Search results for: executive functions [EFs]

Authors: A. Jameel, G. A. Harmain, Y. Anand, J. H. Masoodi, F. A. Najar

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The present study investigates the effect of inclusions on the shape and size of crack tip plastic zones in engineering materials subjected to static loads by employing the element free Galerkin method (EFGM). The modeling of the discontinuities produced by cracks and inclusions becomes independent of the grid chosen for analysis. The standard displacement approximation is modified by adding additional enrichment functions, which introduce the effects of different discontinuities into the formulation. The level set method has been used to represent different discontinuities present in the domain. The effect of inclusions on the extent of crack tip plastic zones is investigated by solving some numerical problems by the EFGM.

Keywords: EFGM, stress intensity factors, crack tip plastic zones, inclusions

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Authors: A. Tavangari, N. Salehzadeh

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In the crack growth analysis, the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) is a fundamental prerequisite. In the present study, the mode I stress intensity factor (SIF) of three-dimensional penny-Shaped crack is obtained in an isotropic elastic cylindrical medium with arbitrary dimensions under arbitrary loading at the top of the cylinder, by the semi-analytical method based on the Rayleigh-Ritz method. This method that is based on minimizing the potential energy amount of the whole of the system, gives a very close results to the previous studies. Defining the displacements (elastic fields) by hypothetical functions in a defined coordinate system is the base of this research. So for creating the singularity conditions at the tip of the crack the appropriate terms should be found.

Keywords: penny-shaped crack, stress intensity factor, fracture mechanics, Ritz method

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Authors: Qingjin Liu, Jinpeng Niu, Kangjia Chen, Jiao Li, Huafu Chen, Wei Liao

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Functional connectomics is essential in cognitive science and neuropsychiatry, offering insights into the brain's complex network structures and dynamic interactions. Although neuroimaging has uncovered functional connectivity issues in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) patients, the dynamic shifts in connectome topology and their link to gene expression are yet to be fully understood. To explore the differences in dynamic connectome topology between MDD patients and healthy individuals, we conducted an extensive analysis of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 434 participants (226 MDD patients and 208 controls). We used multilayer network models to evaluate brain module dynamics and examined the association between whole-brain gene expression and dynamic module variability in MDD using publicly available transcriptomic data. Our findings revealed that compared to healthy individuals, MDD patients showed lower global mean values and higher standard deviations, indicating unstable patterns and increased regional differentiation. Notably, MDD patients exhibited more frequent module switching, primarily within the executive control network (ECN), particularly in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right fronto-insular regions, whereas the default mode network (DMN), including the superior frontal gyrus, temporal lobe, and right medial prefrontal cortex, displayed lower variability. These brain dynamics predicted the severity of depressive symptoms. Analyzing human brain gene expression data, we found that the spatial distribution of MDD-related gene expression correlated with dynamic module differences. Cell type-specific gene analyses identified oligodendrocytes (OPCs) as major contributors to the transcriptional relationships underlying module variability in MDD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive description of altered brain module dynamics in MDD patients linked to depressive symptom severity and changes in whole-brain gene expression profiles.

Keywords: major depressive disorder, module dynamics, magnetic resonance imaging, transcriptomic

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Authors: Mohammed Arif, Abdessalam Kifouche

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Speech is a very convenient way of communication between people and machines. It conveys information about the identity of the talker. Since speaker recognition technology is increasingly securing our everyday lives, the objective of this paper is to develop two automatic text-independent speaker verification systems (TI SV) using low-level spectral features and machine learning methods. (i) The first system is based on a support vector machine (SVM), which was widely used in voice signal processing with the aim of speaker recognition involving verifying the identity of the speaker based on its voice characteristics, and (ii) the second is based on Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and Universal Background Model (UBM) to combine different functions from different resources to implement the SVM based.

Keywords: speaker verification, text-independent, support vector machine, Gaussian mixture model, cepstral analysis

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Authors: Mihika Shivkumar, Krishna Kumar, C. Perisamy

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3D printing is a method of manufacturing wherein materials, such as plastic or metal, are deposited in layers one on top of the other to produce a three dimensional object. 3D printing is most commonly associated with creating engineering prototypes. However, its applications in the field of human health care have been frequently disregarded. Medical applications for 3D printing are expanding rapidly and are envisaged to revolutionize health care. Medical applications for 3D printing, both present and its potential, can be categorized broadly, including: creation of customized prosthetics tissue and organ fabrication; creation of implants, and anatomical models and pharmaceutical research regarding drug dosage forms. This piece breaks down bioprinting in the healthcare sector. It focuses on the better subtle elements of every particular point, including how 3D printing functions in the present, its impediments, and future applications in the health care sector.

