In this paper, the role of introducing Germanium (Ge)/IGZO heterostructure in enhancing the Infrared (IR) photodetection properties of thin-film phototransistor (Photo- TFT) is presented. Numerical models for the investigated device are developed using ATLAS device simulator. The influence of Ge photosensitive layer thickness on the sensor IR photoresponse is carried out. It is revealed that the optimized IR Photo-TFT based on p-Ge/IGZO heterojunction can offer improved IR responsivity of 4.1×10(exp2) A/W, and over 10(exp6) of sensitivity. These improvements are attributed to the role of the introduced p-Ge/IGZO heterostructure in promoting IR photodetection ability and improved separation and transfer mechanisms of photo-exited electron/hole pairs. The photosensor is then implemented in an optical inverter gate circuit in order to assess its switching capabilities. It is found that the proposed phototransistor shows an improved optical gain thus indicating its excellent performance. Therefore, providing high IR responsivity and low dark noise effects, the optimized Ge/IGZO IR Photo-TFT can be a potential alternative photosensor for designing optoelectronic systems with high-performance and ultralow power consumption.

In this paper, the role of introducing Germanium (Ge)/IGZO heterostructure in enhancing the Infrared (IR) photodetection properties of thin-film phototransistor (Photo- TFT) is presented. Numerical models for the investigated device are developed using ATLAS device simulator. The influence of Ge photosensitive layer thickness on the sensor IR photoresponse is carried out. It is revealed that the optimized IR Photo-TFT based on p-Ge/IGZO heterojunction can offer improved IR responsivity of 4.1×10(exp2) A/W, and over 10(exp6) of sensitivity. These improvements are attributed to the role of the introduced p-Ge/IGZO heterostructure in promoting IR photodetection ability and improved separation and transfer mechanisms of photo-exited electron/hole pairs. The photosensor is then implemented in an optical inverter gate circuit in order to assess its switching capabilities. It is found that the proposed phototransistor shows an improved optical gain thus indicating its excellent performance. Therefore, providing high IR responsivity and low dark noise effects, the optimized Ge/IGZO IR Photo-TFT can be a potential alternative photosensor for designing optoelectronic systems with high-performance and ultralow power consumption.

In this paper, the role of introducing Germanium (Ge)/IGZO heterostructure in enhancing the Infrared (IR) photodetection properties of thin-film phototransistor (Photo- TFT) is presented. Numerical models for the investigated device are developed using ATLAS device simulator. The influence of Ge photosensitive layer thickness on the sensor IR photoresponse is carried out. It is revealed that the optimized IR Photo-TFT based on p-Ge/IGZO heterojunction can offer improved IR responsivity of 4.1×10(exp2) A/W, and over 10(exp6) of sensitivity. These improvements are attributed to the role of the introduced p-Ge/IGZO heterostructure in promoting IR photodetection ability and improved separation and transfer mechanisms of photo-exited electron/hole pairs. The photosensor is then implemented in an optical inverter gate circuit in order to assess its switching capabilities. It is found that the proposed phototransistor shows an improved optical gain thus indicating its excellent performance. Therefore, providing high IR responsivity and low dark noise effects, the optimized Ge/IGZO IR Photo-TFT can be a potential alternative photosensor for designing optoelectronic systems with high-performance and ultralow power consumption.

Purpose

The objectives of this paper are the application of sensitivity analysis (SA) methods in atmospheric dispersion modeling to the emission dispersion model (EDM) to study the prediction of atmospheric dispersion of NO₂ generated by an industrial fire, whose results are useful for fire safety applications. The EDM is used to predict the level concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) emitted by an industrial fire in a plant located in an industrial region site in Algeria.

Design/methodology/approach

The SA was defined for the following input parameters: wind speed, NO₂ emission rate and viscosity and diffusivity coefficients by simulating the air quality impacts of fire on an industrial area. Two SA methods are used: a local SA by using a one at a time technique and a global SA, for which correlation analysis was conducted on the EDM using the standardized regression coefficient.

Findings

The study demonstrates that, under ordinary weather conditions and for the fields near to the fire, the NO₂ initial concentration has the most influence on the predicted NO₂ levels than any other model input. Whereas, for the far field, the initial concentration and the wind speed have the most impact on the NO₂ concentration estimation.

Originality/value

The study shows that an effective decision-making process should not be only based on the mean values, but it should, in particular, consider the upper bound plume concentration.

