Search results for: differential learning

Authors: Semeh Ben Salem, Sami Naouali, Moetez Sallami

Abstract:

Clustering is a well known data mining technique used in pattern recognition and information retrieval. The initial dataset to be clustered can either contain categorical or numeric data. Each type of data has its own specific clustering algorithm. In this context, two algorithms are proposed: the k-means for clustering numeric datasets and the k-modes for categorical datasets. The main encountered problem in data mining applications is clustering categorical dataset so relevant in the datasets. One main issue to achieve the clustering process on categorical values is to transform the categorical attributes into numeric measures and directly apply the k-means algorithm instead the k-modes. In this paper, it is proposed to experiment an approach based on the previous issue by transforming the categorical values into numeric ones using the relative frequency of each modality in the attributes. The proposed approach is compared with a previously method based on transforming the categorical datasets into binary values. The scalability and accuracy of the two methods are experimented. The obtained results show that our proposed method outperforms the binary method in all cases.

Keywords: clustering, unsupervised learning, pattern recognition, categorical datasets, knowledge discovery, k-means

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: Marcel Verwey, Anna M. Joubert, Elsie M. Nolte, Wolfgang Dohle, Barry V. L. Potter, Anne E. Theron

Abstract:

A tetrahydroisoquinolinone (THIQ) core can be used to mimic the A,B-ring of colchicine site-binding microtubule disruptors such as 2-methoxyestradiol in the design of anti-cancer agents. Steroidomimeric microtubule disruptors were synthesized by introducing C'2 and C'3 of the steroidal A-ring to C'6 and C'7 of the THIQ core and by introducing a decorated hydrogen bond acceptor motif projecting from the steroidal D-ring to N'2. For this in vitro study, four non-steroidal THIQ-based analogues were investigated and comparative studies were done between the non-sulphamoylated compound STX 3450 and the sulphamoylated compounds STX 2895, STX 3329 and STX 3451. The objective of this study was to investigate the modes of cell death induced by these four THIQ-based analogues in A549 lung carcinoma epithelial cells and metastatic breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-231 cells. Cytotoxicity studies to determine the half maximal growth inhibitory concentrations were done using spectrophotometric quantification via crystal violet staining and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Microtubule integrity and morphologic changes of exposed cells were investigated using polarization-optical transmitted light differential interference contrast microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. Flow cytometric quantification was used to determine apoptosis induction and the effect that THIQ-based analogues have on cell cycle progression. Signal transduction pathways were elucidated by quantification of the mitochondrial membrane integrity, cytochrome c release and caspase 3, -6 and -8 activation. Induction of autophagic cell death by the THIQ-based analogues was investigated by morphological assessment of fluorescent monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining of acidic vacuoles and by quantifying aggresome formation via flow cytometry. Results revealed that these non-steroidal microtubule disrupting analogues inhibited 50% of cell growth at nanomolar concentrations. Immunofluorescence microscopy indicated microtubule depolarization and the resultant mitotic arrest was further confirmed through cell cycle analysis. Apoptosis induction via the intrinsic pathway was observed due to depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane, induction of cytochrome c release as well as, caspase 3 activation. Potential involvement of programmed cell death type II was observed due to the presence of acidic vacuoles and aggresome formation. Necrotic cell death did not contribute significantly, indicated by stable LDH levels. This in vitro study revealed the induction of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway as well as possible involvement of autophagy after exposure to these THIQ-based analogues in both MDA-MB-231- and A549 cells. Further investigation of this series of anticancer drugs still needs to be conducted to elucidate the temporal, mechanistic and functional crosstalk mechanisms between the two observed programmed cell deaths pathways.

Keywords: apoptosis, autophagy, cancer, microtubule disruptor

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Bassem M. Darwish, Robert H. Ablove

Abstract:

Introduction: Total knee arthroscopy (TKA) is a commonly performed procedure in patients with end-stage osteoarthritis and inaccuracy of component alignment in TKA has been shown to have many adverse post-operative outcomes such as accelerated implant wear, reduced functional outcomes, and shorter overall implant survival. Robotic surgical systems have been introduced to try and improve joint alignment and functional outcomes in knee arthroscopy, one recent iteration is the ROSA knee system, released to the market in 2019. The objective of this scoping review is to map the available evidence, identify the current types of evidence, and identify knowledge gaps to guide future studies on patient outcomes following ROSA-assisted total knee arthroplasties. Methods: An electronic search was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews. Search terms included ROSA, knee arthroscopy, osteoarthritis, robotic, and malalignment. Types of study participants included patients with osteoarthritis, ages 18 and older, male or female, who received manual TKA (mTKA) or ROSA-assisted TKA (rTKA), and human patients or cadavers. Published, peer-reviewed controlled trials, observational studies, and case series were included. Case reports were not included in article review. Resulting articles were first screened based on title and abstract. Articles meeting inclusion criteria based on title and abstract review then underwent full-text review by the same reviewer. Results: This scoping review identified 11 total studies, 3 prospective observational studies, and 8 retrospective observational studies - a total of 970 rTKA patients and 1745 mTKA patients. There were no case series or randomized controlled trials comparing rTKA and mTKA. Patient-centered outcomes showed promise for rTKA, where it frequently showed significantly favorable functional outcomes, measured via KOOS-JR, VAS, KSS, OKS, FJS, and PROMIS scores, at various times postoperatively. However, there was much discrepancy about which score yielded significance at which postoperative follow-up. Complication rates, reoperation rates, and LOS were very similar between mTKA and rTKA groups. Studies also showed rTKA had more accurate joint alignment within the 0 ± 3o corridor and had significantly higher rates of achieving postoperative joint angles similar to the preoperative plan. Finally, there was major agreement that rTKA cases take significantly longer time at the start, however, there is a rapid learning curve. Once past the learning curve, rTKA cases are performed in a similar time to mTKA and reduced physician stress and strain. Conclusion: The ROSA knee system represents a promising option for the management of osteoarthritis via total knee arthroscopy. The studies reviewed in this paper favor the patient-centered function outcomes, joint alignments, and physician health implications of the ROSA knee system to conventional total knee arthroscopy. Further study is warranted, however, to better understand recovery periods, longer-term functional outcomes, operative fatigue, and reduction in radiation exposure.

