Search results for: AIC (Active Interaction Control Device)

Authors: Emre Akyürek, Anthony Huynh, Tatiana Kalganova

Abstract:

The Ambidextrous Robot Hand is a robotic device with the purpose to mimic either the gestures of a right or a left hand. The symmetrical behavior of its fingers allows them to bend in one way or another keeping a compliant and anthropomorphic shape. However, in addition to gestures they can reproduce on both sides, an asymmetrical mechanical design with a three tendons routing has been engineered to reduce the number of actuators. As a consequence, control algorithms must be adapted to drive efficiently the ambidextrous fingers from one position to another and to include grasping features. These movements are controlled by pneumatic muscles, which are nonlinear actuators. As their elasticity constantly varies when they are under actuation, the length of pneumatic muscles and the force they provide may differ for a same value of pressurized air. The control algorithms introduced in this paper take both the fingers asymmetrical design and the pneumatic muscles nonlinearity into account to permit an accurate control of the Ambidextrous Robot Hand. The finger motion is achieved by combining a classic PID controller with a phase plane switching control that turns the gain constants into dynamic values. The grasping ability is made possible because of a sliding mode control that makes the fingers adapt to the shape of an object before strengthening their positions.

Keywords: ambidextrous hand, intelligent algorithms, nonlinear actuators, pneumatic muscles, robotics, sliding control

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Authors: Chung Hyun Goh, Armin Yazdanshenas, X. Neil Dong, Yong Tai Wang

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Physical rehabilitation is a necessary step in regaining lower body function after a partial paralysis caused by a spinal cord injury or a stroke. The purpose of this paper is to present the development and optimization of a training device that accurately recreates the motions in a gait cycle with the goal of rehabilitation for individuals with incomplete spinal cord injuries or who are victims of a stroke. A functional electrical stimulator was used in conjunction with the training device to stimulate muscle groups pertaining to rehabilitative walking. The feasibility and reliability of the design are presented. To validate the design functionality, motion analyses of the knee and ankle gait paths were made using motion capture systems. Key results indicate that the robotic walking training device provides a viable mode of physical rehabilitation.

Keywords: functional electrical stimulation, rehabilitative walking, robotic walking training device, spinal cord injuries

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Authors: Pakhapoom Sarapat, James M. Hill, Duangkamon Baowan

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Carbon nanotori provide several properties such as high tensile strength and heat resistance. They are promised to be ideal structures for encapsulation, and their encapsulation ability can be determined by the interaction energy between the carbon nanotori and the encapsulated nanostructures. Such interaction energy is evaluated using Lennard-Jones potential and continuum approximation. Here, four problems relating to toroidal molecules are determined in order to find the most stable configuration. Firstly, the interaction energy between a carbon nanotorus and an atom is examined. The second problem relates to the energy of a fullerene encapsulated inside a carbon nanotorus. Next, the interaction energy between two symmetrically situated and parallel nanotori is considered. Finally, the classical mechanics is applied to model the interaction energy between the toroidal structure of cyclodextrin and the spherical DNA molecules. These mathematical models might be exploited to study a number of promising devices for future developments in bio and nanotechnology.

Keywords: carbon nanotori, continuum approximation, interaction energy, Lennard-Jones potential, nanotechnology

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Authors: Shima Mahmoudi, Babak Pourakbari, Setareh Mamishi, Mostafa Teymuri, Majid Marjani

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Although cytokine analysis has greatly contributed to the understanding of tuberculosis (TB) pathogenesis, data on cytokine profiles that might distinguish progression from latency of TB infection are scarce. Since PE/PPE proteins are known to induce strong humoral and cellular immune responses, the aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic potential of interleukin-2 (IL-2) as biomarker after specific antigen stimulation with PE35 and PPE68 for the discrimination of active and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). The production of IL-2 was measured in the antigen-stimulated whole-blood supernatants following stimulation with recombinant PE35 and PPE68. All the patients with active TB and LTBI had positive QuantiFERON-TB Gold in Tube test. The level of IL-2 following stimulation with recombinant PE35 and PPE68 were significantly higher in LTBI group than in patients with active TB infection or control group. The discrimination performance (assessed by the area under ROC curve) for IL-2 following stimulation with recombinant PE35 and PPE68 between LTBI and patients with active TB were 0.837 (95%CI: 0.72-0.97) and 0.75 (95%CI: 0.63-0.89), respectively. Applying the 12.4 pg/mL cut-off for IL-2 induced by PE35 in the present study population resulted in sensitivity of 78%, specificity of 78%, PPV of 78% and NPV of 100%. In addition, a sensitivity of 81%, specificity of 70%, PPV of 67% and 87% of NPV was reported based on the 4.4 pg/mL cut-off for IL-2 induced by PPE68. In conclusion, peptides of the antigen PE35 and PPE68, absent from commonly used BCG strains, stimulated strong IL-2- positive T cell responses in patients with LTBI. This study confirms IL-2 induced by PE35 and PPE68 as a sensitive and specific biomarker and highlights IL-2 as new promising adjunct markers for discriminating of LTBI and Active TB infection.

