Search results for: moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS)

Authors: Hui Zhang, Sherif Beskhyroun

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In this study, a highly flexible LoRa-Based wireless sensing system was used to assess the strain state performance of building structures. The system was developed to address the local damage limitation of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. The system is part of an intelligent SHM system designed to monitor, collect and transmit strain changes in key structural components. The main purpose of the wireless sensor system is to reduce the development and installation costs, and reduce the power consumption of the system, so as to achieve long-time monitoring. The highly stretchable flexible strain gauge is mounted on the surface of the structure and is waterproof, heat resistant, and low temperature resistant, greatly reducing the installation and maintenance costs of the sensor. The system was also developed with the aim of using LoRa wireless communication technology to achieve both low power consumption and long-distance transmission, therefore solving the problem of large-scale deployment of sensors to cover more areas in large structures. In the long-term monitoring of the building structure, the system shows very high performance, very low actual power consumption, and wireless transmission stability. The results show that the developed system has a high resolution, sensitivity, and high possibility of long-term monitoring.

Keywords: LoRa, SHM system, strain measurement, civil structures, flexible sensing system

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Authors: Ermal Xhelilaj

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International practice has revealed that many maritime conflicts have been initiated as a direct result of coastal states’ disagreements over maritime boundaries and other related maritime issues. These disagreements embrace relevant problematic matters reflecting international conflicts, which in order to prevent further escalation into international crises or even armed conflicts have to be legally resolved. The most challenging cases in international system involve regional or bilateral disputes regarding maritime boundaries delimitations between states, which may result in the activation of respective armed forces, considered crucial elements for the protection of territorial sovereignty. Taken under considerations the legal issues that Law of the Sea Convention (1982) reflects, including the legal provisions over disputes settlements, the importance of analyzing this paramount issue might be considered relevant at present. Therefore, this study will be focused in discussing legal and practical issues that concern the resolution of international maritime disputes seen from international relations point of view, by initially analyzing UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982) relevant legal provisions, further discussing several notable cases over maritime boundaries delimitations as well as concluding with some recommendations related to this issue. The author is of the opinion that although the boundaries delimitation’s legal regime of UNCLOS reflects important standards for dispute settlements, yet considering the complex situation that represents this issue, relevant amendments might be necessary to be undertaken by international maritime organizations in order to further clarify the aforementioned legal matter.

Keywords: Law of the Sea, maritime conflicts, dispute settlements, international relations

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Authors: Efrat Neter, Esther Brainin, Orna Baron-Epel

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Background: Connecting end-users to newly developed ICT technologies and channeling patients to new products requires an assessment of compatibility. End user’s assessment is conveyed in the concept of eHealth literacy. The study examined the association between perceived and performed eHealth literacy (EHL) in a heterogeneous age sample in Israel. Methods: Participants included 100 Israeli adults (mean age 43,SD 13.9) who were first phone interviewed and then tested on a computer simulation of health-related Internet tasks. Performed, perceived and evaluated EHL were assessed. Levels of successful completion of tasks represented EHL performance and evaluated EHL included observed motivation, confidence, and amount of help provided. Results: The skills of accessing, understanding, appraising, applying, and generating new information had a decreasing successful completion rate with increase in complexity of the task. Generating new information, though highly correlated with all other skills, was least correlated with the other skills. Perceived and performed EHL were correlated (r=.40, P=.001), while facets of performance (i.e, digital literacy and EHL) were highly correlated (r=.89, P<.001). Participants low and high in performed EHL were significantly different: low performers were older, had attained less education, used the Internet for less time and perceived themselves as less healthy. They also encountered more difficulties, required more assistance, were less confident in their conduct and exhibited less motivation than high performers. Conclusions: The association in this age-hetrogenous ample was larger than in previous age-homogenous samples. The moderate association between perceived and performed EHL indicates that the two are associated yet distinct, the latter requiring separate assessment. Features of future rapid performed EHL tools are discussed.

Keywords: eHealth, health literacy, performance, simulation

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Authors: Wai M. Shum

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There was evidence that the change of marital quality satisfaction was related to the different stages of the family life cycle. Research studies have been largely based on western contexts, which found a curvilinear U-shaped trend in changes of marital satisfaction over the course of a marriage, but little is known about the marital experiences of Hong Kong couples. Through in-depth interviews, this qualitative study explored the marital relationship of middle-aged couples in a satisfying marriage and to identify how couples maintain a satisfying relationship in the local context. Findings from this study suggested twelve themes with some showing consistency with previous literature, such as communication, companionship, trust, and fidelity. The affective aspects of empathetic understanding and perceived empathy were found to have an enormous effect on couples’ bondedness. The high level of differentiation and security served as a basis for unconditional contribution, acceptance, and adjustment to unsolvable issues such that negative emotion would not be escalated. The manifestations of intimacy and commitment in the triangular theory of love were more frequently addressed than passion in striving for marital longevity in the local context. This study challenged the curvilinear trend of marital satisfaction throughout marriage, with couples showing different pathways of marital satisfaction. The study gave insights on martial enrichment, such as facilitating couples to disclose their vulnerabilities, desire for physical intimacy, and passion in the pursuit of enduring marriage instead of an emphasis on skills training on communication and conflict resolution.

