Search results for: autonomic nervous function

Authors: Jihad H. Asad

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An expression for the Green’s function (GF) of anisotropic face cantered cubic (IFCC) lattice is evaluated analytically and numerically for a single impurity problem. The density of states (DOS), phase shift and scattering cross section are expressed in terms of complete elliptic integrals of the first kind.

Keywords: lattice Green's function, elliptic integral, physics, cubic lattice

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Authors: X. Wang, T. J. Craft, H. Iacovides

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When handling the near-wall regions of turbulent flows, it is necessary to account for the viscous effects which are important over the thin near-wall layers. Low-Reynolds- number turbulence models do this by including explicit viscous and also damping terms which become active in the near-wall regions, and using very fine near-wall grids to properly resolve the steep gradients present. In order to overcome the cost associated with the low-Re turbulence models, a more advanced wall function approach has been implemented within OpenFoam and tested together with a standard log-law based wall function in the prediction of flows which involve 2-D shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interactions (SWTBLIs). On the whole, from the calculation of the impinging shock interaction, the three turbulence modelling strategies, the Lauder-Sharma k-ε model with Yap correction (LS), the high-Re k-ε model with standard wall function (SWF) and analytical wall function (AWF), display good predictions of wall-pressure. However, the SWF approach tends to underestimate the tendency of the flow to separate as a result of the SWTBLI. The analytical wall function, on the other hand, is able to reproduce the shock-induced flow separation and returns predictions similar to those of the low-Re model, using a much coarser mesh.

Keywords: SWTBLIs, skin-friction, turbulence modeling, wall function

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Authors: Magdy Al Shourbagi

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Diabetes mellitus is the commonest cause of neuropathy. The common pattern is a distal symmetrical sensory polyneuropathy, associated with autonomic disturbances. Less often, Diabetes mellitus is responsible for a focal or multifocal neuropathy. Common causes for non-healing of diabetic foot are the infection and ischemia. Diabetes mellitus is associated with a defective cellular and humoral immunity. Particularly, decreased phagocytosis, decreased chemotaxis, impaired bacterial killing and abnormal lymphocytic function resulting in a reduced inflammatory reaction and defective wound healing. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is defined by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society as a treatment in which a patient intermittently breathes 100% oxygen and the treatment chamber is pressurized to a pressure greater than sea level (1 atmosphere absolute). The pressure increase may be applied in mono-place (single person) or multi-place chambers. Multi-place chambers are pressurized with air, with oxygen given via face mask or endotracheal tube; while mono-place chambers are pressurized with oxygen. Oxygen gas plays an important role in the physiology of wound healing. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can raise tissue oxygen tensions to levels where wound healing can be expected. HBOT increases the killing ability of leucocytes also it is lethal for certain anaerobic bacteria and inhibits toxin formation in many other anaerobes. Multiple anecdotal reports and studies in HBO therapy in diabetic patients report that HBO can be an effective adjunct therapy in the management of diabetic foot wounds and is associated with better functional outcomes.

Keywords: hyperbari oxygen therapy, diabetic foot, neuropathy, multiplace chambers

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Authors: Haruo Okabayashi

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The mutual understanding in conversation is very important for human relations. This study investigates the mental function of the formation of mutual understanding between two people in conversation using the embodied approach. Forty people participated in this study. They are divided into pairs randomly. Four conversation situations between two (make/listen to fun or pleasant talk, make/listen to regrettable talk) are set for four minutes each, and the finger plethysmogram (200 Hz) of each participant is measured. As a result, the attractors of the participants who reported “I did not understand my partner” show the collapsed shape, which means the fluctuation of their rhythm is too small to match their partner’s rhythm, and their cross correlation is low. The autonomic balance of both persons tends to resonate during conversation, and both LLEs tend to resonate, too. In human history, in order for human beings as weak mammals to live, they may have been with others; that is, they have brought about resonating characteristics, which is called self-organization. However, the resonant feature sometimes collapses, depending on the lifestyle that the person was formed by himself after birth. It is difficult for people who do not have a lifestyle of mutual gaze to resonate their biological signal waves with others’. These people have features such as anxiety, fatigue, and confusion tendency. Mutual understanding is thought to be formed as a result of cooperation between the features of self-organization of the persons who are talking and the lifestyle indicated by mutual gaze. Such an entanglement phenomenon is called a nonlinear relation. By this research, it is found that the formation of mutual understanding is expressed by the rhythm of a biological signal showing a nonlinear relationship.

