Search results for: Cheng Fang Wang

Authors: Chia-Hui Chen, Chien-Kuo Wang

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Background: Full field digital mammography (FFDM) is widely used in diagnosis of breast cancer. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has recently been introduced into the clinic and is being used for screening for breast cancer in the general population. Hence, the radiation dose delivered to the patients involved in an imaging protocol is of utmost concern. Aim: To compare the surface radiation dose (ESD) of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and full-field digital mammography (FFDM) by using breast phantoms. Method: We analyzed the average entrance surface dose (ESD) of FFDM and DBT by using breast phantoms. Optically Stimulated luminescent Dosimeters (OSLD) were placed in a tissue-equivalent Breast phantom at difference sites of interest. Absorbed dose measurements were obtained after digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) and full-field digital mammography (FFDM) exposures. Results: An automatic exposure control (AEC) is proposed for surface dose measurement during DBT and FFDM. The mean ESD values for DBT and FFDM were 6.37 mGy and 3.51mGy, respectively. Using of OSLD measured for surface dose during DBT and FFDM. There were 19.87 mGy and 11.36 mGy, respectively. The surface exposure dose of DBT could possibly be increased by two times with FFDM. Conclusion: The radiation dose from DBT was higher than that of FFDM and the difference in dose between AEC and OSLD measurements at phantom surface.

Keywords: full-field digital mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis, optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters, surface dose

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Authors: Longfei Wang, Selçuk Köse

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Hardware Trojan becomes great concern as integrated circuit (IC) technology advances and not all manufacturing steps of an IC are accomplished within one company. Real-time hardware Trojan detection is proven to be a feasible way to detect randomly activated Trojans that cannot be detected at testing stage. On-chip sensors serve as a great candidate to implement real-time hardware Trojan detection, however, the optimization of on-chip sensors has not been thoroughly investigated and the location of Trojan has not been carefully explored. On-chip sensor ellipse distribution method and equivalent mapping technique are proposed based on the characteristics of on-chip power delivery network in this paper to address the optimization and distribution of on-chip sensors for real-time hardware Trojan detection as well as to estimate the location and current consumption of hardware Trojan. Simulation results verify that hardware Trojan activation can be effectively detected and the location of a hardware Trojan can be efficiently estimated with less than 5% error for a realistic power grid using our proposed methods. The proposed techniques therefore lay a solid foundation for isolation and even deactivation of hardware Trojans through accurate location of Trojans.

Keywords: hardware trojan, on-chip sensor, power distribution network, power/ground noise

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Authors: Y. Chiang, J. R. Wang, J. H. Yang, Y. S. Tseng, C. Shih, S. W. Chen

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Kuosheng nuclear power plant (NPP) is a BWR/6 plant in Taiwan. There is more concern for the safety of Spent Fuel Pools (SFPs) in Taiwan after Fukushima event. In order to estimate the safety of Kuosheng NPP SFP, by using MELCOR2.1 and SNAP, the safety analysis of Kuosheng NPP SFP was performed combined with the mitigation strategy of NEI 06-12 report. There were several steps in this research. First, the Kuosheng NPP SFP models were established by MELCOR2.1/SNAP. Second, the Station Blackout (SBO) analysis of Kuosheng SFP was done by TRACE and MELCOR under the cooling system failure condition. The results showed that the calculations of MELCOR and TRACE were very similar in this case. Second, the mitigation strategy analysis was done with the MELCOR model by following the NEI 06-12 report. The results showed the effectiveness of NEI 06-12 strategy in Kuosheng NPP SFP. Finally, a sensitivity study of SFP quenching was done to check the differences of different water injection time and the phenomena during the quenching. The results showed that if the cladding temperature was over 1600 K, the water injection may have chance to cause the accident more severe with more hydrogen generation. It was because of the oxidation heat and the “Breakaway” effect of the zirconium-water reaction. An animation model built by SNAP was also shown in this study.

Keywords: MELCOR, SNAP, spent fuel pool, quenching

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Authors: Kuo-Cheng Liu

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In the perceptual image coding, the objective is to shape the coding distortion such that the amplitude of distortion does not exceed the error visibility threshold, or to remove perceptually redundant signals from the image. While most researches focus on color image coding, the perceptual-based quantizer developed for luminance signals are always directly applied to chrominance signals such that the color image compression methods are inefficient. In this paper, the internal generative mechanism is integrated into the design of a color image compression method. The internal generative mechanism working model based on the structure-based spatial masking is used to assess the subjective distortion visibility thresholds that are visually consistent to human eyes better. The estimation method of structure-based distortion visibility thresholds for color components is further presented in a locally adaptive way to design quantization process in the wavelet color image compression scheme. Since the lowest subband coefficient matrix of images in the wavelet domain preserves the local property of images in the spatial domain, the error visibility threshold inherent in each coefficient of the lowest subband for each color component is estimated by using the proposed spatial error visibility threshold assessment. The threshold inherent in each coefficient of other subbands for each color component is then estimated in a local adaptive fashion based on the distortion energy allocation. By considering that the error visibility thresholds are estimated using predicting and reconstructed signals of the color image, the coding scheme incorporated with locally adaptive perceptual color quantizer does not require side information. Experimental results show that the entropies of three color components obtained by using proposed IGM-based color image compression scheme are lower than that obtained by using the existing color image compression method at perceptually lossless visual quality.

