Search results for: mobility control

Authors: Niveen Hassan-Abbas, Tammie Ronen-Rosenbaum

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Background and purpose: 'Flourishing in marriage' is a concept refers to married individuals’ high positivity ratio regarding their marriage, namely greater reported positive than negative emotions. The study proposes a different approach to marriage which emphasizes the place of the individual himself as largely responsible for his personal flourishing within marriage. Accordingly, the individual's desire to preserve and strengthen his marriage largely determines the marital behavior in a way that will contribute to his marriage success (Actor Effect), regardless the contribution of his or her partner to his marriage success (Partner Effect). Another assumption was that flourishing in marriage could be achieved by two separate processes, where capitalization support increases the positive marriage's evaluations and accommodation decreases the negative one. A theoretical model was constructed, whereby individuals who were committed to their marriage were hypothesized as employing self-control skills by way of two dynamic processes. First, individual’s higher degree of 'capitalization supportive responses' - supportive responses to the partner's sharing of positive personal experiences - was hypothesized as increasing one’s positive evaluations of marriage and thereby one’s positivity ratio. Second, individual’s higher degree of 'accommodation' responses - the ability during conflict situations to control the impulse to respond destructively and instead to respond constructively - was hypothesized as decreasing one’s negative evaluations of marriage and thereby increasing one’s positivity ratio. Methods: Participants were 156 heterosexual Arab couples from different regions of Israel. The mean period of marriage was 10.19 (SD=7.83), ages were 31.53 years for women (SD=8.12) and 36.80 years for men (SD=8.07). Years of education were 13.87 for women (SD=2.84) and 13.23 years for men (SD=3.45). Each participant completed seven questionnaires: socio-demographic, self-control skills, commitment, capitalization support, accommodation, marital quality, positive and negative affect. Using statistical analyses adapted to dyadic research design, firstly descriptive statistics were calculated and preliminary tests were performed. Next, dyadic model based on the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results: The assumption according to which flourishing in marriage can be achieved by two processes was confirmed. All of the Actor Effect hypotheses were confirmed. Participants with higher self-control used more capitalization support and accommodation responses. Among husbands, unlike wives, these correlations were stronger when the individual's commitment level was higher. More capitalization supportive responses were found to increase positive evaluations of marriage, and greater spousal accommodation was found to decrease negative evaluations of marriage. High positive evaluations and low negative evaluations were found to increase positivity ratio. Not according to expectation, four partner effect paths were found significant. Conclusions and Implications: The present findings coincide with the positive psychology approach that emphasizes human strengths. The uniqueness of this study is its proposal that individuals are largely responsible for their personal flourishing in marriage. This study demonstrated that marital flourishing can be achieved by two processes, where capitalization increases the positive and accommodation decreases the negative. Practical implications include the need to construct interventions that enhance self-control skills for employment of capitalizing responsiveness and accommodation processes.

Keywords: accommodation, capitalization support, commitment, flourishing in marriage, positivity ratio, self-control skills

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Winncy Du, Jeremy Nguyen, Harpinder Dhillon, Reinardus Justin Halim, Clayton Haske, Trent Hughes, Marissa Ortiz, Rozy Saini

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Stroke often causes death or cerebro-vascular (CV) brain damage. Most patients with CV brain damage lost their motor control on their limbs. This paper focuses on developing a reliable, safe, and non-invasive EEG-based robot-assistant stroke rehabilitation system to help stroke survivors to rapidly restore their motor control functions for their limbs. An electroencephalogram (EEG) recording device (EPOC Headset) and was used to detect a patient’s brain activities. The EEG signals were then processed, classified, and interpreted to the motion intentions, and then converted to a series of robot motion commands. A six-axis articulated robot (AdeptSix 300) was employed to provide the intended motions based on these commends. To ensure the EEG device, the computer, and the robot can communicate to each other, an Arduino microcontroller is used to physically execute the programming codes to a series output pins’ status (HIGH or LOW). Then these “hardware” commends were sent to a 24 V relay to trigger the robot’s motion. A lookup table for various motion intensions and the associated EEG signal patterns were created (through training) and installed in the microcontroller. Thus, the motion intention can be direct determined by comparing the EEG patterns obtaibed from the patient with the look-up table’s EEG patterns; and the corresponding motion commends are sent to the robot to provide the intended motion without going through feature extraction and interpretation each time (a time-consuming process). For safety sake, an extender was designed and attached to the robot’s end effector to ensure the patient is beyond the robot’s workspace. The gripper is also designed to hold the patient’s limb. The test results of this rehabilitation system show that it can accurately interpret the patient’s motion intension and move the patient’s arm to the intended position.

Keywords: brain waves, EEG sensor, motion control, robot-assistant stroke rehabilitation

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Authors: Yan Zhang, Jan Awrejcewicz, Lin Fu

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High-heeled shoes force the foot into plantar flexion position resulting in foot arch rising and disturbance of the articular congruence between the talus and tibiofibular mortice, all of which may increase the challenge of balance maintenance. Plantar pressure distribution of the stance limb during the star excursion balance test (SEBT) contributes to the understanding of potential sources of reaching excursions in SEBT. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the dynamic posture control while wearing high-heeled shoes using SEBT in a combination of plantar pressure measurement. Twenty healthy young females were recruited. Shoes of three heel heights were used: flat (0.8 cm), low (4.0 cm), high (6.6 cm). The testing grid of SEBT consists of three lines extending out at 120° from each other, which were defined as anterior, posteromedial, and posterolateral directions. Participants were instructed to stand on their dominant limb with the heel in the middle of the testing grid and hands on hips and to reach the non-stance limb as far as possible towards each direction. The distal portion of the reaching limb lightly touched the ground without shifting weight. Then returned the reaching limb to the beginning position. The excursion distances were normalized to leg length. The insole plantar measurement system was used to record peak pressure, contact area, and pressure-time integral of the stance limb. Results showed that normalized excursion distance decreased significantly as heel height increased. The changes of plantar pressure in SEBT as heel height increased were more obvious in the medial forefoot (MF), medial midfoot (MM), rearfoot areas. At MF, the peak pressure and pressure-time integral of low and high shoes increased significantly compared with that of flat shoes, while the contact area decreased significantly as heel height increased. At MM, peak pressure, contact area, and pressure-time integral of high and low shoes were significantly lower than that of flat shoes. To reduce posture instability, the stance limb plantar loading shifted to medial forefoot. Knowledge of this study identified dynamic posture control deficits while wearing high-heeled shoes and the critical role of the medial forefoot in dynamic balance maintenance.

