Search results for: urban block type

Authors: Hsin-Lien Lin, Ju-Hui Fu

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Dendritic cells (DCs) are the major professional antigen-presenting cells for the development of optimal T-cell immunity. DCs can be used as pharmacological targets to screen novel biological modifiers for the treatment of harmful immune responses, such as transplantation rejection. Dryopteris crassirhizoma Nakai (Aspiadaceae) is used for traditional herbal medicine in the region of East Asia. The root of this fern plant has been listed for treating inflammatory diseases. Dryocrassin is the tetrameric phlorophenone component derived from Dryopteris. Here, we tested the immunomodulatory potential of dryocrassin on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated activation of mouse bone marrow-derived DCs in vitro and in skin allograft transplantation in vivo. Results demonstrated that dryocrassin reduced the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin-12p70 by LPS-stimulated DCs. The expression of LPS-induced major histocompatibility complex class II, CD40, and CD86 on DCs was also blocked by dryocrassin. Moreover, LPS-stimulated DC-elicited allogeneic T-cell proliferation was lessened by dryocrassin. In addition, dryocrassin inhibited LPS-induced activation of IϰB kinase, JNK/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, as well as the translocation of NF-ϰB. Treatment with dryocrassin obviously diminished 2,4-dinitro-1-fluorobenzene- induced delayed-type hypersensitivity and prolonged skin allograft survival. Dryocrassin may be one of the potent immunosuppressive agents for transplant rejection through the destruction of DC maturation and function.

Keywords: dryocrassin, dendritic cells, immunosuppression, skin allograft

Procedia PDF Downloads 386

Authors: Yaser E. Greish, Emad F. Hindawy, Maryam S. Al Nehayan

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Introductory courses such as General Chemistry I, General Physics I and General Biology need special attention as students taking these courses are usually at their first year of the university. In addition to the language barrier for most of them, they also face other difficulties if these elementary courses are taught in the traditional way. Changing the routine method of teaching of these courses is therefore mandated. In this regard, podcasting of chemistry lectures was used as an add-on to the traditional and non-traditional methods of teaching chemistry to science and non-science students. Podcasts refer to video files that are distributed in a digital format through the Internet using personal computers or mobile devices. Pedagogical strategy is another way of identifying podcasts. Three distinct teaching approaches are evident in the current literature and include receptive viewing, problem-solving, and created video podcasts. The digital format and dispensing of video podcasts have stabilized over the past eight years, the type of podcasts vary considerably according to their purpose, degree of segmentation, pedagogical strategy, and academic focus. In this regard, the whole syllabus of 'General Chemistry I' course was developed as podcasts and were delivered to students throughout the semester. Students used the podcasted files extensively during their studies, especially as part of their preparations for exams. Feedback of students strongly supported the idea of using podcasting as it reflected its effect on the overall understanding of the subject, and a consequent improvement of their grades.

Keywords: podcasting, introductory course, interactivity, flipped classroom

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Mastaneh Safarnejad Shad, Wim Dehaen, Steven De Jonghe

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Since CXCR4 is the main coreceptor of HIV-1 and plays an important role in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) entry, numerous efforts were directed towards the discovery of new classes of small molecules that act as CXCR4 antagonists. In addition, CXCR4 antagonists are potentially useful in the treatment of several other disorders, such as cancer cell metastasis, leukemia cell proliferation, rheumatoid arthritis, and pulmonary fibrosis. Since AMD3100 (plerixafor) is the only CXCR4 antagonist which obtained approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), we were motivated to investigate a new category of molecules as CXCR4 antagonists. Most of the scaffolds which have been studied so far as CXCR4 antagonists are based on the tetrahydroquinoline (THQ) moiety in which AMD11070 (mavorixafor), GSK-812394, and TIQ15 displayed the most potent CXCR4 antagonism. Due to the high potency of these scaffolds, two different series of compounds were prepared in this work. In the first set, the THQ moiety is coupled to an amine chain and various isoquinoline derivatives (prepared by an in-house developed triazolization strategy), of which the upper part of molecules is identical to AMD11070 and TIQ15. In the second category of compounds, the THQ moiety was simplified by the synthesis of a substituted pyridine moiety. In order to investigate if CXCR4 antagonism requires the presence of an isoquinoline moiety, the corresponding pyridine analogues were also prepared. In both series of compounds, potent CXCR4 antagonism was noticed.

Keywords: CXCR4 coreceptor, CXCR4 antagonists, HIV inhibitor, tetrahydroquinoline

Procedia PDF Downloads 193

Authors: Carolina Pereira Lobato Costa, Cristina Pascual-González, Monica Echeverry, Javier LLorca, Carlos Gonzáléz, Juan Pedro Fernández-Bláquez

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Although the potential of PLA self-reinforced composites for bone applications, not much literature addresses optimal manufacturing conditions. In this regard, this paper describes the woven self-reinforced PLA composites manufacturing processes: the commingling of yarns, weaving, and hot pressing and characterizes the manufactured laminates. Different structures and properties can be achieved by varying the hot compaction process parameters (pressure, holding time, and temperature). The specimens manufactured were characterized in terms of thermal properties (DSC), microstructure (C-scan optical microscope and SEM), strength (tensile test), and biocompatibility (MTT assays). Considering the final device, 155 ℃ for 10 min at 2 MPa act as the more appropriate hot pressing parameters. The laminate produced with these conditions has few voids/porosity, a tensile strength of 30.39 ± 1.21 MPa, and a modulus of 4.09 ± 0.24 GPa. Subsequently to the tensile testing was possible to observe fiber pullout from the fracture surfaces, confirming that this material behaves as a composite. From the results, no single laminate can fulfill all the requirements, being necessary to compromise in function of the priority property. Further investigation is required to improve materials' mechanical performance. Subsequently, process parameters and materials configuration can be adjusted depending on the place and type of implant to suit its function.

