Search results for: Object detection

Authors: J. Pazourek, K. Šmejkal, P. Kollár, J. Rajchard, J. Šinko, Z. Balounová, E. Vlková, H. Salmonová

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Pectinatella magnifica (Leidy, 1851) is an invasive freshwater animal that lives in colonies. A colony of Pectinatella magnifica (a gelatinous blob) can be up to several feet in diameter large and under favorable conditions it exhibits an extreme growth rate. Recently European countries around rivers of Elbe, Oder, Danube, Rhine and Vltava have confirmed invasion of Pectinatella magnifica, including freshwater reservoirs in South Bohemia (Czech Republic). Our project (Czech Science Foundation, GAČR P503/12/0337) is focused onto biology and chemistry of Pectinatella magnifica. We monitor the organism occurrence in selected South Bohemia ponds and sandpits during the last years, collecting information about physical properties of surrounding water, and sampling the colonies for various analyses (classification, maps of secondary metabolites, toxicity tests). Because the gelatinous matrix is during the colony lifetime also a host for algae, bacteria and cyanobacteria (co-habitants), in this contribution, we also applied a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method for determination of potentially present cyanobacterial toxins (microcystin-LR, microcystin-RR, nodularin). Results from the last 3-year monitoring show that these toxins are under limit of detection (LOD), so that they do not represent a danger yet. The final goal of our study is to assess toxicity risks related to fresh water resources invaded by Pectinatella magnifica, and to understand the process of invasion, which can enable to control it.

Keywords: cyanobacteria, fresh water resources, Pectinatella magnifica invasion, toxicity monitoring

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Authors: Hossein Tavallali, Mohammad Ali Karimi, Gohar Deilamy-Rad

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The proposed method for speciation, preconcentration and determination of Fe(II) and Fe(III) in pharmaceutical products was developed using of alumina-coated magnetite nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄/Al₂O₃ NPs) as solid phase extraction (SPE) sorbent in magnetic mixed hemimicell solid phase extraction (MMHSPE) technique followed by flame atomic absorption spectrometry analysis. The procedure is based on complexation of Fe(II) with 1, 10-phenanthroline (OP) as complexing reagent for Fe(II) that immobilized on the modified Fe₃O₄/Al₂O₃ NPs. The extraction and concentration process for pharmaceutical sample was carried out in a single step by mixing the extraction solvent, magnetic adsorbents under ultrasonic action. Then, the adsorbents were isolated from the complicated matrix easily with an external magnetic field. Fe(III) ions determined after facility reduced to Fe(II) by added a proper reduction agent to sample solutions. Compared with traditional methods, the MMHSPE method simplified the operation procedure and reduced the analysis time. Various influencing parameters on the speciation and preconcentration of trace iron, such as pH, sample volume, amount of sorbent, type and concentration of eluent, were studied. Under the optimized operating conditions, the preconcentration factor of the modified nano magnetite for Fe(II) 167 sample was obtained. The detection limits and linear range of this method for iron were 1.0 and 9.0 - 175 ng.mL⁻¹, respectively. Also the relative standard deviation for five replicate determinations of 30.00 ng.mL^-1 Fe²⁺ was 2.3%.

Keywords: Alumina-Coated magnetite nanoparticles, Magnetic Mixed Hemimicell Solid-Phase Extraction, Fe(ΙΙ) and Fe(ΙΙΙ), pharmaceutical sample

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Authors: M. Chukhryaeva, R. Skhalyakho, J. Kagazegeva, E. Pocheshkhova, L. Yepiskopossyan, O. Balanovsky, E. Balanovska

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The Middle East is crossroad of different populations at different times. The Kurds are of particular interest in this region. Historical sources suggested that the origin of the Kurds is associated with Medes. Therefore, it was especially interesting to compare gene pool of Kurds with other supposed descendants of Medes-Tats. Yezidis are ethno confessional group of Kurds. Yezidism as a confessional teaching was formed in the XI-XIII centuries in Iraq. Yezidism has caused reproductively isolation of Yezidis from neighboring populations for centuries. Also, isolation helps to retain Yezidian caste system. It is unknown how the history of Yezidis affected its genу pool because it has never been the object of researching. We have examined the Y-chromosome variation in Yezidis and Kurdish males to understand their gene pool. We collected DNA samples from 90 Yezidi males and 24 Kurdish males together with their pedigrees. We performed Y-STR analysis of 17 loci in the samples collected (Yfiler system from Applied Biosystems) and analysis of 42 Y-SNPs by real-time PCR. We compared our data with published data from other Kurdish groups and from European, Caucasian, and West Asian populations. We found that gene pool of Yezidis contains haplogroups common in the Middle East (J-M172(xM67,M12)- 24%, E-M35(xM78)- 9%) and in South Western Asia (R-M124- 8%) and variant with wide distribution area - R-M198(xM458- 9%). The gene pool of Kurdish has higher genetic diversity than Yezidis. Their dominants haplogroups are R-M198- 20,3 %, E-M35- 9%, J-M172- 9%. Multidimensional scaling also shows that the Kurds and Yezidis are part of the same frontier Asian cluster, which, in addition, included Armenians, Iranians, Turks, and Greeks. At the same time, the peoples of the Caucasus and Europe form isolated clusters that do not overlap with the Asian clusters. It is noteworthy that Kurds from our study gravitate towards Tats, which indicates that most likely these two populations are descendants of ancient Medes population. Multidimensional scaling also reveals similarity between gene pool of Yezidis, Kurds with Armenians and Iranians. The analysis of Yezidis pedigrees and their STR variability did not reveal a reliable connection between genetic diversity and caste system. This indicates that the Yezidis caste system is a social division and not a biological one. Thus, we showed that, despite many years of isolation, the gene pool of Yezidis retained a common layer with the gene pool of Kurds, these populations have common spectrum of haplogroups, but Yezidis have lower genetic diversity than Kurds. This study received primary support from the RSF grant No. 16-36-00122 to MC and grant No. 16-06-00364 to EP.