Keywords: intimacy, marital relationship, marital satisfaction, middle-aged

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Authors: Zhazira Shemsheyeva, Zhanara Suleimenova, Olga Shemshura, Gulnaz Mombekova, Zhanar Rakhmetova

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Bacteria that colonize plant roots and promote plant growth are referred to as plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). They not only provide nutrients to the plants (direct plant growth promotion) and protect plants against the phytopathogens (indirect plant growth promotion) but also increase the soil fertility. Indirectly PGPRs improve the plant growth by becoming a biocontrol agent for a fungal pathogen. The antifungal activities of the PGPrhizobacteria were assayed against different species of phytopathogenic fungi such as Fusarium tricinctum, Fusarium oxysporum, Sclerotiniasclerotiorum, and Botrytis cinerea. Pseudomonas putidaSM-1, Azotobacter sp., and Bacillus thuringiensis AKS/16 strains have been used in experimental tests on growth inhibition of phytopathogenic fungi infecting Kidney beans. Agar well diffusion method was used in this study. Diameters of the zones of inhibition were measured in millimeters. It was found that Bacillus thuringiensis AKS/16 strain showed the lowest antifungal activity against all fungal pathogens tested. Zones of inhibition were 15-18 mm. In contrast, Pseudomonas putida SM-1 exhibited good antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium tricinctum by producing 29-30 mm clear zones of inhibition. The moderate inhibitory effect was shown by Azotobacter sp. against all fungal pathogens tested with zones of inhibition from24 to 26 mm. In summary, Pseudomonas putida SM-1 strain demonstrated the potential of controlling root rot diseases in kidney beans.

Keywords: PGPR, pseudomonas putida, kindey beans, antifungal activity

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Authors: Mohammad A. Bani-Khaled

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In this work we use the Discrete Proper Orthogonal Decomposition transform to characterize the properties of coupled dynamics in thin-walled beams by exploiting numerical simulations obtained from finite element simulations. The outcomes of the will improve our understanding of the linear and nonlinear coupled behavior of thin-walled beams structures. Thin-walled beams have widespread usage in modern engineering application in both large scale structures (aeronautical structures), as well as in nano-structures (nano-tubes). Therefore, detailed knowledge in regard to the properties of coupled vibrations and buckling in these structures are of great interest in the research community. Due to the geometric complexity in the overall structure and in particular in the cross-sections it is necessary to involve computational mechanics to numerically simulate the dynamics. In using numerical computational techniques, it is not necessary to over simplify a model in order to solve the equations of motions. Computational dynamics methods produce databases of controlled resolution in time and space. These numerical databases contain information on the properties of the coupled dynamics. In order to extract the system dynamic properties and strength of coupling among the various fields of the motion, processing techniques are required. Time- Proper Orthogonal Decomposition transform is a powerful tool for processing databases for the dynamics. It will be used to study the coupled dynamics of thin-walled basic structures. These structures are ideal to form a basis for a systematic study of coupled dynamics in structures of complex geometry.

Keywords: coupled dynamics, geometric complexity, proper orthogonal decomposition (POD), thin walled beams

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Authors: Emmanuel Dangana Monday

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Africa as a continent has been ravaged and bedeviled by series of political conflicts associated with politics and power-sharing maneuvering. As a result it has become the most unstable continent in the world in terms of power distribution and stable political culture. This paper examines the efficacy of conscious and deliberate power-sharing strategies to settle or resolve political conflicts in Africa in the arrangements of creation of states, revenue and resources allocation, and office distribution systems. The study is concerned with the spatial impact of conflicts generated in some renowned African countries in which power-sharing would have been a solution. Ethno-regional elite groups are identified as the major actors in the struggles for the distribution of territorial, economic and political powers in Africa. The struggle for power has become so intense that it has degenerated to conflicts and wars of inter and intra-political classes and parties respectively. Secondary data and deductive techniques were used in data collection and analysis. It is discovered that power-sharing has become an indispensable tool to curb the incessant political and power crisis in Africa. It is one of the finest tolerable modality of mediating elite’ competition, since it reflects the interests of both the dominant and the perceived marginalized groups. The study recommends that countries and regions of political, ethnic and religious differences in Africa should employed power-sharing strategy in order to avoid unnecessary political tension and resultant crisis. Interest groups should always come to the negotiation table to reach a realistic, durable and expected compromise to secure a peacefully resolute Africa.

Keywords: Africa, power-sharing, conflicts, politics and political stability

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Authors: Jatupon Em-Udom, Nirand Pisutha-Arnond

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The phase-field-crystal, PFC, approach is a density-functional-type material model with an atomic resolution on a diffusive timescale. Spatially, the model incorporates periodic nature of crystal lattices and can naturally exhibit elasticity, plasticity and crystal defects such as grain boundaries and dislocations. Temporally, the model operates on a diffusive timescale which bypasses the need to resolve prohibitively small atomic-vibration time steps. The PFC model has been used to study many material phenomena such as grain growth, elastic and plastic deformations and solid-solid phase transformations. In this study, the pressure-controlled dynamic equation for the PFC model was developed to simulate a single-component system under externally applied pressure; these coupled equations are important for studies of deformable systems such as those under constant pressure. The formulation is based on the non-equilibrium thermodynamics and the thermodynamics of crystalline solids. To obtain the equations, the entropy variation around the equilibrium point was derived. Then the resulting driving forces and flux around the equilibrium were obtained and rewritten as conventional thermodynamic quantities. These dynamics equations are different from the recently-proposed equations; the equations in this study should provide more rigorous descriptions of the system dynamics under externally applied pressure.

