Search results for: miRNA:mRNA target prediction

Authors: Fidelia A. Orji, Julita Vassileva

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This research aims to develop machine learning models for students' academic performance and study strategy prediction, which could be generalized to all courses in higher education. Key learning attributes (intrinsic, extrinsic, autonomy, relatedness, competence, and self-esteem) used in building the models are chosen based on prior studies, which revealed that the attributes are essential in students’ learning process. Previous studies revealed the individual effects of each of these attributes on students’ learning progress. However, few studies have investigated the combined effect of the attributes in predicting student study strategy and academic performance to reduce the dropout rate. To bridge this gap, we used Scikit-learn in python to build five machine learning models (Decision Tree, K-Nearest Neighbour, Random Forest, Linear/Logistic Regression, and Support Vector Machine) for both regression and classification tasks to perform our analysis. The models were trained, evaluated, and tested for accuracy using 924 university dentistry students' data collected by Chilean authors through quantitative research design. A comparative analysis of the models revealed that the tree-based models such as the random forest (with prediction accuracy of 94.9%) and decision tree show the best results compared to the linear, support vector, and k-nearest neighbours. The models built in this research can be used in predicting student performance and study strategy so that appropriate interventions could be implemented to improve student learning progress. Thus, incorporating strategies that could improve diverse student learning attributes in the design of online educational systems may increase the likelihood of students continuing with their learning tasks as required. Moreover, the results show that the attributes could be modelled together and used to adapt/personalize the learning process.

Keywords: classification models, learning strategy, predictive modeling, regression models, student academic performance, student motivation, supervised machine learning

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Authors: Said Ghalem

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Honey is primarily composed of sugars: glucose and fructose. Depending honey, it's either fructose or glucose predominates. More the fructose concentration and the less the glycemic index (GI) is high. Thus, changes in the insulin response shows a decrease of the amount of insulin secreted at an increased fructose honey. Honey is also a compound that can reduce the lipid in the blood. Several studies on animals, but which remain to be checked in humans, have shown that the honey can have interesting effects when combined with other molecules: associated with Metformin (a medicine taken by diabetics), it shows the benefits and effects of diabetes preserves the tissue; associated ginger, it increases the antioxidant activity and thus avoids neurologic complications, neuropathic. Molecular modeling techniques are widely used in chemistry, biology, and the pharmaceutical industry. Most of the currently existing drugs target enzymes. Inhibition of DPP-4 is an important approach in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. We have chosen for the inhibition of DPP-4 the following molecules: Linagliptin (BI1356), Sitagliptin (Januvia), Vildagliptin, Saxagliptin, Alogliptin, and Metformin (Glucophage), that are involved in the disease management of type 2 diabetes and added to honey. For this, we used software Molecular Operating Environment. A Wistar rat study was initiated in our laboratory with a well-studied protocol; after sacrifice, according to international standards and respect for the animal This theoretical approach predicts the mode of interaction of a ligand with its target. The honey can have interesting effects when combined with other molecules, it shows the benefits and effects of honey preserves the tissue, it increases the antioxidant activity, and thus avoids neurologic complications, neuropathic or macrovascular. The organs, especially the kidneys of Wistar, shows that the parameters to renal function let us conclude that damages caused by diabetes are slightly perceptible than those observed without the addition of a high concentration of fructose honey.

Keywords: honey, molecular modeling, DPP4 enzyme, metformin

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Liu Canqi, Zeng Junsheng

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This study identifies two typical bottlenecks that occur when a vehicle cannot change lanes: car following and car stopping. The ideas of traffic field and traffic mass are presented in this work. When there are other vehicles in front of the target vehicle within a particular distance, a force is created that affects the target vehicle's driving speed. The characteristics of the driver and the vehicle collectively determine the traffic mass; the driving speed of the vehicle and external variables have no bearing on this. From a physical level, this study examines the vehicle's bottleneck when following a car, identifies the outside factors that have an impact on how it drives, takes into account that the vehicle will transform kinetic energy into potential energy during deceleration, and builds a calculation model for traffic mass. The energy-time conversion coefficient is created from an economic standpoint utilizing the social average wage level and the average cost of motor fuel. Vissim simulation program measures the vehicle's deceleration distance and delays under the Wiedemann car-following model. The difference between the measured value of deceleration delay acquired by simulation and the theoretical value calculated by the model is compared using the conversion calculation model of traffic mass and deceleration delay. The experimental data demonstrate that the model is reliable since the error rate between the theoretical calculation value of the deceleration delay obtained by the model and the measured value of simulation results is less than 10%. The article's conclusion is that the traffic field has an impact on moving cars on the road and that physical and socioeconomic factors should be taken into account while studying vehicle-following behavior. The deceleration delay value of a vehicle's driving and traffic mass have a socioeconomic relationship that can be utilized to calculate the energy-time conversion coefficient when dealing with the bottleneck of cars stopping and starting.

Keywords: traffic field, social economics, traffic mass, bottleneck, deceleration delay

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Authors: C. S. Subhashini, H. L. Premaratne

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Landslides are the most recurrent and prominent disaster in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has been subjected to a number of extreme landslide disasters that resulted in a significant loss of life, material damage, and distress. It is required to explore a solution towards preparedness and mitigation to reduce recurrent losses associated with landslides. Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Hidden Markov Model (HMMs) are now widely used in many computer applications spanning multiple domains. This research examines the effectiveness of using Artificial Neural Networks and Hidden Markov Model in landslides predictions and the possibility of applying the modern technology to predict landslides in a prominent geographical area in Sri Lanka. A thorough survey was conducted with the participation of resource persons from several national universities in Sri Lanka to identify and rank the influencing factors for landslides. A landslide database was created using existing topographic; soil, drainage, land cover maps and historical data. The landslide related factors which include external factors (Rainfall and Number of Previous Occurrences) and internal factors (Soil Material, Geology, Land Use, Curvature, Soil Texture, Slope, Aspect, Soil Drainage, and Soil Effective Thickness) are extracted from the landslide database. These factors are used to recognize the possibility to occur landslides by using an ANN and HMM. The model acquires the relationship between the factors of landslide and its hazard index during the training session. These models with landslide related factors as the inputs will be trained to predict three classes namely, ‘landslide occurs’, ‘landslide does not occur’ and ‘landslide likely to occur’. Once trained, the models will be able to predict the most likely class for the prevailing data. Finally compared two models with regards to prediction accuracy, False Acceptance Rates and False Rejection rates and This research indicates that the Artificial Neural Network could be used as a strong decision support system to predict landslides efficiently and effectively than Hidden Markov Model.