Keywords: bio-printing, prototype, drug delivery, organ regeneration

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Authors: Klaudia Chmielewska, Krystyna Dzierzbicka, Iwona Inkielewicz-Stepniak

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Carnosine, an endogenous peptide consisting of β-alanine and L-histidine has a variety of functions to mention: antioxidant, antiglycation, and reducing the toxicity of metal ions. It has therefore been proposed to act as a therapeutic agent for many pathological states, although its therapeutic index is limited by quick enzymatic cleavage. To overcome this limitation, there’s an urge to create new derivatives which might become less potent to hydrolysis, while preserving the therapeutic effect. The poster summarizes the efficiency of two peptide synthesis methods, which were: (1) the mixed anhydride with isobutyl chloroformate and N-methylmorpholine (NMM) and (2) carbodiimide - mediated coupling method via appropriate reagent condensing, here – CDI. The methods were used to obtain dipeptides which were the derivatives of carnosine. Obtained dipeptides were made in the form of methyl esters and their structures will be confirmed 1H NMR, 13C NMR, MS and elemental analysis techniques. Later on, they will be analyzed for their antioxidant properties, in comparison to carnosine.

Keywords: carnosine, method, peptide, synthesis

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Authors: Onder Yakut, Serdar Solak, Emine Dogru Bolat

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Measuring the Electrocardiogram (ECG) signal is an essential process for the diagnosis of the heart diseases. The ECG signal has the information of the degree of how much the heart performs its functions. In medical diagnosis and treatment systems, Decision Support Systems processing the ECG signal are being developed for the use of clinicians while medical examination. In this study, a modular wireless ECG (WECG) measuring and recording system using a single board computer and e-Health sensor platform is developed. In this designed modular system, after the ECG signal is taken from the body surface by the electrodes first, it is filtered and converted to digital form. Then, it is recorded to the health database using Wi-Fi communication technology. The real time access of the ECG data is provided through the internet utilizing the developed web interface.

Keywords: ECG, e-health sensor shield, Raspberry Pi, wiFi technology

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Authors: R. O. Ocaya, J. J. Terblans

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The laws of Newtonian mechanics allow ab-initio molecular dynamics to model and simulate particle trajectories in material science by defining a differentiable potential function. This paper discusses some considerations for the coding of ab-initio programs for simulation on a standalone computer and illustrates the approach by C language codes in the context of embedded metallic atoms in the face-centred cubic structure. The algorithms use velocity-time integration to determine particle parameter evolution for up to several thousands of particles in a thermodynamical ensemble. Such functions are reusable and can be placed in a redistributable header library file. While there are both commercial and free packages available, their heuristic nature prevents dissection. In addition, developing own codes has the obvious advantage of teaching techniques applicable to new problems.

Keywords: C language, molecular dynamics, simulation, embedded atom method

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Authors: Ilya Kavalchuk, Mehdi Seyedmahmoudian, Ben Horan, Aman Than Oo, Alex Stojcevski

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The power electronic components within Electric Vehicles (EV) need to operate in several important modes. Some modes directly influence safety, while others influence vehicle performance. Given the variety of functions and operational modes required of the power electronics, it needs to meet efficiency requirements to minimize power losses. Another challenge in the control and construction of such systems is the ability to support bidirectional power flow. This paper considers the construction, operation, and feasibility of available converters for electric vehicles with feasible configurations of electrical buses and loads. This paper describes logic and control signals for the converters for different operations conditions based on the efficiency and energy usage bases.

