Search results for: city cost function

Authors: Huey-Yeu Yan, Ching-Ying Lee, Hung-Ru Lin

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Background: Physical assessment is a vital clinical nursing competence. The gap between conventional teaching method and the way e-generation students’ preferred could be bridged owing to the support of Internet technology, i.e. interacting with online media to manage learning works. Nursing instructors in the wake of new learning pattern of the e-generation students are challenged to actively adjust and make teaching contents and methods more versatile. Objective: The objective of this research is to explore the effects on teaching and learning with live webcast-assisted on a specific topic, Physical Assessment technique, on a designated group of young nursing majors. It’s hoped that, with a way of nursing instructing, more versatile learning resources may be provided to facilitate self-directed learning. Design: This research adopts a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The instructor demonstrated physical assessment techniques and operation procedures via live webcast broadcasted online to all students. It increased both the off-time interaction between teacher and students concerning teaching materials. Methods: A convenient sampling was used to recruit a total of 52 nursing-majors at a certain university. The nursing majors took two-hour classes of Physical Assessment per week for 18 weeks (36 hrs. in total). The instruction covered four units with live webcasting and then conducted an online anonymous survey of learning outcomes by questionnaire. The research instrument was the online questionnaire, covering three major domains—online media used, learning outcome evaluation and evaluation result. The data analysis was conducted via IBM SPSS Statistics Version 2.0. The descriptive statistics was undertaken to describe the analysis of basic data and learning outcomes. Statistical methods such as descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation were employed in verification. Results: Results indicated the following five major findings. (1) learning motivation, about four fifth of the participants agreed the online instruction resources are very helpful in improving learning motivation and raising the learning interest. (2) learning needs, about four fifth of participants agreed it was helpful to plan self-directed practice after the instruction, and meet their needs of repetitive learning and/or practice at their leisure time. (3) learning effectiveness, about two third agreed it was helpful to reduce pre-exam anxiety, and improve their test scores. (4) course objects, about three fourth agreed that it was helpful to achieve the goal of ‘executing the complete Physical Assessment procedures with proper skills’. (5) finally, learning reflection, about all of participants agreed this experience of online instructing, learning, and practicing is beneficial to them, they recommend instructor to share with other nursing majors, and they will recommend it to fellow students too. Conclusions: Live webcasting is a low-cost, convenient, efficient and interactive resource to facilitate nursing majors’ motivation of learning, need of self-directed learning and practice, outcome of learning. When live webcasting is integrated into nursing teaching, it provides an opportunity of self-directed learning to promote learning effectiveness, as such to fulfill the teaching objective.

Keywords: innovative teaching, learning effectiveness, live webcasting, physical assessment technique

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Authors: Khiem M. Nguyen, Ming C. Yang

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Chloroplast pigments are extremely important during photosynthesis since they play essential roles in light absorption and energy transfer. Therefore, understanding the efficiency of chlorophyll (Chl) biosynthesis could facilitate enhancement in photo-assimilates accumulation, and ultimately, in crop yield. The Chl-deficient mutants have been used extensively to study the Chl biosynthetic pathways and the biogenesis of the photosynthetic apparatus. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is one of the most leading food crops, serving as staple food for many parts of the world. To author’s best knowledge, Chl b–lacking rice has been found; however the molecular mechanism of Chl biosynthesis still remains unclear compared to wild-type rice. In this study, the ultrastructure analysis, photosynthetic properties, and transcriptome profile of wild-type rice (Norin No.8, N8) and its Chl b-lacking mutant (Chlorina 1, C1) were examined. The finding concluded that total Chl content and Chl b content in the C1 leaves were strongly reduced compared to N8 leaves, suggesting that reduction in the total Chl content contributes to leaf color variation at the physiological level. Plastid ultrastructure of C1 possessed abnormal thylakoid membranes with loss of starch granule, large number of vesicles, and numerous plastoglobuli. The C1 rice also exhibited thinner stacked grana, which was caused by a reduction in the number of thylakoid membranes per granum. Thus, the different Chl a/b ratio of C1 may reflect the abnormal plastid development and function. Transcriptional analysis identified 23 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and 671 transcription factors (TFs) that were involved in Chl metabolism, chloroplast development, cell division, and photosynthesis. The transcriptome profile and DEGs revealed that the gene encoding PsbR (PSII core protein) was down-regulated, therefore suggesting that the lower in light-harvesting complex proteins are responsible for the lower photosynthetic capacity in C1. In addition, expression level of cell division protein (FtsZ) genes were significantly reduced in C1, causing chloroplast division defect. A total of 19 DEGs were identified based on KEGG pathway assignment involving Chl biosynthesis pathway. Among these DEGs, the GluTR gene was down-regulated, whereas the UROD, CPOX, and MgCH genes were up-regulated. Observation through qPCR suggested that later stages of Chl biosynthesis were enhanced in C1, whereas the early stages were inhibited. Plastid structure analysis together with transcriptomic analysis suggested that the Chl a/b ratio was amplified both by the reduction in Chl contents accumulation, owning to abnormal chloroplast development, and by the enhanced conversion of Chl b to Chl a. Moreover, the results indicated the same Chl-cycle pattern in the wild-type and C1 rice, indicating another Chl b degradation pathway. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that normal grana stacking, along with the absence of Chl b and greatly reduced levels of Chl a in C1, provide evidence to support the conclusion that other factors along with LHCII proteins are involved in grana stacking. The findings of this study provide insight into the molecular mechanisms that underlie different Chl a/b ratios in rice.

Keywords: Chl-deficient mutant, grana stacked, photosynthesis, RNA-Seq, transcriptomic analysis

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Authors: Sthanu Mahadev, Wen Chan, Melanie Lim

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Anisotropy dominated continuous-fiber composite materials have garnered attention in numerous mechanical and aerospace structural applications. Tailored mechanical properties in advanced composites can exhibit superiority in terms of stiffness-to-weight ratio, strength-to-weight ratio, low-density characteristics, coupled with significant improvements in fatigue resistance as opposed to metal structure counterparts. Extensive research has demonstrated their core potential as more than just mere lightweight substitutes to conventional materials. Prior work done by Mahadev and Chan focused on formulating a modified composite shell theory based prognosis methodology for investigating the structural response of thin-walled circular cylindrical shell type composite configurations under in-plane mechanical loads respectively. The prime motivation to develop this theory stemmed from its capability to generate simple yet accurate closed-form analytical results that can efficiently characterize circular composite shell construction. It showcased the development of a novel mathematical framework to analytically identify the location of the centroid for thin-walled, open cross-section, curved composite shells that were characterized by circumferential arc angle, thickness-to-mean radius ratio, and total laminate thickness. Ply stress variations for curved cylindrical shells were analytically examined under the application of centric tensile and bending loading. This work presents a cost-effective, small-platform experimental methodology by taking advantage of the full-field measurement capability of digital image correlation (DIC) for an accurate assessment of key mechanical parameters such as in-plane mechanical stresses and strains, centroid location etc. Mechanical property measurement of advanced composite materials can become challenging due to their anisotropy and complex failure mechanisms. Full-field displacement measurements are well suited for characterizing the mechanical properties of composite materials because of the complexity of their deformation. This work encompasses the fabrication of a set of curved cylindrical shell coupons, the design and development of a novel test-fixture design and an innovative experimental methodology that demonstrates the capability to very accurately predict the location of centroid in such curved composite cylindrical strips via employing a DIC based strain measurement technique. Error percentage difference between experimental centroid measurements and previously estimated analytical centroid results are observed to be in good agreement. The developed analytical modified-shell theory provides the capability to understand the fundamental behavior of thin-walled cylindrical shells and offers the potential to generate novel avenues to understand the physics of such structures at a laminate level.

Keywords: anisotropy, composites, curved cylindrical shells, digital image correlation

Procedia PDF Downloads 316

Authors: Sıdıka Kaya, Gülay Sain Güven, Seda Karsavuran, Onur Toka

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This study is part of an ongoing research project supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) under Project Number 114K404, and participation to this conference was supported by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Coordination Unit under Project Number 10243. Evaluation of hospital readmissions is gaining importance in terms of quality and cost, and is becoming the target of national policies. In Turkey, the topic of hospital readmission is relatively new on agenda and very few studies have been conducted on this topic. The aim of this study was to determine 30-day readmission rates and risk factors for readmission. Whether readmission was planned, related to the prior admission and avoidable or not was also assessed. The study was designed as a ‘prospective cohort study.’ 472 patients hospitalized in internal medicine departments of a university hospital in Turkey between February 1, 2015 and April 30, 2015 were followed up. Analyses were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 22.0 and SPSS Modeler 16.0. Average age of the patients was 56 and 56% of the patients were female. Among these patients 95 were readmitted. Overall readmission rate was calculated as 20% (95/472). However, only 31 readmissions were unplanned. Unplanned readmission rate was 6.5% (31/472). Out of 31 unplanned readmission, 24 was related to the prior admission. Only 6 related readmission was avoidable. To determine risk factors for readmission we constructed Chi-square automatic interaction detector (CHAID) decision tree algorithm. CHAID decision trees are nonparametric procedures that make no assumptions of the underlying data. This algorithm determines how independent variables best combine to predict a binary outcome based on ‘if-then’ logic by portioning each independent variable into mutually exclusive subsets based on homogeneity of the data. Independent variables we included in the analysis were: clinic of the department, occupied beds/total number of beds in the clinic at the time of discharge, age, gender, marital status, educational level, distance to residence (km), number of people living with the patient, any person to help his/her care at home after discharge (yes/no), regular source (physician) of care (yes/no), day of discharge, length of stay, ICU utilization (yes/no), total comorbidity score, means for each 3 dimensions of Readiness for Hospital Discharge Scale (patient’s personal status, patient’s knowledge, and patient’s coping ability) and number of daycare admissions within 30 days of discharge. In the analysis, we included all 95 readmitted patients (46.12%), but only 111 (53.88%) non-readmitted patients, although we had 377 non-readmitted patients, to balance data. The risk factors for readmission were found as total comorbidity score, gender, patient’s coping ability, and patient’s knowledge. The strongest identifying factor for readmission was comorbidity score. If patients’ comorbidity score was higher than 1, the risk for readmission increased. The results of this study needs to be validated by other data–sets with more patients. However, we believe that this study will guide further studies of readmission and CHAID is a useful tool for identifying risk factors for readmission.

