Search results for: open fractures

Authors: Eglal Y. Ali, Smita Rao, Anat Lubetzky, Wen Ling

Abstract:

Background: Postural abnormalities, rigidity, clumsiness, and frequent falls are common among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The central nervous system’s ability to process all reliable sensory inputs (weighting) and disregard potentially perturbing sensory input (reweighting) is critical for successfully maintaining standing postural control. This study examined how sensory inputs (visual and somatosensory) are weighted and reweighted to maintain standing postural control in children with ASD compared with typically developing (TD) children. Subjects: Forty (20 (TD) and 20 ASD) children and adolescents participated in this study. The groups were matched for age, weight, and height. Participants had normal somatosensory (no somatosensory hypersensitivity), visual, and vestibular perception. Participants with ASD were categorized with severity level 1 according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) and Social Responsiveness Scale. Methods: Using one force platform, the center of pressure (COP) was measured during quiet standing for 30 seconds, 3 times first standing on stable surface with eyes open (Condition 1), followed by randomization of the following 3 conditions: Condition 2 standing on stable surface with eyes closed, (visual input perturbed); Condition 3 standing on compliant foam surface with eyes open, (somatosensory input perturbed); and Condition 4 standing on compliant foam surface with eyes closed, (both visual and somatosensory inputs perturbed). Standing postural control was measured by three outcome measures: COP sway area, COP anterior-posterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) path length (PL). A repeated measure mixed model Analysis of Variance was conducted to determine whether there was a significant difference between the two groups in the mean of the three outcome measures across the four conditions. Results: According to all three outcome measures, both groups showed a gradual increase in postural sway from condition 1 to condition 4. However, TD participants showed a larger postural sway than those with ASD. There was a significant main effect of condition on three outcome measures (p< 0.05). Only the COP AP PL showed a significant main effect of the group (p<0.05) and a significant group by condition interaction (p<0.05). In COP AP PL, TD participants showed a significant difference between condition 2 and the baseline (p<0.05), whereas the ASD group did not. This suggests that the ASD group did not weight visual input as much as the TD group. A significant difference between conditions for the ASD group was seen only when participants stood on foam regardless of the visual condition, suggesting that the ASD group relied more on the somatosensory inputs to maintain the standing postural control. Furthermore, the ASD group exhibited significantly smaller postural sway compared with TD participants during standing on the stable surface, whereas the postural sway of the ASD group was close to that of the TD group on foam. Conclusion: These results suggest that participants with high functioning ASD (level 1, no somatosensory hypersensitivity in ankles and feet) over-rely on somatosensory inputs and use a stiffening strategy for standing postural control. This deviation in the reweighting mechanism might explain the postural abnormalities mentioned above among children with ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, postural sway, sensory weighting and reweighting, standing postural control

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Authors: Eglal Y. Ali, Smita Rao, Anat Lubetzky, Wen Ling

Abstract:

Background: Postural abnormalities, rigidity, clumsiness, and frequent falls are common among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The central nervous system’s ability to process all reliable sensory inputs (weighting) and disregard potentially perturbing sensory input (reweighting) is critical for successfully maintaining standing postural control. This study examined how sensory inputs (visual and somatosensory) are weighted and reweighted to maintain standing postural control in children with ASD compared with typically developing (TD) children. Subjects: Forty (20 (TD) and 20 ASD) children and adolescents participated in this study. The groups were matched for age, weight, and height. Participants had normal somatosensory (no somatosensory hypersensitivity), visual, and vestibular perception. Participants with ASD were categorized with severity level 1 according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) and Social Responsiveness Scale. Methods: Using one force platform, the center of pressure (COP) was measured during quiet standing for 30 seconds, 3 times first standing on stable surface with eyes open (Condition 1), followed by randomization of the following 3 conditions: Condition 2 standing on stable surface with eyes closed, (visual input perturbed); Condition 3 standing on a compliant foam surface with eyes open, (somatosensory input perturbed); and Condition 4 standing on a compliant foam surface with eyes closed, (both visual and somatosensory inputs perturbed). Standing postural control was measured by three outcome measures: COP sway area, COP anterior-posterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) path length (PL). A repeated measure mixed model analysis of variance was conducted to determine whether there was a significant difference between the two groups in the mean of the three outcome measures across the four conditions. Results: According to all three outcome measures, both groups showed a gradual increase in postural sway from condition 1 to condition 4. However, TD participants showed a larger postural sway than those with ASD. There was a significant main effect of the condition on three outcome measures (p< 0.05). Only the COP AP PL showed a significant main effect of the group (p<0.05) and a significant group by condition interaction (p<0.05). In COP AP PL, TD participants showed a significant difference between condition 2 and the baseline (p<0.05), whereas the ASD group did not. This suggests that the ASD group did not weigh visual input as much as the TD group. A significant difference between conditions for the ASD group was seen only when participants stood on foam regardless of the visual condition, suggesting that the ASD group relied more on the somatosensory inputs to maintain the standing postural control. Furthermore, the ASD group exhibited significantly smaller postural sway compared with TD participants during standing on a stable surface, whereas the postural sway of the ASD group was close to that of the TD group on foam. Conclusion: These results suggest that participants with high-functioning ASD (level 1, no somatosensory hypersensitivity in ankles and feet) over-rely on somatosensory inputs and use a stiffening strategy for standing postural control. This deviation in the reweighting mechanism might explain the postural abnormalities mentioned above among children with ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, postural sway, sensory weighting and reweighting, standing postural control

