Search results for: explosive detection devices

Authors: Mohamad Khairi Ishak

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Conventional public key crypto systems such as RSA (Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman), DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm), and Elgamal are no longer efficient to be implemented in the small, memory constrained devices. Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), which allows smaller key length as compared to conventional public key crypto systems, has thus become a very attractive choice for many applications. This paper describes implementation of an elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) encryption engine on a FPGA. The system has been implemented in 2 different key sizes, which are 131 bits and 163 bits. Area and timing analysis are provided for both key sizes for comparison. The crypto system, which has been implemented on Altera’s EPF10K200SBC600-1, has a hardware size of 5945/9984 and 6913/9984 of logic cells for 131 bits implementation and 163 bits implementation respectively. The crypto system operates up to 43 MHz, and performs point multiplication operation in 11.3 ms for 131 bits implementation and 14.9 ms for 163 bits implementation. In terms of speed, our crypto system is about 8 times faster than the software implementation of the same system.

Keywords: elliptic curve cryptography, FPGA, key sizes, memory

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Authors: Mehrdad Nouri Khajavi, Gollamhassan Payganeh, Mohsen Fallah Tafti

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Fault diagnosis is an important aspect of maintaining rotating machinery health and increasing productivity. Many researches has been done in this regards. Many faults such as unbalance, misalignment, looseness, bearing faults, etc. have been considered and diagnosed with different techniques. Most of the researches in fault diagnosis of rotating machinery deal with single fault. Where as in reality faults usually occur simultaneously and it is, therefore, necessary to recognize them at the same time. In this research, two of the most common faults namely unbalance and misalignment have been considered simultaneously with different intensity and then identified and classified with the use of Multi-Layer Perception Neural Network (MLPNN). Processed Vibration signals are used as the input to the MLPNN, and the class of mixed unbalancy, and misalignment is the output of the NN.

Keywords: unbalance, parallel misalignment, combined faults, vibration signals

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Authors: Prashant Verma, K. K. Singh, Anjali Singh, Ujjaval Srivastava

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Contraceptive policies have been derived to achieve desired reductions in the growth rate and also, applied to the data of Uttar-Pradesh, India for illustration. Using the Lotka’s integral equation for the stable population, expressions for the proportion of contraceptive users at different ages have been obtained. At the age of 20 years, 42% of contraceptive users is imperative to reduce the present annual growth rate of 0.036 to 0.02, assuming that 40% of the contraceptive users discontinue at the age of 25 years and 30% again continue contraceptive use at age 30 years. Further, presuming that 75% of women start using contraceptives at the age of 23 years, and 50% of the remaining women start using contraceptives at the age of 28 years, while the rest of them start using it at the age of 32 years. If we set a minimum age of marriage as 20 years, a reduction of 0.019 in growth rate will be obtained. This study describes how the level of contraceptive use at different age groups of women reduces the growth rate in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The article also promotes delayed marriage in the region.

Keywords: child bearing, contraceptive devices, contraceptive policies, population growth, stable population

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Authors: Mahbube Eghtesad

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For a number of years, the problem of simultaneous detection and tracking of a target has been one of the most relevant and challenging issues in a wide variety of military and civilian systems. We develop methods for detecting and tracking a target using an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based radar. As a preliminary step we introduce the target trajectory and Gaussian noise model in discrete time form. Then resorting to match filter and Kalman filter we derive a detector and target tracker. After that we propose an OFDM radar in order to achieve further improvement in tracking performance. The motivation for employing multiple frequencies is that the different scattering centers of a target resonate differently at each frequency. Numerical examples illustrate our analytical results, demonstrating the achieved performance improvement due to the OFDM signaling method.

Keywords: matched filter, target trashing, OFDM radar, Kalman filter

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Authors: Azadeh Farzaneh, Mohammad Reza Abdi, A. Quaranta, Matteo Dalla Palma, Seyedshahram Mortazavi

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We report on the synthesis of cesium-iodide nanoparticles using sol-gel technique. The structural properties of CsI nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) Also, optical properties were followed by optical absorption and UV–vis fluorescence. Intense photoluminescence is also observed, with some spectral tuning possible with ripening time getting a range of emission photon wavelength approximately from 366 to 350 nm. The size effect on CsI luminescence leads to an increase in scintillation light yield, a redshift of the emission bands of the on_center and off_center self_trapped excitons (STEs) and an increase in the contribution of the off_center STEs to the net intrinsic emission yield. The energy transfer from the matrix to CsI nanoparticles is a key characteristic for scintillation detectors. So the scintillation spectra to alpha particles of sample were monitored.

