Search results for: target hiding

Authors: Mohanad Alhabo, Naveed Nawaz

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The ongoing call or data session must be maintained to ensure a good quality of service. This can be accomplished by performing the handover procedure while the user is on the move. However, the dense deployment of small cells in 5G networks is a challenging issue due to the extensive number of handovers. In this paper, a neighbour cell list method is proposed to reduce the number of target small cells and hence minimizing the number of handovers. The neighbour cell list is built by omitting cells that could cause an unnecessary handover and handover failure because of short time of stay of the user in these cells. A multi-attribute decision making technique, simple additive weighting, is then applied to the optimized neighbour cell list. Multi-tier small cells network is considered in this work. The performance of the proposed method is analysed and compared with that of the existing methods. Results disclose that our method has decreased the candidate small cell list, unnecessary handovers, handover failure, and short time of stay cells compared to the competitive method.

Keywords: handover, HetNets, multi-attribute decision making, small cells

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Authors: Anitha Naittee Abraham, N. Sreedevi

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Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) have relatively better expressive language compared to other individuals with intellectual disabilities. Reduced speech intelligibility is one of the major concerns of this group of individuals due to their anatomical and physiological differences. The study investigated the vowel articulation of Malayalam speaking children with DS in the age range of 5-10 years. The vowel production of 10 children with DS was compared with typically developing children in the same age range. Vowels were extracted from 3 words with the corner vowels /a/, /i/ and /u/ in the word-initial position, using Praat (version 5.3.23) software. Acoustic analysis was based on vowel space area (VSA), Formant centralization ration (FCR) and F2i/F2u. The findings revealed increased formant values for the control group except for F2a and F2u. Also, the experimental group had higher FCR, lower VSA, and F2i/F2u values suggestive of imprecise vowel articulation due to restricted tongue movements. The results of the independent t-test revealed a significant difference in F1a, F2i, F2u, VSA, FCR and F2i/F2u values between the experimental and control group. These findings support the fact that children with DS have imprecise vowel articulation that interferes with the overall speech intelligibility. Hence it is essential to target the oromotor skills to enhance the speech intelligibility which in turn benefit in the social and vocational domains of these individuals.

Keywords: Down syndrome, FCR, vowel articulation, vowel space

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Authors: Roula Kitsiou, Sofia Tsioli, Eleni Gana

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The current sociopolitical realities (displacement, encampment, and resettlement) refugees experience in Greece are a quite complex issue. Their educational and social ‘integration’ is characterized by transition, insecurity, and constantly changing needs. Based on the current research data, technology and more specifically mobile phones are one of the most important resources for refugees, regardless of their levels of conventional literacy. The proposed paper discusses the challenges encountered during the design and implementation of the educational Action 16 ‘Language Education for Adult Refugees’. Action 16 is one of the 24 Actions of the Project PRESS (Provision of Refugee Education and Support Scheme), funded by the Hellenic Open University (2016-2017). Project PRESS had two main objectives: a) to address the educational and integration needs of refugees in transit, who currently reside in Greece, and b) implement research-based educational interventions in online and offline sites. In the present paper, the focus is on reflection and discussion about the challenges and the potential of integrating technology in language learning for a target-group with many specific needs, which have been recorded in field notes among other research tools (ethnographic data) used in the context of PRESS. Action 16, explores if and how technology enhanced language activities in real-time and place mediated through teachers, as well as an autonomous computer-mediated learning space (moodle platform and application) builds on and expands the linguistic, cultural and digital resources and repertoires of the students by creating collaborative face-to-face and digital learning spaces. A broader view on language as a dynamic puzzle of semiotic resources and processes based on the concept of translanguaging is adopted. Specifically, designing the blended learning environment we draw on the construct of translanguaging a) as a symbolic means to valorize students’ repertoires and practices, b) as a method to reach to specific applications of a target-language that the context brings forward (Greek useful to them), and c) as a means to expand refugees’ repertoires. This has led to the creation of a learning space where students' linguistic and cultural resources can find paths to expression. In this context, communication and learning are realized by mutually investing multiple aspects of the team members' identities as educational material designers, teachers, and students on the teaching and learning processes. Therefore, creativity, humour, code-switching, translation, transference etc. are all possible means that can be employed in order to promote multilingual communication and language learning towards raising intercultural awareness in a critical digital pedagogy context. The qualitative analysis includes critical reflection on the developed educational material, team-based reflexive discussions, teachers’ reports data, and photographs from the interventions. The endeavor to involve women and men with a refugee background into a blended learning experience was quite innovative especially for the Greek context. It reflects a pragmatist ethos of the choices made in order to respond to the here-and-now needs of the refugees, and finally it was a very challenging task that has led all actors involved into Action 16 to (re)negotiations of subjectivities and products in a creative and hopeful way.