Keywords: landslides, influencing factors, neural network model, hidden markov model

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Authors: Saranya Ganapathy, Megha N. Parajulee, Michael San Francisco, Hong Zhang

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Insect pests are a serious threat to agricultural productivity. Use of chemical pesticides, the predominant control method thus far, has resulted in environmental damage, pest resurgence, and negative effects on non-target species. Genetically modified (GM) crops offer a promising alternative, and Bacillus thuringiensis endotoxin genes have played a major role in this respect. However, to overcome insect tolerance issues and to broaden the target range, it is critical to identify alternative-insecticidal toxins working through novel mechanisms. Our research group has identified a kinase from Chilo iridescent virus (CIV; Family Iridoviridae) that has insecticidal activity and designated it as ISTK (Iridovirus Serine/Threonine Kinase). A 35 kDa truncated form of ISTK, designated iridoptin, was obtained during expression and purification of ISTK in the yeast system. This yeast-expressed CIV toxin induced 50% mortality in cotton aphids and 100% mortality in green peach aphids (GPA). Optimized viral genes (o-ISTK and o-IRI) were stably transformed into the model plant, Arabidopsis. PCR analysis of genomic DNA confirmed the presence of the gene insert (oISTK/oIRI) in selected transgenic lines. The further screening was performed to identify the PCR positive lines that showed expression of respective toxins at the polypeptide level using Western blot analysis. The stable lines expressing either of these two toxins induced moderate to very high mortality in GPAs and significantly affected GPA development and fecundity. The aphicidal potential of these transgenic Arabidopsis lines will be presented.

Keywords: Chilo iridescent virus, insecticidal toxin, iridoviruses, plant-incorporated protectants, serine/threonine kinase

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Authors: Matar Celine, Gaucel Sebastien, Gontard Nathalie, Guilbert Stephane, Guillard Valerie

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To increase the very short shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetable, Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) allows an optimal atmosphere composition to be maintained around the product and thus prevent its decay. This technology relies on the modification of internal packaging atmosphere due to equilibrium between production/consumption of gases by the respiring product and gas permeation through the packaging material. While, to the best of our knowledge, benefit of MAP for fresh fruits and vegetable has been widely demonstrated in the literature, its effect on shelf life increase has never been quantified and formalized in a clear and simple manner leading difficult to anticipate its economic and environmental benefit, notably through the decrease of food losses. Mathematical modelling of mass transfers in the food/packaging system is the basis for a better design and dimensioning of the food packaging system. But up to now, existing models did not permit to estimate food quality nor shelf life gain reached by using MAP. However, shelf life prediction is an indispensable prerequisite for quantifying the effect of MAP on food losses reduction. The objective of this work is to propose an innovative approach to predict shelf life of MAP food product and then to link it to a reduction of food losses and wastes. In this purpose, a ‘Virtual MAP modeling tool’ was developed by coupling a new predictive deterioration model (based on visual surface prediction of deterioration encompassing colour, texture and spoilage development) with models of the literature for respiration and permeation. A major input of this modelling tool is the maximal percentage of deterioration (MAD) which was assessed from dedicated consumers’ studies. Strawberries of the variety Charlotte were selected as the model food for its high perishability, high respiration rate; 50-100 ml CO₂/h/kg produced at 20°C, allowing it to be a good representative of challenging post-harvest storage. A value of 13% was determined as a limit of acceptability for the consumers, permitting to define products’ shelf life. The ‘Virtual MAP modeling tool’ was validated in isothermal conditions (5, 10 and 20°C) and in dynamic temperature conditions mimicking commercial post-harvest storage of strawberries. RMSE values were systematically lower than 3% for respectively, O₂, CO₂ and deterioration profiles as a function of time confirming the goodness of model fitting. For the investigated temperature profile, a shelf life gain of 0.33 days was obtained in MAP compared to the conventional storage situation (no MAP condition). Shelf life gain of more than 1 day could be obtained for optimized post-harvest conditions as numerically investigated. Such shelf life gain permitted to anticipate a significant reduction of food losses at the distribution and consumer steps. This food losses' reduction as a function of shelf life gain has been quantified using a dedicated mathematical equation that has been developed for this purpose.

Keywords: food losses and wastes, modified atmosphere packaging, mathematical modeling, shelf life prediction

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Authors: Saurabh B. Ganorkar, Atul A. Shirkhedkar

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The need for investigations protecting against toxic impurities though seems to be a primary requirement; the impurities which may prove non - toxic can be explored for their therapeutic potential if any to assist advanced drug discovery. The essential role of pharmaceutical analysis can thus be extended effectively to achieve it. The present study successfully achieved these objectives with characterization of major degradation products as impurities for Zileuton which has been used for to treat asthma since years. The forced degradation studies were performed to identify the potential degradation products using Ultra-fine Liquid-chromatography. Liquid-chromatography-Mass spectrometry (Time of Flight) and Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies were utilized effectively to characterize the drug along with five major oxidative and hydrolytic degradation products (DP’s). The mass fragments were identified for Zileuton and path for the degradation was investigated. The characterized DP’s were subjected to In-Silico studies as XP Molecular Docking to compare the gain or loss in binding affinity with 5-Lipooxygenase enzyme. One of the impurity of was found to have the binding affinity more than the drug itself indicating for its potential to be more bioactive as better Antiasthmatic. The close structural resemblance has the ability to potentiate or reduce bioactivity and or toxicity. The chances of being active biologically at other sites cannot be denied and the same is achieved to some extent by predictions for probability of being active with Prediction of Activity Spectrum for Substances (PASS) The impurities found to be bio-active as Antineoplastic, Antiallergic, and inhibitors of Complement Factor D. The toxicological abilities as Ames-Mutagenicity, Carcinogenicity, Developmental Toxicity and Skin Irritancy were evaluated using Toxicity Prediction by Komputer Assisted Technology (TOPKAT). Two of the impurities were found to be non-toxic as compared to original drug Zileuton. As the drugs are purposed and repurposed effectively the impurities can also be; as they can have more binding affinity; less toxicity and better ability to be bio-active at other biological targets.

