Search results for: energy demand model

Authors: Umar Shehu Umar

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Contract farming is a viable strategy agribusinesses rely on to strengthen vertical coordination. However, low contract compliance remains a significant setback to agribusinesses' contract performance. The present study aims to understand what drives smallholder farmers’ contract compliance behaviour. Qualitative information was collected through Focus Group Discussions to enrich the design of the survey questionnaire administered on a sample of 300 randomly selected farmers contracted by the Dangote Tomato Processing Plant (DTPP) in four regions of northern Nigeria. Novel transaction level data of tomato sales covering one season were collected in addition to socio-economic information of the sampled farmers. Binary logistic model results revealed that open fresh market tomato prices and payment delays negatively affect farmers' compliance behaviour while quantity harvested, education level and input provision correlated positively with compliance. The study suggests that contract compliance will increase if contracting firms devise a reliable and timely payment plan (e.g., digital payment), continue input and service provisions (e.g., improved seeds, extension services) and incentives (e.g., loyalty rewards, bonuses) in the contract.

Keywords: contract farming, compliance, farmers and processors., smallholder

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Kirolos Gerges Yakoub Gerges

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Self-sustaining agricultural machines act in stochastic surroundings and therefore, should be capable of perceive the surroundings in real time. This notion can be done using image sensors blended with superior device learning, mainly Deep mastering. Deep convolutional neural networks excel in labeling and perceiving colour pix and since the fee of RGB-cameras is low, the hardware cost of accurate notion relies upon heavily on memory and computation power. This paper investigates the opportunity of designing lightweight convolutional neural networks for semantic segmentation (pixel clever class) with reduced hardware requirements, to allow for embedded usage in self-reliant agricultural machines. The usage of compression techniques, a lightweight convolutional neural community is designed to carry out actual-time semantic segmentation on an embedded platform. The community is skilled on two big datasets, ImageNet and Pascal Context, to apprehend as much as four hundred man or woman instructions. The 400 training are remapped into agricultural superclasses (e.g. human, animal, sky, road, area, shelterbelt and impediment) and the capacity to provide correct actual-time perception of agricultural environment is studied. The network is carried out to the case of self-sufficient grass mowing the usage of the NVIDIA Tegra X1 embedded platform. Feeding case-unique pics to the community consequences in a fully segmented map of the superclasses within the picture. As the network remains being designed and optimized, handiest a qualitative analysis of the technique is entire on the abstract submission deadline. intending this cut-off date, the finalized layout is quantitatively evaluated on 20 annotated grass mowing pictures. Light-weight convolutional neural networks for semantic segmentation can be implemented on an embedded platform and show aggressive performance on the subject of accuracy and speed. It’s miles viable to offer value-efficient perceptive capabilities related to semantic segmentation for autonomous agricultural machines.

Keywords: centrifuge pump, hydraulic energy, agricultural applications, irrigationaxial flux machines, axial flux applications, coreless machines, PM machinesautonomous agricultural machines, deep learning, safety, visual perception

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Authors: Syed Atif Hassan, Luv Mehta, Syed Asif Hassan

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Hit song science is a field of investigation wherein machine learning techniques are applied to music tracks in order to extract such features from audio signals which can capture information that could explain the popularity of respective tracks. Record companies invest huge amounts of money into recruiting fresh talents and churning out new music each year. Gaining insight into the basis of why a song becomes popular will result in tremendous benefits for the music industry. This paper aims to extract basic musical and more advanced, acoustic features from songs while also taking into account external factors that play a role in making a particular song popular. We use a dataset derived from popular Spotify playlists divided by genre. We use ten genres (blues, classical, country, disco, hip-hop, jazz, metal, pop, reggae, rock), chosen on the basis of clear to ambiguous delineation in the typical sound of their genres. We feed these features into three different classifiers, namely, SVM with RBF kernel, a deep neural network, and a recurring neural network, to build separate predictive models and choosing the best performing model at the end. Predicting song popularity is particularly important for the music industry as it would allow record companies to produce better content for the masses resulting in a more competitive market.

Keywords: classifier, machine learning, music tracks, popularity, prediction

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Authors: Ivy Jumao-As, Randy Lupango, Clifford Villaflores, Marites Khanser

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Alongside inadequate implementation of ecotourism standards and other pressing issues on sustainable development is the lack of business plans and formal business structures of various ecotourism sites in the Central Visayas, Philippines, and other parts of the country. Addressing these issues plays a key role to boost ecotourism which is a sustainability tool to the country’s economic development. A three-phase research is designed to investigate the green business practices of selected ecotourism sites in the region in order to propose a business model for ecotourism destinations in the region and outside. This paper reports the initial phase of the study which described the sites’ profile as well as operators of the following selected destinations: Cebu City Protected Landscape and Olango Island Wildlife Bird Sanctuary in Cebu, Rajah Sikatuna Protected Landscape in Bohol. Interview, Self-Administered Questionnaire with key informants and Data Mining were employed in the data collection. Findings highlighted similarities and differences in terms of eco-tourism products, type and number of visitors, manpower composition, cultural and natural resources, complementary services and products, awards and accreditation, peak and off peak seasons, among others. Recommendations based from common issues initially identified in this study are also highlighted.