Keywords: dynamic posture control, high-heeled shoes, plantar pressure, star excursion balance test.

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Authors: Chodidjah, Edi Dharmana, Hardhono, Sarjadi

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Breast cancer treatment options including surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy have not been effective. Besides, they have side effects. Keladi Tikus (Typhonium flagelliforme) has been shown to improve immune system, suppress tumor growth and induce apoptosis. One of the parameters for immune system, tumor growth and apoptosis is IFNγ (Interferon γ), VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor) and Caspase 3 respectively. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of the administration of Keladi Tikus tuber extract at the dose of 200 mg/kgBW, 400 mg/KgBW, and 800 mg/kgBW on the level of IFNγ, VEGF and caspase 3 expression. In this experimental study using post test randomized control group design, 24 CH3 mice with tumor were randomly divided into 4 groups including control group and treated groups: Treated with 0.2 cc extract of Keladi Tikus at the dose of 200 mg/kgBW, 400 mg/kgBW, 800 mg/kgBW, respectively for 30 days. On day 31 the lymphatic tissue was taken and evaluated for its level of IFNγ, using ELISA. The tumor tissue was taken and subjected to immunohistochemistry staining for VEGF and caspase 3 expression evaluation. The data on IFNγ, VEGF and Caspase 3 expression were analyzed using One Way Anova with significant level of 0.05. One Way Anova resulted in p<0.05. LSD test showed that the level of IFNγ and Caspase 3 for control group was different from that of treated groups. There was no significant different between the treated group of 400 mg/KgBW and 800mg/KgBW. VEGF expressions for all the treated groups were significant. In conclusion, the oral administration of ethanolic extract of Keladi Tikus (Typhonium flagelliforme) at the dose of 200mg/kgBW, 400 mg/kgBW,800 mg/kgBW increases IFNγ, Caspase 3 and decreases VEGF expression in C3H mice with adenocarsinoma mamma.

Keywords: Typhonium flagelliforme, IFNγ, caspase 3, VEGF

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Authors: Isabelle Snyder

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Microgrid protection presents challenges to conventional protection techniques due to the low induced fault current. Protection relays present in microgrid applications require a combination of settings groups to adjust based on the architecture of the microgrid in islanded and grid-connected mode. In a radial system where the microgrid is at the other end of the feeder, directional elements can be used to identify the direction of the fault current and switch settings groups accordingly (grid connected or microgrid connected). However, with multiple microgrid connections, this concept becomes more challenging, and the direction of the current alone is not sufficient to identify the source of the fault current contribution. ORNL has previously developed adaptive relaying schemes through other DOE-funded research projects that will be evaluated and used as a baseline for this research. The four protection techniques in this study are the following: (1) Adaptive Current only Protection System (ACPS), Intentional (2) Unbalanced Control for Protection Control (IUCPC), (3) Adaptive Protection System with Communication Controller (APSCC) (4) Adaptive Model-Driven Protective Relay (AMDPR). The first two methods focus on identifying the islanded mode without communication by monitoring the current sequence component generated by the system (ACPS) or induced with inverter control during islanded mode (IUCPC) to identify the islanding condition without communication at the relay to adjust the settings. These two methods are used as a backup to the APSCC, which relies on a communication network to communicate the islanded configuration to the system components. The fourth method relies on a short circuit model inside the relay that is used in conjunction with communication to adjust the system configuration and computes the fault current and adjusts the settings accordingly.

Keywords: adaptive relaying, microgrid protection, sequence components, islanding detection, communication controlled protection, integrated short circuit model

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Authors: Limor Gadot, Orly Sarid

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Integration of young adults with disabilities (YAWD) into workplaces provides an opportunity for social and occupational mobility, enabling them to financial independence. To enhance integration, it is important to understand their occupational preferences as well as the factors that influencing it such as demographic variables, self-assessed health, beliefs about work, subjective norms, and self-efficacy. Planned behavior theory was chosen as a basis for this study. A cross-sectional study, based on preliminary sample of 37 YAWD who have been recognized by the National Insurance Institute and are engaged in a year of national service. The finding shows that most of the participants were single (97%) women (60%); average age was 22(+ 2) years, approximately half were secular. Most of the participants had disabilities resulting from CP (96%). Self-assessed health was correlated positively and significantly with behavioral intentions to work in the free market (r = .33, p = .05), and significant negative correlation with behavioral intentions to work in supported settings (r =.-40, p = .01), and sheltered settings (r =-.36, p = .03): individuals who perceived themselves as having more severe disabilities showed a greater tendency to choose a workplace with more rehabilitative inputs. Furthermore, women showed a greater tendency than men to perceive their disability as impairing their future intention to work: t (36) = 2.23, p < .05. Beliefs about work were positively associated with normative beliefs (r = .308, p = .06). The findings indicate that, especially with women, perceptions of health are related to occupational preferences. Moreover, the findings indicate that the relationship between subjective norms about work and normative beliefs about integrating in a workplace that prevail in the individual's environment affects occupational preferences. The contribution of the study lies in the development of new responses and interventions to encourage adults with disabilities to work.

