Search results for: monitoring tool

Authors: Ali Hamza

Abstract:

Accurate segmentation of breast ultrasound images is of paramount importance in enhancing the diagnostic capabilities of breast cancer detection. This study presents an approach utilizing the U-Net architecture for segmenting breast ultrasound images aimed at improving the accuracy and reliability of mass identification within the breast tissue. The proposed method encompasses a multi-stage process. Initially, preprocessing techniques are employed to refine image quality and diminish noise interference. Subsequently, the U-Net architecture, a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN), is employed for pixel-wise segmentation of regions of interest corresponding to potential breast masses. The U-Net's distinctive architecture, characterized by a contracting and expansive pathway, enables accurate boundary delineation and detailed feature extraction. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an extensive dataset of breast ultrasound images is employed, encompassing diverse cases. Quantitative performance metrics such as the Dice coefficient, Jaccard index, sensitivity, specificity, and Hausdorff distance are employed to comprehensively assess the segmentation accuracy. Comparative analyses against traditional segmentation methods showcase the superiority of the U-Net architecture in capturing intricate details and accurately segmenting breast masses. The outcomes of this study emphasize the potential of the U-Net-based segmentation approach in bolstering breast ultrasound image analysis. The method's ability to reliably pinpoint mass boundaries holds promise for aiding radiologists in precise diagnosis and treatment planning. However, further validation and integration within clinical workflows are necessary to ascertain their practical clinical utility and facilitate seamless adoption by healthcare professionals. In conclusion, leveraging the U-Net architecture for breast ultrasound image segmentation showcases a robust framework that can significantly enhance diagnostic accuracy and advance the field of breast cancer detection. This approach represents a pivotal step towards empowering medical professionals with a more potent tool for early and accurate breast cancer diagnosis.

Keywords: mage segmentation, U-Net, deep learning, breast cancer detection, diagnostic accuracy, mass identification, convolutional neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Kalidas Sarma

Abstract:

Fraud is a social problem changing with social change and it has a regional and global impact. Introduction of private domain in higher education along with public institutions has led to commercialization of higher education which encourages unprecedented mushrooming of private institutions resulting in fraudulent activities in higher educational institutions in Assam, India. Presently, fraud has been noticed in in-service promotion, fake entry qualification by teachers in different levels of work-place by using fake master degrees, master of philosophy and doctor of philosophy degree certificates. The aim and objective of the study are to identify grey areas in maintenance of quality in higher educational institutions in Assam and also to draw the contour for planning and implementation. This study is based on both primary and secondary data collected through questionnaire and seeking information through Right to Information Act 2005. In Assam, there are 301 undergraduate and graduate colleges distributed in 27 (Twenty seven) administrative districts with 11000 (Eleven thousand) college teachers. Total 421 (Four hundred twenty one) college teachers from the 14 respondent colleges have been taken for analysis. Data collected has been analyzed by using 'Hypertext Pre-processor' (PhP) application with My Sequel Structure Query Language (MySQL) and Google Map Application Programming Interface (APIs). Graph has been generated by using open source tool Chart.js. Spatial distribution maps have been generated with the help of geo-references of the colleges. The result shows: (i) the violation of University Grants Commission's (UGCs) Regulation for the awards of M. Phil/Ph.D. clearly exhibits. (ii) There is a gap between apex regulatory bodies of higher education at national and as well as state level to check fraud. (iii) Mala fide 'No Objection Certificate' (NOC) issued by the Government of Assam have played pivotal role in the occurrence of fraudulent practices in higher educational institutions of Assam. (iv) Violation of verdict of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India regarding territorial jurisdiction of Universities for the awards of Ph.D. and M. Phil degrees in distance mode/study centre is also a responsible factor for the spread of these academic frauds in Assam and other states. The challenges and mitigation of these issues have been discussed.

Keywords: Assam, fraud, higher education, mitigation

Procedia PDF Downloads 167

Authors: Shireen Bhatti, M. Asif Shaikh, Atif Khan

Abstract:

Sexually abusive behavior is seen as a social phenomenon across different societies and different territories. An institution of sport has its own uniqueness. It is different from other workplaces and academia. The challenges in sports raised are different, which require a call to action for specific sexual harassment policies and practices. Many sportswomen who are members of team games or individual games experience sexually abusive behavior from their male counterparts, including trainers, coaches, and lower staff. The power of the coach over the athlete is massive due to the coach’s position. The power can be disguised for possible abuse, whether physical or emotional. Female athletes are victims in most offensive situations that occur in collegiate settings by male coaches. The objective of the study is to identify the relationship between the sexually abusive behavior of male coaches and the motivation of female athletes at public sector universities in Sindh, Pakistan. The descriptive approach was used, whereas The cross-sectional survey design was used to support the study. Intercollegiate, intervarsity, provincial, and national level female athletes of public sector universities of Sindh province were the subject of this study. The tool of research was a self-developed scale that encompassed the relationship between the sexually abusive behaviors of coaches and the motivation of female athletes. Frequency, percentage, and mean and Pearson Correlation, chi square, and ANOVA were used. The results indicate that there is a strong negative relationship between the sexually abusive behavior of male coaches and female athletes’ sports motivation. The Pearson correlation shows that there is a strong negative relation between the sexually abusive behavior of male athletes and female athletes’ sports motivation. The significant level is (r = -.741); however, The findings confirmed that the coach’s power, authority, decision-making position, the threat of rejection on the refusal of sexual cooperation, the ready availability of inexperienced female athletes, and lack of implication of policies regarding sexual misconducts in public sector universities decline motivation of female athletes witnessed. Based on the findings, the study recommended that the family background, career history, and participation record of coaches should be investigated to ensure that they have ever been involved in any criminal activity or sexual misconduct during their career or participation.

Keywords: abusive, athlete, coach, motivation

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: Sharad Kumar Kulshreshtha

Abstract:

India is a great land of cultural and traditional diversity. Its spectrums create a unique ambiance in all over the country. Specially, fairs and festivals are ancient phenomena in Indian culture. In India, there are thousands of such religious, spiritual, cultural fairs organized on auspicious occasions. These fairs reflect the effective and efficient role of social governance and responsibility of Indian society. In this context a mega event known as ‘Kumbha Mela’ literally mean ‘Kumbha Fair’ which is organize after every twelve years at (Prayaag) Allahabad an ancient city of India, now is in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Kumbh Mela is one of the largest human congregations on the Earth. The Kumbha Mela that is held here is considered to be the largest and holiest city among the four cities where Kubha fair organize. According to the Hindu religious scripture a dip for possessing the holy confluence, known as Triveni Sangam, which is a meeting point of the three sacred rivers of India i.e., –Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati (mythical). During the Kumbha fair the River Ganges is believed to turn to nectar, bringing great blessing to everyone who bathes in it. Other activities include religious discussions, devotional singings and mass feedings pilgrims and poor. The venue for Kumbh Mela (fair) depends on the position Sun, Moon, and Jupiter which holds in that period in different zodiac signs. More than 120 Millions (12 Crore) people visited in the Kumbha Fair-2013 in Allahabad. A temporary tented city was set up for the pilgrims over an area of 2 hectares of the land along the river of Ganges. As many as 5 power substations, temporary police stations, hospitals, bus terminals, stalls were set up for providing various facilities to the visitors and thousands of volunteers participated for assistance of this event. All efforts made by fair administration to provide facility to visitors, such security and sanitation, medical care and frequent water and power supply. The efficient and timely arrangement at the Kumbha Mela attracted the attention of many government and institutions. The Harvard University of USA conducted research to find out how it was made possible. This paper will focuses on effective and efficient planning and preparation of Kumbha Fair which includes facilitation process, role of various coordinating agencies. risk management crisis management strategies Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery (PPRR Approach), emergency response plan (ERP), safety and security issues, various environmental aspects along with health hazards and hygiene crowd management, evacuation, monitoring, control and evaluation.

