Search results for: Peter James C. Icalia
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 796

Search results for: Peter James C. Icalia

736 HKIE Accreditation: A Comparative Study on the Old and New Criteria

Authors: Peter P. K. Chiu

Abstract:

This paper reports a comparative study of new and old criteria for the professional accreditation of programme by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE). The major change in the criteria is the adoption of the outcome-based accreditation criteria and the use of measurement of attainment of outcomes which is very different from what academic did in the past. This has imposed a lot of difficulty for people in preparation for such exercise. Through this comparative study, the major difference between the two criteria is identified and a methodology is devised to help the academic to handle the issues due to the adoption of the new criteria. Thus it saves a lot of efforts.

Keywords: Hong Kong institution of engineers, outcome-based accreditation, Sydney accord, Washington accord

Procedia PDF Downloads 263
735 Positioning Analysis of Atlantic Canadian Provinces as Travel Destinations by Americans

Authors: Dongkoo Yun, Melissa James-MacEachern

Abstract:

This study analyzes Americans’ views of four Atlantic Canadian provinces as travel destinations regarding specific destination attributes for a pleasure trip, awareness (heard) of the destinations, past visit to the destinations during the prior two years, and intention to visit in the next two years. Results indicate that American travellers perceived the four Atlantic Canadian provinces as separate and distinct when rating best-fit destination attributes to each destination. The results suggest that travel destinations, specifically the four selected destinations, must be prepared to differentiate their destination’s image and the range of experiences and services to appeal and attract more American travellers.

Keywords: American perceptions, Atlantic Canadian provinces, competitiveness, positioning analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 250
734 The Tiv Oral Poet and Taraba Crisis: Anger, Frustration and Uncotrollable Emotionalism in Obadia Kehemen Orkor's Ballads

Authors: Peter Nave Shirga

Abstract:

Obadia Kehemen Orkor’s songs that focus on the predicament of the Tiv man in Taraba in North Central Nigeria handle themes such as poverty, social inequality, discrimination and tyranny perpetrated by Jukun against the Tiv. The major thrust of his focus in the songs is the overriding longing for mutual understanding between the Jukun and Tiv that would usher in love, equality, peace and harmonious co-existence for the two antagonistic ethnic groups. This paper examines Obadia’s hard-hitting lyrics that reveal the anger, frustration and boiling emotionalism of Tiv people in Taraba state of Nigeria.

Keywords: poet, crisis, emotionalism, frustration

Procedia PDF Downloads 272
733 Maintaining Discipline in Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria

Authors: Ipenyi Peter

Abstract:

Discipline is an issue that tends to undermine the provision of quality education in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. This is because the overall goals of tertiary institutions, as enunciated in the National Policy of Education, can hardly be achieved by all the stakeholders without strict conformity and adherence to the rules and regulations and the ideals of the entire society. The adherence is essential for the general welfare of the society. This paper critically X-rayed the causes of indiscipline in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Such courses include laxity in home control and parental supervision, school, teacher and societal factors as well as government influence. The paper recommended among others such strategies as enculturation, acculturation as well as the acquisition of a certain number of generic skills for dealing with discipline and ethical issues in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

Keywords: discipline, education, tertiary institutions, society

Procedia PDF Downloads 502
732 A Model of Condensation and Solidification of Metallurgical Vapor in a Supersonic Nozzle

Authors: Thien X. Dinh, Peter Witt

Abstract:

A one-dimensional model for the simulation of condensation and solidification of a metallurgical vapor in the mixture of gas during supersonic expansion is presented. In the model, condensation is based on critical nucleation and drop-growth theory. When the temperature falls below the supercooling point, all the formed liquid droplets in the condensation phase are assumed to solidify at an infinite rate. The model was verified with a Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation of magnesium vapor condensation and solidification. The obtained results are in reasonable agreement with CFD data. Therefore, the model is a promising, efficient tool for use in the design process for supersonic nozzles applied in mineral processes since it is faster than the CFD counterpart by an order of magnitude.