Keywords: embodied approach, finger plethysmogram, mutual understanding, nonlinear phenomenon

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Authors: Takashi Mitsuishi, Koji Saigusa

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This paper presents circular polar coordinates transformation of periodic fuzzy membership function. The purpose is identification of domain of periodic membership functions in consequent part of IF-THEN rules. The proposed methods are applied to the simple color construct system.

Keywords: periodic membership function, polar coordinates transformation, defuzzification, circular coordinates

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Authors: Hani Albogami

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The internal audit function is considered as one of the internal corporate governance mechanisms that may have an impact on improving earnings quality by constraining earnings management. The internal audit function is also a unique corporate governance mechanism because internal auditors have more involvement with the day-to-day operations comparing to the audit committee, and also internal auditors audit their companies the whole year compared to the external auditor who audits only a certain time of the year. The relationships between internal audit function and earnings management can be understood by some theories. Therefore, this paper provides a theoretical background of the influence of the quality of internal audit function on earnings management. In particular, the agency theory, institutional theory, singling theory, and resource dependency theory are adapted by this paper to provide some understanding and analyses that can be a basis for future research to contribute to the corporate governance academic studies.

Keywords: internal audit, corporate governance, earnings management, accounting

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Authors: Khandoker Akib Mohammad

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While analyzing time-to-event data, it is possible that a certain fraction of subjects will never experience the event of interest, and they are said to be cured. When this feature of survival models is taken into account, the models are commonly referred to as cure models. In the presence of covariates, the conditional survival function of the population can be modelled by using the cure model, which depends on the probability of being uncured (incidence) and the conditional survival function of the uncured subjects (latency), and a combination of logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards (PH) regression is used to model the incidence and latency respectively. In this paper, we have shown the asymptotic normality of the profile likelihood estimator via asymptotic expansion of the profile likelihood and obtain the explicit form of the variance estimator with an implicit function in the profile likelihood. We have also shown the efficient score function based on projection theory and the profile likelihood score function are equal. Our contribution in this paper is that we have expressed the efficient information matrix as the variance of the profile likelihood score function. A simulation study suggests that the estimated standard errors from bootstrap samples (SMCURE package) and the profile likelihood score function (our approach) are providing similar and comparable results. The numerical result of our proposed method is also shown by using the melanoma data from SMCURE R-package, and we compare the results with the output obtained from the SMCURE package.

Keywords: Cox PH model, cure model, efficient score function, EM algorithm, implicit function, profile likelihood

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Authors: Sheng-Fen Fan, Sung-Hui Tseng

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Attention deficit hyperactivity deficit (ADHD) child display diverse sensory processing difficulty behaviors. There is less evidence to figure out how the association between executive function and sensory deficit. To determine whether sensory deficit influence the executive functions, we examined sensory processing by SPM and try to indicate hot/cold executive function (EF) by BRIEF2, respectively. We found that the hot executive function deficit might associate with auditory processing in a variety of settings, and vestibular input to maintain balance and upright posture; the cold EF deficit might opposite to the hot EF deficit, the vestibular sensory modulation difficulty association with emotion shifting and emotional regulation. These results suggest that sensory processing might be another consideration factor to influence the higher cognitive control or emotional regulation of EF. Overall, this study indicates the distinction between hot and cold EF impairments with different sensory modulation problem. Moreover, for clinician, it needs more cautious consideration to conduct intervention with ADHD.

Keywords: hot executive function, cold executive function, sensory processing, ADHD

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Authors: M. Ghasemi, S.Fazelifar

