Search results for: high frequency rotary transformer

Authors: Claerchille Jhulia Robin

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This paper discusses the perspective of ESL learners towards pronunciation instruction. It sought to determine how these learners view the type of feedback their speech teacher gives and its impact on their own classroom practice of providing feedback. This study utilized a quantitative-qualitative approach to the problem. The respondents were Education students majoring in English. A survey questionnaire and interview guide were used for data gathering. The data from the survey was tabulated using frequency count and the data from the interview were then transcribed and analyzed. Results showed that ESL learners favor immediate corrective feedback and they do not find any issue in being corrected in front of their peers. They also practice the same corrective technique in their own classroom.

Keywords: ESL, feedback, learner perspective, pronunciation instruction

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Authors: Chang Liang, Weizhi Gong, Yan Zhang

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Purpose: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a malignant tumor with a high mortality rate and poor prognosis worldwide. Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) regulates the tumor suppressor p53, increasing cancer risk and accelerating tumor progression. Speckle-type POX virus and zinc finger protein (SPOP), a key of subunit of Cullin-Ring E3 ligase, inhibits tumor genesis and progression by the ubiquitination of its downstream substrates. This study aimed to clarify whether SPOP and MDM2 are mutually regulated in HCC and the correlation between SPOP and MDM2 and the prognosis of HCC patients. Methods: First, the expression of SPOP and MDM2 in HCC tissues were detected by TCGA database. Then, 53 paired samples of HCC tumor and adjacent tissues were collected to evaluate the expression of SPOP and MDM2 using immunohistochemistry. Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test were used to analyze the relationship between clinicopathological features and the expression levels of SPOP and MDM2. In addition, Kaplan‒Meier curve analysis and log-rank test were used to investigate the effects of SPOP and MDM2 on the survival of HCC patients. Last, the Multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model analyzed whether the different expression levels of SPOP and MDM2 were independent risk factors for the prognosis of HCC patients. Results: Bioinformatics analysis revealed the low expression of SPOP and high expression of MDM2 were related to worse prognosis of HCC patients. The relationship between the expression of SPOP and MDM2 and tumor stem-like features showed an opposite trend. The immunohistochemistry showed the expression of SPOP protein was significantly downregulated while MDM2 protein significantly upregulated in HCC tissue compared to that in para-cancerous tissue. Tumors with low SPOP expression were related to worse T stage and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage, but tumors with high MDM2 expression were related to worse T stage, M stage, and BCLC stage. Kaplan–Meier curves showed HCC patients with high SPOP expression and low MDM2 expression had better survival than those with low SPOP expression and high MDM2 expression (P < 0.05). A multivariate Cox proportional risk regression model confirmed that a high MDM2 expression level was an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in HCC patients (P <0.05). Conclusion: The expression of SPOP protein was significantly downregulated, while the expression of MDM2 significantly upregulated in HCC. The low expression of SPOP and high expression. of MDM2 were associated with malignant progression and poor prognosis of HCC patients, indicating a potential therapeutic target for HCC patients.

Keywords: hepatocellular carcinoma, murine double minute 2, speckle-type POX virus and zinc finger protein, ubiquitination

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Authors: Maysoon Khalil Askar

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The delineation of possible areas of corrosion along the external face of an underground oil pipeline in Trunk line of Al- Garraf oil field was investigated using the horizontal electrical resistivity profiling technique and study the contribution of pH, Moisture Content in Soil and Presence chlorides, sulfates and total dissolve salts in soil and water. The test sites represent a physical and chemical properties of soils. The hydrogen-ion concentration of soil and groundwater range from 7.2 to 9.6, and the resistivity values of the soil along the pipeline were obtained using the YH302B model resistivity meter having values between 1588 and 720 Ohm-cm. the chloride concentration in soil and groundwater is high (more than 1000 ppm), total soulable salt is more than 5000 ppm, and sulphate range from 0.17% and 0.98% in soil and more than 600 ppm in groundwater. The soil is poor aeration, the soil texture is fine (clay and silt soil), the water content is high (the groundwater is close to surface), the chloride and sulphate is high in the soil and groundwater, the total soulable salt is high in ground water and finally the soil electric resistivity is low that the soil is very corrosive and there is the possibility of the pipeline failure. These methods applied in the study are quick, economic and efficient for detecting along buried pipelines which need to be protected. Routine electrical geophysical investigations along buried oil pipelines should be undertaken for the early detection and prevention of pipeline failure with its attendant environmental, human and economic consequences.