Keywords: young adults, disabilities, work preferences, occupational preferences

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Authors: Mohana Babu Amberkar, Meena Kumari K, Ravi, Arjun, Christopher Rockson

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The aim of this research is to evaluate the hepatoprotective activity of Terminalia paniculata (Tp) against ATT induced hepatic damage in rats.Three hepatotoxic ATT drugs Isoniazid + Rifampicin + Pyrazinamide, silymarin as standard hepatoprotective drug and 0.5% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) as a control were used. Tp extract and silymarin were administered orally with ATT drugs for 90 days. Two doses 250 and 500 mg/kg of Tp extract, ATT drugs and silymarin were administered as suspensions with 0.5% CMC. ATT treated rats showed a significant increase in aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and lipid peroxides in the serum vs. control. Treatment of silymarin and Tp (250mg/kg) extract showed hepatoprotective activity against the hepatic damage by ATT. This was evident from significant reduction in serum liver enzymes levels, and also there was a significant increase in serum proteins, albumin and total liver tissue thiols as compared to the ATT treated groups. Tp was found to possess hepatoprotective property.

Keywords: antitubercular drugs, hepatoprotective, liver enzymes, Terminalia paniculata

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Authors: Vibha Venkataramu, B. V. Venkatarama Reddy

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Natural river sand is the most preferred choice as fine aggregate in masonry mortars. Uncontrolled mining of sand from riverbeds for several decades has had detrimental effects on the environment. Several countries across the world have put strict restrictions on sand mining from riverbeds. However, in countries like India, the huge infrastructural boom has made the local construction industry to look for alternative materials to sand. This study aims at understanding the suitability of granulated blast furnace slag (GBS) as fine aggregates in masonry mortars. Apart from characterising the material properties of GBS, such as particle size distribution, pH, chemical composition, etc., of GBS, tests were performed on the mortars with GBS as fine aggregate. Additionally, the properties of five brick tall, stack bonded masonry prisms with various types of GBS mortars were studied. The mortars with mix proportions 1: 0: 6 (cement: lime: fine aggregate), 1: 1: 6, and 1: 0: 3 were considered for the study. Fresh and hardened properties of mortar, such as flow and compressive strength, were studied. To understand the behaviour of GBS mortars on masonry, tests such as compressive strength and flexure bond strength were performed on masonry prisms made with a different type of GBS mortars. Furthermore, the elastic properties of masonry with GBS mortars were also studied under compression. For comparison purposes, the properties of corresponding control mortars with natural sand as fine aggregate and masonry prisms with sand mortars were also studied under similar testing conditions. From the study, it was observed the addition of GBS negatively influenced the flow of mortars and positively influenced the compressive strength. The GBS mortars showed 20 to 25 % higher compressive strength at 28 days of age, compared to corresponding control mortars. Furthermore, masonry made with GBS mortars showed nearly 10 % higher compressive strengths compared to control specimens. But, the impact of GBS on the flexural strength of masonry was marginal.

Keywords: building materials, fine aggregate, granulated blast furnace slag in mortars, masonry properties

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Authors: Vaishali D. Khairnar

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The main aim is to provide lower-latency and highly reliable communication facilities for vehicles in the automobile industry; vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication basically intends to increase expressway road security and its effectiveness. The Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) algorithm and cellular networks are applied in combination with Mobile Broadband (MBB). This is particularly used in express way safety-based driving applications. Expressway vehicle drivers (humans) will communicate in V2X systems using the sixth-generation (6G) communication systems which have very high-speed mobility features. As a result, we need to determine how to ensure reliable and consistent wireless communication links and improve the quality to increase channel gain, which is becoming a challenge that needs to be addressed. To overcome this challenge, we proposed a unique multi-user scheduling algorithm for ultra-massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems using 6G. In wideband wireless network access in case of high traffic and also in medium traffic conditions, moreover offering quality-of-service (QoS) to distinct service groups with synchronized contemporaneous traffic on the highway like the Mumbai-Pune expressway becomes a critical problem. Opportunist MAC (OMAC) is a way of proposing communication across a wireless communication link that can change in space and time and might overcome the above-mentioned challenge. Therefore, a multi-user scheduling algorithm is proposed for MIMO systems using a cross-layered MAC protocol to achieve URLLC and high reliability in V2X communication.

Keywords: ultra-reliable low latency communications, vehicle-to-everything communication, multiple-input multiple-output systems, multi-user scheduling algorithm

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Authors: Albandary Alamer, Noura Alaskar, Sana Bukhamseen, Jawaher Alkhamis, Enas Alghamdi, Almaha Almulhim, Hina Gull, Rachid Zagrouba, Madeeha Saqib

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A good and healthy seed will always produce a nice fruit, whereas an infected seed will produce an infected fruit. The same concept applies to the children, and the healthier the environment in which the kids grow, the more likely they become valuable members of society. Kiddo project introduces us to a mobile application that focuses on enhancing the sense of responsibility from a young age and makes raising kids fun and easy. The application aims to enhance the communication between parents and their children and to enrich the good habits of the kid. Kiddo Application enables kids to share their accomplishments with their peers in an interactive environment full of enjoyment, followed by parental monitoring to handle what their kids are posting and friends following. Kiddo provides the kids' and parents’ society with a safe platform free of cyberbullying and inappropriate content with parents' fun engagement.

