Search results for: transdermal drug delivery system

Authors: Hyery Kang, Dong-Yeun Koh, Yun-Ho Ahn, Huen Lee

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Determination of the behavior of clathrate hydrate with inhibitor in the THz region will provide useful information about hydrate plug control in the upstream of the oil and gas industry. In this study, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) revealed the inhibition of the THF clathrate hydrate system with dosage of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) with three different molecular weights. Distinct footprints of phase transition in the THz region (0.4–2.2 THz) were analyzed and absorption coefficients and real part of refractive indices are obtained in the temperature range of 253 K to 288 K. Along with the optical properties, ring breathing and stretching modes for different molecular weights of PVP in THF hydrate are analyzed by Raman spectroscopy.

Keywords: clathrate hydrate, terahertz spectroscopy, tetrahydrofuran, inhibitor

Procedia PDF Downloads 323

Authors: Natascha C. D'Amico, Enzo Grossi, Giovanni Valbusa, Ala Malasevschi, Gianpiero Cardone, Sergio Papa

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Purpose: To characterize, through a radiomic approach, the nature of areas classified PI-RADS (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System) 3/5, recognized in multiparametric prostate magnetic resonance with T2-weighted (T2w), diffusion and perfusion sequences with paramagnetic contrast. Methods and Materials: 24 cases undergoing multiparametric prostate MR and biopsy were admitted to this pilot study. Clinical outcome of the PI-RADS 3/5 was found through biopsy, finding 8 malignant tumours. The analysed images were acquired with a Philips achieva 1.5T machine with a CE- T2-weighted sequence in the axial plane. Semi-automatic tumour segmentation was carried out on MR images using 3DSlicer image analysis software. 45 shape-based, intensity-based and texture-based features were extracted and represented the input for preprocessing. An evolutionary algorithm (a TWIST system based on KNN algorithm) was used to subdivide the dataset into training and testing set and select features yielding the maximal amount of information. After this pre-processing 20 input variables were selected and different machine learning systems were used to develop a predictive model based on a training testing crossover procedure. Results: The best machine learning system (three-layers feed-forward neural network) obtained a global accuracy of 90% ( 80 % sensitivity and 100% specificity ) with a ROC of 0.82. Conclusion: Machine learning systems coupled with radiomics show a promising potential in distinguishing benign from malign tumours in PI-RADS 3/5 areas.

Keywords: machine learning, MR prostate, PI-Rads 3, radiomics

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Touati Mawloud

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Between electronics and electrical systems has developed a new technology that is power electronics, also called electronic of strong currents, this application covers a very wide range of use particularly in the industrial sector, where direct current engines are frequently used, they control their speed by the use of the converters (DC-DC), which aims to deal with various mechanical disturbances (fillers) or electrical (power). In future, it will play a critical role in transforming the current electric grid into the next generation grid. Existing silicon-based PE devices enable electric grid functionalities such as fault-current limiting and converter devices. Systems of future are envisioned to be highly automated, interactive "smart" grid that can self-adjust to meet the demand for electricity reliability, securely, and economically. Transforming today’s electric grid to the grid of the future will require creating or advancing a number of technologies, tools, and techniques—specifically, the capabilities of power electronics (PE). PE devices provide an interface between electrical system, and electronics system by converting AC to direct current (DC) and vice versa. Solid-state wide Bandgap (WBG), semiconductor electronics (such as silicon carbide [SiC], gallium nitride [GaN], and diamond) are envisioned to improve the reliability and efficiency of the next-generation grid substantially.

Keywords: Power Electronics (PE), electrical system generation electric grid, switching frequencies, converter devices

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Authors: Nikolaos Petropoulos, Elena Blokhina, Andrii Sokolov, Andrii Semenov, Panagiotis Giounanlis, Xutong Wu, Dmytro Mishagli, Eugene Koskin, Robert Bogdan Staszewski, Dirk Leipold

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We investigate entanglement and quantum information scrambling (QIS) by the example of a many-body Extended and spinless effective Fermi-Hubbard Model (EFHM and e-FHM, respectively) that describes a special type of quantum dot array provided by Equal1 labs silicon-based quantum computer. The concept of QIS is used in the framework of quantum information processing by quantum circuits and quantum channels. In general, QIS is manifest as the de-localization of quantum information over the entire quantum system; more compactly, information about the input cannot be obtained by local measurements of the output of the quantum system. In our work, we will first make an introduction to the concept of quantum information scrambling and its connection with the 4-point out-of-time-order (OTO) correlators. In order to have a quantitative measure of QIS we use the tripartite mutual information, in similar lines to previous works, that measures the mutual information between 4 different spacetime partitions of the system and study the Transverse Field Ising (TFI) model; this is used to quantify the dynamical spreading of quantum entanglement and information in the system. Then, we investigate scrambling in the quantum many-body Extended Hubbard Model with external magnetic field Bz and spin-spin coupling J for both uniform and thermal quantum channel inputs and show that it scrambles for specific external tuning parameters (e.g., tunneling amplitudes, on-site potentials, magnetic field). In addition, we compare different Hilbert space sizes (different number of qubits) and show the qualitative and quantitative differences in quantum scrambling as we increase the number of quantum degrees of freedom in the system. Moreover, we find a "scrambling phase transition" for a threshold temperature in the thermal case, that is, the temperature of the model that the channel starts to scramble quantum information. Finally, we make comparisons to the TFI model and highlight the key physical differences between the two systems and mention some future directions of research.

