Search results for: magnetic response

Authors: Thomas Rockstuhl, Kok Yee Ng, Guido Gianasso, Soon Ang

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Two meta-analyses show that intercultural experience is not related to intercultural adaptation or performance in international assignments. These findings have prompted calls for a deeper grounding of research on international experience in the phenomenon of global work. Two issues, in particular, may limit current understanding of the relationship between international experience and global work performance. First, intercultural experience is too broad a construct that may not sufficiently capture the essence of global work, which to a large part involves sensemaking and managing intercultural conflicts. Second, the psychological mechanisms through which intercultural experience affects performance remains under-explored, resulting in a poor understanding of how experience is translated into learning and performance outcomes. Drawing on recognition primed decision-making (RPD) research, the current study advances a cognitive processing model to highlight the importance of intercultural conflict familiarity. Compared to intercultural experience, intercultural conflict familiarity is a more targeted construct that captures individuals’ previous exposure to dealing with intercultural conflicts. Drawing on RPD theory, we argue that individuals’ intercultural conflict familiarity enhances their ability to make accurate judgments and generate effective responses when intercultural conflicts arise. In turn, the ability to make accurate situation judgements and effective situation responses is an important predictor of global work performance. A relocation program within a multinational enterprise provided the context to test these hypotheses using a time-lagged, multi-source field study. Participants were 165 employees (46% female; with an average of 5 years of global work experience) from 42 countries who relocated from country to regional offices as part a global restructuring program. Within the first two weeks of transfer to the regional office, employees completed measures of their familiarity with intercultural conflicts, cultural intelligence, cognitive ability, and demographic information. They also completed an intercultural situational judgment test (iSJT) to assess their situation judgment and situation response. The iSJT comprised four validated multimedia vignettes of challenging intercultural work conflicts and prompted employees to provide protocols of their situation judgment and situation response. Two research assistants, trained in intercultural management but blind to the study hypotheses, coded the quality of employee’s situation judgment and situation response. Three months later, supervisors rated employees’ global work performance. Results using multilevel modeling (vignettes nested within employees) support the hypotheses that greater familiarity with intercultural conflicts is positively associated with better situation judgment, and that situation judgment mediates the effect of intercultural familiarity on situation response quality. Also, aggregated situation judgment and situation response quality both predicted supervisor-rated global work performance. Theoretically, our findings highlight the important but under-explored role of familiarity with intercultural conflicts; a shift in attention from the general nature of international experience assessed in terms of number and length of overseas assignments. Also, our cognitive approach premised on RPD theory offers a new theoretical lens to understand the psychological mechanisms through which intercultural conflict familiarity affects global work performance. Third, and importantly, our study contributes to the global talent identification literature by demonstrating that the cognitive processes engaged in resolving intercultural conflicts predict actual performance in the global workplace.

Keywords: intercultural conflict familiarity, job performance, judgment and decision making, situational judgment test

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Authors: Tanveer Iqbal, Saima Yasin, Muhammad Zafar, Ahmad Shakeel, Fahad Nazir, Paul F. Luckham

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The contact performance of polymeric composites is dependent on the localized mechanical properties of materials. This is particularly important for fiber oriented polymeric materials where self-lubrication from top layers has been the basic requirement. The nanoindentation response of fiber reinforced poly(etheretherketone), PEEK, composites have been evaluated to determine the near-surface mechanical characteristics. Load-displacement compliance, hardness and elastic modulus data based on contact compliance mode (CSM) indentation of carbon fiber oriented and glass fiber oriented PEEK composites are reported as a function of indentation contact displacement. The composite surfaces were indented to a maximum penetration depth of 5µm using Berkovich tip indenter. A typical multiphase response of the composite surface is depicted from analysis of the indentation data for the composites, showing presence of polymer matrix, fibers, and interphase regions. The observed experimental results show that although the surface mechanical properties of carbon fiber based PEEK composite were comparatively higher, the properties of matrix material were seen to be increased in the presence of glass fibers. The experimental methodology may provide a convenient means to understand morphological description of the multimodal polymeric composites.

Keywords: nanoindentation, PEEK, modulus, hardness, plasticization

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Authors: Andrew Gray, Zhibing Zhang

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The ability for consumer products to deliver a sustained perfume response can be a key driver for a variety of applications. Many compounds in perfume oils are highly volatile, meaning they readily evaporate once the product is applied, and the longevity of the scent is poor. Perfume capsules have been introduced as a means of abating this evaporation once the product has been delivered. The impermeable capsules are aimed to be stable within the formulation, and remain intact during delivery to the desired substrate, only rupturing to release the core perfume oil through application of mechanical force applied by the consumer. This opens up the possibility of obtaining an olfactive response hours, weeks or even months after delivery, depending on the nature of the desired application. Tailoring the properties of the polymeric capsules to better address the needs of the application is not a trivial challenge and currently design of capsules is largely done by trial and error. The aim of this work is to have more predictive methods for capsule design depending on the consumer application. This means refining formulations such that they rupture at the right time for the specific consumer application, not too early, not too late. Finding the right balance between these extremes is essential if a benefit is sought with respect to neat addition of perfume to formulations. It is important to understand the forces that influence capsule rupture, first, by quantifying the magnitude of these different forces, and then by assessing bulk rupture in real-world applications to understand how capsules actually respond. Samples were provided by an industrial partner and the mechanical properties of individual capsules within the samples were characterized via a micromanipulation technique, developed by Professor Zhang at the University of Birmingham. The capsules were synthesized such as to change one particular physicochemical property at a time, such as core: wall material ratio, and the average size of capsules. Analysis of shell thickness via Transmission Electron Microscopy, size distribution via the use of a Mastersizer, as well as a variety of other techniques confirmed that only one particular physicochemical property was altered for each sample. The mechanical analysis was subsequently undertaken, showing the effect that changing certain capsule properties had on the response under compression. It was, however, important to link this fundamental mechanical response to capsule performance in real-world applications. As such, the capsule samples were introduced to a formulation and exposed to full scale stresses. GC-MS headspace analysis of the perfume oil released from broken capsules enabled quantification of what the relative strengths of capsules truly means for product performance. Correlations have been found between the mechanical strength of capsule samples and performance in terms of perfume release in consumer applications. Having a better understanding of the key parameters that drive performance benefits the design of future formulations by offering better guidelines on the parameters that can be adjusted without worrying about the performance effects, and singles out those parameters that are essential in finding the sweet spot for capsule performance.