Keywords: internal generative mechanism, structure-based spatial masking, visibility threshold, wavelet domain

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Authors: Hong Li, Tingxian Li, Xudong Wang, Qinghuo Lin

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Excess-iron (Fe) stresses involved in legume symbiotic nitrogen fixation are not understood. Our objectives were to investigate the tolerance of yardlong-bean plants to soil excess-Fe stress and antagonistic effects of organic amendments and rhizobial inoculants on plant root nodulation and stem ureide formation. The study was conducted in the tropical Hainan Island during 2012-2013. The soil was strongly acidic (pH 5.3±0.4) and highly variable in Fe concentrations(596±79 mg/kg). The treatments were arranged in a split-plot design with three blocks. The treatment effects were significant on root nodulation, stem ureide, amino acids, plant N/Fe accumulation and bean yields (P<0.05). The yardlong-bean stem allantoin, amino acids and nitrate concentrations and relative ureide % declined with high soil Fe concentrations (>300 mg/kg). It was concluded that the co-variance of excess Fe stress could inhibit legume symbiotic N fixation efficiency. Organic amendments and rhizobial inoculants could help improve crop tolerance to excess Fe stress.

Keywords: atmospheric N fixation, root nodulation, soil Fe co-variance, stem ureide, yardlong-bean plants

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Authors: Mohammad Muhebbullah Ibne Hoque, Zheng Jun, Wang Guoying

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Salinity stress is one of the most important abiotic factors contributing to crop growth and yield loss. Exploring the genetic basis is necessary to develop maize varieties with salinity tolerance. In order to discover the inherent basis for salinity tolerance traits in maize, 121 polymorphic SSR markers were used to analyze 163 F2 individuals derived from a single cross of inbred line B73 (a salt susceptible inbred line) and CZ-7 (a salt tolerant inbred line). A linkage map was constructed and the map covered 1195.2 cM of maize genome with an average distance of 9.88 cM between marker loci. Ten salt tolerance traits at seedling stage were evaluated for QTL analysis in maize seedlings. A total of 41 QTLs associated with seedling shoot and root traits were detected, with 16 and 25 QTLs under non-salinity and salinity condition, respectively. And only 4 major stable QTLs were detected in two environments. The detected QTLs were distributed on chromosomes 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and chromosome 10. Phenotypic variability for the identified QTLs for all the traits was in the range from 6.27 to 21.97%. Fourteen QTLs with more than 10% contributions were observed. Our results and the markers associated with the major QTL detected in this study have the potential application for genetic improvement of salt tolerance in maize through marker-assisted selection.

Keywords: salt tolerance, seedling stage, root shoot traits, quantitative trait loci, simple sequence repeat, maize

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Authors: Valentina L. Kouznetsova, Jonathan W. Wang, Igor F. Tsigelny

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Metabolomics has become a rising field of research for various diseases, particularly cancer. Increases or decreases in metabolite concentrations in the human body are indicative of various cancers. Further elucidation of metabolic pathways and their significance in cancer research may greatly spur medicinal discovery. We analyzed the metabolomics profiles of lung cancer. Thirty-three metabolites were selected as significant. These metabolites are involved in 37 metabolic pathways delivered by MetaboAnalyst software. The top pathways are glyoxylate and dicarboxylate pathway (its hubs are formic acid and glyoxylic acid) along with Citrate cycle pathway followed by Taurine and hypotaurine pathway (the hubs in the latter are taurine and sulfoacetaldehyde) and Glycine, serine, and threonine pathway (the hubs are glycine and L-serine). We studied interactions of the metabolites with the proteins involved in cancer-related signaling networks, and developed an approach to metabolomics biomarker use in cancer diagnostics. Our analysis showed that a significant part of lung-cancer-related metabolites interacts with main cancer-related signaling pathways present in this network: PI3K–mTOR–AKT pathway, RAS–RAF–ERK1/2 pathway, and NFKB pathway. These results can be employed for use of metabolomics profiles in elucidation of the related cancer proteins signaling networks.

Keywords: cancer, metabolites, metabolic pathway, signaling pathway

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Authors: Michelle W. T. Cheng, Yau Y.

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Hong Kong continues to be ranked as the least affordable housing market in the world, making co-living a feasible alternative in this high-density city. Although the number of co-living residences has increased in Hong Kong, co-living as a housing typology is still a new concept for many. Little research has been conducted on this new housing typology, let alone the co-living experience. To address this gap, this study targeted student residents in university residential halls as it is a more controlled environment (e.g., with established rules and guidelines regarding the use of communal facilitates and housing management) for studying co-living experiences in Hong Kong. To date, no research study has systematically identified anti-social behavior (ASB) in co-living spaces. Since ASB can be influenced by factors such as social norms and individual interpretation, it has an elastic definition that results in different levels of acceptance. Unlike other types of housing, co-living spaces can be potentially more influenced by the neighborhood as residents share more time and space. As a pilot study, this research targeted one university residential hall to examine student co-living experiences. To clarify, the research question is focused on identifying the social factors that impact the residential satisfaction of those who co-living in residential halls. Quantitative data (n=100) were collected via a structured questionnaire to measure the residential environment, including ASB, social neighboring, community attachment, and perceived hall management efficacy. The survey was distributed at the end of the academic year to ensure that respondents had at least one year of first-hand experience living in a co-living space. To gather qualitative data, follow-up focus group interviews were conducted with 16 participants who completed the survey. The semi-structured interviews aimed to elicit the participants' perspectives on their co-living experience. Through analyzing their co-living experiences, the researcher identified factors that affected their residential satisfaction and provided recommendations to enhance their co-living experience.