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Authors: Bernard Kumi-Boateng, Kofi Bonsu

Abstract:

The clearing of vegetation in the Tarkwa Mining Area (TMA) for the purposes of mining, lumbering and development of settlement for the increasing population has caused a large scale denudation of the forest cover and erosion of the top soil thereby degrading the agriculture land. It is, therefore, essential to know the current status of land degradation in TMA so as to facilitate land conservation policy-making. The types of degradation, the extents of the degradations and their various degrees were combined to develop a composite land degradation index to assess the current status of land degradation in TMA using GIS based techniques. The assessment revealed that the most significant types of degradation in TMA were open pit and quarry mining; urbanisation and other construction projects; and surface scraping during land clearing. It was found that 21.62 % of the total area of TMA (353.07 km2) had high degradation index rating. It is recommended that decision makers use this assessment as a reference point for future initiatives that will be taken in order to develop land conservation policy.

Keywords: degradation, GIS, land, mining

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Authors: Hashem Sazegar

Abstract:

In 1937, Vinograd of Russian Mathematician proved that each odd large number can be shown by three primes. In 1973, Chen Jingrun proved that each odd number can be shown by one prime plus a number that has maximum two primes. In this article, we state one proof for Goldbach’conjecture. Introduction: Bertrand’s postulate state for every positive integer n, there is always at least one prime p, such that n < p < 2n. This was first proved by Chebyshev in 1850, which is why postulate is also called the Bertrand-Chebyshev theorem. Legendre’s conjecture states that there is a prime between n2 and (n+1)2 for every positive integer n, which is one of the four Landau’s problems. The rest of these four basic problems are; (i) Twin prime conjecture: There are infinitely many primes p such that p+2 is a prime. (ii) Goldbach’s conjecture: Every even integer n > 2 can be written asthe sum of two primes. (iii) Are there infinitely many primes p such that p−1 is a perfect square? Problems (i), (ii), and (iii) are open till date.

Keywords: Bertrand-Chebyshev theorem, Landau’s problems, twin prime, Legendre’s conjecture, Oppermann’s conjecture

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Authors: Chang Lee Shu-Jung, Mei-Se Chien, Chien-Chiang Lee, Hui-Ting Hu

Abstract:

This paper applies recursive cointegration analysis to examine the dynamic changes in Feldstein-Horioka saving-investment (S-I) coefficients across China and the ASEAN-5 countries over time. To the extent that the S-I coefficients measure international capital mobility, the main empirical results are as follows. The recursive trace statistics show that the investment- savings nexus varies in these six countries. There is no cointegration between investment and savings in three countries (China, Malaysia, and Singapore), which means that the mobility of the capital markets in the three is high and that domestic investment in them will be financed by the global pool of capital. As to the other three countries (Indonesia, Thailand, and Philippines), there is cointegration between investment and savings for part of the sample period in the three, including before 2002 for Thailand, before 2001 for Indonesia, and before 2002 for Philippines. This shows these three countries achieved highly mobile and open capital markets later.

Keywords: investment, savings, recursive cointegration test, ASEAN, China

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Authors: P. Mormile, M. Rippa, G. Bonanomi, F. Scala, Changrong Yan, L. Petti

Abstract:

Photo-reflective films represent, in the panorama of agricultural films, a valid support for Spring and Summer cultivations, both in open field and under greenhouse. In fact, thanks to the high reflectivity of these films, thermal aggression, that causes serious problems to plants when traditional black mulch films are used, is avoided. Yellow or silver colored photo-reflective films protect plants from damages, assure the mulching effect, give a valid support to Integrated Pest Management and, according to recent trials, greatly contribute in saving water. This further advantage is determined by the high water condensation under the mulch film and this gives rise to reduction of irrigation. Water saving means also energy saving for electric system of water circulation. Trials performed at different geographic and ambient context confirm that the use of photo-reflective mulch films during the hot season allows to save water up to 30%.

Keywords: photo-selective mulches, saving water, water circulation, irrigation

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Authors: Manuel Jose Oyson

Abstract:

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in its most recent report for the entire world “to both mitigate and adapt to climate change if it is to effectively avoid harmful climate impacts.” The IPCC observed “with high confidence” a more rapid rise in total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) emissions from 2000 to 2010 than in the past three decades that “were the highest in human history”, which if left unchecked will entail a continuing process of global warming and can alter the climate system. Current efforts, however, to respond to the threat of global warming, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, have focused on states, and fail to involve Transnational Corporations (TNCs) which are responsible for a vast amount of GHG emissions. Involving TNCs in the search for solutions to climate change is consistent with an acknowledgment by contemporary international law that there is an international role for other international persons, including TNCs, and departs from the traditional “state-centric” response to climate change. Putting the focus of GHG emissions away from states recognises that the activities of TNCs “are not bound by national borders” and that the international movement of goods meets the needs of consumers worldwide. Although there is no legally-binding instrument that covers TNC activities or legal responsibilities generally, TNCs have increasingly been made legally responsible under international law for violations of human rights, exploitation of workers and environmental damage, but not for climate change damage. Imposing on TNCs a legally-binding obligation to reduce their GHG emissions or a legal liability for climate change damage is arguably formidable and unlikely in the absence a recognisable source of obligation in international law or municipal law. Instead a recourse to “soft law” and non-legally binding instruments may be a way forward for TNCs to reduce their GHG emissions and help in addressing climate change. Positive effects have been noted by various studies to voluntary approaches. TNCs have also in recent decades voluntarily committed to “soft law” international agreements. This development reflects a growing recognition among corporations in general and TNCs in particular of their corporate social responsibility (CSR). While CSR used to be the domain of “small, offbeat companies”, it has now become part of mainstream organization. The paper argues that TNCs must voluntarily commit to reducing their GHG emissions and helping address climate change as part of their CSR. One, as a serious “global commons problem”, climate change requires international cooperation from multiple actors, including TNCs. Two, TNCs are not innocent bystanders but are responsible for a large part of GHG emissions across their vast global operations. Three, TNCs have the capability to help solve the problem of climate change. Assuming arguendo that TNCs did not strongly contribute to the problem of climate change, society would have valid expectations for them to use their capabilities, knowledge-base and advanced technologies to help address the problem. It would seem unthinkable for TNCs to do nothing while the global environment fractures.

Keywords: climate change law, corporate social responsibility, greenhouse gas emissions, transnational corporations

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Authors: Kimberly M. Cacciato, Steven J. Singer, Allison R. Shapiro, Julianna F. Kamenakis

Abstract:

This study examines the dynamics of communication among researchers and participants who have various levels of hearing, use multiple languages, have various disabilities, and who come from different social strata. This qualitative methodological study focuses on the strategies employed in an ethnographic research study examining the communication choices of six sets of parents who have Deaf-Disabled children. The participating families varied in their communication strategies and preferences including the use of American Sign Language (ASL), visual-gestural communication, multiple spoken languages, and pidgin forms of each of these. The research team consisted of two undergraduate students proficient in ASL and a Deaf principal investigator (PI) who uses ASL and speech as his main modes of communication. A third Hard-of-Hearing undergraduate student fluent in ASL served as an objective facilitator of the data analysis. The team created reflexive journals by audio recording, free writing, and responding to team-generated prompts. They discussed interactions between the members of the research team, their evolving relationships, and various social and linguistic power differentials. The researchers reflected on communication during data collection, their experiences with one another, and their experiences with the participating families. Reflexive journals totaled over 150 pages. The outside research assistant reviewed the journals and developed follow up open-ended questions and prods to further enrich the data. The PI and outside research assistant used NVivo qualitative research software to conduct open inductive coding of the data. They chunked the data individually into broad categories through multiple readings and recognized recurring concepts. They compared their categories, discussed them, and decided which they would develop. The researchers continued to read, reduce, and define the categories until they were able to develop themes from the data. The research team found that the various communication backgrounds and skills present greatly influenced the dynamics between the members of the research team and with the participants of the study. Specifically, the following themes emerged: (1) students as communication facilitators and interpreters as barriers to natural interaction, (2) varied language use simultaneously complicated and enriched data collection, and (3) ASL proficiency and professional position resulted in a social hierarchy among researchers and participants. In the discussion, the researchers reflected on their backgrounds and internal biases of analyzing the data found and how social norms or expectations affected the perceptions of the researchers in writing their journals. Through this study, the research team found that communication and language skills require significant consideration when working with multiple and complex communication modes. The researchers had to continually assess and adjust their data collection methods to meet the communication needs of the team members and participants. In doing so, the researchers aimed to create an accessible research setting that yielded rich data but learned that this often required compromises from one or more of the research constituents.

Keywords: American Sign Language, complex communication, deaf-disabled, methodology

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Authors: Jose Gonzalez, Fai Cheng, Ivy Fan

Abstract:

Shipping has a mature and ever expanding worldwide market. The future of the marine industry itself is not only irrevocably linked with the global economic, social, and political landscape; it is also subject to the technological developments in different fields. Some of them may have never been linked to the marine industry before. Companies in the marine sector are getting more dependent on technologies to achieve competitive advantage in an increasing open market. Technologies can be fused across different business functions and geopolitical influences. A successful marine business should be prepared to embrace such potential changes that lie ahead. The present paper intends to articulate long-term marine technology strategies from an industrial perspective. Methodology and current development are introduced. The paper will also provide insight into future technological trends demand for major commercial ship types. It may also assist different stakeholders in tailoring their long-term strategies to achieve a Sea Change and to uncap opportunity.

Keywords: commercial sector, marine, trends, technology

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Authors: David Ming Liu, Benjamin Hirsch, Bashir Aden

Abstract:

Syndromic surveillance is to detect or predict disease outbreaks through the analysis of medical sources of data. Using social media data like tweets to do syndromic surveillance becomes more and more popular with the aid of open platform to collect data and the advantage of microblogging text and mobile geographic location features. In this paper, a Syndromic Surveillance Framework is presented with machine learning kernel using tweets data analytics. Influenza and the three cities Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Dubai of United Arabic Emirates are used as the test disease and trial areas. Hospital cases data provided by the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) are used for the correlation purpose. In our model, Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) engine is adapted to do supervised learning classification and N-Fold cross validation confusion matrix are given as the simulation results with overall system recall 85.595% performance achieved.

