Search results for: functional communication

Authors: Duc Dong Do, Ngoc Ha Tran, Thanh Hai Dang, Cao Cuong Dang, Xuan Huan Hoang

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Global aligning two protein-protein interaction networks is an essentially important task in bioinformatics/computational biology field of study. It is a challenging and widely studied research topic in recent years. Accurately aligned networks allow us to identify functional modules of proteins and/ororthologous proteins from which unknown functions of a protein can be inferred. We here introduce a novel efficient heuristic global network alignment algorithm called FASTAn, including two phases: the first to construct an initial alignment and the second to improve such alignment by exerting a local optimization repeated procedure. The experimental results demonstrated that FASTAn outperformed the state-of-the-art global network alignment algorithm namely SPINAL in terms of both commonly used objective scores and the run-time.

Keywords: FASTAn, Heuristic algorithm, biological network alignment, protein-protein interaction networks

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Authors: Gehan ElAkabawy

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Background: Diabetes mellitus causes severe deteriorations of almost all the organs and systems of the body, as well as significant damage to the oral cavity. The oral changes are mainly related to salivary glands dysfunction characterized by hyposalivation and xerostomia, which significantly reduce diabetic patients’ quality of life. Human dental pulp stem cells represent a promising source for cell-based therapies, owing to their easy, minimally invasive surgical access, and high proliferative capacity. It was reported that the trophic support mediated by dental pulp stem cells can rescue the functional and structural alterations of damaged salivary glands. However, potential differentiation and paracrine effects of human dental pulp stem cells in diabetic-induced parotid gland damage have not been previously investigated. Our study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of intravenous transplantation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) on parotid gland injury in a rat model of streptozotocin (STZ)-induced type 1 diabetes. Methods: Thirty Sprague-Dawley male rats were randomly categorised into three groups: control, diabetic (STZ), and transplanted (STZ+hDPSCs). hDPSCs or vehicle was injected into the tail vein 7 days after STZ injection. The fasting blood glucose levels were monitored weekly. A glucose tolerance test was performed, and the parotid gland weight, salivary flow rate, oxidative stress indices, parotid gland histology, and caspase-3, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in parotid tissues were assessed 28 days post-transplantation. Results: Transplantation of hDPSCs downregulated blood glucose, improved the salivary flow rate, and reduced oxidative stress. The cells migrated to, survived, and differentiated into acinar, ductal, and myoepithelial cells in the STZ-injured parotid gland. Moreover, they downregulated the expression of caspase-3 and upregulated the expression of VEGF and PCNA, likely exerting pro-angiogenetic and antiapoptotic effects and promoting endogenous regeneration. In addition, the transplanted cells enhanced the parotid nitric oxide (NO) -tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) pathway. Conclusions: Our results show that hDPSCs can migrate to and survive within the STZ-injured parotid gland, where they prevent its functional and morphological damage by restoring normal glucose levels, differentiating into parotid cell populations, and stimulating paracrine-mediated regeneration. Thus, hDPSCs may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of diabetes-induced parotid gland injury.

Keywords: dental pulp stem cells, diabetes, streptozotocin, parotid gland

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Authors: Toru Shionoya, Yosuke Kurihara, Takashi Kaburagi, Kajiro Watanabe

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Mass-produced bidirectional microphones have attractive characteristics. They work as a microphone as well as a sensor with high gain over a wide frequency range; they are also highly reliable and economical. We present novel multiple functional uses of the microphones. A mathematical model for explaining the high-pass-filtering characteristics of bidirectional microphones was presented. Based on the model, the characteristics of the microphone were investigated, and a novel use for the microphone as a sensor with a wide frequency range was presented. In this study, applications for using the microphone as a security sensor and a human biosensor were introduced. The mathematical model was validated through experiments, and the feasibility of the abovementioned applications for security monitoring and the biosignal monitoring were examined through experiments.

Keywords: bidirectional microphone, low-frequency, mathematical model, frequency response

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Authors: A. K. M. Kafi, S. N. Nina, Mashitah M. Yusoff

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In this work, we have described a new 3-dimensional (3D) network of cross-linked Horseradish Peroxidase/Carbon Nanotube (HRP/CNT) on a thiol-modified Au surface in order to build up the effective electrical wiring of the enzyme units with the electrode. This was achieved by the electropolymerization of aniline-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and 4-aminothiophenol -modified-HRP on a 4-aminothiophenol monolayer-modified Au electrode. The synthesized 3D HRP/CNT networks were characterized with cyclic voltammetry and amperometry, resulting the establishment direct electron transfer between the redox active unit of HRP and the Au surface. Electrochemical measurements reveal that the immobilized HRP exhibits high biological activity and stability and a quasi-reversible redox peak of the redox center of HRP was observed at about −0.355 and −0.275 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The electron transfer rate constant, KS and electron transfer co-efficient were found to be 0.57 s-1 and 0.42, respectively. Based on the electrocatalytic process by direct electrochemistry of HRP, a biosensor for detecting H2O2 was developed. The developed biosensor exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of H2O2. The proposed biosensor modified with HRP/CNT 3D network displays a broader linear range and a lower detection limit for H2O2 determination. The linear range is from 1.0×10−7 to 1.2×10−4M with a detection limit of 2.2.0×10−8M at 3σ. Moreover, this biosensor exhibits very high sensitivity, good reproducibility and long-time stability. In summary, ease of fabrication, a low cost, fast response and high sensitivity are the main advantages of the new biosensor proposed in this study. These obvious advantages would really help for the real analytical applicability of the proposed biosensor.