Keywords: event planning and facility arrangement, risk management, crowd management, India

Procedia PDF Downloads 306

Authors: Ndibarefinia Tobin

Abstract:

The UK construction industry has been under pressure for many years to produce economical buildings which offer value for money, not only during the construction phase, but more importantly, during the full life of the building. Whole life costing is considered as an economic analysis tool that takes into account the total investment cost in and ownership, operation and subsequent disposal of a product or system to which the whole life costing method is being applied. In spite of its importance, the practice is still crippled by the lack of tangible evidence, ‘know-how’ skills and knowledge of the practice i.e. the lack of professionals with the knowledge and training on the use of the practice in construction project, this situation is compounded by the absence of available data on whole life costing from relevant projects, lack of data collection mechanisms and so on. The aforementioned problems has forced many construction organisations to adopt project enhancement initiatives to boost their performance on the use of whole life costing techniques so as to produce economical buildings which offer value for money during the construction stage also the whole life of the building/asset. The management of knowledge in whole life costing is considered as one of the many project enhancement initiative and it is becoming imperative in the performance and sustainability of an organisation. Procuring building projects using whole life costing technique is heavily reliant on the knowledge, experience, ideas and skills of workers, which comes from many sources including other individuals, electronic media and documents. Due to the diversity of knowledge, capabilities and skills of employees that vary across an organisation, it is significant that they are directed and coordinated efficiently so as to capture, retrieve and share knowledge in order to improve the performance of the organisation. The implementation of knowledge management concept has different levels in each organisation. Measuring the maturity level of knowledge management in whole life costing practice will paint a comprehensible picture of how knowledge is managed in construction organisations. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify knowledge management maturity in UK construction organisations adopting whole life costing in construction project. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopted a survey method and conducted by distributing questionnaires to large construction companies that implement knowledge management activities in whole life costing practice in construction project. Four level of knowledge management maturity was proposed on this study. Findings: From the results obtained in the study shows that 34 contractors at the practiced level, 26 contractors at managed level and 12 contractors at continuously improved level.

Keywords: knowledge management, whole life costing, construction industry, knowledge

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: Henry Ataburo, Dominic Essuman, Emmanuel Kwabena Anin

Abstract:

Recent trends of catastrophic events, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the Suez Canal blockage, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and the climate change crisis, continue to devastate supply chains and the broader society. Prior authors have advocated for a simultaneous pursuit of resilience and sustainability as crucial for navigating these challenges. Nevertheless, the relationship between resilience and sustainability is a rather complex one: resilience and sustainability are considered unrelated, substitutes, or complements. Scholars also suggest that different firms prioritize resilience and sustainability differently for varied strategic reasons. However, we know little about whether, how, and when these choices produce different typologies of firms to explain differences in financial and market performance outcomes. This research draws inferences from the systems configuration approach to organizational fit to contend that a taxonomy of firms may emerge based on how firms configure resilience and environmental sustainability. The study further examines the effects of these taxonomies on financial and market performance in differing transportation disruption conditions. Resilience is operationalized as a firm’s ability to adjust current operations, structure, knowledge, and resources in response to disruptions, whereas environmental sustainability is operationalized as the extent to which a firm deploys resources judiciously and keeps the ecological impact of its operations to the barest minimum. Using primary data from 199 firms in Ghana and cluster analysis as an analytical tool, the study identifies four clusters of firms based on how they prioritize resilience and sustainability: Cluster 1 - "strong, moderate resilience, high sustainability firms," Cluster 2 - "sigh resilience, high sustainability firms," Cluster 3 - "high resilience, strong, moderate sustainability firms," and Cluster 4 - "weak, moderate resilience, strong, moderate sustainability firms". In addition, ANOVA and regression analysis revealed the following findings: Only clusters 1 and 2 were significantly associated with both market and financial performance. Under high transportation disruption conditions, cluster 1 firms excel better in market performance, whereas cluster 2 firms excel better in financial performance. Conversely, under low transportation disruption conditions, cluster 1 firms excel better in financial performance, whereas cluster 2 firms excel better in market performance. The study provides theoretical and empirical evidence of how resilience and environmental sustainability can be configured to achieve specific performance objectives under different disruption conditions.

Keywords: resilience, environmental sustainability, developing economy, transportation disruption

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Araya Yordchim, Rosjana Chandhasa, Suwaree Yordchim

Abstract:

This research aims to study guidelines on the development of management process for research journals in order to develop Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University to international standards. This research investigated affecting elements ranging from the format of the article, evaluation form for research article quality, the process of creating a scholarly journal, satisfaction level of those with knowledge and competency to conduct research, arisen problems, and solutions. Drawing upon the sample size of 40 persons who had knowledge and competency in conducting research and creating scholarly journal articles at an international level, the data for this research were collected using questionnaires as a tool. Through the usage of computer software, data were analyzed by using the statistics in the forms of frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. The majority of participants were civil servants with a doctorate degree, followed by civil servants with a master's degree. Among them, the suitability of the article format was rated at a good level while the evaluation form for research articles quality was assessed at a good level. Based on participants' viewpoints, the process of creating scholarly journals was at a good level, while the satisfaction of those who had knowledge and competency in conducting research was at a satisfactory level. The problems encountered were the difficulty in accessing the website. The solution to the problem was to develop a website with user-friendly accessibility, including setting up a Google scholar profile for the purpose of references counting and the articles being used for reference in real-time. Research article format influenced the level of satisfaction of those who had the knowledge and competency to conduct research with statistical significance at the 0.01 level. The research article quality assessment form (preface section, research article writing section, preparation for research article manuscripts section, and the original article evaluation form for the author) affected the satisfaction of those with knowledge and competency to conduct research with the statistical significance at the level of 0.01. The process of establishing journals had an impact on the satisfaction of those with knowledge and ability to conduct research with statistical significance at the level of .05

Keywords: guidelines, development of management, research journals, international standards

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Rubina Jahan, Mohammad Zayeed Bin Alam, Sazzad Chowdhury, Sadia Chowdhury

Abstract:

Access to mental health services in Bangladesh is a tale of urban privilege and rural struggle. Mental health services in the country are primarily centered in urban medical hospitals, with only 260 psychiatrists for a population of more than 162 million, while rural populations face far more severe and daunting challenges. In alignment with the World Health Organization's perspective on mental health as a basic human right and a crucial component for personal, community, and socioeconomic development; SAJIDA Foundation a value driven non-government organization in Bangladesh has introduced a Community Based Mental Health (CMHI) program to fill critical gaps in mental health care, providing accessible and affordable community-based services to protect and promote mental health, offering support for those grappling with mental health conditions. The CMHI programme is being implemented in 3 districts in Bangladesh, 2 of them are remote and most climate vulnerable areas targeting total 6,797 individual. The intervention plan involves a screening of all participants using a 10-point vulnerability assessment tool to identify vulnerable individuals. The assumption underlying this is that individuals assessed as vulnerable is primarily due to biological, psychological, social and economic factors and they are at an increased risk of developing common mental health issues. Those identified as vulnerable with high risk and emergency conditions will receive Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) and undergo further screening with GHQ-12 to be identified as cases and non-cases. The identified cases are then referred to community lay counsellors with basic training and knowledge in providing 4-6 sessions on problem solving or behavior activation. In situations where no improvement occurs post lay counselling or for individuals with severe mental health conditions, a referral process will be initiated, directing individuals to ensure appropriate mental health care. In our presentation, it will present the findings from 6-month pilot implementation focusing on the community-based screening versus outcome of the lay counseling session and barriers and facilitators of implementing community based mental health care in a resource constraint country like Bangladesh.