Keywords: gene pool, haplogroup, Kurds, SNP and STR markers, Yezidis

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Authors: Harry J. Witchel, James Ackah, Carlos P. Santos, Nachiappan Chockalingam, Carina E. I. Westling

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Introduction: Proxemics is the study of how people perceive and use space. It is commonly proposed that when people like or engage with a person/object, they will move slightly closer to it, often quite subtly and subconsciously. Music videos are known to add entertainment value to a pop song. Our hypothesis was that by adding appropriately matched video to a pop song, it would lead to a net approach of the head to the monitor screen compared to simply listening to an audio-only version of the song. Methods: We presented to 27 participants (ages 21.00 ± 2.89, 15 female) seated in front of 47.5 x 27 cm monitor two musical stimuli in a counterbalanced order; all stimuli were based on music videos by the band OK Go: Here It Goes Again (HIGA, boredom ratings (0-100) = 15.00 ± 4.76, mean ± SEM, standard-error-of-the-mean) and Do What You Want (DWYW, boredom ratings = 23.93 ± 5.98), which did not differ in boredom elicited (P = 0.21, rank-sum test). Each participant experienced each song only once, and one song (counterbalanced) as audio-only versus the other song as a music video. The movement was measured by video-tracking using Kinovea 0.8, based on recording from a lateral aspect; before beginning, each participant had a reflective motion tracking marker placed on the outer canthus of the left eye. Analysis of the Kinovea X-Y coordinate output in comma-separated-variables format was performed in Matlab, as were non-parametric statistical tests. Results: We found that the audio-only stimuli (combined for both HIGA and DWYW, mean ± SEM, 35.71 ± 5.36) were significantly more boring than the music video versions (19.46 ± 3.83, P = 0.0066 Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (WSRT), Cohen's d = 0.658, N = 28). We also found that participants' heads moved around twice as much during the audio-only versions (speed = 0.590 ± 0.095 mm/sec) compared to the video versions (0.301 ± 0.063 mm/sec, P = 0.00077, WSRT). However, the participants' mean head-to-screen distances were not detectably smaller (i.e. head closer to the screen) during the music videos (74.4 ± 1.8 cm) compared to the audio-only stimuli (73.9 ± 1.8 cm, P = 0.37, WSRT). If anything, during the audio-only condition, they were slightly closer. Interestingly, the ranges of the head-to-screen distances were smaller during the music video (8.6 ± 1.4 cm) compared to the audio-only (12.9 ± 1.7 cm, P = 0.0057, WSRT), the standard deviations were also smaller (P = 0.0027, WSRT), and their heads were held 7 mm higher (video 116.1 ± 0.8 vs. audio-only 116.8 ± 0.8 cm above floor, P = 0.049, WSRT). Discussion: As predicted, sitting and listening to experimenter-selected pop music was more boring than when the music was accompanied by a matched, professionally-made video. However, we did not find that the proxemics of the situation led to approaching the screen. Instead, adding video led to efforts to control the head to a more central and upright viewing position and to suppress head fidgeting.

Keywords: boredom, engagement, music videos, posture, proxemics

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Authors: S. Ziaran, M. Musil, M. Cekan, O. Chlebo

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The paper analyzes the response of buildings and industrially structures on seismic waves (low frequency mechanical vibration) generated by blasting operations. The principles of seismic analysis can be applied for different kinds of excitation such as: earthquakes, wind, explosions, random excitation from local transportation, periodic excitation from large rotating and/or machines with reciprocating motion, metal forming processes such as forging, shearing and stamping, chemical reactions, construction and earth moving work, and other strong deterministic and random energy sources caused by human activities. The article deals with the response of seismic, low frequency, mechanical vibrations generated by nearby blasting operations on a residential home. The goal was to determine the fundamental natural frequencies of the measured structure; therefore it is important to determine the resonant frequencies to design a suitable modal damping. The article also analyzes the package of seismic waves generated by blasting (Primary waves – P-waves and Secondary waves S-waves) and investigated the transfer regions. For the detection of seismic waves resulting from an explosion, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and modal analysis, in the frequency domain, is used and the signal was acquired and analyzed also in the time domain. In the conclusions the measured results of seismic waves caused by blasting in a nearby quarry and its effect on a nearby structure (house) is analyzed. The response on the house, including the fundamental natural frequency and possible fatigue damage is also assessed.

Keywords: building structure, seismic waves, spectral analysis, structural response

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Authors: Erwan Negre, Ewan J. O'Connor, Juha Toivonen

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The need for CO2 monitoring technologies grows simultaneously with the worldwide concerns regarding environmental challenges. To that purpose, we developed a compact coherent all-fiber ranged-resolved Differential Absorption Lidar (RR-DIAL). It has been designed along a tunable 2x1fiber optic switch set to a frequency of 1 Hz between two Distributed FeedBack (DFB) lasers emitting in the continuous-wave mode at 1571.41 nm (absorption line of CO2) and 1571.25 nm (CO2 absorption-free line), with linewidth and tuning range of respectively 1 MHz and 3 nm over operating wavelength. A three stages amplification through Erbium and Erbium-Ytterbium doped fibers coupled to a Radio Frequency (RF) driven Acousto-Optic Modulator (AOM) generates 100 ns pulses at a repetition rate from 10 to 30 kHz with a peak power up to 2.5 kW and a spatial resolution of 15 m, allowing fast and highly resolved CO2 profiles. The same afocal collection system is used for the output of the laser source and the backscattered light which is then directed to a circulator before being mixed with the local oscillator for heterodyne detection. Packaged in an easily transportable box which also includes a server and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) card for on-line data processing and storing, our setup allows an effective and quick deployment for versatile in-situ analysis, whether it be vertical atmospheric monitoring, large field mapping or sequestration site continuous oversight. Setup operation and results from initial field measurements will be discussed.

Keywords: CO2 profiles, coherent DIAL, in-situ atmospheric sensing, near infrared fiber source

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Authors: Benchouala Amira, Bojic Clement, Poupin Pascal, Cossu Leguille-carole

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The objective of this study is to evaluate in vitro the cytotoxic and androgenic potential of several antifungal molecules (amphotericin B, econazole, ketoconazole and miconazole) on MDA-Kb2 cell lines. This biological model is an effective tool for the detection of endocrine disruptors because it responds well to the main agonist of the androgen receptor (testosterone) and also to an antagonist: flutamide. The cytotoxicity of each chemical compound tested was measured using an MTT assay (tetrazolium salt, 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) which measures the activity of the reductase function of mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase enzymes of cultured cells. This complementary cytotoxicity test is essential to ensure that the effects of reduction in luminescence intensity observed during androgenic tests are only attributable to the anti-androgenic action of the compounds tested and not to their possible cytotoxic properties. Tests of the androgenic activity of antifungals show that these compounds do not have the capacity to induce transcription of the luciferase gene. These compounds do not exert an androgenic effect on MDA-Kb2 cells in culture for the environmental concentrations tested. The addition of flutamide for the same tested concentrations of antifungal molecules reduces the luminescence induced by amphotericin B, econazole and miconazole, which is explained by a strong interaction of these molecules with flutamide which may have a greater toxic effect than when tested alone. The cytotoxicity test shows that econazole and ketoconazole can cause cell death at certain concentrations tested. This cell mortality is perhaps induced by a direct or indirect action on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), ribonucleic acid (RNA) or proteins necessary for cell division.

