Search results for: minimum rank

Authors: Glauberto S. Quirino, Emanuelly V. Pereira, Amana S. Figueiredo, Antonia T. F. Santos, Paulo R. A. Firmino, Denise F. F. Barbosa, Caroline B. Q. Aquino, Eveliny S. Martins, Cinthia G. P. Calou, Ana K. B. Pinheiro

Abstract:

Introduction: During pregnancy there are adjustments in the physical, emotional, existential and sexual areas, which may contribute to changes in sexual behavior. The objective was to analyze the sexual behavior of pregnant women. Methods: Quantitative, exploratory-descriptive study, approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the Regional University of Cariri. For data collection, it was used the Sexuality Questionnaire in Gestation and Sexual Quotient - Female Version. It was carried out in public institutions in the urban and rural areas of three municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Cariri, south of Ceará, Brazil from February to September 2016. The sampling was proportional stratified by convenience. A total of 815 pregnant women who were literate and aged 20 years or over were broached. 461 pregnant women were excluded because of high risk, adolescence, saturation of the extract, incomplete filling of the instrument, mental and physical handicap, without sexual partner, and the sample was 354 pregnant. The data were grouped, organized and analyzed in the statistical program R Studio (version 386 3.2.4). Descriptive frequency statistics and non-parametric tests were used to analyze the variables, and the results were shown in graphs and tables. Results: The women presented a minimum age of 20, maximum 35 and average of 26.9 years, predominantly urban area residents, with a monthly income of up to one minimum wage (US$ 275,00), high school, catholic, with fixed partner, heterosexuals, multiparous, multiple sexual partners throughout life and with the beginning of sexual life in adolescence (median age 17 years). There was a reduction in sexual practices (67%) and when they were performed, they were more frequent in the first trimester (79.7%) and less frequent in the third trimester (30.5%). Preliminary sexual practices did not change and were more frequent in the second trimester (46.6%). Throughout the gestational trimesters, the partner was referred as the main responsible for the sexual initiative. The women performed vaginal sex (97.7%) and provided greater pleasure (42.8%) compared to non-penetrative sex (53.9%) (oral sex and masturbation). There was also a reduction in the sexual disposition of pregnant women (90.7%) and partner (72.9%), mainly in the first trimester (78.8%), and sexual positions. Sexual performance ranged from regular to good (49.7%). Level of schooling, marital status, sexual orientation of the pregnant woman and the partner, sexual practices and positions, preliminaries, frequency of sexual practices and importance attributed to them were variables that influenced negatively sexual performance and satisfaction. It is concluded that pregnancy negatively changes the sexual behavior of the women and it is suggested to further investigations and approach of the partner, in order to clarify the influence of these variables on the sexual function and subsidize intervention strategies, with a view to the integrality of sexual and reproductive health.

Keywords: obstetric nursing, pregnant women, sexual behavior, women's health

Procedia PDF Downloads 322

Authors: Ishan Arora, Anurag Rathore

Abstract:

The primary objective of this work was to study the effect of resin chemistry, pH and molarity of binding and elution buffer on aggregate removal using Cation Exchange Chromatography and find the optimum conditions which can give efficient aggregate removal with minimum loss of yield. Four different resins were used for carrying out the experiments: Fractogel EMD SO3-(S), Fractogel EMD COO-(M), Capto SP ImpRes and S Ceramic HyperD. Runs were carried out on the AKTA Avant system. Design of Experiments (DOE) was used for analysis using the JMP software. The dependence of the yield obtained using different resins on the operating conditions was studied. Success has been achieved in obtaining yield greater than 90% using Capto SP ImpRes and Fractogel EMD COO-(M) resins. It has also been found that a change in the operating conditions generally has different effects on the yields obtained using different resins.

Keywords: aggregates, cation exchange chromatography, design of experiments, monoclonal antibodies

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: Julius Adebayo John

Abstract:

The objective of this study is to compare the use of medicinal plants and Conventional medicine intervention in the management of HBV among Ibadan populace. A purposive sampling technique was used to administer questionnaires at 2 places, namely, the University College Hospital and Total Healthcare Diagnostic Centre, Ibadan, where viral loads are carried out. A EuroQol (EQ – 5D) was adopted to collect data. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. Also, ANOVA, Correlation, charts, and tables were used. Findings revealed a high prevalence of HBV among female respondents and sample between ages 26years to 50years. Results showed that the majority discovered their health status through free HBV tests. Analysis indicated that the use of medicinal plant extract is cost-effective in 73% of cases. Rank order utility derived from medicinal plants is higher than other interventions. Correlation analysis performed for the current health status of respondents were significant at P<0.01 against the intervention management adopted (0.046), cost of treatment (0.549), utility (0.407) at P<0.00, duration of the treatment (0.604) at P<0.01; viral load before treatment (-0.142) not significant at P<0.01, the R2 (72.2%) showed the statistical variance in respondents current health status as explained by the independent variables. Respondents gained quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) of between 1year to 3years. Suggestions were made for a public-private partnership effort against HBV with emphasis on periodic screening, viral load test subsidy, and free vaccination of people with –HBV status. Promoting phytomedicine through intensive research with strong regulation of herbal practitioners will go a long way in alleviating the burdens of the disease in society.

