Search results for: single and double bubbles

Authors: Maddalena Arigoni, Maria Luisa Ratto, Raffaele A. Calogero, Luca Alessandri

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The presence of tumor heterogeneity, where distinct cancer cells exhibit diverse morphological and phenotypic profiles, including gene expression, metabolism, and proliferation, poses challenges for molecular prognostic markers and patient classification for targeted therapies. Understanding the causes and progression of cancer requires research efforts aimed at characterizing heterogeneity, which can be facilitated by evolving single-cell sequencing technologies. However, analyzing single-cell data necessitates computational methods that often lack objective validation. Therefore, the establishment of benchmarking datasets is necessary to provide a controlled environment for validating bioinformatics tools in the field of single-cell oncology. Benchmarking bioinformatics tools for single-cell experiments can be costly due to the high expense involved. Therefore, datasets used for benchmarking are typically sourced from publicly available experiments, which often lack a comprehensive cell annotation. This limitation can affect the accuracy and effectiveness of such experiments as benchmarking tools. To address this issue, we introduce omics benchmark experiments designed to evaluate bioinformatics tools to depict the heterogeneity in single-cell tumor experiments. We conducted single-cell RNA sequencing on six lung cancer tumor cell lines that display resistant clones upon treatment of EGFR mutated tumors and are characterized by driver genes, namely ROS1, ALK, HER2, MET, KRAS, and BRAF. These driver genes are associated with downstream networks controlled by EGFR mutations, such as JAK-STAT, PI3K-AKT-mTOR, and MEK-ERK. The experiment also featured an EGFR-mutated cell line. Using 10XGenomics platform with cellplex technology, we analyzed the seven cell lines together with a pseudo-immunological microenvironment consisting of PBMC cells labeled with the Biolegend TotalSeq™-B Human Universal Cocktail (CITEseq). This technology allowed for independent labeling of each cell line and single-cell analysis of the pooled seven cell lines and the pseudo-microenvironment. The data generated from the aforementioned experiments are available as part of an online tool, which allows users to define cell heterogeneity and generates count tables as an output. The tool provides the cell line derivation for each cell and cell annotations for the pseudo-microenvironment based on CITEseq data by an experienced immunologist. Additionally, we created a range of pseudo-tumor tissues using different ratios of the aforementioned cells embedded in matrigel. These tissues were analyzed using 10XGenomics (FFPE samples) and Curio Bioscience (fresh frozen samples) platforms for spatial transcriptomics, further expanding the scope of our benchmark experiments. The benchmark experiments we conducted provide a unique opportunity to evaluate the performance of bioinformatics tools for detecting and characterizing tumor heterogeneity at the single-cell level. Overall, our experiments provide a controlled and standardized environment for assessing the accuracy and robustness of bioinformatics tools for studying tumor heterogeneity at the single-cell level, which can ultimately lead to more precise and effective cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Keywords: single cell omics, benchmark, spatial transcriptomics, CITEseq

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Authors: Shiji Hu, Lei Li, Wanting Zhou, DaoHong Yang

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The data encryption, is the foundation of today’s communication. On this basis, how to improve the speed of data encryption and decryption is always a problem that scholars work for. In this paper, we proposed an elliptic curve crypto processor architecture based on SM2 prime field. In terms of hardware implementation, we optimized the algorithms in different stages of the structure. In finite field modulo operation, we proposed an optimized improvement of Karatsuba-Ofman multiplication algorithm, and shorten the critical path through pipeline structure in the algorithm implementation. Based on SM2 recommended prime field, a fast modular reduction algorithm is used to reduce 512-bit wide data obtained from the multiplication unit. The radix-4 extended Euclidean algorithm was used to realize the conversion between affine coordinate system and Jacobi projective coordinate system. In the parallel scheduling of point operations on elliptic curves, we proposed a three-level parallel structure of point addition and point double based on the Jacobian projective coordinate system. Combined with the scalar multiplication algorithm, we added mutual pre-operation to the point addition and double point operation to improve the efficiency of the scalar point multiplication. The proposed ECC hardware architecture was verified and implemented on Xilinx Virtex-7 and ZYNQ-7 platforms, and each 256-bit scalar multiplication operation took 0.275ms. The performance for handling scalar multiplication is 32 times that of CPU(dual-core ARM Cortex-A9).

Keywords: Elliptic curve cryptosystems, SM2, modular multiplication, point multiplication.

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Authors: Waseem Al-Talalwah

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The superior vesical artery usually arises directly from the anterior division of the internal iliac artery. It may arise from the umbilical artery as three or four branches to supply the upper and middle parts of bladder. Current study focuses on the different origins of the superior vesical artery to provide a sufficient data for surgeons to disease iatrogenic fault. The superior vesical artery arises directly from the anterior division of the internal iliac artery in 24.5% whereas it arises indirectly as from umbilical artery in 83.7%. Further, it may arise from any branch of the anterior division as from the utrine and obturator arteries in 6.1% and in 6.3% respectively. It also shares the origin of the internal pudendal and inferior glutyeal artery as it arises from the gluteopudendal trunk in 4.1%. The superior vesical artery arises as a single, double, triple and quadruple in 69.4%, 20.4%, 8.2% and 2% respectively. In case of cystectomy for bladder cancer, surgeons have to be aware of the origin variability of superior vesical artery to prevent post-surgical complication such as intra-pelvic bleeding. Also, the as intra-pelvic bleeding has to be expected in case of hysterectomy therefore a great caution of the vesical branches arising from uterine artery has to be considered. In case of aneurysm resection of inferior gluteal artery arising from the gluteopudendal trunk, the surgeons have to be careful of the vascular supply of urinary bladder coming from above and below this common trunk as from superior and inferior vesical arteries respectively. Therefore, present study increases the awareness of clinical significance of superior vesical artery origin for surgeons to minimise the iatroginc errors.

