Search results for: frequency distribution

Authors: Asma Omri, Noureddine Benothman, Sofiane Sayahi, Fethi Tlili, Hichem Besbes

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Cycling, a popular mode of transportation, can also be perilous due to cyclists' vulnerability to collisions with vehicles and obstacles. This paper presents an innovative cyclist safety system based on radar technology designed to offer real-time collision risk warnings to cyclists. The system incorporates a low-power radar sensor affixed to the bicycle and connected to a microcontroller. It leverages radar point cloud detections, a clustering algorithm, and a supervised classifier. These algorithms are optimized for efficiency to run on the TI’s AWR 1843 BOOST radar, utilizing a coarse classification approach distinguishing between cars, trucks, two-wheeled vehicles, and other objects. To enhance the performance of clustering techniques, we propose a 2-Level clustering approach. This approach builds on the state-of-the-art Density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN). The objective is to first cluster objects based on their velocity, then refine the analysis by clustering based on position. The initial level identifies groups of objects with similar velocities and movement patterns. The subsequent level refines the analysis by considering the spatial distribution of these objects. The clusters obtained from the first level serve as input for the second level of clustering. Our proposed technique surpasses the classical DBSCAN algorithm in terms of geometrical metrics, including homogeneity, completeness, and V-score. Relevant cluster features are extracted and utilized to classify objects using an SVM classifier. Potential obstacles are identified based on their velocity and proximity to the cyclist. To optimize the system, we used the View of Delft dataset for hyperparameter selection and SVM classifier training. The system's performance was assessed using our collected dataset of radar point clouds synchronized with a camera on an Nvidia Jetson Nano board. The radar-based cyclist safety system is a practical solution that can be easily installed on any bicycle and connected to smartphones or other devices, offering real-time feedback and navigation assistance to cyclists. We conducted experiments to validate the system's feasibility, achieving an impressive 85% accuracy in the classification task. This system has the potential to significantly reduce the number of accidents involving cyclists and enhance their safety on the road.

Keywords: 2-level clustering, coarse classification, cyclist safety, warning system based on radar technology

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Authors: Regina Rekuviene, Vykintas Samaitis, Liudas Mažeika, Audrius Jankauskas, Virginija Jankauskaitė, Laura Gegeckienė, Abdolali Sadaghiani, Shaghayegh Saeidiharzand

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Icing brings significant damage to aviation and renewable energy installations. Air-conditioning, refrigeration, wind turbine blades, airplane and helicopter blades often suffer from icing phenomena, which cause severe energy losses and impair aerodynamic performance. The icing process is a complex phenomenon with many different causes and types. Icing mechanisms, distributions, and patterns are still relevant to research topics. The adhesion strength between ice and surfaces differs in different icing environments. This makes the task of anti-icing very challenging. The techniques for various icing environments must satisfy different demands and requirements (e.g., efficient, lightweight, low power consumption, low maintenance and manufacturing costs, reliable operation). It is noticeable that most methods are oriented toward a particular sector and adapting them to or suggesting them for other areas is quite problematic. These methods often use various technologies and have different specifications, sometimes with no clear indication of their efficiency. There are two major groups of anti-icing methods: passive and active. Active techniques have high efficiency but, at the same time, quite high energy consumption and require intervention in the structure’s design. It’s noticeable that vast majority of these methods require specific knowledge and personnel skills. The main effect of passive methods (ice-phobic, superhydrophobic surfaces) is to delay ice formation and growth or reduce the adhesion strength between the ice and the surface. These methods are time-consuming and depend on forecasting. They can be applied on small surfaces only for specific targets, and most are non-biodegradable (except for anti-freezing proteins). There is some quite promising information on ultrasonic ice mitigation methods that employ UGW (Ultrasonic Guided Wave). These methods are have the characteristics of low energy consumption, low cost, lightweight, and easy replacement and maintenance. However, fundamental knowledge of ultrasonic de-icing methodology is still limited. The objective of this work was to identify the ice formation processes and its progress by employing ultrasonic guided wave technique. Throughout this research, the universal set-up for acoustic measurement of ice formation in a real condition (temperature range from +240 C to -230 C) was developed. Ultrasonic measurements were performed by using high frequency 5 MHz transducers in a pitch-catch configuration. The selection of wave modes suitable for detection of ice formation phenomenon on copper metal surface was performed. Interaction between the selected wave modes and ice formation processes was investigated. It was found that selected wave modes are sensitive to temperature changes. It was demonstrated that proposed ultrasonic technique could be successfully used for the detection of ice layer formation on a metal surface.

Keywords: ice formation processes, ultrasonic GW, detection of ice formation, ultrasonic testing

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Authors: Ditsapelo M. McFarland

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Background: Despite the availability of the Pap smear services in urban areas in Botswana, most women in such areas do not seem to screen regular for prevention of the cervical cancer disease. Reasons for non-use of the available Pap smear services are not well understood. Beliefs about cancer may influence participation in cancer screening in these women. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure beliefs about cervical cancer and Pap smear screening among Black women in Botswana, and evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument. Significance: Instruments that are designed to measure beliefs about cervical cancer and screening among black women in Botswana, as well as in the surrounding region, are presently not available. Valid and reliable instruments are needed for exploration of the women’s beliefs about cervical cancer. Conceptual Framework: The Health Belief Model (HBM) provided a conceptual framework for the study. Methodology: The study was done in four phases: Phase 1: item generation: 15 items were generated from literature review and qualitative data for each of four conceptually defined HBM constructs: Perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers (Version 1). Phase 2: content validity: Four experts who were advanced practice nurses of African descent and were familiar with the content and the HBM evaluated the content. Experts rated the items on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from: 1=not relevant, 2=somewhat relevant, 3=relevant and 4=very relevant. Fifty-five items were retained for instrument development: perceived susceptibility - 11, severity - 14, benefits - 15 and barriers - 15, all measuring on a 4-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (4). (Version 2). Phase 3: pilot testing: The instrument was pilot tested on a convenient sample of 30 women in Botswana and revised as needed. Phase 4: reliability: the revised instrument (Version 3) was submitted to a larger sample of women in Botswana (n=300) for reliability testing. The sample included women who were Batswana by birth and decent, were aged 30 years and above and could complete an English questionnaire. Data were collected with the assistance of trained research assistants. Major findings: confirmatory factor analysis of the 55 items found that a number of items did not adequately load in a four-factor solution. Items that exhibited reasonable reliability and had low frequency of missing values (n=36) were retained: perceived barriers (14 items), perceived benefits (8 items), perceived severity (4 items), and perceived susceptibility (10 items). confirmatory factor analysis (principle components) for a four factor solution using varimax rotation demonstrated that these four factors explained 43% of the variation in these 36 items. Conclusion: reliability analysis using Cronbach’s Alpha gave generally satisfactory results with values from 0.53 to 0.89.

Keywords: cervical cancer, factor analysis, psychometric evaluation, varimax rotation

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Authors: Muna Shalan

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Climate change is a systemic challenge for cities, with its impacts not happening in isolation but rather intertwined, thus increasing hazards and the vulnerability of the exposed population. The increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves, for example, is associated with multiple repercussions on the quality of life of city inhabitants, including health discomfort, a rise in mortality and morbidity, increasing energy demand for cooling, and shrinking of green areas due to drought. To address the multi-faceted impact of urbanisation-induced warming, municipalities and local governments are challenged with devising strategies and implementing effective response measures. Municipalities are recognising the importance of guiding urban concepts to drive climate action in the urban environment. An example is climate proofing, which refers to a process of mainstreaming climate change into development strategies and programs, i.e., urban planning is viewed through a climate change lens. There is a multitude of interconnected aspects that are critical to paving the path toward climate-proofing of urban areas and avoiding poor planning of layouts and spatial arrangements. Navigating these aspects through an analysis of the overarching practices governing municipal planning processes, which is the focus of this research, will highlight entry points to improve procedures, methods, and data availability for optimising planning processes and municipal actions. By employing a case study approach, the research investigates how municipalities in different contexts, namely in the city of Sahab in Jordan, Chililabombwe in Zambia, and the city of Dortmund in Germany, are integrating guiding urban concepts to shrink the deficit in adaptation and mitigation and achieve climate proofing goals in their respective local contexts. The analysis revealed municipal strategies and measures undertaken to optimize existing building and urban design regulations by introducing key performance indicators and improving in-house capacity. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that establishing or optimising interdepartmental communication frameworks or platforms is key to strengthening the steering structures governing local climate action. The most common challenge faced by municipalities is related to their role as a regulator and implementers, particularly in budget analysis and instruments for cost recovery of climate action measures. By leading organisational changes related to improving procedures and methods, municipalities can mitigate the various challenges that may emanate from uncoordinated planning and thus promote action against urbanisation-induced warming.