Keywords: woven fabric, self-reinforced polymer composite, poly(lactic acid), biodegradable

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Mojebullah Wahidy, Murat Olgun

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In this study, four different types of cement are used to investigate the permeability of DMC (Deep Mixing Column) in the clay. The clay used in this research is in the kaolin group, and the types of cement are; CEM I 42.5.R. normal portland cement, CEM II/A-M (P-L) pozzolan doped cement, CEM III/A 42.5 N blast furnace slag cement and DMFC-800 fine-grained portland cement. Firstly, some rheological tests are done on every cement, and a 0.9 water/cement ratio is selected as the appropriate ratio. This ratio is used to prepare the small-scale DMCs for all types of cement with %6, %9, %12, and %15, which are determined as the dry weight of the clay. For all the types of cement, three samples were prepared in every percentage and were kept on curing for 7, 14, and 28 days for permeability tests. As a result of the small-scale DMCs, permeability tests, a %12 selected for big-scale DMCs. A total of five big scales DMC were prepared by using a %12-cement and were kept for 28 days curing for permeability tests. The results of the permeability tests show that by increasing the cement percentage and curing time of all DMCs, the permeability coefficient (k) is decreased. Despite variable results in different cement ratios and curing time in general, samples treated by DMFC-800 fine-grained cement have the lowest permeability coefficient. Samples treated with CEM II and CEM I cement types were the second and third lowest permeable samples. The highest permeability coefficient belongs to the samples that were treated with CEM III cement type.

Keywords: deep mixing column, rheological test, DMFC-800, permeability test

Procedia PDF Downloads 77

Authors: Sachini Wickramanayaka

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The occurrence of natural disasters has increased in an alarming rate in recent times due to escalating effects of climate change. One such natural disaster that has continued to grow in frequency and intensity is ‘flooding’, adversely affecting communities around the globe. This is an exploration on how architecture can intervene and facilitate in preserving communities in the face of disaster, specifically in battling floods. ‘Resilience’ is one of the concepts that have been brought forward to be instilled in vulnerable communities to lower the impact from such disasters as a preventative and coping mechanism. While there are number of ways to achieve resilience in the built environment, this paper aims to create a synthesis between resilience and ‘urban acupuncture’. It will consider strengthening communities from within, by layering a network of relatively small-scale, fast phased interventions on pre-existing conventional flood preventative large-scale engineering infrastructure.By investigating ‘The Woodlands’, a planned neighborhood as a case study, this paper will argue that large-scale water management solutions while extremely important will not suffice as a single solution particularly during a time of frequent and extreme weather events. The different projects will try to synthesize non-architectural aspects such as neighborhood aspirations, requirements, potential and awareness into a network of architectural forms that would collectively increase neighborhood resiliency to floods. A mapping study of the selected study area will identify the problematic areas that flood in the neighborhood while the empirical data from previously implemented case studies will assess the success of each solution.If successful the different solutions for each of the identified problem areas will exhibithow flooding and water management can be integrated as part and parcel of daily life.

Keywords: acupuncture, architecture, resiliency, micro-interventions, neighborhood

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Nicolae Bold, Daniel Nijloveanu

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The idea of cropping-system is a method used by farmers. It is an environmentally-friendly method, protecting the natural resources (soil, water, air, nutritive substances) and increase the production at the same time, taking into account some crop particularities. The combination of this powerful method with the concepts of genetic algorithms results into a possibility of generating sequences of crops in order to form a rotation. The usage of this type of algorithms has been efficient in solving problems related to optimization and their polynomial complexity allows them to be used at solving more difficult and various problems. In our case, the optimization consists in finding the most profitable rotation of cultures. One of the expected results is to optimize the usage of the resources, in order to minimize the costs and maximize the profit. In order to achieve these goals, a genetic algorithm was designed. This algorithm ensures the finding of several optimized solutions of cropping-systems possibilities which have the highest profit and, thus, which minimize the costs. The algorithm uses genetic-based methods (mutation, crossover) and structures (genes, chromosomes). A cropping-system possibility will be considered a chromosome and a crop within the rotation is a gene within a chromosome. Results about the efficiency of this method will be presented in a special section. The implementation of this method would bring benefits into the activity of the farmers by giving them hints and helping them to use the resources efficiently.

Keywords: chromosomes, cropping, genetic algorithm, genes

Procedia PDF Downloads 427

Authors: Shormin Choudhury, Nazrul Islam, Atiqur Rahman Shaon

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High tunnels can provide several benefits to horticultural crops, including environmental stress protection such as hail, frost, excessive rainfall, and high wind. In hot and sunny areas, high tunnel is one of the cooling ways for modifying the microclimate and maximizing crop development. Present study was carried out to assess the effect of different type of high tunnels on banana growth, yield, and fruit quality characteristics. Net houses, poly net houses, UV poly shed houses, and open field (control) conditions are among the experimental treatments. The results revealed that the plants produced in the poly net house condition had maximum pseudo stem height (171.00cm), stem girth (68.66 cm), chlorophyll content (57.63), number of fruits (140), number of hands (9.66), individual fruit weight (125.00) and pulp: peel ratio (3.35) of bananas as compared to the other treatments. Quality parameters like total soluble solid (21.78°Brix), ascorbic acid (10.24 mg/100g), total sugar (25.44%), and reducing sugar (15.75%) were higher in fruits grown in poly net house. The study revealed that the poly net house is the best growing environment for bananas in terms of growth, yield, and quality attributes.

