The smart distribution grids monitoring process refers to consistently collect data related to all distributed resources conditions. The dynamic nature of distribution grid systems makes the monitoring tools to be essential in utilizing different types of distributed resources and providing smart services to users. This paper gives a general overview about distribution grid monitoring system and its challenges, technologies, aspects, key components, and important requirements. Also, it sets the rules for optimum locations and the scenarios for loss observation units.

This study presents the test results of seven exterior beam-column joints with different longitudinal reinforcement details for the columns. The test program included a beam-column joint designed to serve as a control specimen, in which column reinforcement was continuous ribbed steel bars. The other six specimens were divided into two groups, three specimens for each group. In the first group, the longitudinal column reinforcement was detailed with well-confined lap-splice longitudinal bars: two specimens were reinforced with lap-splice deformed steel bars and the later was with lap-splice plain steel bars. The same reinforcement details were used for the second group but additional longitudinal basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) rebars were placed at the joint and extended to the upper and lower columns. The test results showed that splicing the longitudinal column reinforcement successfully reduced the contribution of the joint to the deformability of the beam-column joint. Furthermore, adding BFRP rebars to the beam-column joint could be applied as damage controllable bars reducing both the damage level at the serviceability state and the shear deformability of the joint up to failure. A sole strut resistant mechanism was realized by the joints of all test specimens detailed with lap-spliced longitudinal column reinforcement. Ultimately, the test results point to a probability to the renunciation of the ACI 318-11 requirements for splicing longitudinal column reinforcement at column mid-height.

This study presents the test results of seven exterior beam-column joints with different longitudinal reinforcement details for the columns. The test program included a beam-column joint designed to serve as a control specimen, in which column reinforcement was continuous ribbed steel bars. The other six specimens were divided into two groups, three specimens for each group. In the first group, the longitudinal column reinforcement was detailed with well-confined lap-splice longitudinal bars: two specimens were reinforced with lap-splice deformed steel bars and the later was with lap-splice plain steel bars. The same reinforcement details were used for the second group but additional longitudinal basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) rebars were placed at the joint and extended to the upper and lower columns. The test results showed that splicing the longitudinal column reinforcement successfully reduced the contribution of the joint to the deformability of the beam-column joint. Furthermore, adding BFRP rebars to the beam-column joint could be applied as damage controllable bars reducing both the damage level at the serviceability state and the shear deformability of the joint up to failure. A sole strut resistant mechanism was realized by the joints of all test specimens detailed with lap-spliced longitudinal column reinforcement. Ultimately, the test results point to a probability to the renunciation of the ACI 318-11 requirements for splicing longitudinal column reinforcement at column mid-height.

This study proposes both steel and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites as main reinforcement for modern reinforced concrete (RC) moment-resisting frame (MRF) structures. A detailed three-dimensional finite element model (3D FEM), which takes into account the material and geometric nonlinearity and the bond behavior of steel and glass FRP (GFRP) reinforcement, was created and validated against the available experimental results. 54 cases covering several combinations of steel-to-GFRP reinforcements and design scenarios (under and over reinforced design scenarios) were studied. The analysis results of steel-FRP reinforced concrete (SFRC) joints pointed to the ratio between the effective FRP reinforcement ratio and the balanced FRP reinforcement ratio (the normalized reinforcement ratio) as the main design tool that can be adopted to achieve a predefined seismic behavior. Moreover, a definition is given to the lower and upper limits of the normalized ratio. Design recommendations regarding the controllability of the serviceability state, the post-yielding state, the ultimate state, and the residual strength of SFRC joints through an appropriate design for the steel-to-FRP mixing ratio are drawn. Ultimately, a mechanical model describing the behavior of SFCR joints with different steel-to-FRP reinforcement ratios is introduced based on the general behaviors of the simulated joints.

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Indoor environment has a potential impact on health by influencing behaviors, actions, and interactions of patients and their families as well as the health providers. The motto of health professionals since Hippocrates “First, do no harm” seems to be not widely followed in recent times. Unhealthy buildings can cause a lot of illnesses to occupants. Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a poorly understood phenomenon where people have a range of symptoms related to a certain building and there is no specific identifiable cause. The effect of poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is not only on physical health of the building occupants, but also on their psychological health. Through extensive review, the paper addresses different factors, which affect both physical and psychological health of occupants in healing environments. These factors are divided into two main categories; (a) spatial factors, which include the architecture design of the space, views of nature and nature images, indoor plants and landscaping, wayfinding and orientation of the space, pleasant color scheme, the presence of coordinated art objects, furniture layout, and video and virtual reality environments; and (b) environmental factors include air quality and freshness, availability of daylight, thermal comfort, and acoustic quality. Since hospitals are profoundly different from other types of buildings, the study focused on integrating the aforementioned factors toward an optimal healing environment for children in a state pediatric hospital in Assiut city, which has potential impacts on occupant satisfaction and wellbeing. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the paper also summarizes both negative and positive factors, which provide a point of departure for further investigation and exploration within the field of IEQ in healing environments.