Keywords: arthroplasty, knee, robotics, malalignment

Procedia PDF Downloads 36

Authors: Mikako Nobuhara

Abstract:

The Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) test, conducted by the Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC), has a huge impact on education in Japan. Almost all college students have to submit their TOEIC test scores when applying for entry-level jobs at companies. In addition, an increasing number of colleges are encouraging students to have a global vision. For this specific reason, studying for the TOEIC test is essential for English as a second language (ESL) learner to develop English communication skills. This study shows that studying by using some workbooks about the listening section of the TOEIC test clearly helps ESL learners to develop their listening skills. For this purpose, the listening test scores before and after classroom sessions were analyzed for each student. Students obtained higher scores in the listening section of the test and improved their English listening skills at the end of all the classroom sessions. In conclusion, it is important for English teachers to achieve the following objectives: (1) facilitate the learning of effective methods for correctly solving questions based on listening skills and (2) prepare listening tasks for reading aloud so as to keep up with the original speed, which is required for solving questions in the TOEIC test.

Keywords: education, ESL, listening skills, TOEIC test

Procedia PDF Downloads 262

Authors: S. Cichosz, A. Masek

Abstract:

A new cellulose hybrid modification approach, which is undoubtedly a scientific novelty, is introduced. The study reports the properties of cellulose (Arbocel UFC100 – Ultra Fine Cellulose) and characterizes cellulose filled polymer composites based on an ethylene-norbornene copolymer (TOPAS Elastomer E-140). Moreover, the approach of physicochemical two-stage cellulose treatment is introduced: solvent exchange (to ethanol or hexane) and further chemical modification with maleic anhydride (MA). Furthermore, the impact of the drying process on cellulose properties was investigated. Suitable measurements were carried out to characterize cellulose fibers: spectroscopic investigation (Fourier Transform Infrared Spektrofotometer-FTIR, Near InfraRed spectroscopy-NIR), thermal analysis (Differential scanning calorimetry, Thermal gravimetric analysis ) and Karl Fischer titration. It should be emphasized that for all UFC100 treatments carried out, a decrease in moisture content was evidenced. FT-IR reveals a drop in absorption band intensity at 3334 cm-1, the peak is associated with both –OH moieties and water. Similar results were obtained with Karl Fischer titration. Based on the results obtained, it may be claimed that the employment of ethanol contributes greatly to the lowering of cellulose water absorption ability (decrease of moisture content to approximately 1.65%). Additionally, regarding polymer composite properties, crucial data has been obtained from the mechanical and thermal analysis. The highest material performance was noted in the case of the composite sample that contained cellulose modified with MA after a solvent exchange with ethanol. This specimen exhibited sufficient tensile strength, which is almost the same as that of the neat polymer matrix – in the region of 40 MPa. Moreover, both the Payne effect and filler efficiency factor, calculated based on dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), reveal the possibility of the filler having a reinforcing nature. What is also interesting is that, according to the Payne effect results, fibers dried before the further chemical modification are assumed to allow more regular filler structure development in the polymer matrix (Payne effect maximum at 1.60 MPa), compared with those not dried (Payne effect in the range 0.84-1.26 MPa). Furthermore, taking into consideration the data gathered from DSC and TGA, higher thermal stability is obtained in case of the materials filled with fibers that were dried before the carried out treatments (degradation activation energy in the region of 195 kJ/mol) in comparison with the polymer composite samples filled with unmodified cellulose (degradation activation energy of approximately 180 kJ/mol). To author’s best knowledge this work results in the introduction of a novel, new filler hybrid treatment approach. Moreover, valuable data regarding the properties of composites filled with cellulose fibers of various moisture contents have been provided. It should be emphasized that plant fiber-based polymer bio-materials described in this research might contribute significantly to polymer waste minimization because they are more readily degraded.

Keywords: cellulose fibers, solvent exchange, moisture content, ethylene-norbornene copolymer

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Siddhant Rao

Abstract:

Studies estimate that there will be 266,120 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 40,920 breast cancer induced deaths in the year of 2018 alone. Despite the pervasiveness of this affliction, the current process to obtain an accurate breast cancer prognosis is tedious and time consuming. It usually requires a trained pathologist to manually examine histopathological images and identify the features that characterize various cancer severity levels. We propose MITOS-RCNN: a region based convolutional neural network (RCNN) geared for small object detection to accurately grade one of the three factors that characterize tumor belligerence described by the Nottingham Grading System: mitotic count. Other computational approaches to mitotic figure counting and detection do not demonstrate ample recall or precision to be clinically viable. Our models outperformed all previous participants in the ICPR 2012 challenge, the AMIDA 2013 challenge and the MITOS-ATYPIA-14 challenge along with recently published works. Our model achieved an F- measure score of 0.955, a 6.11% improvement in accuracy from the most accurate of the previously proposed models.

Keywords: breast cancer, mitotic count, machine learning, convolutional neural networks

Procedia PDF Downloads 224

Authors: Thi V. S. Nguyen, Kevin Laws

Abstract:

This study investigates the construction of higher education teachers’ roles from the perspectives of participants in a compulsory teachers’ professional development for Vietnamese higher education teachers. Constructivist grounded theory was used as methodology and analysis of the study. Fifteen program participants were semi-structured interviewed before they started the professional development program for higher education teachers. Five trainers of the program were interviewed and documents related to teachers’ standards in Vietnam were analysed to supplement participants’ perspectives. Standards and roles of higher education teachers emerged as two categories grounded from data. Standard category involves moral and professional criteria, whereas roles of higher education teachers category consists of specific roles related to guiding student learning, and advising their academic, moral and social activities. A model of higher education teachers’ conceptions of their roles in a Vietnamese context addressing both professional (techne) and moral (praxis) responsibilities is constructed from this study. A discussion on teachers’ roles in higher education is put forward and insightful implications for the design and possible restructure of teachers’ professional development for early career higher education teachers is suggested.