Keywords: urbanisation-induced warming, response measures, municipal planning processes, key performance indicators, interdepartmental communication frameworks, cost recovery

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Authors: Irene Capecchi, Tommaso Borghini, Iacopo Bernetti

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One of the most common pieces of equipment still used today for pruning, felling, and processing trees is the chainsaw in forestry. However, chainsaw use highlights dangers and one of the highest rates of accidents in both professional and non-professional work. Felling is proportionally the most dangerous phase, both in severity and frequency, because of the risk of being hit by the plant the operator wants to cut down. To avoid this, a correct sequence of chainsaw cuts must be taught concerning the different conditions of the tree. Virtual reality (VR) makes it possible to virtually simulate chainsaw use without danger of injury. The limitations of the existing applications are as follow. The existing platforms are not symmetrical collaborative because the trainee is only in virtual reality, and the trainer can only see the virtual environment on a laptop or PC, and this results in an inefficient teacher-learner relationship. Therefore, most applications only involve the use of a virtual chainsaw, and the trainee thus cannot feel the real weight and inertia of a real chainsaw. Finally, existing applications simulate only a few cases of tree felling. The objectives of this research were to implement and test a symmetrical collaborative training application based on VR and mixed reality (MR) with the overlap between real and virtual chainsaws in MR. The research and training platform was developed for the Meta quest 2 head-mounted display. The research and training platform application is based on the Unity 3D engine, and Present Platform Interaction SDK (PPI-SDK) developed by Meta. PPI-SDK avoids the use of controllers and enables hand tracking and MR. With the combination of these two technologies, it was possible to overlay a virtual chainsaw with a real chainsaw in MR and synchronize their movements in VR. This ensures that the user feels the weight of the actual chainsaw, tightens the muscles, and performs the appropriate movements during the test allowing the user to learn the correct body posture. The chainsaw works only if the right sequence of cuts is made to felling the tree. Contact detection is done by Unity's physics system, which allows the interaction of objects that simulate real-world behavior. Each cut of the chainsaw is defined by a so-called collider, and the felling of the tree can only occur if the colliders are activated in the right order simulating a safe technique felling. In this way, the user can learn how to use the chainsaw safely. The system is also multiplayer, so the student and the instructor can experience VR together in a symmetrical and collaborative way. The platform simulates the following tree-felling situations with safe techniques: cutting the tree tilted forward, cutting the medium-sized tree tilted backward, cutting the large tree tilted backward, sectioning the trunk on the ground, and cutting branches. The application is being evaluated on a sample of university students through a special questionnaire. The results are expected to test both the increase in learning compared to a theoretical lecture and the immersive and telepresence of the platform.

Keywords: chainsaw, collaborative symmetric virtual reality, mixed reality, operator training

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Authors: Masoud Sheidai, Fahimeh Koohdar, Hashem Sharifi

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Juglans regia (L.) commonly known as Persian walnut of the genus Juglans L. (Juglandaceae) is one of the most important cultivated plant species due to its high-quality wood and edible nuts. The genetic diversity analysis is essential for conservation and management of tree species. Persian walnut is native from South-Eastern Europe to North-Western China through Tibet, Nepal, Northern India, Pakistan, and Iran. The species like Persian walnut, which has a wide range of geographical distribution, should harbor extensive genetic variability to adapt to environmental fluctuations they face. We aimed to study the population genetic structure of seven Persian walnut populations including three wild and four cultivated populations by using ISSR (Inter simple sequence repeats) and SRAP (Sequence related amplified polymorphism) molecular markers. We also aimed to compare the genetic variability revealed by ISSR neutral multilocus marker and rDNA ITS sequences. The studied populations differed in morphological features as the samples in each population were clustered together and were separate from the other populations. Three wild populations studied were placed close to each other. The mantel test after 5000 times permutation performed between geographical distance and morphological distance in Persian walnut populations produced significant correlation (r = 0.48, P = 0.002). Therefore, as the populations become farther apart, they become more divergent in morphological features. ISSR analysis produced 47 bands/ loci, while we obtained 15 SRAP bands. Gst and other differentiation statistics determined for these loci revealed that most of the ISSR and SRAP loci have very good discrimination power and can differentiate the studied populations. AMOVA performed for these loci produced a significant difference (< 0.05) supporting the above-said result. AMOVA produced significant genetic difference based on ISSR data among the studied populations (PhiPT = 0.52, P = 0.001). AMOVA revealed that 53% of the total variability is due to among population genetic difference, while 47% is due to within population genetic variability. The results showed that both multilocus molecular markers and ITS sequences can differentiate Persian walnut populations. The studied populations differed genetically and showed isolation by distance (IBD). ITS sequence based MP and Bayesian phylogenetic trees revealed that Iranian walnut cultivars form a distinct clade separated from the cultivars studied from elsewhere. Almost all clades obtained have high bootstrap value. The results indicated that a combination of multilpcus and sequencing molecular markers can be used in genetic differentiation of Persian walnut.

Keywords: genetic diversity, population, molecular markers, genetic difference

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Authors: Tso Sheng-Yang, Wang Tien-Ni

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Introduction and Purpose: Previous researchers have documented children with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders) prefer to escaping internal privates and external privates when they face tough conditions they can’t control or they don’t like.Especially, when children with ASD need to learn challenging tasks, such us Chinese language, their inappropriate behaviors will occur apparently. Recently, researchers apply positive behavior support strategies for children with ASD to enhance their self-efficacy and therefore to reduce their adverse behaviors. Thus, the purpose of this research was to design a series of lecture based on art therapy and to evaluate its effectiveness on the child’s self-efficacy. Method: This research was the single-case design study that recruited a high school boy with ASD. Whole research can be separated into three conditions. First, baseline condition, before the class started and ended, the researcher collected participant’s competencies of self-efficacy every session. In intervention condition, the research used dramatic conventions to teach the child in Chinese language twice a week.When the data was stable across three documents, the period entered to the maintenance condition. In maintenance condition, the researcher only collected the score of self-efficacynot to do other interventions five times a month to represent the effectiveness of maintenance.The time and frequency of data collection among three conditions are identical. Concerning art therapy, the common approach, e.g., music, drama, or painting is to use art medium as independent variable. Due to visual cues of art medium, the ASD can be easily to gain joint attention with teachers. Besides, the ASD have difficulties in understanding abstract objectives Thus, using the drama convention is helpful for the ASD to construct the environment and understand the context of Classical Chinese. By real operation, it can improve the ASD to understand the context and construct prior knowledge. Result: Bassd on the 10-points Likert scale and research, we product following results. (a) In baseline condition, the average score of self-efficacyis 1.12 points, rangedfrom 1 to 2 points, and the level change is 0 point. (b)In intervention condition, the average score of self-efficacy is 7.66 points rangedfrom 7 to 9 points, and the level change is 1 point. (c)In maintenance condition, the average score of self-efficacy is 6.66 points rangedfrom 6 to 7 points, and the level change is 1 point. Concerning immediacy of change, between baseline and intervention conditions, the difference is 5 points. No overlaps were found between these two conditions. Conclusion: According to the result, we find that it is effective that using dramatic conventions a s teaching strategies to teach children with ASD. The result presents the score of self-efficacyimmediately enhances when the dramatic conventions commences. Thus, we suggest the teacher can use this approach and adjust, based on the student’s trait, to teach the ASD on difficult task.

Keywords: dramatic conventions, autism spectrum disorder, slef-efficacy, teaching strategy

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Authors: Marsha D. Loda

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College enrollment is declining and generation Z, today’s college students, are struggling. Before the pandemic, researchers characterized this generational cohort as unique. Gen Z has been called the most achievement-oriented generation, as they enjoy greater economic status, are more racially and ethnically diverse, and better educated than any other generation. However, they are also the most likely generation to suffer from depression and anxiety. Gen Z has grown up largely with usually well-intentioned but overprotective parents who inadvertently kept them from learning life skills, likely impacting their ability to cope with and to effectively manage challenges. The unprecedented challenges resulting from the pandemic up ended their world and left them emotionally reeling. One of the ramifications of this for higher education is how to reengage current Gen Z students in the classroom. This research presents qualitative findings from 24 single-spaced pages of verbatim comments from college students. Research questions concerned what helps them learn and what they abhor, as well as how to engage them with the university outside of the classroom to aid in retention. Students leave little doubt about what they want to experience in the classroom. In order of mention, students want discussion, to engage with questions, to hear how a topic relates to real life and the real world, to feel connections with the professor and fellow students, and to have an opportunity to give their opinions. They prefer a classroom that involves conversation, with interesting topics and active learning. “professor talks instead of lecturing” “professor builds a connection with the classroom” “I am engaged because it feels like a respectful conversation” Similarly, students are direct about what they dislike in a classroom. In order of frequency, students dislike teachers unenthusiastically reading word or word from notes or presentations, repeating the text without adding examples, or addressing how to apply the information. “All lecture. I can read the book myself” “Not taught how to apply the skill or lesson” “Lectures the entire time. Lesson goes in one ear and out the other.” Pertaining to engagement outside the classroom, Gen Z challenges higher education to step outside the box. They don’t want to just hear from professionals in their field, they want to meet and interact with them. Perhaps because of their dependence on technology and pandemic isolation, they seem to reach out for assistance in forming social bonds. “I believe fun and social events are the best way to connect with students and get them involved. Cookouts, raffles, socials, or networking events would all most likely appeal to many students”. “Events… even if they aren’t directly related to learning. Maybe like movie nights… doing meet ups at restaurants”. Qualitative research suggests strategy. This research is rife with strategic implications to improve learning, increase engagement and reduce drop-out rates among Generation Z higher education students. It also compliments existing research on student engagement. With college enrollment declining by some 1.3 million students over the last two years, this research is both timely and important.

