Search results for: solder joint reliability

Authors: Muhammad Aown Sammar Raza, Salman Ahmad, Muhammad Farrukh Saleem, Muhammad Saqlain Zaheer, Rashid Iqbal, Imran Haider, Muhammad Usman Aslam, Muhammad Adnan Nazar

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One of the main negative effects of climate change is the increasing scarcity of water worldwide, especially for irrigation purpose. In order to ensure food security with less available water, there is a need to adopt easy and economic techniques. Two of the effective techniques are; use of ground covers and partial root zone drying (PRD). A field experiment was arranged to find out the most suitable mulch for PRD irrigation system in wheat. The experiment was comprised of two irrigation methods (I0 = irrigation on both sides of roots and I1= irrigation to only one side of the root as alternate irrigation) and four ground covers (M0= open ground without any cover, M1= black plastic cover, M2= wheat straw cover and M4= cotton sticks cover). More plant height, spike length, number of spikelets and number of grains were found in full irrigation treatment. While water use efficiency and grain nutrient (NPK) contents were more in PRD irrigation. All soil covers suppress the weeds and significantly influenced the yield attributes, final yield as well as the grain nutrient contents. However black plastic cover performed the best. It was concluded that joint use of both techniques was more effective for water conservation and increasing grain yield than their sole application and combination of PRD with black plastic mulch performed the best than other ground covers combination used in the experiment.

Keywords: ground covers, partial root zone drying, grain yield, quality traits, WUE, weed control efficiency

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Authors: Aaron Akinloye

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This research examined the influence of jungle justice as it affects the emotional health challenges among residents in Lagos metropolitan city. Descriptive survey research design was used along with the questionnaire as research instrument. Population for the study comprised residents in Yaba and Shomolu Communities of Lagos State, Nigeria. Accidental sampling technique was used to sample 300 Residents. Self-developed questionnaire was used to obtain data on the variables under investigation. Research instrument was validated following the face, content, and construct validation of the instrument. Thereafter, the reliability coefficient yielded 0.84. It is therefore concluded and recommended that; there is a significant influence of jungle justice on trauma among residents- df (298) t= 2.33, p< 0.05; there is a significant influence of jungle justice on pressure among residents- df (298) t= 2.16, p< 0.05: there is a significant influence of jungle justice on fear among residents- df (298) t= 2.20, p< 0.05; there is a significant influence of jungle justice on depression among residents- df (298) t= 2.14, p< 0.05. Recommendations were made that; there should be deliberate effort to implement comprehensive awareness campaigns to educate the residents on the detrimental effects of jungle justice on individuals and the community members as a whole; there should be an improvement in the effectiveness and efficiency of the existing law enforcement agencies in Lagos metropolitan city; development and implementation of support systems for victims of jungle justice, which include trauma, counselling, mental health services, and rehabilitation programmes; there should be proper review and revision of the legal framework to address the issue of jungle justice effectively.

Keywords: jungle justice, emotional health, depression, fear

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Authors: Dong-Hyun Kim, Wan-Ho Chung, Hak-Sung Kim

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In this work, non-destructive evaluation was conducted to measure the sheet resistance of silver nanowire coated film and find a damage of that film using terahertz (THz) wave. Pulse type THz instrument was used, and the measurement was performed under transmission and pitch-catch reflection modes with 30 degree of incidence angle. In the transmission mode, the intensity of the THz wave was gradually increased as the conductivity decreased. Meanwhile, the intensity of THz wave was decreased as the conductivity decreased in the pitch-catch reflection mode. To confirm the conductivity of the film, sheet resistance was measured by 4-point probe station. Interaction formula was drawn from a relation between the intensity and the sheet resistance. Through substituting sheet resistance to the formula and comparing the resultant value with measured maximum THz wave intensity, measurement of sheet resistance using THz wave was more suitable than that using 4-point probe station. In addition, the damage on the silver nanowire coated film was detected by applying the THz image system. Therefore, the reliability of the entire film can be also be ensured. In conclusion, real-time monitoring using the THz wave can be applied in the transparent electrodes with detecting the damaged area as well as measuring the sheet resistance.

Keywords: terahertz wave, sheet resistance, non-destructive evaluation, silver nanowire

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Authors: M. K. Witek-Hajduk, T. M. Napiórkowski

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A number of studies discussed the topic of benefits of retailers-manufacturers cooperation and coopetition. However, there are only few publications focused on the benefits of cooperation and coopetition between retailers and their suppliers of durable consumer goods; especially in the context of business model of cooperating partners. This paper aims to provide a clustering approach to segment retailers selling consumer durables according to the benefits they obtain from their cooperation with key manufacturers and differentiate the said retailers’ in term of the business models of cooperating partners. For the purpose of the study, a survey (with a CATI method) collected data on 603 consumer durables retailers present on the Polish market. Retailers are clustered both, with hierarchical and non-hierarchical methods. Five distinctive groups of consumer durables’ retailers are (based on the studied benefits) identified using the two-stage clustering approach. The clusters are then characterized with a set of exogenous variables, key of which are business models employed by the retailer and its partnering key manufacturer. The paper finds that the a combination of a medium sized retailer classified as an Integrator with a chiefly domestic capital and a manufacturer categorized as a Market Player will yield the highest benefits. On the other side of the spectrum is medium sized Distributor retailer with solely domestic capital – in this case, the business model of the cooperating manufactrer appears to be irreleveant. This paper is the one of the first empirical study using cluster analysis on primary data that defines the types of cooperation between consumer durables’ retailers and manufacturers – their key suppliers. The analysis integrates a perspective of both retailers’ and manufacturers’ business models and matches them with individual and joint benefits.