Keywords: condensation, metallurgical flow, solidification, supersonic expansion

Procedia PDF Downloads 32
731 Automated Recognition of Still’s Murmur in Children

Authors: Sukryool Kang, James McConnaughey, Robin Doroshow, Raj Shekhar

Abstract:

Still’s murmur, a vibratory heart murmur, is the most common normal innocent murmur of childhood. Many children with this murmur are unnecessarily referred for cardiology consultation and testing, which exacts a high cost financially and emotionally on the patients and their parents. Pediatricians to date are not successful at distinguishing Still’s murmur from murmurs of true heart disease. In this paper, we present a new algorithmic approach to distinguish Still’s murmur from pathological murmurs in children. We propose two distinct features, spectral width and signal power, which describe the sharpness of the spectrum and the signal intensity of the murmur, respectively. Seventy pediatric heart sound recordings of 41 Still’s and 29 pathological murmurs were used to develop and evaluate our algorithm that achieved a true positive rate of 97% and false positive rate of 0%. This approach would meet clinical standards in recognizing Still’s murmur.

Keywords: AR modeling, auscultation, heart murmurs, Still's murmur

Procedia PDF Downloads 340
730 Data Integration with Geographic Information System Tools for Rural Environmental Monitoring

Authors: Tamas Jancso, Andrea Podor, Eva Nagyne Hajnal, Peter Udvardy, Gabor Nagy, Attila Varga, Meng Qingyan

Abstract:

The paper deals with the conditions and circumstances of integration of remotely sensed data for rural environmental monitoring purposes. The main task is to make decisions during the integration process when we have data sources with different resolution, location, spectral channels, and dimension. In order to have exact knowledge about the integration and data fusion possibilities, it is necessary to know the properties (metadata) that characterize the data. The paper explains the joining of these data sources using their attribute data through a sample project. The resulted product will be used for rural environmental analysis.

Keywords: remote sensing, GIS, metadata, integration, environmental analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 92
729 Investigating the Use of Advanced Manufacturing Technologies in the Assembly Type Manufacturing Companies in Trinidad and Tobago

Authors: Nadine Sangster, Akil James, Rondell Duke, Aaron Ameerali, Terrence Lalla

Abstract:

The market place of the 21st century is evolving into one of merging national markets, fragmented consumer markets, and rapidly changing product technologies. The use of new technologies has become vital to the manufacturing industry for their survival and sustainability. This work focused on the assembly type industry in a small developing country and aimed at identifying the use of advanced manufacturing technologies and their impact on this sector of the manufacturing industry. It was found that some technologies were being used and that they had improved the effectiveness of those companies but there was still quite a bit of room for improvements. Some of the recommendations included benchmarking against international standards, the adoption of a “made in TT” campaign and the effective utilisation of the technologies to improve manufacturing effectiveness and thus improve competitive advantages and strategies.

Keywords: advanced manufacturing technology, Trinidad and Tobago, manufacturing, industrial engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 463
728 Presenting an Integrated Framework for the Introduction and Evaluation of Social Media in Enterprises

Authors: Gerhard Peter

Abstract:

In this paper, we present an integrated framework that governs the introduction of social media into enterprises and its evaluation. It is argued that the framework should address the following issues: (1) the contribution of social media for increasing efficiency and improving the quality of working life; (2) the level on which this contribution happens (i.e., individual, team, or organisation); (3) a description of the processes for implementing and evaluating social media; and the role of (4) organisational culture and (5) management. We also report the results of a case study where the framework has been employed to introduce a social networking platform at a German enterprise. This paper only considers the internal use of social media.

Keywords: case study, enterprise 2.0, framework, introducing and evaluating social media, social media

Procedia PDF Downloads 334
727 Human Thinking Explained with Basic Drives

Authors: Peter Pfeifer, Julian Pfeifer, Niko Pfeifer

Abstract:

Information processing is the focus of brain and cognition research. This work has a different perspective; it starts with behaviors. The detailed analysis of behaviors leads to the discovery that a significant proportion of them are based on only five basic drives. These basic drives are combinable, and the combinations result in the diversity of human behavior and thinking. The key elements are drive memories. They collect memories of drive-related situations and feelings. They contain variations of basic drives in numerous areas of life and build combinations with different meanings depending on the area. Human thinking could be explained with variations on these nested combinations of basic drives.

