Search results for: respiratory frequency band

Authors: Taeho Park, Ming Zhou, Sangryul Shim

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With the emergence of the global economy, today’s business environment is getting more competitive than ever in the past. And many supply chain (SC) strategies and operations have significantly been altered over the past decade to overcome more complexities and risks imposed onto the global business. First, offshoring and outsourcing are more adopted as operational strategies. Manufacturing continues to move to better locations for enhancing competitiveness. Second, international operations are a challenge to a company’s SC system. Third, the products traded in the SC system are not just physical goods, but also digital goods (e.g., software, e-books, music, video materials). There are three main flows involved in fulfilling the activities in the SC system: physical flow, information flow, and financial flow. An advance of the Internet and electronic communication technologies has enabled companies to perform the flows of SC activities in electronic formats, resulting in the advent of an electronic supply chain management (e-SCM) system. A SC system for digital goods is somewhat different from the supply chain system for physical goods. However, it involves many similar or identical SC activities and flows. For example, like the production of physical goods, many third parties are also involved in producing digital goods for the production of components and even final products. This research aims at identifying process flows of both physical and digital goods in a SC system, and then investigating all risk elements involved in the physical, information, and financial flows during the fulfilment of SC activities. There are many risks inherent in the e-SCM system. Some risks may have severe impact on a company’s business, and some occur frequently but are not detrimental enough to jeopardize a company. Thus, companies should assess the impact and frequency of those risks, and then prioritize them in terms of their severity, frequency, budget, and time in order to be carefully maintained. We found risks involved in the global trading of physical and digital goods in four different categories: environmental risk, strategic risk, technological risk, and operational risk. And then the significance of those risks was investigated through a survey. The survey asked companies about the frequency and severity of the identified risks. They were also asked whether they had faced those risks in the past. Since the characteristics and supply chain flows of digital goods are varying industry by industry and country by country, it is more meaningful and useful to analyze risks by industry and country. To this end, more data in each industry sector and country should be collected, which could be accomplished in the future research.

Keywords: digital goods, e-SCM, risk analysis, supply chain flows

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Authors: Bineet Kumar

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Many civil engineering infrastructures frequently encounter repetitive loading during their service life. Due to the inherent complexity observed in concrete, like quasi-brittle materials, understanding the fatigue behavior in concrete still posesa challenge. Moreover, the fracture process zone characteristics ahead of the crack tip have been observed to be different in fatigue loading than in the monotonic cases. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend the energy dissipation associated with the fracture process zone (FPZ) due to repetitive loading. It is well known that stiffness degradation due to cyclic loadingprovides a better understanding of the fracture behavior of concrete. Under repetitive load cycles, concrete members exhibit a two-stage stiffness degradation process. Experimentally it has been observed that the stiffness decreases initially with an increase in crack length and subsequently increases. In this work, an attempt has been made to propose an analytical expression to predict energy dissipation and later the stiffness degradation as a function of crack length. Three-point bend specimens have been considered in the present work to derive the formulations. In this approach, the expression for the resultant stress distribution below the neutral axis has been derived by correlating the bending stress with the cohesive stresses developed ahead of the crack tip due to the existence of the fracture process zone. This resultant stress expression is utilized to estimate the dissipated energydue to crack propagation as a function of crack length. Further, the formulation for the stiffness degradation has been developed by relating the dissipated energy with the work done. It can be used to predict the critical crack length and fatigue life. An attempt has been made to understand the influence of stress amplitude on the damage pattern by using the information on the rate of stiffness degradation. It has been demonstrated that with the increase in the stress amplitude, the damage/FPZ proceeds more in the direction of crack propagation compared to the damage in the direction parallel to the span of the beam, which causes a lesser rate of stiffness degradation for the incremental crack length. Further, the effect of loading frequency has been investigated in terms of stiffness degradation. Under low-frequency loading cases, the damage/FPZ has been found to spread more in the direction parallel to the span, in turn reducing the critical crack length and fatigue life. In such a case, a higher rate of stiffness degradation has been observed in comparison to the high-frequency loading case.

Keywords: fatigue life, fatigue, fracture, concrete

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Authors: C. P. Autry, A. W. Roscoe, Mykhailo Magal

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We discuss the theoretical model underlying 2BPA (two-band peer authentication), a practical alternative to conventional authentication of entities and data in IoT. In essence, this involves assembling a virtual map of authentication assets in the network, typically leading to many paths of confirmation between any pair of entities. This map is continuously updated, confirmed, and evaluated. The value of authentication along multiple disjoint paths becomes very clear, and we require analogues of triangulation to extend authentication along extended paths and deliver it along all possible paths. We discover that if an attacker wants to make an honest node falsely believe she has authenticated another, then the length of the authentication paths is of little importance. This is because optimal attack strategies correspond to minimal cuts in the authentication graph and do not contain multiple edges on the same path. The authentication provided by disjoint paths normally is additive (in entropy).

Keywords: authentication, edge computing, industrial IoT, post-quantum resistance

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Authors: Atin Adhikari, Aniruddha Mitra, Abbas Rashidi, Imaobong Ekpo, Jefferson Doehling, Alexis Pawlak, Shane Lewis, Jacob Schwartz