Keywords: driving forces and flux, evolution equation, non equilibrium thermodynamics, Onsager’s reciprocal relation, phase field crystal model, thermodynamics of single-component solid

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Authors: A. Ascenso, C. Silveira, B. Augusto, S. Rafael, S. Coelho, J. Ferreira, A. Monteiro, P. Roebeling, A. I. Miranda

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Innovative nature-based solutions (NBSs) can provide answers to the challenges that urban areas are currently facing due to urban densification and extreme weather conditions. The effects of NBSs are recognized and include improved quality of life, mental and physical health and improvement of air quality, among others. Part of the work developed in the scope of the UNaLab project, which aims to guide cities in developing and implementing their own co-creative NBSs, intends to assess the impacts of NBSs on air quality, using Eindhoven city as a case study. The state-of-the-art online air quality modelling system WRF-CHEM was applied to simulate meteorological and concentration fields over the study area with a spatial resolution of 1 km2 for the year 2015. The baseline simulation (without NBSs) was validated by comparing the model results with monitored data retrieved from the Eindhoven air quality database, showing an adequate model performance. In addition, land use changes were applied in a set of simulations to assess the effects of different types of NBSs. Finally, these simulations were compared with the baseline scenario and the impacts of the NBSs were assessed. Reductions on pollutant concentrations, namely for NOx and PM, were found after the application of the NBSs in the Eindhoven study area. The present work is particularly important to support public planners and decision makers in understanding the effects of their actions and planning more sustainable cities for the future.

Keywords: air quality, modelling approach, nature based solutions, urban area

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Authors: Mathias Schlenk, Susanne Seibt, Sabine Rosenfeldt, Josef Breu, Stephan Foerster

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Thin liquid jets on micrometer scale play an important role in processing such as in fiber fabrication, inkjet printing, but also for sample delivery in modern synchrotron X-ray devices. In all these cases the liquid jets contain solvents and dissolved materials such as polymers, nanoparticles, fibers pigments or proteins. As liquid flow in liquid jets differs significantly from flow in capillaries and microchannels, particle localization and orientation will also be different. This is of critical importance for applications, which depend on well-defined homogeneous particle and fiber distribution and orientation in liquid jets. Investigations of particle orientation in liquid microjets of diluted solutions have been rare, despite their importance. With the arise of micro-focused X-ray beams it has become possible to scan across samples with micrometer resolution to locally analyse structure and orientation of the samples. In the present work, we used this method to scan across liquid microjets to determine the local distribution and orientation of anisotropic particles. The compromise wormlike block copolymer micelles as an example of long flexible fibrous structures, hectorite materials as a model of extended nanosheet structures, and gold nanorods as an illustration of short stiff cylinders to comprise all relevant anisotropic geometries. We find that due to the different velocity profile in the liquid jet, which resembles plug flow, the orientation of the particles which was generated in the capillary is lost or changed into non-oriented or bi-axially orientations depending on the geometrical shape of the particle.

Keywords: anisotropic particles, liquid microjets, reorientation, SAXS

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Authors: M. A. Askari, M. A. Nazari, P. Perrier, Y. Payan

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Growth and remodeling of biological structures have gained lots of attention over the past decades. Determining the response of living tissues to mechanical loads is necessary for a wide range of developing fields such as prosthetics design or computerassisted surgical interventions. It is a well-known fact that biological structures are never stress-free, even when externally unloaded. The exact origin of these residual stresses is not clear, but theoretically, growth is one of the main sources. Extracting body organ’s shapes from medical imaging does not produce any information regarding the existing residual stresses in that organ. The simplest cause of such stresses is gravity since an organ grows under its influence from birth. Ignoring such residual stresses might cause erroneous results in numerical simulations. Accounting for residual stresses due to tissue growth can improve the accuracy of mechanical analysis results. This paper presents an original computational framework based on gradual growth to determine the residual stresses due to growth. To illustrate the method, we apply it to a finite element model of a healthy human face reconstructed from medical images. The distribution of residual stress in facial tissues is computed, which can overcome the effect of gravity and maintain tissues firmness. Our assumption is that tissue wrinkles caused by aging could be a consequence of decreasing residual stress and thus not counteracting gravity. Taking into account these stresses seems therefore extremely important in maxillofacial surgery. It would indeed help surgeons to estimate tissues changes after surgery.

Keywords: finite element method, growth, residual stress, soft tissue

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Authors: S. M. Giripunje, Shikha Jindal

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Zinc sulphide (ZnS) quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized successfully via simple sonochemical method. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis revealed the average size of QDs of the order of 3.7 nm. The band gap of the QDs was tuned to 5.2 eV by optimizing the synthesis parameters. UV-Vis absorption spectra of ZnS QD confirm the quantum confinement effect. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis confirmed the formation of single phase ZnS QDs. To fabricate the diode, blend of ZnS QDs and P3HT was prepared and the heterojunction of PEDOT:PSS and the blend was formed by spin coating on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated glass substrate. The diode behaviour of the heterojunction was analysed, wherein the ideality factor was found to be 2.53 with turn on voltage 0.75 V and the barrier height was found to be 1.429 eV. ZnS-Graphene QDs nanocomposite was characterised for the surface morphological study. It was found that the synthesized ZnS QDs appear as quasi spherical particles on the graphene sheets. The average particle size of ZnS-graphene nanocomposite QDs was found to be 8.4 nm. From voltage-current characteristics of ZnS-graphene nanocomposites, it is observed that the conductivity of the composite increases by 10⁴ times the conductivity of ZnS QDs. Thus the addition of graphene QDs in ZnS QDs enhances the mobility of the charge carriers in the composite material. Thus, the graphene QDs, with high specific area for a large interface, high mobility and tunable band gap, show a great potential as an electron-acceptors in photovoltaic devices.