Keywords: ecotourism, ecotourism sites, green business, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 277

Authors: Hsu Kuo-Wei, Tan Roon Fang, Chao Jen-chih

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Cities face environmental challenges, including over-urbanization issues, air and water quality issues, lack of green space, excess heat capture, polluted storm water runoff and lack of ecological biodiversity. The vertical farming holds the condition of technology addressing these issues by enabling more food to be produced with finite less resources use and space. Most of the existing research regarding to technology Industry of agriculture between plant factory and vertical greening, which with high costs and high-technology. Relative research developed a sustainable model for construction and operation of the vertical farm in urban housing which aims to revolutionize our daily life of food production and urban development. However, those researches focused on quantitative analysis. This study utilized relative research for key variables of benefits of vertical farming. In the second stage, utilizes Fuzzy Delphi Method to obtain the critical factors of benefits of vertical farming using in Urban Renewal by interviewing the foregoing experts. Then, Analytic Hierarchy Process is applied to find the importance degree of each criterion as the measurable indices of the vertical farming method in urban renewal within the older city of Taichung.

Keywords: urban renewal, vertical farming, urban agriculture, benefit analysis, the older city of Taichung

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Authors: Nur Azilina Abdul Aziz, Tuti Katrina Abdullah, Ahmad Azmin Mohamad

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Lithium-transition metals and some of their oxides, such as LiCoO2, LiMn2O2, LiFePO4, and LiNiO2 have been used as cathode materials in high performance lithium-ion rechargeable batteries. Among the cathode materials, LiCoO2 has potential to been widely used as a lithium-ion battery because of its layered crystalline structure, good capacity, high cell voltage, high specific energy density, high power rate, low self-discharge, and excellent cycle life. This cathode material has been widely used in commercial lithium-ion batteries due to its low irreversible capacity loss and good cycling performance. However, there are several problems that interfere with the production of material that has good electrochemical properties, including the crystallinity, the average particle size and particle size distribution. In recent years, synthesis of nanoparticles has been intensively investigated. Powders prepared by the traditional solid-state reaction have a large particle size and broad size distribution. On the other hand, solution method can reduce the particle size to nanometer range and control the particle size distribution. In this study, LiCoO2 was synthesized using the sol–gel preparation method, which Lithium acetate and Cobalt acetate were used as reactants. The stoichiometric amounts of the reactants were dissolved in deionized water. The solutions were stirred for 30 hours using magnetic stirrer, followed by heating at 80°C under vigorous stirring until a viscous gel was formed. The as-formed gel was calcined at 700°C for 7 h under a room atmosphere. The structural and morphological analysis of LiCoO2 was characterized using X-ray diffraction and Scanning electron microscopy. The diffraction pattern of material can be indexed based on the α-NaFeO2 structure. The clear splitting of the hexagonal doublet of (006)/(102) and (108)/(110) in this patterns indicates materials are formed in a well-ordered hexagonal structure. No impurity phase can be seen in this range probably due to the homogeneous mixing of the cations in the precursor. Furthermore, SEM micrograph of the LiCoO2 shows the particle size distribution is almost uniform while particle size is between 0.3-0.5 microns. In conclusion, LiCoO2 powder was successfully synthesized using the sol–gel method. LiCoO2 showed a hexagonal crystal structure. The sample has been prepared clearly indicate the pure phase of LiCoO2. Meanwhile, the morphology of the sample showed that the particle size and size distribution of particles is almost uniform.

Keywords: cathode material, LiCoO2, lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, Sol-Gel method

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Authors: Shuofen Hsu, Ya-Yi Chao, Chao-Wei Li

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This paper investigates the factors of whether firms’ quarterly consolidated financial statements to be voluntary reviewed by auditor. To promote the information transparency, the Financial Supervisory Commission of Executive Yuan in Taiwan ruled the Taiwanese listed companies should announce the first and third quarterly consolidated financial statements since 2008 to 2012, while the Commission didn’t require the consolidated financial statements should be reviewed by auditors. This is a very special practice in emerging market, especially in Taiwan. The valuable data of this period is suitable for us to research the determinants of firms’ voluntary review decision in emerging markets. We collected the auditors' report of each company and each year of Taiwanese listed companies since 2008 to 2012 for our research samples. We use probit model to test and analyze the determinants of voluntary review decision of the first and third quarterly consolidated financial statements. Our empirical result shows that the firms whose first and third quarterly consolidated financial statements are voluntary to be reviewed by auditors have better ranking of information transparency, higher audit quality, and better corporate governance, suggesting that voluntary review is a good signal to firms’ better information and corporate governance quality.