Keywords: superior vesical artery, anterior division, internal iliac, internal pudendal, inferior glutyeal, intra-pelvic bleeding, hysterectomy, cystectomy

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Authors: Sarah Beaver, Renee Bryce

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Audiograms detect hearing impairment, but missing values pose problems. This work explores imputations in an attempt to improve accuracy. This work implements Linear Regression, Lasso, Linear Support Vector Regression, Bayesian Ridge, K Nearest Neighbors (KNN), and Random Forest machine learning techniques to impute audiogram frequencies ranging from 125Hz to 8000Hz. The data contains patients who had or were candidates for cochlear implants. Accuracy is compared across two different Nested Cross-Validation k values. Over 4000 audiograms were used from 800 unique patients. Additionally, training on data combines and compares left and right ear audiograms versus single ear side audiograms. The accuracy achieved using Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values for the best models for Random Forest ranges from 4.74 to 6.37. The R\textsuperscript{2} values for the best models for Random Forest ranges from .91 to .96. The accuracy achieved using RMSE values for the best models for KNN ranges from 5.00 to 7.72. The R\textsuperscript{2} values for the best models for KNN ranges from .89 to .95. The best imputation models received R\textsuperscript{2} between .89 to .96 and RMSE values less than 8dB. We also show that the accuracy of classification predictive models performed better with our best imputation models versus constant imputations by a two percent increase.

Keywords: machine learning, audiograms, data imputations, single imputations

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Authors: Lubica Muckova, Petr Jost, Jaroslav Pejchal, Daniel Jun

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The development of acetylcholinesterase reactivators, i.e. antidotes against organophosphorus poisoning, is an important goal of defence research. The aim of this study was to compare cytotoxicity and chemical structure of 5 currently available (pralidoxime, trimedoxime, obidoxime, methoxime, and asoxime) and 4 newly developed compounds (K027, K074, K075, and K203). In oximes, there could be at least four important structural factors affecting their toxicity, including the number of oxime groups in the molecule, the position of oxime group(s) on pyridinium ring, the length of carbon linker, and the substitution by oxygen or insertion of the double bond into the connection chain. The cytotoxicity of tested substances was measured using colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay (MTT assay) in SH-SY5Y cell line. Toxicity was expressed as toxicological index IC₅₀. The tested compounds showed different cytotoxicity ranging from 1.5 to 27 mM. K027 was the least, and methoxime was the most toxic reactivator. The lowest toxicity was found in a monopyridinium reactivator and bispyridinium reactivators with simple 3C carbon linker. Shortening of connection chain length to 1C, incorporation of oxygen moiety into 3C compounds, elongation of carbon linker to 4C and insertion of a double bond into 4C substances increase AChE reactivators' cytotoxicity. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by a long-term organization development plan Medical Aspects of Weapons of Mass Destruction of the Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence.

Keywords: acetylcholinesterase, cytotoxicity, organophosphorus poisoning, reactivators of acetylcholinesterase

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Authors: Ravi Chaithanya Mysa, Abouzar Kaboudian, Boo Cheong Khoo, Rajeev Kumar Jaiman

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Cross-flow vortex-induced vibrations of a circular cylinder are compared with the wake-induced oscillations of the downstream cylinder of a tandem cylinder arrangement. It is known that the synchronization of the frequency of vortex shedding with the natural frequency of the structure leads to large amplitude motions. In the case of tandem cylinders, the large amplitudes of the downstream cylinder found are compared to single cylinder setup. In this work, in the tandem arrangement, the upstream cylinder is fixed and the downstream cylinder is free to oscillate in transverse direction. We show that the wake from the upstream cylinder interacts with the downstream cylinder which influences the response of the coupled system. Extensive numerical experiments have been performed on single cylinder as well as tandem cylinder arrangements in cross-flow. Here, the wake interactions in connection to the forces generated are systematically studied. The ratio of the viscous loads to the pressure loads is found to play a major role in the displacement response of the single and tandem cylinder arrangements, as the viscous forces dissipate the energy.

Keywords: circular cylinder, vortex-shedding, VIV, wake-induced, vibrations

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Authors: Homa Ghave, Parmis Shahmaleki

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This paper presents a new multi-criteria stochastic mathematical model for a single machine scheduling with outsourcing allowed. There are multiple jobs processing in batch. For each batch, all of job or a quantity of it can be outsourced. The jobs have stochastic processing time and lead time and deterministic due dates arrive randomly. Because of the stochastic inherent of processing time and lead time, we use the chance constrained programming for modeling the problem. First, the problem is formulated in form of stochastic programming and then prepared in a form of deterministic mixed integer linear programming. The objectives are considered in the model to minimize the maximum tardiness and outsourcing cost simultaneously. Several procedures have been developed to deal with the multi-criteria problem. In this paper, we utilize the concept of satisfaction functions to increases the manager’s preference. The proposed approach is tested on instances where the random variables are normally distributed.

Keywords: single machine scheduling, multi-criteria mathematical model, outsourcing strategy, uncertain lead times and processing times, chance constrained programming, satisfaction function

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Authors: Benhaddadi M., Déry D.

