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Since the 1940s, infrared (IR) detection and imaging at wavelengths in the two atmospheric windows of 3 to 5 and 8 to 14 μm has been extensively researched. Through several generations, these detectors have undergone considerable developments and have found use in various applications in different fields including military, space science, medicine and engineering. For the most recently proposed generation, these detectors are required to achieve high-speed detection with spectral and polarization selectivity while operating at room temperature. Antenna coupled IR detectors appear to be the most promising candidate to achieve these requirements and has received substantial attention from research in recent years. This paper sets out to present a review of the antenna coupled IR detector family, to explore the main concepts behind the detectors as well as outline their critical and challenging design considerations. In this context, the design of both elements, the antenna and the sensor, will be presented individually followed by the challenging techniques in the impedance matching between both elements. Some hands-on fabrication techniques will then be explored. Finally, a discussion on the coupled IR detector is presented with the aim of providing some useful insights into promising future work.

The expansion in recent years in the oil and natural gas sector has a profound implication for the continuous supply of energy in the market. There is no doubt a surge in the domestic natural gas production with tremendous opportunities as gas is used extensively for electricity generation. With the increasing energy demand, it is always a challenge to bridge the supply and demand gap. The era of sweet shallow gas is fast depleting and hence developing local sour gas production having higher concentration of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2), which are toxic and corrosive is seen as the viable solution. Currently, ADCO took up a project to study developing the sour gas reservoirs. The objective of the appraisal program was to gain valuable reservoir data including PVT samples to finalize the facilities and full field development plan including testing the reservoir in an area where seismic data indicated better quality sweet spots. The appraisal program was carried out and the major challenges to drill, test and produce the highly sour HPHT (High Pressure, High Temperature) gas were identified and mitigated. The data from the previously drilled wells penetrating the sour Arab zone was used to drill in the sweet spots identified but additional data was required to reduce the remaining key uncertainties to firm up the Gas In place volumes as the final results were crucial for strategical decisions. This paper highlights the work progress and then the lessons learned during each step of the operation with the proposed mitigation to safely and efficiently drill the appraisal wells in the Arab sour reservoir having 37% H2S and 10 % CO2.

The three most uncertain environmental design loads acting on offshore structures are wave height, current and wind velocity. If the reliability of structure is to be determined, then we need to have limit state function for load which requires that we should transform the environmental loads into load model. Load model, which predicts the load, will ultimately affect the design resistance and thus its final impact on cost could be large. Since, there are many offshore structures located in different offshore regions in Malaysia, the calibration of the environmental load model, should be evaluated to determine which model fits best. To obtain the environmental load model, response surface technique is generally applied. Load models suggested by DNV and ISO code are analysed to determine the best model fit for local conditions of Malaysia. Base shear, wave height and current velocity are used in a linear fit to determine polynomial response surface. The results showed that due to the geography of Malaysia different regions might have to use specific load models instead of a general load model for all regions.

The self-similar sets seem to be a class of fractals which is most suitable for mathematical treatment. The study of their structural properties is important. In this paper, we estimate the formula for the mean geodesic distance of self-similar set (denote fractal m-gons). The quantity is computed precisely through the recurrence relations derived from the self-similar structure of the fractal considered. Out of result, obtained exact solution exhibits that the mean geodesic distance approximately increases as a exponential function of the number of nodes (small copies with the same size) with exponent equal to the reciprocal of the fractal dimension.

The largest, or smallest, observation in a finite sample is termed an extreme value. Its distribution converges with increasing sample size to one of three types. These three limiting distributions are of considerable interest in engineering. These distributions have been applied to a variety of problems in many fields of practical interest. If the initial distribution f (x, θ) has an unbounded upper tail, but not all of its moments are finite, then the asymptotic extreme value distribution is termed a type II maxima [Frechet distribution (FD)]. In the present paper, we derive the best linear unbiased estimators of location and scale parameters of the FD and we obtain the best linear invariant estimations. Moreover, we use the maximum likelihood method to estimate the parameters of this distribution. Finally, we conduct a numerical experiment and draw conclusions.

Thrombopoietin was shown to be the major regulator of megakaryocytopoiesis and platelet formation. The protein encoded by the c-mpl gene, CD110, is a 635 amino acid transmembrane domain, with two extracellular cytokine receptor domains and two intracellular cytokine receptor box motifs. Mutations to this gene are associated with myelofibrosis and essential Thrombocythemia. In essential Thrombocythemia, these mutations lead to the production of Thrombopoietin receptors that are constitutively activated, or constantly turned on, which results in the overproduction of abnormal megakaryocytes. MPL gene was investigated in NCBI database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and computational software’s analyzed SNPs. SNPs in the coding region (exonal SNPs) that are non-synonymous (nsSNP) were analyzed by (sift, polyphen, Imutant and PHD-snp) softwares, and then SNPs at un-traslated region at 5’ ends (5UTR) were analyzed too by SNPs Function prediction software. In this study, Bioinformatics’ analysis of MPL gene initiated by SIFTand Polyphen-2server issued to review 197 SNPs and among this SNPs 23 pathological polymorphisms. Among these 23, 20 pathological polymorphisms were found to be very damaging, with higher Polyphen-2score, of the Polyphen-2 server (=1) and SIFT tolerance index of 0.000-0.005. Protein structural analysis was done by modeling of amino acid substitutions using Project Hope. AlsoI-Mutant software used to check their stability and the effect of the native and mutant residues protein and structure for all these pathological polymorphisms. We hope our results will provide useful information that is needed to help researchers to do further studies.

