Search results for: signal blocking
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 1770

Search results for: signal blocking

1050 Enhanced Near-Infrared Upconversion Emission Based Lateral Flow Immunoassay for Background-Free Detection of Avian Influenza Viruses

Authors: Jaeyoung Kim, Heeju Lee, Huijin Jung, Heesoo Pyo, Seungki Kim, Joonseok Lee

Abstract:

Avian influenza viruses (AIV) are the primary cause of highly contagious respiratory diseases caused by type A influenza viruses of the Orthomyxoviridae family. AIV are categorized on the basis of types of surface glycoproteins such as hemagglutinin and neuraminidase. Certain H5 and H7 subtypes of AIV have evolved to the high pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, which has caused considerable economic loss to the poultry industry and led to severe public health crisis. Several commercial kits have been developed for on-site detection of AIV. However, the sensitivity of these methods is too low to detect low virus concentrations in clinical samples and opaque stool samples. Here, we introduced a background-free near-infrared (NIR)-to-NIR upconversion nanoparticle-based lateral flow immunoassay (NNLFA) platform to yield a sensor that detects AIV within 20 minutes. Ca²⁺ ion in the shell was used to enhance the NIR-to-NIR upconversion photoluminescence (PL) emission as a heterogeneous dopant without inducing significant changes in the morphology and size of the UCNPs. In a mixture of opaque stool samples and gold nanoparticles (GNPs), which are components of commercial AIV LFA, the background signal of the stool samples mask the absorption peak of GNPs. However, UCNPs dispersed in the stool samples still show strong emission centered at 800 nm when excited at 980 nm, which enables the NNLFA platform to detect 10-times lower viral load than a commercial GNP-based AIV LFA. The detection limit of NNLFA for low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) H5N2 and HPAI H5N6 viruses was 10² EID₅₀/mL and 10³.⁵ EID₅₀/mL, respectively. Moreover, when opaque brown-colored samples were used as the target analytes, strong NIR emission signal from the test line in NNLFA confirmed the presence of AIV, whereas commercial AIV LFA detected AIV with difficulty. Therefore, we propose that this rapid and background-free NNLFA platform has the potential of detecting AIV in the field, which could effectively prevent the spread of these viruses at an early stage.

Keywords: avian influenza viruses, lateral flow immunoassay on-site detection, upconversion nanoparticles

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1049 Successful Rehabilitation of Recalcitrant Knee Pain Due to Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury Masked by Extensive Skin Graft: A Case Report

Authors: Geum Yeon Sim, Tyler Pigott, Julio Vasquez

Abstract:

A 38-year-old obese female with no apparent past medical history presented with left knee pain. Six months ago, she sustained a left knee dislocation in a motor vehicle accident that was managed with a skin graft over the left lower extremity without any reconstructive surgery. She developed persistent pain and stiffness in her left knee that worsened with walking and stair climbing. Examination revealed healed extensive skin graft over the left lower extremity, including the left knee. Palpation showed moderate tenderness along the superior border of the patella, exquisite tenderness over MCL, and mild tenderness on the tibial tuberosity. There was normal sensation, reflexes, and strength in her lower extremities. There was limited active and passive range of motion of her left knee during flexion. There was instability noted upon the valgus stress test of the left knee. Left knee magnetic resonance imaging showed high-grade (grade 2-3) injury of the proximal superficial fibers of the MCL and diffuse thickening and signal abnormality of the cruciate ligaments, as well as edema-like subchondral marrow signal change in the anterolateral aspect of the lateral femoral condyle weight-bearing surface. There was also notable extensive scarring and edema of the skin, subcutaneous soft tissues, and musculature surrounding the knee. The patient was managed with left knee immobilization for five months, which was complicated by limited knee flexion. Physical therapy consisting of quadriceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius stretching and strengthening, range of motion exercises, scar/soft tissue mobilization, and gait training was given with marked improvement in pain and range of motion. The patient experienced a further reduction in pain as well as an improvement in function with home exercises consisting of continued strengthening and stretching.

Keywords: ligamentous injury, trauma, rehabilitation, knee pain

Procedia PDF Downloads 78
1048 Performance Improvement of Long-Reach Optical Access Systems Using Hybrid Optical Amplifiers

Authors: Shreyas Srinivas Rangan, Jurgis Porins

Abstract:

The internet traffic has increased exponentially due to the high demand for data rates by the users, and the constantly increasing metro networks and access networks are focused on improving the maximum transmit distance of the long-reach optical networks. One of the common methods to improve the maximum transmit distance of the long-reach optical networks at the component level is to use broadband optical amplifiers. The Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) provides high amplification with low noise figure but due to the characteristics of EDFA, its operation is limited to C-band and L-band. In contrast, the Raman amplifier exhibits a wide amplification spectrum, and negative noise figure values can be achieved. To obtain such results, high powered pumping sources are required. Operating Raman amplifiers with such high-powered optical sources may cause fire hazards and it may damage the optical system. In this paper, we implement a hybrid optical amplifier configuration. EDFA and Raman amplifiers are used in this hybrid setup to combine the advantages of both EDFA and Raman amplifiers to improve the reach of the system. Using this setup, we analyze the maximum transmit distance of the network by obtaining a correlation diagram between the length of the single-mode fiber (SMF) and the Bit Error Rate (BER). This hybrid amplifier configuration is implemented in a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) system with a BER of 10⁻⁹ by using NRZ modulation format, and the gain uniformity noise ratio (signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)), the efficiency of the pumping source, and the optical signal gain efficiency of the amplifier are studied experimentally in a mathematical modelling environment. Numerical simulations were implemented in RSoft OptSim simulation software based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation using the Split-Step method, the Fourier transform, and the Monte Carlo method for estimating BER.

Keywords: Raman amplifier, erbium doped fibre amplifier, bit error rate, hybrid optical amplifiers

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1047 Therapeutic Role of T Subpopulations Cells (CD4, CD8 and Treg (CD25 and FOXP3+ Cells) of UC MSC Isolated from Three Different Methods in Various Disease

Authors: Kumari Rekha, Mathur K Dhananjay, Maheshwari Deepanshu, Nautiyal Nidhi, Shubham Smriti, Laal Deepika, Sinha Swati, Kumar Anupam, Biswas Subhrajit, Shiv Kumar Sarin

Abstract:

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells are multipotent stem cells derived from mesoderm and are used for therapeutic purposes because of their self-renewal, homing capacity, Immunomodulatory capability, low immunogenicity and mitochondrial transfer signaling. MSCs have the ability to regulate the mechanism of both innate as well as adaptive immune responses through the modulation of cellular response and the secretion of inflammatory mediators. Different sources of MSC are UC MSC, BM MSC, Dental Pulp, and Adipose MSC. The most frequent source used is umbilical cord tissue due to its being easily available and free of limitations of collection procedures from respective hospitals. The immunosuppressive role of MSCs is particularly interesting for clinical use since it confers resistance to rejection by the host immune response. Methodology: In this study, T helper cells (TH4), Cytotoxic T cells (CD-8), immunoregulatory cells (CD25 +FOXP3+) are compared from isolated MSC from three different methods, UC Dissociation Kit (Miltenyi), Explant Culture and Collagenase Type-IV. To check the immunomodulatory property, these MSCs were seeded with PBMC(Coculture) in CD3 coated 24 well plates. Cd28 antibody was added in coculture for six days. The coculture was analyzed in FACS Verse flow cytometry. Results: From flow cytometry analysis of coculture, it found that All over T helper cells (CD4+) number p<0.0264 increases in (All Enzymes) MSC rather than explant MSC(p>0.0895) as compared to Collagenase(p>0.7889) in a coculture of Activated T cell and Mesenchymal Stem Cell. Similar T reg cells (CD25+, FOXP3+) expression p<0.0234increases in All Enzymes), decreases in Explant and Collagenase. Experiments have shown that MSCs can also directly prevent the cytotoxic activity of CD8 lymphocytes mainly by blocking their proliferation rather than by inhibiting the cytotoxic effect. And promoting the t-reg cells, which helps in the mediation of immune response in various diseases. Conclusion: MSC suppress Cytotoxic CD8 T cell and Enhance immunoregulatory T reg (CD4+, CD25+, FOXP3+) Cell expression. Thus, MSC maintains a proper balance(ratio) between CD4 T cells and Cytotoxic CD8 T cells.

Keywords: MSC, disease, T cell, T regulatory

Procedia PDF Downloads 86
1046 Double Functionalization of Magnetic Colloids with Electroactive Molecules and Antibody for Platelet Detection and Separation

Authors: Feixiong Chen, Naoufel Haddour, Marie Frenea-Robin, Yves MéRieux, Yann Chevolot, Virginie Monnier

Abstract:

Neonatal thrombopenia occurs when the mother generates antibodies against her baby’s platelet antigens. It is particularly critical for newborns because it can cause coagulation troubles leading to intracranial hemorrhage. In this case, diagnosis must be done quickly to make platelets transfusion immediately after birth. Before transfusion, platelet antigens must be tested carefully to avoid rejection. The majority of thrombopenia (95 %) are caused by antibodies directed against Human Platelet Antigen 1a (HPA-1a) or 5b (HPA-5b). The common method for antigen platelets detection is polymerase chain reaction allowing for identification of gene sequence. However, it is expensive, time-consuming and requires significant blood volume which is not suitable for newborns. We propose to develop a point-of-care device based on double functionalized magnetic colloids with 1) antibodies specific to antigen platelets and 2) highly sensitive electroactive molecules in order to be detected by an electrochemical microsensor. These magnetic colloids will be used first to isolate platelets from other blood components, then to capture specifically platelets bearing HPA-1a and HPA-5b antigens and finally to attract them close to sensor working electrode for improved electrochemical signal. The expected advantages are an assay time lower than 20 min starting from blood volume smaller than 100 µL. Our functionalization procedure based on amine dendrimers and NHS-ester modification of initial carboxyl colloids will be presented. Functionalization efficiency was evaluated by colorimetric titration of surface chemical groups, zeta potential measurements, infrared spectroscopy, fluorescence scanning and cyclic voltammetry. Our results showed that electroactive molecules and antibodies can be immobilized successfully onto magnetic colloids. Application of a magnetic field onto working electrode increased the detected electrochemical signal. Magnetic colloids were able to capture specific purified antigens extracted from platelets.

Keywords: Magnetic Nanoparticles , Electroactive Molecules, Antibody, Platelet

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1045 Evaluating the Efficacy of Tasquinimod in Covid-19

Authors: Raphael Udeh, Luis García De Guadiana Romualdo, Xenia Dolje-Gore

Abstract:

Background: Quite disturbing is the huge public health impact of COVID-19: As at today [25th March 2021, the COVID-19 global burden shows over 123 million cases and over 2.7 million deaths worldwide. Rationale: Recent evidence shows calprotectin’s potential as a therapeutic target, stating that tasquinimod, from the Quinoline-3-Carboxamide family is capable of blocking the interaction between calprotectin and TLR4. Hence preventing the cytokine release syndrome, that heralds the functional exhaustion in COVID-19. Early preclinical studies showed that tasquinimod inhibit tumor growth and prevent angiogenesis/cytokine storm. Phase I – III clinical studies in prostate cancer showed it has a good safety profile with good radiologic progression free survival but no effect on overall survival. Rationale/hypothesis: Strategic endeavors have been amplified globally to assess new therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 management – thus the clinical and antiviral efficacy of tasquinimod in COVID-19 remains to be explored. Hence the primary objective of this trial will be to evaluate the efficacy of tasquinimod in the treatment of adult patients with severe COVID-19 infections. Therefore, I hypothesise that among adults with COVID19 infection, tasquinimod will reduce the severe respiratory distress associated with COVID-19 compared to placebo, over a 28-day study period. Method: The setting is in Europe. Design – a randomized, placebo-controlled, phase II double-blinded trial. Trial lasts for 28 days from randomization, Tasquinimod capsule given as 0.5mg daily 1st fortnight, then 1mg daily 2nd fortnight. I0 outcome - assessed using six-point ordinal scale alongside eight 20 outcomes. 125 participants to be enrolled, data collection at baseline and subsequent data points, and safety reporting monitored via serological profile. Significance: This work could potentially establish tasquinimod as an effective and safe therapeutic agent for COVID-19 by reducing the severe respiratory distress, related time to recovery, time on oxygen/admission. It will also drive future research – as in larger multi-centre RCT.

Keywords: Calprotectin, COVID-19, Phase II Trial, Tasquinimod

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1044 Non-Canonical Beclin-1-Independent Autophagy and Apoptosis in Cell Death Induced by Rhus coriaria in Human Colon HT-29 Cancer Cells

Authors: Rabah Iratni, Husain El Hasasna, Khawlah Athamneh, Halima Al Sameri, Nehla Benhalilou, Asma Al Rashedi

Abstract:

Background: Cancer therapies have witnessed great advances in the recent past, however, cancer continues to be a leading cause of death, with colorectal cancer being the fourth cause of cancer-related deaths. Colorectal cancer affects both sexes equally with poor survival rate once it metastasizes. Phytochemicals, which are plant derived compounds, have been on a steady rise as anti-cancer drugs due to the accumulation of evidences that support their potential. Here, we investigated the anticancer effect of Rhus coriaria on colon cancer cells. Material and Method: Human colon cancer HT-29 cell line was used. Protein expression and protein phosphorylation were examined using Western blotting. Transcription activity was measure using Quantitative RT-PCR. Human tumoral clonogenic assay was used to assess cell survival. Senescence was assessed by the senescence-associated beta-galactosidase assay. Results: Rhus coriaria extract (RCE) was found to significantly inhibit the viability and colony growth of human HT-29 colon cancer cells. RCE induced senescence and cell cycle arrest at G1 phase. These changes were concomitant with upregulation of p21, p16, downregulation of cyclin D1, p27, c-myc and expression of Senescence-associated-β-Galactosidase activity. Moreover, RCE induced non-canonical beclin-1independent autophagy and subsequent apoptotic cell death through activation of activation caspase 8 and caspase 7. The blocking of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) or chloroquine (CQ) reduced RCE-induced cell death. Further, RCE induced DNA damage, reduced mutant p53 protein level and downregulated phospho-AKT and phospho-mTOR, events that preceded autophagy. Mechanistically, we found that RCE inhibited the AKT and mTOR pathway, a regulator of autophagy, by promoting the proteasome-dependent degradation of both AKT and mTOR proteins. Conclusion: Our findings provide strong evidence that Rhus coriaria possesses strong anti-colon cancer activity through induction of senescence and autophagic cell death, making it a promising alternative or adjunct therapeutic candidate against colon cancer.