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Building constructions in the US involve numerous wooden structures. Woods are routinely used in walls, framing floors, framing stairs, and making of landings in building constructions. Cross-laminated timbers are currently being used as construction materials for tall buildings. Numerous workers are involved in these timber based constructions, and wood dust is one of the most common occupational exposures for them. Wood dust is a complex substance composed of cellulose, polyoses and other substances. According to US OSHA, exposure to wood dust is associated with a variety of adverse health effects among workers, including dermatitis, allergic respiratory effects, mucosal and nonallergic respiratory effects, and cancers. The amount and size of particles released as wood dust differ according to the operations performed on woods. For example, shattering of wood during sanding operations produces finer particles than does chipping in sawing and milling industries. To our knowledge, how shattering, cutting and sanding of woods and wood slabs during new building construction release fine particles and nanoparticles are largely unknown. General belief is that the dust generated during timber cutting and sanding tasks are mostly large particles. Consequently, little attention has been given to the generated submicron ultrafine and nanoparticles and their exposure levels. These data are, however, critically important because recent laboratory studies have demonstrated cytotoxicity of nanoparticles on lung epithelial cells. The above-described knowledge gaps were addressed in this study by a novel newly developed nanoparticle monitor and conventional particle counters. This study was conducted in a large new building construction site in southern Georgia primarily during the framing of wooden side walls, inner partition walls, and landings. Exposure levels of nanoparticles (n = 10) were measured by a newly developed nanoparticle counter (TSI NanoScan SMPS Model 3910) at four different distances (5, 10, 15, and 30 m) from the work location. Other airborne particles (number of particles/m3) including PM2.5 and PM10 were monitored using a 6-channel (0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 and 10 µm) particle counter at 15 m, 30 m, and 75 m distances at both upwind and downwind directions. Mass concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 (µg/m³) were measured by using a DustTrak Aerosol Monitor. Temperature and relative humidity levels were recorded. Wind velocity was measured by a hot wire anemometer. Concentration ranges of nanoparticles of 13 particle sizes were: 11.5 nm: 221 – 816/cm³; 15.4 nm: 696 – 1735/cm³; 20.5 nm: 879 – 1957/cm³; 27.4 nm: 1164 – 2903/cm³; 36.5 nm: 1138 – 2640/cm³; 48.7 nm: 938 – 1650/cm³; 64.9 nm: 759 – 1284/cm³; 86.6 nm: 705 – 1019/cm³; 115.5 nm: 494 – 1031/cm³; 154 nm: 417 – 806/cm³; 205.4 nm: 240 – 471/cm³; 273.8 nm: 45 – 92/cm³; and 365.2 nm: Keywords: wood dust, industrial hygiene, aerosol, occupational exposure

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Authors: Moqbil S. Alenazi, Magdy. M. Elkhateeb

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A comprehensive photometric study and evolutionary state for the newly discovered Beta Lyr systems V0487 Lac, V0566 Hya, and V0666 Lac were carried out by means of their first photometric observations. New times of minima were estimated from the observed light curves, and first (O-C) curves were established for all systems. A windows interface version of the Wilson and Devinney code (W-D) based on model atmospheres and a pass band prescription have been used for the radiative treatment. The accepted models reveal some absolute parameters for the studied systems, which are used in adopting the spectral type of the system's components and their evolutionary status. Distances to each system were calculated, and physical properties were estimated. Locations of the systems on the theoreticalmass–luminosity and mass–radius relations revealed a good fit for all systems components except for the secondary component of the system V0487 Lac.

Keywords: eclipsing binaries, light curve modelling, evolutionary state

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Authors: Jisun Jun, Eun Ko, Sooim Shin, Kitae Kim, Moonsung Choi

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Diabetes is a metabolic disease characterized by hyperglycemia, insulin resistant, mitochondrial dysfunction. Diabetes is associated with the development of diabetic retinopathy resulting in worsening vision and eventual blindness. In this study, eyes were enucleated from glucose-immersed zebrafish which is a good animal model to generate diabetes, and then mitochondria were isolated to evaluate activities of mitochondrial electron transfer complexes. Surprisingly, the amount of isolated mitochondria was increased in eyes from glucose-immersed zebrafish compared to those from non-glucose-immerged zebrafish. Spectrophotometric analysis for measuring activities of mitochondrial complex I, II, III, and IV revealed that mitochondria functions was even enhanced in eyes from glucose-immersed zebrafish. These results indicated that 3 days or 7 days glucose-immersion on zebrafish to induce diabetes might contribute metabolic compensatory mechanism to restore their mitochondrial homeostasis on the early stage of diabetes in eyes.

Keywords: diabetes, glucose immersion, mitochondrial complexes, zebrafish

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Authors: A.Zitouni, S.Bentata, B.Bouadjemi, T.Lantri, W. Benstaali, Z.Aziz, S.Cherid, A. Sefir

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Using the first-principles method, we investigate the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of the diluted magnetic semiconductors CdCoTe and CdMnTe in the zinc blende phase with 12.5% of Cr. The calculations are performed by a developed full potential augmented plane wave (FP-L/APW) method within the spin density functional theory (DFT). As exchange–correlation potential, we used the new generalized gradient approximation GGA. Structural properties are determined from the total energy calculations and we found that these compounds are stable in the ferromagnetic phase. We discuss the electronic structures, total and partial densities of states and local moments. Finally, CdCoTe and CdMnTe in the zinc-blend phase show the half-metallic ferromagnetic nature and are expected to be potential materials for spintronic devices.

Keywords: DFT, GGA, band structures, half-metallic, spintronics

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Authors: Yifu Ding, Vijay Avinash, Malcolm McCulloch

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As the proliferation of decentralized energy systems, the UK power system allows small-scale entities such as microgrids (MGs) to tender multiple energy services including energy arbitrage and frequency responses (FRs). However, its operation requires the balance between the uncertain renewable generations and loads in real-time and has to fulfill their provision requirements of contract services continuously during the time window agreed, otherwise it will be penalized for the under-delivered provision. To hedge against risks due to uncertainties and maximize the economic benefits, we propose a stochastic model predictive control (SMPC) framework to optimize its operation for the multi-service provision. Distinguished from previous works, we include a detailed economic-degradation model of the lithium-ion battery to quantify the costs of different service provisions, as well as accurately describe the changing dynamics of the battery. Considering a branch of load and generation scenarios and the battery aging, we formulate a risk-averse cost function using conditional value at risk (CVaR). It aims to achieve the maximum expected net revenue and avoids severe losses. The framework will be performed on a case study of a PV-battery grid-tied microgrid in the UK with real-life data. To highlight its performance, the framework will be compared with the case without the degradation model and the deterministic formulation.