Keywords: decision tree, hospital, internal medicine, readmission

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Authors: Eliska Smidova, Petr Kabele

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This paper describes non-linear finite element simulation of laminated veneer lumber (LVL) under tensile and shear loads that induce cracking along fibers. For this purpose, we use 2D homogeneous orthotropic constitutive model of tensile and shear fracture in timber that has been recently developed and implemented into ATENA® finite element software by the authors. The model captures (i) material orthotropy for small deformations in both linear and non-linear range, (ii) elastic behavior until anisotropic failure criterion is fulfilled, (iii) inelastic behavior after failure criterion is satisfied, (iv) different post-failure response for cracks along and across the grain, (v) unloading/reloading behavior. The post-cracking response is treated by fixed smeared crack model where Reinhardt-Hordijk function is used. The model requires in total 14 input parameters that can be obtained from standard tests, off-axis test results and iterative numerical simulation of compact tension (CT) or compact tension-shear (CTS) test. New engineered timber composites, such as laminated veneer lumber (LVL), offer improved structural parameters compared to sawn timber. LVL is manufactured by laminating 3 mm thick wood veneers aligned in one direction using water-resistant adhesives (e.g. polyurethane). Thus, 3 main grain directions, namely longitudinal (L), tangential (T), and radial (R), are observed within the layered LVL product. The core of this work consists in 3 numerical simulations of experiments where Radiata Pine LVL and Yellow Poplar LVL were involved. The first analysis deals with calibration and validation of the proposed model through off-axis tensile test (at a load-grain angle of 0°, 10°, 45°, and 90°) and CTS test (at a load-grain angle of 30°, 60°, and 90°), both of which were conducted for Radiata Pine LVL. The second finite element simulation reproduces load-CMOD curve of compact tension (CT) test of Yellow Poplar with the aim of obtaining cohesive law parameters to be used as an input in the third finite element analysis. That is four point bending test of small-size arch of 780 mm span that is made of Yellow Poplar LVL. The arch is designed with a through crack between two middle layers in the crown. Curved laminated beams are exposed to high radial tensile stress compared to timber strength in radial tension in the crown area. Let us note that in this case the latter parameter stands for tensile strength in perpendicular direction with respect to the grain. Standard tests deliver most of the relevant input data whereas traction-separation law for crack along the grain can be obtained partly by inverse analysis of compact tension (CT) test or compact tension-shear test (CTS). The initial crack was modeled as a narrow gap separating two layers in the middle the arch crown. Calculated load-deflection curve is in good agreement with the experimental ones. Furthermore, crack pattern given by numerical simulation coincides with the most important observed crack paths.

Keywords: compact tension (CT) test, compact tension shear (CTS) test, fixed smeared crack model, four point bending test, laminated arch, laminated veneer lumber LVL, off-axis test, orthotropic elasticity, orthotropic fracture criterion, Radiata Pine LVL, traction-separation law, yellow poplar LVL, 2D constitutive model

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Authors: M. Bredice, M. B. Forleo, L. Quici

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Coastal tourism is currently facing huge challenges on how to balance environmental problems and tourist activities. Recent literature shows a growing interest in the issue of sustainable tourism from a so-called civilized tourists’ perspective by investigating opinions, perceptions, and behaviors. This study investigates the opinions of youth on what makes them responsible tourists and the ability of coastal marine areas to support tourism in future scenarios. A sample of 778 Italians attending the last year of high school was interviewed. Descriptive statistics, tests, and cluster analyses are applied to highlight the distribution of opinions among youth, detect significant differences based on demographic characteristics, and make segmentation of the different profiles based on students’ opinions and behaviors. Preliminary results show that students are largely convinced (62%) that by 2050 the quality of coastal environments could limit seaside tourism, while 10% of them believe that the problem can be solved simply by changing the tourist destination. Besides the cost of the holiday, the most relevant aspect respondents consider when choosing a marine destination is the presence of tourist attractions followed by the quality of the marine-coastal environment, the specificity of the local gastronomy and cultural traditions, and finally, the activities offered to guests such as sports and events. The reduction of waste and lower air emissions are considered the most important environmental areas in which marine-coastal tourism activities can contribute to preserving the quality of seas and coasts. Areas in which, as a tourist, they believe possible to give a personal contribution were (responses “very much” and “somewhat”); do not throw litter in the sea and on the beach (84%), do not buy single-use plastic products (66%), do not use soap or shampoo when showering in beaches (53%), do not have bonfires (47%), do not damage dunes (46%), and do not remove natural materials (e.g., sand, shells) from the beach (46%). About 6% of the sample stated that they were not interested in contributing to the aforementioned activities, while another 7% replied that they could not contribute at all. Finally, 80% of the sample has never participated in voluntary environmental initiatives or citizen science projects; moreover, about 64% of the students have never participated in events organized by environmental associations in marine or coastal areas. Regarding the test analysis -based on Kruskal-Wallis and Mann and Whitney tests - gender, region, and studying area of students reveals significance in terms of variables expressing knowledge and interest in sustainability topics and sustainable tourism behaviors. The classification of the education field is significant for a great number of variables, among which those related to several sustainable behaviors that respondents declare to be able to contribute as tourists. The ongoing cluster analysis will reveal different profiles in the sample and relevant variables. Based on preliminary results, implications are envisaged in the fields of education, policy, and business strategies for sustainable scenarios. Under these perspectives, the study has the potential to contribute to the conference debate about marine and coastal sustainable development and management.

Keywords: cluster analysis, education, knowledge, young people

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Authors: Aditya Sharma

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Profits earned from relative strength strategy of zero-cost portfolio i.e. taking long position in winner stocks and short position in loser stocks from recent past are termed as momentum profits. In recent times, there has been lot of controversy and concern about sources of momentum profits, since the existence of these profits acts as an evidence of earning non-normal returns from publicly available information directly contradicting Efficient Market Hypothesis. Literature review reveals conflicting theories and differing evidences on sources of momentum profits. This paper aims at re-examining the sources of momentum profits in Indian capital markets. The study focuses on assessing the effect of fundamental as well as behavioral sources in order to understand the role of investor behavior in stock returns and suggest (if any) improvements to existing behavioral asset pricing models. This Paper adopts calendar time methodology to calculate momentum profits for 6 different strategies with and without skipping a month between ranking and holding period. For each J/K strategy, under this methodology, at the beginning of each month t stocks are ranked on past j month’s average returns and sorted in descending order. Stocks in upper decile are termed winners and bottom decile as losers. After ranking long and short positions are taken in winner and loser stocks respectively and both portfolios are held for next k months, in such manner that at any given point of time we have K overlapping long and short portfolios each, ranked from t-1 month to t-K month. At the end of period, returns of both long and short portfolios are calculated by taking equally weighted average across all months. Long minus short returns (LMS) are momentum profits for each strategy. Post testing for momentum profits, to study the role market risk plays in momentum profits, CAPM and Fama French three factor model adjusted LMS returns are calculated. In the final phase of studying sources, decomposing methodology has been used for breaking up the profits into unconditional means, serial correlations, and cross-serial correlations. This methodology is unbiased, can be used with the decile-based methodology and helps to test the effect of behavioral and fundamental sources altogether. From all the analysis, it was found that momentum profits do exist in Indian capital markets with market risk playing little role in defining them. Also, it was observed that though momentum profits have multiple sources (risk, serial correlations, and cross-serial correlations), cross-serial correlations plays a major role in defining these profits. The study revealed that momentum profits do have multiple sources however, cross-serial correlations i.e. the effect of returns of other stocks play a major role. This means that in addition to studying the investors` reactions to the information of the same firm it is also important to study how they react to the information of other firms. The analysis confirms that investor behavior does play an important role in stock returns and incorporating both the aspects of investors’ reactions in behavioral asset pricing models help make then better.

Keywords: investor behavior, momentum effect, sources of momentum, stock returns

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Authors: Nihad Chakri, Btissam El Amrani, Faouzi Berrada, Halima Jounaid, Fouad Amraoui

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Public baths or hammams play an essential role in the Moroccan urban and peri-urban fabric, constituting part of the cultural heritage. Urbanization in Morocco has led to a significant increase in the number of these traditional hammams: between 6,000 and 15,000 units (to be updated) operate with a traditional heating system. Numerous studies on energy consumption indicate that a hammam consumes between 60 and 120m3 of water and one to two tons of wood per day. On average, one ton of wood costs 650 Moroccan dirhams (approximately 60 Euros), resulting in a daily fuel cost of around 1300 Moroccan dirhams (about 120 Euros). These high consumptions result in significant environmental nuisances generated by: Wastewater: in the case of hammams located on the outskirts of Casablanca, such as our study area, the Municipality of Dar Bouazza, most of these waters are directly discharged into the receiving environment without prior treatment because they are not connected to the sanitation network. Emissions of black smoke and ashes produced by the often incomplete combustion of wood. Reducing the liquid and gas emissions generated by these hammams thus poses an environmental and sustainable development challenge that needs to be addressed. In this context, we initiated the Eco-hammam project with the objective of implementing innovative and locally adapted solutions to limit the negative impacts of hammams on the environment and reduce water and wood energy consumption. This involves treating and reusing wastewater through a compact system with heat recovery and using alternative energy sources to increase and enhance the energy efficiency of these traditional hammams. To achieve this, on-site surveys of hammams in the Dar Bouazza Municipality and the application of statistical approaches to the results of the physico-chemical and bacteriological characterization of incoming and outgoing water from these units were conducted. This allowed us to establish an environmental diagnosis of these entities. In conclusion, the analysis of well water used by Dar Bouazza's hammams revealed the presence of certain parameters that could be hazardous to public health, such as total germs, total coliforms, sulfite-reducing spores, chromium, nickel, and nitrates. Therefore, this work primarily focuses on prospecting upstream of our study area to verify if other sources of pollution influence the quality of well water.

