There are many ways to communicate a story, one can tell it, sing it, act it, write it, film it and can draw it. Each form of storytelling has its unique characteristics that separate it from the other forms. These distinguishing characteristics of each form does not indicate the superiority of one form over the other, on the contrary, it indicates the human ability to be creative on many levels. As students of literature, only the written form of a story is taken into account. One reason for the negligence of other forms of storytelling might be that singing and filming a story is not related to literature. But there has been a form of storytelling that uses words along with pictures which eventually became a genre of novels called graphic novel1. Graphic novels are "book – length, high quality comic books that introduce children's and adults to a wide range of literary fiction and nonfiction subjects."2 Comic books, on the other hand, are sequential narratives that are supported by graphics and images thus combining words with images to form a narrative.3 It has a distinctive form compared to other types of literature. Usually comic books tackle light, comic themes printed on glossy magazine – like paper, sold in bookstands and are relatively short.4 While graphic novels, on the other hand, tackle more mature and dark themes, are printed on book – like papers, are sold in bookstores and they are longer. Thus, the term graphic novel was used to distinguish it from comic books.5
A substantial percentage of the world’s energy consumption (almost 40%) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (around 37%) come from the construction industry, especially schools. This work presents a new hybrid artificial intelligence (AI) engineering model that aims to maximize energy performance on campuses in a holistic way. Modules for data-driven forecasting, metaheuristic optimization, and real-time adaptive control are all part of the concept. A thorough energy simulation of a university campus building is used in conjunction with the AI model to assess its performance through a co-simulation framework. Findings show that yearly peak electricity demand may be reduced by 18.7% and total site energy consumption by 22.4% when co
... Show MoreHard-grade asphalt binders like AC20-30 typically exhibit excessive stiffness, reduced penetration, and compromised workability, necessitating modification before use in paving applications. This study evaluates the efficacy of regular polyalphaolefin (PAO), a synthetic olefin-based lubricant, as a performance-enhancing modifying agent for such binders. AC20-30 was blended with PAO at dosages ranging from 2 wt.% to 10 wt.%, and the modified binders were characterized via penetration, ductility, softening point, and rotational viscosity measurements, alongside advanced rheological and chemical-morphological analyses. Incorporating PAO in AC20-30 asphalt progressively reduced the binder stiffness and enhanced its flexibility, with all modifie
... Show MoreThe smart city concept has attracted high research attention in recent years within diverse application domains, such as crime suspect identification, border security, transportation, aerospace, and so on. Specific focus has been on increased automation using data driven approaches, while leveraging remote sensing and real-time streaming of heterogenous data from various resources, including unmanned aerial vehicles, surveillance cameras, and low-earth-orbit satellites. One of the core challenges in exploitation of such high temporal data streams, specifically videos, is the trade-off between the quality of video streaming and limited transmission bandwidth. An optimal compromise is needed between video quality and subsequently, rec
... Show MoreThe study aims to reveal the level of professional development in basic education schools from the male and female teachers’ viewpoint in the Sultanate of Oman. It further aims to examine its relationship with some variables in light of Sullivan theory, and the differences in the level of professional development (teachers’ skills, professional participation, professional development problems) according to the gender variable, and the educational stage (first cycle/ second cycle). The study sample consisted of (93) teachers distributed as such: (46) male teachers, and (47) female teachers. A questionnaire was prepared and applied to measure the level of the professional development of the male and female teachers. The questionnaire c
... Show MoreAbstract: Two different shapes of offset optical fiber was studied based on coreless fiber for refractive index (RI)/concentration (con.) measurement, and compare them. These shapes are U and S-shapes, both shapes structures were formed by one segment of coreless fiber (CF) was joined between two single mode (SMF) lead in /lead out with the same displacement (12.268µm) at both sides, the results shows the high sensitive was achieved in a novel S-shape equal 98.768nm/RIU, to our knowledge, no one has ever mentioned or experienced it, it’s the best shape rather than the U-shape which equal 85.628nm/RIU. In this research, it was proved that the offset form has a significant effect on the sensitivity of the sensor. Addi
... Show MoreAbstract: Microfluidic devices present unique advantages for the development of efficient drug assay and screening. The microfluidic platforms might offer a more rapid and cost-effective alternative. Fluids are confined in devices that have a significant dimension on the micrometer scale. Due to this extreme confinement, the volumes used for drug assays are tiny (milliliters to femtoliters).
In this research, a microfluidic chip consists of micro-channels carved on substrate materials built by using Acrylic (Polymethyl Methacrylate, PMMA) chip was designed using a Carbon Dioxide (CO2) laser machine. The CO2 parameters have influence on the width, depth, roughness of the chip. In order to have regular
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