Search results for: stability and convergence analysis

Authors: Gonzalez Carlos, Martinez Fransisco

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There are various types of analysis that allow us to involve seismic phenomena that cause strong requirements for structures that are designed by society; one of them is a probabilistic analysis which works from prediction equations that have been created based on metadata seismic compiled in different regions. These equations form models that are used to describe the 5% damped pseudo spectra response for the various zones considering some easily known input parameters. The biggest problem for the creation of these models requires data with great robust statistics that support the results, and there are several places where this type of information is not available, for which the use of alternative methodologies helps to achieve adjustments to different models of seismic prediction.

Keywords: GMPM, 5% damped pseudo-response spectra, models of seismic prediction, PSHA

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Authors: Zarine Avetisyan

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Concepts are part and parcel of everyday text and talk. Their ubiquity predetermines the topicality of the given research which aims at the semantic decomposition of concepts in general and the concept of joy in particular, as well as the study of lexico-semantic variants as means of realization of a certain concept in different “semantic settings”, namely in a certain context. To achieve the stated aim, the given research departs from the methods of componential and contextual analysis, studying lexico-semantic variants /LSVs/ of the concept of joy and the semantic signs embedded in those LSVs, such as the semantic sign of intensity, supporting emotions, etc. in the context of Modern English fiction.

Keywords: concept, context, lexico-semantic variant, semantic sign

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Authors: Oxana Lukoshus

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The methods of corpus linguistics, a well-established field of research, are being increasingly applied in cognitive linguistics. Corpora data are especially useful for different quantitative studies of grammatical and other aspects of language. The main objective of this paper is to demonstrate how present-day corpora can be applied in semantic studies in general and in semantic studies of adjectives in particular. Polysemantic adjectives have been the subject of numerous studies. But most of them have been carried out on dictionaries. Undoubtedly, dictionaries are viewed as one of the basic data sources, but only at the initial steps of a research. The author usually starts with the analysis of the lexicographic data after which s/he comes up with a hypothesis. In the research conducted three polysemantic synonyms true, loyal, faithful have been analyzed in terms of differences and similarities in their semantic structure. A corpus-based approach in the study of the above-mentioned adjectives involves the following. After the analysis of the dictionary data there was the reference to the following corpora to study the distributional patterns of the words under study – the British National Corpus (BNC) and the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). These corpora are continually updated and contain thousands of examples of the words under research which make them a useful and convenient data source. For the purpose of this study there were no special needs regarding genre, mode or time of the texts included in the corpora. Out of the range of possibilities offered by corpus-analysis software (e.g. word lists, statistics of word frequencies, etc.), the most useful tool for the semantic analysis was the extracting a list of co-occurrence for the given search words. Searching by lemmas, e.g. true, true to, and grouping the results by lemmas have proved to be the most efficient corpora feature for the adjectives under the study. Following the search process, the corpora provided a list of co-occurrences, which were then to be analyzed and classified. Not every co-occurrence was relevant for the analysis. For example, the phrases like An enormous sense of responsibility to protect the minds and hearts of the faithful from incursions by the state was perceived to be the basic duty of the church leaders or ‘True,’ said Phoebe, ‘but I'd probably get to be a Union Official immediately were left out as in the first example the faithful is a substantivized adjective and in the second example true is used alone with no other parts of speech. The subsequent analysis of the corpora data gave the grounds for the distribution groups of the adjectives under the study which were then investigated with the help of a semantic experiment. To sum it up, the corpora-based approach has proved to be a powerful, reliable and convenient tool to get the data for the further semantic study.

Keywords: corpora, corpus-based approach, polysemantic adjectives, semantic studies

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Authors: Mohammad Reza Mohammadian, Dariush Sattarzadeh, Mir Mohammad Javad Poor Hadi Hosseini

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Population growth, urban development and urban buildup have disturbed the balance between the nature and the city, and so leading to the loss of quality of sustainability of proximity to rivers. While in the past, the sides of urban rivers were considered as urban green space. Urban rivers and their sides that have environmental, social and economic values are important to achieve sustainable development. So far, efforts have been made at various scales in various cities around the world to revitalize these areas. On the other hand, biophilic design is an innovative design approach in which attention to natural details and relation to nature is a fundamental concept. The purpose of this study is to provide an integrated framework of urban design using the potential of urban rivers (in order to increase sustainability) with a biophilic design approach to be used in cities in developing countries. The methodology of the research is based on the collection of data and information from research and projects including a study on biophilic design, investigations and projects related to the urban rivers, and a review of the literature on sustainable urban development. Then studying the boundary of urban rivers is completed by examining case samples. Eventually, integrated framework of urban design, to design the boundaries of urban rivers in the cities of developing countries is presented regarding the factors affecting the design of these areas. The result shows that according to this framework, the potential of the river banks is utilized to increase not only the environmental sustainability but also social, economic and physical stability with regard to water, light, and the usage of indigenous materials, etc.

Keywords: urban rivers, biophilic design, urban sustainability, nature

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Authors: Rao Singh Priyanka, Jayangondaperumal R.

