Search results for: L2 speech production reading span test picture description

Authors: Akshay Paranjape, Nils Plettenberg, Robert Schmitt

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Producing faulty products can be costly for manufacturing companies and wastes resources. To reduce scrap rates in manufacturing, process parameters can be optimized using machine learning. Thus far, research mainly focused on optimizing specific processes using traditional algorithms. To develop a framework that enables real-time optimization based on a predictive model for an arbitrary production process, this study explores the application of reinforcement learning (RL) in this field. Based on a thorough review of literature about RL and process parameter optimization, a model based on maximum a posteriori policy optimization that can handle both numerical and categorical parameters is proposed. A case study compares the model to state–of–the–art traditional algorithms and shows that RL can find optima of similar quality while requiring significantly less time. These results are confirmed in a large-scale validation study on data sets from both production and other fields. Finally, multiple ways to improve the model are discussed.

Keywords: reinforcement learning, production process optimization, evolutionary algorithms, policy optimization, actor critic approach

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Authors: Ana C. Ramos Valdivia, Ileana Vera-Reyes, Ariana A. Huerta-Heredia

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The conditions of biotic and abiotic stress in plants can lead to the generation of high amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which leads through a signaling cascade and second messengers to different antioxidant defense responses including the production of secondary metabolites. A limited number of species of plants like Uncaria tomentosa (cat claw) typical of the Amazon region produce monoterpenoid oxindole alkaloids (MOA) such as isopteropodine, mitraphylline, rhynchophylline and its isomers. Moreover, in cultivated roots, the glucoindole alkaloid 3α-dihydrocadambine (DHC) is also accumulated. Several studies have demonstrated that MAO has antioxidant properties and possess important pharmacological activities such as antitumor and immunostimulant while DHC, has hypotensive and hypolipidemic effects. In order the study the regulatory concerns operating in MAO production, the links between oxidative stress and antioxidant alkaloid production in U. tomentosa root cultures were examined. Different amount of hydrogen peroxide between 0.2 -1.0 mM was added to 12 days old roots cultures showing that, this substance had a differential effect on the production of DHC and MOA whereas the viability remained in 80% after six days. Addition of 0.2 mM hydrogen peroxide increased approximately 65% MAO and DHC production (0,540 ± 0.018 and 0.618 ± 0.029 mg per g dry weight, respectively) relative to the control. On contrast, after the addition of 0.6 mM and 1 mM hydrogen peroxide, DHC accumulation into the roots gradually decreased to 53% and 93% respectively, without changes in MAO concentration, which was in relation to a twice increase of the intracellular hydrogen peroxide content. On the other hand, concentrations of DHC (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mM in methanol) demonstrated free-radical scavenging activity against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical. The calculated IC50 for all tested concentrations was 0.180 mg per ml (0.33 mM) while the calculated TE50 was 276 minutes. Our results suggest that U. tomentosa root cultures both MAO and DHC have antioxidant capacities and respond to oxidative stress with a stimulation of their production; however, in presence of a higher concentration of ROS into the roots, DHC could be oxidized.

Keywords: monoterpenoid indole alkaloid, oxidative stress, root cultures, uncaria tomentosa

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Authors: Ronaldo de Lima Cardoso, Thiago V. C. Marcos, Felipe J. da Costa, Antonio C. da Oliveira, Paulo G. P. Toro

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The 14-X is a strategic project of the Brazil Air Force Command to develop a technological demonstrator of a hypersonic air-breathing propulsion system based on supersonic combustion programmed to flight in the Earth's atmosphere at 30 km of altitude and Mach number 10. The 14-X is under development at the Laboratory of Aerothermodynamics and Hypersonic Prof. Henry T. Nagamatsu of the Institute of Advanced Studies. The program began in 2007 and was planned to have three stages: development of the wave rider configuration, development of the scramjet configuration and finally the ground tests in the hypersonic shock tunnel T3. The install configuration of the model based in the scramjet of the 14-X in the test section of the hypersonic shock tunnel was made to proportionate and test the flight conditions in the inlet of the combustion chamber. Experimental studies with hypersonic shock tunnel require special techniques to data acquisition. To measure the pressure along the experimental model geometry tested we used 30 pressure transducers model 122A22 of PCB®. The piezoeletronic crystals of a piezoelectric transducer pressure when to suffer pressure variation produces electric current (PCB® PIEZOTRONIC, 2016). The reading of the signal of the pressure transducers was made by oscilloscope. After the studies had begun we observed that the pressure inside in the combustion chamber was lower than expected. One solution to improve the pressure inside the combustion chamber was install an obstacle to providing high temperature and pressure. To confirm if the combustion occurs was selected the spectroscopy emission technique. The region analyzed for the spectroscopy emission system is the edge of the obstacle installed inside the combustion chamber. The emission spectroscopy technique was used to observe the emission of the OH*, confirming or not the combustion of the mixture between atmospheric air in supersonic speed and the hydrogen fuel inside of the combustion chamber of the model. This paper shows the results of experimental studies of the supersonic combustion induced by shock wave performed at the Hypersonic Shock Tunnel T3 using the scramjet 14-X model. Also, this paper provides important data about the combustion studies using the model based on the engine of 14-X (second stage of the 14-X Program). Informing the possibility of necessaries corrections to be made in the next stages of the program or in other models to experimental study.