Keywords: model predictive control (MPC), battery degradation, frequency response, microgrids

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Authors: Maria L. G. Lourenço, Keylla H. N. P. Pereira, Viviane Y. Hibaru, Fabiana F. Souza, João C. P. Ferreira, Simone B. Chiacchio, Luiz H. A. Machado

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The neonatal care of cats and dogs represents a challenge to veterinarians due to the small size of the newborns and their physiological particularities. In addition, many Veterinary Medicine colleges around the world do not include neonatology in the curriculum, which makes it less likely for the veterinarian to have basic knowledge regarding neonatal care and worsens the clinical care these patients receive. Therefore, lack of assistance and negligence have become frequent in the field, which contributes towards the high mortality rates. This study aims at describing cases and the main conditions pertaining to the neonatology clinical routine in cats and dogs, highlighting the importance of specialized care in this field of Veterinary Medicine. The study included 808 neonates admitted to the São Paulo State University (UNESP) Veterinary Hospital, Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil, between January 2018 and November 2019. Of these, 87.3% (705/808) were dogs and 12.7% (103/808) were cats. Among the neonates admitted, 57.3% (463/808) came from emergency c-sections due to dystocia, 8.7% (71/808) cane from vaginal deliveries with obstetric maneuvers due to dystocia, and 34% (274/808) were admitted for clinical care due to neonatal conditions. Among the neonates that came from emergency c-sections and vaginal deliveries, 47.3% (253/534) was born in respiratory distress due to severe hypoxia or persistent apnea and required resuscitation procedure, such as the Jen Chung acupuncture point (VG26), oxygen therapy with mask, pulmonary expansion with resuscitator, heart massages and administration of emergency medication, such as epinephrine. On the other hand, in the neonatal clinical care, the main conditions and alterations observed in the newborns were omphalophlebitis, toxic milk syndrome, neonatal conjunctivitis, swimmer puppy syndrome, neonatal hemorrhagic syndrome, pneumonia, trauma, low weight at birth, prematurity, congenital malformations (cleft palate, cleft lip, hydrocephaly, anasarca, vascular anomalies in the heart, anal atresia, gastroschisis, omphalocele, among others), neonatal sepsis and other local and systemic bacterial infections, viral infections (feline respiratory complex, parvovirus, canine distemper, canine infectious traqueobronchitis), parasitical infections (Toxocara spp., Ancylostoma spp., Strongyloides spp., Cystoisospora spp., Babesia spp. and Giardia spp.) and fungal infections (dermatophytosis by Microsporum canis). The most common clinical presentation observed was the neonatal triad (hypothermia, hypoglycemia and dehydration), affecting 74.6% (603/808) of the patients. The mortality rate among the neonates was 10.5% (85/808). Being knowledgeable about neonatology is essential for veterinarians to provide adequate care for these patients in the clinical routine. Adding neonatology to college curriculums, improving the dissemination of information on the subject, and providing annual training in neonatology for veterinarians and employees are important to improve immediate care and reduce the mortality rates.

Keywords: neonatal care, puppies, neonatal, conditions

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Authors: Loubna Safar, Lama Youssef, Majd Aljamali

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Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. Complement factor H polymorphism (Y402H) is thought to play a potential role in the predisposition to AMD and response of patients with exudative AMD to treatment with anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (anti-VEGF). This study aimed to investigate the frequency of Y402H among Syrians, its impact on their susceptibility to AMD, and the hypothesized role of Y402H in patients' response to intravitreal anti-VEGF (i.e.,, bevacizumab). Our case-control study encompassed unrelated 54 AMD cases and 44 controls. Genotyping was determined by standard sequencing of PCR products. Frequency was compared between patients and controls, and correlation between genotype and response to treatment was assessed in 20 patients with wet AMD who received a therapeutic course of three intravitreal bevacizumab injections (once monthly). Our results revealed a significantly higher prevalence of the risk allele C among AMD cases (51.9%) in comparison with controls (37.5%) (P= 0.04, OR= 1.386, CI= 0.999- 1.923). Patients with the TT genotype (no risk allele) exhibited a significantly better primary response rate, reached 87.5% compared to only 41.7% in patients carrying the risk allele C (TC + CC), (P= 0.04, OR= 9.8, CI=0.899- 106.84). The findings of this study prove the importance of investigating Y402H polymorphism as a prognostic marker for predicting response to bevacizumab in AMD patients.

Keywords: age-related macular degeneration, bevacizumab, complement factor H gene, polymorphism, Y402H

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Authors: Chariya Laohavich

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Background: Some limitations and complications have been found associated with commercial mouthpiece in bronchoscopic procedure. Therefore, we invented the Rama-chest mouthpiece from plastic normal saline bottle. Objective: The aim of this study was to compare user satisfaction in Rama-chest mouthpiece with the commercial mouthpiece. Methods: A prospective randomized controlled trial between commercial mouthpiece and Rama-chest mouthpiece was conducted on patients who were underwent bronchoscopy and required mouthpiece insertion from May to June 2014. The questionnaire about satisfaction was completed by the bronchoscopists, assistant nurses, and patients. Results: Thirty procedures in both groups were investigated. Mean satisfaction scores filled by the bronchoscopists and assistant nurses were not different between both groups. However, higher satisfaction score filled by the patients was found in Rama-chest mouthpiece than the comparator (p=0.011). Complications such as abrasion, pain, and itching were observed in commercial mouthpiece but not found in Rama-chest mouthpiece. Conclusion: We have introduced Rama-chest mouthpiece and proved its usefulness comparable to the commercial mouthpiece.

Keywords: mouthpiece, bronchoscopist, bronchology, pulmonology and respiratory diseases

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Authors: Tokuei Sako, Paul-Antoine Hervieux

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The energy-level structure of a pair of electron and positron confined in a quasi-one-dimensional nano-scale potential well has been investigated focusing on its trend in the small limit of confinement strength ω, namely, the Wigner molecular regime. An anisotropic Gaussian-type basis functions supplemented by high angular momentum functions as large as l = 19 has been used to obtain reliable full configuration interaction (FCI) wave functions. The resultant energy spectrum shows a band structure characterized by ω for the large ω regime whereas for the small ω regime it shows an energy-level pattern dominated by excitation into the in-phase motion of the two particles. The observed trend has been rationalized on the basis of the nodal patterns of the FCI wave functions.

