Search results for: applied mechanics

Authors: Jake Hindmarch, Edward Farley, Norman Eizenberg, Mark Midwinter

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There is a need to bring the anatomical knowledge of medical students up to the standards required by surgical specialties. Contention exists amongst anatomists, clinicians, and surgeons about the standard of anatomical knowledge medical students need. The aim of this study was to explore the standards which the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons are applying knowledge of anatomy. Furthermore, to align medical school teaching to what the surgical profession requires from graduates.: The 2018 volume of the ANZ Journal of Surgery was narrowed down to 254 articles by applying the search term “Anatomy”. The main topic was then extracted from each paper. The content of the paper was assessed for ‘novel description’ or ‘application’ of anatomical knowledge’ and classified accordingly. The majority of papers with an anatomical focus was from the general surgery specialty, which focused on surgical techniques, outcomes and management. Vascular surgery had the highest percentage of papers with a novel description and application of anatomy. Cardiothoracic and paediatric surgery had no papers with a novel description of anatomy. Finally, a novel application of anatomy was the main focus of each speciality. Firstly, a high proportion of novel applications and descriptions of anatomy are in general surgery. Secondly, vascular surgery had the largest proportion of novel application and description of anatomy, namely due to the rise of therapeutic imaging and endovascular techniques. Finally, all disciplines demonstrated a trend towards having a higher proportion of novel application of anatomical knowledge

Keywords: anatomical knowledge, anatomy, surgery, novel anatomy

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Authors: Yeonjune Kang

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A triangulation of a planar region is a partition of that region into triangles. In the finite element method, triangulations are often used as the grid underlying a computation. In order to be suitable as a finite element mesh, a triangulation must have well-shaped triangles, according to criteria that depend on the details of the particular problem. For instance, most methods require that all triangles be small and as close to the equilateral shape as possible. Stated differently, one wants to avoid having either thin or flat triangles in the triangulation. There are many triangulation procedures, a particular one being the one known as the longest edge bisection algorithm described below. Starting with a given triangle, locate the midpoint of the longest edge and join it to the opposite vertex of the triangle. Two smaller triangles are formed; apply the same bisection procedure to each of these triangles. Continuing in this manner after n steps one obtains a triangulation of the initial triangle into 2n smaller triangles. The longest edge algorithm was first considered in the late 70’s. It was shown by various authors that this triangulation has the desirable properties for the finite element method: independently of the number of iterations the angles of these triangles cannot get too small; moreover, the size of the triangles decays exponentially. In the present paper we consider a related triangulation algorithm we refer to as the largest angle bisection procedure. As the name suggests, rather than bisecting the longest edge, at each step we bisect the largest angle. We study the properties of the resulting triangulation and prove that, while the general behavior resembles the one in the longest edge bisection algorithm, there are several notable differences as well.

Keywords: angle bisectors, geometry, triangulation, applied mathematics

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Authors: Lin Yunuo, Seow Xing Quan, Burra Venkata Durga Kumar

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In this modern era, the cloud operating system is the world trend applied in various industries such as business, healthy, etc. In order to deal with the large capacity of requirements in cloud computing, research come up with multi-tenant cloud computing to maximize the benefits of server providers and clients. However, there are still issues in multi-tenant cloud computing especially regarding resource allocation. Issues such as inefficient resource utilization, large latency, lack of scalability and elasticity and poor data isolation had caused inefficient resource allocation in multi-tenant cloud computing. Without a doubt, these issues prevent multitenancy reaches its best condition. In fact, there are multiple studies conducted to determine the optimal resource allocation to solve these problems these days. This article will briefly introduce the cloud operating system, Multi-tenant cloud computing and resource allocation in cloud computing. It then discusses resource allocation in multi-tenant cloud computing and the current challenges it faces. According to the issue ‘ineffective resource utilization’, we will discuss an efficient dynamic scheduling technique for multitenancy, namely Multi-tenant Dynamic Resource Scheduling Model (MTDRSM). Moreover, there also have some recommendations to improve the shortcoming of this model in this paper’s final section.

Keywords: cloud computing, cloud operation system, multitenancy, resource allocation, utilization of cloud resources

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Authors: Esther Burkitt, Dawn Watling

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Background: Four types of patterns of simultaneous mixed emotions have been identified in middle childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The present study applied an analogue emotion scale which permits measuring of intensity of opposite valence emotions over time rather than bipolar ratings and used an exhaustive coding scheme to investigate whether children in early childhood experience previously identified and additional types of mixed emotional experiences. Methods: To explore the presence of simultaneous mixed emotion experiences in early childhood, 112 children (59 girls) aged 5 years 1 month - 7 years 2 months (X=6 years 1 month; SD = 10 months) were recruited across the UK. They were allocated on the basis of alternation by gender on class lists to one of two conditions hearing vignettes describing mixed emotion events in an age and gender matched protagonist or themselves (other, n = 57 and self, n = 55). Findings: New types of flexuous, vertical and other experiences were identified alongside sequential, prevalent, highly parallel and inverse types of experiences identified in older populations. Conclusions: The analogue emotion scale uncovered a broader range of simultaneous mixed emotional experiences than previously identified. The value of exploring the utility of the findings in emotion assessments is discussed along with suggestions to explore impacts of educational and cultural influences on children’s mixed emotional experiences.