Keywords: condensed matter physics, quantum computing, quantum information theory, quantum physics

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Authors: J. B. Minari, O. B. Oloyede, A. A. Odutuga

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Myeloperoxidase is the most abundant enzyme found in the polymorphonuclear neutrophil and is known to play a central role in the host defense system of the leukocyte. The enzyme has been reported to interact with some drugs to generate free radical which inhibits its activity. This study investigated the effects of artesunate on the activity of the enzyme and the subsequent effect on the host immune system. In investigating the effects of the drugs on myeloperoxidase, the influence of concentration, pH, partition ratio estimation and kinetics of inhibition were studied. This study showed that artesunate is concentration-dependent inhibitor of myeloperoxidase with an IC50 of 0.078mM. Partition ratio estimation showed that 60 enzymatic turnover cycles are required for complete inhibition of myeloperoxidase in the presence of artesunate. The influence of pH on the effect of artesunate on the enzyme showed least activity of myeloperoxidase at physiological pH. The kinetic inhibition studies showed that artesunate caused a competitive inhibition with an increase in the Km value from 0.12mM to 0.26mM and no effect on the Vmax value. The Ki value was estimated to be 2.5mM. The results obtained from this study show that artesunate is a potent inhibitor of myeloperoxidase and it is capable of inactivating the enzyme. It is considered that the inhibition of myeloperoxidase in the presence of artesunate as revealed in this study may partly explain the impairment of polymorphonuclear neutrophil and consequent reduction of the strength of the host defense system against secondary infections.

Keywords: myeloperoxidase, artesunate, inhibition, nuetrophill

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Authors: Shih-Chieh Liao, Cheng-Yan Shuai

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The feature of a side-scrolling shooting game is facing the surrounding enemy and barraging in entire screen. The player will be in trouble when they are trying to do complicated operations because of the physical and system limitations of the joystick in the games. This study designed the prototype of a new type of arcade stick by focus group and assessed by the expert. By filtering the most representative, and build up the control system for the arcade stick, and testing time and bullets consumed in two experiments, try to prove it works in the game. Finally, the prototype of L-1 solves the dilemma of scroll shooting games when the player uses the arcade stick and improves the function of the arcade stick.

Keywords: arcade stick, joystick, user interface, 2D STG

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Authors: Kamyar Maleki Bagherabadi, Torstein Aarseth Bø, Truls Flatberg, Olve Mo

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Hydrogen fuel cells and batteries are one of the promising solutions aligned with carbon emission reduction goals for the marine sector. However, the higher installation and operation costs of hydrogen-based systems compared to conventional diesel gensets raise questions about the appropriate hydrogen tank size, energy, and fuel consumption estimations. Ship designers need methodologies and tools to calculate energy and fuel consumption for different component sizes to facilitate decision-making regarding feasibility and performance for retrofits and design cases. The aim of this work is to compare three alternative modeling approaches for the estimation of energy and fuel consumption with various hydrogen tank sizes, battery capacities, and load-sharing strategies. A fishery vessel is selected as an example, using logged load demand data over a year of operations. The modeled power system consists of a PEM fuel cell, a diesel genset, and a battery. The methodologies used are: first, an energy-based model; second, considering load variations during the time domain with a rule-based Power Management System (PMS); and third, a load variations model and dynamic PMS strategy based on optimization with perfect foresight. The errors and potentials of the methods are discussed, and design sensitivity studies for this case are conducted. The results show that the energy-based method can estimate fuel and energy consumption with acceptable accuracy. However, models that consider time variation of the load provide more realistic estimations of energy and fuel consumption regarding hydrogen tank and battery size, still within low computational time.

Keywords: fuel cell, battery, hydrogen, hybrid power system, power management system

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Authors: C. Asha Poorna, P. G. Vinod, A. R. R. Menon

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Currently increasing population and their activities like urbanization and industrialization generating the greatest environmental, issue called Waste. And the major problem in waste management is selection of an appropriate site for waste disposal. The selection of suitable site have constrains like environmental, economical and political considerations. In this paper we discuss the strategies to be followed while selecting a site for decentralized system for solid waste disposal, using Geographic Information System (GIS), the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the remote sensing method for Thiruvananthapuram corporation area. It is located on the west coast of India near the extreme south of the mainland. It lies on the shores of Killiyar and Karamana River. Being on the basin the waste managements must be regulated with the water body. The different criteria considered for waste disposal site selection are lithology, surface water, aquifer, groundwater, land use, contours, aspect, elevation, slope, and distance to road, distance from settlement are examined in relation to land fill site selection. Each criterion was identified and weighted by AHP score and mapped using GIS technique and suitable map is prepared by overlay analysis.