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The Himalayan active fault has the potential to generate great earthquakes in the future, posing a biggest existential threat to humans in the Himalayan and adjacent region. Quantitative evaluation of accumulated and released interseismic strain is crucial to assess the magnitude and spatio-temporal variability of future great earthquakes along the Himalayan arc. To mitigate the destruction and hazards associated with such earthquakes, it is important to understand their recurrence cycle. The eastern Himalayan and Indo-Burman plate boundary systems offers an oblique convergence across two orthogonal plate boundaries, resulting in a zone of distributed deformation both within and away from the plate boundary and clockwise rotation of fault-bounded blocks. This seismically active region has poorly documented historical archive of the past large earthquakes. Thus, paleoseismologicalstudies confirm the surface rupture evidences of the great continental earthquakes (Mw ≥ 8) along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), which along with the Geodetic studies, collectively provide the crucial information to understand and assess the seismic potential. These investigations reveal the rupture of 3/4th of the HFT during great events since medieval time but with debatable opinions for the timing of events due to unclear evidences, ignorance of transverse segment boundaries, and lack of detail studies. Recent paleoseismological investigations in the eastern Himalaya and Mishmi ranges confirms the primary surface ruptures of the 1950 C.E. great earthquake (M>8). However, a seismic gap exists between the 1714 C.E. and 1950 C.E. Assam earthquakes that did not slip since 1697 C.E. event. Unlike the latest large blind 2015 Gorkha earthquake (Mw 7.8), the 1950 C.E. event is not triggered by a large event of 1947 C.E. that occurred near the western edge of the great upper Assam event. Moreover, the western segment of the eastern Himalayadid not witness any surface breaking earthquake along the HFT for over the past 300 yr. The frontal fault excavations reveal that during the 1950 earthquake, ~3.1-m-high scarp along the HFT was formed due to the co-seismic slip of 5.5 ± 0.7 m at Pasighat in the Eastern Himalaya and a 10-m-high-scarp at a Kamlang Nagar along the Mishmi Thrust in the Eastern Himalayan Syntaxis is an outcome of a dip-slip displacement of 24.6 ± 4.6 m along a 25 ± 5°E dipping fault. This event has ruptured along the two orthogonal fault systems in the form of oblique thrust fault mechanism. Approx. 130 km west of Pasighat site, the Himebasti village has witnessed two earthquakes, the historical 1697 Sadiya earthquake, and the 1950 event, with a cumulative dip-slip displacement of 15.32 ± 4.69 m. At Niglok site, Arunachal Pradesh, a cumulative slip of ~12.82 m during at least three events since pre 19585 B.P. has produced ~6.2-m high scarp while the youngest scarp of ~2.4-m height has been produced during 1697 C.E. The site preserves two deformational events along the eastern HFT, providing an idea of last serial ruptures at an interval of ~850 yearswhile the successive surface rupturing earthquakes lacks in the Mishmi Range to estimate the recurrence cycle.

Keywords: paleoseismology, surface rupture, recurrence interval, Eastern Himalaya

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Authors: Meng Su

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

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

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Authors: Kyu Bum Han, Eunjin Jeon, Kimberly Watts, Brenda Payan Medina

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Gen3 Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) high-temperature thermal systems have the potential to lower the cost of a CSP system. When compared to the other systems (chloride salt blends and supercritical fluids), the particle transport system can avoid many of the issues associated with high fluid temperature systems at high temperature because of its ability to operate at ambient pressure with limited corrosion or thermal stability risk. Furthermore, identifying and demonstrating low-cost particles that have excellent optical properties and durability can significantly reduce the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) of particle receivers. The currently available thermal transfer particle in the study and market is oxidized at about 700oC, which reduces its durability, generates particle loss by high friction loads, and causes the color change. To meet the CSP SunShot goal, the durability of particles must be improved by identifying particles that are less abrasive to other structural materials. Furthermore, the particles must be economically affordable and the solar absorptance of the particles must be increased while minimizing thermal emittance. We are studying a novel thermal transfer particle, which has low cost, high durability, and high solar absorptance at high temperatures. The particle minimizes thermal emittance and will be less abrasive to other structural materials. Additionally, the particle demonstrates reusability, which significantly lowers the LCOE. This study will contribute to two principal disciplines of energy science: materials synthesis and manufacturing. Developing this particle for thermal transfer will have a positive impact on the ceramic study and industry as well as the society.

Keywords: concentrating solar power, thermal energy storage, particle, reusability, economics

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Authors: Rawaa H. El-Bidweihy, Hisham M. Abdelsalam, Ihab A. El-Khodary

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In an era where machines run and shape our world, the need for a stable, non-ending source of energy emerges. In this study, the focus was on the solar energy in Egypt as a renewable source, the most important factors that could affect the solar energy’s market share throughout its life cycle production were analyzed and filtered, the relationships between them were derived before structuring a Bayesian network. Also, forecasted models were built for multiple factors to predict the states in Egypt by 2035, based on historical data and patterns, to be used as the nodes’ states in the network. 37 factors were found to might have an impact on the use of solar energy and then were deducted to 12 factors that were chosen to be the most effective to the solar energy’s life cycle in Egypt, based on surveying experts and data analysis, some of the factors were found to be recurring in multiple stages. The presented Bayesian network could be used later for scenario and decision analysis of using solar energy in Egypt, as a stable renewable source for generating any type of energy needed.