Keywords: UFLC, LC-MS-TOF, NMR, Zileuton, impurities, toxicity, bio-activity

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Authors: Aminah Salim, Idrees Ahmed Nasir, Abdul Qayyum Rao, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Sohail Anjum, Ayesha Hameed, Bushra Tabassum, Anwar Khan, Arfan Ali, Mariyam Zameer, Tayyab Husnain

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Risk assessment of transgenic herbicide tolerant sugarcane having CEMB codon optimized cp4EPSPS gene was done in present study. Fifteen days old chicks taken from K&Ns Company were randomly assorted into four groups with eight chicks in each group namely control chicken group fed with commercial diet, non-transgenic group fed with non-experimental sugarcane and transgenic group fed with transgenic sugarcane with minimum and maximum level. Body weights, biochemical analysis for Urea, alkaline phosphatase, alanine transferase, aspartate transferase, creatinine and bilirubin determination and histological examination of chicks fed with four types of feed was taken at fifteen days interval and no significant difference was observed in body weight biochemical and histological studies of all four groups. Protein isolated from the serum sample was analyzed through dipstick and SDS-PAGE, showing the absence of transgene protein in the serum sample of control and experimental groups. Moreover the amplification of cp4EPSPS gene with gene specific primers of DNA isolated from chicks blood and also from commercial diet was done to determine the presence and mobility of any nucleotide fragment of the transgene in/from feed and no amplification was obtained in feed as well as in blood extracted DNA of any group. Also no mRNA expression of cp4EPSPS gene was obtained in any tissue of four groups of chicks. From the results it is clear that there is no deleterious or harmful effect of the CEMB codon optimized transgenic cp4EPSPS sugarcane on the chicks health.

Keywords: chicks, cp4EPSPS, glyphosate, sugarcane

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Authors: Abu Salim Mustafa

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Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays targeting genomic DNA segments have been established for the detection of Helicobacter pylori in clinical specimens. However, the data on comparative evaluations of various targets in detection of H. pylori are limited. Furthermore, the frequencies of vacA (s1 and s2) and cagA genotypes, which are suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of H. pylori in other parts of the world, are not well studied in Kuwait. The aim of this study was to evaluate PCR assays for the detection and genotyping of H. pylori by targeting the amplification of DNA targets from four genomic segments. The genomic DNA were isolated from 72 clinical isolates of H. pylori and tested in PCR with four pairs of oligonucleotides primers, i.e. ECH-U/ECH-L, ET-5U/ET-5L, CagAF/CagAR and Vac1F/Vac1XR, which were expected to amplify targets of various sizes (471 bp, 230 bp, 183 bp and 176/203 bp, respectively) from the genomic DNA of H. pylori. The PCR-amplified DNA were analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. PCR products of expected size were obtained with all primer pairs by using genomic DNA isolated from H. pylori. DNA dilution experiments showed that the most sensitive PCR target was 471 bp DNA amplified by the primers ECH-U/ECH-L, followed by the targets of Vac1F/Vac1XR (176 bp/203 DNA), CagAF/CagAR (183 bp DNA) and ET-5U/ET-5L (230 bp DNA). However, when tested with undiluted genomic DNA isolated from single colonies of all isolates, the Vac1F/Vac1XR target provided the maximum positive results (71/72 (99% positives)), followed by ECH-U/ECH-L (69/72 (93% positives)), ET-5U/ET-5L (51/72 (71% positives)) and CagAF/CagAR (26/72 (46% positives)). The results of genotyping experiments showed that vacA s1 (46% positive) and vacA s2 (54% positive) genotypes were almost equally associated with VaCA+/CagA- isolates (P > 0.05), but with VacA+/CagA+ isolates, S1 genotype (92% positive) was more frequently detected than S2 genotype (8% positive) (P< 0.0001). In conclusion, among the primer pairs tested, Vac1F/Vac1XR provided the best results for detection of H. pylori. The genotyping experiments showed that vacA s1 and vacA s2 genotypes were almost equally associated with vaCA⁺/cagA^- isolates, but vacA s1 genotype had a significantly increased association with vacA⁺/cagA⁺ isolates.

Keywords: H. pylori, PCR, detection, genotyping

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Authors: Sidra Shaw, Sarenna Shaw, Chae Joon Lee, Irimpan Mathews, Eric Koehn

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One of the biggest public health concerns of our time is increasing antimicrobial resistance. As of 2019, the CDC has documented more than 2.8 million serious antibiotic resistant infections in the United States. Currently, antibiotic resistant infections are directly implicated in over 750,000 deaths per year globally. On our current trajectory, British economist Jim O’Neill predicts that by 2050, an additional 10 million people (about half the population of New York) will die annually due to drug resistant infections. As a result, new biochemical pathways must be targeted to generate next generation antibiotic drugs that will be effective against drug resistant bacteria. One enticing target is the biosynthesis of DNA within bacteria, as few drugs interrupt this essential life process. Thymidylate synthase enzymes are essential for life as they catalyze the synthesis of a DNA building block, 2′-deoxythymidine-5′-monophosphate (dTMP). In humans, the thymidylate synthase enzyme (TSase) has been shown to be distinct from the flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase (FDTS) produced by many pathogenic bacteria. TSase and FDTS have distinct structures and mechanisms of catalysis, which should allow selective inhibition of FDTS over human TSase. Currently, C. diff is one of the most antibiotic resistant bacteria, and no drugs that target thymine biosynthesis exist for C. diff. Here we present the initial biochemical characterization of FDTS from C. diff. Specifically, we examine enzyme kinetics and binding features of this enzyme to determine the nature of interaction with ligands/inhibitors and understand the molecular mechanism of catalysis. This research will provide more insight into the targetability of the C. diff FDTS enzyme for novel antibiotic drugs.