Keywords: waste disposal, solid waste management, Geographic Information System (GIS), Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

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Authors: Silvia Riva, Ezekiel Chinyio

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Introduction: Workers in different sectors are prone to stress at varying levels. They also respond to stress in different ways. An inspiration was to study stress development amongst workers in a work dangerous setting (Construction Industry) as well as how they cope with specific stress incidences. Objective: The overarching objective of the study was to study and correlate between stress and coping strategies. The research was conducted in an organizational industrial setting, and its findings on the coping actions of construction workers are reported in this article. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was conducted with 80 participants aged 18-62. These were working for three different construction organizations in the West Midland region of the UK. Their coping actions were assessed using the COPE Inventory (Carver, 2013) instrument while the level of stress was assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen, 1994). Results: Out of 80 workers (20 female, 25%, mean age 40.66), positive reinterpretation (M=4.15, SD=2.60) and active coping (M=4.18, SD=2.55) were the two most adaptive strategies reported by the workers while the most frequent maladaptive behavior was mental disengagement (M=3.62, SD=2.25). Among the maladaptive tactics, alcohol and drug abuse was a significant moderator in stress reactions (t=6.12, p=.000). Conclusion: Some maladaptive strategies are adopted by construction workers to cope with stress. So, it could be argued that programs of stress prevention and control in the construction industry have a basis to develop solutions that can improve and strengthen effective interventions when workers are stressed or getting stressed.

Keywords: coping, organization, strategies, stress

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Authors: Cuneyt Yucelbas, Seral Ozsen, Sule Yucelbas, Gulay Tezel

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Due to the fact that there exist only a small number of complex systems in artificial immune system (AIS) that work out nonlinear problems, nonlinear AIS approaches, among the well-known solution techniques, need to be developed. Gaussian function is usually used as similarity estimation in classification problems and pattern recognition. In this study, diagnosis of breast cancer, the second type of the most widespread cancer in women, was performed with different distance calculation functions that euclidean, gaussian and gaussian-euclidean hybrid function in the clonal selection model of classical AIS on Wisconsin Breast Cancer Dataset (WBCD), which was taken from the University of California, Irvine Machine-Learning Repository. We used 3-fold cross validation method to train and test the dataset. According to the results, the maximum test classification accuracy was reported as 97.35% by using of gaussian-euclidean hybrid function for fold-3. Also, mean of test classification accuracies for all of functions were obtained as 94.78%, 94.45% and 95.31% with use of euclidean, gaussian and gaussian-euclidean, respectively. With these results, gaussian-euclidean hybrid function seems to be a potential distance calculation method, and it may be considered as an alternative distance calculation method for hard nonlinear classification problems.

Keywords: artificial immune system, breast cancer diagnosis, Euclidean function, Gaussian function

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Authors: Rendani Mercy Makhwathana

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This paper intends to explore the experiences and views of Foundation Phase teachers when teaching English First Additional Language in rural public schools. Teachers all over the world are pillars of any education system. Consequently, any education transformation should start with teachers as critical role players in the education system. As a result, teachers’ experiences and views are worth consideration, for they impact on learners learning and the wellbeing of education in general. An exploratory qualitative approach with the use of phenomenological research design was used in this paper. The population for this paper comprised all Foundation Phase teachers in the district. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 15 Foundation Phase teachers from five rural-based schools. Data was collected through classroom observation and individual face-to-face interviews. Data were categorised, analysed and interpreted. The findings revealed that from time-to-time teachers experiences one or more challenging situations, learners’ low participation in the classroom to lack of resources. This paper recommends that teachers should be provided with relevant resources and support to effectively teach English First Additional Language.

Keywords: the education system, first additional language, foundation phase, intermediate phase, language of learning and teaching, medium of instruction, teacher professional development

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Authors: Dalia Jomehpour, Sara Sheikhlary, Esmaeil Heydari, Mohammad Hossien Majles Ara

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In this study, we report fulvic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles of 10.7 ± 2.7 nm size, which serve to inhibit amyloid fibrillation formation. Although the effect of fulvic acid on tau fibrils was investigated, to our best knowledge, its inhibitory impacts on amyloid aggregation formation have been assessed neither in-vitro nor in-vivo. On the other hand, iron oxide nanoparticles exhibit anti-amyloid activity on their own. This study investigates the inhibitory effect of fulvic acid coated iron oxide nanoparticles on amyloid aggregations formed from the commonly used in-vitro model, lysozyme from chicken egg white. FESEM, XRD, and FTIR characterization confirmed that fulvic acid was coated onto the surface of the nanoparticles. The inhibitory effects of the fulvic acid coated iron oxide nanoparticles were verified by Thioflavin T assay, circular dichroism (CD), and FESEM analysis. Furthermore, the toxicity of the nanoparticles on the neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y human cell line was assessed through an MTT assay. Our results indicate that fulvic acid coated iron oxide nanoparticles can efficiently inhibit the formation of amyloid aggregations while exhibiting negligible in-vitro toxicity; thus, they can be used as anti-amyloid agents in the development of the potential drug for neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, fulvic acid coated iron oxide nanoparticles, fulvic acid, amyloid inhibitor, polyphenols