Keywords: higher education teachers' roles and standards, moral roles, teachers' professional development, teachers' conceptions of their roles

Procedia PDF Downloads 397

Authors: Sawsan J. Al-Husseini

Abstract:

Transformational leadership (TL) has been found to have an important influence on knowledge and knowledge management (KM). It can contribute to organizational learning, employees’ creativity, encourage followers to participate in educational programs and develop the skills needed to achieve exceptional performance. This research sought to examine the impact of TL on knowledge donating and collecting and the differences between these impacts in public and private higher education institutes (HEIs) in Iraq. A mixed method approach was taken and 580 valid responses were collected to test the causal relationships between the factors, then 12 interviews were conducted with the leaders of HEIs to give more insight of the findings from quantitative stage. Employing structural equation modelling with AMOS v.24, the research found that TL would be ideal in an educational context, promoting knowledge sharing activities in both sectors. The interviews revealed differences between public and private HEIs in terms of the effects relationships. Guidelines are developed for academics as well as leaders and provided evidence to support the use of TL to encourage knowledge sharing activities within higher education in developing countries particularly Iraq.

Keywords: transformational leadership, knowledge sharing, higher education, multi-group

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Wen-Chen Hwang, Yu-Hsi Yuan

Abstract:

According to the estimation made by researchers of safety and hygiene, 80% to 90% of workplace accidents in enterprises could be attributed to human factors. Nevertheless, human factors are not the only cause for accidents; instead, happening of accidents is also closely associated with the safety culture of the organization. Therefore, the most effective way of reducing accident rate would be to improve the social and the organizational factors that influence organization’s safety performance. Overview the present study is to understand the current level of safety culture in manufacturing enterprises. A tool for evaluating safety culture matching the needs and characteristics of manufacturing enterprises was developed by reviewing literature of safety culture, and taking the special backgrounds of the case enterprises into consideration. Expert validity was also implied for developing the questionnaire. Moreover, safety culture assessment was conducted through the practical investigation of the case enterprises. Total 505 samples were involved, 53 were executives and 452 were operators. The result of this study in comparison of the safety culture level between the executives and the operators was reached the significant level in 8 dimensions: Safety Commitment, Safety System, Safety Training, Safety Involvement, Reward and Motivation, Communication and Reporting, Leadership and Supervision, Learning and Changing. In general, the overall safety culture were executive level higher than operators level (M: 74.98 > 69.08; t=2.87; p < 0.01).

Keywords: questionnaire survey, safety culture, t-test, media studies

Procedia PDF Downloads 319

Authors: Çağrı Bekir Baysal, Göktuğ Burak Çalık

Abstract:

Armored vehicles may have different traction layouts as a result of terrain capabilities and mobility needs. Two main categories of layouts can be separated as wheeled and tracked. Tracked vehicles have superior off-road capabilities but what they gain on terrain performance they lose on mobility front. Wheeled vehicles on the other hand do not have as good terrain capabilities as tracked vehicles but they have superior mobility capabilities such as top speed, range and agility with respect to tracked vehicles. Conventional armored vehicles employ a diesel ICE as main power source. In these vehicles ICE is mechanically connected to the powertrain. This determines the ICE rpm as a result of speed and torque requested by the driver. ICE efficiency changes drastically with torque and speed required and conventional vehicles suffer in terms of fuel consumption because of this. Hybrid electric vehicles employ at least one electric motor in order to improve fuel efficiency. There are different types of hybrid vehicles but main types are Series Hybrid, Parallel Hybrid and Series-Parallel Hybrid. These vehicles introduce an electric motor for traction and also can have a generator electric motor for range extending purposes. Having an electric motor as the traction power source brings the flexibility of either using the ICE as an alternative traction source while it is in efficient range or completely separating the ICE from traction and using it solely considering efficiency. Hybrid configurations have additional advantages for armored vehicles in addition to fuel efficiency. Heat signature, silent operation and prolonged stationary missions can be possible with the help of the high-power battery pack that will be present in the vehicle for hybrid drivetrain. Because of the reasons explained, hybrid armored vehicles are becoming a target area for military and also for vehicle suppliers. In order to have a better idea and starting point when starting a hybrid armored vehicle design, hybrid drivetrain configuration has to be selected after performing a trade-off study. This study has to include vehicle mobility simulations, integration level, vehicle level and performance level criteria. In this study different hybrid traction configurations possible for an 8x8 vehicle is compared using above mentioned criteria set. In order to compare hybrid traction configurations ease of application, cost, weight advantage, reliability, maintainability, redundancy and performance criteria have been used. Performance criteria points have been defined with the help of vehicle simulations and tests. Results of these simulations and tests also help determining required tractive power for an armored vehicle including conditions like trench and obstacle crossing, gradient climb. With the method explained in this study, each configuration is assigned a point for each criterion. This way, correct configuration can be selected objectively for every application. Also, key aspects of armored vehicles, mine protection and ballistic protection will be considered for hybrid configurations. Results are expected to vary for different types of vehicles but it is observed that having longitudinal differential locking capability improves mobility and having high motor count increases complexity in general.