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Electric motors are the single biggest consumer of electricity, and the consumption will have more than to double by 2050. Meanwhile, the existing technologies offer the potential to reduce the motor energy demand by up to 30 %, whereas the know-how to realise energy savings is not extensively applied. That is why the authors first conducted a detailed analysis of the regulation of the electric motor market in North America To illustrate the colossal energy savings potential permitted by the VFD, the authors have equipped experimental setup, based on centrifugal pump, simultaneously equipped with regulating throttle valves and variable frequency drive VFD. The obtained experimental results for 1.5 HP motor pump are extended to another motor powers, as centrifugal pumps that are different in power may have similar operational characteristics if they are located in a similar kind of process, permitting the simulations for 5 HP and 100 HP motors. According to the obtained results, VFDs tend to be most cost-effective when fitted to larger motor pumps, in addition to higher duty cycle of the motor and relative time operating at lower than full load. The energy saving permitted by the VFD use is huge, and the payback period for drive investment is short. Nonetheless, it’s important to highlight that there is no general rule of thumb that can be used to obtain the impact of the relative time operating at lower than full load. Indeed, in terms of energy-saving differences, 50 % flow regulation is tremendously better than 75 % regulation, but a slightly enhanced relative to 25 %. Two main distinct reasons can explain this somewhat not anticipated results: the characteristics of the process and the drop in efficiency when motor is operating at low speed.

Keywords: motor, drive, energy efficiency, centrifugal pump

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Authors: Rafael Iliasov, Alessandro Golkar

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Object detection based on event vision has been a dynamically growing field in computer vision for the last 16 years. In this work, we create multiple channels from a single event camera and propose an event fusion method (EFM) to enhance object detection in event-based vision systems. Each channel uses a different accumulation buffer to collect events from the event camera. We implement YOLOv7 for object detection, followed by a fusion algorithm. Our multichannel approach outperforms single-channel-based object detection by 0.7% in mean Average Precision (mAP) for detection overlapping ground truth with IOU = 0.5.

Keywords: event camera, object detection with multimodal inputs, multichannel fusion, computer vision

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Authors: Patricia P. M. C. Lourenco, Sang Yong Kim, Anaisa D. A. De Sena

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K-Pop fandom is a paradoxical dichotomy of two conceptual contexts: the Korean single fandom and the international fandom; both strongly influence K-Pop brand attitude. Collectivist, South Korea’s fans showcase their undivided support to one artist comeback towards earning a triple-crown in domestic music charts. In contrast, individualist international fans collectively ship a plethora of artists and collaborate amongst themselves to the continuous expansion of K-Pop into a mainstream cultural glocalization in international music charts. The distinct idiosyncrasies between the two groups creates a heterogeneous K-Pop brand attitude that is challenging to tackle marketing wise for lack of homogeneity in the sub-cultural K-Pop fandom.

Keywords: K-Pop fandom, single-fandom, multi-fandom, individualism, collectivism, brand attitude, sub-culture

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Authors: Sony Baral, Bijendra Basnyat, Kalyan Gauli

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Forests are depleted throughout the world in the 1990s, and since then, various efforts have been undertaken for the restoration of the forest. A government of Nepal promoted various community based forest management in which leasehold forestry was the one introduce in 1990s, aiming to restore degraded forests land. However, few attempts have been made to systematically evaluate its cost effectiveness. Hence the study assesses the cost effectiveness of leasehold forestry intervention in the mid-hill district of Nepal following the cost and benefit analysis approach. The study followed quasi-experimental design and collected costs and benefits information from 320 leasehold forestry groups (with intervention) and 154 comparison groups (without intervention) through household survey, forest inventory and then validated with the stakeholders’ consultative workshop. The study found that both the benefits and costs from intervention outweighed without situation. The members of leasehold forestry groups were generating multiple benefits from the forests, such as firewood, grasses, fodder, and fruits, whereas those from comparison groups were mostly getting a single benefit. Likewise, extent of soil carbon is high in leasehold forests. Average expense per unit area is high in intervention sites due to high government investment for capacity building. Nevertheless, positive net present value and internal rate of return was observed for both situations. However, net present value from intervention, i.e., leasehold forestry, is almost double compared to comparison sites, revealing that community are getting higher benefits from restoration. The study concludes that leasehold forestry is a highly cost-effective intervention that contributes towards forest restoration that brings multiple benefits to rural poor.

Keywords: cost effectiveness, economic efficiency, intervention, restoration, leasehold forestry, nepal

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Authors: R. Sivasamy, G. Paulraj, S. Kalaimani, N.Thillaigovindan

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For profitable businesses, queues are double-edged swords and hence the pain of long wait times in a queue often frustrates customers. This paper suggests a technical way of reducing the pain of lines through a Poisson M/M1, M2/2 queueing system operated by two heterogeneous servers with an objective of minimising the mean sojourn time of customers served under the queue discipline ‘First Come First Served with an ‘m’ policy, i.e. FCFS-m policy’. Arrivals to the system form a Poisson process of rate λ and are served by two exponential servers. The service times of successive customers at server ‘j’ are independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) random variables and each of it is exponentially distributed with rate parameter μj (j=1, 2). The primary condition for implementing the queue discipline ‘FCFS-m policy’ on these service rates μj (j=1, 2) is that either (m+1) µ2 > µ1> m µ2 or (m+1) µ1 > µ2> m µ1 must be satisfied. Further waiting customers prefer the server-1 whenever it becomes available for service, and the server-2 should be installed if and only if the queue length exceeds the value ‘m’ as a threshold. Steady-state results on queue length and waiting time distributions have been obtained. A simple way of tracing the optimal service rate μ*2 of the server-2 is illustrated in a specific numerical exercise to equalize the average queue length cost with that of the service cost. Assuming that the server-1 has to dynamically adjust the service rates as μ1 during the system size is strictly less than T=(m+2) while μ2=0, and as μ1 +μ2 where μ2>0 if the system size is more than or equal to T, corresponding steady state results of M/M1+M2/1 queues have been deduced from those of M/M1,M2/2 queues. To conclude this investigation has a viable application, results of M/M1+M2/1 queues have been used in processing of those waiting messages into a single computer node and to measure the power consumption by the node.

