Search results for: performance assessment

Authors: Marinel Dayawon

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Student participation in classroom activities is vital in the teaching- learning the process as it develops self-confidence, social relationships and good academic performance of students. It is the teacher’s empathetic manner and creativity to create solutions that encourage teamwork and mutual support while dropping the academic competition within the class that hinder every shy student to walk with courage and talk with conviction because they consider their ideas, weak, as compared to the bright students. This study aimed to explore the different design thinking strategies that will change the mindset of shy students in classroom activities, maximizing their participation in all given tasks while sharing their views through ideation and providing them a wider world through compromise agreement within the members of the group, sensitivity to one’s idea, thus, arriving at a collective decision in the development of a prototype that indicates improvement in their classroom involvement. The study used the qualitative type of research. Triangulation is done through participant observation, focus group discussion and interview, documented through photos and videos. The respondents were the second- year Bachelor of Secondary Education students of the Institute of Teacher Education at Isabela State University- Cauayan City Campus. The result of the study revealed that reticent students when involved in game activities through a slap and tap method, writing their clustered ideas, using sticky notes is excited in sharing ideas as it doesn’t use oral communication. It is also observed after three weeks of using the design thinking strategies; shy students volunteer as secretary, rapporteur or group leader in the team- building activities as it represents the ideas of the heterogeneous group, removing the individual identity of the ideas. Superior students learned to listen to the ideas of the reticent students and involved them in the prototyping process of designing a remediation program for high school students showing reticence in the classroom, making their experience as a benchmark. The strategies made a 360- degrees transformation of the shy students, producing their journal log, in their journey to being open. Thus, faculty members are now adopting the design thinking approach.

Keywords: design thinking activities, qualitative, reticent students, Isabela, Philippines

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Authors: Christian J. Kennett, Mark A. Baldwin

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As several companies are working towards returning American astronauts back to space on US-made spacecraft, NASA developed a human flight certification-by-test and analysis approach due to the cost-prohibitive nature of extensive testing. This process relies heavily on the quality of analytical models to accurately predict crew injury potential specific to each spacecraft and under dynamic environments not tested. As the prime contractor on the Orion spacecraft, Lockheed Martin was tasked with quantifying the correlation of analytical anthropometric test devices (ATDs), also known as crash test dummies, against test measurements under representative impact conditions. Multiple dynamic impact sled tests were conducted to characterize Hybrid III 5th ATD lumbar, head, and neck responses with and without a modified shuttle-era advanced crew escape suit (ACES) under simulated Orion landing and abort conditions. Each ATD was restrained via a 5-point harness in a mockup Orion seat fixed to a dynamic impact sled at the Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) Biodynamics Laboratory in the horizontal impact accelerator (HIA). ATDs were subject to multiple impact magnitudes, half-sine pulse rise times, and XZ - ‘eyeballs out/down’ or Z-axis ‘eyeballs down’ orientations for landing or an X-axis ‘eyeballs in’ orientation for abort. Several helmet constraint devices were evaluated during suited testing. Unique finite element models (FEMs) were developed of the unsuited and suited sled test configurations using an analytical 5th ATD model developed by LSTC (Livermore, CA) and deformable representations of the seat, suit, helmet constraint countermeasures, and body restraints. Explicit FE analyses were conducted using the non-linear solver LS-DYNA. Head linear and rotational acceleration, head rotational velocity, upper neck force and moment, and lumbar force time histories were compared between test and analysis using the enhanced error assessment of response time histories (EEARTH) composite score index. The EEARTH rating paired with the correlation and analysis (CORA) corridor rating provided a composite ISO score that was used to asses model correlation accuracy. NASA occupant protection subject matter experts established an ISO score of 0.5 or greater as the minimum expectation for correlating analytical and experimental ATD responses. Unsuited 5th ATD head X, Z, and resultant linear accelerations, head Y rotational accelerations and velocities, neck X and Z forces, and lumbar Z forces all showed consistent ISO scores above 0.5 in the XZ impact orientation, regardless of peak g-level or rise time. Upper neck Y moments were near or above the 0.5 score for most of the XZ cases. Similar trends were found in the XZ and Z-axis suited tests despite the addition of several different countermeasures for restraining the helmet. For the X-axis ‘eyeballs in’ loading direction, only resultant head linear acceleration and lumbar Z-axis force produced ISO scores above 0.5 whether unsuited or suited. The analytical LSTC 5th ATD model showed good correlation across multiple head, neck, and lumbar responses in both the unsuited and suited configurations when loaded in the XZ ‘eyeballs out/down’ direction. Upper neck moments were consistently the most difficult to predict, regardless of impact direction or test configuration.

Keywords: impact biomechanics, manned spaceflight, model correlation, multi-axial loading

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Authors: Abhay Asthana, Shally Toshkhani, Gyati Shilakari

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The objective of the present research work is to develop a topical biodegradable dermal patch based formulation to aid accelerated wound healing. It is always better for patient compliance to be able to reduce the frequency of dressings with improved drug delivery and overall therapeutic efficacy. In present study optimized formulation using biodegradable components was obtained evaluating polymers and excipients (HPMC K4M, Ethylcellulose, Povidone, Polyethylene glycol and Gelatin) to impart significant folding endurance, elasticity, and strength. Molten gelatin was used to get a mixture using ethylene glycol. Chitosan dissolved in acidic medium was mixed with stirring to Gelatin mixture. With continued stirring to the mixture Curcumin was added with the aid of DCM and Methanol in an optimized ratio of 60:40 to get homogenous dispersion. Polymers were dispersed with stirring in the final formulation. The mixture was sonicated casted to get the film form. All steps were carried out under strict aseptic conditions. The final formulation was a thin uniformly smooth textured film with dark brown-yellow color. The film was found to have folding endurance was around 20 to 21 times without a crack in an optimized formulation at RT (23°C). The drug content was in range 96 to 102% and it passed the content uniform test. The final moisture content of the optimized formulation film was NMT 9.0%. The films passed stability study conducted at refrigerated conditions (4±0.2°C) and at room temperature (23 ± 2°C) for 30 days. Further, the drug content and texture remained undisturbed with stability study conducted at RT 23±2°C for 45 and 90 days. Percentage cumulative drug release was found to be 80% in 12h and matched the biodegradation rate as tested in vivo with correlation factor R2>0.9. In in vivo study administration of one dose in equivalent quantity per 2 days was applied topically. The data demonstrated a significant improvement with percentage wound contraction in contrast to control and plain drug respectively in given period. The film based formulation developed shows promising results in terms of stability and in vivo performance.