Keywords: ARIMA, auto correlation, Bayesian network, forecasting models, life cycle, partial correlation, renewable energy, SARIMA, solar energy

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Authors: Muzaffer Ali Yaygın, Mehmet Topçu

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This research aims to investigate morphological changes in urban patterns in urban renewal areas by using geographic information systems and to reveal pattern differences that occur before and after urban renewal processes by applying a morphological analysis. The concept of urban morphology is not involved in urban renewal and urban planning practices in Turkey. This situation destroys the structural characteristic of urban space which appears as a consequence of changes at city, street or plot level. Different approaches and renewal interventions to urban settlements, which are formed as a reflection of cultural issues, may have positive and negative results. A morphological analysis has been applied to an urban renewal area that covers 325 ha. in Konya, in which city urban renewal projects have gained speed with the increasing of economic investments in this study. The study mentions urban renewal and urban morphology relationship, varied academic approach on the urban morphology issue, urban morphology components, changes in lots pattern and numerical differences that occur on road, construction and green space ratios that are before and after the renewal project, and the results of the morphological analysis. It is seen that the built-up area has significant differences when compared to the previous situation. The amount of green areas decreased significantly in quantitative terms; the transportation systems has been changed completely; and the property ownership has been reconstructed without taking the previous situation into account. Findings show that urban renewal projects in Turkey are put into practice with a rent-oriented approach without making an in-depth analysis. The paper discusses the morphological dimension of urban renewal projects in Turkey through a case study from Konya city.

Keywords: Konya, pattern, urban morphology, urban renewal

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Authors: A. K. Areamu, J. C. Igbeka

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The performance of box-type solar cookers has been reported by several researchers but little attention was paid to the effect of the type of insulation material on the energy and exergy efficiency of these cookers. This research aimed at evaluating the energy and exergy efficiencies of the box-type cookers containing different insulation materials. Energy and exergy efficiencies of five box-type solar cookers insulated with maize cob, air (control), maize husk, coconut coir and polyurethane foam respectively were obtained over a period of three years. The cookers were evaluated using water heating test procedures in determining the energy and exergy analysis. The results were subjected to statistical analysis using ANOVA. The result shows that the average energy input for the five solar cookers were: 245.5, 252.2, 248.7, 241.5 and 245.5J respectively while their respective average energy losses were: 201.2, 212.7, 208.4, 189.1 and 199.8J. The average exergy input for five cookers were: 228.2, 234.4, 231.1, 224.4 and 228.2J respectively while their respective average exergy losses were: 223.4, 230.6, 226.9, 218.9 and 223.0J. The energy and exergy efficiency was highest in the cooker with coconut coir (37.35 and 3.90% respectively) in the first year but was lowest for air (11 and 1.07% respectively) in the third year. Statistical analysis showed significant difference between the energy and exergy efficiencies over the years. These results reiterate the importance of a good insulating material for a box-type solar cooker.

Keywords: efficiency, energy, exergy, heating insolation

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Authors: Shivani Khare

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It is of paramount concern for economists to uncover the factors that determine human capital development, considered now to be one of the major factors behind economic growth and development. However, no human action is isolated but rather works within the set-up of the society. In recent years, a new field of investigation has come up that analyses the relationships that exist between social and human capital. Along these lines, this paper explores the effect of social capital on the indicators of human capital development – life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling, and per capita income. The applied part of the analysis is performed using a panel data model for OECD countries and by using a series of chronological periods that within the 2005–2020 time frame.

Keywords: social capital, human capital development, trust, social networks, socioeconomics

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Authors: Ildar Akhmadullin, Mayank Tyagi

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The subject of this paper is the design analysis of a single well power production unit from low enthalpy geothermal resources. A complexity of the project is defined by a low temperature heat source that usually makes such projects economically disadvantageous using the conventional binary power plant approach. A proposed new compact design is numerically analyzed. This paper describes a thermodynamic analysis, a working fluid choice, downhole heat exchanger (DHE) and turbine calculation results. The unit is able to produce 321 kW of electric power from a low enthalpy underground heat source utilizing n-Pentane as a working fluid. A geo-pressured reservoir located in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, USA is selected as a prototype for the field application. With a brine temperature of 126℃, the optimal length of DHE is determined as 304.8 m (1000ft). All units (pipes, turbine, and pumps) are chosen from commercially available parts to bring this project closer to the industry requirements. Numerical calculations are based on petroleum industry standards. The project is sponsored by the Department of Energy of the US.