Keywords: nanoparticles, luminescence, sol gel, scintillator

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Authors: Slimane Ouhmad, Abdellah Halimi

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In this work, we have applied neural networks method MLP type to a database from an array of six sensors for the detection of three toxic gases. As the choice of the number of hidden layers and the weight values has a great influence on the convergence of the learning algorithm, we proposed, in this article, a mathematical formulation to determine the optimal number of hidden layers and good weight values based on the method of back propagation of errors. The results of this modeling have improved discrimination of these gases on the one hand, and optimize the computation time on the other hand, the comparison to other results achieved in this case.

Keywords: MLP Neural Network, back-propagation, number of neurons in the hidden layer, identification, computing time

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Authors: G. Blugan, B. Jiang, J. Thornberry, P. Sturzenegger, U. Gonzenbach, M. Misson, D. Cartlidge, R. Stenerud, J. Kuebler

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Low-cost ceramic spheres were developed and manufactured from the engineering ceramic aluminium oxide. Hollow spheres of 50 mm diameter with a wall thickness of 0.5-1.0 mm were produced via an adapted slip casting technique. It was possible to produce the spheres with good repeatability and with no defects or failures in the spheres due to the manufacturing process. The spheres were developed specifically for use in buoyancy devices for deep-sea exploration conditions at depths of 3000 m below sea level. The spheres with a 1.0 mm wall thickness exhibit a buoyancy of over 54% while the spheres with a 0.5 mm wall thickness exhibit a buoyancy of over 73%. The mechanical performance of the spheres was confirmed by performing a hydraulic burst pressure test on individual spheres. With a safety factor of 3, all spheres with 1.0 mm wall thickness survived a hydraulic pressure of greater than 150 MPa which is equivalent to a depth of more than 5000 m below sea level. The spheres were then incorporated into a buoyancy module. These hollow aluminium oxide ceramic spheres offer an excellent possibility of deep-sea exploration to depths greater than the currently used technology.

Keywords: buoyancy, ceramic spheres, deep-sea, oil exploration

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Authors: Pedro Henrique Alves Martins, Paulo Guilherme Ferreira De Siqueira, Franco De Castro Bubani, Maria Teresa Paulino Aguilar, Paulo Roberto Cetlin

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Cu-base shape-memory alloys (CuZnAl, CuAlNi, CuAlBe, etc.) are promising engineering materials for several unconventional devices, such as sensors, actuators, and mechanical vibration dampers. Brittleness is one of the factors that limit the commercial use of these alloys, as it makes thermomechanical processing difficult. In this work, a method for the hot extrusion of a 75.50% Cu, 16,74% Zn, 7,76% Al (weight %) alloy is presented. The effects of the thermomechanical processing in the microstructure and the pseudoelastic behavior of the alloy are assessed by optical metallography, compression and hardness tests. Results show that hot extrusion is a suitable method to obtain severe cross-section reductions in the CuZnAl shape-memory alloy studied. The alloy maintained its pseudoelastic effect after the extrusion and the modifications in the mechanical behavior caused by precipitation during hot extrusion can be minimized by a suitable precipitate dissolution heat treatment.

Keywords: hot extrusion, pseudoelastic, shape-memory alloy, thermomechanical processing

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Authors: Fernando G. Torres, Omar P. Troncoso

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A wide range of bacteria synthesizes and secretes polymeric substances composed of a mixture of high-molecular-mass heteropolysaccharides. Nostoc commune cyanobacteria grow in colonial spherules of 10-20 mm in diameter. These spherules are filled with an internal gel made from a variety of polysaccharides known as Nostoc commune exopolysaccharides (NCE). In this paper, we report the use of these exopolysaccharides as a raw material for the preparation of a solid polymer electrolyte. Ammonium iodide and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([Bmim]Cl) salts were used to provide NCE films with ionic conductivity. In addition, a carboxymethylation treatment was used to further increase the conductivity of NCE films. The structural characterization of the NCE films was assessed by FTIR, XRD, and DSC tests. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) and dielectric thermal analysis (DETA) were used to evaluate the ionic conductivity of the samples. The results showed that NCE can be used to prepare solid polymer electrolyte films and that carboxymethylation improves their ionic conductivity. These NCE films can be used in the development of novel energy storage devices such as flat batteries or supercapacitors.