Keywords: soil resistivity, corrosion, cathodic protection, chloride concentration, water content

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Authors: Amer Ali, Jessica Cecchinelli, Antonis Charalambous

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Cycling is one of the most environmentally friendly, economic and healthy modes of transport but it needs more efficient cycle infrastructure and more effective safety measures. This paper represents an investigation into the performance and operation of the London Cycle Hire Scheme which started to operate in July 2010 using 5,000 cycles and 315 docking stations and currently has more than 10,000 cycles and over 700 docking stations across London which are available 24/7, 365 days a year. The study, which was conducted during the second half of 2014, consists of two parts; namely, the longitudinal review of the hire scheme between its introduction in 2010 and November 2014, and a field survey in November 2014 in the form of face-face interviews of the users of the cycle scheme to ascertain the existing limitations and difficulties experienced by those users and how it could be improved in terms of capability and safety. The study also includes a correlation between the usage of the cycle scheme and the corresponding weather conditions. The main findings are that on average the number of users (hiring frequency) had increased from just over two millions hires in 2010 to just less than ten millions in 2014. The field survey showed that 80% of the users are satisfied with the performance of the scheme whilst 50% of the users raised concern about the safety level of using the available cycle routes and infrastructure. The study also revealed that a high percentage of the cycle trips were relatively short (less than 30 minutes). Although the weather condition had some effect on cycling, the cost of using the cycle scheme and the main events in London had more effect on the number of cycle hires. The key conclusions are that despite the safety concern and the lack of infrastructure for continuous routes there was an encouraging number of people who opted for cycling as a clean, affordable, and healthy mode of transport. There is a need to expand the scheme by providing more cycles and docking stations and to support that by more well-designed and maintained cycle routes. More details about the development of London Cycle Hire Scheme during the last five years, its performance and the key issues revealed by the surveyed users will be reported in the full version of the paper.

Keywords: cycling mode of transport, london cycle hire scheme, safety, environmental and health benefits, user satisfaction

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Authors: D. Henninger, A. Zopey, T. Ihde, C. Mehring

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The dynamic performance of a 4-way solenoid operated hydraulic spool valve has been analyzed by means of a one-dimensional modeling approach capturing flow, magnetic and fluid forces, valve inertia forces, fluid compressibility, and damping. Increased model accuracy was achieved by analyzing the detailed three-dimensional electromagnetic behavior of the solenoids and flow behavior through the spool valve body for a set of relevant operating conditions, thereby allowing the accurate mapping of flow and magnetic forces on the moving valve body, in lieu of representing the respective forces by lower-order models or by means of simplistic textbook correlations. The resulting high-fidelity one-dimensional model provided the basis for specific and timely design modification eliminating experimentally observed valve oscillations.

Keywords: dynamic performance model, high-fidelity model, 1D-3D decoupled analysis, solenoid-operated hydraulic servo valve, CFD and electromagnetic FEA

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Authors: E. Samain, T. Aussenac, D. van Tuinen, S. Selim

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Plant growth promoting rhizobacteria are known as potential biofertilizers and plant resistance inducers. The present work aims to study the durability of the resistance induced as a response to wheat seeds inoculation with PB2 and its influence by Z. tritici strains. The internal and external roots colonization have been determined in vitro, seven days post inoculation, by measuring the colony forming unit (CFU). In planta experimentations were done under controlled conditions included four wheat cultivars with different levels of resistance against Septoria Leaf Blotch (SLB) and four Z. tritici strains with high aggressiveness and resistance levels to fungicides. Plantlets were inoculated with PB2 at sowing and infected with Z. tritici at 3 leaves or tillering growth stages. The infection level with SLB was evaluated at 17 days post inoculation using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results showed that PB2 has a high potential of wheat root external colonization (> 10⁶ CFU/g of root). However, the internal colonization seems to be cultivar dependent. Indeed, PB2 has not been observed as endophytic for one cultivar but has a high level of internal colonization with more than 104 CFU/g of root concerning the three others. Two wheat cultivars (susceptible and moderated resistant) were used to investigate PB2-induced resistance (PB2-IR). After the first infection with Z. tritici, results showed that PB2-IR has conferred a high protection efficiency (40-90%) against SLB in the two tested cultivars. Whereas the PB2-IR was effective against all tested strains with the moderate resistant cultivar, it was higher with the susceptible cultivar (> 64%) but against three of the four tested strains. Concerning the durability of the PB2-IR, after the second infection timing, it has been observed a significant decrease (10-59%) depending strains in the moderate resistant cultivar. Contrarily, the susceptible cultivar showed a stable and high protection level (76-84%) but against three of the four tested strains and interestingly, the strain that overcame PB2-IR was not the same as that of the first infection timing. To conclude, PB2 induces a high and durable resistance against Z. tritici. The PB2-IR is pathogen strain, plant growth stage and genotype dependent. These results may explain the loss of the induced resistance effectiveness under field conditions.

Keywords: induced resistance, Paenibacillus sp. strain B2, wheat genotypes, Zymoseptoria tritici

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Authors: M. J. Kim, D. B. Lee