Keywords: downhole heat exchangers, geothermal power generation, organic rankine cycle, refrigerants, working fluids

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Authors: Keiko Naito, Y. Nakashima, S. Yamauchi, Y. Kunitani, Y. Ishigami, K. Numata, M. Mizobe, Y. Homma, J. Takahashi, T. Inoue, T. Shiga, H. Funakoshi

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Background: A presence of severe acidemia, defined as pH < 7.2, is common during endotracheal intubation for critically ill patients in the emergency department (ED). Severe acidemia is widely recognized as a predisposing factor for intubation failure. However, it is unclear that acidemic condition itself actually makes endotracheal intubation more difficult. We aimed to evaluate if a presence of severe acidemia before intubation is associated with the lower first attempt intubation success rate in the ED. Methods: This is a retrospective observational cohort study in the ED of an urban hospital in Japan. The collected data included patient demographics, such as age, sex, and body mass index, presence of one or more factors of modified LEMON criteria for predicting difficult intubation, reasons for intubation, blood gas levels, airway equipment, intubation by emergency physician or not, and the use of the rapid sequence intubation technique. Those with any of the following were excluded from the analysis: (1) no blood gas drawn before intubation, (2) cardiopulmonary arrest, and (3) under 18 years of age. The primary outcome was the first attempt intubation success rates between a severe acidemic patients (SA) group and a non-severe acidemic patients (NA) group. Logistic regression analysis was used to test the first attempt success rates for intubations between those two groups. Results: Over 5 years, a total of 486 intubations were performed; 105 in the SA group and 381 in the NA group. The univariate analysis showed that the first attempt intubation success rate was lower in the SA group than in the NA group (71.4% vs 83.5%, p < 0.01). The multivariate logistic regression analysis identified that severe acidemia was significantly associated with the first attempt intubation failure (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.03-3.68, p = 0.04). Conclusions: A presence of severe acidemia before endotracheal intubation lowers the first attempt intubation success rate in the ED.

Keywords: acidemia, airway management, endotracheal intubation, first-attempt intubation success rate

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Authors: W. J. Wang, D. F. Lin, L. Y. Chen, K. Y. Liu

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In this study, the ladle furnace slag was used as a mineral filler in asphalt concrete with electric arc furnace slag (EAF asphalt concrete) to investigate the effect on the engineering and thermal properties of asphalt cement mastics and EAF asphalt concrete, the lime was used as a comparison for mineral filler, and the usage percentage of mineral filler was set at 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%. First of all, the engineering properties of the ladle furnace slag and lime were compared, and then the mineral filler was mixed with bitumen to form the asphalt cement mastics in order to analyze the influence of the ladle furnace slag on the properties of asphalt cement mastics, and lastly, the mineral filler was used in the EAF asphalt concrete to analyze its feasibility of using ladle furnace slag as a mineral filler. The study result shows that the ladle furnace slag and the lime have no obvious difference in their physical properties, and from the energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) test results, we know that the lime and the ladle furnace slag have similar elemental composition, but the Ca found in the ladle furnace slag belongs to CaO, and the lime belongs to CaCO3, therefore the ladle furnace slag has the property of expansion. According to the test results, the viscosity of asphalt cement mastics will increase with the increase in the use of mineral filler. Since the ladle furnace slag has more CaO content, the viscosity of the asphalt cement mastics with ladle furnace slag will increase more than using lime as mineral filler in the asphalt cement mastics, and the use of ladle furnace slag only needs to be 2% in order to achieve the effect of anti-peeling which is 6% for lime. From the related test results of EAF asphalt concrete, it is known that the maximum stability value can be obtained when the use of mineral filler is about 5%. When the ladle furnace slag is used as the mineral filler, it can improve the stiffness, indirect tension strength, spalling resistance, and thermal insulation of EAF asphalt concrete, which also indicates that using the ladle furnace slag as the mineral filler of bitumen can help to improve the durability of the asphalt pavement.

Keywords: ladle furnace slag, mineral filler, asphalt cement mastics, EAF asphalt concrete

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Authors: Daniel Osorio, Janneth Gonzalez, Andres Pinzon

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In this work, proteins and metabolic pathways associated with the neuroprotective response mediated by the synthetic neurosteroid tibolone under a palmitate-induced inflammatory model were identified by flux balance analysis (FBA). Three different metabolic scenarios (‘healthy’, ‘inflamed’ and ‘medicated’) were modeled over a gene expression data-driven constructed tissue-specific metabolic reconstruction of mature astrocytes. Astrocyte reconstruction was built, validated and constrained using three open source software packages (‘minval’, ‘g2f’ and ‘exp2flux’) released through the Comprehensive R Archive Network repositories during the development of this work. From our analysis, we predict that tibolone executes their neuroprotective effects through a reduction of neurotoxicity mediated by L-glutamate in astrocytes, inducing the activation several metabolic pathways with neuroprotective actions associated such as taurine metabolism, gluconeogenesis, calcium and the Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor signaling pathways. Also, we found a tibolone associated increase in growth rate probably in concordance with previously reported side effects of steroid compounds in other human cell types.

Keywords: astrocytes, flux balance analysis, genome scale metabolic reconstruction, inflammation, neuroprotection, tibolone

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Authors: Seyed Habib A. Rahmati, Mohamad Hasan Sadeghpour, Parsa Fallah Sheikhlari

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Location quotient (LQ) is a comparison technique that represents emphasized economic structure of single zone versus the standard area to identify specialty for every zone. In another words, the exact calculation of this metric can show the main core competencies and critical capabilities of an area to the decision makers. This research focus on the exact calculation of the LQ for an Iranian Province called Qazvin and within a case study introduces LQ of the capable industries of Qazvin. Finally, through different graphs and tables, it creates an opportunity to compare the recognized capabilities.