Keywords: benefits of cooperation, business model, cluster analysis, retailer-manufacturer cooperation

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Authors: H. Bentarzi, A. Zitouni

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The reliability of the power grid depends on the successful operation of thousands of protective relays. The failure of one relay to operate as intended may lead the entire power grid to blackout. In fact, major power system failures during transient disturbances may be caused by unnecessary protective relay tripping rather than by the failure of a relay to operate. Adequate relay testing provides a first defense against false trips of the relay and hence improves power grid stability and prevents catastrophic bulk power system failures. The goal of this research project is to design and enhance the relay tester using a technology such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) card NI 7851. A PC based tester framework has been developed using Simulink power system model for generating signals under different conditions (faults or transient disturbances) and LabVIEW for developing the graphical user interface and configuring the FPGA. Besides, the interface system has been developed for outputting and amplifying the signals without distortion. These signals should be like the generated ones by the real power system and large enough for testing the relay’s functionality. The signals generated that have been displayed on the scope are satisfactory. Furthermore, the proposed testing system can be used for improving the performance of protective relay.

Keywords: amplifier class D, field-programmable gate array (FPGA), protective relay, tester

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Authors: Saleem Z. Ramadan

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This paper discusses the effects of using progressive Type-I right censoring on the design of the Simple Step Accelerated Life testing using Bayesian approach for Weibull life products under the assumption of cumulative exposure model. The optimization criterion used in this paper is to minimize the expected pre-posterior variance of the PTH percentile time of failures. The model variables are the stress changing time and the stress value for the first step. A comparison between the conventional and the progressive Type-I right censoring is provided. The results have shown that the progressive Type-I right censoring reduces the cost of testing on the expense of the test precision when the sample size is small. Moreover, the results have shown that using strong priors or large sample size reduces the sensitivity of the test precision to the censoring proportion. Hence, the progressive Type-I right censoring is recommended in these cases as progressive Type-I right censoring reduces the cost of the test and doesn't affect the precision of the test a lot. Moreover, the results have shown that using direct or indirect priors affects the precision of the test.

Keywords: reliability, accelerated life testing, cumulative exposure model, Bayesian estimation, progressive type-I censoring, Weibull distribution

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Authors: Malani Herath, Sohan Wijesekera, Jagath Munasingha

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The impact of recent floods become significant, and the extraordinary flood events cause considerable damage to lives, properties, environment and negatively affect the whole development of Colombo urban region. Even though the Colombo urban region experiences recurrent flood impacts, several spatial planning interventions have been taken from time to time since early 20th century. All past plans have adopted a traditional approach to flood management, using infrastructural measures to reduce the chance of flooding together with rigid planning regulations. The existing flood risk management practices do not operate to be acceptable by the local community particular the urban poor. Researchers have constantly reported the differences in estimations of flood risk, priorities, concerns of experts and the local community. Risk-based decision making in flood management is not only a matter of technical facts; it has a significant bearing on how flood risk is viewed by local community and individuals. Moreover, sustainable flood management is an integrated approach, which highlights joint actions of experts and community. This indicates the necessity of further societal discussion on the acceptable level of flood risk indicators to prioritize and identify the appropriate flood management measures in Colombo. The understanding and evaluation of flood risk by local people are important to integrate in the decision-making process. This research questioned about the gap between the acceptable level of flood risk to spatial planners and to the local communities in Colombo. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to prepare a framework to analyze the public perception in Colombo. This research work identifies the factors that affect the variation of flood risk and acceptable levels to both local community and planning authorities.

Keywords: Colombo basin, public perception, urban flood risk, multi-criteria analysis

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Authors: Heba Esaily, Rawhia Eledl, Daila Aboelela, Rasha Noreldin

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Objective: Assess serum level of Transforming growth factor beta 2 (TGF-β2) and Matrilin-3 (MATN3) SNP6 polymorphism in osteoarthritic patients Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a musculoskeletal disease characterized by pain and joint stiffness. TGF-β 2 is involved in chondrogenesis and osteogenesis, It has found that MATN3 gene and protein expression was correlated with the extent of tissue damage in OA. Findings suggest that regulation of MATN3 expression is essential for maintenance of the cartilage extracellular matrix microenvironment Subjects and Methods: 72 cases of primary OA (56 with knee OA and 16 with generalized OA were compared with that of 18 healthy controls. Radiographs were scored with the Kellgren-Lawrence scale. Serum TGF-β2 was measured by using (ELISA), levels of marker were correlated to radiographic grading of disease and MATN3 SNP6 polymorphism was determined by (PCR-RFLP). Results: MATN3 SNP6 polymorphism and serum level of TGF-β2 were higher in OA compared with controls. Genotype, NN and N allele frequency were higher in patients with OA compared with controls. NN genotype and N allele frequency were higher in knee osteoarthritis than generalized OA. Significant positive correlation between level of TGFβ2 and radiographic grading in group with knee OA, but no correlation between serum level of TGFβ2 and radiographic grading in generalized OA. Conclusion: MATN3 SNP6 polymorphism and TGF-β2 implicated in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. Association of N/N genotype with primary osteoarthritis emphasizes on the need for prospective study include larger sample size to confirm the results of the present study.