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Centrifugal casting is a metal casting method that uses forces make by centripetal acceleration to distribute molten material in mold. Centrifugal cast parts manufactured in industry contain gas pipes and water supply lines, moreover rings, turbocharger, bushings, brake drums. Turbochargers were exposed to exhaust temperatures of 900-1050°C require a material for the corrosion resistance that will withstand such high component temperatures during the entire service life of the vehicle. Hence, the study of corrosion resistance for turbocharger is important for practical application. DIN1.4091 steels were used widely. The DIN1.4091 steels whose compositions were Fe-34.4Cr-14.5Ni-2.5Mo-0.4W-0.4Mn-0.5Si-(0.009 or 0.35)S (wt.%) were centrifugally cast, and oxidized at 900°C for 50-200 h in order to find the effect of sulfur on the high-temperature oxidation of Fe-34.4Cr-14.5Ni-2.5Mo-0.4W-0.4Mn-0.5Si-(0.009 or 0.35)S (wt.%) alloys. These alloys formed oxide scales that consisted primarily of Cr₂O₃ as the major oxide and Cr₂MnO₄ as the minor one through preferential oxidation of Cr and Mn. Cr formed a thin CrOx oxide film on the surface to prevent further oxidation, and when it is added more than 20%, the sulphide decreased corrosion rate. The high affinity of Mn with S, led to the formation of scattered MnS inclusions, particularly in the 0.35S-containing cast alloy. Sulfur was harmful to the oxidation resistance because it deteriorated the scale/alloy adherence so as to accelerate the adherence and compactness of the formed scales. Acknowledgement: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (2016R1A2B1013169).

Keywords: centrifugal casting, turbocharger, sulfur, oxidation, Fe-34.4Cr-14.5Ni alloy

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Authors: Zekun Lin, Xun Li

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Silicon photonics has gained much interest and extensive research for a promising aspect for fabricating compact, high-speed and low-cost photonic devices compatible with complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) process. Despite the remarkable progress made on the development of silicon photonics, high-performance, cost-effective, and reliable silicon laser sources are still missing. In this work, we present a 1550 nm III-V/silicon laser design with stable single-mode lasing property and robust and high-efficiency vertical coupling. The InP cavity consists of two uniform Bragg grating sections at sides for mode selection and feedback, as well as a central second-order grating for surface emission. A grating coupler is etched on the SOI waveguide by which the light coupling between the parallel III-V and SOI is reached vertically rather than by evanescent wave coupling. Laser characteristic is simulated and optimized by the traveling-wave model (TWM) and a Green’s function analysis as well as a 2D finite difference time domain (FDTD) method for the coupling process. The simulation results show that single-mode lasing with SMSR better than 48dB is achievable, and the threshold current is less than 15mA with a slope efficiency of around 0.13W/A. The coupling efficiency is larger than 42% and possesses a high tolerance with less than 10% reduction for 10 um horizontal or 15 um vertical dislocation. The design can be realized by standard flip-chip bonding techniques without co-fabrication of III-V and silicon or precise alignment.

Keywords: III-V/silicon integration, silicon photonics, single mode laser, vertical coupling

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Authors: Song Ni, Junxiang Xu

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This paper concerns quasi-periodic perturbations with parameters of 2-dimensional degenerate systems. If the equilibrium point of the unperturbed system is elliptic-type degenerate. Assume that the perturbation is real analytic quasi-periodic with diophantine frequency. Without imposing any assumption on the perturbation, we can use a path of equilibrium points to tackle with the Melnikov non-resonance condition, then by the Leray-Schauder Continuation Theorem and the Kolmogorov-Arnold-Moser technique, it is proved that the equation has a small response solution for many sufficiently small parameters.

Keywords: quasi-periodic systems, KAM-iteration, degenerate equilibrium point, response solution

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Authors: Hashem A. Alsamadani

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Identifying the level of job satisfaction has many positive benefits for both the worker and employer. The purpose of the study was to examine the overall level of job satisfaction among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) instructors. During the past years, multiple methods were utilized to collect data to determine the level of job satisfaction among teachers. This study was conducted using survey research method. A questionnaire was coded and analyzed using the SPSS. The findings revealed that the overall level of job satisfaction among EFL instructors is high. The study recommended improving conditions of instructors working at public universities so as to gain a high level of job satisfaction and improve outcomes of the teaching-learning process.

Keywords: job satisfaction, EFL teachers, Saudi Arabia, instruction

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Authors: Yong-Taeg Lee, Jun-Ho Na, Seung-Hun Kim, Seong-Uk Hong

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Damages from noise and vibration are increasing every year, most of which are noises between floors in deteriorated building caused by floor impact sound. In this study, the concrete slab measured vibration impact sound for evaluation floor vibration of deteriorated buildings that fails to satisfy with the minimum thickness. In this experimental study, the vibration scale by impact sound was calibrated and compared with ISO and AIJ standard for vibration. The results show that vibration in slab with thickness used in existing building reach human perception levels.

Keywords: vibration, frequency, accelerometer, concrete slab

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Authors: S. Sadegzadeh, A. Mousavi

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Temperature-dependent tunable photonic crystals have attracted widespread interest in recent years. In this research, transmission characteristics of a one-dimensional photonic crystal structure with a single defect have been studied. Here, we assume two different defect layers: InSb as a semiconducting layer and HgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀ as a high-temperature superconducting layer. Both the defect layers have temperature-dependent refractive indexes. Two different types of dielectric materials (Si as a high-refractive index dielectric and MgF₂ as a low-refractive index dielectric) are used to construct the asymmetric structures (Si/MgF₂)^NInSb(Si/MgF₂)^N named S.I, and (Si/MgF₂)^NHgBa₂Ca₂Cu₃O₁₀(Si/MgF₂)^N named S.II. It is found that in response to the temperature changes, transmission peaks within the photonic band gap of the S.II structure, in contrast to S.I, show a small wavelength shift. Furthermore, the results show that under the same conditions, S.I structure generates an extra defect mode in the transmission spectra. Besides high efficiency transmission property of S.II structure, it can be concluded that the semiconductor-dielectric photonic crystals are more sensitive to temperature variation than superconductor types.