Keywords: graphene, heterojunction, quantum confinement effect, quantum dots(QDs), zinc sulphide(ZnS)

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Authors: Yu-Chu Yeh, WeiChin Hsu, Chih-Yen Chang

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Substitution, combination, modification, putting to other uses, elimination, and rearrangement (SCAMPER) has been regarded as an effective technique that provides a structured way to help people to produce creative ideas and solutions. Although some neuroscience studies regarding creativity training have been conducted, no study has focused on SCAMPER. This study therefore aimed at examining whether the learning of SCAMPER through video tutorials would result in alternations of neural activation. Thirty college students were randomly assigned to the experimental group or the control group. The experimental group was requested to watch SCAMPER videos, whereas the control group was asked to watch natural-scene videos which were regarded as neutral stimulating materials. Each participant was brain scanned in a Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine while undertaking a creativity test before and after watching the videos. Furthermore, a two-way ANOVA was used to analyze the interaction between groups (the experimental group; the control group) and tasks (C task; M task; X task). The results revealed that the left precuneus significantly activated in the interaction of groups and tasks, as well as in the main effect of group. Furthermore, compared with the control group, the experimental group had greater activation in the default mode network (left precuneus and left inferior parietal cortex) and the motor network (left postcentral gyrus and left supplementary area). The findings suggest that the SCAMPER training may facilitate creativity through the stimulation of the default mode network and the motor network.

Keywords: creativity, default mode network, neural activation, SCAMPER

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Authors: Muhammad Farhan Ul Moazzam, Tamkeen Urooj Paracha, Ghani Rahman, Byung Gul Lee, Nasir Farid, Adnan Arshad

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The novel coronavirus pandemic disease (COVID-19) affected the whole globe, though there is a lack of clinical studies and its epidemiological features. But as per the observation, it has been seen that most of the COVID-19 infected patients show mild to moderate symptoms, and they get better without any medical assistance due to a better immune system to generate antibodies against the novel coronavirus. In this study, the active cases, serious cases, recovered cases, deaths and total confirmed cases had been analyzed using the geospatial inverse distance weightage technique (IDW) within the time span of 2nd March to 3rd June 2020. As of 3rd June, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Italy were 231,238, total deaths 33,310, serious cases 350, recovered cases 158,951, and active cases were 39,177, which has been reported by the Ministry of Health, Italy. March 2nd-June 3rd, 2020 a sum of 231,238 cases has been reported in Italy out of which 38.68% cases reported in the Lombardia region with a death rate of 18%, which is high from its national mortality rate followed by Emilia-Romagna (14.89% deaths), Piemonte (12.68% deaths), and Vento (10% deaths). As per the total cases in the region, the highest number of recoveries has been observed in Umbria (92.52%), followed by Basilicata (87%), Valle d'Aosta (86.85%), and Trento (84.54%). The COVID-19 evolution in Italy has been particularly found in the major urban area, i.e., Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, and Florence. Geospatial technology played a vital role in this pandemic by tracking infected patient, active cases, and recovered cases. Geospatial techniques are very important in terms of monitoring and planning to control the pandemic spread in the country.

Keywords: COVID-19, public health, geospatial analysis, IDW, Italy

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Authors: Nuha Alamro

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Besides achieving of weight loss, Bariatric surgery (BS) shown metabolic improvement including reduction of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance and diabetes. This study aimed to measure BS effects on Framingham Risk Score (FRS) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) among patients who underwent BS. Additionally, to determine the effect of BS on TSH among euthyroid obese patients. A Retrospective follow-up study was conducted in King Abdullah Medical City. A total of 160 participants who underwent BS and completed one year of follow ups. Medical history, biochemical, anthropometric, and hormonal parameters were evaluated at baseline and 3-12 months after BS. International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria were used to diagnose MetS pre and postoperative. The mean age of participants was 41.9 ± 10.6 with Body Mass Index (BMI) of 48.8 ± 7.3. After 3 months, Systolic, Diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), glycated haemoglobin (HBA1C), Low-density lipoprotein (LDL), cholesterol, triglycerides and Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) were significantly decrease (P < 0.001). Significant decrease was seen in Mets, BMI, FRS, SBP, DBP, HBA1C, LDL, triglycerides, cholesterol, liver enzyme, with significant increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level 12 months post-op (P < 0.001). After 1 year, the prevalence of MetS, DM, HTN, FRS were significantly decrease from 72.5%, 43.1%, 78.1%, 11.4 to 16.3%, 9.4%, 22.5% and 5.4, respectively. Besides achieving substantial weight loss, MetS resolution was linked to improvement in cardiovascular risk profile.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, thyroid stimulating hormone

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Authors: Levent Dumenci, Laura A. Siminoff