Keywords: consumer products, mechanical and physicochemical properties, perfume capsules, rupture behaviour

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Authors: Elmeida Effendy, Mustafa M. Amin, Nauli Aulia Lubis, P. J. Sirait

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Music therapy may have an effect on mental illnesses. This is a comparative, quasi-experimental study to examine the effect of music therapy added to standard care on Positive Negative Syndrome Scale, Cognitive Function and Quality of Life in female schizophrenic patients. 50 schizophrenic participants who were diagnosed with semistructured MINI ICD-X, were assigned into two groups received pharmacotherapy. Participants were assigned into each group of therapy by using matched allocation method. Music therapy added on to the first group. They received music therapy, using Mozart Sonata four times a week, over a period of six week. Positive and negative symptoms were measured by using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Cognitive function were measured by using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA). All rating scale were administrated by certified skill residents every week after music therapy session. The participants who were received pharmaco-and-music therapy significantly showed greater response than who received pharmacotherapy only. The mean difference of response were -6,6164 (p=0,001) for PANNS, 2,911 (p=0,004) for MMSE, 3,618 (p=0,001) for MOCA, 4,599 (p=0,001) for SF-36. Music therapy have beneficial effects on PANSS, Cognitive Function and Quality of Life in schizophrenic patients.

Keywords: music therapy, rating scale, schizophrenia, symptoms

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Authors: E. M. Hassan, A. L. Kalamkarov

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Two micromechanical models for 3D smart composite with embedded periodic or nearly periodic network of generally orthotropic reinforcements and actuators are developed and applied to cubic structures with unidirectional orientation of constituents. Analytical formulas for the effective piezothermoelastic coefficients are derived using the Asymptotic Homogenization Method (AHM). Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is subsequently developed and used to examine the aforementioned periodic 3D network reinforced smart structures. The deformation responses from the FE simulations are used to extract effective coefficients. The results from both techniques are compared. This work considers piezoelectric materials that respond linearly to changes in electric field, electric displacement, mechanical stress and strain and thermal effects. This combination of electric fields and thermo-mechanical response in smart composite structures is characterized by piezoelectric and thermal expansion coefficients. The problem is represented by unit-cell and the models are developed using the AHM and the FEA to determine the effective piezoelectric and thermal expansion coefficients. Each unit cell contains a number of orthotropic inclusions in the form of structural reinforcements and actuators. Using matrix representation of the coupled response of the unit cell, the effective piezoelectric and thermal expansion coefficients are calculated and compared with results of the asymptotic homogenization method. A very good agreement is shown between these two approaches.

Keywords: asymptotic homogenization method, finite element analysis, effective piezothermoelastic coefficients, 3D smart network composite structures

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Authors: Chia-li Wang

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The surge of service and commerce platforms, such as e-commerce and internet-of-things, have rapidly changed our lives. How to avoid the congestion and get the job done in the platform is now a common problem that many people encounter every day. This requires platform users to make decisions about when to enter the platform. To that end, we investigate the strategic entering time of a simple platform containing random numbers of buyers and sellers of some item. Upon a trade, the buyer and the seller gain respective profits, yet they pay the cost of waiting in the platform. To maximize their expected payoffs from trading, both buyers and sellers can choose their entering times. This creates an interesting and practical framework of a game that is played among buyers, among sellers, and between them. That is, a strategy employed by a player is not only against players of its type but also a response to those of the other type, and, thus, a strategy profile is composed of strategies of buyers and sellers. The players' best response, the Nash equilibrium (NE) strategy profile, is derived by a pair of differential equations, which, in turn, are used to establish its existence and uniqueness. More importantly, its structure sheds valuable insights of how the entering strategy of one side (buyers or sellers) is affected by the entering behavior of the other side. These results provide a base for the study of dynamic pricing for stochastic demand-supply imbalances. Finally, comparisons between the social welfares (the sum of the payoffs incurred by individual participants) obtained by the optimal strategy and by the NE strategy are conducted for showing the efficiency loss relative to the socially optimal solution. That should help to manage the platform better.