Keywords: 14-X, experimental study, ground tests, scramjet, supersonic combustion

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Authors: Zainab Bibi, Afsheen Aman, Shah Ali Ul Qader

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Endo-β-1,4-xylanases [EC 3.2.1.8] are one of the major groups of enzymes that are involved in degradation process of xylan and have several applications in food, textile and paper processing industries. Due to broad utility of endo-β-1,4-xylanase, researchers are focusing to increase the productivity of this hydrolase from various microbial species. Harsh industrial condition, faster reaction rate and efficient hydrolysis of xylan with low risk of contamination are critical requirements of industry that can be fulfilled by synthesizing the enzyme with efficient properties. In the current study, a newly isolated thermophile Geobacillus stearothermophilus KIBGE-IB29 was used in order to attain the maximum production of endo-1,4-β-xylanase. Bacterial culture was isolated from soil, collected around the blast furnace site of a steel processing mill, Karachi. Optimization of various nutritional and physical factors resulted the maximum synthesis of endo-1,4-β-xylanase from a thermophile. High production yield was achieved at 60°C and pH-6.0 after 24 hours of incubation period. Various nitrogen sources viz. peptone, yeast extract and meat extract improved the enzyme synthesis with 0.5%, 0.2% and 0.1% optimum concentrations. Dipotassium hydrogen phosphate (0.25%), potassium dihydrogen phosphate (0.05%), ammonium sulfate (0.05%) and calcium chloride (0.01%) were noticed as valuable salts to improve the production of enzyme. The thermophilic nature of isolate, with its broad pH stability profile and reduced fermentation time indicates its importance for effective xylan saccharification and for large scale production of endo-1,4-β-xylanase.

Keywords: geobacillus, optimization, production, xylanase

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Authors: Mahmoud Nabilu

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The present study explored the effect of using Mobile listening applications on developing listening skills by Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Fifty male intermediate English learners whose age range was between 15 and 20, participated in the study. The participants were placed in two groups on the basis of their scores on a placement test. Therefore, the participants of the study were homogenized in terms of general proficiency, and groups were assigned as one experimental group and one control group. The experimental group was instructed by the treatment which was using mobile applications to develop their listening skills while the control group received traditional methods. The research data were obtained from the 40-item multiple-choice tests as a pre-test and a post-test. The results of the t-test clearly revealed that the learners in the experimental group performed better in the post-test than the pre-test. This implies that using a mobile application for developing listening skills as a treatment was effective in helping the language learners perform better on post-test. However, a statistically significant difference was found between the post-tests scores of the two groups. The mean of the experimental group was greater compared to the control group. The participants were Iranian and from an Iranian Language Institute, so care should be taken while generalizing the results to the learners of other nationalities. However, in the researcher's view, the findings of this study have valuable implications for teachers and learners, methodologists and syllabus designers, linguists and MALL/CALL (mobile/computer-assisted language learning) experts. Using the result of the present paper is an aim of raising the consciousness of a better technique of developing listening skills in order to make language learning more efficient for the learners.

Keywords: Mobile listening applications, intermediate EFL learners, MALL, CALL

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Authors: Omer Burak Iskender, Keck Voon Ling, Vincent Dubanchet, Luca Simonini

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This paper presents Guidance and Control (G&C) strategy to approach and synchronize with potentially rotating targets. The proposed strategy generates and tracks a safe trajectory for space servicing missions, including tasks like approaching, inspecting, and capturing. The main objective of this paper is to validate the G&C laws using a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) setup with realistic rendezvous and docking equipment. Throughout this work, the assumption of full relative state feedback is relaxed by onboard sensors that bring realistic errors and delays and, while the proposed closed loop approach demonstrates the robustness to the above mentioned challenge. Moreover, G&C blocks are unified via the Model Predictive Control (MPC) paradigm, and the coupling between translational motion and rotational motion is addressed via dual quaternion based kinematic description. In this work, G&C is formulated as a convex optimization problem where constraints such as thruster limits and the output constraints are explicitly handled. Furthermore, the Monte-Carlo method is used to evaluate the robustness of the proposed method to the initial condition errors, the uncertainty of the target's motion and attitude, and actuator errors. A capture scenario is tested with the robotic test bench that has onboard sensors which estimate the position and orientation of a drifting satellite through camera imagery. Finally, the approach is compared with currently used robust H-infinity controllers and guidance profile provided by the industrial partner. The HIL experiments demonstrate that the proposed strategy is a potential candidate for future space servicing missions because 1) the algorithm is real-time implementable as convex programming offers deterministic convergence properties and guarantee finite time solution, 2) critical physical and output constraints are respected, 3) robustness to sensor errors and uncertainties in the system is proven, 4) couples translational motion with rotational motion.

Keywords: dual quaternion, model predictive control, real-time experimental test, rendezvous and docking, spacecraft autonomy, space servicing

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Authors: D. M. Eric, D. Milosevic, F. D. Eric

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Concurrent engineering technologies are a modern concept in manufacturing engineering. One of the key goals in designing modern technological processes is further reduction of production costs, both in the prototype and the preparatory part, as well as during the serial production. Thanks to many segments of concurrent engineering, these goals can be accomplished much more easily. In this paper, we give an overview of the advantages of using modern software simulations in relation to the classical aspects of designing technological processes of metal deformation. Significant savings are achieved thanks to the electronic simulation and software detection of all possible irregularities in the functional-working regime of the technological process. In order for the expected results to be optimal, it is necessary that the input parameters are very objective and that they reliably represent the values ​of these parameters in real conditions. Since it is a metal deformation treatment here, the particularly important parameters are the coefficient of internal friction between the working material and the tools, as well as the parameters related to the flow curve of the processing material. The paper will give a presentation for the experimental determination of some of these parameters.