Keywords: shed houses, banana, chlorophyll content, fruit yield, quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: M. Israil Hossain, T. P. Tiwari, Ashrafuzzaman Gulandaz, Nusrat Jahan

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Two-wheel tractor (power tiller) is a common tillage tool in Bangladesh agriculture for easy access in fragmented land with affordable price of small farmers. Traditional maize sheller needs to be carried from place to place by hooking with two-wheel tractor (2WT) and set up again for shelling operation which takes longer time for preparation of maize shelling. The mobile maize sheller eliminates the transportation problem and can start shelling operation instantly any place as it is attached together with 2WT. It is counterclockwise rotating cylinder, axial flow type sheller, and grain separated with a frictional force between spike tooth and concave. The maize sheller is attached with nuts and bolts in front of the engine base of 2WT. The operating power of the sheller comes from the fly wheel of the engine of the tractor through ‘V” belt pulley arrangement. The average shelling capacity of the mobile sheller is 2.0 t/hr, broken kernel 2.2%, and shelling efficiency 97%. The average maize shelling cost is Tk. 0.22/kg and traditional custom hire rate is Tk.1.0/kg, respectively (1 US$=Tk.78.0). The service provider of the 2WT can transport the mobile maize sheller long distance in operator’s seating position. The manufacturers started the fabrication of mobile maize sheller. This mobile maize sheller is also compatible for the other countries where 2WT is available for farming operation.

Keywords: cost effective, mobile maize sheller, maize shelling capacity, small farmers, two wheel tractor

Procedia PDF Downloads 184

Authors: Hatem Abou-Senna, Essam Radwan

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Transportation agencies and researchers in the past have estimated emissions using one average speed and volume on a long stretch of roadway. Other methods provided better accuracy utilizing annual average estimates. Travel demand models provided an intermediate level of detail through average daily volumes. Currently, higher accuracy can be established utilizing microscopic analyses by splitting the network links into sub-links and utilizing second-by-second trajectories to calculate emissions. The need to accurately quantify transportation-related emissions from vehicles is essential. This paper presents an examination of four different approaches to capture the environmental impacts of vehicular operations on a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 4 (I-4), an urban limited access highway in Orlando, Florida. First, (at the most basic level), emissions were estimated for the entire 10-mile section 'by hand' using one average traffic volume and average speed. Then, three advanced levels of detail were studied using VISSIM/MOVES to analyze smaller links: average speeds and volumes (AVG), second-by-second link drive schedules (LDS), and second-by-second operating mode distributions (OPMODE). This paper analyzes how the various approaches affect predicted emissions of CO, NOx, PM2.5, PM10, and CO2. The results demonstrate that obtaining precise and comprehensive operating mode distributions on a second-by-second basis provides more accurate emission estimates. Specifically, emission rates are highly sensitive to stop-and-go traffic and the associated driving cycles of acceleration, deceleration, and idling. Using the AVG or LDS approach may overestimate or underestimate emissions, respectively, compared to an operating mode distribution approach.

Keywords: limited access highways, MOVES, operating mode distribution (OPMODE), transportation emissions, vehicle specific power (VSP)

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Stefan K. Behfar

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The rapid growth of the Ethereum network has brought forth the urgent need for scalable analysis methods to handle the increasing volume of blockchain data. In this research, we propose efficient methodologies for making Ethereum network analysis scalable. Our approach leverages a combination of graph-based data representation, probabilistic sampling, and parallel processing techniques to achieve unprecedented scalability while preserving critical network insights. Data Representation: We develop a graph-based data representation that captures the underlying structure of the Ethereum network. Each block transaction is represented as a node in the graph, while the edges signify temporal relationships. This representation ensures efficient querying and traversal of the blockchain data. Probabilistic Sampling: To cope with the vastness of the Ethereum blockchain, we introduce a probabilistic sampling technique. This method strategically selects a representative subset of transactions and blocks, allowing for concise yet statistically significant analysis. The sampling approach maintains the integrity of the network properties while significantly reducing the computational burden. Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs): We incorporate GCNs to process the graph-based data representation efficiently. The GCN architecture enables the extraction of complex spatial and temporal patterns from the sampled data. This combination of graph representation and GCNs facilitates parallel processing and scalable analysis. Distributed Computing: To further enhance scalability, we adopt distributed computing frameworks such as Apache Hadoop and Apache Spark. By distributing computation across multiple nodes, we achieve a significant reduction in processing time and enhanced memory utilization. Our methodology harnesses the power of parallelism, making it well-suited for large-scale Ethereum network analysis. Evaluation and Results: We extensively evaluate our methodology on real-world Ethereum datasets covering diverse time periods and transaction volumes. The results demonstrate its superior scalability, outperforming traditional analysis methods. Our approach successfully handles the ever-growing Ethereum data, empowering researchers and developers with actionable insights from the blockchain. Case Studies: We apply our methodology to real-world Ethereum use cases, including detecting transaction patterns, analyzing smart contract interactions, and predicting network congestion. The results showcase the accuracy and efficiency of our approach, emphasizing its practical applicability in real-world scenarios. Security and Robustness: To ensure the reliability of our methodology, we conduct thorough security and robustness evaluations. Our approach demonstrates high resilience against adversarial attacks and perturbations, reaffirming its suitability for security-critical blockchain applications. Conclusion: By integrating graph-based data representation, GCNs, probabilistic sampling, and distributed computing, we achieve network scalability without compromising analytical precision. This approach addresses the pressing challenges posed by the expanding Ethereum network, opening new avenues for research and enabling real-time insights into decentralized ecosystems. Our work contributes to the development of scalable blockchain analytics, laying the foundation for sustainable growth and advancement in the domain of blockchain research and application.