Keywords: double-sided queue, non-cooperative game, nash equilibrium, price of anarchy

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Authors: Ramon Omar Rosales-Espinoza

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Pile-to-pile mechanical connections are used if the depth of the soil layers with sufficient bearing strength exceeds the original (“leading”) pile length, with the additional pile segment being termed “extension” pile. Mechanical connectors permit a safe transmission of forces from leading to extension pile while meeting strength and serviceability requirements. Common types of connectors consist of an assembly of sleeve-type external couplers, bolts, pins, and other mechanical interlock devices that ensure the transmission of compressive, tensile, torsional and bending stresses between leading and extension pile segments. While welded connections allow for a relatively simple structural design, mechanical connections are advantageous over welded connections because they lead to shorter installation times and significant cost reductions since specialized workmanship and inspection activities are not required. However, common practices followed to design mechanical connectors neglect important aspects of the assembly response, such as stress concentration around pin/bolt holes, torsional stresses from the installation process, and interaction between the forces at the installation (torsion), service (compression/tension-bending), and removal stages (torsion). This translates into potentially unsatisfactory designs in terms of the ultimate and service limit states, exhibiting either reduced strength or excessive deformations. In this study, the experimental response under compressive forces of a type of mechanical connector is presented, in terms of strength, deformation and failure modes. The tests revealed that the type of connector used can safely transmit forces from pile to pile. Using the results from the compressive tests, an analysis model was developed using the finite element (FE) method to study the interaction of forces under installation and service stages of a typical mechanical connector. The response of the analysis model is used to identify potential areas for design optimization, including size, gap between leading and extension piles, number of pin/bolts, hole sizes, and material properties. The results show the design of mechanical connectors should take into account the interaction of forces present at every stage of their life cycle, and that the torsional stresses occurring during installation are critical for the safety of the assembly.

Keywords: piles, FEA, steel, mechanical connector

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Authors: Hashem Shariatmadar, Mozhgansadat Momtazdargahi

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The purpose of control structure against earthquake is to dissipate earthquake input energy to the structure and reduce the plastic deformation of structural members. There are different methods for control structure against earthquake to reduce the structure response that they are active, semi-active, inactive and hybrid. In this paper two different combined control systems are used first system comprises base isolator and multi tuned mass dampers (BI & MTMD) and another combination is hybrid base isolator and multi tuned mass dampers (HBI & MTMD) for controlling an eight story isolated benchmark steel structure. Active control force of hybrid isolator is estimated by fuzzy logic algorithms. The influences of the combined systems on the responses of the benchmark structure under the two near-field earthquake (Newhall & Elcentro) are evaluated by nonlinear dynamic time history analysis. Applications of combined control systems consisting of passive or active systems installed in parallel to base-isolation bearings have the capability of reducing response quantities of base-isolated (relative and absolute displacement) structures significantly. Therefore in design and control of irregular isolated structures using the proposed control systems, structural demands (relative and absolute displacement and etc.) in each direction must be considered separately.

Keywords: base-isolated benchmark structure, multi-tuned mass dampers, hybrid isolators, near-field earthquake, fuzzy algorithm

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Authors: Upasana Bhumbla

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Background: Hepatitis C virus is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, which can further lead to cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma. Worldwide the burden of Hepatitis C infection has become a serious threat to the human race. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has population-specific genotypes and provides valuable epidemiological and therapeutic information. Genotyping and assessment of viral load in HCV patients are important for planning the therapeutic strategies. The aim of the study is to study the changing trends of prevalence and genotypic distribution of hepatitis C virus in a tertiary care hospital in Western India. Methods: It is a retrospective study; blood samples were collected and tested for anti HCV antibodies by ELISA in Dept. of Microbiology. In seropositive Hepatitis C patients, quantification of HCV-RNA was done by real-time PCR and in HCV-RNA positive samples, genotyping was conducted. Results: A total of 114 patients who were seropositive for Anti HCV were recruited in the study, out of which 79 (69.29%) were HCV-RNA positive. Out of these positive samples, 54 were further subjected to genotype determination using real-time PCR. Genotype was not detected in 24 samples due to low viral load; 30 samples were positive for genotype. Conclusion: Knowledge of genotype is crucial for the management of HCV infection and prediction of prognosis. Patients infected with HCV genotype 1 and 4 will have to receive Interferon and Ribavirin for 48 weeks. Patients with these genotypes show a poor sustained viral response when tested 24 weeks after completion of therapy. On the contrary, patients infected with HCV genotype 2 and 3 are reported to have a better response to therapy.

Keywords: hepatocellular, genotype, ribavarin, seropositive

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Authors: Khamis Al Kalbani

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The effects of a uniform heat source position on the heat transfer flow inside an inclined square enclosure filled with different types of nanofluids having various shapes of the nanoparticles are investigated numerically following one component thermal equilibrium model. The effects of the Brownian diffusion of the nanoparticles, magnetic field intensity and orientation are taken into consideration in nanofluid modeling. The heat source is placed in the middle of a wall of the enclosure while the opposite wall of it is kept at different temperature. The other walls of the enclosure are kept insulated. The results indicate that the heat source position significantly controls the heat transfer rates of the nanofluids. The distributions of the average heat transfer rates varying the position of the heat source with respect to the geometry inclination angle are calculated for the first time. The outcomes of the present research may be helpful for designing solar thermal collectors, radiators, building insulators and advanced cooling of a nuclear system.