Keywords: confined systems, positron, wave function, Wigner molecule, quantum dots

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Authors: Djeddi Mabrouk

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The slow coming together between the Afro-Eurasia plates seems to be the main cause of the active deformation in the whole of North Africa which in consequence come true in Algeria with a large zone of deformation in an enough large limited band, southern through Saharan atlas and northern through tell atlas. Maghrebin and Atlassian Chain along North Africa are the consequence of this convergence. In junction zone, we have noticed a compressive regime NW-SE with a creases-faults structure and structured overthrust. From a geological point of view the north part of Algeria is younger then Saharan platform, it’s changing so unstable and constantly in movement, it’s characterized by creases openly reversed, overthrusts and reversed faults, and undergo perpetually complex movement vertically and horizontally. On structural level the north of Algeria it's a part of erogenous alpine peri-Mediterranean and essentially the tertiary age It’s spread from east to the west of Algeria over 1200 km.This oogenesis is extended from east to west on broadband of 100 km.The alpine chain is shaped by 3 domains: tell atlas in north, high plateaus in mid and Saharan atlas in the south In extreme south we find the Saharan platform which is made of Precambrian bedrock recovered by Paleozoic practically not deformed. The Algerian north and the Saharan platform are separated by an important accident along of 2000km from Agadir (Morocco) to Gabes (Tunisian). The seismic activity is localized essentially in a coastal band in the north of Algeria shaped by tell atlas, high plateaus, Saharan atlas. Earthquakes are limited in the first 20km of the earth's crust; they are caused by movements along faults of inverted orientation NE-SW or sliding tectonic plates. The center region characterizes Strong Earthquake Activity who locates mainly in the basin of Mitidja (age Neogene).The southern periphery (Atlas Blidéen) constitutes the June, more Important seism genic sources in the city of Algiers and east (Boumerdes region). The North East Region is also part of the tellian area, but it is characterized by a different strain in other parts of northern Algeria. The deformation is slow and low to moderate seismic activity. Seismic activity is related to the tectonic-slip earthquake. The most pronounced is that of 27 October 1985 (Constantine) of seismic moment magnitude Mw = 5.9. North-West region is quite active and also artificial seismic hypocenters which do not exceed 20km. The deep seismicity is concentrated mainly a narrow strip along the edge of Quaternary and Neogene basins Intra Mountains along the coast. The most violent earthquakes in this region are the earthquake of Oran in 1790 and earthquakes Orléansville (El Asnam in 1954 and 1980).

Keywords: alpine chain, seismicity north Algeria, earthquakes in Algeria, geophysics, Earth

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Authors: Ifeyinwa Victor-Uadiale, Georgina Pearson, Sophie Witter, D. Reidpath

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Introduction: Smoking, alcohol misuse, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity are the primary drivers of noncommunicable diseases (NCD), including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respiratory diseases, and diabetes, worldwide. Collectively, these diseases are the leading cause of all global deaths, most of which are premature, affecting people between 30 and 70 years. Empirical evidence suggests that these risk behaviors can be modified by community-based interventions (CBI). However, there is little insight into the mechanisms and contextual factors of successful community interventions that impact risk behaviours for chronic diseases. This study examined “Under what circumstances, for whom, and how, do community-based interventions modify smoking, alcohol use, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity among adults”. Adopting the Capability (C), Opportunity (O), Motivation (M), Behavior (B) (COM-B) framework for behaviour change, it sought to: (1) identify the mechanisms through which CBIs could reduce tobacco use and alcohol consumption and increase physical activity and the consumption of healthy diets and (2) examine the contextual factors that trigger the impact of these mechanisms on these risk behaviours among adults. Methods: Pawson’s realist review method was used to examine the literature. Empirical evidence and theoretical understanding were combined to develop a realist program theory that explains how CBIs influence NCD risk behaviours. Documents published between 2002 and 2020 were systematically searched in five electronic databases (CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline, ProQuest Central, and PsycINFO). They were included if they reported on community-based interventions aimed at cardiovascular diseases, cancers, respiratory diseases, and diabetes in a global context; and had an outcome targeted at smoking, alcohol, physical activity, and diet. Findings: Twenty-nine scientific documents were retrieved and included in the review. Over half of them (n = 18; 62%) focused on three of the four risk behaviours investigated in this review. The review identified four mechanisms: capability, opportunity, motivation, and social support that are likely to change the dietary and physical activity behaviours in adults given certain contexts. There were weak explanations of how the identified mechanisms could likely change smoking and alcohol consumption habits. In addition, eight contextual factors that may affect how these mechanisms impact physical activity and dietary behaviours were identified: suitability to work and family obligations, risk status awareness, socioeconomic status, literacy level, perceived need, availability and access to resources, culture, and group format. Conclusion: The findings suggest that CBIs are likely to improve the physical activity and dietary habits of adults if the intervention function seeks to educate, incentivize, change the environment, and model the right behaviours. The review applies and advances theory, realist research, and the design and implementation of community-based interventions for NCD prevention.

Keywords: community-based interventions, noncommunicable disease, realist program theory, risk behaviors

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Authors: L. Szymanski, S. Wiak, Z. Kolacinski, G. Raniszewski, L. Pietrzak, Z. Staniszewska