Keywords: Syndromic surveillance, Tweets, Machine Learning, data mining, Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), Influenza

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Authors: Thassanant Unnanantn, Suttipong Boonphadung

Abstract:

This research study aimed to survey and analyze the attitudes of pre-service teachers’ the analytical thinking development based on Miller’s Model. The informants of this study were 22 third year teacher students majoring in Thai. The course where the instruction was conducted was English for Academic Purposes in Thai Language 2. The instrument of this research was an open-ended questionnaire with two dimensions of questions: academic and satisfaction dimensions. The investigation revealed the positive attitudes. In the academic dimension, the majority of 12 (54.54%), the highest percentage, reflected that the method of teaching analytical thinking and language simultaneously was their new knowledge and the similar percentage also belonged to text cohesion in writing. For the satisfaction, the highest frequency count was from 17 of them (77.27%) and this majority favored the openness or friendliness of the teacher.

Keywords: analytical thinking development, Miller’s Model, attitudes, pre-service teachers

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Authors: Suyong Kim

Abstract:

Recently because of the rise in the price of rare earth magnet, interest of non-rare earth or less-rare earth motor is growing. Especially to achieve the high power density, Spoke-Type BLDC (Brushless Permanent Magnet) Motor with ferrite permanent magnet are spotlighted. But Spoke-Type Ferrite BLDC Motor has much of magnetic flux leakage in the direction of rotor shaft. In order to solve this problem, there are two conventional ways. But conventional ways bring the increases of product cost or the decreases of the power density. Therefore, this paper proposes new Spoke-Type BLDC Rotor shape that has the advantages of both conventional methods. The new shape is consists of a one-piece core. The inside and the outside of the rotor are open alternately. So it can take reduced production cost and high power density.

Keywords: motor, BLDC, spoke, ferrite

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Authors: Syed Misbahuddin, Sagufta Kapadia

Abstract:

Autonomous indoor drone navigation has been posed with various challenges, including the inability to use a Global Positioning System (GPS). As of now, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) either rely on 3D mapping systems or utilize external camera arrays to track the UAV in an enclosed environment. The objective of this paper is to develop an algorithm that utilizes Kalman Filtering to reduce noise, allowing the UAV to be navigated indoors using only the flight controller and an onboard companion computer. In this paper, open-source libraries are used to control the UAV, which will only use the onboard accelerometer on the flight controller to estimate the position through double integration. One of the advantages of such a system is that it allows for low-cost and lightweight UAVs to autonomously navigate indoors without advanced mapping of the environment or the use of expensive high-precision-localization sensors.

Keywords: accelerometer, indoor-navigation, Kalman-filtering, position-control

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Authors: Hamed Movahedi, Nicolas Bovet, Henning Friis Poulsen

Abstract:

Following the advent of the Industrial Revolution, there has been a significant increase in the extraction and utilization of hydrocarbon and fossil fuel resources. However, a new era has emerged, characterized by a shift towards sustainable practices, namely the reduction of carbon emissions and the promotion of renewable energy generation. Given the substantial number of mature oil and gas wells that have been developed inside the petroleum reservoir domain, it is imperative to establish an environmental strategy and adopt appropriate measures to effectively seal and decommission these wells. In general, the cement plug serves as a material for plugging purposes. Nevertheless, there exist some scenarios in which the durability of such a plug is compromised, leading to the potential escape of hydrocarbons via fissures and fractures within cement plugs. Furthermore, cement is often not considered a practical solution for temporary plugging, particularly in the case of well sites that have the potential for future gas storage or CO2 injection. The Danish oil and gas industry has promising potential as a prospective candidate for future carbon dioxide (CO2) injection, hence contributing to the implementation of carbon capture strategies within Europe. The primary reservoir component consists of chalk, a rock characterized by limited permeability. This work focuses on the development and characterization of a novel hydrogel variant. The hydrogel is designed to be injected via a low-permeability reservoir and afterward undergoes a transformation into a high-viscosity gel. The primary objective of this research is to explore the potential of this hydrogel as a new solution for effectively plugging well flow. Initially, the synthesis of polyacrylamide was carried out using radical polymerization inside the confines of the reaction flask. Subsequently, with the application of the Hoffman rearrangement, the polymer chain undergoes partial amination, facilitating its subsequent reaction with the crosslinker and enabling the formation of a hydrogel in the subsequent stage. The organic crosslinker, glutaraldehyde, was employed in the experiment to facilitate the formation of a gel. This gel formation occurred when the polymeric solution was subjected to heat within a specified range of reservoir temperatures. Additionally, a rheological survey and gel time measurements were conducted on several polymeric solutions to determine the optimal concentration. The findings indicate that the gel duration is contingent upon the starting concentration and exhibits a range of 4 to 20 hours, hence allowing for manipulation to accommodate diverse injection strategies. Moreover, the findings indicate that the gel may be generated in environments characterized by acidity and high salinity. This property ensures the suitability of this substance for application in challenging reservoir conditions. The rheological investigation indicates that the polymeric solution exhibits the characteristics of a Herschel-Bulkley fluid with somewhat elevated yield stress prior to solidification.