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Authors: Adalberto Gregorio Back

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Historically, the Pinheiros River, which crosses the urban area of the largest South American metropolis, the city of São Paulo, has been the subject of several interventions involving different interests and multiple demands, including the implementation of road axes and industrial occupation in the city, following its floodplains. the dilution of sewers; generation of electricity, with the reversal of its waters to the Billings Dam; and urban drainage. These processes, together with the exclusionary and peripheral urban sprawl with high population density in the peripheries, result in difficulties for the collection and treatment of household sewage, which flow into the tributaries and the Pinheiros River itself. In the last 20 years, two separate projects have been undertaken to clean up its waters. The first one between 2001-2011 was the flotation system, aimed at cleaning the river in its own gutter with equipment installed near the Bilings Dam; and, more recently, from 2019 to 2022, the proposal to connect about 74 thousand dwellings to the sewage collection and treatment system, as well as to install treatment plants in the tributaries of Pinheiros where the connection to the system is impracticable, given the irregular occupations. The purpose of this paper is to make a comparative analysis on the dynamics of conflicts, interests and opportunities of coalitions between the actors involved in the two referred projects of pollution of the Pinheiros River. For this, we use the analysis of documents produced by the state government; as well as documents related to the legal disputes that occurred in the first attempt of decontamination involving the sanitation company; the Billings Dam management company interested in power generation; the city hall and regular and irregular dwellings not linked to the sanitation system.

Keywords: depollution of the Pinheiros River, interests groups, São Paulo, water energy nexus

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Authors: Jacquelyn Burkell, Jane Bailey

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Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions deployed within the justice system face the critical task of providing acceptable explanations for decisions or actions. These explanations must satisfy the joint criteria of public and professional accountability, taking into account the perspectives and requirements of multiple stakeholders, including judges, lawyers, parties, witnesses, and the general public. This research project analyzes and integrates two existing literature on explanations in order to propose guidelines for explainable AI in the justice system. Specifically, we review three bodies of literature: (i) explanations of the purpose and function of 'explainable AI'; (ii) the relevant case law, judicial commentary and legal literature focused on the form and function of reasons for judicial decisions; and (iii) the literature focused on the psychological and sociological functions of these reasons for judicial decisions from the perspective of the public. Our research suggests that while judicial ‘reasons’ (arguably accurate descriptions of the decision-making process and factors) do serve similar explanatory functions as those identified in the literature on 'explainable AI', they also serve an important ‘justification’ function (post hoc constructions that justify the decision that was reached). Further, members of the public are also looking for both justification and explanation in reasons for judicial decisions, and that the absence of either feature is likely to contribute to diminished public confidence in the legal system. Therefore, artificially automated judicial decision-making systems that simply attempt to document the process of decision-making are unlikely in many cases to be useful to and accepted within the justice system. Instead, these systems should focus on the post-hoc articulation of principles and precedents that support the decision or action, especially in cases where legal subjects’ fundamental rights and liberties are at stake.

Keywords: explainable AI, judicial reasons, public accountability, explanation, justification

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Authors: Marietta Kékes Szabó

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The patterns of personality (mal)function and the individuals’ psychosocial environment influence the healthy status collectively and may lie in the background of psychosomatic disorders. Although the patients with their diversified symptoms usually do not have any organic problems, the experienced complaint, the fear of serious illness and the lack of social support often lead to increased anxiety and further enigmatic symptoms. The role of the family system and its atmosphere seem to be very important in this process. More studies explored the characteristics of dysfunctional family organization: inflexible family structure, hidden conflicts that are not spoken about by the family members during their daily interactions, undefined role boundaries, neglect or overprotection of the children by the parents and coalition between generations. However, questionnaires that are used to measure the properties of the family system are able to explore only its unit and cannot pay attention to the dyadic interactions, while the representation of the family structure by a figure placing test gives us a new perspective to better understand the organization of the (sub)system(s). Furthermore, its dynamic form opens new perspectives to explore the family members’ joint representations, which gives us the opportunity to know more about the flexibility of cohesion and hierarchy of the given family system. In this way, the communication among the family members can be also examined. The aim of my study was to collect a great number of information about the organization of psychosomatic families. In our research we used Gehring’s Family System Test (FAST) both in static and dynamic forms to mobilize the family members’ mental representations about their family and to get data in connection with their individual representations as well as cooperation. There were four families in our study, all of them with a young adult person. Two families with healthy participants and two families with asthmatic patient(s) were involved in our research. The family members’ behavior that could be observed during the dynamic situation was recorded on video for further data analysis with Noldus Observer XT 8.0 program software. In accordance with the previous studies, our results show that the family structure of the families with at least one psychosomatic patient is more rigid than it was found in the control group and the certain (typical, ideal, and conflict) dynamic representations reflected mainly the most dominant family member’s individual concept. The behavior analysis also confirmed the intensified role of the dominant person(s) in the family life, thereby influencing the family decisions, the place of the other family members, as well as the atmosphere of the interactions, which could also be grasped well by the applied methods. However, further research is needed to learn more about the phenomenon that can open the door for new therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: psychosomatic families, family structure, family system test (FAST), static and dynamic representations, behavior analysis