Keywords: medicinal plant, HBV management interventions, utility, QALYs, ibadan metropolis

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Hitesh Tahbildar

Abstract:

The cost of test data generation for a program is computationally very high. In general case, no algorithm to generate test data for all types of algorithms has been found. The cost of generating test data for different types of algorithm is different. Till date, people are emphasizing the need to generate test data for different types of programming constructs rather than different types of algorithms. The test data generation methods have been implemented to find heuristics for different types of algorithms. Some algorithms that includes divide and conquer, backtracking, greedy approach, dynamic programming to find the minimum cost of test data generation have been tested. Our experimental results say that some of these types of algorithm can be used as a necessary condition for selecting heuristics and programming constructs are sufficient condition for selecting our heuristics. Finally we recommend the different heuristics for test data generation to be selected for different types of algorithms.

Keywords: ongest path, saturation point, lmax, kL, kS

Procedia PDF Downloads 410

Authors: Olais A. Ingrid, Peraza G. Leydi, Estrella C. Damaris

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Breast cancer is the most common among women worldwide; the different treatments can bring sequels that directly affect the quality of life, such as lymphedema. The objective was to determine if there is presence of lymphedema secondary to breast cancer in Yucatecan women. It was an observational, analytical, cross-sectional study, 92 women were included who met the following criteria: women with surgical treatment for unilateral: breast cancer, aged between 25 and 65 years old, minimum 6 weeks after unilateral breast surgery and have completed any type of chemotherapy or adjuvant radiotherapy treatment for breast cancer. The evaluation was through indirect measurement volume by circometry to determine the presence of lymphedema. 23% of women had lymphedema grade I. It related to the presence of some of the symptoms like stiffness, swelling, decreased range of motion and feeling of heaviness in the arm of the operated side of the breast. It is important to determine the presence of lymphedema to perform physical therapy treatment.

Keywords: breast cancer, lymphedema, physical therapy, Yucatan

Procedia PDF Downloads 354

Authors: Sherif K. El Dyasti, Esam A. Hagras, Adel E. El-Hennawy

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This paper addresses the performance of antenna array beam-forming on Chip-Interleaved Code Division Multiple Access (CI_CDMA) system based on Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) detector in aeronautical mobile radio channel. Multipath fading, Doppler shifts caused by the speed of the aircraft, and Multiple Access Interference (MAI) are the most important reasons that affect and reduce the performance of aeronautical system. In this paper, we suggested the CI-CDMA with antenna array to combat this fading and improve the bit error rate (BER) performance. We further evaluate the performance of the proposed system in the four standard scenarios in aeronautical mobile radio channel.

Keywords: aeronautical channel, CI-CDMA, beamforming, communication, information

Procedia PDF Downloads 422

Authors: Amir Abbas Kamanbedast, Masood Mohammad Shafipor, Amir Ghotboddin

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Fish way is a structure that in generally using to migrate to the place where they are spawned and is made near the spillway. Preventing fish spawning or migrating to their original place by fishway structures can affect their lives in the river or even erase one access to intended environment. The main objective of these structures is establishing a safe path for fish migration. In the present study first the hydraulic specifications of Hamidieh diversion dam were assessed and then it is problems were evaluated. In this study the dimensions of the fish way, including velocity of pools, were evaluated by CCHE2D software. Then by change slope in this structure streamlines like velocity in the pools were measured. For calibration can be use measuring local velocities in some pools. The information can be seen the fishway width of 0.3 m has minimum rate of descent in the total number of structures (pools and overflow).

Keywords: fishway, velocity, Hamidieh-Diversion Dam, CCHE2D model

Procedia PDF Downloads 499

Authors: A. D. Zikiryahodjaev, L. V. Bolotina, A. S. Sukhotko

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Purpose. To evaluate the expediency and timeliness of performance of surgical treatment as a component of multi-therapy treatment of patients with stage IV breast cancers. Materials and Methods. This investigation comparatively analyzed the results of complex treatment with or without surgery in patients with metastatic breast cancer. We analyzed retrospectively treatment experience of 196 patients with generalized breast cancer in the department of oncology and breast reconstructive surgery of P.A. Herzen Moscow Cancer Research Institute from 2000 to 2012. The average age was (58±1,1) years. Invasive ductul carcinoma was verified in128 patients (65,3%), invasive lobular carcinoma-33 (16,8%), complex form - 19 (9,7%). Complex palliative care involving drug and radiation therapies was performed in two patient groups. The first group includes 124 patients who underwent surgical intervention as complex treatment, the second group includes 72 patients with only medical therapy. Standard systemic therapy was given to all patients. Results. Overall, 3-and 5-year survival in fist group was 43,8 and 21%, in second - 15,1 and 9,3% respectively [p=0,00002 log-rank]. Median survival in patients with surgical treatment composed 32 months, in patients with only systemic therapy-21. The factors having influencing an influence on the prognosis and the quality of life outcomes for of patients with generalized breast cancer were are also studied: hormone-dependent tumor, Her2/neu hyper-expression, reproductive function status (age, menopause existence). Conclusion.Removing primary breast tumor in patients with generalized breast cancer improve long-term outcomes. Three- and five-year survival increased by 28,7 and 16,3% respectively, and median survival–for 11 months. These patients may benefit from resection of the breast tumor. One explanation for the effect of this resection is that reducing the tumor load influences metastatic growth.