Keywords: autophagy, proteasome degradation, senescence, mTOR, apoptosis, Beclin-1

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1043 The Second Generation of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Afatinib Controls Inflammation by Regulating NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation

Authors: Shujun Xie, Shirong Zhang, Shenglin Ma

Abstract:

Background: Chronic inflammation might lead to many malignancies, and inadequate resolution could play a crucial role in tumor invasion, progression, and metastases. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial shows that IL-1β inhibition with canakinumab could reduce incident lung cancer and lung cancer mortality in patients with atherosclerosis. The process and secretion of proinflammatory cytokine IL-1β are controlled by the inflammasome. Here we showed the correlation of the innate immune system and afatinib, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: Murine Bone marrow derived macrophages (BMDMs), peritoneal macrophages (PMs) and THP-1 were used to check the effect of afatinib on the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome. The assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome was check by co-immunoprecipitation of NLRP3 and apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing CARD (ASC), disuccinimidyl suberate (DSS)-cross link of ASC. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis and Alum-induced peritonitis were conducted to confirm that afatinib could inhibit the activation of NLRP3 in vivo. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients before or after taking afatinib were used to check that afatinib inhibits inflammation in NSCLC therapy. Results: Our data showed that afatinib could inhibit the secretion of IL-1β in a dose-dependent manner in macrophage. Moreover, afatinib could inhibit the maturation of IL-1β and caspase-1 without affecting the precursors of IL-1β and caspase-1. Next, we found that afatinib could block the assembly of NLRP3 inflammasome and the ASC speck by blocking the interaction of the sensor protein NLRP3 and the adaptor protein ASC. We also found that afatinib was able to alleviate the LPS-induced sepsis in vivo. Conclusion: Our study found that afatinib could inhibit the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome in macrophage, providing new evidence that afatinib could target the innate immune system to control chronic inflammation. These investigations will provide significant experimental evidence in afatinib as therapeutic drug for non-small cell lung cancer or other tumors and NLRP3-related diseases and will explore new targets for afatinib.

Keywords: inflammasome, afatinib, inflammation, tyrosine kinase inhibitor

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1042 Acoustic Emission for Investigation of Processes Occurring at Hydrogenation of Metallic Titanium

Authors: Anatoly A. Kuznetsov, Pavel G. Berezhko, Sergey M. Kunavin, Eugeny V. Zhilkin, Maxim V. Tsarev, Vyacheslav V. Yaroshenko, Valery V. Mokrushin, Olga Y. Yunchina, Sergey A. Mityashin

Abstract:

The acoustic emission is caused by short-time propagation of elastic waves that are generated as a result of quick energy release from sources localized inside some material. In particular, the acoustic emission phenomenon lies in the generation of acoustic waves resulted from the reconstruction of material internal structures. This phenomenon is observed at various physicochemical transformations, in particular, at those accompanying hydrogenation processes of metals or intermetallic compounds that make it possible to study parameters of these transformations through recording and analyzing the acoustic signals. It has been known that at the interaction between metals or inter metallides with hydrogen the most intensive acoustic signals are generated as a result of cracking or crumbling of an initial compact powder sample as a result of the change of material crystal structure under hydrogenation. This work is dedicated to the study into changes occurring in metallic titanium samples at their interaction with hydrogen and followed by acoustic emission signals. In this work the subjects for investigation were specimens of metallic titanium in two various initial forms: titanium sponge and fine titanium powder made of this sponge. The kinetic of the interaction of these materials with hydrogen, the acoustic emission signals accompanying hydrogenation processes and the structure of the materials before and after hydrogenation were investigated. It was determined that in both cases interaction of metallic titanium and hydrogen is followed by acoustic emission signals of high amplitude generated on reaching some certain value of the atomic ratio [H]/[Ti] in a solid phase because of metal cracking at a macrolevel. The typical sizes of the cracks are comparable with particle sizes of hydrogenated specimens. The reasons for cracking are internal stresses initiated in a sample due to the increasing volume of a solid phase as a result of changes in a material crystal lattice under hydrogenation. When the titanium powder is used, the atomic ratio [H]/[Ti] in a solid phase corresponding to the maximum amplitude of an acoustic emission signal are, as a rule, higher than when titanium sponge is used.

Keywords: acoustic emission signal, cracking, hydrogenation, titanium specimen

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1041 Dynamic Simulation of a Hybrid Wind Farm with Wind Turbines and Distributed Compressed Air Energy Storage System

Authors: Eronini Iheanyi Umez-Eronini

Abstract:

Most studies and existing implementations of compressed air energy storage (CAES) coupled with a wind farm to overcome intermittency and variability of wind power are based on bulk or centralized CAES plants. A dynamic model of a hybrid wind farm with wind turbines and distributed CAES, consisting of air storage tanks and compressor and expander trains at each wind turbine station, is developed and simulated in MATLAB. An ad hoc supervisory controller, in which the wind turbines are simply operated under classical power optimizing region control while scheduling power production by the expanders and air storage by the compressors, including modulation of the compressor power levels within a control range, is used to regulate overall farm power production to track minute-scale (3-minutes sampling period) TSO absolute power reference signal, over an eight-hour period. Simulation results for real wind data input with a simple wake field model applied to a hybrid plant composed of ten 5-MW wind turbines in a row and ten compatibly sized and configured Diabatic CAES stations show the plant controller is able to track the power demand signal within an error band size on the order of the electrical power rating of a single expander. This performance suggests that much improved results should be anticipated when the global D-CAES control is combined with power regulation for the individual wind turbines using available approaches for wind farm active power control. For standalone power plant fuel electrical efficiency estimate of up to 60%, the round trip electrical storage efficiency computed for the distributed CAES wherein heat generated by running compressors is utilized in the preheat stage of running high pressure expanders while fuel is introduced and combusted before the low pressure expanders, was comparable to reported round trip storage electrical efficiencies for bulk Adiabatic CAES.