Keywords: electric vehicles, electrical machines control, power electronics, powerflow regulations

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Authors: Moreblessings Shoko

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Polymersomes are materials which are considered as artificial counterparts of natural vesicles. The nanotechnology of such smart nanovesicles is very useful to enhance the efficiency of many therapeutic and diagnostic drugs. Those compounds show a higher stability, flexibility, and mechanical strength to the membrane compared to natural liposomes. Also, they can be designed in detail, the permeability of the membrane can be controlled by different stimuli, and the surface can be functionalized with different biological molecules to facilitate monitoring and target. For this purpose, this study demonstrates the formation of multifunctional and pH sensitive polymersomes and their functionalization with different reactive groups or biomolecules inside and outside of polymersomes´ membrane providing by crossing the membrane and docking/undocking processes for biomedical applications. Overall, they are highly versatile and thus present new opportunities for the design of targeted and selective recognition systems, for example, in mimicking cell functions and in synthetic biology.

Keywords: women, geomatics, challenges, capacity building

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Authors: F. Louati, H. Trabelsi, M. Jamei

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Desiccation cracks following drainage-humidification cycles. With water loss, mainly due to evaporation, suction in the soil increases, producing volumetric shrinkage and tensile stress. When the tensile stress reaches tensile strength, the soil cracks. Desiccation cracks networks can directly control soil hydraulic properties. The aim of this study was for quantifying the hydraulic properties for examples the water retention curve, the saturated hydraulic conductivity, the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity function, the shrinkage dynamics in Tibar soil- clay soil in the Northern of Tunisia. Then a numerical simulation of unsaturated hydraulic properties for a crack network has been attempted. The finite elements code ‘CODE_BRIGHT’ can be used to follow the hydraulic distribution in cracked porous media.

Keywords: desiccation, cracks, permeability, unsaturated hydraulic flow, simulation

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Authors: Muhammad Sohail Khan, Rehan Ali Shah

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The present paper applies the optimal homotopy perturbation method (OHPM) and the optimal homotopy asymptotic method (OHAM) introduced recently to obtain analytic approximations of the non-linear equations modeling the flow of polymer in case of wire coating of a corotational Maxwell fluid. Expression for the velocity field is obtained in non-dimensional form. Comparison of the results obtained by the two methods at different values of non-dimensional parameter l₁₀, reveal that the OHPM is more effective and easy to use. The OHPM solution can be improved even working in the same order of approximation depends on the choices of the auxiliary functions.

Keywords: corotational Maxwell model, optimal homotopy asymptotic method, optimal homotopy perturbation method, wire coating die

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Authors: Yahia Massinissa, Melakhessou Med Akram, Mezahdia Mehdi, Marref Salah Eddine

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Cytokines are natural proteins which act as true intercellular communication signals in immune and inflammatory responses. Reverse signaling pathways that activate cytokines help to regulate different functions at the target cell, causing its activation, its proliferation, the differentiation, its survival or death. It was shown that malfunctioning of the cytokine regulation, particularly over-expression, contributes to the onset and development of certain serious diseases such as chronic rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis, lupus. The action mode of Kinoid® technology is based on the principle vaccine: The patient's immune system is activated so that it neutralizes itself and the factor responsible for the disease. When applied specifically to autoimmune diseases, therapeutic vaccination allows the body to neutralize cytokines (proteins) overproduced through a highly targeted stimulation of the immune system.

Keywords: cytokines, Kinoid tech, auto-immune diseases, vaccination

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Authors: Maryam Ghasemi

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One of the most significant components that provide comfort and protection is having a shelter called a house. Even if components and regions are changed or restored to meet new functions, the house's identity must be preserved. In the contemporary era, houses are increasingly being built regardless of cultural identity. This misunderstanding caused a sense of unease. This study analyses archaic and modern architecture to find semiotic areas and qualities in the latter, using the former as a reference. This study's technique used an exploratory assessment of architectural components from both periods. The Abbasid residence and the Ekbatan architectural complex were used as case studies. The identity of Iranian architecture does not correlate with current buildings. The other part is privacy, which is a missing link between traditional and modern Iranian architecture because it is directly related to the identities of homes based on the cultures of their residents.