Keywords: polyacrylamide, hofmann rearrangement, rheology, gel time

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Authors: Mohammad A. Alia

Abstract:

With the rapid evolution of the internet applications, cloud computing becomes one of today’s hottest research areas due to its ability to reduce costs associated with computing. Cloud is, therefore, increasing flexibility and scalability for computing services in the internet. Cloud computing is Internet based computing due to shared resources and information which are dynamically delivered to consumers. As cloud computing share resources via the open network, hence cloud outsourcing is vulnerable to attack. Therefore, this paper will explore data security of cloud computing by implementing chaotic cryptography. The proposal scenario develops a problem transformation technique that enables customers to secretly transform their information. This work proposes the chaotic cryptographic algorithms have been applied to enhance the security of the cloud computing accessibility. However, the proposed scenario is secure, easy and straightforward process. The chaotic encryption and digital signature systems ensure the security of the proposed scenario. Though, the choice of the key size becomes crucial to prevent a brute force attack.

Keywords: chaos, cloud computing, security, cryptography

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Authors: Hiesik Kim, Yong-Beom Kim, Jaheon Gu

Abstract:

Internet of Things (IoT) applications are widely serviced and spread worldwide. Local wireless data transmission technique must be developed to rate up with some technique. Bluetooth wireless data communication is wireless technique is technique made by Special Inter Group (SIG) using the frequency range 2.4 GHz, and it is exploiting Frequency Hopping to avoid collision with a different device. To implement experiment, equipment for experiment transmitting measured data is made by using Arduino as open source hardware, gas sensor, and Bluetooth module and algorithm controlling transmission rate is demonstrated. Experiment controlling transmission rate also is progressed by developing Android application receiving measured data, and controlling this rate is available at the experiment result. It is important that in the future, improvement for communication algorithm be needed because a few error occurs when data is transferred or received.

Keywords: Arduino, Bluetooth, gas sensor, IoT, transmission

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Authors: Ege Can Onal, Enver Ersen, Meltem Elitas

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Laparoscopy is a surgical operation, well known as keyhole surgery. The operation is performed through small holes, hence, scars of a patient become much smaller, patients can recover in a short time and the hospital stay becomes shorter in comparison to an open surgery. Several tools are used at laparoscopic operations; among them, the laparoscope has a crucial role. It provides the vision during the operation, which will be the main focus in here. Since the operation area is very small, motion of the surgical tools might be limited in laparoscopic operations compared to traditional surgeries. To overcome this limitation, most of the laparoscopic tools have become more precise, dexterous, multi-functional or automated. Here, we present a robotic-assisted laparoscope that is controlled with pedals directly by a surgeon. Thus, the movement of the laparoscope might be controlled better, so there will not be a need to calibrate the camera during the operation. The need for an assistant that controls the movement of the laparoscope will be eliminated. The duration of the laparoscopic operation might be shorter since the surgeon will directly operate the camera.

Keywords: laparoscope, laparoscopy, low-cost, minimally invasive surgery, robotic-assisted surgery

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Authors: Sahabettin Mete, Abdullah C. Hocagil, Hilal Hocagil, Volkan Ulker, Hasan C. Taskin

Abstract:

Objectives and Goals: An emergency department is a place where people can come for a multitude of reasons 24 hours a day. As it is an easy, accessible place, thanks to self-sacrificing people who work in emergency departments. But the workload and overcrowding of emergency departments are increasing day by day. Under these circumstances, it is important to choose a quick, easily accessible and effective test for diagnosis. This results in laboratory and imaging tests being more than 40% of all emergency department costs. Despite all of the technological advances in imaging methods and available computerized tomography (CT), chest X-ray, the older imaging method, has not lost its appeal and effectiveness for nearly all emergency physicians. Progress in imaging methods are very convenient, but physicians should consider the radiation dose, cost, and effectiveness, as well as imaging methods to be carefully selected and used. The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of chest X-ray in immediate diagnosis against the advancing technology by comparing chest X-ray and chest CT scan results of the patients in the emergency department. Methods: Patients who applied to Bulent Ecevit University Faculty of Medicine’s emergency department were investigated retrospectively in between 1 September 2014 and 28 February 2015. Data were obtained via MIAMED (Clear Canvas Image Server v6.2, Toronto, Canada), information management system which patients’ files are saved electronically in the clinic, and were retrospectively scanned. The study included 199 patients who were 18 or older, had both chest X-ray and chest CT imaging. Chest X-ray images were evaluated by the emergency medicine senior assistant in the emergency department, and the findings were saved to the study form. CT findings were obtained from already reported data by radiology department in the clinic. Chest X-ray was evaluated with seven questions in terms of technique and dose adequacy. Patients’ age, gender, application complaints, comorbid diseases, vital signs, physical examination findings, diagnosis, chest X-ray findings and chest CT findings were evaluated. Data saved and statistical analyses have made via using SPSS 19.0 for Windows. And the value of p < 0.05 were accepted statistically significant. Results: 199 patients were included in the study. In 38,2% (n=76) of all patients were diagnosed with pneumonia and it was the most common diagnosis. The chest X-ray imaging technique was appropriate in patients with the rate of 31% (n=62) of all patients. There was not any statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) between both imaging methods (chest X-ray and chest CT) in terms of determining the rates of displacement of the trachea, pneumothorax, parenchymal consolidation, increased cardiothoracic ratio, lymphadenopathy, diaphragmatic hernia, free air levels in the abdomen (in sections including the image), pleural thickening, parenchymal cyst, parenchymal mass, parenchymal cavity, parenchymal atelectasis and bone fractures. Conclusions: When imaging findings, showing cases that needed to be quickly diagnosed, were investigated, chest X-ray and chest CT findings were matched at a high rate in patients with an appropriate imaging technique. However, chest X-rays, evaluated in the emergency department, were frequently taken with an inappropriate technique.