Keywords: co-living, university residential hall, anti-social behabiour, neighbour relationship, community attachement

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Authors: Mawloud Mosbah, Bachir Boucheham

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We present here the results for a comparative study of some techniques, available in the literature, related to the relevance feedback mechanism in the case of a short-term learning. Only one method among those considered here is belonging to the data mining field which is the K-Nearest Neighbours Algorithm (KNN) while the rest of the methods is related purely to the information retrieval field and they fall under the purview of the following three major axes: Shifting query, Feature Weighting and the optimization of the parameters of similarity metric. As a contribution, and in addition to the comparative purpose, we propose a new version of the KNN algorithm referred to as an incremental KNN which is distinct from the original version in the sense that besides the influence of the seeds, the rate of the actual target image is influenced also by the images already rated. The results presented here have been obtained after experiments conducted on the Wang database for one iteration and utilizing colour moments on the RGB space. This compact descriptor, Colour Moments, is adequate for the efficiency purposes needed in the case of interactive systems. The results obtained allow us to claim that the proposed algorithm proves good results; it even outperforms a wide range of techniques available in the literature.

Keywords: CBIR, category search, relevance feedback, query point movement, standard Rocchio’s formula, adaptive shifting query, feature weighting, original KNN, incremental KNN

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Authors: Pablo Raul Yanyachi, Alfredo Mamani Saico, Jorch Mendoza, Wang Xinsheng

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The Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) plays a pivotal role in the operation of nanosatellites such as Cubesats, managing orientation and stability during space missions. Within the ADCS, Reaction Wheels (RW) are electromechanical devices responsible for adjusting and maintaining satellite orientation through the application of kinetic moments. This study focuses on the characterization and analysis of a specific Reaction Wheel integrated into an ADCS prototype developed at the National University of San Agust´ın, Arequipa (UNSA). To achieve this, a single-axis Test Bench was constructed, where the reaction wheel consists of a brushless motor and an inertia flywheel driven by an Electronic Speed Controller (ESC). The research encompasses RW characterization, energy consumption evaluation, dynamic modeling, and control. The results have allowed us to ensure the maneuverability of ADCS prototypes while maintaining energy consumption within acceptable limits. The characterization and linearity analysis provides valuable insights for sizing and optimizing future reaction wheel prototypes for nanosatellites. This contributes to the ongoing development of aerospace technology within the scientific community at UNSA.

Keywords: test bench, nanosatellite, control, reaction wheel

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Authors: Yilin Wang, Ayumi Goto

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Although most females will experience menopause due to social value habits of cultural factors, some Chinese women may lack the confidence to talk about the problems they are experiencing while going through menopause. Also, sometimes the inappropriateness of medical terminology leads to panic when women face the symptoms associated with menopause. On top of that, when women avoid discussing menopause as a topic, others are less likely to pay attention to the needs of menopausal women as their bodies change. This research will compare the experience of Chinese menopausal women and diasporic Chinese women's perceptions of menopause. A qualitative study will be conducted by collecting and analyzing experiences and perceptions to compare differences in women's perceptions of menopause, considering cultural and social factors. In addition, the study will gather information on the differences in the conceptualization of menopause between the Chinese and Canadian medical fields. Co-design sessions will be held to establish how to bring menopause to the attention of people other than women. Furthermore, a support network for menopause women will be created through these co-design sessions. It is hoped that this research will contribute to a proper understanding of menopause and provide support for Chinese women. This research is built upon feminist standpoint theory and inclusive design theory. The results of this study will be presented in this paper.

Keywords: menopause, feminist standpoint theory, Chinese national & diasporic women, inclusive design

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Authors: Mohamed Abdalla, Ruixue Cheng, Jianyong Zhang

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In pneumatic conveying, the solids are mixed with air or gas. In industries such as coal fired power stations, blast furnaces for iron making, cement and flour processing, the mass flow rate of solids needs to be monitored or controlled. However the current gas-solids two-phase flow measurement techniques are not as accurate as the flow meters available for the single phase flow. One of the problems that the multi-phase flow meters to face is that the flow profiles vary with measurement locations and conditions of pipe routing, bends, elbows and other restriction devices in conveying system as well as conveying velocity and concentration. To measure solids flow rate or concentration with non-even distribution of solids in gas, a uniform spatial sensitivity is required for a multi-phase flow meter. However, there are not many meters inherently have such property. The circular electrostatic meter is a popular choice for gas-solids flow measurement with its high sensitivity to flow, robust construction, low cost for installation and non-intrusive nature. However such meters have the inherent non-uniform spatial sensitivity. This paper first analyses the spatial sensitivity of circular electrostatic meter in general and then by combining the effect of the sensitivity to a single particle and the sensing volume for a given electrode geometry, the paper reveals first time how a circular electrostatic meter responds to a roping flow stream, which is much more complex than what is believed at present. The paper will provide the recent research findings on spatial sensitivity investigation at the University of Tees side based on Finite element analysis using Ansys Fluent software, including time and frequency domain characteristics and the effect of electrode geometry. The simulation results will be compared tothe experimental results obtained on a large scale (14” diameter) rig. The purpose of this research is paving a way to achieve a uniform spatial sensitivity for the circular electrostatic sensor by mean of compensation so as to improve overall accuracy of gas-solids flow measurement.