Keywords: housing, traditional, contemporary, privacy, semiotic

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Authors: Bintou Jobe

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The construction sector, both in the United Kingdom (UK) and developing Anglophone West African countries, specifically The Gambia, is facing significant health and safety challenges. While the UK has established legislation and regulations to support Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the industry, the same level of support is lacking in developing countries. The significance of this review is to assess the extent and effectiveness of OHS legislation and regulatory reform in the construction industry, with a focus on understanding the challenges faced by both the UK and developing Anglophone West African countries. It aims to highlight the benefits of implementing an OHS management system, specifically ISO 45001. This study uses a literature review approach, synthesizing publications from the past decade and identifying common themes and best practices related to Occupational Health and Safety in the construction industry. Findings were analysed, compared, and conclusions and recommendations were drawn after developing research questions and addressing them. This comprehensive review of the literature allows for a detailed understanding of the challenges faced by the industry in both contexts. The findings of the study indicate that while the UK has established robust health and safety legislation, many UK construction companies have not fully met the standards outlined in ISO 45001. These challenges faced by the UK include poor data management, inadequate communication of best practices, insufficient training, and a lack of safety culture mirroring those observed in the developing Anglophone countries. Therefore, compliance with OHS management systems has been shown to yield benefits, including injury prevention and centralized health and safety documentation. In conclusion, the effectiveness of OHS legislation for developing Anglophone West African countries should consider the positive impact experienced by the UK. The implementation of ISO 45001 can serve as a benchmark standard and potentially inform recommendations for developing countries. The selection criteria for literature include search keywords and phrases, such as occupational health and safety challenges, The Gambia, developing countries management systems, ISO 45001, and impact and effectiveness of OHS legislation. The literature was sourced from Google Scholar, the UK Health and Safety Executive websites, and Google Advanced Search.

Keywords: ISO 45001, developing countries, occupational health and safety, UK

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Authors: Siphethile Phiri

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Although a company is a legal entity with separate legal personality, the courts are empowered to review and set aside the personality of a company on the ground of ‘an unconscionable abuse’. The process is called piercing of the corporate veil. Of interesting note however, it is controversial as to what the concept of ‘unconscionable abuse’ entails. The purpose of this study is to explore this concept in an attempt to understand its proper meaning and how it bears on the powers of the company director to take decision on behalf of the company as a juristic entity. Given the confounding provision, an attempt is made to identify the circumstances in which the courts may pierce the corporate veil and also to investigate the extent to which the courts can do so. The results of this study show that the term unconscionable abuse is a legislative innovation to justify the court’s interference with the separate legal personality functions of a company.

Keywords: company law, unconscionable abuse, director, companies act

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Authors: Adrian Millea

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In hierarchical reinforcement learning, one of the main issues encountered is the discovery of subgoal states or options (which are policies reaching subgoal states) by partitioning the environment in a meaningful way. This partitioning usually requires an expensive global clustering operation or eigendecomposition of the Laplacian of the states graph. We propose a local solution to this issue, much more efficient than algorithms using global information, which successfully discovers subgoal states by computing a simple function, which we call heterogeneity for each state as a function of its neighbors. Moreover, we construct a value function using the difference in heterogeneity from one step to the next, as reward, such that we are able to explore the state space much more efficiently than say epsilon-greedy. The same principle can then be applied to higher level of the hierarchy, where now states are subgoals discovered at the level below.

Keywords: exploration, hierarchical reinforcement learning, locality, options, value functions

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Authors: M. Ghasemi, F. Eskandari, B. Hamzehei, A. R. Arshi

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Bioelectric activity of nervous cells might be changed causing by various factors. This alteration can lead to unforeseen circumstances in other organs of the body. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to model a single neuron and its behavior under an initial stimulation. This study was developed based on cable theory by means of the Bond Graph method. The numerical values of the parameters were derived from empirical studies of cellular electrophysiology experiments. Initial excitation was applied through square current functions, and the resulted action potential was estimated along the neuron. The results revealed that the model was developed in this research adapted with the results of experimental studies and demonstrated the electrical behavior of nervous cells properly.

Keywords: bond graph, stimulation, nervous cells, modeling

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Authors: A. L. Agarwal, D. A. Mahajan

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Construction industry tumbled along with other industry/sectors during recent economic crash. Construction business could not regain thereafter and still pass through slowdown phase, resulted many real estate as well as infrastructure projects not completed on schedule and within budget. There are many theories, tools, techniques with software packages available in the market to analyze construction schedule. This study focuses on the construction project schedule and uncertainties associated with construction activities. The infrastructure construction project has been considered for the analysis of uncertainty on project activities affecting project duration and analysis is done using @RISK software. Different simulation results arising from three probability distribution functions are compiled to benefit construction project managers to plan more realistic schedule of various construction activities as well as project completion to document in the contract and avoid compensations or claims arising out of missing the planned schedule.