Keywords: redox enzyme, nanomaterials, biosensors, electrical communication

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Authors: Khodzhaberdi Allaberdiev

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In order to understand the interactions on the interface polyamide fibers and epoxy matrix in fiber- reinforced composites were investigated industrial aramid fibers: armos, svm, terlon using individual epoxy matrix components, epoxies: diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA), three- and diglycidyl derivatives of m, p-amino-, m, p-oxy-, o, m,p-carboxybenzoic acids, the models: curing agent, aniline and the compound, that depict of the structure the primary addition reaction the amine to the epoxy resin, N-di (oxyethylphenoxy) aniline. The chemical structure of the surface of untreated and treated polyamide fibers analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The impregnation of fibers with epoxy matrix components and N-di (oxyethylphenoxy) aniline has been carried out by heating 150˚C (6h). The optimum fiber loading is at 65%.The result a thermal treatment is the covalent bonds formation , derived from a combined of homopolymerization and crosslinking mechanisms in the interfacial region between the epoxy resin and the surface of fibers. The reactivity of epoxy resins on interface in microcomposites (MC) also depends from processing aids treated on surface of fiber and the absorbance moisture. The influences these factors as evidenced by the conversion of epoxy groups values in impregnated with DGEBA of the terlons: industrial, dried (in vacuum) and purified samples: 5.20 %, 4.65% and 14.10%, respectively. The same tendency for svm and armos fibers is observed. The changes in surface composition of these MC were monitored by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In the case of the purified fibers, functional groups of fibers act as well as a catalyst and curing agent of epoxy resin. It is found that the value of the epoxy groups conversion for reinforced formulations depends on aromatic polyamides nature and decreases in the order: armos >svm> terlon. This difference is due of the structural characteristics of fibers. The interfacial interactions also examined between polyglycidyl esters substituted benzoic acids and polyamide fibers in the MC. It is found that on interfacial interactions these systems influences as well as the structure and the isomerism of epoxides. The IR-spectrum impregnated fibers with aniline showed that the polyamide fibers appreciably with aniline do not react. FTIR results of treated fibers with N-di (oxyethylphenoxy) aniline fibers revealed dramatically changes IR-characteristic of the OH groups of the amino alcohol. These observations indicated hydrogen bondings and covalent interactions between amino alcohol and functional groups of fibers. This result also confirms appearance of the exo peak on Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) curve of the MC. Finally, the theoretical evaluation non-covalent interactions between individual epoxy matrix components and fibers has been performed using the benzanilide and its derivative contaning the benzimidazole moiety as a models of terlon and svm,armos, respectively. Quantum-topological analysis also demonstrated the existence hydrogen bond between amide group of models and epoxy matrix components.All the results indicated that on the interface polyamide fibers and epoxy matrix exist not only covalent, but and non-covalent the interactions during the preparation of MC.

Keywords: epoxies, interface, modeling, polyamide fibers

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Authors: Sari Aouatef, Larabi Amina

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First-principles calculations within density functional theory based are used to investigate the influence of doped rare earth elements on some properties of perovskite systems Dy₀.₀₆₂₅Y₀.₉₃₇₅FeO₃ and Dy₀.₁₂₅ Y₀.₈₇₅ FeO₃. The electronic and magnetic properties are studied by means of the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method with Vasp code. The calculated densities of states presented in this work identify the semiconducting behavior for Dy₀.₁₂₅ Y₀.₈₇₅ FeO₃, and the semi-metallic behavior for Dy₀.₀₆₂₅Y₀.₉₃₇₅ FeO₃. Besides, to investigate magnetic properties of several compounds, four magnetic configurations are considered (ferromagnetic (FM), antiferromagnetic type A (A-AFM), antiferromagnetic type C (C-AFM) and antiferromagnetic type G (G-AFM). By doping the Dy element, the system shows different changes in the magnetic order and electronic structure. It is found that Dy₀.₀₆₂₅Y₀.₉₃₇₅ FeO₃ exhibits the strongest magnetic change corresponding to the transition to the ferromagnetic order with the largest magnetic moment of 4.997.

Keywords: DFT, Perovskites, multiferroic, magnetic properties

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Authors: Ofole Ndidi

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Context: Empirical studies show that through dual primary attachment mothers and fathers contribute to children’s development and behaviours. While the contribution of mothers is well documented in past researches, fathers’ involvement in Nigeria has received much less attention. As such, exploring fathers’ involvement in sexual behaviours will provide insight for policy implementation and programming designed to delay sexual debut among sexually inexperienced young people in Nigeria. Objective of study: This study examined the extent to which father involvement (father’s parenting style, attitude, father-child communication, father’s marital status, and father’s socio-economic status) could predict delay in sexual debut of a representative sample of Nigeria adolescents in lower secondary. Materials and Methods: Multistage sampling technique was adopted to draw a cross section of 1023 adolescents with the age range of 10-23 years and mean years of 12±2.1 who reported sexually inexperience from six geographical zones in Nigeria. Multiple Regressions was used to analyze the data collected with four standardized self-report measures at 0.05 level of significance. Results: Findings of this study revealed that the independent variables (father’s parenting style, paternal attitudes, paternal–child communication, paternal marital status and paternal socio–economic status) contributed significantly to the delay of sexual debut. However, fathers’ attitude made the most potent contribution (β = 0.255, P < 0.05). Conclusions: The outcomes of this study have implications for programs that are designed to reduce high-risk behaviors among adolescents. It concluded that sexuality education and interventions should involve the fathers in a more integrated and collaborative fashion.

Keywords: father, sexual debut, adolescents, Nigeria

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Authors: Harihara Prakash Ramanathan, Daksha Mishra, Ankita Dhaduk

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Relevance: This qualitative study will educate the clinician in putting into practice the advanced method of movement science in restoring the function. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of Active Release Technique and myofascial release technique on range of motion, neck function and pain in patients with upper trapezius spasm. Methods/Analysis: The study was approved by the institutional Human Research and Ethics committee. This study included sixty patients of age group between 20 to 55 years with upper trapezius spasm. Patients were randomly divided into two groups receiving Active Release Technique (Group A) and Myofascial Release Technique (Group B). The patients were treated for 1 week and three outcome measures ROM, pain and functional level were measured using Goniometer, Visual analog scale(VAS), Neck disability Index Questionnaire(NDI) respectively. Paired Sample 't' test was used to compare the differences of pre and post intervention values of Cervical Range of motion, Neck disability Index, Visual analog scale of Group A and Group B. Independent't' test was used to compare the differences between two groups in terms of improvement in cervical range of motion, decrease in visual analogue scale(VAS), decrease in Neck disability index score. Results: Both the groups showed statistically significant improvements in cervical ROM, reduction in pain and in NDI scores. However, mean change in Cervical flexion, cervical extension, right side flexion, left side flexion, right side rotation, left side rotation, pain, neck disability level showed statistically significant improvement (P < 0. 05)) in the patients who received Active Release Technique as compared to Myofascial release technique. Discussion and conclusions: In present study, the average improvement immediately post intervention is significantly greater as compared to before treatment but there is even more improvement after seven sessions as compared to single session. Hence, this proves that several sessions of Manual techniques are necessary to produce clinically relevant results. Active release technique help to reduce the pain threshold by removing adhesion and promote normal tissue extensibility. The act of tensioning and compressing the affected tissue both with digital contact and through the active movement performed by the patient can be a plausible mechanism for tissue healing in this study. This study concluded that both Active Release Technique (ART) and Myofascial release technique (MFR) are equally effective in managing upper trapezius muscle spasm, but more improvement can be achieved by Active Release Technique (ART). Impact and Implications: Active Release Technique can be adopted as mainstay of treatment approach in treating trapezius spasm for faster relief and improving the functional status.