Keywords: Matrilin-3, transforming growth factor beta 2, primary osteoarthritis, knee osteoarthritis

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Authors: Nooshin Salari, Viliam Makis

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In this paper, we propose a condition-based maintenance policy for multi-unit systems considering the existence of economic dependency among units. We consider a system composed of N identical units, where each unit deteriorates independently. Deterioration process of each unit is modeled as a three-state continuous time homogeneous Markov chain with two working states and a failure state. The average production rate of units varies in different working states and demand rate of the system is constant. Units are inspected at equidistant time epochs, and decision regarding performing maintenance is determined by the number of units in the failure state. If the total number of units in the failure state exceeds a critical level, maintenance is initiated, where units in failed state are replaced correctively and deteriorated state units are maintained preventively. Our objective is to determine the optimal number of failed units to initiate maintenance minimizing the long run expected average cost per unit time. The problem is formulated and solved in the semi-Markov decision process (SMDP) framework. A numerical example is developed to demonstrate the proposed policy and the comparison with the corrective maintenance policy is presented.

Keywords: reliability, maintenance optimization, semi-Markov decision process, production

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Authors: Ruchika Sharma

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In the past decade, there has been an explosion of research that has examined children’s understanding of TV advertisements and its persuasive intent, socialization of child consumer and child psychology. However, it is evident from the literature review that no studies in this area have covered advertising messages and its impact on children’s brand recall and ad recognition. Copywriters use various creative devices to lure the consumers and very impressionable consumers such as children face far more drastic effects of these creative ways of persuasion. On the basis of Piaget’s theory of cognitive development as a theoretical basis for predicting/understanding children’s response and understanding, a quasi-experiment was carried out for the study, that manipulated measurement timing and advertising messages (familiar vs. unfamiliar) keeping gender and age group as two prominent factors. This study also examines children’s understanding of Advertisements and its elements, predominantly - Language, keeping in view Fishbein’s model. Study revealed significant associations between above mentioned factors and children’s brand recall and ad identification. Further, to test the reliability of the findings on larger sample, bootstrap simulation technique was used. The simulation results are in accordance with the findings of experiment, suggesting that the conclusions obtained from the study can be generalized for entire children’s (as consumers) market in India.

Keywords: advertising, brand recall, cognitive development, preferences

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Authors: P. Mambanga, Goon, L. O. Amusa

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The purpose of the study was to investigate the socio-cultural factors hindering sport participation among female students in the Centre for Biokinetics, Recreation and Sport Science, University of Venda. A descriptive survey of 100 female student selected by simple random sampling was used and utilises the close ended questionnaire designed in a likert format was use for data collection. Face and content validity was employed in which the supervisor went through the instrument and correct and accept it thus checking the validity of the instrument. The test-retest approach was used to test the reliability of the instrument. Ethical considerations were ensured and confidentiality respected. Data was collected and presented in tables and results interpreted. Chi square which is a measure of non-parametric investigation was employed in order to analyse the observed and expected scores, with the probability value was set at 0.05 levels of significance on a two-tailed test of the hypotheses formulated for the study. Findings of the study established significant socio-cultural factors that hinder female sport participation among female students in the Centre for Biokinetics, Recreation and Sport Science. The study concluded that the low level participation of female students at the University of Venda might be as a result of socio-cultural factors.

Keywords: female students, sport participation, University of Venda, biokinetic

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Authors: K. Y. S. Putri, Heri Fathurahman, Yuki Surisita, Widi Sagita, Kiki Dwi Arviani

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Society needs the assistance of academics in understanding and being skilled in health communication literacy. Information technology runs very fast while health communication literacy skills in getting health communication information during the pandemic are not as fast as the development of information technology. The research question is whether there is an influence of health communication on information technology in health information during the pandemic in Indonesia. The purpose of the study is to find out the influence of health communication on information technology in health information during the pandemic in Indonesia. The concepts of health communication literacy and information technology are used this study. Previous research is in support of this study. Quantitative research methods by disseminating questionnaires in this study. The validity and reliability test of this study is positive, so it can proceed to the next statistical analysis. Descriptive results of variable health communication literacy are of positive value in all dimensions. All dimensions of information technology are of positive value. Statistical tests of the influence of health communication literacy on information technology are of great value. Discussion of both variables in the influence of health communication literacy and high-value information technology because health communication literacy has a high effect in information technology. Respondents to this study have high information technology skills. So that health communication literacy in obtaining health information during the 2019-2022 pandemic is needed. Research advice is that academics are still very much needed by the community in the development of society during the pandemic.