Keywords: armored vehicles, electric drivetrain, electric mobility, hybrid vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 87

Authors: Johns Paul, Santhosh J. Nalluveettil, P. Purushothaman, M. Premdas

Abstract:

Lunar landing is one of the most critical phases of lunar mission. The lander is provided with a soft landing system to prevent structural damage of lunar module by absorbing the landing shock and also assure stability during landing. Presently available software are not capable to simulate the rigid body dynamics coupled with contact simulation and elastic/plastic deformation analysis. Hence a separate mathematical model has been generated for studying the dynamics of a typical lunar soft lander. Parameters used in the analysis includes lunar surface slope, coefficient of friction, initial touchdown velocity (vertical and horizontal), mass and moment of inertia of lander, crushing force due to energy absorbing material in the legs, number of legs and geometry of lander. The mathematical model is capable to simulate plastic and elastic deformation of honey comb, frictional force between landing leg and lunar soil, surface contact simulation, lunar gravitational force, rigid body dynamics and linkage dynamics of inverted tripod landing gear. The non linear differential equations generated for studying the dynamics of lunar lander is solved by numerical method. Matlab programme has been used as a computer tool for solving the numerical equations. The position of each kinematic joint is defined by mathematical equations for the generation of equation of motion. All hinged locations are defined by position vectors with respect to body fixed coordinate. The vehicle rigid body rotations and motions about body coordinate are only due to the external forces and moments arise from footpad reaction force due to impact, footpad frictional force and weight of vehicle. All these force are mathematically simulated for the generation of equation of motion. The validation of mathematical model is done by two different phases. First phase is the validation of plastic deformation of crushable elements by employing conservation of energy principle. The second phase is the validation of rigid body dynamics of model by simulating a lander model in ADAMS software after replacing the crushable elements to elastic spring element. Simulation of plastic deformation along with rigid body dynamics and contact force cannot be modeled in ADAMS. Hence plastic element of primary strut is replaced with a spring element and analysis is carried out in ADAMS software. The same analysis is also carried out using the mathematical model where the simulation of honeycomb crushing is replaced by elastic spring deformation and compared the results with ADAMS analysis. The rotational motion of linkages and 6 degree of freedom motion of lunar Lander about its CG can be validated by ADAMS software by replacing crushing element to spring element. The model is also validated by the drop test results of 4 leg lunar lander. This paper presents the details of mathematical model generated and its validation.

Keywords: honeycomb, landing leg tripod, lunar lander, primary link, secondary link

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Claudio Loconsole, Daniele Leonardis, Antonio Brunetti, Gianpaolo Francesco Trotta, Nicholas Caporusso, Vitoantonio Bevilacqua

Abstract:

Unfortunately, many people still do not have access to communication, with specific regard to reading and writing. Among them, people who are blind or visually impaired, have several difficulties in getting access to the world, compared to the sighted. Indeed, despite technology advancement and cost reduction, nowadays assistive devices are still expensive such as Braille-based input/output systems which enable reading and writing texts (e.g., personal notes, documents). As a consequence, assistive technology affordability is fundamental in supporting the visually impaired in communication, learning, and social inclusion. This, in turn, has serious consequences in terms of equal access to opportunities, freedom of expression, and actual and independent participation to a society designed for the sighted. Moreover, the visually impaired experience difficulties in recognizing objects and interacting with devices in any activities of daily living. It is not a case that Braille indications are commonly reported only on medicine boxes and elevator keypads. Several software applications for the automatic translation of written text into speech (e.g., Text-To-Speech - TTS) enable reading pieces of documents. However, apart from simple tasks, in many circumstances TTS software is not suitable for understanding very complicated pieces of text requiring to dwell more on specific portions (e.g., mathematical formulas or Greek text). In addition, the experience of reading\writing text is completely different both in terms of engagement, and from an educational perspective. Statistics on the employment rate of blind people show that learning to read and write provides the visually impaired with up to 80% more opportunities of finding a job. Especially in higher educational levels, where the ability to digest very complex text is key, accessibility and availability of Braille plays a fundamental role in reducing drop-out rate of the visually impaired, thus affecting the effectiveness of the constitutional right to get access to education. In this context, the Braille Lab project aims at overcoming these social needs by including affordability in designing and developing assistive tools for visually impaired people. In detail, our awarded project focuses on a technology innovation of the operation principle of existing assistive tools for the visually impaired leaving the Human-Machine Interface unchanged. This can result in a significant reduction of the production costs and consequently of tool selling prices, thus representing an important opportunity for social entrepreneurship. The first two assistive tools designed within the Braille Lab project following the proposed approach aims to provide the possibility to personally print documents and handouts and to read texts written in Braille using refreshable Braille display, respectively. The former, named ‘Braille Cartridge’, represents an alternative solution for printing in Braille and consists in the realization of an electronic-controlled dispenser printing (cartridge) which can be integrated within traditional ink-jet printers, in order to leverage the efficiency and cost of the device mechanical structure which are already being used. The latter, named ‘Braille Cursor’, is an innovative Braille display featuring a substantial technology innovation by means of a unique cursor virtualizing Braille cells, thus limiting the number of active pins needed for Braille characters.

Keywords: Human rights, social challenges and technology innovations, visually impaired, affordability, assistive tools

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: Morgan Kuligowski, Marientina Gotsis

Abstract:

Extended reality (XR) technologies share an intertwined history with spaceflight and innovation. New advancements in XR technologies offer expanding possibilities to advance the future of human space exploration with increased crew autonomy. This paper seeks to identify implementation gaps between existing and proposed XR space applications to inform future mission planning. A review of virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality technologies implemented aboard the International Space Station revealed a total of 16 flown investigations. A secondary set of ground-tested XR human spaceflight applications were systematically retrieved from literature sources. The two sets of XR technologies, those flown and those existing in the literature were analyzed to characterize application domains and device types. Comparisons between these groups revealed untapped application areas for XR to support crew psychological health, in-flight training, and extravehicular operations on future flights. To fill these roles, integrating XR technologies with advancements in biometric sensors and machine learning tools is expected to transform crew capabilities.