Keywords: childhood, emotion, graphing, self

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Authors: Nonlapun Meenil, Pisitpong Intarapong, Thitima Wongsheree, Pranchalee Samanpiboon

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In Thailand, once pineapples are harvested, they must be classified into two classes based on their sweetness: sweet and unsweet. This paper has studied and developed the assessment of internal quality of pineapples using a low-cost compact spectroscopy sensor according to the Spectroscopy approach and Neural Network (NN). During the experiments, Batavia pineapples were utilized, generating 100 samples. The extracted pineapple juice of each sample was used to determine the Soluble Solid Content (SSC) labeling into sweet and unsweet classes. In terms of experimental equipment, the sensor cover was specifically designed to install the sensor and light source to read the reflectance at a five mm depth from pineapple flesh. By using a spectroscopy sensor, data on visible and near-infrared reflectance (Vis-NIR) were collected. The NN was used to classify the pineapple classes. Before the classification step, the preprocessing methods, which are Class balancing, Data shuffling, and Standardization were applied. The 510 nm and 900 nm reflectance values of the middle parts of pineapples were used as features of the NN. With the Sequential model and Relu activation function, 100% accuracy of the training set and 76.67% accuracy of the test set were achieved. According to the abovementioned information, using a low-cost compact spectroscopy sensor has achieved favorable results in classifying the sweetness of the two classes of pineapples.

Keywords: neural network, pineapple, soluble solid content, spectroscopy

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Authors: Leonardo Ramirez Lopez, Edward Guillen Pinto, Carlos Ramos Linares

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The controversy brought about by the increasing use of mHealth apps and their effectiveness for disease prevention and diagnosis calls for immediate control. Although a critical topic in research areas such as medicine, engineering, economics, among others, this issue lacks reliable implementation models. However, projects such as Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) and various studies have helped to create useful and reliable apps. This research is conducted under a quality model to optimize two mHealth apps for older adults. Results analysis on the use of two physical activity monitoring apps - AcTiv (physical activity) and SMCa (energy expenditure) - is positive and ideal. Through a theoretical and practical analysis, precision calculations and personal information control of older adults for disease prevention and diagnosis were performed. Finally, apps are validated by a physician and, as a result, they may be used as health monitoring tools in physical performance centers or any other physical activity. The results obtained provide an effective validation model for this type of mobile apps, which, in turn, may be applied by other software developers that along with medical staff would offer digital healthcare tools for elderly people.

Keywords: model, validation, effective, healthcare, elderly people, mobile app

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Authors: Lea B. Milan

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This descriptive study evaluated the existing Food Safety Management in Central Elementary School Canteens of Region 3. It made used of survey questionnaires, interview guide questions and validated knowledge test on food for data gathering. Results of the study revealed that school principals and canteen managers shared responsibilities in food safety management of school canteen. It also showed that the schools applied different methods of communication, monitoring and evaluation of food safety management. The study further revealed that implementation of monitoring and evaluation of food safety compliance are not being practiced in all elementary schools in the region. The study also showed that school canteens in the Region 3 do not have the thermometers and timers to use to conduct proper monitoring of foods during storage, preparation and serving. It was also found out from the study that canteen personnel lacks the basic knowledge and trainings on food safety. Potential source of physical, chemical and biological hazards that could contaminate foods were also found present in the canteen facilities of the elementary schools in the region. Moreover, evaluation showed that the existing implementation of food safety management in the Central Elementary School Canteens of Region 3 were below the expected level and the need to strengthen the appreciation and advocacy on food safety management in school canteens of Region 3 is still wanting.