Keywords: production technologies, metal processing, software simulations, effects of application

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Authors: Nirmal Sugathan, Santosh Maruthy

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Background: A considerable number of studies have evidenced that phonological encoding (PE) and working memory (WM) skills operate differently in adults who stutter (AWS). In order to tap these skills, several paradigms have been employed such as phonological priming, phoneme monitoring, and nonword repetition tasks. This study, however, utilizes a word jumble paradigm to assess both PE and WM using different modalities and this may give a better understanding of phonological processing deficits in AWS. Aim: The present study investigated PE and WM abilities in conjunction with lexical access in AWS using jumbled words. The study also aimed at investigating the effect of increase in cognitive load on phonological processing in AWS by comparing the speech reaction time (SRT) and accuracy scores across various syllable lengths. Method: Participants were 11 AWS (Age range=19-26) and 11 adults who do not stutter (AWNS) (Age range=19-26) matched for age, gender and handedness. Stimuli: Ninety 3-, 4-, and 5-syllable jumbled words (JWs) (n=30 per syllable length category) constructed from Kannada words served as stimuli for jumbled word paradigm. In order to generate jumbled words (JWs), the syllables in the real words were randomly transpositioned. Procedures: To assess PE, the JWs were presently visually using DMDX software and for WM task, JWs were presented through auditory mode through headphones. The participants were asked to silently manipulate the jumbled words to form a Kannada real word and verbally respond once. The responses for both tasks were audio recorded using record function in DMDX software and the recorded responses were analyzed using PRAAT software to calculate the SRT. Results: SRT: Mann-Whitney test results demonstrated that AWS performed significantly slower on both tasks (p < 0.001) as indicated by increased SRT. Also, AWS presented with increased SRT on both the tasks in all syllable length conditions (p < 0.001). Effect of syllable length: Wilcoxon signed rank test was carried out revealed that, on task assessing PE, the SRT of 4syllable JWs were significantly higher in both AWS (Z= -2.93, p=.003) and AWNS (Z= -2.41, p=.003) when compared to 3-syllable words. However, the findings for 4- and 5-syllable words were not significant. Task Accuracy: The accuracy scores were calculated for three syllable length conditions for both PE and PM tasks and were compared across the groups using Mann-Whitney test. The results indicated that the accuracy scores of AWS were significantly below that of AWNS in all the three syllable conditions for both the tasks (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The above findings suggest that PE and WM skills are compromised in AWS as indicated by increased SRT. Also, AWS were progressively less accurate in descrambling JWs of increasing syllable length and this may be interpreted as, rather than existing as a uniform deficiency, PE and WM deficits emerge when the cognitive load is increased. AWNS exhibited increased SRT and increased accuracy for JWs of longer syllable length whereas AWS was not benefited from increasing the reaction time, thus AWS had to compromise for both SRT and accuracy while solving JWs of longer syllable length.

Keywords: adults who stutter, phonological ability, working memory, encoding, jumbled words

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Authors: Barenten Suciu, Yuya Nakamoto

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Power generation effect, obtained by inserting a piezo- electric sheet in the backlash clearance of a circular arc helical gear, is evaluated. Such type of screw gear is preferred since, in comparison with the involute tooth profile, the circular arc profile leads to reduced stress-concentration effects, and improved life of the piezoelectric film. Firstly, geometry of the circular arc helical gear, and properties of the piezoelectric sheet are presented. Then, description of the test-rig, consisted of a right-hand thread gear meshing with a left-hand thread gear, and the voltage measurement procedure are given. After creating the tridimensional (3D) model of the meshing gears in SolidWorks, they are 3D-printed in acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) resin. Variation of the generated voltage versus time, during a meshing cycle of the circular arc helical gear, is measured for various values of the center distance. Then, the change of the maximal, minimal, and peak-to-peak voltage versus the center distance is illustrated. Optimal center distance of the gear, to achieve voltage maximization, is found and its significance is discussed. Such results prove that the contact pressure of the meshing gears can be measured, and also, the electrical power can be generated by employing the proposed technique.

Keywords: circular arc helical gear, contact problem, optimal center distance, piezoelectric sheet, power generation

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Authors: Ariel B. Domagsang

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This study dealt with the physical fitness activities for elementary school pupils of Matacon Elementary School, Polangui South District, Albay Division are presented in this chapter. Specifically, it looked into the pre-post test performance based on the Physical Fitness Test which were subjected to statistical significant test of difference including health- and skill-related improvement. Finally, it came up with physical fitness activities to improve the physical fitness performance of the pupils. The descriptive method through survey using questionnaire-checklist, unstructured interview and document(ary) analysis were utilized in this research. There were 171 grades five and six pupil participants in this undertaking.

Keywords: Matakon, fitness acitivities, elementary schools, physical fitness of pupils

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Authors: Jose Cristiano Pereira, Gilson Brito Alves Lima

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Ergonomics is a key factor affecting the operational safety and quality in the aircraft engine manufacturing industry and evidence shows that the lack of attention to it can increase the risk of accidents. In order to emphasize the importance of ergonomics, this paper systematically reviews the critical processes used in the aircraft engine production industry with focus on the ergonomic factors. about the subject to identify key ergonomic factors. Experts validated the factors and used AHP to rank the factors in order of significance. From the six key risk factors identified, the ones with the highest weight are psychological demand followed by understanding of operational side. These factors suggest that measures must be taken to improve ergonomic factors, quality and safety in the manufacturing of aircraft engines.