Keywords: college enrollment, generation Z, higher education, pandemic, student engagement

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Authors: Ayoola Adekunle Dada, Tolulope Omolola Fateropa

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There is no gain saying the fact that the Nigerian correctional services lack rehabilitation reformation. Owing to this, some so many inmates, including the female, become more emotionally bruised and hardened instead of coming out of the prison reformed. Although female inmates constitute only a small percentage worldwide, the challenges resulting from women falling under the provision of the penal system have prompted ficial and humanitarian bodies to consider female inmateas as vulnerable persons who need particular social work measures that meet their specific needs. Female inmates’condition may become worseinprisondue to the absence of the standard living condition. A survey of 100 female inmates will be used to determine the assessment of the living condition of the female inmates within the contexts in which they occur. Employing field methods from Medical Sociology and Law, the study seeks to make use of the collaboration of both disciplines for a comprehensive understanding of the scenario. Its specific objectives encompassed: (1) To examine access and use of health facilities among the female inmates;(2) To examine the effect of officers/warders attitude towards female inmates;(3)To investigate the perception of the female inmates towards the housing facilities in the centre and; (4) To investigate the feeding habit of the female inmates. Due to the exploratory nature of the study, the researchers will make use of mixed-method, such qualitative methods as interviews will be undertaken to complement survey research (quantitative). By adopting the above-explained inter-method triangulation, the study will not only ensure that the advantages of both methods are exploited but will also fulfil the basic purposes of research. The sampling for this study will be purposive. The study aims at sampling two correctional centres (Ado Ekiti and Akure) in order to generate representative data for the female inmates in South West Nigeria. In all, the total number of respondents will be 100. A cross-section of female inmates will be selected as respondents using a multi-stage sampling technique. 100 questionnaires will be administered. A semi structured (in-depth) interviews will be conducted among workers in the two selected correctional centres, respectively, to gain further insight on the living conditions of female inmates, which the survey may not readily elicit. These participants will be selected purposively in respect to their status in the organisation. Ethical issues in research on human subjects will be given due consideration. Such issues rest on principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy/justice and confidentiality. In the final analysis, qualitative data will be analyzed using manual content analysis. Both the descriptive and inferential statistics will be used for analytical purposes. Frequency, simple percentage, pie chart, bar chart, curve and cross-tabulations will form part of the descriptive analysis.

Keywords: assessment, health facilities, inmates, perception, living conditions

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Authors: Belen Montero, Carmen Ramirez, Maite Rico, Rebeca Bouza, Irene Derungs

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Starch is a promising polymer for producing biocomposite materials because it is renewable, completely biodegradable and easily available at a low cost. Thermoplastic starches (TPS) can be obtained after the disruption and plasticization of native starch with a plasticizer. In this work, the solvent casting method was used to obtain TPS films from wheat starch plasticized with glycerol and reinforced with nanocellulose (CNC). X-ray diffraction analysis was used to follow the evolution of the crystallinity. The native wheat starch granules have shown a profile corresponding to A-type crystal structures typical for cereal starches. When TPS films are analyzed a high amorphous halo centered on 19º is obtained, indicating the plasticization process is completed. SEM imaging was made in order to analyse the morphology. The image from the raw wheat starch granules shows a bimodal granule size distribution with some granules in large round disk-shape forms (A-type) and the others as smaller spherical particles (B-type). The image from the neat TPS surface shows a continuous surface. No starch aggregates or swollen granules can be seen so, the plasticization process is complete. In the surfaces of reinforced TPS films aggregates are seen as the CNC concentration in the matrix increases. The CNC influence on the mechanical properties of TPS films has been studied by dynamic mechanical analysis. A direct relation exists between the storage modulus values, E’, and the CNC content in reinforced TPS films: higher is the content of nanocellulose in the composite, higher is the value of E’. This reinforcement effect can be explained by the appearance of a strong and crystalline nanoparticle-TPS interphase. Thermal stability of films was analysed by TGA. It has not observed any influence on the behaviour related to the thermal degradation of films with the incorporation of the CNC. Finally, the resistance to the water absorption films was analysed following the standard UNE-EN ISO 1998:483. The percentage of water absorbed by the samples at each time was calculated. The addition of 5 wt % of CNC to the TPS matrix leads to a significant improvement in the moisture resistance of the starch based material decreasing their diffusivity. It has been associated to the formation of a nanocrystal network that prevents swelling of the starch and therefore water absorption and to the high crystallinity of cellulose compared to starch. As a conclusion, the wheat film reinforced with 5 wt % of cellulose nanocrystals seems to be a good alternative for short-life applications into the packaging industry, because of its greatest rigidity, thermal stability and moisture sorption resistance.

Keywords: biocomposites, nanocellulose, starch, wheat

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Authors: Edna T. Bernabe, Joshua Bilolo, Sheila Mae Artillero, Catlicia Joy Caseda, Liezel Once, Donne Ynah Grace Quirante

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Internal communication is significant for an organization to function to its full extent. A strategic communication plan builds an organization’s structure and makes it more systematic. Information is a vital part of communication inside the organization as this lays every possible outcome—be it positive or negative. It is, therefore, imperative to assess the communication structure of a particular organization to secure a better and harmonious communication environment in any organization. Thus, this research was intended to identify the internal communication channels used in Polytechnic University of the Philippines-College of Communication (PUP-COC) as an organization, to identify the flow of information specifically in downward, upward, and horizontal communication, to assess the accuracy, consistency, and timeliness of its internal communication channels; and to come up with a proposed strategic communication plan of information dissemination to improve the existing communication flow in the college. The researchers formulated a framework from Input-Throughout-Output-Feedback-Goal of General System Theory and gathered data to assess the PUP-COC’s internal communication. The communication model links the objectives of the study to know the internal organization of the college. The qualitative approach and case study as the tradition of inquiry were used to gather deeper understanding of the internal organizational communication in PUP-COC, using Interview, as the primary methods for the study. This was supported with a quantitative data which were gathered through survey from the students of the college. The researchers interviewed 17 participants: the College dean, the 4 chairpersons of the college departments, the 11 faculty members and staff, and the acting Student Council president. An interview guide and a standardized questionnaire were formulated as instruments to generate the data. After a thorough analysis of the study, it was found out that two-way communication flow exists in PUP-COC. The type of communication channel the internal stakeholders use varies as to whom a particular person is communicating with. The members of the PUP-COC community also use different types of communication channels depending on the flow of communication being used. Moreover, the most common types of internal communication are the letters and memoranda for downward communication, while letters, text messages, and interpersonal communication are often used in upward communication. Various forms of social media have been found out to be of use in horizontal communication. Accuracy, consistency, and timeliness play a significant role in information dissemination within the college. However, some problems have also been found out in the communication system. The most common problem are the delay in the dissemination of memoranda and letters and the uneven distribution of information and instruction to faculty, staff, and students. This has led the researchers to formulate a strategic communication plan which aims to propose strategies that will solve the communication problems that are being experienced by the internal stakeholders.