Keywords: polymer electrolyte, Nostoc commune, cyanobacteria, exopolysaccharides

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Authors: Lan Nguyen, Kien Le Tan, Bao Nguyen Pham Gia

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Due to the high cost, specialized dynamic measurement devices for industrial lands are difficult for many colleges to equip for hands-on teaching. This study connects a dynamic measurement sensor and receiver utilizing an inexpensive Raspberry Pi 4 board, some 24-bit ADC circuits, a geophone vibration sensor, and embedded Python open-source programming. Gather and analyze signals for dynamic measuring, ground vibration monitoring, and structure vibration monitoring. The system may wirelessly communicate data to the computer and is set up as a communication node network, enabling real-time monitoring of background vibrations at various locations. The device can be utilized for a variety of dynamic measurement and monitoring tasks, including monitoring earthquake vibrations, ground vibrations from construction operations, traffic, and vibrations of building structures.

Keywords: sensors, FFT, signal processing, real-time data monitoring, ground propagation wave, python, raspberry Pi 4

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Authors: Carol C. Opara, Olukemi E. Adetuyi-Olu-Francis

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The need for ICT in Teacher Education due to the nature of 21st-century learners who are computer citizens is essential. The recent increase in the use of Mobile phones has equally revealed the importance of Mobile Applications for learning purposes. However, teacher-trainees and the trainers need to be well-grounded in basic ICT skills for an appropriate outcome. This study seeks to assess the use of Mobile Applications for language learning in Teacher Education teaching-learning process. A 22-item e-questionnaire was used to elicit information from teacher-trainers and teachers-trainees from Faculties of Education in Nigerian Universities. Major findings of this study include: That teacher-education sector is not adequately prepared for manipulative use of ICT and Mobile Applications for teaching and learning process; etc. It was recommended among others that, teacher-trainers should be trained and re-trained on the manipulative use of Mobile devices and the several applications for teaching-learning purpose, especially language education.

Keywords: information and communications technology, ICT, language learning, mobile application, sustainable development, teacher education

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Authors: Haidy Weliam Megaly Gouda

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

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

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Authors: Shrinivas P. Mahajan, Aarti C. Kshirsagar

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Wireless communication technology is rapidly changing with recent developments in portable devices and communication protocols. This has generated demand for more advanced and compact antenna structures and therefore, proposed work focuses on Meander Line Antenna (MLA) design. Here, Pentaband MLA is designed on a FR4 substrate (85 mm x 40 mm) with dielectric constant (ϵr) 4.4, loss tangent (tan ) 0.018 and height 1.6 mm with coplanar feed and open stub structure. It can be operated in LTE (0.670 GHz-0.696 GHz) GPS (1.564 GHz-1.579 GHz), WCDMA (1.920 GHz-2.135 GHz), LTE UL frequency band 23 (2-2.020 GHz) and 5G (3.10 GHz-3.550 GHz) application bands. Also, it gives good performance in terms of Return Loss (RL) which is < -10 dB, impedance bandwidth with maximum Bandwidth (BW) up to 0.21 GHz and realized gains with maximum gain up to 3.28 dBi. Antenna is simulated with open stub and without open stub structures to see the effect on impedance BW coverage. In addition to this, it is checked with human hand and head phantoms to assure that it falls within specified Specific Absorption Rate (SAR) limits.

Keywords: coplanar feed, L shaped ground, Meander Line Antenna, MLA, Phantom, Specific Absorption Rate, SAR

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Authors: Tony R. Walker, N. Devin MacAskill, Andrew Thalhiemer