Keywords: ergonomics, safety, aviation, aircraft engine production

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Authors: Aritra Majumdar

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While organizations strive to expand their new customer base, retaining existing relationships is a key aspect of improving overall profitability and also showcasing how successful an organization is in holding on to its customers. It is an experimentally proven fact that the lion’s share of profit always comes from existing customers. Hence seamless management of renewal journeys across different channels goes a long way in improving trust in the brand. From a quality assurance standpoint, time travel testing provides an approach to both business and technology teams to enhance the customer experience when they look to extend their partnership with the organization for a defined phase of time. This whitepaper will focus on key pillars of time travel testing: time travel planning, time travel data preparation, and enterprise automation. Along with that, it will call out some of the best practices and common accelerator implementation ideas which are generic across verticals like healthcare, insurance, etc. In this abstract document, a high-level snapshot of these pillars will be provided. Time Travel Planning: The first step of setting up a time travel testing roadmap is appropriate planning. Planning will include identifying the impacted systems that need to be time traveled backward or forward depending on the business requirement, aligning time travel with other releases, frequency of time travel testing, preparedness for handling renewal issues in production after time travel testing is done and most importantly planning for test automation testing during time travel testing. Time Travel Data Preparation: One of the most complex areas in time travel testing is test data coverage. Aligning test data to cover required customer segments and narrowing it down to multiple offer sequencing based on defined parameters are keys for successful time travel testing. Another aspect is the availability of sufficient data for similar combinations to support activities like defect retesting, regression testing, post-production testing (if required), etc. This section will talk about the necessary steps for suitable data coverage and sufficient data availability from a time travel testing perspective. Enterprise Automation: Time travel testing is never restricted to a single application. The workflow needs to be validated in the downstream applications to ensure consistency across the board. Along with that, the correctness of offers across different digital channels needs to be checked in order to ensure a smooth customer experience. This section will talk about the focus areas of enterprise automation and how automation testing can be leveraged to improve the overall quality without compromising on the project schedule. Along with the above-mentioned items, the white paper will elaborate on the best practices that need to be followed during time travel testing and some ideas pertaining to accelerator implementation. To sum it up, this paper will be written based on the real-time experience author had on time travel testing. While actual customer names and program-related details will not be disclosed, the paper will highlight the key learnings which will help other teams to implement time travel testing successfully.

Keywords: time travel planning, time travel data preparation, enterprise automation, best practices, accelerator implementation ideas

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Authors: Fiyinfoluwa Giwa, Nicholas Ngepah

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This paper investigates the relationship between the Fourth Industrial Revolution and food security in South Africa. The Ordinary Least Square was adopted from 2012 Q1 to 2021 Q4. The study used artificial intelligence investment and the food production index as the measure for the fourth industrial revolution and food security, respectively. Findings reveal a significant and positive coefficient of 0.2887, signifying a robust statistical relationship between AI adoption and the food production index. As a policy recommendation, this paper recommends the introduction of incentives for farmers and agricultural enterprises to adopt AI technologies -and the expansion of digital connectivity and access to technology in rural areas.

Keywords: Fourth Industrial Revolution, food security, artificial intelligence investment, food production index, ordinary least square

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Authors: Youcef Faci, Djillali Allou, Ahmed Mebtouche, Badredine Maalem

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The inclination of the bolt in a fastened joint of composite material during a tensile test can be influenced by several parameters, including material properties, bolt diameter and length, the type of composite material being used, the size and dimensions of the bolt, bolt preload, surface preparation, the design and configuration of the joint, and finally testing conditions. These parameters should be carefully considered and controlled to ensure accurate and reliable results during tensile testing of composite materials with fastened joints. Our work focuses on the effect of the stacking sequence and the geometry of specimens. An experimental test is carried out to obtain the inclination of a bolt during a tensile test of a composite material using acoustic emission and digital image correlation. Several types of damage were obtained during load. Digital image correlation techniques permit to obtain the inclination of bolt angle value during tensile test. We concluded that the inclination of the bolt during a tensile test of a composite material can be related to the damage that occurs in the material. It can cause stress concentrations and localized deformation in the material, leading to damage such as delamination, fiber breakage, matrix cracking, and other forms of failure.

Keywords: damage, digital image correlation, bolt inclination angle, joint

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Authors: Sachin K. Samuchiwal, Barbara Balestrieri, Amanda Paskavitz, Hannah Raff, Joshua A. Boyce

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IL-33, a recently discovered member of the IL-1 cytokine family, binds to the TLR/IL1R super family receptor ST2 and induces type 2 immune responses. IL-33 is constitutively expressed in structural cells at barrier sites such as skin, lung, and intestine, and also inducibly expressed by hematopoietic cells including macrophages. Stimulation of macrophages by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can induce de novo IL-33 expression, and also causes the production of prostaglandin-E2 (PGE2) via cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and microsomal PGE2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1). Because PGE2 can regulate macrophage functions through both autocrine and paracrine mechanisms, the potential interplay of endogenous PGE2 on IL-33 production was explored. Bone-marrow derived murine macrophages (bmMF) that lack either mPGES-1 or EP2 receptor expression were stimulated with LPS in the absence or presence of exogenous PGE2 along with pharmacological agonists and antagonists. The study results demonstrate that endogenous PGE2 markedly enhances LPS-induced IL-33 production by bmMFs via EP2 receptors. Moreover, exogenous PGE2 can amplify LPS-induced IL-33 expression dominantly by EP2 and partly by EP4 receptors by a pathway involving cAMP and exchange protein activated by cAMP (EPAC), but not protein kinase A (PKA). Though both IL-33 production and PGE2 generation in response to LPS require activation of both p38 MAPK and NF-κB, PGE2 did not influence this activation. In conclusion, it is demonstrated that endogenous PGE2 signaling through EP2 and EP4 receptors is a prerequisite for LPS-induced IL-33 production in bmMFs and the underlying cAMP mediated pathway involves EPAC. Since IL-33 is a critical pro-inflammatory cytokine in various pathological disorders, this PGE2-EP2/EP4-cAMP mediated pathway can be exploited to intervene in IL-33 driven pathologies.