Keywords: trapezius spasm, myofascial release, active release technique, pain

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Authors: B. Godefroy, D. Beladjine, K. Beddiar

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In France, construction BIM actors commonly evoke the BIM gains for exploitation by integrating of the life cycle of a building. The standardization of level 7 of development would achieve this stage of the digital model. The householders include local public authorities, social landlords, public institutions (health and education), enterprises, facilities management companies. They have a dual role: owner and manager of their housing complex. In a context of financial constraint, the BIM of exploitation aims to control costs, make long-term investment choices, renew the portfolio and enable environmental standards to be met. It assumes a knowledge of the existing buildings, marked by its size and complexity. The information sought must be synthetic and structured, it concerns, in general, a real estate complex. We conducted a study with professionals about their concerns and ways to use it to see how householders could benefit from this development. To obtain results, we had in mind the recurring interrogation of the project management, on the needs of the operators, we tested the following stages: 1) Inculcate a minimal culture of BIM with multidisciplinary teams of the operator then by business, 2) Learn by BIM tools, the adaptation of their trade in operations, 3) Understand the place and creation of a graphic and technical database management system, determine the components of its library so their needs, 4) Identify the cross-functional interventions of its managers by business (operations, technical, information system, purchasing and legal aspects), 5) Set an internal protocol and define the BIM impact in their digital strategy. In addition, continuity of management by the integration of construction models in the operation phase raises the question of interoperability in the control of the production of IFC files in the operator’s proprietary format and the export and import processes, a solution rivaled by the traditional method of vectorization of paper plans. Companies that digitize housing complex and those in FM produce a file IFC, directly, according to their needs without recourse to the model of construction, they produce models business for the exploitation. They standardize components, equipment that are useful for coding. We observed the consequences resulting from the use of the BIM in the property industry and, made the following observations: a) The value of data prevail over the graphics, 3D is little used b) The owner must, through his organization, promote the feedback of technical management information during the design phase c) The operator's reflection on outsourcing concerns the acquisition of its information system and these services, observing the risks and costs related to their internal or external developments. This study allows us to highlight: i) The need for an internal organization of operators prior to a response to the construction management ii) The evolution towards automated methods for creating models dedicated to the exploitation, a specialization would be required iii) A review of the communication of the project management, management continuity not articulating around his building model, it must take into account the environment of the operator and reflect on its scope of action.

Keywords: information system, interoperability, models for exploitation, property industry

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Authors: Mohammad Anvari, Helen S. Joyner (Melito)

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Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz is an oilseed crop currently used for the production of biofuels. However, the low price of diesel and gasoline has made camelina an unprofitable crop for farmers, leading to declining camelina production in the US. Hence, the ability to utilize camelina byproduct (defatted meal) after oil extraction would be a pivotal factor for promoting the economic value of the plant. Camelina defatted meal is rich in proteins and polysaccharides. The great diversity in the polysaccharide structural features provides a unique opportunity for use in food formulations as thickeners, gelling agents, emulsifiers, and stabilizers. There is currently a great degree of interest in the study of novel plant polysaccharides, as they can be derived from readily accessible sources and have potential application in a wide range of food formulations. However, there are no published studies on the polysaccharide extracted from camelina meal, and its potential industrial applications remain largely underexploited. Rheological properties are a key functional feature of polysaccharides and are highly dependent on the material composition and molecular structure. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the rheological properties of the polysaccharide extracted from camelina meal at different conditions to obtain insight on the molecular characteristics of the polysaccharide. Flow and dynamic mechanical behaviors were determined under different temperatures (5-50°C) and concentrations (1-6% w/v). Additionally, the zeta potential of the polysaccharide dispersion was measured at different pHs (2-11) and a biopolymer concentration of 0.05% (w/v). Shear rate sweep data revealed that the camelina polysaccharide displayed shear thinning (pseudoplastic) behavior, which is typical of polymer systems. The polysaccharide dispersion (1% w/v) showed no significant changes in viscosity with temperature, which makes it a promising ingredient in products requiring texture stability over a range of temperatures. However, the viscosity increased significantly with increased concentration, indicating that camelina polysaccharide can be used in food products at different concentrations to produce a range of textures. Dynamic mechanical spectra showed similar trends. The temperature had little effect on viscoelastic moduli. However, moduli were strongly affected by concentration: samples exhibited concentrated solution behavior at low concentrations (1-2% w/v) and weak gel behavior at higher concentrations (4-6% w/v). These rheological properties can be used for designing and modeling of liquid and semisolid products. Zeta potential affects the intensity of molecular interactions and molecular conformation and can alter solubility, stability, and eventually, the functionality of the materials as their environment changes. In this study, the zeta potential value significantly decreased from 0.0 to -62.5 as pH increased from 2 to 11, indicating that pH may affect the functional properties of the polysaccharide. The results obtained in the current study showed that camelina polysaccharide has significant potential for application in various food systems and can be introduced as a novel anionic thickening agent with unique properties.

Keywords: Camelina meal, polysaccharide, rheology, zeta potential

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Authors: Mikel Alonso López, María Francisca Blasco López, Víctor Molero Ayala

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The present study explains the somatic marker theory of Antonio Damasio, which indicates that when making a decision, the stored or possible future scenarios (future memory) images allow people to feel for a moment what would happen when they make a choice, and how this is emotionally marked. This process can be conscious or unconscious. The development of new Neuromarketing techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), carries a greater understanding of how the brain functions and consumer behavior. In the results observed in different studies using fMRI, the evidence suggests that the somatic marker and future memories influence the decision-making process, adding a positive or negative emotional component to the options. This would mean that all decisions would involve a present emotional component, with a rational cost-benefit analysis that can be performed later.

