Search results for: neural control

Authors: Muhammad Younis Laghari

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Global climate change has had many effects on the aquatic environment, and the major issue is pollution. Along with the other pollutants, there are a significant number of human microbial pathogens that pollute the water bodies. Another concern about the water quality is that the major aquatic resources bring water-borne pathogens and other related diseases. These resources include industrial effluent, untreated domestic sewage, acid mine drainage, etc. However, these water discharges through various routes may have treatment to eliminate the pathogenic microbes. Therefore, it is essential to control the leakage from sewer systems, residential discharge, and agricultural run-off. These pathogenic microbes have been implicated in the lives of water health (fishes), which is harmful and causes diseases. Mostly, the mortality of aquatic species results because of catastrophic floods due to poor water waste treatment and sanitation that introduce pathogenic bacteria into rivers. Pathogens survive in rivers and remain poorly known but essential to control water-borne diseases. The presence of bacteria in watercourses is diverse and constitutes a complicated subject. Many species are autochthonous and play an important role in aquatic ecosystems, while many others arise from untreated or poorly treated waste from industrial and domestic sources. Further, more investigation is required to know the induction of water-borne pathogens in various water resources and the potential impacts of water resource development on pathogen contamination.

Keywords: microbial pathogens, contamination, water resources, river water body

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Authors: Peter J. Robinson, W. J. Wouter Botzen

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Individuals often over-weight low probabilities and under-weight moderate to high probabilities, however very low probabilities are either significantly over-weighted or neglected. Little is known about factors affecting probability weighting in Prospect Theory related to emotions specific to risk (anticipatory and anticipated emotions), the threshold of concern, as well as personality traits like locus of control. This study provides these insights by examining factors that influence probability weighting in the context of flood insurance demand in an economic experiment. In particular, we focus on determinants of flood probability neglect to provide recommendations for improved risk management. In addition, results obtained using real incentives and no performance-based payments are compared in the experiment with high experimental outcomes. Based on data collected from 1’041 Dutch homeowners, we find that: flood probability neglect is related to anticipated regret, worry and the threshold of concern. Moreover, locus of control and regret affect probabilistic pessimism. Nevertheless, we do not observe strong evidence that incentives influence flood probability neglect nor probability weighting. The results show that low, moderate and high flood probabilities are under-weighted, which is related to framing in the flooding context and the degree of realism respondents attach to high probability property damages. We suggest several policies to overcome psychological factors related to under-weighting flood probabilities to improve flood preparations. These include policies that promote better risk communication to enhance insurance decisions for individuals with a high threshold of concern, and education and information provision to change the behaviour of internal locus of control types as well as people who see insurance as an investment. Multi-year flood insurance may also prevent short-sighted behaviour of people who have a tendency to regret paying for insurance. Moreover, bundling low-probability/high-impact risks with more immediate risks may achieve an overall covered risk which is less likely to be judged as falling below thresholds of concern. These measures could aid the development of a flood insurance market in the Netherlands for which we find to be demand.

Keywords: flood insurance demand, prospect theory, risk perceptions, risk preferences

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Authors: Mike Yaw Osei-Atweneboana, John Asiedu Larbi, Edward Jenner Tettevi

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Background: The lymphatic filariasis (LF) control programme has been on-going in Ghana since 2000. This community-wide approach involves the use of ivermectin (IVM) and albendazole (ALB). Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections control is augmented within this programme; however, in areas where LF is not prevalent, albendazole alone is administered to school children. The purpose of this study was therefore, to determine the efficacy of albendazole against soils transmitted helminths and the impact of mass drug administration of albendazole and ivermectin on the health status of children of school going age and pregnant women. Material/Methods: This was a twelve months longitudinal study. A total of 412 subjects including school children (between the ages of 2-17 years) and pregnant women were randomly selected from four endemic communities in Kpandai district of the Northern region. Coprological assessment for parasites was based on the Kato–Katz technique in both dry and rainy seasons at baseline, 21 days and 3 months post-treatment. Single-dose albendazole treatment was administered to all patients at baseline. Preserved samples are currently under molecular studies to identify possible single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) within the beta tubulin gene which is associated with benzimidazole resistance. Results: Of all the parasites found (hookworm, Trichuris trichiura, Hymenolepis nana, and Taenia sp.); hookworm was the most prevalent. In the dry season, the overall STHs prevalence at pre-treatment was 29%, while 9% and 13% prevalence was recorded at 21 days, and three months after treatment respectively. However, in the rainy season, the overall STHs prevalence was 8%, while 4% and 12% was recorded at 21 days and three months respectively after ALB treatment. In general, ALB treatment resulted in an overall hookworm egg count reduction rate of 89% in the dry season and 93% in the rainy season, while the T. trichiura egg count reduction rate was 100% in both seasons. Conclusions: STH infections still remains a significant public health burden in Ghana. Hookworm infection seems to respond poorly or sub-optimally to ALB, raising concerns of possible emergence of resistance which may lead to a major setback for the control and elimination of STH infections, especially hookworm infections.

Keywords: hookworm, sub-optimal response, albendazole, trichuriasis, soil-transmitted helminths

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Authors: Abdullah Bal, Sevdenur Bal

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This paper purposes a new type of hardware application for training of cellular neural networks (CNN) using optical joint transform correlation (JTC) architecture for image feature extraction. CNNs require much more computation during the training stage compare to test process. Since optoelectronic hardware applications offer possibility of parallel high speed processing capability for 2D data processing applications, CNN training algorithm can be realized using Fourier optics technique. JTC employs lens and CCD cameras with laser beam that realize 2D matrix multiplication and summation in the light speed. Therefore, in the each iteration of training, JTC carries more computation burden inherently and the rest of mathematical computation realized digitally. The bipolar data is encoded by phase and summation of correlation operations is realized using multi-object input joint images. Overlapping properties of JTC are then utilized for summation of two cross-correlations which provide less computation possibility for training stage. Phase-only JTC does not require data rearrangement, electronic pre-calculation and strict system alignment. The proposed system can be incorporated simultaneously with various optical image processing or optical pattern recognition techniques just in the same optical system.