Keywords: food safety management, food safety school catering, food safety, school food safety management

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Authors: Liberata Borralho, Saúl N. de Jesus, Adelinda Candeias, Victória Fernández-Puig

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In the last decades, we have witnessed a deterioration in the health of teachers worldwide, reflecting the constant social, political and economic changes. The quality of teaching and the success of students depends on the health status of the teachers, which justifies the importance of periodically evaluating their health. With this purpose, the Teacher’s Health Questionnaire was applied to 15.394 teachers teaching in Portugal and Spain (6.208 Spanish and 9.186 Portuguese) of primary and secondary education (3.482 men, 11.911 women). This questionnaire is specific and includes both the main risks of the teaching profession and the manifestations of teacher well-being, according to the definition recommended by the World Health Organization. A descriptive analysis of the results was carried out, including a study of the dimensions and the differences according to some sociodemographic and professional variables, from an analysis of variance ANOVA, applying the Bonferroni correction. Cluster analysis (K-means) allowed us to obtain cutoff scores to assess health status. The results allow concluding that Portuguese teachers perceive a poor well-being in the performance of their professional activity and that more than half present manifestations in the various dimensions of health deterioration, highlighting the exhaustion and cognitive disorders. In turn, Spanish teachers demonstrate a high level of well-being, being the musculoskeletal dimensions and cognitive disorders the main manifestations of deterioration of health.

Keywords: job prevention, occupational health, teacher’s health, teachers work risks, teacher’s well-being

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Authors: Christina Roman, Deepak Koirala, Joseph A. Piccirilli

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Phage displaying synthetic Fab libraries have been used to obtain Fabs that bind to specific RNA targets with high affinity and specificity. These Fabs have been demonstrated to facilitate RNA crystallization. However, the antibody framework used in the construction of these phage display libraries contains numerous bulky, flexible, and charged residues, which facilitate solubility and hinder aggregation. These residues can interfere with crystallization due to the entropic cost associated with burying them within crystal contacts. To systematically reduce the surface entropy of the Fabs and improve their crystallization properties, a protein engineering strategy termed surface entropy reduction (SER) is being applied to the Fab framework. In this approach, high entropy residues are mutated to smaller ones such as alanine or serine. Focusing initially on Fab BL3-6, which binds an RNA AAACA pentaloop with 20nM affinity, the SER P server (http://services.mbi.ucla.edu/SER/) was used and analysis was performed on existing RNA-Fab BL3-6 co-crystal structures. From this analysis twelve surface entropy reduced mutants were designed. These SER mutants were expressed and are now being measured for their crystallization and diffraction performance with various RNA targets. So far, one mutant has generated 3.02 angstrom diffraction with the yjdF riboswitch RNA. Ultimately, the most productive mutations will be combined into a new Fab framework to be used in a optimized phage displayed Fab library.

Keywords: antibody fragment, crystallography, RNA, surface entropy reduction

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Authors: Nilanjana Chanda, Rangeet Bhattacharyya

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Grover’s search algorithm is the fastest possible quantum mechanical algorithm to search a certain element from an unstructured set of data of N items. The algorithm can determine the desired result in only O(√N) steps. It has been demonstrated theoretically and experimentally on two-qubit systems long ago. In this work, we investigate the fidelity of Grover’s search algorithm by implementing it on an open quantum system. In particular, we study with what accuracy one can estimate that the algorithm would deliver the searched state. In reality, every system has some influence on its environment. We include the environmental effects on the system dynamics by using a recently reported fluctuation-regulated quantum master equation (FRQME). We consider that the environment experiences thermal fluctuations, which leave its signature in the second-order term of the master equation through its appearance as a regulator. The FRQME indicates that in addition to the regular relaxation due to system-environment coupling, the applied drive also causes dissipation in the system dynamics. As a result, the fidelity is found to depend on both the drive-induced dissipative terms and the relaxation terms, and we find that there exists a competition between them, leading to an optimum drive amplitude for which the fidelity becomes maximum. For efficient implementation of the search algorithm, precise knowledge of this optimum drive amplitude is essential.

Keywords: dissipation, fidelity, quantum master equation, relaxation, system-environment coupling

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Authors: Zuhrotun Ulya, Muchammad Syamsulhadi, Debree Septiawan

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Patients with bipolar disorder are three times more likely to suffer cardiovascular disorders than the general population, which will influence their level of morbidity and rate of mortality. Bipolar disorder also affects the pulmonary system. The choice of long term-monotherapy and other combinative therapies have clinical impacts on patients. This study investigates the case of a woman who has been suffering from bipolar disorder for 16 years, and who has a history of Steven Johnson Syndrome. At present she is suffering also from cardiovascular and pulmonary disorder. An analysis of the results of this study suggests that there is a relationship between cardiovascular disorder, drug therapies, Steven Johnson Syndrome and mood stabilizer obtained from the PubMed, Cochrane, Medline, and ProQuest (publications between 2005 and 2015). Combination therapy with mood stabilizer is recommended for patients who do not have side effect histories from these drugs. The replacement drugs and combinations may be applied, especially for those with bipolar disorders, and the combination between atypical antipsychotic groups and mood stabilizers is often made. Clinicians, however, should be careful with the patients’ physical and metabolic changes, especially those who have experienced long-term therapy and who showed a history of Steven Johnson Syndrome (for which clinicians probably prescribed one type of medicine).