Keywords: defect modes, photonic crystals, semiconductor, superconductor, transmission

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Authors: Bhawat Chiamjinnawat

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The agri-food market transformation has implied market growth for the fruit industry in Thailand. This article focuses on analysis of farmer competence and farm resources which affect market strategies used by fruit farmers in Chanthaburi province of Thailand. The survey data were collected through the use of face-to-face interviews with structured questionnaires. This study identified 14 drivers related to farmer competence and farm resources of which some had significant effect on the decision to use either high-value markets or traditional markets. The results suggest that farmers who used high-value markets were better educated and they had longer experience and larger sized business. Identifying the important factors that match with the market transformation provides policy with opportunities to support the fruit farmers to increase their market power. Policies that promote business expansion of agricultural cooperatives and knowledge sharing among farmers are recommended to reduce limitations due to limited knowledge, low experience, and small business sizes.

Keywords: farmer competence, farm resources, fruit industry, high-value markets, Thailand

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Authors: V. Geza, J. Vencels, G. Zageris, S. Pavlovs

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One of the most perspective methods to produce SoG-Si is refinement via metallurgical route. The most critical part of this route is refinement from boron and phosphorus. Therefore, a new approach could address this problem. We propose an approach of creating surface waves on silicon melt’s surface in order to enlarge its area and accelerate removal of boron via chemical reactions and evaporation of phosphorus. A two dimensional numerical model is created which includes coupling of electromagnetic and fluid dynamic simulations with free surface dynamics. First results show behaviour similar to experimental results from literature.

Keywords: numerical modelling, silicon refinement, surface waves, VOF method

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: H. Imad, Y. Cheah, O. Aamera

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The aims of this research are to study the mitochondrial non-coding region by using the Sanger sequencing technique and establish the degree of variation characteristics of a fragment. FTA® Technology (FTA™ paper DNA extraction) utilized to extract DNA. A portion of a non-coding region encompassing positions 37 to 340 amplified in accordance with the Anderson reference sequence. PCR products purified by EZ-10 spin column then sequenced and detected by using the ABI 3730xL DNA Analyzer. New polymorphic positions 57, 63, and 101 are described may in future be suitable sources for identification purpose. The data obtained can be used to identify variable nucleotide positions characterized by frequent occurrence most promising for identification variants.

Keywords: encompassing nucleotide positions 37 to 340, HVII, Iraq, mitochondrial DNA, polymorphism, frequency

Procedia PDF Downloads 747

Authors: Shakila N. Senarath, Dinesh Asanka, Janaka Wijayanayake

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The necessity of cosmetic products is arising to fulfill consumer needs of personality appearance and hygiene. A cosmetic product consists of various chemical ingredients which may help to keep the skin healthy or may lead to damages. Every chemical ingredient in a cosmetic product does not perform on every human. The most appropriate way to select a healthy cosmetic product is to identify the texture of the body first and select the most suitable product with safe ingredients. Therefore, the selection process of cosmetic products is complicated. Consumer surveys have shown most of the time, the selection process of cosmetic products is done in an improper way by consumers. From this study, a content-based system is suggested that recommends cosmetic products for the human factors. To such an extent, the skin type, gender and price range will be considered as human factors. The proposed system will be implemented by using Machine Learning. Consumer skin type, gender and price range will be taken as inputs to the system. The skin type of consumer will be derived by using the Baumann Skin Type Questionnaire, which is a value-based approach that includes several numbers of questions to derive the user’s skin type to one of the 16 skin types according to the Bauman Skin Type indicator (BSTI). Two datasets are collected for further research proceedings. The user data set was collected using a questionnaire given to the public. Those are the user dataset and the cosmetic dataset. Product details are included in the cosmetic dataset, which belongs to 5 different kinds of product categories (Moisturizer, Cleanser, Sun protector, Face Mask, Eye Cream). An alternate approach of TF-IDF (Term Frequency – Inverse Document Frequency) is applied to vectorize cosmetic ingredients in the generic cosmetic products dataset and user-preferred dataset. Using the IF-IPF vectors, each user-preferred products dataset and generic cosmetic products dataset can be represented as sparse vectors. The similarity between each user-preferred product and generic cosmetic product will be calculated using the cosine similarity method. For the recommendation process, a similarity matrix can be used. Higher the similarity, higher the match for consumer. Sorting a user column from similarity matrix in a descending order, the recommended products can be retrieved in ascending order. Even though results return a list of similar products, and since the user information has been gathered, such as gender and the price ranges for product purchasing, further optimization can be done by considering and giving weights for those parameters once after a set of recommended products for a user has been retrieved.