Keywords: Ethereum, scalable network, GCN, probabilistic sampling, distributed computing

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Branimir Skoric

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Over the past two decades, number of international travels rose significantly in the United Kingdom and Worldwide in the shape of business travels and holiday travels as well. The fact that elderly people travel a lot, more than ever before increased the needs for medical evacuations (repatriations) back home if they fell ill abroad or had any kind of accident. This paper concerns medical evacuations of patients on the way back home to the United Kingdom (United Kingdom Residents) and their specific medical needs during short-haul or long-haul commercial scheduled flight and ground transportation to the final destination regardless whether it was hospital or usual place of residence. Particular medical need during medical evacuations is oxygen supply and it can be supplied via portable oxygen concentrator, pulse flow oxygenator or continuous free flow oxygenator depending on the main diagnosis and patient’s comorbidities. In this retrospective study, patients were divided into two groups. One group was consisted of patients suffering from cardio-respiratory diagnoses as primary illness. Another Group consisted of patients suffering from noncardiac illnesses who have other problems including any kind of physical injury. Needs for oxygen and type of supply were carefully considered in regards of duration of the flight, standard airline cabin pressure and results described in this retrospective study.

Keywords: commercial flight, elderly travellers, medical evacuations, oxygen

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Rita Lopa, Yukihiro Shimatani

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The focus of this research is 880m extension development along the Kamisaigo River. The river is flowing tributary of grade 2 rivers Fukutsu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. This river is a small-scale urban river and the river was formerly a straight concrete sea wall construction. The river runs through National Highway No. 3 from the confluence of Saigo River. The study covers the river basin about 326 ha with a catchment area of 20.63 ha and 4,700 m3 capacity regulating pond. The river is not wide, shallow, and has a straight alignment with active (un-vegetated) river channel sinuosity (ratio of river length to valley length) ranging between 1 and 1.3. However, the alignment of the low-flow river channel does have meandering or sinuous characteristics. Flooding is likely to occur. It has become difficult to live in the environment for organisms of the river. Hydrophilic is very low (children cannot play). There is little connection with the local community. Overall, the Kamisaigo River watershed is heavily urbanized and from a morphological, biological and habitat perspective, Kamisaigo River functions marginally not well. For river improvement and maintenance of the Kamisaigo River, the workshop was conducted in the form of planning for the proposed model is presented by the Watershed Management Laboratory. This workshop showed the relationship between citizens, City Government, and University of mutual trust has been established, that have been made landscape, environment, usage, etc.: retaining wall maintenance, hydrophilic zone, landscape zone, nature walks zone: adjacent medical facilities and adjacent to large commercial facilities. Propose of Nature walks zone with point of the design: provide slope that the wheelchair can access and walking paths to enjoy the scenery, and summary of the Kamisaigo River workshop: creating a multi-model study and creation of natural rivers.

Keywords: river restoration, river improvement, natural rivers, Saigo River

Procedia PDF Downloads 357

Authors: A. Asgharzadeh, M. Maroufi

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5G mobile communication system has drawn more and more attention. The 5G system needs to provide three different types of services, including enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), massive machine-type communication (mMTC), and ultra-reliable and low-latency communication (URLLC). Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier (UFMC), Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC), and Filtered Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (f-OFDM) are suggested as a well-known candidate waveform for the coming 5G system. Themachine-to-machine (M2M) communications are one of the essential applications in 5G, and it involves exchanging of concise messages with a very short latency. However, in UFMC systems, the subcarriers are grouped into subbands but f-OFDM only one subband covers the entire band. Furthermore, in FBMC, a subband includes only one subcarrier, and the number of subbands is the same as the number of subcarriers. This paper mainly discusses the performance of UFMC with different parameters for the UFMC system. Also, paper shows that UFMC is the best choice outperforming OFDM in any case and FBMC in case of very short packets while performing similarly for long sequences with channel estimation techniques for Interleave Division Multiple Access (IDMA) systems.

Keywords: universal filtered multi-carrier technique, UFMC, interleave division multiple access, IDMA, fifth-generation, subband

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Jangje Park, So Young Kim

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The market demand for audio quality in mobile devices continues to increase, and audible buzz noise generated in time division communication is a chronic problem that goes against the market demand. In the case of time division type communication, the RF Power Amplifier (RF PA) is driven at the audio frequency cycle, and it makes various influences on the audio signal. In this paper, we measured the ground bounce noise generated by the peak current flowing through the ground network in the RF PA with the audio frequency; it was confirmed that the noise is the cause of the audible buzz noise during a call. In addition, a grounding method of the microphone device that can improve the buzzing noise was proposed. Considering that the level of the audio signal generated by the microphone device is -38dBV based on 94dB Sound Pressure Level (SPL), even ground bounce noise of several hundred uV will fall within the range of audible noise if it is induced by the audio amplifier. Through the grounding method of the microphone device proposed in this paper, it was confirmed that the audible buzz noise power density at the RF PA driving frequency was improved by more than 5dB under the conditions of the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) used in the experiment. A fundamental improvement method was presented regarding the buzzing noise during a mobile phone call.