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Sydney Harbour, Nova Scotia has long been subject to effluent and atmospheric inputs of metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from a large coking operation and steel plant that operated in Sydney for nearly a century until closure in 1988. Contaminated effluents from the industrial site resulted in the creation of the Sydney Tar Ponds, one of Canada’s largest contaminated sites. Since its closure, there have been several attempts to remediate this former industrial site and finally, in 2004, the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia committed to remediate the site to reduce potential ecological and human health risks to the environment. The Sydney Tar Ponds and Coke Ovens cleanup project has become the most prominent remediation project in Canada today. As an integral part of remediation of the site (i.e., which consisted of solidification/stabilization and associated capping of the Tar Ponds), an extensive multiple media environmental effects program was implemented to assess what effects remediation had on the surrounding environment, and, in particular, harbour sediments. Additionally, longer-term natural sediment recovery rates of select contaminants predicted for the harbour sediments were compared to current conditions. During remediation, potential contributions to sediment quality, in addition to remedial efforts, were evaluated which included a significant harbour dredging project, propeller wash from harbour traffic, storm events, adjacent loading/unloading of coal and municipal wastewater treatment discharges. Two sediment sampling methodologies, sediment grab and gravity corer, were also compared to evaluate the detection of subtle changes in sediment quality. Results indicated that overall spatial distribution pattern of historical contaminants remains unchanged, although at much lower concentrations than previously reported, due to natural recovery. Measurements of sediment indicator parameter concentrations confirmed that natural recovery rates of Sydney Harbour sediments were in broad agreement with predicted concentrations, in spite of ongoing remediation activities. Overall, most measured parameters in sediments showed little temporal variability even when using different sampling methodologies, during three years of remediation compared to baseline, except for the detection of significant increases in total PAH concentrations noted during one year of remediation monitoring. The data confirmed the effectiveness of mitigation measures implemented during construction relative to harbour sediment quality, despite other anthropogenic activities and the dynamic nature of the harbour.

Keywords: contaminated sediment, monitoring, recovery, remediation

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Authors: Heather Mroz

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Geothermal fluids can provide a nearly unlimited source of renewable energy but are often highly corrosive due to dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2), hydrogen sulphide (H2S), Ammonia (NH3) and chloride ions. The corrosive environment drives material selection for many components, including piping, heat exchangers and pressure vessels, to higher alloys of stainless steel, nickel-based alloys and titanium. The use of these alloys is cost-prohibitive and does not offer the pressure rating of carbon steel. One solution, explosion cladding, has been proven to reduce the capital cost of the geothermal equipment while retaining the mechanical and corrosion properties of both the base metal and the cladded surface metal. Explosion cladding is a solid-state welding process that uses precision explosions to bond two dissimilar metals while retaining the mechanical, electrical and corrosion properties. The process is commonly used to clad steel with a thin layer of corrosion-resistant alloy metal, such as stainless steel, brass, nickel, silver, titanium, or zirconium. Additionally, explosion welding can join a wider array of compatible and non-compatible metals with more than 260 metal combinations possible. The explosion weld is achieved in milliseconds; therefore, no bulk heating occurs, and the metals experience no dilution. By adhering to a strict set of manufacturing requirements, both the shear strength and tensile strength of the bond will exceed the strength of the weaker metal, ensuring the reliability of the bond. For over 50 years, explosion cladding has been used in the oil and gas and chemical processing industries and has provided significant economic benefit in reduced maintenance and lower capital costs over solid construction. The focus of this paper will be on the many benefits of the use of explosion clad in process equipment instead of more expensive solid alloy construction. The method of clad-plate production with explosion welding as well as the methods employed to ensure sound bonding of the metals. It will also include the origins of explosion cladding as well as recent technological developments. Traditionally explosion clad plate was formed into vessels, tube sheets and heads but recent advances include explosion welded piping. The final portion of the paper will give examples of the use of explosion-clad metals in geothermal energy recovery. The classes of materials used for geothermal brine will be discussed, including stainless steels, nickel alloys and titanium. These examples will include heat exchangers (tube sheets), high pressure and horizontal separators, standard pressure crystallizers, piping and well casings. It is important to educate engineers and designers on material options as they develop equipment for geothermal resources. Explosion cladding is a niche technology that can be successful in many situations, like geothermal energy recovery, where high temperature, high pressure and corrosive environments are typical. Applications for explosion clad metals include vessel and heat exchanger components as well as piping.