Keywords: cytotoxicity, androgenic potential, antifungals, MDA-Kb2

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Authors: Simona Pileviciene

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On 24th January 2014, Lithuania notified two primary cases of African swine fever (ASF) in wild boars. The animals were tested positive for ASF virus (ASFV) genome by real-time PCR at the National Reference Laboratory for ASF in Lithuania (NRL), results were confirmed by the European Union Reference Laboratory for African swine fever (CISA-INIA). Intensive wild and domestic animal monitoring program was started. During the period of 2014-2017 ASF was confirmed in two large commercial pig holding with the highest biosecurity. Pigs were killed and destroyed. Since 2014 ASF outbreak territory from east and south has expanded to the middle of Lithuania. Diagnosis by PCR is one of the highly recommended diagnostic methods by World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) for diagnosis of ASF. The aim of the present study was to compare singleplex real-time PCR assays to a duplex assay allowing the identification of ASF and internal control in a single PCR tube and to compare primers, that target the p72 gene (ASF 250 bp and ASF 75 bp) effectivity. Multiplex real-time PCR assays prove to be less time consuming and cost-efficient and therefore have a high potential to be applied in the routine analysis. It is important to have effective and fast method that allows virus detection at the beginning of disease for wild boar population and in outbreaks for domestic pigs. For experiments, we used reference samples (INIA, Spain), and positive samples from infected animals in Lithuania. Results show 100% sensitivity and specificity.

Keywords: African swine fewer, real-time PCR, wild boar, domestic pig

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Authors: Veronica Botero, Karen Ortiz

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The Faculty of Mines, of the National University of Colombia, Medellín Campus, is a faculty that has 136 years of history and represents one of the most important study centers in the country in the field of engineering and scientific research, as well as a reference at a global, national, and Latin American level in this matter. Despite being a faculty with so many years of history and having trained a large number of graduates under the traditional mechanistic and androcentric paradigm, which reproduces the logic of the traditional scientific method and the differentiated and severe look between subject-object of research among other binarisms, has also been the place where professors and students have become aware of the need to transform this paradigm into engineering, and focus on the sustainability of diversity and the well-being of the natural and social systems that inhabit the territories and has opened possibilities for the implementation of classes that address feminist pedagogical theories and practices. The class: The return of the witches, is an initiative that constitutes an important training exercise that provides students with the study of feminisms, the importance of closing gender gaps and critical readings on the traditional paradigm of engineering. The objective of this article is to present a systematization of the experience of design, implementation and development of this elective class, describing the tensions that arose at the time when a subject of this style was created and proposed in the Department of Geosciences and Environment, from the Faculty of Mines in 2022; the reactions of the groups of students who have taken it and their perceptions and opinions about ecofeminism as proposals for critical analysis and practices in relation to the environment and, above all, how their readings of the world have changed after having studied this subject for a semester. The pedagogical journey and the feminist methodologies that have been designed and adjusted over two years of work will be explained based on the sharing of situated knowledge of the students and the two teachers who teach the course, who pose challenges to the dominant ideology in engineering since one of them is trained in human sciences and feminist studies and the other, although trained in civil engineering and geosciences, is a woman with diverse sexual orientation and is the first professor to have assumed the position of dean in the 135 years of history of the Faculty. The transformations in the life experience of the students are revealing since they affirm that the training process is forceful and powerful to outline a much more qualified and critical professional profile that contributes to the transformation of gender gaps in the country. This class is therefore a challenge in this Faculty of Engineering that still presents a dominant ideology on gender that has not been questioned or challenged before.

Keywords: feminisms, gender equality, gender bias, engineering for life Manifiesto.

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Authors: Ahmad Ali Shahid, M Shakil Shaukat

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Agriculture is the backbone of economy of Pakistan and Cotton is the major agricultural export and supreme source of raw fiber for our textile industry. To combat against the developing resistance in the target insects and combating these challenges wholesomely, a novel combination of pyramided/stacked genes was conceptualized and later realized, through the means of biotechnology i.e., transformation of three genes namely, Cry1Ac, Cry2A, and EPSP synthase (glyphosate tolerant) genes in the locally cultivated cotton variety. The progenies of the transformed plants were successfully raised and screened under the tunnel conditions for two generations and the present study focused on the screening of plants which were confirmed for containing all of these three genes and their expressions. Initially, the screening was done through glyphosate spray assay and the plants which were healthy and showed no damage on leaves were selected after 07 days of spray. In the laboratory, the DNA of these plants were isolated and subjected to amplification of the three genes. Thus, seventeen out of twenty were confirmed positive for Cry1Ac gene and ten out of twenty were positive for Cry2A gene and all twenty were positive for presence of EPSP synthase gene. Then, the ten plant samples which were confirmed with presence of all three genes were subjected to expression analysis of these proteins through ELISA. The results showed that eight out of ten plants were actively expressing the three transgenes. Real-time PCR was also done to quantify the expression levels of the EPSP synthase gene. Finally, eight plants were confirmed for the presence and active expression of all three genes in T3 generation of the triple gene transformed cotton. These plants may be subjected to T4 generation to develop a new stable variety in due course of time.

Keywords: agriculture, cotton, transformation, cry genes, ELISA, PCR

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Authors: Ahmad Jawad Fardin

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Over 60% of patients with breast cancer in Afghanistan present late with advanced stage III and IV, a major cause for the poor survival rate. The objectives of this study were to identify the contributing factors for the diagnosis and treatment delay and its outcome. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 318 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer in the oncology department of Jamhoriat hospital, which is the first and only national cancer center in Afghanistan; data were collected from medical records and interviews conducted with women diagnosed with breast cancer, linear regression and logistic regression were used for analysis. Patient delay was defined as the time from first recognition of symptoms until first medical consultation and doctor form first consultation with a health care provider until histological confirmation of breast cancer. The mean age of patients was 49.2+_ 11.5years. The average time for the final diagnosis of breast cancer was 8.5 months; most patients had ductal carcinoma 260.7 (82%). Factors associated with delay were low education level 76% poor socioeconomic and cultural conditions 81% lack of cancer center 73% lack of screening 19%. The stage distribution was as follows stage IV 4 22% stage III 44.4% stage II 29.3% stage I 4.3%. Complex associated factors were identified to delayed the diagnosis of breast cancer and increased adverse outcomes consequently. Raising awareness and education in women, the establishment of cancer centers and providing accessible diagnosis service and screening, training of general practitioners; required to promote early detection, diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: delayed diagnosis and poor outcome, breast cancer in Afghanistan, poor outcome of delayed breast cancer treatment, breast cancer delayed diagnosis and treatment in Afghanistan