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Abstract Aim: Over-weight is not desirable and has implications for health and in the case of athletes affects performance. Exercise is a strategy used to counteract overweight owing to create a negative energy balance by increasing energy expenditure and influencing appetite regulating hormones. Interestingly, recent studies have revealed inhibitory effects of exercise on the hunger associated with these hormones in healthy subjects Neuropeptide Y(NPY) is a 36 amino acid protein that is a powerful stimulant appetite. NPY is an important central orexigenic hormone predominantly produced by the hypothalamus, and recently found to be secreted in adipose tissue. This neurotransmitter is secreted in the brain and autonomic nervous system. On the other hand, research has shown that thyme in addition to various properties, also affects the appetite. The purpose of this study was to determine Effects of eight weeks endurance training and thyme consumption on neuropeptide Y in untrained men. Methodology: 36 Healthy untrained men (mean body weight 78.25±3.2 kg, height 176±6.8 cm, age 34.32±4.54 years and BMI 29.1±4.3 kg/m2) voluntarily participated in this study . Subjects were randomly divided into four groups: 1. control, 2. Endurance training, 3. Thyme 4. Endurance training + Thyme. Amount of 10cc Blood sampling were obtained pre-test and post-test (after 8 weeks). The taken blood samples were centrifuged at 1500 × g for 15 min then plasma was stored at -20 °C until analysis. Endurance training consisted three session per week with 60% -75% of reserve heart rate for eight weeks. Exclusion criteria were history of gastrointestinal, endocrine, cardiovascular or psychological disease, and consuming any supplementation, alcohol and tobacco products. Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations, and ranges were calculated for all measures. K-S test to determine the normality of the data and analysis of variance for repeated measures was used to analyze the data. A significant difference in the p<0/05 accepted. Results: Results showed that aerobic training significantly reduced body weight, body mass index, percent body fat, but significant increase observed in maximal oxygen consumption level (p ≤ 0/05). The neuropeptide Y levels were significantly increased after exercise. Analysis of data determined that there was no significant difference between the four groups. Conclusion: Appetite control plays a critical role in the competition between energy consumption and energy expenditure. The results of this study showed that endurance training and thyme consumption can be cause improvement in physiological parameters such as increasing aerobic capacity, reduction of fat mass and improve body composition in untrained men.

Keywords: Endurance training, neuropeptide Y, thyme, untrained men

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Authors: M. R. Al-Rashidi, K. M. El-Naggar, M. F. Al-Hajri

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The fuel cost function describes the electric power generation-cost relationship in thermal plants, hence, it sheds light on economical aspects of power industry. Different models have been proposed to describe this relationship with the quadratic function model being the most popular one. Parameters of second order fuel cost function are estimated in this paper using cuckoo search algorithm. It is a new population based meta-heuristic optimization technique that has been used in this study primarily as an accurate estimation tool. Its main features are flexibility, simplicity, and effectiveness when compared to other estimation techniques. The parameter estimation problem is formulated as an optimization one with the goal being minimizing the error associated with the estimated parameters. A case study is considered in this paper to illustrate cuckoo search promising potential as a valuable estimation and optimization technique.

Keywords: cuckoo search, parameters estimation, fuel cost function, economic dispatch

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Authors: Sule Sahin, Basak Bulut Karageyik

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This paper introduces a hazard rate function for the time of ruin to calculate the conditional probability of ruin for very small intervals. We call this function the force of ruin (FoR). We obtain the expected time of ruin and conditional expected time of ruin from the exact finite time ruin probability with exponential claim amounts. Then we introduce the FoR which gives the conditional probability of ruin and the condition is that ruin has not occurred at time t. We analyse the behavior of the FoR function for different initial surpluses over a specific time interval. We also obtain FoR under the excess of loss reinsurance arrangement and examine the effect of reinsurance on the FoR.

Keywords: conditional time of ruin, finite time ruin probability, force of ruin, reinsurance

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Authors: Madina Hamiane

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Modelling and simulation of an analogy function generator is presented based on a polynomial expansion model. The proposed function generator model is based on a 10th order polynomial approximation of any of the required functions. The polynomial approximations of these functions can then be implemented using basic CMOS circuit blocks. In this paper, a circuit model is proposed that can simultaneously generate many different mathematical functions. The circuit model is designed and simulated with HSPICE and its performance is demonstrated through the simulation of a number of non-linear functions.

Keywords: modelling and simulation, analog function generator, polynomial approximation, CMOS transistors

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Authors: Mohamed Z. M. Duwahir, Shian Gao

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The main objective of this project was to introduce and test a new scheme for parameterization of subsonic aerofoil, using a function called Shape Function. Python programming was used to create a user interactive environment for geometry generation of aerofoil using NACA and Shape Function methodologies. Two aerofoils, NACA 0012 and NACA 1412, were generated using this function. Testing the accuracy of the Shape Function scheme was done by Linear Square Fitting using Python and CFD modelling the aerofoil in Fluent. NACA 0012 (symmetrical aerofoil) was better approximated using Shape Function than NACA 1412 (cambered aerofoil). The second part of the project involved comparing two turbulent models, k-ε and Spalart-Allmaras (SA), in Fluent by modelling the aerofoils NACA 0012 and NACA 1412 in conditions of Reynolds number of 3 × 106. It was shown that SA modelling is better for aerodynamic purpose. The experimental coefficient of lift (Cl) and coefficient of drag (Cd) were compared with empirical wind tunnel data for a range of angle of attack (AOA). As a further step, this project involved drawing and meshing 3D wings in Gambit. The 3D wing flow was solved and compared with 2D aerofoil section experimental results and wind tunnel data.