Keywords: health information, health information needs, literacy health communication, information technology

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Authors: Jonmichael Weaver, David Miller

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Dyneema is an ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fiber created by DSM. This fiber has many applications due to the high tensile strength, low weight, and inability to absorb water. DSM manufactures a non-woven unidirectional cross-ply [0,90]2 lamina, using the Dyneema fiber. Using this lamina system, various thickness panels are created for a 40% lighter weight alternative to Kevlar for the same ballistics protection. Environmental effects on the ply/laminate system alter the material properties, resulting in diminished ultimate performance. Understanding the specific environmental parameters and characterizing the resulting material property degradation is essential for determining the safety and reliability of Dyneema in service. Two laminas were contrasted for their response to accelerated aging by UV, humidity, and temperature cycling. Both lamina contain the same fiber, SK-99, but differ in matrix composition, Dyneema HB-210 employs a polyurethane (PUR) based matrix, and HB-212 contains a rubber-based matrix. Each system was inspected using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and evaluated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) to characterize the material property changes alongside the corresponding composite damage and matrix failure mode over the aging parameters. Overall, resulting in the HB-212 degrading faster compared with the HB-210.

Keywords: dyneema, accelerated aging, polymers, ballistics protection, armor, DSM, kevlar, composites

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Authors: Ashit Syngle, Inderjit Verma, Pawan Krishan

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Therapeutic approaches used previously relied on disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) that had only partial clinical benefit and were associated with significant toxicity. Spironolactone, an oral aldosterone antagonist, suppresses inflammatory mediators. Clinical efficacy of spironolactone compared with placebo in patients with active psoriatic arthritis despite treatment with prior traditional DMARDs. In the 24-week, placebo-controlled study patients (n=31) were randomized to placebo and spironolactone (2 m/kg/day). Patients on background concurrent DMARDs continued stable doses (methotrexate, leflunomide, and/or sulfasalazine). Primary outcome measures were the assessment of disease activity measures i.e. 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28) and diseases activity in psoriatic arthritis (DAPSA) at week 24. The key secondary endpoint was change from baseline in Health Assessment Questionnaire–Disability Index (HAQ-DI) at week 24. Additional efficacy outcome measures at week 24 included improvements in the markers of inflammation (ESR and CRP) and pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1. At week 24, spironolactone significantly reduced disease activity measure DAS-28 (p<0.001) and DAPSA (p=0.001) compared with placebo. Significant improvements in key secondary measures HAQ-DI (disability index) were evident with spironolactone (p=0.02) versus placebo. After week 24, there was significant reduction in pro-inflammatory cytokines level TNF-α, IL-6 (p<0.01) as compared with placebo group. However, there was no significant improvement in IL-1 in both treatment and placebo groups. There were minor side effects which did not mandate stopping of spironolactone. No change in any biochemical profile was noted after spironolactone treatment. Spironolactone was effective in the treatment of PsA, improving disease activity, physical function and suppressing the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Spironolactone demonstrated an acceptable safety profile and was well tolerated.

Keywords: spironolactone, inflammation, inflammatory cytokine, psoriatic arthritis

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Authors: Amina Sultan, Mohamed Ghonim, Eman Oweida, Aya Abdelaziz

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Objective: To assess the diagnostic reliability of multi-detector CT in pre and post-operative evaluation of cochlear implant candidates. Material and Methods: The study includes 40 patients (18 males and 22 females); mean age 5.6 years. They were classified into two groups: Group A (20 patients): cochlear implant device was Nucleus-22 and Group B (20 patients): the device was MED-EL. Cochlear length (CL) and cochlear height (CH) were measured pre-operatively by 128-multidetector CT. Electrode length (EL) and insertion depth angle (α) were measured post-operatively by MDCT. Results: For Group A mean CL was 9.1 mm ± 0.4 SD; mean CH was 4.1 ± 0.3 SD; mean EL was 18 ± 2.7 SD; mean α angle was 299.05 ± 37 SD. Significant statistical correlation (P < 0.05) was found between preoperative CL and post-operative EL (r²=0.6); as well as EL and α angle (r²=0.7). Group B's mean CL was 9.1 mm ± 0.3 SD; mean CH was 4.1 ± 0.4 SD; mean EL was 27 ± 2.1 SD; mean α angle was 287.6 ± 41.7 SD. Significant statistical correlation was found between CL and EL (r²= 0.6) and α angle (r²=0.5). Also, a strong correlation was found between EL and α angle (r²=0.8). Significant statistical difference was detected between the two devices as regards to the electrode length. Conclusion: Multidetector CT is a reliable tool for preoperative planning and post-operative evaluation of the outcomes of cochlear implant operations. Cochlear length is a valuable prognostic parameter for prediction of the depth of electrode array insertion which can influence criteria of device selection.

Keywords: angle of insertion (α angle), cochlear implant (CI), cochlear length (CL), Multidetector Computed Tomography (MDCT)

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Authors: Fatima Zohra Rahou, A.Guen Bouazza, B. Bouazza

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SOI TRI GATE FinFET transistors have emerged as novel devices due to its simple architecture and better performance: better control over short channel effects (SCEs) and reduced power dissipation due to reduced gate leakage currents. As the oxide thickness scales below 2 nm, leakage currents due to tunneling increase drastically, leading to high power consumption and reduced device reliability. Replacing the SiO2 gate oxide with a high-κ material allows increased gate capacitance without the associated leakage effects. In this paper, SOI TRI-GATE FinFET structure with use of high K dielectric materials (HfO2) and SiO2 dielectric are simulated using the 3-D device simulator Devedit and Atlas of TCAD Silvaco. The simulated results exhibits significant improvements in the performances of SOI TRI GATE FinFET with gate oxide HfO2 compared with conventional gate oxide SiO2 for the same structure. SOI TRI-GATE FinFET structure with the use of high K materials (HfO2) in gate oxide results into the increase in saturation current, threshold voltage, on-state current and Ion/Ioff ratio while off-state current, subthreshold slope and DIBL effect are decreased.