Keywords: spatial sensitivity, electrostatic sensor, pneumatic conveying, Ansys Fluent software

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Authors: Feng-Tsai Weng, Rick Wang, Yan-Cong Liao

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Passivation is a kind of surface treatment for material to reinforce the corrosion resistance specially the stainless alloy. Passive film, is to getting more potential compared to their status before passivation. An oxidation film can be formed on the surface of stainless steel, which has a strong corrosion resistance ability after passivation treatment. In this research, a new passivation technology is proposed for a special stainless alloy which contains a 12-14% Chromium. This method includes the A-A-A (alkaline-acid-alkaline) process basically, which was developed by Carpenter that can neutralize trapped acid. Besides, a corrosion resistant coating layer was obtained by immersing the parts in a water bath of mineral oil at high temperature. Salt spray test ASTM B368 was conducted to investigated performance of corrosion resistant of the passivated stainless steel alloy parts. Results show much better corrosion resistant that followed a coating process after A-A-A Passivation process, than only using A-A-A process. The passivation time is with more than 380 hours of salt spray test ASTM B368, which is equal to 3000 hours of Salt spray test ASTM B117. Proposed passivation method of stainless steel can be completed in about 3 hours.

Keywords: passivation, alkaline-acid-alkaline, stainless steel, salt spray test

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Authors: Yuhua Wang, Mu Li, Jinggen Liu

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Aim: To investigate the different effects of heroin and milk in activating the corticostriatal system that plays a critical role in reward reinforcement learning. Methods: Male SD rats were trained daily for 15 d to self-administer heroin or milk tablets in a classic runway drug self-administration model. Immunohistochemical assay was used to quantify Arc protein expression in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the nucleus accumbens (NAc), the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) and the ventrolateral striatum (VLS) in response to chronic self-administration of heroin or milk tablets. NMDA receptor antagonist MK801 (0.1 mg/kg) or dopamine D1 receptor antagonist SCH23390 (0.03 mg/kg) were intravenously injected at the same time as heroin was infused intravenously. Results: Runway training with heroin resulted in robust enhancement of Arc expression in the mPFC, the NAc and the DMS on d 1, 7, and 15, and in the VLS on d 1 and d 7. However, runway training with milk led to increased Arc expression in the mPFC, the NAc and the DMS only on d 7 and/or d 15 but not on d 1. Moreover, runway training with milk failed to induce increased Arc protein in the VLS. Both heroin-seeking behavior and Arc protein expression were blocked by MK801 or SCH23390 administration. Conclusion: The VLS is likely to be critically involved in drug-seeking behavior. The NMDA and D1 receptor-dependent Arc expression is important in drug-seeking behavior.

Keywords: arc, mesocorticolimbic system, drug rewarding behavior, NMDA receptor

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Authors: Yan Pang, Xiang Wang, Zhaomiao Liu

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Droplet microfluidics, in which nanoliter to picoliter droplets acted as individual compartments, are common to a diverse array of applications such as analytical chemistry, tissue engineering, microbiology and drug discovery. The droplet generation in a simplified two dimension T-shape microchannel with the main channel width of 50 μm and the side channel width of 25 μm, is simulated to investigate effects of the forced fluctuation of the side wall on the droplet generation and flow. The periodic fluctuations are applied on a length of the side wall in the main channel of the T-junction with the deformation shape of the double-clamped beam acted by the uniform force, which varies with the flow time and fluctuation periods, forms and positions. The fluctuations under most of the conditions expand the distribution range of the droplet size but have a little effect on the average size, while the shape of the fixed side wall changes the average droplet size chiefly. Droplet sizes show a periodic pattern along the relative time when the fluctuation is forced on the side wall near the T-junction. The droplet emerging frequency is not varied by the fluctuation of the side wall under the same flow rate and geometry conditions. When the fluctuation period is similar with the droplet emerging period, the droplet size shows a nice stability as the no fluctuation case.

Keywords: droplet generation, droplet size, flow flied, forced fluctuation

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Authors: Jian-You Wang, Feng Yi Hsu, Chieh-Hsi Wu

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Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is an androgen-dependent disorder caused by excess testosterone in blood capillaries or excess enzyme activity of 5α- reductase in hair follicles. Plants, alone or in combination, have been widely used for hair growth promotion since ancient times in Asia. In this study, the efficacy of a traditional Chinese herbal formula, Shen-Ying-Yang-Zhen-Dan (SYYZD) with different kinds of extract solvents, facilitating hair regrowth in testosterone-induced hair loss have been determined. The study was performed by treating with either 95 % ethanol aqueous extracts, 50% ethanol aqueous extracts or deionized water extracts orally in four-week-old male S.D. rats that experienced hair regrowth interruption induced by testosterone treatment. The 50% ethanol aqueous extracts group showed better hair regrowth promotion activities than either 95% ethanol aqueous extracts or deionized water extracts groups in 14 days treatment. In conclusion, our results suggest that 50% ethanol aqueous SYYZD extracts have hair growth promoting potential and may be beneficial as an alternative medicine for androgenetic alopecia treatment.

