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Abstract Avocado fruit is a climacteric fruit that has a short life after harvest. Chitosan (Ch) and Arabic gum (AG) have a pronounced effect on the storability of fruits. This investigation aimed to determine the effect of individual or combined use of Ch and AG as well as Ch/AG enriched with 2, 4, 8% Zn–NPs on physio-biochemical attributes and antioxidant capacity of Hass avocado fruit during cold storage (7 °C). The result showed that Ch or AG alone succeeded in maintaining fruit quality of Hass fruit during cold storage. Also, combined application of Ch/AG was more effective than individual application of Ch or AG in reducing fruit weight and polyphenol oxidase activity (PPO) as well as increasing total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and malondialdehyde (MDA). Moreover, Ch/AG coating enriched with 8% Zn–NPs recorded the lowest fruit weight loss, fruit decay %, TSS fruit content, fruit firmness and improved fruit skin and pulp color significantly compared to Ch/AG and control. Coating with Ch/AG/2%Zn NPs recorded the highest peroxidase (POD) activity, while Ch/AG/8% Zn–NPs recorded the highest TAC and the lowest PPO activity. Moreover, enriched Ch/GA with Zn–NPs recorded the highest CAT and POD activity compared to the control. This study shows the efficiency of Ch/AG enriched with Zn–NPs on preserving Hass avocado fruit quality during cold storage by delaying ripening process and activating enzymatic defense mechanisms.

This work proposes a switched/modulated capacitor filter approach for optimizing electric vehicle (EV) and vehicle-to-house (V2H) battery-charging stations. The proposed method employs using classical optimized Type- 2 Fuzzy Logic Controller. Multi-mode charging modes are modified to enable super-fast charging and enhanced power quality while reducing voltage transients on the DC side, inrush currents and harmonics on the AC side. An inter-coupled AC-DC capacitor interface equipped with dual complementary switching modes is utilized by the modulated filter to enable capacitive compensator pulsing and dual operational modes for the tuned arm filter. The aim of the proposed switched inter-coupled AC-DC filter compensation strategy is to achieve EV-enhanced electrical power usage by mitigating AC-DC voltage transients and inrush currents. The paper presented a dual action switched capacitors-tuned filter and reactive compensator scheme. The dual action complementary switched filter/capacitor compensator is controlled by a multi loop regulation controller to ensure effective measured action based on the global errors sum of the voltage and current/power loops. The novelty of the paper lies in using a multi loop weighted error action to carry the Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) power width modulation - duty cycle ratio based on slow changing dynamic/inrush loads. Results show the importance of the proposed scheme for improving the overall system efficiency and quality. The proposed scheme is tested and validated under different operating conditions and proved its effectiveness for various conditions.

Harmonics forecasting stands as a crucial approach in the development of devices aimed at minimizing harmonics disturbances. The primary objective of this study is to create a hybrid forecasting model that can deliver precise and dependable forecasts for harmonics in Renewable Energy Systems (RES). To achieve this goal, the Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) with the Long Short-Term Memory Network (LSTM) are combined in two distinct structured models. In the first model, LSTM is employed in the initial stage and ANFIS in the subsequent one, while the second model follows the reverse order. Additionally, for the generation of harmonics, two renewable generator models are utilized. The first model encompasses a grid-connected Double-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) driven by a wind turbine and integrated with a Solar Photovoltaic (PV)-based power generator. The second generator model combines a Solar-PV generator with a wind turbine-linked Permanent Magnet Synchronized Generator (PMSG) connected to a shared grid. The harmonics produced by these generator models are used to construct training and testing datasets, which are subsequently employed for generating forecasts using the proposed hybrid forecasting models. The accuracy of forecasting results is verified through a comparison with benchmark studies in the literature. The findings reveal that the model employing ANFIS in the initial stage and LSTM in the second stage (referred to as the ANFIS-LSTM model) consistently yields the best forecasts among all the models tested in this study with RMSE of 0.0287, 0.0372, 0.0396 and 0.0311 for THD, h7, h11 and h13 respectively. Moreover, it exhibits a significant improvement over any of the techniques used in previous literature. Ultimately, this research establishes that both hybrid models proposed outperform the individual forecasting techniques used as benchmarks in terms of accuracy and precision.

Background and Aims: Healthcare workers (HCWs), which include surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurses, technicians, and other non-medical staff working in the operation theatre (OT), change to surgical scrubs for providing designated services. This study was intended to investigate the association of moving in and out of OT to other hospital areas without changing scrubs and its impact on bacterial infection. Methods: After PROSPERO registration, we performed a systematic review to compare the occurrence of surgical site infections (SSIs) with or without the movement of HCWs outside OT. We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library using relevant keywords. RoB-2 and ROBINS-E tools were used to assess the risk of bias in randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies, respectively. Results: We identified six articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria: three RCTs and three observational studies. A risk of bias assessment revealed an overall low bias in the RCTs and an overall high bias in the observational studies. The analysis revealed a comparable incidence of bacterial infection in terms of colony-forming units when scrubs when HCWs moved in and out of OT with the same scrubs. A meta-analysis was not performed due to heterogeneity in participants and the OT set-up, as well as fewer studies and sample size. Conclusion: The evidence is insufficient to suggest that wearing scrubs outside the OT could increase the incidence of SSI in surgical patients or transmit the organisms to patients, causing infection. The present review neither supports nor is against wearing surgical scrubs outside OT premises.