Keywords: augmented reality, extended reality, international space station, mixed reality, virtual reality

Procedia PDF Downloads 218

Authors: G. Suja, J. Sreekumar, A. N. Jyothi, V. S. Santhosh Mithra

Abstract:

Worldwide concerns regarding food safety, environmental degradation and threats to human health have generated interest in alternative systems like organic farming. Tropical tuber crops, cassava, sweet potato, yams, and aroids are food-cum-nutritional security-cum climate resilient crops. These form stable or subsidiary food for about 500 million global population. Cassava, yams (white yam, greater yam, and lesser yam) and edible aroids (elephant foot yam, taro, and tannia) are high energy tuberous vegetables with good taste and nutritive value. Seven on-station field experiments at ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, India and seventeen on-farm trials in three districts of Kerala, were conducted over a decade (2004-2015) to compare the varietal response, yield, quality and soil properties under organic vs conventional system in these crops and to develop a learning system based on the data generated. The industrial, as well as domestic varieties of cassava, the elite and local varieties of elephant foot yam and taro and the three species of Dioscorea (yams), were on a par under both systems. Organic management promoted yield by 8%, 20%, 9%, 11% and 7% over conventional practice in cassava, elephant foot yam, white yam, greater yam and lesser yam respectively. Elephant foot yam was the most responsive to organic management followed by yams and cassava. In taro, slight yield reduction (5%) was noticed under organic farming with almost similar tuber quality. The tuber quality was improved with higher dry matter, starch, crude protein, K, Ca and Mg contents. The anti-nutritional factors, oxalate content in elephant foot yam and cyanogenic glucoside content in cassava were lowered by 21 and 12.4% respectively. Organic plots had significantly higher water holding capacity, pH, available K, Fe, Mn and Cu, higher soil organic matter, available N, P, exchangeable Ca and Mg, dehydrogenase enzyme activity and microbial count. Organic farming scored significantly higher soil quality index (1.93) than conventional practice (1.46). The soil quality index was driven by water holding capacity, pH and available Zn followed by soil organic matter. Organic management enhanced net profit by 20-40% over chemical farming. A case in point is the cost-benefit analysis in elephant foot yam which indicated that the net profit was 28% higher and additional income of Rs. 47,716 ha-1 was obtained due to organic farming. Cost-effective technologies were field validated. The on-station technologies developed were validated and popularized through on-farm trials in 10 sites (5 ha) under National Horticulture Mission funded programme in elephant foot yam and seven sites in yams and taro. The technologies are included in the Package of Practices Recommendations for crops of Kerala Agricultural University. A learning system developed using artificial neural networks (ANN) predicted the performance of elephant foot yam organic system. Use of organically produced seed materials, seed treatment in cow-dung, neem cake, bio-inoculant slurry, farmyard manure incubated with bio-inoculants, green manuring, use of neem cake, bio-fertilizers and ash formed the strategies for organic production. Organic farming is an eco-friendly management strategy that enables 10-20% higher yield, quality tubers and maintenance of soil health in tuber crops.

Keywords: eco-agriculture, quality, root crops, healthy soil, yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 338

Authors: Maria Sheila S. Garcia

Abstract:

A good number of researches indicate that living in another country may create different and unexpected adjustment problems, and foreign students are not exempted from this. To provide an understanding of this process, 30 foreign college students studying English in Tarlac City were asked to answer questionnaires. This is to determine their sociocultural adaptation, openness to the host culture and success of sojourn. Through statistical analysis, it was found that the students experience greater difficulty in the academic area. Moderate difficulty was attributed to everyday life and social interactions. Albeit difficult, what they like best is the school’s methods of teaching English while the areas that need improvement are the libraries and internet connection. The only significant relationship was found between sociocultural adaptation and success of sojourn. Negatively correlated, if students experience greater difficulties in their host country, they are likely to regret their stay and will not recommend it to anyone. Openness to the host culture did not have an effect on the adaptation and success of sojourn. The short period of time that the students have are spent in studying rather than making friends. Nonetheless, this indicates the need to look deeper into the academic, extra-curricular activities and facilities provided by learning institutions.

Keywords: foreign students, sociocultural adaptation, success of sojourn, Tarlac Philippines

Procedia PDF Downloads 604

Authors: Tom S. Owens, Tom A. Calverley, Benjamin S. Stacey, Christopher J. Marley, George Rose, Lewis Fall, Gareth L. Jones, Priscilla Williams, John P. R. Williams, Martin Steggall, Damian M. Bailey

Abstract:

Introduction and aims: Sports-related concussion (SRC) represents a significant and growing public health concern in rugby union, yet remains one of the least understood injuries facing the health community today. Alongside increasing SRC incidence rates, there is concern that prior recurrent concussion may contribute to long-term neurologic sequelae in later-life. This may be due to an accelerated decline in cerebral perfusion, a major risk factor for neurocognitive decline and neurodegeneration, though the underlying mechanisms remain to be established. The present study hypothesised that recurrent concussion in current professional rugby union players would result in elevated systemic oxidative-nitrosative stress, reflected by a free radical-mediated reduction in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and impaired cerebrovascular and cognitive function. Methodology: A longitudinal study design was adopted across the 2017-2018 rugby union season. Ethical approval was obtained from the University of South Wales Ethics Committee. Data collection is ongoing, and therefore the current report documents result from the pre-season and first half of the in-season data collection. Participants were initially divided into two subgroups; 23 professional rugby union players (aged 26 ± 5 years) and 22 non-concussed controls (27 ± 8 years). Pre-season measurements were performed for cerebrovascular function (Doppler ultrasound of middle cerebral artery velocity (MCAv) in response to hypocapnia/normocapnia/hypercapnia), cephalic venous concentrations of the ascorbate radical (A•-, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy), NO (ozone-based chemiluminescence) and cognition (neuropsychometric tests). Notational analysis was performed to assess contact in the rugby group throughout each competitive game. Results: 1001 tackles and 62 injuries, including three concussions were observed across the first half of the season. However, no associations were apparent between number of tackles and any injury type (P > 0.05). The rugby group expressed greater oxidative stress as indicated by increased A•- (P < 0.05 vs. control) and a subsequent decrease in NO bioavailability (P < 0.05 vs. control). The rugby group performed worse in the Ray Auditory Verbal Learning Test B (RAVLT-B, learning, and memory) and the Grooved Pegboard test using both the dominant and non-dominant hands (visuomotor coordination, P < 0.05 vs. control). There were no between-group differences in cerebral perfusion at baseline (MCAv: 54 ± 13 vs. 59 ± 12, P > 0.05). Likewise, no between-group differences in CVRCO2Hypo (2.58 ± 1.01 vs. 2.58 ± 0.75, P > 0.05) or CVRCO2Hyper (2.69 ± 1.07 vs. 3.35 ± 1.28, P > 0.05) were observed. Conclusion: The present study identified that the rugby union players are characterized by impaired cognitive function subsequent to elevated systemic-oxidative-nitrosative stress. However, this appears to be independent of any functional impairment in cerebrovascular function. Given the potential long-term trajectory towards accelerated cognitive decline in populations exposed to SRC, prophylaxis to increase NO bioavailability warrants consideration.

