In the field of construction project management, time and cost are the most important factors to be considered in planning every project, and their relationship is complex. The total cost for each project is the sum of the direct and indirect cost. Direct cost commonly represents labor, materials, equipment, etc.
Indirect cost generally represents overhead cost such as supervision, administration, consultants, and interests. Direct cost grows at an increasing rate as the project time is reduced from its original planned time. However, indirect cost continues for the life of the project and any reduction in project time means a reduction in indirect cost. Therefore, there is a trade-off between the time and cost for completing construction activities.
In this research, modeling of time-cost optimization, generating global optimum solution for time and cost problem, and lowering construction time and cost using ant colony optimization algorithm
This study aims to enhance the RC5 algorithm to improve encryption and decryption speeds in devices with limited power and memory resources. These resource-constrained applications, which range in size from wearables and smart cards to microscopic sensors, frequently function in settings where traditional cryptographic techniques because of their high computational overhead and memory requirements are impracticable. The Enhanced RC5 (ERC5) algorithm integrates the PKCS#7 padding method to effectively adapt to various data sizes. Empirical investigation reveals significant improvements in encryption speed with ERC5, ranging from 50.90% to 64.18% for audio files and 46.97% to 56.84% for image files, depending on file size. A substanti
... Show MoreThe addition of new reactive sites on the surface area of the inert sand, which are represented by layered double hydroxide nanoparticles, is the primary goal of this work, which aims to transform the sand into a reactive material. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) surfactant is used in the reaction of calcium extracted from solid waste-chicken eggshells with aluminum prepared from the cheapest coagulant-alum. By separating amoxicillin from wastewater, the performance of coated sand named as "sand coated with (Ca/Al-CTAB)-LDH" was evaluated. Measurements demonstrated that pH of 12 from 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, CTAB dosage of 0.05 g from 0, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.1 g, ratio of Ca/Al of 2 from 1, 2, 3, and 4, and mass of sand of 1 g/50 mL from
... Show MoreOne of the most important features of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud is that the program can be run and accessed from any location. You can access and monitor the result of the program from any location, saving many images and allowing for faster computation. This work proposes a face detection classification model based on AWS cloud aiming to classify the faces into two classes: a non-permission class, and a permission class, by training the real data set collected from our cameras. The proposed Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) cloud-based system was used to share computational resources for Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to reduce redundant computation. The test system uses Internet of Things (IoT) services th
... Show MoreOne of the most important features of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud is that the program can be run and accessed from any location. You can access and monitor the result of the program from any location, saving many images and allowing for faster computation. This work proposes a face detection classification model based on AWS cloud aiming to classify the faces into two classes: a non-permission class, and a permission class, by training the real data set collected from our cameras. The proposed Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) cloud-based system was used to share computational resources for Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to reduce redundant computation. The test system uses Internet of Things (IoT) services through our ca
... Show MoreThis study investigated the bioethanol production from green algae Chlorella vulgaris depending on its carbohydrate-enriched biomass. Four different phosphorous concentrations were employed to stimulate bioethanol production from Chlorella vulgaris. The impact of various phosphorous values on Chlorella vulgaris growth rate as well as primary product (carbohydrate) were evaluated. High performance liquid chromatography was utilized in this work. The stationary phase was identified as day 14, 12, 10 and 6 in treatments 6, 4, 2 and g/L, respectively. The findings suggest that the treatment without phosphorous addition had the highest record of carbohydrate content (22.64% dry weight) as well as the highest bioethanol yield (20.66% dry weight).
... Show MoreMedical images play a crucial role in the classification of various diseases and conditions. One of the imaging modalities is X-rays which provide valuable visual information that helps in the identification and characterization of various medical conditions. Chest radiograph (CXR) images have long been used to examine and monitor numerous lung disorders, such as tuberculosis, pneumonia, atelectasis, and hernia. COVID-19 detection can be accomplished using CXR images as well. COVID-19, a virus that causes infections in the lungs and the airways of the upper respiratory tract, was first discovered in 2019 in Wuhan Province, China, and has since been thought to cause substantial airway damage, badly impacting the lungs of affected persons.
... Show MoreIn this work, a new development of predictive voltage-tracking control algorithm for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFCs) model, using a neural network technique based on-line auto-tuning intelligent algorithm was proposed. The aim of proposed robust feedback nonlinear neural predictive voltage controller is to find precisely and quickly the optimal hydrogen partial pressure action to control the stack terminal voltage of the (PEMFC) model for N-step ahead prediction. The Chaotic Particle Swarm Optimization (CPSO) implemented as a stable and robust on-line auto-tune algorithm to find the optimal weights for the proposed predictive neural network controller to improve system performance in terms of fast-tracking de
... Show MoreThis paper presents an enhancement technique for tracking and regulating the blood glucose level for diabetic patients using an intelligent auto-tuning Proportional-Integral-Derivative PID controller. The proposed controller aims to generate the best insulin control action responsible for regulating the blood glucose level precisely, accurately, and quickly. The tuning control algorithm used the Dolphin Echolocation Optimization (DEO) algorithm for obtaining the near-optimal PID controller parameters with a proposed time domain specification performance index. The MATLAB simulation results for three different patients showed that the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed control algorithm in terms of fast gene
... Show MoreThis paper presents a study of the application of gas lift (GL) to improve oil production in a Middle East field. The field has been experiencing a rapid decline in production due to a drop in reservoir pressure. GL is a widely used artificial lift technique that can be used to increase oil production by reducing the hydrostatic pressure in the wellbore. The study used a full field model to simulate the effects of GL on production. The model was run under different production scenarios, including different water cut and reservoir pressure values. The results showed that GL can significantly increase oil production under all scenarios. The study also found that most wells in the field will soon be closed due to high water cuts. Howev
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The present study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and experience of off-label prescribing practice among physicians in Baghdad city hospitals. This cross-sectional study was performed through the period from November 1st 2018 to March 2019 at 17 hospitals, a self-administered questionnaire was utilized to collect data from the physicians, and the targeted hospitals were randomly selected at different regions in Baghdad City area. Out of the 400 distributed questionnaires to the physicians, 383 of them were returned completed, 57.2% indicated that they were reasonably familiar with the term “off label drug”, 57.7% mentioned that the most common medical reasons for the prescribing o
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