Keywords: flavin-dependent thymidylate synthase, FDTS, clostridioides difficile, C. diff, antibiotic resistance, DNA synthesis, enzyme kinetics, binding features

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Authors: Abdelhadi Elharfi

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A problem of boundary feedback (exponential) stabilization of an overhead crane model represented by a PDE is considered. For any $r>0$, the exponential stability at the desired decay rate $r$ is solved in semi group setting by a collocated-type stabiliser of a target system combined with a term involving the solution of an appropriate PDE.

Keywords: feedback stabilization, semi group and generator, overhead crane system

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Authors: Elham Shakerian, Reza Afarin

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The hepatic disease causes approximately 2 million deaths/year worldwide. Liver fibrosis is the last stage of numerous chronic liver diseases, and until now there is no definite cure or drug for it. Activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) is the main reason for fibrosis. Transforming growth factor (TGF-β), as a main profibrogenic cytokine, if increased in these cells, leads to liver fibrosis through smad3 signaling pathways and increasing the expressions of Collagen type I and III, and actin-alpha smooth muscle (αSMA) genes. Curcumin (CUR) is a polyphenolic compound and an active ingredient derived from the rhizome of the turmeric plant that exerts effective antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity. It has been shown that daily consumption of curcumin may have a protective effect on the liver against oxidative stress associated with alcohol consumption. In this study, we investigate the role of Curcumin in decreasing HSC activation and treating liver fibrosis. First, the human HSCs were treated with 2 ng/ml of (TGF-β) for 24 hours to become activated, then with Silibinin for 24 hours. Total RNAs were extracted, reversely transcribed into cDNA, Quantitative Real-time PCR, and western blot were performed. The mRNA expression levels of Collagen type I and III, αSMA genes, and the level of smad3 phosphorylation in TGF-β activated human HSCs treated with Curcumin were significantly reduced compared to human HSCs untreated with Curcumin. Curcumin is effective in reducing the expression of fibrogenic genes in the activated human HSCs treated with TGFB through downregulation of the TGF-β/smad3 signaling pathway. Therefore, Curcumin possesses significant antifibrotic properties in hepatic fibrosis

Keywords: hepatic fibrosis, human HSCs, curcumin, fibrogenic genes

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Authors: Parvin Ghafarian, Mohammadreza Mohammadpur Panchah, Mehri Fallahi

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Synoptic patterns from surface up to tropopause are very important for forecasting the weather and atmospheric conditions. There are many tools to prepare and analyze these maps. Reanalysis data and the outputs of numerical weather prediction models, satellite images, meteorological radar, and weather station data are used in world forecasting centers to predict the weather. The forecasting extreme precipitating on the southern coast of the Caspian Sea (CS) is the main issue due to complex topography. Also, there are different types of climate in these areas. In this research, we used two reanalysis data such as ECMWF Reanalysis 5th Generation Description (ERA5) and National Centers for Environmental Prediction /National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) for verification of the numerical model. ERA5 is the latest version of ECMWF. The temporal resolution of ERA5 is hourly, and the NCEP/NCAR is every six hours. Some atmospheric parameters such as mean sea level pressure, geopotential height, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, sea surface temperature, etc. were selected and analyzed. Some different type of precipitation (rain and snow) was selected. The results showed that the NCEP/NCAR has more ability to demonstrate the intensity of the atmospheric system. The ERA5 is suitable for extract the value of parameters for specific point. Also, ERA5 is appropriate to analyze the snowfall events over CS (snow cover and snow depth). Sea surface temperature has the main role to generate instability over CS, especially when the cold air pass from the CS. Sea surface temperature of NCEP/NCAR product has low resolution near coast. However, both data were able to detect meteorological synoptic patterns that led to heavy rainfall over CS. However, due to the time lag, they are not suitable for forecast centers. The application of these two data is for research and verification of meteorological models. Finally, ERA5 has a better resolution, respect to NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, but NCEP/NCAR data is available from 1948 and appropriate for long term research.

Keywords: synoptic patterns, heavy precipitation, reanalysis data, snow

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Authors: Antonello Durante, James Duff, Kevin Kelly

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The visual needs of people in modern work based buildings are changing. Self-illuminated screens of computers, televisions, tablets and smart phones have changed the relationship between people and the lit environment. In the past, lighting design practice was primarily based on providing uniform horizontal illuminance on the working plane, but this has failed to ensure good quality lit environments. Lighting standards of today continue to be set based upon a 100 year old approach that at its core, considers the task illuminance of the utmost importance, with this task typically being located on a horizontal plane. An alternative method focused on appearance has been proposed, as opposed to the traditional performance based approach. Mean Room Surface Exitance (MRSE) and Target-Ambient Illuminance Ratio (TAIR) are two new metrics proposed to assess illumination adequacy in interiors. The hypothesis is that these factors will be superior to the existing metrics used, which are horizontal illuminance led. For the six past years, research has examined this, within the Dublin Institute of Technology, with a view to determining the suitability of this approach for application to general lighting practice. Since the start of this research, a number of key findings have been produced that centered on how occupants will react to various levels of MRSE. This paper provides a broad update on how this research has progressed. More specifically, this paper will: i) Demonstrate how MRSE can be measured using HDR images technology, ii) Illustrate how MRSE can be calculated using scripting and an open source lighting computation engine, iii) Describe experimental results that demonstrate how occupants have reacted to various levels of MRSE within experimental office environments.