Keywords: CNN training, image processing, joint transform correlation, optoelectronic hardware

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Authors: Marco Frieslaar, Bing Chu, Eric Rogers

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Stroke is a devastating illness that is the second biggest cause of death in the world (after heart disease). Where it does not kill, it leaves survivors with debilitating sensory and physical impairments that not only seriously harm their quality of life, but also cause a high incidence of severe depression. It is widely accepted that early intervention is essential for recovery, but current rehabilitation techniques largely favor hospital-based therapies which have restricted access, expensive and specialist equipment and tend to side-step the emotional challenges. In addition, there is insufficient funding available to provide the long-term assistance that is required. As a consequence, recovery rates are poor. The relatively unexplored solution is to develop therapies that can be harnessed in the home and are formulated from technologies that already exist in everyday life. This would empower individuals to take control of their own improvement and provide choice in terms of when and where they feel best able to undertake their own healing. This research seeks to identify how effective post-stroke, rehabilitation therapy can be applied to upper limb mobility, within the physical context of a home rather than a hospital. This is being achieved through the design and construction of an automation scheme, based on iterative learning control and the Riener muscle model, that has the ability to adapt to the user and react to their level of fatigue and provide tangible physical recovery. It utilizes a SMART Phone and laptop to construct an iterative learning control (ILC) system, that monitors upper arm movement in three dimensions, as a series of exercises are undertaken. The equipment generates functional electrical stimulation to assist in muscle activation and thus improve directional accuracy. In addition, it monitors speed, accuracy, areas of motion weakness and similar parameters to create a performance index that can be compared over time and extrapolated to establish an independent and objective assessment scheme, plus an approximate estimation of predicted final outcome. To further extend its assessment capabilities, nerve conduction velocity readings are taken by the software, between the shoulder and hand muscles. This is utilized to measure the speed of response of neuron signal transfer along the arm and over time, an online indication of regeneration levels can be obtained. This will prove whether or not sufficient training intensity is being achieved even before perceivable movement dexterity is observed. The device also provides the option to connect to other users, via the internet, so that the patient can avoid feelings of isolation and can undertake movement exercises together with others in a similar position. This should create benefits not only for the encouragement of rehabilitation participation, but also an emotional support network potential. It is intended that this approach will extend the availability of stroke recovery options, enable ease of access at a low cost, reduce susceptibility to depression and through these endeavors, enhance the overall recovery success rate.

Keywords: home-based therapy, iterative learning control, Riener muscle model, SMART phone, stroke rehabilitation

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Authors: Ceren Kaya, Okan Erkaymaz, Orhan Ayar, Mahmut Özer

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Diabetes Mellitus (Diabetes) is a disease based on insulin hormone disorders and causes high blood glucose. Clinical findings determine that diabetes can be diagnosed by electrophysiological signals obtained from the vital organs. 'Diabetic Retinopathy' is one of the most common eye diseases resulting on diabetes and it is the leading cause of vision loss due to structural alteration of the retinal layer vessels. In this study, features of horizontal and vertical Video-Oculography (VOG) signals have been used to classify non-proliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy disease. Twenty-five features are acquired by using discrete wavelet transform with VOG signals which are taken from 21 subjects. Two models, based on multi-layer perceptron and radial basis function, are recommended in the diagnosis of Diabetic Retinopathy. The proposed models also can detect level of the disease. We show comparative classification performance of the proposed models. Our results show that proposed the RBF model (100%) results in better classification performance than the MLP model (94%).

Keywords: diabetic retinopathy, discrete wavelet transform, multi-layer perceptron, radial basis function, video-oculography (VOG)

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Authors: A. V. Ayanwale, S. M. Tsadu, S. L. Lamai, R. J. Kolo, Y. I. Auta, A. Z. Mohammed

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A twelve weeks experiment was carried out on Heteroclarias freshwater hybrid fish fingerlings under laboratory conditions to study the effects of different temperature levels, 26.91 (control), 28.00, 30.00, 32.00°C respectively and their physiological responses to oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and opercular respiratory beats were evaluated. The oxygen consumption, ammonia excretion and opercular respiratory beats were determined weekly based on standard procedures. The findings revealed that the oxygen consumption of Heteroclarias hybrid fingerlings significantly (p<0.05) increased with increase in temperature. The ammonia excretion were not significantly different (p>0.05) in all the temperature levels. The opercular respiratory beats per minutes showed similar trend in weeks 1,2,4 and 8 but indicated significantly higher (p<0.05) opercular respiratory beats (range= 117.10±2.26 at 30oC to 142.75±3.04 opercular beat at 32oC in week 8) at highest tested temperature levels. However, there was a decreasing trend in the opercular respiratory beats per minute of the controlled fingerlings. Generally, the opercular respiratory beats per minute decreased with increase in fish size. The findings of this study confirmed that increase in water temperature affects the physiology of Heteroclarias hybrid and hence for effective rearing and for profit making, it is essential for the hybrid to be cultured in the temperature range between 26.91°C (control) and 28.00°C.