Keywords: communication plan, downward communication, internal communication, upward communication

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Authors: Elena Kokkoni, Prasanna Kannappan, Ashkan Zehfroosh, Effrosyni Mavroudi, Kristina Strother-Garcia, James C. Galloway, Jeffrey Heinz, Rene Vidal, Herbert G. Tanner

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Early immobility affects the motor, cognitive, and social development. Current pediatric rehabilitation lacks the technology that will provide the dosage needed to promote mobility for young children at risk. The addition of socially assistive robots in early interventions may help increase the mobility dosage. The aim of this study is to examine the feasibility of an early intervention paradigm where non-walking infants experience independent mobility while socially interacting with robots. A dynamic environment is developed where both the child and the robot interact and learn from each other. The environment involves: 1) a range of physical activities that are goal-oriented, age-appropriate, and ability-matched for the child to perform, 2) the automatic functions that perceive the child’s actions through novel activity recognition algorithms, and decide appropriate actions for the robot, and 3) a networked visual data acquisition system that enables real-time assessment and provides the means to connect child behavior with robot decision-making in real-time. The environment was tested by bringing a two-year old boy with Down syndrome for eight sessions. The child presented delays throughout his motor development with the current being on the acquisition of walking. During the sessions, the child performed physical activities that required complex motor actions (e.g. climbing an inclined platform and/or staircase). During these activities, a (wheeled or humanoid) robot was either performing the action or was at its end point 'signaling' for interaction. From these sessions, information was gathered to develop algorithms to automate the perception of activities which the robot bases its actions on. A Markov Decision Process (MDP) is used to model the intentions of the child. A 'smoothing' technique is used to help identify the model’s parameters which are a critical step when dealing with small data sets such in this paradigm. The child engaged in all activities and socially interacted with the robot across sessions. With time, the child’s mobility was increased, and the frequency and duration of complex and independent motor actions were also increased (e.g. taking independent steps). Simulation results on the combination of the MDP and smoothing support the use of this model in human-robot interaction. Smoothing facilitates learning MDP parameters from small data sets. This paradigm is feasible and provides an insight on how social interaction may elicit mobility actions suggesting a new early intervention paradigm for very young children with motor disabilities. Acknowledgment: This work has been supported by NIH under grant #5R01HD87133.

Keywords: activity recognition, human-robot interaction, machine learning, pediatric rehabilitation

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Authors: Debashis Nath

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Drawn from multiple reanalysis datasets, an increasing trend and westward shift in the number of Potential Vorticity (PV) intrusion events over the Pacific are evident. The increased frequency can be linked to a long-term trend in upper tropospheric (UT, 200 hPa) equatorial westerly wind and subtropical jets (STJ) during boreal winter to spring. These may be resulting from anomalous warming and cooling over the western Pacific warm pool and the tropical eastern Pacific, respectively. The intrusions brought dry and ozone rich air of stratospheric origin deep into the tropics. In the tropical UT, interannual ozone variability is mainly related to convection associated with El Niño/Southern Oscillation. Zonal mean stratospheric overturning circulation organizes the transport of ozone rich air poleward and downward to the high and midlatitudes leading there to higher ozone concentration. In addition to these well described mechanisms, we observe a long-term increasing trend in ozone flux over the northern hemispheric outer tropical (10–25°N) central Pacific that results from equatorward transport and downward mixing from the midlatitude UT and lower stratosphere (LS) during PV intrusions. This increase in tropospheric ozone flux over the Pacific Ocean may affect the radiative processes and changes the budget of atmospheric hydroxyl radicals. The results demonstrate a long-term increase in outer tropical Pacific PV intrusions linked with the strengthening of the upper tropospheric equatorial westerlies and weakening of the STJ. Zonal variation in SST, characterized by gradual warming in the western Pacific–warm pool and cooling in the central–eastern Pacific, is associated with the strengthening of the Pacific Walker circulation. In the Western Pacific enhanced convective activity leads to precipitation, and the latent heat released in the process strengthens the Pacific Walker circulation. However, it is linked with the trend in global mean temperature, which is related to the emerging anthropogenic greenhouse signal and negative phase of PDO. On the other hand, the central-eastern Pacific cooling trend is linked to the weakening of the central–eastern Pacific Hadley circulation. It suppresses the convective activity due to sinking air motion and imports less angular momentum to the STJ leading to a weakened STJ. While, more PV intrusions result from this weaker STJ on its equatorward side; significantly increase the stratosphere-troposphere exchange processes on the longer timescale. This plays an important role in determining the atmospheric composition, particularly of tropospheric ozone, in the northern outer tropical central Pacific. It may lead to more ozone of stratospheric origin in the LT and even in the marine boundary, which may act as harmful pollutants and affect the radiative processes by changing the global budgets of atmospheric hydroxyl radicals.

Keywords: PV intrusion, westerly duct, ozone, Central Pacific

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Authors: Yana Posmitnaya, Galina Rudnitskaya, Tatyana Lukashenko, Anton Bukatin, Anatoly Evstrapov

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An important area of biological and medical research is the study of genetic mutations and polymorphisms that can alter gene function and cause inherited diseases and other diseases. The following methods to analyse DNA fragments are used: capillary electrophoresis and electrophoresis on microfluidic chip (MFC), mass spectrometry with electrophoresis on MFC, hybridization assay on microarray. Electrophoresis on MFC allows to analyse small volumes of samples with high speed and throughput. A soft lithography in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was chosen for operative fabrication of MFCs. A master-form from silicon and photoresist SU-8 2025 (MicroChem Corp.) was created for the formation of micro-sized structures in PDMS. A universal topology which combines T-injector and simple cross was selected for the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Glass K8 and PDMS Sylgard® 184 (Dow Corning Corp.) were used for fabrication of MFCs. Electroosmotic flow (EOF) plays an important role in the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Therefore, the estimate of the quantity of EOF and the ways of its regulation are of interest for the development of the new methods of the electrophoretic separation of biomolecules. The following methods of surface modification were chosen to change EOF: high-frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma treatment in oxygen and argon at low pressure (1 mbar); 1% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol; 3% aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188 (Sigma-Aldrich Corp.). The electroosmotic mobility was evaluated by the method of Huang X. et al., wherein the borate buffer was used. The influence of physical and chemical methods of treatment on the wetting properties of the PDMS surface was controlled by the sessile drop method. The most effective way of surface modification of MFCs, from the standpoint of obtaining the smallest value of the contact angle and the smallest value of the EOF, was the processing with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. This method of modification has been selected for the treatment of channels of MFCs, which are used for the separation of mixture of oligonucleotides fluorescently labeled with the length of chain with 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 nucleotides. Electrophoresis was performed on the device MFAS-01 (IAI RAS, Russia) at the separation voltage of 1500 V. 6% solution of polydimethylacrylamide with the addition of 7M carbamide was used as the separation medium. The separation time of components of the mixture was determined from electropherograms. The time for untreated MFC was ~275 s, and for the ones treated with solution of Kolliphor® P 188 – ~ 220 s. Research of physical-chemical methods of surface modification of MFCs allowed to choose the most effective way for reducing EOF – the modification with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. In this case, the separation time of the mixture of oligonucleotides decreased about 20%. The further optimization of method of modification of channels of MFCs will allow decreasing the separation time of sample and increasing the throughput of analysis.

Keywords: electrophoresis, microfluidic chip, modification, nucleic acid, polydimethylsiloxane, soft lithography

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Authors: Amit Gill, Lalith Wijerathne, Sebastian Poledna

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This research presents the details of the implementation of high performance computing (HPC) extension of agent-based economic models (ABEMs) to simulate hundreds of millions of heterogeneous agents. ABEMs offer an alternative approach to study the economy as a dynamic system of interacting heterogeneous agents, and are gaining popularity as an alternative to standard economic models. Over the last decade, ABEMs have been increasingly applied to study various problems related to monetary policy, bank regulations, etc. When it comes to predicting the effects of local economic disruptions, like major disasters, changes in policies, exogenous shocks, etc., on the economy of the country or the region, it is pertinent to study how the disruptions cascade through every single economic entity affecting its decisions and interactions, and eventually affect the economic macro parameters. However, such simulations with hundreds of millions of agents are hindered by the lack of HPC enhanced ABEMs. In order to address this, a scalable Distributed Memory Parallel (DMP) implementation of ABEMs has been developed using message passing interface (MPI). A balanced distribution of computational load among MPI-processes (i.e. CPU cores) of computer clusters while taking all the interactions among agents into account is a major challenge for scalable DMP implementations. Economic agents interact on several random graphs, some of which are centralized (e.g. credit networks, etc.) whereas others are dense with random links (e.g. consumption markets, etc.). The agents are partitioned into mutually-exclusive subsets based on a representative employer-employee interaction graph, while the remaining graphs are made available at a minimum communication cost. To minimize the number of communications among MPI processes, real-life solutions like the introduction of recruitment agencies, sales outlets, local banks, and local branches of government in each MPI-process, are adopted. Efficient communication among MPI-processes is achieved by combining MPI derived data types with the new features of the latest MPI functions. Most of the communications are overlapped with computations, thereby significantly reducing the communication overhead. The current implementation is capable of simulating a small open economy. As an example, a single time step of a 1:1 scale model of Austria (i.e. about 9 million inhabitants and 600,000 businesses) can be simulated in 15 seconds. The implementation is further being enhanced to simulate 1:1 model of Euro-zone (i.e. 322 million agents).