Keywords: CFD simulation, shape function, turbulent modelling, aerofoil

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Authors: Mohammed Qasim, Kyoung-Dae Kim

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In this paper, we present the design of the super-ellipsoidal potential function (SEPF), that can be used for autonomous collision avoidance of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a 3-dimensional space. In the design of SEPF, we have the full control over the shape and size of the potential function. In particular, we can adjust the length, width, height, and the amount of flattening at the tips of the potential function so that the collision avoidance motion vector generated from the potential function can be adjusted accordingly. Based on the idea of the SEPF, we also propose an approach for the local autonomy of a UAV for its collision avoidance when the UAV is teleoperated by a human operator. In our proposed approach, a teleoperated UAV can not only avoid collision autonomously with other surrounding objects but also track the operator’s control input as closely as possible. As a result, an operator can always be in control of the UAV for his/her high-level guidance and navigation task without worrying too much about the UAVs collision avoidance while it is being teleoperated. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a human-in-the-loop simulation of quadrotor UAV teleoperation using virtual robot experimentation platform (v-rep) and Matlab programs.

Keywords: artificial potential function, autonomous collision avoidance, teleoperation, quadrotor

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Authors: Kyu Chul Lee, Sung Hyun Yoo, Choon Ki Ahn, Myo Taeg Lim

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Recent experimental evidences have shown that because of a fast convergence and a nice accuracy, neural networks training via extended Kalman filter (EKF) method is widely applied. However, as to an uncertainty of the system dynamics or modeling error, the performance of the method is unreliable. In order to overcome this problem in this paper, a new finite impulse response (FIR) filter based learning algorithm is proposed to train radial basis function neural networks (RBFN) for nonlinear function approximation. Compared to the EKF training method, the proposed FIR filter training method is more robust to those environmental conditions. Furthermore, the number of centers will be considered since it affects the performance of approximation.

Keywords: extended Kalman filter, classification problem, radial basis function networks (RBFN), finite impulse response (FIR) filter

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Authors: Sang-Myung Jung, Jeong Hyun Ju, Gwang Heum Yoon, Hwa Sung Shin

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Central nervous system (CNS) consists of neuronal cell and supporting cells. Astrocytes are the most common supporting cells and play roles in metabolism between neurons and blood vessel. For this function, engineered astrocytes have been studied as a therapeutic source for CNS injury. In neural tissue engineering, nanofiber has been suggested as an effective scaffold for providing structure and mechanical properties influencing physiology. Cellulose acetate (CA) has been investigated for material to fabricate scaffold because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability and fine thermal stability. In this research, CA nanofiber was modified via heat treatment and its effect on astrocyte activity was evaluated. Adhesion and viability of astrocyte were increased in proportion to stiffness. Additionally, expression of GFAP, a marker of astrocyte activation, was increased via stiffness of scaffold. This research suggests a simple modification method to change stiffness of CA nanofiber and shows cellular behavior affecting stiffness of three-dimensional scaffold independently. For the results, we highlight that the stiffness is a factor to regulate astrocyte activity.

Keywords: astrocyte, cellulose acetate, cell therapy, stiffness of scaffold

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Authors: Akshay B. Pawar, Rohit Y. Parasnis