Keywords: voluntary review, information transparency, audit quality, quarterly consolidated financial statements

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Authors: Kartik Thakore, Anna-Roza Tamas, Adam Cole

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The world health organization (WHO) reports that by 2030 more than 23.7 million deaths annually will be caused by Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs); with a 2008 economic impact of $3.76 T. Metabolic syndrome is a disorder of multiple metabolic risk factors strongly indicated in the development of cardiovascular diseases. Guided lifestyle intervention driven by live coaching has been shown to have a positive impact on metabolic risk factors. Individuals’ path to improved (decreased) metabolic risk factors are driven by personal motivation and personalized messages delivered by coaches and augmented by technology. Using interactions captured between 400 individuals and 3 coaches over a program period of 500 days, a preliminary model was designed. A novel real time event tracking system was created to track and classify clients based on their genetic profile, baseline questionnaires and usage of a mobile application with live coaching sessions. Classification of clients and coaches was done using a support vector machines application build on Apache Spark, Stanford Natural Language Processing Library (SNLPL) and decision-modeling.

Keywords: guided lifestyle intervention, metabolic risk factors, personal coaching, support vector machines application, Apache Spark, natural language processing

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Authors: Zeinab Jafari A., Ali Sharifnezhad B., Mohammad Razi C., Mohammad Haghpanahi D., Arash Maghsoudi

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Background and Objective: Sports-related rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and following injuries have been associated with various disorders, such as long-lasting changes in muscle activation patterns in athletes, which might last after ACL reconstruction (ACLR). The rupture of the ACL might result in abnormal patterns of movement execution, extending the treatment period and delaying athletes’ return to sports (RTS). As ACL injury is especially prevalent among athletes, the lengthy treatment process and athletes’ absence from sports are of great concern to athletes and coaches. Thus, estimating safe time of RTS is of crucial importance. Therefore, using a deep neural network (DNN) to classify the health levels of ACL in injured athletes, this study aimed to estimate the safe time for athletes to return to competitions. Methods: Ten athletes with ACLR and fourteen healthy controls participated in this study. Three health levels of ACL were defined: healthy, six-month post-ACLR surgery and nine-month post-ACLR surgery. Athletes with ACLR were tested six and nine months after the ACLR surgery. During the course of this study, surface electromyography (sEMG) signals were recorded from five knee muscles, namely Rectus Femoris (RF), Vastus Lateralis (VL), Vastus Medialis (VM), Biceps Femoris (BF), Semitendinosus (ST), during single-leg drop landing (SLDL) and forward hopping (SLFH) tasks. The Pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution (PWVD) was used to produce three-dimensional (3-D) images of the energy distribution patterns of sEMG signals. Then, these 3-D images were converted to two-dimensional (2-D) images implementing the heat mapping technique, which were then fed to a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN). Results: In this study, we estimated the safe time of RTS by designing a DCNN classifier with an accuracy of 90 %, which could classify ACL into three health levels. Discussion: The findings of this study demonstrate the potential of the DCNN classification technique using sEMG signals in estimating RTS time, which will assist in evaluating the recovery process of ACLR in athletes.

Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction, return to sports, surface electromyography, deep convolutional neural network

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Authors: Elena Tkachenko, Vladimir Kokh, Alina Osipenko, Vladislav Surkov

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The modern period of development of Russian economy is fraught with a number of problems related to limitations in the use of traditional planning and financial management tools. Restrictions in the use of foreign software when performing an order of the Russian Government, on the one hand, and sanctions limiting the support of the major ERP and MRP II systems in the Russian Federation, on the other hand, entail the necessity to appeal to the basics of developing budgeting and analysis systems for industrial enterprises. Thus, cost calculation theory becomes the theoretical foundation for the development of industrial cost management systems. Based on the foregoing, it would be fair to make an assumption that the development of a working managerial accounting model on an industrial enterprise using an automated enterprise resource management system should rest upon the concept of the inevitability of alterations of business processes. On the other hand, optimized business processes make the architecture of financial analytics more transparent and permit the use of all the benefits of data cubes. The metrics and indicator slices provide online assessment of the state of key business processes at a given moment of time, which improves the quality of managerial decisions considerably. Therefore, the bilateral sanctions situation boosted the development of corporate business analytics and took industrial companies to the next level of understanding of business processes.

Keywords: cost culculation, ERP, OLAP, modern Russian economy

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Authors: Moustafa Ahmed, Fumio Koyama

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Directly-modulated semiconductor lasers, including edge-emitting and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, have received considerable interest recently for use in data transmitters in cost-effective high-speed data centers, metro, and access networks. Optical feedback has been proved as an efficient technique to boost the modulation bandwidth and enhance the speed of the semiconductor laser. However, both the laser linewidth and frequency chirping in directly-modulated lasers are sensitive to both intensity modulation and optical feedback. These effects along width fiber dispersion affect the transmission bit rate and distance in single-mode fiber links. In this work, we continue our recent research on directly-modulated semiconductor lasers with modulation bandwidth in the millimeter-wave band by introducing simultaneous modeling and simulations on both the frequency chirping and lineshape broadening. The lasers are operating under strong optical feedback. The model takes into account the multiple reflections of laser reflections of laser radiation in the external cavity. The analyses are given in terms of the chirp-to-modulated power ratio, and the results are shown for the possible dynamic states of continuous wave, period-1 oscillation, and chaos.