Mining itemsets for association rule generation is a fundamental data mining task originally stemming from the traditional market basket analysis problem. However, enumerating all frequent itemsets, especially in a dense dataset, or with low support thresholds, remains costly. In this paper, a novel theorem builds the relationship between frequent closed itemsets (FCIs) and frequent generator itemsets (FGIs) and proves that the process of mining FCIs is equivalent to mining FGIs, unified with their full-support and extension items. On the basis of this theorem, a generator-based algorithm for mining FCIs, called GrAFCI⁺, is proposed and explained in details including its correctness. The comparative effectiveness of the algorithm in terms of scalability is first investigated, along with the compression rate—a measure of the interestingness of a given FIs representation. Extensive experiments are further undertaken on eight datasets and four state-of-the-art algorithms, namely DCI_CLOSED*, DCI_PLUS, FPClose, and NAFCP. The results show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient regarding the execution time in most cases as compared to these algorithms. Because GrAFCI⁺ main goal is to address the runtime issue, it paid a memory cost, especially when the support is too small. However, this cost is not high since GrAFCI⁺ is seconded by only one competitor out of four in memory utilization and for large support values. As an overall assessment, GrAFCI⁺ gives better results than most of its competitors.

Mining itemsets for association rule generation is a fundamental data mining task originally stemming from the traditional market basket analysis problem. However, enumerating all frequent itemsets, especially in a dense dataset, or with low support thresholds, remains costly. In this paper, a novel theorem builds the relationship between frequent closed itemsets (FCIs) and frequent generator itemsets (FGIs) and proves that the process of mining FCIs is equivalent to mining FGIs, unified with their full-support and extension items. On the basis of this theorem, a generator-based algorithm for mining FCIs, called GrAFCI⁺, is proposed and explained in details including its correctness. The comparative effectiveness of the algorithm in terms of scalability is first investigated, along with the compression rate—a measure of the interestingness of a given FIs representation. Extensive experiments are further undertaken on eight datasets and four state-of-the-art algorithms, namely DCI_CLOSED*, DCI_PLUS, FPClose, and NAFCP. The results show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient regarding the execution time in most cases as compared to these algorithms. Because GrAFCI⁺ main goal is to address the runtime issue, it paid a memory cost, especially when the support is too small. However, this cost is not high since GrAFCI⁺ is seconded by only one competitor out of four in memory utilization and for large support values. As an overall assessment, GrAFCI⁺ gives better results than most of its competitors.

Mining itemsets for association rule generation is a fundamental data mining task originally stemming from the traditional market basket analysis problem. However, enumerating all frequent itemsets, especially in a dense dataset, or with low support thresholds, remains costly. In this paper, a novel theorem builds the relationship between frequent closed itemsets (FCIs) and frequent generator itemsets (FGIs) and proves that the process of mining FCIs is equivalent to mining FGIs, unified with their full-support and extension items. On the basis of this theorem, a generator-based algorithm for mining FCIs, called GrAFCI⁺, is proposed and explained in details including its correctness. The comparative effectiveness of the algorithm in terms of scalability is first investigated, along with the compression rate—a measure of the interestingness of a given FIs representation. Extensive experiments are further undertaken on eight datasets and four state-of-the-art algorithms, namely DCI_CLOSED*, DCI_PLUS, FPClose, and NAFCP. The results show that the proposed algorithm is more efficient regarding the execution time in most cases as compared to these algorithms. Because GrAFCI⁺ main goal is to address the runtime issue, it paid a memory cost, especially when the support is too small. However, this cost is not high since GrAFCI⁺ is seconded by only one competitor out of four in memory utilization and for large support values. As an overall assessment, GrAFCI⁺ gives better results than most of its competitors.

In this  study, we have studied the length-weight relationship, condition factor (Kr), gonado-somatic index (GSI) and size at first maturity of two Cichlidae species (Tilapia zillii and Hemichromis bimaculatus) from two lakes (Megarine and Temacine) of the northern Sahara (Algeria). Some 159 specimens of H. bimaculatus and 52 T. zillii were sampled between September 2012 and July 2013. The length-weight relationship revealed an isometric value b (3.0) for H. bimaculatus from Lake Megarine, while there was no significant difference for T. zillii from Lake Temacine. We noted a negative allometric growth pattern (b<3) of males and females of H. bimaculatus. Both sexes of T. zillii grew isometrically. The Kr did not differ significantly between months for the two studied species. It was less than 1 only in November and July for H. bimaculatus. For T. zillii, the monthly mean of Kr was always greater than 1 for all the studied period. The first sexual maturity of 50% of males was observed at 52.75mm in H. bimaculatus and 61mm in T. zillii. The smallest mature female had a total length of 60.26mm and 66mm for H. bimaculatus and T. zillii respectively. The reproduction period of H. bimaculatus and T. zillii begins in March with an extended spawning period. The overall sex ratio was in favor of females (1: 0.7) in H. bimaculatus, and in favor of males in T. zillii (1: 1.33). For both species, the sex ratio varied according to months and size classes.