Keywords: wound healing, biodegradable, polymers, patch

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Authors: Evdokia K. Oikonomou, Nikolay Christov, Galder Cristobal, Graziana Messina, Giovani Marletta, Laurent Heux, Jean-Francois Berret

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Fabric softeners are aqueous formulations that contain ~10 wt. % double tailed cationic surfactants. Here, a formulation in which 50% surfactant was replaced with low quantities of natural guar polymers was developed. Thanks to the reduced surfactant quantity this product has less environmental impact while the guars presence was found to maintain the product’s performance. The objective of this work is to elucidate the effect of the guar polymers on the softener deposition and the adsorption mechanism on the cotton surface. The surfactants in these formulations are assembled into large distributed (0.1 – 1 µm) vesicles that are stable in the presence of guars and upon dilution. The effect of guars on the vesicles adsorption on cotton was first estimated by using cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) as a stand-in for cotton. The dispersion of CNC in water permits to follow the interaction between the vesicles, guars, and CNC in the bulk. It was found that guars enhance the deposition on CNC and that the vesicles are deposited intactly on the fibers driven by electrostatics. The mechanism of the vesicles/guars adsorption on cellulose fibers was identified by quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring. It was found that the guars increase the surfactant deposited quantity, in agreement with the results in the bulk. Also, the structure of the adsorbed surfactant on the fibers' surfaces (vesicle or bilayer) was influenced by the guars presence. Deposition studies on cotton fabrics were also conducted. Attenuated total reflection and scanning electron microscopy were used to study the effect of the polymers on this deposition. Finally, fluorescent microscopy was used to follow the adsorption of surfactant vesicles, labeled with a fluorescent dye, on cotton fabrics in water. It was found that, in the presence or not of polymers, the surfactant vesicles are adsorbed on fiber maintaining their vesicular structure in water (supported vesicular bilayer structure). The guars influence this process. However, upon drying the vesicles are transformed into bilayers and eventually wrap the fibers (supported lipid bilayer structure). This mechanism is proposed for the adsorption of vesicular conditioner on cotton fiber and can be affected by the presence of polymers.

Keywords: cellulose nanocrystals, cotton fibers, fabric softeners, guar polymers, surfactant vesicles

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Authors: Muhammad Tariq Chaudhary

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Bridges constitute a vital link in a transportation system and their functionality after an earthquake is critical in reducing disruption to social and economic activities of the society. Bridges supported on pile foundations are commonly used in many earthquake-prone regions. In order to properly design or investigate the performance of such structures, it is imperative that the effect of soil-foundation-structure interaction be properly taken into account. This study focused on the influence of soil and seismic ground motion variability on the dynamic impedance of pile-group foundations typically used for medium-span (about 30 m) urban viaduct bridges. Soil profiles corresponding to various AASHTO soil classes were selected from actual data of such bridges and / or from the literature. The selected soil profiles were subjected to 1-D wave propagation analysis to determine effective values of soil shear modulus and damping ratio for a suite of properly selected actual seismic ground motions varying in PGA from 0.01g to 0.64g, and having variable velocity and frequency content. The effective values of the soil parameters were then employed to determine the dynamic impedance of pile groups in horizontal, vertical and rocking modes in various soil profiles. Pile diameter was kept constant for bridges in various soil profiles while pile length and number of piles were changed based on AASHTO design requirements for various soil profiles and earthquake ground motions. Conclusions were drawn regarding variability in effective soil shear modulus, soil damping, shear wave velocity and pile group impedance for various soil profiles and ground motions and its implications for design and evaluation of pile-supported bridges. It was found that even though the effective soil parameters underwent drastic variation with increasing PGA, the pile group impedance was not affected much in properly designed pile foundations due to the corresponding increase in pile length or increase in a number of piles or both when subjected to increasing PGA or founded in weaker soil profiles.

Keywords: bridge, pile foundation, dynamic foundation impedance, soil profile, shear wave velocity, seismic ground motion, seismic wave propagation

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Authors: Ola Elfmark, Lars M. Bardal, Luca Oggiano, H˚avard Myklebust

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Team pursuit is a relatively new event in international long track speed skating. For a single speed skater the aerodynamic drag will account for up to 80% of the braking force, thus reducing the drag can greatly improve the performance. In a team pursuit the interactions between athletes in near proximity will also be essential, but is not well studied. In this study, systematic measurements of the aerodynamic drag, body posture and relative positioning of speed skaters have been performed in the low speed wind tunnel at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in order to investigate the aerodynamic interaction between two speed skaters. Drag measurements of static speed skaters drafting, leading, side-by-side, and dynamic drag measurements in a synchronized and unsynchronized movement at different distances, were performed. The projected frontal area was measured for all postures and movements and a blockage correction was performed, as the blockage ratio ranged from 5-15% in the different setups. The static drag measurements where performed on two test subjects in two different postures, a low posture and a high posture, and two different distances between the test subjects 1.5T and 3T where T being the length of the torso (T=0.63m). A drag reduction was observed for all distances and configurations, from 39% to 11.4%, for the drafting test subject. The drag of the leading test subject was only influenced at -1.5T, with the biggest drag reduction of 5.6%. An increase in drag was seen for all side-by-side measurements, the biggest increase was observed to be 25.7%, at the closest distance between the test subjects, and the lowest at 2.7% with ∼ 0.7 m between the test subjects. A clear aerodynamic interaction between the test subjects and their postures was observed for most measurements during static measurements, with results corresponding well to recent studies. For the dynamic measurements, the leading test subject had a drag reduction of 3% even at -3T. The drafting showed a drag reduction of 15% when being in a synchronized (sync) motion with the leading test subject at 4.5T. The maximal drag reduction for both the leading and the drafting test subject were observed when being as close as possible in sync, with a drag reduction of 8.5% and 25.7% respectively. This study emphasize the importance of keeping a synchronized movement by showing that the maximal gain for the leading and drafting dropped to 3.2% and 3.3% respectively when the skaters are in opposite phase. Individual differences in technique also appear to influence the drag of the other test subject.

Keywords: aerodynamic interaction, drag force, frontal area, speed skating

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Authors: Muhammad Tanveer Altaf, Mehmet Bedir, Waqas Liaqat, Gönül Cömertpay, Volkan Çatalkaya, Celaluddin Barutçular, Nergiz Çoban, Ibrahim Cerit, Muhammad Azhar Nadeem, Tolga Karaköy, Faheem Shehzad Baloch

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Food production needs to be almost double by 2050 in order to feed around 9 billion people around the Globe. Plant production mostly relies on fertilizers, which also have one of the main roles in environmental pollution. In addition to this, climatic conditions are unpredictable, and the earth is expected to face severe drought conditions in the future. Therefore, water and fertilizers, especially nitrogen are considered as main constraints for future food security. To face these challenges, developing integrative approaches for germplasm characterization and selecting the resilient genotypes performing under limiting conditions is very crucial for effective breeding to meet the food requirement under climatic change scenarios. This study is part of the European Research Area Network (ERANET) project for the characterization of the diversity panel of 172 sorghum accessions and six hybrids as control cultivars under limiting (+N/-H2O, -N/+H2O) and non-limiting conditions (+N+H2O). This study was planned to characterize the sorghum diversity in relation to resource Use Efficiency (RUE), with special attention on harnessing the interaction between genotype and environment (GxE) from a physiological and agronomic perspective. Experiments were conducted at Adana, a Mediterranean climate, with augmented design, and data on various agronomic and physiological parameters were recorded. Plentiful diversity was observed in the sorghum diversity panel and significant variations were seen among the limiting water and nitrogen conditions in comparison with the control experiment. Potential genotypes with the best performance are identified under limiting conditions. Whole genome resequencing was performed for whole germplasm under investigation for diversity analysis. GWAS analysis will be performed using genotypic and phenotypic data and linked markers will be identified. The results of this study will show the adaptation and improvement of sorghum under climate change conditions for future food security.