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There exist more than one hundred different types of cancer, and therefore no particular treatment is offered to people struggling with this disease. The character of treatment proposed to a patient will depend on a variety of factors such as type of the cancer diagnosed, advancement of the disease, its location in the body, as well as personal preferences of a patient. None of the commonly known methods of cancer-fighting is recognised as a perfect cure, however great advances in this field have been made over last few decades. Once a patient is diagnosed with cancer, he is in need of medical care and professional treatment for upcoming months, and in most cases even for years. Among the principal modes of treatment offered by medical centres, one can find radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery. All of them can be applied separately or in combination, and the relative contribution of each is usually determined by medical specialist in agreement with a patient. In addition to the conventional treatment option, every day more complementary and alternative therapies are integrated into mainstream care. There is one promising cancer modality - hyperthermia therapy which is based on exposing body tissues to high temperatures. This treatment is still being investigated and is not widely available in hospitals and oncological centres. There are two kinds of hyperthermia therapies with direct and indirect heating. The first is not commonly used due to low efficiency and invasiveness, while the second is deeply investigated and a variety of methods have been developed, including ultrasounds, infrared sauna, induction heating and magnetic hyperthermia. The aim of this work was to examine possibilities of heating magnetic nanoparticles under the influence of electromagnetic field for cancer treatment. For this purpose, multiwalled carbon nanotubes used as nanocarriers for iron particles were investigated for its heating properties. The samples were subjected to an alternating electromagnetic field with frequency range between 110-619 kHz. Moreover, samples with various concentrations of carbon nanotubes were examined. The lowest frequency of 110 kHz and sample containing 10 wt% of carbon nanotubes occurred to influence the most effective heating process. Description of hyperthermia therapy aiming at enhancing currently available cancer treatment was also presented in this paper. Most widely applied conventional cancer modalities such as radiation or chemotherapy were also described. Methods for overcoming the most common obstacles in conventional cancer modalities, such as invasiveness and lack of selectivity, has been presented in magnetic hyperthermia characteristics, which explained the increasing interest of the treatment.

Keywords: hyperthermia, carbon nanotubes, cancer colon cells, ligands

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Authors: N. H. D. P. Fonseka, I. H. Rajapakse, A. S. Dissanayake

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Background: Problem drinking, namely alcohol dependence (AD) and alcohol abuse (AA) are associated with major medical, social and economic adverse consequences. Problem drinking behavior is noted among those admitted to hospitals due to alcohol-related medical/surgical complaints as well as those with unrelated complaints. Literature shows an association between alcohol consumption and depression. Aims of this study were to determine the frequency of problem drinking and depression among males with a history of alcohol consumption tertiary care setting in Southern Sri Lanka. Method: Two-hundred male patients who consumed alcohol, receiving care in medical and surgical wards in Teaching Hospital Galle, were assessed. A validated J12 questionnaire of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was administered to determine frequency AA and AD. A validated PHQ 9 questionnaire to determine the prevalence and severity of depression. Results: Sixty-three participants (31%) had problem drinking. Of them, 61% had AD, and 39% had AA. Depression was noted in 39 (19%) subjects. In those who reported alcohol consumption not amounting to problem drinking, depression was noted in 23 (16%) participants. Mild depression was seen in 17, moderate in five and moderately severe in one. Among those who had problem drinking, 16 (25%) had depression. Mild depression was seen in four, moderate in seven, moderately severe in three and severe in two. Conclusions: A high proportion alcohol users had problem drinking. Adverse consequences associated with problem drinking places a major strain on the health system especially in a low resource setting where healthcare spending is limited and alcohol cessation support services are not well organised. Thus alcohol consumption and problem drinking behaviour need to be inquired into all medical consultations. Community prevalence of depression in Sri Lanka is approximately 10%. Depression among those consuming alcohol was two times higher compared to the general population. The rates of depression among those with problem drinking were especially high being 2.5 times more common than in the general population. A substantial proportion of these patients with depression had moderately severe or severe depression. When depression coexists with problem drinking, it may increase the tendency to consume alcohol as well as act as a barrier to the success of alcohol cessation interventions. Thus screening all patients who consume alcohol for depression, especially those who are problem drinkers becomes an important step in their clinical evaluation. In addition, in view of the high prevalence of problem drinking and coexistent depression, the need to organize a structured alcohol cessation support service in Sri Lanka as well as the need for increasing access to psychological evaluation and treatment of those with problem drinking are highlighted.

Keywords: alcohol abuse, alcohol, depression, problem drinking

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Authors: Noor Ayuni Che Zakaria, Takashi Komeda, Cheng Yee Low, Kaoru Inoue, Fazah Akhtar Hanapiah

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Previous studies have shown that there are arguments regarding the reliability and validity of the Ashworth and Modified Ashworth Scale towards evaluating patients diagnosed with upper limb disorders. These evaluations depended on the raters’ experiences. This initiated us to develop an upper limb disorder part-task trainer that is able to simulate consistent upper limb disorders, such as spasticity and rigidity signs, based on the Modified Ashworth Scale to improve the variability occurring between raters and intra-raters themselves. By providing consistent signs, novice therapists would be able to increase training frequency and exposure towards various levels of signs. A total of 22 physiotherapists and occupational therapists participated in the study. The majority of the therapists agreed that with current therapy education, they still face problems with inter-raters and intra-raters variability (strongly agree 54%; n = 12/22, agree 27%; n = 6/22) in evaluating patients’ conditions. The therapists strongly agreed (72%; n = 16/22) that therapy trainees needed to increase their frequency of training; therefore believe that our initiative to develop an upper limb disorder training tool will help in improving the clinical education field (strongly agree and agree 63%; n = 14/22).

Keywords: upper limb disorder, clinical education tool, inter/intra-raters variability, spasticity, modified Ashworth scale

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Authors: A. O. Boyo, A. T. Akinwunmi

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The effect of extracting solvent and adjustment of pHs on the stability of Terminalia catappa L. dye-sensitized solar cell was investigated. We introduced ZnO as an alternative to TiO2 in the dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) due to its band gap similar to TiO2, higher electron mobility, and flexible procedures of preparations. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on Terminalia catappa L. was extracted in water (A), ethanol (B) and the mixture of ethanol and water in the ratio 1:1by volume (C). The best performance Solar cells sensitized was from extracts A and achieved up to Jsc 1.51 mAcm−2, Voc 0.75V, FF 0.88 and η 0.63%. We notice that as pHs decreases there is the increase in DSSC efficiency. There is Long period stability in efficiency of the cells prepared using A than in C and a fair stability in efficiency of B cell. The results obtained with extracts B and C confirmed that Ethanol with water could not be considered as a suitable solvent for the extraction of natural dye.