Keywords: public baths, hammams, cultural heritage, urbanization, water consumption, wood consumption, environmental nuisances, wastewater, environmental challenge, sustainable development, Eco-hammam project, innovative solutions, local adaptation, negative impacts, water conservation, wastewater treatment, heat recovery, alternative energy sources, on-site surveys, Dar Bouazza Municipality, statistical approaches, physico-chemical characterization, bacteriological characterization, environmental diagnosis, well water analysis, public health, pollution sources, well water quality

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Authors: Yusuf Hesham Mohamed

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Introduction: Three-dimensional printing technology includes multiple procedures that fabricate three-dimensional objects through consecutively layering two-dimensional cross-sections on top of each other. 3D bioprinting is a promising field of 3D printing, which fabricates tissues and organs by accurately controlling the proper arrangement of diverse biological components. 3D bioprinting uses software and prints biological materials and their supporting components layer-by-layer on a substrate or in a tissue culture plate to produce complex live tissues and organs. 3D food printing is an emerging field of 3D bioprinting in which the 3D printed products are food products that are cheap, require less effort to produce, and have more desirable traits. The Aim of the Study is the development of an affordable 3D bioprinter by altering a locally made CNC instrument with an open-source platform to suit the 3D bio-printer purposes. Later, we went through applying the prototype in several applications regarding food technology and drug testing, including the organ-On-Chip. Materials and Methods: An off-the-shelf 3D printer was modified by designing and fabricating the syringe unit, which was designed on the basis of the Milli-fluidics system. Sodium alginate and gelatin hydrogels were prepared, followed by leaf cell suspension preparation from narrow sections of Fragaria’s viable leaves. The desired 3D structure was modeled, and 3D printing preparations took place. Cell-free and cell-laden hydrogels were printed at room temperature under sterile conditions. Post printing curing process was performed. The printed structure was further studied. Results: Positive results have been achieved using the altered 3D bioprinter where a 3D hydrogel construct of two layers made of the combination of sodium alginate to gelatin (15%: 0.5%) has been printed. DLP 3D printer was used to design the syringe component with a transparent PLA-Pro resin for the creation of a microfluidics system having two channels altered to the double extruder. The hydrogel extruder’s design was based on peristaltic pumps, which utilized a stepper motor. The design and fabrication were made using DIY-3D printed parts. Hard plastic PLA was the material utilized for printing. SEM was used to carry out the porous 3D construct imaging. Multiple physical and chemical tests were performed in order to ensure that the cell line was suitable for hosting. Fragaria plant was developed by suspending Fragaria’s cells from its leaves using the 3D bioprinter. Conclusion: 3D bioprinting is considered to be an emerging scientific field that can facilitate and improve many scientific tests and studies. Thus, having a 3D bioprinter in labs is considered to be an essential requirement. 3D bioprinters are very expensive; however, the fabrication of a 3D printer into a 3D bioprinter can lower the cost of the bioprinter. The 3D bioprinter implemented made use of peristaltic pumps instead of syringe-based pumps in order to extend the ability to print multiple types of materials and cells.

Keywords: scaffold, eco on chip, 3D bioprinter, DLP printer

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Zhiwu Zheng, Prakhar Kumar, Sigurd Wagner, Naveen Verma, James C. Sturm

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Soft robots have drawn great interest recently due to a rich range of possible shapes and motions they can take on to address new applications, compared to traditional rigid robots. Large-area electronics (LAE) provides a unique platform for creating soft robots by leveraging thin-film technology to enable the integration of a large number of actuators, sensors, and control circuits on flexible sheets. However, the rich shapes and motions possible, especially when interacting with complex environments, pose significant challenges to forming well-generalized and robust models necessary for robot design and control. In this work, we describe an analytical model for predicting the shape and locomotion of a flexible (steel-foil-based) piezoelectric-actuated 2D robot based on Euler-Bernoulli beam theory. It is nominally (unpowered) lying flat on the ground, and when powered, its shape is controlled by an array of piezoelectric thin-film actuators. Key features of the models are its ability to incorporate the significant effects of gravity on the shape and to precisely predict the spatial distribution of friction against the contacting surfaces, necessary for determining inchworm-type motion. We verified the model by developing a distributed discrete element representation of a continuous piezoelectric actuator and by comparing its analytical predictions to discrete-element robot simulations using PyBullet. Without gravity, predicting the shape of a sheet with a linear array of piezoelectric actuators at arbitrary voltages is straightforward. However, gravity significantly distorts the shape of the sheet, causing some segments to flatten against the ground. Our work includes the following contributions: (i) A self-consistent approach was developed to exactly determine which parts of the soft robot are lifted off the ground, and the exact shape of these sections, for an arbitrary array of piezoelectric voltages and configurations. (ii) Inchworm-type motion relies on controlling the relative friction with the ground surface in different sections of the robot. By adding torque-balance to our model and analyzing shear forces, the model can then determine the exact spatial distribution of the vertical force that the ground is exerting on the soft robot. Through this, the spatial distribution of friction forces between ground and robot can be determined. (iii) By combining this spatial friction distribution with the shape of the soft robot, in the function of time as piezoelectric actuator voltages are changed, the inchworm-type locomotion of the robot can be determined. As a practical example, we calculated the performance of a 5-actuator system on a 50-µm thick steel foil. Piezoelectric properties of commercially available thin-film piezoelectric actuators were assumed. The model predicted inchworm motion of up to 200 µm per step. For independent verification, we also modelled the system using PyBullet, a discrete-element robot simulator. To model a continuous thin-film piezoelectric actuator, we broke each actuator into multiple segments, each of which consisted of two rigid arms with appropriate mass connected with a 'motor' whose torque was set by the applied actuator voltage. Excellent agreement between our analytical model and the discrete-element simulator was shown for both for the full deformation shape and motion of the robot.

Keywords: analytical modeling, piezoelectric actuators, soft robot locomotion, thin-film technology

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Authors: Sanguk Nam, Van Ha Nguyen, Hanjung Song

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For low-power applications such as adapters for portable devices and USB chargers, the primary side regulation (PSR) fly-back converter is widely used in lieu of the conventional fly-back converter using opto-coupler because of its simpler structure and lower cost. In the literature, there has been studies focusing on the design of PSR circuit; however, the conventional sensing method in PSR circuit using RC delay has a lower accuracy as compared to the conventional fly-back converter using opto-coupler. In this paper, we propose a novel PWM/PFM controller using new sensing technique for the PSR fly-back converter which can control an accurate output voltage. The conventional PSR circuit can sense the output voltage information from the auxiliary winding to regulate the duty cycle of the clock that control the output voltage. In the sensing signal waveform, there has two transient points at time the voltage equals to Vout+VD and Vout, respectively. In other to sense the output voltage, the PSR circuit must detect the time at which the current of the diode at the output equals to zero. In the conventional PSR flyback-converter, the sensing signal at this time has a non-sharp-negative slope that might cause a difficulty in detecting the output voltage information since a delay of sensing signal or switching clock may exist which brings out an unstable operation of PSR fly-back converter. In this paper instead of detecting output voltage at a non-sharp-negative slope, a sharp-positive slope is used to sense the proper information of the output voltage. The proposed PRS circuit consists of a saw-tooth generator, a summing circuit, a sample and hold circuit and a peak detector. Besides, there is also the start-up circuit which protects the chip from high surge current when the converter is turned on. Additionally, to reduce the standby power loss, a second mode which operates in a low frequency is designed beside the main mode at high frequency. In general, the operation of the proposed PSR circuit can be summarized as following: At the time the output information is sensed from the auxiliary winding, a saw-tooth signal from the saw-tooth generator is generated. Then, both of these signals are summed using a summing circuit. After this process, the slope of the peak of the sensing signal at the time diode current is zero becomes positive and sharp that make the peak easy to detect. The output of the summing circuit then is fed into a peak detector and the sample and hold circuit; hence, the output voltage can be properly sensed. By this way, we can sense more accurate output voltage information and extend margin even circuit is delayed or even there is the existence of noise by using only a simple circuit structure as compared with conventional circuits while the performance can be sufficiently enhanced. Circuit verification was carried out using 0.35μm 700V Magnachip process. The simulation result of sensing signal shows a maximum error of 5mV under various load and line conditions which means the operation of the converter is stable. As compared to the conventional circuit, we achieved very small error only used analog circuits compare with conventional circuits. In this paper, a PWM/PFM controller using a simple and effective sensing method for PSR fly-back converter has been presented in this paper. The circuit structure is simple as compared with the conventional designs. The gained results from simulation confirmed the idea of the design

Keywords: primary side regulation, PSR, sensing technique, peak detector, PWM/PFM control, fly-back converter

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Authors: Prajakta Patil, Yash Huzurbazar, Abhijeet Shinde

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Aim: To develop a treatment protocol for the management of tinnitus through multi-modality brain stimulation. Methodology: Present study included 33 adults with unilateral (31 subjects) and bilateral (2 subjects) chronic tinnitus with and/or without hearing loss independent of their etiology. The Treatment protocol included 5 consecutive sessions with follow-up of 6 months. Each session was divided into 3 parts: • Pre-treatment: a) Informed consent b) Pitch and loudness matching. • Treatment: Bimanual paper pen task with tinnitus masking for 30 minutes. • Post-treatment: a) Pitch and loudness matching b) Directive counseling and obtaining feedback. Paper-pen task is to be performed bimanually that included carrying out two different writing activities in different context. The level of difficulty of the activities was increased in successive sessions. Narrowband noise of a frequency same as that of tinnitus was presented at 10 dBSL of tinnitus for 30 minutes simultaneously in the ear with tinnitus. Result: The perception of tinnitus was no longer present in 4 subjects while in remaining subjects it reduced to an intensity that its perception no longer troubled them without causing residual facilitation. In all subjects, the intensity of tinnitus decreased by an extent of 45 dB at an average. However, in few subjects, the intensity of tinnitus also decreased by more than 45 dB. The approach resulted in statistically significant reductions in Tinnitus Functional Index and Tinnitus Handicap Inventory scores. The results correlate with pre and post treatment score of Tinnitus Handicap Inventory that dropped from 90% to 0%. Discussion: Brain mapping(qEEG) Studies report that there is multiple parallel overlapping of neural subnetworks in the non-auditory areas of the brain which exhibits abnormal, constant and spontaneous neural activity involved in the perception of tinnitus with each subnetwork and area reflecting a specific aspect of tinnitus percept. The paper pen task and directive counseling are designed and delivered respectively in a way that is assumed to induce normal, rhythmically constant and premeditated neural activity and mask the abnormal, constant and spontaneous neural activity in the above-mentioned subnetworks and the specific non-auditory area. Counseling was focused on breaking the vicious cycle causing and maintaining the presence of tinnitus. Diverting auditory attention alone is insufficient to reduce the perception of tinnitus. Conscious awareness of tinnitus can be suppressed when individuals engage in cognitively demanding tasks of non-auditory nature as the paper pen task used in the present study. To carry out this task selective, divided, sustained, simultaneous and split attention act cumulatively. Bimanual paper pen task represents a top-down activity which underlies brain’s ability to selectively attend to the bimanual written activity as a relevant stimulus and to ignore tinnitus that is the irrelevant stimuli in the present study. Conclusion: The study suggests that this novel treatment approach is cost effective, time saving and efficient to vanish the tinnitus or to reduce the intensity of tinnitus to a negligible level and thereby eliminating the negative reactions towards tinnitus.