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Authors: Mojtaba Mirmontazemi, Habibollah Dadgar

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Bone is the most common metastasis site in some advanced malignancies, such as prostate and breast cancer. Bone metastasis generally indicates fewer prognostic factors in these patients. Different radiological and molecular imaging modalities are used for detecting bone lesions. Molecular imaging including computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, planar bone scintigraphy, single-photon emission tomography, and positron emission tomography as noninvasive visualization of the biological occurrences has the potential to exact examination, characterization, risk stratification and comprehension of human being diseases. Also, it is potent to straightly visualize targets, specify clearly cellular pathways and provide precision medicine for molecular targeted therapies. These advantages contribute implement personalized treatment for each patient. Currently, NaF PET/CT has significantly replaced standard bone scintigraphy for the detection of bone metastases. On one hand, 68Ga-PSMA PET/CT has gained high attention for accurate staging of primary prostate cancer and restaging after biochemical recurrence. On the other hand, FDG PET/CT is not commonly used in osseous metastases of prostate and breast cancer as well as its usage is limited to staging patients with aggressive primary tumors or localizing the site of disease. In this article, we examine current studies about FDG, NaF, and PSMA PET/CT images in bone metastases diagnostic utility and assess response to treatment in patients with breast and prostate cancer.

Keywords: skeletal metastases, fluorodeoxyglucose, sodium fluoride, molecular imaging, precision medicine, prostate cancer (68Ga-PSMA-11)

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Authors: Lorenzo Petrucci

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This paper is intended to give insight into the potential use of small-scale off-grid trigeneration systems powered by biogas generated in a dairy farm. The off-grid plant object of analysis comprises a dual-fuel Genset as well as electrical and thermal storage equipment and an adsorption machine. The loads are the different apparatus used in the dairy farm, a household where the workers live and a small electric vehicle whose batteries can also be used as a power source in case of emergency. The insertion in the plant of an adsorption machine is mainly justified by the abundance of thermal energy and the simultaneous high cooling demand associated with the milk-chilling process. In the evaluated operational scenario, our research highlights the importance of prioritizing specific small loads which cannot sustain an interrupted supply of power over time. As a consequence, a photovoltaic and thermal panel is included in the plant and is tasked with providing energy independently of potentially disruptive events such as engine malfunctioning or scarce and unstable supplies of fuels. To efficiently manage the plant an energy dispatch strategy is created in order to control the flow of energy between the power sources and the thermal and electric storages. In this article we elaborate on models of the equipment and from these models, we extract parameters useful to build load-dependent profiles of the prime movers and storage efficiencies. We show that under reasonable assumptions the analysis provides a sensible estimate of the generated energy. The simulations indicate that a Diesel Generator sized to a value 25% higher than the total electrical peak demand operates 65% of the time below the minimum acceptable load threshold. To circumvent such a critical operating mode, dump loads are added through the activation and deactivation of small resistors. In this way, the excess of electric energy generated can be transformed into useful heat. The combination of PVT and electrical storage to support the prioritized load in an emergency scenario is evaluated in two different days of the year having the lowest and highest irradiation values, respectively. The results show that the renewable energy component of the plant can successfully sustain the prioritized loads and only during a day with very low irradiation levels it also needs the support of the EVs’ battery. Finally, we show that the adsorption machine can reduce the ice builder and the air conditioning energy consumption by 40%.

Keywords: hybrid power plants, mathematical modeling, off-grid plants, renewable energy, trigeneration

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Authors: Babar Ali, Mohammad Rashid, Showkat Rasool Mir, Mohammad Ali, Saiba Shams

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Background: The plant Camellia sinensis (Theaceae) is an evergreen shrub indigenous to Assam (India) and parts of China and Japan. Traditional Chinese medicine has recommended green tea for headaches, body aches and pains, digestion, enhancement of immune defense, detoxification, as an energizer and to prolong life. The leaves have more than 700 chemical constituents, among which flavanoids, amino acids, vitamins (C, E, K), caffeine and polysaccharides. Adulteration and substitution may affect the quality of formulation containing tea leaves. Standardization of medicinal preparation is essential for further therapeutic results and for global acceptance. Hence, chromatographic fingerprint profiles were carried out for establishing the standards. Materials and methods: TLC studies for methanolic extracts of the leaves of Camellia sinensis were carried out in a new developed solvent system, Toluene: Ethyl acetate: Formic acid (7:3:1). TLC plates were dried in air, visualized in UV at wavelengths 254 nm and 366 nm and photographed. Results: Results provide valuable clue regarding their polarity and selection of solvents for separation of phytochemicals. Fingerprinting of methanolic extract of Camellia sinensis leaves revealed the presence of various phytochemicals in UV at 254 nm and 366 nm. Conclusion: Fingerprint profile is quite helpful in setting up of standards and thus to keep a check on intentional/unintentional adulteration. TLC offers major advantages over other conventional chromatographic techniques such as unsurpassed flexibility (esp. stationary and mobile phase), choice of detection wavelength, user friendly, rapid and cost effective.

Keywords: Cammelia sinensis Linn., standardization, methanolic extract, thin layer chromatography

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Authors: Najmeh Jafari, Sona Rostampour Yasouri

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Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is an acute hemorrhagic disease. This disease is one of the common diseases between humans and animals, transmitted through tick bites or contact with the blood and secretions or carcasses of infected animals and humans. CCHF is more common in people who work with livestock, such as ranchers, butchers, farmers, slaughterhouse workers, healthcare workers, etc. Its hospital prevalence is also very high. Considering that CCHF can be transmitted through the consumption of food such as beef and sheep meat, this study aims to quickly identify and diagnose the Crimean-Congo fever virus in suspected patients through real-time PCR technique. In the summer of 1402, 20 blood samples were collected separately from Ahvaz and Gilan hospitals. An extraction kit was used to extract the virus RNA. Primers and probes were designed based on the S genomic region, the conserved region in CCHFV. Then, a real-time PCR technique was performed with specific primers and probes. It should be noted that the mentioned technique was repeated several times. The number of 4 samples from the examined samples was determined positive by real-time PCR. This technique has high sensitivity and specificity and the possibility of rapid detection of CCHFV. Therefore, the above method is a good candidate for quick disease diagnosis. By diagnosing the disease, the treatment process can be done faster, and the best prevention methods can be used to control the disease and prevent the death of patients.