Keywords: agent-based economic model, high performance computing, MPI-communication, MPI-process

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: S. Wiak, L. Szymanski, Z. Kolacinski, G. Raniszewski, L. Pietrzak, Z. Staniszewska

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The term ‘cancer’ is given to a collection of related diseases that may affect any part of the human body. It is a pathological behaviour of cells with the potential to undergo abnormal breakdown in the processes that control cell proliferation, differentiation, and death of particular cells. Although cancer is commonly considered as modern disease, there are beliefs that drastically growing number of new cases can be linked to the extensively prolonged life expectancy and enhanced techniques for cancer diagnosis. Magnetic hyperthermia therapy is a novel approach to cancer treatment, which may greatly contribute to higher efficiency of the therapy. Employing carbon nanotubes as nanocarriers for magnetic particles, it is possible to decrease toxicity and invasiveness of the treatment by surface functionalisation. Despite appearing in recent years, magnetic particle hyperthermia has already become of the highest interest in the scientific and medical environment. The reason why hyperthermia therapy brings so much hope for future treatment of cancer lays in the effect that it produces in malignant cells. Subjecting them to thermal shock results in activation of numerous degradation processes inside and outside the cell. The heating process initiates mechanisms of DNA destruction, protein denaturation and induction of cell apoptosis, which may lead to tumour shrinkage, and in some cases, it may even cause complete disappearance of cancer. The factors which have the major impact on the final efficiency of the treatment include temperatures generated inside the tissues, time of exposure to the heating process, and the character of an individual cancer cell type. The vast majority of cancer cells is characterised by lower pH, persistent hypoxia and lack of nutrients, which can be associated to abnormal microvasculature. Since in healthy tissues we cannot observe presence of these conditions, they should not be seriously affected by elevation of the temperature. The aim of this work is to investigate the influence of iron content in iron filled Carbon Nanotubes on the desired nanoparticles for cancer therapy. In the article, the development and demonstration of the method and the model device for hyperthermic selective destruction of cancer cells are presented. This method was based on the synthesis and functionalization of carbon nanotubes serving as ferromagnetic material nanocontainers. The methodology of the production carbon- ferromagnetic nanocontainers (FNCs) includes the synthesis of carbon nanotubes, chemical, and physical characterization, increasing the content of a ferromagnetic material and biochemical functionalization involving the attachment of the key addresses. The ferromagnetic nanocontainers were synthesised in CVD and microwave plasma system. The research work has been financed from the budget of science as a research project No. PBS2/A5/31/2013.

Keywords: hyperthermia, carbon nanotubes, cancer colon cells, radio frequency field

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma

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Association between insulin resistance (IR) and hematological parameters has long been a matter of interest. Within this context, body mass index (BMI), red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets were involved in this discussion. Parameters related to platelets associated with IR may be useful indicators for the identification of IR. Platelet indices such as mean platelet volume (MPV), platelet distribution width (PDW) and plateletcrit (PCT) are being questioned for their possible association with IR. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between platelet (PLT) count as well as PLT indices and the surrogate indices used to determine IR in morbid obese (MO) children. A total of 167 children participated in the study. Three groups were constituted. The number of cases was 34, 97 and 36 children in the normal BMI, MO and metabolic syndrome (MetS) groups, respectively. Sex- and age-dependent BMI-based percentile tables prepared by World Health Organization were used for the definition of morbid obesity. MetS criteria were determined. BMI values, homeostatic model assessment for IR (HOMA-IR), alanine transaminase-to-aspartate transaminase ratio (ALT/AST) and diagnostic obesity notation model assessment laboratory (DONMA-lab) index values were computed. PLT count and indices were analyzed using automated hematology analyzer. Data were collected for statistical analysis using SPSS for Windows. Arithmetic mean and standard deviation were calculated. Mean values of PLT-related parameters in both control and study groups were compared by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc tests to determine whether a significant difference exists among the groups. The correlation analyses between PLT as well as IR indices were performed. Statistically significant difference was accepted as p-value < 0.05. Increased values were detected for PLT (p < 0.01) and PCT (p > 0.05) in MO group compared to those observed in children with N-BMI. Significant increases for PLT (p < 0.01) and PCT (p < 0.05) were observed in MetS group in comparison with the values obtained in children with N-BMI (p < 0.01). Significantly lower MPV and PDW values were obtained in MO group compared to the control group (p < 0.01). HOMA-IR (p < 0.05), DONMA-lab index (p < 0.001) and ALT/AST (p < 0.001) values in MO and MetS groups were significantly increased compared to the N-BMI group. On the other hand, DONMA-lab index values also differed between MO and MetS groups (p < 0.001). In the MO group, PLT was negatively correlated with MPV and PDW values. These correlations were not observed in the N-BMI group. None of the IR indices exhibited a correlation with PLT and PLT indices in the N-BMI group. HOMA-IR showed significant correlations both with PLT and PCT in the MO group. All of the three IR indices were well-correlated with each other in all groups. These findings point out the missing link between IR and PLT activation. In conclusion, PLT and PCT may be related to IR in addition to their identities as hemostasis markers during morbid obesity. Our findings have suggested that DONMA-lab index appears as the best surrogate marker for IR due to its discriminative feature between morbid obesity and MetS.

Keywords: children, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, plateletcrit, platelet indices

Procedia PDF Downloads 102

Authors: Yudo Prasetyo, Hana Sugiastu Firdaus, Diyanah Diyanah

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The phenomenon of the lack of clean water supply in several big cities in Indonesia is a major problem in the development of urban areas. Moreover, in the city of Semarang, the population density and growth of physical development is very high. Continuous and large amounts of underground water (aquifer) exposure can result in a drastically aquifer supply declining in year by year. Especially, the intensity of aquifer use in the fulfilment of household needs and industrial activities. This is worsening by the land subsidence phenomenon in some areas in the Semarang city. Therefore, special research is needed to know the spatial correlation of the impact of decreasing aquifer capacity on the land subsidence phenomenon. This is necessary to give approve that the occurrence of land subsidence can be caused by loss of balance of pressure on below the land surface. One method to observe the correlation pattern between the two phenomena is the application of remote sensing technology based on radar and optical satellites. Implementation of Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DINSAR) or Small Baseline Area Subset (SBAS) method in SENTINEL-1A satellite image acquisition in 2014-2017 period will give a proper pattern of land subsidence. These results will be spatially correlated with the aquifer-declining pattern in the same time period. Utilization of survey results to 8 monitoring wells with depth in above 100 m to observe the multi-temporal pattern of aquifer change capacity. In addition, the pattern of aquifer capacity will be validated with 2 underground water cavity maps from observation of ministries of energy and natural resources (ESDM) in Semarang city. Spatial correlation studies will be conducted on the pattern of land subsidence and aquifer capacity using overlapping and statistical methods. The results of this correlation will show how big the correlation of decrease in underground water capacity in influencing the distribution and intensity of land subsidence in Semarang city. In addition, the results of this study will also be analyzed based on geological aspects related to hydrogeological parameters, soil types, aquifer species and geological structures. The results of this study will be a correlation map of the aquifer capacity on the decrease in the face of the land in the city of Semarang within the period 2014-2017. So hopefully the results can help the authorities in spatial planning and the city of Semarang in the future.

Keywords: aquifer, differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DINSAR), land subsidence, small baseline area subset (SBAS)

Procedia PDF Downloads 178

Authors: Tanya Kaur Bedi, Shankha Pratim Bhattacharya

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The US Environmental Protection Agency defines indoor air pollution as “The air quality within and around buildings, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants”. According to the 2021 report by the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago, Indian residents, a country which is home to the highest levels of air pollution in the world, lose about 5.9 years from life expectancy due to poor air quality and yet has numerous dwellings dependent on natural ventilation. Currently the urban population spends 90% of the time indoors, this scenario raises a concern for occupant health and well-being. This study attempts to demonstrate the causal relationship between the indoor air pollution and its determining aspects. Detailed indoor air pollution audits were conducted in residential buildings located in Kolkata, India in the months of December and January 2021. According to the air pollution knowledge assessment city program in India, Kolkata is also the second most polluted mega-city after Delhi. Although the air pollution levels are alarming year-long, the winter months are most crucial due to the unfavourable environmental conditions. While emissions remain typically constant throughout the year, cold air is denser and moves slower than warm air, trapping the pollution in place for much longer and consequently is breathed in at a higher rate than the summers. The air pollution monitoring period was selected considering environmental factors and major pollution contributors like traffic and road dust. This study focuses on the relationship between the built environment and the spatial-temporal distribution of air pollutants in and around it. The measured parameters include, temperature, relative humidity, air velocity, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, and benzene. A total of 56 rooms were audited, selectively targeting the most dominant middle-income group in the urban area of the metropolitan. The data-collection was conducted using a set of instruments positioned in the human breathing-zone. The study assesses the relationship between indoor air pollution levels and factors determining natural ventilation and air pollution dispersion such as surrounding environment, dominant wind, openable window to floor area ratio, windward or leeward side openings, and natural ventilation type in the room: single side or cross-ventilation, floor height, residents cleaning habits, etc.