Keywords: content-based filtering, cosmetics, machine learning, recommendation system

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Authors: Ruquan You, Haiwang Li, Zhi Tao

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A time-resolved particle image velocimetry (PIV) system is developed to investigate the boundary layer flow with the effect of rotating Coriolis and buoyancy force. This time-resolved PIV system consists of a 10 Watts continuous laser diode and a high-speed camera. The laser diode is able to provide a less than 1mm thickness sheet light, and the high-speed camera can capture the 6400 frames per second with 1024×1024 pixels. The whole laser and the camera are fixed on the rotating facility with 1 radius meters and up to 500 revolutions per minute, which can measure the boundary flow velocity in the rotating channel with and without ribs directly at rotating conditions. To investigate the effect of buoyancy force, transparent heater glasses are used to provide the constant thermal heat flux, and then the density differences are generated near the channel wall, and the buoyancy force can be simulated when the channel is rotating. Due to the high temporal and spatial resolution of the system, the proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) can be developed to analyze the characteristic of the turbulent boundary layer flow at rotating conditions. With this rotating facility and PIV system, the velocity profile, Reynolds shear stress, spatial and temporal correlation, and the POD modes of the turbulent boundary layer flow can be discussed.

Keywords: rotating facility, PIV, boundary layer flow, spatial and temporal resolution

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Authors: E. Syngelaki, C. C. F. Schinkel, S. Klatt, E. Hörandl

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Environmental influence can alter the conditions for plant development and can trigger changes in epigenetic variation. Thus, the exposure to abiotic environmental stress can lead to different DNA methylation profiles and may have evolutionary consequences for adaptation. Epigenetic control mechanisms may further influence mode of reproduction. The alpine species R. kuepferi has diploid and tetraploid cytotypes, that are mostly sexual and facultative apomicts, respectively. Hence, it is a suitable model system for studying the correlations of mode of reproduction, ploidy, and environmental stress. Diploid and tetraploid individuals were placed in two climate chambers and treated with low (+7°C day/+2°C night, -1°C cold shocks for three nights per week) and warm (control) temperatures (+15°C day/+10°C night). Subsequently, methylation sensitive-Amplified Fragment-Length Polymorphism (AFPL) markers were used to screen genome-wide methylation alterations triggered by stress treatments. The dataset was analyzed for four groups regarding treatment (cold/warm) and ploidy level (diploid/tetraploid), and also separately for full methylated, hemi-methylated and unmethylated sites. Patterns of epigenetic variation suggested that diploids differed significantly in their profiles from tetraploids independent from treatment, while treatments did not differ significantly within cytotypes. Furthermore, diploids are more differentiated than the tetraploids in overall methylation profiles of both treatments. This observation is in accordance with the increased frequency of apomictic seed formation in diploids and maintenance of facultative apomixis in tetraploids during the experiment. Global analysis of molecular variance showed higher epigenetic variation within groups than among them, while locus-by-locus analysis of molecular variance showed a high number (54.7%) of significantly differentiated un-methylated loci. To summarise, epigenetic variation seems to depend on ploidy level, and in diploids may be correlated to changes in mode of reproduction. However, further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism and possible functional significance of these correlations.

Keywords: apomixis, cold stress, DNA methylation, Ranunculus kuepferi

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Authors: Muhammad Bilal, Zhongfeng Qiu

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Aerosols, suspended particles in the atmosphere, play an important role in the earth energy budget, climate change, degradation of atmospheric visibility, urban air quality, and human health. To fully understand aerosol effects, retrieval of aerosol optical properties such as aerosol optical depth (AOD) at high spatiotemporal resolution is required. Therefore, in the present study, hourly AOD observations at 500 m resolution were retrieved from the geostationary ocean color imager (GOCI) using the simplified aerosol retrieval algorithm (SARA) over the urban area of Beijing for the year 2016. The SARA requires top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance, solar and sensor geometry information and surface reflectance observations to retrieve an accurate AOD. For validation of the GOCI retrieved AOD, AOD measurements were obtained from the aerosol robotic network (AERONET) version 3 level 2.0 (cloud-screened and quality assured) data. The errors and uncertainties were reported using the root mean square error (RMSE), relative percent mean error (RPME), and the expected error (EE = ± (0.05 + 0.15AOD). Results showed that the high spatiotemporal GOCI AOD observations were well correlated with the AERONET AOD measurements with a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.92, RMSE of 0.07, and RPME of 5%, and 90% of the observations were within the EE. The results suggested that the SARA is robust and has the ability to retrieve high-resolution spatiotemporal AOD observations over the urban area using the geostationary satellite.

Keywords: AEORNET, AOD, SARA, GOCI, Beijing

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Authors: H. R. Vosoughifar, Seyedeh Zeinab. Hosseininejad, Nahid Shabazi, Seyed Mohialdin Hosseininejad

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In recent years, structure designers advocate further application of energy absorption devices for lateral loads damping. The Un-bonded Braced Frame (UBF) system is one of the efficient damping systems, which is made of a smart combination of steel and concrete or mortar. In this system, steel bears the earthquake-induced axial force as compressive or tension forces without loss of strength. Concrete or mortar around the steel core acts as a constraint for brace and prevents brace buckling during seismic axial load. In this study, the optimal bracing system in the high-rise structures has been evaluated considering the seismic stress distribution in the connections. An actual 18-story structure was modeled using the proper Finite Element (FE) software where braced with UBF, Eccentrically Braced Frames (EBF) and Concentrically Braced Frame (CBF) systems. Nonlinear static pushover and time-history analyses are then performed so that the acquired results demonstrate that the UBF system reduces drift values in the high-rise buildings. Further statistical analyses show that there is a significant difference between the drift values of UBF system compared with those resulted from the EBF and CBF systems. Hence, the seismic stress distribution in the connections of the proposed structure which braced with UBF system was investigated.