Keywords: blended learning, integration, language education, refugees

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Anish Bhargava

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By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans. 51 trillion micro-plastics pollute our waters and contaminate the food on our plates, increasing the risk of tumours and diseases such as cancer. Our product is a solution to the ever-growing problem of plastic pollution. We call it the SmartBin. The SmartBin is a cylindrical device which will float just below the surface of the water, able to move with the aid of 4 water thrusters situated on the sides. As it floats, our SmartBin will suck water into itself and pump it out through the bottom. All waste is collected into a reusable filter including microplastics measuring down to 1.5mm. A speaker emitting sound at a frequency of 9 hertz ensures marine life stays away from the SmartBin. Featured along with our product is a smartphone app which will enable the user to designate an area for the SmartBin to cover on a satellite image. The SmartBin will then return to its start position near the shore, configured through the app. As global pressure to tackle water pollution continues to increase, environmental spending increases too. As our product provides an effective solution to this issue, we can seize the opportunity and scale our company. Our product is unparalleled. It can move at a high speed, covering a wide area rather than being restricted to one position. We target not only oceans and sea-shores, but also rivers, lakes, reservoirs and canals, as they are much easier to access and control.

Keywords: water, plastic, pollution, solution, hydroclean, smartbin, cleanup

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Authors: Aziz Larbi, Widad Sadok

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In Morocco, the mountainous regions extend over about 26% of the national territory where 30% of the total population live. They contain opportunities for agriculture, forestry, pastureland and mining. The production systems in these zones are characterised by crop diversification. However, these areas have become vulnerable to the effects of climate change. To understand these effects in relation to the population living in these areas, a study was carried out in the zone of Taliouine, in the Anti-Atlas. The vulnerability of crop productions to climate change was analysed and the different ways of adaptation adopted by farmers were identified. The work was done on saffron, the most profitable crop in the target area even though it requires much water. Our results show that the majority of the farmers surveyed had noticed variations in the climate of the region: irregularity of precipitation leading to a decrease in quantity and an uneven distribution throughout the year; rise in temperature; reduction in the cold period and less snow. These variations had impacts on the cropping system of saffron and its productivity. To cope with these effects, the farmers adopted various strategies: better management and use of water; diversification of agricultural activities; increase in the contribution of non-agricultural activities to their gross income; and seasonal migration.

Keywords: climate change, Taliouine, saffron, perceptions, adaptation strategies

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Authors: Won Jung, Wan Emri

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Ferrite magnet is widely used in many automotive components such as motors and alternators. Magnets used inside the components must be in good quality to ensure the high level of performance. The purpose of this study is to design input parameters that optimize the ferrite magnet production process to ensure the quality and reliability of manufactured products. Design of Experiments (DOE) and Statistical Process Control (SPC) are used as mutual supplementations to optimize the process. DOE and SPC are quality tools being used in the industry to monitor and improve the manufacturing process condition. These tools are practically used to maintain the process on target and within the limits of natural variation. A mixed Taguchi method is utilized for optimization purpose as a part of DOE analysis. SPC with proportion data is applied to assess the output parameters to determine the optimal operating conditions. An example of case involving the monitoring and optimization of ferrite magnet process was presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach. Through the utilization of these tools, reliable magnets can be produced by following the step by step procedures of proposed framework. One of the main contributions of this study was producing the crack free magnets by applying the proposed parameter design.

Keywords: ferrite magnet, crack, reliability, process optimization, Taguchi method

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Authors: Dilip Singh Sisodia, Shrish Verma

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Spamming is the most common issue seen nowadays in the Internet especially in Online Social Networking Sites (like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ etc.). Spam messages keep wasting Internet bandwidth and the storage space of servers. On social network sites; spammers often disguise themselves by creating fake accounts and hijacking user’s accounts for personal gains. They behave like normal user and they continue to change their spamming strategy. To prevent this, most modern spam-filtering solutions are deployed on the receiver side; they are good at filtering spam for end users. In this paper we are presenting some spamming techniques their behaviour and possible solutions. We have analyzed how Spammers enters into online social networking sites (OSNSs) and how they target it and the techniques they use for it. The five discussed techniques of spamming techniques which are clickjacking, social engineered attacks, cross site scripting, URL shortening, and drive by download. We have used elgg framework for demonstration of some of spamming threats and respective implementation of solutions.