Keywords: two heterogeneous servers, M/M1, M2/2 queue, service cost and queue length cost, M/M1+M2/1 queue

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Authors: Bourenane Bouhafs Naziha

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ARTEA330EC is a fungicide used to inhibit the growth of many types of fungi on and cereals and rice, it is the single largest selling agrochemical that has been widely detected in surface waters in our area (Northeast Algerian). The studies on long-term genotoxic effects of fugicides in different tissues of fish using genotoxic biomarkers are limited. Therefore, in the present study DNA damage by propiconazole in freshwater fish Gambusia affinis by comet assays was investigated. The LC(50)- 96 h of the fungicide was estimated for the fish in a semi-static system. On this basis of LC(50) value sublethal and nonlethal concentrations were determined (25; 50; 75; and 100 ppm). The DNA damage was measured in erythrocytes as the percentage of DNA in comet tails of fishes exposed to above concentrations the fungicide. In general,non significant effects for both the concentrations and time of exposure were observed in treated fish compared with the controls. However It was found that the highest DNA damage was observed at the highest concentration and the longest time of exposure (day 12). The study indicated comet assay to be sensitive and rapid method to detect genotoxicity of propiconasol and other pesticides in fishes.

Keywords: genotoxicity, fungicide, propiconazole, freshwater, Gambusia affinis, alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis

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Authors: Catrin Morgan, Atholl Johnston

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Creatine supplementation should theoretically increase total muscle creatine and so enhance the generation of intramuscular phosphocreatine and subsequent ATP formation. The use of creatine as a potential ergogenic aid in sport has been an area of significant scientific research for a number of years. However the effect of creatine supplementation and swimming performance is a relatively new area of research and is the subject of this review. In swimming creatine supplementation could help maintain maximal power output, aid recovery and increase lean body mass. After investigating the underlying theory and science behind creatine supplementation, a literature review was conducted to identify the best evidence looking at the effect of creatine supplementation on swimming performance. The search identified 27 potential studies, and of these 17 were selected for review. The studies were then categorised into single sprint performance, which involves swimming a short distance race, or repeated interval performance, which involves swimming a series of sprints with intervals of rest between them. None of the studies on the effect of creatine controlled for the multiple confounding factors associated with measurement of swimming performance. The sample size in the studies was limited and this reduced the reliability of the studies and introduced the possibility of bias. The studies reviewed provided insufficient evidence to determine if creatine supplementation is beneficial to swimming performance. However, what data there was supported the use of creatine supplementation in repeated interval swimming rather than in single sprint swimming. From a review of the studies, it was calculated on average, there was a 1.37% increase in swimming performance with the use of creatine for repeated intervals and a 0.86% increase in performance for single sprint. While this may seem minor, it should be remembered that swimming races are often won by much smaller margins. In the 2012 London Olympics the Men’s 100 metres freestyle race was won by a margin of only 0.01 of a second. Therefore any potential benefit could make a dramatic difference to the final outcome of the race. Overall more research is warranted before the benefits of creatine supplementation in swimming performance can be further clarified.

Keywords: creatine supplementation, repeated interval, single sprint, swimming performance

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Authors: A. Bilek, M. Beldi, T. Cherfi, S. Djebali, S. Larbi

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Finite elements analysis and photoelasticity are used to determine the stress field developed in a double edge notched specimen loaded in tension. The specimen is cut in a birefringent plate. Experimental isochromatic fringes are obtained with circularly polarized light on the analyzer of a regular polariscope. The fringes represent the loci of points of equal maximum shear stress. In order to obtain the stress values corresponding to the fringe orders recorded in the notched specimen, particularly in the neighborhood of the notches, a calibrating disc made of the same material is loaded in compression along its diameter in order to determine the photoelastic fringe value. This fringe value is also used in the finite elements solution in order to obtain the simulated photoelastic fringes, the isochromatics as well as the isoclinics. A color scale is used by the software to represent the simulated fringes on the whole model. The stress concentration factor can be readily obtained at the notches. Good agreements are obtained between the experimental and the simulated fringe patterns and between the graphs of the shear stress particularly in the neighborhood of the notches. The purpose in this paper is to show that one can obtain rapidly and accurately, by the finite element analysis, the isochromatic and the isoclinic fringe patterns in a stressed model as the experimental procedure can be time consuming. Stress fields can therefore be analyzed in three dimensional models as long as the meshing and the limit conditions are properly set in the program.