Keywords: chest x-ray, chest computerized tomography, chest imaging, emergency department

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Authors: Xiaowen Zhang, Wanda Luen-Wun Siu

Abstract:

The paper reviews the insights gained in combating COVID-19 in the US, Japan, and China. After evaluation and investigation, we found that China’s and Japan’s experience of fighting COVID-19 is commendable. The Chinese government and the Japanese administration have implemented highly effective governance and public health course of action to fight COVID-19. Government-led epidemic control with a staunch belief in science can roll out effective pandemic control strategies. In contrast, the US failed to react to COVID-19 effectively. The relaxed public health measures of ending shutdowns prematurely were not working. When the US keeps business open after the spring shutdown, COVID-19 cases are soaring. Such experiences inform us effective governance and a mandatory and stricter approach can better curb a pandemic than milder measures in handling a public health emergency. And China and Japan, where collectivistic culture reins, can better maneuver a public health crisis with collective efforts.

Keywords: US, China, Japan, COVID-19

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Authors: Seyed-Mohammad-Kazem Emami, Behrang Saki, Majid Mohammadian

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The wastewater flow field inside a sewage network including pipe and ‎manhole was investigated using a Computational Fluid Dynamics ‎‎(CFD) model. The numerical model is developed by incorporating a ‎rheological model to calculate the viscosity of wastewater fluid by ‎means of open source toolbox OpenFOAM. The rheological ‎properties of prepared wastewater fluid suspensions are first measured ‎using a BrookField LVDVII Pro+ viscometer with an enhanced UL ‎adapter and then correlated the suitable rheological viscosity model ‎values from the measured rheological properties. The results show the ‎significant effects of rheological characteristics of wastewater fluid on ‎the flow domain of sewer system. Results were compared and ‎discussed with the commonly used Newtonian model to evaluate the ‎differences for velocity profile, pressure and shear stress. ‎

Keywords: Non-Newtonian flows, Wastewater, Numerical simulation, Rheology, Sewage Network

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Authors: Nabin Prasad Joshi, Samiksha Neupane

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Since its emergence in December 2019, Corona Virus disease has impacted several countries, affecting many people. The first cases were recorded in Wuhan, China, between December 2019 and January 2020. Italy is one of the affected countries in Europe. The relations between India and Nepal have reverted to the pre-pandemic period as both countries have open borders. The study focused on the overall psychosocial impact among covid-19 survivors in their life what are the changes they are facing after covid also how are their relations with friends and relatives after they have covid in different municipalities of Kathmandu valley, where people from different regions are living in rent and have their own houses. Support from friends and family during a pandemic can prevent it if it is strong enough. Nonetheless, there were risk factors for psychosocial damage, including a lack of or insufficient family and social support, psychiatric assistance, and inadequate insurance or compensation. Poorer mental health outcomes were inversely correlated with social rejection or isolation.

Keywords: stress, anxiety, depression, Kathmandu

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Authors: Gulderen Saglam

Abstract:

This study explores the elements of personal motivation which influence professional motivation of in-service English language teachers in Bursa in Turkey. Fifty English language teachers participated in a seminar held on ‘teachers’ motivation’ for the length of six hours in two days, which were organized by the local Ministry of Education. During the seminar, teachers firstly aimed to share cornerstones of their professional motivation. Later, those teachers stated the significance of their personal motivation. Two months’ later, those teachers were given the questionnaire including both closed and open-ended questions involving those two types of motivational acts of teachers. Questionnaire items were tested by Crombah’s Alfa Reliability Statistics. Responses to the questionnaire were analyzed by factor analysis and test of normality. The results were also tested by non-parametric and parametric tests. As a result, it was found that language teachers who were personally motivated reported higher professional motivation of theirs in teaching profession in-service.

Keywords: influencing factor, in-service-teachers, personal motivation, professional motivation, in-service-teachers, influencing factor

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Authors: Hadi Ghasemi, Mark Leonard, Spiliopoulos Spiro, Phil Cummins, Mathew Moihoi, Felix Taranu, Eric Buri, Chris Mckee

Abstract:

In this study the level of seismic hazard in terms of Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA) was calculated for return period of 475 years, using modeled seismic sources and assigned ground-motion equations. The calculations were performed for bedrock site conditions (Vs30=760 m/s). From the results it is evident that the seismic hazard reaches its maximum level (i.e. PGA≈1g for 475 yr return period) at the Huon Peninsula and southern New Britain regions. Disaggregation analysis revealed that moderate to large earthquakes occurring along the New Britain Trench mainly control the level of hazard at these locations. The open-source computer program OpenQuake developed by Global Earthquake Model foundation was used for the seismic hazard computations. It should be emphasized that the presented results are still preliminary and should not be interpreted as our final assessment of seismic hazard in PNG.