Keywords: bone marrow macrophages, EPAC, IL-33, PGE2

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Authors: Bohuslava Juhasova, Igor Halenar, Martin Juhas

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The contribution deals with the current situation in modern manufacturing enterprises, which is affected by digital virtualization of different parts of the production process. The overview part of this article points to the fact, that wide informatization of all areas causes substitution of real elements and relationships between them with their digital, often virtual images, in real practice. Key characteristics of the systems implemented using digital twin technology along with essential conditions for intelligent products deployment were identified across many published studies. The goal was to propose a template for the production system realization using digital twin technology as a supplement to standardized concepts for Industry 4.0. The main resulting idea leads to the statement that the current trend of implementation of the new technologies and ways of communication between industrial facilities erases the boundaries between the real environment and the virtual world.

Keywords: communication, digital twin, Industry 4.0, simulation, virtualization

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Authors: Tarikayehu Amanuel, Abraham Mohammed

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The production of biodiesel from waste materials is becoming an increasingly important research area in the field of renewable energy. One potential waste material source is avocado, a fruit with a large seed and peel that are typically discarded after consumption. This research aims to investigate the feasibility of using avocado waste as a feedstock for the production of biodiesel. The study focuses on extracting oil from the waste material using the transesterification technique and then characterizing the properties of oil to determine its suitability for conversion to biodiesel. The study was conducted experimentally, and a maximum oil yield of 11.583% (150g of oil produced from 1.295kg of avocado waste powder) was obtained from avocado waste powder at an extraction time of 4hr. An 87% fatty acid methyl ester (biodiesel) conversion was also obtained using a methanol/oil ratio of 6:1, 1.3g NaOH, reaction time 60min, and 65°C reaction temperature. Furthermore, from 145 ml of avocado waste oil, 126.15 ml of biodiesel was produced, indicating a high percentage of conversion (87%). Conclusively, the produced biodiesel showed comparable physical and chemical characteristics to that of standard biodiesel samples considered for the study. The results of this research could help to identify a new source of biofuel production while also addressing the issue of waste disposal in the food industry.

Keywords: biodiesel, avocado, transesterification, soxhlet extraction

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Authors: Seon-Young Lee, Harkiran Sagoo, Reem Farwana, Katharine Whitehurst, Alex Fowler, Riaz Agha

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Background/Aims: Systematic reviews and meta-analysis are becoming increasingly important way of summarizing research evidence. Researches in ophthalmology may represent further challenges, due to their potential complexity in study design. The aim of our study was to determine the reporting quality of systematic reviews and meta-analysis in ophthalmology with the PRISMA statement, by assessing the articles published between 2010 and 2015 from five major journals with the highest impact factor. Methods: MEDLINE and EMBASE were used to search systematic reviews published between January 2010 and December 2015, in 5 major ophthalmology journals: Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Ophthalmology, Archives of Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, Journal of the American Optometric Association. Screening, identification, and scoring of articles were performed independently by two teams, followed by statistical analysis including the median, range, and 95% CIs. Results: 115 articles were involved. The median PRISMA score was 15 of 27 items (56%), with a range of 5-26 (19-96%) and 95% CI 13.9-16.1 (51-60%). Compliance was highest in items related to the description of rationale (item 3,100%) and inclusion of a structured summary in the abstract (item 2, 90%), while poorest in indication of review protocol and registration (item 5, 9%), specification of risk of bias affecting the cumulative evidence (item 15, 24%) and description of clear objectives in introduction (item 4, 26%). Conclusion: The reporting quality of systematic reviews and meta-analysis in ophthalmology need significant improvement. While the use of PRISMA criteria as a guideline before journal submission is recommended, additional research identifying potential barriers may be required to improve the compliance to the PRISMA guidelines.

Keywords: systematic reviews, meta-analysis, research methodology, reporting quality, PRISMA, ophthalmology

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Authors: Mariam Azam, Sajjad Ur Rahman, Mukarram Bashir, Muhammad Tahir, Seemal Javaid, Jawad, Aoun Muhammad, Muhammad Zohaib, Hannan Khan

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Products of microbial origin are of great importance as they have proved their value in healthcare and nutrition, use of these microbial metabolites acquired from partially fermented soya hulls and wheat bran along with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (DL-22 S/N) substantiates to be a great source for an increase in the total milk production and quality yield.1×109 CFU/ml cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (DL-22 S/N) were further grown under in-vivo conditions for the assessment of quality milk production. Two groups with twelve cows, each having the same physical characteristics (Group A and Group B), were under study, Group A was daily fed with 12gm of biological metabolites and 22% protein-pelleted feed. On the other hand, the animals of Group B were provided with no metabolites in their feed. In thirty days of trial, improvement in the overall health, body score, milk protein, milk fat, yield, incidence rate of mastitis, ash, and solid not fat (SNF) was observed. The collected data showed that the average quality milk production was elevated up to 0.45 liter/h/d. However, a reduction in the milk fats up to 0.45% and uplift in the SNF value up to 0.53% of cow milk was also observed. At the same time, the incidence rate of mastitis recorded for the animals under trial was reduced to half, and improved non specific immunity was reported.