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Heart Rate Variability (HRV) is a widely used indicator of the regulation between the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the cardiovascular system. Besides being non-invasive, it also has the potential to predict mortality in cases involving critical injuries. The gold standard method for determining HRV is based on the analysis of RR interval time series extracted from ECG signals. However, because it is much more convenient to obtain photoplethysmogramic (PPG) signals as compared to ECG signals (which require the attachment of several electrodes to the body), many researchers have used pulse cycle intervals instead of RR intervals to estimate HRV. They have also compared this method with the gold standard technique. Though most of their observations indicate a strong correlation between the two methods, recent studies show that in healthy subjects, except for a few parameters, the pulse-based method cannot be a surrogate for the standard RR interval- based method. Moreover, the former tends to overestimate short-term variability in heart rate. This calls for improvements in or alternatives to the pulse-cycle interval method. In this study, besides the systolic peak-peak interval method (PP method) that has been studied several times, four recent PPG-based techniques, namely the first derivative peak-peak interval method (P1D method), the second derivative peak-peak interval method (P2D method), the valley-valley interval method (VV method) and the tangent-intersection interval method (TI method) were compared with the gold standard technique. ECG and PPG signals were obtained from 10 young and healthy adults (consisting of both males and females) seated in the armchair position. In order to de-noise these signals and eliminate baseline drift, they were passed through certain digital filters. After filtering, the following HRV parameters were computed from PPG using each of the five methods and also from ECG using the gold standard method: time domain parameters (SDNN, pNN50 and RMSSD), frequency domain parameters (Very low-frequency power (VLF), Low-frequency power (LF), High-frequency power (HF) and Total power or “TP”). Besides, Poincaré plots were also plotted and their SD1/SD2 ratios determined. The resulting sets of parameters were compared with those yielded by the standard method using measures of statistical correlation (correlation coefficient) as well as statistical agreement (Bland-Altman plots). From the viewpoint of correlation, our results show that the best PPG-based methods for the determination of most parameters and Poincaré plots are the P2D method (shows more than 93% correlation with the standard method) and the PP method (mean correlation: 88%) whereas the TI, VV and P1D methods perform poorly (<70% correlation in most cases). However, our evaluation of statistical agreement using Bland-Altman plots shows that none of the five techniques agrees satisfactorily well with the gold standard method as far as time-domain parameters are concerned. In conclusion, excellent statistical correlation implies that certain PPG-based methods provide a good amount of information on the pattern of heart rate variation, whereas poor statistical agreement implies that PPG cannot completely replace ECG in the determination of HRV.

Keywords: photoplethysmography, heart rate variability, correlation coefficient, Bland-Altman plot

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Authors: Negar Miri-Lavasani

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Background: Children with Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show fine motor skills difficulties, and it is controversial whether this difficulty is based on problems in their fine motor skills or their executive function impairments. Objectives of Study: The Fine Motor and Executive Function assessment tool (FiM&EF) was developed to answer the question, ‘Do the fine motor skill deficits in children with ADHD come from their fine motor problems or is it caused by their executive function problems?’. This paper describes the development of a new assessment of Fine Motor and Executive Function (FiM &EF) needed by primary school students with ADHD aged 6-12 years with ADHD. Methods: A study on the content validity established through a survey of a panel of nine experts is explained in detail. Findings: Most the experts agreed such an assessment was needed and two items were deleted as a result of experts’ feedback. Relevance to Clinical Practice: Distinguishing the main reason of fine motor problem in these children could help the clinician for their therapy plans. Knowledge on the influence of executive functioning on fine motor ability in selected age children with ADHD would provide a clearer clinical picture of the fine motor capabilities and executive function for these children.

Keywords: children with ADHD, executive function, fine motor, test

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Authors: Kang-Mo Jung

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The use of regularization for statistical methods has become popular. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) framework has become the standard tool for sparse regression. However, it is well known that the LASSO is sensitive to outliers or leverage points. We consider a new robust estimation which is composed of the weighted loss function of the pairwise difference of residuals and the adaptive penalty function regulating the tuning parameter for each variable. Rank regression is resistant to regression outliers, but not to leverage points. By adopting a weighted loss function, the proposed method is robust to leverage points of the predictor variable. Furthermore, the adaptive penalty function gives us good statistical properties in variable selection such as oracle property and consistency. We develop an efficient algorithm to compute the proposed estimator using basic functions in program R. We used an optimal tuning parameter based on the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). Numerical simulation shows that the proposed estimator is effective for analyzing real data set and contaminated data.

Keywords: adaptive penalty function, robust penalized regression, variable selection, weighted rank regression

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Authors: John Knight, Fuchun Li, Yan Xu

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Based on a new method of the nonparametric estimator of the drift function, we propose a consistent test for the parametric specification of the drift function in the short rate diffusion process using observations from a panel of yields. The test statistic is shown to follow an asymptotic normal distribution under the null hypothesis that the parametric drift function is correctly specified, and converges to infinity under the alternative. Taking the daily 7-day European rates as a proxy of the short rate, we use our test to examine whether the drift of the short rate diffusion process is linear or nonlinear, which is an unresolved important issue in the short rate modeling literature. The testing results indicate that none of the drift functions in this literature adequately captures the dynamics of the drift, but nonlinear specification performs better than the linear specification.