Keywords: location quotient, case study, province analysis, core competency

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Authors: Rajani Kant Rai, Jayakrishnan Athipet

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There have been several attempts to prepare polymers with antimicrobial properties by doping with various N-halamines. Hydantoins (Cyclic N-halamine) is of importance due to their stability rechargeable chloroamide function, broad-spectrum anti-microbial action and ability to prevent resistance to the organisms. Polymerizable hydantoins are synthesized by tethering vinyl moieties to 5,5,-dialkyl hydantoin sacrificing the imide hydrogen in the molecule thereby restricting the halogen capture only to the amide nitrogen that results in compromised antibacterial activity. In order to increase the activity of the antimicrobial polymer, we have developed a scheme to maximize the attachment of chlorine to the amide and the imide moieties of hydantoin. Vinyl hydantoin monomer, (Z)-5-(4-((3-methylbuta-1,3-dien-2-yl)oxy)benzylidene)imidazolidine-2,4-dione (MBBID) was synthesized and copolymerized with a commercially available monomer, methyl methacrylate, by free radical polymerization. The antimicrobial activity of hydantoin is strongly dependent on their surface area and hence their microbial activity increases when incorporated in microspheres or nanoparticles as compared to their bulk counterpart. In this regard, smooth and rough surface microsphere of the vinyl monomer (MBBID) with commercial monomer was synthesized. The oxidative chlorine content of the copolymer ranged from 1.5 to 2.45 %. Further, to demonstrate the water purification potential, the thin column was packed with smooth or rough microspheres and challenged with simulated contaminated water that exhibited 6 log kill (total kill) of the bacteria in 20 minutes of exposure with smooth (25 mg/ml) and rough microsphere (15.0 mg/ml).

Keywords: cyclic N-halamine, vinyl hydantoin monomer, rough surface microsphere, simulated contaminated water

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Authors: Zheng Yi

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Among the attempts made worldwide to foster urban and transport sustainability, transit-oriented development certainly is one of the most successful. Residents' travel behavior is a concern in the researches about the impacts of transit-oriented development. The study takes 620 English journal papers in the core collection database of Web of Science as the study objects; the paper tries to map out the scientific knowledge mapping in the field and draw the basic conditions by co-citation analysis, co-word analysis, a total of citation network analysis and visualization techniques. This study teases out the research hotspots and evolution of the relationship between urban rail transit and resident's travel behavior from 1999 to 2019. According to the results of the analysis of the time-zone view and burst-detection, the paper discusses the trend of the next stage of international study. The results show that in the past 20 years, the research focuses on these keywords: land use, behavior, model, built environment, impact, travel behavior, walking, physical activity, smart card, big data, simulation, perception. According to different research contents, the key literature is further divided into these topics: the attributes of the built environment, land use, transportation network, transportation policies. The results of this paper can help to understand the related researches and achievements systematically. These results can also provide a reference for identifying the main challenges that relevant researches need to address in the future.

Keywords: urban rail transit, travel behavior, knowledge map, evolution of researches

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Authors: Claude Takenga, Rolf-Dietrich Berndt, Erling Si, Markus Diem, Guohui Qiao, Melanie Gau, Michael Brandstoetter, Martin Kampel, Michael Dworzak

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In patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), treatment response is increasingly evaluated with minimal residual disease (MRD) analyses. Flow Cytometry (FCM) is a fast and sensitive method to detect MRD. However, the interpretation of these multi-parametric data requires intensive operator training and experience. This paper presents a pipeline-software, as a ready-to-use FCM-based MRD-assessment tool for the daily clinical practice for patients with ALL. The new tool increases accuracy in assessment of FCM-MRD in samples which are difficult to analyse by conventional operator-based gating since computer-aided analysis potentially has a superior resolution due to utilization of the whole multi-parametric FCM-data space at once instead of step-wise, two-dimensional plot-based visualization. The system developed as a telemedical network reduces the work-load and lab-costs, staff-time needed for training, continuous quality control, operator-based data interpretation. It allows dissemination of automated FCM-MRD analysis to medical centres which have no established expertise for the benefit of an even larger community of diseased children worldwide. We established a telemedical network system for analysis and clinical follow-up and treatment monitoring of Leukaemia. The system is scalable and adapted to link several centres and laboratories worldwide.