Keywords: breast cancer, combination therapy, factors of prognosis, primary tumor

Procedia PDF Downloads 425

Authors: D. De-León-Escobedo, D. J. Delgado-Hernández, S. Pérez

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A probabilistic formulation to assess the slopes safety under the hazard of strong storms is presented and illustrated through a slope in Mexico. The formulation is based on the classical safety factor (SF) used in practice to appraise the slope stability, but it is introduced the treatment of uncertainties, and the slope failure probability is calculated as the probability that SF<1. As the main hazard is the rainfall on the area, statistics of rainfall intensity and duration are considered and modeled with an exponential distribution. The expected life-cycle cost is assessed by considering a monetary value on the slope failure consequences. Alternative mitigation measures are simulated, and the formulation is used to get the measures driving to the optimal one (minimum life-cycle costs). For the example, the optimal mitigation measure is the reduction on the slope inclination angle.

Keywords: expected life-cycle cost, failure probability, slopes failure, storms

Procedia PDF Downloads 161

Authors: Ishan Arora, Anurag Rathore

Abstract:

The primary objective of this work was to study the effect of resin chemistry, pH and molarity of binding and elution buffer on aggregate removal using Cation Exchange Chromatography and find the optimum conditions which can give efficient aggregate removal with minimum loss of yield. Four different resins were used for carrying out the experiments: Fractogel EMD SO3-(S), Fractogel EMD COO-(M), Capto SP ImpRes and S Ceramic HyperD. Runs were carried out on the AKTA Avant system. Design of Experiments (DOE) was used for analysis using the JMP software. The dependence of the yield obtained using different resins on the operating conditions was studied. Success has been achieved by obtaining yield greater than 90% using Capto SP ImpRes and Fractogel EMD COO-(M) resins. It has also been found that a change in the operating conditions generally has different effects on the yields obtained using different resins.

Keywords: aggregates, cation exchange chromatography, design of experiments, monoclonal antibodies

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Hasan Atakan Sengul, Nergis Canturk, Bahar Erbas

Abstract:

Drinking water is indispensable for life. With increasing awareness of communities, the content of drinking water and tap water has been a matter of curiosity. The presence of Bisphenol-A is the top one when content curiosity is concerned. The most used chemical worldwide for production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins is Bisphenol-A. People are exposed to Bisphenol-A chemical, which disrupts the endocrine system, almost every day. Each year it is manufactured an average of 5.4 billion kilograms of Bisphenol-A. Linear formula of Bisphenol-A is (CH₃)₂C(C₆H₄OH)₂, its molecular weight is 228.29 and CAS number is 80-05-7. Bisphenol-A is known to be used in the manufacturing of plastics, along with various chemicals. Bisphenol-A, an industrial chemical, is used in the raw materials of packaging mate-rials in the monomers of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. The pass through the nutrients of Bisphenol-A substance happens by packaging. This substance contaminates with nutrition and penetrates into body by consuming. International researches show that BPA is transported through body fluids, leading to hormonal disorders in animals. Experimental studies on animals report that BPA exposure also affects the gender of the newborn and its time to reach adolescence. The extent to what similar endocrine disrupting effects are on humans is a debate topic in many researches. In our country, detailed studies on BPA have not been done. However, it is observed that 'BPA-free' phrases are beginning to appear on plastic packaging such as baby products and water carboys. Accordingly, this situation increases the interest of the society about the subject; yet it causes information pollution. In our country, all national and international studies on exposure to BPA have been examined and Ankara province has been designated as testing region. To assess the effects of plastic use in daily habits of people and the plastic amounts removed out of the body, the results of the survey conducted with volunteers who live in Ankara has been analyzed with Sciex appliance by means of LC-MS/MS in the laboratory and the amount of exposure and BPA removal have been detected by comparing the results elicited before. The results have been compared with similar studies done in international arena and the relation between them has been exhibited. Consequently, there has been found no linear correlation between the amount of BPA in drinking water and the amount of BPA in urine. This has also revealed that environmental exposure and the habits of daily plastic use have also direct effects a human body. When the amount of BPA in drinking water is considered; minimum 0.028 µg/L, maximum 1.136 µg/L, mean 0.29194 µg/L and SD(standard deviation)= 0.199 have been detected. When the amount of BPA in urine is considered; minimum 0.028 µg/L, maximum 0.48 µg/L, mean 0.19181 µg/L and SD= 0.099 have been detected. In conclusion, there has been found no linear correlation between the amount of BPA in drinking water and the amount of BPA in urine (r= -0.151). The p value of the comparison between drinking water’s and urine’s BPA amounts is 0.004 which shows that there is a significant change and the amounts of BPA in urine is dependent on the amounts in drinking waters (p < 0.05). This has revealed that environmental exposure and daily plastic habits have also direct effects on the human body.