Keywords: construction project, distributions, project schedule, uncertainty

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Authors: Seon-Hack Hong, Tae-Il Choi

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Interoperability is defined as systems, components, and devices developed by different entities smoothly exchanging information and functioning organically without mutual consultation, being able to communicate with each other and computer systems of the same type or different types, and exchanging information or the ability of two or more systems to exchange information and use the information exchanged without extra effort. Insufficiencies such as duplication of functions when developing systems and applications due to lack of interoperability in the electric power system and low efficiency due to a lack of mutual information transmission system between the inside of the application program and the design is improved, and the seamless linkage of newly developed systems is improved. Since it is necessary to secure interoperability for this purpose, we designed the smart grid-based interoperability standard model in this paper.

Keywords: interoperability, power system, common information model, SCADA, IEEE2030, Zephyr

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Authors: Wenhsuan Lee, Yachi Chang, Yingyih Shih

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In clinical practices, it is common that while facing the unknown progress of their disease, palliative care patients may easily feel anxious and depressed. These types of reactions are a cause of psychosomatic diseases and may also influence treatment results. However, the purpose of palliative care is to provide relief from all kinds of pains. Therefore, how to make patients more comfortable is an issue worth studying. This study adopted the “bio-psycho-social model” proposed by Engel and applied spontaneous breathing training, in the hope of seeing patients’ psychological state changes caused by their physiological state changes, improvements in their anxious conditions, corresponding adjustments of their cognitive functions, and further enhancement of their social functions and the social support system. This study will be a one-year study. Palliative care outpatients will be recruited and assigned to the experimental group or the control group for six outpatient visits (once a month), with 80 patients in each group. The patients of both groups agreed that this study can collect their physiological quantitative data using an HRV device before the first outpatient visit. They also agreed to answer the “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)”, the “Taiwanese version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire” before the first outpatient visit, to fill a self-report questionnaire after each outpatient visit, and to answer the “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)”, the “Taiwanese version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire” after the last outpatient visit. The patients of the experimental group agreed to receive the breathing training under HRV monitoring during the first outpatient visit of this study. Before each of the following three outpatient visits, they were required to fill a self-report questionnaire regarding their breathing practices after going home. After the outpatient visits, they were taught how to practice breathing through an HRV device and asked to practice it after going home. Later, based on the results from the HRV data analyses and the pre-tests and post-tests of the “Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)”, the “Taiwanese version of the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire”, the influence of the breathing training in the bio, psycho, and social aspects were evaluated. The data collected through the self-report questionnaires of the patients of both groups were used to explore the possible interfering factors among the bio, psycho, and social changes. It is expected that this study will support the “bio-psycho-social model” proposed by Engel, meaning that bio, psycho, and social supports are closely related, and that breathing training helps to transform palliative care patients’ psychological feelings of anxiety and depression, to facilitate their positive interactions with others, and to improve the quality medical care for them.

Keywords: palliative care, breathing training, bio-psycho-social model, heart rate variability

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Authors: Fatemeh Zeinali Sehrig

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This study aimed to evaluate the expression of miR-299-3p, DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B in breast cancer samples and investigate their diagnostic significance. Using the GSE40525 and GSE45666, the miR-299-3p expression level was studied in breast cancer tissues. Also, the expression levels of DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B were investigated by analyzing GSE61725, GSE86374, and GSE37751 datasets. The target genes were studied in terms of biological processes of molecular functions and cellular components. Consistent with the in silico results, miR-299-3p expression was substantially decreased in breast cancer tissues, and the expression levels of DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B were considerably upregulated in breast cancer samples. It was found that the expression levels of miR-299-3p and DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B could be valuable diagnostic tools for detecting breast cancer. Also, miR-299-3p downregulation may play a role in DNMT1, DNMT3A, and DNMT3B upregulation in breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, miR-299-3p, DNMTs, GEO database

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Authors: Maria Fontenele, Claude-Gilles Dussap, Vincent Dumouilla, Baptiste Boit

