Cylindropuntia rosea (DC.) Backeb, (Cactaceae): a new generic alien record in the flora of Saudi Arabia

Sami Asir Al-Robai,Saad Mohammed Howladar,Haidar Abdalgadir Mohamed,Abdelazim Ali Ahmed 국립중앙과학관 2018 Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity Vol.11 No.2

Cylindropuntia rosea (DC.) Backeb. (Cactaceae) is a cactus and invasive species native to Mexico. This is the first record of the genus in Saudi Arabia. The alien species was found near Jebel Hizna, Baljurashi region, southwestern Saudi Arabia. Information about the species' habitat, distribution, and morphological description and its illustration are presented. The presence of Cylindropuntia rosea increased the probability of finding other species belonging to the genus Cylindropuntia in the country. However, if this species gets established in different areas of the Kingdom, it could become a serious invasive plant that has negative impacts on livestock and human. Therefore, tracking and controlling the invasion of this species is recommended.

Feasibility online survey to estimate physical activity level among the students studying professional courses : a cross-sectional online survey

Bhumika Sudha,Asir John Samuel,Kanimozhi Narkeesh 한국운동재활학회 2018 JER Vol.14 No.1

The aim of the study was to estimate the physical activity (PA) level among the professional college students in North India. One hundred three professional college students in the age group of 18–25 years were recruited by simple random sampling for this cross-sectional online survey. The survey was advertised on the social networking sites (Facebook, WhatsApp) through a link www.surveymonkey.com/r/MG- 588BY. A Short Form of International Physical Activity Questionnaire was used for this survey study. The questionnaire included total 8 questions on the basis of previous 7 days. The questionnaire consists of 3 main categories which were vigorous, moderate and high PA. Time spent in each activity level was multiplied with the metabolic equivalent of task (MET), which has previously set to 8.0 for vigorous activity, 4.0 for moderate activity, 3.3 for walking, and 1.5 for sitting. By multiplying MET with number of days and minutes performed weekly, amount of each activity level was calculated and measured as MET-min/wk. Further by adding MET minutes for each activity level, total MET-min/wk was calculated. Total number of 100 students participated in this study, and it was shown that all professional course students show different levels in PA. The total PA level among professional college students, which includes, physiotherapy, dental, medical, nursing, lab technician, pharmacy, management, law, engineering, were 434.4 (0–7,866), 170.3 (0–1,129), 87.7 (0–445), 102.8 (0–180), 469 (0–1,164), 0 (0–0), 645 (0–1,836), 337 (0–1,890), 396 (0–968) MET-min/wk respectively. PA levels among professional college students in North India have been established.

Stability Analysis and Effect of CES on ANN Based AGC for Frequency Excursion

J.Raja,C.Christober Asir Rajan 대한전기학회 2010 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.5 No.4

This paper presents an application of layered Artificial Neural Network controller to study load frequency control problem in power system. The objective of control scheme guarantees that steady state error of frequencies and inadvertent interchange of tie-lines are maintained in a given tolerance limitation. The proposed controller has been designed for a two-area interconnected power system. Only one artificial neural network controller (ANN), which controls the inputs of each area in the power system together, is considered. In this study, back propagation-through time algorithm is used as neural network learning rule. The performance of the power system is simulated by using conventional integral controller and ANN controller, separately. For the first time comparative study has been carried out between SMES and CES unit, all of the areas are included with SMES and CES unit separately. By comparing the results for both cases, the performance of ANN controller with CES unit is found to be better than conventional controllers with SMES, CES and ANN with SMES.

Comparing the Effectiveness of the Muscle Energy Technique and Kinesiotaping in Mechanical Sacroiliac Joint Dysfunction: A Non-blinded, Two-Group, Pretest–Posttest Randomized Clinical Trial Protocol

Sarkar Manisha,Goyal Manu,Samuel Asir John 대한척추외과학회 2021 Asian Spine Journal Vol.15 No.1

Study Design: Two-group, pretest–posttest randomized clinical trial.Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy of the muscle energy technique (MET) and Kinesiotaping (KT) in addition to conventional physiotherapy among patients with mechanical sacroiliac joint dysfunction (SIJD).Overview of Literature: Patients with SIJD suffer from lower back and gluteal pain, as well as stiffness, due to restricted pelvic joint movement. To restore function and reduce pain among individuals with mechanical SIJD, the MET and KT may be helpful. However, a limited number of studies have compared MET and KT in mechanical SIJD.Methods: A total of 40 male and female participants aging between 30 and 50 years experiencing unilateral pain around the gluteal area, groin area, and lower limbs for more than 4 weeks but less than 1 year will be selected. Patients will then be randomized into two groups: METCp (n=20) and KTCp groups (n=20). The METCp group will receive MET along with conventional physiotherapy, while the KTCp group will receive conventional physiotherapy with KT. Both groups will receive three alternating days of treatment per week that will continue for 4 weeks. The modified Oswestry Disability Index, a digital pressure algometer, and sacroiliac joint motion testing will be used for evaluation. Between- and within-group pre- and post-intervention results for mechanical SIJD were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test/paired t-test and Mann-Whitney U -test/independent t -test.Results: Modified Oswestry Disability Index, digital pressure algometer, and sacroiliac joint motion will be measured at baseline, 2nd week during intervention, and 4th week at the end of interventionConclusions: The present study will provide data regarding the effects of MET and KT among patients with mechanical SIJD.