Keywords: community-based mental health, lay counseling, rural bangladesh, treatment gap

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Peter Adly Hamdy Fahmy

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to examine the effects of a physical education program on student learning by combining the teaching of personal and social responsibility (TPSR) with a physical education model and TPSR with a traditional teaching model, these learning outcomes involving self-learning. -Study. Athletic performance, enthusiasm for sport, group cohesion, sense of responsibility and game performance. The participants were 3 secondary school physical education teachers and 6 physical education classes, 133 participants with students from the experimental group with 75 students and the control group with 58 students, and each teacher taught the experimental group and the control group for 16 weeks. The research methods used surveys, interviews and focus group meetings. Research instruments included the Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire, Sports Enthusiasm Scale, Group Cohesion Scale, Sports Self-Efficacy Scale, and Game Performance Assessment Tool. Multivariate analyzes of covariance and repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine differences in student learning outcomes between combining the TPSR with a physical education model and the TPSR with a traditional teaching model. The research findings are as follows: 1) The TPSR sports education model can improve students' learning outcomes, including sports self-efficacy, game performance, sports enthusiasm, team cohesion, group awareness and responsibility. 2) A traditional teaching model with TPSR could improve student learning outcomes, including sports self-efficacy, responsibility, and game performance. 3) The sports education model with TPSR could improve learning outcomes more than the traditional teaching model with TPSR, including sports self-efficacy, sports enthusiasm, responsibility and game performance. 4) Based on qualitative data on teachers' and students' learning experience, the physical education model with TPSR significantly improves learning motivation, group interaction and sense of play. The results suggest that physical education with TPSR could further improve learning outcomes in the physical education program. On the other hand, the hybrid model curriculum projects TPSR - Physical Education and TPSR - Traditional Education are good curriculum projects for moral character education that can be used in school physics.

Keywords: approach competencies, physical, education, teachers employment, graduate, physical education and sport sciences, SWOT analysis character education, sport season, game performance, sport competence

Procedia PDF Downloads 46

Authors: Jennifer Gallup, Joel Bocanegra, Greg Callan, Abigail Vaughn

Abstract:

Students with disabilities (SWD) engaged in a distance summer program delivered over multiple virtual mediums that used gaming principles to teach and practice self-regulated learning (SRL) through the process of exploring possible jobs. Gaming quests were developed to explore jobs and teach transition skills. Students completed specially designed quests that taught and reinforced SRL and problem-solving through individual, group, and teacher-led experiences. SRL skills learned were reinforced through guided job explorations over the context of MinecraftEDU, zoom with experts in the career, collaborations with a team over Marco Polo, and Zoom. The quests were developed and laid out on an accessible web page, with active learning opportunities and feedback conducted within multiple virtual mediums including MinecraftEDU. Gaming mediums actively engage players in role-playing, problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration. Gaming has been used as a medium for education since the inception of formal education. Games, and specifically board games, are pre-historic, meaning we had board games before we had written language. Today, games are widely used in education, often as a reinforcer for behavior or for rewards for work completion. Games are not often used as a direct method of instruction and assessment; however, the inclusion of games as an assessment tool and as a form of instruction increases student engagement and participation. Games naturally include collaboration, problem-solving, and communication. Therefore, our summer program was developed using gaming principles and MinecraftEDU. This manuscript describes a virtual learning summer program called Virtual Academy New and Exciting Transitions (VAN) that was redesigned from a face-to-face setting to a completely online setting with a focus on SWD aged 14-21. The focus of VAN was to address transition planning needs such as problem-solving skills, self-regulation, interviewing, job exploration, and communication for transition-aged youth diagnosed with various disabilities (e.g., learning disabilities, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, intellectual disability, down syndrome, autism spectrum disorder).

Keywords: autism, disabilities, transition, summer program, gaming, simulations

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Krzysztof J. Czarnocki, F. Silveira, E. Czarnocka, K. Szaniawska

Abstract:

Research background: Problems related to the occupational health and decreasing level of safety occur commonly in the construction industry. Important factor in the occupational safety in construction industry is scaffold use. All scaffolds used in construction, renovation, and demolition shall be erected, dismantled and maintained in accordance with safety procedure. Increasing demand for new construction projects unfortunately still is linked to high level of occupational accidents. Therefore, it is crucial to implement concrete actions while dealing with scaffolds and risk assessment in construction industry, the way on doing assessment and liability of assessment is critical for both construction workers and regulatory framework. Unfortunately, professionals, who tend to rely heavily on their own experience and knowledge when taking decisions regarding risk assessment, may show lack of reliability in checking the results of decisions taken. Purpose of the article: The aim was to indicate crucial parameters that could be modeling with Risk Assessment Model (RAM) use for improving both building enterprise productivity and/or developing potential and safety climate. The developed RAM could be a benefit for predicting high-risk construction activities and thus preventing accidents occurred based on a set of historical accident data. Methodology/Methods: A RAM has been developed for assessing risk levels as various construction process stages with various work trades impacting different spheres of enterprise activity. This project includes research carried out by teams of researchers on over 60 construction sites in Poland and Portugal, under which over 450 individual research cycles were carried out. The conducted research trials included variable conditions of employee exposure to harmful physical and chemical factors, variable levels of stress of employees and differences in behaviors and habits of staff. Genetic modeling tool has been used for developing the RAM. Findings and value added: Common types of trades, accidents, and accident causes have been explored, in addition to suitable risk assessment methods and criteria. We have found that the initial worker stress level is more direct predictor for developing the unsafe chain leading to the accident rather than the workload, or concentration of harmful factors at the workplace or even training frequency and management involvement.

Keywords: safety climate, occupational health, civil engineering, productivity

Procedia PDF Downloads 318

Authors: Jayati Bhattacharjee

Abstract:

Teaching is a very dynamic profession. Teaching Science is as much challenging as Learning the subject if not more. For instance teaching of Chemistry. From the introductory concepts of subatomic particles to atoms of elements and their symbols and further presenting the chemical equation and so forth is a challenge on both side of the equation Teaching Learning. This paper combines the Neuroscience of Learning and memory with the knowledge of Learning style (VAK) and presents an effective tool for the teacher to authenticate Learning. The model of ‘Working Memory’, the Visio-spatial sketchpad, the central executive and the phonological loop that transforms short-term memory to long term memory actually supports the psychological theory of Learning style i.e. Visual –Auditory-Kinesthetic. A closer examination of David Kolbe’s learning model suggests that learning requires abilities that are polar opposites, and that the learner must continually choose which set of learning abilities he or she will use in a specific learning situation. In grasping experience some of us perceive new information through experiencing the concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world, relying on our senses and immersing ourselves in concrete reality. Others tend to perceive, grasp, or take hold of new information through symbolic representation or abstract conceptualization – thinking about, analyzing, or systematically planning, rather than using sensation as a guide. Similarly, in transforming or processing experience some of us tend to carefully watch others who are involved in the experience and reflect on what happens, while others choose to jump right in and start doing things. The watchers favor reflective observation, while the doers favor active experimentation. Any lesson plan based on the model of Prescriptive design: C+O=M (C: Instructional condition; O: Instructional Outcome; M: Instructional method). The desired outcome and conditions are independent variables whereas the instructional method is dependent hence can be planned and suited to maximize the learning outcome. The assessment for learning rather than of learning can encourage, build confidence and hope amongst the learners and go a long way to replace the anxiety and hopelessness that a student experiences while learning Science with a human touch in it. Application of this model has been tried in teaching chemistry to high school students as well as in workshops with teachers. The response received has proven the desirable results.