Keywords: illumination hierarchy (IH), mean room surface exitance (MRSE), perceived adequacy of illumination (PAI), target-ambient illumination ratio (TAIR)

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Authors: László L. Lippai

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In addition to the fact that mental health bears great significance to a particular individual, it can also be regarded as an organizational, community and societal resource. Within the Szeged Health Promotion Research Group, we conducted mental health surveys on two levels: The inhabitants of a medium-sized Hungarian town and students of a Hungarian university with a relatively big headcount were requested to participate in surveys whose goals were to define local government priorities and organization-level health promotion programmes, respectively. To facilitate professional decision-making, we defined three, pragmatically relevant, groups of the target population: the mentally healthy, the vulnerable and the endangered. In order to determine which group a person actually belongs to, we designed a simple and quick measurement tool, which could even be utilised as a smoothing method, the Mental State Questionnaire validity of the above three categories was verified by analysis of variance against psychological quality of life variables. We demonstrate the pragmatic significance of our method via the analyses of the scores of our two mental health surveys. On town level, during our representative survey in Hódmezővásárhely (N=1839), we found that 38.7% of the participants was mentally healthy, 35.3% was vulnerable, while 16.3% was considered as endangered. We were able to identify groups that were in a dramatic state in terms of mental health. For example, such a group consisted of men aged 45 to 64 with only primary education qualification and the ratios of the mentally healthy, vulnerable and endangered were 4.5, 45.5 and 50%, respectively. It was also astonishing to see to what a little extent qualification prevailed as a protective factor in the case of women. Based on our data, the female group aged 18 to 44 with primary education—of whom 20.3% was mentally healthy, 42.4% vulnerable and 37.3% was endangered—as well as the female group aged 45 to 64 with university or college degree—of whom 25% was mentally healthy, 51.3 vulnerable and 23.8% endangered—are to be handled as priority intervention target groups in a similarly difficult position. On organizational level, our survey involving the students of the University of Szeged, N=1565, provided data to prepare a strategy of mental health promotion for a university with a headcount exceeding 20,000. When developing an organizational strategy, it was important to gather information to estimate the proportions of target groups in which mental health promotion methods; for example, life management skills development, detection, psychological consultancy, psychotherapy, would be applied. Our scores show that 46.8% of the student participants were mentally healthy, 42.1% were vulnerable and 11.1% were endangered. These data convey relevant information as to the allocation of organizational resources within a university with a considerable headcount. In conclusion, The Mental State Questionnaire, as a valid smoothing method, is adequate to describe a community in a plain and informative way in the terms of mental health. The application of the method can promote the preparation, design and implementation of mental health promotion interventions. 

Keywords: health promotion, mental health promotion, mental state questionnaire, psychological well-being

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Authors: Joy Cao, Min Zhou

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Purpose: Acute Type A aortic dissection is a well-known cause of extremely high mortality rate. A highly accurate and cost-effective non-invasive predictor is critically needed so that the patient can be treated at earlier stage. Although various CFD approaches have been tried to establish some prediction frameworks, they are sensitive to uncertainty in both image segmentation and boundary conditions. Tedious pre-processing and demanding calibration procedures requirement further compound the issue, thus hampering their clinical applicability. Using the latest physics informed deep learning methods to establish an accurate and cost-effective predictor framework are amongst the main goals for a better Type A aortic dissection treatment. Methods: Via training a novel physics-informed deep residual network, with non-invasive 4D MRI displacement vectors as inputs, the trained model can cost-effectively calculate all these biomarkers: aortic blood pressure, WSS, and OSI, which are used to predict potential type A aortic dissection to avoid the high mortality events down the road. Results: The proposed deep learning method has been successfully trained and tested with both synthetic 3D aneurysm dataset and a clinical dataset in the aortic dissection context using Google colab environment. In both cases, the model has generated aortic blood pressure, WSS, and OSI results matching the expected patient’s health status. Conclusion: The proposed novel physics-informed deep residual network shows great potential to create a cost-effective, non-invasive predictor framework. Additional physics-based de-noising algorithm will be added to make the model more robust to clinical data noises. Further studies will be conducted in collaboration with big institutions such as Cleveland Clinic with more clinical samples to further improve the model’s clinical applicability.

Keywords: type-a aortic dissection, deep residual networks, blood flow modeling, data-driven modeling, non-invasive diagnostics, deep learning, artificial intelligence.

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Authors: Jean Berger, Mohamed Barkaoui

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Discrete search path planning in time-constrained uncertain environment relying upon imperfect sensors is known to be hard, and current problem-solving techniques proposed so far to compute near real-time efficient path plans are mainly bounded to provide a few move solutions. A new information-theoretic –based open-loop decision model explicitly incorporating false alarm sensor readings, to solve a single agent military logistics search-and-delivery path planning problem with anticipated feedback is presented. The decision model consists in minimizing expected entropy considering anticipated possible observation outcomes over a given time horizon. The model captures uncertainty associated with observation events for all possible scenarios. Entropy represents a measure of uncertainty about the searched target location. Feedback information resulting from possible sensor observations outcomes along the projected path plan is exploited to update anticipated unit target occupancy beliefs. For the first time, a compact belief update formulation is generalized to explicitly include false positive observation events that may occur during plan execution. A novel genetic algorithm is then proposed to efficiently solve search path planning, providing near-optimal solutions for practical realistic problem instances. Given the run-time performance of the algorithm, natural extension to a closed-loop environment to progressively integrate real visit outcomes on a rolling time horizon can be easily envisioned. Computational results show the value of the approach in comparison to alternate heuristics.

Keywords: search path planning, false alarm, search-and-delivery, entropy, genetic algorithm

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Authors: Abdullah Bal

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This paper presents a one-class classification (OCC) technique based on Fukunaga-Koontz Transform (FKT) for binary classification problems. The FKT is originally a powerful tool to feature selection and ordering for two-class problems. To utilize the standard FKT for data domain description problem (i.e., one-class classification), in this paper, a set of non-class samples which exist outside of positive class (target class) describing boundary formed with limited training data has been constructed synthetically. The tunnel-like decision boundary around upper and lower border of target class samples has been designed using statistical properties of feature vectors belonging to the training data. To capture higher order of statistics of data and increase discrimination ability, the proposed method, termed one-class FKT (OC-FKT), has been extended to its nonlinear version via kernel machines and referred as OC-KFKT for short. Multiple kernel learning (MKL) is a favorable family of machine learning such that tries to find an optimal combination of a set of sub-kernels to achieve a better result. However, the discriminative ability of some of the base kernels may be low and the OC-KFKT designed by this type of kernels leads to unsatisfactory classification performance. To address this problem, the quality of sub-kernels should be evaluated, and the weak kernels must be discarded before the final decision making process. MKL/OC-FKT and selective MKL/OC-FKT frameworks have been designed stimulated by ensemble learning (EL) to weight and then select the sub-classifiers using the discriminability and diversities measured by eigenvalue ratios. The eigenvalue ratios have been assessed based on their regions on the FKT subspaces. The comparative experiments, performed on various low and high dimensional data, against state-of-the-art algorithms confirm the effectiveness of our techniques, especially in case of small sample size (SSS) conditions.