Keywords: multi-modality brain stimulation, neural subnetworks, non-auditory areas, paper-pen task, top-down activity

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Authors: Clemens Bulitta, Sasan Sadrizadeh, Sebastian Buhl

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Introduction: Ventilation technology in operating theatres (OT)is internationally regulated by dif-ferent standards, which define basic specifications for technical equipment and many times also the necessary operating and performance parameters. This confronts the operators of healthcare facilities with the question of finding the best ventilation and air conditioning system for the OT in order to achieve the goal of a large and robust surgicalworkzone with appropriate air quality and climate for patient safety and occupational health. Additionally, energy consumption and the potential need for clothing that limits transmission of bacteria must be considered as well as the total life cycle cost. However, the evaluation methodology of ventilation systems regarding these matters are still a topic of discussion. To date, there are neither any uniform standardized specifications nor any common validation criteria established. Thus, this study aimed to review data in the literature and add ourown research results to compare and assess the performance of different ventilations systems regarding infection preventive effects, energy efficiency, and staff comfort. Methods: We have conducted a comprehensive literature review on OT ventilation-related topics to understand the strengths and limitations of different ventilation systems. Furthermore, data from experimental assessments on OT ventilation systems at the University of Amberg-Weidenin Germany were in-cluded to comparatively assess the performance of Laminar Airflow (LAF), Turbulent Mixing Air-flow(TMA), and Temperature-controlled Airflow (TcAF) with regards to patient and occupational safety as well as staff comfort including indoor climate.CFD simulations from the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden (KTH) were also studied to visualize the differences between these three kinds of ventilation systems in terms of the size of the surgical workzone, resilience to obstacles in the airflow, and energy use. Results: A variety of ventilation concepts are in use in the OT today. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and thus one may be better suited than another depend-ing on the built environment and clinical workflow. Moreover, the proper functioning of OT venti-lation is also affected by multiple external and internal interfering factors. Based on the available data TcAF and LAF seem to provide the greatest effects regarding infection control and minimizing airborne risks for surgical site infections without the need for very tight surgical clothing systems. Resilience to obstacles, staff comfort, and energy efficiency seem to be favourable with TcAF. Conclusion: Based on literature data in current publications and our studies at the Technical Uni-versity of Applied Sciences Amberg-Weidenand the Royal Institute of Technoclogy, LAF and TcAF are more suitable for minimizing the risk for surgical site infections leading to improved clin-ical outcomes. Nevertheless, regarding the best management of thermal loads, atmosphere, energy efficiency, and occupational safety, overall results and data suggest that TcAF systems could pro-vide the economically most efficient and clinically most effective solution under routine clinical conditions.

Keywords: ventilation systems, infection control, energy efficiency, operating theatre, airborne infection risks

Procedia PDF Downloads 97

Authors: Banafsheh Nikmehr, Mohsen Bahrami, Yueqiang Song, Anuradha Koduru, Ayse K. Vuruskan, Hongkun Lu, Mallory Pitts, Tolga B. Mesen, Tamer M. Yalcinkaya

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The number of people who receive in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment has increased on a startling trajectory over the past two decades. Despite advances in this field, particularly the introduction of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and the preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), the IVF success remains low. A major factor contributing to IVF failure is embryonic aneuploidy (abnormal chromosome content), which often results in miscarriage and birth defects. Although PGS is often used as the standard diagnostic tool to identify aneuploid embryos, it is an invasive approach that could affect the embryo development, and yet inaccessible to many patients due its high costs. As such, there is a clear need for a non-invasive cost-effective approach to identify euploid embryos for single embryo transfer (SET). The reported differences between morphokinetic behaviors of aneuploid and euploid embryos has shown promise to address this need. However, current literature is inconclusive and further research is urgently needed to translate current findings into clinical diagnostics. In this ongoing study, we found significant differences between morphokinetic behaviors of euploid and aneuploid embryos that provides important insights and reaffirms the promise of such behaviors for developing non-invasive methodologies. Methodology—A total of 242 embryos (euploid: 149, aneuploid: 93) from 74 patients who underwent IVF treatment in Carolinas Fertility Clinics in Winston-Salem, NC, were analyzed. All embryos were incubated in an EmbryoScope incubator. The patients were randomly selected from January 2019 to June 2021 with most patients having both euploid and aneuploid embryos. All embryos reached the blastocyst stage and had known PGS outcomes. The ploidy assessment was done by a third-party testing laboratory on day 5-7 embryo biopsies. The morphokinetic variables of each embryo were measured by the EmbryoViewer software (Uniesense FertiliTech) on time-lapse images using 7 focal depths. We compared the time to: pronuclei fading (tPNf), division to 2,3,…,9 cells (t2, t3,…,t9), start of embryo compaction (tSC), Morula formation (tM), start of blastocyst formation (tSC), blastocyst formation (tB), and blastocyst expansion (tEB), as well as intervals between them (e.g., c23 = t3 – t2). We used a mixed regression method for our statistical analyses to account for the correlation between multiple embryos per patient. Major Findings— The average age of the patients was 35.04 yrs. The average patient age associated with euploid and aneuploid embryos was not different (P = 0.6454). We found a significant difference in c45 = t5-t4 (P = 0.0298). Our results indicated this interval on average lasts significantly longer for aneuploid embryos - c45(aneuploid) = 11.93hr vs c45(euploid) = 7.97hr. In a separate analysis limited to embryos from the same patients (patients = 47, total embryos=200, euploid=112, aneuploid=88), we obtained the same results (P = 0.0316). The statistical power for this analysis exceeded 87%. No other variable was different between the two groups. Conclusion— Our results demonstrate the importance of morphokinetic variables as potential biomarkers that could aid in non-invasively characterizing euploid and aneuploid embryos. We seek to study a larger population of embryos and incorporate the embryo quality in future studies.

Keywords: IVF, embryo, euploidy, aneuploidy, morphokinteic

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Authors: Natasa Ilic, Alisa Gruden-Movsesijan, Maja Kosanovic, Sofija Glamoclija, Marina Bekic, Ljiljana Sofronic-Milosavljevic, Sergej Tomic

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As a very promising candidate for modulation of immune response in the sense of biasing the inflammatory towards an anti-inflammatory type of response, Trichinella spiralis infection was shown to successfully alleviate the severity of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, the animal model of human disease multiple sclerosis. This effect is achieved via its excretory-secretory muscle larvae (ES L1) products which affect the maturation status and function of dendritic cells (DCs) by inducing the tolerogenic status of DCs, which leads to the mitigation of the Th1 type of response and the activation of a regulatory type of immune response both in vitro and in vivo. ES L1 alone or via treated DCs successfully mitigated EAE in the same manner as the infection itself. On the other hand, it has been shown that T. spiralis infection slows down the tumour growth and significantly reduces the tumour size in the model of mouse melanoma, while ES L1 possesses a pro-apoptotic and anti-survival effect on melanoma cells in vitro. Hence, although the mechanisms still need to be revealed, T. spiralis infection and its ES L1 products have a bit of controversial potential to modulate both inflammatory diseases and malignancies. The recent discovery of T. spiralis extracellular vesicles (TsEVs) suggested that the induction of complex regulation of the immune response requires simultaneous delivery of different signals in nano-sized packages. This study aimed to explore whether TsEVs bare the similar potential as ES L1 to influence the status of DCs in initiation, progression and regulation of immune response, but also to investigate the effect of both ES L1 and TsEVs on myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSC) which present the regular tumour tissue environment. TsEVs were enriched from the conditioned medium of T. spiralis muscle larvae by differential centrifugation and used for the treatment of human monocyte-derived DCs and MDSC. On DCs, TsEVs induced low expression of HLA DR and CD40, moderate CD83 and CD86, and increased expression of ILT3 and CCR7 on treated DCs, i.e., they induced tolerogenic DCs. Such DCs possess the capacity to polarize T cell immune response towards regulatory type, with an increased proportion of IL-10 and TGF-β producing cells, similarly to ES L1. These findings indicated that the ability of TsEVs to induce tolerogenic DCs favoring anti-inflammatory responses may be helpful in coping with diseases that involve Th1/Th17-, but also Th2-mediated inflammation. In MDSC in vitro model, although both ES L1 and TsEVs had the same impact on MDSC phenotype i.e., they acted suppressive, ES L1 treated MDSC, unlike TsEVs treated ones, induced T cell response characterized by the increased RoRγT and IFN-γ, while the proportion of regulatory cells was decreased followed by the decrease in IL-10 and TGF-β positive cells proportion within this population. These findings indicate the interesting ability of ES L1 to modulate T cells response via MDSC towards pro-inflamatory type, suggesting that, unlike TsEVs which consistently demonstrate the suppresive effect on inflammatory response, it could be used also for the development of new approaches aimed for the treatment of malignant diseases. Acknowledgment: This work was funded by the Promis project – Nano-MDCS-Thera, Science Fund, Republic of Serbia.