Keywords: germplasm, sorghum, drought, nitrogen, resources use efficiency, sequencing

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Authors: Fatemeh Jannesarvatan, Ghazaal Parastooei, Jimmy frerejan, Saedeh Mokhtari, Peter Van Rosmalen

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Medical and dental education increasingly emphasizes the acquisition, integration, and coordination of complex knowledge, skills, and attitudes that can be applied in practical situations. Instructional design approaches have focused on using real-life tasks in order to facilitate complex learning in both real and simulated environments. The Four component instructional design (4C/ID) model has become a useful guideline for designing instructional materials that improve learning transfer, especially in health profession education. The objective of this study was to apply the 4C/ID model in the creation of virtual patients (VPs) that dental students can use to practice their clinical management and clinical reasoning skills. The study first explored the context and concept of complication factors and common errors for novices and how they can affect the design of a virtual patient program. The study then selected key dental information and considered the content needs of dental students. The design of virtual patients was based on the 4C/ID model's fundamental principles, which included: Designing learning tasks that reflect real patient scenarios and applying different levels of task complexity to challenge students to apply their knowledge and skills in different contexts. Creating varied learning materials that support students during the VP program and are closely integrated with the learning tasks and students' curricula. Cognitive feedback was provided at different levels of the program. Providing procedural information where students followed a step-by-step process from history taking to writing a comprehensive treatment plan. Four virtual patients were designed using the 4C/ID model's principles, and an experimental design was used to test the effectiveness of the principles in achieving the intended educational outcomes. The 4C/ID model provides an effective framework for designing engaging and successful virtual patients that support the transfer of knowledge and skills for dental students. However, there are some challenges and pitfalls that instructional designers should take into account when developing these educational tools.

Keywords: 4C/ID model, virtual patients, education, dental, instructional design

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Authors: Ugwu O. C., Mamah R. O., Awudu W. S.

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This work is aimed at enhancing signal reception on a mobile radio network and minimizing outage probability in a mobile radio network using adaptive beamforming antenna arrays. In this research work, an empirical real-time drive measurement was done in a cellular network of Globalcom Nigeria Limited located at Ikeja, the headquarters of Lagos State, Nigeria, with reference base station number KJA 004. The empirical measurement includes Received Signal Strength and Bit Error Rate which were recorded for exact prediction of the signal strength of the network as at the time of carrying out this research work. The Received Signal Strength and Bit Error Rate were measured with a spectrum monitoring Van with the help of a Ray Tracer at an interval of 100 meters up to 700 meters from the transmitting base station. The distance and angular location measurements from the reference network were done with the help Global Positioning System (GPS). The other equipment used were transmitting equipment measurements software (Temsoftware), Laptops and log files, which showed received signal strength with distance from the base station. Results obtained were about 11% from the real-time experiment, which showed that mobile radio networks are prone to signal failure and can be minimized using an Adaptive Beamforming Antenna Array in terms of a significant reduction in Bit Error Rate, which implies improved performance of the mobile radio network. In addition, this work did not only include experiments done through empirical measurement but also enhanced mathematical models that were developed and implemented as a reference model for accurate prediction. The proposed signal models were based on the analysis of continuous time and discrete space, and some other assumptions. These developed (proposed) enhanced models were validated using MATLAB (version 7.6.3.35) program and compared with the conventional antenna for accuracy. These outage models were used to manage the blocked call experience in the mobile radio network. 20% improvement was obtained when the adaptive beamforming antenna arrays were implemented on the wireless mobile radio network.

Keywords: beamforming algorithm, adaptive beamforming, simulink, reception

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Authors: Zhengming Wu

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NanoFrazor lithography systems were developed as a first true alternative or extension to standard mask-less nanolithography methods like electron beam lithography (EBL). In contrast to EBL they are based on thermal scanning probe lithography (t-SPL). Here a heatable ultra-sharp probe tip with an apex of a few nm is used for patterning and simultaneously inspecting complex nanostructures. The heat impact from the probe on a thermal responsive resist generates those high-resolution nanostructures. The patterning depth of each individual pixel can be controlled with better than 1 nm precision using an integrated in-situ metrology method. Furthermore, the inherent imaging capability of the Nanofrazor technology allows for markerless overlay, which has been achieved with sub-5 nm accuracy as well as it supports stitching layout sections together with < 10 nm error. Pattern transfer from such resist features below 10 nm resolution were demonstrated. The technology has proven its value as an enabler of new kinds of ultra-high resolution nanodevices as well as for improving the performance of existing device concepts. The application range for this new nanolithography technique is very broad spanning from ultra-high resolution 2D and 3D patterning to chemical and physical modification of matter at the nanoscale. Nanometer-precise markerless overlay and non-invasiveness to sensitive materials are among the key strengths of the technology. However, while patterning at below 10 nm resolution is achieved, significantly increasing the patterning speed at the expense of resolution is not feasible by using the heated tip alone. Towards this end, an integrated laser write head for direct laser sublimation (DLS) of the thermal resist has been introduced for significantly faster patterning of micrometer to millimeter-scale features. Remarkably, the areas patterned by the tip and the laser are seamlessly stitched together and both processes work on the very same resist material enabling a true mix-and-match process with no developing or any other processing steps in between. The presentation will include examples for (i) high-quality metal contacting of 2D materials, (ii) tuning photonic molecules, (iii) generating nanofluidic devices and (iv) generating spintronic circuits. Some of these applications have been enabled only due to the various unique capabilities of NanoFrazor lithography like the absence of damage from a charged particle beam.

Keywords: nanofabrication, grayscale lithography, 2D materials device, nano-optics, photonics, spintronic circuits

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Authors: Moujib Bahri, Rahim Kallel, Ouafa Sakka

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Corruption is a phenomenon that increases uncertainty and risk of SMEs as it undermines the quality of the business environment and the easy access to public services. Our research builds on existing research on corruption's effects on economic growth at the firm level. Several papers have analyzed the effect of firms’ payments of bribes on their performance; however, only limited research has investigated the link between corruption, innovation, and exports. Drawing on principal-agent theory, we explore how corruption weakens the institutional context and makes the business environment unsound and not conducive to innovation and exports. This study employs data from The Enterprise Surveys conducted in Tunisia between March 2013 and July 2014 by the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The main objective of this survey was to gain a better understanding of Tunisian firms’ perception of the environment in which they operate. Since 2011, the country's political situation has become fragile and unstable, and public services are perceived as inefficient and corrupt. We test our hypotheses on a sample of 537 Tunisian manufacturing SMEs using structural equation modeling and path analysis. We find that political instability leads to higher level of corruption, and that excessive business licensing regulations create a fertile ground for bribery. Our findings do not support the greasing hypothesis suggesting that corruption can reduce the negative effect of bureaucratic delays and the hard access of companies to public services related to innovation and exports. Instead, our results support the sanding hypothesis according to which corruption hinders innovation activities and exports. Furthermore, corruption is found to, negatively and significantly, impact firms’ ownership of quality certificates. Our results suggest that, in an environment with a high level of corruption, governments and policymakers interested in assisting SMEs with their innovation and export activities should have a better control on corruption to allow them developing those activities without being forced to bribe government officers.