Keywords: IL-2, PE35, PPE68, tuberculosis

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Authors: Min-Woo Kim, Ok-Kyun Na, Jun-Ho Byun, Jong-Hwan Park, Seung-Hwa Yang, Joon-Hong Park, Young-Chul Park

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This study is focused on the comparative analysis and improvement to grasp the flow characteristic of the Anti-Splash Device located under the P/V Valve and new concept design models using the CFD analysis and Artificial Neural Network. The P/V valve located upper deck to solve the pressure rising and vacuum condition of inner tank of the liquid cargo ships occurred oil outflow accident by transverse and longitudinal sloshing force. Anti-Splash Device is fitted to improve and prevent this problem in the shipbuilding industry. But the oil outflow accidents are still reported by ship owners. Thus, four types of new design model are presented by study. Then, comparative analysis is conducted with new models and existing model. Mostly the key criterion of this problem is flux in the outlet of the Anti-Splash Device. Therefore, the flow and velocity are grasped by transient analysis. And then it decided optimum model and design parameters to develop model. Later, it needs to develop an Anti-Splash Device by Flow Test to get certification and verification using experiment equipment.

Keywords: anti-splash device, P/V valve, sloshing, artificial neural network

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Authors: Ankita Tiwari, Jyoti Saini, Subhasis Ghosh

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For many years, researchers have been fascinated by the subject of how properties evolve as dimensionality is lowered. Early on, it was shown that the presence of a significant magnetic anisotropy might compensate for the lack of long-range (LR) magnetic order in a low-dimensional system (d < 3) with continuous symmetry, as proposed by Hohenberg-Mermin and Wagner (HMW). Strong magnetic anisotropy allows an LR magnetic order to stabilize in two dimensions (2D) even in the presence of stronger thermal fluctuations which is responsible for the absence of Heisenberg ferromagnetism in 2D. Van der Waals (vdW) ferromagnets, including CrI₃, CrTe₂, Cr₂X₂Te₆ (X = Si and Ge) and Fe₃GeTe₂, offer a nearly ideal platform for studying ferromagnetism in 2D. Fe₃GeTe₂ is the subject of extensive investigation due to its tunable magnetic properties, high Curie temperature (Tc ~ 220K), and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. Many applications in the field of spintronics device development have been quite active due to these appealing features of Fe₃GeTe₂. Although it is known that LR-driven ferromagnetism is necessary to get around the HMW theorem in 2D experimental realization, Heisenberg 2D ferromagnetism remains elusive in condensed matter systems. Here, we show that Fe₃GeTe₂ hosts both localized and delocalized spins, resulting in itinerant and local-moment ferromagnetism. The presence of LR itinerant interaction facilitates to stabilize Heisenberg ferromagnet in 2D. With the help of Rhodes-Wohlfarth (RW) and generalized RW-based analysis, Fe₃GeTe₂ has been shown to be a 2D ferromagnet with itinerant magnetism that can be modulated by an external magnetic field. Hence, the presence of both local moment and itinerant magnetism has made this system interesting in terms of research in low dimensions. We have also rigorously performed critical analysis using an improvised method. We show that the variable critical exponents are typical signatures of 2D ferromagnetism in Fe₃GeTe₂. The spontaneous magnetization exponent β changes the universality class from mean-field to 2D Heisenberg with field. We have also confirmed the range of interaction via the renormalization group (RG) theory. According to RG theory, Fe₃GeTe₂ is a 2D ferromagnet with LR interactions.

Keywords: Van der Waal ferromagnet, 2D ferromagnetism, phase transition, itinerant ferromagnetism, long range order

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Authors: S. A. Al-Qallaf, S. A. Al-Mawsawi, A. Haider

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Among all FACTS devices, the unified power flow controller (UPFC) is considered to be the most versatile device. This is due to its capability to control all the transmission system parameters (impedance, voltage magnitude, and phase angle). With the growing interest in UPFC, the attention to develop a mathematical model has increased. Several models were introduced for UPFC in literature for different type of studies in power systems. In this paper a novel comparison study between two dynamic models of UPFC with their proposed control strategies.

Keywords: FACTS, UPFC, dynamic modeling, PWM, fundamental frequency

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Authors: Meenal Badki

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We address the issue of active feature determination, where the objective is to determine the set of examples on which additional data (such as lab tests) needs to be gathered, given a large number of examples with some features (such as demographics) and some examples with all the features (such as the complete Electronic Health Record). We note that certain features may be more costly, unique, or laborious to gather. Our proposal is a general active learning approach that is independent of classifiers and similarity metrics. It allows us to identify examples that differ from the full data set and obtain all the features for the examples that match. Our comprehensive evaluation shows the efficacy of this approach, which is driven by four authentic clinical tasks.