Moisture accumulation in the building components/assemblies that form building envelopes can lead to material deterioration and moisture related issues such as mould growth. As a part of the building envelope, this study focusses on assessing the moisture performance and energy performance (i.e., hygrothermal performance) of roofing systems. As roofs can be built with high initial construction moisture, numerical simulations were conducted with and without high initial construction moisture in order to investigate: (a) the hygrothermal performance of cool and black roofs having material layer with high initial construction moisture content, (b) the time needed so that the moisture content reaches acceptable level as per the building code requirements, (c) whether moisture accumulation and mould growth occur in the roofs, and (d) the energy savings as a result of installing white/cool roof instead of black roof. An advanced numerical model is used to conduct the numerical simulations for black and cool roofs when they are subjected to hot climate. This model solves simultaneously the Heat, Air and Moisture (HAM) transport equations in all layers of the building assemblies. The model was extensively validated by comparing its predictions with the experimental data of different building components at various operating conditions. For the roofing systems investigated in this paper, the results showed that mould growth occurred in the black and cool roofs only for the case with high initial construction moisture. The mould has totally disappeared after 378.8 day for the black roof and 479.3 day for the cool roof. The temperatures of the cool roof were much lower than those for the black roof. The total yearly energy load with the black roof was 77% greater than that with the cool roof.

This paper presents a novel hybrid model employing Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Mathematical Morphology (MM) for the effective detection of defects in solar cells. Focusing on issues such as broken corners and black edges caused by environmental factors like broken glass cover, dust, and temperature variations. This study utilizes a hybrid model of ANN and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) for temperature prediction. This hybrid approach leverages the strengths of both models, potentially opening up new avenues for improved accuracy in temperature forecasting, which is critical for solar energy applications. The significance lies in the interconnectedness of temperature fluctuations and solar cell efficiency, leading to defects. The proposed model aims to predict temperatures accurately, providing insights into potential solar cell efficiency problems. Subsequently, this work studies the transitions to defect detection using Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) clustering and MM techniques. The hybrid model demonstrates accurate temperature prediction with Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) values of 0.92 %, 0.72 %, and 1.3 % for average, maximum, and minimum temperatures, respectively. The defect detection process yields a detection accuracy (CR) of 96 % and sensitivity of detection (SD) of 89 %. This work is validated compared to the literature work done and by using K-fold cross validation technique. The proposed work emphasizes the improvement in defect detection accuracy and the overall quality enhancement of solar cells.

The utilization of renewable energy as a future energy resource is drawing significant attention worldwide. The contribution of solar energy (including concentrating solar power (CSP) and solar photovoltaic (PV) power) to global electricity production, as one form of renewable energy sources, is generally still low, at 3.6%. However, it has firmly established itself among other renewable energy technologies, comprising nearly 31% of the total installed renewable energy capacity in 2022, making it the second most installed renewable energy resource behind hydropower energy. The present review study, through a detailed and systematic literature survey, summarizes the world solar energy status along with the published solar energy potential assessment articles for 235 countries and territories as the first step toward developing solar energy in these regions. A comparison of the solar power status among countries and territories has been provided, considering their concentrated solar power and PV installed capacities for each continent. Although there has been a significant increase of approximately 22% in global solar energy installed capacity between 2021 and 2022, the literature survey reveals that clear gaps still exist in the field of solar energy. In the next three decades, the solar PV field can advance to become the second prominent generation source by constructing more solar farms, allowing countries to generate approximately 25% of the world's total electricity needs by 2050.

Recently, k -fuzzy metric spaces were introduced by connecting the degree of nearness of two points with k parameters (t1,t2,t3,⋯,tk) and the authors presented an analogue of Grabiec’s fixed-point result in k-fuzzy metric spaces along with other necessary notions. The results presented only addressed continuous mappings. For discontinuous mappings, there is no result in k-fuzzy metric spaces. In this paper, we obtain some fixed-point results stating necessary conditions for the existence of fixed points of mappings eliminating the continuity requirement in k-fuzzy metric spaces. We illustrate the hypothesis of our findings with examples. We provide a common fixed-point theorem and fixed-point theorems for single-valued k-fuzzy Kannan type contractions. As an application, we use a fixed-point result to ensure the existence of solution of fractional differential equations.

The integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into smart grids has been considered crucial for advancing towards a sustainable and resilient energy infrastructure. Their integration is vital for achieving energy sustainability among all clean energy sources, including wind, solar, and hydropower. This review paper provides a thoughtful analysis of the current status of the smart grid, focusing on integrating various RES, such as wind and solar, into the smart grid. This review highlights the significant role of RES in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and reducing traditional fossil fuel reliability, thereby contributing to environmental sustainability and empowering energy security. Moreover, key advancements in smart grid technologies, such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Distributed Control Systems (DCS), and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, are explored to clarify the related topics to the smart grid. The usage of various technologies enhances grid reliability, efficiency, and resilience are introduced. This paper also investigates the application of Machine Learning (ML) techniques in energy management optimization within smart grids with the usage of various optimization techniques. The findings emphasize the transformative impact of integrating RES and advanced smart grid technologies alongside the need for continued innovation and supportive policy frameworks to achieve a sustainable energy future.

This research investigates the energy efficiency of a novel double-glazing system incorporating solid–solid phase change materials (SSPCMs), which offer significant advantages over traditional liquid–solid phase change materials. The primary objective of this study is to develop a 3D numerical model using the finite volume method, which will be followed by a parametric study under real climatic boundary conditions. A proposed double-glazing setup featuring a 2 mm layer of SSPCM applied on the inner glass pane within the air gap is modeled and analyzed. The simulations consider various transient temperatures and ranges of the SSPCM to evaluate the energy performance of the system under different weather conditions of Miami, FL during the coldest and hottest days of the year, both in sunny and cloudy conditions. The results demonstrate a notable improvement in energy performance compared to standard double-glazing windows (DGWs), with the most efficient SSPCM configuration exhibiting a phase transition temperature and range of 25 °C and 1 °C, respectively. This configuration achieved energy savings of 24%, 26%, and 23% during summer sunny, winter sunny, and winter cloudy days, respectively, relative to DGWs during cooling and heating degree hours. However, a 3% energy loss was observed during summer cloudy days. Overall, the findings of this study have shown the potential for energy savings by incorporating SSPCM with suitable thermophysical properties into double-glazing systems.