Keywords: clad metal, explosion welding, separator material, well casing material, piping material

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Authors: Wenxuan Li, Lei Li, Jin Li, Yuanhang He

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This paper designed a secure chip for IoT communication security integrated with the PUF-based firmware protection scheme. Then, the Xilinx Kintex-7 and STM-32 were used for the prototype verification. Firmware protection worked well on FPGA and embedded platforms. For the ASIC implementation of the PUF module, contact PUF is chosen. The post-processing method and its improvement are analyzed with emphasis. This paper proposed a more efficient post-processing method for contact PUF named SXOR, which has practical value for realizing lightweight security modules in IoT devices. The analysis was carried out under the hypothesis that the contact holes are independent and combine the existing data in the open literature. The post-processing effects of SXOR and XOR are basically the same under the condition that the proposed post-processing circuit occupies only 50.6% of the area of XOR. The average Hamming weight of the PUF output bit sequence obtained by the proposed post-processing method is 0.499735, and the average Hamming weight obtained by the XOR-based post-processing method is 0.499999.

Keywords: PUF, IoT, authentication, secure communication, encryption, XOR

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Authors: G. Vinitha, A. Ramalingam

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In view of a possible application in optical data storage devices, diffraction grating efficiency of an organic dye, Acid Fuchsin doped in PMMA matrix was studied under excitation with CW diode pumped Nd: YAG laser at 532 nm. The open aperture Z-scan of dye doped polymer displayed saturable absorption and the closed aperture Z-scan of the samples exhibited negative nonlinearity. The diffraction efficiency of the grating is the ratio of the intensity of the first order diffracted power to the incident read beam power. The dye doped polymer films were found to be good media for recording. It is observed that the formation of gratings strongly depend on the concentration of dye in the polymer film, the intensity ratios of the writing beams and the angle between the writing beams. It has been found that efficient writing can be made at an angle of 20° and when the intensity ratio of the writing beams is unity.

Keywords: diffraction efficiency, nonlinear optical material, saturable absorption, surface-relief-gratings

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Authors: Wegene Demisie Jima

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Leather is a durable and flexible material used for various purposes including clothing, footwear, upholstery and gloves. However, the use of leather for smart product applications is a challenge since it is electrically insulating material. Here, we report a simple method to produce conducting glove leathers using an in-situ polymerization of pyrrole. The concentrations of pyrrole, ferric chloride and anthraquinone-2-sulfonic acid sodium salt monohydrate were optimized to produce maximum conductivity in the treated leathers. The coating of polypyrrole in the treated leathers was probed using FT-IR, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic analysis. FTIR confirms that the formation of polypyrrole on the leather surface as well as presence of prominent N-C stretching band. X-ray diffraction analysis suggests para-crystallinity in the PPy-treated leathers.We further demonstrate that the treated leathers, with maximum conductivity of 7.4 S/cm, can be used for making conductive gloves for operating touch-screen devices apart from other smart product applications.

Keywords: electrical conductivity, in-situ polymerization, pyrrole, smart product

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Authors: G. Voicu, C. D. Ghitulica, A. Cucuruz, C. Busuioc

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In the field of tissue engineering, the compositional and microstructural features of the employed materials play an important role, with implications on the mechanical and biological behaviour of the medical devices. In this context, the development of calcium phosphate-natural biopolymer composites represents a choice of many scientific groups. Thus, tricalcium phosphate powders were synthesized by a wet method, namely co-precipitation, starting from high purity reagents. Moreover, the substitution of calcium with magnesium have been approached, in the 5-10 wt.% range. Afterwards, the phosphate powders were integrated into two types of composites with chitosan, different from morphological point of view. First, 3D porous scaffolds were obtained by a freeze-drying procedure. Second, uniform compact films were achieved by film casting. The influence of chitosan molecular weight (low, medium and high), as well as phosphate powder to polymer ratio (1:1 and 1:2) on the morphological properties, were analysed in detail. In conclusion, the reported biocomposites, prepared by a straightforward route are suitable for bone substitution or repairing applications.

Keywords: bone reconstruction, chitosan, composite scaffolds, tricalcium phosphate

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Authors: Ece Sarigul

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It is an undeniable fact that, teachers need new strategies to communicate with students of the next generation and to shape enticing educational experiences for them. Many schools have launched iPad/ Tablets initiatives in an effort to enhance student learning. Despite their rapid adoption, the extent to which iPads / Tablets increase student engagement and learning is not well understood. This presentation aims to examine the use of iPads and Tablets in primary and high schools in Turkey as well as in the world to increase academic achievement through promotion of higher order thinking skills. In addition to explaining the ideas of school teachers and students who use the specific iPads or Tablets , various applications in schools and their use will be discussed and demonstrated in this study. The specific” iPads or Tablets” applications discussed in this presentation can be incorporated into the curriculum to assist in developing transformative practices and programs to meet the needs of a diverse student population. In the conclusion section of the presentation, there will be some suggestions for teachers about the effective use of technological devices in the classroom. This study can help educators understand better how students are currently using iPads and Tablets and shape future use.