Keywords: technology SOI, short-channel effects (SCEs), multi-gate SOI MOSFET, SOI-TRI Gate FinFET, high-K dielectric, Silvaco software

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Authors: Abdullah Kaymakci, Daniel M. Madyira, Ntokozo Nkwanyana

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The effect of metal transfer modes on mechanical properties of welded 3CR12 stainless steel were investigated. This was achieved by butt welding 10 mm thick plates of 3CR12 in different positions while varying the welding positions for different metal transfer modes. The ASME IX: 2010 (Welding and Brazing Qualifications) code was used as a basis for welding variables. The material and the thickness of the base metal were kept constant together with the filler metal, shielding gas and joint types. The effect of the metal transfer modes on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the 3CR12 steel was then investigated as it was hypothesized that the change in welding positions will affect the transfer modes partly due to the effect of gravity. The microscopic examination revealed that the substrate was characterized by dual phase microstructure, that is, alpha phase and beta phase grain structures. Using the spectroscopic examination results and the ferritic factor calculation had shown that the microstructure was expected to be ferritic-martensitic during air cooling process. The tested tensile strength and Charpy impact energy were measured to be 498 MPa and 102 J which were in line with mechanical properties given in the material certificate. The heat input in the material was observed to be greater than 1 kJ/mm which is the limiting factor for grain growth during the welding process. Grain growths were observed in the heat affected zone of the welded materials. Ferritic-martensitic microstructure was observed in the microstructure during the microscopic examination. The grain growth altered the mechanical properties of the test material. Globular down hand had higher mechanical properties than spray down hand. Globular vertical up had better mechanical properties than globular vertical down.

Keywords: welding, metal transfer modes, stainless steel, microstructure, hardness, tensile strength

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Authors: Hsiao-Chien Tsai, Yu-Pin Chen, Ruei-Ming Chen

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Introduction: Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by joint destruction and causes chronic disability. One of the prominent symptoms is pain. Alleviating the pain is necessary and urgent for the therapy of OA patients. However, currently, understanding the mechanisms that drive OA-induced pain remains challenging, which hampers the optimistic management of pain in OA patients. Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) participates in axon guidance pathway and bone remodeling, thus, may play a role in the regulation of pain in OA. In this study, we have established a rat model of OA to find out the mechanisms of OA-induced pain and to deliberate the roles of Sema4D. Methods: Behavioral changes and the pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-17) associated with pain were measured during the development of OA. Sema4D expression in cartilage and synovial membrane at 1, 4, and 12 weeks after inducing OA was analyzed. To assess if Sema4D is related to the neurogenesis in OA as an axon repellant, we analyzed the expression of PGP9.5 as well. Results: Synovitis and cartilage degradation were evident histologically during the development of OA. Mechanical hyperalgesia was most severe at week 1, then persisted thereafter. It was associated with stress coping strategies. Similar to the pain behavioral results, levels of IL-1β and TNF-α in synovial lavage fluid were significantly elevated in the OA group at weeks 1 and 4, respectively. Sema4D expression in cartilage and the synovial membrane was also enhanced in the OA group and was correlated with pain and pro-inflammatory cytokines. The marker of neurogenesis, PGP9.5, was also enhanced during the development of OA. Discussion: OA induced mechanical hyperalgesia, which might be through upregulating IL-1β/TNF-α-mediated Sema4D expressions. If anti-Sema4D treatment could reduce OA-induced mechanical hyperalgesia and prevent the subsequent progression of OA needs to be further investigated. Significance: OA can induce mechanical hyperalgesia through upregulation of IL-1β/TNF-α-mediated Sema4D and PGP9.5 expressions. And the upregulation of Sema4D may indicate the severity or active status of OA and OA-induced pain.

Keywords: traumatic osteoarthritis, mechanical hyperalgesia, Sema4D, inflammatory cytokines

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Authors: Wenjiang Deng, Tian Mou, Yudi Pawitan, Trung Nghia Vu

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Estimation of isoform-level gene expression from RNA-seq data depends on simplifying assumptions, such as uniform reads distribution, that are easily violated in real data. Such violations typically lead to biased estimates. Most existing methods provide a bias correction step(s), which is based on biological considerations, such as GC content–and applied in single samples separately. The main problem is that not all biases are known. For example, new technologies such as single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) may introduce new sources of bias not seen in bulk-cell data. This study introduces a method called XAEM based on a more flexible and robust statistical model. Existing methods are essentially based on a linear model Xβ, where the design matrix X is known and derived based on the simplifying assumptions. In contrast, XAEM considers Xβ as a bilinear model with both X and β unknown. Joint estimation of X and β is made possible by simultaneous analysis of multi-sample RNA-seq data. Compared to existing methods, XAEM automatically performs empirical correction of potentially unknown biases. XAEM implements an alternating expectation-maximization (AEM) algorithm, alternating between estimation of X and β. For speed XAEM utilizes quasi-mapping for read alignment, thus leading to a fast algorithm. Overall XAEM performs favorably compared to other recent advanced methods. For simulated datasets, XAEM obtains higher accuracy for multiple-isoform genes, particularly for paralogs. In a differential-expression analysis of a real scRNA-seq dataset, XAEM achieves substantially greater rediscovery rates in an independent validation set.