Keywords: dendritic cells, myeloid derived suppressor cells, immunomodulation, Trichinella spiralis

Procedia PDF Downloads 204

Authors: Tesfaye Dagne, Dagmawit Solomon, Firmaye Bogale, Yosef Gebreyohannes, Samson Mideksa, Mamuye Hadis, Desalegn Ararso, Ermias Woldie, Tsegaye Getachew, Sabit Ababor, Zelalem Kebede

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Globally, road traffic accident (RTA) is causing millions of deaths and injuries every year. It is one of the leading causes of death among people of all age groups and the problem is worse among young reproductive age group. Moreover the problem is increasing with an increasing number of vehicles. The majority of the problem happen in low and middle income countries (LMIC), even if the number of vehicles in these countries is low compared to their population. So, the objective of this paper is to summarize the best available evidence on interventions that can reduce road traffic accidents in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Method: A rapid evidence synthesis approach adapted from the SURE Rapid Response Service was applied to search, appraise and summarize the best available evidence on effective intervention in reducing road traffic injury. To answer the question under review, we searched for relevant studies from databases including PubMed, the Cochrane Library, TRANSPORT, Health system evidence, Epistemonikos, and SUPPORT summary. The following key terms were used for searching: Road traffic accident, RTA, Injury, Reduc*, Prevent*, Minimiz*, “Low and middle-income country”, LMIC. We found 18 articles through a search of different databases mentioned above. After screening for the titles and abstracts of the articles, four of them which satisfy the inclusion criteria were included in the final review. Then we appraised and graded the methodological quality of systematic reviews that are deemed to be highly relevant using AMSTAR. Finding: The identified interventions to reduce road traffic accidents were legislation and enforcement, public awareness/education, speed control/ rumble strips, road improvement, mandatory motorcycle helmet, graduated driver license, street lighting. Legislation and Enforcement: Legislation focusing on mandatory motorcycle helmet usage, banning cellular phone usage when driving, seat belt laws, decreasing the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) level from 0.06 g/L to 0.02 g/L bring the best result where enforcement is there. Public Awareness/Education: focusing on seat belt use, child restraint use, educational training in health centers and schools/universities, and public awareness with media through the distribution of videos, posters/souvenirs, and pamphlets are effective in the short run. Speed Control: through traffic calming bumps, or speed bumps, rumbled strips are effective in reducing accidents and fatality. Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet: is associated with reduction in mortality. Graduated driver’s license (GDL): reduce road traffic injury by 19%. Street lighting: is a low-cost intervention which may reduce road traffic accidents.

Keywords: evidence synthesis, injury, rapid review, reducing, road traffic accident

Procedia PDF Downloads 164

Authors: Gabrielle Robertson, Matthew Downs, Joseph Dagher

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Iron deposition in the brain has been linked with a host of neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Multiple Sclerosis. While some treatment options exist, there are no objective measurement tools that allow for the monitoring of iron levels in the brain in vivo. An emerging Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) method has been recently proposed to deduce iron concentration through quantitative measurement of magnetic susceptibility. This is a multi-step process that involves repeated modeling of physical processes via approximate numerical solutions. For example, the last two steps of this Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM) method involve I) mapping magnetic field into magnetic susceptibility and II) mapping magnetic susceptibility into iron concentration. Process I involves solving an ill-posed inverse problem by using regularization via injection of prior belief. The end result from Process II highly depends on the model used to describe the molecular content of each voxel (type of iron, water fraction, etc.) Due to these factors, the accuracy and repeatability of QSM have been an active area of research in the MRI and medical imaging community. This work aims to estimate iron concentration in the brain via a single step. A synthetic numerical model of the human head was created by automatically and manually segmenting the human head on a high-resolution grid (640x640x640, 0.4mm³) yielding detailed structures such as microvasculature and subcortical regions as well as bone, soft tissue, Cerebral Spinal Fluid, sinuses, arteries, and eyes. Each segmented region was then assigned tissue properties such as relaxation rates, proton density, electromagnetic tissue properties and iron concentration. These tissue property values were randomly selected from a Probability Distribution Function derived from a thorough literature review. In addition to having unique tissue property values, different synthetic head realizations also possess unique structural geometry created by morphing the boundary regions of different areas within normal physical constraints. This model of the human brain is then used to create synthetic MRI measurements. This is repeated thousands of times, for different head shapes, volume, tissue properties and noise realizations. Collectively, this constitutes a training-set that is similar to in vivo data, but larger than datasets available from clinical measurements. This 3D convolutional U-Net neural network architecture was used to train data-driven Deep Learning models to solve for iron concentrations from raw MRI measurements. The performance was then tested on both synthetic data not used in training as well as real in vivo data. Results showed that the model trained on synthetic MRI measurements is able to directly learn iron concentrations in areas of interest more effectively than other existing QSM reconstruction methods. For comparison, models trained on random geometric shapes (as proposed in the Deep QSM method) are less effective than models trained on realistic synthetic head models. Such an accurate method for the quantitative measurement of iron deposits in the brain would be of important value in clinical studies aiming to understand the role of iron in neurological disease.

Keywords: magnetic resonance imaging, MRI, iron deposition, machine learning, quantitative susceptibility mapping

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Shagufta Jabeen, Faez J. Firdaus Abdullah, Zunita Zakaria, Nurulfiza M. Isa, Yung C. Tan, Wai Y. Yee, Abdul R. Omar

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Pasteurella multocida (PM) is an important veterinary opportunistic pathogen particularly associated with septicemic pasteurellosis, pneumonic pasteurellosis and hemorrhagic septicemia in cattle and buffaloes. P. multocida serotype A has been reported to cause fatal pneumonia and septicemia. Pasteurella multocida subspecies multocida of serotype A Malaysian isolate PMTB2.1 was first isolated from buffaloes died of septicemia. In this study, the genome of P. multocida strain PMTB2.1 was sequenced using third-generation sequencing technology, PacBio RS2 system and analyzed bioinformatically via de novo analysis followed by in-depth analysis based on comparative genomics. Bioinformatics analysis based on de novo assembly of PacBio raw reads generated 3 contigs followed by gap filling of aligned contigs with PCR sequencing, generated a single contiguous circular chromosome with a genomic size of 2,315,138 bp and a GC content of approximately 40.32% (Accession number CP007205). The PMTB2.1 genome comprised of 2,176 protein-coding sequences, 6 rRNA operons and 56 tRNA and 4 ncRNAs sequences. The comparative genome sequence analysis of PMTB2.1 with nine complete genomes which include Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Haemophilus parasuis, Escherichia coli and five P. multocida complete genome sequences including, PM70, PM36950, PMHN06, PM3480, PMHB01 and PMTB2.1 was carried out based on OrthoMCL analysis and Venn diagram. The analysis showed that 282 CDs (13%) are unique to PMTB2.1and 1,125 CDs with orthologs in all. This reflects overall close relationship of these bacteria and supports the classification in the Gamma subdivision of the Proteobacteria. In addition, genomic distance analysis among all nine genomes indicated that PMTB2.1 is closely related with other five Pasteurella species with genomic distance less than 0.13. Synteny analysis shows subtle differences in genetic structures among different P.multocida indicating the dynamics of frequent gene transfer events among different P. multocida strains. However, PM3480 and PM70 exhibited exceptionally large structural variation since they were swine and chicken isolates. Furthermore, genomic structure of PMTB2.1 is more resembling that of PM36950 with a genomic size difference of approximately 34,380 kb (smaller than PM36950) and strain-specific Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICE) which was found only in PM36950 is absent in PMTB2.1. Meanwhile, two intact prophages sequences of approximately 62 kb were found to be present only in PMTB2.1. One of phage is similar to transposable phage SfMu. The phylogenomic tree was constructed and rooted with E. coli, A. pleuropneumoniae and H. parasuis based on OrthoMCL analysis. The genomes of P. multocida strain PMTB2.1 were clustered with bovine isolates of P. multocida strain PM36950 and PMHB01 and were separated from avian isolate PM70 and swine isolates PM3480 and PMHN06 and are distant from Actinobacillus and Haemophilus. Previous studies based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) and Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) unable to show a clear phylogenetic relatedness between Pasteurella multocida and the different host. In conclusion, this study has provided insight on the genomic structure of PMTB2.1 in terms of potential genes that can function as virulence factors for future study in elucidating the mechanisms behind the ability of the bacteria in causing diseases in susceptible animals.

Keywords: comparative genomics, DNA sequencing, phage, phylogenomics

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Kaustav Mukherjee

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In this paper we propose a Neural Style Transfer solution whereby we have created a Lightweight Separable Convolution Kernel Based GAN Architecture (SC-GAN) which will very useful for designing filter for Mobile Phone Cameras and also Edge Devices which will convert any image to its 2D ANIMATED COMIC STYLE Movies like HEMAN, SUPERMAN, JUNGLE-BOOK. This will help the 2D animation artist by relieving to create new characters from real life person's images without having to go for endless hours of manual labour drawing each and every pose of a cartoon. It can even be used to create scenes from real life images.This will reduce a huge amount of turn around time to make 2D animated movies and decrease cost in terms of manpower and time. In addition to that being extreme light-weight it can be used as camera filters capable of taking Comic Style Shots using mobile phone camera or edge device cameras like Raspberry Pi 4,NVIDIA Jetson NANO etc. Existing Methods like CartoonGAN with the model size close to 170 MB is too heavy weight for mobile phones and edge devices due to their scarcity in resources. Compared to the current state of the art our proposed method which has a total model size of 31 MB which clearly makes it ideal and ultra-efficient for designing of camera filters on low resource devices like mobile phones, tablets and edge devices running OS or RTOS. .Owing to use of high resolution input and usage of bigger convolution kernel size it produces richer resolution Comic-Style Pictures implementation with 6 times lesser number of parameters and with just 25 extra epoch trained on a dataset of less than 1000 which breaks the myth that all GAN need mammoth amount of data. Our network reduces the density of the Gan architecture by using Depthwise Separable Convolution which does the convolution operation on each of the RGB channels separately then we use a Point-Wise Convolution to bring back the network into required channel number using 1 by 1 kernel.This reduces the number of parameters substantially and makes it extreme light-weight and suitable for mobile phones and edge devices. The architecture mentioned in the present paper make use of Parameterised Batch Normalization Goodfellow etc al. (Deep Learning OPTIMIZATION FOR TRAINING DEEP MODELS page 320) which makes the network to use the advantage of Batch Norm for easier training while maintaining the non-linear feature capture by inducing the learnable parameters