Keywords: emotions, decision making, somatic marker, consumer´s brain

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Authors: Sundaram Chandrasekaran, Seung Hyun Hur

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Exploring strategies for oxygen vacancy engineering under mild conditions and understanding the relationship between dislocations and photoelectrochemical (PEC) cell performance are challenging issues for designing high performance PEC devices. Therefore, it is very important to understand that how the oxygen vacancies (VO) or other defect states affect the performance of the photocatalyst in photoelectric transfer. So far, it has been found that defects in nano or micro crystals can have two possible significances on the PEC performance. Firstly, an electron-hole pair produced at the interface of photoelectrode and electrolyte can recombine at the defect centers under illumination of light, thereby reducing the PEC performances. On the other hand, the defects could lead to a higher light absorption in the longer wavelength region and may act as energy centers for the water splitting reaction that can improve the PEC performances. Even if the dislocation growth of ZnO has been verified by the full density functional theory (DFT) calculations and local density approximation calculations (LDA), it requires further studies to correlate the structures of ZnO and PEC performances. Exploring the hybrid structures composed of graphene oxide (GO) and ZnO nanostructures offer not only the vision of how the complex structure form from a simple starting materials but also the tools to improve PEC performances by understanding the underlying mechanisms of mutual interactions. As there are few studies for the ZnO growth with other materials and the growth mechanism in those cases has not been clearly explored yet, it is very important to understand the fundamental growth process of nanomaterials with the specific materials, so that rational and controllable syntheses of efficient ZnO-based hybrid materials can be designed to prepare nanostructures that can exhibit significant PEC performances. Herein, we fabricated various ZnO nanostructures such as hollow sphere, bucky bowl, nanorod and triangle, investigated their pH dependent growth mechanism, and correlated the PEC performances with them. Especially, the origin of well-controlled dislocation-driven growth and its transformation mechanism of ZnO nanorods to triangles on the GO surface were discussed in detail. Surprisingly, the addition of GO during the synthesis process not only tunes the morphology of ZnO nanocrystals and also creates more oxygen vacancies (oxygen defects) in the lattice of ZnO, which obviously suggest that the oxygen vacancies be created by the redox reaction between GO and ZnO in which the surface oxygen is extracted from the surface of ZnO by the functional groups of GO. On the basis of our experimental and theoretical analysis, the detailed mechanism for the formation of specific structural shapes and oxygen vacancies via dislocation, and its impact in PEC performances are explored. In water splitting performance, the maximum photocurrent density of GO-ZnO triangles was 1.517mA/cm-2 (under UV light ~ 360 nm) vs. RHE with high incident photon to current conversion Efficiency (IPCE) of 10.41%, which is the highest among all samples fabricated in this study and also one of the highest IPCE reported so far obtained from GO-ZnO triangular shaped photocatalyst.

Keywords: dislocation driven growth, zinc oxide, graphene oxide, water splitting

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Authors: S. Abbsi, M. R. Hadian, M. Abdolvahab, M. Jalili, S. Khafri

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Background: According to physical effects of cardiovascular accident (CVA) which is the most common disabilities in adulthood. It seems attention to treatment and rehabilitation of this patient has importance. Hemiplegic patients have been experienced of wild functional disabilities. Numerous patients have been suffered from upper limb disabilities. Aim of this study correlation of pinch and grip strength with dexterity in adult hemiplegic. Methods: 34 adult hemiplegic in range of 50-70 years participate in this study. After introduce and take a satisfaction patient, pinch and grip strength have evaluated by dynamometer and dexterity have evaluated by Minnesota manual dexterity test and correlation effects of them have studied. Result: According to result of present investigation, patients with hemiplegia have shown significant correlation between dexterity with pinch and grip strength. Conclusion: Dexterity has correlation with pinch and grip strength, but it seems, not have correlation with age and duration of CVA.

Keywords: pinch strength, grip strength, dexterity, hemiplegia

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Authors: Alexander Aurell

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One of the latest trends in the modeling of human crowds is the mean-field game approach. In the mean-field game approach, the motion of a human crowd is described by a nonstandard stochastic optimal control problem. It is nonstandard since congestion is considered, introduced through a dependence in the performance functional on the distribution of the crowd. This study extends the class of mean-field pedestrian crowd models to allow for non-local congestion and arbitrary, but finitely, many interacting crowds. The new congestion feature grants pedestrians a 'personal space' where crowding is undesirable. The model is treated as a mean-field type game which is derived from a particle picture. This, in contrast to a mean-field game, better describes a situation where the crowd can be controlled by a central planner. The latter is suitable for decentralized situations. Solutions to the mean-field type game are characterized via a Pontryagin-type Maximum Principle.

Keywords: congestion, crowd dynamics, interacting populations, mean-field approximation, optimal control

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Authors: A. Ersan, A. S. Kipcak, M. Yildirim, A. M. Erayvaz, E. M. Derun, S. Piskin, N. Tugrul

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Zinc borates are used as a multi-functional flame retardant additive for its high dehydration temperature. In this study, a new method of ultrasonic mixing was used in the synthesis of zinc borates. The reactants of zinc oxide (ZnO) and boric acid (H3BO3) were used at the constant reaction parameters of 90°C reaction temperature and 55 min of reaction time. Several molar ratios of ZnO:H3BO3 (1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, and 1:5) were conducted for the determination of the optimum reaction ratio. Prior to the synthesis, the characterization of the synthesized zinc borates were made by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR). From the results Zinc Oxide Borate Hydrate [Zn3B6O12.3.5H2O], were synthesized optimum at the molar ratio of 1:3, with a reaction efficiency of 95.2%.