Keywords: chirp, linewidth, optical feedback, semiconductor laser

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Authors: Zheni S. Stefanova, Kandethody M. Ramachandran

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With the increasing dependency on our computer devices, we face the necessity of adequate, efficient and effective mechanisms, for protecting our network. There are two main problems that Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) attempt to solve. 1) To detect the attack, by analyzing the incoming traffic and inspect the network (intrusion detection). 2) To produce a prompt response when the attack occurs (intrusion prevention). It is critical creating an Intrusion detection model that will detect a breach in the system on time and also challenging making it provide an automatic and with an acceptable delay response at every single stage of the monitoring process. We cannot afford to adopt security measures with a high exploiting computational power, and we are not able to accept a mechanism that will react with a delay. In this paper, we will propose an intrusion response mechanism that is based on artificial intelligence, and more precisely, reinforcement learning techniques (RLT). The RLT will help us to create a decision agent, who will control the process of interacting with the undetermined environment. The goal is to find an optimal policy, which will represent the intrusion response, therefore, to solve the Reinforcement learning problem, using a Q-learning approach. Our agent will produce an optimal immediate response, in the process of evaluating the network traffic.This Q-learning approach will establish the balance between exploration and exploitation and provide a unique, self-learning and strategic artificial intelligence response mechanism for IDS.

Keywords: cyber security, intrusion prevention, optimal policy, Q-learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 244

Authors: A.Chen Chao-Chang, Phong Pham-Quoc

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Chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) process has been widely applied on fabricating integrated circuits (IC) with a soft polishing pad combined with slurry composed of micron or nano-scaled abrasives for generating chemical reaction to remove substrate or film materials from wafer. During CMP process, pad uniformity usually works as a datum surface of wafer planarization and pad asperities can dominate the microscopic pad-slurry-wafer interaction. However, pad topography can be changed by related mechanism factors of CMP and it needs to be re-conditioned or dressed by a diamond dresser of well-distributed diamond grits on a disc surface. It is still very complicated to analyze and understand kinematic of diamond dressing process under the effects of input variables including oscillatory of diamond dresser and rotation speed ratio between the pad and the diamond dresser. This paper has developed a generic geometric model to clarify the kinematic modeling of diamond dressing processes such as dresser/pad motion, pad cutting locus, the relative velocity of the diamond abrasive grits on pad surface, and overlap of cutting for prediction of pad surface topography. Simulation results focus on comparing and analysis kinematics of the diamond dressing on certain CMP tools. Results have shown the significant parameters for diamond dressing process and also discussed. Future study can apply on diamond dresser design and experimental verification of pad dressing process.

Keywords: kinematic modeling, diamond dresser, pad cutting locus, CMP

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Jie Liu, Wei Wei, Chun-Ping Chang

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Using a sample of 110 countries over the period 1984-2013, this paper examines the impacts of country risks on choosing a specific exchange rate regime (first by utilizing the Levy-Yeyati and Sturzenegger de facto classification and then robusting it by the IMF de jure measurement) relative to other regimes via the panel multinomial logit approach. Empirical findings are as follows. First, in the full samples case we provide evidence that government is more likely to implement a flexible regime, but less likely to adopt a fixed regime, under a low level of composite and financial risk. Second, we find that Eurozone countries are more likely to choose a fixed exchange rate regime with a decrease in the level of country risk and favor a flexible regime in response to a shock from an increase of risk, which is opposite to non-Eurozone countries. Third, we note that high-risk countries are more likely to choose a fixed regime with a low level of composite and political risk in the government, but do not adjust the exchange rate regime as a shock absorber when facing economic and financial risks. It is interesting to see that those countries with relatively low risk display almost opposite results versus high-risk economies. Overall, we believe that it is critically important to account for political economy variables in a government’s exchange rate policy decisions, especially for country risks. All results are robust to the panel ordered probit model.

Keywords: country risk, political economy, exchange rate regimes, shock absorber

Procedia PDF Downloads 310

Authors: Camila Lemos Pinto, Juliana Alves Carneiro, Patrícia Borges Botelho, João Felipe Mota

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Sarcopenia, a syndrome characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength, currently affects over 50 million people and increases the risk of adverse outcomes such as physical disability, poor quality of life and death. The aim of this study was to examine the efficacy of creatine supplementation associated with resistance training on muscle mass in the elderly. A 12-week, double blind, randomized, parallel group, placebo controlled trial was conducted. Participants were randomly allocated into one of the following groups: placebo with resistance training (PL+RT, n=14) and creatine supplementation with resistance training (CR + RT, n=13). The subjects from CR+RT group received 5 g/day of creatine monohydrate and the subjects from the PL+RT group were given the same dose of maltodextrin. Participants were instructed to ingest the supplement on non-training days immediately after lunch and on training days immediately after resistance training sessions dissolved in a beverage comprising 100 g of maltodextrin lemon flavored. Participants of both groups undertook a supervised exercise training program for 12 weeks (3 times per week). The subjects were assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. The primary outcome was muscle mass, assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The secondary outcome included diagnose participants with one of the three stages of sarcopenia (presarcopenia, sarcopenia and severe sarcopenia) by skeletal muscle mass index (SMI), handgrip strength and gait speed. CR+RT group had a significant increase in SMI and muscle (p<0.0001), a significant decrease in android and gynoid fat (p = 0.028 and p=0.035, respectively) and a tendency of decreasing in body fat (p=0.053) after the intervention. PL+RT only had a significant increase in SMI (p=0.007). The main finding of this clinical trial indicated that creatine supplementation combined with resistance training was capable of increasing muscle mass in our elderly cohort (p=0.02). In addition, the number of subjects diagnosed with one of the three stages of sarcopenia at baseline decreased in the creatine supplemented group in comparison with the placebo group (CR+RT, n=-3; PL+RT, n=0). In summary, 12 weeks of creatine supplementation associated with resistance training resulted in increases in muscle mass. This is the first research with elderly of both sexes that show the same increase in muscle mass with a minor quantity of creatine supplementation in a short period. Future long-term research should investigate the effects of these interventions in sarcopenic elderly.