Keywords: audio frequency, buzz noise, ground bounce, microphone grounding

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Akalu Banbeta, Emmanuel Lesaffre, Reynaldo Martina, Joost Van Rosmalen

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Including data from previous studies (historical data) in the analysis of the current study may reduce the sample size requirement and/or increase the power of analysis. The most common example is incorporating historical control data in the analysis of a current clinical trial. However, this only applies when the historical control dataare similar enough to the current control data. Recently, several Bayesian approaches for incorporating historical data have been proposed, such as the meta-analytic-predictive (MAP) prior and the modified power prior (MPP) both for single control as well as for multiple historical control arms. Here, we examine the performance of the MAP and the MPP approaches for the analysis of (over-dispersed) count data. To this end, we propose a computational method for the MPP approach for the Poisson and the negative binomial models. We conducted an extensive simulation study to assess the performance of Bayesian approaches. Additionally, we illustrate our approaches on an overactive bladder data set. For similar data across the control arms, the MPP approach outperformed the MAP approach with respect to thestatistical power. When the means across the control arms are different, the MPP yielded a slightly inflated type I error (TIE) rate, whereas the MAP did not. In contrast, when the dispersion parameters are different, the MAP gave an inflated TIE rate, whereas the MPP did not.We conclude that the MPP approach is more promising than the MAP approach for incorporating historical count data.

Keywords: count data, meta-analytic prior, negative binomial, poisson

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Diana Serbezeanu, Ionela-Daniela Carja, Tachita Vlad-Bubulac, Sergiu Sova

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New phosphorus-containing monomers having methoxy end functional groups were prepared from methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate and two different dichlorides with phosphorus, namely phenyl phosphonic dichloride and phenyl dichlorophosphate. The structures of the monomers were confirmed by FTIR and NMR spectroscopy. The assignments for the 1H, 13C and 31P chemical shifts are based on 1D and 2D NMR homo- and heteronuclear correlations (H,H-COSY (Correlation Spectroscopy), H,C-HMQC (Heteronuclear Multiple Quantum Correlation and H,C-HMBC (Heteronuclear Multiple Bond Correlation)) and 31P-13C couplings. The monomers exhibited good solubility in common organic solvents. Dimethyl sulfoxide was to be a good solvent to grow crystals of considerable size which were investigated by X-ray analysis. One of these two new monomers presented thermotropic liquid crystalline behaviour, as revealed by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarized light microscopy (PLM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The transition temperature from crystal to liquid crystalline state (K→LC) was 143°C and from the LC to isotropic state (LC→I) was 167°C. Upon heating, bis(4-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl formed fine textures, difficult to be ascribed to smectic or nematic phases. Upon cooling from the isotropic state, bis(4-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl exhibited a mosaic-type texture. X-ray diffraction measurements at small angles (SAXS) of bis(4-(methoxycarbonyl)phenyl showed two peaks at 1.8 Å and 3.5 Å, respectively suggesting organization at supramolecular level.

Keywords: phosphorus-containing monomers, polarized light microscopy, structure investigation, thermotropic liquid crystalline properties

Procedia PDF Downloads 299

Authors: Mulusew G. Jebena, David Lindstrom, Tefera Belachew, Craig Hadley, Carl Lachat, Patrick Kolsteren

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Background: The biological and psychosocial consequence of food insecurity on physical health and nutritional status has been reported. But, its effect on mental health during adolescence remains unexplored. Thus, the main aim of this analysis is to examine the mechanism by which food insecurity is linked to mental health among adolescents living in Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods: We used data from third round observation of Jimma Longitudinal Family and Youth Survey (JLFSY). A total of 1,521 adolescents included for the main analysis. Food insecurity was measured using 5-items scale and The Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20) was used to measure mental distress. Structural equation modeling analysis was done using maximum likelihood estimation method. Model diagnostics test was reported. All p values were two tailed and P value ≤ 0.05 was used to determine statistical significance. Results: The prevalence of mental distress was 20.8%, 95% CI: (18.8, 22.9). After adjusted for covariates, the final model depicts food insecurity was associated with adolescent mental distress (β=.324). This analysis showed 94.1% of the effect of food insecurity on mental distress is direct. By contrast, 5.9% of the food insecurity effect is mediated by physical health. In addition, Self-rated health (β=.356), socioeconomic status (β=-.078) parental educational (β= .170), living in urban (β= .193) and female headed household (β=.205) were associated with adolescent mental distress. Conclusions: This finding highlights the direct effect of food insecurity on adolescent mental distress. Therefore, any intervention aimed to improve mental distress of adolescents should consider strategies to improve access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. Beside this, prevention of underlying factors such as psychosomatic health illness and improving socio economic status is also very critical. Furthermore longitudinal relationship of the long term effect of food insecurity on mental health should be investigated.