Keywords: analyze of bisphenol-A, BPA, BPA in drinking water, BPA in urine

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: O. O. Olawusi-Peters, O. E. Aguda, F. O. Okoye

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Investigations on the accumulation of heavy metals in water and sediments of River Ogbese were carried out between December 2010 and February 2011 using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Etheria elliptica a sessile organism was also used to determine the concentration of heavy metal in the aquatic environmental. In water, Cu had the highest concentration (0.55–0.13 mg/l ±0.1) while in sediments, the highest value obtained was in Fe (1.46-3.89mg/l±0.27). The minimum concentrations recorded were in Pb; which was below detectable level. The result also revealed that the shell accumulated more heavy metals than the flesh of the mussel with Cu in the shell exhibiting a negative correlation with all the metals in the flesh. However, the condition factor (K) value is 6.44, an indication of good health. The length-weight relationship is expressed as W=-0.48xL 1.94 (r2=0.29) showing the growth pattern to be negatively allometric.

Keywords: condition factor, Etheria elliptica, heavy metals, River Ogbese

Procedia PDF Downloads 482

Authors: Haitham A. Hussein, Rozi Abdullah, Issa Saket, Md. Azlin

Abstract:

The gravitational effect has been extensively applied to separate oil from water in water and wastewater treatment systems. The maximum oil globules removal efficiency is improved by obtaining the best flow uniformity in separator tanks. This study used 2D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to investigate the effect of different inlet baffle positions inside the separator tank. Laboratory experiment has been conducted, and the measured velocity fields which were by Nortek Acoustic Doppler Velocimeter (ADV) are used to verify the CFD model. Computational investigation results indicated that the construction of an inlet baffle in a suitable location provides the minimum recirculation zone volume, creates the best flow uniformity, and dissipates kinetic energy in the oil and water separator tank. Useful formulas were predicted to design the oil and water separator tanks geometry based on an experimental model.

Keywords: oil/water separator tanks, inlet baffles, CFD, VOF

Procedia PDF Downloads 373

Authors: Ravi Teja Chitturi Suryaprakash, Chandrashekhar Unakal, Haytham Al-Bayaty, Duraisamy Saravanakumar

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Background and significance: Oral biofilm formation is a well-known causative factor for caries and periodontal diseases. Scientists over the years have been trying to find a solution against the formation of oral biofilms. Though several advances have been made to understand the microbial ecology and how the bio film survives, it is still an enigma to researchers to find a chemical product that not only can inhibit the formation of oral bio film but also not disturb the oral micro flora required for oral health and not to cause damage to the cells of the oral cavity. One such product that has never been investigated much are herbal preparations. Some of the microorganisms important in the formation of biofilm are Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces naeslundi, Streptococuss oralis and Prevotella intermedia. The aim of this study was to study the antimicrobial property of some herbal extracts available in Trinidad and Tobago against these pathogens. The significance of this study is that identification of biologically effective plant extracts can result in indigenous development of mouth rinses and tooth pastes that the people can benefit from to not only develop effective but also a cheap solution. Methodology: The extracts from the leaves of Plectranthus ambonicus, Ocmium tenuiflorum, Azadirchata indica, Anacardium occidentale, Psidium guajava were prepared by dissolving them in water. The extracts from the roots of Curcuma longa were prepared similarly and the antimicrobial activity of these six plant extracts was determined by the agar well diffusion method using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces naeslundi, Streptococuss oralis and Prevotella intermedia and compared with chlorhexidine. Results: The six plant extracts showed variable effect on the oral micro-organisms. Ocmium tenuiflorum (16.66 ± 0.44, 14 ± 0.58, 13.33 ± 0.88, 12.83 ± 0.60), Azadirchata indica (17.5 ± 0.28, 14.83 ± 0.17, 15 ± 0.58, 12.83 ± 0.6) and Curcuma longa (16.16 ± 0.44, 13.66 ± 0.88, 12.33 ± 0.88, 11.33 ± 0.67) were found to have highest inhibitory activity against all the four pathogens (Streptococcus mutans, Streptococuss oralis, Actinomyces naeslundi, and Prevotella intermedia) respectively. Conclusion: Although the extracts were not pure compounds we obtained antimicrobial results which determine that they are potent antimicrobial agents. Further derivation of pure compounds from these extracts could be lucrative as it might lead to the development of a cost effective and biologically safe medicine to act against oral biofilms. Acknowledgement: The authors would like to acknowledge the Campus Research and Publication Fund Committee, The University of the West Indies for funding this study and would also like to acknowledge Dr. Leonette Cox, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago for helping to prepare the plant extracts.