Keywords: working memory model, learning style, prescriptive design, assessment for learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Christos E. Lampropoulos, Maria Konsta, Tamta Sirbilatze, Ifigenia Apostolou, Vicky Dradaki, Konstantina Panouria, Irini Dri, Christina Kordali, Vaggelis Lambas, Georgios Mavras

Abstract:

Objectives: Full Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA) questionnaire is one of the most useful tools in diagnosis of malnutrition in hospitalized patients, which is related to increased morbidity and mortality. The purpose of our study was to assess the nutritional status of elderly, hospitalized patients and examine the hypothesis that MNA may predict mortality and extension of hospitalization. Methods: One hundred fifty patients (78 men, 72 women, mean age 80±8.2) were included in this cross-sectional study. The following data were taken into account in analysis: anthropometric and laboratory data, physical activity (International Physical Activity Questionnaires, IPAQ), smoking status, dietary habits, cause and duration of current admission, medical history (co-morbidities, previous admissions). Primary endpoints were mortality (from admission until 6 months afterwards) and duration of admission. The latter was compared to national guidelines for closed consolidated medical expenses. Logistic regression and linear regression analysis were performed in order to identify independent predictors for mortality and extended hospitalization respectively. Results: According to MNA, nutrition was normal in 54/150 (36%) of patients, 46/150 (30.7%) of them were at risk of malnutrition and the rest 50/150 (33.3%) were malnourished. After performing multivariate logistic regression analysis we found that the odds of death decreased 20% per each unit increase of full MNA score (OR=0.8, 95% CI 0.74-0.89, p < 0.0001). Patients who admitted due to cancer were 23 times more likely to die, compared to those with infection (OR=23, 95% CI 3.8-141.6, p=0.001). Similarly, patients who admitted due to stroke were 7 times more likely to die (OR=7, 95% CI 1.4-34.5, p=0.02), while these with all other causes of admission were less likely (OR=0.2, 95% CI 0.06-0.8, p=0.03), compared to patients with infection. According to multivariate linear regression analysis, each increase of unit of full MNA, decreased the admission duration on average 0.3 days (b:-0.3, 95% CI -0.45 - -0.15, p < 0.0001). Patients admitted due to cancer had on average 6.8 days higher extension of hospitalization, compared to those admitted for infection (b:6.8, 95% CI 3.2-10.3, p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Mortality and extension of hospitalization is significantly increased in elderly, malnourished patients. Full MNA score is a useful diagnostic tool of malnutrition.

Keywords: duration of admission, malnutrition, mini nutritional assessment score, prognostic factors for mortality

Procedia PDF Downloads 313

Authors: Mareli Fischer, Kevin G. F. Thomas

Abstract:

Although Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent childhood neurobehavioural disorders, little empirical research has been published on its clinical presentation in Africa, and, globally, few studies evaluate ADHD intervention programs that emphasize parent training. Hence, Stage 1 of this research programme aimed to describe the functional impairment of South African children with ADHD, and also sought to investigate the influence of sociodemographic variables (e.g., sex, age, socioeconomic status, family environment) and clinical variables (e.g., ADHD subtype and comorbidity) on the degree of that impairment. We used the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview for Children and Adolescents as a diagnostic tool, and the Child Behavior Checklist, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Impairment Rating Scale as measures of functional impairment. Results from this stage of the research indicated that South African children and adolescents who meet diagnostic criteria for ADHD experience most functional impairment in the school domain, as well as in the area of social functioning. None of the measured sociodemographic variables had a significant detrimental or protective effect on how ADHD symptoms impacted on functioning. In terms of comorbidity, the presence of Major Depressive Disorder, Conduct Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder were all associated with significantly impaired overall functioning. Stage 2 of the research programme aimed to design, implement, and evaluate a child-specific intervention that targeted the primary areas of impairment identified in Stage 1. Existing literature suggests that a positive parent-training programme, in the group format, is one of the best options for cost-effective and successful ADHD intervention. Hence, the intervention took that form. Parents were taught basic behaviour analysis concepts within a supportive group context. Evaluation of the intervention’s efficacy used many of the same measures as in Stage 1, but also featured semi-structured interviews with participants and naturalistic observation of parent-child interaction. We will discuss preliminary results of that evaluation. Studying functional impairment and designing intervention plans in this way will pave the way for evidence-based treatment plans for children and adolescents diagnosed with ADHD.

Keywords: attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, children, intervention, parenting groups

Procedia PDF Downloads 431

Authors: Ana Ferraz, Martim Santos, M. Graça Pereira

Abstract:

Distress among parents of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is common during treatment and can persist several years post-diagnosis, impacting the adjustment of children and parents themselves. Current evidence is needed to examine the scope and nature of parental distress in childhood ALL. This review focused on associated variables, predictors, and outcomes of parental distress following their ALL diagnosis of their child. PubMed, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases were searched for English and Spanish papers published from 1983 to 2021. PRISMA statement was followed, and papers were evaluated through a standardized methodological quality assessment tool (NHLBI). Of the 28 papers included, 16 were evaluated as fair, eight as good, and four as poor. Regarding results, 11 papers reported subgroup differences, and 15 found potential predictors of parental distress, including sociodemographic, psychosocial, psychological, family, health, and ALL-specific variables. Significant correlations were found between parental distress, social support, illness cognitions, and resilience, as well as contradictory results regarding the impact of sociodemographic variables on parental distress. Family cohesion and caregiver burden were associated with distress, and the use of healthy coping strategies was associated with less anxiety. Caregiver strain contributed to distress, and the overall impact of illness positively predicted anxiety in mothers and somatization in fathers. Differences in parental distress were found regarding group risk, time since diagnosis, and treatment phases. Thirteen papers explored the outcomes of parental distress on psychological, family, health, and social/education outcomes. Parental distress was the most important predictor of family strain. Significant correlations were found between parental distress at diagnosis and further psychological adjustment of parents themselves and their children. Most papers reported correlations between parental distress on children’s adjustment and quality of life, although few studies reported no association. Correlations between maternal depression and child participation in education and social life were also found. Longitudinal studies are needed to better understand parental distress and its consequences on health outcomes, in particular. Future interventions should focus mainly on parents on distress reduction and psychological adjustment, both in parents and children over time.

Keywords: childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, family, parental distress, psychological adjustment, quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Coriolano Salvini, Ambra Giovannelli

Abstract:

The use of renewable energy sources for electric power production leads to reduced CO2 emissions and contributes to improving the domestic energy security. On the other hand, the intermittency and unpredictability of their availability poses relevant problems in fulfilling safely and in a cost efficient way the load demand along the time. Significant benefits in terms of “grid system applications”, “end-use applications” and “renewable applications” can be achieved by introducing energy storage systems. Among the currently available solutions, CAES (Compressed Air Energy Storage) shows favorable features. Small-medium size plants equipped with artificial air reservoirs can constitute an interesting option to get efficient and cost-effective distributed energy storage systems. The present paper is addressed to the design and off-design analysis of the compression system of small size CAES plants suited to absorb electric power in the range of hundreds of kilowatt. The system of interest is constituted by an intercooled (in case aftercooled) multi-stage reciprocating compressor and a man-made reservoir obtained by connecting large diameter steel pipe sections. A specific methodology for the system preliminary sizing and off-design modeling has been developed. Since during the charging phase the electric power absorbed along the time has to change according to the peculiar CAES requirements and the pressure ratio increases continuously during the filling of the reservoir, the compressor has to work at variable mass flow rate. In order to ensure an appropriately wide range of operations, particular attention has been paid to the selection of the most suitable compressor capacity control device. Given the capacity regulation margin of the compressor and the actual level of charge of the reservoir, the proposed approach allows the instant-by-instant evaluation of minimum and maximum electric power absorbable from the grid. The developed tool gives useful information to appropriately size the compression system and to manage it in the most effective way. Various cases characterized by different system requirements are analysed. Results are given and widely discussed.