Keywords: ensemble methods, fukunaga-koontz transform, kernel-based methods, multiple kernel learning, one-class classification

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Authors: Sadaoui Djaouida

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In this paper, the predictive control method is proposed to control the synchronization of two perturbed satellites attitude motion. Based on delayed feedback control of continuous-time systems combines with the prediction-based method of discrete-time systems, this approach only needs a single controller to realize synchronization, which has considerable significance in reducing the cost and complexity for controller implementation.

Keywords: predictive control, synchronization, satellite attitude, control engineering

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Authors: Ashimolowo Olubunmi

Abstract:

Contraception use helps prevent pregnancy as well as health-related challenges, most especially among youths and girls. Our communities are bedeviled with many problems, including rape, defilement, neglect by the spouse, and intimate partner violence. Current interventions target only adults, with most facilities having youth and unfriendly adolescent services. To further support the need for this research, especially with our target beneficiaries, the partnership embarked on qualitative evidence-finding research through focus group discussions and in-depth-interview in Abeokuta and Ibadan (the capital cities of Ogun). The Focus Group Discussion (FGD) sessions were held in the state with adolescents (10-18 years) and young women (18-30 years). The result revealed that teenagers and youths who receive formal and sexual education on abstinence, and birth control methods, are likely to have healthier sexual behaviours through the promotion of abstinence and the use of condoms and other forms of contraceptives at their first intercourse, thereby protecting themselves against HIV/AIDs (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The result further revealed that parents do not discuss issues around Adolescent and Sexual Reproductive Health (ASRH) with their adolescent girls, leading to gaps in knowledge of ASRH. Stakeholders’ involvement and trust are low. Respondents noted that there were few outreaches on ASRH and that youth-friendly adolescent centres are not common in the community. Respondents noted that there were few outreaches on ASRH organised within the community. Also, youth-friendly services were not common. There is a need to work with all stakeholders to promote those foundational life skills on pubertal changes, menstruation, and sexual life to prepare youths and girls for challenges ahead through sex education; we should work to institutionalize youth and adolescent-friendly Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) in our communities.

Keywords: contraception, family planning, focus group discussion, adolescents

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Authors: Xianglu Tang, Zhenxue Jiang, Zhuo Li

Abstract:

Characterization of shale multi scale heterogeneity is an important part to evaluate size and space distribution of shale gas reservoirs in sedimentary basins. The origin of shale heterogeneity has always been a hot research topic for it determines shale micro characteristics description and macro quality reservoir prediction. Shale multi scale heterogeneity was discussed based on thin section observation, FIB-SEM, QEMSCAN, TOC, XRD, mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), and nitrogen adsorption analysis from 30 core samples in Silurian Longmaxi formation. Results show that shale heterogeneity can be characterized by pore structure and mineral composition. The heterogeneity of shale pore is showed by different size pores at nm-μm scale. Macropores (pore diameter > 50 nm) have a large percentage of pore volume than mesopores (pore diameter between 2~ 50 nm) and micropores (pore diameter < 2nm). However, they have a low specific surface area than mesopores and micropores. Fractal dimensions of the pores from nitrogen adsorption data are higher than 2.7, what are higher than 2.8 from MIP data, showing extremely complex pore structure. This complexity in pore structure is mainly due to the organic matter and clay minerals with complex pore network structures, and diagenesis makes it more complicated. The heterogeneity of shale minerals is showed by mineral grains, lamina, and different lithology at nm-km scale under the continuous changing horizon. Through analyzing the change of mineral composition at each scale, random arrangement of mineral equal proportion, seasonal climate changes, large changes of sedimentary environment, and provenance supply are considered to be the main reasons that cause shale minerals heterogeneity from microcosmic to macroscopic. Due to scale effect, the change of shale multi scale heterogeneity is a discontinuous process, and there is a transformation boundary between homogeneous and in homogeneous. Therefore, a shale multi scale heterogeneity changing model is established by defining four types of homogeneous unit at different scales, which can be used to guide the prediction of shale gas distribution from micro scale to macro scale.

Keywords: heterogeneity, homogeneous unit, multiscale, shale

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Authors: Muamar Salameh, Rania Sinno

Abstract:

Non-governmental organizations in Saudi Arabia play a vital role in promoting humanitarian development. Though this paper will emphasize this role and will provide a specific case study on the role of Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd Foundation for Humanitarian Development, yet many organizations do not provide transparent information for the accomplishments of the NGOs. This study will provide answers to the main research question regarding this role that NGOs play in promoting humanitarian development. The recent law regulating associations and foundations in Saudi Arabia was issued in December 2015 and went into effect March 2016. Any new association or foundation will need to follow these regulations. Though the registration, implementation, and workflow of the organizations still need major improvement and development, yet, the currently-registered organizations have several notable achievements. Most of these organizations adopt a centralized administration approach which in many cases still hinders progress and may be an obstacle in achieving and reaching a larger population of beneficiaries. A large portion of the existing organizations are charities, some of which have some sort of government affiliation. The laws and regulations limit registration of new organizations. Any violations to Islamic Sharia, contradictions to public order, breach to national unity, foreign and foreign-affiliation organizations prohibits any organization from registration. The lack of transparency in the operations and inner-working of NGOs in Saudi Arabia is apparent for the public. However, the regulations invoke full transparency with the governing ministry. This transparency should be available to the public and in specific to the target population that are eligible to benefit from the NGOs services. In this study, we will provide an extensive review of all related laws, regulations, policies and procedures related to all NGOs in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. This review will include some examples of current NGOs, services and target population. The study will determine the main accomplishments of reputable NGOs that have impacted positively the Saudi communities. The results will highlight and concentrate on actions, services and accomplishments that achieve sustainable assistance in promoting humanitarian development and advance living conditions of target populations of the Saudi community. In particular, we will concentrate on a case study related to PMFHD; one of the largest foundations in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The authors have access to the data related to this foundation and have access to the foundation administration to gather, analyze and conclude the findings of this group. The study will also analyze whether the practices, budgets, services and annual accomplishments of the foundation have fulfilled the humanitarian role of the foundation while meeting the governmental requirements, with an analysis in the light of the new laws. The findings of the study show that great accomplishments for advancing and promoting humanitarian development in Saudi community and international communities have been achieved. Several examples will be included from several NGOs, with specific examples from PMFHD.