Keywords: heteroclarias, hybrid, physiological responses, temperature

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Authors: Foad Nazari, Seyed Mahmood Hosseini, Mohammad Hossein Abolbashari, Mohammad Hassan Abolbashari

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The present study is concerned with the optimal design of functionally graded plates using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. In this study, meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method is employed to obtain the functionally graded (FG) plate’s natural frequencies. Effects of two parameters including thickness to height ratio and volume fraction index on the natural frequencies and total mass of plate are studied by using the MLPG results. Then the first natural frequency of the plate, for different conditions where MLPG data are not available, is predicted by an artificial neural network (ANN) approach which is trained by back-error propagation (BEP) technique. The ANN results show that the predicted data are in good agreement with the actual one. To maximize the first natural frequency and minimize the mass of FG plate simultaneously, the weighted sum optimization approach and PSO algorithm are used. However, the proposed optimization process of this study can provide the designers of FG plates with useful data.

Keywords: optimal design, natural frequency, FG plate, hybrid meshless method, MLPG method, ANN approach, particle swarm optimization

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Authors: D. S. Mohale, A. V. Chandewar

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Anxiety is defined as an exaggerated feeling of apprehension, uncertainty and fear. Nerium indicum is a well-known ornamental and medicinal plant belonging to the family Apocynaceae. A wide spectrum of biological activities has been reported with various constituents isolated from different parts of the plant. This study was conducted to investigate antianxiety activity of flower extract. Flowers were collected and dried in shade and coarsely powdered. Powdered mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate by maceration process. Extract of flowers obtained was subsequently dried in oven at 40-50 °C. This extract is then tested for antianxiety activity at low and high dose using Elevated Plus Maze and Light & dark Model. Rats shown increased open arm entries and time spent in open arm in elevated Plus maze with treatment low and high dose of extract of Nerium indicum flower as compared to their respective control groups. In Light & dark Model, light box entries and time spent in light box increased with treatment low and high dose of extract of Nerium indicum flower as compared to their respective control groups. From result it is concluded that Ethyl acetate extract of flower of Nerium indicum possess antianxiety activity at low and high dose.

Keywords: anxiety, anxieolytic, social isolation, nerium indicum, kaner

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Authors: Roya Ahmadi Ahangar, Hamid Madadyari

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The seeker optimization algorithm (SOA) is increasingly gaining popularity among the researchers society due to its effectiveness in solving some real-world optimization problems. This paper provides the load-frequency control method based on the SOA for removing oscillations in the power system. A three-zone power system includes a thermal zone, a hydraulic zone and a wind zone equipped with robust proportional-integral-differential (PID) controllers. The result of simulation indicates that load-frequency changes in the wind zone for the multi-zone system are damped in a short period of time. Meanwhile, in the oscillation period, the oscillations amplitude is not significant. The result of simulation emphasizes that the PID controller designed using the seeker optimization algorithm has a robust function and a better performance for oscillations damping compared to the traditional PID controller. The proposed controller’s performance has been compared to the performance of PID controller regulated with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and. Genetic Algorithm (GA) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithms in order to show the superior capability of the proposed SOA in regulating the PID controller. The simulation results emphasize the better performance of the optimized PID controller based on SOA compared to the PID controller optimized with PSO, GA and ABC algorithms.

Keywords: load-frequency control, multi zone, robust PID controller, wind generation

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Authors: Sara Taghdisi, Mehrosadat Mirmohammadi, Mostafa Mokhtarian, Mohammad Hossein Pazandeh

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Leishmaniasis is one of the 10 most important diseases of the World Health Organization with health problems in more than 90 countries. Over one billion people are at risk of these diseases on almost every continent. The present human study was performed to evaluate the therapeutic effect of cotton plant on cutaneous leishmaniasis leision. firstly, the cotton seeds were cleaned and grinded to smaller particles. In the second step, the seeds were oiled by cold press method. In order to separate bioactive compound, after saponification of the oil, its gossypol was hydrolyzed and crystalized. finally, the therapeutic effect of Cottonseed Oil on cutaneous leishmaniasis was investigated. In the current project, Gossypol was extracted with a liquid-liquid extraction method in 120 minutes in the presence of Phosphoric acid from the cotton seed oil of Golestan beach varieties, then got crystallized in darkness using Acetic acid and isolated as Gossypol Acetic acid. The efficiency of the extracted crystal was obtained at 1.28±0.12. the cotton plant could be efficient in the treatment of Cutaneous leishmaniasis. This double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial was performed on 88 cases of leishmaniasis wounds. Patients were randomly divided into two groups of 44 cases. two groups received conventional treatment. In addition to the usual treatment (glucantime), the first group received cottonseed oil and the control group received placebo. The results of the present study showed that the surface of lesion before the intervention and in the first to fourth weeks after the intervention was not significantly different between the two groups (P-value> 0.05). But the surface of lesion in the Intervention group in the eighth and twelfth weeks was lower than the control group (P-value <0.05). This study showed that the improvement of leishmaniasis lesion using topical cotton plant mark in the eighth and twelfth weeks after the intervention was significantly more than the control group. Considering the most common chemical drugs for Cutaneous leishmaniasis treatment are sodium stibogluconate, and meglumine antimonate, which not only have relatively many side effects, but also some species of the Leishmania genus have become resistant to them. Therefore, a plant base bioactive compound such as cottonseed oil can be useful whit fewer side effects.