Keywords: artificial air storage reservoir, compressed air energy storage (CAES), compressor design, compression system management.

Procedia PDF Downloads 229

Authors: Sara Rejeb, Catherine Duveau, Tabea Rebafka

Abstract:

To monitor the production process of turbofan aircraft engines, multiple measurements of various geometrical parameters are systematically recorded on manufactured parts. Engine parts are subject to extremely high standards as they can impact the performance of the engine. Therefore, it is essential to analyze these databases to better understand the influence of the different parameters on the engine's performance. Self-organizing maps are unsupervised neural networks which achieve two tasks simultaneously: they visualize high-dimensional data by projection onto a 2-dimensional map and provide clustering of the data. This technique has become very popular for data exploration since it provides easily interpretable results and a meaningful global view of the data. As such, self-organizing maps are usually applied to aircraft engine condition monitoring. As databases in this field are huge and complex, they naturally contain multiple missing entries for various reasons. The classical Kohonen algorithm to compute self-organizing maps is conceived for complete data only. A naive approach to deal with partially observed data consists in deleting items or variables with missing entries. However, this requires a sufficient number of complete individuals to be fairly representative of the population; otherwise, deletion leads to a considerable loss of information. Moreover, deletion can also induce bias in the analysis results. Alternatively, one can first apply a common imputation method to create a complete dataset and then apply the Kohonen algorithm. However, the choice of the imputation method may have a strong impact on the resulting self-organizing map. Our approach is to address simultaneously the two problems of computing a self-organizing map and imputing missing values, as these tasks are not independent. In this work, we propose an extension of self-organizing maps for partially observed data, referred to as missSOM. First, we introduce a criterion to be optimized, that aims at defining simultaneously the best self-organizing map and the best imputations for the missing entries. As such, missSOM is also an imputation method for missing values. To minimize the criterion, we propose an iterative algorithm that alternates the learning of a self-organizing map and the imputation of missing values. Moreover, we develop an accelerated version of the algorithm by entwining the iterations of the Kohonen algorithm with the updates of the imputed values. This method is efficiently implemented in R and will soon be released on CRAN. Compared to the standard Kohonen algorithm, it does not come with any additional cost in terms of computing time. Numerical experiments illustrate that missSOM performs well in terms of both clustering and imputation compared to the state of the art. In particular, it turns out that missSOM is robust to the missingness mechanism, which is in contrast to many imputation methods that are appropriate for only a single mechanism. This is an important property of missSOM as, in practice, the missingness mechanism is often unknown. An application to measurements on one type of part is also provided and shows the practical interest of missSOM.

Keywords: imputation method of missing data, partially observed data, robustness to missingness mechanism, self-organizing maps

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Ahmed. Abdel Bary, Omneya. Khowessah, Mojahed. al-jamrah

Abstract:

Introduction: The major challenge with the design of oral dosage forms lies with their poor bioavailability. The most frequent causes of low oral bioavailability are attributed to poor solubility and low permeability. The aim of this study was to develop solid nanodispersed tablet formulation of Glimepiride for the enhancement of the solubility and bioavailability. Methodology: Solid nanodispersions of Glimepiride (GMP) were prepared using two different ratios of 2 different carriers, namely; PEG6000, pluronic F127, and by adopting two different techniques, namely; solvent evaporation technique and fusion technique. A full factorial design of 2 3 was adopted to investigate the influence of formulation variables on the prepared nanodispersion properties. The best chosen formula of nanodispersed powder was formulated into tablets by direct compression. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis and Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) analysis were conducted for the thermal behavior and surface structure characterization, respectively. The zeta potential and particle size analysis of the prepared glimepiride nanodispersions was determined. The prepared solid nanodispersions and solid nanodispersed tablets of GMP were evaluated in terms of pre-compression and post-compression parameters, respectively. Results: The DSC and FTIR studies revealed that there was no interaction between GMP and all the excipients used. Based on the resulted values of different pre-compression parameters, the prepared solid nanodispersions powder blends showed poor to excellent flow properties. The resulted values of the other evaluated pre-compression parameters of the prepared solid nanodispersion were within the limits of pharmacopoeia. The drug content of the prepared nanodispersions ranged from 89.6 ± 0.3 % to 99.9± 0.5% with particle size ranged from 111.5 nm to 492.3 nm and the resulted zeta potential (ζ ) values of the prepared GMP-solid nanodispersion formulae (F1-F8) ranged from -8.28±3.62 mV to -78±11.4 mV. The in-vitro dissolution studies of the prepared solid nanodispersed tablets of GMP concluded that GMP- pluronic F127 combinations (F8), exhibited the best extent of drug release, compared to other formulations, and to the marketed product. One way ANOVA for the percent of drug released from the prepared GMP-nanodispersion formulae (F1- F8) after 20 and 60 minutes showed significant differences between the percent of drug released from different GMP-nanodispersed tablet formulae (F1- F8), (P<0.05). Conclusion: Preparation of glimepiride as nanodispersed particles proven to be a promising tool for enhancing the poor solubility of glimepiride.

Keywords: glimepiride, solid Nanodispersion, nanodispersed tablets, poorly water soluble drugs

Procedia PDF Downloads 488

Authors: Peter Adly Hamdy Fahmy

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to examine the effects of a physical education program on student learning by combining the teaching of personal and social responsibility (TPSR) with a physical education model and TPSR with a traditional teaching model, these learning outcomes involving self-learning. -Study. Athletic performance, enthusiasm for sport, group cohesion, sense of responsibility and game performance. The participants were 3 secondary school physical education teachers and 6 physical education classes, 133 participants with students from the experimental group with 75 students and the control group with 58 students, and each teacher taught the experimental group and the control group for 16 weeks. The research methods used surveys, interviews and focus group meetings. Research instruments included the Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire, Sports Enthusiasm Scale, Group Cohesion Scale, Sports Self-Efficacy Scale, and Game Performance Assessment Tool. Multivariate analyzes of covariance and repeated measures ANOVA were used to examine differences in student learning outcomes between combining the TPSR with a physical education model and the TPSR with a traditional teaching model. The research findings are as follows: 1) The TPSR sports education model can improve students' learning outcomes, including sports self-efficacy, game performance, sports enthusiasm, team cohesion, group awareness and responsibility. 2) A traditional teaching model with TPSR could improve student learning outcomes, including sports self-efficacy, responsibility, and game performance. 3) The sports education model with TPSR could improve learning outcomes more than the traditional teaching model with TPSR, including sports self-efficacy, sports enthusiasm, responsibility and game performance. 4) Based on qualitative data on teachers' and students' learning experience, the physical education model with TPSR significantly improves learning motivation, group interaction and sense of play. The results suggest that physical education with TPSR could further improve learning outcomes in the physical education program. On the other hand, the hybrid model curriculum projects TPSR - Physical Education and TPSR - Traditional Education are good curriculum projects for moral character education that can be used in school physics.