Keywords: zinc oxide, dye-sensitized solar cell, terminalia catappa L., TiO2

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Authors: B. Neethu, Diptesh Das

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The present study investigates the performance of a semi-active controller using magneto-rheological dampers (MR) for seismic response reduction of a multi-span bridge. The application of structural control to the structures during earthquake excitation involves numerous challenges such as proper formulation and selection of the control strategy, mathematical modeling of the system, uncertainty in system parameters and noisy measurements. These problems, however, need to be tackled in order to design and develop controllers which will efficiently perform in such complex systems. A control algorithm, which can accommodate un-certainty and imprecision compared to all the other algorithms mentioned so far, due to its inherent robustness and ability to cope with the parameter uncertainties and imprecisions, is the sliding mode algorithm. A sliding mode control algorithm is adopted in the present study due to its inherent stability and distinguished robustness to system parameter variation and external disturbances. In general a semi-active control scheme using an MR damper requires two nested controllers: (i) an overall system controller, which derives the control force required to be applied to the structure and (ii) an MR damper voltage controller which determines the voltage required to be supplied to the damper in order to generate the desired control force. In the present study a sliding mode algorithm is used to determine the desired optimal force. The function of the voltage controller is to command the damper to produce the desired force. The clipped optimal algorithm is used to find the command voltage supplied to the MR damper which is regulated by a semi active control law based on sliding mode algorithm. The main objective of the study is to propose a robust semi active control which can effectively control the responses of the bridge under real earthquake ground motions. Lumped mass model of the bridge is developed and time history analysis is carried out by solving the governing equations of motion in the state space form. The effectiveness of MR dampers is studied by analytical simulations by subjecting the bridge to real earthquake records. In this regard, it may also be noted that the performance of controllers depends, to a great extent, on the characteristics of the input ground motions. Therefore, in order to study the robustness of the controller in the present study, the performance of the controllers have been investigated for fourteen different earthquake ground motion records. The earthquakes are chosen in such a way that all possible characteristic variations can be accommodated. Out of these fourteen earthquakes, seven are near-field and seven are far-field. Also, these earthquakes are divided into different frequency contents, viz, low-frequency, medium-frequency, and high-frequency earthquakes. The responses of the controlled bridge are compared with the responses of the corresponding uncontrolled bridge (i.e., the bridge without any control devices). The results of the numerical study show that the sliding mode based semi-active control strategy can substantially reduce the seismic responses of the bridge showing a stable and robust performance for all the earthquakes.

Keywords: bridge, semi active control, sliding mode control, MR damper

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Authors: Hamidreza Akbari

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In this paper, for detection of inclined eccentricity in an induction motor, time–frequency analysis of the stator startup current is carried out. For this purpose, the discrete wavelet transform is used. Data are obtained from simulations, using winding function approach. The results show the validity of the approach for detecting the fault and discriminating with respect to other faults.

Keywords: induction machine, fault, DWT, electric

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Authors: Arash Dara, Mahsa Mokhtari, Nafiseh Zamindar

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The aim of this study was to determine the effect of thermal resistance, temperature, voltage, and pH changes in an ohmic heating system on reducing the logarithmic number of Byssochlamys fulva species (PTCC 5062) in tomato juice water and to investigate the quantitative properties of tomato juice in the ohmic heating pasteurization system. The percentage of thermal degradation by ohmic heating was determined in tomato juice for the kinetics of Byssochlamys fulva in ohmic chamber at the temperatures of 88, 93, and 98°C, with two voltages of 30 and 40 volts and two pH levels of 3.5 and 4.5; this was done using Weibull frequency distribution model. Three different parameters (pH = 3.5, two voltages of 30 and 40, at three temperatures 88, 93, and 98) and (pH = 4.5, two voltages 30 and 40, at three temperatures 88, 93, and 98) in three replications were considered in the ohmic system. Heating time for the temperature of 88°C was 20 minutes once every 2 minutes, while for the temperature of 93°C, it was 10 minutes once every 1 minute. At the temperature of 98°C, the first time was 0.5 minutes, and for other times, sampling was done every 1 minute. In each condition, the qualitative characteristics, including acidity, Brix, and pH, were measured before and after the ohmic process in the tomato juice. This study demonstrates that the differences in pH and voltage due to different temperatures in the ohmic process can greatly affect the inactivation of Byssochlamys fulva fungus and the qualitative characteristics of the tomato juice. This is the first study using the Weibull frequency method to model the inactivation of Byssochlamys fulva in tomato juice. Variation in parameters such as temperature, voltage, and pH can prevent the presence of Byssochlamys fulva in the pasteurized juices.

Keywords: pasteurization, ohmic heating process, Byssochlamys fulva, tomato juice, heat resistance, voltage, pH

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Authors: Xiaobo Rui, Zhoumo Zeng, Yibo Li

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A novel tri-cantilever energy harvester with magnetic oscillator was presented, which could convert the ambient vibration into electrical energy to power the low-power devices such as wireless sensor networks. The most common way to harvest vibration energy is based on the use of linear resonant devices such as cantilever beam, since this structure creates the highest strain for a given force. The highest efficiency will be achieved when the resonance frequency of the harvester matches the vibration frequency. The limitation of the structure is the narrow effective bandwidth. To overcome this limitation, this article introduces a broadband tri-cantilever harvester with nonlinear stiffness. This energy harvester typically consists of three thin cantilever beams vertically arranged with Neodymium Magnets ( NdFeB)magnetics at its free end and a fixed base at the other end. The three cantilevers have different resonant frequencies by designed in different thicknesses. It is obviously that a similar advantage of multiple resonant frequencies as piezoelectric cantilevers array structure is built. To achieve broadband energy harvesting, magnetic interaction is used to introduce the nonlinear system stiffness to tune the resonant frequency to match the excitation. Since the three cantilever tips are all free and the magnetic force is distance dependent, the resonant frequencies will be complexly changed with the vertical vibration of the free end. Both model and experiment are built. The electromechanically coupled lumped-parameter model is presented. An electromechanical formulation and analytical expressions for the coupled nonlinear vibration response and voltage response are given. The entire structure is fabricated and mechanically attached to a electromagnetic shaker as a vibrating body via the fixed base, in order to couple the vibrations to the cantilever. The cantilevers are bonded with piezoelectric macro-fiber composite (MFC) materials (Model: M8514P2). The size of the cantilevers is 120*20mm2 and the thicknesses are separately 1mm, 0.8mm, 0.6mm. The prototype generator has a measured performance of 160.98 mW effective electrical power and 7.93 DC output voltage via the excitation level of 10m/s2. The 130% increase in the operating bandwidth is achieved. This device is promising to support low-power devices, peer-to-peer wireless nodes, and small-scale wireless sensor networks in ambient vibration environment.