Keywords: ipads, language teaching, tablets, technology

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Authors: Judita Konečná, Dagmar Halo, Martin Matoulek

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Background: Personality pathology does not have to be a contraindication nor an obstacle in obesity treatment, or eventually, surgical treatment. Detection of specific maladaptive personality traits can help us understand the manner of behavior leading to obesity as well as to address the treatment better. Objective: Using The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) in combination with clinical interviews with the goal of gaining a psychological evaluation to set the treatment procedure. Data was collected from more than 400 patients to detect differences in constellations of maladaptive personality traits based on BMI, DM2 and gender. Conclusions: Besides the fact that a psychological evaluation can help address the treatment better, analyses showed that it is also useful to detect specific groups of patients. Implications for clinical practice are discussed, as well as recommendations for group education programs based on quantitative research.

Keywords: bariatric surgery, obesity, personality traits, PID-5, treatment

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Authors: Khaled Mohammed

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This paper presents novel face recognition and identification approaches for the real-time attendance management problem in large companies/factories and government institutions. The proposed uses the Minimum Ratio (MR) approach for employee identification. Capturing the authentic face variability from a sequence of video frames has been considered for the recognition of faces and resulted in system robustness against the variability of facial features. Experimental results indicated an improvement in the performance of the proposed system compared to the Previous approaches at a rate between 2% to 5%. In addition, it decreased the time two times if compared with the Previous techniques, such as Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) & Multi-Scale Structural Similarity index (MS-SSIM). Finally, it achieved an accuracy of 99%.

Keywords: attendance management system, face detection and recognition, live face recognition, minimum ratio

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Authors: David Oluigbo, Erik Hemberg, Nathan Shwatal, Wenqi Ding, Yin Yuan, Susanna Mierau

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Introduction: Calcium imaging is an established technique in neuroscience research for detecting activity in neural networks. Bursts of action potentials in neurons lead to transient increases in intracellular calcium visualized with fluorescent indicators. Manual identification of cell bodies and their contours by experts typically takes 10-20 minutes per calcium imaging recording. Our aim, therefore, was to design an automated pipeline to facilitate and optimize calcium imaging data analysis. Our pipeline aims to accelerate cell body and contour identification and production of graphical representations reflecting changes in neuronal calcium-based fluorescence. Methods: We created a Python-based pipeline that uses OpenCV (a computer vision Python package) to accurately (1) detect neuron contours, (2) extract the mean fluorescence within the contour, and (3) identify transient changes in the fluorescence due to neuronal activity. The pipeline consisted of 3 Python scripts that could both be easily accessed through a Python Jupyter notebook. In total, we tested this pipeline on ten separate calcium imaging datasets from murine dissociate cortical cultures. We next compared our automated pipeline outputs with the outputs of manually labeled data for neuronal cell location and corresponding fluorescent times series generated by an expert neuroscientist. Results: Our results show that our automated pipeline efficiently pinpoints neuronal cell body location and neuronal contours and provides a graphical representation of neural network metrics accurately reflecting changes in neuronal calcium-based fluorescence. The pipeline detected the shape, area, and location of most neuronal cell body contours by using binary thresholding and grayscale image conversion to allow computer vision to better distinguish between cells and non-cells. Its results were also comparable to manually analyzed results but with significantly reduced result acquisition times of 2-5 minutes per recording versus 10-20 minutes per recording. Based on these findings, our next step is to precisely measure the specificity and sensitivity of the automated pipeline’s cell body and contour detection to extract more robust neural network metrics and dynamics. Conclusion: Our Python-based pipeline performed automated computer vision-based analysis of calcium image recordings from neuronal cell bodies in neuronal cell cultures. Our new goal is to improve cell body and contour detection to produce more robust, accurate neural network metrics and dynamic graphs.