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Health literacy has been shown to predict a variety of health outcomes. Reliable identification of persons with limited cancer health literacy (LCHL) has been proved questionable with existing instruments using an arbitrary cut point along a continuum. The CHLT-6, however, uses a latent mixture modeling approach to identify persons with LCHL. The purpose of this study was to estimate two-week and six-month stability of identifying persons with LCHL using the CHLT-6 with a discrete latent variable approach as the underlying measurement structure. Using a test-retest design, the CHLT-6 was administered to cancer patients with two-week (N=98) and six-month (N=51) intervals. The two-week and six-month latent test-retest agreements were 89% and 88%, respectively. The chance-corrected latent agreements estimated from Dumenci’s latent kappa were 0.62 (95% CI: 0.41 – 0.82) and .47 (95% CI: 0.14 – 0.80) for the two-week and six-month intervals, respectively. High levels of latent test-retest agreement between limited and adequate categories of cancer health literacy construct, coupled with moderate to good levels of change-corrected latent agreements indicated that the CHLT-6 classification of limited versus adequate cancer health literacy is relatively stable over time. In conclusion, the measurement structure underlying the instrument allows for estimating classification errors circumventing limitations due to arbitrary approaches adopted by all other instruments. The CHLT-6 can be used to identify persons with LCHL in oncology clinics and intervention studies to accurately estimate treatment effectiveness.

Keywords: limited cancer health literacy, the CHLT-6, discrete latent variable modeling, latent agreement

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Authors: María-Dolores Afonso-Suárez, Nayra Pumar-Carreras, Juan Ruiz-Alzola

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This research addresses the use of an e-Learning creation methodology for learning objects. Throughout the process, indicators are being gathered, to determine if it responds to the main objectives of an engineering discipline. These parameters will also indicate if it is necessary to review the creation cycle and readjust any phase. Within the project developed for this study, apart from the use of structured methods, there has been a central objective: the establishment of a learning atmosphere. A place where all the professionals involved are able to collaborate, plan, solve problems and determine guides to follow in order to develop creative and innovative solutions. It has been outlined as a blended learning program with an assessment plan that proposes face to face lessons, coaching, collaboration, multimedia and web based learning objects as well as support resources. The project has been drawn as a long term task, the pilot teaching actions designed provide the preliminary results object of study. This methodology is been used in the creation of learning content for the African countries of Senegal, Mauritania and Cape Verde. It has been developed within the framework of the MACbioIDi, an Interreg European project for the International cooperation and development. The educational area of this project is focused in the training and advice of professionals of the medicine as well as engineers in the use of applications of medical imaging technology, specifically the 3DSlicer application and the Open Anatomy Browser.

Keywords: teaching contents engineering, e-learning, blended learning, international cooperation, 3dslicer, open anatomy browser

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Authors: L. Freeborn

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Recent years have seen an increasing number of neuroimaging studies related to language learning as imaging techniques such as fMRI and EEG have become more widely accessible to researchers. By using a variety of structural and functional neuroimaging techniques, these studies have already made considerable progress in terms of our understanding of neural networks and processing related to first and second language acquisition. However, the methodological designs employed in neuroimaging studies to test language learning have been questioned by applied linguists working within the field of second language acquisition (SLA). One of the major criticisms is that tasks designed to measure language learning gains rarely have a communicative function, and seldom assess learners’ ability to use the language in authentic situations. This brings the validity of many neuroimaging tasks into question. The fundamental reason why people learn a language is to communicate, and it is well-known that both first and second language proficiency are developed through meaningful social interaction. With this in mind, the SLA field is in agreement that second language acquisition and proficiency should be measured through learners’ ability to communicate in authentic real-life situations. Whilst authenticity is not always possible to achieve in a classroom environment, the importance of task authenticity should be reflected in the design of language assessments, teaching materials, and curricula. Tasks that bear little relation to how language is used in real-life situations can be considered to lack construct validity. This paper first describes the typical tasks used in neuroimaging studies to measure language gains and proficiency, then analyses to what extent these tasks can validly assess these constructs.

Keywords: neuroimaging studies, research design, second language acquisition, task validity

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Authors: Raheel Shakoor Siddiqui, Calvin Mathias, Manikandar Srinivas Cheruvu, Bobin Varghese

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A 58 year old gentleman presented to accident and emergency at the district general hospital with worsening shortness of breath and a non-productive cough over a period of five days. He was initially admitted under the medical team for suspicion of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pneumonitis. Subsequently, upon deterioration of observations and a positive COVID-19 PCR, he was taken to intensive care for invasive mechanical ventilation. He required frequent proning, inotropic support and was intubated for thirty-three days. After successful extubation, he developed myopathy with a limited range of motion to his right knee and right shoulder. Plain film imaging of these limbs demonstrated an unusual formation of heterotopic ossification without any precipitating trauma or surgery. Current literature demonstrates limited case series portraying heterotopic ossification post-COVID-19. There has been negligible evidence of heterotopic ossification in the ipsilateral knee and shoulder post-prolonged immobility secondary to a critical illness. Physiotherapy and rehabilitation are post-intensive care can be prolonged due to the formation of heterotopic ossification around joints. Prolonged hospital stays may lead to a higher risk of developing infections of the chest, urine and pressure sores. This raises the question of whether a severe systemic inflammatory immune response from the SARS-CoV-2 virus results in histopathological processes leading to the formation of heterotopic ossification not previously seen, requiring prolonged physiotherapy.