Keywords: feature determination, classification, active learning, sample-efficiency

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Authors: Constanza Levicán, Andrés Aparicio, Rodrigo F. Cádiz

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The artistic usage of Brain-computer interfaces (BCI), initially intended for medical purposes, has increased in the past few years as they become more affordable and available for the general population. One interesting question that arises from this practice is whether it is possible to compose or perform music by using only the brain as a musical instrument. In order to approach this question, we propose a BCI for musical composition, based on the representation of some mental states as the musician thinks about sounds. We developed software, called Insight2OSC, that allows the usage of the Emotiv Insight device as a musical instrument, by sending the EEG data to audio processing software such as MaxMSP through the OSC protocol. We provide two compositional applications bundled with the software, which we call Mapping your Mental State and Thinking On. The signals produced by the brain have different frequencies (or rhythms) depending on the level of activity, and they are classified as one of the following waves: delta (0.5-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), beta (13-30 Hz), gamma (30-50 Hz). These rhythms have been found to be related to some recognizable mental states. For example, the delta rhythm is predominant in a deep sleep, while beta and gamma rhythms have higher amplitudes when the person is awake and very concentrated. Our first application (Mapping your Mental State) produces different sounds representing the mental state of the person: focused, active, relaxed or in a state similar to a deep sleep by the selection of the dominants rhythms provided by the EEG device. The second application relies on the physiology of the brain, which is divided into several lobes: frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital. The frontal lobe is related to abstract thinking and high-level functions, the parietal lobe conveys the stimulus of the body senses, the occipital lobe contains the primary visual cortex and processes visual stimulus, the temporal lobe processes auditory information and it is important for memory tasks. In consequence, our second application (Thinking On) processes the audio output depending on the users’ brain activity as it activates a specific area of the brain that can be measured using the Insight device.

Keywords: BCI, music composition, emotiv insight, OSC

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Authors: Keita Iwai, Isao Tomita

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To expand the optical spectrum for use in broadband optical communications, we study the properties of a semiconductor waveguide device with a tapered structure including its third-order optical nonlinearity. Spectral-broadened output by the tapered structure has the potential to create a compact, built-in device for optical communications. Here we deal with a compound semiconductor waveguide, the material of which is the same as that of laser diodes used in the communication systems, i.e., InₓGa₁₋ₓAsᵧP₁₋ᵧ, which has large optical nonlinearity. We confirm that our structure widens the output spectrum sufficiently by controlling its taper form factor while utilizing the large nonlinear refraction of InₓGa₁₋ₓAsᵧP₁₋ᵧ. We also examine the taper effect for nonlinear optical loss.

Keywords: InₓGa₁₋ₓAsᵧP₁₋ᵧ, waveguide, nonlinear refraction, spectral spreading, taper device

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Authors: Bartosz Olszanski, Zbigniew Nosal, Jacek Rokicki

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An experimental study of cold-jet (nitrogen) reaction control jet system has been carried out to investigate the flow control efficiency for low to moderate jet pressure ratios (total jet pressure p0jet over free stream static pressure in the wind tunnel p∞) and different angles of attack for infinite Mach number equal to 2. An investigation of jet influence was conducted on a flat plate geometry placed in the test section of intermittent supersonic wind tunnel of Department of Aerodynamics, WUT. Various convergent jet nozzle geometries to obtain different jet momentum ratios were tested on the same test model geometry. Surface static pressure measurements, Schlieren flow visualizations (using continuous and photoflash light source), load cell measurements gave insight into the supersonic crossflow interaction for different jet pressure and jet momentum ratios and their influence on the efficiency of side jet control as described by the amplification factor (actual to theoretical net force generated by the control nozzle). Moreover, the quasi-steady numerical simulations of flow through the same wind tunnel geometry (convergent-divergent nozzle plus test section) were performed using ANSYS Fluent basing on Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) solver incorporated with k-ω Shear Stress Transport (SST) turbulence model to assess the possible spurious influence of test section walls over the jet exit near field area of interest. The strong bow shock, barrel shock, and Mach disk as well as lambda separation region in front of nozzle were observed as images taken by high-speed camera examine the interaction of the jet and the free stream. In addition, the development of large-scale vortex structures (counter-rotating vortex pair) was detected. The history of complex static pressure pattern on the plate was recorded and compared to the force measurement data as well as numerical simulation data. The analysis of the obtained results, especially in the wake of the jet showed important features of the interaction mechanisms between the lateral jet and the flow field.