Keywords: data security, flow cytometry, leukaemia, telematics platform, telemedicine

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Authors: J. R. Wang, H. T. Lin, Y. S. Tseng, W. Y. Li, H. C. Chen, S. W. Chen, C. Shih

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TRACE is developed by U.S. NRC for the nuclear power plants (NPPs) safety analysis. We focus on the establishment and application of TRACE/FRAPTRAN/SNAP models for Chinshan NPP (BWR/4) spent fuel pool in this research. The geometry is 12.17 m × 7.87 m × 11.61 m for the spent fuel pool. In this study, there are three TRACE/SNAP models: one-channel, two-channel, and multi-channel TRACE/SNAP model. Additionally, the cooling system failure of the spent fuel pool was simulated and analyzed by using the above models. According to the analysis results, the peak cladding temperature response was more accurate in the multi-channel TRACE/SNAP model. The results depicted that the uncovered of the fuels occurred at 2.7 day after the cooling system failed. In order to estimate the detailed fuel rods performance, FRAPTRAN code was used in this research. According to the results of FRAPTRAN, the highest cladding temperature located on the node 21 of the fuel rod (the highest node at node 23) and the cladding burst roughly after 3.7 day.

Keywords: TRACE, FRAPTRAN, BWR, spent fuel pool

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Authors: Ahmed M. Hjazi, Bader M. Hjazi

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Protein 4.1 is a crucial component of complex interactions between the cytoskeleton and other junctional complex proteins. When the gene encoding this protein is altered, resulting in reduced expression, or when the protein is absent, the red cell undergoes a significant structural change. This research aims to achieve a deeper comprehension of the biochemical effects of red cell protein deficiency. A Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis (TMT-MS/MS) of patient cells lacking protein 4.1 compared to three healthy controls was achieved by the Proteomics Institute of the University of Bristol. The SDS-PAGE and Western blotting were utilized on the original patient sample and controls to partially confirm TMT MS/MS data analysis of the protein-4.1-deficient cells. Compared to healthy controls, protein levels in samples lacking protein 4.1 had a significantly higher concentration of proteins that probably originated from reticulocytes. This could occur if the patient has an elevated reticulocyte count. The increase in chaperone and reticulocyte-associated proteins was most notable in this study. This may result from elevated quantities of reticulocytes in patients with hereditary elliptocytosis.

Keywords: hereditary elliptocytosis, protein 4.1, red cells, tandem mass spectrometry data.

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Authors: Pedro M. Velasco, Cecilia C. Alday, Oscar C. Avello, Ximena T. Faundez, Luis M. Velasco

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Anaerobic digestion (AD) plants of food waste (FW) produced by agro-industry, have been widely developed from last decade to nowadays, because of the advantages over aerobic active sludge systems. Despite several bioreactor configurations and operation modes have been successfully improved and implemented at industrial scale in a wide range of applications, effluent behavior, after AD, does not commonly meet requirements for direct disposal into the environment without further treatments. In addition, literature has rarely shown AD of food waste at psychrophilic range. This temperature range may be of interest for making AD plant operation easier and increasing the stability of digestion. In spite of literature shows several methods for post-treatment, such as the use of microalgae, these have not been cultivated on effluents from AD at psychrophilic range. Hence, with the aim of showing the potential use of AD of FW at the psychrophilic range (25ºC) and the viability of microalgae post-treatment, single batch reactors have been used for methane potential tests at laboratory scale. Afterwards, digestates, derived from this AD of FW sludge, were diluted with fresh water at different ratios (1:0, 1:1; 1:4) and used as culture media for photoautotrophic microalgae. Several parameters, such as pH, biogas production, and chemical oxygen demand, were measured periodically over several months. Results show that methane potential is 150 ml g-1 per volatile solid with up to 57.7 % of methane content. Moreover, microalgae has been successfully cultivated on all tested effluents and in case of 1:1 and 1:4 rates, the resulting effluents meet the quality levels required for irrigation water.

Keywords: anaerobic digestion, biogas, food waste, microalgae, psychrophilic range

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Authors: Arup Saha Chaudhuri

Abstract:

Structural steel is a very ductile material with high strength carrying capacity, thus it is very useful to make earthquake resistant buildings. It is a homogeneous material also. The member section and the structural system can be made very efficient for economical design. As the steel is recyclable and reused, it is a green material. The embodied energy for the efficiently designed steel structure is less than the RC structure. For sustainable green building steel is the best material nowadays. Moreover, pre-engineered and pre-fabricated faster construction methodologies help the development work to complete within the stipulated time. In this paper, the usefulness of Eccentric Bracing Frame (EBF) in steel structure over Moment Resisting Frame (MRF) and Concentric Bracing Frame (CBF) is shown. Stability of the steel structures against horizontal forces especially in seismic condition is efficiently possible by Eccentric bracing systems with economic connection details. The EBF is pin–ended, but the beam-column joints are designed for pin ended or for full connectivity. The EBF has several desirable features for seismic resistance. In comparison with CBF system, EBF system can be designed for appropriate stiffness and drift control. The link beam is supposed to yield in shear or flexure before initiation of yielding or buckling of the bracing member in tension or compression. The behavior of a 2-D steel frame is observed under seismic loading condition in the present paper. Ductility and brittleness of the frames are compared with respect to time period of vibration and dynamic base shear. It is observed that the EBF system is better than MRF system comparing the time period of vibration and base shear participation.