Keywords: agar well diffusion method, herbal extracts, minimum inhibitory concentration, oral biofilm forming microorganisms

Procedia PDF Downloads 185

Authors: Tahra AlMahmoud, Sameeha Mohamed Al Hadhrami, Mohamed Elhanan, Hanan Naser Alshamsi, Fikri Abu-Zidan

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Background: To the best of the author(s)’ knowledge there are no epidemiological studies for traumatic eye injuries in UAE, neither data on groups at risk or mechanisms for ocular trauma. Purpose: To report the epidemiology of eye injuries that required hospital admission and surgery at a referral center at the eastern part of Abu Dhabi. Method: Retrospective charts review of all patients who had suffered an eye injury that required surgical intervention between 2012 and 2017 at Al Ain Hospital. Demographic data, place of occurrence, the cause of injury, visual acuity (VA) before and after treatment, number of admission days and follow up were extracted. Data were tabulated and presented as number (%), mean (SD), or median (range) as appropriate. Wilcoxon signed rank test was used for VA outcome. Results: One hundred forty-one patients were identified, 96 eyes with open-globe and 48 other types of injuries. The mean age of the patients was 26±15.5 years, and 89% were male. Majority of injuries occurred at the workplace (50.4%) followed by home (31.2%). Trauma with a sharp object (24.1%), blunt object (16.3%), nail (11.3%), and hammer on metal (7.8%) were the most common etiologies of injury. Corneas injuries (48.2%) was the most frequent cause for visual acuity limitation followed by lens/cataract (23.4%). Among the traumatized eyes, 30 eyes (21.3%) retained intraocular foreign body, Mean admission days was 3.16± 2.81days (1-16) and a number of follow up visit was 3.17± 4.11times (0-26). Conclusion: Ocular trauma requiring surgical intervention is an area of concern in particular for occupations involving work with metals. This work may give insight into the value and necessity of implementing preventive measures.

Keywords: epidemiology, Middle Eastern area, occupational injury, ocular traumas

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Habib Ur Rahman Habib

Abstract:

Renewable energy resources are being realized as suitable options in hybrid energy planning for on-grid and micro grid. In this paper, operation, planning and optimal design of on-grid distributed energy resources based hybrid system are investigated. The aim is to minimize the cost of the overall energy system keeping in view the environmental emission and minimum penetration of conventional energy resources. Seven grid connected different case studies including diesel only, diesel-renewable based, and renewable based only are designed to perform economic analysis, operational planning and emission. Sensitivity analysis is implemented to investigate the impact of different parameters on the performance of energy resources.

Keywords: data management, renewable energy, distributed energy, smart grid, micro-grid, modeling, energy planning, design optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 464

Authors: Prashanth Pillai, Purnaprajna Mangsuli

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Oil exploration and production companies invest considerable time and efforts to extract essential well attributes (like well status, surface, and target coordinates, wellbore depths, event timelines, etc.) from unstructured data sources like technical reports, which are often non-standardized, multimodal, and highly domain-specific by nature. It is also important to consider the context when extracting attribute values from reports that contain information on multiple wells/wellbores. Moreover, semantically similar information may often be depicted in different data syntax representations across multiple pages and document sources. We propose a hierarchical multi-source fact extraction workflow based on a deep learning framework to extract essential well attributes at scale. An information retrieval module based on the transformer architecture was used to rank relevant pages in a document source utilizing the page image embeddings and semantic text embeddings. A question answering framework utilizingLayoutLM transformer was used to extract attribute-value pairs incorporating the text semantics and layout information from top relevant pages in a document. To better handle context while dealing with multi-well reports, we incorporate a dynamic query generation module to resolve ambiguities. The extracted attribute information from various pages and documents are standardized to a common representation using a parser module to facilitate information comparison and aggregation. Finally, we use a probabilistic approach to fuse information extracted from multiple sources into a coherent well record. The applicability of the proposed approach and related performance was studied on several real-life well technical reports.

Keywords: natural language processing, deep learning, transformers, information retrieval

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: Marine Segui, Ruxandra Mihaela Botez

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OpenVSP is an aerodynamic solver developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) that allows building a reliable model of an aircraft. This software performs an aerodynamic simulation according to the angle of attack of the aircraft makes between the incoming airstream, and its speed. A reliable aerodynamic model of the Cessna Citation X was designed but it required a lot of computation time. As a consequence, a prediction method was established that allowed predicting lift and drag coefficients for all Mach numbers and for all angles of attack, exclusively for stall conditions, from a computation of three angles of attack and only one Mach number. Aerodynamic coefficients given by the prediction method for a Cessna Citation X model were finally compared with aerodynamics coefficients obtained using a complete OpenVSP study.