Keywords: kids social media, educational app, child-raising, parental control, cyberbullying, parent-child relationship, good habits

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Authors: Arsalan Memon

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There are many challenges that a caregiver faces in average everyday life. One such challenge is coping with the stress and negative emotions of caregiving. The Stoics (i.e. Lucius Annaeus Seneca [4 B.C.E. - 65 C.E.], Epictetus [50-135 C.E.], and Marcus Aurelius [121-180 C.E.]) have provided coping techniques that are useful for dealing with stress and negative emotions. This paper lists and explains some of the fundamental coping techniques provided by the Stoics. For instance, some Stoic coping techniques thus follow (the list is far from exhaustive): a) mindfulness: to the best of your ability, constantly being aware of your thoughts, habits, desires, norms, memories, likes/dislikes, beliefs, values, and of everything outside of you in the world (b) constantly adjusting one’s expectations in accordance with reality, c) memento mori: constantly reminding oneself that death is inevitable and that death is not to be seen as evil, and d) praemeditatio malorum: constantly detaching oneself from everything that is so dear to one so that the least amount of suffering follows from the loss, damage, or ceasing to be of such entities. All coping techniques will be extracted from the following original texts by the Stoics: Seneca’s Letters to Lucilius, Epictetus’ Discourses and the Encheiridion, and Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations. One major finding is that the usefulness of each Stoic coping technique can be empirically tested by anyone in the sense of applying it one’s own life especially when one is facing real-life challenges. Another major finding is that all of the Stoic coping techniques are predicated upon, and follow from, one fundamental principle: constantly differentiate what is and what is not in one’s control. After differentiating it, one should constantly habituate oneself in not controlling things that are beyond one’s control. For example, the following things are beyond one’s control (all things being equal): death, certain illnesses, being born in a particular socio-economic family, etc. The conclusion is that if one habituates oneself by practicing to the best of one’s ability both the fundamental Stoic principle and the Stoic coping techniques, then such a habitual practice can eventually decrease the stress and negative emotions that one experiences by being a caregiver.

Keywords: care-giving, coping techniques, negative emotions, stoicism, stress

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Authors: Hossein Alimohammadi, Kristina Vassiljeva, Hassan HosseinNia, Eduard Petlenkov

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This research article discusses the mechanisms for bandgap tuning of beam-type resonators to achieve ‎broadband vibration suppression through adjustable stiffness. The method involves changing the center of ‎mass of the cantilever-type resonator to achieve piezo-free tuning of stiffness. The study investigates the ‎effect of the center of masses variation (δ) of attached masses on the bandgap and vibration suppression ‎performance of a non-uniform beam-type resonator within a phononic structure. The results suggest that the ‎cantilever-type resonator beam can be used to achieve tunability and real-time control and indicate that ‎varying δ significantly impacts the bandgap and transmittance response. Additionally, the research explores ‎the use of the first and second modes of resonators for tunability and real-time control. These findings examine ‎the feasibility of this approach, demonstrate the potential for improving resonator performance, and provide ‎insights into the design and optimization of metamaterial beams for vibration suppression applications.

Keywords: bandgap, adjustable stiffness, spatial variation, tunability

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Authors: Yifan Gao

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Owing to the high breakdown field, high saturation drift velocity, 2DEG with high density and mobility and so on, AlGaN/GaN HEMTs have been widely used in high-frequency and high-power applications. To acquire a higher power often means higher breakdown voltage and higher drain current. Surface leakage current is usually the key issue affecting the breakdown voltage and power performance. In this work, we have performed in-situ N₂/NH₃ pretreatment before the passivation to suppress the surface leakage and achieve device performance enhancement. The AlGaN/GaN HEMT used in this work was grown on a 3-in. SiC substrate, whose epitaxial structure consists of a 3.5-nm GaN cap layer, a 25-nm Al₀.₂₅GaN barrier layer, a 1-nm AlN layer, a 400-nm i-GaN layer and a buffer layer. In order to analyze the mechanism for the N-based pretreatment, the details are measured by XPS analysis. It is found that the intensity of Ga-O bonds is decreasing and the intensity of Ga-N bonds is increasing, which means with the supplement of N, the dangling bonds on the surface are indeed reduced with the forming of Ga-N bonds, reducing the surface states. The surface states have a great influence on the leakage current, and improved surface states represent a better off-state of the device. After the N-based pretreatment, the breakdown voltage of the device with Lₛ𝒹=6 μm increased from 93V to 170V, which increased by 82.8%. Moreover, for HEMTs with Lₛ𝒹 of 6-μm, we can obtain a peak output power (Pout) of 12.79W/mm, power added efficiency (PAE) of 49.84% and a linear gain of 20.2 dB at 60V under 3.6GHz. Comparing the result with the reference 6-μm device, Pout is increased by 16.5%. Meanwhile, PAE and the linear gain also have a slight increase. The experimental results indicate that using N₂/NH₃ pretreatment before passivation is an attractive approach to achieving power performance enhancement.

Keywords: AlGaN/GaN HEMT, N-based pretreatment, output power, passivation

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Authors: Hamzeh Awad

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Disability is considered to be a worldwide complex phenomenon which rising at a phenomenal rate and caused by many different factors. Chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes can lead to mobility disability in particular and disability in general. The ICF is an integrative bio-psycho-social model of functioning and disability and considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be a reference for disability classification using its categories and core set to classify disorder’s functional limitations. Specialist programs at Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Humanitarian City (SBAHC) are providing both inpatient and outpatient services have started to implement the ICF and use it as a problem solving tool in Rehab. Diabetes is leading contributing factor for disability and considered epidemic in several Gulf countries including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), where its prevalence continues to increase dramatically. Metabolic disorders, mainly diabetes are not well covered in Rehab field. The purpose of this study is present to research and clinical rehabilitation field of DREAM and ICF as a framework in clinical and research setting in Rehab service. Also, shed the light on using the ICF as problem solving tool at SBAHC. There are synergies between disability causes and wider public health priorities in relation to both chronic disease and disability prevention. Therefore, there is a need for strong advocacy and understanding of the role of ICF as a reference in Rehab settings in Middle East if we wish to seize the opportunity to reverse current trends of acquired disability in the region.