Keywords: comic stylisation from camera image using GAN, creating 2D animated movie style custom stickers from images, depth-wise separable convolutional neural network for light-weight GAN architecture for EDGE devices, GAN architecture for 2D animated cartoonizing neural style, neural style transfer for edge, model distilation, perceptual loss

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Authors: Shah Rucksana Akhter Urme

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Agriculture is the main source of food for human consumption and feeding the world huge population, the pressure of food supply is increasing day by day. Undoubtedly, quality strain, improved plantation, farming technology, synthetic fertilizer, readily available irrigation, insecticides and harvesting technology are the main factors those to meet up the huge demand of food consumption all over the world. However, depended on this limited resources and excess amount of consuming lands, water, fertilizers leads to the end of the resources and severe climate effects has been left for our future generation. Agriculture is the most responsible to global warming, emitting more greenhouse gases than all other vehicles largely from nitrous oxide released by from fertilized fields, and carbon dioxide from the cutting of rain forests to grow crops . Farming is the thirstiest user of our precious water supplies and a major polluter, as runoff from fertilizers disrupts fragile lakes, rivers, and coastal ecosystems across the globe which accelerates the loss of biodiversity, crucial habitat and a major driver of wildlife extinction. It is needless to say that we have to more concern on how we can save the nutrients of the soil, storage of the water and avoid excessive depends on synthetic fertilizer and insecticides. In this case, eco- friendly cultivation could be a potential alternative solution to minimize effects of agriculture in our environment. The objective of this review paper is about organic cultivation following in particular biotechnological process focused on bio-fertilizer and bio-pesticides. Intense practice of chemical pesticides, insecticides has severe effect on both in human life and biodiversity. This cultivation process introduces farmer an alternative way which is nonhazardous, cost effective and ecofriendly. Organic fertilizer such as tea residue, ashes might be the best alternative to synthetic fertilizer those play important role in increasing soil nutrient and fertility. Ashes contain different essential and non-essential mineral contents that are required for plant growth. Organic pesticide such as neem spray is beneficial for crop as it is toxic for pest and insects. Recycled and composted crop wastes and animal manures, crop rotation, green manures and legumes etc. are suitable for soil fertility which is free from hazardous chemicals practice. Finally water hyacinth and algae are potential source of nutrients even alternative to soil for cultivation along with storage of water for continuous supply. Inorganic practice of agriculture, consuming fruits and vegetables becomes a threat for both human life and eco-system and synthetic fertilizer and pesticides are responsible for it. Farmers that practice eco-friendly farming have to implement steps to protect the environment, particularly by severely limiting the use of pesticides and avoiding the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, which are necessary for organic systems to experience reduced environmental harm and health risk.

Keywords: organic farming, biopesticides, organic nutrients, water storage, global warming

Procedia PDF Downloads 60

Authors: T. Ghatauray, J. Ingram, P. Holborn

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The transition from a ‘carbon rich’ fossil fuel dependent to a ‘sustainable’ and ‘renewable’ hydrogen based society will see the deployment of hydrogen fuel cells (HFC) in transport applications and in the generation of heat and power for buildings, as part of a decentralised power network. Many deployments will be low power HFCs for domestic combined heat and power (CHP) and commercial ‘transportable’ HFCs for environmental situations, such as lighting and telephone towers. For broad commercialisation of small fuel cells to be achieved there needs to be significant confidence in their safety in both domestic and environmental applications. Low power HFCs are housed in protective steel enclosures. Standard enclosures have plain rectangular ventilation openings intended for thermal management of electronics and not the dispersion of a buoyant gas. Degradation of the HFC or supply pipework in use could lead to a low-level leak and a build-up of hydrogen gas in the enclosure. Hydrogen’s wide flammable range (4-75%) is a significant safety concern, with ineffective enclosure ventilation having the potential to cause flammable mixtures to develop with the risk of explosion. Mechanical ventilation is effective at managing enclosure hydrogen concentrations, but drains HFC power and is vulnerable to failure. This is undesirable in low power and remote installations and reliable passive ventilation systems are preferred. Passive ventilation depends upon buoyancy driven flow, with the size, shape and position of ventilation openings critical for producing predictable flows and maintaining low buoyant gas concentrations. With environmentally sited enclosures, ventilation openings with pressed horizontal and angled louvres are preferred to protect the HFC and electronics inside. There is an economic cost to adding louvres, but also a safety concern. A question arises over whether the use of pressed louvre vents impairs enclosure passive ventilation performance, when compared to same opening area plain vents. Comparison small enclosure (0.144m³) tests of same opening area pressed louvre and plain vents were undertaken. A displacement ventilation arrangement was incorporated into the enclosure with opposing upper and lower ventilation openings. A range of vent areas were tested. Helium (used as a safe analogue for hydrogen) was released from a 4mm nozzle at the base of the enclosure to simulate a hydrogen leak at leak rates from 1 to 10 lpm. Helium sensors were used to record concentrations at eight heights in the enclosure. The enclosure was otherwise empty. These tests determined that the use of pressed and angled louvre ventilation openings on the enclosure impaired the passive ventilation flow and increased helium concentrations in the enclosure. High-level stratified buoyant gas layers were also found to be deeper than with plain vent openings and were within the flammable range. The presence of gas within the flammable range is of concern, particularly as the addition of the fuel cell and electronics in the enclosure would further reduce the available volume and increase concentrations. The opening area of louvre vents would need to be greater than equivalent plain vents to achieve comparable ventilation flows or alternative schemes would need to be considered.

Keywords: enclosure, fuel cell, helium, hydrogen safety, louvre vent, passive ventilation

Procedia PDF Downloads 273

Authors: Jatziri Y. Moreno-Martinez, Arturo Galvan, Xavier Chavez Cardenas, Hiram Arroyo

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Several methods have been utilized to study the prediction of cracking of concrete structural under loading. The finite element analysis is an alternative that shows good results. The aim of this work was the numerical study of the width crack in reinforced concrete beams with dapped ends, these are frequently found in bridge girders and precast concrete construction. Properly restricting cracking is an important aspect of the design in dapped ends, it has been observed that the cracks that exceed the allowable widths are unacceptable in an aggressive environment for reinforcing steel. For simulating the crack width, the discrete crack approach was considered by means of a Cohesive Zone (CZM) Model using a function to represent the crack opening. Two cases of dapped-end were constructed and tested in the laboratory of Structures and Materials of Engineering Institute of UNAM. The first case considers a reinforcement based on hangers as well as on vertical and horizontal ring, the second case considers 50% of the vertical stirrups in the dapped end to the main part of the beam were replaced by an equivalent area (vertically projected) of diagonal bars under. The loading protocol consisted on applying symmetrical loading to reach the service load. The models were performed using the software package ANSYS v. 16.2. The concrete structure was modeled using three-dimensional solid elements SOLID65 capable of cracking in tension and crushing in compression. Drucker-Prager yield surface was used to include the plastic deformations. The reinforcement was introduced with smeared approach. Interface delamination was modeled by traditional fracture mechanics methods such as the nodal release technique adopting softening relationships between tractions and the separations, which in turn introduce a critical fracture energy that is also the energy required to break apart the interface surfaces. This technique is called CZM. The interface surfaces of the materials are represented by a contact elements Surface-to-Surface (CONTA173) with bonded (initial contact). The Mode I dominated bilinear CZM model assumes that the separation of the material interface is dominated by the displacement jump normal to the interface. Furthermore, the opening crack was taken into consideration according to the maximum normal contact stress, the contact gap at the completion of debonding, and the maximum equivalent tangential contact stress. The contact elements were placed in the crack re-entrant corner. To validate the proposed approach, the results obtained with the previous procedure are compared with experimental test. A good correlation between the experimental and numerical Load-Displacement curves was presented, the numerical models also allowed to obtain the load-crack width curves. In these two cases, the proposed model confirms the capability of predicting the maximum crack width, with an error of ± 30 %. Finally, the orientation of the crack is a fundamental for the prediction of crack width. The results regarding the crack width can be considered as good from the practical point view. Load-Displacement curve of the test and the location of the crack were able to obtain favorable results.

Keywords: cohesive zone model, dapped-end beams, discrete crack approach, finite element analysis

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Authors: Sanaz Alizadeh, Yves Comeau, Arshath Abdul Rahim, Sunhasis Ghoshal

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The application of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) in personal care products, various household and industrial products has resulted in an inevitable environmental exposure of such engineered nanoparticles (ENPs). Ag ENPs, released via household and industrial wastes, reach water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs), yet the fate and transport of ENPs in WRRFs and their potential risk in the biological wastewater processes are poorly understood. Accordingly, our main objective was to elucidate the impact of long-term continuous exposure to AgNPs on biological activity of aerobic wastewater biofilm. The fate, transport and toxicity of 10 μg.L-1and 100 μg.L-1 PVP-stabilized AgNPs (50 nm) were evaluated in an attached growth biological treatment process, using lab-scale moving bed bioreactors (MBBRs). Two MBBR systems for organic matter removal were fed with a synthetic influent and operated at a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 180 min and 60% volumetric filling ratio of Anox-K5 carriers with specific surface area of 800 m2/m3. Both reactors were operated for 85 days after reaching steady state conditions to develop a mature biofilm. The impact of AgNPs on the biological performance of the MBBRs was characterized over a period of 64 days in terms of the filtered biodegradable COD (SCOD) removal efficiency, the biofilm viability and key enzymatic activities (α-glucosidase and protease). The AgNPs were quantitatively characterized using single-particle inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (spICP-MS), determining simultaneously the particle size distribution, particle concentration and dissolved silver content in influent, bioreactor and effluent samples. The generation of reactive oxygen species and the oxidative stress were assessed as the proposed toxicity mechanism of AgNPs. Results indicated that a low concentration of AgNPs (10 μg.L-1) did not significantly affect the SCOD removal efficiency whereas a significant reduction in treatment efficiency (37%) was observed at 100 μg.L-1AgNPs. Neither the viability nor the enzymatic activities of biofilm were affected at 10 μg.L-1AgNPs but a higher concentration of AgNPs induced cell membrane integrity damage resulting in 31% loss of viability and reduced α-glucosidase and protease enzymatic activities by 31% and 29%, respectively, over the 64-day exposure period. The elevated intercellular ROS in biofilm at a higher AgNPs concentration over time was consistent with a reduced biological biofilm performance, confirming the occurrence of a nanoparticle-induced oxidative stress in the heterotrophic biofilm. The spICP-MS analysis demonstrated a decrease in the nanoparticles concentration over the first 25 days, indicating a significant partitioning of AgNPs into the biofilm matrix in both reactors. The concentration of nanoparticles increased in effluent of both reactors after 25 days, however, indicating a decreased retention capacity of AgNPs in biofilm. The observed significant detachment of biofilm also contributed to a higher release of nanoparticles due to cell-wall destabilizing properties of AgNPs as an antimicrobial agent. The removal efficiency of PVP-AgNPs and the biofilm biological responses were a function of nanoparticle concentration and exposure time. This study contributes to a better understanding of the fate and behavior of AgNPs in biological wastewater processes, providing key information that can be used to predict the environmental risks of ENPs in aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: biofilm, silver nanoparticle, single particle ICP-MS, toxicity, wastewater