Keywords: approach competencies, physical, education, teachers employment, graduate, physical education and sport sciences, SWOT analysis character education, sport season, game performance, sport competence

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: S. Jigna, K. Nanda Kumar, T. Anna

Abstract:

Being a major contributor to the Indian economy and a critical facilitator for the country’s digital India vision, the Indian telecommunications industry is also a major source of employment for the country. Since the last few years, the Indian telecommunication service providers (TSPs), however, are facing business challenges related to increasing competition, losses, debts, and decreasing revenue. The strategic use of digital technologies for a successful digital transformation has the potential to equip organizations to meet these business challenges. Despite an increased focus on digital transformation, the telecom service providers globally, including Indian TSPs, have seen limited success so far. The purpose of this research was thus to identify the factors that are critical for the digital transformation and to what extent they influence the successful digital transformation of the Indian TSPs. The literature review of more than 300 digital transformation-related articles, mostly from 2013-2019, demonstrated a lack of an empirical model consisting of factors for the successful digital transformation of the TSPs. This study theorizes a research framework grounded in multiple theories, and a research model consisting of 7 constructs that may be influencing business success during the digital transformation of the organization was proposed. The questionnaire survey of senior managers in the Indian telecommunications industry was seeking to validate the research model. Based on 294 survey responses, the validation of the Structural equation model using the statistical tool ADANCO 2.1.1 was found to be robust. Results indicate that Digital Capabilities, Digital Strategy, and Corporate Level Data Strategy in that order has a strong influence on the successful Business Performance, followed by IT Function Transformation, Digital Innovation, and Transformation Management respectively. Even though Digital Organization did not have a direct significance on Business Performance outcomes, it had a strong influence on IT Function Transformation, thus affecting the Business Performance outcomes indirectly. Amongst numerous practical and theoretical contributions of the study, the main contribution for the Indian TSPs is a validated reference for prioritizing the transformation initiatives in their strategic roadmap. Also, the main contribution to the theory is the possibility to use the research framework artifact of the present research for quantitative validation in different industries and geographies.

Keywords: corporate level data strategy, digital capabilities, digital innovation, digital strategy

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Md. Khayrul Bashar, Md. Saiful Islam, Kimiko Yamashita, Yano Midori

Abstract:

Despite having some progress in human authentication, conventional biometrics (e.g., facial features, fingerprints, retinal scans, gait, voice patterns) are not robust against falsification because they are neither confidential nor secret to an individual. As a non-invasive tool, electrocardiogram (ECG) has recently shown a great potential in human recognition due to its unique rhythms characterizing the variability of human heart structures (chest geometry, sizes, and positions). Moreover, ECG has a real-time vitality characteristic that signifies the live signs, which ensure legitimate individual to be identified. However, the detection accuracy of the current ECG-based methods is not sufficient due to a high variability of the individual’s heartbeats at a different instance of time. These variations may occur due to muscle flexure, the change of mental or emotional states, and the change of sensor positions or long-term baseline shift during the recording of ECG signal. In this study, a new method is proposed for human identification, which is based on the extraction of the local roughness of ECG heartbeat signals. First ECG signal is preprocessed using a second order band-pass Butterworth filter having cut-off frequencies of 0.00025 and 0.04. A number of local binary patterns are then extracted by applying a moving neighborhood window along the ECG signal. At each instant of the ECG signal, the pattern is formed by comparing the ECG intensities at neighboring time points with the central intensity in the moving window. Then, binary weights are multiplied with the pattern to come up with the local roughness description of the signal. Finally, histograms are constructed that describe the heartbeat signals of individual subjects in the database. One advantage of the proposed feature is that it does not depend on the accuracy of detecting QRS complex, unlike the conventional methods. Supervised recognition methods are then designed using minimum distance to mean and Bayesian classifiers to identify authentic human subjects. An experiment with sixty (60) ECG signals from sixty adult subjects from National Metrology Institute of Germany (NMIG) - PTB database, showed that the proposed new method is promising compared to a conventional interval and amplitude feature-based method.

Keywords: human identification, ECG biometrics, local roughness patterns, supervised classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 404

Authors: Seema Paul, Jesper Oppelstrup, Roger Thunvik, Vladimir Cvetkovic

Abstract:

Lake Victoria is the second largest fresh water body in the world, located in East Africa with a catchment area of 250,000 km², of which 68,800 km² is the actual lake surface. The hydrodynamic processes of the shallow (40–80 m deep) water system are unique due to its location at the equator, which makes Coriolis effects weak. The paper describes a St.Venant shallow water model of Lake Victoria developed in COMSOL Multiphysics software, a general purpose finite element tool for solving partial differential equations. Depth soundings taken in smaller parts of the lake were combined with recent more extensive data to resolve the discrepancies of the lake shore coordinates. The topography model must have continuous gradients, and Delaunay triangulation with Gaussian smoothing was used to produce the lake depth model. The model shows large-scale flow patterns, passive tracer concentration and water level variations in response to river and tracer inflow, rain and evaporation, and wind stress. Actual data of precipitation, evaporation, in- and outflows were applied in a fifty-year simulation model. It should be noted that the water balance is dominated by rain and evaporation and model simulations are validated by Matlab and COMSOL. The model conserves water volume, the celerity gradients are very small, and the volume flow is very slow and irrotational except at river mouths. Numerical experiments show that the single outflow can be modelled by a simple linear control law responding only to mean water level, except for a few instances. Experiments with tracer input in rivers show very slow dispersion of the tracer, a result of the slow mean velocities, in turn, caused by the near-balance of rain with evaporation. The numerical and hydrodynamical model can evaluate the effects of wind stress which is exerted by the wind on the lake surface that will impact on lake water level. Also, model can evaluate the effects of the expected climate change, as manifest in changes to rainfall over the catchment area of Lake Victoria in the future.

Keywords: bathymetry, lake flow and steady state analysis, water level validation and concentration, wind stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 227

Authors: Dayane de Almeida

Abstract:

This work aims at presenting a study that demonstrates the usability of categories of analysis from Discourse Semiotics – also known as Greimassian Semiotics in authorship cases in forensic contexts. It is necessary to know if the categories examined in semiotic analysis (the ‘grammar’ of the content plane) can distinguish authors. Thus, a study with 4 sets of texts from a corpus of ‘not on demand’ written samples (those texts differ in formality degree, purpose, addressees, themes, etc.) was performed. Each author contributed with 20 texts, separated into 2 groups of 10 (Author1A, Author1B, and so on). The hypothesis was that texts from a single author were semiotically more similar to each other than texts from different authors. The assumptions and issues that led to this idea are as follows: -The features analyzed in authorship studies mostly relate to the expression plane: they are manifested on the ‘surface’ of texts. If language is both expression and content, content would also have to be considered for more accurate results. Style is present in both planes. -Semiotics postulates the content plane is structured in a ‘grammar’ that underlies expression, and that presents different levels of abstraction. This ‘grammar’ would be a style marker. -Sociolinguistics demonstrates intra-speaker variation: an individual employs different linguistic uses in different situations. Then, how to determine if someone is the author of several texts, distinct in nature (as it is the case in most forensic sets), when it is known intra-speaker variation is dependent on so many factors?-The idea is that the more abstract the level in the content plane, the lower the intra-speaker variation, because there will be a greater chance for the author to choose the same thing. If two authors recurrently chose the same options, differently from one another, it means each one’s option has discriminatory power. -Size is another issue for various attribution methods. Since most texts in real forensic settings are short, methods relying only on the expression plane tend to fail. The analysis of the content plane as proposed by greimassian semiotics would be less size-dependable. -The semiotic analysis was performed using the software Corpus Tool, generating tags to allow the counting of data. Then, similarities and differences were quantitatively measured, through the application of the Jaccard coefficient (a statistical measure that compares the similarities and differences between samples). The results showed the hypothesis was confirmed and, hence, the grammatical categories of the content plane may successfully be used in questioned authorship scenarios.