Keywords: international classification of functioning, disability and health (ICF), prototype, rehabilitation and diabetes

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Authors: Valeriu Mihai But, Sorana Daniela Bolboacă, Adriana Elena Bulboacă

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The nutraceutical compound Curcumin (Curcuma longa L.) is known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and antioxidant effects. This study aimed to evaluate the antioxidative and analgesic effects of Curcumin (CC) compared to Tramadol (T) in chemical-induced nociceptive pain in rats. Thirty-five rats were randomly divided into five groups of seven rats each and were treated as follows: C group (control group): treated with saline solution 0.9%, (1 ml, i.p. administration), ethanoic acid (EA) group: pretreated with saline solution 0.9% - 30 min before EA nociceptive pain induction, (1 ml, i.p. administration), T group: pretreated with Tramadol, 10 mg/kg body weight (bw), i.p. administration - 30 min before EA nociceptive pain induction, CC1-group: pretreated with 1 mg/100g bw Curcumin i.p. administration - 2 days before EA pain induction and CC2-group: pretreated with Curcumin 2 mg/100g bw i.p. administration - 2 days before EA nociceptive pain induction. The following oxidative stress parameters were assessed: malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NOx), total oxidative status (TOS), total antioxidative capacity (TAC), and thiol (Th). The antalgic activity was measured by the ethanoic acid writhing test. Treatment with Curcumin, both 1 mg/100g bw, and 2 mg/100g bw, showed significant differences as compared with the control group (p<0.001) regarding malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NOx), and total oxidative status (TOS) oxidative biomarkers. Pretreatment with 2 mg/100g bw of Curcumin presented a significant decrease in MDA values compared with Tramadol (p<0.001). The TAC significantly increased in pretreatment with Curcumin compared with group control. (p<0.001) The nociceptive response to EA was significantly reduced in Curcumin and Tramadol groups. Treatment with Curcumin at a higher concentration was more effective. In an experimental pain model, this study demonstrates an important antioxidant and antinociceptive activity of Curcumin comparable with Tramadol treatment.

Keywords: curcumin, nociception, oxidative stress, pain

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Authors: Syed Ibrahim, Syed Muneer Ahmed

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It is a global phenomenon that fitness is a pre-requisite to the desired end of optimum efficiency in elite class basketballers achieved through appropriate conditioning program. This study was undertaken to find out the effect of gymnastic oriented training program on the physical fitness and the level of technical performance of basketball players. Method: 27 basketballers were divided into 12 experimental and 15 control groups aged between 19 to 25 years. Physical fitness tests comprising of vertical jump, push-ups, chin ups, sit ups, back strength, 30 m sprint, boomerangs test, 600 m run, sit and reach, bridge up and shoulder rotation and technical skill tests like dribbling, layup shots and rebound collection were used for the study. A pre- and post-test was conducted before and after the training program of 6 weeks. Results: The results indicated no significant difference in the anthropometric measurements of age, height and weight between the experimental and control group as the ‘t’ values observed were 0.28, 1.63 and 1.60 respectively . There were significant improvements in vertical jump, push-ups, sit-ups, modified boomerang test, bridge test and shoulder rotation index with the ‘t’ values being 2.60, 3.41, 3.91, 4.02, 3.55 and 2.33 respectively. However, no significant differences existed in chin-ups, back strength, 30 m sprint and 6000 m run with the ‘t’ values being 2.08, 1.77, 1.28 and 0.80 respectively. There was significant improvement in the post-test for the technical skills tests in the experimental group with ‘t’ values being 3.65, 2.57, and 3.62 for the dribble, layup shots and rebound collection respectively. There was no significant difference in the values of the control group except in the rebound collection which showed significant difference. Conclusion: It was found that both the physical fitness and skill proficiency of the basketballers increased through the participation in the gymnastics oriented program.

Keywords: gymnastic, technical, pre-requisite, elite class

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Authors: Eric Chappel, Dimitry Dumont-Fillon, Hugo Musard, Harald van Lintel

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A microfluidic radial diffuser typically comprises a hole in a membrane, a small gap and pillar centred with the hole. The fluid is forced to flow radially in this gap between the membrane and the pillar. Such diffusers are notably used to form flow control valves, wherein several holes are machined into a flexible membrane progressively deflecting against pillars as the pressure increases. The fluidic modelling of such diffuser is made difficult by the presence of a transition region between the hole and the diffuser itself. An experimental investigation has been conducted using SOI wafers to form membranes with only one centred hole and Pyrex wafers for the substrate and pillars, both wafers being anodically bonded after alignment. A simple fluidic model accounting for the specific geometry of the diffuser is proposed and compared to experimental results. A good match is obtained, for Reynolds number in the range 0.5 to 35 using the analytical formula of a radial diffuser in the laminar regime with an effective inner radius that is 40% smaller than the real radius, in order to simulate correctly the flow constriction at the entrance of the diffuser.

Keywords: radial diffuser, flow control valve, numerical modelling, drug delivery

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Authors: Michael Naderhirn, Marco Pavone

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Problem statement, motivation, and aim of work: So far, the development of control algorithms was done by control engineers in a way that the controller would fit a specification by testing. When it comes to the certification of an autonomous car in highly complex scenarios, the challenge is much higher since such a controller must mathematically guarantee to implement the rules of the road while on the other side guarantee aspects like safety and real time executability. What if it becomes reality to solve this demanding problem by combining Formal Verification and System Theory? The aim of this work is to present a workflow to solve the above mentioned problem. Summary of the presented results / main outcomes: We show the usage of an English like language to transform the rules of the road into system specification for an autonomous car. The language based specifications are used to define system functions and interfaces. Based on that a formal model is developed which formally correctly models the specifications. On the other side, a mathematical model describing the systems dynamics is used to calculate the systems reachability set which is further used to determine the system input boundaries. Then a motion planning algorithm is applied inside the system boundaries to find an optimized trajectory in combination with the formal specification model while satisfying the specifications. The result is a control strategy which can be applied in real time independent of the scenario with a mathematical guarantee to satisfy a predefined specification. We demonstrate the applicability of the method in simulation driving scenarios and a potential certification. Originality, significance, and benefit: To the authors’ best knowledge, it is the first time that it is possible to show an automated workflow which combines a specification in an English like language and a mathematical model in a mathematical formal verified way to synthesizes a controller for potential real time applications like autonomous driving.