Keywords: zinc borates, ultrasonic mixing, XRD, FT-IR, reaction efficiency

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Authors: Omolola Ojetayo, Emmanuel Garuba, Obinna Ajunwa, Abiodun A. Onilude

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Introduction: Biofilm is a functional community of microorganisms that are associated with a surface or an interface. These adherent cells become embedded within an extracellular matrix composed of polymeric substances, i.e., biofilms refer to biological deposits consisting of both microbes and their extracellular products on biotic and abiotic surfaces. Despite their detrimental effects in medicine, biofilms as natural cell immobilization have found several applications in biotechnology, such as in the treatment of wastewater, bioremediation and biodegradation, desulfurization of gas, and conversion of agro-derived materials into alcohols and organic acids. The means of enhancing immobilized cells have been chemical-inductive, and this affects the medium composition and final product. Physical factors including electrical, magnetic, and electromagnetic flux have shown potential for enhancing biofilms depending on the bacterial species, nature, and intensity of emitted signals, the duration of exposure, and substratum used. However, the concept of cell immobilisation by electrical and magnetic induction is still underexplored. Methods: To assess the effects of physical factors on biofilm formation, six American typed culture collection (Acetobacter aceti ATCC15973, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027, Serratia marcescens ATCC14756, Gluconobacter oxydans ATCC19357, Rhodobacter sphaeroides ATCC17023, and Bacillus subtilis ATCC6633) were used. Standard culture techniques for bacterial cells were adopted. Natural autoimmobilisation potentials of test bacteria were carried out by simple biofilms ring formation on tubes, while crystal violet binding assay techniques were adopted in the characterisation of biofilm quantity. Electroinduction of bacterial cells by direct current (DC) application in cell broth, static magnetic field exposure, and electromagnetic flux were carried out, and autoimmobilisation of cells in a biofilm pattern was determined on various substrata tested, including wood, glass, steel, polyvinylchloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate. Biot Savart law was used in quantifying magnetic field intensity, and statistical analyses of data obtained were carried out using the analyses of variance (ANOVA) as well as other statistical tools. Results: Biofilm formation by the selected test bacteria was enhanced by the physical factors applied. Electromagnetic induction had the greatest effect on biofilm formation, with magnetic induction producing the least effect across all substrata used. Microbial cell-cell communication could be a possible means via which physical signals affected the cells in a polarisable manner. Conclusion: The enhancement of biofilm formation by bacteria using physical factors has shown that their inherent capability as a cell immobilization method can be further optimised for industrial applications. A possible relationship between the presence of voltage-dependent channels, mechanosensitive channels, and bacterial biofilms could shed more light on this phenomenon.

Keywords: bacteria, biofilm, cell immobilization, electromagnetic induction, substrata

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Authors: Rauha Salam

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In Pakistan, over the past decade, the notion of what counts as a true ‘masculine and feminine’ behaviour has become more complicated with the inspection of social media. Given its strong religious and socio-cultural norms, patriarchal values are entrenched in the local and cultural traditions of the Pakistani society and regulate the social value of gender. However, the increasing use of internet among Pakistani men and women, especially in the form of social media uses by the youth, is increasingly becoming disruptive and challenging to the strict modes of behavioural monitoring and control both at familial and state level. Facebook, being the prime social media communication platform in Pakistan, provide its users a relatively ‘safe’ place to embrace how they want to be perceived by their audience. Moreover, the availability of an array of semiotic resources (e.g. the videos, audios, visuals and gifs) on Facebook makes it possible for the users to create a virtual identity that allows them to describe themselves in detail. By making use of Multimodal Discourse Analysis, I aimed to investigate how men and women in Pakistan construct their gendered identities multimodally (visually and linguistically) through their Facebook posts and how these semiotic modes are interconnected to communicate specific meanings. In case of the female data, the analysis showed an ambivalence as females were found to be conforming to the existing socio-cultural norms of the society and they were also employing social media platforms to deviate from traditional gendered patterns and to voice their opinions simultaneously. Similarly, the male data highlighted the reproduction of the prevalent cultural models of masculinity. However, there were instances in the data that showed a digression from the standard norms and there is a (re)negotiation of the traditional patriarchal representations.

Keywords: Facebook, Gendered Identities, Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Pakistan

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Authors: Sze Yee Lee

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The death of a sibling in childhood leads to significant impacts on both the personal and family development of the surviving siblings. Yet, the effects of sibling loss in Chinese societies such as Hong Kong have been inadequately documented in the literature. In particular, there is a gap in the literature about the long term impacts on surviving siblings. This paper explores the experience of adult siblings encountering siblings’ death during childhood with the use of in-depth interviews. Through thematic analysis and in-depth interviews, the author explores the impacts on surviving siblings’ emotions, coping styles, struggles and challenges, and personal development. Furthermore, the influences on family dynamics are explored thoroughly, including the changes in a family atmosphere, family roles, family relationships, family communication, and parenting styles. More importantly, the author identifies (i) existing continuing bonds, (ii) crying, (iii) adequate social support, (iv) hiding own emotions as a gesture of protecting parents as the crucial elements pertinent to surviving siblings’ successful adaptation in the face of sibling loss. In addition, 'child-centered' and 'family-centered' interventions for families with siblings' death in a Chinese context are discussed. With the use of age-appropriate language and children’s participation in the preparation of death and after-death arrangements, surviving siblings could be assisted in transforming bereavement into opportunities for growth. In addition, the bereaved family could better cope with grief with open communication platforms, adequate social support, and family education resources. Meanwhile, life-and-death education at both school and community levels could enhance the public’s awareness and understanding of the bereaved individuals to prevent creating further harm to them.

Keywords: children and adolescent bereavement, children-centered, family-centered, sibling’s death

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Authors: Şefika Dilek Güven, Gülden Küçükakça