Keywords: diffusion process, nonparametric estimation, derivative security price, drift function and volatility function

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Authors: C. Pislaru, A. Shebani

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This paper uses the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) for system identification of nonlinear systems. Five nonlinear systems are used to examine the activity of RBFNN in system modeling of nonlinear systems; the five nonlinear systems are dual tank system, single tank system, DC motor system, and two academic models. The feed forward method is considered in this work for modelling the non-linear dynamic models, where the K-Means clustering algorithm used in this paper to select the centers of radial basis function network, because it is reliable, offers fast convergence and can handle large data sets. The least mean square method is used to adjust the weights to the output layer, and Euclidean distance method used to measure the width of the Gaussian function.

Keywords: system identification, nonlinear systems, neural networks, radial basis function, K-means clustering algorithm

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Authors: F. Bringby, A. Nordin, L. Björnådal, E. Svenungsson, C. Boström, H Alexanderson

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Patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) have reduced hand function and self-reported limitations in daily activities. Few studies have explored limitations in shoulder-arm mobility and muscle function, or if there are differences in physical function between diffuse cutaneous (dcSSc) and limited cutaneous (lcSSc) SSc. The purpose of this study was to describe objectively assessed shoulder-arm mobility, lower extremity muscle function and muscle endurance in SSc and evaluate possible differences between lcSSc and dcSSc. 121 patients with SSc were included in this cross sectional study. Shoulder-arm mobility were examined using the Shoulder Function Assessment Scale (SFA) including 5 tasks ,lower extremity muscle function was measured by Timed stands test (TST) and muscle endurance in shoulder- and hip flexors were assessed by the Functional Index 2 (FI-2). Patients with dcSSc had median SFA hand to back score 5 (4-6) and median “hand to seat” score of 5 (4-6) compared to patients with lcSSc with corresponding median values of 6 (4-6) and 6 (5-6) respectively (p<0.01-p<0.05). 50% of both patientsgroups had lower muscle function assessed by the TST compared to age- and gender matched reference values but there were no differences in TST between the two patient groups. There was no difference in FI-2 scores between dcSSc and lcSSc. The whole group had 40 (28-83) % and 38 (32-72) % of maximal FI-2 shoulder flexion score on the right and left sides, and 40 (23-63) % and 37 (23-62) % of maximal FI-2 hip flexion score on the right and left sides. Reference values for the FI-2 indicate that healthy individuals perform in mean 100 % of maximal score. Patients with dcSSc were more limited than patients with lcSSc. Patients with SSc have reduced muscle function compared to reference values. These results highlights the importance of assessing shoulder-arm mobility and muscle function as well as a need for further research to identify exercise interventions to target these limitations.

Keywords: diffuse, limited, mobility, muscle function, physical therapy, systemic sclerosis

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Authors: Kenichiro Hida, Shin-Ichi Kuribayashi

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NFV-based network implements a variety of network functions with software on general-purpose servers, and this allows the network operator to select any capabilities and locations of network functions without any physical constraints. In this paper, we evaluate the influence of the maximum tolerable network delay on the virtual routing function deployment guidelines which the authors proposed previously. Our evaluation results have revealed the following: (1) the more the maximum tolerable network delay condition becomes severe, the more the number of areas where the route selection function is installed increases and the total network cost increases, (2) the higher the routing function cost relative to the circuit bandwidth cost, the increase ratio of total network cost becomes larger according to the maximum tolerable network delay condition.

Keywords: NFV (Network Functions Virtualization), resource allocation, virtual routing function, minimum total network cost

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Authors: Luísa Pedro, José Pais-Ribeiro, João Páscoa Pinheiro

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Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system that affects more often young adults in the prime of his career and personal development, with no cure and unknown causes. The most common signs and symptoms are fatigue, muscle weakness, changes in sensation, ataxia, changes in balance, gait difficulties, memory difficulties, cognitive impairment and difficulties in problem solving. MS is a relatively common neurological disorder in which various impairments and disabilities impact strongly on function and daily life activities. The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the program of self-regulation in the perception of illness and mental health (psychological well-being domain) in MS patients. MS is a relatively common neurological disorder in which various impairments and disabilities impact strongly on function and daily life activities. The aim of this study is to examine the implications of the program of self-regulation in the perception of illness and mental health (psychological well-being domain) in MS patients. After this, a set of exercises was implemented to be used in daily life activities, according to studies developed with MS patients. We asked the subjects the question “Please classify the severity of your disease?” and used the domain of psychological well-being, the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-38) at the beginning (time A) and end (time B) of the program of self-regulation. We used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20. A non-parametric statistical hypothesis test (Wilcoxon test) was used for the variable analysis. The intervention followed the recommendations of the Helsinki Declaration. The age range of the subjects was between 20 and 58 years with a mean age of 44 years. 58.3 % were women, 37.5 % were currently married, 67% were retired and the mean level of education was 12.5 years. In the correlation between the severity of the disease perception and psychological well before the self-regulation program, an obtained result (r = 0.26, p <0.05), then the self-regulation program, was (r = 0.37, p <0.01), from a low to moderate correlation. We conclude that the program of self-regulation for physical activity in patients with MS can improve the relationship between the perception of disease severity and psychological well-being.