Keywords: formal system verification, reachability, real time controller, hybrid system

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Authors: Adamu Garba, Saidu Idi

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This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Dermatophilosis in cattle in Bauchi State and suggest possible control measures. Data were obtained from the State Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Veterinary Division and monthly reports from Local Government Area Veterinary Offices for a period of three years ranging from 1996-1998. The result revealed that the disease is more prevalent in the rainy season which coincides with preponderance of the predisposing factors. Of the total 17,252 infected cattle in the State, Western zone had the highest cases with 8,298 (50.0%), followed by Central zone with 5,211 (30.0%) and the least was in the Northern zone with 3,753 (20.0%) cases. Rainfall pattern within the zones could be responsible for the variation in the prevalence rate. Analysis of variance revealed that there is no significant difference in the prevalence of Dermatophilosis between the years (P<0.212) while there is significant difference within the zones (P<0.012). Correlation analysis carried out showed that there is positive relationship between rainfall and Dermatophilosis (r<0.909). Since the disease is more prevalent during the rainy season, efforts should be exerted on thorough preventive measures during the period to control the disease in the State, particularly in the Western zone.

Keywords: incidence, dermatophilosis, cattle, Bauchi State

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Authors: Azin Shakibabarough, Mojtaba Valinejadshoubi, Ashutosh Bagchi

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Structural vibration means repetitive motion that causes fatigue and reduction of the performance of a structure. An earthquake may release high amount of energy that can have adverse effect on all components of a structure. Therefore, decreasing of vibration or maintaining performance of structures such as bridges, dams, roads and buildings is important for life safety and reducing economic loss. When earthquake or any vibration happens, investigation on parts of a structure which sustain the seismic loads is mandatory to provide a safe condition for the occupants. One of the solutions for reducing the earthquake vibration in a structure is using of vibration control devices such as dampers and base isolators. The objective of this study is to investigate the optimal positions of friction dampers and base isolators for better seismic response of 2D frame. For this purpose, a two bay and six story frame with different distribution formats was modeled and some of their responses to earthquake such as inter-story drift, max joint displacement, max axial force and max bending moment were determined and compared using non-linear dynamic analysis.

Keywords: fast nonlinear analysis, friction damper, base isolator, seismic vibration control, seismic response

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Authors: Siti Murniningsih, Evi Anggraheni

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Various infrastructures such as dams, flood control dams and reservoirs have been developed in the 19th century until the 20th century. These infrastructures are very effective in controlling the river flows and in preventing inundation in the urban area prone to flooding. Flooding in the urban area often brings large impact, affecting every aspect of life and also environment. Ciliwung is one of the rivers allegedly contributes to the flooding problems in Jakarta; various engineering work has been done in Ciliwung river to help controlling the flooding. One of the engineering work is to build Ciawi Dam and Sukamahi Dam. In this research, author is doing the flood calculation with Nakayasu Method, while the previous flooding in that case study is computed using Level Pool Routine. The effectiveness of these dams can be identified by using flood simulation of existing condition and compare it to the flood simulation after the dam construction. The final goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of flood mitigation infrastructure located at upstream area in reducing the volume of flooding in Jakarta.

Keywords: effectiveness, flood simulation, infrastructure flooding, level pool routine

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Authors: Fanny Soulard

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Today work environment is more multicultural than ever: spatial limits have been blown out, encouraging people and ideas mobility all around the globe. Indeed, opportunities to design with culturally diverse team workers, clients, or end-users, have become within everyone's reach. We enjoy traveling to discover other civilizations, but when it comes to business, we often take for granted that our own work methodology will be generic enough to federate each party and cover the project needs. This paper aims to explore why, by skipping cultural awareness, we often create misunderstandings, frustration, and even counterproductive design. Tree lighting projects successively developed by a French lighting studio, a Vietnamese lighting studio, and an Australian Engineering company will be assessed from their concept stage to completion. All these study cases are based in Vietnam, where the construction market is equally led by local and international consultants. Core criteria such as lighting standard reference, service scope, communication tools, internal team organization, delivery package content, key priorities, and client relationship will help to spot and list when and how cultural diversity has impacted the design output and effectiveness. On the second hand, we will demonstrate through the same selected projects how intercultural intelligence tools and mindset can not only respond positively to previous situations and avoid major clashes but also turn cultural differences into a key added value to generate significant benefits for individuals, teams, and companies. By understanding the major importance of including a cultural factor within any design, intercultural intelligence will quickly turn out as a “must have” skill to be developed and acquired by any designer.