Keywords: aerodynamic, coefficient, cruise, improving, longitudinal, openVSP, solver, time

Procedia PDF Downloads 240

Authors: Prateek Kishore, T. M. Muruganandam

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Supersonic wind tunnel nozzles are generally capable of producing a constant Mach number flow in the test section of the wind tunnel. As a result, most of the supersonic vehicles are widely designed using steady state flow characteristics which may have errors while facing unsteady situations. This study aims to explore the possibility of varying the Mach number of the flow during wind tunnel operation. The nozzle walls are restricted to be inflexible for cooling near the throat due to high stagnation temperature requirement of the flow to simulate the conditions as experienced by the vehicle. Two simple independent mechanisms, rotation and translation of nozzle walls have been analyzed and the nozzle ranges have been optimized to vary the Mach number from Mach 2 to Mach 5 using minimum number of nozzles in the wind tunnel.

Keywords: method of characteristics, nozzle, supersonic wind tunnel, variable mach number

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Manely Ansary Mood, Farzaneh Aziizi, Mahmoud Akbarian

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This investigation included 130 cats diagnosed with FIP (Feb 2021-March 2022) in Iran, 74 with effusive FIP, and 56 with non-effusive FIP. The patients' initial dosage regime consisted of a subcutaneous injection of GS-441524 was 6-15mg/kg-every 24h (based on the wet or ocular and neurologic signs). The minimum treatment period was twelve weeks, extended in animals that still had abnormal lab values, clinical signs, and sonographic findings. The outcomes of the 130 cats that completed the duration of treatment (14 died, 116 cured) were checked and recorded. Clinical, sonographic, and laboratory responses were checked and compared on days 28, 56, and 83 of treatment. 2 of the 116 cured cats relapsed within observation days. At the time of this publication (May 2022), 114 of the studied patients remained healthy. We could conclude that GS-441524 appears to be an effective option for FIP treatment, and also, to the base of our knowledge, this is the first report for group treatment of infected cats of FIP with GS-441524 in Iran.

Keywords: FIP, cat, GS-441524, treatment

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: Guohua Cao, Xu Dong

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X-ray Fluorescence Molecular Imaging (XFMI) holds great promise as a low-cost molecular imaging modality for biomedical applications with high chemical sensitivity. However, for in vivo biomedical applications, a key technical bottleneck is the relatively low chemical sensitivity of XFMI, especially at a reasonably low radiation dose. In laboratory x-ray source based XFMI, one of the main factors that limits the chemical sensitivity of XFMI is the scattered x-rays. We will present our latest findings on improving the chemical sensitivity of XFMI using excitation beam spectrum optimization. XFMI imaging experiments on two mouse-sized phantoms were conducted at three different excitation beam spectra. Our results show that the minimum detectable concentration (MDC) of iodine can be readily increased by five times via excitation spectrum optimization. Findings from this investigation could find use for in vivo pre-clinical small-animal XFMI in the future.

Keywords: molecular imaging, X-ray fluorescence, chemical sensitivity, X-ray scattering

Procedia PDF Downloads 191

Authors: Jovana Dj. Jovanovic, Svetlana M. Stevovic

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The highest priority of so called, projected passive houses is to meet the appropriate energy demand. Every single material and layer which is injected into a dwelling has a certain energy quantity stored. The passive houses include optimized insulation levels with minimal thermal bridges, minimum of air leakage through the building, utilization of passive solar and internal gains, and good circulation of air which leans on mechanical ventilation system. The focus of this paper is on passive house features, benefits and targets, their feasibility and energy demands which are set up during each project. Numerous passive house-standards outline the very significant role of zero-energy dwellings towards the modern label of sustainable development. It is clear that the performance of both built and existing housing stock must be addressed if the population across the world sets out the energy objectives. This scientific article examines passive house features since the many passive house cases are launched.

Keywords: benefits, energy demands, passive houses, sustainable development

Procedia PDF Downloads 341

Authors: Keiju Matsui, Mikio Yasubayashi, Masayoshi Umeno

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Consumption of energy is increasing every year, and yet does not the decline at all. The main energy source is fossil fuels such as petroleum and natural gas. Since it is the finite resources, they will be exhausted someday. Moreover, to make the fossil fuel an energy source causes an environment problem. In such way, one solution of the problems is the solar battery that is remarkable as one of the alternative energies. Under such circumstances, in this paper, we propose a novel maximum power control circuit for photovoltaic power generation system with simple and fast-response operation. In addition to an application to the solar battery, since this control system is possible to operate with simple circuit and fast-response, the polar value control like the maximum or the minimum value tracking for general application could be easily realized.