Keywords: adolescent, Ethiopia, food insecurity, mental health

Procedia PDF Downloads 596

Authors: Afsoun Nikravan, Parisa Babaei, Gulen Gullu

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We aimed to study the association between house dust endotoxin, β-(1→3)-D-glucan, and asthma in a sample representative of the Turkish population. We analyzed data from 240 participants. The house dust was collected from the homes of 110 asthmatics and 130 control (without asthma) school-aged children (6-11 years old). House dust from the living room and from bedroom floors were analyzed for endotoxin and beta-glucan contents. House dust was analyzed for endotoxin content by the kinetic limulus amoebocyte lysate assay and for β-(1→3)-D-glucan by the inhibition enzyme immunoassay. The parents answered questions regarding potential determinants. We found geometric means 187.5 mg/m² for dust. According to statistical values, the endotoxin geometric mean was 13.86×103 EU/g for the control group and 6.16×103 EU/g for the asthma group. As a result, the amount of bacterial endotoxin was measured at a higher level in the homes of children without asthma. The geometric mean for beta-glucan was 46.52 µg/g and 44.39 µg/g for asthma and control groups, respectively. No associations between asthma and microbial agents were observed in Turkish children. High correlations (r > 0.75) were found between floor dust and endotoxin loads, while endotoxin and β-(1→3)-D-glucan concentrations were not correlated. The type of flooring (hard-surface or textile) was the strongest determinant for loads of floor dust and concentrations of endotoxin. Water damage and dampness at home were determinants of β-(1→3)-D-glucan concentrations. Endotoxin and β-(1→3)-D-glucan concentrations in Turkish house dust might lower than concentrations seen in other European countries.

Keywords: indoor air quality, asthma, microbial pollutants, case-control

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Vinay Mishra, Meena Malkani

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Objectives: To study the effect of physical maternal nutritional markers (viz. weight, height, gestational weight gain, BMI) and third-trimester haemoglobin concentration on anthropometry and cord blood haemoglobin of their newborn. Methods: Study area: Post-natal ward of a tertiary care hospital in an urban area. Study population: All post-partum women and their newborns. Sample size: 100. Maternal and neonatal data and anthropometric measurements were recorded in semi-structured case proforma. Data analysis: The data obtained was analysed using SPSS 20 software.The comparison between the groups was done using One-Way Analysis of Variance for two groups. For more than two groups comparisons further posthoc analysis was done using Tukey test. Pearson correlation coefficient was used for correlating the variables. A P value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: 1. Out of the 100 studied mothers, 52% were anaemic. 2. Cord blood haemoglobin values decreased significantly with the order of birth. 3. Cord blood haemoglobin of normal-weight newborns is significantly higher as compared to that of LBW newborns. 4. Cord blood haemoglobin has strong statistical significance with maternal anaemia. 5. Pre-pregnancy weight and gestational weight gain significantly influence the neonates anthropometry. Conclusions: 1. Birth order has a prominent inverse effect on the cord blood haemoglobin. 2. Majority of the expectant mothers are anaemic and give birth to LBW babies with reduced anthropometric markers. 3. Pre-pregnancy weight, height and gestational weight gain has a very significant impact on the neonatal anthropometry. 4. Thus, maternal nutrition during gestation and during the crucial periods of growth in the pre-child bearing age group has a very significant impact on foetal development.

Keywords: maternal nutrition, anthropometry, cord blood hemoglobin, newborn

Procedia PDF Downloads 392

Authors: Rosetta Moshirian Farahi, Ahya Abdi Ali, Sara Gharavi

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The major mechanism of Pseudomonas aeruginosa resistance to fluoroquinolones is the alteration of target enzymes, type II and IV topoisomerases due to mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDR) of the gyrA and parC genes coding A subunits of these enzymes. 37 isolates from patients with burn wounds and 20 isolates from blood, urine and sputum specimen were selected to evaluate mutations involved in antibiotic resistance and were subsequently verified for their resistance to ciprofloxacin. QRDRs regions of gyrA and parC were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and were subsequently sequenced. 90% of isolates with MIC≥8 µg/ml to ciprofloxacin had a mutation in gyrA gene in which threonine at position 83 changed to isoleucine. 87.5% of isolates had mutation in parC, Serine 87 changed. 75% had Ser87Leu and 12.5% possessed Serin87Trp. Various silent mutations were also detected such as Val103Val, Ala118Ala, Ala136Ala, His132His in gyrA and Ala115Ala in parC. The data indicates that the common mutation in gyrA is Thr83Ile and in parC is Ser87Leu/Trp. No individual parC mutation was observed while mutations in gyrA and parC occurred simultaneously and appears to be the main reason of high-level resistance to fluoroquinolones in patients with burn wounds and urine infection. The vast majority of P.aeruginosa isolates had mutation in parC which can play a crucial role in increased resistance of these isolates. This is a report of parC mutations from resistant P. aeruginosa isolates from Iran, Tehran.

Keywords: P. aeruginosa, fluoroquinolones, gyrA, parC, antibiotic resistance

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Authors: Ng Ziyi Zoe, Yow Wei Quin

Abstract:

Humor plays a pivotal role in our interaction with people. According to the age-related positivity effect, older adults (OA) demonstrate more positive emotions and are better able to modulate negative emotional states than younger adults (YA), suggesting an increase in humor appreciation with age. However, different types of humor might show different patterns of change in appreciation with age (e.g., incongruity-resolution humor, aggressive humor, self-vs.-other-deprecating humor). Thus, we aim to explore age-related effects in the perception of different types of humor in a single study, including the impact of local slang in humor appreciation. Twenty OA aged 60-and-above and 24 YA aged 13-20 were watched four short videos (i.e., benign, violent, satire+local slang, and others-deprecating humor) and rated how funny the videos were (from a scale of 1-not funny-at-all to 5-very funny). Participants were also asked to rank the videos in the order of most- to least-entertaining. Repeated measures of ANOVA found significant main effects of age, F(3,39)=12,88, p < .001, where OA gave higher ratings than YA (M=3.20 vs. 2.63), and humor type, F(3,123)=19.66, p < .001. Post-hoc analyses revealed a significant linear contrast where benign and violent humor had the lowest ratings while others-deprecating humor had the highest ratings. No significant interaction effect was found. The distribution of ranking ratings also differed between OA and YA (e.g., preferred satire+local slang and others-deprecating humor vs. overwhelmingly preferred other-deprecating humor, respectively). Overall, OA displayed a greater appreciation across various types of humor than YA. Humor perception will be discussed in the larger context of cognitive, societal, and cultural implications.