Keywords: creatine, dietetic supplement, elderly, resistance training

Procedia PDF Downloads 476

Authors: Y. J. Zhou, G. Lu

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In this paper, an analytical study is made for the dynamic behavior of human brain tissue under transient loading. In this analytical model the Mooney-Rivlin constitutive law is coupled with visco-elastic constitutive equations to take into account both the nonlinear and time-dependent mechanical behavior of brain tissue. Five ordinary differential equations representing the relationships of five main parameters (radial stress, circumferential stress, radial strain, circumferential strain, and particle velocity) are obtained by using the characteristic method to transform five partial differential equations (two continuity equations, one motion equation, and two constitutive equations). Analytical expressions of the attenuation properties for spherical wave in brain tissue are analytically derived. Numerical results are obtained based on the five ordinary differential equations. The mechanical responses (particle velocity and stress) of brain are compared at different radii including 5, 6, 10, 15 and 25 mm under four different input conditions. The results illustrate that loading curves types of the particle velocity significantly influences the stress in brain tissue. The understanding of the influence by the input loading cures can be used to reduce the potentially injury to brain under head impact by designing protective structures to control the loading curves types.

Keywords: analytical method, mechanical responses, spherical wave propagation, traumatic brain injury

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Authors: Luis Marquez, Ge Zhu, Vikas Srivastava

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High-density polyethylene (HDPE) is one of the most commonly used thermoplastic polymer materials for water and gas pipelines. Slow crack growth failure is a well-known phenomenon in high-density polyethylene material and causes brittle failure well below the yield point with no obvious sign. The failure of transportation pipelines can cause catastrophic environmental and economic consequences. Using the non-destructive testing method to predict slow crack growth failure behavior is the primary preventative measurement employed by the pipeline industry but is often costly and time-consuming. Phenomenological slow crack growth models are useful to predict the slow crack growth behavior in the polymer material due to their ability to evaluate slow crack growth under different temperature and loading conditions. We developed a quantitative method to assess the slow crack growth behavior in the high-density polyethylene pipeline material under different thermal conditions based on existing physics-based phenomenological models. We are also working on developing an experimental protocol and quantitative model that can address slow crack growth behavior under different chemical exposure conditions to improve the safety, reliability, and resilience of HDPE-based pipeline infrastructure.

Keywords: mechanics of materials, physics-based modeling, civil engineering, fracture mechanics

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Authors: Khaled Suleiman Mohammed Al-Mashrafi

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A compositional plume is a fluid flow in a directional channel of finite width in another fluid of different material composition. The study of the dynamics of compositional plumes plays an essential role in many real-life applications like industrial applications (e.g., iron casting), environmental applications (e.g., salt fingers and sea ice), and geophysical applications (e.g., solidification at the inner core boundary (ICB) of the Earth, and mantle plumes). The dynamics of compositional plumes have been investigated experimentally and theoretically. The experimental works observed that the plume flow seems to be stable, although some experiments showed that it can be unstable. At the same time, the theoretical investigations showed that the plume flow is unstable. This is found to be true even if the plume is subject to rotation or/and in the presence of a magnetic field and even if another plume of different composition is also present. It is noticeable that all the theoretical studies on the dynamics of compositional plumes are conducted in unbounded domains. The present work is to investigate theoretically the influence of vertical walls (boundaries) on the dynamics of compositional plumes in the absence/presence of a rotation field. The mathematical model of the dynamics of compositional plumes used the equations of continuity, motion, heat, concentration of light material, and state. It is found that the presence of boundaries has a strong influence on the basic state solution as well as the stability of the plume, particularly when the plume is close to the boundary, but the compositional plume remains unstable.

Keywords: compositional plumes, stability, bounded domain, vertical boundaries

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Authors: M. A. Fernández-Vilar, M. D. Galián, E. Ato

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The aim of this work was to analyze the relation between children´s effortful control and Maths achievement in a sample of 447 Spanish children aged between 6 and 8 years. Traditionally, the literature confirms that higher level of effortful control has been associated with higher academic achievement, but there are few studies that include the effect that children´s social competence exert to this relation. To measure children’s effortful control parents were given the TMCQ (Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire), and Maths achievement was taken from teacher´s rates. To measure social competence, we used the nominations method in the classroom context. Results confirmed that higher effortful control predicted a better maths achievement, whereas lower effortful control scores predicted lower Maths scores. Using a statistical modeling approach, we tested a mediation model that revealed the mediating role of social competence (popularity and rejection) in the relation between effortful control and Maths achievement. Concretely, higher social competence (higher popularity and lower rejection) seems to mediate the better Maths achievement showed by better self´regulated children. Therefore, an adequate social competence mediates the positive effect that self-regulatory capacity exerts to academic achievement. The clinical implications of the present findings should be considered. Specifically, rejected children must be detected and evaluated in community settings, such as school or community programs, due the relevant role of social competence in the relation between temperament and academic achievement.