Keywords: development, foundation, humanitarian, non-governmental organization, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Yosef Ferede Bogale

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of customer satisfaction and the variables influencing it in the instance of the Bank of Abyssinia branches in the districts of Arada and Bole in Addis Ababa. The study was carried out utilizing a mixed research approach and a descriptive and explanatory research design in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data were employed in this investigation. The study's target population consisted of 1000 of the bank's most prestigious clients. With a 93% response rate, 265 respondents from both genders in the active age group had higher levels of education and work experience and were in the active age group. Customers of the case bank under consideration comprised the study's target audience. The respondents, who belonged to both gender groups, were in the active age bracket with superior levels of education and work experience. As a result, this investigation discovered that the degree of client satisfaction was assigned a medium rating. Additionally given a middling rating were the company's image practices, employee competency, technology, and service quality. Further, the results also demonstrate that corporate image, employees’ competency, technology, and service quality all positively and significantly affect customer happiness. This study found that, to varying degrees, company image, technology, competence, and high-quality financial services will all improve consumer happiness. According to this report, banks should monitor customer satisfaction and service quality at least twice a year. This is because there is a growing movement among bank service providers for accountability, and measuring these factors is crucial. This study also recommends that banks make every effort to satisfy consumers' expectations to the highest level.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, corporate image, quality service risk, banks

Procedia PDF Downloads 100

Authors: Qinghua Xing, Xinyi Tao, Haisheng Wang, Baisuo Zhao

Abstract:

The first true anaerobic, halophilic alkali thermophile, Natranaerobius thermophilus DSM 18059T, serves as a valuable model for studying cellular adaptations to saline, alkaline and thermal extremes. To uncover the adaptive strategies employed by N. thermophilus in coping with these challenges, we conducted a comprehensive iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis under different conditions of salinity (3.5 M vs. 2.5 M Na+), pH (pH 9.6 vs. pH 8.6), and temperature (52°C vs. 42°C). The increased intracellular accumulation of glycine betaine, through both synthesis and transport, plays a critical role in N. thermophilus' adaptation to these combined stresses. Under all three stress conditions, the up-regulation of Trk family proteins responsible for K+ transport is observed. Intracellular K+ concentration rises in response to salt and pH levels. Multiple types of Na+/H+ antiporter (NhaC family, Mrp family and CPA family) and a diverse range of FOF1-ATP synthase are identified as vital components for maintaining ionic balance under different stress conditions. Importantly, proteins involved in amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, ABC transporters, signaling and chemotaxis, as well as biological macromolecule repair and protection, exhibited significant up-regulation in response to these extreme conditions. These metabolic pathways emerge as critical factors in N. thermophilus' adaptation mechanisms under extreme environmental stress. To validate the proteomic data, ddPCR analysis confirmed changes in mRNA expression, thereby corroborating the up-regulation and down-regulation patterns of 19 co-up-regulated and 36 key proteins under saline, alkaline and thermal stresses. This research enriches our understanding of the complex regulatory systems that enable polyextremophiles to survive in combined extreme conditions.

Keywords: polyextremophiles, natranaerobius thermophilus, saline- alkaline- thermal stresses, combined extremes

Procedia PDF Downloads 44

Authors: Yosef Ferede Bogale

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the degree of customer satisfaction and the variables influencing it in the instance of the Bank of Abyssinia branches in the districts of Arada and Bole in Addis Ababa. The study was carried out utilizing a mixed research approach and a descriptive and explanatory research design in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Both primary and secondary data were employed in this investigation. The study's target population consisted of 1000 of the bank's most prestigious clients. With a 93% response rate, 265 respondents from both genders in the active age group had higher levels of education and work experience and were in the active age group. Customers of the case bank under consideration comprised the study's target audience. The respondents, who belonged to both gender groups, were in the active age bracket with superior levels of education and work experience. As a result, this investigation discovered that the degree of client satisfaction was assigned a medium rating. Additionally given a middling rating were the company's image practices, employee competency, technology, and service quality. Further, the results also demonstrate that corporate image, employees’ competency, technology, and service quality all positively and significantly affect customer happiness. This study found that, to varying degrees, company image, technology, competence, and high-quality financial services will all improve consumer happiness. According to this report, banks should monitor customer satisfaction and service quality at least twice a year. This is because there is a growing movement among bank service providers for accountability, and measuring these factors is crucial. This study also recommends that banks make every effort to satisfy consumers' expectations to the highest level.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, corporate image, quality services risk, bank

Procedia PDF Downloads 54

Authors: Jae-Neung Lee, Keun-Chang Kwak

Abstract:

This paper describes an analysis of Yacht Simulator international trends and also explains about Yacht. Examples of yacht Simulator using Yacht Simulator include image processing for totaling the total number of vehicles, edge/target detection, detection and evasion algorithm, image processing using SIFT (scale invariant features transform) matching, and application of median filter and thresholding.