Keywords: indoor air quality, occupant health, air pollution, architecture, urban environment

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Vibha Devi, Shabina Khanam

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Hemp (Cannabis sativa) possesses a rich content of ω-6 linoleic and ω-3 linolenic essential fatty acid in the ratio of 3:1, which is a rare and most desired ratio that enhances the quality of hemp oil. These components are beneficial for the development of cell and body growth, strengthen the immune system, possess anti-inflammatory action, lowering the risk of heart problem owing to its anti-clotting property and a remedy for arthritis and various disorders. The present study employs supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) approach on hemp seed at various conditions of parameters; temperature (40 - 80) °C, pressure (200 - 350) bar, flow rate (5 - 15) g/min, particle size (0.430 - 1.015) mm and amount of co-solvent (0 - 10) % of solvent flow rate through central composite design (CCD). CCD suggested 32 sets of experiments, which was carried out. As SFE process includes large number of variables, the present study recommends the application of resampling techniques for cross-validation of the obtained data. Cross-validation refits the model on each data to achieve the information regarding the error, variability, deviation etc. Bootstrap and jackknife are the most popular resampling techniques, which create a large number of data through resampling from the original dataset and analyze these data to check the validity of the obtained data. Jackknife resampling is based on the eliminating one observation from the original sample of size N without replacement. For jackknife resampling, the sample size is 31 (eliminating one observation), which is repeated by 32 times. Bootstrap is the frequently used statistical approach for estimating the sampling distribution of an estimator by resampling with replacement from the original sample. For bootstrap resampling, the sample size is 32, which was repeated by 100 times. Estimands for these resampling techniques are considered as mean, standard deviation, variation coefficient and standard error of the mean. For ω-6 linoleic acid concentration, mean value was approx. 58.5 for both resampling methods, which is the average (central value) of the sample mean of all data points. Similarly, for ω-3 linoleic acid concentration, mean was observed as 22.5 through both resampling. Variance exhibits the spread out of the data from its mean. Greater value of variance exhibits the large range of output data, which is 18 for ω-6 linoleic acid (ranging from 48.85 to 63.66 %) and 6 for ω-3 linoleic acid (ranging from 16.71 to 26.2 %). Further, low value of standard deviation (approx. 1 %), low standard error of the mean (< 0.8) and low variance coefficient (< 0.2) reflect the accuracy of the sample for prediction. All the estimator value of variance coefficients, standard deviation and standard error of the mean are found within the 95 % of confidence interval.

Keywords: resampling, supercritical fluid extraction, hemp oil, cross-validation

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Parisa Mansour

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Introduction: Early diagnosis of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is extremely important to isolate and treat patients in time, thus preventing the spread of the disease, improving prognosis and reducing mortality. High-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) chest imaging and artificial intelligence (AI)-based analysis of HRCT chest images can play a central role in the treatment of patients with COVID-19. Objective: To investigate different chest HRCT findings in different stages of COVID-19 pneumonia and to evaluate the potential role of artificial intelligence in the quantitative assessment of lung parenchymal involvement in COVID-19 pneumonia. Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational study was conducted between May 1, 2020 and August 13, 2020. The study included 2169 patients with COVID-19 who underwent chest HRCT. HRCT images showed the presence and distribution of lesions such as: ground glass opacity (GGO), compaction, and any special patterns such as septal thickening, inverted halo, mark, etc. HRCT findings of the breast at different stages of the disease (early: andlt) 5 days, intermediate: 6-10 days and late stage: >10 days). A CT severity score (CTSS) was calculated based on the extent of lung involvement on HRCT, which was then correlated with clinical disease severity. Use of artificial intelligence; Analysis of CT pneumonia and quot; An algorithm was used to quantify the extent of pulmonary involvement by calculating the percentage of pulmonary opacity (PO) and gross opacity (PHO). Depending on the type of variables, statistically significant tests such as chi-square, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post hoc tests were applied when appropriate. Results: Radiological findings were observed in HRCT chest in 1438 patients. A typical pattern of COVID-19 pneumonia, i.e., bilateral peripheral GGO with or without consolidation, was observed in 846 patients. About 294 asymptomatic patients were radiologically positive. Chest HRCT in the early stages of the disease mostly showed GGO. The late stage was indicated by such features as retinal enlargement, thickening and the presence of fibrous bands. Approximately 91.3% of cases with a CTSS = 7 were asymptomatic or clinically mild, while 81.2% of cases with a score = 15 were clinically severe. Mean PO and PHO (30.1 ± 28.0 and 8.4 ± 10.4, respectively) were significantly higher in the clinically severe categories. Conclusion: Because COVID-19 pneumonia progresses rapidly, radiologists and physicians should become familiar with typical TC chest findings to treat patients early, ultimately improving prognosis and reducing mortality. Artificial intelligence can be a valuable tool in treating patients with COVID-19.

Keywords: chest, HRCT, covid-19, artificial intelligence, chest HRCT

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: Praniil Nagaraj

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This paper proposes a method to collect homeless data using crowdsourcing and presents an approach to analyze the data, demonstrating its potential to strengthen existing and future policies aimed at promoting socio-economic equilibrium. This paper's contributions can be categorized into three main areas. Firstly, a unique method for collecting homeless data is introduced, utilizing a user-friendly smartphone app (currently available for Android). The app enables the general public to quickly record information about homeless individuals, including the number of people and details about their living conditions. The collected data, including date, time, and location, is anonymized and securely transmitted to the cloud. It is anticipated that an increasing number of users motivated to contribute to society will adopt the app, thus expanding the data collection efforts. Duplicate data is addressed through simple classification methods, and historical data is utilized to fill in missing information. The second contribution of this paper is the description of data analysis techniques applied to the collected data. By combining this new data with existing information, statistical regression analysis is employed to gain insights into various aspects, such as distinguishing between unsheltered and sheltered homeless populations, as well as examining their correlation with factors like unemployment rates, housing affordability, and labor demand. Initial data is collected in San Francisco, while pre-existing information is drawn from three cities: San Francisco, New York City, and Washington D.C., facilitating the conduction of simulations. The third contribution focuses on demonstrating the practical implications of the data processing results. The challenges faced by key stakeholders, including charitable organizations and local city governments, are taken into consideration. Two case studies are presented as examples. The first case study explores improving the efficiency of food and necessities distribution, as well as medical assistance, driven by charitable organizations. The second case study examines the correlation between micro-geographic budget expenditure by local city governments and homeless information to justify budget allocation and expenditures. The ultimate objective of this endeavor is to enable the continuous enhancement of the quality of life for the underprivileged. It is hoped that through increased crowdsourcing of data from the public, the Generosity Curve and the Need Curve will intersect, leading to a better world for all.

Keywords: crowdsourcing, homelessness, socio-economic policies, statistical analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 33

Authors: Arif Tri Setyanto, Aditya Nanda Priyatama, Nugraha Arif Karyanta, Fadjri Kirana A., Afia Fitriani, Rini Setyowati, Moh.Abdul Hakim

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The Basic Health Research Report by the Ministry of Health (2018) shows an increase in the prevalence of mental health disorders in the adolescent and early adult age ranges. Supporting this finding, data on the psychological examination of the student health service unit at one State University recorded 115 cases of moderate and severe health problems in the period 2016 - 2019. More specifically, the highest number of cases was experienced by clients in the age range of 21-23 years or equivalent, with the mid-semester stage towards the end. Based on the distribution of cases experienced and the disorder becomes a psychological problem experienced by students. A total of 29% or the equivalent of 33 students experienced anxiety disorders, 25% or 29 students experienced problems ranging from mild to severe, as well as other classifications of disorders experienced, including adjustment disorders, family problems, academics, mood disorders, self-concept disorders, personality disorders, cognitive disorders, and others such as trauma and sexual disorders. Various mental health disorders have a significant impact on the academic life of students, such as low GPA, exceeding the limit in college, dropping out, disruption of social life on campus, to suicide. Based on literature reviews and best practices from universities in various countries, one of the effective ways to prevent and treat student mental health disorders is to implement a mental health monitoring system in universities. This study uses a participatory action research approach, with a sample of 423 from a total population of 32,112 students. The scale used in this study is the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) to measure depression and the Taylor Minnesota Anxiety Scale (TMAS) to measure anxiety levels. This study aims to (1) develop a digital-based health monitoring system for students' mental health situations in the mental health category. , dangers, or those who have mental disorders, especially indications of symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders, and (2) implementing a mental health monitoring system in universities at the beginning and end of each semester. The results of the analysis show that from 423 respondents, the main problems faced by all coursework, such as thesis and academic assignments. Based on the scoring and categorization of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), 191 students experienced symptoms of depression. A total of 24.35%, or 103 students experienced mild depression, 14.42% (61 students) had moderate depression, and 6.38% (27 students) experienced severe or extreme depression. Furthermore, as many as 80.38% (340 students) experienced anxiety in the high category. This article will review this review of the student mental health service system on campus.