Keywords: humor, older adults, perception, age differences

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Authors: Muhammad Ali

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Cyber-attacks and anomaly detection on the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure is emerging concern in the domain of data-driven intrusion. Rapidly increasing IoT risk is now making headlines around the world. denial of service, malicious control, data type probing, malicious operation, DDos, scan, spying, and wrong setup are attacks and anomalies that can affect an IoT system failure. Everyone talks about cyber security, connectivity, smart devices, and real-time data extraction. IoT devices expose a wide variety of new cyber security attack vectors in network traffic. For further than IoT development, and mainly for smart and IoT applications, there is a necessity for intelligent processing and analysis of data. So, our approach is too secure. We train several machine learning models that have been compared to accurately predicting attacks and anomalies on IoT systems, considering IoT applications, with ANOVA-based feature selection with fewer prediction models to evaluate network traffic to help prevent IoT devices. The machine learning (ML) algorithms that have been used here are KNN, SVM, NB, D.T., and R.F., with the most satisfactory test accuracy with fast detection. The evaluation of ML metrics includes precision, recall, F1 score, FPR, NPV, G.M., MCC, and AUC & ROC. The Random Forest algorithm achieved the best results with less prediction time, with an accuracy of 99.98%.

Keywords: machine learning, analysis of variance, Internet of Thing, network security, intrusion detection

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Authors: Takashi Shimizu, Tomoaki Hashimoto

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Controlling the flow of fluids is a challenging problem that arises in many fields. Burgers’ equation is a fundamental equation for several flow phenomena such as traffic, shock waves, and turbulence. The optimal feedback control method, so-called model predictive control, has been proposed for Burgers’ equation. However, the model predictive control method is inapplicable to systems whose all state variables are not exactly known. In practical point of view, it is unusual that all the state variables of systems are exactly known, because the state variables of systems are measured through output sensors and limited parts of them can be only available. In fact, it is usual that flow velocities of fluid systems cannot be measured for all spatial domains. Hence, any practical feedback controller for fluid systems must incorporate some type of state estimator. To apply the model predictive control to the fluid systems described by Burgers’ equation, it is needed to establish a state estimation method for Burgers’ equation with limited measurable state variables. To this purpose, we apply unscented Kalman filter for estimating the state variables of fluid systems described by Burgers’ equation. The objective of this study is to establish a state estimation method based on unscented Kalman filter for Burgers’ equation. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by numerical simulations.

Keywords: observer systems, unscented Kalman filter, nonlinear systems, Burgers' equation

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Authors: Selin Öztürk Demirkiran

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Approaches towards sustainability and energy efficiency are significant topics of our era. These approaches need to be addressed across various fields and are relevant to multiple disciplines. Building facades, as the first surface encountering external weather conditions, should be considered and analyzed within this context. Current seasonal changes due to global warming and the influence on climates have highlighted the necessity for building systems to adapt to these changes, emphasizing the need for long-lasting solutions. Therefore, this study aims to examine adaptive system applications using examples from similar climatic regions and buildings of different functions, classifying them according to adaptive system criteria. It also aims to explore and evaluate the current stage of such systems in Turkey and the potential for their implementation. In this study, six building examples with different functions, including two examples for each adaptive type, were analyzed from regions with climates similar to those in Turkey, with detailed examination sheets prepared. The purpose of this study is to contribute to ongoing developments by presenting findings on current concepts and analyses and proposing a distinct approach for the characterization of these elements at the scale of Turkey. From this perspective, there is a considerable amount of literature on adaptive facade designs, and while application examples exist, adaptive approaches have been developed and partially implemented. It is expected that innovative solutions in this field will find a place in Turkey in the near future, following the increasing number of examples globally.

Keywords: adaptive facade, smart building facades, facade innovation, sustainability.

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Authors: Esmail Sadipour

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The use of social networks is increasing day by day in all societies. The purpose of this research was to know the relationship between the use of social networks (Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram) with executive functions and academic performance in first-year female high school students. This research was applied in terms of purpose, quantitative in terms of data type, and correlational in terms of technique. The population of this research consisted of all female high school students in the first year of district 2 of Tehran. Using Green's formula, the sample size of 150 people was determined and selected by cluster random method. In this way, from all 17 high schools in district 2 of Tehran, 5 high schools were selected by a simple random method and then one class was selected from each high school, and a total of 155 students were selected. To measure the use of social networks, a researcher-made questionnaire was used, the Barclay test (2012) was used for executive functions, and last semester's GPA was used for academic performance. Pearson's correlation coefficient and multivariate regression were used to analyze the data. The results showed that there is a negative relationship between the amount of use of social networks and self-control, self-motivation and time self-management. In other words, the more the use of social networks, the fewer executive functions of students, self-control, self-motivation, and self-management of their time. Also, with the increase in the use of social networks, the academic performance of students has decreased.