Keywords: cognition, psycholinguistics, psychology, psychophysiology of cognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 134
726 Programming with Grammars

Authors: Peter M. Maurer Maurer

Abstract:

DGL is a context free grammar-based tool for generating random data. Many types of simulator input data require some computation to be placed in the proper format. For example, it might be necessary to generate ordered triples in which the third element is the sum of the first two elements, or it might be necessary to generate random numbers in some sorted order. Although DGL is universal in computational power, generating these types of data is extremely difficult. To overcome this problem, we have enhanced DGL to include features that permit direct computation within the structure of a context free grammar. The features have been implemented as special types of productions, preserving the context free flavor of DGL specifications.

Keywords: DGL, Enhanced Context Free Grammars, Programming Constructs, Random Data Generation

Procedia PDF Downloads 118
725 The Subtle Influence of Hindu Doctrines on Film Industry: A Case Study of Movie Avatar

Authors: Cemil Kutlutürk

Abstract:

Hindu culture and religious doctrines such as caste, reincarnation, yoga, nirvana have always proved a popular theme for the film industry. The analyzing of these motifs in the movies with a scientific approach enables to individuals either to comprehend the messages and deep meanings of films or to understand others’ religious beliefs systems and daily lives in a properly way. The primary aim of this study is to handle the subtle influence of Hindu doctrines on cinema industry by focusing on James Cameron’s film, Avatar and its relationship with Hindu concept of avatara by referring to original Hindu sacred texts where this doctrine is basically clarified. The Sanskrit word avatara means to come down or to descend. Although an avatara is commonly considered as an appearance of any deity on earth, the term refers the Vishnu’s descending on earth. When the movie avatar and avatara doctrine are compared, various similarities have noteworthy revealed. Firstly in the movie, Jake is chosen by Eywa to protect Pandora from evils. Similarly in the movie, avatar is born when there is a rise of jealousy and unrighteousness. The same concept is found in avatara doctrine. According to this belief whenever righteousness (dharma) wanes and unrighteousness (adharma) increases God incarnates himself as an avatara. In Hindu tradition, the ten avataras of Vishnu are the most popular. This standard list of ten avataras includes the Fish, the Tortoise, the Boar, the Man-Lion (Narasimha), the Dwarf, Parasurama, Rama, Krishna, the Buddha and Kalki. In the movie the avatar has tail, eyes, nose, ear which is similar to Narasimha (half man-half lion) avatara. On the other hand use of bow and arrow by Navis in the film, evokes us Rama avatara whose basic gun is same. Navis fly on a dragon like bird called Ikra and ride a horse-like quadruped animal. The vehicle for transformation of the avatar in the movie is also resemblance with the idea of Garuda, the great mythical bird, which is used by Vishnu in Hindu mythology. In addition, the last avatara, Kalki, will be seen on a white horse according to Puranas. The basic difference is that for Hinduism avatara means descent of a God, yet in the movie, a human being named Jake Sully, is manifested as humanoid of another planet, this is called as avatar. While in the movie the avatar manifests himself in another planet, Pandora, in Hinduism avataras descent on this world. On the other hand, in Hindu scriptures, there are many avataras and they are categorized according to their functions and attributes. These sides of avatara doctrine cannot be also seen clearly in the film. Even though there are some differences between each other, the main hypothesis of this study is that the general character of the movie is similar to avatara doctrine. In the movie instead of emphasizing on a specific avatara, qualities of different Vishnu avataras have been properly used.

Keywords: film industry, Hinduism, incarnation, James Cameron, movie avatar

Procedia PDF Downloads 364
724 Dispositional Loneliness and Mental Health of the Elderly in Cross River State, Nigeria

Authors: Peter Unoh Bassey

Abstract:

The study is predicated on the current trend of the rate of dispositional loneliness experienced by the elderly in society today as a result of the breakdown in the family attachment patterns, loss of close associates, and interpersonal conflicts. The research adopted the ex-post facto research design through a survey data collected from a total of 500 elderly comprising of both retirees and community-based elders. Both the stratified and simple sampling techniques were used to select the sample. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the elderly should be trained in acquiring specific attachment styles as well as be trained in developing appropriate social skills to counter loneliness.