Keywords: monitoring system, mental health, psychological problems, students

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: M. Chukhryaeva, R. Skhalyakho, J. Kagazegeva, E. Pocheshkhova, L. Yepiskopossyan, O. Balanovsky, E. Balanovska

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The Middle East is crossroad of different populations at different times. The Kurds are of particular interest in this region. Historical sources suggested that the origin of the Kurds is associated with Medes. Therefore, it was especially interesting to compare gene pool of Kurds with other supposed descendants of Medes-Tats. Yezidis are ethno confessional group of Kurds. Yezidism as a confessional teaching was formed in the XI-XIII centuries in Iraq. Yezidism has caused reproductively isolation of Yezidis from neighboring populations for centuries. Also, isolation helps to retain Yezidian caste system. It is unknown how the history of Yezidis affected its genу pool because it has never been the object of researching. We have examined the Y-chromosome variation in Yezidis and Kurdish males to understand their gene pool. We collected DNA samples from 90 Yezidi males and 24 Kurdish males together with their pedigrees. We performed Y-STR analysis of 17 loci in the samples collected (Yfiler system from Applied Biosystems) and analysis of 42 Y-SNPs by real-time PCR. We compared our data with published data from other Kurdish groups and from European, Caucasian, and West Asian populations. We found that gene pool of Yezidis contains haplogroups common in the Middle East (J-M172(xM67,M12)- 24%, E-M35(xM78)- 9%) and in South Western Asia (R-M124- 8%) and variant with wide distribution area - R-M198(xM458- 9%). The gene pool of Kurdish has higher genetic diversity than Yezidis. Their dominants haplogroups are R-M198- 20,3 %, E-M35- 9%, J-M172- 9%. Multidimensional scaling also shows that the Kurds and Yezidis are part of the same frontier Asian cluster, which, in addition, included Armenians, Iranians, Turks, and Greeks. At the same time, the peoples of the Caucasus and Europe form isolated clusters that do not overlap with the Asian clusters. It is noteworthy that Kurds from our study gravitate towards Tats, which indicates that most likely these two populations are descendants of ancient Medes population. Multidimensional scaling also reveals similarity between gene pool of Yezidis, Kurds with Armenians and Iranians. The analysis of Yezidis pedigrees and their STR variability did not reveal a reliable connection between genetic diversity and caste system. This indicates that the Yezidis caste system is a social division and not a biological one. Thus, we showed that, despite many years of isolation, the gene pool of Yezidis retained a common layer with the gene pool of Kurds, these populations have common spectrum of haplogroups, but Yezidis have lower genetic diversity than Kurds. This study received primary support from the RSF grant No. 16-36-00122 to MC and grant No. 16-06-00364 to EP.

Keywords: gene pool, haplogroup, Kurds, SNP and STR markers, Yezidis

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Authors: Norihiro Kato, Yuriko Takayama

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Some gram-negative bacteria enable the simultaneous activation of gene expression involved in N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) dependent cell-to-cell communication system. Such regulatory system for the bacterial group behavior is termed as quorum sensing (QS) because a diffusible AHL signal can accumulate around the cell during the increase of the cell density and trigger activation of the sequential QS process. By blocking the QS, the expression of diverse genes related to infection, antibiotic production, and biofilm formation is inhibited. Conditioning of QS by regulation of the DNA-receptor-AHL interaction is a potential target for enhancing host defenses against pathogenicity. We focused on engineered application of transcriptional regulator SpnR produced in opportunistic human pathogen Serratia marcescens. The SpnR can interact with AHL signals at an N-terminal domain and also with a promoter region of a QS target gene at a C-terminal domain. As the initial process of the QS activation, the SpnR forms a complex with the AHL to enhance the expression of pig cluster; the SpnR normally acts as an activator for the expression of the QS-dependent gene. In this research, we attempt to artificially control QS by changing the role of SpnR. The QS-dependent prodigiosin production is expected to inhibit by externally added SpnR in the culture broth of AS-1 strain because the AHL concentration was kept below the threshold by AHL-SpnR complex formation. Maltose-binding protein (MBP)-tagged SpnR (MBP-SpnR) was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified using an affinity chromatography equipped with an amylose resin column. The specific interaction between AHL and MBP-SpnR was demonstrated by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) sensor. AHL with amino end-group was coupled with COOH-terminated self-assembled monolayer prepared on a gold electrode of 27-MHz quartz crystal sensor using water-soluble carbodiimide. After the injection of MBP-SpnR into a cup-type sensor cell filled with the buffer solution, time course of resonant frequency change (ΔFs) was determined. A decrease of ΔFs clearly showed the uptake of MBP-SpnR onto the AHL-immobilized electrode. Furthermore, no binding affinity was observed after the heat-inactivation of MBP-SpnR at 80ºC. These results suggest that MBP-SpnR possesses a specific affinity for AHL. MBP-SpnR was added to the culture medium as an AHL trap to study inhibitory effects on intracellularly accumulated prodigiosin. With approximately 2 µM MBP-SpnR, the amount of prodigiosin induced was half that of the control without any additives. In conclusion, the function of SpnR could be switched by adding it to the cell culture. Exogenously added MBP-SpnR possesses high affinity for AHL derived from cells and acts as an inhibitor of AHL-mediated QS.

Keywords: intracellular signaling, microbial biotechnology, quorum sensing, transcriptional regulator

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Elisabetta Cianfanelli, Margherita Tufarelli, Paolo Pupparo

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The dialectical mediation between desires and objects or between mass production and consumption continues to evolve over time. This relationship is influenced both by variable geometries of contexts that are distant from the mere design of product form and by aspects rooted in the very definition of industrial design. In particular, the overcoming of macro-areas of innovation in the technological, social, cultural, formal, and morphological spheres, supported by recent theories in critical and speculative design, seems to be moving further and further away from the design of the formal dimension of advanced products. The articulated fabric of theories and practices that feed the definition of “hyperobjects”, and no longer objects describes a common tension in all areas of design and production of industrial products. The latter are increasingly detached from the design of the form and meaning of the same in mass productions, thus losing the quality of products capable of social transformation. For years we have been living in a transformative moment as regards the design process in the definition of the industrial product. We are faced with a dichotomy in which there is, on the one hand, a reactionary aversion to the new techniques of industrial production and, on the other hand, a sterile adoption of the techniques of mass production that we can now consider traditional. This ambiguity becomes even more evident when we talk about industrial products, and we realize that we are moving further and further away from the concepts of "form" as a synthesis of a design thought aimed at the aesthetic-emotional component as well as the functional one. The design of forms and their contents, as statutes of social acts, allows us to investigate the tension on mass production that crosses seasons, trends, technicalities, and sterile determinisms. The design culture has always determined the formal qualities of objects as a sum of aesthetic characteristics functional and structural relationships that define a product as a coherent unit. The contribution proposes a reflection and a series of practical experiences of research on the form of advanced products. This form is understood as a kaleidoscope of relationships through the search for an identity, the desire for democratization, and between these two, the exploration of the aesthetic factor. The study of form also corresponds to the study of production processes, technological innovations, the definition of standards, distribution, advertising, the vicissitudes of taste and lifestyles. Specifically, we will investigate how the genesis of new forms for new meanings introduces a change in the relative innovative production techniques. It becomes, therefore, fundamental to investigate, through the reflections and the case studies exposed inside the contribution, also the new techniques of production and elaboration of the forms of the products, as new immanent and determining element inside the planning process.