Keywords: cottonseed oil, crystallization, gossypol, leishmaniasis

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Authors: Shackira Am, Jos T. Puthur

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The phytostabilization potential of a halophyte Acanthus ilicifolius L. has been evaluated with special attention to the nutritional as well as anatomical adaptations developed by the plant. Distribution of essential elements influenced by the excess Zn²⁺ ions in the root tissue was studied by FEG-SEM EDX microanalysis. Significant variations were observed in the uptake and allocation of mineral elements like Mg, P, K, S, Na, Si and Al in the root of A. ilicifolius. The increase in S is in correlation with the increased synthesis of glutathione which might be involved in the biosynthesis of phytochelatins. This in turn might be aiding the plant to tolerate the adverse environmental conditions by stabilizing the excess Zn in the root tissue itself. Moreover it is revealed that most of the Zn were accumulated towards the central region near the vascular tissue. Treatment with ZnSO₄ in A. ilicifolius caused significant increase in the number of glandular trichomes on the adaxial leaf surface as compared to the leaves of control plants. In addition to this, A. ilicifolius when treated with ZnSO₄, exhibited a deeply stained layer of cells immediate to the endodermis, forming more or less a ring like structure around the xylem vessels. Phloem cells in these plants were crushed/reduced in numbers. There were no such deeply stained cells forming a ring around the xylem vessels in the control plants. These adaptive responses make the plant a suitable candidate for the phytostabilization of Zn. In addition the nutritional adjustment of the plant equips them for a better survival under increased concentration of Zn²⁺.

Keywords: Acanthus ilicifolius, mineral elements, phytostabilization, zinc

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Authors: Luís R. Silva, Ana C. Gonçalves, Catarina Bento, Fábio Jesus, Branca M. Silva

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Prunus avium Linnaeus, more known as sweet cherry, is one of the most appreciated fruit worldwide. Most of these quantities are produced in Fundão region, being Saco the cultivar most produced. Saco is very rich in bioactive compounds, especially phenolics, and presents great antioxidant capacity. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the chemical profile and biological potential, concerning antioxidant, anti-diabetic activity and protective effects towards erythrocytes by Saco sweet cherry collected from Fundão region (Portugal). The hydroethanolic extracts were prepared and passed through a C18 solid-phase extraction column. The phenolic profile analyzed by LC-DAD method allowed to the identification of 22 phenolic compounds, being 16 non-phenolics and 6 anthocyanins. In respect to non-coloured phenolics, 3-O-caffeoylquinic and ρ-coumaroylquinic acids were the main ones. Concerning to anthocyanins, cyanidin-3-O-rutinoside was found in higher amounts. Relatively to biological potential, Saco showed great antioxidant potential, through DPPH and NO radical assays, with IC50 =16.24 ± 0.46 µg/mL and IC50 = 176.69 ± 3.35 µg/mL for DPPH and NO, respectively. These results were similar to those obtained for ascorbic acid control (IC50 = 16.92 ± 0.69 and IC50 = 162.66 ± 1.31 μg/mL for DPPH and NO, respectively). In respect to antidiabetic potential, Saco revealed capacity to inhibit α-glucosidase in a dose-dependent manner (IC50 = 10.79 ± 0.40 µg/mL), being much active than positive control acarbose (IC50 = 306.66 ± 0.84 μg/mL). Additionally, Saco extracts revealed protective effects against ROO•-mediated toxicity generated by AAPH in human blood erythrocytes, inhibiting hemoglobin oxidation (IC50 = 38.57 ± 0.96 μg/mL) and hemolysis (IC50 = 73.03 ± 1.48 μg/mL), in a concentration-dependent manner. However, Saco extracts were less effective than quercetin control (IC50 = 3.10 μg/mL and IC50 = 0.7 μg/mL for inhibition of hemoglobin oxidation and hemolysis, respectively). The results obtained showed that Saco is an excellent source of phenolic compounds. These ones are natural antioxidant substances, which easily capture reactive species. This work presents new insights regarding sweet cherry antioxidant properties which may be useful for the future development of new therapeutic strategies for preventing or attenuating oxidative-related disorders.

Keywords: antioxidant capacity, health benefits, phenolic compounds, saco

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Authors: Dhritilekha Deka, Deepak Patwa, Ravi K., Archana M. Nair

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Bioaccumulation of heavy metal contaminants due to intense anthropogenic interference degrades the environment and ecosystem functions. Conventional physicochemical methods involve energy-intensive and costly methodologies. Phytoremediation, on the other hand, provides an efficient nature-based strategy for the reclamation of heavy metal-contaminated sites. However, the slow process and adaptation to high-concentration contaminant sequestration often limit the efficiency of the method. This necessitates natural amendments such as biochar to improve phytoextraction and stabilize the green cover. Biochar is a highly porous structure with high carbon sequestration potential and containing negatively charged functional groups that provide binding sites for the positively charged metals. This study aims to develop and determine the synergy between sugarcane bagasse biochar content and phytoremediation. A 60-day pot experiment using perennial tussock vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) was conducted for different biochar contents of 1%, 2%, and 4% for the removal of cadmium and zinc. A concentration of 500 ppm is maintained for the amended and unamended control (CK) samples. The survival rates of the plants, biomass production, and leaf area index were measured for the plant growth characteristics. Results indicate a visible change in the plant growth and the heavy metal concentration with the biochar content. The bioconcentration factor (BCF) in the plant improved significantly for the 4% biochar content by 57% in comparison to the control CK treatment in Cd-treated soils. The Zn soils indicated the highest reduction in the metal concentration by 50% in the 2% amended samples and an increase in the BCF in all the amended samples. The translocation from the rhizosphere to the shoots was low but not dependent on the amendment content and varied for each contaminant type. The root-to-shoot ratio indicates higher values compared to the control samples. The enhanced tolerance capacities can be attributed to the nutrients released by the biochar in the soil. The study reveals the high potential of biochar as a phytoremediation amendment, but its effect is dependent on the soil and heavy metal and accumulator species.