Keywords: flow visualization techniques, pressure measurements, reaction control jet, supersonic cross flow

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Authors: Hayani Anastasia, Junus Widjaja, Anis Nur Widayati

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In Indonesia, schistosomiasis is caused by Schistosoma japonicum with Oncomelania hupensis lindoensis as the intermediate host. Schistosomiasis can infect humans and all species of mammals. In order to achieve schistosomiasis elimination by 2020, schistosomiasis control, including environmental management, has been carried out by multi-sector. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018 to evaluate the multi-sectoral schistosomiasis control program. Data were collected by depth interviews of stakeholders, stool surveys, snail surveys, observation, and document reviews. About 53.6% of control programs in the schistosomiasis control roadmap were not achieved. The number of foci area found in 2018 are not significantly different compared to before the control programs. Moreover, the prevalence of schistosomiasis in the human was 0-5.1% and in mammals was the range from 0 to 10%. In order to overcome the problems, a policy about schistosomiasis as a priority program in ministries and agencies other than the Ministry of Health is needed. Innovative health promotion with interactive media also needs to be applied. Also, the schistosomiasis work team needs to be more active with the Agency of Regional Development as the leading sector.

Keywords: evaluation, Indonesia, multi-sector, schistosomiasis

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Authors: Arun Goel, D. V. S. Verma, Sanjeev Sangwan

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The present study was aimed to develop a discharge measuring device for irrigation and laboratory channels. Experiments were conducted on a sharp edged constricted flow meters having four types of width constrictions namely 2:1, 1.5:1, 1:1, and 90o in the direction of flow. These devices were made of MS sheets and installed separately in a rectangular flume. All these four devices were tested under free and submerged flow conditions. Eight different discharges varying from 2 lit/sec to 30 lit/sec were passed through each device. In total around 500 observations of upstream and downstream depths were taken in the present work. For each discharge, free submerged and critical submergence under different flow conditions were noted and plotted. Once the upstream and downstream depths of flow over any of the device are known, the discharge can be easily calculated with the help of the curves developed for free and submerged flow conditions. The device having contraction 2:1 is the most efficient one as it allows maximum critical submergence.

Keywords: flowrate, flowmeter, open channels, submergence

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Authors: Yingjin Cui, Xue Bai, Serena Reese

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Student engagement and student interest during class instruction are important conditions for active learning. Engagement, which has an important relationship with learning motivation, influences students' levels of persistence in overcoming challenges. Lack of student engagement and absence from face-to-face lectures and tutorials, in turn, can lead to poor academic performance. However, keeping students motivated and engaged in the learning process in different instructional modes poses a significant challenge; students can easily become discouraged from attending lectures and tutorials across both online and face-to-face settings. Many factors impact students’ engagement in the learning process. If you want to keep students focused on learning, you have to invite them into the process of helping themselves by providing an active learning environment. Active learning is an excellent technique for enhancing student engagement and participation in the learning process because it provides means to motivate the student to engage themselves in the learning process through reflection, analyzing, applying, and synthesizing the material they learn during class. In this study, we discussed how to create an active learning class (both face-to-face and synchronous online) through engagement activities, including reflection, collaboration, screen messages, open poll, tournament, and transferring editing roles. These activities will provide an uncommon interactive learning environment that can result in improved learning outcomes. To evaluate the effectiveness of those engagement activities in the learning process, an experimental group and a control group will be explored in the study.

Keywords: active learning, academic performance, engagement activities, learning motivation

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Authors: Bo Bae Song, Byung Seok Lee, Hyun young Kim, Chung Kwang Lee, Yong Seo Koo

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This paper proposed a silicon controller rectifier (SCR) based ESD protection device to protect low voltage ESD for integrated circuit. The proposed ESD protection device has low trigger voltage and high holding voltage compared with conventional SCR-based ESD protection devices. The proposed ESD protection circuit is verified and compared by TCAD simulation. This paper verified effective low voltage ESD characteristics with low trigger voltage of 5.79V and high holding voltage of 3.5V through optimization depending on design variables (D1, D2, D3, and D4).

Keywords: ESD, SCR, holding voltage, latch-up

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Authors: Yousfi Abdelkader, Chaker Abdelkader, Bot Youcef

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This article proposes a five-level shunt active power filter for power quality improvement using a interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller (IT2 FLC). The reference compensating current is extracted using the P-Q theory. The majority of works previously reported are based on two-level inverters with a conventional Proportional integral (PI) controller, which requires rigorous mathematical modeling of the system. In this paper, a IT2 FLC controlled five-level active power filter is proposed to overcome the problem associated with PI controller. The IT2 FLC algorithm is applied for controlling the DC-side capacitor voltage as well as the harmonic currents of the five-level active power filter. The active power filter with a IT2 FLC is simulated in MATLAB Simulink environment. The simulated response shows that the proposed shunt active power filter controller has produced a sinusoidal supply current with low harmonic distortion and in phase with the source voltage.