Keywords: industrial design, product advanced design, mass productions, new meanings

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: G. Zakharov, Z. Aslamazashvili, M. Chikhradze, D. Kvaskhvadze, N. Khidasheli, S. Gvazava

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Traditional technologies for processing iron-containing industrial waste, including steel-rolling production, are associated with significant energy costs, the long duration of processes, and the need to use complex and expensive equipment. Waste generated during the industrial process negatively affects the environment, but at the same time, it is a valuable raw material and can be used to produce new marketable products. The study of the effectiveness of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) methods, which are characterized by the simplicity of the necessary equipment, the purity of the final product, and the high processing speed, is under the wide scientific and practical interest to solve the set problem. The work presents technological aspects of the production of Ferro boron by the method of SHS - metallurgy from iron-containing wastes of rolled production for alloying of cast iron and results of the effect of alloying element on the degree of boron assimilation with liquid cast iron. Features of Fe-B system combustion have been investigated, and the main parameters to control the phase composition of synthesis products have been experimentally established. Effect of overloads on patterns of cast ligatures formation and mechanisms structure formation of SHS products was studied. It has been shown that an increase in the content of hematite Fe₂O₃ in iron-containing waste leads to an increase in the content of phase FeB and, accordingly, the amount of boron in the ligature. Boron content in ligature is within 3-14%, and the phase composition of obtained ligatures consists of Fe₂B and FeB phases. Depending on the initial composition of the wastes, the yield of the end product reaches 91 - 94%, and the extraction of boron is 70 - 88%. Combustion processes of high exothermic mixtures allow to obtain a wide range of boron-containing ligatures from industrial wastes. In view of the relatively low melting point of the obtained SHS-ligature, the positive dynamics of boron absorption by liquid iron is established. According to the obtained data, the degree of absorption of the ligature by alloying gray cast iron at 1450°C is 80-85%. When combined with the treatment of liquid cast iron with magnesium, followed by alloying with the developed ligature, boron losses are reduced by 5-7%. At that, uniform distribution of boron micro-additives in the volume of treated liquid metal is provided. Acknowledgment: This work was supported by Shota Rustaveli Georgian National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRGNSFG) under the GENIE project (grant number № CARYS-19-802).

Keywords: self-propagating high-temperature synthesis, cast iron, industrial waste, ductile iron, structure formation

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Authors: Rima Alfaraj, Abeer Alarawi, Murtadha AlTammar

Abstract:

The global energy landscape heavily relies on the oil and gas industry, which faces the critical challenge of reducing its carbon footprint. To address this issue, the integration of advanced materials like aerogels has emerged as a promising solution to enhance sustainability and environmental performance within the industry. This study thoroughly examines the application of aerogel-based technologies in the oil and gas sector, focusing particularly on their role in carbon capture and storage (CCS) initiatives. Aerogels, known for their exceptional properties, such as high surface area, low density, and customizable pore structure, have garnered attention for their potential in various CCS strategies. The review delves into various fabrication techniques utilized in producing aerogel materials, including sol-gel, supercritical drying, and freeze-drying methods, to assess their suitability for specific industry applications. Beyond fabrication, the practicality of aerogel materials in critical areas such as flow assurance, enhanced oil recovery, and thermal insulation is explored. The analysis spans a wide range of applications, from potential use in pipelines and equipment to subsea installations, offering valuable insights into the real-world implementation of aerogels in the oil and gas sector. The paper also investigates the adsorption and storage capabilities of aerogel-based sorbents, showcasing their effectiveness in capturing and storing carbon dioxide (CO₂) molecules. Optimization of pore size distribution and surface chemistry is examined to enhance the affinity and selectivity of aerogels towards CO₂, thereby improving the efficiency and capacity of CCS systems. Additionally, the study explores the potential of aerogel-based membranes for separating and purifying CO₂ from oil and gas streams, emphasizing their role in the carbon capture and utilization (CCU) value chain in the industry. Emerging trends and future perspectives in integrating aerogel-based technologies within the oil and gas sector are also discussed, including the development of hybrid aerogel composites and advanced functional components to further enhance material performance and versatility. By synthesizing the latest advancements and future directions in aerogel used for CCS applications in the oil and gas industry, this review offers a comprehensive understanding of how these innovative materials can aid in transitioning towards a more sustainable and environmentally conscious energy landscape. The insights provided can assist in strategic decision-making, drive technology development, and foster collaborations among academia, industry, and policymakers to promote the widespread adoption of aerogel-based solutions in the oil and gas sector.

Keywords: CCS, porous, carbon capture, oil and gas, sustainability

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Authors: Maik Kschischo, Dominik Kahl, Philipp Wendland, Andreas Weber

Abstract:

Understanding and modelling of real-world complex dynamic systems in biology, engineering and other fields is often made difficult by incomplete knowledge about the interactions between systems states and by unknown disturbances to the system. In fact, most real-world dynamic networks are open systems receiving unknown inputs from their environment. To understand a system and to estimate the state dynamics, these inputs need to be reconstructed from output measurements. Reconstructing the input of a dynamic system from its measured outputs is an ill-posed problem if only a limited number of states is directly measurable. A first requirement for solving this problem is the invertibility of the input-output map. In our work, we exploit the fact that invertibility of a dynamic system is a structural property, which depends only on the network topology. Therefore, it is possible to check for invertibility using a structural invertibility algorithm which counts the number of node disjoint paths linking inputs and outputs. The algorithm is efficient enough, even for large networks up to a million nodes. To understand structural features influencing the invertibility of a complex dynamic network, we analyze synthetic and real networks using the structural invertibility algorithm. We find that invertibility largely depends on the degree distribution and that dense random networks are easier to invert than sparse inhomogeneous networks. We show that real networks are often very difficult to invert unless the sensor nodes are carefully chosen. To overcome this problem, we present a sensor node placement algorithm to achieve invertibility with a minimum set of measured states. This greedy algorithm is very fast and also guaranteed to find an optimal sensor node-set if it exists. Our results provide a practical approach to experimental design for open, dynamic systems. Since invertibility is a necessary condition for unknown input observers and data assimilation filters to work, it can be used as a preprocessing step to check, whether these input reconstruction algorithms can be successful. If not, we can suggest additional measurements providing sufficient information for input reconstruction. Invertibility is also important for systems design and model building. Dynamic models are always incomplete, and synthetic systems act in an environment, where they receive inputs or even attack signals from their exterior. Being able to monitor these inputs is an important design requirement, which can be achieved by our algorithms for invertibility analysis and sensor node placement.

Keywords: data-driven dynamic systems, inversion of dynamic systems, observability, experimental design, sensor node placement

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Authors: M. Naimi, M. B. Khaled

Abstract:

The aim of the present work was to test in vitro inhibition of food pathogens and spoilage bacteria by crude bacteriocins from autochthonous lactic acid bacteria. Thirty autochthonous lactic acid bacteria isolated previously, belonging to the genera: Lactobacillus, Carnobacterium, Lactococcus, Vagococcus, Streptococcus, and Pediococcus, have been screened by an agar spot test and a well diffusion assay against Gram-positive and Gram-negative harmful bacteria: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa under conditions means to reduce lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide effect to select bacteria with high bacteriocinogenic potential. Furthermore, crude bacteriocins semiquantification and heat sensitivity to different temperatures (80, 95, 110°C, and 121°C) were performed. Another exploratory test concerning the response of St. aureus ATCC 6538 to the presence of crude bacteriocins was realized. It has been observed by the agar spot test that fifteen candidates were active toward Gram-positive targets strains. The secondary screening demonstrated an antagonistic activity oriented only against St. aureus ATCC 6538, leading to the selection of five isolates: Lm14, Lm21, Lm23, Lm24, and Lm25 with a larger inhibition zone compared to the others. The ANOVA statistical analysis reveals a small variation of repeatability: Lm21: 0.56%, Lm23: 0%, Lm25: 1.67%, Lm14: 1.88%, Lm24: 2.14%. Conversely, slight variation was reported in terms of inhibition diameters: 9.58± 0.40, 9.83± 0.46, and 10.16± 0.24 8.5 ± 0.40 10 mm for, Lm21, Lm23, Lm25, Lm14and Lm24, indicating that the observed potential showed a heterogeneous distribution (BMS = 0.383, WMS = 0.117). The repeatability coefficient calculated displayed 7.35%. As for the bacteriocins semiquantification, the five samples exhibited production amounts about 4.16 for Lm21, Lm23, Lm25 and 2.08 AU/ml for Lm14, Lm24. Concerning the sensitivity the crude bacteriocins were fully insensitive to heat inactivation, until 121°C, they preserved the same inhibition diameter. As to, kinetic of growth , the µmax showed reductions in pathogens load for Lm21, Lm23, Lm25, Lm14, Lm24 of about 42.92%, 84.12%, 88.55%, 54.95%, 29.97% in the second trails. Inversely, this pathogen growth after five hours displayed differences of 79.45%, 12.64%, 11.82%, 87.88%, 85.66% in the second trails, compared to the control. This study showed potential inhibition to the growth of this food pathogen, suggesting the possibility to improve the hygienic food quality.

Keywords: exploratory test, lactic acid bacteria, crude bacteriocins, spoilage, pathogens

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