

Monitoring patients who have noncommunicable diseases is a big challenge. These illnesses require a continuous monitoring that leads to high cost for patients\u27 healthcare. Several solutions proposed reducing the impact of these diseases in terms of economic with respect to quality of services. One of the best solutions is mobile healthcare, where patients do not need to be hospitalized under supervision of caregivers. This paper presents a new hybrid framework based on mobile multimedia cloud that is scalable and efficient and provides cost-effective monitoring solution for noncommunicable disease patient. In order to validate the effectiveness of the framework, we also propose a novel evaluation model based on Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which incorporates some criteria from multiple decision makers in the context of healthcare monitoring applications. Using the proposed evaluation model, we analyzed three possible frameworks (proposed hybrid framework, mobile, and multimedia frameworks) in terms of their applicability in the real healthcare environment

The Ash’arite Dogma: the Root of the Arab/Muslim Absolutism

There are three major categories upon which all of the world’s civilizations are established, namely, God, Man and World. The differentiation of worldly civilizations and the diversity of systems of knowledge are due to the way of drawing up the relation thereby the three categories are arranged. Some scholars assumed that these categories are communicated and totally correlated each other, in a way that each cannot be realized except in its connectivity to the others. While some others thought that the three categories should be separated and disconnected, in a way that each of the three is realized as an absolute and dominant one while the two others are marginal and dependent ones. Needless to say, while the first perception provokes the values of tolerance and the acceptance of the other, the second one motivates absolutism and the negation of the other. Unfortunately the Ash’arism, not only a dogma but —and more importantly— a stable and dominant way of thinking, is stimulated by the second perception based on an absolutism and the negation of the other. It departs from that historical fact that this paper argues that absolutism, manifested in political, religious and cultural aspects of nowadays Muslims life, can be related to the dominance ofAsh’arism all over the Muslim world