Keywords: online social networking sites, spam, attacks, internet, clickjacking / likejacking, drive-by-download, URL shortening, networking, socially engineered attacks, elgg framework

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: Hüseyin Altubaş, Hasret Aktaş, A. Mücahid Zengin

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Children determine the direction of the power of consumption. They affect the decisions of their parents but they also reached to a significant purchasing power themselves. Children, who are turning interactive behavior to normal behavior are becoming the decision makers in a company’s survival. Companies that analyze this effective target audience can communicate successfully with children. Children, who are interactive individuals, are closer to advertising. They are almost talking better with advertising. They are not afraid to express their likings, as well as their dislikes. Children have an interactive lifestyle and they were exposed to the vast changes in technology after year 2000. They do not know a life without internet, they spend mobile life in internet. This Z generation is the new determinants of brands. Z generation finds it appropriate to be brand ambassadors and they completely changed traditional media and traditional consumer behavior. These children live social reality with virtual reality and they feed brands differently. Brands that interact with Z generation are affected by this feeding positively, while brands that keep interaction in traditional levels are affected negatively. In this research we examine the communication, advertising and brand behaviors of Z generation. We especially analyze this generation’s interaction with social media brands and their interactive attitudes.

Keywords: social media, Z generation, children, advertising, brand choice

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Authors: Stella O. Olubodun, George E. Eriyamremu

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The study assessed the effect of crude oil applied at rates, 0, 2, 5, and 10% on the fractional chemical forms and availability of some metals in soils from Usen, Edo State, with no known crude oil contamination and soil from a crude oil spill site in Ubeji, Delta State, Nigeria. Three methods were used to determine the bioavailability of metals in the soils: maize (Zea mays) plant, EDTA and BCR sequential extraction. The sequential extract acid soluble fraction of the BCR extraction (most labile fraction of the soils, normally associated with bioavailability) were compared with total metal concentration in maize seedlings as a means to compare the chemical and biological measures of bioavailability. Total Fe was higher in comparison to other metals for the crude oil contaminated soils. The metal concentrations were below the limits of 4.7% Fe, 190mg/kg Cu and 720mg/kg Zn intervention values and 36mg/kg Cu and 140mg/kg Zn target values for soils provided by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) guidelines. The concentration of the metals in maize seedlings increased with increasing rates of crude oil contamination. Comparison of the metal concentrations in maize seedlings with EDTA extractable concentrations showed that EDTA extracted more metals than maize plant.

Keywords: availability, crude oil contamination, EDTA, maize, metals

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Authors: Sandeep Pandey, Nimra Habib, Ranjana Singh, Abbas Ali Mahdi

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Leukemia is a malignancy of blood that mainly affects children and young adults; while advancement in the early diagnosis will have the potential to improve the outcome of diseases. A wide range of disease including leukemia shows inflammatory signals in their pathogenesis. In a pilot study conducted in our laboratory, 52 people were screened, of which 26 had leukemia and 26 were free from any kind of malignancy. We performed the estimation of the inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-8 and it was found significantly raised in all the leukemia patients concerning healthy volunteers who participated in the study. Flow cytometry had been performed for the confirmation of leukemia and further genomic, and proteomic, analyses of the sample revealed that IL-8 levels showed a positive correlation in patients with leukemia. The results had shown constitutive secretion of interleukin-8 by leukemia cells. So, our finding demonstrated that IL-8 is considered to have a role in the pathogenesis of leukemia, and quantification of IL-8 levels in leukemia conditions might be more useful and feasible in the clinical setting for the prediction of drug responses where it may represent a putative target for innovative diagnostic toward effective therapeutic approaches. However, further research explorations in this area are needed that include a greater number of patients with all different forms of leukemia, and estimating their IL-8 levels may hold the key for the additional predictive values on the recurrence of leukemia and its prognosis.

Keywords: T-ALL, IL-8, leukemia pathogenesis, cancer therapeutics

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Authors: Yared Yitagesu Tilahun

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Every nation, developed or developing, relies on transportation, but Addis Abeba City's transportation service is impacted by a number of variables. The current study's objectives are to determine the factors that influence transportation and gauge consumer satisfaction with such services in Addis Abeba. Customers and employees of Addis Ababa's transportation service authority would be the study's target group. 40 workers of the authority would be counted as part of the 310 000 clients that make up the population of the searcher service. Using a straightforward random selection technique, the researcher only chose 99 customers and 28 staff from this enormous group due to the considerable cost and time involved. Data gathering and analysis options included both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The results of this poll show that young people between the ages of 18 and 25 make up the majority of respondents (51.6%). The majority of employees and customers indicated that they are not satisfied with Addis Ababa's overall transportation system. The Addis Abeba Transportation Authority prioritizes client happiness by providing fair service. The company should have a system in place for managing time, resources, and people effectively. It should also provide employees the opportunity to contribute to client handling policies.