Keywords: calcium imaging, computer vision, neural activity, neural networks

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Authors: Smita Pallavi, Raj Ratn Pranesh, Sumit Kumar

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Information representation as tables is compact and concise method that eases searching, indexing, and storage requirements. Extracting and cloning tables from parsable documents is easier and widely used; however, industry still faces challenges in detecting and extracting tables from OCR (Optical Character Recognition) documents or images. This paper proposes an algorithm that detects and extracts multiple tables from OCR document. The algorithm uses a combination of image processing techniques, text recognition, and procedural coding to identify distinct tables in the same image and map the text to appropriate the corresponding cell in dataframe, which can be stored as comma-separated values, database, excel, and multiple other usable formats.

Keywords: table extraction, optical character recognition, image processing, text extraction, morphological transformation

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Authors: Mohamed Achehboune, Mohammed Khenfouch, Issam Boukhoubza, Bakang Mothudi, Izeddine Zorkani, Anouar Jorio

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Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanostructures have been attracting growing interest in recent years; their optical and electrical properties make them useful as attractive and promising materials for optoelectronic applications. In this study, pure and Hafnium doped ZnO nanostructures were synthesized using a green processing method. The structural, optical and electrical properties of samples were investigated structural and optical spectroscopies and electrical measurements. The synthesis and chemical composition of pure and Hafnium doped ZnO were confirmed by SEM observation. The XRD studies of Hafnium doped ZnO demonstrate the formation of wurtzite structure with preferred c-axis orientation. Moreover, the optical and electrical properties of doped material have improved after the doping process. The experimental results obtained for our material show that Hf doped ZnO nanostructures could be a promising material in optoelectronic applications such as photovoltaic cell and light emitting diode devices.

Keywords: green synthesis, hafnium-doped-zinc oxide, nanostructures, optoelectronic

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Authors: A. Boveiri Monji, H. Yousefnia, S. Zolghadri, B. Salimi

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The main goal of this paper was to make use of green reagents as a substitute of perilous synthetic reagents and organic solvents for spectrophotometric determination of hafnium(IV). The extracts taken from six different kinds of tree leaves including Acer negundo, Ficus carica, Cerasus avium, Chimonanthus, Salix babylonica and Pinus brutia, were applied as green reagents for the experiments. In 6-M hydrochloric acid, hafnium reacted with the reagent to form a yellow product and showed maximum absorbance at 421 nm. Among tree leaves, Chimonanthus showed satisfactory results with a molar absorptivity value of 0.61 × 10⁴ l mol^-1 cm^-1 and the method was linear in the 0.3-9 µg mL ^-1 concentration range. The detection limit value was 0.064 µg mL^-1. The proposed method was simple, low cost, clean, and selective.

Keywords: hafnium, spectrophotometric determination, synthetic reagents, tree leaves

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Authors: Elena F. Ruiz, Marina Vicario, Chadwick Carreto, Rubén Peredo

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One of the main obstacles in Mexico’s engineering programs is math comprehension, especially in the Derivative concept. Due to this, we present a study case that relates Mobile Computing and Classroom Learning in the “Escuela Superior de Cómputo”, based on the Educational model of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (competence based work and problem solutions) in which we propose apps and activities to teach the concept of the Derivative. M- Learning is emphasized as one of its lines, as the objective is the use of mobile devices running an app that uses its components such as sensors, screen, camera and processing power in classroom work. In this paper, we employed Augmented Reality (ARRoC), based on the good results this technology has had in the field of learning. This proposal was developed using a qualitative research methodology supported by quantitative research. The methodological instruments used on this proposal are: observation, questionnaires, interviews and evaluations. We obtained positive results with a 40% increase using M-Learning, from the 20% increase using traditional means.

Keywords: augmented reality, classroom learning, educational research, mobile computing

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Authors: Pakhapoom Sarapat, James M. Hill, Duangkamon Baowan

Abstract:

Carbon nanotori provide several properties such as high tensile strength and heat resistance. They are promised to be ideal structures for encapsulation, and their encapsulation ability can be determined by the interaction energy between the carbon nanotori and the encapsulated nanostructures. Such interaction energy is evaluated using Lennard-Jones potential and continuum approximation. Here, four problems relating to toroidal molecules are determined in order to find the most stable configuration. Firstly, the interaction energy between a carbon nanotorus and an atom is examined. The second problem relates to the energy of a fullerene encapsulated inside a carbon nanotorus. Next, the interaction energy between two symmetrically situated and parallel nanotori is considered. Finally, the classical mechanics is applied to model the interaction energy between the toroidal structure of cyclodextrin and the spherical DNA molecules. These mathematical models might be exploited to study a number of promising devices for future developments in bio and nanotechnology.