Keywords: orthopaedics, rehabilitation, physiotherapy, heterotopic ossification, COVID-19

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Authors: Hilal Naimi, Amelbahahouda Adamou-Mitiche, Lahcene Mitiche

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The main problem in the area of medical imaging has been image denoising. The most defying for image denoising is to secure data carrying structures like surfaces and edges in order to achieve good visual quality. Different algorithms with different denoising performances have been proposed in previous decades. More recently, models focused on deep learning have shown a great promise to outperform all traditional approaches. However, these techniques are limited to the necessity of large sample size training and high computational costs. This research proposes a denoising approach basing on LDTCWT (Lifting Dual Tree Complex Wavelet Transform) using Hybrid Thresholding with Wiener filter to enhance the quality image. This research describes the LDTCWT as a type of lifting wavelets remodeling that produce complex coefficients by employing a dual tree of lifting wavelets filters to get its real part and imaginary part. Permits the remodel to produce approximate shift invariance, directionally selective filters and reduces the computation time (properties lacking within the classical wavelets transform). To develop this approach, a hybrid thresholding function is modeled by integrating the Wiener filter into the thresholding function.

Keywords: lifting wavelet transform, image denoising, dual tree complex wavelet transform, wavelet shrinkage, wiener filter

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Authors: Timothy E. Frank, Josh R. Aldred, Sophie B. Boulware, Michelle K. Cabonce, Justin H. White

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Materials degrade at different rates in different environments depending on factors such as temperature, aridity, salinity, and solar radiation. Therefore, predicting asset longevity depends, in part, on the environmental conditions to which the asset is exposed. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are critical to building operations yet are responsible for a significant proportion of their energy consumption. HVAC energy use increases substantially with slight operational inefficiencies. Understanding the environmental influences on HVAC degradation in detail will inform maintenance schedules and capital investment, reduce energy use, and increase lifecycle management efficiency. HVAC inspection records spanning 14 years from 21 locations across the United States were compiled and associated with the climate conditions to which they were exposed. Three environmental features were explored in this study: average high temperature, average low temperature, and annual precipitation, as well as four non-environmental features. Initial insights showed no correlations between individual features and the rate of HVAC component degradation. Using neighborhood component analysis, however, the most critical features related to degradation were identified. Two models were considered, and results varied between them. However, longitude and latitude emerged as potentially the best predictors of average HVAC component degradation. Further research is needed to evaluate additional environmental features, increase the resolution of the environmental data, and develop more robust models to achieve more conclusive results.

Keywords: climate, degradation, HVAC, neighborhood component analysis

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Authors: Anjani Kumar Tiwari, Neelam Kumari, Anil Mishra

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The 18-kDa translocator protein (TSPO) previously called as peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, is proven biomarker for variety of neuroinflammation. TSPO is tryptophane rich five transmembranal protein found on outer mitochondrial membrane of steroid synthesising and immunomodulatory cells. In case of neuronal damage or inflammation the expression level of TSPO get upregulated as an immunomodulatory response. By utilizing Benzoxazolone as a basic scaffold, series of TSPO ligands have been designed followed by their screening through in silico studies. Synthesis has been planned by employing convergent methodology in six high yielding steps. For the synthesized ligands the ‘in vitro’ assay was performed to determine the binding affinity in term of Ki. On ischemic rat brain, autoradiography studies were also carried to check the specificity and affinity of the designed radiolabelled ligand for TSPO.Screening was performed on the basis of GScore of CADD based schrodinger software. All the modified and better prospective compound were successfully carried out and characterized by spectroscopic techniques (FTIR, NMR and HRMS). In vitro binding assay showed best binding affinity Ki = 6.1+ 0.3 for TSPO over central benzodiazepine receptor (CBR) Ki > 200. ARG studies indicated higher uptake of two analogues on the lesion side compared with that on the non-lesion side of ischemic rat brains. Displacement experiments with unlabelled ligand had minimized the difference in uptake between the two sides which indicates the specificity of the ligand towards TSPO receptor.

Keywords: TSPO, PET, imaging, Acetamidobenzoxazolone

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Authors: Ran An, Dang Wang

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Background: Mechanical ventilation has been confirmed to increase the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs), and several studies have shown that low tidal volumes combined with positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) and recruitment manoeuvres (RM) reduce the incidence of PPCs. However, the optimal lung-protective ventilatory strategy remains unclear. Methods: Multiple databases were searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published prior to October 2023. The association between individual PEEP (iPEEP) or other forms of lung-protective ventilation and the incidence of PPCs was evaluated by Bayesian network meta-analysis. Results: We included 58 studies (11610 patients) in this meta-analysis. The network meta-analysis showed that low ventilation (LVt) combined with iPEEP and RM was associated with significantly lower incidences of PPCs [HVt: OR=0.38 95CrI (0.19, 0.75), LVt: OR=0.33, 95% CrI (0.12, 0.82)], postoperative atelectasis, and pneumonia than was HVt or LVt. In abdominal surgery, LVT combined with iPEEP or medium-to-high PEEP and RM were associated with significantly lower incidences of PPCs, postoperative atelectasis, and pneumonia. LVt combined with iPEEP and RM was ranked the highest, which was based on SUCRA scores. Conclusion: LVt combined with iPEEP and RM decreased the incidences of PPCs, postoperative atelectasis, and pneumonia in noncardiac surgery patients. iPEEP-guided ventilation was the optimal lung protection ventilation strategy. The quality of evidence was moderate.