Keywords: corruption, innovation, exports, SMEs

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Authors: Heewon Jeong, Seongpyo Kim, Joon Ha Kim

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Over the last few tens of years, the coastal regions of Korea have experienced red tide algal blooms, which are harmful and toxic to both humans and marine organisms due to their potential threat. It was accelerated owing to eutrophication by human activities, certain oceanic processes, and climate change. Previous studies have tried to monitoring and predicting the algae concentration of the ocean with the bio-optical algorithms applied to color images of the satellite. However, the accurate estimation of algal blooms remains problems to challenges because of the complexity of coastal waters. Therefore, this study suggests a new method to identify the concentration of red tide algal bloom from images of geostationary ocean color imager (GOCI) which are representing the water environment of the sea in Korea. The method employed GOCI images, which took the water leaving radiances centered at 443nm, 490nm and 660nm respectively, as well as observed weather data (i.e., humidity, temperature and atmospheric pressure) for the database to apply optical characteristics of algae and train deep learning algorithm. Convolution neural network (CNN) was used to extract the significant features from the images. And then artificial neural network (ANN) was used to estimate the concentration of algae from the extracted features. For training of the deep learning model, backpropagation learning strategy is developed. The established methods were tested and compared with the performances of GOCI data processing system (GDPS), which is based on standard image processing algorithms and optical algorithms. The model had better performance to estimate algae concentration than the GDPS which is impossible to estimate greater than 5mg/m³. Thus, deep learning model trained successfully to assess algae concentration in spite of the complexity of water environment. Furthermore, the results of this system and methodology can be used to improve the performances of remote sensing. Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the 'Climate Technology Development and Application' research project (#K07731) through a grant provided by GIST in 2017.

Keywords: deep learning, algae concentration, remote sensing, satellite

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Authors: Giga Rahmah An-Nafisah, Lailatus Syifa Kamilah

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Agriculture today, especially in Indonesia have globally improved. Since the election of the new president, who in the program of work priority the food self-sufficiency. Many ways and attempts have been planned carefully. All this is done to maximize agricultural production for the future. But if we look from another side, there is something missing. Yes! Improvement of life safety of the farmers, useless we fix all agricultural processing systems to maximize agricultural output, but the Hero of agriculture itself it does not change towards a better life. Yes, broker or middleman system agriculture results. Broker system or middleman this is the real problem facing farmers for their welfare. How come? As much as agriculture result, but if farmers were sell into middlemen with very low prices, then there will be no progress for their welfare. Broker system who do the actual middlemen should not happen in the current agricultural system, because the agriculture condition currently being concern, they would still be able to reap a profit as much as possible, no matter how miserable farmers manage the farm and currently face import competition this cannot be avoided anymore. This phenomenon is already visible plain sight all, who see it. Why? Because farmers those who fell victim cannot do anything to change this system. It is true, if only these middlemen who want to receive it for the sale of agricultural products, or arguably the only system that is the bridge realtor economic life of the farmers. The problem is that we should strive for the welfare of the heroes of our food. A golden bridge that could save them that, are the government. Why? Because the government can more easily with the powers to stop this broker system compared to other parties. The government supposed to be a bridge connecting the farmers with consumers or the people themselves. Yes, with improved broker system becomes: buy agricultural produce with highest prices to farmers and selling of agricultural products with lowest price to the consumer or the people themselves. And then the next question about the fate of middlemen? The system indirectly realtor is like system corruption. Why? Because the definition of corruption is an activity that is detrimental to the victim without being noticed by anyone continue to enrich himself and his victim's life miserable. Government may transfer performance of the middlemen into the idea of a new bridge that is done by the government itself. The government could lift them into this new bridge system employs them to remain a distributor of agricultural products themselves, but under the new policy made by the government to keep improving the welfare of farmers. This idea is made is not going to have much effect would improve the welfare of farmers, but most/least this idea will bring around many people for helping conscience farmers to the government, through the daily chatter, as well as celebrity gossip can quickly know too many people.

Keywords: broker system, farmers live, government, agricultural economics

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Authors: C. J. Rossouw, T. I. van Niekerk

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The global manufacturing industry is utilizing the internet and cloud-based services to further explore the anatomy and optimize manufacturing processes in support of the movement into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). The 4IR from a third world and African perspective is hindered by the fact that many manufacturing systems that were developed in the third industrial revolution are not inherently equipped to utilize the internet and services of the 4IR, hindering the progression of third world manufacturing industries into the 4IR. This research focuses on the development of a non-invasive and cost-effective cyber-physical IoT system that will exploit a machine’s vibration to expose semantic characteristics in the manufacturing process and utilize these results through a real-time cloud-based machine condition monitoring system with the intention to optimize the system. A microcontroller-based IoT sensor was designed to acquire a machine’s mechanical vibration data, process it in real-time, and transmit it to a cloud-based platform via Wi-Fi and the internet. Time-frequency Fourier analysis was applied to the vibration data to form an image representation of the machine’s behaviour. This data was used to train a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) to learn semantic characteristics in the machine’s behaviour and relate them to a state of operation. The same data was also used to train a Convolutional Autoencoder (CAE) to detect anomalies in the data. Real-time edge-based artificial intelligence was achieved by deploying the CNN and CAE on the sensor to analyse the vibration. A cloud platform was deployed to visualize the vibration data and the results of the CNN and CAE in real-time. The cyber-physical IoT system was deployed on a semi-automated metal granulation machine with a set of trained machine learning models. Using a single sensor, the system was able to accurately visualize three states of the machine’s operation in real-time. The system was also able to detect a variance in the material being granulated. The research demonstrates how non-IoT manufacturing systems can be equipped with edge-based artificial intelligence to establish a remote machine condition monitoring system.

Keywords: IoT, cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, vibration analytics, continuous machine condition monitoring

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Authors: Himanshu Sharma, Karthik Kumar, Harish Kumar

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The major problem in crop cultivation is the occurrence of multiple crop diseases. During the growth stage, timely identification of crop diseases is paramount to ensure the high yield of crops, lower production costs, and minimize pesticide usage. In most cases, crop diseases produce observable characteristics and symptoms. The Surveyors usually diagnose crop diseases when they walk through the fields. However, surveyor inspections tend to be biased and error-prone due to the nature of the monotonous task and the subjectivity of individuals. In addition, visual inspection of each leaf or plant is costly, time-consuming, and labour-intensive. Furthermore, the plant pathologists and experts who can often identify the disease within the plant according to their symptoms in early stages are not readily available in remote regions. Therefore, this study specifically addressed early detection of leaf scald, red rot, and eyespot types of diseases within sugarcane plants. The study proposes a computer vision-based approach using a convolutional neural network (CNN) for automatic identification of crop diseases. To facilitate this, firstly, images of sugarcane diseases were taken from google without modifying the scene, background, or controlling the illumination to build the training dataset. Then, the testing dataset was developed based on the real-time collected images from the sugarcane field from India. Then, the image dataset is pre-processed for feature extraction and selection. Finally, the CNN-based Visual Geometry Group (VGG) model was deployed on the training and testing dataset to classify the images into diseased and healthy sugarcane plants and measure the model's performance using various parameters, i.e., accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and F1-score. The promising result of the proposed model lays the groundwork for the automatic early detection of sugarcane disease. The proposed research directly sustains an increase in crop yield.