Twin block appliance was selected for treating 10 children displaying skeletal class II malocclusion, mandibular deficiency. MRI was then used to study the changes that occurs in the TMJ in response to the treatment. All included subjects were free of any TMJ problems. MRI was performed before starting treatment and after 8 months of using twin block appliance, for each patient. Sagittal concentricity, sagittal disc position and eminence angle were calculated for each patient from the MRIs. Insignificant differences were found for the sagittal concentricity, sagittal disc position and the eminence angle before and after treatment. When comparing sagittal concentricity, sagittal disc position and eminence angle for the right and left TMJs of each patient, significant difference was recorded either before or after treatment for the disc position while the results were insignificant for the rest.

Giyim sektörü Somaliland'in ekonomik kalkınma, istihdam ve sosyal istikrar üzerinde önemli etkiye sahiptir. Bununla birlikte sektör, maliyetlerini artıran bir çok riskler ve belirsizlik koşullarıyla karşı karşıya bulunmaktadır. Araştırmacı olarak etkili risk ölçümü ve yönetiminin işletme başarısını etkileyebildiğine inanmaktayım. Bu doğrultuda, çalışma Somaliland'in giyim işletmelerinin en önemli finansal ve stratejeik risklerin neler olduğu ve bunların risk ölçüm yöntemleri ve yönetim yaklaşımları hakkında bilgi edinmek amacıyla yapılmıştır.Konu hakkında gerekli verileri toplamak için Somaliland'ın dört büyük kentinde, niteleyici kendi tamamlama anket yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Üst yönetimin risk ölçüm ve yönetiminden sorumlu olması nedeniyle hedef gruplar, işletme sahipleri, CEO'lar, finans yöneticileri, muhasebeciler, risk yöneticileri ve diğer yöneticiler olarak belirlenmiştir. Araştırmanın sonuç ve bulguları, Somaliland'da faaliyet gösteren giyim işletmelerini etkileyen en önemli finansal ve stratejik risklerin kredi, likidite, döviz, rekabet ve müşteri riskleri olduğunu göstermiştir. Sonuç olarak, araştırma sonuç ve bulgularına dayanarak, tarafımdan varılan sonuçlar ve buna dayanarak yapılan önerilerin risklerin etkisini azaltacağı veya yok edeceği ve bütünleştirme ve iyi yönetimin etkililiğin artıracağı umulmaktadır.Anahtar Kelimeler: risk yönetimi, risk ölçümü, finansal riskler ve stratejik riskler The clothing industry has great effect on the economic development, employment, and social stabilization of Somaliland, but this important industry faces a large number of uncertainty conditions and risks, that costs more money. The researcher believes that effective risk measurement and management can increase the business success. For that reason this study was conducted to know the most important financial and strategic risks of clothing stores in Somaliland and also to know the risk measurement methods and management approaches of clothing stores in Somaliland.We used the qualitative method of a self-completion questionnaire in order to collect data from four major cities in Somaliland. Due to the fact that top level managements are responsible for the risk measurement and management, the target groups included Owners, CEO, Finance manager, Accountants, Risk managers, and other managers.The findings and results of this research shown us, the most important financial and strategic risks that affect the clothing stores in Somaliland are credit risk, liquidity risk, exchange risk, competition risk and customer risk. In the last the researcher made a conclusion and recommendations that the researcher hopes to decrease or eliminate the affect of the risks and increases the integration and effectiveness of good management.Keywords: risk management, risk measurement, financial risks, and strategic risks. 112

□ The major challenge faced by wireless sensor networks are security and communication delay. To solve this issue, a trust model is required to identify malevolent, selfish and compromised nodes. The existing trust systems developed for WSNs are incapable of satisfying these requirements because of their high overhead and low dependability. This paper does a brief review of the various trust models. Wide varieties of trust models are currently available to improve security and efficiency of wireless sensor networks. Among them, Lightweight Dependable Trust System for Clustered wireless sensor network (LDTS) is a suitable one. The LDTS proposes a lightweight trust decision making scheme predicated on nodes in the clustered WSNs. To reduce calculation overheads and improve energy efficiency LDTS is enhanced by integrating a unique protocol defined for data exchange and whenever a node transmits a packet, the packet is validated against this protocol.