Keywords: Shen-Ying-Yang-Zhen-Dan, androgenic alopecia, hair loss, hair growth promotion, hair regrowth effect

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Authors: Chengwei Wang, Shuqing Xu, Philipp M. Schlüter

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The genus Ophrys is remarkable for its mimicry, flower-lip closely resembling pollinator females in a species-specific manner. Therefore, floral traits associated with pollinator attraction, especially scent, are suitable models for investigating the molecular basis of adaption, speciation, and evolution. Within the two Ophrys species groups: O. sphegodes (S) and O. fusca (F), pollinator shifts among the same insect species have taken place. Preliminary data suggest that they involve a comparable hydrocarbon profile in their scent, which is mainly composed of alkanes and alkenes. Genes encoding stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturases (SAD) involved in alkene biosynthesis have been identified in the S group. This study aims to investigate the control and parallel evolution of ecologically significant alkene production in Ophrys. Owing to the central role those SAD genes play in determining positioning of the alkene double-bonds, a detailed understanding of their functional mechanism and of regulatory aspects is of utmost importance. We have identified 5 transcription factors potentially related to SAD expression in O. sphegodes which belong to the MYB, GTE, WRKY, and MADS families. Ultimately, our results will contribute to understanding genes important in the regulatory control of floral scent synthesis.

Keywords: floral traits, transcription factors, biosynthesis, parallel evolution

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Authors: Bin Wang, Yong Xu, Honggang Qu, Rongmei Liu, Zhenji Gao

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Based on the geodynamic environment, basic geological characteristics of minerals and so on, gold deposits in China are divided into 11 categories, of which tectonic fracture altered rock, mid-intrudes and contact zone, micro-fine disseminated and continental volcanic types are the main prospecting kinds. The metallogenic age of gold deposits in China is dominated by the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. According to the geotectonic units, geological evolution, geological conditions, spatial distribution, gold deposits types, metallogenic factors etc., 42 gold concentration areas are initially determined and have a concentrated distribution feature. On the basis of the gold exploration density, gold concentration areas are divided into high, medium and low level areas. High ones are mainly distributed in the central and eastern regions. 93.04% of the gold exploration drillings are within 500 meters, but there are some problems, such as less and shallower of drilling verification etc.. The paper discusses the resource potentials of gold deposits and proposes the future prospecting directions and suggestions. The deep and periphery of old mines in the central and eastern regions and western area, especially in Xinjiang and Qinghai, will be the future key prospecting one and have huge potential gold reserves. If the exploration depth is extended to 2,000 meters shallow, the gold resources will double.

Keywords: gold deposits, gold deposits types, gold concentration areas, prospecting, resource potentiality

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Authors: Wei Zhang, Yan He, Yan Wang, Yufeng Li, Chuanpeng Hao

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Surface roughness is an important index for evaluating surface quality, needs to be accurately measured to ensure the performance of the workpiece. The roughness measurement based on machine vision involves various image features, some of which are redundant. These redundant features affect the accuracy and speed of the visual approach. Previous research used correlation analysis methods to select the appropriate features. However, this feature analysis is independent and cannot fully utilize the information of data. Besides, blindly reducing features lose a lot of useful information, resulting in unreliable results. Therefore, the focus of this paper is on providing a redundant feature removal approach for visual roughness measurement. In this paper, the statistical methods and gray-level co-occurrence matrix(GLCM) are employed to extract the texture features of machined images effectively. Then, the principal component analysis(PCA) is used to fuse all extracted features into a new one, which reduces the feature dimension and maintains the integrity of the original information. Finally, the relationship between new features and roughness is established by the support vector machine(SVM). The experimental results show that the approach can effectively solve multi-feature information redundancy of machined surface images and provides a new idea for the visual evaluation of surface roughness.

Keywords: feature analysis, machine vision, PCA, surface roughness, SVM

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Authors: Nursyafiq Ali Shibramulisi, Nor Farah Fauzi, Nur Azniza Zawin Anuar, Nurul Atikah Azmi, Janice Hew Pei Fang

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Background: Work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMD) among dental personnel have been underestimated and under-reported worldwide and specifically in Malaysia. The problem will arise and progress slowly over time, as it results from accumulated injury throughout the period of work. Several risk factors, such as repetitive movement, static posture, vibration, and adapting poor working postures, have been identified to be contributing to WRMSD in dental practices. Dental personnel is at higher risk of getting this problem as it is their working nature and core business. This would cause pain and dysfunction syndrome among them and result in absence from work and substandard services to their patients. Methodology: A cross-sectional study involving 19 government dental clinics in Perak was done over the period of 3 months. Those who met the criteria were selected to participate in this study. Malay version of the Self-Reported Nordic Musculoskeletal Discomfort Form was used to identify the prevalence of WRMSD, while the intensity of pain in the respective regions was evaluated using a 10-point scale according to ‘Pain as The 5ᵗʰ Vital Sign’ by MOH Malaysia and later on were analyzed using SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics, including mean and SD and median and IQR, were used for numerical data. Categorical data were described by percentage. Pearson’s Chi-Square Test and Spearman’s Correlation were used to find the association between the prevalence of WRMSD and other socio-demographic data. Results: 159 dentists, 73 dental therapists, 26 dental lab technicians, 81 dental surgery assistants, and 23 dental attendants participated in this study. The mean age for the participants was 34.9±7.4 and their mean years of service was 9.97±7.5. Most of them were female (78.5%), Malay (71.3%), married (69.6%) and right-handed (90.1%). The highest prevalence of WRMSD was neck (58.0%), followed by shoulder (48.1%), upper back (42.0%), lower back (40.6%), hand/wrist (31.5%), feet (21.3%), knee (12.2%), thigh 7.7%) and lastly elbow (6.9%). Most of those who reported having neck pain scaled their pain experiences at 2 out of 10 (19.5%), while for those who suffered upper back discomfort, most of them scaled their pain experience at 6 out of 10 (17.8%). It was found that there was a significant relationship between age and pain at neck (p=0.007), elbow (p=0.027), lower back (p=0.032), thigh (p=0.039), knee (p=0.001) and feet (p=0.000) regions. Job position also had been found to be having a significant relationship with pain experienced at the lower back (p=0.018), thigh (p=0.011), knee, and feet (p=0.000). Conclusion: The prevalence of WRMSD among dental personnel in Perak was found to be high. Age and job position were found to be having a significant relationship with pain experienced in several regions. Intervention programs should be planned and conducted to prevent and reduce the occurrence of WRMSD, as all harmful or unergonomic practices should be avoided at all costs.