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Authors: Shereen Ismail Fawaz, Shin-Ichi Izumi, Nouran Mohamed Salah, Heba G. Saber, Ibrahim Mohamed Roushdi

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, inflammatory, mainly demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, more common in young adults. Cerebellar involvement is one of the most disabling lesions in MS and is usually a sign of disease progression. It plays a major role in the planning, initiation, and organization of movement via its influence on the motor cortex and corticospinal outputs. Therefore, it contributes to controlling movement, motor adaptation, and motor learning, in addition to its vast connections with other major pathways controlling balance, such as the cerebellopropriospinal pathways and cerebellovestibular pathways. Hence, trying to stimulate the cerebellum by facilitatory protocols will add to our motor control and balance function. Non-invasive brain stimulation, both repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), has recently emerged as effective neuromodulators to influence motor and nonmotor functions of the brain. Anodal tDCS has been shown to improve motor skill learning and motor performance beyond the training period. Similarly, rTMS, when used at high frequency (>5 Hz), has a facilitatory effect on the motor cortex. Objective: Our aim was to determine the effect of high-frequency rTMS over the cerebellum in improving balance and functional ambulation of multiple sclerosis patients with Ataxia. Patients and methods: This was a randomized single-blinded placebo-controlled prospective trial on 40 patients. The active group (N=20) received real rTMS sessions, and the control group (N=20) received Sham rTMS using a placebo program designed for this treatment. Both groups received 12 sessions of high-frequency rTMS over the cerebellum, followed by an intensive exercise training program. Sessions were given three times per week for four weeks. The active group protocol had a frequency of 10 Hz rTMS over the cerebellar vermis, work period 5S, number of trains 25, and intertrain interval 25s. The total number of pulses was 1250 pulses per session. The control group received Sham rTMS using a placebo program designed for this treatment. Both groups of patients received an intensive exercise program, which included generalized strengthening exercises, endurance and aerobic training, trunk abdominal exercises, generalized balance training exercises, and task-oriented training such as Boxing. As a primary outcome measure the Modified ICARS was used. Static Posturography was done with: Patients were tested both with open and closed eyes. Secondary outcome measures included the expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and 8 Meter walk test (8MWT). Results: The active group showed significant improvements in all the functional scales, modified ICARS, EDSS, and 8-meter walk test, in addition to significant differences in static Posturography with open eyes, while the control group did not show such differences. Conclusion: Cerebellar high-frequency rTMS could be effective in the functional improvement of balance in MS patients with ataxia.

Keywords: brain neuromodulation, high frequency rTMS, cerebellar stimulation, multiple sclerosis, balance rehabilitation

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Authors: Andy Alubaidy

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In this work, a robotic additive manufacturing system (RAMS) that is capable of three-dimensional (3D) printing in six degrees of freedom (DOF) with very high accuracy and virtually on any surface has been designed and built. One of the major shortcomings in existing 3D printer technology is the limitation to three DOF, which results in prolonged fabrication time. Depending on the techniques used, it usually takes at least two hours to print small objects and several hours for larger objects. Another drawback is the size of the printed objects, which is constrained by the physical dimensions of most low-cost 3D printers, which are typically small. In such cases, large objects are produced by dividing them into smaller components that fit the printer’s workable area. They are then glued, bonded or otherwise attached to create the required object. Another shortcoming is material constraints and the need to fabricate a single part using different materials. With the flexibility of a six-DOF robot, the RAMS has been designed to overcome these problems. A feeding mechanism using an adaptive Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller is utilized along with a national instrument compactRIO (NI cRIO), an ABB robot, and off-the-shelf sensors. The RAMS have the ability to 3D print virtually anywhere in six degrees of freedom with very high accuracy. It is equipped with an ABB IRB 120 robot to achieve this level of accuracy. In order to convert computer-aided design (CAD) files to digital format that is acceptable to the robot, Hypertherm Robotic Software Inc.’s state-of-the-art slicing software called “ADDMAN” is used. ADDMAN is capable of converting any CAD file into RAPID code (the programing language for ABB robots). The robot uses the generated code to perform the 3D printing. To control the entire process, National Instrument (NI) compactRIO (cRio 9074), is connected and communicated with the robot and a feeding mechanism that is designed and fabricated. The feeding mechanism consists of two major parts, cold-end and hot-end. The cold-end consists of what is conventionally known as an extruder. Typically, a stepper-motor is used to control the push on the material, however, for optimum control, a DC motor is used instead. The hot-end consists of a melt-zone, nozzle, and heat-brake. The melt zone ensures a thorough melting effect and consistent output from the nozzle. Nozzles are made of brass for thermo-conductivity while the melt-zone is comprised of a heating block and a ceramic heating cartridge to transfer heat to the block. The heat-brake ensures that there is no heat creep-up effect as this would swell the material and prevent consistent extrusion. A control system embedded in the cRio is developed using NI Labview which utilizes adaptive PID to govern the heating cartridge in conjunction with a thermistor. The thermistor sends temperature feedback to the cRio, which will issue heat increase or decrease based on the system output. Since different materials have different melting points, our system will allow us to adjust the temperature and vary the material.

Keywords: robotic, additive manufacturing, PID controller, cRIO, 3D printing

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Authors: Viktor D. Dubrovin, Masoud Mollaee, Jie Zong, Xiushan Zhu, Nasser Peyghambarian

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Glasses doped with high rare-earth (RE) elements concentration attracted considerable attention since the middle of the 20th century due to their particular magneto-optical properties. Such glasses exhibit the Faraday effect in which the polarization plane of a linearly polarized light beam is rotated by the interaction between the incident light and the magneto-optical material. That effect found application in optical isolators that are useful for laser systems, which can prevent back reflection of light into lasers or optical amplifiers and reduce signal instability and noise. Glasses are of particular interest since they are cost-effective and can be formed into fibers, thus breaking the limits of traditional bulk optics requiring optical coupling for use with fiber-optic systems. The advent of high-power fiber lasers operating near 2µm revealed a necessity in the development of all fiber isolators for this region. Ce³⁺, Pr³⁺, Dy³⁺, and Tb³⁺ ions provide the biggest contribution to the Verdet constant value of optical materials among the RE. It is known that Pr³⁺ and Tb³⁺ ions have strong absorption bands near 2 µm, thus making Dy³⁺ and Ce³⁺ the only prospective candidates for fiber isolator operating in that region. Due to the high tendency of Ce³⁺ ions pass to Ce⁴⁺ during the synthesis, glasses with high cerium content usually suffers from Ce⁴⁺ ions absorption extending from visible to IR. Additionally, Dy³⁺ (₆H¹⁵/²) same as Ho³⁺ (⁵I₈) ions, have the largest effective magnetic moment (µeff = 10.6 µB) among the RE ions that starts to play the key role if the operating region is far from 4fⁿ→ 4fⁿ⁻¹5 d¹ electric-dipole transition relevant to the Faraday Effect. Considering the high effective magnetic moment value of Er³⁺ ions (µeff = 9.6 µB) that is 3rd after Dy³⁺/ Ho³⁺ and Tb³⁺, it is possible to assume that Er³⁺ doped glasses should exhibit Verdet constant value near 2µm that is comparable with one of Dy doped glasses. Thus, partial replacement of Dy³⁺ on Er³⁺ ions has been performed, keeping the overall concentration of Re₂O₃ equal to 70 wt.% (30.6 mol.%). Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-30.6RE₂O₃ (RE= Er, Dy) glasses had been synthesized, and their thermal, spectral, optical, structural, and magneto-optical properties had been studied. Glasses synthesis had been conducted in Pt crucibles for 3h at 1500 °C. The obtained melt was poured into preheated up to 400 °C mold and annealed from 800 oC to room temperature for 12h with 1h dwell. The mass of obtained glass samples was about 200g. Shown that the difference between crystallization and glass transition temperature is about 150 oC, even taking into account the fact that high content of RE₂O₃ leads to glass network depolymerization. Verdet constant of Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-30.6RE₂O₃ glasses for wavelength 1950 nm can reach more than 5.9 rad/(T*m), which is among the highest number reported for a paramagnetic glass at this wavelength. The refractive index value was found to be equal to 1.7545 at 633 nm. Our experimental results show that Al₂O₃-B₂O₃-SiO₂-30.6RE₂O₃ glasses with high Dy₂O₃ content are expected to be promising material for use as highly effective Faraday isolators and modulators of electromagnetic radiation in the 2μm region.