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Authors: Safa Gharbi, Hayfa Zgaya, Nesrine Zoghlami, Slim Hammadi, Cyril De Barbarin, Laurent Vinatier, Christiane Coupier

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Increasing productivity and quality of service, improving the working comfort and ensuring the efficiency of all processes are important challenges for every warehouse. The order picking is recognized to be the most important and costly activity of all the process in warehouses. This paper presents a new approach using Augmented Reality (AR) in the field of logistics. It aims to create a Head-Up Display (HUD) interface with a Warehouse Management System (WMS), using AR glasses. Integrating AR technology allows the optimization of order picking by reducing time of picking process, increasing the efficiency and delivering quickly. The picker will be able to access immediately to all the information needed for his tasks. All the information is displayed when needed in the field of vision (FOV) of the operator, without any action requested from him. These research works are part of the industrial project RASL (Réalité Augmentée au Service de la Logistique) which gathers two major partners: the LAGIS (Laboratory of Automatics, Computer Engineering and Signal Processing in Lille-France) and Genrix Group, European leader in warehouses logistics, who provided his software for implementation, and his logistics expertise.

Keywords: Augmented Reality (AR), logistics and optimization, Warehouse Management System (WMS), Head-Up Display (HUD)

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Authors: Mohammad Javad Behzadnia, Hamidreza Javadzadeh

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Background: Pain management is essential to surmounting multi-injured people in an overcrowded emergency setting. Its role would be more apparent when the physician encounters a mass casualty in a war zone or even a military prehospital. Having sedative and analgesic properties, rapid onset and offset effects, and maintaining the cardiovascular and respiratory contain are the main reason for selecting Ketamine as a good choice in the war zone. Methods: In a prospective interventional study in a war zone, we have selected and followed two groups of casualties for pain management. All were men with an average age of 26.6±8 y/o and 27.5 ±7 y/o in A and B groups, respectively. Group A received only Ketamine and Group B received Ketamine and diazepam. Results: This study showed that all of the injured patients who received Ketamine had experienced some agitation, and they may finally need benzodiazepines for sedation, but in group B that received benzodiazepine before or simultaneous with Ketamine, the agitation was significantly reduced. (P Value ≤0.05) Conclusion: Various factors may affect pain score and perception; patients' culture, mental health, previous drug usage, and addiction could alter the pain score in similar situations. It seems that the significant agitation is due to catecholamine release in stressful Moments of the battlefield. Accordingly, this situation could be exacerbated due to ketamine properties. Nonetheless, as a good choice in the war zone, Ketamine is now recommended to combine with benzodiazepines for procedural sedation and analgesia (PSA).

Keywords: battlefield, ketamine, benzodiazepine, pain control

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Authors: Debasish Pradhan, Shaktiprasad Pradhan, Rakesh Kumar Pradhan, Gitanjali Tripathy

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Suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS1), a newly indentified antiapoptotic molecule is a downstream effector of the receptor tyrosine kinase-Ras signalling pathway. The current study has uncovered that SOCS1 may have wide and imperative capacities, particularly because of its close correlation with malignant tumors. To investigate the impact of SOCS1 on MDR, we analyzed the expression of P-gp and SOCS1 by immunohistochemistry and found there was a positive correlation between them. At that point, we effectively interfered with RNA translation by the contamination of siRNA of SOCS1 into MCF7/ADM breast cancer cell lines through a lentivirus, and the expression of the target gene was significantly inhibited. After RNAi, the drug resistance was reduced altogether and the expression of MDR1 mRNA and P-gp in MCF7/ADM cell lines demonstrated a significant decrease. Likewise, the expression of P53 protein increased in a statistically significant manner (p ≤ 0.01) after RNAi exposure. Moreover, flow cytometry analysis uncovers that cell cycle and anti-apoptotic enhancing capacity of cells changed after RNAi treatment. These outcomes proposed SOCS1 may take part in breast cancer MDR by managing MDR1 and P53 expression, changing cell cycle and enhancing the anti-apoptotic ability.

Keywords: breast cancer, multidrug resistance, SOCS1 gene, MDR1 gene, RNA interference

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Authors: Bianca A. Szasz, Keiichi Okuyama

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As the human race will continue to explore the space by creating new space transportation means and sending them to other planets, the enhance of atmospheric reentry study is crucial. In this context, an analysis of mass recession rate of ablative materials for thermal shields of reentry spacecrafts is important to be carried out. The paper describes a new estimation method for calculating the mass recession of an ablator system, this method combining an old method with a new one, which was recently elaborated by Okuyama et al. The space mission of USERS spacecraft is taken as a case study and the possibility of implementing lighter ablative materials in future space missions is taking into consideration.