Keywords: phytoextraction, biochar, heavy metals, chrysopogon zizanioides, bioaccumulation factor

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Authors: Manoj Kumar, Sujata Mohanty, D. N. Rao, Arul Selvi, Sanjeev K. Bhoi

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Background: Hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) mobilized from bone marrow to peripheral blood has been observed in severe trauma and hemorrhagic shock patients. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a potent stimulator that mobilized HPC from bone marrow to peripheral blood. Objective: Our aim of the study was to investigate the serum G-CSF levels and correlate with HPC and outcome. Methods: Peripheral blood sample from 50 hemorrhagic shock patients was collected on arrival for determination of G-CSF and peripheral blood HPC (PBHPC) and compared with healthy control (n=15). Determination of serum levels of G-CSF by sandwich ELISA and PBHPC by Sysmex XE-2100. Data were categorized by age, sex, Injury Severity Score (ISS), and laboratory data was prospectively collected. Data are expressed as mean±SD and median (min, max). Results: Significantly increased the serum level of G-CSF (264.8 vs. 79.1 pg/ml) and peripheral blood HPC (0.1 vs. 0.01 %) in the T/HS patients when compared with control group. Conclusions: Our studies suggest serum G-CSF elevated in T/HS patients. The elevated in G-CSF was also associated with mobilization of HPC from BM to peripheral blood HPC. Increased the levels of G-CSF in T/HS may play a significant role in the alteration of the hematopoietic compartment.

Keywords: granulocyte colony stimulating factor, G-CSF, hematopoietic progenitor cells, HPC, trauma hemorrhagic shock, T/HS, outcome

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Authors: Abdul Khaliq Amiri, Shigeyuki Date

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This study investigates the effect of using carbon-free fly ash (CfFA) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBFS) on the compressive strength of mortar. The CfFA used in this investigation is high-quality fly ash and the carbon content is 1.0% or less. In this study, three types of blends with a 30% water-binder ratio (w/b) were prepared: control, binary and ternary blends. The Control blend contained only Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), in binary and ternary blends OPC was partially replaced with CfFA and GGBFS at different substitution rates. Mortar specimens were cured for 1 day, 7 days and 28 days under two curing conditions: steam curing and water curing. The steam cured specimens were exposed to two different pre-curing times (1.5 h and 2.5 h) and one steam curing duration (6 h) at 45 °C. The test results showed that water cured specimens revealed higher compressive strength than steam cured specimens at later ages. An increase in CfFA and GGBFS contents caused a decrease in the compressive strength of mortar. Ternary mixes exhibited better compressive strength than binary mixes containing CfFA with the same replacement ratio of mineral admixtures.

Keywords: carbon-free fly ash, compressive strength, ground granulated blast-furnace slag, steam curing, water curing

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Authors: Shubham Dwivedi, Raghavender Medishetti, Rita Rani, Aarti Sevilimedu, Pushkar Kulkarni, Yogeeswari Perumal

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder of early onset, characterized by impaired sociability, cognitive function and stereotypies. There is a significant urge to develop and establish new animal models with ASD-like characteristics for better understanding of underlying mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to develop a cost and time effective zebrafish model with quantifiable parameters to facilitate mechanistic studies as well as high-throughput screening of new molecules for autism. Zebrafish embryos were treated with valproic acid and a battery of behavioral tests (anxiety, inattentive behavior, irritability and social impairment) was performed on larvae at 7th day post fertilization, followed by study of molecular markers of autism. This model shows a significant behavioural impairment in valproic acid treated larvae in comparison to control which was again supported by alteration in few marker genes and proteins of autism. The model also shows a rescue of behavioural despair with positive control drugs. The model shows robust parameters to study behavior, molecular mechanism and drug screening approach in a single frame. Thus we postulate that our 7 days zebrafish larval model for autism can help in high throughput screening of new molecules on autism.

Keywords: autism, zebrafish, valproic acid, neurodevelopment, behavioral assay

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Authors: Ahmed Elbeheri, Tarek Zayed

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Steel bridges deterioration has been one of the problems in North America for the last years. Steel bridges deterioration mainly attributed to the difficult weather conditions. Steel bridges suffer fatigue cracks and corrosion, which necessitate immediate inspection. Visual inspection is the most common technique for steel bridges inspection, but it depends on the inspector experience, conditions, and work environment. So many Non-destructive Evaluation (NDE) models have been developed use Non-destructive technologies to be more accurate, reliable and non-human dependent. Non-destructive techniques such as The Eddy Current Method, The Radiographic Method (RT), Ultra-Sonic Method (UT), Infra-red thermography and Laser technology have been used. Digital Image processing will be used for Corrosion detection as an Alternative for visual inspection. Different models had used grey-level and colored digital image for processing. However, color image proved to be better as it uses the color of the rust to distinguish it from the different backgrounds. The detection of the rust is an important process as it’s the first warning for the corrosion and a sign of coating erosion. To decide which is the steel element to be repainted and how urgent it is the percentage of rust should be calculated. In this paper, an image processing approach will be developed to detect corrosion and its severity. Two models were developed 1st to detect rust and 2nd to detect rust percentage.