Keywords: effortful control, maths achievement, social competence, mediation

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Authors: Zhuohan Li, Jing Yang, Yaoyuan Cui

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The gut-brain axis (GBA), a communication network between gut microbiota and the brain, benefits for investigation of brain diseases. Currently, organ chips are considered one of the potential tools for GBA research. However, most of the available GBA chips have limitations in replicating the three-dimensional (3D) growth environment of cells and lack the required cell types for barrier function. In the present study, a microfluidic chip was developed for GBA interaction. Blood-brain barrier (BBB) module was prepared with HBMEC, HBVP, U87 cells and decellularized matrix (dECM). Intestinal epithelial barrier (IEB) was prepared with Caco-2 and vascular endothelial cells and dECM. GBA microfluidic device was integrated with IEB and BBB modules using 3D printing interconnecting microchannel scaffolds. BBB and IEB interaction on this GBA chip were evaluated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure. The present GBA chip achieved multicellular three-dimensional cultivation. Compared with the co-culture cell model in the transwell, fluorescein was absorbed more slowly by 5.16-fold (IEB module) and 4.69-fold (BBB module) on the GBA chip. Accumulation of Rhodamine 123 and Hoechst33342 was dramatically decreased. The efflux function of transporters on IEB and BBB was significantly increased on the GBA chip. After lipopolysaccharide (LPS) disrupted the IEB, and then BBB dysfunction was further observed, which confirmed the interaction between IEB and BBB modules. These results demonstrated that this GBA chip may offer a promising tool for gut-brain interaction study.

Keywords: decellularized matrix, gut-brain axis, organ-on-chip, three-dimensional printing.

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Authors: Noha Ibrahim, Eman S. Elzanfaly, Said A. Hassan, Ahmed E. El Gendy

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Objectives: The purpose of the study is to develop a sensitive synchronous spectrofluorimetric method with multivariate calibration after studying and optimizing the different variables affecting the native fluorescence intensity of amlodipine and olmesartan implementing an experimental design approach. Method: In the first step, the fractional factorial design used to screen independent factors affecting the intensity of both drugs. The objective of the second step was to optimize the method performance using a Central Composite Face-centred (CCF) design. The optimal experimental conditions obtained from this study were; a temperature of (15°C ± 0.5), the solvent of 0.05N HCl and methanol with a ratio of (90:10, v/v respectively), Δλ of 42 and the addition of 1.48 % surfactant providing a sensitive measurement of amlodipine and olmesartan. The resolution of the binary mixture with a multivariate calibration method has been accomplished mainly by using partial least squares (PLS) model. Results: The recovery percentage for amlodipine besylate and atorvastatin calcium in tablets dosage form were found to be (102 ± 0.24, 99.56 ± 0.10, for amlodipine and Olmesartan, respectively). Conclusion: Method is valid according to some International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) guidelines, providing to be linear over a range of 200-300, 500-1500 ng mL⁻¹ for amlodipine and Olmesartan. The methods were successful to estimate amlodipine besylate and olmesartan in bulk powder and pharmaceutical preparation.

Keywords: amlodipine, central composite face-centred design, experimental design, fractional factorial design, multivariate calibration, olmesartan

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Authors: Ayodele James Akinola

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This study examines how social and linguistic variables influenced communication between neurologists and patients in selected university teaching hospitals (UTHs) in southwestern Nigeria. Jacob Mey’s Pragmatic Acts, complemented by Emanuel and Emanuel’s model of doctor-patient relationship, served as the theoretical framework. Data comprising 22 audio-recorded neurologist-patient interactions were collected from two UTHs in the southwestern region of Nigeria. Data revealed that educational attainment of patients has insignificant influence on the interaction where the linguistic prowess of the patient has been impaired for consultative communication. However, the status influenced the degree of attention paid to patients by neurologists and determines the amount of time 'trying to help patients to communicate'. Patients with lower educational status and who could not communicate in English spent more time narrating their ailment to neurologists. Patients with higher educational status and could communicate in English saves consultation time as they express themselves briefly unlike those who were of little or no education in the clinics. Through this, diagnoses and therapeutic processes took eight to 12 minutes. 20 minutes was the longest duration recorded. Neurologist-patient interaction in the observed hospitals is shaped by neurologists’ experience, patients’ social variables and language.