Keywords: ablator system, mass recession, reentry spacecraft, ablative materials

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Authors: Vikram Munjal, Harpreet Munjal

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A few years ago we could hardly think of Libraries' strategic plan that includes the bold and amazing prediction of a mostly digital environment for a library system. However, sheer hard work by the engineers, academicians, and librarians made it feasible. However, it requires huge expenditure and now a day‘s spending for electronic resources (e-resources) have been growing much more rapidly than have the materials budgets of which such resources are usually a part. And many libraries are spending a huge amount on e-resources. Libraries today are in the midst of a profound shift toward reliance on e-resources, and this reliance seems to have deepened in recent years as libraries have shed paper journal subscriptions to help pay for online access. This has been exercised only to cater user behavior and attitudes that seem to be changing even more quickly in this dynamic scenario.

Keywords: radio frequency identification, management, scanning, barcodes, checkout and tags

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Authors: Abhijeet Ostawal, Parmjit Lall

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The run times for a large strategic model that we were managing had become too long leading to delays in project delivery, increased costs and loss in productivity. Software developers are continuously working towards developing more efficient tools by changing their algorithms and processes. The issue faced by our team was how do you apply the latest technologies on validated existing models which are based on much older versions of software that do not have the latest software capabilities. The multi-model transport model that we had could only be run in sequential assignment order. Recent upgrades to the software now allowed the assignment to be run in parallel, a concept called parallelization. Parallelization is a Python script working only within the latest version of the software. A full model transfer to the latest version was not possible due to time, budget and the potential changes in trip assignment. This article is to show the method to adapt and update the Python script in such a way that it can be used in older software versions by calling the latest version and then recalling the old version for assignment model without affecting the results. Through a process of trial-and-error run time savings of up to 30-40% have been achieved. Assignment results were maintained within the older version and through this learning process we’ve applied this methodology to other even older versions of the software resulting in huge time savings, more productivity and efficiency for both client and consultant.

Keywords: model run time, demand model, parallelisation, python scripting

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Authors: Mohammad Besharatloo

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Intrusion detection is an important research topic in network security because of increasing growth in the use of computer network services. Intrusion detection is done with the aim of detecting the unauthorized use or abuse in the networks and systems by the intruders. Therefore, the intrusion detection system is an efficient tool to control the user's access through some predefined regulations. Since, the data used in intrusion detection system has high dimension, a proper representation is required to show the basis structure of this data. Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the redundant features to create the best representation subset. In the proposed method, a hybrid model of differential evolution and firefly algorithms was employed to choose the best subset of properties. In addition, decision tree and support vector machine (SVM) are adopted to determine the quality of the selected properties. In the first, the sorted population is divided into two sub-populations. These optimization algorithms were implemented on these sub-populations, respectively. Then, these sub-populations are merged to create next repetition population. The performance evaluation of the proposed method is done based on KDD Cup99. The simulation results show that the proposed method has better performance than the other methods in this context.

Keywords: intrusion detection system, differential evolution, firefly algorithm, support vector machine, decision tree

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Authors: P. Brunne, K. Ciechowska, K. Gajc, K. Gawin, M. Gawin, M. Kania, J. Kindracki, Z. Kusznierewicz, D. Pączkowska, F. Perczyński, K. Pilarski, D. Rafało, E. Ryszawa, M. Sobiecki, I. Uwarowa

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Big amount of space debris constitutes nowadays a real thread for operating space crafts; therefore the main purpose of PW-Sat2’ team was to create a system that could help cleanse the Earth’s orbit after each small satellites’ mission. After 4 years of development, the motorless, low energy consumption and low weight system has been created. During series of tests, the system has shown high reliable efficiency. The PW-Sat2’s deorbit system is a square-shaped sail which covers an area of 4m². The sail surface is made of 6 μm aluminized Mylar film which is stretched across 4 diagonally placed arms, each consisting of two C-shaped flat springs and enveloped in Mylar sleeves. The sail is coiled using a special, custom designed folding stand that provides automation and repeatability of the sail unwinding tests and placed in a container with inner diameter of 85 mm. In the final configuration the deorbit system weights ca. 600 g and occupies 0.6U (in accordance with CubeSat standard). The sail’s releasing system requires minimal amount of power based on thermal knife that burns out the Dyneema wire, which holds the system before deployment. The Sail is being pushed out of the container within a safe distance (20 cm away) from the satellite. The energy for the deployment is completely assured by coiled C-shaped flat springs, which during the release, unfold the sail surface. To avoid dynamic effects on the satellite’s structure, there is the rotational link between the sail and satellite’s main body. To obtain complete knowledge about complex dynamics of the deployment, a number of experiments have been performed in varied environments. The numerical model of the dynamics of the Sail’s deployment has been built and is still under continuous development. Currently, the integration of the flight model and Deorbit Sail is performed. The launch is scheduled for February 2018. At the same time, in cooperation with United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, sail models and requested facilities are being prepared for the sail deployment experiment under micro-gravity and low pressure conditions at Bremen Drop Tower, Germany. Results of those tests will provide an ultimate and wide knowledge about deployment in space environment to which system will be exposed during its mission. Outcomes of the numerical model and tests will be compared afterwards and will help the team in building a reliable and correct model of a very complex phenomenon of deployment of 4 c-shaped flat springs with surface attached. The verified model could be used inter alia to investigate if the PW-Sat2’s sail is scalable and how far is it possible to go with enlarging when creating systems for bigger satellites.