Keywords: heat source, inclined, square enclosure, nanofluids

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Authors: Angela Maria Fenu

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The aim of this study was to better characterize the nature of word association responses in people with aphasia. The participants selected for the experimental group were 4 individuals with mild Broca’s aphasia. The control group consisted of 51 cognitively intact age- and gender-matched individuals. The participants were asked to perform a word association task in which they had to say the first word they thought of when hearing each cue. The cue words (n= 16) were the translation in Italian of the set of English cue words of a published study. The participants from the experimental group were administered the word association test every two weeks for a period of two months when they received speech-language therapy A combination of analytical approaches to measure the data was used. To analyse different patterns of word association responses in both groups, the nature of the relationship between the cue and the response was examined: responses were divided into five categories of association. To investigate the similarity between aphasic and non-aphasic subjects, the stereotypy of responses was examined.While certain stimulus words (nouns, adjectives) elicited responses from Broca’s aphasics that tended to resemble those made by non-aphasic subjects; others (adverbs, verbs) showed the tendency to elicit responses different from the ones given by normal subjects. This suggests that some mechanisms underlying certain types of associations are degraded in aphasics individuals, while others display little evidence of disruption. The high number of paradigmatic associations given in response to a noun or an adjective might imply that the mechanisms, largely semantic, underlying paradigmatic associations are relatively preserved in Broca’s aphasia, but it might also mean that some words are more easily processed depending on their grammatical class (nouns, adjectives). The most significant variation was noticed when the grammatical class of the cue word was an adverb. Unlike the normal individuals, the experimental subjects gave the most idiosyncratic associations, which are often produced when the attempt to give a paradigmatic response fails. In turn, the failure to retrieve paradigmatic responses when the cue is an adverb might suggest that Broca’s aphasics are more sensitive to this grammatical class.The findings from this study suggest that, from research on word associations in people with aphasia, important data can arise concerning the specific lexical retrieval impairments that characterize the different types of aphasia and the various treatments that might positively influence the kinds of word association responses affected by language disruption.

Keywords: aphasia therapy, clinical linguistics, word-association behaviour, mental lexicon

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Authors: X. S. Wu, H. Jia, P. H. Qian, Z. Zhang, H. L. Cai, F. M. Zhang

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A bipolar resistance switching behaviour is detected for a Ti/TiO2-x/Au memristor device, which is fabricated by a masked designed magnetic sputtering. The current dependence of voltage indicates the curve changes slowly and continuously. When voltage pulses are applied to the device, the set and reset processes maintains linearity, which is used to simulate the synapses. We argue that the conduction mechanism of the device is from the oxygen vacancy channel model, and the resistance of the device change slowly due to the reaction between the titanium electrode and the intermediate layer and the existence of a large number of oxygen vacancies in the intermediate layer. Then, Hopfield neural network is constructed to simulate the behaviour of neural network in image processing, and the accuracy rate is more than 98%. This shows that titanium dioxide memristor has a broad application prospect in high performance neural network simulation.

Keywords: memristor fabrication, neuromorphic computing, bionic synaptic application, TiO₂-based

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Authors: Carla M. Machado, André A. Silva, Armando Bastos, Telmo G. Santos, J. Pamies Teixeira

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Advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) are increasingly being used in automotive components. The use of AHSS sheets plays an important role in reducing weight, as well as increasing the resistance to impact in vehicle components. However, the large-scale use of these sheets becomes more difficult due to the limitations during the forming process. Such limitations are due to the elastically driven change of shape of a metal sheet during unloading and following forming, known as the springback effect. As the magnitude of the springback tends to increase with the strength of the material, it is among the most worrisome problems in the use of AHSS steels. The prediction of strain hardening, especially under non-proportional loading conditions, is very limited due to the lack of constitutive models and mainly due to very limited experimental tests. It is very clear from the literature that in experimental terms there is not much work to evaluate deformation behavior under real conditions, which implies a very limited and scarce development of mathematical models for these conditions. The Bauschinger effect is also fundamental to the difference between kinematic and isotropic hardening models used to predict springback in sheet metal forming. It is of major importance to deepen the phenomenological knowledge of the mechanical and microstructural behavior of the materials, in order to be able to reproduce with high fidelity the behavior of extension of the materials by means of computational simulation. For this, a multi phenomenological analysis and characterization are necessary to understand the various aspects involved in plastic deformation, namely the stress-strain relations and also the variations of electrical conductivity and magnetic permeability associated with the metallurgical changes due to plastic deformation. Aiming a complete mechanical-microstructural characterization, uniaxial tensile tests involving successive cycles of loading and unloading were performed, as well as biaxial tests such as the Erichsen test. Also, nondestructive evaluation comprising eddy currents to verify microstructural changes due to plastic deformation and ultrasonic tests to evaluate the local variations of thickness were made. The material parameters for the stable yield function and the monotonic strain hardening were obtained using uniaxial tension tests in different material directions and balanced biaxial tests. Both the decrease of the modulus of elasticity and Bauschinger effect were determined through the load-unload tensile tests. By means of the eddy currents tests, it was possible to verify changes in the magnetic permeability of the material according to the different plastically deformed areas. The ultrasonic tests were an important aid to quantify the local plastic extension. With these data, it is possible to parameterize the different models of kinematic hardening to better approximate the results obtained by simulation with the experimental results, which are fundamental for the springback prediction of the stamped parts.

Keywords: advanced high strength steel, Bauschinger effect, sheet metal forming, springback

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Authors: Zainab Shaikh, Yusuf Miyanji

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Pilomatrixoma is a benign neoplasm of the hair follicle matrix that is not commonly diagnosed in general practice. This is a case report of a 9-year-old boy who presented with a one-year history of a 19mm x 11 mm swelling in the left infra-orbital region. This was previously undiagnosed in Spain, where the patient resided at the time of initial presentation, due to the language barrier the patient’s family encountered. An ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging gave useful information regarding surrounding structures for complete tumor excision and indicated that the risk of facial nerve palsy is low. The lesion was surgically excised and a definitive diagnosis was made after histopathology. Pilomatrixoma, although not rare in its occurrence, is rarely this large at the time of excision due to early presentation. This case highlights the importance of including pilomatrixoma in the differential diagnosis of dermal and subcutaneous lesions in the head and neck region, as it is often misdiagnosed due to the lack of awareness of its clinical presentation.