Keywords: intercultural intelligence, lighting design, work methodology, multicultural diversity

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Authors: Wael Ata

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Tracked vehicles are exposed to severe operating conditions during their battlefield. The suspension system of such vehicles plays a crucial role in the mitigation of vibration transmitted from unevenness to vehicle hull and consequently to the crew. When the vehicles are crossing the road with high speeds, the driver is subjected to a high magnitude of vibration dose. This is because of the passive suspension system of the tracked vehicle lack the effectiveness to withstand induced vibration from irregular terrains. This paper presents vibration control of a semi-active seat suspension incorporating Magnetorheological (MR) damper fitted to a driver seat of an amphibious tracked vehicle (BMP-1). A half vehicle model featuring the proposed semi-active seat suspension is developed and its governing equations are derived. Two controllers namely; skyhook and fuzzy logic skyhook based to suppress the vibration dose at driver’s seat are formulated. The results show that the controlled MR suspension seat along with the vehicle model has substantially suppressed vibration levels at the driver’s seat under bump and sinusoidal excitations

Keywords: Tracked Vehicles, MR dampers, Skyhook controller, fuzzy logic controller

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Authors: Zayneb Kthiri, Walid Hamada

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The application of organic fertilizers is generally known to be useful to sustain soil fertility and plant growth, especially in poor soils, with less than 1% of organic matter, as it is very common in our Tunisian fields. Therefore, we focused on evaluating the effect of a new released liquid organic fertilizer named Solorga (with 5% of organic matter) compared to a reference product (Espartan: Kimitec, Spain) on tomato plant growth and physiology. Both fertilizers, derived from plant decomposition, were applied at an early stage in hydroponic system and under greenhouse. In hydroponic system, after 14 days of their application by root feeding, a significant difference was observed between treatments. Indeed, Solorga improved shoots and roots length, as well as the biomass respectively, by 45%, 27%, and 27.8% increase rate, while compared to control plants. However, Espartan induced less the measured parameters while compared to untreated control. Moreover, Solorga significantly increased the chlorophyll content by 42% compared to control and by 32% compared to Espartan. In the greenhouse, after 20 days of treatments, the results showed a significant effect of both fertilizers on SPAD index and the number of flowers blossom. Solorga increased the amount of chlorophyll present in the leaf by 7% compared to Espartan as well as the plant height under greenhouse. Moreover, the number of flowers blossom increased by 15% in plants treated with Solorga while compared to Espartan. Whereas, there is no notable difference between both organic fertilizers on the fruits blossom and the number of fruits per blossom. In conclusion, even though there is a difference in the organic matter between both fertilizers, Solorga improved better the plant growth in controlled conditions in hydroponic system while compared to Espartan. Altogether the obtained results are encouraging for the use of Solorga as a soil enriching source of organic matter to help plants to boost their growth and help them to overcome abiotic stresses linked to soil fertility.

Keywords: tomato, plant growth, organic fertilizer, hydroponic system, greenhouse

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Authors: P. C. Li, R. H. Feng, S. J. Chen, Y. J. Yu, Y. L. Chen, X. Y. Fan

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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of mindfulness and wisdom comprehensive strategy intervention on addiction to the Internet of college students by engaging fourteen intensive full-day mindfulness-based wisdom retreat curriculum. Wisdom, one of the practice method from the threefold training. Internet addiction, a kind of impulse control disorder, which attract the attentions of society due to its high prevalence and harmfulness in the last decade. Therefore, the study of internet addiction intervention is urgent. Participants with internet addiction were Chinese college students and screened by internet addiction disorder diagnose questionnaire (IAD-DQ). A quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design was used as research design. The finding shows that the mindfulness-based wisdom intervention strategy appeared to be effective in reducing the Internet addiction. Moreover, semi-structure interview method was conducted and outcomes included five themes: the reduction of internet use, the increment of awareness on emotion, self-control, present concentration and better positive lifestyle, indicating that mindfulness could be an effective intervention for this group with internet addiction.

Keywords: mindfulness, internet addiction, wisdom comprehensive intervention, cognitive-behavior therapy

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Authors: V. Viliene, A. Raceviciute-Stupeliene, V. Sasyte, V. Slausgalvis, R. Gruzauskas, J. Al-Saifi

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Animal nutritionists and scientists have searched for alternative measures to improve the production. One of such alternative is use of organic acids as feed additive in animal nutrition. The study was conducted to investigate the impact of butyric acids, calcium formate, organic acids, and its salts (BCOS) additives on rabbit’s productive performance, carcass traits and meat quality. The study was conducted with 14 Californian breed rabbits. The rabbits were assigned to two treatment groups (seven rabbits per each treatment group). The dietary treatments were 1) control diet, 2) diet supplemented with a mixture BCOS - 2 kg/t of feed. Growth performance characteristics (body weight, daily weight gain, daily feed intake, feed conversion ratio, mortality) were evaluated. Rabbits were slaughtered; carcass characteristics and meat quality were evaluated. Samples loin and hind leg meat were analysed to determine carcass characteristics, pH and colour measurements, cholesterol, and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) content in loin and hind leg meat. Differences between treatments were significant for body weight (1.30 vs. 1.36 kg; P<0.05), daily weight gain (16.60 vs. 17.85 g; P<0.05), and daily feed intake (78.25 vs. 80.58 g; P<0.05) for control and experimental group respectively for the entire experimental period (from 28–77 days old). No significant differences were found in feed conversion ratio and mortality. The feed additives insertion in the diets did not significantly influence the carcass yield or the proportions of the various carcass parts and organs. Differences between treatments were significant for pH value after 48h in loin (5.86 vs. 5.74; P<0.05), hind leg meat (6.62 vs. 6.65; P<0.05), more intense colour b* of loin (5.57 vs. 6.06; P<0.05), less intense colour a* (14.99 vs. 13.15; P<0.05) in hind leg meat. Cholesterol content in hind leg meat decreased by 17.67 mg/100g compared to control group (P<0.05). After storage for three months, MDA concentration decreased in loin and hind leg meat by 0.3 μmol/kg and 0.26 μmol/kg respectively compared to that of the control group (P<0.05). The results of this study suggest that BCOS could potentially be used in rabbit nutrition with consequent benefits on the rabbits’ productivity and nutritional quality of rabbit meat for consumers.