Keywords: WRMSD, ergonomic, dentistry, dental

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Authors: Shiau-Fang Chao, Yu-Chih Chen

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Owing to physical limitations and restrained lifestyle, older long-term care (LTC) residents are more likely to be affected by their environment than their community-dwelling counterparts. They also participate fewer activities and experience worse mental health than healthy older adults. This study adopts the ICF model to determine the extent to which the clustered patterns of LTC environment and activity participation are associated with older residents’ mental health. Method: Data were collected from a stratified equal probability sample of 634 older residents in 155 LTC institutions in Taiwan. Latent profile analysis (LPA) and latent class analysis (LCA) were conducted to explore the profiles for environment and activity participation. Multilevel modeling was performed to elucidate the relationships among environment profiles, activity profiles, and mental health. Results: LPA identified three mutually exclusive environment profiles (Low-, Moderate-, and High-Support Environment) based on the physical, social, and attitudinal environmental domains, consolidated from 12 environmental measures. LCA constructed two distinct activity profiles (Low- and High-Activity Participation) across seven activity domains (outdoor, volunteer-led leisure, spiritual, household chores, interpersonal exchange, social, and sedentary activity) that were factored from 20 activities. Compared to the Low-Support Environment class, older adults in the Moderate- and High-Support Environment classes had better mental health. Older residents in the Moderate- and High-Support Environment classes were more likely to be in the “High Activity” class, which in turn, exhibited better mental health. Conclusion: This study advances the current knowledge through rigorous methods and study design. The study findings lead to several conclusions. First, this study supports the use of ICF framework to institutionalized older individuals with functional limitations and demonstrates that both measures of environment and activity participation can be refined from multiple indicators. Second, environmental measures that encompass the physical, social, and attitudinal domains would provide a more comprehensive assessment on the place where an older individual embeds. Third, simply counting activities in which an older individual participates or considering a certain type of activity may not capture his or her way of life. Practitioners should not only focus on group or leisure activities within the institutions; rather, more efforts should be made to consider residents’ preferences for everyday life and support their remaining ability by encouraging continuous participation in activities they still willing and capable to perform. Fourth, environment and activity participation are modifiable factors which have greater potential to strengthen older LTC residents’ mental health, and activity participation should be considered in the link between environment and mental health. A combination of enhanced physical, social, and attitudinal environments, and continual engagement in various activities may optimize older LTC residents’ mental health.

Keywords: activity, environment, mental health, older LTC residents

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Authors: Shuang Qiu, Zhipeng Chen, Lingfeng Wang, Shijian Ge

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Biowastes are a concern due to the large amounts of commercial food required for model animals during the biomedical research. Searching for sustainable food alternatives with negligible physiological effects on animals is critical to solving or reducing this challenge. Microalgae have been demonstrated as suitable for both human consumption and animal feed in addition to biofuel and bioenergy applications. In this study, the possibility of using Chlorella vulgaris and Senedesmus obliquus as a feed replacement to Drosophila melanogaster, one of the fly models commonly used in biomedical studies, was investigated to assess the fly locomotor activity, motor pattern, lifespan, and body weight. Compared to control, flies fed on 60% or 80% (w/w) microalgae exhibited varied walking performance including travel distance and apparent step size, and flies treated with 40% microalgae had shorter lifespans and decreased body weight. However, the 20% microalgae treatment showed no statistical differences in all parameters tested with respect to the control. When partially including 20% microalgae in the standard food, it can annually reduce the food waste (~ 202 kg) by 22.7 % and save $ 7,200 of the food cost, offering an environmentally superior and cost-effective food alternative without compromising physiological performance.

Keywords: animal feed, Chlorella vulgaris, Drosophila melanogaster, food waste, microalgae

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Authors: Andy S.K. Cheng, Samuel Leung, Cindy Kwok, Hector Tsang

Abstract:

Background: Telephone counselling is one of the essential interventions that can be found in most of the Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). The purposes of this study were to (1) explore the trend of the telephone counselling from 2003-2016 in Hong Kong; (2) explore which EAP issue requires more follow-up; and 3) examine the relationship between the EAP issues and demographic data such as gender and job ranking. Method: Date of EAP services usage was collected from EAP providers in Hong Kong during 2003-2016. EAP issues were categorized into two domains, namely workplace issues and personal issues. Each domain has 12 sub-categories. Two hypotheses were formulated in this study (1) there was a gender difference in EAP issues and the follow-up hours; and (2) there was a significant difference between job ranking, EAP issues and follow-up hours. Results: A total of eight hundred and ninety-three valid cases were identified for analysis. Of them, three hundred and forty-three cases sought for follow-up. The duration of follow-up by hours was calculated for each of the follow-up cases. The results of the study shows that the top three workplace issues that required the longest duration of follow-up were (1) workload, (2) supervisor-subordinate relationship; and (3) team member’s relationship. On the other hand, the top three personal issues that required the longest duration of follow-up were (1) parenting/parent-child relationship, (2) family care, and (3) marital relationship. Two-way ANOVA was performed to compare the total follow-up hours (excluding first intake) between gender and EAP issues. There was no statistical significance for gender (p =.891), but a statistically significant main effect for EAP issues (p <.001) was found. Post-hoc analysis (Tukey’s test) showed that total follow-up hour in personal issues was statistically significant higher than that in handling workplace issues (p <.001). However, there was no statistically significant interaction effect between gender and EAP issues (p=.879) and between job ranking and EAP issues (p=.843). Conclusion: Telephone counselling is a very common intervention in addressing EAP issues arising from workplace and personal level in Hong Kong. It was frequently used to handle interpersonal relationships and the service usage was independent of gender and job ranking.

Keywords: employee assistance program, follow-up time, interpersonal relationships, telephone counselling

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Authors: Byung Wook Yang, Jong Dae Park, Wang Soo Shin, Ji-Hyeon Song, Seo-Yun Choi, Boo-Yong Lee, Young Tae Hahm

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Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is frequently taken orally as a traditional herbal medicine with ginsenosides as the main pharmacological component in Asian countries, and its use is increasing worldwide. Recently, the increase in global temperature has been reported to cause various kinds of biological disorders induced by heat stress in human. The standardized black ginseng extract (SBGE; KGR-BG1) was developed in our biological screening experiment on the thermo-regulation, whose chemical characteristics were evaluated as ginsenoside Rg1, Rb1, Rg3(S), as well as Re, Rf, Rg2(S), Rh1(S), Rh2(S), and Rg5+Rk1. Heat stress responses such as body weight, food intake, water consumption have been measured when treated with Standardized Black Ginseng Extract (SBGE) in the animal experiment and also, biomarkers. SBGE treated group has been found to inhibit a decrease in body weight, a decrease in food intake and an increase in the water consumption when compared with non-treated group against environmental heat stress. These results suggest that SBGE might have a protective effect against environmental heat stress. And also, the several factors of stress response on the immune system need to be done for further studies and its evaluation is in progress.

Keywords: ginseng, ginsenoside, standardization, heat stress, immunomodulatory effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 293

Authors: Gaoyuan Wang, Tian Chen

Abstract:

China’s emission peak and carbon neutrality strategies lead to the transformation of development patterns and call for new green urban design thinking. This paper begins by revealing the evolution of green urban design thinking during the periods of carbon enlightenment, carbon dependency, and carbon decoupling from the perspective of the energy transition. Combined with the current energy situation, national strengths, and technological trends, the emergence of green urban design towards carbon neutrality becomes inevitable. Based on the preliminary analysis of its connotation, the characteristics of the new type of green urban design are generalized as low-carbon orientation, carbon-related objects, carbon-reduction means, and carbon-control patterns. Its theory is briefly clarified in terms of the human-earth synergism, quality-energy interconnection, and form-flow interpromotion. Then, its mechanism is analyzed combined with the core tasks of carbon neutrality, and the scope of design issues is defined, including carbon flow mapping, carbon source regulation, carbon sink construction, and carbon emission management. Finally, a multi-scale spatial response system is proposed across the region, city, cluster, and neighborhood level. The discussion aims to provide support for the innovation of green urban design theories and methods in the context of peak neutrality.

Keywords: carbon neutrality, green urban design, energy transition, theoretical exploration

Procedia PDF Downloads 169

Authors: Chong Wang, Kellem M. Soares, Luis E. Kosteski

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The problem of toughening in brittle materials reinforced by fibers is complex, involving all the mechanical properties of fibers, matrix, the fiber/matrix interface, as well as the geometry of the fiber. An appropriate method applicable to the simulation and analysis of toughening is essential. In this work, we performed simulations and analysis of toughening in brittle matrix reinforced by randomly distributed fibers by means of the discrete elements method. At first, we put forward a mechanical model of the contribution of random fibers to the toughening of composite. Then with numerical programming, we investigated the stress, damage and bridging force in the composite material when a crack appeared in the brittle matrix. From the results obtained, we conclude that: (i) fibers with high strength and low elasticity modulus benefit toughening; (ii) fibers with relatively high elastic modulus compared to the matrix may result in considerable matrix damage (spalling effect); (iii) employment of high-strength synthetic fiber is a good option. The present work makes it possible to optimize the parameters in order to produce advanced ceramic with desired performance. We believe combination of the discrete element method (DEM) with the finite element method (FEM) can increase the versatility and efficiency of the software developed.