Keywords: pilomatrixoma, swelling, infra-orbital, facial swelling

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Authors: Sonia Lachowska, Agnieszka Antonczyk, Joanna Tunikowska, Pawel Kucharski, Bartlomiej Liszka

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Isoflurane is one of the most commonly used anaesthetic gases in veterinary medicine. Due to its numerous side effects, intravenous anaesthesia is more often used. The combination of tiletamine with zolazepam has proved to be a safe and pharmacologically beneficial combination. Analgesic effect, fast induction time, effective myorelaxation, and smooth recovery are the main advantages of this combination of drugs. In the following study, the authors verified the necessity of isoflurane to maintain anaesthesia in dogs after the use of tiletamine-zolazepam for induction. 12 dogs were selected to the group with the inclusion criteria: ASA (American Society of Anaesthesiology) I or II. Each dog received premedication intramuscularly with medetomidine-butorfanol (10 μg/kg, 0,1 mg/kg respectively). 15 minutes from premedication, preoxygenation lasting 5 minutes was started. Anaesthesia was induced with tiletamine-zolazepam at the dose of 5 mg/kg. Then the dogs were intubated and anaesthesia was maintained with isoflurane. Initially, MAC (Minimum Alveolar Concentration) was set to 0.7 vol.%. After 15 minutes equilibration, MAC was determined using Dixon’s up-and-down method. Painful stimulation including compressions of paw pad, phalange, groin area, and clamping Backhaus on skin. Hemodynamic and ventilation parameters were measured and noted in 2 minutes intervals. In this method, the positive or negative response to the noxious stimulus is estimated and then used to determine the concentration of isoflurane for next patient. The response is only assessed once in each patient. The results show that isoflurane is not necessary to maintain anaesthesia after tiletamine-zolazepam induction. This is clinically important because the side effects resulting from using isoflurane are eliminated.

Keywords: anaesthesia, dog, Isoflurane, The Dixon's up-and-down method, Tiletamine, Zolazepam

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Authors: Joanne Joyce-McCoach

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Short courses are an integral part of the higher education sector, providing a pathway into tertiary qualifications. Recently, the Australian government has implemented a range of initiatives to support the development of short courses and micro-credentials designed to upskill the labor market and meet the needs of the healthcare workforce. While short courses have been an ongoing component of Australian nursing continuing professional development, there is an immediate need for more education opportunities as a response to the workforce shortages. However, despite the support for short courses, there are identified challenges for learners undertaking these courses online. As a result of restrictions to face-to-face classes and limited access to health services caused by the pandemic, education providers have had to transition to an online delivery requiring the redesign of skills acquisition. This paper will outline the transition of an immunisation short course to a fully online format, including the redesign of classes, content and assessment. Concurrently the enrolments for the immunisation short course substantially increased in direct response to the demand for nurse immunisers. In addition to providing a description of the curriculum changes implemented, an analysis of learners’ feedback on their experience of the new format will be discussed. Furthermore, it will explore the principles identified in the transition process for improving the short course design and learning activities. Finally, it will propose recommendations to integrate into the delivery of online short courses and to meet the learners' needs.

Keywords: nurse, immunisation, short course, micro-credential, continuing professional development, online design

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Authors: Hyung T. Kwak, Jun Gao, Yao An, Alfred Kleinhammes, Yue Wu

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Surface wettability is a crucial factor in oil recovery. In oil industry, the rock wettability involves the interplay between water, oil, and solid surface. Therefore, studying the interplay between adsorptions of water and hydrocarbon molecules on solid surface would be very informative for understanding rock wettability. Here we use the in-situ Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) gas isotherm technique to study competitive adsorptions of water and isopropanol, an intermediate step from hydrocarbons. This in-situ NMR technique obtains information on thermodynamic properties such as the isotherm, molecular dynamics via spin relaxation measurements, and adsorption kinetics such as how fast the system can reach thermal equilibrium after changes of vapor pressures. Using surfaces of silica glass beads, which can be modified from hydrophilic to hydrophobic, we obtained information on the influence of surface hydrophilicity on the state of surface water via obtained thermodynamic and dynamic properties.

Keywords: Wettability, NMR, Gas Isotherm, Hydrophilicity, adsorption

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Authors: Animesh Pan, Geoffrey D. Bothun

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With the development of nanotechnology, research in multifunctional delivery systems has a new pace and dimension. An incipient challenge is to design an all-in-one delivery system that can be used for multiple purposes, including tumor targeting therapy, radio-frequency (RF-), near-infrared (NIR-), light-, or pH-induced controlled release, photothermal therapy (PTT), photodynamic therapy (PDT), and medical diagnosis. In this regard, various inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) are known to show great potential as the 'functional components' because of their fascinating and tunable physicochemical properties and the possibility of multiple theranostic modalities from individual NPs. Magnetic, luminescent, and plasmonic properties are the three most extensively studied and, more importantly biomedically exploitable properties of inorganic NPs. Although successful attempts of combining any two of them above mentioned functionalities have been made, integrating them in one system has remained challenge. Keeping those in mind, controlled designs of complex colloidal nanoparticle system are one of the most significant challenges in nanoscience and nanotechnology. Therefore, systematic and planned studies providing better revelation are demanded. We report a multifunctional delivery platform-based liposome loaded with drug, iron-oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), and a gold shell on the surface of liposomes, were synthesized using a lipid with polyelectrolyte (layersomes) templating technique. MNPs and the anti-cancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) were co-encapsulated inside liposomes composed by zwitterionic phophatidylcholine and anionic phosphatidylglycerol using reverse phase evaporation (REV) method. The liposomes were coated with positively charge polyelectrolyte (poly-L-lysine) to enrich the interface with gold anion, exposed to a reducing agent to form a gold nanoshell, and then capped with thio-terminated polyethylene glycol (SH-PEG2000). The core-shell nanostructures were characterized by different techniques like; UV-Vis/NIR scanning spectrophotometer, dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscope (TEM). This multifunctional system achieves a variety of functions, such as radiofrequency (RF)-triggered release, chemo-hyperthermia, and NIR laser-triggered for photothermal therapy. Herein, we highlight some of the remaining major design challenges in combination with preliminary studies assessing therapeutic objectives. We demonstrate an efficient loading and delivery system to significant cell death of human cancer cells (A549) with therapeutic capabilities. Coupled with RF and NIR excitation to the doxorubicin-loaded core-shell nanostructure helped in securing targeted and controlled drug release to the cancer cells. The present core-shell multifunctional system with their multimodal imaging and therapeutic capabilities would be eminent candidates for cancer theranostics.