Keywords: steel building, green and sustainable, earthquake resistant, EBF system

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Authors: Adama NS Bah

Abstract:

Background: Loss of teeth has a negative influence on essential oral functions such as phonetics, mastication, and aesthetics. Dentists treat people with prosthodontic rehabilitation to recover essential oral functions. The oral health quality of life inventory reflects the success of prosthodontic rehabilitation. In many countries, the current conventional care delivered to replace missing teeth for adult patients involves the provision of removable partial dentures. Aim: The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to gather the best available evidence to determine patients’ oral health-related quality of life improvement after treatment with partial dentures. Methods: We searched electronic databases from January 2010 to September 2019, including PubMed, ProQuest, Science Direct, Scopus and Google Scholar. In this paper, studies were included only if the average age was 30 years and above and also published in English. Two reviewers independently screened and selected all the references based on inclusion criteria using the PRISMA guideline, and assessed the quality of the included references using the Joanna Briggs Institute quality assessment tools. Data extracted were analyzed in RevMan 5.0 software, the heterogeneity between the studies was assessed using Forest plot, I2 statistics and chi-square test with a statistical P value less than 0.05 to indicate statistical significance. Random effect models were used in case of moderate or high heterogeneity. Four studies were included in the systematic review and three studies were pooled for meta-analysis. Results: Four studies included in the systematic review and three studies included in the meta-analysis with a total of 285 patients comparing the improvement in oral health-related quality of life before and after rehabilitation with partial denture, the pooled results showed a better improvement of oral health-related quality of life after treatment with partial dentures (mean difference 5.25; 95% CI [3.81, 6.68], p < 0.00001) favoring the wearing of partial dentures. In order to ascertain the reliability of the included studies for meta-analysis risk of bias was assessed and found to be low in all included studies for meta-analysis using the Cochrane collaboration tool for risk of bias assessment. Conclusion: There is high evidence that rehabilitation with partial dentures can improve the patient’s oral health-related quality of life measured with Oral Health Impact Profile 14. This review has clinical evidence value for dentists treating the expanding vulnerable adult population.

Keywords: meta-analysis, oral health impact profile, partial dentures, systematic review

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Authors: Samir Malhotra, Rajan K. Khandotra, Rakesh K. Dhiman, Neelam Chadha

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There is paucity of data about safety and efficacy of probiotic treatment on patient outcomes in cirrhosis. Specifically, it is important to know whether probiotics can improve mortality, hepatic encephalopathy (HE), number of hospitalizations, ammonia levels, quality of life, and adverse events. Probiotics may improve outcomes in patients with acute or chronic HE. However, it is also important to know whether probiotics can prevent development of HE, even in situations where patients do not have acute HE at the time of administration. It is also important to know if probiotics are useful as primary prophylaxis of HE. We aimed to conduct an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the safety and efficacy of probiotics in patients with cirrhosis. We searched PubMed, Cochrane library, Embase, Scopus, SCI, Google Scholar, conference proceedings, and references of included studies till June 2017 to identify randomised clinical trials comparing probiotics with other treatments in cirrhotics. Data was analyzed using MedCalc. Probiotics had no effect on mortality but significantly reduced HE (14 trials, 1073 patients, OR 0.371; 95% CI 0.282 to 0.489). There was not enough data to conduct a meta-analysis on outcomes like hospitalizations and quality of life. The effect on plasma ammonia levels was not significant (SMD -0.429; 95%CI -1.034 – 0.177). There was no difference in adverse events. To conclude, although the included studies had a high risk of bias, the available evidence does suggest a beneficial effect on HE. Larger studies with longer periods of follow-up are needed to determine if probiotics can reduce all-cause mortality.

Keywords: cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy, meta-analysis, probiotic

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Authors: Samira K. Al-Nasser, Siamak Noroozi, Roya Haratian, Adrian Harvey

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A total knee replacement (TKR) is a surgical procedure necessary when there is severe pain and/or loss of function in the knee. Surgeons balance the load in the knee and the surrounding soft tissue by feeling the tension at different ranges of motion. This method can be unreliable and lead to early failure of the joint. The ideal kinematics and load distribution have been debated significantly based on previous biomechanical studies surrounding both TKRs and normal knees. Intraoperative sensors like VERASENSE and eLibra have provided a method for the quantification of the load indicating a balanced knee. A review of the literature written about intraoperative sensors and tension/stability of the knee was done. Studies currently debate the quantification of the load in medial and lateral compartments specifically. However, most research reported that following a TKR the medial compartment was loaded more heavily than the lateral compartment. In several cases, these results were shown to increase the success of the surgery because they mimic the normal kinematics of the knee. In conclusion, most research agrees that an intercompartmental load differential of between 10 and 20 pounds, where the medial load was higher than the lateral, and an absolute load of less than 70 pounds was ideal. However, further intraoperative sensor development could help improve the accuracy and understanding of the load distribution on the surgical outcomes in a TKR. A reduction in early revision surgeries for TKRs would provide an improved quality of life for patients and reduce the economic burden placed on both the National Health Service (NHS) and the patient.