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Roquette Frères is a producer of plant-based ingredients that employs many processes to extract relevant molecules and often transforms them through chemical and physical processes to create desired ingredients with specific functionalities. In this context, Roquette encounters numerous multi-component complex systems in their processes, including fibers, proteins, and carbohydrates, in an aqueous environment. To develop, control, and optimize both new and old processes, Roquette aims to develop new in silico tools. Currently, Roquette uses process modelling tools which include specific thermodynamic models and is willing to develop computational methodologies such as molecular dynamics simulations to gain insights into the complex interactions in such complex media, and especially hydrogen bonding interactions. The issue at hand concerns aqueous mixtures of polyols with high dry matter content. The polyols mannitol and sorbitol molecules are diastereoisomers that have nearly identical chemical structures but very different physicochemical properties: for example, the solubility of sorbitol in water is 2.5 kg/kg of water, while mannitol has a solubility of 0.25 kg/kg of water at 25°C. Therefore, predicting liquid-solid equilibrium properties in this case requires sophisticated solution models that cannot be based solely on chemical group contributions, knowing that for mannitol and sorbitol, the chemical constitutive groups are the same. Recognizing the significance of solvation phenomena in polyols, the GePEB (Chemical Engineering, Applied Thermodynamics, and Biosystems) team at Institut Pascal has developed the COSMO-UCA model, which has the structural advantage of using quantum mechanics tools to predict formation and phase equilibrium properties. In this work, we use molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the behavior of polyols in aqueous solution. Specifically, we employ simulations to compute essential metrics such as radial distribution functions and hydrogen bond autocorrelation functions. Our findings illuminate a fundamental contrast: sorbitol and mannitol exhibit disparate hydrogen bond lifetimes within aqueous environments. This observation serves as a cornerstone in elucidating the divergent physicochemical properties inherent to each compound, shedding light on the nuanced interplay between their molecular structures and water interactions. We also present a methodology to predict the physicochemical properties of complex solutions, taking as sole input the three-dimensional structure of the molecules in the medium. Finally, by developing knowledge models, we represent some physicochemical properties of aqueous solutions of sorbitol and mannitol.

Keywords: COSMO models, hydrogen bond, molecular dynamics, thermodynamics

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Authors: Sung-Wook Shin, Sung-Taek Chung

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Hand grip strength has been utilized as an indicator to evaluate the motor ability of hands, responsible for performing multiple body functions. It is, however, difficult to evaluate other factors (other than hand muscular strength) utilizing the hand grip strength only. In this study, we analyzed the motor ability of hands using EMG and the hand grip strength, simultaneously in order to evaluate concentration, muscular strength reaction time, instantaneous muscular strength change, and agility in response to visual reaction. In results, the average time (and their standard deviations) of muscular strength reaction EMG signal and hand grip strength was found to be 209.6 ± 56.2 ms and 354.3 ± 54.6 ms, respectively. In addition, the onset time which represents acceleration time to reach 90% of maximum hand grip strength, was 382.9 ± 129.9 ms.

Keywords: hand grip strength, EMG, visual reaction, endurance

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Authors: Magdalena B. Kaziuk, Waldemar Kosiba, Marek J. Kuzniewski