Keywords: isochromatic fringe, isoclinic fringe, photoelasticity, stress concentration factor

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Authors: Rayan B. M. Ameen, Ian P. Jones, Yu Lung Chiu

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Single alpha-beta colony micro-pillars have been manufactured from a polycrystalline commercial Ti-6Al-4V sample using Focused Ion Beam (FIB). Each pillar contained two alpha lamellae separated by a thin fillet of beta phase. A nano-indenter was then used to conduct uniaxial micro-compression tests on Ti alloy single crystals, using a diamond flat tip as a compression platen. By controlling the crystal orientation along the micro-pillar using Electron back scattering diffraction (EBSD) different slip systems have been selectively activated. The advantage of the micro-compression method over conventional mechanical testing techniques is the ability to localize a single crystal volume which is characterizable after deformation. By matching the stress-strain relations resulting from micro-compression experiments to TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) studies of slip transmission mechanisms through the α-β interfaces, some proper constitutive material parameters such as the role of these interfaces in determining yield, strain-hardening behaviour, initial dislocation density and the critical resolved shear stress are suggested.

Keywords: α/β-Ti alloy, focused ion beam, micro-mechanical test, nano-indentation, transmission electron diffraction, plastic flow

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Authors: Chijioke Okafor, Malik Maaza, Touhami Mokrani

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Proton exchange membrane, PEM was developed and tested for potential application in fuel cell. Nafion was electrospun to nanofiber network with the aid of poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, as a carrier polymer. The matrix polymer was crosslinked with Norland Optical Adhesive 63 under UV after compacting and annealing. The welded nanofiber mat was characterized for morphology, proton conductivity, and methanol permeability, then tested in a single cell test station. The results of the fabricated nanofiber membrane showed a proton conductivity of 0.1 S/cm at 25 oC and higher fiber volume fraction; methanol permeability of 3.6x10^-6 cm2/s and power density of 96.1 and 81.2 mW/cm2 for 5M and 1M methanol concentration respectively.

Keywords: fuel cell, nafion, nanofiber, permeability

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Authors: Rumeysa Gunduz, Dirk Koester, Thomas Schack

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Previous behavioral studies have shown that working memory (WM) and manual actions share limited capacity cognitive resources, which in turn results in execution costs of manual actions in WM. However, to the best of our knowledge, there is no study investigating the neurophysiology of execution costs. The current study aims to fill this research gap investigating the neurophysiology of execution costs of grasping in WM phases (encoding, maintenance, retrieval) considering verbal and visuospatial domains of WM. A WM-grasping dual task paradigm was implemented to examine execution costs. Baseline single task required performing verbal or visuospatial version of a WM task. Dual task required performing the WM task embedded in a high precision grasp to place task. 30 participants were tested in a 2 (single vs. dual task) x 2 (visuo-spatial vs. verbal WM) within subject design. Event related potentials (ERPs) were extracted for each WM phase separately in the single and dual tasks. Memory performance for visuospatial WM, but not for verbal WM, was significantly lower in the dual task compared to the single task. Encoding related ERPs in the single task revealed different ERPs of verbal WM and visuospatial WM at bilateral anterior sites and right posterior site. In the dual task, bilateral anterior difference disappeared due to bilaterally increased anterior negativities for visuospatial WM. Maintenance related ERPs in the dual task revealed different ERPs of verbal WM and visuospatial WM at bilateral posterior sites. There was also anterior negativity for visuospatial WM. Retrieval related ERPs in the single task revealed different ERPs of verbal WM and visuospatial WM at bilateral posterior sites. In the dual task, there was no difference between verbal WM and visuospatial WM. Behavioral and ERP findings suggest that execution of grasping shares cognitive resources only with visuospatial WM, which in turn results in domain specific execution costs. Moreover, ERP findings suggest unique patterns of costs in each WM phase, which supports the idea that each WM phase reflects a separate cognitive process. This study not only contributes to the understanding of cognitive principles of manual action control, but also contributes to the understanding of WM as an entity consisting of separate modalities and cognitive processes.

Keywords: dual task, grasping execution, neurophysiology, working memory domains, working memory phases

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Authors: P. Abtahi, B. Samali

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Façade panels of various shapes, weights, and connections usually act as a barrier between the indoor and outdoor environments. They also play a major role in enhancing the aesthetics of building structures. They are attached by different types of connections to the primary structure or inner panels in double skin façade skins. Structural buildings designed to withstand seismic shocks have been undergoing a critical appraisal in recent years, with the emphasis changing from ‘strength’ to ‘performance’. Performance based design and analysis have found their way into research, development, and practice of earthquake engineering, particularly after the 1994 Northridge and 1995 Kobe earthquakes. The design performance of facades as non-structural elements has now focused mainly on evaluating the damage sustained by façade frames with fixed connections, not movable ones. This paper will review current design standards for structural buildings, including the performance of structural and non-structural components during earthquake excitations in order to overview and evaluate the damage assessment and behaviour of various façade systems in building structures during seismic activities. The proposed solutions for each facade system will be discussed case by case to evaluate their potential for incorporation with newly designed connections. Finally, Double-Skin-Facade systems can potentially be combined with movable facade technology, although other glazing systems would require minor to major changes in their design before being integrated into the system.