Keywords: oxide glass, magneto-optical, dysprosium, erbium, Faraday rotator, boron-aluminosilicate system

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Authors: Yi Li, Rui Lu, Lianjun Wang

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With the rapid development of chemical industry, the consumption of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has increased extensively. In the process of VOCs production and application, plenty of them have been transferred to environment. As a result, it has led to pollution problems not only in soil and ground water but also to human beings. Thus, it is important to develop a sensitive and cost-effective analytical method for trace VOCs detection in environment. Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), as one of the most sensitive optical analytical technique with rapid response, pinpoint accuracy and noninvasive detection, has been widely used for ultratrace analysis. Based on the plasmon resonance on the nanoscale metallic surface, SERS technology can even detect single molecule due to abundant nanogaps (i.e. 'hot spots') on the nanosubstrate. In this work, a self-supported flexible silver nitrate (AgNO3)/ethylene-propylene copolymer (EPM) hybrid nanofibers was fabricated by electrospinning. After an in-situ chemical reduction using ice-cold sodium borohydride as reduction agent, numerous silver nanoparticles were formed on the nanofiber surface. By adjusting the reduction time and AgNO3 content, the morphology and dimension of silver nanoparticles could be controlled. According to the principles of solid-phase extraction, the hydrophobic substance is more likely to partition into the hydrophobic EPM membrane in an aqueous environment while water and other polar components are excluded from the analytes. By the enrichment of EPM fibers, the number of hydrophobic molecules located on the 'hot spots' generated from criss-crossed nanofibers is greatly increased, which further enhances SERS signal intensity. The as-prepared Ag/EPM hybrid nanofibers were first employed to detect common SERS probe molecule (p-aminothiophenol) with the detection limit down to 10-12 M, which demonstrated an excellent SERS performance. To further study the application of the fabricated substrate for monitoring hydrophobic substance in water, several typical VOCs, such as benzene, toluene and p-xylene, were selected as model compounds. The results showed that the characteristic peaks of these target analytes in the mixed aqueous solution could be distinguished even at a concentration of 10-6 M after multi-peaks gaussian fitting process, including C-H bending (850 cm-1), C-C ring stretching (1581 cm-1, 1600 cm-1) of benzene, C-H bending (844 cm-1 ,1151 cm-1), C-C ring stretching (1001 cm-1), CH3 bending vibration (1377 cm-1) of toluene, C-H bending (829 cm-1), C-C stretching (1614 cm-1) of p-xylene. The SERS substrate has remarkable advantages which combine the enrichment capacity from EPM and the Raman enhancement of Ag nanoparticles. Meanwhile, the huge specific surface area resulted from electrospinning is benificial to increase the number of adsoption sites and promotes 'hot spots' formation. In summary, this work provides powerful potential in rapid, on-site and accurate detection of trace VOCs using a portable Raman.

Keywords: electrospinning, ethylene-propylene copolymer, silver nanoparticles, SERS, VOCs

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Authors: Alberto Fina, Samuele Colonna, Maria del Mar Bernal, Orietta Monticelli, Mauro Tortello, Renato Gonnelli, Julio Gomez, Chiara Novara, Guido Saracco

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Thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites are of high interest for several applications including low-temperature heat recovery, heat exchangers in a corrosive environment and heat management in electronics and flexible electronics. In this paper, the preparation of thermally conductive nanocomposites exploiting graphene-related materials is addressed, along with their thermal characterization. In particular, correlations between 1- chemical and physical features of the nanoflakes and 2- processing conditions with the heat conduction properties of nanocomposites is studied. Polymers are heat insulators; therefore, the inclusion of conductive particles is the typical solution to obtain a sufficient thermal conductivity. In addition to traditional microparticles such as graphite and ceramics, several nanoparticles have been proposed, including carbon nanotubes and graphene, for the use in polymer nanocomposites. Indeed, thermal conductivities for both carbon nanotubes and graphenes were reported in the wide range of about 1500 to 6000 W/mK, despite such property may decrease dramatically as a function of the size, number of layers, the density of topological defects, re-hybridization defects as well as on the presence of impurities. Different synthetic techniques have been developed, including mechanical cleavage of graphite, epitaxial growth on SiC, chemical vapor deposition, and liquid phase exfoliation. However, the industrial scale-up of graphene, defined as an individual, single-atom-thick sheet of hexagonally arranged sp2-bonded carbons still remains very challenging. For large scale bulk applications in polymer nanocomposites, some graphene-related materials such as multilayer graphenes (MLG), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) or graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) are currently the most interesting graphene-based materials. In this paper, different types of graphene-related materials were characterized for their chemical/physical as well as for thermal properties of individual flakes. Two selected rGOs were annealed at 1700°C in vacuum for 1 h to reduce defectiveness of the carbon structure. Thermal conductivity increase of individual GNP with annealing was assessed via scanning thermal microscopy. Graphene nano papers were prepared from both conventional RGO and annealed RGO flakes. Characterization of the nanopapers evidenced a five-fold increase in the thermal diffusivity on the nano paper plane for annealed nanoflakes, compared to pristine ones, demonstrating the importance of structural defectiveness reduction to maximize the heat dissipation performance. Both pristine and annealed RGO were used to prepare polymer nanocomposites, by melt reactive extrusion. Thermal conductivity showed two- to three-fold increase in the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite was observed for high temperature treated RGO compared to untreated RGO, evidencing the importance of using low defectivity nanoflakes. Furthermore, the study of different processing paremeters (time, temperature, shear rate) during the preparation of poly (butylene terephthalate) nanocomposites evidenced a clear correlation with the dispersion and fragmentation of the GNP nanoflakes; which in turn affected the thermal conductivity performance. Thermal conductivity of about 1.7 W/mK, i.e. one order of magnitude higher than for pristine polymer, was obtained with 10%wt of annealed GNPs, which is in line with state of the art nanocomposites prepared by more complex and less upscalable in situ polymerization processes.

Keywords: graphene, graphene-related materials, scanning thermal microscopy, thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites

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Authors: Monika Jurkeviciute, Amia Enam, Johanna Torres Bonilla, Henrik Eriksson

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Introduction: Many evaluations of eHealth interventions conclude that the evidence for improved clinical outcomes is limited, especially when the intervention is short, such as one year. Often, evaluation design does not address the feasibility of achieving clinical outcomes. Evaluations are designed to reflect upon clinical goals of intervention without utilizing the opportunity to illuminate effects on organizations and cost. A comprehensive design of evaluation can better support decision-making regarding the effectiveness and potential transferability of eHealth. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to present a feasible and comprehensive design of evaluation for eHealth intervention, including the design process in different contexts. Methodology: The situation of limited feasibility of clinical outcomes was foreseen in the European Union funded project called “DECI” (“Digital Environment for Cognitive Inclusion”) that is run under the “Horizon 2020” program with an aim to define and test a digital environment platform within corresponding care models that help elderly people live independently. A complex intervention of eHealth implementation into elaborate care models in four different countries was planned for one year. To design the evaluation, a participative approach was undertaken using Pettigrew’s lens of change and transformations, including context, process, and content. Through a series of workshops, observations, interviews, and document analysis, as well as a review of scientific literature, a comprehensive design of evaluation was created. Findings: The findings indicate that in order to get evidence on clinical outcomes, eHealth interventions should last longer than one year. The content of the comprehensive evaluation design includes a collection of qualitative and quantitative methods for data gathering which illuminates non-medical aspects. Furthermore, it contains communication arrangements to discuss the results and continuously improve the evaluation design, as well as procedures for monitoring and improving the data collection during the intervention. The process of the comprehensive evaluation design consists of four stages: (1) analysis of a current state in different contexts, including measurement systems, expectations and profiles of stakeholders, organizational ambitions to change due to eHealth integration, and the organizational capacity to collect data for evaluation; (2) workshop with project partners to discuss the as-is situation in relation to the project goals; (3) development of general and customized sets of relevant performance measures, questionnaires and interview questions; (4) setting up procedures and monitoring systems for the interventions. Lastly, strategies are presented on how challenges can be handled during the design process of evaluation in four different countries. The evaluation design needs to consider contextual factors such as project limitations, and differences between pilot sites in terms of eHealth solutions, patient groups, care models, national and organizational cultures and settings. This implies a need for the flexible approach to evaluation design to enable judgment over the effectiveness and potential for adoption and transferability of eHealth. In summary, this paper provides learning opportunities for future evaluation designs of eHealth interventions in different national and organizational settings.

Keywords: ehealth, elderly, evaluation, intervention, multi-cultural

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Authors: Michael Brave, Mark Kroll, Steven Karch, Charles Wetli, Michael Graham, Sebastian Kunz, Dorin Panescu

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Background: Conducted electrical weapons (CEW) are now used in 107 countries and are a common law enforcement less-lethal force practice in the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (USA), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others. Use of these devices is rarely temporally associated with the occurrence of sudden arrest-related deaths (ARD). Because such deaths are uncommon, few Medical Examiners (MEs) ever encounter one, and even fewer offices have established comprehensive investigative protocols. Without sufficient scientific data, the role, if any, played by a CEW in a given case is largely supplanted by conjecture often defaulting to a CEW-induced fatal cardiac arrhythmia. In addition to the difficulty in investigating individual deaths, the lack of information also detrimentally affects being able to define and evaluate the ARD cohort generally. More comprehensive, better information leads to better interpretation in individual cases and also to better research. The purpose of this presentation is to provide MEs with a comprehensive evidence-based checklist to assist in the assessment of CEW-ARD cases. Methods: PUBMED and Sociology/Criminology data bases were queried to find all medical, scientific, electrical, modeling, engineering, and sociology/criminology peer-reviewed literature for mentions of CEW or synonymous terms. Each paper was then individually reviewed to identify those that discussed possible bioelectrical mechanisms relating CEW to ARD. A Naranjo-type pharmacovigilance algorithm was also employed, when relevant, to identify and quantify possible direct CEW electrical myocardial stimulation. Additionally, CEW operational manuals and training materials were reviewed to allow incorporation of CEW-specific technical parameters. Results: Total relevant PUBMED citations of CEWs were less than 250, and reports of death extremely rare. Much relevant information was available from Sociology/Criminology data bases. Once the relevant published papers were identified, and reviewed, we compiled an annotated checklist of data that we consider critical to a thorough CEW-involved ARD investigation. Conclusion: We have developed an evidenced-based checklist that can be used by MEs and their staffs to assist them in identifying, collecting, documenting, maintaining, and objectively analyzing the role, if any, played by a CEW in any specific case of sudden death temporally associated with the use of a CEW. Even in cases where the collected information is deemed by the ME as insufficient for formulating an opinion or diagnosis to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, information collected as per the checklist will often be adequate for other stakeholders to use as a basis for informed decisions. Having reviewed the appropriate materials in a significant number of cases careful examination of the heart and brain is likely adequate. Channelopathy testing should be considered in some cases, however it may be considered cost prohibitive (aprox $3000). Law enforcement agencies may want to consider establishing a reserve fund to help manage such rare cases. The expense may stay the enormous costs associated with incident-precipitated litigation.

Keywords: ARD, CEW, police, TASER

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