Keywords: probabilistic seismic hazard assessment, Papua New Guinea, building code, OpenQuake

Procedia PDF Downloads 552

Authors: Hollie Ashworth, Sarah Heath, Nick Bryan, Liam Abrahamsen, Simon Kellet

Abstract:

Sellafield has a number of fuel storage ponds, some of which have been open to the air for a number of decades. This has caused corrosion of the fuel resulting in a release of some activity into solution, reduced water clarity, and accumulation of sludge at the bottom of the pond consisting of brucite (Mg(OH)2) and other uranium corrosion products. Both of these phases are also present as colloidal material. 90Sr and 137Cs are known to constitute a small volume of the radionuclides present in the pond, but a large fraction of the activity, thus they are most at risk of challenging effluent discharge limits. Organic molecules are known to be present also, due to the ponds being open to the air, with occasional algal blooms restricting visibility further. The contents of the pond need to be retrieved and safely stored, but dealing with such a complex, undefined inventory poses a unique challenge. This work aims to determine and understand the sorption-desorption interactions of 90Sr and 137Cs to brucite and uranium phases, with and without the presence of organic molecules from chemical degradation and bio-organisms. The influence of organics on these interactions has not been widely studied. Partitioning of these radionuclides and organic molecules has been determined through LSC, ICP-AES/MS, and UV-vis spectrophotometry coupled with ultrafiltration in both binary and ternary systems. Further detailed analysis into the surface and bonding environment of these components is being investigated through XAS techniques and PHREEQC modelling. Experiments were conducted in CO2-free or N2 atmosphere across a high pH range in order to best simulate conditions in the pond. Humic acid used in brucite systems demonstrated strong competition against 90Sr for the brucite surface regardless of the order of addition of components. Variance of pH did have a small effect, however this range (10.5-11.5) is close to the pHpzc of brucite, causing the surface to buffer the solution pH towards that value over the course of the experiment. Sorption of 90Sr to UO2 obeyed Ho’s rate equation and demonstrated a slow second-order reaction with respect to the sharing of valence electrons from the strontium atom, with the initial rate clearly dependent on pH, with the equilibrium concentration calculated at close to 100% sorption. There was no influence of humic acid seen when introduced to these systems. Sorption of 137Cs to UO3 was significant, with more than 95% sorbed in just over 24 hours. Again, humic acid showed no influence when introduced into this system. Both brucite and uranium based systems will be studied with the incorporation of cyanobacterial cultures harvested at different stages of growth. Investigation of these systems provides insight into, and understanding of, the effect of organics on radionuclide partitioning to brucite and uranium phases at high pH. The majority of sorption-desorption work for radionuclides has been conducted at neutral to acidic pH values, and mostly without organics. These studies are particularly important for the characterisation of legacy wastes at Sellafield, with a view to their safe retrieval and storage.

Keywords: caesium, legacy wastes, organics, sorption-desorption, strontium, uranium

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: K. Hema Shankari, R. Thirumalaiselvi, N. V. Balasubramanian

Abstract:

The present paper addresses to the research in the area of regression testing with emphasis on automated tools as well as prioritization of test cases. The uniqueness of regression testing and its cyclic nature is pointed out. The difference in approach between industry, with business model as basis, and academia, with focus on data mining, is highlighted. Test Metrics are discussed as a prelude to our formula for prioritization; a case study is further discussed to illustrate this methodology. An industrial case study is also described in the paper, where the number of test cases is so large that they have to be grouped as Test Suites. In such situations, a genetic algorithm proposed by us can be used to reconfigure these Test Suites in each cycle of regression testing. The comparison is made between a proprietary tool and an open source tool using the above-mentioned metrics. Our approach is clarified through several tables.

Keywords: APFD metric, genetic algorithm, regression testing, RFT tool, test case prioritization, selenium tool

Procedia PDF Downloads 431

Authors: A. Baloglu, A. Çınar

Abstract:

Different tools and technologies were implemented for Crisis Response and Management (CRM) which is generally using available network infrastructure for information exchange. Depending on type of disaster or crisis, network infrastructure could be affected and it could not be able to provide reliable connectivity. Thus any tool or technology that depends on the connectivity could not be able to fulfill its functionalities. As a solution, a new message exchange framework has been developed. Framework provides offline/online information exchange platform for CRM Information Systems (CRMIS) and it uses XML compression and packet prioritization algorithms and is based on open source web technologies. By introducing offline capabilities to the web technologies, framework will be able to perform message exchange on unreliable networks. The experiments done on the simulation environment provide promising results on low bandwidth networks (56kbps and 28.8 kbps) with up to 50% packet loss and the solution is to successfully transfer all the information on these low quality networks where the traditional 2 and 3 tier applications failed.