Nonlinear loads, crucial components of power system grids, pose a challenge due to harmonics injection. This work tackles this issue with a novel modified green plug–switched filter compensation scheme using fuzzy logic controllers. This innovative scheme presented in this paper utilizes dual action pulse width modulation to ensure switching functions from harmonics reduction and capacitive compensation for inrush nonlinear-type AC loads. The scheme’s multi-loop regulations and online switching effectively handle dynamic-type slow-acting inrush, motorized- and other rectifier-type nonlinear loads, enhancing the power factor, power quality at source and load buses, and reducing the total harmonics distortion at the key source and sensitive nonlinear load buses. A simulation model in the MATLAB/SIMULINK-2023b software environment demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed FACTS technique. The modulated dual mode switched filter-capacitive compensation scheme controlled by a fuzzy logic controller ensures less harmonics distortion and improved voltage stabilization. The results show that voltage, current, active power, reactive power, power factor regulation, and effective energy utilization are achievable with the designed Flexible AC Transmission System-Modulated Filter Capacitor Compensation–Switched Filter Compensator (FACTS-MFCC-SFC). The switched modulated AC green plug filter significantly improves power quality and enhances power factor in cases of inrush and nonlinear loads.

The aim of this paper is to study the coupled fixed point of a class of mixed monotone operators in the setting of a subordinate semimetric space. Using the symmetry between the subordinate semimetric space and a JS-space, we generalize the results of Senapati and Dey on JS-spaces. In this paper, we obtain some coupled fixed point results and support them with some examples.

Abstract The aim of this manuscript is to prove some new fixed-point results for the two families of multivalued dominated-contractive maps defined on a closed ball in a complete multiplicative-metric space. The fixed-point theorems for multigraph-dominated maps are established. We also investigate the existence of fixed points of the two families of graphic contractions in a multiplicative-metric space. For illustration, an example is provided to clarify that the hypothesis of the obtained result is valid. Moreover, the applications of the obtained results to show the existence of solutions to the coupled systems of nonlinear Volterra-type integral equations and mappingal equations are presented as a confirmation of the novelty of our results.

Solar and Wind energy based Renewable Energy Systems (RES) are one of the most rapidly growing technologies as a means of producing clean electrical energy. Grid integration of RES involves various types of power electronics-based converters and inverters. These electronic devices produce harmonics at their terminals, which are transferred to the grid. Harmonics forecasting is one of the techniques used to design harmonics mitigation devices in order to reduce harmonics. The core objective of this work is to develop a hybrid forecasting model to produce accurate and reliable harmonics forecasts for RES. Six novel hybrid forecasting models are proposed in this work to perform harmonics forecasting. These models are based on different combinations of multi-layered Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). The forecasting models proposed are two-staged architecture. Three hybrid forecasting models (model-1, 2 & 3) use ANN in the first stage and ANFIS in the second while the other three models (model-4, 5 & 6) are designed vice versa of prior. Two renewable generators are used to generate harmonics. The first generator combines Double-Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) driven by wind turbine with solar photovoltaic (PV) panels whereas, the second generator combines wind turbine driven Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) with solar panels. The purpose of these generators is to produce voltage and current waveforms using real-world data (Wind Speed & Solar Irradiation). Harmonics are extracted from these waveforms which are used to create training and testing datasets for the forecasting models. Harmonics are forecasted using the six forecasting models proposed and results are validated by comparing them to benchmark work done in the literature. The results show that model-3 and model-6 are the best and most consistent performing models.

Grid integration of Renewable Energy Systems (RES) involves various types of power electronics-based converters and inverters. The use of these electronic-based devices results in inducing both current and voltage harmonics to the grid. In order to reduce harmonics, especially for large-scale integration of RES, harmonics forecasting is one of many techniques used to design harmonics mitigation devices. The core objective of this work is to develop a novel forecasting model for accurate and reliable harmonics estimation for RES. To achieve this; two hybrid generator models are used. First model consists of wind turbine coupled with Doubly Fed Induction Generator (DFIG) combined with Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) based power generator which are connected to common grid. The second model uses Permanent Magnet Synchronous Generator (PMSG) with wind turbine in conjunction with Solar-PV generator. With real world meteorological data (wind speed and solar irradiation) as inputs, these generators simulate and produce output power with current and voltage waveforms. Harmonics are extracted from these waveforms to record, analyze, arrange and forecast future harmonics. Three parameters namely, Total Harmonics Distortion (THD) and the dominant individual harmonics contents, 11th harmonic (h11) and 13th harmonic (h13) are forecasted for both voltage and current waveforms. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS) are the prominent methods used for forecasting. Three types of three-layered ANN structures namely Cascaded Neural Network with Recurrent Local feedback (3LCRNNL), Cascaded Neural Network with Recurrent Global feedback (3LCRNNG) and Cascaded Neural Network with Local and Global feedback (CRNNGL) have been proposed and utilized in this work with hyperbolic tangent as transfer function to adjust weights and scaled conjugate gradient method as optimizer to reduce training error. ANFIS is also employed with subtractive clustering method to improve adaptability and accuracy of forecasts. The results are compared and presented which shows that ANFIS recorded the best performance for THDV and h13 and 3LCRNNGL for h11 for the Wind DFIG-PV model voltage harmonics forecast. For forecasts of the current harmonics, 3LCRNNGL performed best for THDI and h11, whereas ANFIS performed best for h13. For Wind PMSG-PV generator model, ANFIS yields the best results in every scenario involving voltage and current harmonics.