Keywords: optimal bracing system, high-rise structure, finite element analysis (FEA), seismic stress

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Authors: Ummi Sholihah Pertiwi Abidin, Eva Fadhilah

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Social changes are more and more growing and having many different forms as the time passed and thought methods in the society. One of many forms of that social changes is the emancipation of women that is flourishing by the inception of gender equality perception between men and women in all aspects including education. It’s not anymore found the distinction between genders in learning and the education achieving right at this globalized era. But, it is still many perceptions which are against that equality of education achieving right, either come from the women’s selves or many external factors. They assumed that they are going to be a mother in the future, and a wife, someone with responsible for taking care of the household and everything inside, while the husband is the one who has the responsible for looking for the living. So comes from this kind of assumption, the perception against the education equality between genders, which means there is no need for them –women- to achieve the high education because they will still end up as housewives. Except those working or career women that need high education to support their works. These women are not aware that even a mother needs the high and capable education. Because, as the 'mother to be,' they surely need broad knowledge from the education to educate their children in the future. It is such a big fault to say the kind of thing, 'It is no matter that I am not educated, in case I’m just a housewife. The important thing is my children get a great education'. Unfortunately, it is still often found, saying 'A housewife job is not a big deal to do with high education.' This qualitative method paper raises a theme about the importance of education for women, no matter what will they be in the future. Because however, and whatever is the woman’s career outside the house, or even not working outside, she’s still a mother for her children, and 'educational provision' is a great need. And so forth, this educational provision is a big deal to do with future generation’s foredoom, regarding the first source of children’s knowledge and the first school for them is their mother.

Keywords: women education, mother to be, educational provision, first school, future generation’s foredoom

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Authors: Manuel Salado, Mikel Rincón, Arkaitz Fidalgo, Roberto Fernandez, Senentxu Lanceros-Méndez

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Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are a promising technology for energy storage, but they suffer from safety concerns due to the use of flammable organic solvents in their liquid electrolytes. Solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) offer a potential solution to this problem, but they have their own limitations, such as poor ionic conductivity and high interfacial resistance. The aim of this research was to develop a new type of SSE based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and ionic liquids (ILs). MOFs are porous materials with high surface area and tunable electronic properties, making them ideal for use in SSEs. ILs are liquid electrolytes that are non-flammable and have high ionic conductivity. A series of MOFs were synthesized, and their electrochemical properties were evaluated. The MOFs were then infiltrated with ILs to form a quasi-solid gel and solid xerogel SSEs. The ionic conductivity, interfacial resistance, and electrochemical performance of the SSEs were characterized. The results showed that the MOF-IL SSEs had significantly higher ionic conductivity and lower interfacial resistance than conventional SSEs. The SSEs also exhibited excellent electrochemical performance, with high discharge capacity and long cycle life. The development of MOF-IL SSEs represents a significant advance in the field of solid-state electrolytes. The high ionic conductivity and low interfacial resistance of the SSEs make them promising candidates for use in next-generation LIBs. The data for this research was collected using a variety of methods, including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The data was analyzed using a variety of statistical and computational methods, including principal component analysis, density functional theory, and molecular dynamics simulations. The main question addressed by this research was whether MOF-IL SSEs could be developed that have high ionic conductivity, low interfacial resistance, and excellent electrochemical performance. The results of this research demonstrate that MOF-IL SSEs are a promising new type of solid-state electrolyte for use in LIBs. The SSEs have high ionic conductivity, low interfacial resistance, and excellent electrochemical performance. These properties make them promising candidates for use in next-generation LIBs that are safer and have higher energy densities.

Keywords: energy storage, solid-electrolyte, ionic liquid, metal-organic-framework, electrochemistry, organic inorganic plastic crystal

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Authors: Mikael M. Johansson, Peter Stenvall, Leif Karlsson, Joel Andersson

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Sandvik Sanicro 25, UNS S31035, is an advanced high temperature austenitic stainless steel that potentially can be used in super-heaters and reheaters in the next generation of advanced ultra-super critical power plants. The material possesses both high creep strength and good corrosion resistance at temperatures up to 700°C. Its high temperature properties are positioned between other commercially available high temperature austenitic stainless steels and nickel-based alloys. It is, however, well known that an austenitic solidification mode combined with a fully austenitic microstructure exacerbate susceptibility towards hot cracking. The problem increases even more for thick walled material in multipass welding and could compromise the integrity of the welded component. Varestraint weldability testing is commonly used to evaluate susceptibility towards hot cracking of materials. In this paper, Varestraint test results are evaluated for base material of both UNS S31035 steel and are compared to those of the well-known and well-characterized UNS S31008 grade. The more creep resistant alloy, UNS S31035, is metallurgically more complicated than the UNS S31008 grade and has additions of several alloying elements to improve its high temperature properties. It benefits from both solid solution hardening as well as precipitation hardening. This investigation therefore attempts, based on the Varestraint weldability test, to understand if there are any differences in cracking mechanisms between these two grades due to the additional alloying elements used in UNS S31035. Results from Varestraint testing and crack type investigations will be presented and discussed in some detail. It is shown that hot cracking susceptibility of the UNS S31035 steel is only slightly higher than that of UNS S31008 despite the more complicated metallurgy. Weldability of the two alloys is therefore judged to be comparable making the newer alloy well suited also for critical applications.