Keywords: protection ventilation strategies, postoperative pulmonary complications, network meta-analysis, noncardiac surgery

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Authors: Vaishali Chaurasia

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Ageing is the universal phenomenon that is associated with deteriorating health status. As the human becomes old, certain changes take place in an organism leading to morbidities, disabilities, and event death. Furthermore, older people are more vulnerable for the various kinds of diseases and health problem. Due to the some unhealthy conventions like smoking, drinking and unhealthy foods is the genesis of the lifestyle diseases. These diseases associated with the way a person or group of people lives. The main purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence of lifestyle diseases and its association with physical activity as well as the risk factors associated with it among the adult population in India. Longitudinal Aging Study in India and Study on Global Aging and Adult Health in India were used in the study. We will take population aged 50 and older, began in 1935, and regularly refreshed at younger ages with new birth cohorts. Life style diseases are more prominent in 65+ age group. The study finds an association between prevalence of life style diseases and life style risk factors. The lifestyle disease prevalence is more among higher age group people, female, richest quintile, and doing lesser physical activity. A higher prevalence of lifestyle diseases associated with the multiple risk factors. The occurrence of three and four risk factors was more prevalent in India. The frequency of different type of life style disease is higher among those who hardly or never do any physical activity as compare to those who do physical activity every day. The pattern remains the same in Moderate as well as vigorous physical activity. Those who are regularly doing physical activities have lesser percentage of having any disease and those who hardly ever or never do any physical activities and equally involve with some risk factors have higher percentage of having all type of diseases.

Keywords: lifestyle disease, morbidity, disability, physical activity

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Authors: Lijuan Wang, Junsheng Huo, Jing Sun, Wenxian Li, Jian Huang, Lin Ling, Yiping Zhou, Chengyu Huang, Jifang Hu

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Backgrounds and Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of highly nutrient-dense complementary food supplement-Yingyangbao, at the time of 3 months after Wenchuan earthquake, on the anemia of young children in a county in Sichuan province. Methods: The young children aged 6-23 months in the county were fed one sachet Yingyangbao per day. Yingyangbao were distributed for 15 months for free. The children entering 6 months age would be included. The length, weight and hemoglobin of the children aged 6-29 months were assessed at baseline (n=257) and Yingyangbao intervention for 6 (n=218) and 15 months (n=253) by cluster sampling. Growth status has not been described in the paper. The analysis was conducted based on 6-11, 12-17, 18-23 and 24-29 months. Results: It showed that the hemoglobin concentration in each group among the 4 groups increased by 4.9, 6.4, 8.0, 9.5 g/L after 6 months and 12.7, 11.4, 16.7, 15.7 g/L after 15 months compared to the baseline, respectively. The total anemia prevalence in each group was significantly lower after 6 and 15 months than the baseline (P<0.001), except the 6-11 months group after 6 months because of fewer Yingyangbao consumption. Total moderate anemia rate decreased from 18.3% to 5.5% after 6 months, and kept decreasing to 0.8% after another 9 months. The hemoglobin concentration was significantly correlated with the amount of Yingyangbao consumption(P<0.001) The anemia rate was significantly different based on the Yingyangbao compliance (P<0.001). Conclusion: It was concluded that Yingyangbao which contains quality protein, vitamins and micronutrients intervened 15 months could be effective for the improvement of anemia of young children. The study provides the support that the application of the complementary food supplements to reduce the anemia of young children in the emergency of natural disaster.

Keywords: young children, anemia, nutrition intervention, complementary food supplements, Yingyangbao

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Authors: Shivalinge Gowda

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The total mass attenuation coefficients m/r, of some halides such as, NaCl, KCl, CuCl, NaBr, KBr, RbCl, AgCl, NaI, KI, AgBr, CsI, HgCl₂, CdI₂ and HgI₂ were determined at photon energies 279.2, 320.07, 514.0, 661.6, 1115.5, 1173.2 and 1332.5 keV in a well-collimated narrow beam good geometry set-up using a high resolution, hyper pure germanium detector. The mass attenuation coefficients and the effective atomic cross sections are found to be in good agreement with the XCOM values. From these mass attenuation coefficients, the effective atomic cross sections s_a, of the compounds were determined. These effective atomic cross section s_a data so obtained are then used to compute the effective atomic numbers Z_eff. For this, the interpolation of total attenuation cross-sections of photons of energy E in elements of atomic number Z was performed by using the logarithmic regression analysis of the data measured by the authors and reported earlier for the above said energies along with XCOM data for standard energies. The best-fit coefficients in the photon energy range of 250 to 350 keV, 350 to 500 keV, 500 to 700 keV, 700 to 1000 keV and 1000 to 1500 keV by a piecewise interpolation method were then used to find the Z_eff of the compounds with respect to the effective atomic cross section s_a from the relation obtained by piece wise interpolation method. Using these Z_eff values, the electron densities N_el of halides were also determined. The present Z_eff and N_el values of halides are found to be in good agreement with the values calculated from XCOM data and other available published values.

Keywords: mass attenuation coefficient, atomic cross-section, effective atomic number, electron density

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Authors: Nasibullina A., Leonov D.