Keywords: cubesat, deorbitation, sail, space, debris

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Authors: Aya Al Masri, Kamel Guerchouche, Youssef Laynaoui, Safoin Aktaou, Malorie Martin, Fouad Maaloul

Abstract:

Introduction: Mobile C-arms move throughout operating rooms of the operating theater. Being designed to move between rooms, they are not equipped with relays to retrieve the exposition information and export it outside the room. Therefore, no light signaling is available outside the room to warn the X-ray emission for staff. Inadvertent exposition of staff outside the operating theater is a real problem for radiation protection. The French standard NFC 15-160 require that: (1) access to any room containing an X-ray emitting device must be controlled by a light signage so that it cannot be inadvertently crossed, and (2) setting up an emergency button to stop the X-ray emission. This study presents a system that we developed to meet these requirements and the results of its clinical test. Materials and methods: The system is composed of two communicating boxes: o The "DetectBox" is to be installed inside the operating theater. It identifies the various operation states of the C-arm by analyzing its power supply signal. The DetectBox communicates (in wireless mode) with the second box (AlertBox). o The "AlertBox" can operate in socket or battery mode and is to be installed outside the operating theater. It detects and reports the state of the C-arm by emitting a real time light signal. This latter can have three different colors: red when the C-arm is emitting X-rays, orange when it is powered on but does not emit X-rays, and green when it is powered off. The two boxes communicate on a radiofrequency link exclusively carried out in the ‘Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM)’ frequency bands and allows the coexistence of several on-site warning systems without communication conflicts (interference). Taking into account the complexity of performing electrical works in the operating theater (for reasons of hygiene and continuity of medical care), this system (having a size <10 cm²) works in complete safety without any intrusion in the mobile C-arm and does not require specific electrical installation work. The system is equipped with emergency button that stops X-ray emission. The system has been clinically tested. Results: The clinical test of the system shows that: it detects X-rays having both high and low energy (50 – 150 kVp), high and low photon flow (0.5 – 200 mA: even when emitted for a very short time (<1 ms)), Probability of false detection < 10-5, it operates under all acquisition modes (continuous, pulsed, fluoroscopy mode, image mode, subtraction and movie mode), it is compatible with all C-arm models and brands. We have also tested the communication between the two boxes (DetectBox and AlertBox) in several conditions: (1) Unleaded room, (2) leaded room, and (3) rooms with particular configuration (sas, great distances, concrete walls, 3 mm of lead). The result of these last tests was positive. Conclusion: This system is a reliable tool to alert the staff present outside the operating room for X-ray emission and insure their radiation protection.

Keywords: Clinical test, Inadvertent staff exposition, Light signage, Operating theater

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Authors: E. J. Spamer, J. M. Van Zyl, MHA Combrinck

Abstract:

The Unit for Open Distance Learning (UODL) at the North-West University (NWU), South Africa was established in 2013 with its main function to deliver open distance learning (ODL) programmes to approximately 30 000 students from the Faculties of Education Sciences, Health Sciences, Theology and Arts and Culture. Quality operational and administrative processes are key components in the delivery of these programmes and they need to function optimally for students to be successful in their studies. Operational and administrative processes include aspects such as applications, registration, dissemination of study material, availability of electronic platforms, the management of assessment, and the dissemination of important information. To be able to ensure and enhance quality during these processes, it is vital to determine students’ perceptions with regards to these mentioned processes. A questionnaire was available online and also distributed to the 63 tuition centres. The purpose of this research was to determine the perceptions of ODL students from NWU regarding operational and administrative processes. 1903 students completed and submitted the questionnaire. The data was quantitatively analysed and discussed. Results indicated that the majority of students are satisfied with the operational and administrative processes; however, the results also indicated some areas that need improvement. The data gathered is important to identify strengths and areas for improvement and form part of a bigger strategy of qualitative assurance at the UODL.

Keywords: administrative support, ODL programmes, quantitative study, students' perceptions

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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

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Authors: Sukhleen Kaur

Abstract:

In security groundwork, Intrusion Detection System (IDS) has become an important component. The IDS has received increasing attention in recent years. IDS is one of the effective way to detect different kinds of attacks and malicious codes in a network and help us to secure the network. Data mining techniques can be implemented to IDS, which analyses the large amount of data and gives better results. Data mining can contribute to improving intrusion detection by adding a level of focus to anomaly detection. So far the study has been carried out on finding the attacks but this paper detects the malicious files. Some intruders do not attack directly, but they hide some harmful code inside the files or may corrupt those file and attack the system. These files are detected according to some defined parameters which will form two lists of files as normal files and harmful files. After that data mining will be performed. In this paper a hybrid classifier has been used via Naive Bayes and Ripper classification methods. The results show how the uploaded file in the database will be tested against the parameters and then it is characterised as either normal or harmful file and after that the mining is performed. Moreover, when a user tries to mine on harmful file it will generate an exception that mining cannot be made on corrupted or harmful files.