Keywords: ahvaz, crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever, gilan, real time PCR

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Authors: Tabugbo B. Ifeyinwa, Josephat O. Ogbuagu, Okeke A. Princewill, Victor C. Eze

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The increasing amount of plastic pollution in maritime settings poses a substantial risk to the functioning of ecosystems and the preservation of biodiversity. This comprehensive analysis combines the most recent data on the environmental effects of pollution from macroplastics, microplastics, and nanoplastics within marine ecosystems. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the cumulative impacts that plastic waste accumulates on marine life by outlining the origins, processes, and ecological repercussions connected with each size category of plastic debris. Microplastics and nanoplastics have more sneaky effects that are controlled by chemicals. These effects can get through biological barriers and affect the health of cells and the whole body. Compared to macroplastics, which primarily contribute to physical harm through entanglement and ingestion by marine fauna, microplastics, and nanoplastics are associated with non-physical effects. The review underlines a vital need for research that crosses disciplinary boundaries to untangle the intricate interactions that the various sizes of plastic pollution have with marine animals, evaluate the long-term ecological repercussions, and identify effective measures for mitigating the effects of plastic pollution. Additionally, we urge governmental interventions and worldwide cooperation to solve this pervasive environmental concern. Specifically, we identify significant knowledge gaps in the detection and effect assessment of nanoplastics. To protect marine biodiversity and preserve ecosystem services, this review highlights how urgent it is to address the broad spectrum of plastic pollution.

Keywords: macroplastic pollution, marine ecosystem, microplastic pollution, nanoplastic pollution

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Authors: Totok Suhardijanto, Ninie Susanti Tedjowasono

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This paper discusses the relationship between the distribution of Ancient Malay inscriptions and Spice Trade Route, especially in the relation with material cultures that accompany them, to understand how Malay could spread out around the archipelago beyond its original native-speakers’ region. The archipelago was known as the Spice Islands from the very beginning of the first century due to mace, cloves, and nutmeg that were originally exclusively found there. According to the Indian record, since the 2nd century, there has been a contact established between Indian and Indonesian people. A Chinese document from 3rd Century has mentioned Wangka (now widely known as Bangka) an island near Sumatra where some Chinese expeditions had visited. All of these records supported the existence of a maritime trade system and route between the archipelago and other countries during the first millennium. This paper will discuss first the Ancient Malay inscription spread around the archipelago from the perspectives of language variation and writing system style. Analyzing language variations of inscriptions certainly is not as easy as studying current spoken language variations in modern sociolinguistics. A huge amount of data is available for such kind of studies. On the contrary, in language variation research with inscription texts as an object, data is insufficient. Other resources will be needed to support the linguistic analysis. For this reason, this research made use of epigraphical evidence in the surrounding areas of the inscriptions to explain the variation of language and writing style. The research next expands the analysis to figure out the relationship between language variation and inscriptions distribution to the Spice Trade Route that spreads from the Molucca Sea to Mediterranian Sea. Data in this research consists of six different inscriptions: Kedukan Bukit, Koto Kapur, Dapunta Salendra, Sang Hyang Wintang, Ligor, and Laguna from the 7th-9th Century and found in Sumatra, Jawa, and the Philippines. In addition, as a comparative resource, this research also used Hikayat Tanjung Tanah, the first-founded Ancient Malay manuscript. In language analysis, we conduct a sociolinguistic method to explore the language variation and writing style of the inscriptions. For dealing with archaeological data, we conducted a hermeneutic method to analyze the possible meaning and social uses of the data. Language variations and writing system style in this research can be classified into two main groups. The language, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence explain that Ancient Malay had been widely used in the Eastern area of Spice Trade Route because it played an important role in the region as a lingua franca between people from different ethnic groups with different languages.

Keywords: Ancient Malay, Spice trade route, language variation, writing system variation

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Authors: Choppala Pratheek, Vineet Ahuja

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Background: Crohn's disease (CD) recurrence following surgery is a common challenge, and current detection methods rely on risk factors identified in Western populations. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors and rates of postoperative CD recurrence in a tuberculosis-endemic region like India. Retrospective data was collected from a structured database from a specialty IBD clinic by reviewing case files from January 2005 to December 2021. Inclusion criteria involved CD patients diagnosed based on the ECCO-ESGAR consensus guidelines, who had undergone at least one intestinal resection and had a minimum follow-up period of one year at the IBD clinic. Results: A total of 90 patients were followed up for a median period of 45 months (IQR, 20.75 - 72.00). Out of the 90 patients, 61 received ATT prior to surgery, with a mean delay in diagnosis of 2.5 years, although statistically non-significant (P=0.078). Clinical recurrence occurred in 50% of patients, with the cumulative rate increasing from 13.3% at one year to 40% at three years. Among 63 patients who underwent endoscopy, 65.7% showed evidence of endoscopic recurrence, with the cumulative rate increasing from 31.7% at one year to 55.5% at four years. Smoking was identified as a significant risk factor for early endoscopic recurrence (P=0.001) by Cox regression analysis, but no other risk factors were identified. Initiating post-operative medications prior to clinical recurrence delayed its onset (P=0.004). Subgroup analysis indicated that endoscopic monitoring aided in the early identification of recurrence (P=0.001). The findings contribute to enhancing post-operative CD management strategies in such regions where the disease burden is escalating.

Keywords: crohns, post operative, tuberculosis-endemic, risk factors

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Authors: Faisal AlShammari, Abdulmajid Addali, Mosab Alrashed

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It is widely acknowledged that bearing failures are the primary reason for breakdowns in rotating machinery. These failures are extremely costly, particularly in terms of lost production. Roller bearings are widely used in industrial machinery and need to be maintained in good condition to ensure the continuing efficiency, effectiveness, and profitability of the production process. The research presented here is an investigation of the use of acoustic emission (AE) to monitor bearing conditions at low speeds. Many machines, particularly large, expensive machines operate at speeds below 100 rpm, and such machines are important to the industry. However, the overwhelming proportion of studies have investigated the use of AE techniques for condition monitoring of higher-speed machines (typically several hundred rpm, or even higher). Few researchers have investigated the application of these techniques to low-speed machines ( < 100 rpm). This paper addressed this omission and has established which, of the available, AE techniques are suitable for the detection of incipient faults and measurement of fault growth in low-speed bearings. The first objective of this paper program was to assess the applicability of AE techniques to monitor low-speed bearings. It was found that the measured statistical parameters successfully monitored bearing conditions at low speeds (10-100 rpm). The second objective was to identify which commonly used statistical parameters derived from the AE signal (RMS, kurtosis, amplitude and counts) could identify the onset of a fault in the out race. It was found that these parameters effectually identify the presence of a small fault seeded into the outer races. Also, it is concluded that rotational speed has a strong influence on the measured AE parameters but that they are entirely independent of the load under such load and speed conditions.