Keywords: alternating EM algorithm, bias correction, bilinear model, gene expression, RNA-seq

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Authors: Dawei Li, Cheng Liu, Yiteng Liu

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This paper introduces an embedded digital image system for Chinese space environment vertical exploration sounding rocket. In order to record the flight status of the sounding rocket as well as the payloads, an onboard embedded image processing system based on ADV212, a JPEG2000 compression chip, is designed in this paper. Since the sounding rocket is not designed to be recovered, all image data should be transmitted to the ground station before the re-entry while the downlink band used for the image transmission is only about 600 kbps. Under the same condition of compression ratio compared with other algorithm, JPEG2000 standard algorithm can achieve better image quality. So JPEG2000 image compression is applied under this condition with a limited downlink data band. This embedded image system supports lossless to 200:1 real time compression, with two cameras to monitor nose ejection and motor separation, and two cameras to monitor boom deployment. The encoder, ADV7182, receives PAL signal from the camera, then output the ITU-R BT.656 signal to ADV212. ADV7182 switches between four input video channels as the program sequence. Two SRAMs are used for Ping-pong operation and one 512 Mb SDRAM for buffering high frame-rate images. The whole image system has the characteristics of low power dissipation, low cost, small size and high reliability, which is rather suitable for this sounding rocket application.

Keywords: ADV212, image system, JPEG2000, sounding rocket

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Authors: Dafna Knani, Sarit S. Sivan

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Aggrecan, one of the main components of the intervertebral disc (IVD), belongs to the family of proteoglycans (PGs) that are composed of glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chains covalently attached to a core protein. Its primary function is to maintain tissue hydration and hence disc height under the high loads imposed by muscle activity and body weight. Significant PG loss is one of the first indications of disc degeneration. A possible solution to recover disc functions is by injecting a synthetic hydrogel into the joint cavity, hence mimicking the role of PGs. One of the hydrogels proposed is GAG-analogues, based on sulfate-containing polymers, which are responsible for hydration in disc tissue. In the present work, we used molecular dynamics (MD) to study the effect of the hydrogel crosslinking (type and degree) on the swelling behavior of the suggested GAG-analogue biomimetics by calculation of cohesive energy density (CED), solubility parameter, enthalpy of mixing (ΔEmix) and the interactions between the molecules at the pure form and as a mixture with water. The simulation results showed that hydrophobicity plays an important role in the swelling of the hydrogel, as indicated by the linear correlation observed between solubility parameter values of the copolymers and crosslinker weight ratio (w/w); this correlation was found useful in predicting the amount of PEGDA needed for the desirable hydration behavior of (CS)₄-peptide. Enthalpy of mixing calculations showed that all the GAG analogs, (CS)₄ and (CS)₄-peptide are water-soluble; radial distribution function analysis revealed that they form interactions with water molecules, which is important for the hydration process. To conclude, our simulation results, beyond supporting the experimental data, can be used as a useful predictive tool in the future development of biomaterials, such as disc replacement.

Keywords: molecular dynamics, proteoglycans, enthalpy of mixing, swelling

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Authors: Ebtehal Aljedaani, Maha Aljohani

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Privacy and security patterns are both important for developing software that protects users' data and privacy. Privacy patterns are designed to address common privacy problems, such as unauthorized data collection and disclosure. Security patterns are designed to protect software from attack and ensure reliability and trustworthiness. Using privacy and security patterns, software engineers can implement security and privacy by design principles, which means that security and privacy are considered throughout the software development process. These patterns are available to translate "security & privacy-by-design" into practical advice for software engineering. Previous research on privacy and security patterns has typically focused on one category of patterns at a time. This paper aims to bridge this gap by merging the two categories and identifying their similarities and differences. To do this, the authors conducted a systematic literature review of 25 research papers on privacy and security patterns. The papers were analysed based on the category of the pattern, the classification of the pattern, and the security requirements that the pattern addresses. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive review of privacy and security design patterns. The review is intended to help future IT designers understand the relationship between the two types of patterns and how to use them to design secure and privacy-preserving software. The paper provides a clear classification of privacy and security design patterns, along with examples of each type. The authors found that there is only one widely accepted classification of privacy design patterns, while there are several competing classifications of security design patterns. Three types of security design patterns were found to be the most commonly used.