Keywords: power quality, shunt active power filter, interval type-2 fuzzy logic controller (T2FL), multilevel inverter

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Authors: Kim Jin Sup

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This paper presents a vertical hall effect device using current-mode. Among different geometries that have been studied and simulated using COMSOL Multiphysics, optimized cross-shaped model displayed the best sensitivity. The cross-shaped model emerged as the optimum plate to fit the lowest noise and residual offset and the best sensitivity. The symmetrical cross-shaped hall plate is widely used because of its high sensitivity and immunity to alignment tolerances resulting from the fabrication process. The hall effect device has been designed using a 0.18-μm CMOS technology. The simulation uses the nominal bias current of 12μA. The applied magnetic field is from 0 mT to 20 mT. Simulation results achieved in COMSOL and validated with respect to the electrical behavior of equivalent circuit for Cadence. Simulation results of the one structure over the 13 available samples shows for the best geometry a current-mode sensitivity of 6.6 %/T at 20mT. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by Institute for Information & communications Technology Promotion (IITP) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) (No. R7117-16-0165, Development of Hall Effect Semiconductor for Smart Car and Device).

Keywords: vertical hall device, current-mode, crossed-shaped model, CMOS technology

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Authors: Imam Taufiqurrahman, Anugrah Adiwilaga, Egi Hidayat, Bambang Riyanto Trilaksono

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Autonomous Underwater Vehicle glider is one of the renewal of underwater vehicles. This vehicle is one of the autonomous underwater vehicles that are being developed in Indonesia. Glide ability is obtained by controlling the buoyancy and attitude of the vehicle using the movers within the vehicle. The glider motion mechanism is expected to provide energy resistance from autonomous underwater vehicles so as to increase the cruising range of rides while performing missions. The control system on the vehicle consists of three parts: controlling the attitude of the pitch, the buoyancy engine controller and the yaw controller. The buoyancy and pitch controls on the vehicle are sequentially referring to the finite state machine with pitch angle and depth of diving inputs to obtain a gliding cycle. While the yaw control is done through the rudder for the needs of the guide system. This research is focused on design and implementation of control system of Autonomous Underwater Vehicle glider based on PID anti-windup. The control system is implemented on an ARM TS-7250-V2 device along with a mathematical model of the vehicle in MATLAB using the hardware-in-the-loop simulation (HILS) method. The TS-7250-V2 is chosen because it complies industry standards, has high computing capability, minimal power consumption. The results show that the control system in HILS process can form glide cycle with depth and angle of operation as desired. In the implementation using half control and full control mode, from the experiment can be concluded in full control mode more precision when tracking the reference. While half control mode is considered more efficient in carrying out the mission.

Keywords: control system, PID, underwater glider, marine robotics

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Authors: Jan Jezek, Zdenek Pilat, Filip Smatlo, Pavel Zemanek

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We present a device that combines fluorescence spectroscopy with fiber optics and dielectrophoretic micromanipulation in PDMS (poly-(dimethylsiloxane)) microfluidic chips. The device allows high speed detection (in the order of kHz) of the fluorescence signal, which is coming from the sample by an inserted optical fiber, e.g. from a micro-droplet flow in a microfluidic chip, or even from the liquid flowing in the transparent capillary, etc. The device uses a laser diode at a wavelength suitable for excitation of fluorescence, excitation and emission filters, optics for focusing the laser radiation into the optical fiber, and a highly sensitive fast photodiode for detection of fluorescence. The device is combined with dielectrophoretic sorting on a chip for sorting of micro-droplets according to their fluorescence intensity. The electrodes are created by lift-off technology on a glass substrate, or by using channels filled with a soft metal alloy or an electrolyte. This device found its use in screening of enzymatic reactions and sorting of individual fluorescently labelled microorganisms. The authors acknowledge the support from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GA16-07965S) and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (LO1212) together with the European Commission (ALISI No. CZ.1.05/2.1.00/01.0017).

Keywords: dielectrophoretic sorting, fiber optics, laser, microfluidic chips, microdroplets, spectroscopy

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Authors: Tayebeh Saghapour, Sara Moridpour, Russell George Thompson

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One of the common aims of transport policy makers is to switch people’s travel to active transport. For this purpose, a variety of transport goals and investments should be programmed to increase the propensity towards active transport mode choice. This paper aims to investigate whether built environment features in neighbourhoods could enhance the odds of active transportation. The present study introduces an index measuring public transport accessibility (PTAI), and a walkability index along with socioeconomic variables to investigate mode choice behaviour. Using travel behaviour data, an ordered logit regression model is applied to examine the impacts of explanatory variables on walking trips. The findings indicated that high rates of active travel are consistently associated with higher levels of walking and public transport accessibility.