Keywords: acoustic emission, condition monitoring, NDT, statistical analysis

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Authors: J. N. Nackler, K. Saleh Pascha, W. Winter

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WHISCERS™ (Whole House In-Situ Carbon and Energy Reduction Solution) is an innovative process for Internal Wall Insulation (IWI) for energy-efficient retrofitting of heritage building, which uses laser measuring to determine the dimensions of a room, off-site insulation board cutting and rapid installation to complete the process. As part of a multinational investigation consortium the Austrian part adapted the WHISCERS system to local conditions of Vienna where most historical buildings have valuable stucco facades, precluding the application of an external insulation. The Austrian project contribution addresses the replacement of commonly used extruded polystyrene foam (XPS) with renewable materials such as wood and wood products to develop a more sustainable IWI system. As the timber industry is a major industry in Austria, a new innovative and more sustainable IWI solution could also open up new markets. The first approach of investigation was the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to define the performance of wood fibre board as insulation material in comparison to normally used XPS-boards. As one of the results the global-warming potential (GWP) of wood-fibre-board is 15 times less the equivalent to carbon dioxide while in the case of XPS it´s 72 times more. The hygrothermal simulation program WUFI was used to evaluate and simulate heat and moisture transport in multi-layer building components of the developed IWI solution. The results of the simulations prove in examined boundary conditions of selected representative brickwork constructions to be functional and usable without risk regarding vapour diffusion and liquid transport in proposed IWI. In a further stage three different solutions were developed and tested (1 - glued/mortared, 2 - with soft board, connected to wall with gypsum board as top layer, 3 - with soft board and clay board as top layer). All three solutions presents a flexible insulation layer out of wood fibre towards the existing wall, thus compensating irregularities of the wall surface. From first considerations at the beginning of the development phase, three different systems had been developed and optimized according to assembly technology and tested as small specimen in real object conditions. The built prototypes are monitored to detect performance and building physics problems and to validate the results of the computer simulation model. This paper illustrates the development and application of the Internal Wall Insulation system.

Keywords: internal insulation, wood fibre, hygrothermal simulations, monitoring, clay, condensate

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Authors: Mohd Ruzlin Mohd Mokhtar

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At present, most operators who are working on projects for utilities such as power, water, oil, gas, telecommunication and sewerage are using technologies e.g. Total station, Global Positioning System (GPS), Electromagnetic Locator (EML) and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to perform underground utility mapping. With the increase in popularity of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method among the local authorities and asset owners, most of newly installed underground utilities need to use the HDD method. HDD method is seen as simple and create not much disturbance to the public and traffic. Thus, it was the preferred utilities installation method in most of areas especially in urban areas. HDDs were installed much deeper than exiting utilities (some reports saying that HDD is averaging 5 meter in depth). However, this impacts the accuracy or ability of existing underground utility mapping technologies. In most of Malaysia underground soil condition, those technologies were limited to maximum of 3 meter depth. Thus, those utilities which were installed much deeper than 3 meter depth could not be detected by using existing detection tools. The accuracy and reliability of existing underground utility mapping technologies or work procedure were in doubt. Thus, a mitigation action plan is required. While installing new utility using Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) method, a more accurate underground utility mapping can be achieved by using Gyro OMU compared to existing practice using e.g. EML and GPR. Gyro OMU is a method to accurately identify the location of HDD thus this mapping can be used or referred to avoid those cost of breakdown due to future HDD works which can be caused by inaccurate underground utility mapping.

Keywords: Gyro Orientation Measurement Unit (Gyro OMU), Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electromagnetic Locator (EML)

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Authors: Fahad Almehmadi, Abdullah Alrajhi, Bader K. Alaslab, Abdullah A. Al Qurashi, Hattan A. Hassani

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Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) is an uncommon, inheritable cardiac disorder characterized by the progressive substitution of cardiac myocytes by fibro-fatty tissues. This pathologic substitution predisposes patients to ventricular arrhythmias and right ventricular failure. The underlying genetic defect predominantly involves genes encoding for desmosome proteins, particularly plakophilin-2 (PKP2). These aberrations lead to impaired cell adhesion, heightening the susceptibility to fibrofatty scarring under conditions of mechanical stress. Primarily, ARVD/C affects the right ventricle, but it can also compromise the left ventricle, potentially leading to biventricular heart failure. Clinical presentations can vary, spanning from asymptomatic individuals to those experiencing palpitations, syncopal episodes, and, in severe instances, sudden cardiac death. The establishment of a diagnostic criterion specifically tailored for ARVD/C significantly aids in its accurate diagnosis. Nevertheless, the task of early diagnosis is complicated by the disease's frequently asymptomatic initial stages, and the overall rarity of ARVD/C cases reported globally. In some cases, as exemplified by the adult female patient in this report, the disease may advance to terminal stages, rendering therapies like Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) ablation ineffective. This case underlines the necessity for increased awareness and understanding of ARVD/C to aid in its early detection and management. Through such efforts, we aim to decrease morbidity and mortality associated with this challenging cardiac disorder.

Keywords: ARVD/C, cardiology, interventional cardiology, cardiac electrophysiology

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Authors: Sangwoo Oh, Jaewoo Kim, Dongmin Seo, Jaewon Park, Yongha Hwang, Sungkyu Seo

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Plasmonics has been regarded one of the most powerful bio-sensing modalities to evaluate bio-molecular interactions in real-time. However, most of the plasmonic sensing methods are based on labeling metallic nanoparticles, e.g. gold or silver, as optical modulation markers, which are non-recyclable and expensive. This plasmonic modulation can be usually achieved through various nano structures, e.g., nano-hole arrays. Among those structures, plasmonic lens has been regarded as a unique plasmonic structure due to its light focusing characteristics. In this study, we introduce a custom designed plasmonic lens array for bio-sensing, which was simulated by finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) approach and fabricated by top-down approach. In our work, we performed the FDTD simulations of various plasmonic lens designs for bacteria sensor, i.e., Samonella and Hominis. We optimized the design parameters, i.e., radius, shape, and material, of the plasmonic lens. The simulation results showed the change in the peak intensity value with the introduction of each bacteria and antigen i.e., peak intensity 1.8711 a.u. with the introduction of antibody layer of thickness of 15nm. For Salmonella, the peak intensity changed from 1.8711 a.u. to 2.3654 a.u. and for Hominis, the peak intensity changed from 1.8711 a.u. to 3.2355 a.u. This significant shift in the intensity due to the interaction between bacteria and antigen showed a promising sensing capability of the plasmonic lens. With the batch processing and bulk production of this nano scale design, the cost of biological sensing can be significantly reduced, holding great promise in the fields of clinical diagnostics and bio-defense.