Keywords: austenitic stainless steel, hot cracking susceptibility, UNS S31035, UNS S31008, varestraint weldability testing

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Authors: Hao Chen, Bo Guo, Ping Jiang

Abstract:

Residual life (RL) estimation based on multi-phase nonlinear Wiener process was studied in this paper, which is significant for complicated products with small samples. Firstly, nonlinear Wiener model with random parameter was introduced and multi-phase nonlinear Wiener model was proposed to model degradation process of products that were nonlinear and separated into different phases. Then the multi-phase RL probability density function based on the presented model was derived approximately in a closed form and parameters estimation was achieved with the method of maximum likelihood estimation (MLE). Finally, the method was applied to estimate the RL of high voltage plus capacitor. Compared with the other three different models by log-likelihood function (Log-LF) and Akaike information criterion (AIC), the results show that the proposed degradation model can capture degradation process of high voltage plus capacitors in a better way and provide a more reliable result.

Keywords: multi-phase nonlinear wiener process, residual life estimation, maximum likelihood estimation, high voltage plus capacitor

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Authors: Esmaeil Zabihi, Seyed Hossein Alavi

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is a comparison of movement and physical fitness in athlete's male students in altitude and sea-level. The samples consist of 450 subjects in altitude and sea-level in Iran in years of 2013 which were selected randomly from the population. We investigated the effect of high altitude on the tests activity profile of youth high altitude and sea level residents. Methods 450 Sea Level (Mahmood Abad) and 450 Altitude-resident (Shahre-Kord) athlete students tests of physical fitness near sea level (-5 m) and in Altitude (2100 m). This study is Descriptive Research (causal-comparative research). The tests of physical fitness include pull-ups test, sit-ups test, agility test(4 9), 45 sprint test, 1600 m running, long jump, and flexibility test. For determining of different between the physical fitness of altitude and sea-level students was used t-test (P ≤ 0.05). The result of this study show that there is no significant difference between the average of pull-ups test, flexibility, 45 sprints, and agility (4 9) test of students in sea-level and altitude. But there is a significant difference between the average of sit-ups, 1600 m running and long jump in altitude. The students of altitude have higher power rather than sea-level. But the students of sea-level have stronger abdominal muscles and cardio-respiratory endurance rather than altitude. High altitude reduces the distance covered by youth athlete students during tests. Neither acclimatisation nor lifelong residence at high altitude protects against detrimental effects of altitude on tests activity profile.

Keywords: physical fitness, sea level, altitude areas, AAHPERD test

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Authors: Arvind Mittal, Rajesh Gupta

Abstract:

Influence of heat input on the micro structure and mechanical properties of shield metal arc welded of duplex stainless steel UNSNO.S-31803 has been investigated. Three heat input combinations designated as low heat (0.675 KJ/mm), medium heat (0.860 KJ/mm) and high heat (1.094 KJ/mm) and weld joints made using these combinations were subjected to micro structural evaluations and tensile and impact testing so as to analyze the effect of thermal arc energy on the micro structure and mechanical properties of these joints. The result of this investigation shows that the joints made using low heat input exhibited higher tensile strength than those welded with medium and high heat input. Heat affected zone of welded joint made with medium heat input has austenitic ferritic grain structure with some patchy austenite provide high toughness. Significant grain coarsening was observed in the heat affected zone (HAZ) of medium and high heat input welded joints, whereas low heat input welded joint shows the fine grain structure in the heat affected zone with small amount of dendritic formation and equiaxed grain structure where inner zone indicates slowly cooled grains in the direction of heat dissipation. This is the main reason for the observable changes of tensile properties of weld joints welded with different arc energy inputs.

Keywords: microstructure, mechanical properties, shield metal arc welded, duplex stainless steel

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Authors: Xin-Yu Shih, Yue-Qu Liu, Hong-Ru Chou

Abstract:

This paper presents a low-area and fully-reconfigurable Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) hardware design for 3GPP-LTE communication standard. It can fully support 32 different FFT sizes, up to 2048 FFT points. Besides, a special processing element is developed for making reconfigurable computing characteristics possible, while first-in first-out (FIFO) scheduling scheme design technique is proposed for hardware-friendly FIFO resource arranging. In a synthesis chip realization via TSMC 40 nm CMOS technology, the hardware circuit only occupies core area of 0.2325 mm² and dissipates 233.5 mW at maximal operating frequency of 250 MHz.