Keywords: cancer thernostics, multifunctional nanostructure, photothermal therapy, radiofrequency targeting

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Authors: Suyong Kim

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Recently because of the rise in the price of rare earth magnet, interest of non-rare earth or less-rare earth motor is growing. Especially to achieve the high power density, Spoke-Type BLDC (Brushless Permanent Magnet) Motor with ferrite permanent magnet are spotlighted. But Spoke-Type Ferrite BLDC Motor has much of magnetic flux leakage in the direction of rotor shaft. In order to solve this problem, there are two conventional ways. But conventional ways bring the increases of product cost or the decreases of the power density. Therefore, this paper proposes new Spoke-Type BLDC Rotor shape that has the advantages of both conventional methods. The new shape is consists of a one-piece core. The inside and the outside of the rotor are open alternately. So it can take reduced production cost and high power density.

Keywords: motor, BLDC, spoke, ferrite

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Authors: Srinivasan Chandrasekaran, Thailammai Chithambaram, Shihas A. Khader

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The early-stage damage detection in offshore structures requires continuous structural health monitoring and for the large area the position of sensors will also plays an important role in the efficient damage detection. Determining the dynamic behavior of offshore structures requires dense deployment of sensors. The wired Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems are highly expensive and always needs larger installation space to deploy. Wireless sensor networks can enhance the SHM system by deployment of scalable sensor network, which consumes lesser space. This paper presents the results of wireless sensor network based Structural Health Monitoring method applied to a scaled experimental model of offshore structure that underwent wave loading. This method determines the serviceability of the offshore structure which is subjected to various environment loads. Wired and wireless sensors were installed in the model and the response of the scaled BLSRP model under wave loading was recorded. The wireless system discussed in this study is the Raspberry pi board with Arm V6 processor which is programmed to transmit the data acquired by the sensor to the server using Wi-Fi adapter, the data is then hosted in the webpage. The data acquired from the wireless and wired SHM systems were compared and the design of the wireless system is verified.

Keywords: condition assessment, damage detection, structural health monitoring, structural response, wireless sensor network

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Authors: Samaneh Nabavi, Hadi Shirzad, Arash Ghoorchian, Maryam Shanesaz, Reza Naderi

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Morphine (MO), the most effective painkiller, is considered the reference by which analgesics are assessed. It is very necessary for the biomedical applications to detect and maintain the MO concentrations in the blood and urine with in safe ranges. To date, there are many expensive techniques for detecting MO. Recently, many electrochemical sensors for direct determination of MO were constructed. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is a polymeric material, which has a built-in functionality for the recognition of a particular chemical substance with its complementary cavity.This paper reports a sensor for MO using a combination of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and differential-pulse voltammetry (DPV). Electropolymerization of MO doped polypyrrole yielded poor quality, but a well-doped, nanostructure and increased impregnation has been obtained in the pH=12. Above a pH of 11, MO is in the anionic forms. The effect of various experimental parameters including pH, scan rate and accumulation time on the voltammetric response of MO was investigated. At the optimum conditions, the concentration of MO was determined using DPV in a linear range of 7.07 × 10−6 to 2.1 × 10−4 mol L−1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.999, and a detection limit of 13.3 × 10-8 mol L−1, respectively. The effect of common interferences on the current response of MO namely ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) is studied. The modified electrode can be used for the determination of MO spiked into urine samples, and excellent recovery results were obtained. The nanostructured polypyrrole films were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and furrier transforms infrared (FTIR).

Keywords: morphine detection, sensor, polypyrrole, nanostructure, molecularly imprinted polymer

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Authors: Paras Ram, Vikas Kumar

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The transmission of Malaria with seasonal were studied through the use of mathematical models. The data from the annual number of Malaria cases reported to the Division of Epidemiology, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand during the period 1997-2011 were analyzed. The transmission of Malaria with seasonal was studied by formulating a mathematical model which had been modified to describe different situations encountered in the transmission of Malaria. In our model, the population was separated into two groups: the human and vector groups, and then constructed a system of nonlinear differential equations. Each human group was divided into susceptible, infectious in hot season, infectious in rainy season, infectious in cool season and recovered classes. The vector population was separated into two classes only: susceptible and infectious vectors. The analysis of the models was given by the standard dynamical modeling.

Keywords: ferrofluid, magnetic field, porous medium, rotating disk, Neuringer-Rosensweig Model

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Authors: Victor Romanov, Daria Efimenko

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The focus on innovation in modern economy is the main factor in surviving business in a competitive environment. The innovations are based on the search and use of knowledge in a global context. Nowadays consumers and market demand are the main innovation drivers. This leads to build a business as a system with feedback, promptly restructuring production and innovation implementation in response to market demands. In modern knowledge economy, because of speed of technical progress, the product's lifecycle became much shorter, what makes more stringent requirements for innovation implementation on the enterprises of and therefore the possibility for enterprise for receiving extra income is decreasing. This circumstance imposes additional requirements for the replacement of obsolete products and the prompt release of innovative products to the market. The development of information technologies has led to the fact that only in the conditions of partnership and knowledge sharing with partners it is possible to update products quickly for innovative products. Many companies pay attention to updating innovations through the search for new partners, but the task of finding new partners presents some difficulties. The search for a suitable one includes several stages such as: determining the moment of innovation-critical, introducing a search, identifying search criteria, justifying and deciding on the choice of a partner. No less important is the question of how to manage an innovative product in response to a changing market. The article considers the problems of information support for the search for the source of innovation and partnership to decrease the time for implementation of novelty products.