Keywords: steel bridge, bridge inspection, steel corrosion, image processing

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Authors: Ayat Bani Rashaid, Zain Khasawneh, Mazin Alqhazo, Shreen Nusair, Mohammad El-Khateeb, Mahmoud Bashtawi

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Autism Spectrum disorder (ASD) is a psychiatric disorder with unknown etiology that mainly affects children in the first three years of life. Alterations of amino acid levels are believed to contribute to ASD. The levels of six essential amino acids (methionine, histidine, valine, leucine, threonine, and phenylalanine), five conditional amino acids (proline, tyrosine, glutamine, cysteine, and cystine), and five non-essential amino acids (asparagine, aspartic acid, alanine, serine, and glutamic acid) in hair samples of children with ASD (n = 25) were analyzed and compared to corresponding levels in healthy age-matched controls (n = 25). The results showed that the levels of methionine, alanine, and asparagine were significantly lower in the hair samples of ASD group compared to those of the control group (p ≤ 0.05). However, the levels of glutamic acid were significantly higher in the ASD group than the control group (p ≤ 0.05). The current findings could contribute towards further understanding of ASD etiology and provide specialists with a hair amino acid profile utilized as a biomarker for early diagnosis of ASD. Such biomarkers could participate in future developments of therapies that reduce ASD-related symptoms.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, amino acids, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, human hair

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Authors: Lindsey Carruthers, Alexandra Willis, Rory MacLean

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Introduction: It has been proposed that distractibility, a key diagnostic criterion of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), may be associated with higher creativity levels in some individuals. Anecdotal and empirical evidence has shown that ADHD is therefore beneficial to creative problem-solving, and the generation of new ideas and products. Previous studies have only used one or two measures of attention, which is insufficient given that it is a complex cognitive process. The current study aimed to determine in which ways performance on creative problem-solving tasks and a range of attention tests may be related, and if performance differs between adults with and without ADHD. Methods: 150 adults, 47 males and 103 females (mean age=28.81 years, S.D.=12.05 years), were tested at Edinburgh Napier University. Of this set, 50 participants had ADHD, and 100 did not, forming the control group. Each participant completed seven attention tasks, assessing focussed, sustained, selective, and divided attention. Creative problem-solving was measured using divergent thinking tasks, which require multiple original solutions for one given problem. Two types of divergent thinking task were used: verbal (requires written responses) and figural (requires drawn responses). Each task is scored for idea originality, with higher scores indicating more creative responses. Correlational analyses were used to explore relationships between attention and creative problem-solving, and t-tests were used to study the between group differences. Results: The control group scored higher on originality for figural divergent thinking (t(148)= 3.187, p< .01), whereas the ADHD group had more original ideas for the verbal divergent thinking task (t(148)= -2.490, p < .05). Within the control group, figural divergent thinking scores were significantly related to both selective (r= -.295 to -.285, p < .01) and divided attention (r= .206 to .290, p < .05). Alternatively, within the ADHD group, both selective (r= -.390 to -.356, p < .05) and divided (r= .328 to .347, p < .05) attention are related to verbal divergent thinking. Conclusions: Selective and divided attention are both related to divergent thinking, however the performance patterns are different between each group, which may point to cognitive variance in the processing of these problems and how they are managed. The creative differences previously found between those with and without ADHD may be dependent on task type, which to the author’s knowledge, has not been distinguished previously. It appears that ADHD does not specifically lead to higher creativity, but may provide explanation for creative differences when compared to those without the disorder.

Keywords: ADHD, attention, creativity, problem-solving

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Authors: D. Baratian, A. Cavalli, D. van den Ende, F. Mugele

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The morphology of liquid bridges inside complex geometries is the subject of interest for many years. These efforts try to find stable liquid configuration considering the boundary condition and the physical properties of the system. On the other hand precise manipulation of droplets is highly significant in many microfluidic applications. The liquid configuration in a complex geometry can be switched by means of external stimuli. We show manipulation of droplets in a wedge structure. The profile and position of a drop in a wedge geometry has been calculated analytically assuming negligible contact angle hysteresis. The characteristic length of liquid bridge and its interfacial tension inside the surrounding medium along with the geometrical parameters of the system determine the morphology and equilibrium position of drop in the system. We use electrowetting to modify one the governing parameters to manipulate the droplet. Electrowetting provides the capability to have precise control on the drop position through tuning the voltage and consequently changing the contact angle. This technique is employed to tune drop displacement and control its position inside the wedge. Experiments demonstrate precise drop movement to its predefined position inside the wedge geometry. Experimental results show promising consistency as it is compared to our geometrical model predictions. For such a drop manipulation, appealing applications in microfluidics have been considered.

Keywords: liquid bridges, microfluidics, drop manipulation, wetting, electrowetting, capillarity

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Authors: L. Beltran, S. Solano, T. Lacruz, M. Blanco, M. Rojo, M. Graell, A. R. Sepulveda

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Introduction and Objective: Given the difficulties of assessing Binge Eating Disorder during childhood, episodes of Loss of Control (LOC) eating can be a key symptom. The objective is to know the prevalence of food psychopathology depending on the type of evaluation and find out which psychological characteristics differentiate overweight or obese children who present LOC from those who do not. Material and Methods: 170 children from 8 to 12 years of age with overweight or obesity (P > 85) were evaluated through the Primary Care Centers of Madrid. Sociodemographic data and psychological measures were collected through the Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders & Schizophrenia, Present & Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL) diagnostic interview and self-applied questionnaires: Children's eating attitudes (ChEAT), depressive symptomatology (CDI), anxiety (STAIC), general self-esteem (LAWSEQ), body self-esteem (BES), perceived teasing (POTS) and perfectionism (CAPS). Results: 15.2% of the sample exceeded the ChEAT cut-off point, presenting a risk of pathological eating; 5.88% presented an Eating Disorder through the diagnostic interview (2.35% Binge Eating disorder), and 33.53% had LOC episodes. No relationship was found between the presence of LOC and clinical diagnosis of eating disorders according to DSM-V; however, the group with LOC presented a higher risk of eating psychopathology using the ChEAT (p < .02). Significant differences were found in the group with LOC (p < .02): higher z-BMI, lower body self-esteem, greater anxious symptomatology, greater frequency of teasing towards weight, and greater effect of teasing both towards weight and competitions; compared to their peers without LOC. Conclusion: According to previous studies in samples with overweight children, in this Spanish sample of children with obesity, we found a prevalence of moderate eating disorder and a high presence of LOC episodes, which is related to both eating and general psychopathology. These findings confirm that the exclusion of LOC episodes as a diagnostic criterion can underestimate the presence of eating psychopathology during this developmental stage. According to these results, it is highly recommended to promote school context programs that approach LOC episodes in order to reduce associated symptoms. This study is included in a Project funded by the Ministry of Innovation and Science (PSI2011-23127).