Keywords: automatic classification, computer vision, convolutional neural network, image processing, sugarcane disease, visual geometry group

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Authors: Muhammad Asif Syed, Mirza Amir Baig

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Background: Pakistan is one of the two remaining polio-endemic countries, posing a significant public health challenge for global polio eradication due to failure to interrupt polio transmission. Country specific seroprevalence studies help in the evaluation of immunization program performance, the susceptibility of population against polio virus and identification of existing level of immunity with factors that affect seroconversion of the oral polio vaccine (OPV). The objective of the study was to find out factors associated with seroconversion of the OPV among children 6-59 months in Pakistan. Methods: A Hospital based cross-sectional serosurvey was undertaken in May-June 2015 at District Mirpurkhas, Sindh-Pakistan. Total 180 children aged 6–59 months were selected by using systematic random sampling from Muhammad Medical College Hospital, Mirpurkhas. Demographic, vaccination history and risk factors information were collected from the parents/guardian. Blood sample was collected and tested for the detection of poliovirus IgG antibodies by using ELISA Kit. The IgG titer <10 IU/ml, 50 to <150 IU/ml and >150 IU/ml was defined as negative, weak positive and positive immunity respectively. Pearson Chi-square test was used to determine the difference in seroprevalence in univariate analysis. Results: A total of 180 subjects were enrolled mean age was 23 months (7 -59 months). Off these 160 (89%) children were well and 18 (10%) partially protected against polio virus. Two (1.1%) children had no protection against polio virus as they had <10 IU/ml poliovirus IgG antibodies titer. Both negative cases belong from the female gender, age group 12-23 months, urban area and BMI <50 percentile. There was a difference between normal and the wasting children; it did attain statistical significance (χ2= 35.5, p=0.00). The difference in seroconversion was also observed in relation to the gender (χ2=6.23, p=0.04), duration of breast feeding (χ2=18.6, p=0.04), history of diarrheal disease before polio vaccine administration (χ2=7.7, p=0.02), and stunting (χ2= 114, p=0.00). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that near 90% children achieve seroconversion of OPV and well protected against polio virus. There is an urgent need to focus on factors like duration of breast feeding, diarrheal diseases and malnutrition (acute and chronic) among the children as an immunization strategy.

Keywords: seroconversion, oral polio vaccine, Polio, Pakistan

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Authors: Florence Matsveru

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The 21st-century church in Africa is faced with a myriad of challenges, which need attention. One of those challenges is pastoral ministry to congregants in high positions. This paper is based on a Ph.D. study entitled, ‘Wellbeing and work performance of Christians in managerial positions: A Namibian case study’ conducted between 2015 and 2018. The study was conducted with 32 purposively selected Christians working in managerial positions in Ohangwena Region, Namibia. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, i.e., both qualitative (to get participants’ feelings and perceptions) and quantitative (to get proportions of the experiences and perceptions). The research process involved a questionnaire survey and interviews. The study revealed that Christians in managerial positions have both common and unique experiences in three spheres: the workplace, the family and the church. The experiences lead to physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual needs. The findings also showed that some of the expectations placed upon Christians in managerial positions in the church may be unrealistic, while at the same time this group of congregants want to use their work experiences for the benefit of the church. A worrying finding was that pastors are generally not well-trained for ministry to congregants in high positions. Since these were perceptions of the participants (some of whom were also pastors), the researcher went further to do a short internet survey of the curricula of a number of theological colleges in Southern Africa. This survey did not show any ‘manager-sensitive’ modules in the surveyed colleges. Theological education for pastors, especially in African theological institutions, seems to ignore the unique needs of congregants in high positions. This paper argues that the needs of Christians in high positions should be considered in pastoral care and that theological education is key in equipping pastors with the necessary knowledge and skills. This paper is, therefore, a call to theological institutions to include ministry to people in high positions in their curricula. Pastors who are already beyond theological school may find it helpful to attend or hold workshops that focus on congregants in high positions so that this kind of 'sheep' will find good pasture in the church. A paper of this nature helps to strengthen pastoral ministry and to enhance the relevance of theological education.

Keywords: Christian managers, theological curricula, pastoral care, African

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Authors: Lineo Dzansi

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South African government has been mandated by the Constitution (Act 108 of 1996) to deliver basic services to all who live in it. However, service delivery has always been marred with much criticism and citizens’ dissatisfaction regarding the quality of services rendered to them. This is evidenced by public protests that are common in South Africa lately which they are mostly alleged to link with failure by the government through various municipalities to meet citizens’ service delivery expectations. Municipalities render services through people. People management plays a crucial role in influencing employee and organisational performance and it thus needs to be conducted in a fair and just manner. Literature confirms that there is a relationship between organisational justice perceptions and employee behaviour, and that positive or negative justice perceptions can have an influence on employee attitudes, commitment to their jobs and organisation. The nature of the attachments formed by individuals to their employing organisations depends on the manner in which the organisation treats them. This implies that Municipal employees’ commitment could be linked to fair or unfair perceptions of Human Resource Management practices within their organisations. Unfortunately, the political nature of municipal environment could be a fertile ground for appointments of people based on political affiliation as a reward for political patronage rather than on merit. This paper seeks to investigate the relationship between municipal employees’ perceptions of fairness of Human Resource Management practices and employee commitment from the organisational justice point of view. Research on organisational justice has shown that employees’ organisational justice perceptions link directly with job satisfaction and employee organisational commitment. Quantitative research methods were employed to collect and analyse data from selected managerial and non-managerial municipal employees within selected municipalities in Free State Province of South Africa. Employee commitment has positive relationships with HRM practices at the .05 and .01 levels of significance – indicating that the higher the levels of HRM practices in municipal employees the higher the organisational commitment of employees. Therefore, it is concluded that organisational commitment of municipal employees (EOC) is positively related to their perceptions of fairness of HRM practices (PHF) of municipalities. In other words, fair HRM practices of municipalities promote organisational commitment in municipal employees.

Keywords: organisational Justice, HRM practices, employee organisational commitment, employee attitudes

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Authors: Alefsi D. Sanchez-Reinoso, Leonardo Lombardini, Hermann Restrepo

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Colombian coffee is recognized worldwide for its mild flavor and aroma. Its cultivation generates a large amount of waste, such as fresh pulp, which leads to environmental, health, and economic problems. Obtaining biochar (BC) by pyrolysis of coffee pulp and its incorporation to the soil can be a complement to the crop mineral nutrition. The objective was to evaluate the effect of the application of BC obtained from coffee pulp on the physiology and agronomic performance of the Castillo variety coffee crop (Coffea arabica L.). The research was developed in field condition experiment, using a three-year-old commercial coffee crop, carried out in Tolima. Four doses of BC (0, 4, 8 and 16 t ha-1) and four levels of chemical fertilization (CF) (0%, 33%, 66% and 100% of the nutritional requirements) were evaluated. Three groups of variables were recorded during the experiment: i) physiological parameters such as Gas exchange, the maximum quantum yield of PSII (Fv/Fm), biomass, and water status were measured; ii) physical and chemical characteristics of the soil in a commercial coffee crop, and iii) physiochemical and sensorial parameters of roasted beans and coffee beverages. The results indicated that a positive effect was found in plants with 8 t ha-1 BC and fertilization levels of 66 and 100%. Also, a positive effect was observed in coffee trees treated with 8 t ha-1 BC and 100%. In addition, the application of 16 t ha-1 BC increased the soil pHand microbial respiration; reduced the apparent density and state of aggregation of the soil compared to 0 t ha-1 BC. Applications of 8 and 16 t ha-1 BC and 66%-100% chemical fertilization registered greater sensitivity to the aromatic compounds of roasted coffee beans in the electronic nose. Amendments of BC between 8 and 16 t ha-1 and CF between 66% and 100% increased the content of total soluble solids (TSS), reduced the pH, and increased the titratable acidity in beverages of roasted coffee beans. In conclusion, 8 t ha-1 BC of the coffee pulp can be an alternative to supplement the nutrition of coffee seedlings and trees. Applications between 8 and 16 t ha-1 BC support coffee soil management strategies and help the use of solid waste. BC as a complement to chemical fertilization showed a positive effect on the aromatic profile obtained for roasted coffee beans and cup quality attributes.