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Objective: Learning the process of interaction with patient occurs within the process of nursing education. For this reason, it is considered to provide an opportunity for questioning and rearrangement of nursing education programs by assessing attitudes of nursing students towards caring nurse-patient interaction. Method: This is a descriptive study conducted in order to assess attitudes of nursing students towards caring nurse-patient interaction. The study was conducted with 318 students who were studying at nursing department of Semra and Vefa Küçük Health High School, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University in 2015-2016 academic year and agreed to participate in the study. “Personal Information Form” prepared by the researchers utilizing the literature and “Caring Nurse-Patient Interaction Scale (CNPIS)”, who Turkish validity and reliability were conducted by Atar and Aştı, were used in the study. The Cronbach α coefficient of CNPIS was found as 0.973 in the study. Permissions of the institution and participants were received before starting to conduct study. Significance test of the difference between two means, analysis of variance, and correlation analysis were used to assess the data. Results: Average age of nursing students participating in the study was 20.72±1.91 and 74.8% were female, and 28.0% were the fourth-year students. 52.5% of the nursing students stated that they chose nursing profession willingly, 80.2% did not have difficulty in their interactions with patients, and 84.6% did not have difficulty in their social relationships. CNPIS total mean score of nursing students was found to be 295.31±40.95. When the correlation between total CNPIS mean score of the nursing students in terms of some variables was examined; it was determined there was a significant positive correlation between ages of the nursing students and total mean score of CNPIS (r=0.184, p=0.001). CNPIS total mean score was found to be higher in female students compared to male students, in 3rd–year students compared to students studying at other years, in those choosing their profession willingly compared to those choosing their profession unwillingly, in those not having difficulty in relations with the patients compared to those having difficulty, and in those not having difficulty in social relationships compared to those having difficulty. It was determined there was a significant difference between CNPIS total mean scores in terms of the year and state of having difficulty in social relationships (p<0,005). Conclusion: Nursing students had positive attitudes towards caring nurse-patient interactions, attitudes of nursing students, who were female, studying at 3rd year, chose nursing profession willingly, did not have difficulty in patient relations, and did not have difficulty in social relationships, towards caring nurse-patient interaction were found to be more positive. In the line with these results; it can be recommended to organize activities for introducing nursing profession to the youth preparing for the university, to use methods that will increase further communication skills to nursing students during their education, to support students in terms of communication skills, and to involve activities that will strengthen their social relationships.

Keywords: nurse-patient interaction, nursing student, patient, communication

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Authors: Tuula Nygard

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This study contributes to the pedagogical discussion on how to promote adolescents’ multiliteracies with the emphasis on information seeking and evaluation skills in contemporary media environments. The study is conducted in the school environment utilizing perspectives of educational sciences and information studies to health communication and teaching. The research focus is on the teacher role as a trusted person, who guides students to choose and use credible information sources. Evaluating the credibility of information may often be challenging. Specifically, children and adolescents may find it difficult to know what to believe and who to trust, for instance, in health and well-being communication. Thus, advanced multiliteracy skills are needed. In the school environment, trust is based on the teacher’s subject content knowledge, but also the teacher’s character and caring. Teacher’s benevolence and approachability generate trustworthiness, which lays the foundation for good interaction with students and further, for the teacher’s pedagogical authority. The study explores teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical authority and the role of a trustee. In addition, the study examines what kind of multiliteracy practices teachers utilize in their teaching. The data will be collected by interviewing secondary school health education teachers during Spring 2019. The analysis method is a nexus analysis, which is an ethnographic research orientation. Classroom interaction as the interviewed teachers see it is scrutinized through a nexus analysis lens in order to expound a social action, where people, places, discourses, and objects are intertwined. The crucial social actions in this study are information seeking and evaluation situations, where the teacher and the students together assess the credibility of the information sources. The study is based on the hypothesis that a trustee’s opinions of credible sources and guidance in information seeking and evaluation affect students’, that is, trustors’ choices. In the school context, the teacher’s own experiences and perceptions of health-related issues cannot be brushed aside. Furthermore, adolescents are used to utilize digital technology for day-to-day information seeking, but the chosen information sources are often not very high quality. In the school, teachers are inclined to recommend familiar sources, such as health education textbook and web pages of well-known health authorities. Students, in turn, rely on the teacher’s guidance of credible information sources without using their own judgment. In terms of students’ multiliteracy competences, information seeking and evaluation tasks in health education are excellent opportunities to practice and enhance these skills. To distinguish the right information from a wrong one is particularly important in health communication because experts by experience are easy to find and their opinions are convincing. This can be addressed by employing the ideas of multiliteracy in the school subject health education and in teacher education and training.

Keywords: multiliteracies, nexus analysis, pedagogical authority, trust

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Authors: Belkis L. Cabrera

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Contemporary technological innovations have reshaped possibility, interaction, communication, engagement, education, and training. Indeed, today, a high-quality technology enhanced learning experience can be transformative as much for the learner as for the educator-trainer. As innovative technologies continue to facilitate, support, foster, and enhance collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, adaptiveness, multidisciplinarity, and communication, the field of instructional design (ID) also continues to develop and expand. Shifting its focus from media to the systematic design of instruction, or rather from the gadgets and devices themselves to the theories, models, and impact of implementing educational technology, the evolution of ID marks a restructuring of the teaching, learning, and training paradigms. However, with all of its promise, this latter component of ID remains underdeveloped. The majority of ID models are crafted and guided by learning theories and, therefore, most models are constructed around student and educator roles rather than trainer roles. Thus, when these models or systems are employed for training purposes, they usually have to be re-fitted, tweaked, and stretched to meet the training needs. This paper is concerned with the training or professional development (PD) facet of instructional design and how ID models built on teacher-to-teacher interaction and dialogue can support the creation of professional learning communities (PLCs) or communities of practice (CoPs), which can augment learning and PD experiences for all. Just as technology is changing the face of education, so too can it change the face of PD within the educational realm. This paper not only provides a new ID model but using innovative technologies such as Padlet and Thinkbinder, this paper presents a concrete example of how a traditional body-to-body, brick, and mortar learning community can be transferred and transformed into the online context.

Keywords: communities of practice, e-learning, educational reform, instructional design, professional development, professional learning communities, technology, training

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Authors: Boy Arief Fachri

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Even its content is rich in antioxidants ϒ-oryzanol, rice bran is not used properly as functional food. This research aims to (1) extract ϒ-oryzanol; (2) determine the solubility of ϒ-oryzanol in supercritical CO₂ based on phase equilibrium theory; and (3) study the effect of process variables on solubility. Extraction experiments were carried out for rice bran (5 g) at various extraction pressures, temperatures and reaction times. The flowrate of supercritical fluid through the extraction vessel was 25 g/min. The extracts were collected and analysed with high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The conclusion based on the experiments are as: (1) The highest experimental solubility was 0.303 mcg/mL RBO at T= 60°C, P= 90 atm, t= 30 min; (2) Solubility of ϒ-oryzanol was influenced by pressure and temperature. As the pressure and temperature increase, the solubility increases; (3) The solubility data of supercritical extraction can be successfully determined using phase equilibrium theory. Meanwhile, tocopherol was found and slightly investigated in this work.