Keywords: yacht simulator, simulator, trends analysis, SIFT

Procedia PDF Downloads 425

Authors: Muhammed Ordu, Eren Demir, Chris Tofallis

Abstract:

The number of inpatient admissions in the UK has been significantly increasing over the past decade. These increases cause bed occupancy rates to exceed the target level (85%) set by the Department of Health in England. Therefore, hospital service managers are struggling to better manage key resource such as beds. On the other hand, this severe demand pressure might lead to confusion in wards. For example, patients can be admitted to the ward of another inpatient specialty due to lack of resources (i.e., bed). This study aims to develop a simulation-optimization model to reallocate the available number of beds in a mid-sized hospital in the UK. A hospital simulation model was developed to capture the stochastic behaviours of the hospital by taking into account the accident and emergency department, all outpatient and inpatient services, and the interactions between each other. A couple of outputs of the simulation model (e.g., average length of stay and revenue) were generated as inputs to be used in the optimization model. An integer linear programming was developed under a number of constraints (financial, demand, target level of bed occupancy rate and staffing level) with the aims of maximizing number of admitted patients. In addition, a sensitivity analysis was carried out by taking into account unexpected increases on inpatient demand over the next 12 months. As a result, the major findings of the approach proposed in this study optimally reallocate the available number of beds for each inpatient speciality and reveal that 74 beds are idle. In addition, the findings of the study indicate that the hospital wards will be able to cope with 14% demand increase at most in the projected year. In conclusion, this paper sheds a new light on how best to reallocate beds in order to cope with current and future demand for healthcare services.

Keywords: bed occupancy rate, bed reallocation, discrete event simulation, inpatient admissions, integer linear programming, projected usage

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Iori Hamada

Abstract:

Australia's skilled migrant selection system is constantly changing its target skills and criteria according to the labour market demands. The government's intention to employ this highly selective market-driven selection system is to better target the skills needed in the economy, enable skilled migrants to be employed in industries that have the highest need, and consequently boost the economy and population. However, migration scholars have called this intention into question, arguing that the system is not making the best use of skilled migrants. This paper investigates the impact of recent reforms in Australian skilled migration system on skilled migrants' employment and related life conditions. Drawing on semi-structured qualitative interviews with Japanese skilled migrants in Australia, it argues that Australia’s skilled migrant selection system guarantees neither skilled migrants' employment nor successful transfer of their skills to the labour market. The findings show that Japanese skilled migrants are often unemployed or under-employed, although they intend to achieve upward occupational mobility. The interview data also reveal that male unemployment or under-employment status prompts some Japanese men to leave Australia and find a job that better matches their skills and qualifications in a new destination. Further, it finds that Japanese male skilled migrants who experience downward occupational mobility tend to continue to take a primary breadwinner role, which affects the distribution of paid and unpaid work within their families. There is a growing body of research investigating skilled migrants’ downward career mobility. However, little has been written on skilled Japanese migrants. Further, the work-family intersection is a 'hot public policy topic' in Australia and elsewhere. Yet, the existing studies focus almost exclusively on non-migrant families. This calls attention to the urgency of assessing the work-family lives of skilled migrants. This study fills these gaps, presenting additional insight into Japanese skilled migrants’ work and family in and beyond Australia.

Keywords: Australia, employment, family, Japanese skilled migrants

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Defne Uz

Abstract:

Horizontal Tail of helicopter is exposed to repeated oscillatory loading generated by aerodynamic and inertial loads, and bending moments depending on operating conditions and maneuvers of the helicopter. In order to ensure that maximum stress levels do not exceed certain fatigue limit of the material and to prevent damage, a numerical analysis approach can be utilized through the Finite Element Method. Therefore, in this paper, fatigue analysis of the Horizontal Tail model is studied numerically to predict high-cycle and low-cycle fatigue life related to defined loading. The analysis estimates the stress field at stress concentration regions such as around fastener holes where the maximum principal stresses are considered for each load case. Critical element identification of the main load carrying structural components of the model with rivet holes is performed as a post-process since critical regions with high-stress values are used as an input for fatigue life calculation. Once the maximum stress is obtained at the critical element and the related mean and alternating components, it is compared with the endurance limit by applying Soderberg approach. The constant life straight line provides the limit for several combinations of mean and alternating stresses. The life calculation based on S-N (Stress-Number of Cycles) curve is also applied with fully reversed loading to determine the number of cycles corresponds to the oscillatory stress with zero means. The results determine the appropriateness of the design of the model for its fatigue strength and the number of cycles that the model can withstand for the calculated stress. The effect of correctly determining the critical rivet holes is investigated by analyzing stresses at different structural parts in the model. In the case of low life prediction, alternative design solutions are developed, and flight hours can be estimated for the fatigue safe operation of the model.

Keywords: fatigue analysis, finite element method, helicopter horizontal tail, life prediction, stress concentration

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Kang-Hyun Leem, Myung-Gyou Kim, Hye Kyung Kim

Abstract:

Deer antler, traditionally used as a tonic and valuable drug in oriental medicine, has been considered to possess bone-strengthening activity. The upper section, mid section, and base of the antler has been known to exhibit different biological properties. Present study was performed to examine the effects of different parts of deer antler extract (DH) on osteogenic gene expressions in MG-63 cells and longitudinal bone growth in adolescent male rats. The expressions of osteogenic genes, collagen, alkaline phosphatase, osteocalcin, and osteopontin, were measured by quantitative real-time PCR. Longitudinal bone growth was measured in 3-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats using fluorescence microscopy. To examine the effects on the growth plate metabolism, the total height of growth plate and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) were measured. Collagen and osteocalcin mRNA expressions were increased by all three parts of the DH treatment while osteopontin gene expression was not affected by any of the DH treatment. Alkaline phosphatase gene expression was increased by upper and mid part of DH while base part of DH fails to affect alkaline phosphatase gene expression. The upper and mid parts of the DH treatment enhanced longitudinal bone growth and total height of growth plate. The induction of BMP-2 protein expression in growth plate assessed by immunostaining was also promoted by upper and mid parts of the DH treatment. These results suggest that DH, especially upper and mid parts, stimulate osteogenic gene expressions and have the effect on bone growth in adolescent rats and might be used for the growth delayed adolescent and inherent growth failure patient.

Keywords: bone morphogenetic protein-2, deer antler, longitudinal bone growth, osteogenic genes

Procedia PDF Downloads 376