Keywords: social networks, executive function, academic performance, working memory

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Authors: Siti Rahmah Fitrianti, Mela Milani

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Inadequate of water intake has negative effects on the health of the body, which can cause kidney failure and death. One of the factors that can affect someone intake of water is level of knowledge about the importance of water intake itself. A good knowledge of the daily water intake can increase the awareness of daily needed of water intake. Therefore, researchers initiated a study on the relationship of water intake to the level of knowledge related with water intake in food workers, at “Puspa” Hospital. Type of this research is quantitative research with cross-sectional approach. The research data was collected by measuring the independent and dependent variable at a time. This study took place in the food production unit of Nutrition Installation in "Puspa" Hospital, Jakarta in October 2016. The population target in this study were workers in food production unit aged 30-64 years. The instrument was a questionnaire question regarding water intake and 24 hours food recall. The result is 78.6% of respondents have less knowledge about the importance of water intake. Meanwhile, as many as 85.7% of respondents have adequate water intake. Tested by Chi-Square test, showed that no significant relationship between water intake with the level of knowledge related to water intake in workers of food production unit. Adequate intake of water in food workers commonly may be not caused by the level of knowledge related to water intake, but it may be cause of work environment factor which has a high temperature.

Keywords: food production unit, food workers, level of knowledge, water intake

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Authors: Piotr Prewysz-Kwinto, Grazyna Voss

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In June 2013, the European Parliament and the Council adopted a directive on financial reporting (Directive 2013/34/EU). The main objective was to simplify the principles of the preparation of financial statements, including the principles of the presentation and disclosures of financial information by adapting reporting burdens to the type and size of an undertaking. Therefore, the Directive introduced a classification of all undertakings into five groups, i.e. micro, small, medium-sized, large and public-interest entities, and defined in detail the classification criteria. The principles of the preparation of financial statements and the presentation of financial information as well as applicable simplifications were defined for each group. The EU Member States had to implement the provisions of Directive 34 relating to accounting and financial reporting into domestic norms until January 1, 2016. In Poland, the provisions of Directive 34 were implemented into domestic accounting norms specified in the Polish Accounting Act on a gradual basis. On July 11, 2014, the Polish Parliament adopted an amendment to the Act, introducing the Directive's solutions for micro-undertakings and on July 23, 2015, for the remaining undertakings. The aim of this paper is to present Polish solutions relating to financial reporting after the implementation of Directive 34 and the results of the survey conducted among accountants regarding the evaluation of the implemented simplifications for micro and small undertakings.

Keywords: accounting standards, financial reporting, financial statement, simplification

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Authors: Dung Jidong, Rachel Tribe, Poul Rohlerder, Aneta Tunariu

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Cultural understandings of mental health problems are frequently overshadowed by the western conceptualizations. Research on culture and mental health in the Nigerian context seems to be lacking. This study examined the linguistic understandings and cultural beliefs that have implications for mental health among the Berom, Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo people of Nigeria. A purposive sample of 53 participants underwent semi-structured interviews that lasted approximately 55 minutes each. Of the N=53 participants, n=26 were psychology-aligned practitioners and n=27 ‘laypersons’. Participants were recruited from four states in Nigeria, Plateau, Kaduna, Ekiti, and Enugu. All participants were self-identified as members of their ethnic groups who speak and understand their native-languages, cultural beliefs, and also are domiciled within their ethnic communities. Thematic analysis using socio-constructionism from a critical-realist position was employed to explore the participants’ beliefs about mental health, and the clash between western trained practitioners’ views and the cultural beliefs of the ‘laypersons’. Data analysis found three main themes that re-emerged across the four ethnic samples: (i) beliefs about mental health problems as a spiritual curse (ii) traditional and religious healing are used more often than western mental health care (iii) low levels of mental health awareness. In addition, the Nigerian traditional and religious healing are also revealed to be helpful as the practice gives prominence to the native-languages, religious and cultural values. However, participants described the role of ‘false’ traditional or religious healers in communities as being potentially harmful. Finally, due to the current lack of knowledge about mental health problems, awareness creation and re-orientation may be beneficial for both rural and urban Nigerian communities.

Keywords: beliefs cultures, health mental, languages religions, values

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Authors: Sheila Shahidi

Abstract:

UV protection by fabrics has recently become a focus of great interest, particularly in connection with environmental degradation or ozone layer depletion. Fabrics provide simple and convenient protection against UV radiation (UVR), but not all fabrics offer sufficient UV protection. To describe the degree of UVR protection offered by clothing materials, the ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) is commonly used. UV-protective fabric can be generated by application of a chemical finish using normal wet-processing methodologies. However, traditional wet-processing techniques are known to consume large quantities of water and energy and may lead to adverse alterations of the bulk properties of the substrate. Recently, usage of plasmas to generate physicochemical surface modifications of textile substrates has become an intriguing approach to replace or enhance conventional wet-processing techniques. In this research work the effect of plasma treatment on UV protection properties of fabrics was investigated. DC magnetron sputtering was used and the parameters of plasma such as gas type, electrodes, time of exposure, power and, etc. were studied. The morphological and chemical properties of samples were analyzed using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Furrier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The transmittance and UPF values of the original and plasma-treated samples were measured using a Shimadzu UV3101 PC (UV–Vis–NIR scanning spectrophotometer, 190–2, 100 nm range). It was concluded that, plasma which is an echo-friendly, cost effective and dry technique is being used in different branches of the industries, and will conquer textile industry in the near future. Also it is promising method for preparation of UV protection textile.

Keywords: fabric, plasma, textile, UV protection

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