Keywords: cardiopulmonary disease, bipolar disorder, SJS, therapy

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Authors: Lukasz Grzegorz Broda, Taiwo Oseni, Andrew Stranieri, Rodrigo Marino, Ronelle Welton, Mark Yates

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The oral health of residents in aged care centres in Australia is poor, contributing to infections, hospital admissions, and increased suffering. Although the use of electric toothbrushes has been deployed in many centres, smartbrushes that record and transmit information about brushing patterns and duration are not routinely deployed. Yet, the use of smartbrushes for aged care residents promises better oral care. Thus, a study aimed at investigating the appropriateness and suitability of a smartbrush for aged care residents is currently underway. Due to the peculiarity of the aged care setting, the incorporation of smartbrushes into residents’ care does require careful planning and design considerations. This paper describes an initial design process undertaken through the use of an actor to understand the important elements to be incorporated whilst installing a smartbrush for use in aged care settings. The design covers the configuration settings of the brush and app, including ergonomic factors related to brush and smartphone placement. A design science approach led to an installation re-design and a revised protocol for the planned study, the ultimate aim being to design installations to enhance perceived usefulness, ease of use, and attitudes towards the incorporation of smartbrushes for improving oral health care for aged care residents.

Keywords: smartbrush, applied computing, life and medical sciences, health informatics

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Authors: Jafar Mortadha, Imran Qureshi

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This research explains and compares the modern techniques used for measuring the flow angles of a flowing fluid with the traditional technique of using multi-hole pressure probes. In particular, the focus of the study is on four-hole probes, which offer great reliability and benefits in several applications where the use of modern measurement techniques is either inconvenient or impractical. Due to modern advancements in manufacturing, small multi-hole pressure probes can be made with high precision, which eliminates the need for calibrating every manufactured probe. This study aims to improve the range of calibration maps for a four-hole probe to allow high flow angles to be measured accurately. The research methodology comprises a literature review of the successful calibration definitions that have been implemented on five-hole probes. These definitions are then adapted and applied on a four-hole probe using a set of raw pressures data. A comparison of the different definitions will be carried out in Matlab and the results will be analyzed to determine the best calibration definition. Taking simplicity of implementation into account as well as the reliability of flow angles estimation, an adapted technique from a research paper written in 2002 offered the most promising outcome. Consequently, the method is seen as a good enhancement for four-hole probes and it can substitute for the existing calibration definitions that offer less accuracy.

Keywords: calibration definitions, calibration maps, flow measurement techniques, four-hole probes, multi-hole pressure probes

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Authors: Flavio Cordeiro Fontanella, Asla Medeiros e Sá, Moacyr Alvim Horta Barbosa da Silva

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In the present work, we analyse the performance of football results forecasting models. In order to do so, we have performed the data collection from eight different forecasting models during the 2021 Brazilian football season. First, we guide the analysis through visual representations of the data, designed to highlight the most prominent features and enhance the interpretation of differences and similarities between the models. We propose using a 2-simplex triangle to investigate visual patterns from the results forecasting models. Next, we compute the expected points for every team playing in the championship and compare them to the final league standings, revealing interesting contrasts between actual to expected performances. Then, we evaluate forecasts’ accuracy using the Ranked Probability Score (RPS); models comparison accounts for tiny scale differences that may become consistent in time. Finally, we observe that the Wisdom of Crowds principle can be appropriately applied in the context, driving into a discussion of results forecasts usage in practice. This paper’s primary goal is to encourage football forecasts’ performance discussion. We hope to accomplish it by presenting appropriate criteria and easy-to-understand visual representations that can point out the relevant factors of the subject.

Keywords: accuracy evaluation, Brazilian championship, football results forecasts, forecasting models, visual analysis

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Authors: Shu-Hui Jan, Shih-Ping Ho, Hui-Ping Tserng

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Construction knowledge can be referred to and reused among involved project managers and job-site engineers to alleviate problems on a construction job-site and reduce the time and cost of solving problems related to constructability. This paper proposes a new methodology to provide sharing of construction knowledge by using the Building Information Modeling (BIM) approach. The main characteristics of BIM include illustrating 3D CAD-based presentations and keeping information in a digital format, and facilitation of easy updating and transfer of information in the 3D BIM environment. Using the BIM approach, project managers and engineers can gain knowledge related to 3D BIM and obtain feedback provided by job-site engineers for future reference. This study addresses the application of knowledge sharing management in the construction phase of construction projects and proposes a BIM-based Knowledge Sharing Management (BIMKSM) system for project managers and engineers. The BIMKSM system is then applied in a selected case study of a construction project in Taiwan to verify the proposed methodology and demonstrate the effectiveness of sharing knowledge in the BIM environment. The combined results demonstrate that the BIMKSM system can be used as a visual BIM-based knowledge sharing management platform by utilizing the BIM approach and web technology.