Keywords: plasmonic lens, FDTD, fabrication, bacteria sensor, salmonella, hominis

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Authors: Feng Yue, Fei Dai

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With the rapid development of urbanization process in China, its environmental protection pressure is severely tested. So, analyzing and optimizing the landscape pattern is an important measure to ease the pressure on the ecological environment. This paper takes Wuhan Urban Development Zone as the research object, and studies its landscape pattern evolution and quantitative optimization strategy. First, remote sensing image data from 1990 to 2015 were interpreted by using Erdas software. Next, the landscape pattern index of landscape level, class level, and patch level was studied based on Fragstats. Then five indicators of ecological environment based on National Environmental Protection Standard of China were selected to evaluate the impact of landscape pattern evolution on the ecological environment. Besides, the cost distance analysis of ArcGIS was applied to simulate wildlife migration thus indirectly measuring the improvement of ecological environment quality. The result shows that the area of land for construction increased 491%. But the bare land, sparse grassland, forest, farmland, water decreased 82%, 47%, 36%, 25% and 11% respectively. They were mainly converted into construction land. On landscape level, the change of landscape index all showed a downward trend. Number of patches (NP), Landscape shape index (LSI), Connection index (CONNECT), Shannon's diversity index (SHDI), Aggregation index (AI) separately decreased by 2778, 25.7, 0.042, 0.6, 29.2%, all of which indicated that the NP, the degree of aggregation and the landscape connectivity declined. On class level, the construction land and forest, CPLAND, TCA, AI and LSI ascended, but the Distribution Statistics Core Area (CORE_AM) decreased. As for farmland, water, sparse grassland, bare land, CPLAND, TCA and DIVISION, the Patch Density (PD) and LSI descended, yet the patch fragmentation and CORE_AM increased. On patch level, patch area, Patch perimeter, Shape index of water, farmland and bare land continued to decline. The three indexes of forest patches increased overall, sparse grassland decreased as a whole, and construction land increased. It is obvious that the urbanization greatly influenced the landscape evolution. Ecological diversity and landscape heterogeneity of ecological patches clearly dropped. The Habitat Quality Index continuously declined by 14%. Therefore, optimization strategy based on greenway network planning is raised for discussion. This paper contributes to the study of landscape pattern evolution in planning and design and to the research on spatial layout of urbanization.

Keywords: landscape pattern, optimization strategy, ArcGIS, Erdas, landscape metrics, landscape architecture

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Authors: Amita Jain, Shantanu Prakash, Suruchi Shukla

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Introduction: Acute encephalitis syndrome (AES) is a complex multi etiology syndrome posing a great public health problem in the northern part of India. Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus is an established etiology of AES in this region. Recently, Scrub typhus (ST) is being recognized as an emerging aetiology of AES in JE endemic belt. This study was conducted to establish the direct evidence of Central nervous system invasion by Orientia tsutsugamushi leading to AES. Methodology: A total of 849 cases with clinical diagnosis of AES were enrolled from six districts (Deoria and its adjoining area) of the traditional north Indian Japanese encephalitis (JE) belt. Serum and Cerebrospinal fluid samples were collected and tested for major agent causing acute encephalitis. AES cases either positive for anti-ST IgM antibodies or negative for all tested etiologies were investigated for ST-DNA by real-time PCR. Results: Of these 505 cases, 250 patients were laboratory confirmed for O. tsutsugamushi infection either by anti-ST IgM antibodies positivity (n=206) on serum sample or by ST-DNA detection by real-time PCR assay on CSF sample (n=2) or by both (n=42).Total 29 isolate could be sequenced for 56KDa gene. Conclusion: All the strains were found to cluster with Gilliam strains. The majority of the isolates showed a 97–99% sequence similarity with Thailand and Cambodian strains. Gilliam strain of O.tsusugamushi is an emerging as one of the major aetiologies leading to AES in northern part of India.

Keywords: acute encephalitis syndrome, O. tsutsugamushi, Gilliam strain, North India, cerebrospinal fluid

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Authors: Saule Mussabekova

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Forensic investigation of human teeth plays an important role in detection of crime, particularly in cases of personal identification of dead bodies changed by putrefactive processes or skeletonized bodies as well as when finding bodies of unknown persons. 152 teeth have been investigated; 85 of them belonged to men and 67 belonged to women taken from alive people of different age. Teeth have been investigated after extraction. Two types of teeth have been investigated: teeth without integrity violation of dental crown and teeth with different degrees of its violation. Additionally, 517 teeth have been investigated that were collected from dead bodies, 252 of which belonged to women and 265 belonged to men, whatever the cause of death with death limitation from 1 month to 20 years. Isohemagglutinating serums and Coliclons of different series have been used for the research of tooth-group specificity by serological methods according to the AB0 system. Standard protocols of different techniques have been used for DNA purification from teeth (by reagent Chelex 100 produced by Bio-Rad using reagent kit 'DNA IQTM System' produced by Promega company (USA) and using columns 'QIAamp DNA Investigator Kit' produced by Qiagen company). Results of comparative forensic investigation of human teeth using serological and molecular genetic methods have shown that use of serological methods for forensic identification is sensible only in cases of preselection prior to the next molecular genetic investigation as well as in cases of impossibility of corresponding genetic investigation for different objective reasons. A number of advantages of methods of molecular genetics in the dental investigation have been marked, particularly in putrefactive changes, in personal identification. Key moments of modern condition of personal identification have been reflected according to dental state. Prospective directions of advance preparation of material have been emphasized for identification of teeth in forensic practice.