Indoor environment has a potential impact on health by influencing behaviors, actions, and interactions of patients and their families as well as the health providers. The motto of health professionals since Hippocrates “First, do no harm” seems to be not widely followed in recent times. Unhealthy buildings can cause a lot of illnesses to occupants. Sick building syndrome (SBS) is a poorly understood phenomenon where people have a range of symptoms related to a certain building and there is no specific identifiable cause. The effect of poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is not only on physical health of the building occupants, but also on their psychological health. Through extensive review, the paper addresses different factors, which affect both physical and psychological health of occupants in healing environments. These factors are divided into two main categories; (a) spatial factors, which include the architecture design of the space, views of nature and nature images, indoor plants and landscaping, wayfinding and orientation of the space, pleasant color scheme, the presence of coordinated art objects, furniture layout, and video and virtual reality environments; and (b) environmental factors include air quality and freshness, availability of daylight, thermal comfort, and acoustic quality. Since hospitals are profoundly different from other types of buildings, the study focused on integrating the aforementioned factors toward an optimal healing environment for children in a state pediatric hospital in Assiut city, which has potential impacts on occupant satisfaction and wellbeing. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the paper also summarizes both negative and positive factors, which provide a point of departure for further investigation and exploration within the field of IEQ in healing environments.

Cultural heritage is neither static nor stable. There is a need to explore ways for effectively communicating with cultural heritage to tourists and society at large, in an age of immediacy, a time of multiple realities and to multi-cultural tourists. It is vital to consider cultural heritage as a creative and relational process where places and communities are constantly remade through creative performance. The paper introduces virtual technologies as an approach to attain effective communication with cultural heritage. This approach emphasizes the importance of “user, content and context” in guiding the production of virtual heritage, as opposed to technology being the sole motivator. It addresses how these three issues in virtual heritage need to be transformed from merely representing quantitative data towards cultural information using the proposed effective communication triangle through representing meaningful relationships between cultural heritage elements, users and context. The paper offers a focused articulation of a proposed computational platform of “interactive, personalized and contextual-based navigation” with Egyptian heritage monuments as a one step forward towards achieving effective communication with Egyptian cultural heritage.

Cultural heritage is neither static nor stable. There is a need to explore ways for effectively communicating with cultural heritage to tourists and society at large, in an age of immediacy, a time of multiple realities and to multi-cultural tourists. It is vital to consider cultural heritage as a creative and relational process where places and communities are constantly remade through creative performance. The paper introduces virtual technologies as an approach to attain effective communication with cultural heritage. This approach emphasizes the importance of “user, content and context” in guiding the production of virtual heritage, as opposed to technology being the sole motivator. It addresses how these three issues in virtual heritage need to be transformed from merely representing quantitative data towards cultural information using the proposed effective communication triangle through representing meaningful relationships between cultural heritage elements, users and context. The paper offers a focused articulation of a proposed computational platform of “interactive, personalized and contextual-based navigation” with Egyptian heritage monuments as a one step forward towards achieving effective communication with Egyptian cultural heritage.

The World Health Organization estimated in 2014 that 285 million people worldwide are visually impaired: 39 million are blind and 246 million have low vision. Islam is a universal religion; achieving equality is one of its most important values. Islam is a faith community in which everybody interacts with everybody else. The Holy Quraan mentioned the disabled as part of our life, discussed their rights and urged to take care of them in more than one place. Therefore, everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the best of their ability. In order to achieve equality for blind people, a suitable environment should be offered to them to facilitate their mobility in public spaces and holy spaces like Mosques. Mobility and orientation are very challenging for blind or visually impaired persons. Difficulties in wayfinding may cause stress and anxiety, which may discourage them to visit unknown places. Therefore, blind Muslims have the right to navigate inside mosques without any direct help, providing essential information for them, such as Qibla direction, ablution places and other facilities. Several mobile applications have been developed to help blind or visually impaired people to find their ways in large spatial environments, yet religious environments require such applications to help B/VI people navigate inside mosques without direct help. Most of these applications depend mainly on GPS. However, it is argued that GPS is inadequate for indoor localization due to the loss of GPS signal indoors. Accordingly, this paper introduces an indoor positioning system, relying on Bluetooth devices.