Keywords: construction knowledge management, building information modeling, project management, web-based information system

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Authors: Hyun KI Kang, Hi Won Jeong

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The gas turbine operates for a long period of time under harsh, cyclic conditions of high temperature and pressure, where high turbine inlet temperature (TIT) can range from 1273 to 1873K. Therefore, Ni-base superalloys such as IN738, IN939, Rene 45, Rene 71, Rene 80, Mar M 247, CM 247, and CMSX-4 with excellent mechanical properties and resistance to creep, corrosion and oxidation at high temperatures are indeed used. Among the alloying additions for these alloys, aluminum (Al) and titanium (Ti) form gamma prime and enhance the high-temperature properties. However, when crack-damaged high-temperature turbine components such as blade and vane are repaired by fusion welding, they cause cracks. For example, when arc welding is applied to certain superalloys that contain Al and Ti with more than 3 wt.% and T3.5 wt%, respectively, such as IN738, IN939, Rene 80, Mar M 247, and CM 247, aging cracks occur. Therefore, repair technologies using diffusion brazing, which has less heat input into the base material, are being developed. Analysis of microstructural evolution of the brazed joints with a base metal of IN 939 Ni-base superalloy using brazing different filler metals was also carried out using X-ray diffraction, OEM, SEM-EDS, and EPMA. Stress rupture and high-temperature tensile strength properties were also measured to analyze the effects of different brazing heat cycles. The boron amount in the diffusion-affected zone (DAZ) was decreased towards the base metal and the formation of borides at grain boundaries was detected through EPMA.

Keywords: gas turbine, diffusion brazing, superalloy, gas turbine repair

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Authors: Abdullah, Ali, Salamai

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Smart healthcare management systems (SHMS) play a vital role in medical centers. SHMS has various risks and threats that affect patient care. So, risk management is the best choice to identify and mitigate these risks. This study proposed a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework for identifying risks in SHMS and selecting the best project in SHMS to reduce risks. This study used the MCDM method to deal with conflict criteria. There are two MCDM methods: CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) and Additive Ration Assessment (ARAS). The CRITIC approach is used to compute the criteria weights, and the ARAS algorithm is used to select the appropriate projects in SHMS. The neutrosophic set (NS) was applied with MCDM methods to deal with inconsistent data in the evaluation process. The results show the Health Data Informational System project is the best. Sensitivity analysis was conducted to show the stability of the rank. The comparative study was conducted to show the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The outcomes demonstrate the rank of projects is stable through all scenarios, and the proposed methodology is effective compared with MCDM methods.

Keywords: risk management, portfolio management, smart healthcare, neutrosophic set, MCDM

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Authors: Min Yu, Olivier T. Picot, Theo Graves Saunders, Ivo Dlouhy, Amit Mahajan, Michael J. Reece

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Graphene was successfully introduced into a polymer-derived silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) matrix by phase transfer of graphene oxide (GO) from an aqueous (GO dispersed in water) to an organic phase (copolymer as SiOC precursor in diethyl ether). With GO concentrations increasing up to 2 vol%, graphene-containing flakes self-assembled into a lamellar structure in the matrix leading to composite with the anisotropic property. Spark plasma sintering (SPS) was applied to densify the composites with four different GO concentrations (0, 0.5, 1 and 2 vol%) up to ~2.3 g/cm3. The fracture toughness of SiOC-2 vol% GO composites was significantly increased by ~91% (from 0.70 to 1.34 MPa·m¹/²), at the expense of a decrease in the flexural strength (from 85MPa to 55MPa), compared to SiOC-0 vol% GO composites. Moreover, the electrical conductivity in the perpendicular direction (σ┴=3×10⁻¹ S/cm) in SiOC-2 vol% GO composite was two orders of magnitude higher than the parallel direction (σ║=4.7×10⁻³ S/cm) owing to the self-assembled lamellar structure of graphene in the SiOC matrix. The composites exhibited increased electrical conductivity (σ┴) from 8.4×10⁻³ to 3×10⁻¹ S/cm, with the increasing GO content from 0.5 to 2 vol%. The SiOC-2 vol% GO composites further showed the better electrochemical performance of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) than pure graphene, exhibiting a similar onset potential (~0.75V vs. RHE) and more positive half-wave potential (~0.6V vs. RHE).