This paper used different Muti-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques to select the best alternative renewable energy sources in Msallata city, southeast of Tripoli, Libya. The selection was based on the commitment from the ministry of Energy in the Libyan government to lower their carbon footprint. The renewable energy sources considered here are solar, wind, and biomass. MCDA is widely used to solve various decision problems based on alternative evaluation. MCDA methods are currently applied in every field and can define any problem, alternatives, and criteria. However, every MCDA technique can give different results. In this paper, four MCDA methods have been tested and evaluated based on the renewable energy sector to find the best alternative. The results suggest that a combination of wind and solar is the most important energy source; solar plants alone are the second most important energy source. The least important energy source in this model is biomass alone. This work is validated using HOMER Pro Software. Many MCDA techniques are applied these days in almost all disciplines, but they may have different results. This work proved that the best MCDA for dealing with renewables for the proposed selection is either The COmplex PRoportional ASsessment (COPRAS) or VIseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR). COPRAS is a MCDA technique that is developed by Zavadskas, Kaklauskas, and Sarka in 1994, it is applied to maximize and minimize index values. VIKOR is an abbreviation of a Serbian term that means Multicriteria Optimization and Compromise Solution, it ranks and selects from various alternatives with conflicting criteria.

The stationarity of a time series is an important assumption in the Box-Jenkins methodology. Removing the non-stationary feature from the time series can be done using a differencing technique or a logarithmic transformation approach, but it is not guaranteed from the first step. This paper proposes a new adaptive DC technique, a novel technique for removing a non-stationary time series from the first step. The technique involves transferring non-stationary data into another domain that deals with it as a stationary time series, as it is much easier to be forecasted in that domain. The adaptive DC technique has been applied to different time series, including gasoline and diesel fuel prices, temperature, demand side, inflation rate and number of internet users time series. The performance of the proposed technique is evaluated using different statistical tests, including Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF), Kwiatkowski-Phillips-Schmidt-Shin (KPSS), and Phillips Perron (PP). Additionally, the technique is validated by comparing it with a differencing technique, and the results show that the proposed technique slightly outperforms the differencing method. The importance of the proposed technique is its capability to get the stationarity data from the first step, whereas the differencing technique sometimes needs more than one step.

Heba Hamed,1 Raed Madia,2 Hosniyeh Ladadweh,2 Hiba Falana,2 Abdallah Damin AbuKhalil2 1Palestine Medical Complex, Ministry of Health, Ramallah, Palestine; 2Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, Birzeit, PalestineCorrespondence: Hosniyeh Ladadweh, Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Nursing and Health Professions, Birzeit University, P.O. Box 14, Birzeit, West Bank, Palestine, Tel +972592060838, Fax +970-2-2982017, Email hladadweh@birzeit.eduBackground: Mucormycosis is a fulminant and rapidly progressing fungal infection associated with a high mortality rate. Mucormycosis is primarily seen in immunocompromised patients, especially those with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus (DM), and recently in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients.Case Presentation: In this case report, we present a rare case of fatal mucormycosis in Palestine. A 34-year-old Palestinian female patient presented to the emergency department one-month post-COVID-19 infection with left facial pain. During her hospital stay, she deteriorated, with a random blood sugar level of 400 mg/dl and a hemoglobin A1c of 18% with metabolic acidosis and the appearance of swelling and black eschar on her left side of her face. Finally, she was diagnosed with mucormycosis and expired two days later.Conclusion: In this unfortunate case report of mucormycosis, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) infection, delayed diagnosis, misuse of corticosteroids, inappropriate use of antibiotics, and uncontrolled diabetes with ketoacidosis contributed to patient mortality and fatality. Therefore, appropriate patient assessment, rapid diagnosis, and selection of appropriate treatment are important and lifesaving.Keywords: fungal infection, immunocompromised, acidosis, COVID-19, mucormycosis, diabetes

In this paper, we prove some results on the Hausdorff partial b-metrics. We prove some new Lemmas regarding convergence of the sequences in the Hausdorff partial b-metric spaces. The obtained results generalize and improve many existing fixed-point results. The examples are given for the explanation of theory. The existence of the solution to the boundary value problem is proved via fixed-point approach.

The determination of thermal resistances (R-values) for enclosed airspaces, including those with one or more low-emittance surfaces, has advanced from one-dimensional heat transfer between large parallel planes to multi-dimensional heat flow in a wide variety of physical configurations. The key elements in this advancement, however, are the evaluation of the heat flow due to conduction-convection and the solution for radiation that includes all surfaces bounding the region of interest. The model used in this study has been validated against several sets of laboratory test data, including the data from the U.S. National Bureau of Standards for the thermal resistance of airspaces, which has been the basis for handbook values for reflective airspaces for five decades. In addition, this model has been previously used to determine the reductions in the R-values of reflective insulations assemblies due to imperfect installations and internal defects in multilayer reflective systems with cross-airflow between the layers. In this study, the model is used to examine the impact on R-value of air intrusion of different air changes per hour (ACH) at various exterior air temperatures into reflective insulation assemblies with a range of effective emittance from 0 to 0.82. Two cases are considered in this study. In the first case, called “infiltration”, exterior air enters the assembly through an opening located in the hot side of the assembly and exits through another opening located in the cold side of the assembly. In the second case, called “wind washing”, the exterior air enters the assembly through an opening located in the hot side of the assembly and exits through another opening located in the same side of the assembly. To quantify the reductions in the R-values due to infiltration and wind washing conditions, a reference case is included in this study for the case in which no air intrusion occurs in the reflective insulation assemblies. Finally, consideration is given to investigating the effect of the aspect ratio on the R-values of reflective insulation assemblies without air intrusion and with air intrusion of different ACH at various exterior air temperatures. The results show that the aspect ratio has a significant impact on the R-value of reflective insulation assemblies with and without air intrusion. Additionally, the results show that the impact of infiltration and wind washing on R-values of reflective insulation assemblies increase as the difference between the exterior air temperature and the undisturbed temperature of the cavity increases.