Keywords: building performance, earthquake engineering, glazing system, movable façade technology

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Authors: He Yuhai, Ahmad Ziad Bin Sulaiman

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Tongkat Ali, or Eurycoma longifolia, is a traditional Malay and Orang Asli herb used as aphrodisiac, general tonic, anti-Malaria, and anti-Pyretic. It has been recognized as a cashcrop by Malaysia due to its high value for the pharmaceutical use. In Tongkat Ali, eurycomanone, a quassinoid is usually chosen as a marker phytochemical as it is the most abundant phytochemical. In this research, ultrasound and enzyme were used to enhance the extraction of Eurycomanone from Tongkat Ali. Ultrasonic assisted extraction (USE) enhances extraction by facilitating the swelling and hydration of the plant material, enlarging the plant pores, breaking the plant cell, reducing the plant particle size and creating cavitation bubbles that enhance mass transfer in both the washing and diffusion phase of extraction. Enzyme hydrolyses the cell wall of the plant, loosening the structure of the cell wall, releasing more phytochemicals from the plant cell, enhancing the productivity of the extraction. Possible effects of ultrasound on the activity of the enzyme during the hydrolysis of the cell wall is under the investigation by this research. The extracts was analysed by high performance liquid chromatography for the yields of Eurycomanone. In this whole process, the conventional water extraction was used as a control of comparing the performance of the ultrasound and enzyme assisted extraction.

Keywords: ultrasound, enzymatic, extraction, Eurycoma longifolia

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Authors: Doreen Duri, Danai Zhou, Babil Stray-Pedersen, Collet Dandara

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Given the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, and the elusive search for a cure, understanding the pharmacogenetics of currently used drugs is critical in populations from the most affected regions. Compared to Asian and Caucasian populations, African population groups are more genetically diverse, making it difficult to extrapolate findings from one ethnic group to another. This study aimed to investigate the role of genetic variation in CYP2B6 (c.516G>T and c.983T>C) single nucleotide polymorphisms on plasma nevirapine levels among HIV-infected adult Zimbabwean patients. Using a cross-sectional study, patients on nevirapine-containing HAART, having reached steady state (more than six weeks on treatment) were recruited to participate. Blood samples were collected after patients provided consent and samples were used to extract DNA for genetic analysis or to measure plasma nevirapine levels. Genetic analysis was carried out using PCR and RFLP or Snapshot for the two single nucleotide polymorphisms; CYP2B6 c.516G>T and c.983T>C, while LC-MS/MS was used in analyzing nevirapine concentration. CYP2B6 c.516G>T and c.983T>C significantly predicted plasma nevirapine concentration with the c.516T and c.983T being associated with elevated plasma nevirapine concentrations. Comparisons of the variant allele frequencies observed in this group to those reported in some African, Caucasian and Asian populations showed significant differences. We conclude that pharmacogenetics of nevirapine can be creatively used to determine patients who are likely to develop nevirapine-associated side effects as well as too low plasma concentrations for viral suppression.

Keywords: allele frequencies, genetically diverse, nevirapine, single nucleotide polymorphism

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Authors: Marzieh Ahmadi, Ruhullah Alikhan Gorgani

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The usual methods of measuring regional inequalities can not reflect the internal changes of the country in terms of their displacement in different development groups, and the indicators of inequalities are not effective in demonstrating the dynamics of the distribution of inequality. For this purpose, this paper examines the dynamics of the urban inertial transport in the country during the period of 2006-2016 using the CIRD multidimensional index and stochastic kernel density method. it firstly selects 25 indicators in five dimensions including macroeconomic conditions, science and innovation, environmental sustainability, human capital and public facilities, and two-stage Principal Component Analysis methodology are developed to create a composite index of inequality. Then, in the second stage, using a nonparametric analytical approach to internal distribution dynamics and a stochastic kernel density method, the convergence hypothesis of the CIRD index of the Iranian provinces center is tested, and then, based on the ergodic density, long-run equilibrium is shown. Also, at this stage, for the purpose of adopting accurate regional policies, the distribution dynamics and process of convergence or divergence of the Iranian provinces for each of the five. According to the results of the first Stage, in 2006 & 2016, the highest level of development is related to Tehran and zahedan is at the lowest level of development. The results show that the central cities of the country are at the highest level of development due to the effects of Tehran's knowledge spillover and the country's lower cities are at the lowest level of development. The main reason for this may be the lack of access to markets in the border provinces. Based on the results of the second stage, which examines the dynamics of regional inequality transmission in the country during 2006-2016, the first year (2006) is not multifaceted and according to the kernel density graph, the CIRD index of about 70% of the cities. The value is between -1.1 and -0.1. The rest of the sequence on the right is distributed at a level higher than -0.1. In the kernel distribution, a convergence process is observed and the graph points to a single peak. Tends to be a small peak at about 3 but the main peak at about-0.6. According to the chart in the final year (2016), the multidimensional pattern remains and there is no mobility in the lower level groups, but at the higher level, the CIRD index accounts for about 45% of the provinces at about -0.4 Take it. That this year clearly faces the twin density pattern, which indicates that the cities tend to be closely related to each other in terms of development, so that the cities are low in terms of development. Also, according to the distribution dynamics results, the provinces of Iran follow the single-density density pattern in 2006 and the double-peak density pattern in 2016 at low and moderate inequality index levels and also in the development index. The country diverges during the years 2006 to 2016.