Keywords: dispositional loneliness, mental health, elderly, cross river state

Procedia PDF Downloads 125
723 These Ungodly Institutions: Christian Reconstruction, Vouchers and the Fight for American Ideals

Authors: James A. Bryant Jr

Abstract:

This article examines the far-reaching consequences of the mainstreaming of the Christian Dominionist philosophy on public schools all across the United States of America. Under the guise of “school choice,” and the ever-growing influence and legacy of its most vocal proponent, R.J. Rushdoony, the American right has declared an all-out war on public education, public schools, and the men and women who staff these institutions. For the purposes of this paper, the term “school choice” encompasses both the efforts to use public money to support private, religious education as well as the move to dramatically expand the number of children and youth who are home schooled. This article examines both the history and dangers of the homeschool movement and the vouchers-for-religious school's scheme, with particular attention to the philosophy and words of its most renowned advocate, the missionary Rousas John Rushdoony.

Keywords: history education, multicultural education, public education, Christian Dominionism

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722 Kant on Lying to God: The Intention to Deceive

Authors: James E. Mahon

Abstract:

This paper addresses the important question in the philosophy of lies and deception of whether all lying requires an intention to deceive. It does by examining a recent attempt by two philosophers to argue that Immanuel Kant abandoned the view that all lying requires an intention to deceive, in order to be able to claim that lying to God was possible. Ian Proops and Roy Sorensen have recently argued that although Kant always held that it was impossible for anyone to intend to deceive God, late in his life he came to believe that it was possible to lie to God. Kant came to believe that this was possible, they argue, because Kant came to believe that lying is not always deceptive, and that it was possible to tell non-deceptive lies, including non-deceptive lies to God. In this paper their arguments will be broken down and analyzed. Based on a close textual reading of the published works and the Kant’s lectures on ethics, it will be argued that Proops and Sorensen are wrong about what Kant believed about lying in general and lying to God in particular. This paper concludes that Kant never did abandon the Deceptionist position that all lying requires an intention to deceive.

Keywords: Kant, lie, deception, intention, God, ethics, belief, assertion

Procedia PDF Downloads 15
721 The Impact of Metacognitive Knowledge and Experience on Top Management Team Diversity and Small to Medium Enterprises Performance

Authors: Jo Rhodes, Peter Lok, Zahra Sadeghinejad

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to determine the impact of metacognition on top management team members and firm performance based on full team integration. A survey of 1500 small to medium enterprises (SMEs) was initiated and 140 firms were obtained in this study (with response rate of 9%). The result showed that different metacognitive abilities of managers [knowledge and experience] could enhance team decision-making and problem solving, resulting in greater firm performance. This is a significant finding for SMEs because these organisations have small teams with owner leadership and entrepreneurial orientation.

Keywords: metacognition, behavioural integration, top management team (TMT), performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 337
720 Planning of Green Infrastructure on a City Level

Authors: James Li, Darko Joksimovic

Abstract:

Urban development changes the natural hydrologic cycle, resulting in storm water impacts such as flooding, water quality degradation, receiving water erosion, and ecosystem deterioration. An integrated storm water managementapproach utilizing source and conveyance (termed green infrastructure) and end-of-pipe control measures is an effective way to manage urban storm water impacts. This paper focuses onplanning green infrastructure (GI) at the source and along the drainage system on a city level. It consists of (1)geospatial analysis of feasible GI using physical suitability; (2) modelling of cumulative GI's stormwater performance; and (3) cost-effectiveness analysis to prioritize the implementation of GI. A case study of the City of Barrie in Ontario, Canada, was used to demonstrate the GI's planning.

Keywords: cost-effectiveness of storm water controls, green infrastructure, urban storm water, city-level master planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 70
719 Empirical and Indian Automotive Equity Portfolio Decision Support

Authors: P. Sankar, P. James Daniel Paul, Siddhant Sahu

Abstract:

A brief review of the empirical studies on the methodology of the stock market decision support would indicate that they are at a threshold of validating the accuracy of the traditional and the fuzzy, artificial neural network and the decision trees. Many researchers have been attempting to compare these models using various data sets worldwide. However, the research community is on the way to the conclusive confidence in the emerged models. This paper attempts to use the automotive sector stock prices from National Stock Exchange (NSE), India and analyze them for the intra-sectorial support for stock market decisions. The study identifies the significant variables and their lags which affect the price of the stocks using OLS analysis and decision tree classifiers.