Keywords: microbial metabolites, post-biotics, animal supplements, animal nutrition, proteins, animal production, fermentation

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Authors: Danilo G. De Quadros

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Biofuels are a priority in the renewable energy agenda. The utilization of tropical grasses to ethanol production is a real opportunity to Brazil reaches the world’s leadership in biofuels production because there are 100 million hectares of sown pastures, which represent 20% of all land and 80% of agricultural areas. Basically, nowadays tropical grasses are used to raise livestock. The results obtained in this research could bring tremendous advance not only to national technology and economy but also to improve social and environmental aspects. Thus, the objective of this work was to estimate, through well-established international models, the potential of biofuels production using sown tropical pastures as feedstocks and to compare the results with sugarcane ethanol, considering state-of-art of conversion technology, advantages and limitations factors. There were used data from national and international literature about forage yield and biochemical conversion yield. Some scenarios were studied to evaluate potential advantages and limitations for cellulosic ethanol production, since non-food feedstock appeal to conversion strategies, passing through harvest, densification, logistics, environmental impacts (carbon and water cycles, nutrient recycling and biodiversity), and social aspects. If Brazil used only 1% of sown pastures to ethanol production by biochemical pathway, with average dry matter yield of 15 metric tons per hectare per year (there are results of 40 tons), resulted annually in 721 billion liters, that represents 10 times more than sugarcane ethanol projected by the Government in 2030. However, more research is necessary to take the results to commercial scale with competitive costs, considering many strategies and methods applied in ethanol production using cellulosic feedstock.

Keywords: biofuels, biochemical pathway, cellulosic ethanol, sustainability

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Authors: Larisa Akhmylovskaia, Andriana Barysh

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The present paper is introducing the translation score developing methodology and methods in the cross-cultural communication. The ideas and examples presented by the authors illustrate the universal character of translation score developing methods under analysis. Personal experience in the international theatre-making projects, opera laboratories, cross-cultural master-classes give more opportunities to single out the conditions, forms, means and principles of translation score developing as well as the translator/interpreter’s functions as cultural liaison for multiethnic collaboration.

Keywords: methodology of translation score developing, pre-production, analysis, production, post-production, ethnic scene theory, theatre anthropology, laboratory, master-class, educational project, academic project, participant observation, super-objective

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Authors: Tae-min Byun, Chang-soo Chon, Dong-hyun Seo, Han-sung Kim, Bum-mo Ahn, Hui-suk Yun, Cheolwoong Ko

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In this study, a 3-point bending computational analysis of normal and osteoporosis mouse models was performed based on the Micro-CT image information of the femurs. The finite element analysis (FEA) found 1.68 N (normal group) and 1.39 N (osteoporosis group) in the average maximum force, and 4.32 N/mm (normal group) and 3.56 N/mm (osteoporosis group) in the average stiffness. In the comparison of the 3-point bending test results, the maximum force and the stiffness were different about 9.4 times in the normal group and about 11.2 times in the osteoporosis group. The difference between the analysis and the test was greatly significant and this result demonstrated improvement points of the material properties applied to the computational analysis of this study. For the next study, the material properties of the mouse femur will be supplemented through additional computational analysis and test.

Keywords: 3-point bending test, mouse, osteoporosis, FEA

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Authors: Lalita Khuna, Sugalya Amatachaya, Pipatana Amatachaya, Thiwabhorn Thaweewannakij, Pattra Wattanapan

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The five times sit-to-stand test (FTSST) has been widely used to quantify lower extremity motor strength (LEMS), dynamic balance ability, and risk of falls in many individuals. Recently, it has been used in ambulatory patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) but variously using with or without hands according to patients’ ability. This difference might affect the validity of the test in these individuals. Thus, this study assessed the concurrent validity of the FTSST in ambulatory individuals with SCI, separately for those who could complete the test with or without hands using LEMS and standard functional measures as gold standards. Moreover, the data of the tests from those who completed the FTSST with and without hands were compared. A total of 56 ambulatory participants with SCI who could complete sit-to-stand with or without hands were assessed for the time to complete the FTSST according to their ability. Then they were assessed for their LEMS scores and functional abilities, including the 10-meter walk test (10MWT), the walking index for spinal cord injury II (WISCI II), the timed up and go test (TUGT), and the 6-minute walk test (6MWT). The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the different findings between the participants who performed the FTSST with and without hands. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient (ρ) was applied to analyze the levels of correlation between the FTSST and standard tests (LEMS scores and functional measures). There were significant differences in the data between the participants who performed the test with and without hands (p < 0.01). The time to complete the FTSST of the participants who performed the test without hands showed moderate to strong correlation with total LEMS scores and all functional measures (ρ = -0.71 to 0.69, p < 0.001). On the contrary, the FTSST data of those who performed the test with hands were significantly correlated only with the 10MWT, TUGT, and 6MWT (ρ = -0.47 to 0.57, p < 0.01). The present findings confirm the concurrent validity of the FTSST when performed without hands for LEMS and functional mobility necessary for the ability of independence and safety of ambulatory individuals with SCI. However, the test using hands distort the ability of the outcomes to reflect LEMS and WISCI II that reflect lower limb functions. By contrast, the 10MWT, TUGT, and 6MWT allowed upper limb contribution in the tests. Therefore, outcomes of these tests showed a significant correlation to the outcomes of FTSST when assessed using hands. Consequently, the use of FTSST with or without hands needs to consider the clinical application of the outcomes, i.e., to reflect lower limb functions or mobility of the patients.