Keywords: hybrid wind farm, distributed CAES, diabatic CAES, active power control, dynamic modeling and simulation

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1040 Brainwave Classification for Brain Balancing Index (BBI) via 3D EEG Model Using k-NN Technique

Authors: N. Fuad, M. N. Taib, R. Jailani, M. E. Marwan

Abstract:

In this paper, the comparison between k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) algorithms for classifying the 3D EEG model in brain balancing is presented. The EEG signal recording was conducted on 51 healthy subjects. Development of 3D EEG models involves pre-processing of raw EEG signals and construction of spectrogram images. Then, maximum PSD values were extracted as features from the model. There are three indexes for the balanced brain; index 3, index 4 and index 5. There are significant different of the EEG signals due to the brain balancing index (BBI). Alpha-α (8–13 Hz) and beta-β (13–30 Hz) were used as input signals for the classification model. The k-NN classification result is 88.46% accuracy. These results proved that k-NN can be used in order to predict the brain balancing application.

Keywords: power spectral density, 3D EEG model, brain balancing, kNN

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1039 Real-Time Demonstration of Visible Light Communication Based on Frequency-Shift Keying Employing a Smartphone as the Receiver

Authors: Fumin Wang, Jiaqi Yin, Lajun Wang, Nan Chi

Abstract:

In this article, we demonstrate a visible light communication (VLC) system over 8 meters free space transmission based on a commercial LED and a receiver in connection with an audio interface of a smart phone. The signal is in FSK modulation format. The successful experimental demonstration validates the feasibility of the proposed system in future wireless communication network.

Keywords: visible light communication, smartphone communication, frequency shift keying, wireless communication

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1038 A Geosynchronous Orbit Synthetic Aperture Radar Simulator for Moving Ship Targets

Authors: Linjie Zhang, Baifen Ren, Xi Zhang, Genwang Liu

Abstract:

Ship detection is of great significance for both military and civilian applications. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with all-day, all-weather, ultra-long-range characteristics, has been used widely. In view of the low time resolution of low orbit SAR and the needs for high time resolution SAR data, GEO (Geosynchronous orbit) SAR is getting more and more attention. Since GEO SAR has short revisiting period and large coverage area, it is expected to be well utilized in marine ship targets monitoring. However, the height of the orbit increases the time of integration by almost two orders of magnitude. For moving marine vessels, the utility and efficacy of GEO SAR are still not sure. This paper attempts to find the feasibility of GEO SAR by giving a GEO SAR simulator of moving ships. This presented GEO SAR simulator is a kind of geometrical-based radar imaging simulator, which focus on geometrical quality rather than high radiometric. Inputs of this simulator are 3D ship model (.obj format, produced by most 3D design software, such as 3D Max), ship's velocity, and the parameters of satellite orbit and SAR platform. Its outputs are simulated GEO SAR raw signal data and SAR image. This simulating process is accomplished by the following four steps. (1) Reading 3D model, including the ship rotations (pitch, yaw, and roll) and velocity (speed and direction) parameters, extract information of those little primitives (triangles) which is visible from the SAR platform. (2) Computing the radar scattering from the ship with physical optics (PO) method. In this step, the vessel is sliced into many little rectangles primitives along the azimuth. The radiometric calculation of each primitive is carried out separately. Since this simulator only focuses on the complex structure of ships, only single-bounce reflection and double-bounce reflection are considered. (3) Generating the raw data with GEO SAR signal modeling. Since the normal ‘stop and go’ model is not available for GEO SAR, the range model should be reconsidered. (4) At last, generating GEO SAR image with improved Range Doppler method. Numerical simulation of fishing boat and cargo ship will be given. GEO SAR images of different posture, velocity, satellite orbit, and SAR platform will be simulated. By analyzing these simulated results, the effectiveness of GEO SAR for the detection of marine moving vessels is evaluated.

Keywords: GEO SAR, radar, simulation, ship

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1037 Study on the Impact of Default Converter on the Quality of Energy Produced by DFIG Based Wind Turbine

Authors: N. Zerzouri, N. Benalia, N. Bensiali

Abstract:

This work is devoted to an analysis of the operation of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) integrated with a wind system. The power transfer between the stator and the network is carried out by acting on the rotor via a bidirectional signal converter. The analysis is devoted to the study of a fault in the converter due to an interruption of the control of a semiconductor. Simulation results obtained by the MATLAB/Simulink software illustrate the quality of the power generated at the default.

Keywords: doubly fed induction generator (DFIG), wind energy, PWM inverter, modeling

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1036 Speaker Identification by Atomic Decomposition of Learned Features Using Computational Auditory Scene Analysis Principals in Noisy Environments

Authors: Thomas Bryan, Veton Kepuska, Ivica Kostanic

Abstract:

Speaker recognition is performed in high Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) environments using principals of Computational Auditory Scene Analysis (CASA). CASA methods often classify sounds from images in the time-frequency (T-F) plane using spectrograms or cochleargrams as the image. In this paper atomic decomposition implemented by matching pursuit performs a transform from time series speech signals to the T-F plane. The atomic decomposition creates a sparsely populated T-F vector in “weight space” where each populated T-F position contains an amplitude weight. The weight space vector along with the atomic dictionary represents a denoised, compressed version of the original signal. The arraignment or of the atomic indices in the T-F vector are used for classification. Unsupervised feature learning implemented by a sparse autoencoder learns a single dictionary of basis features from a collection of envelope samples from all speakers. The approach is demonstrated using pairs of speakers from the TIMIT data set. Pairs of speakers are selected randomly from a single district. Each speak has 10 sentences. Two are used for training and 8 for testing. Atomic index probabilities are created for each training sentence and also for each test sentence. Classification is performed by finding the lowest Euclidean distance between then probabilities from the training sentences and the test sentences. Training is done at a 30dB Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR). Testing is performed at SNR’s of 0 dB, 5 dB, 10 dB and 30dB. The algorithm has a baseline classification accuracy of ~93% averaged over 10 pairs of speakers from the TIMIT data set. The baseline accuracy is attributable to short sequences of training and test data as well as the overall simplicity of the classification algorithm. The accuracy is not affected by AWGN and produces ~93% accuracy at 0dB SNR.