Keywords: design patterns, security, privacy, classification of patterns, security patterns, privacy patterns

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Authors: Sehmus Aslan, Sibel Karacaoglu, Cengiz Sevgin, Ummuhan Bas Aslan

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Objective: Anger expression style is an important moderator of the effects on the person and person’s environment. Anger and anger expression have become important constructs in identifying individuals at high risk for psychological difficulties. To our knowledge, there is no information about anger and anger expression of adolescents with visual impairment. The aim of this study was to compare anger and anger expression among adolescents with and without visual impairment. Methods: Thirty-eight adolescents with visual impairment (18 female, 20 male) and 44 adolescents without visual impairment (22 female, 24 male), in totally 84 adolescents aged between 12 to 15 years, participated in the study. Anger and anger expression of the participants assessed with The State-Trait Anger Scale (STAS). STAS, a self-report questionnaire, is designed to measure the experience and expression of anger. STAS has four subtitles including continuous anger, anger in, anger out and anger control. Reliability and validity of the STAS have been well established among adolescents. Mann-Whitney U Test was used for statistical analysis. Results: No significant differences were found in the scores of continuous anger and anger out between adolescents with and without visual impairment (p < 0.05). On the other hand, there were differences in scores of anger control and anger in between adolescents with and without visual impairment (p>0.05). The score of anger control in adolescents with visual impairment were higher compared with adolescents without visual impairment. Meanwhile, the adolescents with visual impairment had lower score for anger in compared with adolescents without visual impairment. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that there is no difference in anger level among adolescents with and without visual impairment meanwhile there is difference in anger expression.

Keywords: adolescent, anger, impaired, visual

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Authors: Parmeet Kaur, Nighat Yaseen Sofi, Shakti Kumar Gupta, Veena Pandey, Rajvaedhan Azad

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Nutritional status and prevailing blood glucose level trends amongst hospitalized patients has been linked to clinical outcome. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess hospitalized Diabetic Eye Disease (DED) patients' anthropometric and dietary intake trends. DED patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes > 20 years were enrolled. Actual food intake was determined by weighed food record method. Mifflin St Joer predictive equation multiplied by a combined stress and activity factor of 1.3 was applied to estimate caloric needs. A questionnaire was further administered to obtain reasons of inadequate dietary intake. Results indicated validity of joint analyses of body mass index in combination with waist circumference for clinical risk prediction. Dietary data showed a significant difference (p < 0.0005) between average daily caloric and carbohydrate intake and actual daily caloric and carbohydrate needs. Mean fasting and post-prandial plasma glucose levels were 150.71 ± 72.200 mg/dL and 219.76 ± 97.365 mg/dL, respectively. Improvement in food delivery systems and nutrition educations were indicated for reducing plate waste and to enable better understanding of dietary aspects of diabetes management. A team approach of nurses, physicians and other health care providers is required besides the expertise of dietetics professional. To conclude, findings of the present study will be useful in planning nutritional care process (NCP) for optimizing glucose control as a component of quality medical nutrition therapy (MNT) in hospitalized DED patients.

Keywords: nutritional status, diabetic eye disease, nutrition care process, medical nutrition therapy

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Authors: Mitra Savabi-Esfahani, Fariba Taleghani, Mahnaz Noroozi, Maryam Tabatabaeian, Elsebeth Lynge

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Breast cancer is a health concern in worldwide. All women have not adequate information about breast cancer, resulting in undetected some tumors until advanced stages. Therefore awareness of people was recommended as a strategy to control that. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an educational intervention on women's knowledge and attitude about breast cancer and screening. This study was conducted in 2016 on 191 women. All women living in one of big cities were invited to enroll in training classes. Inclusion criteria consisted women who were 20 - 69 years and not participated in any educational intervention. The lecture with group discussion was used as educational methods. Data collection tool was a structured questionnaire which filled out before and after intervention. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined by Cronbach's alpha. The data were analyzed using SPSS software. The average age was 44/4 ± 11.5 and 42.6% of the women had obtained high school. Of the 191 women, 70(36.6%) and 76(39.8%) had low and medium level of knowledge respectively and half of them, 95(50%) had medium level of attitude in before intervention. There was significant difference between mean scores of knowledge and attitude before and after the intervention by Paired T test (p < 0/001). It seems applying effective educational interventions can increase knowledge and attitude women about breast cancer particularly in community that they have insufficient levels. Moreover, the lecture method along with group discussion can be proposed as effective and conventional methods for this purpose.

Keywords: attitude, breast cancer, educational intervention, knowledge

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Authors: S. M. Mahdi Niktabara, K. Seshagiri Raob, Amit Kumar Shrivastavac, Jiří Ščučkaa

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The presence of the discontinuity in the form of joints is one of the most significant factors causing instability in the rock mass. On the other hand, dynamic loads, including earthquake and blasting induce cyclic shear loads along the joints in rock masses; therefore, failure of rock mass exacerbates along the joints due to changing shear resistance. Joints are under constant normal load (CNL) and constant normal stiffness (CNS) conditions. Normal stiffness increases on the joints with increasing depth, and it can affect shear resistance. For correct assessment of joint shear resistance under varying normal stiffness and number of cycles, advanced laboratory shear machine is essential for the shear test. Conventional direct shear equipment has limitations such as boundary conditions, working under monotonic movements only, or cyclic shear loads with constant frequency and amplitude of shear loads. Hence, a large-scale servo-controlled direct shear testing machine was designed and fabricated to perform shear test under the both CNL and CNS conditions with varying normal stiffness at different frequencies and amplitudes of shear loads. In this study, laboratory cyclic shear tests were conducted on non-planar joints under varying normal stiffness. In addition, the effects of different frequencies and amplitudes of shear loads were investigated. The test results indicate that shear resistance increases with increasing normal stiffness at the first cycle, but the influence of normal stiffness significantly decreases with an increase in the number of shear cycles. The frequency of shear load influences on shear resistance, i.e. shear resistance increases with increasing frequency. However, at low shear amplitude the number of cycles does not affect shear resistance on the joints, but it decreases with higher amplitude.