Keywords: mobility, lower limb muscle strength, clinical test, rehabilitation

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Authors: Chadia Nasri

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Researches in the field of foreign language learning have indicated the importance of the mastery of the four language skills; speaking, listening, writing and reading. As far as writing is concerned, recent studies have shown that this skill is unavoidable for learning a second language successfully. Writing is characterized as a complex system not easy to achieve. Writing has been proved to be affected by a variety of factors, particularly psychological ones; anxiety, intrinsic motivation, aptitude, etc. Intrinsic motivation is said to be the most influential factors in the foreign language learning process and is considered as the key factor for success. To investigate these two aspects; writing and intrinsic motivation, and the positive correlation between them, our hypothesis is designed on the basis that the degree of learners’ intrinsic motivation helps in facilitating their engagement in the writing tasks. Two questionnaires, one for teachers and the other for students, have been carried out to check the validity of the research hypothesis. As for the teachers’ questionnaire, the results have indicated their awareness of the importance of intrinsic motivation in the learning process and the role it plays in the mastery of their students’ writing skill. In addition, teachers have mentioned various procedures aiming at raising their students’ intrinsic motivation to write. The students’ questionnaire, on the other hand, has investigated students’ reasons for learning a foreign language with regard to their attitudes towards writing as an important skill that they need to master. Their answers to the questionnaire together with the marks they got in the second term test they have had in the writing module have been compared to see whether students’ writing proficiency can be determined by the degree of their intrinsic motivation. The comparison of the collected data has shown the positive correlation between both aspects.

Keywords: foreign language learning, intrinsic motivation, motivation, writing proficiency

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Authors: Haidy Weliam Megaly Gouda

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Dermatology is often a neglected specialty in low-resource settings despite the high morbidity associated with skin disease. This becomes even more significant when associated with HIV infection, as dermatological conditions are more common and aggressive in HIV-positive patients. African countries have the highest HIV infection rates, and skin conditions are frequently misdiagnosed and mismanaged because of a lack of dermatological training and educational material. The frequent lack of diagnostic tests in the African setting renders basic clinical skills all the more vital. This project aimed to improve the diagnosis and treatment of skin disease in the HIV population in a district hospital in Malawi. A basic dermatological clinical tool was developed and produced in collaboration with local staff and based on available literature and data collected from clinics. The aim was to improve diagnostic accuracy and provide guidance for the treatment of skin disease in HIV-positive patients. A literature search within Embassy, Medline and Google Scholar was performed and supplemented through data obtained from attending 5 Antiretroviral clinics. From the literature, conditions were selected for inclusion in the resource if they were described as specific, more prevalent, or extensive in the HIV population or have more adverse outcomes if they develop in HIV patients. Resource-appropriate treatment options were decided using Malawian Ministry of Health guidelines and textbooks specific to African dermatology. After the collection of data and discussion with local clinical and pharmacy staff, a list of 15 skin conditions was included, and a booklet was created using the simple layout of a picture, a diagnostic description of the disease and treatment options. Clinical photographs were collected from local clinics (with full consent of the patient) or from the book ‘Common Skin Diseases in Africa’ (permission granted if fully acknowledged and used in a not-for-profit capacity). This tool was evaluated by the local staff alongside an educational teaching session on skin disease. This project aimed to reduce uncertainty in diagnosis and provide guidance for appropriate treatment in HIV patients by gathering information into one practical and manageable resource. To further this project, we hope to review the effectiveness of the tool in practice.

Keywords: prevalence and pattern of skin diseases, impact on quality of life, rural Nepal, interventions, quality switched ruby laser, skin color river blindness, clinical signs, circularity index, grey level run length matrix, grey level co-occurrence matrix, local binary pattern, object detection, ring detection, shape identification

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Authors: Hsi Wei

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Does the language we speak affect the way we think? This question has been discussed for a long time from different aspects. In this article, the issue is examined with an experiment on how speakers of different languages tend to do different sequencing when it comes to the size of general objects. An essential difference between the usage of English and Mandarin is the way we sequence the size of places or objects. In English, when describing the location of something we may say, for example, ‘The pen is inside the trashcan next to the tree at the park.’ In Mandarin, however, we would say, ‘The pen is at the park next to the tree inside the trashcan.’ It’s clear that generally English use the sequence of small to big while Mandarin the opposite. Therefore, the experiment was conducted to test if the difference of the languages affects the speakers’ ability to do the different sequencing. There were two groups of subjects; one consisted of English native speakers, another of Mandarin native speakers. Within the experiment, three nouns were showed as a group to the subjects as their native languages. Before they saw the nouns, they would first get an instruction of ‘big to small’, ‘small to big’, or ‘repeat’. Therefore, the subjects had to sequence the following group of nouns as the instruction they get or simply repeat the nouns. After completing every sequencing and repetition in their minds, they pushed a button as reaction. The repetition design was to gather the mere reading time of the person. As the result of the experiment showed, English native speakers reacted more quickly to the sequencing of ‘small to big’; on the other hand, Mandarin native speakers reacted more quickly to the sequence ‘big to small’. To conclude, this study may be of importance as a support for linguistic relativism that the language we speak do shape the way we think.