Keywords: tri-cantilever, ambient vibration, energy harvesting, magnetic oscillator

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Authors: Gulcan Sahal, Nermin Hande Avcioglu, Isil Seyis Bilkay

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Klebsiella species which are natural colonizers of human upper respiratory and human gastrointestinal tracts are also responsible for every reoccurring nosocomial infections by means of having ability to form slimy layers known as biofilm on many surfaces. Therefore, in this study, investigation of biofilm formation in K. pneumoniae and K. rhinoscleromatis and examination of each Klebsiella strains’ clinical information in the light of their biofilm formation results were aimed. In this respect, biofilm formation of Klebsiella strains was analyzed via crystal violet binding assay. According to our results, biofilm formation levels of K. pneumoniae and K. rhinoscleromatis strains were different from each other. Additionally, in comparison to K. rhinoscleromatis strains, K. pneumoniae was observed to include higher amounts of strong biofilm forming strains. Besides, it was also seen that clinical information of patients from which strong biofilm forming Klebsiella strains were isolated were similar to each other. Our results indicate that there should be more precautions against K. pneumoniae which includes higher amount of strong biofilm forming strains.

Keywords: biofilm formation, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Klebsiella rhinoscleromatis, biosystems engineering

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Authors: E. Didaskalou, C. Roussi-Vergou, E. Andreou, G. Skrzypiec, P. Slee

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There has been growing interest lately, in the study of victimization among adolescent students in Greece and elsewhere with a view to improve school policies concerning anti-bullying practices. Researchers have recently focused on investigating the relationships between the extent of students’ victimization and the distinct mechanisms that they employ for coping with this particular problem. In particular, the emphasis has been placed on exploring the relationship between the coping strategies students use to counteract bullying, their sense of belonging at school, and extent of their victimization. Methods: Within the research framework outlined above, we set out to: a) examine the frequency of self-reported victimization among secondary school students, b) investigate the coping strategies employed by students when confronted with school bullying and c) explore any differences between bullied and non-bullied students with regard to coping strategies and school belongingness. The sample consisted of 860 from fifteen secondary public schools in central Greece. The schools were typical Greek secondary schools and the principals volunteered to participate in this study. Participants’ age ranged from 12 to 16 years. Measures: a) Exposure to Victimization: The frequency of victimization was directly located by asking students the question: ‘Over the last term, how often have you been bullied or harassed by a student or students at this high school?’ b) Coping Strategies: The ‘Living and Learning at School: Bullying at School’ was administered to students, c) School belongingness was assessed by the Psychological Sense of School Membership Scale, that students completed. Results: Regarding the frequency of self-reported victimization, 1.5% of the students reported being victimized every day, 2.8% most days of the week, 2.1% one or more days a week, 2.9% about once a week, 22.6% less than once a week and 68.1% never. The coping strategies that the participants employed for terminating their victimization included: a) adult support seeking, b) emotional coping/keep away from school, c) keeping healthy and fit, d) demonstrating a positive attitude towards the bully, d) peer support seeking, e) emotional out bursting, f) wishful thinking and self-blaming, g) pretending as if it is not happening, h) displaying assertive behaviors and i) getting away from the bullies. Bullied from non-bullied children did not differ as much in coping, as in feelings of being rejected in school. Discussion: The findings are in accordance with accumulated research evidence which points to a strong relationship between student perceptions of school belongingness and their involvement in bullying behaviors. We agree with the view that a positive school climate is likely to serve as a buffer that mitigates wider adverse societal influences and institutional attitudes which favor violence and harassment among peers.

Keywords: school bullying, school belonging, student coping strategies, victimization

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Authors: Temesgen Geremew

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This study investigates the evolution of polythiophene nanoparticles (PThNPs) as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) sensors for Pb²⁺ detection in river water. We analyze the PThNPs' optical, structural, and morphological properties at different stages of their development to understand their SERS performance. Techniques like UV-Vis spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are employed for characterization. The SERS sensitivity towards Pb²⁺ is evaluated by monitoring the peak intensity of a specific Raman band upon increasing metal ion concentration. The study aims to elucidate the relationship between the PThNPs' characteristics and their SERS efficiency for Pb²⁺ detection, paving the way for optimizing their design and fabrication for improved sensing performance in real-world environmental monitoring applications.

Keywords: polythiophene, Pb2+, SERS, nanoparticles

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Authors: Destin Kurniawati

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Asthma is one of the deadly diseases in the world. According to the World Health Organization in 2012, 300 million people suffer from asthma of different races and classes. An estimated 250,000 people die because of asthma annually.As well as more than 57% of children and 51% of adults with asthma. There two risk factors for asthma. That risk factors are the host and environmental. One of the environmental factors that can bring asthma is allergens. When an allergen enters the body, the allergen binds to IgE and cause cell granulat- issued several mediators such as histamine, leukotrienes, bradykinin or something like that. This will cause localized edema effect on bronchial walls of small, thick mucous secretions in the bronchioles, and bronchial smooth muscle spasm. Then there will be inflammation of the airways. Methodology this research is by literature. Therefore, to anticipate and cope with asthma is to control environmental factors that serve to minimize allergens and controlling one's intake in the form of antioxidant-rich foods. Foods rich in antioxidants serve to improve lung function and decrease symptoms of the disease of the respiratory tract.