Keywords: crisis response and management, XML messaging, web services, XML compression, mining

Procedia PDF Downloads 336

Authors: J. Jasmee, I. Roslina, A. Mohammed Yaziz & A.H Juazer Rizal

Abstract:

The need of an effective building information collection method is vital to support a diversity of land development activities. At present, advances in remote sensing such as airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is an established technology for building information collection, location, and elevation of the reflecting laser points towards the construction of 3D building models. In this study, LiDAR datasets and terrestrial photographic images of buildings towards the construction of 3D building models is explored. It is found that, the quantitative accuracy of the constructed 3D building model, namely in the horizontal and vertical components were ± 0.31m (RMSEx,y) and ± 0.145m (RMSEz) respectively. The accuracies were computed based on sixty nine (69) horizontal and twenty (20) vertical surveyed points. As for the qualitative assessment, it is shown that the appearance of the 3D building model is adequate to support the requirements of LOD3 presentation based on the OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) standard CityGML.

Keywords: LiDAR datasets, DSM, DTM, 3D building models

Procedia PDF Downloads 315

Authors: Joanna Dauner, Jan Friedrich, Linda Elsner, Kora Kimpel

Abstract:

Active materials such as Electroactive Polymers (EAPs) are promising for the development of novel shape-changing interfaces. This paper explores the potential of EAPs in a multilayer unimorph structure from a design perspective to investigate the visual qualities of the material for dynamic data visualization and data physicalization. We discuss various concepts of how the material can be used for this purpose. Multilayer unimorph EAPs are of particular interest to designers because they can be easily prototyped using everyday materials and tools. By changing the structure and geometry of the EAPs, their movement and behavior can be modified. We present the results of our preliminary user testing, where we evaluated different movement patterns. As a result, we introduce a prototype display built with EAPs for dynamic data physicalization. Finally, we discuss the potentials and drawbacks and identify further open research questions for the design discipline.

Keywords: electroactive polymer, shape-changing interfaces, smart material interfaces, data physicalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: A. Sgobba, C. Meskell

Abstract:

The feasibility of on-site electricity production from solar and wind and the resulting load management for a specific manufacturing plant in Ireland are assessed. The industry sector accounts directly and indirectly for a high percentage of electricity consumption and global greenhouse gas emissions; therefore, it will play a key role in emission reduction and control. Manufacturing plants, in particular, are often located in non-residential areas since they require open spaces for production machinery, parking facilities for the employees, appropriate routes for supply and delivery, special connections to the national grid and other environmental impacts. Since they have larger spaces compared to commercial sites in urban areas, they represent an appropriate case study for evaluating the technical and economic viability of energy system integration with low power density technologies, such as solar and wind, for on-site electricity generation. The available open space surrounding the analysed manufacturing plant can be efficiently used to produce a discrete quantity of energy, instantaneously and locally consumed. Therefore, transmission and distribution losses can be reduced. The usage of storage is not required due to the high and almost constant electricity consumption profile. The energy load of the plant is identified through the analysis of gas and electricity consumption, both internally monitored and reported on the bills. These data are not often recorded and available to third parties since manufacturing companies usually keep track only of the overall energy expenditures. The solar potential is modelled for a period of 21 years based on global horizontal irradiation data; the hourly direct and diffuse radiation and the energy produced by the system at the optimum pitch angle are calculated. The model is validated using PVWatts and SAM tools. Wind speed data are available for the same period within one-hour step at a height of 10m. Since the hub of a typical wind turbine reaches a higher altitude, complementary data for a different location at 50m have been compared, and a model for the estimate of wind speed at the required height in the right location is defined. Weibull Statistical Distribution is used to evaluate the wind energy potential of the site. The results show that solar and wind energy are, as expected, generally decoupled. Based on the real case study, the percentage of load covered every hour by on-site generation (Level of Autonomy LA) and the resulting electricity bought from the grid (Expected Energy Not Supplied EENS) are calculated. The economic viability of the project is assessed through Net Present Value, and the influence the main technical and economic parameters have on NPV is presented. Since the results show that the analysed renewable sources can not provide enough electricity, the integration with a cogeneration technology is studied. Finally, the benefit to energy system integration of wind, solar and a cogeneration technology is evaluated and discussed.

Keywords: demand, energy system integration, load, manufacturing, national grid, renewable energy sources

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Xiaohan Bookman, Xiaoyan Zhu

Abstract:

The outputs of non-linear feed-forward neural network are positive, which could be treated as probability when they are normalized to one. If we take Entropy-Based Principle into consideration, the outputs for each sample could be represented as the distribution of this sample for different clusters. Entropy-Based Principle is the principle with which we could estimate the unknown distribution under some limited conditions. As this paper defines two processes in Feed-Forward Neural Network, our limited condition is the abstracted features of samples which are worked out in the abstraction process. And the final outputs are the probability distribution for different clusters in the clustering process. As Entropy-Based Principle is considered into the feed-forward neural network, a clustering method is born. We have conducted some experiments on six open UCI data sets, comparing with a few baselines and applied purity as the measurement. The results illustrate that our method outperforms all the other baselines that are most popular clustering methods.

Keywords: feed-forward neural network, clustering, max-entropy principle, probabilistic models

Procedia PDF Downloads 433