Keywords: medical pragmatics, neurologist-patient interaction, nigeria, socio-linguistic influence

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Authors: Djamel Remache, Serge Dos Santos, Michael Cliez, Michel Gratton, Patrick Chabrand, Jean-Marie Rossi, Jean-Louis Milan

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Skin tissue is an inhomogeneous and anisotropic material. Uniaxial tensile testing is one of the primary testing techniques for the mechanical characterization of skin at large scales. In order to predict the mechanical behavior of materials, the direct or inverse analytical approaches are often used. However, in case of an inhomogeneous and anisotropic material as skin tissue, analytical approaches are not able to provide solutions. The numerical simulation is thus necessary. In this work, the uniaxial tensile test and the FEM (finite element method) based inverse method were used to identify the anisotropic mechanical properties of porcine skin tissue. The uniaxial tensile experiments were performed using Instron 8800 tensile machine®. The uniaxial tensile test was simulated with FEM, and then the inverse optimization approach (or the inverse calibration) was used for the identification of mechanical properties of the samples. Experimentally results were compared to finite element solutions. The results showed that the finite element model predictions of the mechanical behavior of the tested skin samples were well correlated with experimental results.

Keywords: mechanical skin tissue behavior, uniaxial tensile test, finite element analysis, inverse optimization approach

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Authors: Nikolai N. Bogolubov, Andrey V. Soldatov

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Terahertz radiation occupies a range of frequencies somewhere from 100 GHz to approximately 10 THz, just between microwaves and infrared waves. This range of frequencies holds promise for many useful applications in experimental applied physics and technology. At the same time, reliable, simple techniques for generation, amplification, and modulation of electromagnetic radiation in this range are far from been developed enough to meet the requirements of its practical usage, especially in comparison to the level of technological abilities already achieved for other domains of the electromagnetic spectrum. This situation of relative underdevelopment of this potentially very important range of electromagnetic spectrum is known under the name of the 'terahertz gap.' Among other things, technological progress in the terahertz area has been impeded by the lack of compact, low energy consumption, easily controlled and continuously radiating terahertz radiation sources. Therefore, development of new techniques serving this purpose as well as various devices based on them is of obvious necessity. No doubt, it would be highly advantageous to employ the simplest of suitable physical systems as major critical components in these techniques and devices. The purpose of the present research was to show by means of conventional methods of non-equilibrium statistical mechanics and the theory of open quantum systems, that a thoroughly studied two-level quantum system, also known as an one-electron two-level 'atom', being driven by external classical monochromatic high-frequency (e.g. laser) field, can radiate continuously at much lower (e.g. terahertz) frequency in the fluorescent regime if the transition dipole moment operator of this 'atom' possesses permanent non-equal diagonal matrix elements. This assumption contradicts conventional assumption routinely made in quantum optics that only the non-diagonal matrix elements persist. The conventional assumption is pertinent to natural atoms and molecules and stems from the property of spatial inversion symmetry of their eigenstates. At the same time, such an assumption is justified no more in regard to artificially manufactured quantum systems of reduced dimensionality, such as, for example, quantum dots, which are often nicknamed 'artificial atoms' due to striking similarity of their optical properties to those ones of the real atoms. Possible ways to experimental observation and practical implementation of the predicted effect are discussed too.

Keywords: terahertz gap, two-level atom, resonant fluorescence, quantum dot, resonant fluorescence, two-level atom

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Authors: Carlos A. Acosta, Amar Bhalla, Ruyan Guo

Abstract:

Scraped surface heat exchangers (SSHE) use a rotor shaft assembly with scraping blades to homogenize viscous fluids during the heat transfer process. Obtaining in-situ measurements is difficult because the rotor and scraping blades spin continuously inside the mixing chamber, obstructing the instrumentation pathway. Computational fluid dynamics simulations provide useful insight into the flow behavior around the scraper blades for a variety of fluids and blade geometries. However, numerical solutions often focus on the fluid dynamics and heat transfer phenomena of rotating flow, ignoring the glass-transition temperature and freezing point depression. This research studies the multi-phase fluid dynamics and freezing point depression inside the SSHE with non-isothermal conditions in a time dependent process using an aqueous solution that contains 13.5 wt.% high fructose corn syrup and CO₂. The computational results were validated with in-situ pressure, temperature, and optical spectroscopy measurements. Results from the numerical model show good quantitatively agreement with experimental values.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, freezing point depression, phase-transition temperature, multi-phase flow

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Authors: Sajida Saqira, Anthony Chariton, Grant C. Hose

Abstract:

The Anthropocene has seen dramatic environmental changes which are affecting every ecosystem on earth. Freshwater ecosystems are particularly vulnerable as they are at risk from the many activities that go on and contaminants that are released in catchments. They are thus subject to many stressors simultaneously. Freshwater ecosystems respond to stress at all levels of biological organization, from subcellular to community structure and ecosystem functioning. The aim of this study was to examine the resistance and resilience of freshwater ecosystems to multiple stressors. Here we explored the individual and combined effects of copper as a chemical stressor and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) as a biological stressor on the health, functioning, and recovery of outdoor experimental pond ecosystems in a long-term, controlled, factorial experiment. Primary productivity, decomposition, and water and sediment quality were analysed at regular intervals for one year to understand the health and functioning of the ecosystems. Changes to benthic biota were quantified using DNA-based and traditional microscopy-based counts of invertebrates. Carp were added to the ponds to copper contaminated sediments (with controls) to explore the combined effects of copper and carp and removed after six months to explore the resilience and recovery of the system. The outcomes of this study will advance our understanding of the impacts of multiple stressors on freshwater ecosystems, and the resilience of these systems to copper and C. carpio, which are both globally significant stressors in freshwater systems.