The global positioning system (GPS) is a satellite navigation system that determines locations. Whenever the baseline satellites are serviced or deactivated, the Space Force often flies more than 24 GPS satellites to maintain coverage. The additional satellites are not regarded as a part of the core constellation but may improve the performance of the GPS. In this study of GPS models, we solved various problems. We examined each set of four satellites separately. Advancements in computer softwares have made computations much more precise. We can use iterative methods to solve GPS problems. Iterative schemes for solving nonlinear equations have always been of great importance because of their applicability to real-world problems. This paper involves the development of an efficient family of sixth-order Jarratt-type iterative schemes for analyzing nonlinear global positioning systems.

In this paper, with the use of newly defined class up and down log–convex fuzzy-number valued mappings, we offer a few new and original mappings defined by applying some mild restrictions over the definition of up and down log–convex fuzzy-number valued mapping. With the use of these mappings, we are able to develop partners of Fejér-type inequalities for up and down log–convexity, which improve upon certain previously established findings. The discussion also includes these mappings’ characteristics. Moreover, some nontrivial examples are also provided to prove the validation of our main results.

Enclosed airspaces of various effective emittances exist in the building envelope in walls, roofs, and double/triple glazing windows, curtain walls and skylight devices. Assessing the energy performance of a building component with enclosed reflective airspaces requires evaluation of all modes of heat transport inside the airspace. The thermal resistance (R-value) of the enclosed airspaces depends on the dimensions and orientation of the airspace, and the emittance and temperature of all surfaces that bound the airspace. To the best of our knowledge, the existing methods used around the world to evaluate the airspace thermal performance (e.g., ISO 6946, AUS/NZ 4859, and methods based on the U.S. NBS data) are one-dimensional and assume isothermal conditions on the hot and cold surfaces. In actual applications, however, the temperatures of both the hot and cold surfaces vary (i.e., they are non-isothermal), and the heat transfer takes place via conduction, convection and surface-to-surface radiation. In some cases, convection is absent or negligible, as is the case for downward heat flow or situations with a small temperature difference between the hot and cold surfaces. Radiation transport is significantly reduced by the presence of a low-emittance surface in the heat flow path. One of the goals of this study is to answer the question “is it a good assumption to use the isothermal conditions on both the hot and cold surfaces for determining/reporting the R-value of enclosed airspaces for different building applications?” A complete evaluation of the thermal performance of enclosed airspaces that includes the impact of bounding materials can now be undertaken in multiple dimensions with convective transport described by computational fluid dynamics. In addition to providing a relatively complete evaluation of the thermal performance of the enclosed airspaces, the adequacy of popular simplifying assumptions can be evaluated. This paper describes the computational process used, along with examples of the variation in thermal resistance with the airspace aspect ratio, realistic thermal boundary conditions and radiative heat transport on all surfaces that bound the airspace. The analysis completed in this research shows that the assumption of isothermal hot and cold surfaces affects calculated R-values for enclosed reflected airspaces by less than 3%. This was demonstrated for the five conventionally considered heat-flow directions and effective emittances from 0 to 0.82.

The building envelope provides thermal comfort, an excellent visual view, and sunlight for the occupants. It consists of two parts: (i) an opaque (non-transparent) part (e.g., walls and roofs) and (ii) a transparent part (e.g., windows, curtain walls, and skylight devices). Recently, the use of fully-glazed facades, especially in large cities, has increased due to their aesthetical and structural advantages. This has led this study to review the performance of the currently passive smart glazing technologies. Phase Change Materials (PCMs) as latent energy storage material is the focus of this review, as well as other individual and combined techniques, including shading systems, solar cells (photovoltaic), and chromogenic (thermotropic and thermochromic) materials. PCM-integrated glazing systems have been extensively studied and rapidly developed over the past several decades from the standpoint of unique system designs, such as passive, active, and passive/active mixed designs, intelligent management, and sophisticated controls. In the academic literature, numerous studies on PCM-integrated building envelopes have been conducted, but a comprehensive review of PCM-integrated GUs combined with other passive and active techniques using dialectical analysis and comparing the climatic conditions of each study using Köppen-Geiger climate classification climate classification has been performed only rarely. Consequently, the primary objective of this study is to reduce this discrepancy for all types of glazing, excluding glazed roofs. This review article also contains literature tables as well as highlights, limitations, and further research suggestions at the end of each subsection.

In this paper, we introduce orthogonal multivalued contractions, which are based on the recently introduced notion of orthogonality in the metric spaces. We construct numerous fixed point theorems for these contractions. We show how these fixed point theorems aid in the generalization of a number of recently published findings. Additionally, we offer a theorem that establishes the existence of a fractional differential equation’s solution.

The present study is related to solve the nonlinear dynamics of a smoke model using artificial neural networks (ANNs) under the optimization procedures of global heuristic and local search scheme. The genetic algorithm (GA) and sequential quadratic programming (SQP), i.e., GA-SQP used as global–local search approaches. The smoke nonlinear medical model depends upon four categories named as potential smokers, temporary smokers, smokers and permanent smokers. For solving these categories of the smoke system, an error based objective function is designed using these nonlinear equations and the initial conditions of the model. The performance through optimization of the objective function is testified using the ANNs and the hybrid combination of the GA-SQP for solving the nonlinear dynamics of the smoke system. To check the perfection of the proposed stochastic approach, the obtained results through the hybrid of GA-SQP are compared with the Adams scheme. Moreover, the designed scheme through statistical performances using different operators authenticates the reliability and stability to solve the nonlinear smoke model.