Keywords: carbon nanotori, continuum approximation, interaction energy, Lennard-Jones potential, nanotechnology

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Authors: Prasanta Sutradhar, Mitali Saha

Abstract:

With an increasing awareness of green and clean energy, zinc oxide based solar cells were found to be suitable candidates for cost-effective and environmentally friendly energy conversion devices. In this work, we have reported the green synthesis of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO) by thermal method and under microwave irradiation using the aqueous extract of tomatoes as non-toxic and ecofriendly reducing material. The synthesized ZnO nanoparticles were characterised by UV-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), infra-red spectroscopy (IR), particle size analyser (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X- ray diffraction study (XRD). A series of ZnO nanocomposites with titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2) and graphene oxide (GO) were prepared for photovoltaic application. Structural and morphological studies of these nanocomposites were carried out using UV-vis, SEM, XRD, and AFM. The current-voltage measurements of the nanocomposites demonstrated enhanced power conversion efficiency of 6.18% in case of ZnO/GO/TiO2 nanocomposite.

Keywords: ZnO, green synthesis, microwave, nanocomposites, I-V characteristics

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Authors: Suman Som, Abhijit Maity, Sunil B. Daschakraborty, Sujit Chaudhuri, Manik Pradhan

Abstract:

Background: Helicobacter pylori is a common and important human pathogen and the primary cause of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Currently H. pylori infection is detected by both invasive and non-invasive way but the diagnostic accuracy is not up to the mark. Aim: To set up an optimal diagnostic cut-off value of 13C-Urea Breath Test to detect H. pylori infection and evaluate a novel c-PDR methodology to overcome of inconclusive grey zone. Materials and Methods: All 83 subjects first underwent upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy followed by rapid urease test and histopathology and depending on these results; we classified 49 subjects as H. pylori positive and 34 negative. After an overnight, fast patients are taken 4 gm of citric acid in 200 ml water solution and 10 minute after ingestion of the test meal, a baseline exhaled breath sample was collected. Thereafter an oral dose of 75 mg 13C-Urea dissolved in 50 ml water was given and breath samples were collected upto 90 minute for 15 minute intervals and analysed by laser based high precisional cavity enhanced spectroscopy. Results: We studied the excretion kinetics of 13C isotope enrichment (expressed as δDOB13C ‰) of exhaled breath samples and found maximum enrichment around 30 minute of H. pylori positive patients, it is due to the acid mediated stimulated urease enzyme activity and maximum acidification happened within 30 minute but no such significant isotopic enrichment observed for H. pylori negative individuals. Using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve an optimal diagnostic cut-off value, δDOB13C ‰ = 3.14 was determined at 30 minute exhibiting 89.16% accuracy. Now to overcome grey zone problem we explore percentage dose of 13C recovered per hour, i.e. 13C-PDR (%/hr) and cumulative percentage dose of 13C recovered, i.e. c-PDR (%) in exhaled breath samples for the present 13C-UBT. We further explored the diagnostic accuracy of 13C-UBT by constructing ROC curve using c-PDR (%) values and an optimal cut-off value was estimated to be c-PDR = 1.47 (%) at 60 minute, exhibiting 100 % diagnostic sensitivity , 100 % specificity and 100 % accuracy of 13C-UBT for detection of H. pylori infection. We also elucidate the gastric emptying process of present 13C-UBT for H. pylori positive patients. The maximal emptying rate found at 36 minute and half empting time of present 13C-UBT was found at 45 minute. Conclusions: The present study exhibiting the importance of c-PDR methodology to overcome of grey zone problem in 13C-UBT for accurate determination of infection without any risk of diagnostic errors and making it sufficiently robust and novel method for an accurate and fast non-invasive diagnosis of H. pylori infection for large scale screening purposes.

Keywords: 13C-Urea breath test, c-PDR methodology, grey zone, Helicobacter pylori

Procedia PDF Downloads 294