Keywords: rice bran, solubility, supercritical CO2, ϒ-orizanol

Procedia PDF Downloads 386

Authors: Melvin Ouma

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Language is one of the most crucial tools in medical interaction. Its importance is as great today as it was many decades ago. Difficulty in openly discussing certain diseases and body parts is one of the challenges in language use in medical contexts. Guided by H. P. Grice’s Cooperative Principle, this paper explores the flouting of the cooperative principles in Swahili speaking medical setting. The paper examines how men flout the maxims using the Swahili language when reporting reproductive health problems to the doctor. The data used was gathered from a qualitative study carried out in a reproductive health clinic in a public facility in Nakuru County, Kenya. All the research protocols were observed by acquiring all the research permits. Respondents' ethical considerations of consent, privacy, and confidentiality were observed. The respondents recruited were men who visited the reproductive health clinic and voluntarily agreed to participate in the study without coercion or compensation. Participant observation was the key data collection tool, with the doctor and patient conversation digitally recorded. The researcher was allowed into the clinic in a socially acceptable role. Male patients flouted the maxims of quantity, quality, relation, and manner in order to describe their reproductive health problems without embarrassment using the Swahili language. The flouting was done through the discursive strategies of narration and circumlocution. Flouting of the maxims was acceptable to the doctor and patient due to the fact that sexual intercourse and private body parts are taboo topics and uncomfortable to talk about. The quality of health care received by the patient depended on the doctor’s patience when all the maxims were flouted. In the reproductive health clinic, flouting of maxims hindered communication and, at the same time, enhanced communication between the doctor and patient.

Keywords: cooperative principle, doctor, men, reproductive health

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Authors: Valentina Piric, Maja Martinovic, Zoran Barac

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The application of marketing to the domain of politics has become relevant in recent times. With this article the authors wanted to explore the issue of the current political engagement among young people in Croatia. The question is what makes young people (age 18-30) politically active in young democracies such as that of the Republic of Croatia. Therefore, the objective of this study was to discover the real or hidden motivations behind the decision to actively participate in politics among young members of the two largest political parties in the country – the Croatian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia. The study expected to find that the motivation for political engagement of young people is often connected with a possible achievement of individual goals and egoistic needs such as: self-acceptance, social success, financial success, prestige, reputation, status, recognition from the others etc. It was also expected that, due to the poor economic and social situation in the country, young people feel an increasing disconnection from politics. Additionally, the authors expected to find that there is a huge potential to engage young people in the political life of the country through a proper and more interactive use of marketing communication campaigns and social media platforms, with an emphasis on highly ethical motives of political activity and their benefits to society. All respondents included in the quantitative survey (sample size [N=100]) are active in one of the two largest political parties in Croatia. The sampling and distribution of the survey occurred in the field in September 2016. The results of the survey demonstrate that in Croatia, the way young people feel about politics and act accordingly, are in fact similar to what the theory describes. The research findings reveal that young people are politically active; however, the challenge is to find a way to motivate even more young people in Croatia to actively participate in the political and democratic processes in the country and to encourage them to see additional benefits out of this practice, not only related to their individual motives, but related more to the well-being of Croatia as a country and of every member of society. The research also discovered a huge potential for political marketing communication possibilities, especially related to interactive social media. It is possible that the social media channels have a stronger influence on the decision-making process among young people when compared to groups of reference. The level of interest in politics among young Croatians varies; some of them are almost indifferent, whilst others express a serious interest in different ways to actively contribute to the political life of the country, defining a participation in the political life of their country almost as their moral obligation. However, additional observations and further research need to be conducted to get a clearer and more precise picture about the interest in politics among young people in Croatia and their social potential.

Keywords: Croatia, marketing communication, motivation, politics, young people

Procedia PDF Downloads 333

Authors: Estephanie S. López Contreras, Vicente Aranda Palacios, Daniela Flores Silva, Felipe Oliveros Olivares, Romina Riquelme Escobedo, Iñaki Westerhout Usabiaga

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This research explored whether the context of online instruction has influenced the development of first-year English-teaching students' communication skills, being these speaking and listening. The theoretical basis finds its niche in the need to bridge the gap in knowledge about the Chilean online educational context and the development of English communicative skills. An interpretative paradigm and a phenomenological design were implemented in this study. Twenty- two first-year students and two teachers from an English teaching training program participated in the study. The students' ages ranged from 18 to 26 years of age, and the teachers' years of experience ranged from 5 to 13 years in the program. For data collection purposes, semi- structured interviews were applied to both students and teachers. Interview questions were based on the initial conceptualization of the central phenomenon. Observations, field notes, and focus groups with the students are also part of the data collection process. Data analysis considered two-cycle methods. The first included descriptive coding for field notes, initial coding for interviews, and creating a codebook. The second cycle included axial coding for both field notes and interviews. After data analysis, the findings show that students perceived online classes as instances in which active communication cannot always occur. In addition, changes made to the curricula as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic have affected students' speaking and listening skills.

Keywords: attitudes, communicative skills, EFL teaching training program, online instruction, and perceptions

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Fengjuan Wang, Azilawati Jamaludin

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Developmental Dyscalculia (DD) is defined as a particular learning difficulty with continuous challenges in learning requisite math skills that cannot be explained by intellectual disability or educational deprivation. Recent studies have increasingly recognized that DD is a heterogeneous, instead of monolithic, learning disorder with not only cognitive and behavioral deficits but so too neural dysfunction. In recent years, neuroimaging studies employed group comparison to explore the neural underpinnings of DD, which contradicted the heterogenous nature of DD and may obfuscate critical individual differences. This research aimed to investigate the neural heterogeneity of DD using case studies with functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). A total of 54 aged 6-7 years old of children participated in this study, comprising two comprehensive cognitive assessments, an 8-minute resting state, and an 8-minute one-digit addition task. Nine children met the criteria of DD and scored at or below 85 (i.e., the 16th percentile) on the Mathematics or Math Fluency subtest of the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Third Edition (WIAT-III) (both subtest scores were 90 and below). The remaining 45 children formed the typically developing (TD) group. Resting-state data and brain activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior frontal gyrus (SFG), and intraparietal sulcus (IPS) were collected for comparison between each case and the TD group. Graph theory was used to analyze the brain network under the resting state. This theory represents the brain network as a set of nodes--brain regions—and edges—pairwise interactions across areas to reveal the architectural organizations of the nervous network. Next, a single-case methodology developed by Crawford et al. in 2010 was used to compare each case’s brain network indicators and brain activation against 45 TD children’s average data. Results showed that three out of the nine DD children displayed significant deviation from TD children’s brain indicators. Case 1 had inefficient nodal network properties. Case 2 showed inefficient brain network properties and weaker activation in the IFG and IPS areas. Case 3 displayed inefficient brain network properties with no differences in activation patterns. As a rise above, the present study was able to distill differences in architectural organizations and brain activation of DD vis-à-vis TD children using fNIRS and single-case methodology. Although DD is regarded as a heterogeneous learning difficulty, it is noted that all three cases showed lower nodal efficiency in the brain network, which may be one of the neural sources of DD. Importantly, although the current “brain norm” established for the 45 children is tentative, the results from this study provide insights not only for future work in “developmental brain norm” with reliable brain indicators but so too the viability of single-case methodology, which could be used to detect differential brain indicators of DD children for early detection and interventions.