Keywords: composite, fracture toughness, flexural strength, electrical conductivity, electrochemical performance

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Authors: Sahl Abdullah Waheeb

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The Ministry of Higher Education is currently developing and executing a large number of university buildings and campuses Al around Saudi Arabia annually due to the increased number of students. This is carried out through high international standards. Energy and environmental issues have been given a lot of consideration so the operation will be economical, environmentally and socially efficient enough. This paper will shed light on the application of building sustainability standards on buildings and university campuses during the design and construction stage. University campuses and buildings are currently under major construction development. In this research, data for green building standards were collected and a building sustainability methodology was appointed for applying sustainable standards, recommend to all is inserted imparting a guidelines standards for university buildings. Architecture design and construction imparting were assisted by environmental criteria. This paper highly recommends applying an environmental and sustainable building measurement tool in Saudi Arabia. Special attention should be paid to university building and similar project organizers due to the high energy demand in such project organizers. Moreover, a national environmental programme should be created to set the related standards to the local architecture to be applied to measuring green building and sustainable architecture design in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: sustainable universities, university buildings, sustainability in Saudi Arabia, green buildings, sustainable building

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Authors: Seyed Sadegh Naseralavi, Sadegh Balaghi, Ehsan Khojastehfar

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Time history dynamic analysis of structures is considered as an exact method while being computationally intensive. Filtration of earthquake strong ground motions applying wavelet transform is an approach towards reduction of computational efforts, particularly in optimization of structures against seismic effects. Wavelet transforms are categorized into continuum and discrete transforms. Since earthquake strong ground motion is a discrete function, the discrete wavelet transform is applied in the present paper. Wavelet transform reduces analysis time by filtration of non-effective frequencies of strong ground motion. Filtration process may be repeated several times while the approximation induces more errors. In this paper, strong ground motion of earthquake has been filtered once applying each wavelet. Strong ground motion of Northridge earthquake is filtered applying various wavelets and dynamic analysis of sampled shear and moment frames is implemented. The error, regarding application of each wavelet, is computed based on comparison of dynamic response of sampled structures with exact responses. Exact responses are computed by dynamic analysis of structures applying non-filtered strong ground motion.

Keywords: wavelet transform, computational error, computational duration, strong ground motion data

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Authors: W. J. Zhang, Y. Q. Du, M. L. Wang

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Noninvasive diagnostics of diseases via breath analysis has attracted considerable scientific and clinical interest for many years and become more and more promising with the rapid advancement in nanotechnology and biotechnology. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath, which are mainly blood borne, particularly provide highly valuable information about individuals’ physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Additionally, breath analysis is noninvasive, real-time, painless and agreeable to patients. We have developed a wireless sensor array based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) for the detection of a number of physiological indicators in breath. Eight DNA sequences were used to functionalize SWNT sensors to detect trace amount of methanol, benzene, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, acetone and ethanol, which are indicators of heavy smoking, excessive drinking, and diseases such as lung cancer, breast cancer, cirrhosis and diabetes. Our tests indicated that DNA functionalized SWNT sensors exhibit great selectivity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and repeatability. Furthermore, different molecules can be distinguished through pattern recognition enabled by this sensor array. Thus, the DNA-SWNT sensor array has great potential to be applied in chemical or bimolecular detection for the noninvasive diagnostics of diseases and health monitoring.

Keywords: breath analysis, diagnosis, DNA-SWNT sensor array, noninvasive

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Authors: Nasim Fallahi, Erasmo Carrera, Alfonso Pagani

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Variable angle tow describes the fibres which are curvilinearly steered in a composite lamina. Significantly, stiffness tailoring freedom of VAT composite laminate can be enlarged and enabled. Composite structures with curvilinear fibres have been shown to improve the buckling load carrying capability in contrast with the straight laminate composites. However, the optimal design and analysis of VAT are faced with high computational efforts due to the increasing number of variables. In this article, an efficient optimum solution has been used in combination with 1D Carrera’s Unified Formulation (CUF) to investigate the optimum fibre orientation angles for buckling analysis. The particular emphasis is on the LE-based CUF models, which provide a Lagrange Expansions to address a layerwise description of the problem unknowns. The first critical buckling load has been considered under simply supported boundary conditions. Special attention is lead to the sensitivity of buckling load corresponding to the fibre orientation angle in comparison with the results which obtain through the Genetic Algorithm (GA) optimization frame and then Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is applied to investigate the accuracy of the optimized model. As a result, numerical CUF approach with an optimal solution demonstrates the robustness and computational efficiency of proposed optimum methodology.