Keywords: carp, copper, ecosystem health, freshwater ecosystem, multiple stressors

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Authors: Debasmita Dubey, Rajesh Kumar Meher, Smruti Pragya Samal, Pradeep Kumar Naik

Abstract:

Background: To determine antioxidant properties and anticancer activity by ROS and mitochondrial transmembrane potential mediated apoptosis against MCF7, MDA-MB-231, cell line. Methods: Leaf sample was extracted using methanol by microwave digestion technique. The antioxidant properties of the methanolic extract were determined by a DPPH scavenging assay. In vitro anticancer activity, mitochondrial transmembrane potential, apoptosis activity and DNA fragmentation study, as well as intracellular ROS activity of most potential leaf extract, were also determined by using the MDA-MB-231cell line. In vivo animal toxicity study was carried out using mice model. Results: Methanolic leaf extract has shown the highest antioxidant, as well as anticancer activity, is based on the assay conducted. For the identification of active phytochemicals from methanolic extract, High-resolution mass spectroscopy-LCMS was used. In vitro cytotoxicity study against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell line and IC 50 value was found to be 37.5µg/ml. From histopathological studies, no toxicity in liver and kidney tissue was identified. Conclusion: This plant tuber can be used as a regular diet to reduce the chance of breast cancer. Further, more studies should be conducted to isolate and identify the responsible compound.

Keywords: human breast adenocarcinoma, ROS, mitochondrial transmembrane, apoptosis

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Authors: Sharifah Mousli, Sona Taheri, Jiayuan He

Abstract:

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex developmental condition involving persistent difficulties with social communication, restricted interests, and repetitive behavior. The challenges associated with ASD can interfere with an affected individual’s ability to function in social, academic, and employment settings. Although there is no effective medication known to treat ASD, to our best knowledge, early intervention can significantly improve an affected individual’s overall development. Hence, an accurate diagnosis of ASD at an early phase is essential. The use of machine learning approaches improves and speeds up the diagnosis of ASD. In this paper, we focus on the application of unsupervised clustering methods in ASD as a large volume of ASD data generated through hospitals, therapy centers, and mobile applications has no pre-existing labels. We conduct a comparative analysis using seven clustering approaches such as K-means, agglomerative hierarchical, model-based, fuzzy-C-means, affinity propagation, self organizing maps, linear vector quantisation – as well as the recently developed optimization-based clustering (COMSEP-Clust) approach. We evaluate the performances of the clustering methods extensively on real-world ASD datasets encompassing different age groups: toddlers, children, adolescents, and adults. Our experimental results suggest that the COMSEP-Clust approach outperforms the other seven methods in recognizing ASD with well-separated clusters.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, clustering, optimization, unsupervised machine learning

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Authors: Nana Benma Osei

Abstract:

Patient discharge can be a hectic process. Patients are sometimes sent to the wrong location or forgotten in lounges in the waiting room. This ends up compromising patient care because the delay in picking the patients can affect how they adhere to medication. Patients may fail to take their medication, and this will lead to negative outcomes. The situation highlights the demands of modern-day healthcare, and the use of technology can help in reducing such challenges and in enhancing the patient’s experience, leading to greater satisfaction with the care provided. The paper contains the proposed changes to a healthcare facility by introducing the clinical decision support system, which will be needed to improve coordination and communication during patient discharge. This will be done under Kurt Lewin’s Change Management Model, which recognizes the different phases in the change process. A pilot program is proposed initially before the program can be implemented in the entire organization. This allows for the identification of challenges and ways of managing them. The paper anticipates some of the possible challenges that may arise during implementation, and a multi-disciplinary approach is considered the most effective. Opposition to the change is likely to arise because staff members may lack information on how the changes will affect them and the skills they will need to learn to use the new system. Training will occur before the technology can be implemented. Every member will go for training, and adequate time is allocated for training purposes. A comparison of data will determine whether the project has succeeded.

Keywords: patient discharge, clinical decision support system, communication, collaboration

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Authors: Mohamamd Ayish

Abstract:

This study addresses media diplomacy as an integral component of public diplomacy which emerged in the United States in the post-World War II era and found applications in other countries around the world. The study seeks to evolve a conceptual framework for understanding the practice of public diplomacy through social networks, often referred to as social engagement diplomacy. This form of diplomacy is considered far more ahead of the other two forms associated with both government controlled and independent media. The cases of the Voice of America Arabic Service and the 1977 CBS interviews with the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin are cited in this study as reflecting the two traditional models. The new social engagement model sees public diplomacy as an act of communication that seeks to effect changes in target audiences through a process of persuasion shaped by discourse orientations and technological features. The proposed conceptual framework for social, diplomatic engagement draws on an open communication environment, an empowered audience, an interactive and symmetrical process of communication, multimedia-based flows of information, direct and credible feedback, distortion and high risk. The writer believes this study would be helpful in providing appropriate knowledge pertaining to our understanding of social diplomacy and furnishing concrete insights into how diplomats could harness virtual space to maximize their goals in the global environment.

Keywords: diplomacy, engagement, social, globalization

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