Keywords: maximum power control, inter-connection, photovoltaic power generation, PI controller, multiplier, exclusive-or, power system

Procedia PDF Downloads 448

Authors: Prince Kumar, Shamseer Kulangara Kandi, Diwan S. Rawat, Kasturi Mukhopadhyay

Abstract:

Staphylococcus aureus is the most pathogenic of all staphylococci, a major cause of nosocomial infections, and known for acquiring resistance towards various commonly used antibiotics. Due to the widespread use of synthetic drugs, clinicians are now facing a serious threat in healthcare. The increasing resistance in staphylococci has created a need for alternatives to these synthetic drugs. One of the alternatives is a natural plant-based medicine for both disease prevention as well as the treatment of chronic diseases. Among such natural compounds, curcumin is one of the most studied molecules and has been an integral part of traditional medicines and Ayurveda from ancient times. It is a natural polyphenolic compound with diverse pharmacological effects, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-cancerous and antibacterial activities. In spite of its efficacy and potential, curcumin has not been approved as a therapeutic agent yet, because of its low solubility, low bioavailability, and rapid metabolism in vivo. The presence of central β-diketone moiety in curcumin is responsible for its rapid metabolism. To overcome this, in the present study, curcuminoids were designed by modifying the central β-diketone moiety of curcumin into mono carbonyl moiety and their antibacterial potency against S. aureus ATCC 29213 was determined. Further, the mode of action and hemolytic activity of the most potent curcuminoids were studied. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and in vitro killing kinetics were used to study the antibacterial activity of the designed curcuminoids. For hemolytic assay, mouse Red blood cells were incubated with curcuminoids and hemoglobin release was measured spectrophotometrically. The mode of action of curcuminoids was analysed by membrane depolarization assay using membrane potential sensitive dye 3,3’-dipropylthiacarbocyanine iodide (DiSC3(5)) through spectrofluorimetry and membrane permeabilization assay using calcein-AM through flow cytometry. Antibacterial screening of the designed library (61 curcuminoids) revealed excellent in vitro potency of six compounds against S. aureus (MIC 8 to 32 µg/ml). Moreover, these six compounds were found to be non-hemolytic up to 225 µg/ml that is much higher than their corresponding MIC values. The in vitro killing kinetics data showed five of these lead compounds to be bactericidal causing >3 log reduction in the viable cell count within 4 hrs at 5 × MIC while the sixth compound was found to be bacteriostatic. Depolarization assay revealed that all the six curcuminoids caused depolarization in their corresponding MIC range. Further, the membrane permeabilization assay showed that all the six curcuminoids caused permeabilization at 5 × MIC in 2 hrs. This membrane depolarization and permeabilization caused by curcuminoids found to be in correlation with their corresponding killing efficacy. Both these assays point out that membrane perturbations might be a primary mode of action for these curcuminoids. Overall, the present study leads us six water soluble, non-hemolytic, membrane-active curcuminoids and provided an impetus for further research on therapeutic use of these lead curcuminoids against S. aureus.

Keywords: antibacterial, curcumin, minimum inhibitory concentration , Staphylococcus aureus

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Authors: Yanto Santosa, Dede Aulia Rahman, Cory Wulan, Abdul Haris Mustari

Abstract:

The global demand for long-tailed macaques for medical experimentation has continued to increase. Fulfillment of Indonesian export demands has been mostly from natural habitats, based on a harvesting quota. This quota has been determined according to the total catch for a given year, and not based on consideration of any demographic parameters or physical environmental factors with regard to the animal; hence threatening the sustainability of the various populations. It is therefore necessary to formulate a method for calculating a sustainable harvesting quota, based on population parameters in natural habitats. Considering the possibility of variations in habitat characteristics and population parameters, a time series observation of demographic and physical/biotic parameters, in various habitats, was performed on 13 groups of long-tailed macaques, distributed throughout the West Java, Lampung and Yogyakarta areas of Indonesia. These provinces were selected for comparison of the influence of human/tourism activities. Data on population parameters that was collected included data on life expectancy according to age class, numbers of individuals by sex and age class, and ‘ratio of infants to reproductive females’. The estimation of population growth was based on a population dynamic growth model: the Leslie matrix. The harvesting quota was calculated as being the difference between the actual population size and the MVP (minimum viable population) for each sex and age class. Observation indicated that there were variations within group size (24 – 106 individuals), gender (sex) ratio (1:1 to 1:1.3), life expectancy value (0.30 to 0.93), and ‘ratio of infants to reproductive females’ (0.23 to 1.56). Results of subsequent calculations showed that sustainable harvesting quotas for each studied group of long-tailed macaques, ranged from 29 to 110 individuals. An estimation model of the MVP for each age class was formulated as Log Y = 0.315 + 0.884 Log Ni (number of individual on ith age class). This study also found that life expectancy for the juvenile age class was affected by the humidity under tree stands, and dietary plants’ density at sapling, pole and tree stages (equation: Y= 2.296 – 1.535 RH + 0.002 Kpcg – 0.002 Ktg – 0.001 Kphn, R2 = 89.6% with a significance value of 0.001). By contrast, for the sub-adult-adult age class, life expectancy was significantly affected by slope (equation: Y=0.377 = 0.012 Kml, R2 = 50.4%, with significance level of 0.007). The infant to reproductive female ratio was affected by humidity under tree stands, and dietary plant density at sapling and pole stages (equation: Y = -1.432 + 2.172 RH – 0.004 Kpcg + 0.003 Ktg, R2 = 82.0% with significance level of 0.001). This research confirmed the importance of population parameters in determining the minimum viable population, and that MVP varied according to habitat characteristics (especially food availability). It would be difficult therefore, to formulate a general mathematical equation model for determining a harvesting quota for the species as a whole.