Keywords: beam structures, layerwise, optimization, variable stiffness

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Authors: Hu-Cheng Weng, Jhen-Ting Huang, Chia-Chia Chang, An-Ya Lo

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In this study, carbon mesoporous material, CMK-3, was adopted as supporting material for electroactive polymerspolyaniline (PANI), polyaniline, for supercapacitor application, where hydroquinone (HQ) was integrated to enhance the redox reaction of PANI. The results show that the addition of PANI improves the capacitance of electrode from 89 F/g (CMK-3) to 337 F/g (PANI/CMK-3), the addition of HQ furtherly improves the capacitance to 463 F/g (PANI/CMK-3/HQ). The PANI provides higher energy density and also acts as binder of the electrode; the CMK-3 provides higher electron double layer capacitance EDLC and stabilize the polyaniline by its highly porosity. With the addition of HQ, the capacitance of PANI/CMK-3 was further enhanced. In-situ analyses including cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometry (CP), electron impedance spectrum (EIS) analyses were applied for electrode performance examination. For materials characterization, the crystal structure, morphology, microstructure, and porosity were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and 77K N2 adsorption/desorption analyses, respectively. The effects of electrolyte pH value, PANI polymerization time, HQ concentration, and PANI/CMK-3 ratio on capacitance were discussed. The durability was also studied by long-term operation test. The results show that PANI/CMK-3/HQ with great potential for supercapacitor application. Finally, the potential of all-solid PANI/CMK-3/HQ based supercapacitor was successfully demonstrated.

Keywords: CMK3, PANI, redox electrolyte, solid supercapacitor

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Authors: Aicha Majda, Abdelhamid El Hassani

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Lung CT image segmentation is a prerequisite in lung CT image analysis. Most of the conventional methods need a post-processing to deal with the abnormal lung CT scans such as lung nodules or other lesions. The simplest similarity measure in the standard Graph Cuts Algorithm consists of directly comparing the pixel values of the two neighboring regions, which is not accurate because this kind of metrics is extremely sensitive to minor transformations such as noise or other artifacts problems. In this work, we propose an improved version of the standard graph cuts algorithm based on the Patch-Based similarity metric. The boundary penalty term in the graph cut algorithm is defined Based on Patch-Based similarity measurement instead of the simple intensity measurement in the standard method. The weights between each pixel and its neighboring pixels are Based on the obtained new term. The graph is then created using theses weights between its nodes. Finally, the segmentation is completed with the minimum cut/Max-Flow algorithm. Experimental results show that the proposed method is very accurate and efficient, and can directly provide explicit lung regions without any post-processing operations compared to the standard method.

Keywords: graph cuts, lung CT scan, lung parenchyma segmentation, patch-based similarity metric

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Authors: Bashar Al-Sabti, Jehad Harbali

Abstract:

Background: Pyridine is a reactive base that might be used in preparing sitagliptin. International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies pyridine in group 2B; this classification means that pyridine is possibly carcinogenic to humans. Therefore, pyridine should be monitored at the allowed limit in sitagliptin pharmaceutical ingredients. Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a novel ultra high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) method to estimate the quantity of pyridine impurity in sitagliptin pharmaceutical ingredients. Methods: The separation was performed on C8 shim-pack (150 mm X 4.6 mm, 5 µm) in reversed phase mode using a mobile phase of water-methanol-acetonitrile containing 4 mM ammonium acetate in gradient mode. Pyridine was detected by mass spectrometer using selected ionization monitoring mode at m/z = 80. The flow rate of the method was 0.75 mL/min. Results: The method showed excellent sensitivity with a quantitation limit of 1.5 ppm of pyridine relative to sitagliptin. The linearity of the method was excellent at the range of 1.5-22.5 ppm with a correlation coefficient of 0.9996. Recoveries values were between 93.59-103.55%. Conclusions: The results showed good linearity, precision, accuracy, sensitivity, selectivity, and robustness. The studied method was applied to test three batches of sitagliptin raw materials. Highlights: This method is useful for monitoring pyridine in sitagliptin during its synthesis and testing sitagliptin raw materials before using them in the production of pharmaceutical products.

Keywords: genotoxic impurity, pyridine, sitagliptin, UHPLC -MS

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Hatice Karakoyun, Mustafa Akdag

Abstract:

This study has been made to examine the attitudes of pre-school teachers towards values education. The study has been made as a general scanning model. The study’s working group contains 108 pre-school teachers who worked in Diyarbakır, Turkey. In this study Values Education Attitude Scale (VEAS), which developed by Yaşaroğlu (2014), was used. In order to analyze the data for sociodemographic structure, percentage and frequency values were examined. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov method was used in determination of the normal distribution of data. During analyzing the data, KolmogorovSimirnov test and the normal curved histograms were examined to determine which statistical analyzes would be applied on the scale and it was found that the distribution was not normal. Thus, the Mann Whitney U analysis technique which is one of the nonparametric statistical analysis techniques were used to test the difference of the scores obtained from the scale in terms of independent variables. According to the analyses, it seems that pre-school teachers’ attitudes toward values education are positive. According to the scale with the highest average, it points out that pre-school teachers think that values education is very important for students’ and children’s future. The variables included in the scale (gender, seniority, age group, education, school type, school place) seem to have no effect on the pre-school teachers’ attitude grades which joined to the study.