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Introduction: Adipose tissue is a typical place for storage water-insoluble toxins in the body. It's connective tissue, where the intercellular substance consist of fat, which level in people with low physical activity should be 18-25% for women and 13-18% for men. Due to the fat distribution in the body we distinquish two types of obesity: android (visceral, abdominal) and gynoidal (gluteal-femoral, peripheral). Abdominal obesity increases the risk of complications of the cardiovascular system diseases, and impaired renal and liver function. Through the influence on disorders of metabolism, lipid metabolism, diabetes and hypertension, leading to emergence of the metabolic syndrome. So thus, obesity will especially overload kidney function in patients after transplantation. Aim: An attempt was made to estimate the impact of amount fat tissue on transplanted kidney function and excretory function of the liver in patients after Ktx. Material and Methods: The study included 108 patients (50 females, 58 male, age 46.5 +/- 12.9 years) with active kidney transplant after more than 3 months from the transplantation. An analysis of body composition was done by using electrical bioimpedance (BIA) and anthropometric measurements. Estimated basal metabolic rate (BMR), muscle mass, total body water content and the amount of body fat. Information about physical activity were obtained during clinical examination. Nutritional status, and type of obesity were determined by using indicators: Waist to Height Ratio (WHR) and Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR). Excretory functions of the transplanted kidney was rated by calculating the estimated renal glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) using the MDRD formula. Liver function was rated by total bilirubin and alanine aminotransferase levels ALT concentration in serum. In our patients haemolitic uremic syndrome (HUS) was excluded. Results: In 19.44% of patients had underweight, 22.37% of the respondents were with normal weight, 11.11% had overweight, and the rest were with obese (49.08%). People with android stature have a lower eGFR compared with those with the gynoidal stature (p = 0.004). All patients with obesity had higher amount of body fat from a few to several percent. The higher amount of body fat percentage, the lower eGFR had patients (p <0.001). Elevated ALT levels significantly correlated with a high fat content (p <0.02). Conclusion: Increased amount of body fat, particularly in the case of android obesity can be a predictor of kidney and liver damage. Due to that obese patients should have more frequent control of diagnostic functions of these organs and the intensive dietary proceedings, pharmacological and regular physical activity adapted to the current physical condition of patients after transplantation.

Keywords: obesity, body fat, kidney transplantation, glomerular filtration rate, liver function

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Authors: Salam Khalifa, Naveed Ahmed

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We present a new method to reconstruct a temporally coherent 3D animation from single or multi-view RGB-D video data using unbiased feature point sampling. Given RGB-D video data, in form of a 3D point cloud sequence, our method first extracts feature points using both color and depth information. In the subsequent steps, these feature points are used to match two 3D point clouds in consecutive frames independent of their resolution. Our new motion vectors based dynamic alignment method then fully reconstruct a spatio-temporally coherent 3D animation. We perform extensive quantitative validation using novel error functions to analyze the results. We show that despite the limiting factors of temporal and spatial noise associated to RGB-D data, it is possible to extract temporal coherence to faithfully reconstruct a temporally coherent 3D animation from RGB-D video data.

Keywords: 3D video, 3D animation, RGB-D video, temporally coherent 3D animation

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Authors: Dragan Ribarić

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We employ the so-called problem-dependent linked interpolation concept to develop two cubic 4-node quadrilateral Mindlin plate finite elements with 12 external degrees of freedom. In the problem-independent linked interpolation, the interpolation functions are independent of any problem material parameters and the rotation fields are not expressed in terms of the nodal displacement parameters. On the contrary, in the problem-dependent linked interpolation, the interpolation functions depend on the material parameters and the rotation fields are expressed in terms of the nodal displacement parameters. Two cubic 4-node quadrilateral plate elements are presented, named Q4-U3 and Q4-U3R5. The first one is modelled with one displacement and two rotation degrees of freedom in every of the four element nodes and the second element has five additional internal degrees of freedom to get polynomial completeness of the cubic form and which can be statically condensed within the element. Both elements are able to pass the constant-bending patch test exactly as well as the non-zero constant-shear patch test on the oriented regular mesh geometry in the case of cylindrical bending. In any mesh shape, the elements have the correct rank and only the three eigenvalues, corresponding to the solid body motions are zero. There are no additional spurious zero modes responsible for instability of the finite element models. In comparison with the problem-independent cubic linked interpolation implemented in Q9-U3, the nine-node plate element, significantly less degrees of freedom are employed in the model while retaining the interpolation conformity between adjacent elements. The presented elements are also compared to the existing problem-independent quadratic linked-interpolation element Q4-U2 and to the other known elements that also use the quadratic or the cubic linked interpolation, by testing them on several benchmark examples. Simple functional upgrading from the quadratic to the cubic linked interpolation, implemented in Q4-U3 element, showed no significant improvement compared to the quadratic linked form of the Q4-U2 element. Only when the additional bubble terms are incorporated in the displacement and rotation function fields, which complete the full cubic linked interpolation form, qualitative improvement is fulfilled in the Q4-U3R5 element. Nevertheless, the locking problem exists even for the both presented elements, like in all pure displacement elements when applied to very thin plates modelled by coarse meshes. But good and even slightly better performance can be noticed for the Q4-U3R5 element when compared with elements from the literature, if the model meshes are moderately dense and the plate thickness not extremely thin. In some cases, it is comparable to or even better than Q9-U3 element which has as many as 12 more external degrees of freedom. A significant improvement can be noticed in particular when modeling very skew plates and models with singularities in the stress fields as well as circular plates with distorted meshes.