Keywords: crop yield, cup quality, mineral nutrition, pyrolysis, soil amendment

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Authors: Mohamad Amin Amini, Mehdi Poursha

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Nonlinear response history analysis (NL-RHA) is a robust analytical tool for estimating the seismic demands of structures responding in the inelastic range. However, because of its conceptual and numerical complications, the nonlinear static procedure (NSP) is being increasingly used as a suitable tool for seismic performance evaluation of structures. The conventional pushover analysis methods presented in various codes (FEMA 356; Eurocode-8; ATC-40), are limited to the first-mode-dominated structures, and cannot take higher modes effect into consideration. Therefore, since more than a decade ago, researchers developed enhanced pushover analysis procedures to take higher modes effect into account. The main objective of this study is to propose an enhanced invariant lateral displacement distribution to take higher modes effect into consideration in performing a displacement-based pushover analysis, whereby a set of laterally applied displacements, rather than forces, is monotonically applied to the structure. For this purpose, the effect of different parameters such as the spectral displacement of ground motion, the modal participation factor, and the effective modal participating mass ratio on the lateral displacement distribution is investigated to find the best distribution. The major simplification of this procedure is that the effect of higher modes is concentrated into a single invariant lateral load distribution. Therefore, only one pushover analysis is sufficient without any need to utilize a modal combination rule for combining the responses. The invariant lateral displacement distribution for pushover analysis is then calculated by combining the modal story displacements using the modal combination rules. The seismic demands resulting from the different procedures are compared to those from the more accurate nonlinear response history analysis (NL-RHA) as a benchmark solution. Two structures of different heights including 10 and 20-story special steel moment resisting frames (MRFs) were selected and evaluated. Twenty ground motion records were used to conduct the NL-RHA. The results show that more accurate responses can be obtained in comparison with the conventional lateral loads when the enhanced modal lateral displacement distributions are used.

Keywords: displacement-based pushover, enhanced lateral load distribution, higher modes effect, nonlinear response history analysis (NL-RHA)

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Authors: M. Hossain, A. Abdkader, C. Cherif, A. Berger, M. Sparing, R. Hühne, L. Schultz, K. Nielsch

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Due to the best quality of yarn and the flexibility of the machine, the ring spinning process is the most widely used spinning method for short staple yarn production. However, the productivity of these machines is still much lower in comparison to other spinning systems such as rotor or air-jet spinning process. The main reason for this limitation lies on the twisting mechanism of the ring spinning process. In the ring/traveler twisting system, each rotation of the traveler along with the ring inserts twist in the yarn. The rotation of the traveler at higher speed includes strong frictional forces, which in turn generates heat. Different ring/traveler systems concerning with its geometries, material combinations and coatings have already been implemented to solve the frictional problem. However, such developments can neither completely solve the frictional problem nor increase the productivity. The friction free superconducting magnetic bearing (SMB) system can be a right alternative replacing the existing ring/traveler system. The unique concept of SMB bearings is that they possess a self-stabilizing behavior, i.e. they remain fully passive without any necessity for expensive position sensing and control. Within the framework of a research project funded by German research foundation (DFG), suitable concepts of the SMB-system have been designed, developed, and integrated as a twisting device of ring spinning replacing the existing ring/traveler system. With the help of the developed mathematical model and experimental investigation, the physical limitations of this innovative twisting device in the spinning process have been determined. The interaction among the parameters of the spinning process and the superconducting twisting element has been further evaluated, which derives the concrete information regarding the new spinning process. Moreover, the influence of the implemented SMB twisting system on the yarn quality has been analyzed with respect to different process parameters. The presented work reveals the enormous potential of the innovative twisting mechanism, so that the productivity of the ring spinning process especially in case of thermoplastic materials can be at least doubled for the first time in a hundred years. The SMB ring spinning tester has also been presented in the international fair “International Textile Machinery Association (ITMA) 2015”.

Keywords: ring spinning, superconducting magnetic bearing, yarn properties, productivity

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Authors: Gonzalo Reyes, Magdalena Walczak, Esteban Ramos-Moore, Jorge Ramos-Grez

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Metal additive manufacture technologies have gained strong support and acceptance as a promising and alternative method to manufacture high performance complex geometry products. The main purpose of the present work is to study the microstructure and phase transformation temperatures of Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys fabricated from a direct laser additive process using metallic powders as precursors. The potential application is to manufacture self-centering seismic dampers for earthquake protection of buildings out of a copper based alloy by an additive process. In this process, the Cu-Al-Ni alloy is melted, inside of a high temperature and vacuum chamber with the aid of a high power fiber laser under inert atmosphere. The laser provides the energy to melt the alloy powder layer. The process allows fabricating fully dense, oxygen-free Cu-Al-Ni specimens using different laser power levels, laser powder interaction times, furnace ambient temperatures, and cooling rates as well as modifying concentration of the alloying elements. Two sets of specimens were fabricated with a nominal composition of Cu-13Al-3Ni and Cu-13Al-4Ni in wt.%, however, semi-quantitative chemical analysis using EDX examination showed that the specimens’ resulting composition was closer to Cu-12Al-5Ni and Cu-11Al-8Ni, respectively. In spite of that fact, it is expected that the specimens should still possess shape memory behavior. To confirm this hypothesis, phase transformation temperatures will be measured using DSC technique, to look for martensitic and austenitic phase transformations at 150°C. So far, metallographic analysis of the specimens showed defined martensitic microstructures. Moreover, XRD technique revealed diffraction peaks corresponding to (0 0 18) and (1 2 8) planes, which are too associated with the presence of martensitic phase. We conclude that it would be possible to obtain fully dense Cu-Al-Ni alloys having shape memory effect behavior by direct laser fabrication process, and to advance into fabrication of self centering seismic dampers by a controllable metal additive manufacturing process.

Keywords: Cu-Al-Ni alloys, direct laser fabrication, shape memory alloy, self-centering seismic dampers

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Authors: Verarisa Ujung

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The Anthropocene – as scientists define as a new geological epoch where human intervention has the dominant influence on the geological, atmospheric, and ecological processes challenges the contemporary discourse in architecture and interior. The dominant influence characterises the incapability to distinguish the notion of nature, subnature, human and non-human. Consequently, living in the Anthropocene demands sensitivity and responsiveness to heighten our sense of the rhythm of transformation and recognition of our environment as a product of natural, social and historical processes. The notion of subnature is particularly emphasised in this paper to investigate the poetic sense of living with subnature. It could be associated with the critical tool for exploring the aesthetic and programmatic implications of subnature on interiority. The ephemeral immaterial attached to subnature promotes the sense of atmospheric delineation of interiority, the very inner significance of body-surface interaction, which central to interior architecture discourse. This would then reflect human’s activities; examine the transformative change, the architectural motion and the traces that left between moments. In this way, engaging the notion of subnature enable us to better understand the critical subject on interiority and might provide an in-depth study on interior architecture. Incorporating the exploration on the form, materiality, and pattern of subnature, this research seeks to grasp the inner significance of micro to macro approaches so that the future of interior might be compelled to depend more on the investigation and development of responsive environment. To reflect upon the form, materiality and intensity of subnature that specifically characterized by the natural, social and historical processes, this research examines a volcanic land, White Island/Whakaari, New Zealand as the chosen site of investigation. Emitting various forms and intensities of subnatures - smokes, mud, sulphur gas, this volcanic land also open to the new inhabitation within the sulphur factory ruins that reflects human’s past occupation. In this way, temporal and natural selected manifestations of materiality, artefact, and performance can be traced out and might reveal the meaningful relations among space, inhabitation, and well-being of inhabitants in the Anthropocene.