Keywords: time-frequency plane, atomic decomposition, envelope sampling, Gabor atoms, matching pursuit, sparse dictionary learning, sparse autoencoder

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1035 Detection of Patient Roll-Over Using High-Sensitivity Pressure Sensors

Authors: Keita Nishio, Takashi Kaburagi, Yosuke Kurihara

Abstract:

Recent advances in medical technology have served to enhance average life expectancy. However, the total time for which the patients are prescribed complete bedrest has also increased. With patients being required to maintain a constant lying posture- also called bedsore- development of a system to detect patient roll-over becomes imperative. For this purpose, extant studies have proposed the use of cameras, and favorable results have been reported. Continuous on-camera monitoring, however, tends to violate patient privacy. We have proposed unconstrained bio-signal measurement system that could detect body-motion during sleep and does not violate patient’s privacy. Therefore, in this study, we propose a roll-over detection method by the date obtained from the bi-signal measurement system. Signals recorded by the sensor were assumed to comprise respiration, pulse, body motion, and noise components. Compared the body-motion and respiration, pulse component, the body-motion, during roll-over, generate large vibration. Thus, analysis of the body-motion component facilitates detection of the roll-over tendency. The large vibration associated with the roll-over motion has a great effect on the Root Mean Square (RMS) value of time series of the body motion component calculated during short 10 s segments. After calculation, the RMS value during each segment was compared to a threshold value set in advance. If RMS value in any segment exceeded the threshold, corresponding data were considered to indicate occurrence of a roll-over. In order to validate the proposed method, we conducted experiment. A bi-directional microphone was adopted as a high-sensitivity pressure sensor and was placed between the mattress and bedframe. Recorded signals passed through an analog Band-pass Filter (BPF) operating over the 0.16-16 Hz bandwidth. BPF allowed the respiration, pulse, and body-motion to pass whilst removing the noise component. Output from BPF was A/D converted with the sampling frequency 100Hz, and the measurement time was 480 seconds. The number of subjects and data corresponded to 5 and 10, respectively. Subjects laid on a mattress in the supine position. During data measurement, subjects—upon the investigator's instruction—were asked to roll over into four different positions—supine to left lateral, left lateral to prone, prone to right lateral, and right lateral to supine. Recorded data was divided into 48 segments with 10 s intervals, and the corresponding RMS value for each segment was calculated. The system was evaluated by the accuracy between the investigator’s instruction and the detected segment. As the result, an accuracy of 100% was achieved. While reviewing the time series of recorded data, segments indicating roll-over tendencies were observed to demonstrate a large amplitude. However, clear differences between decubitus and the roll-over motion could not be confirmed. Extant researches possessed a disadvantage in terms of patient privacy. The proposed study, however, demonstrates more precise detection of patient roll-over tendencies without violating their privacy. As a future prospect, decubitus estimation before and after roll-over could be attempted. Since in this paper, we could not confirm the clear differences between decubitus and the roll-over motion, future studies could be based on utilization of the respiration and pulse components.

Keywords: bedsore, high-sensitivity pressure sensor, roll-over, unconstrained bio-signal measurement

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1034 Aptamers: A Potential Strategy for COVID-19 Treatment

Authors: Mohamad Ammar Ayass, Natalya Griko, Victor Pashkov, Wanying Cao, Kevin Zhu, Jin Zhang, Lina Abi Mosleh

Abstract:

Respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Early evidence pointed at the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) expressed on the epithelial cells of the lung as the main entry point of SARS-CoV-2 into the cells. The viral entry is mediated by the binding of the Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) of the spike protein that is expressed on the surface of the virus to the ACE-2 receptor. As the number of SARS-CoV-2 variants continues to increase, mutations arising in the RBD of SARS-CoV-2 may lead to the ineffectiveness of RBD targeted neutralizing antibodies. To address this limitation, the objective of this study is to develop a combination of aptamers that target different regions of the RBD, preventing the binding of the spike protein to ACE-2 receptor and subsequent viral entry and replication. A safe and innovative biomedical tool was developed to inhibit viral infection and reduce the harms of COVID-19. In the present study, DNA aptamers were developed against a recombinant trimer S protein using the Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential enrichment (SELEX). Negative selection was introduced at round number 7 to select for aptamers that bind specifically to the RBD domain. A series of 9 aptamers (ADI2010, ADI2011, ADI201L, ADI203L, ADI205L, ADIR68, ADIR74, ADIR80, ADIR83) were selected and characterized with high binding affinity and specificity to the RBD of the spike protein. Aptamers (ADI25, ADI2009, ADI203L) were able to bind and pull down endogenous spike protein expressed on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 virus in COVID-19 positive patient samples and determined by liquid chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS/MS). LC-MS/MS data confirmed that aptamers can bind to the RBD of the spike protein. Furthermore, results indicated that the combination of the 9 best aptamers inhibited the binding of the purified trimer spike protein to the ACE-2 receptor found on the surface of Vero E6 cells. In the same experiment, the combined aptamers displayed a better neutralizing effect than antibodies. The data suggests that the selected aptamers could be used in therapy to neutralize the effect of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by inhibiting the interaction between the RBD and ACE-2 receptor, preventing viral entry into target cells and therefore blocking viral replication.

Keywords: aptamer, ACE-2 receptor, binding inhibitor, COVID-19, spike protein, SARS-CoV-2, treatment

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1033 Tip-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy with Plasmonic Lens Focused Longitudinal Electric Field Excitation

Authors: Mingqian Zhang

Abstract:

Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is a scanning probe technique for individual objects and structured surfaces investigation that provides a wealth of enhanced spectral information with nanoscale spatial resolution and high detection sensitivity. It has become a powerful and promising chemical and physical information detection method in the nanometer scale. The TERS technique uses a sharp metallic tip regulated in the near-field of a sample surface, which is illuminated with a certain incident beam meeting the excitation conditions of the wave-vector matching. The local electric field, and, consequently, the Raman scattering, from the sample in the vicinity of the tip apex are both greatly tip-enhanced owning to the excitation of localized surface plasmons and the lightning-rod effect. Typically, a TERS setup is composed of a scanning probe microscope, excitation and collection optical configurations, and a Raman spectroscope. In the illumination configuration, an objective lens or a parabolic mirror is always used as the most important component, in order to focus the incident beam on the tip apex for excitation. In this research, a novel TERS setup was built up by introducing a plasmonic lens to the excitation optics as a focusing device. A plasmonic lens with symmetry breaking semi-annular slits corrugated on gold film was designed for the purpose of generating concentrated sub-wavelength light spots with strong longitudinal electric field. Compared to conventional far-field optical components, the designed plasmonic lens not only focuses an incident beam to a sub-wavelength light spot, but also realizes a strong z-component that dominants the electric field illumination, which is ideal for the excitation of tip-enhancement. Therefore, using a PL in the illumination configuration of TERS contributes to improve the detection sensitivity by both reducing the far-field background and effectively exciting the localized electric field enhancement. The FDTD method was employed to investigate the optical near-field distribution resulting from the light-nanostructure interaction. And the optical field distribution was characterized using an scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope to demonstrate the focusing performance of the lens. The experimental result is in agreement with the theoretically calculated one. It verifies the focusing performance of the plasmonic lens. The optical field distribution shows a bright elliptic spot in the lens center and several arc-like side-lobes on both sides. After the focusing performance was experimentally verified, the designed plasmonic lens was used as a focusing component in the excitation configuration of TERS setup to concentrate incident energy and generate a longitudinal optical field. A collimated linearly polarized laser beam, with along x-axis polarization, was incident from the bottom glass side on the plasmonic lens. The incident light focused by the plasmonic lens interacted with the silver-coated tip apex and enhanced the Raman signal of the sample locally. The scattered Raman signal was gathered by a parabolic mirror and detected with a Raman spectroscopy. Then, the plasmonic lens based setup was employed to investigate carbon nanotubes and TERS experiment was performed. Experimental results indicate that the Raman signal is considerably enhanced which proves that the novel TERS configuration is feasible and promising.