Keywords: transportation, customer satisfaction, services, determinants

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Ali Oztuna, Meral Sarper, Deniz Torun, Fatma Bayrakdar, Selcuk Kilic, Mehmet Baysallar

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Bacillus anthracis is one of the biological agents most likely to be used in case of bioterrorist attack as well as being the cause of anthrax. The bacterium's major virulence factors are the anthrax toxins and an antiphagocytic polyglutamic capsule. TEM8 (ANTXR1) and CMG2 (ANTXR2) are ubiquitously expressed type I transmembrane proteins, and ANTXR2 is the major receptor for anthrax toxins. MicroRNAs are 21-24 bp small noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression by base pairing with the 3' UTR (untranslated regions) of their target mRNAs resulting in mRNA degradation and/or translational repression. MicroRNAs contribute to regulation of most biological processes and influence numerous pathological states like infectious disease. In this study, post-exposure (toxins) protective effect of the hsa-miR-124-3p against Bacillus anthracis was examined. In this context, i) THP-1 and U937 cells were differentiated to MΦ macrophage, ii) miRNA transfection efficiencies were evaluated by flow cytometry and qPCR, iii) protection against Bacillus anthracis toxins were investigated by XTT, cAMP ELISA and MEK2 cleavage assays. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) under Grant SBAG-218S467.

Keywords: ANTXR2, hsa-miR-124-3p, MΦ macrophage, THP-1, U937

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Chieh-Chun Chang, Cheng-Ting Shih, Yan-Lin Liu, Shu-Jun Chang, Jay Wu

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With the widespread use of digital mammography (DM), radiation dose evaluation of breasts has become important. X-ray spectra are one of the key factors that influence the absorbed dose of glandular tissue. In this study, we estimated the X-ray spectrum of DM using the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm with the transmission measurement data. The interpolating polynomial model proposed by Boone was applied to generate the initial guess of the DM spectrum with the target/filter combination of Mo/Mo and the tube voltage of 26 kVp. The Monte Carlo N-particle code (MCNP5) was used to tally the transmission data through aluminum sheets of 0.2 to 3 mm. The X-ray spectrum was reconstructed by using the EM algorithm iteratively. The influence of the initial guess for EM reconstruction was evaluated. The percentage error of the average energy between the reference spectrum inputted for Monte Carlo simulation and the spectrum estimated by the EM algorithm was -0.14%. The normalized root mean square error (NRMSE) and the normalized root max square error (NRMaSE) between both spectra were 0.6% and 2.3%, respectively. We conclude that the EM algorithm with transmission measurement data is a convenient and useful tool for estimating x-ray spectra for DM in clinical practice.

Keywords: digital mammography, expectation maximization algorithm, X-Ray spectrum, X-Ray

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Authors: Marjan Golmaryami, Marzieh Behzadi

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Recent developments in stock exchange highlight the need for an efficient and accurate method that helps stockholders make better decision. Since stock markets have lots of fluctuations during the time and different effective parameters, it is difficult to make good decisions. The purpose of this study is to employ artificial neural network (ANN) which can deal with time series data and nonlinear relation among variables to forecast next day stock price. Unlike other evolutionary algorithms which were utilized in stock exchange prediction, we trained our proposed neural network with metaheuristic bat algorithm, with fast and powerful convergence and applied it in stock price prediction for the first time. In order to prove the performance of the proposed method, this research selected a 7 year dataset from Parsian Bank stocks and after imposing data preprocessing, used 3 types of ANN (back propagation-ANN, particle swarm optimization-ANN and bat-ANN) to predict the closed price of stocks. Afterwards, this study engaged MATLAB to simulate 3 types of ANN, with the scoring target of mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The results may be adapted to other companies stocks too.

Keywords: artificial neural network (ANN), bat algorithm, particle swarm optimization algorithm (PSO), stock exchange

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Authors: Hala Zaghloul, Taymoor Nazmy

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One of the great challenges of the 21st century is to build a robot that can perceive and act within its environment and communicate with people, while also exhibiting the cognitive capabilities that lead to performance like that of people. The Pulse Coupled Neural Network, PCNN, is a relative new ANN model that derived from a neural mammal model with a great potential in the area of image processing as well as target recognition, feature extraction, speech recognition, combinatorial optimization, compressed encoding. PCNN has unique feature among other types of neural network, which make it a candid to be an important approach for perceiving in cognitive systems. This work show and emphasis on the potentials of PCNN to perform different tasks related to image processing. The main drawback or the obstacle that prevent the direct implementation of such technique, is the need to find away to control the PCNN parameters toward perform a specific task. This paper will evaluate the performance of PCNN standard model for processing images with different properties, and select the important parameters that give a significant result, also, the approaches towards find a way for the adaptation of the PCNN parameters to perform a specific task.