Keywords: cyclic shear load, frequency of load, amplitude of displacement, normal stiffness

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Authors: Prashant Pandey

Abstract:

In the present article, an effective Laguerre collocation method is used to obtain the approximate solution of a system of coupled fractional-order non-linear reaction-advection-diffusion equation with prescribed initial and boundary conditions. In the proposed scheme, Laguerre polynomials are used together with an operational matrix and collocation method to obtain approximate solutions of the coupled system, so that our proposed model is converted into a system of algebraic equations which can be solved employing the Newton method. The solution profiles of the coupled system are presented graphically for different particular cases. The salient feature of the present article is finding the stability analysis of the proposed method and also the demonstration of the lower variation of solute concentrations with respect to the column length in the fractional-order system compared to the integer-order system. To show the higher efficiency, reliability, and accuracy of the proposed scheme, a comparison between the numerical results of Burger’s coupled system and its existing analytical result is reported. There are high compatibility and consistency between the approximate solution and its exact solution to a higher order of accuracy. The exhibition of error analysis for each case through tables and graphs confirms the super-linearly convergence rate of the proposed method.

Keywords: fractional coupled PDE, stability and convergence analysis, diffusion equation, Laguerre polynomials, spectral method

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Authors: Nader Chavoshi Boroujeni, Naser Chavoshi Boroujeni

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Considering the importance of managerial competencies on organizational performance as well as the role of social capital and entrepreneurship as mediator parameters affecting organizational performance, this study attempts to examine the impact carefully. In this regard, Isfahan Science and Technology Town (ISTT) as an effective and knowledge generator company that has a great effect on improving organizational performances of many other companies such as Knowledge-Based Companies (KBCs) activing in the ISTT's site was selected as statistical population. According to coordination with the Department of Development and Technology of ISTT, all employees of ISTT and active KBCs were selected as sample. Then, to analyze the variables a standard and self-made questionnaire containing 98 questions was designed and distributed. Of the 350 questionnaires distributed, 319 questionnaires were collected that 313 cases were confirmed and analyzed. To confirm the reliability of questionnaire, the Leader professor and two other professors approved it. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was used to validate the questionnaire that all coefficient was between 0/7 and 0/95. So, the validity was confirmed. After descriptive study population, the normality of distribution was investigated with Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Finally, the results obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed by Amos software that all hypotheses were confirmed.

Keywords: managerial competencies, personnel organizational performance, entrepreneurship, social capital

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Authors: Retno Dwi Wahyuningrum, Sunarru Samsi Hariadi

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Education in agriculture is very significant; in a way that it can support farmers to improve their business. This can be done through certain media, such as printed, audio, and audio-visual media. To find out the effects of the media toward the knowledge, attitude, and motivation of farmers in order to adopt innovation, the study was conducted on 342 farmers, randomly selected from 12 farmer-groups, in the districts of Sleman and Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta Province. The study started from October 2014 to November 2015 by interviewing the respondents using a questionnaire which included 20 questions on knowledge, 20 questions on attitude, and 20 questions on adopting motivation. The data for the attitude and the adopting motivation were processed into Likert scale, then it was tested for validity and reliability. Differences in the levels of knowledge, attitude, and motivation were tested based on percentage of average score intervals of them and categorized into five interpretation levels. The results show that printed, audio, and audio-visual media give different impacts to the farmers. First, all media make farmers very aware to agricultural innovation, but the highest percentage is on theatrical play. Second, the most effective media to raise the attitude is interactive dialogue on Radio. Finally, printed media, especially comic, is the most effective way to improve the adopting motivation of farmers.

Keywords: agricultural education, printed media, audio media, audio-visual media, farmer knowledge, farmer attitude, farmer adopting motivation

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Authors: Bashir Ahmad Aasim, Abdul Khaliq Karimi, Jun Tomiyama

Abstract:

Material aging is one of the vital issues among all the civil, mechanical, and aerospace engineering societies. Sustenance and reliability of concrete, which is the widely used material in the world, is the focal point in civil engineering societies. For few decades, researchers have been able to present some form algorithms that could lead to evaluate a structure globally rather than locally without harming its serviceability and traffic interference. The algorithms could help presenting different methods for evaluating structures non-destructively. In this paper, a non-destructive vibration-based damage detection method is adopted to evaluate two concrete beams, one being in a healthy state while the second one contains a crack on its bottom vicinity. The study discusses that damage in a structure affects modal parameters (natural frequency, mode shape, and damping ratio), which are the function of physical properties (mass, stiffness, and damping). The assessment is carried out to acquire the natural frequency of the sound beam. Next, the vibration response is recorded from the cracked beam. Eventually, both results are compared to know the variation in the natural frequencies of both beams. The study concludes that damage can be detected using vibration characteristics of a structural member considering the decline occurred in the natural frequency of the cracked beam.

Keywords: concrete beam, natural frequency, non-destructive testing, vibration characteristics

Procedia PDF Downloads 103