Keywords: longitudinal electric field, plasmonics, raman spectroscopy, tip-enhancement

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1032 Calpains; Insights Into the Pathogenesis of Heart Failure

Authors: Mohammadjavad Sotoudeheian

Abstract:

Heart failure (HF) prevalence, as a global cardiovascular problem, is increasing gradually. A variety of molecular mechanisms contribute to HF. Proteins involved in cardiac contractility regulation, such as ion channels and calcium handling proteins, are altered. Additionally, epigenetic modifications and gene expression can lead to altered cardiac function. Moreover, inflammation and oxidative stress contribute to HF. The progression of HF can be attributed to mitochondrial dysfunction that impairs energy production and increases apoptosis. Molecular mechanisms such as these contribute to the development of cardiomyocyte defects and HF and can be therapeutically targeted. The heart's contractile function is controlled by cardiomyocytes. Calpain, and its related molecules, including Bax, VEGF, and AMPK, are among the proteins involved in regulating cardiomyocyte function. Apoptosis is facilitated by Bax. Cardiomyocyte apoptosis is regulated by this protein. Furthermore, cardiomyocyte survival, contractility, wound healing, and proliferation are all regulated by VEGF, which is produced by cardiomyocytes during inflammation and cytokine stress. Cardiomyocyte proliferation and survival are also influenced by AMPK, an enzyme that plays an active role in energy metabolism. They all play key roles in apoptosis, angiogenesis, hypertrophy, and metabolism during myocardial inflammation. The role of calpains has been linked to several molecular pathways. The calpain pathway plays an important role in signal transduction and apoptosis, as well as autophagy, endocytosis, and exocytosis. Cell death and survival are regulated by these calcium-dependent cysteine proteases that cleave proteins. As a result, protein fragments can be used for various cellular functions. By cleaving adhesion and motility proteins, calcium proteins also contribute to cell migration. HF may be brought about by calpain-mediated pathways. Many physiological processes are mediated by the calpain molecular pathways. Signal transduction, cell death, and cell migration are all regulated by these molecular pathways. Calpain is activated by calcium binding to calmodulin. In the presence of calcium, calmodulin activates calpain. Calpains are stimulated by calcium, which increases matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). In order to develop novel treatments for these diseases, we must understand how this pathway works. A variety of myocardial remodeling processes involve calpains, including remodeling of the extracellular matrix and hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes. Calpains also play a role in maintaining cardiac homeostasis through apoptosis and autophagy. The development of HF may be in part due to calpain-mediated pathways promoting cardiomyocyte death. Numerous studies have suggested the importance of the Ca2+ -dependent protease calpain in cardiac physiology and pathology. Therefore, it is important to consider this pathway to develop and test therapeutic options in humans that targets calpain in HF. Apoptosis, autophagy, endocytosis, exocytosis, signal transduction, and disease progression all involve calpain molecular pathways. Therefore, it is conceivable that calpain inhibitors might have therapeutic potential as they have been investigated in preclinical models of several conditions in which the enzyme has been implicated that might be treated with them. Ca 2+ - dependent proteases and calpains contribute to adverse ventricular remodeling and HF in multiple experimental models. In this manuscript, we will discuss the calpain molecular pathway's important roles in HF development.

Keywords: calpain, heart failure, autophagy, apoptosis, cardiomyocyte

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1031 Study of Adaptive Filtering Algorithms and the Equalization of Radio Mobile Channel

Authors: Said Elkassimi, Said Safi, B. Manaut

Abstract:

This paper presented a study of three algorithms, the equalization algorithm to equalize the transmission channel with ZF and MMSE criteria, application of channel Bran A, and adaptive filtering algorithms LMS and RLS to estimate the parameters of the equalizer filter, i.e. move to the channel estimation and therefore reflect the temporal variations of the channel, and reduce the error in the transmitted signal. So far the performance of the algorithm equalizer with ZF and MMSE criteria both in the case without noise, a comparison of performance of the LMS and RLS algorithm.

Keywords: adaptive filtering second equalizer, LMS, RLS Bran A, Proakis (B) MMSE, ZF

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1030 Features of Normative and Pathological Realizations of Sibilant Sounds for Computer-Aided Pronunciation Evaluation in Children

Authors: Zuzanna Miodonska, Michal Krecichwost, Pawel Badura

Abstract:

Sigmatism (lisping) is a speech disorder in which sibilant consonants are mispronounced. The diagnosis of this phenomenon is usually based on the auditory assessment. However, the progress in speech analysis techniques creates a possibility of developing computer-aided sigmatism diagnosis tools. The aim of the study is to statistically verify whether specific acoustic features of sibilant sounds may be related to pronunciation correctness. Such knowledge can be of great importance while implementing classifiers and designing novel tools for automatic sibilants pronunciation evaluation. The study covers analysis of various speech signal measures, including features proposed in the literature for the description of normative sibilants realization. Amplitudes and frequencies of three fricative formants (FF) are extracted based on local spectral maxima of the friction noise. Skewness, kurtosis, four normalized spectral moments (SM) and 13 mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC) with their 1st and 2nd derivatives (13 Delta and 13 Delta-Delta MFCC) are included in the analysis as well. The resulting feature vector contains 51 measures. The experiments are performed on the speech corpus containing words with selected sibilant sounds (/ʃ, ʒ/) pronounced by 60 preschool children with proper pronunciation or with natural pathologies. In total, 224 /ʃ/ segments and 191 /ʒ/ segments are employed in the study. The Mann-Whitney U test is employed for the analysis of stigmatism and normative pronunciation. Statistically, significant differences are obtained in most of the proposed features in children divided into these two groups at p < 0.05. All spectral moments and fricative formants appear to be distinctive between pathology and proper pronunciation. These metrics describe the friction noise characteristic for sibilants, which makes them particularly promising for the use in sibilants evaluation tools. Correspondences found between phoneme feature values and an expert evaluation of the pronunciation correctness encourage to involve speech analysis tools in diagnosis and therapy of sigmatism. Proposed feature extraction methods could be used in a computer-assisted stigmatism diagnosis or therapy systems.

Keywords: computer-aided pronunciation evaluation, sigmatism diagnosis, speech signal analysis, statistical verification

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1029 Epileptic Seizure Prediction by Exploiting Signal Transitions Phenomena

Authors: Mohammad Zavid Parvez, Manoranjan Paul

Abstract:

A seizure prediction method is proposed by extracting global features using phase correlation between adjacent epochs for detecting relative changes and local features using fluctuation/deviation within an epoch for determining fine changes of different EEG signals. A classifier and a regularization technique are applied for the reduction of false alarms and improvement of the overall prediction accuracy. The experiments show that the proposed method outperforms the state-of-the-art methods and provides high prediction accuracy (i.e., 97.70%) with low false alarm using EEG signals in different brain locations from a benchmark data set.