Keywords: cognitive system, image processing, segmentation, PCNN kernels

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Yu Hung Chiang, Hei Chia Wang

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In the academic area, it is important for research to find proper research domain. Many researchers may refer to conference issues to find their interesting or new topics. Furthermore, conferences issues can help researchers realize current research trends in their field and learn about cutting-edge developments in their specialty. However, online published conference information may widely be distributed; it is not easy to be concluded. Many researchers use search engine of journals or conference issues to filter information in order to get what they want. However, this search engine has its limitation. There will still be some issues should be considered; i.e. researchers cannot find the associated topics which may be useful information for them. Hence, use Knowledge Management (KM) could be a way to resolve these issues. In KM, ontology is widely adopted; but most existed ontology construction methods do not consider social information between target users. To effective in academic KM, this study proposes a method of constructing research Topic Maps using Open Directory Project (ODP) and Social Information Processing (SIP). Through catching of social information in conference website: i.e. the information of co-authorship or collaborator, research topics can be associated among related researchers. Finally, the experiments show Topic Maps successfully help researchers to find the information they need more easily and quickly as well as construct associations between research topics.

Keywords: knowledge management, topic map, social information processing, ontology extraction

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Authors: Abhishek Soni, A. Kumaraswamy, M. S. Mahesh

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Bullet penetration in steel plate is investigated with the help of three-dimensional, non-linear, transient, dynamic, finite elements analysis using explicit time integration code LSDYNA. The effect of large strain, strain-rate and temperature at very high velocity regime was studied from number of simulations of semi-spherical nose shape bullet penetration through single layered circular plate with 2 mm thickness at impact velocities of 500, 1000, and 1500 m/s with the help of Johnson Cook material model. Mie-Gruneisen equation of state is used in conjunction with Johnson Cook material model to determine pressure-volume relationship at various points of interests. Two material models viz. Plastic-Kinematic and Johnson- Cook resulted in different deformation patterns in steel plate. It is observed from the simulation results that the velocity drop and loss of kinetic energy occurred very quickly up to perforation of plate, after that the change in velocity and changes in kinetic energy are negligibly small. The physics behind this kind of behaviour is presented in the paper.

Keywords: AISI 4340 steel, ballistic impact simulation, bullet penetration, non-linear FEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Stephanie Elizabeth Talder

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Art therapy is a field that is growing exponentially with new groundbreaking discoveries that allow for embodying trauma and mental healing. Applied theatre and performance is a continuously growing and developing field that can help people who are struggling to work through traumatic experiences plaguing their life. By using performance, there is an ability to target sensitive topics in a manner that does not lead to re-traumatization. The use of theatre as a healing agent has been going on for centuries, with clear applications beginning in Greek theatre and tragedy. When working with complex mental illness, issues such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression can be managed and worked through. A central component of drama therapy is the connection to community and self. The ability to connect mind-body to stories as well as to other people allows for healing to occur. There is the opportunity for healing through emotional catharsis and community building. Applied theatre in connection to the medical field can allow for there to be a meaningful impact made on mental health. Though there is still a significant amount of progress to be made within the stigmatization of mental health problems, bringing in a varying option that allows for there to be movement and community building possesses a strong ability to impact people in a positive way.

Keywords: applied theatre, drama therapy, art therapy, performance, theatre

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Authors: Gülbuğ Erol, Gamze Beyge, Hakan Ekemen

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In Turkey national TV channels broadcast a wide range of programs to audience attract viewers. Since the year 2000, especially the competition programs were directed towards entertainment and audience has gained. Even today, television channels have just begun to be broadcast on entertainment channels. Except from the news, the TV collects pleasure with its broadcasts aiming to meet the expectation of the Turkish people of TV 8 TV channels. Survivor, one of the TV 8 programs, draws attention with the ratings it receives and the broad target audience it addresses. Survivor, however, is one of the most exciting competitions on the Turkish television scene, which is rightly and ambitiously competitive in television contest programs. It is a format in which women and men struggle their power borders by winning the competition with their names thanks to their intelligence and endurance games. The contestants of the program, which has been running since March 22, 2005, are seen in a platform where they must present their struggle for their various awards. In Survivor, where competition is at stake, courage and strength are reduced by the reduction of sex. In this study, the critical discourse was made taking into consideration the challenges of female competitors competing to the final stage which is behind the male competitors. Secondly, the variables from the beginning to the present day of the adaptation of the judge to Turkey have been debated in a critical context.