Keywords: bridging stress, discrete element method, fiber reinforced composites, toughening

Procedia PDF Downloads 440

Authors: Mao Huasong, Tang Siqi, Cheng Yu

Abstract:

The cognition and practice of Chinese landscapes have distinct uniqueness. The intergenerational inheritance of urban and rural landscapes is a common objective fact which has created a unique type of heritage in China - scenic heritage. The current generalization of the concept of scenic heritage has affected the lack of innovation in corresponding protection practices. Therefore, clarifying the concepts and connotations of scenery and scenic heritage, clarifying the protection objects of scenic heritage and the methods and approaches in intergenerational inheritance can provide theoretical support for the practice of Chinese scenic heritage and contribute Chinese wisdom to the transformation of world heritage sites. Taking ancient Shaoxing, which has a long time span and rich descriptions of scenic types and quantities, as the research object and using local chronicles as the basic research material, based on text analysis, word frequency analysis, case statistics, and historical, geographical spatial annotation methods, this study traces back to ancient scenic practices and conducts in-depth descriptions in both text and space. it have constructed a scenic heritage identification method based on the basic connotation characteristics and morphological representation characteristics of natural and cultural correlations, combined with the intergenerational and representative characteristics of scenic heritage; Summarized the bidirectional integration of "scenic spots" and "form scenic spots", "outstanding people" and "local spirits" in the formation process of scenic heritage; In inheritance, guided by Confucian values of education; In communication, the cultural interpretation constructed by scenery and the way of landscape life are used to strengthen the intergenerational inheritance of natural, artificial material elements, and intangible spirits. As a unique type of heritage in China, scenic heritage should improve its standards, values, and connotations in current protection practices and actively absorb historical experience.

Keywords: scenic heritage, heritage protection, cultural landscape, shaoxing, chinese landscape

Procedia PDF Downloads 62

Authors: W. J. Zhang, Y. Q. Du, M. L. Wang

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Noninvasive diagnostics of diseases via breath analysis has attracted considerable scientific and clinical interest for many years and become more and more promising with the rapid advancement in nanotechnology and biotechnology. The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath, which are mainly blood borne, particularly provide highly valuable information about individuals’ physiological and pathophysiological conditions. Additionally, breath analysis is noninvasive, real-time, painless and agreeable to patients. We have developed a wireless sensor array based on single-stranded DNA (ssDNA)-decorated single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) for the detection of a number of physiological indicators in breath. Eight DNA sequences were used to functionalize SWNT sensors to detect trace amount of methanol, benzene, dimethyl sulfide, hydrogen sulfide, acetone and ethanol, which are indicators of heavy smoking, excessive drinking, and diseases such as lung cancer, breast cancer, cirrhosis and diabetes. Our tests indicated that DNA functionalized SWNT sensors exhibit great selectivity, sensitivity, reproducibility, and repeatability. Furthermore, different molecules can be distinguished through pattern recognition enabled by this sensor array. Thus, the DNA-SWNT sensor array has great potential to be applied in chemical or bimolecular detection for the noninvasive diagnostics of diseases and health monitoring.

Keywords: breath analysis, diagnosis, DNA-SWNT sensor array, noninvasive

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Kaili Wang, Botao Zhang, Enming Zhang

Abstract:

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common problem affecting athletes' training and competition. Although the association between a limited hip range of motion and prevalence of low back pain has been studied extensively, it has not been studied in table tennis. Aim: The main purposes of this study in table tennis players were (1) to investigate if there is a difference in hip internal rotation (HIR) and external rotation (HER) range of motion (ROM) between players with LBP and players without LBP and (2) to analyze the association between HIR and HER ROM and LBP. Methods: Forty-six table tennis players from the Chinese table tennis team were evaluated for passive maximum HIR and HER ROM. LBP was retrospectively recorded for the last 12 months before the date of ROM assessment by a physical therapist. The data were analyzed the difference in HIR and HER ROM between players with LBP and players without LBP by Mann-Whitney U test, and the association between the difference in HIR and HER ROM and LBP was analyzed via a binary logistic regression. Results: The 54% of players had developed LBP during the retrospective study period. Significant difference between LBP group and the asymptomatic group for HIR ROM (z=4.007, p<0.001) was observed. Difference between LBP group and asymptomatic group for HER ROM (z=1.117, p=0.264) was not significant. Players who had HIR ROM deficit had an increased risk of LBP compared with players without HIR ROM deficit (OR=5.344, 95%CI: 1.006-28.395, P=0.049). Conclusion: HIR ROM of a table tennis player with LBP was less than a table tennis player without LBP. Compared with player whose HIR ROM was normal, player who had HIR ROM deficit appeared to have a higher risk for LBP.

Keywords: assessment, injury prevention, low back pain, table tennis players

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Robin Lok-Wang Ma

Abstract:

The Center/Unit for Industry Engagement and Collaboration, as well as Internship, play a significant role at university. In general, the Center serves as the official interface between the industry and the School or Department to cultivate students’ early exposure to professional experience. The missions of the Center are not limited to provide a communication channel and collaborative platform for the industries and the university but also to assist students to build up their career paths early while still in the university. In recent years, a cooperative education experience (commonly known as a co-op) has been strongly advocated for students to make the school-to-work transition. The nature of the co-op program is not only consistent with the internships/final year design projects, but it is also more industrial-oriented with academic support from faculty at the university. The purpose of this paper is to describe an approach to how cooperative education experience can be integrated into Engineering Curriculum. It provides a mutual understanding and exchange of ideas for the approach between the university and the industry. A suggested format in terms of timeline, duration, selection of candidates, students, and companies’ expectations for the co-op program is described. Also, feedbacks from employers/industries show that a longer-term co-op program is well suited for students compared with a short-term internship. To this end, it provides a new insight into collaboration and/or partnership between the university and the industries to prepare professional work-ready graduates.

Keywords: cooperative education, industry, engagement, collaboration

Procedia PDF Downloads 92