Keywords: Mindlin plate theory, problem-independent linked interpolation, problem-dependent interpolation, quadrilateral displacement-based plate finite elements

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Authors: Rebecca Bach, Evgenia Kanli, Nihat Kiziltoprak, Linda Hildebrand, Ulrich Knaack, Jens Schneider

Abstract:

The building industry has a high demand for resources and at the same time is responsible for a significant amount of waste created worldwide. Today's building components need to contribute to the protection of natural resources without creating waste. This is defined in the product development phase and impacts the product’s degree of being cycle-oriented. Paper-based materials show advantage due to their renewable origin and their ability to incorporate different functions. Besides the ecological aspects like renewable origin and recyclability the main advantages of paper materials are its light-weight but stiff structure, the optimized production processes and good insulation values. The main deficits from building technology’s perspective are the material's vulnerability to humidity and water as well as inflammability. On material level, those problems can be solved by coatings or through material modification. On construction level intelligent setup and layering of a building component can improve and also solve these issues. The target of the present work is to provide an overview of developed building components and construction typologies mainly made from paper materials. The research is structured in four parts: (1) functions and requirements, (2) preselection of paper-based materials, (3) development of building components and (4) evaluation. As part of the research methodology at first the needs of the building sector are analyzed with the aim to define the main areas of application and consequently the requirements. Various paper materials are tested in order to identify to what extent the requirements are satisfied and determine potential optimizations or modifications, also in combination with other construction materials. By making use of the material’s potentials and solving the deficits on material and on construction level, building components and construction typologies are developed. The evaluation and the calculation of the structural mechanics and structural principals will show that different construction typologies can be derived. Profiles like paper tubes can be used at best for skeleton constructions. Massive structures on the other hand can be formed by plate-shaped elements like solid board or honeycomb. For insulation purposes corrugated cardboard or cellulose flakes have the best properties, while layered solid board can be applied to prevent inner condensation. Enhancing these properties by material combinations for instance with mineral coatings functional constructions mainly out of paper materials were developed. In summary paper materials offer a huge variety of possible applications in the building sector. By these studies a general base of knowledge about how to build with paper was developed and is to be reinforced by further research.

Keywords: construction typologies, cycle-oriented construction, innovative building material, paper materials, renewable resources

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Vanessa Funk, Steven Blum, Stephanie Cole, Jorge Maciel, Matthew Lux

Abstract:

Paper-based synthetic gene circuits offer a new paradigm for programmable, fieldable biodetection. We demonstrate that by freeze-drying gene circuits with in vitro expression machinery, we can use complimentary RNA sequences to trigger colorimetric changes upon rehydration. We have successfully utilized both green fluorescent protein and luciferase-based reporters for easy visualization purposes in solution. Through several efforts, we are aiming to use this new platform technology to address a variety of needs in portable detection by demonstrating several more expression and reporter systems for detection functions on paper. In addition to RNA-based biodetection, we are exploring the use of various mechanisms that cells use to respond to environmental conditions to move towards all-hazards detection. Examples include explosives, heavy metals for water quality, and toxic chemicals.

Keywords: cell-free lysates, detection, gene circuits, in vitro

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Mohamed El Hachimi, Abdelhakim Ballouk, Ilyas Khelafa, Abdelaziz Mouhou

Abstract:

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes occurs when beta cells are destroyed by the body's own immune system. Treatment of type 1 diabetes mellitus could be greatly improved by applying a closed-loop control strategy to insulin delivery, also known as an Artificial Pancreas (AP). Method: In this paper, we present a new formulation of the cost function for a Model Predictive Control (MPC) utilizing a technic which accelerates the speed of control of the AP and tackles the nonlinearity of the control problem via asymmetric objective functions. Finding: The finding of this work consists in a new Model Predictive Control algorithm that leads to good performances like decreasing the time of hyperglycaemia and avoiding hypoglycaemia. Conclusion: These performances are validated under in silico trials.

Keywords: artificial pancreas, control algorithm, biomedical control, MPC, objective function, nonlinearity

Procedia PDF Downloads 307