Keywords: Urban Disparity, CIRD Index, Convergence, Distribution Dynamics, Random Kernel Density

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Authors: Syed Dawood M. Taimur

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Background: Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is under diagnosed in primary care practices, yet the extent of unrecognized PAD in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) is unknown. Objective: To assess the prevalence of previously unrecognized PAD in patients undergoing coronary angiogram and to determine the relationship between the presence of PAD and severity of CAD. Material & Methods: This five years retrospective study was conducted at an invasive lab of the department of Cardiology, Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital & Research Institute from January 2010 to December 2014. Total 77 patients were included in this study. Study variables were age, sex, risk factors like hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidaemia, smoking habit and positive family history for ischemic heart disease, coronary artery and peripheral artery profile. Results: Mean age was 56.83±13.64 years, Male mean age was 53.98±15.08 years and female mean age was 54.5±1.73years. Hypertension was detected in 55.8%, diabetes in 87%, dyslipidaemia in 81.8%, smoking habits in 79.2% and 58.4% had a positive family history. After catheterization 88.3% had peripheral arterial disease and 71.4% had coronary artery disease. Out of 77 patients, 52 had both coronary and peripheral arterial disease which was statistically significant (p < .014). Coronary angiogram revealed 28.6% (22) patients had triple vessel disease, 23.3% (18) had single vessel disease, 19.5% (15) had double vessel disease and 28.6% (22) were normal coronary arteries. The peripheral angiogram revealed 54.5% had superficial femoral artery disease, 26% had anterior tibial artery disease, 27.3% had posterior tibial artery disease, 20.8% had common iliac artery disease, 15.6% had common femoral artery disease and 2.6% had renal artery disease. Conclusion: There is a strong and definite correlation between coronary and peripheral arterial disease. We found that cardiovascular risk factors were in fact risk factors for both PAD and CAD.

Keywords: coronary artery disease (CAD), peripheral artery disease(PVD), risk, factors, correlation, cathetarization

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Authors: Hossein Motaghedi, Kaveh Arkani, Siavash Salamatpoor

Abstract:

Usually the piles are important tools for safety and economical design of high and heavy structures. For this aim the response of single pile under dynamic load is so effective. Also, the agents which have influence on single pile response are properties of pile geometrical, soil and subjected loads. In this study the finite difference numerical method and by using FLAC 3D software is used for evaluation of single pile behavior under peak ground acceleration (PGA) of El Centro earthquake record in California (1940). The results of this models compared by experimental results of other researchers and it will be seen that the results of this models are approximately coincide by experimental data's. For example the maximum moment and displacement in top of the pile is corresponding to the other experimental results of pervious researchers. Furthermore, in this paper is tried to evaluate the effective properties between soil and pile. The results is shown that by increasing the pile diagonal, the pile top displacement will be decreased. As well as, by increasing the length of pile, the top displacement will be increased. Also, by increasing the stiffness ratio of pile to soil, the produced moment in pile body will be increased and the taller piles have more interaction by soils and have high inertia. So, these results can help directly to optimization design of pile dimensions.

Keywords: pile seismic response, interaction between soil and pile, numerical analysis, FLAC 3D

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Authors: Saeed Poormoaied, Zumbul Atan

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Emergency shipments provide a powerful mechanism to alleviate the risk of imminent stock-outs and can result in substantial benefits in an inventory system. Customer satisfaction and high service level are immediate consequences of utilizing emergency shipments. In this paper, we consider a single-echelon periodic review inventory system consisting of a single local warehouse, being replenished from a central warehouse with ample capacity in an infinite horizon setting. Since the structure of the optimal policy appears to be complicated, we analyze this problem under an order-up-to-S inventory control policy framework, the (S, T) policy, with the emergency shipment consideration. In each period of the periodic review policy, there is a single opportunity at any point of time for the emergency shipment so that in case of stock-outs, an emergency shipment is requested. The goal is to determine the timing and amount of the emergency shipment during a period (emergency shipment policy) as well as the base stock periodic review policy parameters (replenishment policy). We show that how taking advantage of having an emergency shipment during periods improves the performance of the classical (S, T) policy, especially when fixed and unit emergency shipment costs are small. Investigating the structure of the objective function, we develop an exact algorithm for finding the optimal solution. We also provide a heuristic and an approximation algorithm for the periodic review inventory system problem. The experimental analyses indicate that the heuristic algorithm is computationally more efficient than the approximation algorithm, but in terms of the solution efficiency, the approximation algorithm performs very well. We achieve up to 13% cost savings in the (S, T) policy if we apply the proposed emergency shipment policy. Moreover, our computational results reveal that the approximated solution is often within 0.21% of the globally optimal solution.

Keywords: emergency shipment, inventory, periodic review policy, approximation algorithm.

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Authors: Chul-Hee Jo, Do-Youb Kim, Seok-Jin Cho, Yu-Ho Rho

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The Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring (CALM) Single Point Mooring (SPM) buoy system is the most popular and widely used type of offshore loading terminals. SPM buoy mooring systems have been deployed worldwide for a variety of applications, water depths and vessel sizes ranging from small production carriers to Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs). Because of safe and easy berthing and un-berthing operations, the SPM buoy mooring system is also preferred for offshore terminals. The SPM buoy consists of a buoy that is permanently moored to the seabed by means of multiple mooring lines. The buoy contains a bearing system that allows a part of it to rotate around the moored geostatic part. When moored to the rotating part of the buoy, a vessel is able to freely weathervane around the buoy. This study was verified the effects of design variables in order to design an SPM buoy mooring system through parametric analysis. The design variables have independent and nonlinear characteristics. Using parametric analysis, this research was found that the fairlead departure angle, wave height and period, chain diameter and line length effect to the mooring top tension, buoy excursion and line layback.