Keywords: childhood obesity, eating psychopathology, loss-of-control eating, psychological symptomatology

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Authors: Umar Bello

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Literature has become an invaluable subject which has added a great value and contribution to the teaching of English language and the discovery of many other developed ideas. Literature produces an exhilarating impulse that imprints a lasting picture on the mind of a learner. Many researchers have devised various means and approaches to language Teaching methods which remain unconvinging and which yield little result, but it has remained unconvincing because it has only produced little results. Devicing a method that eliminates monotony and boredome to learners is a good factor that enhances students’ motivation to learning. In this sense, literature and language become unavoidable components that aid intellectual development. This study examines the indispensability of literature as a means of English Language teaching to secondary school classes. The researcher has developed many instructive activities which are believed will help students to improve their study in grammar and vocabulary. The researcher has used quasi-experimental approach using experimental group and control group to find out how literature enhances the students grammar as well as their vocabulary. The findings revealed a positive performance in the experimental group doing better than the control group using simple percentage. The results make it clear that literature allows learners to pay more attention and develop more interest to their studies. In giving a perspicacious linguistic development, literature therefore remains an essential tool for language teaching classrooms, thereby enhancing their grammatical and vocabulary usage.

Keywords: teaching vocabulary, integration, poetry, classroom

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Authors: Yavuz Unal, Kemal Polat, H. Erdinc Kocer

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In this study, a decision support system comprising three stages has been proposed to detect the disc abnormalities of the lumbar region. In the first stage named the feature extraction, T2-weighted sagittal and axial Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) were taken from 55 people and then 27 appearance and shape features were acquired from both sagittal and transverse images. In the second stage named the feature weighting process, k-means clustering based feature weighting (KMCBFW) proposed by Gunes et al. Finally, in the third stage named the classification process, the classifier algorithms including multi-layer perceptron (MLP- neural network), support vector machine (SVM), Naïve Bayes, and decision tree have been used to classify whether the subject has lumbar disc or not. In order to test the performance of the proposed method, the classification accuracy (%), sensitivity, specificity, precision, recall, f-measure, kappa value, and computation times have been used. The best hybrid model is the combination of k-means clustering based feature weighting and decision tree in the detecting of lumbar disc disease based on both sagittal and axial MR images.

Keywords: lumbar disc abnormality, lumbar MRI, lumbar spine, hybrid models, hybrid features, k-means clustering based feature weighting

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Authors: Uwaruile Austin Obuh

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This research work focuses on the use of computers in improving the academic performance of students in mathematics in Benin City, Edo State. To guide this study, two research questions were raised, and two corresponding hypotheses were formulated. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents were randomly selected from four schools in the city (60 boys and 60 girls). The instrument employed for the collation of data for the study was the multiple-choice test items on geometry (MCTIOG), drawn from past senior school certificate examinations (SSCE) questions. The instrument was validated by an expert in mathematics and measurement and evaluation. The data obtained from the pre and post-test were analysed using the mean, standard deviation, and T-test. The study revealed a non-significant difference between the experimental and control group in the pre-test, and the two groups were found to be the same before treatment began. The study also revealed that the experimental group performed better than the control group. One can, therefore, conclude that the use of computers for mathematics instruction has improved the performance of students in Geometry. Therefore, the hypothesis was rejected. The study finally revealed that there was no significant difference between the boys and girls taught mathematics using a computer. Therefore, the hypothesis which states there will be no significant difference in the performance of boys and girls taught mathematics using the computer was not rejected. Consequent upon the findings of this study, a number of recommendations were postulated that would enhance the performance of teachers in the use of computer-aided instruction.

Keywords: computer, teaching, learning, mathematics

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Authors: Mayowa Adeyeye, Kehinde Adeyemo

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The direct free kick is considered a great opportunity to score a goal but this is not always the case amidst Nigerian and other elite footballers. This study, therefore, examined the extent to which an 8 weeks mental skill training programme is effective for improving accuracy in direct free kick in football. Sixty (n-60) students of Pepsi Football Academy participated in the study. They were randomly distributed into two groups of positive self-talk group (intervention n-30) and control group (n-30). The instrument used in the collection of data include a standard football goal post while the research materials include a dummy soccer wall, a cord, an improvised vanishing spray, a clipboard, writing materials, a recording sheet, a self-talk log book, six standard 5 football, cones, an audiotape and a compact disc. The Weinberge and Gould (2011) mental skills training manual was used. The reliability coefficient of the apparatus following a pilot study stood at 0.72. Before the commencement of the mental skills training programme, the participants were asked to take six simulated direct free kick. At the end of each physical skills training session after the pre-test, the researcher spent at least 15 minutes with the groups exposing them to the intervention. The mental skills training programme alongside physical skills training took place in two different locations for the different groups under study, these included Agege Stadium Main bowl Football Pitch (Imagery Group), and Ogba Ijaye (Control Group). The mental skills training programme lasted for eight weeks. After the completion of the mental skills training programme, all the participants were asked to take another six simulated direct free kick attempts using the same field used for the pre-test to determine the efficacy of the treatments. The pre-test and post-test data were analysed using inferential statistics of t-test, while the alpha level was set at 0.05. The result revealed significant differences in t-test for positive self-talk and control group. Based on the findings, it is recommended that athletes should be exposed to positive self-talk alongside their normal physical skills training for quality delivery of accurate direct free kick during training and competition.