Keywords: active transport, public transport accessibility, walkability, ordered logit model

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Authors: Bo-Wei Song, Yun-Jung Lee

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This paper presents an intention interface and controller for a wire-driven heavy object lifting system that assists the operator with moving a heavy object. The handler is designed to allow a comfortable working posture for the operator. Plus, as a human assistive system, the operator is involved in the control loop, where a fuzzy control system is used to consider the human control characteristics. The effectiveness and performance of the proposed system are proved by experiments.

Keywords: fuzzy controller, handler design, heavy object lifting system, human-assistive device, human-in-the-loop system

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Authors: Amy Lebar, Kim L. Trenbath, Bennett Doherty, William Livingood

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Plug and process loads (PPLs) account for 47% of U.S. commercial building energy use. There is a huge potential to reduce whole building consumption by targeting PPLs for energy savings measures or implementing some form of plug load management (PLM). Despite this potential, there has yet to be a widely adopted commercial PLM technology. This paper describes the Automatic Type and Location Identification System (ATLIS), a PLM system framework with automatic and dynamic load detection (ADLD). ADLD gives PLM systems the ability to automatically identify devices as they are plugged into the outlets of a building. The ATLIS framework takes advantage of smart, connected devices to identify device locations in a building, meter and control their power, and communicate this information to a central database. ATLIS includes five primary capabilities: location identification, communication, control, energy metering and data storage. A laboratory proof of concept (PoC) demonstrated all but the data storage capabilities and these capabilities were validated using an office building scenario. The PoC can identify when a device is plugged into an outlet and the location of the device in the building. When a device is moved, the PoC’s dashboard and database are automatically updated with the new location. The PoC implements controls to devices from the system dashboard so that devices maintain correct schedules regardless of where they are plugged in within a building. ATLIS’s primary technology application is improved PLM, but other applications include asset management, energy audits, and interoperability for grid-interactive efficient buildings. A system like ATLIS could also be used to direct power to critical devices, such as ventilators, during a brownout or blackout. Such a framework is an opportunity to make PLM more widespread and reduce the amount of energy consumed by PPLs in current and future commercial buildings.

Keywords: commercial buildings, grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB), miscellaneous electric loads (MELs), plug loads, plug load management (PLM)

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Authors: Dong Tran, Thanh Dac Van, Ly Le

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Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA) play an important role in host immune evasion across influenza virus evolution process. The correlation between HA and NA evolution in respect to epitopic evolution and drug interaction has yet to be investigated. In this study, combining of sequence to structure evolution and statistical analysis on epitopic/binding site specificity, we identified potential therapeutic features of HA and NA that show specific antibody binding site of HA and specific binding distribution within NA active site of current inhibitors. Our approach introduces the use of sequence variation and molecular interaction to provide an effective strategy in establishing experimental based distributed representations of protein-protein/ligand complexes. The most important advantage of our method is that it does not require complete dataset of complexes but rather directly inferring feature interaction from sequence variation and molecular interaction. Using correlated sequence analysis, we additionally identified co-evolved mutations associated with maintaining HA/NA structural and functional variability toward immunity and therapeutic treatment. Our investigation on the HA binding specificity revealed unique conserved stalk domain interacts with unique loop domain of universal antibodies (CR9114, CT149, CR8043, CR8020, F16v3, CR6261, F10). On the other hand, NA inhibitors (Oseltamivir, Zaninamivir, Laninamivir) showed specific conserved residue contribution and similar to that of NA substrate (sialic acid) which can be exploited for drug design. Our study provides an important insight into rational design and identification of novel therapeutics targeting universally recognized feature of influenza HA/NA.

Keywords: influenza virus, hemagglutinin (HA), neuraminidase (NA), sequence evolution

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Authors: Suruchi Saini, Hitender Kumar Tyagi