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The ultrasonography method is actively used for the early diagnosis of various le-sions in the human body, including the mammary gland. The incidence of breast cancer has increased by more than 20%, and mortality by 14% since 2008. The correctness of the diagnosis often directly depends on the qualifications and expe-rience of a diagnostic medical sonographer. That is why special attention should be paid to the practical training of future specialists. Anatomical phantoms are ex-cellent teaching tools because they accurately imitate the characteristics of real hu-man tissues and organs. The purpose of this work is to create a breast phantom for practicing ultrasound diagnostic skills in grayscale and elastography imaging, as well as ultrasound-guided biopsy sampling. We used silicone-like compounds ranging from 3 to 17 on the Shore scale hardness units to simulate soft tissue and lesions. Impurities with experimentally selected concentrations were added to give the phantom the necessary attenuation and reflection parameters. We used 3D modeling programs and 3D printing with PLA plastic to create the casting mold. We developed a breast phantom with inclusions of varying shape, elasticity and echogenicity. After testing the created phantom in B-mode and elastography mode, we performed a survey asking 19 participants how realistic the sonograms of the phantom were. The results showed that the closest to real was the model of the cyst with 9.5 on the 0-10 similarity scale. Thus, the developed breast phantom can be used for ultrasonography, elastography, and ultrasound-guided biopsy training.

Keywords: breast ultrasound, mammary gland, mammography, training phantom, tissue-mimicking materials

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Authors: Isaac Mugume, Charles Basalirwa, Daniel Waiswa, Mary Nsabagwa, Triphonia Jacob Ngailo, Joachim Reuder, Sch¨attler Ulrich, Musa Semujju

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The Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are considered powerful tools for guiding quantitative rainfall prediction. A couple of NWP models exist and are used at many operational weather prediction centers. This study considers two models namely the Consortium for Small–scale Modeling (COSMO) model and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. It compares the models’ ability to predict rainfall over Uganda for the period 21st April 2013 to 10th May 2013 using the root mean square (RMSE) and the mean error (ME). In comparing the performance of the models, this study assesses their ability to predict light rainfall events and extreme rainfall events. All the experiments used the default parameterization configurations and with same horizontal resolution (7 Km). The results show that COSMO model had a tendency of largely predicting no rain which explained its under–prediction. The COSMO model (RMSE: 14.16; ME: -5.91) presented a significantly (p = 0.014) higher magnitude of error compared to the WRF model (RMSE: 11.86; ME: -1.09). However the COSMO model (RMSE: 3.85; ME: 1.39) performed significantly (p = 0.003) better than the WRF model (RMSE: 8.14; ME: 5.30) in simulating light rainfall events. All the models under–predicted extreme rainfall events with the COSMO model (RMSE: 43.63; ME: -39.58) presenting significantly higher error magnitudes than the WRF model (RMSE: 35.14; ME: -26.95). This study recommends additional diagnosis of the models’ treatment of deep convection over the tropics.

Keywords: comparative performance, the COSMO model, the WRF model, light rainfall events, extreme rainfall events

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Authors: Yiannis Vacanas, Kyriacos Themistocleous, Athos Agapiou, Diofantos Hadjimitsis

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Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology is considered by construction professionals as a very valuable process in modern design, procurement and project management. Construction professionals of all disciplines can use a single 3D model which BIM technology provides, to design a project accurately and furthermore monitor the progress of construction works effectively and efficiently. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a technology initially developed for military applications, is now without any difficulty accessible and has already been used by commercial industries, including the construction industry. UAV technology has mainly been used for collection of images that allow visual monitoring of building and civil engineering projects conditions in various circumstances. UAVs, nevertheless, have undergone significant advances in equipment capabilities and now have the capacity to acquire high-resolution imagery from many angles in a cost effective manner, and by using photogrammetry methods, someone can determine characteristics such as distances, angles, areas, volumes and elevations of an area within overlapping images. In order to examine the potential of using a combination of BIM and UAV technologies in construction project management, this paper presents the results of a case study of a typical road construction project where the combined use of the two technologies was used in order to achieve efficient and accurate as-built data collection of the works progress, with outcomes such as volumes, and production of sections and 3D models, information necessary in project progress monitoring and efficient project management.

Keywords: BIM, project management, project monitoring, UAV

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Authors: Dingiswayo Likhona, Arko-Cobbah Emmanuel, Carolina Pohl, Nthabiseng Z. Mokoena, Jolly Musoke

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A distinct strain of Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), referred to as hypervirulent (hvKp), is associated with invasive infections such as an invasive pyogenic liver abscess in young and healthy individuals. In South Africa, limited information is known about the prevalence and virulence of this hvKp strain. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of hvKp and virulence-associated factors in K. pneumoniae isolates from one of the largest Tertiary hospitals in a South African province. A total of 74 K. pneumoniae isolates were received from Pelonomi National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS), Bloemfontein. Virulence-associated genes (rmpA, capsule serotype K1/K2, iroB, and irp2) were screened, and the virulence of hvKp vs. classical Klebsiella pneumoniae (cKp) was investigated using Caenorhabditis elegans nematode model. The iutA (aerobactin transporter) gene was used as a primary biomarker of hvKp. An average of 12% (9/74) of cases were defined as hvKp. Moreover, hvKp was found to be significantly more virulent in vivo Caenorhabditis elegans relative to cKp. The virulence-associated genes (rmpA, iroB, hmv phenotype, and capsule K1/K2) were significantly (p< 0.05) associated with hvKp. Findings from this study confirm the presence of hvKp in one large Tertiary hospital in South Africa. However, the low prevalence and mild to moderate clinical presentation suggest a marginal threat to public health. Further studies in different settings are required to establish the true potential impact of hvKp in developing countries.

Keywords: hypervirulent klebsiella pneumoniae, virulence, caenorhabditis elegans, aerobactin (iutA)

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