Keywords: television, meaning, discourse, contest program

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: Özden Öztürk, Gözde Pınar Gerem, Ayça Yenici, Burcu Haspolat

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Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is one of the important non-edible oilseed crops having immense industrial and medicinal value. Oil yield per unit area is the ultimate target in growing oilseed plants and sowing date is one of the important factors which have a clear role in the production of active substances particularly in oilseeds. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of sowing date on the seed and oil yield of castor in Central Anatolia in Turkey in 2011. The field experiment was set up in a completely randomized block design with three replication. Black Diamond-2 castor cultivar was used as plant material. The treatment was four sowing dates of May 10, May 25, June 10, June 25. In this research; seed yield, oil content and oil yield were investigated. Results showed that the effect of different sowing dates was significant on all of the characteristics. In general; delayed sowing dates, resulted in decreased seed yield, oil content and oil yield. The highest value of seed yield, oil content and oil yield (respectively, 2523.7 kg ha-1, 51.18% and 1292.2 kg ha-1) were obtained from the first sowing date (May 10) while the lowest seed yield, oil content and oil yield (respectively, 1550 kg ha-1, 43.67%, 677.3 kg ha-1) were recorded from the latest sowing date (June 25). Therefore, it can be concluded that early May could be recommended as an appropriate sowing date in the studied location and similar climates for achieved high oil yield of castor.

Keywords: castor bean, Ricinus communis L., sowing date, seed yield, oil content

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Authors: Angelis P. Barlampas

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Target: The (SARS-CoV-2) is still a threat. AI software could be useful, categorizing the disease into different severities and indicate the extent of the lesions. Materials and methods: AI is a new revolutionary technique, which uses powered computerized systems, to do what a human being does more rapidly, more easily, as accurate and diagnostically safe as the original medical report and, in certain circumstances, even better, saving time and helping the health system to overcome problems, such as work overload and human fatigue. Results: It will be given an effort to describe to the inexperienced reader (see figures), as simple as possible, how an artificial intelligence system diagnoses computed tomography pictures. First, the computerized machine learns the physiologic motives of lung parenchyma by being feeded with normal structured images of the lung tissue. Having being used to recognizing normal structures, it can then easily indentify the pathologic ones, as their images do not fit to known normal picture motives. It is the same way as when someone spends his free time in reading magazines with quizzes, such as <> and <>. General conclusion: The AI mimics the physiological processes of the human mind, but it does that more efficiently and rapidly and provides results in a few seconds, whereas an experienced radiologist needs many days to do that, or even worse, he is unable to accomplish such a huge task.

Keywords: covid-19, artificial intelligence, automated imaging, CT, chest imaging

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Authors: Mir Hussain Nawaz, Lyudmila Nedyalkova, Haizhong Zhu, Wael M. Rabeh

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In this study, we aim to biochemically and structurally characterize the interactions of human HK2 with the mitochondria in addition to the role of its N-terminal domain in catalysis and stability of the full-length enzyme. Here, we solved the crystal structure of human HK2 in complex with glucose and glucose-6-phosphate (PDB code: 2NZT), where it is a homodimer with catalytically active N- and C-terminal domains linked by a seven-turn α-helix. Different from the inactive N-terminal domains of isozymes 1 and 3, the N- domain of HK2 not only capable to catalyze a reaction but it is responsible for the thermodynamic stabilizes of the full-length enzyme. Deletion of first α-helix of the N-domain that binds to the mitochondria altered the stability and catalytic activity of the full-length HK2. In addition, we found the linker helix between the N- and C-terminal domains to play an important role in controlling the catalytic activity of the N-terminal domain. HK2 is a major step in the regulation of glucose metabolism in cancer making it an ideal target for the development of new anticancer therapeutics. Characterizing the structural and molecular mechanisms of human HK2 and its role in cancer metabolism will accelerate the design and development of new cancer therapeutics that are safe and cancer specific.

Keywords: cancer metabolism, enzymology, drug discovery, protein stability

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Authors: Marco Khalaf Ayad Milhaail

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In thinking about the role of legal rules and their impact on social ethics and social structures, scholars have explored many issues related to gender, power, and ideology. First, it provides a framework for defining feminist legal studies through an overview of the field's evolution in terms of equality, rights, and justice. Secondly, it encourages those interested in equality, rights, and justice regarding women's issues to participate in international comparative law research. Third, we must emphasize that those seeking solutions to disability and discrimination must be aware of the need to confront the so-called undermining of culture. Therefore, an effective way for women to solve this problem is to rely heavily on international law, which establishes basic legal principles such as gender equality, rights, and justice and can help create a domestic environment. Woman has gained many advantages by adopting the law of Divorce in the Islamic Sharea. Any Egyptian woman can get divorce by letting her rightful rights and wealth to her husband in return for her freedom.