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With the rapid progress of the nanotechnology industry, it is becoming increasingly important to have compact semiconductor devices to function and offer the best results at various technology nodes. While performing the scaling of the device, several short-channel effects occur. To minimize these scaling limitations, some device architectures have been developed in the semiconductor industry. FinFET is one of the most promising structures. Also, the double-gate 2D Fin field effect transistor has the benefit of suppressing short channel effects (SCE) and functioning well for less than 14 nm technology nodes. In the present research, the MuGFET simulation tool is used to analyze and explain the electrical behaviour of a double-gate 2D Fin field effect transistor. The drift-diffusion and Poisson equations are solved self-consistently. Various models, such as Fermi-Dirac distribution, bandgap narrowing, carrier scattering, and concentration-dependent mobility models, are used for device simulation. The transfer and output characteristics of the double-gate 2D Fin field effect transistor are determined at 10 nm technology node. The performance parameters are extracted in terms of threshold voltage, trans-conductance, leakage current and current on-off ratio. In this paper, the device performance is analyzed at different structure parameters. The utilization of the Id-Vg curve is a robust technique that holds significant importance in the modeling of transistors, circuit design, optimization of performance, and quality control in electronic devices and integrated circuits for comprehending field-effect transistors. The FinFET structure is optimized to increase the current on-off ratio and transconductance. Through this analysis, the impact of different channel widths, source and drain lengths on the Id-Vg and transconductance is examined. Device performance was affected by the difficulty of maintaining effective gate control over the channel at decreasing feature sizes. For every set of simulations, the device's features are simulated at two different drain voltages, 50 mV and 0.7 V. In low-power and precision applications, the off-state current is a significant factor to consider. Therefore, it is crucial to minimize the off-state current to maximize circuit performance and efficiency. The findings demonstrate that the performance of the current on-off ratio is maximum with the channel width of 3 nm for a gate length of 10 nm, but there is no significant effect of source and drain length on the current on-off ratio. The transconductance value plays a pivotal role in various electronic applications and should be considered carefully. In this research, it is also concluded that the transconductance value of 340 S/m is achieved with the fin width of 3 nm at a gate length of 10 nm and 2380 S/m for the source and drain extension length of 5 nm, respectively.

Keywords: current on-off ratio, FinFET, short-channel effects, transconductance

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Authors: Benjamin Orimolade, Emily Draper

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The interest in all solid electrochromic devices (ECD) is ongoing. This is because these devices offer realistic applications of electrochromic materials in products such as sensors, windows and energy storage devices. The use of quasi-solid (gel) electrolytes for the construction of these ECDs is attractive because of their ease of preparation, availability, low cost, improved electrochromic performance, good ionic conductivity and prevention of leakages in ECDs. Herein, we developed a gel electrolyte consisting of polyacrylamide modified with succinonitrile for an ECD containing leucine-modified naphthalene diimide (NDI-L) as electrochromic material. The amount of succinonitrile in the gel was optimized, and the structure, surface morphology, and ionic conductivity of the electrolytes were assessed using microscopic techniques and electrochemical methods. The ECD fabricated with the gel electrolyte displayed good electrochromic performance with a fast switching response of up to 10 s and outstanding stability. These results add significant insight into understanding the inter- and intra-molecular interaction in succinonitrile gel electrolytes and provide a typical practicable high-performance gel electrolyte material for solid electrochromic devices.

Keywords: electrochromic device, gel electrolytes, naphthalene diimide, succinonitrile

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Authors: Nurul Amziah Md Yunus, Izhal Abdul Halin, Nasri Sulaiman, Noor Faezah Ismail, Ong Kai Sheng

Abstract:

The MEMS pressure sensor has been introduced and presented in this paper. The types of pressure sensor and its theory of operation are also included. The latest MEMS technology, the fabrication processes of pressure sensor are explored and discussed. Besides, various device applications of pressure sensor such as tire pressure monitoring system, diesel particulate filter and others are explained. Due to further miniaturization of the device nowadays, the pressure sensor with nanotechnology (NEMS) is also reviewed. The NEMS pressure sensor is expected to have better performance as well as lower in its cost. It has gained an excellent popularity in many applications.

Keywords: pressure sensor, diaphragm, MEMS, automotive application, biomedical application, NEMS

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Authors: Helen K. Buteme, Rebecca Axelsson-Robertson, Moses L. Joloba, Henry W. Boom, Gunilla Kallenius, Markus Maeurer

Abstract:

Background: The Ugandan population is heavily affected by infectious diseases and Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) diversity plays a crucial role in the host-pathogen interaction and affects the rates of disease acquisition and outcome. The identification of HLA class 1 alleles and determining which alleles are associated with tuberculosis (TB) outcomes would help in screening individuals in TB endemic areas for susceptibility to TB and to predict resistance or progression to TB which would inevitably lead to better clinical management of TB. Aims: To be able to determine the HLA class 1 phenotype distribution in a Ugandan TB cohort and to establish the relationship between these phenotypes and active and latent TB. Methods: Blood samples were drawn from 32 HIV negative individuals with active TB and 45 HIV negative individuals with latent MTB infection. DNA was extracted from the blood samples and the DNA samples HLA typed by the polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer method. The allelic frequencies were determined by direct count. Results: HLA-A*02, A*01, A*74, A*30, B*15, B*58, C*07, C*03 and C*04 were the dominant phenotypes in this Ugandan cohort. There were differences in the distribution of HLA types between the individuals with active TB and the individuals with LTBI with only HLA-A*03 allele showing a statistically significant difference (p=0.0136). However, after FDR computation the corresponding q-value is above the expected proportion of false discoveries (q-value 0.2176). Key findings: We identified a number of HLA class I alleles in a population from Central Uganda which will enable us to carry out a functional characterization of CD8+ T-cell mediated immune responses to MTB. Our results also suggest that there may be a positive association between the HLA-A*03 allele and TB implying that individuals with the HLA-A*03 allele are at a higher risk of developing active TB.