Keywords: language, linguistic relativism, size, sequencing

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Authors: Ulrich Wake, Eniman Syamsuddin

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The model for camera model identificaiton is trained using pretrained model ResNet43 and ResNet50. The dataset consists of 500 photos of each phone. Dataset is divided into 1280 photos for training, 320 photos for validation and 400 photos for testing. The model is trained using One Cycle Policy Method and tested using Test-Time Augmentation. Furthermore, the model is trained for 50 epoch using regularization such as drop out and early stopping. The result is 90% accuracy for validation set and above 85% for Test-Time Augmentation using ResNet50. Every model is also trained by slightly updating the pretrained model’s weights

Keywords: ​ One Cycle Policy, ResNet34, ResNet50, Test-Time Agumentation

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Authors: M. Naimi, M. B. Khaled

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The aim of the present work was to test in vitro inhibition of food pathogens and spoilage bacteria by crude bacteriocins from autochthonous lactic acid bacteria. Thirty autochthonous lactic acid bacteria isolated previously, belonging to the genera: Lactobacillus, Carnobacterium, Lactococcus, Vagococcus, Streptococcus, and Pediococcus, have been screened by an agar spot test and a well diffusion assay against Gram-positive and Gram-negative harmful bacteria: Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 8739, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa under conditions means to reduce lactic acid and hydrogen peroxide effect to select bacteria with high bacteriocinogenic potential. Furthermore, crude bacteriocins semiquantification and heat sensitivity to different temperatures (80, 95, 110°C, and 121°C) were performed. Another exploratory test concerning the response of St. aureus ATCC 6538 to the presence of crude bacteriocins was realized. It has been observed by the agar spot test that fifteen candidates were active toward Gram-positive targets strains. The secondary screening demonstrated an antagonistic activity oriented only against St. aureus ATCC 6538, leading to the selection of five isolates: Lm14, Lm21, Lm23, Lm24, and Lm25 with a larger inhibition zone compared to the others. The ANOVA statistical analysis reveals a small variation of repeatability: Lm21: 0.56%, Lm23: 0%, Lm25: 1.67%, Lm14: 1.88%, Lm24: 2.14%. Conversely, slight variation was reported in terms of inhibition diameters: 9.58± 0.40, 9.83± 0.46, and 10.16± 0.24 8.5 ± 0.40 10 mm for, Lm21, Lm23, Lm25, Lm14and Lm24, indicating that the observed potential showed a heterogeneous distribution (BMS = 0.383, WMS = 0.117). The repeatability coefficient calculated displayed 7.35%. As for the bacteriocins semiquantification, the five samples exhibited production amounts about 4.16 for Lm21, Lm23, Lm25 and 2.08 AU/ml for Lm14, Lm24. Concerning the sensitivity the crude bacteriocins were fully insensitive to heat inactivation, until 121°C, they preserved the same inhibition diameter. As to, kinetic of growth , the µmax showed reductions in pathogens load for Lm21, Lm23, Lm25, Lm14, Lm24 of about 42.92%, 84.12%, 88.55%, 54.95%, 29.97% in the second trails. Inversely, this pathogen growth after five hours displayed differences of 79.45%, 12.64%, 11.82%, 87.88%, 85.66% in the second trails, compared to the control. This study showed potential inhibition to the growth of this food pathogen, suggesting the possibility to improve the hygienic food quality.

Keywords: exploratory test, lactic acid bacteria, crude bacteriocins, spoilage, pathogens

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Authors: Abid Boudiar

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We propose a simple model to obtain an exact expression of Tc/(Tc,max) for the temperature-doping phase diagram of superconducting cuprates. We showed that our model predicted most phase diagram scenario. We found the exact special doping points p(opt), p(qcp) and an accurate E(g,max). Some other properties such as the stripes length 100.1°A and the energy gap in cuprates chain
6meV can also be calculated exactly. Another interesting consequence of this simple picture is the new magic numbers and the ability to express everything using a (Tc,p) diagram via the golden ratio.

Keywords: superconducting cuprates, phase, pseudogap, hole doping, strips, golden ratio, soliton

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Authors: Said Ahmed Zohairy

Abstract:

Significant shifts in the theory and practice of teaching vocabulary affect teachers’ decisions about learning materials’ design. Relevant literature supports teaching specialised, authentic, and multi-word lexical items rather than focusing on single-word vocabulary lists. Corpora, collections of texts stored in a database, presents a reliable source of teaching and learning materials. Although corpus-informed studies provided guidance for teachers to identify useful language chunks and phraseological units, there is a scarcity in the literature discussing the use of corpora in teaching English for academic and specific purposes (EASP). The aim of this study is to improve teaching practices and provide a description of the pedagogical choices and procedures of an EASP tutor in an attempt to offer guidance for novice corpus users. It draws on the researcher’s experience of utilising corpus linguistic tools to design vocabulary learning activities without focusing on students’ learning outcomes. Hence, it adopts a self-study research methodology which is based on five methodological components suggested by other self-study researchers. The findings of the study noted that designing specialised and corpus-informed vocabulary learning activities could be challenging for teachers, as they require technical knowledge of how to navigate corpora and utilise corpus analysis tools. Findings also include a description of the researcher’s approach to building and analysing a specialised corpus for the benefit of novice corpus users; they should be able to start their own journey of designing corpus-based activities.

Keywords: corpora, corpus linguistics, corpus-informed, English for academic and specific purposes, agribusiness, vocabulary, phraseological units, materials design

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