Keywords: psychological well-being, multiple sclerosis, self-regulation, physical activity

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Authors: Cuneyt Yucelbas, Seral Ozsen, Sule Yucelbas, Gulay Tezel

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Due to the fact that there exist only a small number of complex systems in artificial immune system (AIS) that work out nonlinear problems, nonlinear AIS approaches, among the well-known solution techniques, need to be developed. Gaussian function is usually used as similarity estimation in classification problems and pattern recognition. In this study, diagnosis of breast cancer, the second type of the most widespread cancer in women, was performed with different distance calculation functions that euclidean, gaussian and gaussian-euclidean hybrid function in the clonal selection model of classical AIS on Wisconsin Breast Cancer Dataset (WBCD), which was taken from the University of California, Irvine Machine-Learning Repository. We used 3-fold cross validation method to train and test the dataset. According to the results, the maximum test classification accuracy was reported as 97.35% by using of gaussian-euclidean hybrid function for fold-3. Also, mean of test classification accuracies for all of functions were obtained as 94.78%, 94.45% and 95.31% with use of euclidean, gaussian and gaussian-euclidean, respectively. With these results, gaussian-euclidean hybrid function seems to be a potential distance calculation method, and it may be considered as an alternative distance calculation method for hard nonlinear classification problems.

Keywords: artificial immune system, breast cancer diagnosis, Euclidean function, Gaussian function

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Authors: Mimoza Canga, Edit Xhajanka, Irene Malagnino

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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant influence on the lives of millions of people and is a threat to public health. SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with a number of health problems, including damage to the lungs and central nervous system damage. Additionally, it can also cause oral health problems, such as pain and weakening of the chewing muscles. The purpose of the study is the assessment of the masticatory muscle function in young adults between 18 and 29 years old following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Materials and methods: This study is quantitative cross-sectional research conducted in Albania between March 2023 and September 2023. Our research involved a total of 104 students who participated in our research, of which 64 were female (61.5%) and 40 were male (38.5%). They were divided into four age groups: 18-20, 21-23, 24-26, and 27-29 years old. In this study, the students willingly consented to take part in this study and were guaranteed that their participation would remain anonymous. The study recorded no dropouts, and it was carried out in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Statistical analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 23.0 on Microsoft Windows Linux, Chicago, IL, USA. Data were evaluated utilizing analysis of variance (ANOVA), with a significance level set at P ≤ 0.05. Results: 80 (76.9%) of the participants who had passed COVID-19 reported chronic masticatory muscle pain (P < 0.0001) and masticatory muscle spasms (P = 0.002). According to data analysis, 70 (67.3%) of the participants had a sore throat (P=0.007). 74% of the students reported experiencing weakness in their chewing muscles (P=0.003). The participants reported having undergone the following treatments: azithromycin (500 mg daily), prednisolone sodium phosphate (15 mg/5 mL daily), Augmentin tablets (625 mg), vitamin C (1000 mg), magnesium sulfate (4 g/100 mL), oral vitamin D3 supplementation of 5000 IU daily, ibuprofen (400 mg every 6 hours), and tizanidine (2 mg every 6 hours). Conclusion: This study, conducted in Albania, has limitations, but it can be concluded that COVID-19 directly affects the functioning of the masticatory muscles.