Keywords: brain activation, brain network, case study, developmental dyscalculia, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, graph theory, neural heterogeneity

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Authors: Hyunsun Lee, Yi Zhu

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Wireless ad-hoc network is a decentralized type of temporary machine-to-machine connection that is spontaneous or impromptu so that it does not rely on any fixed infrastructure and centralized administration. As unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also called drones, have recently become more accessible and widely utilized in military and civilian domains such as surveillance, search and detection missions, traffic monitoring, remote filming, product delivery, to name a few. The communication between these UAVs become possible and materialized through Flying Ad-hoc Networks (FANETs). However, due to the high mobility of UAVs that may cause different types of transmission interference, it is vital to design robust routing protocols for FANETs. In this talk, the multicast routing method based on a modified stochastic branching process is proposed. The stochastic branching process is often used to describe an early stage of an infectious disease outbreak, and the reproductive number in the process is used to classify the outbreak into a major or minor outbreak. The reproductive number to regulate the local transmission rate is adapted and modified for flying ad-hoc network communication. The performance of the proposed routing method is compared with other well-known methods such as flooding method and gossip method based on three measures; average reachability, average node usage and average branching factor. The proposed routing method achieves average reachability very closer to flooding method, average node usage closer to gossip method, and outstanding average branching factor among methods. It can be concluded that the proposed multicast routing scheme is more efficient than well-known routing schemes such as flooding and gossip while it maintains high performance.

Keywords: Flying Ad-hoc Networks, Multicast Routing, Stochastic Branching Process, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Abigaba Sophia

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed the education sector by revolutionizing educational frameworks by providing new opportunities and innovative advanced platforms for language translation during the teaching and learning process. In today's education sector, the primary key to scholarly communication is language; therefore, translation between different languages becomes vital in the process of communication. KIU-T being an International University, admits students from different nations speaking different languages, and English is the official language; some students find it hard to grasp a word during teaching and learning. This paper explores the practical aspect of using artificial intelligence technologies in an advanced language translation manner during teaching and learning. The impact of this technology is reflected in the education strategies to equip students with the necessary knowledge and skills for professional activity in the best way they understand. The researcher evaluated the demand for this practice since students have to apply the knowledge they acquire in their native language to their countries in the best way they understand. The main objective is to improve student's language competence and lay a solid foundation for their future professional development. A descriptive-analytic approach was deemed best for the study to investigate the phenomena of language translation intelligence alongside Microsoft Office during the teaching and learning process. The study analysed the responses of 345 students from different academic programs. Based on the findings, the researcher recommends using the artificial intelligence language translation technique during teaching, and this requires the wisdom of human content designers and educational experts. Lecturers and students will be trained in the basic knowledge of this technique to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning to meet the student’s needs.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, language translation technique, teaching and learning process, Microsoft Office

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Ming Qian, Davis Qian

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This study compares the different organization structures of Chinese and English writing discourses in the engineering and scientific fields, and recommends approaches for translators to convert the organization structures properly. Based on existing intercultural communication literature, English authors tend to deductively give their main points at the beginning, following with detailed explanations or arguments afterwards while the Chinese authors tend to place their main points inductively towards the end. In this study, this hypothesis has been verified by the authors’ Chinese-to-English translation experiences in the fields of science and engineering (e.g. journal papers, conference papers and monographs). The basic methodology used is the comparison of writings by Chinese authors with writings of the same or similar topic written by English authors in terms of organization structures. Translators should be aware of this nuance, so that instead of limiting themselves to translating the contents of an article in its original structure, they can convert the structures to fill the cross-culture gap. This approach can be controversial because if a translator changes the structure organization of a paragraph (e.g. from a 'because-therefore' inductive structure by a Chinese author to a deductive structure in English), this change of sentence order could be questioned by the original authors. For this reason, translators need to properly inform the original authors on the intercultural differences of English and Chinese writing (e.g. inductive structure versus deductive structure), and work with the original authors to maintain accuracy while converting from one structure used in a source language to another structure in the target language. The authors have incorporated these methodologies into their translation practices and work closely with the authors on the inter-cultural organization structure mapping. Translating discourse organization structure should become a standard practice in the translation process.

Keywords: discourse structure, information structure, intercultural communication, translation practice

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Authors: M. Asato, C. Liu, N. Fujima, T. Hoshino, Y. Chen, T. Mohri

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We study the temperature dependence of the interaction energies (IEs) of X (=Ru, Rh) impurities in Pd, due to the Fermi-Dirac (FD) distribution and the thermal vibration effect by the Debye-Grüneisen model. The n-body (n=2~4) IEs among X impurities in Pd, being used to calculate the internal energies in the free energies of the Pd-rich PdX alloys, are determined uniquely and successively from the lower-order to higher-order, by the full-potential Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker Green’s function method (FPKKR), combined with the generalized gradient approximation in the density functional theory. We found that the temperature dependence of IEs due to the FD distribution, being usually neglected, is very important to reproduce the X-concentration dependence of the observed solvus temperatures of the Pd-rich PdX (X=Ru, Rh) alloys.

Keywords: full-potential KKR-green’s function method, Fermi-Dirac distribution, GGA, phase diagram of Pd-rich PdX (X=Ru, Rh) alloys, thermal vibration effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 275