In this  study, we have studied the length-weight relationship, condition factor (Kr), gonado-somatic index (GSI) and size at first maturity of two Cichlidae species (Tilapia zillii and Hemichromis bimaculatus) from two lakes (Megarine and Temacine) of the northern Sahara (Algeria). Some 159 specimens of H. bimaculatus and 52 T. zillii were sampled between September 2012 and July 2013. The length-weight relationship revealed an isometric value b (3.0) for H. bimaculatus from Lake Megarine, while there was no significant difference for T. zillii from Lake Temacine. We noted a negative allometric growth pattern (b<3) of males and females of H. bimaculatus. Both sexes of T. zillii grew isometrically. The Kr did not differ significantly between months for the two studied species. It was less than 1 only in November and July for H. bimaculatus. For T. zillii, the monthly mean of Kr was always greater than 1 for all the studied period. The first sexual maturity of 50% of males was observed at 52.75mm in H. bimaculatus and 61mm in T. zillii. The smallest mature female had a total length of 60.26mm and 66mm for H. bimaculatus and T. zillii respectively. The reproduction period of H. bimaculatus and T. zillii begins in March with an extended spawning period. The overall sex ratio was in favor of females (1: 0.7) in H. bimaculatus, and in favor of males in T. zillii (1: 1.33). For both species, the sex ratio varied according to months and size classes.

The health systems in many countries are still unable to control the evolution and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic despite the large mobilisation of national resources. International attention has focussed on finding a cure, and preventive measures and national and international strategies to be adopted and implemented with regard to other future pandemics have been neglected despite their predictability and high probability of occurrence. This work aims to anticipate a reading on experience feedback in light of the current pandemic situation, and to identify the main spatial elements of vulnerability in Batna, Algeria, which seems to control the ability of an urban area to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We used a digital model based on a multi-criteria approach implemented in a geo-decisional GIS database to serve as a decision support tool for dealing with an epidemiological situation as a preventive or curative action. The results from the model seem to adequately reflect the reality of confirmed incidents in Batna. In addition, the results of the analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of the virus clearly confirm that the urban sectors characterised by high vulnerability are those that have recorded an increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 incidents since the start of the epidemic until December 2020.

The health systems in many countries are still unable to control the evolution and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic despite the large mobilisation of national resources. International attention has focussed on finding a cure, and preventive measures and national and international strategies to be adopted and implemented with regard to other future pandemics have been neglected despite their predictability and high probability of occurrence. This work aims to anticipate a reading on experience feedback in light of the current pandemic situation, and to identify the main spatial elements of vulnerability in Batna, Algeria, which seems to control the ability of an urban area to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We used a digital model based on a multi-criteria approach implemented in a geo-decisional GIS database to serve as a decision support tool for dealing with an epidemiological situation as a preventive or curative action. The results from the model seem to adequately reflect the reality of confirmed incidents in Batna. In addition, the results of the analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of the virus clearly confirm that the urban sectors characterised by high vulnerability are those that have recorded an increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 incidents since the start of the epidemic until December 2020.

The health systems in many countries are still unable to control the evolution and persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic despite the large mobilisation of national resources. International attention has focussed on finding a cure, and preventive measures and national and international strategies to be adopted and implemented with regard to other future pandemics have been neglected despite their predictability and high probability of occurrence. This work aims to anticipate a reading on experience feedback in light of the current pandemic situation, and to identify the main spatial elements of vulnerability in Batna, Algeria, which seems to control the ability of an urban area to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. We used a digital model based on a multi-criteria approach implemented in a geo-decisional GIS database to serve as a decision support tool for dealing with an epidemiological situation as a preventive or curative action. The results from the model seem to adequately reflect the reality of confirmed incidents in Batna. In addition, the results of the analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of the virus clearly confirm that the urban sectors characterised by high vulnerability are those that have recorded an increasing number of confirmed COVID-19 incidents since the start of the epidemic until December 2020.