Keywords: Albania, chronic pain, COVID-19, cross-sectional study, masticatory muscles, spasm

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Authors: Shun Horikoshi, Tohru Kawabe

Abstract:

This study presents performance analysis results of SMC (Sliding mode control) with changing the chattering functions applied to slip suppression problem of electric vehicles (EVs). In SMC, chattering phenomenon always occurs through high frequency switching of the control inputs. It is undesirable phenomenon and degrade the control performance, since it causes the oscillations of the control inputs. Several studies have been conducted on this problem by introducing some general saturation function. However, study about whether saturation function was really best and the performance analysis when using the other functions, weren’t being done so much. Therefore, in this paper, several candidate functions for SMC are selected and control performance of candidate functions is analyzed. In the analysis, evaluation function based on the trade-off between slip suppression performance and chattering reduction performance is proposed. The analyses are conducted in several numerical simulations of slip suppression problem of EVs. Then, we can see that there is no difference of employed candidate functions in chattering reduction performance. On the other hand, in slip suppression performance, the saturation function is excellent overall. So, we conclude the saturation function is most suitable for slip suppression sliding mode control.

Keywords: sliding mode control, chattering function, electric vehicle, slip suppression, performance analysis

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Authors: Diriba Dereje

Abstract:

Background: Cardiac and renal disease are the most prevalent chronic non-communicable diseases (CNCD) affecting the community in a significant manner. The best and recommended method in halting CNCD is by working on prevention as early as possible. This is only possible if early surrogate markers are identified. As part of the stated solution, this study will identify an association between microalbuminuria (an early surrogate marker of renal and cardiac disease) and lung function test among adult in the community. Objective: The main aim of this study was to assess an association between microalbuminuria (an early surrogate marker of renal and cardiac disease) and lung function test among adult in the community. Methodology: Community based cross sectional study was conducted among 384 adult in Jimma town. A systematic sampling technique was used in selecting participants to the study. In searching for the possible association, binary and multivariate logistic regression and t-test was conducted. Finally, the association between microalbuminuria and lung function test was well stated in the form of figures and written description. Result and Conclusion: A significant association was found between microalbuminuria and different lung function test parameters.

Keywords: microalbuminuria, lung function, association, test

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Authors: J. Juan Peña, J. Morales, J. García-Ravelo, J. García-Martínez

Abstract:

It is known that by introducing alternative forms of exponential and logarithmic functions, the Tsallis entropy Sᵩ is itself a generalization of Shannon entropy S. In this work, from a deformation through a scaling function applied to the differential operator, it is possible to generate a q-deformed calculus as well as a q-deformed arithmetic, which not only allows generalizing the exponential and logarithmic functions but also any other standard function. The updated q-deformed differential operator leads to an updated integral operator under which the functions are integrated together with a weight function. For each differentiable function, it is possible to identify its q-deformed partner, which is useful to generalize other algebraic relations proper of the original functions. As an application of this proposal, in this work, a generalization of exponential and logarithmic functions is studied in such a way that their relationship with the thermodynamic functions, particularly the entropy, allows us to have a q-deformed expression of these. As a result, from a particular scaling function applied to the differential operator, a q-deformed arithmetic is obtained, leading to the generalization of the Tsallis entropy.

Keywords: q-calculus, q-deformed arithmetic, entropy, exponential functions, thermodynamic functions

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Authors: Shweta Verma

Abstract:

Background: Epilepsy is a chronic non-communicable central nervous system (CNS) disorder which affects a large population of all ages. Different classes of drugs are used for the treatment of this neurological disorder, but due to augmented drug resistance and side effects, these drugs become incompetent. Therefore, we design the synthesis of ten new derivatives of Phenytoin. The moiety of Phenytoin was hybridized with different phenols by using three step approach. The synthesized molecules were then investigated for different physicochemical parameters, such as Log P values using diverse software programs and to predict the potential to cross the blood-brain barrier. Objective: The Phenytoin derivatives were designed, synthesized, and characterized to meet the structural necessities indispensable for antiepileptic activity. Method: Firstly, the chloroacetylation of the 5,5-diphenyl hydantoin was carried out, and then various substituted phenols were added to it. The synthesized compounds were characterized and evaluated for antianxiety activity by elevated plus maze method and antiepileptic activity by using subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ) and maximal electroshock (MES) models and neurotoxicity. Result: The number of derivatives of 5,5-diphenyl hydantoin was developed and optimized. The number of parameters was optimized which reveal that the compound containing chloro group such as C3 and C6 showed imperative potential when compared with the standard drug Diazepam. Other compounds containing nitro and methyl group were also found to possess activity. Conclusion: It was summarized that the new compounds of 5,5-diphenyl hydantoin derivatives were synthesized. The results of the data show that the compound containing chloro group is more potent for CNS activity. The new compounds have the probability of being optimized further to engender new scaffolds to treat various CNS disorders.

Keywords: phenytoin, parameters, CNS activity, blood-brain barrier, Log P, CNS active

Procedia PDF Downloads 72