Keywords: partnership, novelty, market feedback, alliance

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Authors: H. Nouri, I. E. Achouri, A. Grimes, H. Ait Said, M. Aissou, Y. Zebboudj

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This paper aims to analysis the behaviour of DC corona discharge in wire-to-plate electrostatic precipitators (ESP). Current-voltage curves are particularly analysed. Experimental results show that discharge current is strongly affected by the applied voltage. The proposed method of current identification is to use the method of least squares. Least squares problems that of into two categories: linear or ordinary least squares and non-linear least squares, depending on whether or not the residuals are linear in all unknowns. The linear least-squares problem occurs in statistical regression analysis; it has a closed-form solution. A closed-form solution (or closed form expression) is any formula that can be evaluated in a finite number of standard operations. The non-linear problem has no closed-form solution and is usually solved by iterative.

Keywords: electrostatic precipitator, current-voltage characteristics, least squares method, electric field, magnetic field

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Authors: Ben Abderrahmane Ayoub El Fateh, Bnina Rachid

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A comprehensive comparison of antioxidant defenses in the dermis and epidermis and their response to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation has not previously been attempted. In this study, enzymic and non-enzymic antioxidants in epidermis and dermis of hairless mice were compared. Enzyme activities are presented both as units/gram of skin and units/milligram of protein; arguments are presented for the superiority of skin wet weight as a reference base. Catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase (units/gram of skin) were higher in the epidermis than dermis by 49%, 86%, and 74%, respectively. Superoxide dismutase did not follow this pattern. Lipophilic antioxidants ( -tocopherol, ubiquinol 9, and ubiquinone 9) and hydrophilic antioxidants (ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbic acid, and glutathione) were 24–95% higher in the epidermis than in dermis. In contrast, oxidized glutathione was 60% lower in the epidermis than in dermis. Mice were irradiated with solar light to examine the response of these cutaneous layers to UV irradiation. After irradiation with 25 J/cm2 (UVA + UVB, from a solar simulator), 10 times the minimum erythemal dose, epidermal and dermal catalase and superoxide dismutase activities were greatly decreased. Tocopherol, ubiquinol 9, ubiquinone 9, ascorbic acid, dehydroascorbic acid, and reduced glutathione decreased in both epidermis and dermis by 26-93%. Oxidizedgiutathione showed a slight, non-significant increase. Because the reduction in total ascorbate and catalase was much more severe in the epidermis than dermis, it can be concluded that UV light is more damaging to the antioxidant defenses in the epidermis than in the dermis.

Keywords: antioxidant defenses, enzymic, epidermis, oxidizedgiutathione

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Authors: Siti Aslamyah, Yushinta Fujaya, Okto Rimaldi

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One of the problems faced in the crab hatchery operations is the reliance on the use of natural feed. This study aims to analyze the response of larval development and determine the initial stages crab larvae begin to fully able to accept artificial feeding predigest with the help of probiotic Bacillus sp. The experiment was conducted in June 2014 through July 2014 at the location of the scale backyard hatcheries, Bojo village Mallusettasi sub-district, district Barru. This study was conducted in two stages larval rearing. The first stage is designed in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments and each with 3 repetitions, ie, without the use of artificial feeding; predigest feed given from zoea 1 - megalopa; predigest feed given since zoea 2 - megalopa; predigest feed given from zoea 3 - megalopa; and feed predigest given since zoea 4 - megalopa. The second stage of the two treatments, i.e. comparing artificial feeding without and with predigest. The results showed that the artificial feeding predigest able to replace the use of natural feed started zoea 3 generated based on the survival rate. Artificial feeding predigest provide a higher survival rate (16%) compared to artificial diets without predigest only 10.8%. However, feed predigest not give a different effect on the rate of development of stadia. Cell activity in larvae that received artificial feed predigest higher with RNA-DNA ratio of 8.88 compared with no predigest only 5:36. This research is very valuable information for crab hatchery hatchery scale households have limitations in preparing natural food.

Keywords: artificial feeding, development of stadia, larvae Portunus pelagicus, predigest

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Authors: Ozgu Hafizoglu

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Analogy is an essential tool of human cognition that enables connecting diffuse and diverse systems with attributional, deep structural, casual relations that are essential to learning, to innovation in artificial worlds, and to discovery in science. Cognitive Model of Analogy (CMA) leads and creates information pattern transfer within and between domains and disciplines in science. This paper demonstrates the Cognitive Model of Analogy (CMA) as an evolutionary approach to scientific research. The model puts forward the challenges of deep uncertainty about the future, emphasizing the need for flexibility of the system in order to enable reasoning methodology to adapt to changing conditions. In this paper, the model of analogical reasoning is created based on brain cells, their fractal, and operational forms within the system itself. Visualization techniques are used to show correspondences. Distinct phases of the problem-solving processes are divided thusly: encoding, mapping, inference, and response. The system is revealed relevant to brain activation considering each of these phases with an emphasis on achieving a better visualization of the brain cells: glial cells, axons, axon terminals, and neurons, relative to matching conditions of analogical reasoning and relational information. It’s found that encoding, mapping, inference, and response processes in four-term analogical reasoning are corresponding with the fractal and operational forms of brain cells: glial, axons, and neurons.