Keywords: anthropocene, body, intensification, intensity, interior architecture, subnature, surface

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Authors: Ann Devitt, Mairead Brady, Markus Lamest, Stephen Gomez

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This study set out to explore the use of an online collaborative serious game for student learning in a postgraduate introductory marketing module. The simulation game aimed to bridge the theory-practice divide in marketing by allowing students to apply theory in a safe, simulated marketplace. This study addresses the following research questions: Does an online marketing simulation game engage students higher order cognitive skills? Does collaborative activity required develop students’ “soft” skills, such as communication and negotiation? What specific affordances of the online simulation promote learning? This qualitative case study took place in 2014 with 40 postgraduate students on a Business Masters Programme. The two-week intensive module combined lectures with collaborative activity on a marketing simulation game, MMX from Pearsons. The game requires student teams to compete against other teams in a marketplace and design a marketing plan to maximize key performance indicators. The data for this study comprise essays written by students after the module reflecting on their learning on the module. A thematic analysis was conducted of the essays using the following a priori theme sets: 6 levels of the cognitive domain of Blooms taxonomy; 5 principles of Cooperative Learning; affordances of simulation environments including experiential learning; motivation and engagement; goal orientation. Preliminary findings would strongly suggest that the game facilitated students identifying the value of theory in practice, in particular for future employment; enhanced their understanding of group dynamics and their role within that; and impacted very strongly, both positively and negatively on motivation. In particular the game mechanics of MMX, which hinges on the correct identification of a target consumer group, was identified as a key determinant of extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for learners. The findings also suggest that the situation of the simulation game within a broader module which required post-game reflection was valuable in identifying key learning of marketing concepts in both the positive and the negative experiences of the game.

Keywords: simulation, marketing, serious game, cooperative learning, bloom's taxonomy

Procedia PDF Downloads 538

Authors: A. Chowdhury, P. Egodawatta, J. M. McGree, A. Goonetilleke

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Hydrologic models are increasingly used as tools to predict stormwater quantity and quality from urban catchments. However, due to a range of practical issues, most models produce gross errors in simulating complex hydraulic and hydrologic systems. Difficulty in finding a robust approach for model calibration is one of the main issues. Though automatic calibration techniques are available, they are rarely used in common commercial hydraulic and hydrologic modelling software e.g. MIKE URBAN. This is partly due to the need for a large number of parameters and large datasets in the calibration process. To overcome this practical issue, a framework for automatic calibration of a hydrologic model was developed in R platform and presented in this paper. The model was developed based on the time-area conceptualization. Four calibration parameters, including initial loss, reduction factor, time of concentration and time-lag were considered as the primary set of parameters. Using these parameters, automatic calibration was performed using Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC). ABC is a simulation-based technique for performing Bayesian inference when the likelihood is intractable or computationally expensive to compute. To test the performance and usefulness, the technique was used to simulate three small catchments in Gold Coast. For comparison, simulation outcomes from the same three catchments using commercial modelling software, MIKE URBAN were used. The graphical comparison shows strong agreement of MIKE URBAN result within the upper and lower 95% credible intervals of posterior predictions as obtained via ABC. Statistical validation for posterior predictions of runoff result using coefficient of determination (CD), root mean square error (RMSE) and maximum error (ME) was found reasonable for three study catchments. The main benefit of using ABC over MIKE URBAN is that ABC provides a posterior distribution for runoff flow prediction, and therefore associated uncertainty in predictions can be obtained. In contrast, MIKE URBAN just provides a point estimate. Based on the results of the analysis, it appears as though ABC the developed framework performs well for automatic calibration.

Keywords: automatic calibration framework, approximate bayesian computation, hydrologic and hydraulic modelling, MIKE URBAN software, R platform

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Authors: Nimet Yildirim Tirgil, Ahmed Busnaina, April Z. Gu

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Environmental waters are monitored worldwide to protect people from infectious diseases primarily caused by enteric pathogens. All long, Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a good indicator for potential enteric pathogens in waters. Thus, a rapid and simple detection method for E. coli is very important to predict the pathogen contamination. In this study, to the best of our knowledge, as the first time we developed a rapid, direct and reusable SWCNTs (single walled carbon nanotubes) based biosensor system for sensitive and selective E. coli detection in water samples. We use a novel and newly developed flexible biosensor device which was fabricated by high-rate nanoscale offset printing process using directed assembly and transfer of SWCNTs. By simple directed assembly and non-covalent functionalization, aptamer (biorecognition element that specifically distinguish the E. coli O157:H7 strain from other pathogens) based SWCNTs biosensor system was designed and was further evaluated for environmental applications with simple and cost-effective steps. The two gold electrode terminals and SWCNTs-bridge between them allow continuous resistance response monitoring for the E. coli detection. The detection procedure is based on competitive mode detection. A known concentration of aptamer and E. coli cells were mixed and after a certain time filtered. The rest of free aptamers injected to the system. With hybridization of the free aptamers and their SWCNTs surface immobilized probe DNA (complementary-DNA for E. coli aptamer), we can monitor the resistance difference which is proportional to the amount of the E. coli. Thus, we can detect the E. coli without injecting it directly onto the sensing surface, and we could protect the electrode surface from the aggregation of target bacteria or other pollutants that may come from real wastewater samples. After optimization experiments, the linear detection range was determined from 2 cfu/ml to 10⁵ cfu/ml with higher than 0.98 R² value. The system was regenerated successfully with 5 % SDS solution over 100 times without any significant deterioration of the sensor performance. The developed system had high specificity towards E. coli (less than 20 % signal with other pathogens), and it could be applied to real water samples with 86 to 101 % recovery and 3 to 18 % cv values (n=3).

Keywords: aptamer, E. coli, environmental detection, nanobiosensor, SWCTs

Procedia PDF Downloads 173

Authors: Vadim V. Yanshole, Lyudmila V. Yanshole, Alexey S. Kiryutin, Timofey D. Verkhovod, Yuri P. Tsentalovich

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Cataract, or clouding of the eye lens, is the leading cause of vision impairment in the world. The lens tissue have very specific structure: It does not have vascular system, the lens proteins – crystallins – do not turnover throughout lifespan. The protection of lens proteins is provided by the metabolites which diffuse inside the lens from the aqueous humor or synthesized in the lens epithelial layer. Therefore, the study of changes in the metabolite composition of a cataractous lens as compared to a normal lens may elucidate the possible mechanisms of the cataract formation. Quantitative metabolomic profiles of normal and cataractous human lenses were obtained with the combined use of high-frequency nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ion-pairing high-performance liquid chromatography with high-resolution mass-spectrometric detection (LC-MS) methods. The quantitative content of more than fifty metabolites has been determined in this work for normal aged and cataractous human lenses. The most abundant metabolites in the normal lens are myo-inositol, lactate, creatine, glutathione, glutamate, and glucose. For the majority of metabolites, their levels in the lens cortex and nucleus are similar, with the few exceptions including antioxidants and UV filters: The concentrations of glutathione, ascorbate and NAD in the lens nucleus decrease as compared to the cortex, while the levels of the secondary UV filters formed from primary UV filters in redox processes increase. That confirms that the lens core is metabolically inert, and the metabolic activity in the lens nucleus is mostly restricted by protection from the oxidative stress caused by UV irradiation, UV filter spontaneous decomposition, or other factors. It was found that the metabolomic composition of normal and age-matched cataractous human lenses differ significantly. The content of the most important metabolites – antioxidants, UV filters, and osmolytes – in the cataractous nucleus is at least ten fold lower than in the normal nucleus. One may suppose that the majority of these metabolites are synthesized in the lens epithelial layer, and that age-related cataractogenesis might originate from the dysfunction of the lens epithelial cells. Comprehensive quantitative metabolic profiles of the human eye lens have been acquired for the first time. The obtained data can be used for the analysis of changes in the lens chemical composition occurring with age and with the cataract development.