Keywords: HLA, phenotype, tuberculosis, Uganda

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Authors: Terrance Charles, Zhiyin Yang, Yiling Lu

Abstract:

Heavy trucks are aerodynamically inefficient due to their un-streamlined body shapes, leading to more than of 60% engine power being required to overcome the aerodynamics drag at 60 m/hr. There are many aerodynamics drag reduction devices developed and this paper presents a study on a drag reduction device called Cross Vortex Trap Device (CVTD) deployed in the gap between the tractor and the trailer of a simplified tractor-trailer model. Numerical simulations have been carried out at Reynolds number 0.51×10⁶ based on inlet flow velocity and height of the trailer using the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) approach. Three different configurations of CVTD have been studied, ranging from single to three slabs, equally spaced on the front face of the trailer. Flow field around three different configurations of trap device have been analysed and presented. The results show that a maximum of 12.25% drag reduction can be achieved when a triple vortex trap device is used. Detailed flow field analysis along with pressure contours are presented to elucidate the drag reduction mechanisms of CVTD and why the triple vortex trap configuration produces the maximum drag reduction among the three configurations tested.

Keywords: aerodynamic drag, cross vortex trap device, truck, Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes, RANS

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Authors: R. K. Apalowo, D. Chronopoulos

Abstract:

A Finite Element (FE) based scheme is presented for quantifying guided wave interaction with Localised Nonlinear Structural Damage (LNSD) within structures of arbitrary layering and geometric complexity. The through-thickness mode-shape of the structure is obtained through a wave and finite element method. This is applied in a time domain FE simulation in order to generate time harmonic excitation for a specific wave mode. Interaction of the wave with LNSD within the system is computed through an element activation and deactivation iteration. The scheme is validated against experimental measurements and a WFE-FE methodology for calculating wave interaction with damage. Case studies for guided wave interaction with crack and delamination are presented to verify the robustness of the proposed method in classifying and identifying damage.

Keywords: layered structures, nonlinear ultrasound, wave interaction with nonlinear damage, wave finite element, finite element

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Authors: Izabella Szollosi, Klara Marton

Abstract:

Aphasia can be defined as a weakness in accessing linguistic information. Accessing linguistic information is strongly related to information processing, which in turn is associated with the cognitive control system. According to the literature, a deficit in the cognitive control system interferes with language processing and contributes to non-fluent speech performance. The aim of our study was to explore this hypothesis by investigating how cognitive control interacts with language performance in participants with non-fluent aphasia. Cognitive control is a complex construct that includes working memory (WM) and the ability to resist proactive interference (PI). Based on previous research, we hypothesized that impairments in domain-general (DG) cognitive control abilities have negative effects on language processing. In contrast, better DG cognitive control functioning supports goal-directed behavior in language-related processes as well. Since stroke itself might slow down information processing, it is important to examine its negative effects on both cognitive control and language processing. Participants (N=52) in our study were individuals with non-fluent Broca’s aphasia (N = 13), with transcortical motor aphasia (N=13), individuals with stroke damage without aphasia (N=13), and unimpaired speakers (N = 13). All participants performed various computer-based tasks targeting cognitive control functions such as WM and resistance to PI in both linguistic and non-linguistic domains. Non-linguistic tasks targeted primarily DG functions, while linguistic tasks targeted more domain specific (DS) processes. The results showed that participants with Broca’s aphasia differed from the other three groups in the non-linguistic tasks. They performed significantly worse even in the baseline conditions. In contrast, we found a different performance profile in the linguistic domain, where the control group differed from all three stroke-related groups. The three groups with impairment performed more poorly than the controls but similar to each other in the verbal baseline condition. In the more complex verbal PI condition, however, participants with Broca’s aphasia performed significantly worse than all the other groups. Participants with Broca’s aphasia demonstrated the most severe language impairment and the highest vulnerability in tasks measuring DG cognitive control functions. Results support the notion that the more severe the cognitive control impairment, the more severe the aphasia. Thus, our findings suggest a strong interaction between cognitive control and language. Individuals with the most severe and most general cognitive control deficit - participants with Broca’s aphasia - showed the most severe language impairment. Individuals with better DG cognitive control functions demonstrated better language performance. While all participants with stroke damage showed impaired cognitive control functions in the linguistic domain, participants with better language skills performed also better in tasks that measured non-linguistic cognitive control functions. The overall results indicate that the level of cognitive control deficit interacts with the language functions in individuals along with the language spectrum (from severe to no impairment). However, future research is needed to determine any directionality.

Keywords: cognitive control, information processing, language performance, non-fluent aphasia

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