Keywords: analogy, analogical reasoning, cognitive model, brain and glials

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Authors: Irmak Karaduman, Tugba Corlu, Sezin Galioglu, Burcu Akata, M. Ali Yildirim, Aytunç Ateş, Selim Acar

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Breath analysis represents a promising non-invasive, fast and cost-effective alternative to well-established diagnostic and monitoring techniques such as blood analysis, endoscopy, ultrasonic and tomographic monitoring. Portable, non-invasive, and low-cost breath analysis devices are becoming increasingly desirable for monitoring different diseases, especially asthma. Beacuse of this, NO gas sensing at low concentrations has attracted progressive attention for clinical analysis in asthma. Recently, nanomaterials based sensors are considered to be a promising clinical and laboratory diagnostic tool, because its large surface–to–volume ratio, controllable structure, easily tailored chemical and physical properties, which bring high sensitivity, fast dynamic processand even the increasing specificity. Among various nanomaterials, semiconducting metal oxides are extensively studied gas-sensing materials and are potential sensing elements for breathanalyzer due to their high sensitivity, simple design, low cost and good stability.The sensitivities of metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors can be enhanced by adding noble metals. Doping contents, distribution, and size of metallic or metal oxide catalysts are key parameters for enhancing gas selectivity as well as sensitivity. By manufacturing doping MOS structures, it is possible to develop more efficient sensor sensing layers. Zeolites are perhaps the most widely employed group of silicon-based nanoporous solids. Their well-defined pores of sub nanometric size have earned them the name of molecular sieves, meaning that operation in the size exclusion regime is possible by selecting, among over 170 structures available, the zeolite whose pores allow the pass of the desired molecule, while keeping larger molecules outside.In fact it is selective adsorption, rather than molecular sieving, the mechanism that explains most of the successful gas separations achieved with zeolite membranes. In view of their molecular sieving and selective adsorption properties, it is not surprising that zeolites have found use in a number of works dealing with gas sensing devices. In this study, the Cu doped ZnO nanostructure film was produced by SILAR method and investigated the NO gas sensing properties. To obtain the selectivity of the sample, the gases including CO,NH3,H2 and CH4 were detected to compare with NO. The maximum response is obtained at 85 C for 20 ppb NO gas. The sensor shows high response to NO gas. However, acceptable responses are calculated for CO and NH3 gases. Therefore, there are no responses obtain for H2 and CH4 gases. Enhanced to selectivity, Cu doped ZnO nanostructure film was coated with zeolite A thin film. It is found that the sample possess an acceptable response towards NO hardly respond to CO, NH3, H2 and CH4 at room temperature. This difference in the response can be expressed in terms of differences in the molecular structure, the dipole moment, strength of the electrostatic interaction and the dielectric constant. The as-synthesized thin film is considered to be one of the extremely promising candidate materials in electronic nose applications. This work is supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBİTAK) under Project No, 115M658 and Gazi University Scientific Research Fund under project no 05/2016-21.

Keywords: Cu doped ZnO, electrical characterization, gas sensing, zeolite

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Authors: Ali Kuzu

Abstract:

There are about 800 thousand chemicals in our environment and the number is increasing more than a thousand every year. While most of these chemicals are used as components in various consumer products, some are faced as industrial waste in the environment. Unfortunately, many of these chemicals are hazardous and affect humans. According to the “International Program on Chemical Safety” of World Health Organization; Among the chronic health effects of chemicals, cancer is of major concern. Many substances have found in recent years to be carcinogenic in one or more species of laboratory animals. Especially with respect to long-term effects, the response to a chemical may vary, quantitatively or qualitatively, in different groups of individuals depending on predisposing conditions, such as nutritional status, disease status, current infection, climatic extremes, and genetic features, sex and age of the individuals. Understanding the response of such specific risk groups is an important area of toxicology research. People with age 65+ is defined as “aged (or elderly)”. The elderly population in the world is about 600 million, which corresponds to ~8 percent of the world population. While every 1 of each 4 people is aged in Japan, the elderly population is quite close to 20 percent in many developed countries. And elderly population in these countries is growing more rapidly than the total population. The negative effects of chemicals on elderly take an important place in health-care related issues in last decades. The aged population is more susceptible to the harmful effects of environmental chemicals. According to the poor health of the organ systems in elderly, the ability of their body to eliminate the harmful effects and chemical substances from their body is also poor. With the increasing life expectancy, more and more people will face problems associated with chemical residues.

Keywords: elderly, chemicals’ effects, aged care, care need

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Authors: Satya Deo, Deepak Kumar Maurya

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The present study investigates the ow of a Newtonian fluid sandwiched between two rectangular porous channels filled with micropolar fluid in the presence of a uniform magnetic field applied in a direction perpendicular to that of the fluid motion. The governing equations of micropolar fluid are modified by Nowacki's approach. For respective porous channels, expressions for velocity vectors, microrotations, stresses (shear and couple) are obtained analytically. Continuity of velocities, continuities of micro rotations and continuity of stresses are used at the porous interfaces; conditions of no-slip and no spin are applied at the impervious boundaries of the composite channel. Numerical values of flow rate, wall shear stresses and couple stresses at the porous interfaces are calculated for different values of various parameters. Graphs of the ow rate and fluid velocity are plotted and their behaviors are discussed.

Keywords: couple stress, flow rate, Hartmann number, micropolar fluids

Procedia PDF Downloads 245