Thermoelectric devices are currently being used in many industrial applications for cooling devices and generating electricity. This paper mainly focuses on using thermoelectric for cooling applications, specifically to cool down computer chips. In this study, experimental tests were conducted using a commercial thermoelectric module to investigate its capabilities for cooling hotspot in chip at different heat rates. Two experimental tests were conducted at steady-state condition to cool down hotspot with two different values of heat rates of 10.8 W and 12.1 W. The former heat rate represents the case of hotspot with low heat flux, whereas the latter represents the case of hotspot with high heat flux. The test results showed that at hotspot heat rate of 10.8 W, using thermoelectric current of 5.5 A has resulted in decreasing the hotspot temperature at open circuit condition (111.4 °C) by 54.0 °C. However, at hotspot heat rate of 12.1 W, using thermoelectric current of 6.0 A has resulted in decreasing the hotspot temperature at open circuit condition (138.8 °C) by 61.1 °C. The test results showed that the optimum electrical current at high heat rate was always greater than that at low heat rate. The results provided in this paper is a part of a research project that consists of a number of phases in which the ultimate goal is to develop a simple tool for designing self-cooling framework to cool down chip hotspot at different operating conditions with minimal increase in the overall power requirements. A case study for self-cooling framework is provided in this paper to demonstrate that the chip hotspot at a given operating condition can successfully be cooled at an acceptable temperature with no need for additional power requirements.

The aim of this paper is to present a Gröbner-Shirshov basis for a special type of braid monoids, namely the symmetric inverse monoid In, in terms of the dex-leg ordering on the related elements of monoid. By taking into account the Gröbner-Shirshov basis, the ideal form (or, equivalently, the normal form structure) of this important monoid will be obtained. This ideal form will give us the solution of the word problem. At the final part of this paper, we give an application of our main result which find out a Gröbner-Shirshov basis for the symmetric inverse monoid I4 such that the accuracy and efficiency of this example can be seen by GBNP package in GAP (Group, Algorithms and Programming) which computes Gröbner bases of non-commutative polynomials [1].

Abstract In this work we investigate existence and uniqueness of solutions for new coupled systems of mixed order fractional differential equations and inclusions supplemented with coupled nonlocal fractional boundary conditions. We apply the Leray–Schauder alternative and the Banach contraction mapping principle to obtain the existence and uniqueness results, while in the multi-valued case we use the nonlinear alternative for Kakutani maps and Covitz and Nadler’s fixed point theorem.

The idea of best proximity points of the fuzzy mappings in fuzzy metric space was intorduced by Vetro and Salimi. We introduce a new type of proximal contractive condition that ensures the existence of best proximity points of fuzzy mappings in the fuzzy complete metric spaces. We establish certain best proximity point theorems for such proximal contractions. We improve and generalize the fuzzy proximal contractions by introducing Ψ,Φ-fuzzy proximal contractions and Ψ,Φ-fuzzy proximal interpolative contractions. The obtained results improve and generalize many best proximity point theorems published earlier. Moreover, we provide many nontrivial examples to validate our best proximity point theorem.

For left and right λ-preinvex interval-valued functions (left and right λ-preinvex IVFs) in interval-valued Riemann operator settings, we create Hermite–Hadamard (H-H) type inequalities in the current study. Additionally, we create Hermite–Hadamard–Fejér (H-H-Fejér)-type inequalities for preinvex functions of the left and right interval-valued type under some mild conditions. Moreover, some exceptional new and classical cases are also obtained. Some useful examples are also presented to prove the validity of the results.

The purpose of this article is to introduce an ordered implicit relation that can be used for the existence of fixed points of new contractions defined in cone A-metric spaces. We investigate a fixed-point method for proving the existence of Urysohn integral equation solutions. We prove an homotopy result by the application of obtained fixed-point theorem. The hypothesis is demonstrated with examples.

In this paper, we present a cancer system in a continuous state as well as some numerical results. We present discretization methods, e.g., the Euler method, the Taylor series expansion method, and the Runge–Kutta method, and apply them to the cancer system. We studied the stability of the fixed points in the discrete cancer system using the new version of Marotto’s theorem at a fixed point; we prove that the discrete cancer system is chaotic. Finally, we present numerical simulations, e.g., Lyapunov exponents and bifurcations diagrams.

Building information modelling (BIM) has become increasingly popular in construction projects in recent years. Simultaneously, project management has received more attention from academics and practitioners worldwide. Many studies have suggested that perceiving collaboration and risk are critical for successful construction project management. This study investigates the current status and future trends in building information modeling (BIM) literature from the Web of Science database. This review systematically uses bibliometric and systematic literature review (SLR) methods through co-occurrence and co-citation analysis. First, 650 academic documents were retrieved from the Web of Science database. Then, co-occurrence and co-citation analyses were performed along with network visualization to examine research interconnections’ patterns. As a result, relevant keywords, productive authors, and important journals have been highlighted. The prominent research topics within the literature on building information modelling focus on the following topics: collaborative in BIM, integration of BIM, GIS and Internet of Things (IoT), barriers to the integration of BIM, sustainability and BIM, and risk assessment and uncertainty. Finally, the potential research directions are developing towards digital twin technology, integration of BIM and AI, and Augmented Reality (AR) and BIM. The presented findings of only 88 articles discuss the collaboration and risk issue in BIM for the construction industry and thus confirms the need for more studies on this topic to enhance the chances of successfully building information modelling projects. The review focuses only on the academic documents retrieved from the Web of Science database, thus restricting the coverage of the reviewed literature relating to building information modelling collaboration and risk.

In this paper, the theory of symmetric q-calculus and conic regions are used to define a new subclass of q-starlike functions involving a certain conic domain. By means of this newly defined domain, a new subclass of normalized analytic functions in the open unit disk E is given. Certain properties of this subclass, such as its structural formula, necessary and sufficient conditions, coefficient estimates, Fekete–Szegö problem, distortion inequalities, closure theorem and subordination results, are investigated. Some new and known consequences of our main results as corollaries are also highlighted.