Keywords: Single Point Mooring (SPM), Catenary Anchor Leg Mooring(CALM), design variables, parametric analysis, mooring system optimization

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Authors: Nabil Saad, David Morgan, Manish Gupta

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Visibility has become a key component of air quality and is regulated in many areas by environmental laws such as the EPA Clean Air Act and Regional Haze Rule. Typically, visibility is calculated by estimating the optical absorption and scattering of both gases and aerosols. A major component of the aerosols’ climatic effect is due to their scattering and absorption of solar radiation, which are governed by their optical and physical properties. However, the accurate assessment of this effect on global warming, climate change, and air quality is made difficult due to uncertainties in the calculation of single scattering albedo (SSA). Experimental complications arise in the determination of the single scattering albedo of an aerosol particle since it requires the simultaneous measurement of both scattering and extinction. In fact, aerosol optical absorption, in particular, is a difficult measurement to perform, and it’s often associated with large uncertainties when using filter methods or difference methods. In this presentation, we demonstrate the use of a new open-path Optical Extinction Analyzer (OEA) in conjunction with a nephelometer and two particle sizers, emphasizing the benefits that co-employment of the OEA offers to derive the complex refractive index of aerosols and their single scattering albedo parameter. Various use cases, data reproducibility, and instrument calibration will also be presented to highlight the value proposition of this novel Open-Path OEA.

Keywords: aerosols, extinction, visibility, albedo

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Authors: S. Kadiyala, M. Berzins, D. Juba, W. Keyrouz

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This paper describes the Material Point Method (MPM) for simulating a single-track laser melting process on an IN718 solid plate. MPM, known for simulating challenging multiphysics problems, is used to model the intricate thermal, mechanical, and fluid interactions during the laser sintering process. This study analyzes the formation of single tracks, exploring the impact of varying laser parameters such as speed, power, and spot diameter on the melt pool and track formation. The focus is on MPM’s ability to accurately simulate and capture the transient thermo-mechanical and phase change phenomena, which are critical in predicting the cooling rates before and after solidification of the laser track and the final melt pool geometry. The simulation results are rigorously compared with experimental data (AMB2022 benchmarks), demonstrating the effectiveness of MPM in replicating the physical processes in laser sintering. This research highlights the potential of MPM in advancing the understanding and simulation of melt pool physics in metal additive manufacturing, paving the way for optimized process parameters and improved material performance.

Keywords: dditive manufacturing simulation, material point method, phase change, melt pool physics

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Authors: Emanuele Bonamente, Andrea Aquino

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This study presents an innovative design for geothermal heat pumps with the goal of maximizing the system efficiency (COP - Coefficient of Performance), reducing the soil use (e.g. length/depth of geothermal boreholes) and initial investment costs. Based on experimental data obtained from a two-year monitoring of a working prototype implemented for a commercial building in the city of Perugia, Italy, an upgrade of the system is proposed and the performance is evaluated via CFD simulations. The prototype was designed to include a thermal heat storage (i.e. water), positioned between the boreholes and the heat pump, acting as a flywheel. Results from the monitoring campaign show that the system is still capable of providing the required heating and cooling energy with a reduced geothermal installation (approx. 30% of the standard length). In this paper, an optimization of the system is proposed, re-designing the heat storage to include phase change materials (PCMs). Two stacks of PCMs, characterized by melting temperatures equal to those needed to maximize the system COP for heating and cooling, are disposed within the storage. During the working cycle, the latent heat of the PCMs is used to heat (cool) the water used by the heat pump while the boreholes independently cool (heat) the storage. The new storage is approximately 10 times smaller and can be easily placed close to the heat pump in the technical room. First, a validation of the CFD simulation of the storage is performed against experimental data. The simulation is then used to test possible alternatives of the original design and it is finally exploited to evaluate the PCM-storage performance for two different configurations (i.e. single- and double-loop systems).

Keywords: geothermal heat pump, phase change materials (PCM), energy storage, renewable energies

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Authors: Ahmad Abdulkadir Ibrahim

Abstract:

The Islamic law of transactions laid down the methods and instruments of accounting and analyzed its basic assumptions in the modern world. There is a need to examine the implications of accounting initiatives in the Muslim world and attempt to outline the important characteristics of Islamic accounting and how Islamic accounting resolves the problem of measuring the cost of Murabaha goods in case of exchange rate variation. The research tends to discuss an analytical approach to the Islamic accounting concept as well as elaborating the jurisprudential matter and practical aspects of accounting in Islamic financial transactions. It also aims to alert the practitioners of accounting in the Islamic world to be aware of the concept of accounting in Islamic jurisprudence and its historical development. The methodology adopted in this research is the qualitative method through the consultation of relevant literature, which focuses on the thematic study of the subject matter. This is followed by an analysis and discussion of the contents of the materials used. It is concluded that Islamic accounting is unique in its norms as it has been characterized by fairness, accuracy in measuring tools, truthfulness, mutual trust, moderation in making a profit, and tolerance. It was also qualified by capacity and flexibility in terms of the tools and terminology used and invented by Islamic jurisprudence in the accounting system, which indicates its validity and consistency anytime and anywhere. An important conclusion of the research also lies in the refutation of the popular idea that an Italian writer known as Luca Pacilio was the first writer who developed the basis of double-entry due to the presented proofs by Muslim scholars of critical accounting developments, which cannot be ignored. It concludes further that Islamic jurisprudence draws the accounting system codified in the foundations of a market that is far from usury, fraud, cheating, and unfair competition in all areas.

Keywords: accounting, Islamic accounting, Islamic transactions, Islamic jurisprudence, double entry, murabaha, characteristics

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