Keywords: stability, harsh environments, techniques, thermal, properties, materials, applications, brittleness, fragility, disadvantages, bank, branches, profitability, setting prediction, effective target, measurement, evaluation, performance, commercial, business, profitability, sustainability, financial, system, banks

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Authors: Niaz Gharavi, Hexin Zhang

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The shear modulus of a timber beam can be determined using torsion test or shear field test method. The shear field test method is based on shear distortion measurement of the beam at the zone with the constant transverse load in the standardized four-point bending test. The current code of practice advises using two metallic arms act as an instrument to measure the diagonal displacement of the constructing square. The size and the position of the constructing square might influence the shear modulus determination. This study aimed to investigate the size and the position effect of the square in the shear field test method. A binocular stereo vision system has been employed to determine the 3D displacement of a grid of target points. Six glue laminated beams were produced and tested. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed on the acquired data to evaluate the significance of the size effect and the position effect of the square. The results have shown that the size of the square has a noticeable influence on the value of shear modulus, while, the position of the square within the area with the constant shear force does not affect the measured mean shear modulus.

Keywords: shear field test method, structural-sized test, shear modulus of Glulam beam, photogrammetry approach

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Authors: E. Verduci, I. Aguglia, A. Filocamo, I. Macrì, R. Scala, A. Vinci

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One of the first indicator of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a decreasing tendency or failure to respond to name (RTN) call. Despite RTN is important for social and language developmentand it’s a common target for early interventions for children with ASD, research on specific treatments is insufficient and does not consider the importance of the discrimination between the own name and other names. The purpose of the current study was to replicate an assessment and treatment model proposed by Conine et al. (2020) to teach children with ASD to respond to their own name and to not respond to other names (RTO). The model includes three different phases (baseline/screening, treatment, and generalization), and itgradually introduces the different treatment components, starting with the most naturalistic ones (such as social interaction) and adding more intrusive components (such as tangible reinforcements, prompt and fading procedures) if necessary. The participants of this study were three children with ASD diagnosis: D. (5 years old) with a low frequency of RTN, M. (7 years old) with a RTN unstable and no ability of discrimination between his name and other names, S. (3 years old) with a strong RTN but a constant response to other names. Moreover, the treatment for D. and M. consisted of social and tangible reinforcements (treatment T1), for S. the purpose of the treatment was to teach the discrimination between his name and the others. For all participants, results suggest the efficacy of the model to acquire the ability to selectively respond to the own name and the generalization of the behavior with other people and settings.

Keywords: response to name, autism spectrum disorder, progressive training, ABA

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Authors: Yin-Yann Chen, Jia-Ying Li

Abstract:

Assembly line balancing problems can be categorized into one-sided, two-sided, and multi-manned ones by using the number of operators deployed at workstations. This study explores the balancing problem of a resource-constrained assembly line with multi-manned workstations. Resources include machines or tools in assembly lines such as jigs, fixtures, and hand tools. A mathematical programming model was developed to carry out decision-making and planning in order to minimize the numbers of workstations, resources, and operators for achieving optimal production efficiency. To improve the solution-finding efficiency, a genetic algorithm (GA) and a simulated annealing algorithm (SA) were designed and developed in this study to be combined with a practical case in car making. Results of the GA/SA and mathematics programming were compared to verify their validity. Finally, analysis and comparison were conducted in terms of the target values, production efficiency, and deployment combinations provided by the algorithms in order for the results of this study to provide references for decision-making on production deployment.

Keywords: heuristic algorithms, line balancing, multi-manned workstation, resource-constrained

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Authors: Xian-Peng Jiang, Catherine C. Baucom, Toby Jiang, Robert L. Elliott

Abstract:

HLA-G binds to the inhibitory receptors of uterine NK cells and plays an important role in protection of fetal cells from maternal NK lysis. HLA-G also mediates tumor escape, but the immunosuppressive role is often neglected. These studies have focused on the examination of HLA-G expression in human breast carcinoma and HLA-G immunosuppressive role in NK cytolysis. We examined HLA-G expression in breast cell lines by real time PCR, ELISA and immunofluorescent staining. We treated the breast cancer cell lines with anti-human HLA-G antibody or progesterone. Then, NK cytolysis was measured by using MTT assay. We find that breast carcinoma cell lines increase the expression of HLA-G mRNA and protein, compared to normal cells. Blocking HLA-G of the breast cancer cells by the antibody increases NK cytolysis. Progesterone upregulates HLA-G mRNA and protein of human breast cancer cell lines. The increased HLA-G expression suppresses NK cytolysis. In summary, human breast carcinoma overexpress HLA-G immunosuppressive molecules. Blocking HLA-G protein by antibody improves NK cytolysis. In contrast, upregulation of HLA-G expression by progesterone impairs NK cytolytic function. Thus, HLA-G is a new immunosuppressive checkpoint and potential cancer immunotherapeutic target.