Best proximity pair results are proved for noncyclic relatively u-continuous condensing mappings. In addition, best proximity points of upper semicontinuous mappings are obtained which are also fixed points of noncyclic relatively u-continuous condensing mappings. It is shown that relative u-continuity of T is a necessary condition that cannot be omitted. Some examples are given to support our results.

The aim of the paper is to discuss data dependence, existence of fixed points, strict fixed points, and well posedness of some multivalued generalized contractions in the setting of complete metric spaces. Using auxiliary functions, we introduce Wardowski type multivalued nonlinear operators that satisfy a novel class of contractive requirements. Furthermore, the existence and data dependence findings for these multivalued operators are obtained. A nontrivial example is also provided to support the results. The results generalize, improve, and extend existing results in the literature.

AISI-D6 steel is widely used in the creation of dies and molds. In the present paper, first the electrical discharge machining (EDM) of the aforementioned material is performed with a testing plan of 32 trials. Then, artificial neural networks (ANN) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) were applied to predict the outputs. The effects of some significant operational parameters—specifically pulse on-time (Ton), pulse current (I), and voltage (V)—on the performance measures of EDM processes such as the material removal rate (MRR), tool wear ratio (TWR), and average surface roughness (Ra) are extracted. To lead the process operators, process plans (i.e., parameter–effect correlations) are created. The outcomes exposed the upper values of pulse on-time caused by higher amounts of MRR and Ra, and likewise lower volumes of TWR. Furthermore, growing the pulse current resulted in upper volumes of the material removal rate, tool wear ratio, and surface roughness. Besides, the higher input voltage resulted in a lower amount of MRR, TWR, and Ra. The estimation models developed by using experimental data recounting MRR, TWR, and Ra. The root means the square error was used to determine the error of training models. Furthermore, the estimated outcomes based on the models have been proven with an unseen validation set of experiments. They are found to be in decent agreement with the experimental issues. The investigation shows the powerful learning capability of an ANFIS model and its advantage in terms of modeling complex linear machining processes.

Cool/white roofing systems use paints and membranes with high solar reflectivity to reflect a portion of the incident solar radiation resulting in lowering the temperature of the exterior surfaces in respect of the conventional/black roofing systems. This study focuses on the energy performance of roofing system that is being used in buildings of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries when this roof is exposed to a hot and humid climatic conditions in Saudi Arabia. The long-term moisture performance of the white and black roofing systems were investigated in a previous study in which the results showed that no risk of condensation and mold growth occurred in the roofs with different values of solar reflectivity of the rooftop and different initial construction moisture. With the same environmental conditions that were used in the previous study, the focus of this paper is on assessing the energy performance of white and black roofing systems for a wide range of: (a) thermal insulation thickness, and (b) solar reflectivity of the rooftop. Also, considerations are given in this study to develop a practical design tool that can easily be used by building engineers and architects for determining all pairs of the insulation thickness and the corresponding solar reflectivity of the reflective roofing materials/coatings that resulted in the same levels of the energy performance as those for the black roofing systems of thicker insulation thickness. The results of this study along with the developed practical design tool can be used in future to upgrade the Saudi building code to allow using less insulation in the roofs if white roofing systems are installed.

The present study aims to determine changes in some blood components in patients with urticaria, included measurement of Complete Blood Count CBC, estimate thyroid hormone levels of thyroid T3 and T4 and TSH , in addition to estimating levels of antithyroglobulin Anti-Tg in the serum of patients with urticaria reviewers health centers in the town of Khalidiya and outpatient clinics in the town of Khalidiya-Anbar and Amiriyah-Baghdad for the period from 15/1/2016 up to 15/05/2016. The results showed no significant differences for each of the red blood count RBCs and Hb concentration and platelet count PLT at the level of probability (P

Enclosed airspaces to reduce heat flow have been recognized for well over 100 years. Airspaces with one or more reflective surfaces define reflective insulation (RI) assemblies, a product type used in walls, roofs, windows with multiple panes, curtain walls and skylights. The thermal resistance (R value) of airspaces depends on the emittance of all surfaces, airspace dimensions and orientation, heat flow direction and surfaces temperatures. The modeling of RI now includes CFD coupled with radiation to quantify the total heat transfer. This study compares a validated model for airspace R values with existing methods such as ISO 6946 and hot-box results that provide the R values in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals. The existing methods do not include an airspace aspect ratio. This study showed that the aspect ratio can impact the R value by a factor of two. The impact of aspect ratio was calculated for double airspaces variation such as that for single airspaces. The present calculations are two-dimensional and also consider all the bounding airspace surfaces, while previous methods are one-dimensional and do not include surface temperature variations or detailed radiative transport.

The overall building performance depends mainly on the energy performance, indoor air quality, and moisture performance. In order to accurately calculate the building performance, the development of a model with the ability to integrate all three performances is required. In this research, a combination of three models namely EnergyPlus for energy, CONTAM for indoor air quality, and WUFI for moisture transport are used to develop an integrated model. The mechanism of this combination is based on the exchange of temperatures, airflows, and heating-cooling flows control variables between all three sub-models. By using the paired sample t-test, an integrated model is verified and its accuracy is validated. The accuracy of the integrated model is verified by the paired sample t-test. In order to analyze the accuracy of the integrated model in comparison with single models, four scenarios of airtight fan off, airtight fan on, leaky fan off, and leaky fan on are defined for a three-story-house subjected to three different climate cities of Montreal, Vancouver, and Miami. Percentage differences of simulated measures with the ASHRAE Standard are considered as the performance criteria. The simulated results by single and integrated models are compared and analyzed. Finally, the scenarios with the high performances are evaluated in terms of energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and moisture for Montreal, Vancouver, and Miami. Overall, it can be concluded that an integrated model should be developed.