Keywords: dental state, forensic identification, molecular genetic analysis, teeth

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Authors: Eman M. Morgan, Hayam M. Lotfy, Yasmin M. Fayez, Mohamed Abdelkawy, Engy Shokry

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Two simple, selective, economic, safe, accurate, precise and environmentally friendly methods were developed and validated for the quantitative determination of valaciclovir (VAL) in the presence of its related substances R1 (acyclovir), R2 (guanine) in bulk powder and in the commercial pharmaceutical product containing the drug. Method A is a colorimetric method where VAL selectively reacts with ferric hydroxamate and the developed color was measured at 490 nm over a concentration range of 0.4-2 mg/mL with percentage recovery 100.05 ± 0.58 and correlation coefficient 0.9999. Method B is a reversed phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic technique (UPLC) which is considered superior in technology to the high-performance liquid chromatography with respect to speed, resolution, solvent consumption, time, and cost of analysis. Efficient separation was achieved on Agilent Zorbax CN column using ammonium acetate (0.1%) and acetonitrile as a mobile phase in a linear gradient program. Elution time for the separation was less than 5 min and ultraviolet detection was carried out at 256 nm over a concentration range of 2-50 μg/mL with mean percentage recovery 100.11±0.55 and correlation coefficient 0.9999. The proposed methods were fully validated as per International Conference on Harmonization specifications and effectively applied for the analysis of valaciclovir in pure form and tablets dosage form. Statistical comparison of the results obtained by the proposed and official or reported methods revealed no significant difference in the performance of these methods regarding the accuracy and precision respectively.

Keywords: hydroxamic acid, related substances, UPLC, valaciclovir

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Authors: Fayssal Tayalati

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Although languages use very divergent constructional strategies, all existential constructions appear to invariably involve an implicit or explicit locative constituent. This locative constituent either surface as a true locative phrase or are realized as a possessor noun phrase. However, while much research focuses on the supposed underlying syntactic relation of locative and possessive existential constructions, not much is known about possible semantic factors that could govern the choice between these constructions. The main question that we address in this talk concerns the choice between the two related constructions in Modern Standard Arabic (MAS). Although both are used to express the existence of something somewhere, we can distinguish three contexts: First, for some types of entities, only the EL construction is possible (e.g. (1a) ṯammata raǧulun fī l-ḥadīqati vs. (1b) *(kāna) ladā l-ḥadīqati raǧulun). Second, for other types of entities, only the possessive construction is possible (e.g. (2a) ladā ṭ-ṭawilati aklun dāʾiriyyun vs. (2b) *ṯammata šaklun dāʾiriyyun ladā/fī ṭ-ṭawilati). Finally, for still other entities, both constructions can be found (e.g. (3a) ṯammata ḥubbun lā yūṣafu ladā ǧārī li-zawǧati-hi and (3b) ladā ǧārī ḥubbun lā yūṣafu li-zawǧati-hi). The data covering a range of ontologically different entities (concrete objects, events, body parts, dimensions, essential qualities, feelings, etc.) shows that the choice between the existential locative and the possessive constructions is closely linked to the conceptual autonomy of the existential theme with respect to its location or to the whole that it is a part of. The construction with ṯammata is the only possible one to express the existence of a fully autonomous (i.e. nondependent) entity (concrete objects (e.g.1) and abstract objects such as events, especially the ones that Grimshaw called ‘simple events’). The possessive construction with (kāna) ladā is the only one used to express the existence of fully non-autonomous (i.e. fully dependent on a whole) entities (body parts, dimensions (e.g. 2), essential qualities). The two constructions alternate when the existential theme is conceptually dependent but separable of the whole, either because it has an autonomous (independent) existence of the given whole (spare parts of an object), or because it receives a relative autonomy in the speech through a modifier (accidental qualities, feelings (e.g. 3a, 3b), psychological states, among some other kinds of themes). In this case, the modifier expresses an approximate boundary on a scale, and provides relative autonomy to the entity. Finally, we will show that kinship terms (e.g. son), which at first sight may seem to constitute counterexamples to our hypothesis, are nonetheless supported by it. The ontological (non-)autonomy of located or possessed entities is also reflected by morpho-syntactic properties, among them the use and the choice of determiners, pluralisation and the behavior of entities in the context of associative anaphora.

Keywords: existence, possession, autonomous entities, non-autonomous entities

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Authors: Abdul Kadir, L. Meily Kurniawidjaja

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Batik Madura workers are exposed to many Musculoskeletal Disorders risk factors, particularly Low Back Pain (LBP). This study was conducted as an early detection of ergonomic risk level on Workers Industrial Sentra Batik Madura in Dusun Banyumas, Klampar Subdistrict, Proppo Pamekasan, Madura, East Java. This study includes 12 workers who 11 workers had pain in the upper and lower part of the neck, back, wrist right hand, also 10 workers had pain in the right shoulder. This is a descriptive observational study with cross-sectional approach. Qualitative research by observing workers activity such as draw and putting the wax motif, fabric dyeing, fabric painting, discoloration, washing, and drying. The results are workers have identified ergonomic hazards such as awkward postures, twisting movements, repetitive, and static work postures. Using the method of REBA and QEC, the results get a very high-risk level of activity in each of Madura batik making process is the draw and putting the wax motif, coloring, painting, discoloration, washing, and drying. The level of risk can be reduced by improvement of work equipment include the provision of seats, strut fabric, high settings furnaces, drums, coloring basin, and washing tub.

Keywords: activities of Madura's batik, ergonomic risk level, equipment, QEC (Quick Exposure Checklist), REBA (Rapid Entire Body Assessment)

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Authors: Meng Su

Abstract:

High-dimensional data analysis often presents challenges in capturing the complex, nonlinear relationships and manifold structures inherent to the data. This article presents a novel approach that leverages the strengths of two powerful techniques, Diffusion Maps and Diffusion Probabilistic Models (DPMs), to address these challenges. By integrating the dimensionality reduction capability of Diffusion Maps with the data modeling ability of DPMs, the proposed method aims to provide a comprehensive solution for analyzing and generating high-dimensional data. The Diffusion Map technique preserves the nonlinear relationships and manifold structure of the data by mapping it to a lower-dimensional space using the eigenvectors of the graph Laplacian matrix. Meanwhile, DPMs capture the dependencies within the data, enabling effective modeling and generation of new data points in the low-dimensional space. The generated data points can then be mapped back to the original high-dimensional space, ensuring consistency with the underlying manifold structure. Through a detailed example implementation, the article demonstrates the potential of the proposed hybrid approach to achieve more accurate and effective modeling and generation of complex, high-dimensional data. Furthermore, it discusses possible applications in various domains, such as image synthesis, time-series forecasting, and anomaly detection, and outlines future research directions for enhancing the scalability, performance, and integration with other machine learning techniques. By combining the strengths of Diffusion Maps and DPMs, this work paves the way for more advanced and robust data analysis methods.

Keywords: diffusion maps, diffusion probabilistic models (DPMs), manifold learning, high-dimensional data analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 111