Keywords: data mining, association, classification, clustering, decision tree, intrusion detection system, misuse detection, anomaly detection, naive Bayes, ripper

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Authors: Ahmed Jibrin Uttu, Maimuna Waziri

Abstract:

The root bark of Glossonema boveanum (Decne), a member of Apocynaceae family, is used by traditional medicine practitioner to treat urinary and respiratory tract infections, bacteremia, typhoid fever, bacillary dysentery, diarrhea and stomach pain. This present study aims to validate the medicinal claims ascribed to the root bark of the plant. Preliminary phytochemical study of the root bark extracts (n-hexane, ethyl acetate, chloroform and methanol extracts) showed the presence of alkaloids, carbohydrates, steroids, triterpenes, cardiac glycosides, saponins, tannins and flavonoids. Antimicrobial study of the extracts showed activities against Staphylococus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella typhii, Shigella dysenteriae, Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Streptococcus agalactiae and Candida albicans while Micrococcus luteus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella Pneumoniae showed resistance to all the extracts. The inhibitory effect was compared with the standard drug ciprofloxacin and fluconazole. MIC and MBC for both extracts were also determined using the tube dilution method. This study concluded that the root bark of G. boveanum, used traditionally as a medicinal plant, has antimicrobial activities against some causative organisms.

Keywords: Glossonema boveanum (Decne.), phytochemical, antimicrobial, minimum inhibitory concentration, minimum bactericidal concentration

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Authors: Salem Abdalla

Abstract:

Objective: Dipyrone is a widely used, well tolerated analgesic drug which, however, is compromised by agranulocytosis as an adverse effect. Subsequent to no enzymatic hydrolysis, the primary metabolic step is N-demethylation of 4-methylaminoantipyrine (4-MAA) to 4-aminoantipyrine (4-AA). The aim of the present study was to identify the cytochrome P-450 enzyme (CYP) mediating this reaction. Methods: We identified the relevant CYP using virus expressed isolated rat liver microsomes with chemical inhibition studies. The substrate of 4-methylaminantipyrine was employed at six different concentrations (25, 50, 100, 400, 800, and 1200 µmol/l) with varying concentrations of selective inhibitors of CYP1A2 (furafylline, fluvoxamine), CYP3A4 (ketoconazole), CYP2A6 (coumarin), CYP2D6 (quinidine), CYP2C19 (omeprazole, fluvoxamine, tranylcypromine), CYP2C9 (sulfaphenazole), and CYP1A1 (alpha-naphthoflavone). 4-MAA and 4-AA were analyzed by HPLC, and enzyme kinetic parameters (Km and Vmax) were determined by regression (Sigma plot 9.0). Results: The N-demethylation of 4-MAA by microsomes prepared from baculovirus-expressing human CYP was pronounced with CYP2C19. Intrinsic clearances of the most active enzymes were 0.092, 0.027, and 0.026 for the CYP enzymes 2C19, 2D6, and 1A2, respectively. Metabolism by rat liver microsomes was strongly inhibited by omeprazole (IC50 of 0.05). Conclusion: The enzyme CYP2C19 apparently has an important role in N-demethylation of 4-methylaminoantipyrine which should be further analyzed in clinical studies and which may also be interesting concerning the agranulocytosis.

Keywords: dipyrone, 4-methylaminoantipyrine (4-MAA), 4- aminoantipyrine (4-AA), metabolism, human CYP2C19

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Authors: Javier De La Torre Costa, Belen Rubio Ballester, Martina Maier, Paul F. M. J. Verschure

Abstract:

After a stroke, a great number of patients experience persistent motor impairments such as hemiparesis or weakness in one entire side of the body. As a result, the lack of use of the paretic limb might be one of the main contributors to functional loss after clinical discharge. We aim to reverse this cycle by promoting the use of the paretic limb during activities of daily living (ADLs). To do so, we describe the key components of a system that is composed of a wearable bracelet (i.e., a smartwatch) and a mobile phone, designed to bring a set of neurorehabilitation principles that promote acquisition, retention and generalization of skills to the home of the patient. A fundamental question is whether the loss in motor function derived from learned–non–use may emerge as a consequence of decision–making processes for motor optimization. Our system is based on well-established rehabilitation strategies that aim to reverse this behaviour by increasing the reward associated with action execution as well as implicitly reducing the expected cost associated with the use of the paretic limb, following the notion of the reinforcement–induced movement therapy (RIMT). Here we validate an accelerometer–based measure of arm use, and its capacity to discriminate different activities that require increasing movement of the arm. We also show how the system can act as a personalized assistant by providing specific goals and adjusting them depending on the performance of the patients. The usability and acceptance of the device as a rehabilitation tool is tested using a battery of self–reported and objective measurements obtained from acute/subacute patients and healthy controls. We believe that an extension of these technologies will allow for the deployment of unsupervised rehabilitation paradigms during and beyond the hospitalization time.

Keywords: stroke, wearables, learned non use, hemiparesis, ADLs

Procedia PDF Downloads 194