In this paper, an integrated model that coupled CONTAM and WUFI was developed to assess the indoor air quality (IAQ), moisture, and thermal comfort performance. The coupling method of CONTAM and WUFI is described based on the exchange of airflow rate control variables as infiltration, natural and mechanical ventilation parameters between heat and moisture flow balance equations in WUFI and contaminant flow balances equations in CONTAM. To evaluate the predictions of the integrated model compared to single models of CONTAM and WUFI, four scenarios were used. These scenarios are airtight-fan off, airtight-fan on, leaky-fan off, and leaky-fan on, and were defined for a three-story house subjected to three different climate conditions of Montreal, Vancouver, and Miami. The measures of the simulated indoor CO2, PM2.5, and VOCs obtained by CONTAM; the simulated indoor relative humidity (RH), predicted percentage of dissatisfied (PPD), and predicted mean vote (PMV) obtained by WUFI; and those obtained by the integrated model are compared separately for all scenarios in Montreal, Vancouver, and Miami. Finally, the optimal scenarios are selected. The simulated results of the optimal scenarios with the integrated model method (−28.88% to 46.39%) are different from those obtained with the single models. This is due to the inability of the single models to correct the airflow variables.

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a new concept of coupled non-separated boundary conditions and solve a coupled system of fractional differential equations supplemented with these conditions. The existence results obtained in the given configuration are not only new but also yield some new special results corresponding to particular values of the parameters involved in the problem. For the illustration of the existence and uniqueness result, an example is constructed.

Punching shear failure is a major problem encountered in the design of reinforced concrete flat plates. The utilization of shear reinforcement via shear studs or other means has become a choice for improving the punching shear capacity. In this study, a new alternative of reinforcement, the introduction of rebar mesh at the middle of flat plate thickness covering the punching zone and anchored outside this zone, is proposed. Nevertheless, in this investigation, the proposed reinforcement system is examined for interior columns only. An experimental work consisting of eight specimens, of normal and high strength concrete, and an expanded analytical work using the finite element method had been carried out in order to investigate the effect of this additional reinforcement for both normal strength and high strength concrete. The computer program ANSYS-V12.0 has been utilized in the finite element analysis. The obtained results indicate that, the proposed shear reinforcement system has a positive effect in the enhancement of both the punching shear capacity and the strain energy of interior slab–column connection of both normal and high strength concrete. The general finite element software ANSYS can be used successfully to simulate the punching shear behavior of reinforced concrete flat plates.

In regions with hot climatic conditions such as that in Saudi Arabia, a substantial share of energy is used for cooling the buildings. Many studies have shown that cool (white) roofs can help reduce the cooling energy load and thus the demand for energy over time. Also, cool roofs help reduce the urban heat island during the summer time. This research study focused on determining: (a) whether cool roofs lead to risk of condensation and mold growth in Saudi climates, (b) the amount of energy savings as result of using cool roofs instead of black roofs of same insulation amount, and (c) the reduction in the amount of insulation in cool roof having the same energy performance level as the black roof. As such, numerical simulations were conducted for a roofing system that is commonly used in low-rise buildings in Saudi Arabia in order to asses and compare the energy and hygrothermal performance of cool and black roofs. The roof was subjected to weather conditions of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The indoor conditions were taken based simple method of ASHRAE Standard 160. The results showed no moisture accumulation occurred from year-to-year after 6 years and 7 years for the black roof and cool roof, respectively, and the highest relative humidities in the black and cool roofs were well below 80% resulting in no risk of condensation and mold growth occurred in these roofs. The main outcome of this study has shown the capabilities of using reflective materials with different short-wave solar absorption coefficients for enhancing the energy performance of roofs and/or reducing the amount of insulation that resulted in same energy performance as black roofs. This study can be used in future for upgrading the Saudi Building Code so as to allow less roof insulation if cool roof is installed.

Cool roofs use reflective materials or coatings to reflect a portion of the incident solar radiation. This results in a lowering the surface temperature of the cool roof compared to black roofs, and thus helps reduce the cooling energy loads during the summer season. The research reported in this paper was conducted to assess experimentally and numerically the performance of cool and black roofs that were subjected to the hot, humid and dusty climate of Jubail Industrial City (JIC). This paper focused on characterizing one of the important properties of reflective coating material (RCM), which is its solar reflectivity. In this study, the effect of dust/dirt accumulation on the solar reflectivity of the RCM was investigated at different exposure times to the natural weathering conditions of JIC. The test results showed that dust and dirt can significantly contribute in reducing the solar reflectivity of the RCM. As such, a number of cleaning processes were conducted on the surface of the RCM so as to increase its solar reflectivity. The effect of each cleaning process on the solar reflectivity of the RCM was investigated. Finally, this paper provides a test protocol and procedure for characterizing the dust concentration/intensity on the surfaces of the RCM and cleaning this material after different exposure times to a natural and polluted climate.

The two-dimensional unsteady laminar free convective heat and mass transfer fluid flow of a non-Newtonian fluid adjacent to a vertical plate has been analyzed numerically. The two parameters Lie group transformation method that transforms the three independent variables into a single variable is used to transform the continuity, the momentum, the energy and the concentration equations into a set of coupled similarity equations. The transformed equations have been solved by the Runge–Kutta–Fehlberg fourth-fifth order numerical method with shooting technique. Numerical calculations were carried out for the various parameters entering into the problem. The dimensionless velocity, temperature and concentration profiles were shown graphically and the skin friction, heat and mass transfer rates were given in tables. It is found that friction factor and heat transfer (mass transfer rate) for methanol are higher (lower) than those of hydrogen and water vapor. Friction factor decreases while heat and mass transfer rate increase as the Prandtl number increases. Friction (heat and mass transfer rate) factor of Newtonian fluid is higher (lower) than the dilatant fluid.

We prove the existence of solutions for neutral functional differential inclusions involving Hadamard fractional derivatives by applying several fixed point theorems for multivalued maps. We also construct examples for illustrating the obtained results.