Keywords: reconfigurable, fast Fourier transform (FFT), single-path delay feedback (SDF), 3GPP-LTE

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Authors: Breanna Macumber, Victor A. Huayamave, Emir A. Vela, Wangdo Kim, Tamara T. Chamber, Esteban Centeno

Abstract:

Spina bifida is a type of neural tube defect that affects the nervous system and can lead to problems such as total leg paralysis. Treatment requires physical therapy and rehabilitation. Robotic exoskeletons have been used for rehabilitation to train muscle movement and assist in injury recovery; however, current models focus on the adult populations and not on the infant population. The proposed framework aims to couple a musculoskeletal infant model with a robotic exoskeleton using vacuum-powered artificial muscles to provide rehabilitation to infants affected by spina bifida. The study that drove the input values for the robotic exoskeleton used motion capture technology to collect data from the spontaneous kicking movement of a 2.4-month-old infant lying supine. OpenSim was used to develop the musculoskeletal model, and Inverse kinematics was used to estimate hip joint angles. A total of 4 kicks (A, B, C, D) were selected, and the selection was based on range, transient response, and stable response. Kicks had at least 5° of range of motion with a smooth transient response and a stable period. The robotic exoskeleton used a Vacuum-Powered Artificial Muscle (VPAM) the structure comprised of cells that were clipped in a collapsed state and unclipped when desired to simulate infant’s age. The artificial muscle works with vacuum pressure. When air is removed, the muscle contracts and when air is added, the muscle relaxes. Bench testing was performed using a 6-month-old infant mannequin. The previously developed exoskeleton worked really well with controlled ranges of motion and frequencies, which are typical of rehabilitation protocols for infants suffering with spina bifida. However, the random kicking motion in this study contained high frequency kicks and was not able to accurately replicate all the investigated kicks. Kick 'A' had a greater error when compared to the other kicks. This study has the potential to advance the infant rehabilitation field.

Keywords: musculoskeletal modeling, soft robotics, rehabilitation, pediatrics

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Authors: Nazeef, Suleiman, Umar, Danladi Muhammad, Ja'afar Ali, Zaliha Adamu Umar

Abstract:

The population dynamics of Auchenoglanis occidentalis from the Dadin-Kowa reservoir were studied. Population dynamic parameters such as growth, mortality and recruitment patterns were analyzed using length frequency data over a 12-month period employing FiSAT II software. Findings revealed that LWR (b - constant) = 2.88, K = 0.72 -yr., L∞ = 40.91 cm and Tmax = 3.57 years and Ɵ’ = 3.14. Mortality indices revealed that natural mortality (M = 1.39), fishing mortality (F = 0.22) and exploitation ratio (E = 0.14), Lc/L∞ = 0.48, Emax = 0.64, while Lopt = 26.4 cm. Uni-modal recruitment peak observed with Lm = 27.3 cm. A restocking program is suitable to ensure its continuous existence as it seems to have a low population.

Keywords: fish population dynamics, auchenoglanis occidentalis, FISAT II, natural mortality

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Authors: Seolah Lee, Yoohyk Jang, Soyoung Lee, Kon Chu, Sang Kun Lee

Abstract:

Objective: The International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) currently suggests a topiramate serum level range of 5-20 mg/L. However, numerous institutions have observed substantial drug response at lower levels. This study aims to investigate the correlation between topiramate serum levels, drug responsiveness, and adverse events to establish a more accurate and tailored therapeutic range. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed topiramate serum samples collected between January 2017 and January 2022 at Seoul National University Hospital. Clinical data, including serum levels, antiseizure regimens, seizure frequency, and adverse events, were collected. Patient responses were categorized as "insufficient" (reduction in seizure frequency <50%) or "sufficient" (reduction ≥ 50%). Within the "sufficient" group, further subdivisions included seizure-free and tolerable seizure subgroups. A population pharmacokinetic model estimated serum levels from spot measurements. ROC curve analysis determined the optimal serum level cut-off. Results: A total of 389 epilepsy patients, with 555 samples, were reviewed, having a mean dose of 178.4±117.9 mg/day and a serum level of 3.9±2.8 mg/L. Out of the samples, only 5.6% (n=31) exhibited insufficient response, with a mean serum level of 3.6±2.5 mg/L. In contrast, 94.4% (n=524) of samples demonstrated sufficient response, with a mean serum level of 4.0±2.8 mg/L. This difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.45). Among the 78 reported adverse events, logistic regression analysis identified a significant association between ataxia and serum concentration (p = 0.04), with an optimal cut-off value of 6.5 mg/L. In the subgroup of patients receiving monotherapy, those in the tolerable seizure group exhibited a significantly higher serum level compared to the seizure-free group (4.8±2.0 mg/L vs 3.4±2.3 mg/L, p < 0.01). Notably, patients in the tolerable seizure group displayed a higher likelihood of progressing into drug-resistant epilepsy during follow-up visits compared to the seizure-free group. Significance: This study proposed an optimal therapeutic concentration for topiramate based on the patient's responsiveness to the drug and the incidence of adverse effects. We employed a population pharmacokinetic model and analyzed topiramate serum levels to recommend a serum level below 6.5 mg/L to mitigate the risk of ataxia-related side effects. Our findings also indicated that topiramate dose elevation is unnecessary for suboptimal responders, as the drug's effectiveness plateaus at minimal doses.

Keywords: topiramate, therapeutic range, low dos, antiseizure effect

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