Keywords: intraoperative sensors, joint load forces, kinematics, load balancing, and total knee replacement

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Authors: Ali Moradiamani, Samaneh Sadat Sajjadi, Mahdi Jalili

Abstract:

Power system analysis has been a major research topic in the generation and distribution sections, in both industry and academia, for a long time. Several load flow and fault analysis scenarios have been normally performed to study the performance of different parts of the grid in the context of, for example, voltage and frequency control. Software tools, such as PSCAD, PSSE, and PowerFactory DIgSILENT, have been developed to perform these analyses accurately. Distribution grid had been the passive part of the grid and had been known as the grid of consumers. However, a significant paradigm shift has happened with the emergence of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in the distribution level. It means that the concept of power system analysis needs to be extended to the distribution grid, especially considering self sufficient technologies such as microgrids. Compared to the generation and transmission levels, the distribution level includes significantly more generation/consumption nodes thanks to PV rooftop solar generation and battery energy storage systems. In addition, different consumption profile is expected from household residents resulting in a diverse set of scenarios. Emergence of electric vehicles will absolutely make the environment more complicated considering their charging (and possibly discharging) requirements. These complexities, as well as the large size of distribution grids, create challenges for the available power system analysis software. In this paper, we study the requirements of simulation tools in the distribution grid and how data-driven algorithms are required to increase the accuracy of the simulation results.

Keywords: smart grids, distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, battery storage systsms, simulation tools

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Authors: Michael Williams

Abstract:

The ability to control a flowing well is of the utmost important. During the kill phase, heavy weight kill mud is circulated around the well. While increasing bottom hole pressure near wellbore formation, the damage is increased. The addition of high density spherical objects has the potential to minimise this near wellbore damage, increase bottom hole pressure and reduce operational time to kill the well. This operational time saving is seen in the rapid deployment of high density spherical objects instead of building high density drilling fluid. The research aims to model the well kill process using a Computational Fluid Dynamics software. A model has been created as a proof of concept to analyse the flow of micron sized spherical objects in the drilling fluid. Initial results show that this new methodology of spherical objects in drilling fluid agrees with traditional stream lines seen in non-particle flow. Additional models have been created to demonstrate that areas of higher flow rate around the bit can lead to increased probability of wash out of formations but do not affect the flow of micron sized spherical objects. Interestingly, areas that experience dimensional changes such as tool joints and various BHA components do not appear at this initial stage to experience increased velocity or create areas of turbulent flow, which could lead to further borehole stability. In conclusion, the initial models of this novel well control methodology have not demonstrated any adverse flow patterns, which would conclude that this model may be viable under field conditions.

Keywords: well control, fluid mechanics, safety, environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: Yimeng Zhang

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Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent mental health condition with a substantial economic impact and limited treatment options. Acupuncture has gained attention as a promising non-pharmacological intervention for alleviating depressive symptoms. However, its mechanisms and clinical effectiveness remain incompletely understood. This meta-analysis aims to (1) synthesize existing evidence on the mechanisms and clinical effectiveness of acupuncture for depression and (2) compare these findings with pharmacological interventions, providing insights for future research. Evidence from animal models and clinical studies indicates that acupuncture may enhance hippocampal and network neuroplasticity and reduce brain inflammation, potentially alleviating depressive disorders. Clinical studies suggest that acupuncture can effectively relieve primary depression, particularly in milder cases, and is beneficial in managing post-stroke depression, pain-related depression, and postpartum depression, both as a standalone and adjunctive treatment. Notably, combining acupuncture with antidepressant pharmacotherapy appears to enhance treatment outcomes and reduce medication side effects, addressing a critical issue in conventional drug therapy's high dropout rates. This meta-analysis, encompassing 12 studies and 710 participants, draws data from eight digital databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, CNKI, CBM, Wangfang, and CQVIP) covering the period from 2012 to 2022. Utilizing Stata software 15.0, the meta-analysis employed random-effects and fixed-effects models to assess the distribution of depression in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). The results underscore the substantial evidence supporting acupuncture's beneficial effects on depression. However, the small sample sizes of many clinical trials raise concerns about the generalizability of the findings, indicating a need for further research to validate these outcomes and optimize acupuncture's role in treating depression.

Keywords: Chinese medicine, acupuncture, depression, meta-analysis

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Authors: Feng Zhang

Abstract:

Kashin-Beck disease (KBD) is a chronic osteochondropathy. The mechanism of hand growth and development failure of KBD remains elusive now. In this study, we conducted a two-stage genome-wide association study (GWAS) of palmar length-width ratio (LWR) of KBD, totally involving 493 Chinese Han KBD patients. Affymetrix Genome Wide Human SNP Array 6.0 was applied for SNP genotyping. Association analysis was conducted by PLINK software. Imputation analysis was performed by IMPUTE against the reference panel of the 1000 genome project. In the GWAS, the most significant association was observed between palmar LWR and rs2071358 of COL2A1 gene (P value = 4.68×10-8). Imputation analysis identified 3 SNPs surrounding rs2071358 with significant or suggestive association signals. Replication study observed additional significant association signals at both rs2071358 (P value = 0.017) and rs4760608 (P value = 0.002) of COL2A1 gene after Bonferroni correction. Our results suggest that COL2A1 gene was a novel susceptibility gene involved in the growth and development failure of hand of KBD.

Keywords: Kashin-Beck disease, genome-wide association study, COL2A1, hand

Procedia PDF Downloads 224