Keywords: asthma, deadly disease, allergen, environmental and food control

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Authors: P. Kaewchanthuek, R. Rawonghad, B. Marungsri

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This paper presents the experimental results of high-density polyethylene cable spacers for 22 kV distribution systems under salt water dip wheel test based on IEC 62217. The strength of anti-tracking and anti-erosion of cable spacer surface was studied in this study. During the test, dry band arc and corona discharge were observed on cable spacer surface. After 30,000 cycles of salt water dip wheel test, obviously surface erosion and tracking were observed especially on the ground end. Chemical analysis results by fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy showed chemical changed from oxidation and carbonization reaction on tested cable spacer. Increasing of C=O and C=C bonds confirmed occurrence of these reactions.

Keywords: cable spacer, HDPE, ageing of cable spacer, salt water dip wheel test

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Authors: Jinee Gogoi, Som K. Sharma, Kalyan Bhuyan

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The atmospheric layers are coupled to each other with the different dynamical, electrical, radiative and chemical processes. A large scale thermodynamical phenomenon in winter polar regions which affects the middle atmosphere vigorously is Sudden Stratospheric Warming (SSW). Two major SSW events were occurred during 1998-1999; one in December 1998 which is associated with vortex displacement and another in February- March 1999 associated with vortex splitting. Lidar study of these two major events from Mt. Abu (24.36⁰N, 72.45⁰E, ~1670 m amsl) has shown that though SSWs are mostly observed over high and mid latitudes, their effects can also be seen over India. We have studied ionospheric variations (primarily fₒF₂, h’F and hpF₂) over Ahmedabad (23.1⁰N, 72.58⁰E) during these events. Ionospheric disturbances have been found after four-five days of peak temperature. An increase (decrease) in critical frequency (fₒF₂) during morning (afternoon) has been noticed which may be in response to the updrift (down drift). Effects are stronger during displacement event (1998) than during the splitting event (1999). We have also studied some recent events occurred during 2006 (January), 2009 (January) and 2013 (January) using temperature data from Sounding of Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER) satellite. Though some modeling work supports the hypothesis that planetary waves are responsible for atmosphere-ionosphere coupling, there is still more significant works to do to understand how exactly the coupling can take place.

Keywords: sudden stratospheric warming (SSW), polar vortex, ionosphere, critical frequency

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Authors: Kumud Singh, Janvin Itteera, Priti Ukarde, Sanjay Malhotra, P. PMarathe, Ayan Bandyopadhay, Rakesh Meena, Vikram Rawat, L. M. Joshi

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Application of Permanent magnet technology to high frequency miniature klystron tubes to be utilized for space applications improves the efficiency and operational reliability of these tubes. But nevertheless the task of generating magnetic focusing forces to eliminate beam divergence once the beam crosses the electrostatic focusing regime and enters the drift region in the RF section of the tube throws several challenges. Building a high quality magnet focusing lens to meet beam optics requirement in cathode gun and RF interaction region is considered to be one of the critical issues for these high frequency miniature tubes. In this paper, electromagnetic design and particle trajectory studies in combined electric and magnetic field for optimizing the magnetic circuit using 3D finite element method (FEM) analysis software is presented. A rectangular configuration of the magnet was constructed to accommodate apertures for input and output waveguide sections and facilitate coupling of electromagnetic fields into the input klystron cavity and out from output klystron cavity through coupling loops. Prototype lenses have been built and have been tested after integration with the klystron tube. We discuss the design requirements and challenges, and the results from beam transmission of the prototype lens.

Keywords: beam transmission, Brillouin, confined flow, miniature klystron

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Authors: Liang Zhao, Chongquan Zhong

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Introduction: According to statistics, people spend 80% to 90% of time indoor, so indoor air quality, either at home or in the office, greatly impacts the quality of life, health and work efficiency. Therefore, indoor air quality is very important to human activities. With the acceleration of urbanization, people are spending more time in indoor activity. The time in indoor environment, the living space, and the frequency interior decoration are all increasingly increased. However, housing decoration materials contain formaldehyde and other harmful substances, causing environmental and air quality problems, which have brought serious damage to countless families and attracted growing attention. According to World Health Organization statistics, the indoor environments in more than 30% of buildings in China are polluted by poisonous and harmful gases. Indoor pollution has caused various health problems, and these widespread public health problems can lead to respiratory diseases. Long-term inhalation of low-concentration formaldehyde would cause persistent headache, insomnia, weakness, palpitation, weight loss and vomiting, which are serious impacts on human health and safety. On the other hand, as for offices, some surveys show that good indoor air quality helps to enthuse the staff and improve the work efficiency by 2%-16%. Therefore, people need to further understand the living and working environments. There is a need for easy-to-use indoor environment monitoring instruments, with which users only have to power up and monitor the environmental parameters. The corresponding real-time data can be displayed on the screen for analysis. Environment monitoring should have the sensitive signal alarm function and send alarm when harmful gases such as formaldehyde, CO, SO2, are excessive to human body. System design: According to the monitoring requirements of various gases, temperature and humidity, we designed a portable, light, real-time and accurate monitor for various environmental parameters, including temperature, humidity, formaldehyde, methane, and CO. This monitor will generate an alarm signal when a target is beyond the standard. It can conveniently measure a variety of harmful gases and provide the alarm function. It also has the advantages of small volume, convenience to carry and use. It has a real-time display function, outputting the parameters on the LCD screen, and a real-time alarm function. Conclusions: This study is focused on the research and development of a portable parameter monitoring instrument for indoor environment. On the platform of an STM32 development board, the monitored data are collected through an external sensor. The STM32 platform is for data acquisition and processing procedures, and successfully monitors the real-time temperature, humidity, formaldehyde, CO, methane and other environmental parameters. Real-time data are displayed on the LCD screen. The system is stable and can be used in different indoor places such as family, hospital, and office. Meanwhile, the system adopts the idea of modular design and is superior in transplanting. The scheme is slightly modified and can be used similarly as the function of a monitoring system. This monitor has very high research and application values.

Keywords: indoor air quality, gas concentration detection, embedded system, sensor

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