Keywords: attitude scale, pedagogy, pre-school teacher, values education

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Satoshi Furukawa, Satomu Morita, Katsuji Nishi, Masahito Hitosugi

Abstract:

We experience the autopsy cases that the deceased was alive in emergency room on arrival. Bleeding is the leading cause of preventable death after injury. This retrospective study aimed to characterize opportunities for performance improvement identified in patients who died from traffic trauma and were considered by the quality improvement of education system. The Japan Advanced Trauma Evaluation and Care (JATEC) education program was introduced in 2002. We focused the abdominal traffic trauma injury. An autopsy-based cross-sectional study conducted. A purposive sampling technique was applied to select the study sample of 41 post-mortems of road traffic accident between April 1999 and March 2014 subjected to medico-legal autopsy at the department of Forensic Medicine, Shiga University of Medical Science. 16 patients (39.0%) were abdominal trauma injury. The mean period of survival after meet with accident was 13.5 hours, compared abdominal trauma death was 27.4 hours longer. In road traffic accidents, the most injured abdominal organs were liver followed by mesentery. We thought delayed treatment was associated with immediate diagnostic imaging, and so expected to expand trauma management examination.

Keywords: abdominal traffic trauma, preventable death, autopsy, emergency medicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 435

Authors: Nouh Zeggai, Lucas Debrux, Fabien Parrain, Brahim Dkhil, Martino Lobue, Morgan Almanza

Abstract:

Refrigeration and air conditioning are some of the most used energies in our daily life, especially vapor compression refrigeration. Electrocaloric material might appears as an alternative towards solid-state cooling. polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) based polymer has shown promising adiabatic temperature change (∆T) and entropy change (∆S). There is practically no limit to the electric field that can be applied, except the one that the material can withstand. However, when working with a large surface as required in a device, the chance to have a defect is larger and can drastically reduce the voltage breakdown, thus reducing the electrocaloric properties. In this work, we propose to study how the characteristic of a single film are transposed when going to multilayer. The laminator and the hot press appear as two interesting processes that have been investigating to achieve a multilayer film. The study is mainly focused on the breakdown field and the adiabatic temperature change, but the phase and crystallinity have also been measured. We process one layer-based PVDF and assemble them to obtain a multilayer. Pressing at hot temperature method and lamination were used for the production of the thin films. The multilayer film shows higher breakdown strength, temperature change, and crystallinity (beta phases) using the hot press technique.

Keywords: PVDF-TrFE-CFE, multilayer, electrocaloric effect, hot press, cooling device

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Oday Al-Mamoori, J. Enrique Martinez-Rueda

Abstract:

'C' shape yielding devices (C-devices) are effective tools for introducing supplemental sources of energy dissipation by hysteresis. Studies have shown that C-devices made of mild steel can be successfully applied as integral parts of seismic retrofitting schemes. However, explicit modelling of these devices can become cumbersome, expensive and time consuming. The device under study in this article has been previously used in non-invasive dissipative bracing for seismic retrofitting. The device is cut from a mild steel plate and has an overall shape that resembles that of a rectangular portal frame with circular interior corner transitions to avoid stress concentration and to control the extension of the dissipative region of the device. A number of inelastic finite element (FE) analyses using either inelastic 2D plane stress elements or inelastic fibre frame elements are reported and used to calibrate a 1D equivalent inelastic spring model that effectively reproduces the cyclic response of the device. The more elaborate FE model accounts for the frictional forces developed between the steel plate and the bolts used to connect the C-device to structural members. FE results also allow the visualization of the inelastic regions of the device where energy dissipation is expected to occur. FE analysis results are in a good agreement with experimental observations.

Keywords: C-device, equivalent nonlinear spring, FE analyses, reversed cyclic tests

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Rim Baroudi

Abstract:

The notion of the context-induced metaphors refers to the role of different contextual aspects (socio-cultural, linguistic, bodily-physical, and ideological) in affecting metaphor production. This has not been investigated in visual discourse. This paper intends to extend the focus of this research interest to study context-induced metaphors in newspapers’ cartoons. It seeks to account for different contextual variables influencing the production of metaphors in cartoons placing special focus on the ideological variable. The aim is to demonstrate how different contextual aspects are conditioned by the ideological variable. The study applied critical metaphor approach to analyse contextual variables shaping the conceptualization of ‘the Islamic State’ in the cartoons of 3 newspapers (Al-Ryadh newspaper, Tehran Times, and The New York Times). Findings have revealed the decisive role of the ideological context in conditioning and priming the rest of contextual variables in the conceptualisation of ‘the Islamic State’ in political cartoons of the three newspapers. These findings bear special importance to the study of bodily-physical and socio-cultural variables inducing and shaping political cognition in political cartoons in a way consistent with the ideological framework within which newspapers operate.

Keywords: context-induced metaphors, ideological context, the Islamic State, political cartoons

Procedia PDF Downloads 284