Keywords: authorship attribution, content plane, forensic linguistics, greimassian semiotics, intraspeaker variation, style

Procedia PDF Downloads 242

Authors: Ahmeda Ali, Mary Codd, Susan Brundage

Abstract:

Importance: This research focuses on devising and improving Health Service Executive (HSE) policy and legislation and therefore improving patient trauma care and outcomes in Ireland. Objectives: The study measures components of the Trauma System in the district hospital setting of the Cavan/Monaghan Hospital Group (CMHG), HSE, Ireland, and uses the collected data to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the CMHG Trauma System organisation, to include governance, injury data, prevention and quality improvement, scene care and facility-based care, and rehabilitation. The information will be made available to local policy makers to provide objective situational analysis to assist in future trauma service planning and service provision. Design, setting and participants: From 28 April to May 28, 2016 a cross-sectional survey using World Health Organisation (WHO) Trauma System Assessment Tool (TSAT) was conducted among healthcare professionals directly involved in the level III trauma system of CMHG. Main outcomes: Identification of the strengths and weaknesses of the Trauma System of CMHG. Results: The participants who reported inadequate funding for pre hospital (62.3%) and facility based trauma care at CMHG (52.5%) were high. Thirty four (55.7%) respondents reported that a national trauma registry (TARN) exists but electronic health records are still not used in trauma care. Twenty one respondents (34.4%) reported that there are system wide protocols for determining patient destination and adequate, comprehensive legislation governing the use of ambulances was enforced, however, there is a lack of a reliable advisory service. Over 40% of the respondents reported uncertainty of the injury prevention programmes available in Ireland; as well as the allocated government funding for injury and violence prevention. Conclusions: The results of this study contributed to a comprehensive assessment of the trauma system organisation. The major findings of the study identified three fundamental areas: the inadequate funding at CMHG, the QI techniques and corrective strategies used, and the unfamiliarity of existing prevention strategies. The findings direct the need for further research to guide future development of the trauma system at CMHG (and in Ireland as a whole) in order to maximise best practice and to improve functional and life outcomes.

Keywords: trauma, education, management, system

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: John-Nelson Ekumah, Selorm Yao-Say Solomon Adade, Mingming Zhong, Yufan Sun, Qiufang Liang, Muhammad Safiullah Virk, Xorlali Nunekpeku, Nana Adwoa Nkuma Johnson, Bridget Ama Kwadzokpui, Xiaofeng Ren

Abstract:

Enhancing starch gel strength and stability is crucial. However, traditional gel property assessment methods are destructive, time-consuming, and resource-intensive. Thus, understanding ethanol treatment effects on kudzu starch gel strength and developing a rapid, nondestructive gel strength assessment method is essential for optimizing the treatment process and ensuring product quality consistency. This study investigated the effects of different ethanol concentrations on the microstructure of kudzu starch gels using a comprehensive microstructural analysis. We also developed a nondestructive method for predicting gel strength and classifying treatment levels using near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, and advanced data analytics. Scanning electron microscopy revealed progressive network densification and pore collapse with increasing ethanol concentration, correlating with enhanced mechanical properties. NIR spectroscopy, combined with various variable selection methods (CARS, GA, and UVE) and modeling algorithms (PLS, SVM, and ELM), was employed to develop predictive models for gel strength. The UVE-SVM model demonstrated exceptional performance, with the highest R² values (Rc = 0.9786, Rp = 0.9688) and lowest error rates (RMSEC = 6.1340, RMSEP = 6.0283). Pattern recognition algorithms (PCA, LDA, and KNN) successfully classified gels based on ethanol treatment levels, achieving near-perfect accuracy. This integrated approach provided a multiscale perspective on ethanol-induced starch gel modification, from molecular interactions to macroscopic properties. Our findings demonstrate the potential of NIR spectroscopy, coupled with advanced data analysis, as a powerful tool for rapid, nondestructive quality assessment in starch gel production. This study contributes significantly to the understanding of starch modification processes and opens new avenues for research and industrial applications in food science, pharmaceuticals, and biomaterials.

Keywords: kudzu starch gel, near-infrared spectroscopy, gel strength prediction, support vector machine, pattern recognition algorithms, ethanol treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Marek Dosbaba

Abstract:

Within the mining sector, SEM-based Automated Mineralogy (AM) has been the standard application for quickly and efficiently handling mineral processing tasks. Over the last decade, the trend has been to analyze larger numbers of samples, often with a higher level of detail. This has necessitated a shift from interactive sample analysis performed by an operator using a SEM, to an increased reliance on offline processing to analyze and report the data. In response to this trend, TESCAN TIMA Mineral Analyzer is designed to quickly create a virtual copy of the studied samples, thereby preserving all the necessary information. Depending on the selected data acquisition mode, TESCAN TIMA can perform hyperspectral mapping and save an X-ray spectrum for each pixel or segment, respectively. This approach allows the user to browse through elemental distribution maps of all elements detectable by means of energy dispersive spectroscopy. Re-evaluation of the existing data for the presence of previously unconsidered elements is possible without the need to repeat the analysis. Additional tiers of data such as a secondary electron or cathodoluminescence images can also be recorded. To take full advantage of these information-rich datasets, TIMA utilizes a new archiving tool introduced by TESCAN. The dataset size can be reduced for long-term storage and all information can be recovered on-demand in case of renewed interest. TESCAN TIMA is optimized for network storage of its datasets because of the larger data storage capacity of servers compared to local drives, which also allows multiple users to access the data remotely. This goes hand in hand with the support of remote control for the entire data acquisition process. TESCAN also brings a newly extended open-source data format that allows other applications to extract, process and report AM data. This offers the ability to link TIMA data to large databases feeding plant performance dashboards or geometallurgical models. The traditional tabular particle-by-particle or grain-by-grain export process is preserved and can be customized with scripts to include user-defined particle/grain properties.

Keywords: Tescan, electron microscopy, mineralogy, SEM, automated mineralogy, database, TESCAN TIMA, open format, archiving, big data

Procedia PDF Downloads 110

Authors: F. Infante, W. Kaal, S. Perfetto, S. Herold

Abstract:

In the last decade the demand of wireless sensors and low-power electric devices for condition monitoring in mechanical structures has been strongly increased. Networks of wireless sensors can potentially be applied in a huge variety of applications. Due to the reduction of both size and power consumption of the electric components and the increasing complexity of mechanical systems, the interest of creating dense nodes sensor networks has become very salient. Nevertheless, with the development of large sensor networks with numerous nodes, the critical problem of powering them is drawing more and more attention. Batteries are not a valid alternative for consideration regarding lifetime, size and effort in replacing them. Between possible alternative solutions for durable power sources useable in mechanical components, vibrations represent a suitable source for the amount of power required to feed a wireless sensor network. For this purpose, energy harvesting from structural vibrations has received much attention in the past few years. Suitable vibrations can be found in numerous mechanical environments including automotive moving structures, household applications, but also civil engineering structures like buildings and bridges. Similarly, a dynamic vibration absorber (DVA) is one of the most used devices to mitigate unwanted vibration of structures. This device is used to transfer the primary structural vibration to the auxiliary system. Thus, the related energy is effectively localized in the secondary less sensitive structure. Then, the additional benefit of harvesting part of the energy can be obtained by implementing dedicated components. This paper describes the design process of an energy harvesting tuned vibration absorber (EHTVA) for rotating systems using piezoelectric elements. The energy of the vibration is converted into electricity rather than dissipated. The device proposed is indeed designed to mitigate torsional vibrations as with a conventional rotational TVA, while harvesting energy as a power source for immediate use or storage. The resultant rotational multi degree of freedom (MDOF) system is initially reduced in an equivalent single degree of freedom (SDOF) system. The Den Hartog’s theory is used for evaluating the optimal mechanical parameters of the initial DVA for the SDOF systems defined. The performance of the TVA is operationally assessed and the vibration reduction at the original resonance frequency is measured. Then, the design is modified for the integration of active piezoelectric patches without detuning the TVA. In order to estimate the real power generated, a complex storage circuit is implemented. A DC-DC step-down converter is connected to the device through a rectifier to return a fixed output voltage. Introducing a big capacitor, the energy stored is measured at different frequencies. Finally, the electromechanical prototype is tested and validated achieving simultaneously reduction and harvesting functions.

Keywords: energy harvesting, piezoelectricity, torsional vibration, vibration absorber

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Ekta, G. K. Darbha

Abstract:

Nanotechnology offers the potential of simultaneously increasing efficiency as compared to their bulk material as well as reducing harmful environmental impacts of pesticides in field of agriculture. The term nanopesticide covers different pesticides that are cumulative of several surfactants, polymers, metal ions, etc. of nanometer size ranges from 1-1000 nm and exhibit abnormal behavior (high efficacy and high specific surface area) of nanomaterials. Commercial formulations of pesticides used by farmers nowadays cannot be used effectively due to a number of problems associated with them. For example, more than 90% of applied formulations are either lost in the environment or unable to reach the target area required for effective pest control. Around 20−30% of pesticides are lost through emissions. A number of factors (application methods, physicochemical properties of the formulations, and environmental conditions) can influence the extent of loss during application. It is known that among various formulations, polymer-based formulations show the greatest potential due to their greater efficacy, slow release and protection against premature degradation of active ingredient as compared to other commercial formulations. However, the nanoformulations can have a significant effect on the fate of active ingredient as well as may release some new ingredients by reacting with existing soil contaminants. Environmental fate of these newly generated species is still not explored very well which is essential to field scale experiments and hence a lot to be explored in the field of environmental fate, nanotoxicology, transport properties and stability of such formulations. In our preliminary work, we have synthesized polymer based nanoformulation of commercially used weedicide atrazine. Atrazine belongs to triazine class of herbicide, which is used in the effective control of seed germinated dicot weeds and grasses. It functions by binding to the plastoquinone-binding protein in PS-II. Plant death results from starvation and oxidative damage caused by breakdown in electron transport system. The stability of the suspension of nanoformulation containing herbicide has been evaluated by considering different parameters like polydispersity index, particle diameter, zeta-potential under different environmental relevance condition such as pH range 4-10, temperature range from 25°C to 65°C and stability of encapsulation also have been studied for different amount of added polymer. Morphological characterization has been done by using SEM.

Keywords: atrazine, nanoformulation, nanopesticide, nanotoxicology

Procedia PDF Downloads 256

Authors: Hayder H. Kareem, Shunqi Pan

Abstract:

The geological environment where the groundwater is collected represents the most important element that affects the behaviour of groundwater aquifer. As groundwater is a worldwide vital resource, it requires knowing the parameters that affect this source accurately so that the conceptualized mathematical models would be acceptable to the broadest ranges. Therefore, groundwater models have recently become an effective and efficient tool to investigate groundwater aquifer behaviours. Groundwater aquifer may contain aquitards, aquicludes, or interfaces within its geological formations. Aquitards and aquicludes have geological formations that forced the modellers to include those formations within the conceptualized groundwater models, while interfaces are commonly neglected from the conceptualization process because the modellers believe that the interface has no effect on aquifer behaviour. The current research highlights the impact of an interface existing in a real unconfined groundwater aquifer called Dibdibba, located in Al-Najaf City, Iraq where it has a river called the Euphrates River that passes through the eastern part of this city. Dibdibba groundwater aquifer consists of two types of soil layers separated by an interface soil layer. A groundwater model is built for Al-Najaf City to explore the impact of this interface. Calibration process is done using PEST 'Parameter ESTimation' approach and the best Dibdibba groundwater model is obtained. When the soil interface is conceptualized, results show that the groundwater tables are significantly affected by that interface through appearing dry areas of 56.24 km² and 6.16 km² in the upper and lower layers of the aquifer, respectively. The Euphrates River will also leak water into the groundwater aquifer of 7359 m³/day. While these results are changed when the soil interface is neglected where the dry area became 0.16 km², the Euphrates River leakage became 6334 m³/day. In addition, the conceptualized models (with and without interface) reveal different responses for the change in the recharge rates applied on the aquifer through the uncertainty analysis test. The aquifer of Dibdibba in Al-Najaf City shows a slight deficit in the amount of water supplied by the current pumping scheme and also notices that the Euphrates River suffers from stresses applied to the aquifer. Ultimately, this study shows a crucial need to represent the interface soil layer in model conceptualization to be the intended and future predicted behaviours more reliable for consideration purposes.

Keywords: Al-Najaf City, groundwater aquifer behaviour, groundwater modelling, interface soil layer, Visual MODFLOW

Procedia PDF Downloads 183

Authors: Anderson Rocha-Buelvas, Jaqueline Mena Huertas, Edith Burbano Rosero, Arsenio Hidalgo Troya, Mauricio Casas Cruz

Abstract:

COVID-19 is a disruptive pandemic for the public health and economic system of whole countries, including Colombia. Nariño Department is the southwest of the country and draws attention to being on the border with Ecuador, constantly facing demographic transition affecting infections between countries. In Nariño, the early routine diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2, which can be handled at BSL-2, has affected the transmission dynamics of COVID-19. However, new emerging and re-emerging viruses with biological flexibility classified as a Risk Group 3 agent can take advantage of epidemiological opportunities, generating the need to increase clinical diagnosis, mainly in border regions between countries. The overall objective of this project was to assure the quality of the analytical process in the diagnosis of high biological risk pathogens in Nariño by building a laboratory that includes biosafety level (BSL)-2 and (BSL)-3 containment zones. The delimitation of zones was carried out according to the Verification Tool of the National Health Institute of Colombia and following the standard requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories of the International Organization for Standardization. This is achieved by harmonization of methods and equipment for effective and durable diagnostics of the large-scale spread of highly pathogenic microorganisms, employing negative-pressure containment systems and UV Systems in accordance with a finely controlled electrical system and PCR systems as new diagnostic tools. That increases laboratory capacity. Protection in BSL-3 zones will separate the handling of potentially infectious aerosols within the laboratory from the community and the environment. It will also allow the handling and inactivation of samples with suspected pathogens and the extraction of molecular material from them, allowing research with pathogens with high risks, such as SARS-CoV-2, Influenza, and syncytial virus, and malaria, among others. The diagnosis of these pathogens will be articulated across the spectrum of basic, applied, and translational research that could receive about 60 daily samples. It is expected that this project will be articulated with the health policies of neighboring countries to increase research capacity.

Keywords: medical laboratory science, SARS-CoV-2, public health surveillance, Colombia

Procedia PDF Downloads 91