Keywords: cognition, concussion, mild traumatic brain injury, rugby

Procedia PDF Downloads 179

Authors: Jacob Nortey

Abstract:

Introduction: In recent years, there has been an enormous success in discoveries of scientific knowledge in medicine coupled with the advancement of technology. Despite all these successes, diagnoses and treatment of diseases have become complex. According to the Ibero – American Study of Adverse Effects (IBEAS), about 10% of hospital patients suffer from secondary damage during the care process, and approximately 2% die from this process. Many clinical decision support systems have been developed to help mitigate some healthcare medical errors. Method: Relevant databases were searched, including ones that were peculiar to the clinical decision support system (that is, using google scholar, Pub Med and general google searches). The articles were then screened for a comprehensive overview of the functionality, consultative style and statistical usage of Dxplain Clinical decision support systems. Results: Inferences drawn from the articles showed high usage of Dxplain clinical decision support system for problem-based learning among students in developed countries as against little or no usage among students in Low – and Middle – income Countries. The results also indicated high usage among general practitioners. Conclusion: Despite the challenges Dxplain presents, the benefits of its usage to clinicians and students are enormous.

Keywords: dxplain, clinical decision support sytem, diagnosis, support systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Pei-Jun Xue, Ming-Yu Hsiao

Abstract:

Language is the emblem of a culture, representing the extension of cultural life. In addition, it is also an important tool for communication and message transmission. It carries not only information but also covers the self-conscious of the information constructor as well as the situational experiences of users from different backgrounds. Moreover, design can be regarded as a language, a dynamic process of coding and decoding. With the designers’ experiences in everyday life, they bring them into the products’ experiences. Considered from the aspects of atmosphere and the five senses, a designer should consider and reconsider how to communicate the messages effectively to suit the users’ needs. In the process of language learning, we should understand the construction behind it and the rules of the compositions of language codes. Regarding the understanding of the design of works or the form of product construction, it is necessary for us to understand the coding system during the process of product construction. The form (signifiers) and meanings (signified) of Chinese characters are closely related. At the same time, it is also a process of simplifying the complicated to the simple. This study discusses the chinese characters that used in the cultural symbols construction, and analysis of existing products by Peirce's semiotic triangles. Through people's cognition of Chinese characters and constitute method, help to understand the way of construction product symbol.

Keywords: cultural-creative product design, cultural product, cultural symbols, linguistic symbols

Procedia PDF Downloads 453

Authors: Kusuma Palaprom

Abstract:

The aims of this research are: 1) to study Hmong ethnic group hill tribe’s way of life and community industrial management and 2) to bring the industrial management into the community. This is a Participatory Action Research (PAR) using qualitative and quantitative data. The findings are: 1) Way of living and learning from nature of Hmong ethnic group hill tribe bases on their cultural relic belief. Hmong‘s way of life or occupation is traditional agriculture which cannot be business because they cannot adopt the industrial management to the community economic innovation base on local wisdom. 2) Quality of life development using local wisdom cost is not worth. Hmong ethnic group hill tribe are lack of modern knowledge-managerial aspect and the application of local wisdom cost and 3) the government supports for Hmong’s developing of life quality are limited. Solving problem guidelines are: 1) to create awareness of ethnic group wisdom-industrial conservation. 2) Government policy need to give an opportunity and motivate ethnic group community to do the cultural-industrial conservation with industrial management process and local wisdom cost. In order to, improve the sustainability of quality of life.

Keywords: industrial management, highland community, community empowerment ethnic group

Procedia PDF Downloads 570

Authors: Setyo Pamuji

Abstract:

The basis of this research is to create an international business project by developing an area in every country which focused on global language teaching to accelerate huge project of internationalization for mankind better with equity. It is to make an ease, learning more effective and efficient as well as economic development significantly at the place. Some have attempted to establish it, but could have not succeeded. This study uses stratified random sampling method to determine respondents. It is caused by population coming from around of Indonesia which is heterogeneity. Above all, researcher has already known well the spot including the mapping of students and societies, over 5-year, from beginning studying English (2011) until teaching English (2015). This quantitative research is able to analyze the vital factor of successful Language Village at Pare, Kediri, East Java, Indonesia which has never been obtained anywhere. This project provides valuable information regarding management used by the Language Village. Overall approach depicts vigorous marketing strategy and dedication blended. This will allow for more individual consideration of economist and may direct future research on the uniqueness of the Language Village to ascertain more profound understanding of the village which succeeds inviting people from other places to come, beside formal management and marketing.