Keywords: harvesting, long-tailed macaque, population, quota

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: Thomas Odaker, Dieter Kranzlmueller, Jens Volkert

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We present an approach to triangle mesh simplification designed to be executed on the GPU. We use a quadric error metric to calculate an error value for each vertex of the mesh and order all vertices based on this value. This step is followed by the parallel removal of a number of vertices with the lowest calculated error values. To allow for the parallel removal of multiple vertices we use a set of per-vertex boundaries that prevent mesh foldovers even when simplification operations are performed on neighbouring vertices. We execute multiple iterations of the calculation of the vertex errors, ordering of the error values and removal of vertices until either a desired number of vertices remains in the mesh or a minimum error value is reached. This parallel approach is used to speed up the simplification process while maintaining mesh topology and avoiding foldovers at every step of the simplification.

Keywords: computer graphics, half edge collapse, mesh simplification, precomputed simplification, topology preserving

Procedia PDF Downloads 369

Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, Gehan Azam

Abstract:

The current study presents an electronic test to measure teaching skills. This test is a part of the admission system of the Faculty of Education for Early Childhood, Cairo University. The test has been prepared to evaluate university students who apply for admission the Faculty. It measures some social and physiological skills which are important for successful teachers, such as emotional adjustment and problem solving; moreover, the extent of their love for children and their capability to interact with them. The test has been approved by 13 experts. Finally, it has been introduced to 1,100 students during the admission system of the academic year 2016/2017. The results showed that most of the applicants have an auditory learning style. In addition, 97% of them have the minimum requirement skills for teaching children.

Keywords: electronic test, performance, early childhood, skills, teacher student

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Mohammad Reza Ebrahimi, Behnaz Mahdaviani

Abstract:

Increasing renewable sources such photovoltaic are the reason of environmental pollution. Because photovoltaic generates power in low voltage, first, generated power should increase. Usually, distributed generation injects their power to AC-Grid, hence after voltage increasing an inverter is needed to convert DC power to AC power. This results in utilization two series converter that grows cost, complexity, and low efficiency. In this paper a single stage inverter is utilized to boost and invert in one stage. Control of this scheme is easier, and its initial cost decreases comparing to conventional double stage inverters. A simple control scheme is used to control active power as well as minimum total harmonic distortion (THD) in injected current. Simulations in MATLAB demonstrate better outputs comparing with conventional approaches.

Keywords: maximum power point tracking, boost inverter, control strategy, three phase inverter

Procedia PDF Downloads 377

Authors: Kumator Taku, Bilkisu Amartey

Abstract:

This research used Grid indentation technique to investigate the effect of the addition of Coconut Shell Ash (CSA) on the nanomechanical properties of the main phases of the hydrated cement paste. Portland cement was partially replaced with 15% CSA at a water-binder ratio of 0.5 and cubes casted and cured for 28 days after which they were polished to reduce surface roughness to the barest minimum. The result of nanoindentation shows that addition of 15% CSA to cement paste transforms portlandite to C-S-H by the pozzolanic reaction. More so, there is reduced porosity and a reduction in the volume of CH by the addition of the CSA. Even though the addition of 15% CSA does not drastically change the average values of the hardness and elastic modulus of the two phases of the C-S-H, it greatly modifies their relative proportions, leading to the production of more HD C-S-H. Overall, incorporating 15%CSA to cement mortar improves the Nanomechanical properties of the four main phases of the hydrated cement paste.

Keywords: Coconut Shell Ash, Elastic Modulus, Hardness, Nanoindentation, Porosity

Procedia PDF Downloads 133

Authors: H. M. Mobarak, Helen Wu, Chunhui Yang

Abstract:

In this study, an analytical model is developed to study crack breathing behavior under the effect of crack location and unbalance force. Crack breathing behavior is determined using effectual bending angle by studying the transient change in closed area of the crack. The status of the crack of a balanced shaft is symmetrical about shaft rotational angle and the duration of each crack status remains unchanged. The global stiffness of the balanced shaft is independent of crack location. Different crack breathing behavior for the unbalanced shaft has been observed. The influence of crack location on the unbalanced shaft stiffness can be divided into three regions. When the crack is located between 0.3L and 0.8335L, where L is the total length of the shaft, the unbalanced shaft is less stiff and when located outside this region it is stiffer than the balanced shaft. It was also found that unbalanced shaft stiffness has a maximum value with a crack at 0.1946L, a minimum value at 0.8053L and same value as balanced shaft at 0.3L and 0.8335L.

Keywords: cracked shaft, crack location, shaft stiffness, unbalanced force

Procedia PDF Downloads 311