Keywords: butyric acids, Ca formate, meat quality, organic acids salts, rabbits, productivity

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Authors: Denis V. Shutin, Alexander Yu. Babin, Leonid A. Savin

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One of the ways of reducing vibroactivity of rotor systems is to apply active hybrid bearings. Their design allows correction of the rotor’s location by means of separately controlling the supply pressure of the lubricant into the friction area. In a most simple case, the control system is based on a P-regulator. Increase of the gain coefficient allows decreasing the amplitude of rotor’s vibrations. The same effect can be achieved by means of increasing the pressure in the collector of a traditional passive hybrid bearing. However, these approaches affect the dynamic characteristics of the bearing differently. Theoretical studies show that the increase of the gain coefficient of an active bearing increases the stiffness of the bearing, as well as the increase of the pressure in the collector. Nevertheless, in case of a passive bearing, the damping properties deteriorate, whereas the active hybrid bearings obtain higher damping properties, which allow effectively providing the energy dissipation of the rotor vibrations and reducing the load on the constructional elements of a machine.

Keywords: active bearings, control system, damping, hybrid bearings, stiffness

Procedia PDF Downloads 383

Authors: Nur Bella Octoria Bella, Ayomi Dita Rarasati

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DKI Jakarta is Indonesia's capital city with the 10th highest congestion rate in the world based on the 2019 traffic index. Other than that based on World Air Quality Report in 2019 showed DKI Jakarta's air pollutant concentrate 49.4 µg and the 5th highest air pollutant in the world. In the urban city nowadays, the mobility rate is high enough and the efficiency for sustainability assessment in transport infrastructure development is needed. This efficiency is the important key for sustainable infrastructure development. DKI Jakarta is nowadays in the process of constructing the railway infrastructure to support the transportation system. The problems appearing are the railway infrastructure networks and the service in DKI Jakarta already planned based on sustainability factors or not. Therefore, the aim of this research is to make the evaluation of railways infrastructure networks performance and services in DKI Jakarta regards on the railway sustainability key factors. Further, this evaluation will be used to make the railway sustainability assessment framework and to offer some of the alternative solutions to improve railway transportation sustainability in DKI Jakarta. Firstly a very detailed literature review of papers that have focused on railway sustainability factors and their improvements of railway sustainability, published in the scientific journal in the period 2011 until 2021. Regarding the sustainability factors from the literature review, further, it is used to assess the current condition of railway infrastructure in DKI Jakarta. The evaluation will be using a Likert rate questionnaire and directed to the transportation railway expert and the passenger. Furthermore, the mapping and evaluation rate based on the sustainability factors will be compared to the effect factors using the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP). This research offers the network's performance and service rate impact on the sustainability aspect and the passenger willingness for using the rail public transportation in DKI Jakarta.

Keywords: transportation sustainability, railway transportation, sustainability, DKI Jakarta

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Authors: Mohammed S. Aly, Abou-Zeid N. El-Shahat, Nabila Y. Naguib, Huussie A. Said-Al Ahl, Atef M. Zakaria, Mohamed A. Abou Dahab

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This study was conducted during two successive seasons of 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 to evaluate the response of Anethum graveolens L. plants to nitrogen fertilizer with or without bio-fertilizer on fruits yield, total flavonoids and carbohydrates content, essential oil yield and constituents. Results cleared that the treatment of 60 Kg N/feddan without and with bio-fertilizer gave the highest umbels number per plant through the two seasons and these increments were significant in comparison with control plants. Meanwhile, fruits weight (g/plant) showed significant increase with the treatments of nitrogen fertilizers alone and combined with bio-fertilizers compared with control plants in the first and second season. Maximum increments were resulted with the previous treatment (60 Kg N/fed). Fruits yield (Kg/fed) revealed the same trend of fruits weight (g/plant). Total flavonoids contents were significantly increased with all of used treatments. Maximum increase was noticed with bio-fertilizers combined with 60 Kg N/fed during two seasons. Total carbohydrate contents showed significant increase with applied nitrogen fertilizers treatments as alone, meanwhile total carbohydrate contents were increased non-significantly with the other used treatments during the two seasons in comparison with control plants content. The treatment of bio-fertilizer and in most of nitrogen fertilizer levels significantly increased essential oil percentage, content and yield. The treatment of 60 Kg N/fed with or without bio-fertilizer gave the best values. All identified compounds were observed in the essential oil of all treatments. The major compounds were limonene, carvone and dillapiole. The most effective fertilization on limonene content was 40 Kg N/fed and/or bio-fertilizers. Meanwhile 20 Kg N/fed with or without bio-fertilizers increased carvone, but most of fertilization treatments except those of bio-fertlizers and 40 Kg N/fed increased dillapiole content.

Keywords: carbohydrates, dill, essential oil, fertilizer, flavonoids

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Authors: Kai-Wei Ji, Dung-Ying Lin

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This study investigates the impact of transportation on housing prices in regions surrounding Taiwan's science parks. As these parks evolve into crucial economic and population growth centers, they attract an increasing number of residents and workers, significantly influencing local housing markets. This demographic shift raises important questions about the role of transportation in shaping real estate values. Our research examines four major science parks in Taiwan, providing a comparative analysis of how transportation conditions and population dynamics interact to affect housing price premiums. We employ an origin-destination (OD) matrix derived from pervasive traffic data to model travel patterns and their effects on real estate values. The methodology utilizes a bi-level framework: a genetic algorithm optimizes OD demand estimation at the upper level, while a user equilibrium (UE) model simulates traffic flow at the lower level. This approach enables a nuanced exploration of how population growth impacts transportation conditions and housing price premiums. By analyzing the interplay between travel costs based on OD demand estimation and housing prices, we offer valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers. These findings are crucial for informed decision-making in rapidly developing areas, where understanding the relationship between mobility and real estate values is essential for sustainable urban development.

Keywords: demand estimation, genetic algorithm, housing price, transportation

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