Keywords: internationalization, accelerate, global language, economic development, blended, globalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 177

Authors: S. Nandagopalan, N. Pradeep

Abstract:

The aim of this paper is to propose a general framework for storing, analyzing, and extracting knowledge from two-dimensional echocardiographic images, color Doppler images, non-medical images, and general data sets. A number of high performance data mining algorithms have been used to carry out this task. Our framework encompasses four layers namely physical storage, object identification, knowledge discovery, user level. Techniques such as active contour model to identify the cardiac chambers, pixel classification to segment the color Doppler echo image, universal model for image retrieval, Bayesian method for classification, parallel algorithms for image segmentation, etc., were employed. Using the feature vector database that have been efficiently constructed, one can perform various data mining tasks like clustering, classification, etc. with efficient algorithms along with image mining given a query image. All these facilities are included in the framework that is supported by state-of-the-art user interface (UI). The algorithms were tested with actual patient data and Coral image database and the results show that their performance is better than the results reported already.

Keywords: active contour, bayesian, echocardiographic image, feature vector

Procedia PDF Downloads 422

Authors: Ali Rashash Alzahrani, Elizabeth Stojanovski

Abstract:

Data on various aspects of education are collected at the institutional and government level regularly. In Australia, for example, students at various levels of schooling undertake examinations in numeracy and literacy as part of NAPLAN testing, enabling longitudinal assessment of such data as well as comparisons between schools and states within Australia. Another source of educational data collected internationally is via the PISA study which collects data from several countries when students are approximately 15 years of age and enables comparisons in the performance of science, mathematics and English between countries as well as ranking of countries based on performance in these standardised tests. As well as student and school outcomes based on the tests taken as part of the PISA study, there is a wealth of other data collected in the study including parental demographics data and data related to teaching strategies used by educators. Overall, an abundance of educational data is available which has the potential to be used to help improve educational attainment and teaching of content in order to improve learning outcomes. A multivariate assessment of such data enables multiple variables to be considered simultaneously and will be used in the present study to help develop profiles of students based on performance in mathematics using data obtained from the PISA study.

Keywords: cluster analysis, education, mathematics, profiles

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Victor William Harris

Abstract:

This research is a validation study of the Social Emotional Ability Inventory (SEAI), a multi-dimensional self-report instrument informed by positive psychology, emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and sociocultural learning theory. Designed for use in tandem with the Social Emotional Development (SEAD) theoretical model, the SEAI provides diagnostic-level guidance for professionals and individuals interested in investigating, identifying, and understanding social, emotional strengths, as well as remediating specific social competency deficiencies. The SEAI was shown to be psychometrically sound, exhibited strong internal reliability, and supported the a priori hypotheses of the SEAD. Additionally, confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence of goodness of fit, convergent and divergent validity, and supported a theoretical model that reflected SEAD expectations. The SEAI and SEAD hold potentially far-reaching and important practical implications for theoretical guidance and diagnostic-level measurement of social, emotional competency across a wide range of domains. Strategies researchers, practitioners, educators, and individuals might use to deploy SEAI in order to improve quality of life outcomes are discussed.

Keywords: emotion, emotional ability, positive psychology-social emotional ability, social emotional ability, social emotional ability instrument

Procedia PDF Downloads 260

Authors: Zaideth Zobeida Ponce Alonso, Laura Emilia Fierro Lopez, Maria del Rocio Dominguez Gaona

Abstract:

The present study is part of the Master in Modern Languages at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, and it aims to analyze how the sociocultural background might influence the development of learner autonomy in foreign language education in order to propose some strategies to overcome such challenges. Given the lack of research on the sociocultural barriers in learner autonomy in a Mexican context and the need to hear teachers’ voices about this issue, qualitative data was obtained from semi-structured interviews with six language teachers on their perspectives on learner autonomy, its application to the language classroom, and their experiences with Mexican and foreign learners/contexts in order to find out differences regarding learner autonomy. The results suggest three main sociocultural characteristics: preference for an authority figure, tendency towards collectivism, and low tolerance of ambiguity. Finally, nine strategies were proposed in order to help language teachers to deal with such sociocultural characteristics when fostering learner autonomy in the border city of Mexicali, where this study was carried out.

Keywords: learner autonomy, Mexican context, sociocultural influence, teachers' perspectives, teaching strategies

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Sarantos Psycharis

Abstract:

Physical Computing, as an instructional model, is applied in the framework of the Engineering Pedagogy to teach “transversal/cross-cutting ideas” in a STEM content approach. Labview and Arduino were used in order to connect the physical world with real data in the framework of the so called Computational Experiment. Tertiary prospective engineering educators were engaged during their course and Computational Thinking (CT) concepts were registered before and after the intervention across didactic activities using validated questionnaires for the relationship between self-efficacy, computer programming, and CT concepts when STEM content epistemology is implemented in alignment with the Computational Pedagogy model. Results show a significant change in students’ responses for self-efficacy for CT before and after the instruction. Results also indicate a significant relation between the responses in the different CT concepts/practices. According to the findings, STEM content epistemology combined with Physical Computing should be a good candidate as a learning and teaching approach in university settings that enhances students’ engagement in CT concepts/practices.

Keywords: arduino, computational thinking, computer programming, Labview, self-efficacy, STEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Anwar Beg, Sireetorn Kuharat, Rashid Mehmood, Rabil Tabassum, Meisam Babaie

Abstract:

Nano-polymeric solar paints and sol-gels have emerged as a major new development in solar cell/collector coatings offering significant improvements in durability, anti-corrosion and thermal efficiency. They also exhibit substantial viscosity variation with temperature which can be exploited in solar collector designs. Modern manufacturing processes for such nano-rheological materials frequently employ stagnation flow dynamics under high temperature which invokes radiative heat transfer. Motivated by elaborating in further detail the nanoscale heat, mass and momentum characteristics of such sol gels, the present article presents a mathematical and computational study of the steady, two-dimensional, non-aligned thermo-fluid boundary layer transport of copper metal-doped water-based nano-polymeric sol gels under radiative heat flux. To simulate real nano-polymer boundary interface dynamics, thermal slip is analysed at the wall. A temperature-dependent viscosity is also considered. The Tiwari-Das nanofluid model is deployed which features a volume fraction for the nanoparticle concentration. This approach also features a Maxwell-Garnet model for the nanofluid thermal conductivity. The conservation equations for mass, normal and tangential momentum and energy (heat) are normalized via appropriate transformations to generate a multi-degree, ordinary differential, non-linear, coupled boundary value problem. Numerical solutions are obtained via the stable, efficient Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg scheme with shooting quadrature in MATLAB symbolic software. Validation of solutions is achieved with a Variational Iterative Method (VIM) utilizing Langrangian multipliers. The impact of key emerging dimensionless parameters i.e. obliqueness parameter, radiation-conduction Rosseland number (Rd), thermal slip parameter (α), viscosity parameter (m), nanoparticles volume fraction (ϕ) on non-dimensional normal and tangential velocity components, temperature, wall shear stress, local heat flux and streamline distributions is visualized graphically. Shear stress and temperature are boosted with increasing radiative effect whereas local heat flux is reduced. Increasing wall thermal slip parameter depletes temperatures. With greater volume fraction of copper nanoparticles temperature and thermal boundary layer thickness is elevated. Streamlines are found to be skewed markedly towards the left with positive obliqueness parameter.

Keywords: non-orthogonal stagnation-point heat transfer, solar nano-polymer coating, MATLAB numerical quadrature, Variational Iterative Method (VIM)

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: B. Ben Amara, H. Mhiri Sellami

Abstract:

Serious games adoption is increasing in multiple fields, including health, education, and business. In the same way, many research studied serious games (SGs) for various purposes such as classification, positive impacts, or learning outcomes. Although most of these research examine SG characteristics (SGCs) for conducting their studies, to author’s best knowledge, there is no consensus about features neither in number not in the description. In this paper, we conduct a literature review to collect essential game attributes regardless of the application areas and the study objectives. Firstly, we aimed to define Common SGCs (CSGCs) that characterize the game aspect, by gathering features having the same meanings. Secondly, we tried to identify specific features related to the application area or to the study purpose as a serious aspect. The findings suggest that any type of SG can be defined by a number of CSGCs depicting the gaming side, such as adaptability and rules. In addition, we outlined a number of specific SGCs describing the 'serious' aspect, including specific needs of the domain and indented outcomes. In conclusion, our review showed that it is possible to bridge the research gap due to the lack of consensus by using CSGCs. Moreover, these features facilitate the design and development of successful serious games in any domain and provide a foundation for further research in this area.

Keywords: serious game characteristics, serious games common aspects, serious games features, serious games outcomes

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Roshani Gusain, Deep Sinha, Karan Nayal, Anmol Kumar Mishra, Manav Singh

Abstract:

In this research paper, we introduce "Mind Care Assistant - Companion App", which is a Flutter and Firebase-based mental health monitor. The app wants to improve and monitor the mental health of its users, it uses noninvasive ways to check for a change in their emotional state. By responding to questions, the app will provide individualized suggestions ᅳ tasks and mindfulness exercises ᅳ for users who are depressed or anxious. The app features a chat-bot that incorporates cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) principles and combines natural language processing with machine learning to develop personalised responses. The feature of the app that makes it easy for us to choose between iOS and Android is cross-platform, which allows users from both mobile systems to experience almost no changes in their interfaces. With Firebase integration synchronized and real-time data storage, security is easily possible. The paper covers the architecture of the app, how it was developed and some important features. The primary research result presents the promise of a "Mind Care Assistant" in mental health care using new wait-for-health technology, proposing a full stack application to be able to manage depression/anxiety and overall Mental well-being very effectively.

Keywords: mental health, mobile application, flutter, firebase, Depression, Anxiety

Procedia PDF Downloads 22

Authors: M. A. Rahman, A. O. Enikuomehin

Abstract:

Sharing commitment to reach a common goal in research by harnessing available resources from two or more parties can simply be referred to as collaborative research. Asides from avoiding duplication of research, the benefits often accrued from such research alliances include time economy as well as expenses reduction in completing such studies. Likewise, it provides an avenue to produce a wider horizon of scientific knowledge sequel to gathering of skills, knowledge and resources. In institutions of higher learning and research institutes, it often gives scholars an opportunity to strengthen the teaching and research capacity of their various institutions. Between industries and institutions, collaborative research breeds promising relationship that could be geared towards addressing different research problems such as producing and enhancing industrial-based products and services, including technological transfer. For Nigeria to take advantage of this collaboration, different issues like licensing of technology, intellectual property right, confidentiality, and funding among others, which could arise during this collaborative research programme, are identified in this paper. An important tool required to achieve this height in developing economy is the use of appropriate computer model. The paper highlights the costs of the collaborations and likewise stresses the need for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of such collaborative research activities and proposes an appropriate computer model to assist in this regard.

Keywords: collaborative research, developing country, computerization, model

Procedia PDF Downloads 334

Authors: Sulafah Basahel

Abstract:

Nowadays, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) around the world are attempting to utilize Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to enhance learning process and strategies of knowledge delivery for students through Distance Education (DE) system. Stakeholders in DE system face a complex situation of different ill-defined and related issues that influence decision making process. In this study system thinking as a body of knowledge is used to explore the emergent properties that produced from these connections between issues and could have either positive or negative outcomes for the DE development. Checkland Soft System Methodology (SSM) - Mode 2 is employed in a cultural context of Saudi Arabia for more knowledge acquisition purposes among multiple stakeholders in DE rather than solving problems to achieve an overall development of DE system. This paper will discuss some political, cultural issues and connections between them that impact on effectiveness of stakeholders’ activities and relations. This study will significantly contribute to both system thinking and education fields by leading decision makers in DE to reconsider future plans, strategies and right actions for more successful educational practices.

Keywords: distance education, higher education institutions, ill-defined issues, soft system methodology-Mode 2

Procedia PDF Downloads 271