Keywords: Epilepsy, seizure, phase correlation, fluctuation, deviation.

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1028 Antihypertensive Effect of Formulated Apium graveolens: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Authors: Maryam Shayani Rad, Seyed Ahmad Mohajeri, Mohsen Mouhebati, Seyed Danial Mousavi

Abstract:

High blood pressure is one of the most important and serious health-threatening because of no symptoms in most people, which can lead to sudden heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. Nowadays, herbal medicine is one of the best and safest strategies for treatment that have no adverse effects. Apium graveolens (celery) can be used as an alternative treatment for many health conditions such as hypertension. Natural compounds reduce blood pressure via different mechanisms in which Apium graveolens extract provides potent calcium channel blocking properties. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over clinical trial was done to evaluate the efficacy of formulated Apium graveolens extract with a maximum yield of 3-n-butylphthalide to reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with hypertension. 54 hypertensive patients in the range of 20-68 years old were randomly assigned to the treatment group (26 cases) and the placebo control group (26 cases) and were crossed over after washout duration. The treatment group received at least 2 grams of formulated powder in hard capsules orally, before each meal, 2 times daily. The control group received 2 grams of placebo in hard capsules orally, exactly as the same as shape, time, and doses of treatment group. Treatment was administrated in 12 weeks with 4 weeks washout period at the middle of the study, meaning 4 weeks drug consumption for the treatment group, 4 weeks washout and 4 weeks placebo consumption, and vice versa for the placebo control group. The clinical assessment was done 4 times, including at the beginning and ending of the drug and placebo consumption period by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) holter, which measured blood pressure every 15 minutes continuously. There was a statistically significant decrease in both systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at the end of drug duration compared to baseline. The changes after 4 weeks on average was about 12.34 mm Hg for the SBP (P < 0.005) and 7.83 mm Hg for the DBP (P < 0.005). The results from this clinical trial study showed this Apium graveolens extract formulation in the mentioned dosage had a significant effect on blood pressure-lowering for hypertensive patients.

Keywords: Apium graveolens extract, clinical trial, cross-over, hypertension

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1027 An Assistive Robotic Arm for Defence and Rescue Application

Authors: J. Harrison Kurunathan, R. Jayaparvathy

Abstract:

"Assistive Robotics" is the field that deals with the study of robots that helps in human motion and also empowers human abilities by interfacing the robotic systems to be manipulated by human motion. The proposed model is a robotic arm that works as a haptic interface on the basis on accelerometers and DC motors that will function with respect to the movement of the human muscle. The proposed model would effectively work as a haptic interface that would reduce human effort in the field of defense and rescue. This can be used in very critical conditions like fire accidents to avoid causalities.

Keywords: accelerometers, haptic interface, servo motors, signal processing

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1026 Na Doped ZnO UV Filters with Reduced Photocatalytic Activity for Sunscreen Application

Authors: Rafid Mueen, Konstantin Konstantinov, Micheal Lerch, Zhenxiang Cheng

Abstract:

In the past two decades, the concern for skin protection from ultraviolet (UV) radiation has attracted considerable attention due to the increased intensity of UV rays that can reach the Earth’s surface as a result of the breakdown of ozone layer. Recently, UVA has also attracted attention, since, in comparison to UVB, it can penetrate deeply into the skin, which can result in significant health concerns. Sunscreen agents are one of the significant tools to protect the skin from UV irradiation, and it is either organic or in organic. Developing of inorganic UV blockers is essential, which provide efficient UV protection over a wide spectrum rather than organic filters. Furthermore inorganic UV blockers are good comfort, and high safety when applied on human skin. Inorganic materials can absorb, reflect, or scatter the ultraviolet radiation, depending on their particle size, unlike the organic blockers, which absorb the UV irradiation. Nowadays, most inorganic UV-blocking filters are based on (TiO2) and ZnO). ZnO can provide protection in the UVA range. Indeed, ZnO is attractive for in sunscreen formulization, and this relates to many advantages, such as its modest refractive index (2.0), absorption of a small fraction of solar radiation in the UV range which is equal to or less than 385 nm, its high probable recombination of photogenerated carriers (electrons and holes), large direct band gap, high exciton binding energy, non-risky nature, and high tendency towards chemical and physical stability which make it transparent in the visible region with UV protective activity. A significant issue for ZnO use in sunscreens is that it can generate ROS in the presence of UV light because of its photocatalytic activity. Therefore it is essential to make a non-photocatalytic material through modification by other metals. Several efforts have been made to deactivate the photocatalytic activity of ZnO by using inorganic surface modifiers. The doping of ZnO by different metals is another way to modify its photocatalytic activity. Recently, successful doping of ZnO with different metals such as Ce, La, Co, Mn, Al, Li, Na, K, and Cr by various procedures, such as a simple and facile one pot water bath, co-precipitation, hydrothermal, solvothermal, combustion, and sol gel methods has been reported. These materials exhibit greater performance than undoped ZnO towards increasing the photocatalytic activity of ZnO in visible light. Therefore, metal doping can be an effective technique to modify the ZnO photocatalytic activity. However, in the current work, we successfully reduce the photocatalytic activity of ZnO through Na doped ZnO fabricated via sol-gel and hydrothermal methods.

Keywords: photocatalytic, ROS, UVA, ZnO

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1025 Particle Size Distribution Estimation of a Mixture of Regular and Irregular Sized Particles Using Acoustic Emissions

Authors: Ejay Nsugbe, Andrew Starr, Ian Jennions, Cristobal Ruiz-Carcel

Abstract:

This works investigates the possibility of using Acoustic Emissions (AE) to estimate the Particle Size Distribution (PSD) of a mixture of particles that comprise of particles of different densities and geometry. The experiments carried out involved the mixture of a set of glass and polyethylene particles that ranged from 150-212 microns and 150-250 microns respectively and an experimental rig that allowed the free fall of a continuous stream of particles on a target plate which the AE sensor was placed. By using a time domain based multiple threshold method, it was observed that the PSD of the particles in the mixture could be estimated.