Keywords: HLA-G, Breast carcinoma, NK cells, Immunosuppressive checkpoint

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Daniela Istrati, Alina Morosan, Maria Stanca, Bogdan Purcareanu, Adrian Fudulu, Laura Olariu, Alice Buteica, Ion Mindrila, Rodica Cristescu, Dan Eduard Mihaiescu

Abstract:

Our present work is related to the synthesis, characterization and applications of new nanocomposite materials based on silica mesoporous nanocompozites systems. The nanocomposite support was obtained by using a specific step–by–step multilayer structure buildup synthetic route, characterized by XRD (X-Ray Difraction), TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy), FT-IR (Fourier Transform-Infra Red Spectrometry), BET (Brunauer–Emmett–Teller method) and loaded with Salvia officinalis plant extract obtained by a hydro-alcoholic extraction route. The sustained release of the target compounds was studied by a modified LC method, proving low release profiles, as expected for the high specific surface area support. The obtained results were further correlated with the in vitro / in vivo behavior of the nanocomposite material and recommending the silica mesoporous nanocomposites as good candidates for biomedical applications. Acknowledgements: This study has been funded by the Research Project PN-III-P2-2.1-PTE-2016-0160, 49-PTE / 2016 (PROZECHIMED) and Project Number PN-III-P4-ID-PCE-2016-0884 / 2017.

Keywords: biomedical, mesoporous, nanocomposites, natural products, sustained release

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: Nasiruddin Khan, Saud Iqbal

Abstract:

Arabian Gulf region has undergone enormous development due to oil boom resulting in overwhelming changes in the lifestyle of the population over the past few decades. This study focused on food consumption patterns of Omani university students. Information, on anthropometric measurements, dietary intakes (measured by a food frequency questionnaire) of students was recorded. Anthropometric data revealed 62.5% of the subjects to be of normal weight and approximately 25% being overweight. Female students appeared to be more weight conscious than males. Dietary intakes in terms of servings (Mean ± S.D) per day among normal weight (BMI 18.5 – 24.9) males vs. females were approximately; cereals (7.5 ± 5.9 vs. 4.9 ± 2.9 servings), meat and alternatives (1.9 ± 0.9 vs. 1.5 ± 0.9 servings), dairy foods (0.9 ± 0.8 vs. 1.1 ± 0.9 servings) per day, respectively. Overall 55.3% of both males (average 1.9 servings) as well as females (average 1.7 servings) had severely inadequate intakes of vegetables on a daily basis as per the food guide pyramid recommendations. Only the fruit group intakes were adequate in about 70% of the population. Adequate intakes of dairy and meat and alternatives group were found in only 22% and 32% of the subjects, respectively. These results indicate a significant influence of a modern lifestyle on dietary habits and food selection of the target population.

Keywords: dietary pattern, food guide pyramid, lifestyle, Oman

Procedia PDF Downloads 302

Authors: Harshavardhan Reddy, Balaji Subramanian

Abstract:

A systematic parametric study to find the optimum bellmouth profile by relating geometric and performance parameters to satisfy a set of specifications is reported. A careful aerodynamic design of bellmouth intake is critical to properly direct the flow with minimal losses and maximal flow uniformity into the honeycomb located inside the settling chamber of an indraft wind tunnel, thus improving the efficiency of the entire unit. Design charts for elliptically profiled bellmouths with two different contraction ratios (9 and 18) and three different test section speeds (25 m/s, 50 m/s, and 75 m/s) were presented. A significant performance improvement - especially in the Coefficient of discharge and in the flow angularity and boundary layer thickness at the honeycomb inlet - was observed when an entry corner radius (r/D = 0.08) was added to the bellmouth profile. The nonuniformity at the honeycomb inlet drops by about three times (~1% to 0.3%) when moving from square to regular octagonal cross-section. An octagonal cross-sectioned bellmouth intake with L/d = 0.55, D/d = 1.625, and r/D = 0.08 met all the four target performance specifications and is proposed as the best choice for a low-speed wind tunnel.

Keywords: bellmouth intake, low-speed wind tunnel, coefficient of discharge, nonuniformity, flow angularity, boundary layer thickness, CFD, aerodynamics

Procedia PDF Downloads 178