Keywords: cataract, lens, NMR, LC-MS, metabolome

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Authors: M. J. Gibbons, A. J. Robinson

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Increasing expectations on small form factor electronics to be more compact while increasing performance has driven conventional cooling technologies to a thermal management threshold. An emerging solution to this problem is electrospray (ES) cooling. ES cooling enables two phase cooling by utilising Coulomb forces for energy efficient fluid atomization. Generated charged droplets are accelerated to the grounded target surface by the applied electric field and surrounding gravitational force. While in transit the like charged droplets enable plume dispersion and inhibit droplet coalescence. If the electric field is increased in the cone-jet regime, a subsequent increase in the plume spray angle has been shown. Droplet segregation in the spray plume has been observed, with primary droplets in the plume core and satellite droplets positioned on the periphery of the plume. This segregation is facilitated by inertial and electrostatic effects. This result has been corroborated by numerous authors. These satellite droplets are usually more densely charged and move at a lower relative velocity to that of the spray core due to the radial decay of the electric field. Previous experimental research by Gomez and Tang has shown that the number of droplets deposited on the periphery can be up to twice that of the spray core. This result has been substantiated by a numerical models derived by Wilhelm et al., Oh et al. and Yang et al. Yang et al. showed from their numerical model, that by varying the extractor potential the dispersion radius of the plume also varies proportionally. This research aims to investigate this dispersion density and the role it plays in the local heat transfer coefficient profile (h) of ES cooling. This will be carried out for different extractor – target separation heights (H2), working fluid flow rates (Q), and extractor applied potential (V2). The plume dispersion will be recorded by spraying a 25 µm thick, joule heated steel foil and by recording the thermal footprint of the ES plume using a Flir A-40 thermal imaging camera. The recorded results will then be analysed by in-house developed MATLAB code.

Keywords: electronic cooling, electrospray, electrospray plume dispersion, spray cooling

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Authors: Twinkle Sara Joseph

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Virtual reality technology has emerged as a revolutionary power that can transform the education sector in many ways. VR environments can break the boundaries of the traditional classroom setting by immersing the students in realistic 3D environments where they can interact with virtual characters without fearing being judged. Communication skills are essential for every profession, and studies suggest the importance of implementing basic-level communication courses at both the school and graduate levels. Interpersonal communication is a skill that gains prominence as it is required in every profession. Traditional means of training have limitations for trainees as well as participants. The fear of being judged, the audience interaction, and other factors can affect the performance of a participant in a traditional classroom setting. Virtual reality offers a unique opportunity for its users to participate in training that does not set any boundaries that prevent the participants from performing in front of an audience. Specialised applications designed in VR headsets offer a range of training and exercises for participants without any time, space, or audience limitations. The present study aims at measuring the effectiveness of VR training in improving interpersonal communication skills among students. The study uses a mixed-method approach, in which a pre-and post-test will be designed to measure effectiveness. A preliminary selection process involving a questionnaire and a screening test will identify suitable candidates based on their current communication proficiency levels. Participants will undergo specialised training through the VR application Virtual Speech tailored for interpersonal communication and public speaking, designed to operate without the traditional constraints of time, space, or audience. The training's impact will subsequently be measured through situational exercises to engage the participants in interpersonal communication tasks, thereby assessing the improvement in their skills. The significance of this study lies in its potential to provide empirical evidence supporting VR technology's role in enhancing communication skills, thereby offering valuable insights for integrating VR-based methodologies into educational frameworks to prepare students more effectively for their professional futures.

Keywords: virtual reality, VR training, interpersonal communication, communication skills, 3D environments

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Authors: Kulsum Maula, Md Kamrul Alam, Md Ibrahim Khalil, Md Nazmul Hasan, Mohammad Omar Faruq

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Background: Percutaneous Tube Thoracostomy (PTT) is an invasive procedure that can save a life now and then in different traumatic and non-traumatic conditions. But still, it is an enigma; how our trainee surgeons are at home in this procedure. Objectives: To evaluate the outcome of the percutaneous tube thoracostomy performed by trainees in both trauma and non-trauma patients. Study design: Prospective, Observational Study. The duration of the study was September 2018 to February 2019. Methods: All patients who need PTT in traumatic and non-traumatic conditions were selected by purposive sampling. Thereafter, they were scrutinized according to eligibility criteria and 96 patients were finalized. A pre-tested, observation-based, peer-reviewed data collection sheet was prepared before the study. Data regarding clinical and surgical outcome profiles were recorded. Data were compiled, edited, and analyzed. Results: Among 96 patients, the highest 32.29% belonged to age group 31-40 years and the lowest 9.37% belonged to the age group ≤20. The mean age of the respondents was 29.19±9.81. We found out of 96 patients, 70(72.91%) were indicated PTT for traumatic conditions and the rest 26(27.08%) were indicated PTT for non-traumatic chest conditions, where 36(37.5%) had simple penumothorax, 21(21.87%) haemothorax, 14(14.58%) massive pleural effusion, 13(13.54%) tension pneumothorax, 10(10.41%) haemopneumothorax, and 2(2.08%) had pyothorax respectively. In 53.12% of patients had right-sided intercostal chest tube (ICT) insertion, whereas 46.87% had left-sided ICT insertion. In our study, 89.55 % of the tube was placed at the normal anatomical position. Besides, 10.41% of tube thoracostomy were performed deviated from anatomical site. Among 96 patients 62.5% patients had length of incision 2-3cm, 35.41% had >3cm and 2.08% had <2cm respectively. Out of 96 patients, 75(78.13%) showed uneventful outcomes, whereas 21(21.87%) had complications, including 11.15%(11) each had wound infection, 4.46%(4) subcutaneous emphysema, 4.28%(3) drain auto expulsion, 2.85%(2) hemorrhage, 1.45%(1) had a non-functioning drain and empyema with ascending infection respectively (p=<0.05). Conclusion: PTT is a life-saving procedure that is most frequently implemented in chest trauma patients in our country. In the majority of cases, the outcome of PTT was uneventful (78.13). Besides this, more than one-third of patients had a length of incision more than 3 cm that needed extra stitches and 10.41% of cases of PTT were placed other than the normal anatomical site. Trainees of Dhaka Medical College Hospitals are doing well in their performance of PTT insertion, but still, some anatomical orientations are necessary to avoid operative and post-operative complications.

Keywords: PTT, trainee, trauma, non-chest trauma patients

Procedia PDF Downloads 109