The prime objective of the study is to identify marketing problems faced by small and medium businesses in the Ampara district. The specific objective is to measure marketing practices in the Ampara district and to suggest strategies to enhance their performances. The study is based on marketing capabilities such as pricing, product development, channel management, marketing communication, selling, market information management, marketing planning and marketing implementation. Researchers have used primary data collected from managers or proprietors of small businesses in the district. Questionnaires were used for data collection purposes and it was designed and adopted from previous researchers. Interviews were also conducted in order to find the reasons for insignificance of five independent variables. Multiple regression analysis and qualitative analysis were used for analyzing collected data. Findings suggest that small and medium firms are lacking in skills in pricing, inability of developing new product responding to the customer requirements, unable to maintain profitable relationship with distributors, lacking brand management skills and unable to put marketing strategies into action. If there is an improvement on the variable on which this research is based, there will be performance enhancement of the small and medium enterprises in the Ampara District.

Background: Drug utilization studies provide information on pattern of drug prescribing and consumption, occurrence of delayed adverse effects, cost influenced sales, and the volume of prescriptions having social, economic, and medical significance. Objective: The present study was designed with an objective to evaluate drug utilization in this field of pharmaceutical care. Materials and Methods: The present study was a retrospective, qualitative, cross-sectional, drug utilization study carried out for 1 year in Accident and Emergency Department of Khoula Hospital. Results: Results of the present study indicate that majority of patients complained dizziness by 24% and pain with 50%. Most common antibiotics used in prophylaxis and treatment were amoxiclav, cefuroxime, and ceftriaxone injections. As some cases complained of severe pain, they had received paracetamol, ibuprofen, diclofenac, and tramadol. The tetanus toxin injection was given as prophylaxis in 27.9% of cases against poisoning from entry of foreign bodies. Metoclopramide and promethazine are medications given to relieve nausea and vomiting. Analysis of results on use of medications for pain management has shown a significant (P < 0.01) correlation with road traffic injuries. Conclusion: We conclude from this study that majority of patients visiting accident are noted to have minor complications due to road traffic accidents (RTAs) and are treated successfully with most common and safe medications. However, we recommend future extensive studies considering the patients admitted to Inpatient Department and Intensive Care Unit to get clear information on pharmaceutical care provided to manage RTA and their complications.

This paper considers the estimation problem for the Frèchet distribution under progressive Type II censoring with random removals, where the number of units removed at each failure time has a binomial distribution. We use the maximum likelihood method to obtain the estimators of parameters and derive the sampling distributions of the estimators, and we also construct the confidence intervals for the parameters and percentile of the failure time distribution.

Intrusion detection plays an important role in the area of security in WSN. Detection of any type of intruder is essential in case of WSN. WSN consumes a lot of energy to detect an intruder. Therefore we derive an algorithm for energy efficient external and internal intrusion detection. We also analyse the probability of detecting the intruder for heterogeneous WSN. This paper considers single sensing and multi sensing intruder detection models. It is found that our experimental results validate the theoretical results.

Three Dimensional WSN is common in application areas such as space monitoring, cave monitoring, study of under water eco system and so on. Intrusion is a common type of attack in case of WSN. It spends lot of energy for the purpose of intrusion detection which in turn reduces the life time of the network. Energy efficiency is essential in this process. Therefore we derive an algorithm for energy efficient external and internal intrusion detection for 3D WSN. We also analyze the probability of detecting the intruder for three dimensional WSN. It is found that our experimental results validate the theoretical results.

The objective of the study is to identify the selected retail marketing mix elements influencing on business performance of retail groceries and to suggest strategies for improving the performance of these retail shops. In the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka, many groceries and self–selection retail shops are emerging in Sri Lanka after the prolonged war. However, many retail shops are struggling in the operation of their business. These retail small supermarkets are one of the most lucrative businesses among village people and many families are fully depending on these businesses. Hence, it is pertinent to identify the reasons and find ways and means to assist these small retail supermarkets to grow with profit. Findings suggest that business performance of retail shops mainly depends on implementation of customer relationship management, improving marketing communication and on building up corporate image. These factors are leading to increased business performance of groceries.

The main aim of the study is to investigate the adoption and application of market orientation by small restaurants in the Eastern Sri Lanka. In order to achieve this aim, 21 small restaurants were drawn from the Eastern part of Sri Lanka. Findings suggest that small restaurants are unable to adopt market orientation strategies. Components of market orientation such as customer orientation, competitor orientation and inter functional coordination are with insignificant correlation and hence, the components of market orientation are not adopted by small restaurants. Monitoring the changes in the customer needs is essential for the success of these firms in the industry. Though these firms are small, competitors’ analysis has to be done and the results should be used as input for the development of competitive strategy. Inter functional coordination is also playing major role in this business to become market oriented. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jm.v8i1.7550 Journal of Management 2013 8(1): 14-26