Keywords: acoustic emissions, particle sizing, process monitoring, signal processing

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1024 The Effect of Organic Matter Maturation and Porosity Evolution on Methane Storage Potential in Shale-Gas Reservoirs

Authors: T. Topór, A. Derkowski, P. Ziemiański

Abstract:

Formation of organic matter (OM)-hosted nanopores upon thermal maturation are one of the key factor controlling methane storage potential in unconventional shale-gas reservoirs. In this study, the subcritical CO₂ and N₂ gas adsorption measurements combined with scanning electron microscopy and supercritical methane adsorption have been used to characterize pore system and methane storage potential in black shales from the Baltic Basin (Poland). The samples were collected from a virtually equivalent Llandovery strata across the basin and represent a complete digenetic sequence, from thermally immature to overmature. The results demonstrate that the thermal maturation is a dominant mechanism controlling the formation of OM micro- and mesopores in the Baltic Basin shales. The formation of micro- and mesopores occurs in the oil window (vitrinite reflectance; leavedVR; ~0.5-0.9%) as a result of oil expulsion from kerogenleft OM highly porous. The generated hydrocarbons then turn into solid bitumen causing pore blocking and substantial decrease in micro- and mesopore volume in late-mature shales (VR ~0.9-1.2%). Both micro- and mesopores are regenerated in a middle of the catagenesis range (VR 1.4-1.9%) due to secondary cracking of OM and gas formation. The micropore volume in investigated shales is almost exclusively controlled by the OM content. The contribution of clay minerals to micropore volume is insignificant and masked by a strong contribution from OM. Methane adsorption capacity in the Baltic Basin shales is predominantly controlled by microporous OM with pores < 1.5 nm. The mesopore volume (2-50 nm) and mesopore surface area have no effect on methane sorption behavior. The adsorbed methane density equivalent, calculated as absolute methane adsorption divided by micropore volume, reviled a decrease of the methane loading potential in micropores with increasing maturity. The highest methane loading potential in micropores is observed for OM before metagenesis (VR < 2%), where the adsorbed methane density equivalent is greater than the density of liquid methane. This implies that, in addition to physical adsorption, absorption of methane in OM may occur before metagenesis. After OM content reduction using NaOCl solution methane adoption capacity substantially decreases, suggesting significantly greater adsorption potential for OM microstructure than for the clay minerals matrix.

Keywords: maturation, methane sorption, organic matter, porosity, shales

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1023 Least Support Orthogonal Matching Pursuit (LS-OMP) Recovery Method for Invisible Watermarking Image

Authors: Israa Sh. Tawfic, Sema Koc Kayhan

Abstract:

In this paper, first, we propose least support orthogonal matching pursuit (LS-OMP) algorithm to improve the performance, of the OMP (orthogonal matching pursuit) algorithm. LS-OMP algorithm adaptively chooses optimum L (least part of support), at each iteration. This modification helps to reduce the computational complexity significantly and performs better than OMP algorithm. Second, we give the procedure for the invisible image watermarking in the presence of compressive sampling. The image reconstruction based on a set of watermarked measurements is performed using LS-OMP.

Keywords: compressed sensing, orthogonal matching pursuit, restricted isometry property, signal reconstruction, least support orthogonal matching pursuit, watermark

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1022 Development of Coastal Inundation–Inland and River Flow Interface Module Based on 2D Hydrodynamic Model

Authors: Eun-Taek Sin, Hyun-Ju Jang, Chang Geun Song, Yong-Sik Han

Abstract:

Due to the climate change, the coastal urban area repeatedly suffers from the loss of property and life by flooding. There are three main causes of inland submergence. First, when heavy rain with high intensity occurs, the water quantity in inland cannot be drained into rivers by increase in impervious surface of the land development and defect of the pump, storm sewer. Second, river inundation occurs then water surface level surpasses the top of levee. Finally, Coastal inundation occurs due to rising sea water. However, previous studies ignored the complex mechanism of flooding, and showed discrepancy and inadequacy due to linear summation of each analysis result. In this study, inland flooding and river inundation were analyzed together by HDM-2D model. Petrov-Galerkin stabilizing method and flux-blocking algorithm were applied to simulate the inland flooding. In addition, sink/source terms with exponentially growth rate attribute were added to the shallow water equations to include the inland flooding analysis module. The applications of developed model gave satisfactory results, and provided accurate prediction in comprehensive flooding analysis. The applications of developed model gave satisfactory results, and provided accurate prediction in comprehensive flooding analysis. To consider the coastal surge, another module was developed by adding seawater to the existing Inland Flooding-River Inundation binding module for comprehensive flooding analysis. Based on the combined modules, the Coastal Inundation – Inland & River Flow Interface was simulated by inputting the flow rate and depth data in artificial flume. Accordingly, it was able to analyze the flood patterns of coastal cities over time. This study is expected to help identify the complex causes of flooding in coastal areas where complex flooding occurs, and assist in analyzing damage to coastal cities. Acknowledgements—This research was supported by a grant ‘Development of the Evaluation Technology for Complex Causes of Inundation Vulnerability and the Response Plans in Coastal Urban Areas for Adaptation to Climate Change’ [MPSS-NH-2015-77] from the Natural Hazard Mitigation Research Group, Ministry of Public Safety and Security of Korea.

Keywords: flooding analysis, river inundation, inland flooding, 2D hydrodynamic model

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1021 Geomatic Techniques to Filter Vegetation from Point Clouds

Authors: M. Amparo Núñez-Andrés, Felipe Buill, Albert Prades

Abstract:

More and more frequently, geomatics techniques such as terrestrial laser scanning or digital photogrammetry, either terrestrial or from drones, are being used to obtain digital terrain models (DTM) used for the monitoring of geological phenomena that cause natural disasters, such as landslides, rockfalls, debris-flow. One of the main multitemporal analyses developed from these models is the quantification of volume changes in the slopes and hillsides, either caused by erosion, fall, or land movement in the source area or sedimentation in the deposition zone. To carry out this task, it is necessary to filter the point clouds of all those elements that do not belong to the slopes. Among these elements, vegetation stands out as it is the one we find with the greatest presence and its constant change, both seasonal and daily, as it is affected by factors such as wind. One of the best-known indexes to detect vegetation on the image is the NVDI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), which is obtained from the combination of the infrared and red channels. Therefore it is necessary to have a multispectral camera. These cameras are generally of lower resolution than conventional RGB cameras, while their cost is much higher. Therefore we have to look for alternative indices based on RGB. In this communication, we present the results obtained in Georisk project (PID2019‐103974RB‐I00/MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033) by using the GLI (Green Leaf Index) and ExG (Excessive Greenness), as well as the change to the Hue-Saturation-Value (HSV) color space being the H coordinate the one that gives us the most information for vegetation filtering. These filters are applied both to the images, creating binary masks to be used when applying the SfM algorithms, and to the point cloud obtained directly by the photogrammetric process without any previous filter or the one obtained by TLS (Terrestrial Laser Scanning). In this last case, we have also tried to work with a Riegl VZ400i sensor that allows the reception, as in the aerial LiDAR, of several returns of the signal. Information to be used for the classification on the point cloud. After applying all the techniques in different locations, the results show that the color-based filters allow correct filtering in those areas where the presence of shadows is not excessive and there is a contrast between the color of the slope lithology and the vegetation. As we have advanced in the case of using the HSV color space, it is the H coordinate that responds best for this filtering. Finally, the use of the various returns of the TLS signal allows filtering with some limitations.

Keywords: RGB index, TLS, photogrammetry, multispectral camera, point cloud

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