Keywords: accuracy, direct free kick, pepsi football academy, positive self-talk

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Authors: Zunnu Raen Akhtar

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Cotton Leaf Curl Disease (CLCuD) is from Gemini virus and is transmitted through whiteflies in cotton. Transgenic cotton containing Antisense Coat Protein (ACP) has been found to show better results against CLCuD in cotton. In current research, Antisense Coat Protein was inserted in cotton plants to observe resistance developed in the cotton plants against CLCuD. T1 generation of plants were observed for its expression in plants. Tests were carried out to observe the expression of Antisense Coat Protein using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique and by southern blotting. Whiteflies showing positive Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV) were reared and released in bioassay on ACP expressing cotton plants under laboratory as well as confined semi-field conditions. Results confirmed the expression of AC protein in PCR and southern blotting. Further laboratory results showed that cotton plants expressing AC protein showed rare incidence of CLCuD infection as compared to control. In the confined semi-field, similar results were observed in AC protein expressing cotton as compared to control. These results explicitly show that ACP can help to tackle the CLCuD issue in the future and further studies on biochemical processes involved in these plants and effects of ACP induction on non-target organisms should also be studied for eco-system.

Keywords: cotton, white flies, antisense coat protein, CLCV

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Ali Saghaei, Negar Ghotbeddin, Ebrahim Rajabzadeh Ghatrami, Milad Maniat

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The use of herbs as natural additives in fish diets are used to enhance the efficiency and safety systems. The use of herbs, garlic, due to the structure and composition of it has beneficial role in human nutrition and animal nutrition. This study was conducted evaluate the effect different levels of garlic (Allium sativum) powder on the some serum biochemical parameters of Oscar fish (Astronotus ocellatus). Fish were divided into four groups fed on diets containing garlic in different levels; 5 g kg˗1, 10 g kg-1, 20 g kg-1, 30 g kg-1 diet and the control group diet was without garlic. A total number of 300 fish was used and Triplicate groups of Oscar fish with initial weight of 12.43±0.24 g were hand-fed to visual satiation at three meals per day. The experiment extended for two months. Total Protein (TP), Albumin (ALB), Globulin (GLB) and Albumin/Globulin (A/G) ratio, were determined. Based on the results, no significant differences were seen among treatments and control groups during the experimental period for TP, ALB, GLB, and A/G ratio (p > 0.05). Although, the highest amount of serum total protein and globulin levels were observed in diet containing 10 g kg-1 of garlic. Also, the highest value of albumin and A/G were observed in diet containing 20 g kg-1 of garlic, but there were no significant difference with other treatments. The results of this study show that addition of garlic Allium sativum to fish diet can improve fish health.

Keywords: garlic (Allium sativum), serum, Oscar fish (Astronotus ocellatus), iran

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Authors: Lal Hussain, Wajid Aziz, Sajjad Ahmed Nadeem, Saeed Arif Shah, Abdul Majid

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Brain electrical activity as reflected in Electroencephalography (EEG) have been analyzed and diagnosed using various techniques. Among them, complexity measure, nonlinearity, disorder, and unpredictability play vital role due to the nonlinear interconnection between functional and anatomical subsystem emerged in brain in healthy state and during various diseases. There are many social and economical issues of alcoholic abuse as memory weakness, decision making, impairments, and concentrations etc. Alcoholism not only defect the brains but also associated with emotional, behavior, and cognitive impairments damaging the white and gray brain matters. A recently developed signal analysis method i.e. Multiscale Permutation Entropy (MPE) is proposed to estimate the complexity of long-range temporal correlation time series EEG of Alcoholic and Control subjects acquired from University of California Machine Learning repository and results are compared with MSE. Using MPE, coarsed grained series is first generated and the PE is computed for each coarsed grained time series against the electrodes O1, O2, C3, C4, F2, F3, F4, F7, F8, Fp1, Fp2, P3, P4, T7, and T8. The results computed against each electrode using MPE gives higher significant values as compared to MSE as well as mean rank differences accordingly. Likewise, ROC and Area under the ROC also gives higher separation against each electrode using MPE in comparison to MSE.

Keywords: electroencephalogram (EEG), multiscale permutation entropy (MPE), multiscale sample entropy (MSE), permutation entropy (PE), mann whitney test (MMT), receiver operator curve (ROC), complexity measure

Procedia PDF Downloads 479

Authors: Talal Alshammari, Nasser Alshammari, Mohamed Sedky, Chris Howard

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With the widespread adoption of the Internet-connected devices, and with the prevalence of the Internet of Things (IoT) applications, there is an increased interest in machine learning techniques that can provide useful and interesting services in the smart home domain. The areas that machine learning techniques can help advance are varied and ever-evolving. Classifying smart home inhabitants’ Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), is one prominent example. The ability of machine learning technique to find meaningful spatio-temporal relations of high-dimensional data is an important requirement as well. This paper presents a comparative evaluation of state-of-the-art machine learning techniques to classify ADLs in the smart home domain. Forty-two synthetic datasets and two real-world datasets with multiple inhabitants are used to evaluate and compare the performance of the identified machine learning techniques. Our results show significant performance differences between the evaluated techniques. Such as AdaBoost, Cortical Learning Algorithm (CLA), Decision Trees, Hidden Markov Model (HMM), Multi-layer Perceptron (MLP), Structured Perceptron and Support Vector Machines (SVM). Overall, neural network based techniques have shown superiority over the other tested techniques.

Keywords: activities of daily living, classification, internet of things, machine learning, prediction, smart home

Procedia PDF Downloads 341