Removal of 4-nitro-phenol from wastewater using synthetic zeolite and kaolin clay

Nada Sadoon Ahmedzeki,Haider Abdulkarem Rashid,Asir Abduljabbar Alnaama,Maha Hadi Alhasani,Zainab Abdulhussain 한국화학공학회 2013 Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol.30 No.12

Adsorption techniques are widely used to remove certain classes of pollutants from wastewater. Phenolic compounds represent one of the problematic groups. Na-Y zeolite has been synthesized from locally available Iraqi kaolin clay. Characterization of the prepared zeolite was made by XRD and surface area measurement using N2 adsorption. Both synthetic Na-Y zeolite and kaolin clay have been tested for adsorption of 4-Nitro-phenol in batch mode experiments. Maximum removal efficiencies of 90% and 80% were obtained using the prepared zeolite and kaolin clay, respectively. Kinetics and equilibrium adsorption isotherms were investigated. Investigations showed that both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms fit the experimental data quite well. On the other hand, the adsorption of phenol was found to obey first-order kinetics.

EP Based PSO Method for Solving Multi Area Unit Commitment Problem with Import and Export Constraints

K. Venkatesan,G. Selvakumar,C. Christober Asir Rajan 대한전기학회 2014 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.9 No.2

This paper presents a new approach to solve the multi area unit commitment problem (MAUCP) using an evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization (EPPSO) method. The objective of this paper is to determine the optimal or near optimal commitment schedule for generating units located in multiple areas that are interconnected via tie lines. The evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization method is used to solve multi area unit commitment problem, allocated generation for each area and find the operating cost of generation for each hour. Joint operation of generation resources can result in significant operational cost savings. Power transfer between the areas through the tie lines depends upon the operating cost of generation at each hour and tie line transfer limits. Case study of four areas with different load pattern each containing 7 units (NTPS) and 26 units connected via tie lines have been taken for analysis. Numerical results showed comparing the operating cost using evolutionary programming-based particle swarm optimization method with conventional dynamic programming (DP), evolutionary programming (EP), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) method. Experimental results show that the application of this evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization method has the potential to solve multi area unit commitment problem with lesser computation time.

EP Based PSO Method for Solving Multi Area Unit Commitment Problem with Import and Export Constraints

Venkatesan, K.,Selvakumar, G.,Rajan, C. Christober Asir The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers 2014 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.9 No.2

This paper presents a new approach to solve the multi area unit commitment problem (MAUCP) using an evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization (EPPSO) method. The objective of this paper is to determine the optimal or near optimal commitment schedule for generating units located in multiple areas that are interconnected via tie lines. The evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization method is used to solve multi area unit commitment problem, allocated generation for each area and find the operating cost of generation for each hour. Joint operation of generation resources can result in significant operational cost savings. Power transfer between the areas through the tie lines depends upon the operating cost of generation at each hour and tie line transfer limits. Case study of four areas with different load pattern each containing 7 units (NTPS) and 26 units connected via tie lines have been taken for analysis. Numerical results showed comparing the operating cost using evolutionary programming-based particle swarm optimization method with conventional dynamic programming (DP), evolutionary programming (EP), and particle swarm optimization (PSO) method. Experimental results show that the application of this evolutionary programming based particle swarm optimization method has the potential to solve multi area unit commitment problem with lesser computation time.

Stability Analysis and Effect of CES on ANN Based AGC for Frequency Excursion

Raja, J.,Rajan, C.Christober Asir The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers 2010 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.5 No.4

This paper presents an application of layered Artificial Neural Network controller to study load frequency control problem in power system. The objective of control scheme guarantees that steady state error of frequencies and inadvertent interchange of tie-lines are maintained in a given tolerance limitation. The proposed controller has been designed for a two-area interconnected power system. Only one artificial neural network controller (ANN), which controls the inputs of each area in the power system together, is considered. In this study, back propagation-through time algorithm is used as neural network learning rule. The performance of the power system is simulated by using conventional integral controller and ANN controller, separately. For the first time comparative study has been carried out between SMES and CES unit, all of the areas are included with SMES and CES unit separately. By comparing the results for both cases, the performance of ANN controller with CES unit is found to be better than conventional controllers with SMES, CES and ANN with SMES.

Multi-Area Unit Commitment with Bilateral Contract Approach in Deregulated Electricity Market

S.Chitra Selvi,R.P.Kumudini Devi,C.Christober Asir Rajan 대한전기학회 2009 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.4 No.3

The eventual goal of this paper is to help the generating companies and load-serving entities to choose appropriate relative levels of interconnected system versus bilateral trades while considering risk, and economic performance. In competitive power markets, electricity prices are determined by balance between demand and supply in electric power exchanges or bilateral contracts. The problem formulation is bilateral contract incorporated into Multi-area unit commitment with import/export and tie-line constraints. This proposed method considers maximizing own profit or minimize the operating cost among the generating companies in multi-area system. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm has been demonstrated using IEEE system with four areas and experimental results shows that proposed method is reliable, fast and computationally efficient

Multi-Area Unit Commitment with Bilateral Contract Approach in Deregulated Electricity Market

Selvi, S.Chitra,Devi, R.P.Kumudini,Rajan, C.Christober Asir The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers 2009 Journal of Electrical Engineering & Technology Vol.4 No.3

The eventual goal of this paper is to help the generating companies and load-serving entities to choose appropriate relative levels of interconnected system versus bilateral trades while considering risk, and economic performance. In competitive power markets, electricity prices are determined by balance between demand and supply in electric power exchanges or bilateral contracts. The problem formulation is bilateral contract incorporated into Multi-area unit commitment with import/export and tie-line constraints. This proposed method considers maximizing own profit or minimize the operating cost among the generating companies in multi-area system. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm has been demonstrated using IEEE system with four areas and experimental results shows that proposed method is reliable, fast and computationally efficient