Keywords: Indian automotive sector, stock market decisions, equity portfolio analysis, decision tree classifiers, statistical data analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 453
718 The Business of American Football: The Kicker Position and Performance to Salary Correlation

Authors: James R. Ogden, Denise T. Ogden

Abstract:

The National Football League (USA) is the largest sporting business in the United States. In order to generate revenue, it is important that NFL teams win. Coaches, owners and general managers of the NFL teams want to create powerful teams with reliable players and they are willing to spend large amounts of money in order to do so. This research looks at one of the National Football League’s key players, the kicker. It would be intuitively obvious to suggest that those kickers who perform the best get paid the most. In this paper the researchers performed a correlation and regression analysis to determine if there is a correlation between an NFL kicker’s field goal percentage and salary. The research proposition was that higher performing kickers receive higher salaries. The data suggest that there is no correlation between salary and on-field performance.

Keywords: business management, sports marketing, tourism, American football

Procedia PDF Downloads 273
717 Estimating the Value of Statistical Life under the Subsidization and Cultural Effects

Authors: Mohammad A. Alolayan, John S. Evans, James K. Hammitt

Abstract:

The value of statistical life has been estimated for a middle eastern country with high economical subsidization system. In this study, in-person interviews were conducted on a stratified random sample to estimate the value of mortality risk. Double-bounded dichotomous choice questions followed by open-ended question were used in the interview to investigate the willingness to pay of the respondent for mortality risk reduction. High willingness to pay was found to be associated with high income and education. Also, females were found to have lower willingness to pay than males. The estimated value of statistical life is larger than the ones estimated for western countries where taxation system exists. This estimate provides a baseline for monetizing the health benefits for proposed policy or program to the decision makers in an eastern country. Also, the value of statistical life for a country in the region can be extrapolated from this this estimate by using the benefit transfer method.

Keywords: mortality, risk, VSL, willingness-to-pay

Procedia PDF Downloads 282
716 The Molecular Bases of Δβ T-Cell Mediated Antigen Recognition

Authors: Eric Chabrol, Sidonia B.G. Eckle, Renate de Boer, James McCluskey, Jamie Rossjohn, Mirjam H.M. Heemskerk, Stephanie Gras

Abstract:

αβ and γδ T-cells are disparate T-cell lineages that, via their use of either αβ or γδ T-cell antigen receptors (TCRs) respectively, can respond to distinct antigens. Here we characterise a new population of human T-cells, term δβ T-cells, that express TCRs comprising a TCR-δ variable gene fused to a Joining-α/Constant-α domain, paired with an array of TCR-β chains. We characterised the cellular, functional, biophysical and structural characteristic feature of this new T-cells population that reveal some new insight into TCR diversity. We provide molecular bases of how δβ T-cells can recognise viral peptide presented by Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) molecule. Our findings highlight how components from αβ and γδTCR gene loci can recombine to confer antigen specificity thus expanding our understanding of T-cell biology and TCR diversity.

Keywords: new delta-beta TCR, HLA, viral peptide, structural immunology

Procedia PDF Downloads 396
715 Constant Order Predictor Corrector Method for the Solution of Modeled Problems of First Order IVPs of ODEs

Authors: A. A. James, A. O. Adesanya, M. R. Odekunle, D. G. Yakubu

Abstract:

This paper examines the development of one step, five hybrid point method for the solution of first order initial value problems. We adopted the method of collocation and interpolation of power series approximate solution to generate a continuous linear multistep method. The continuous linear multistep method was evaluated at selected grid points to give the discrete linear multistep method. The method was implemented using a constant order predictor of order seven over an overlapping interval. The basic properties of the derived corrector was investigated and found to be zero stable, consistent and convergent. The region of absolute stability was also investigated. The method was tested on some numerical experiments and found to compete favorably with the existing methods.

Keywords: interpolation, approximate solution, collocation, differential system, half step, converges, block method, efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 309
714 Big Data: Appearance and Disappearance

Authors: James Moir

Abstract:

The mainstay of Big Data is prediction in that it allows practitioners, researchers, and policy analysts to predict trends based upon the analysis of large and varied sources of data. These can range from changing social and political opinions, patterns in crimes, and consumer behaviour. Big Data has therefore shifted the criterion of success in science from causal explanations to predictive modelling and simulation. The 19th-century science sought to capture phenomena and seek to show the appearance of it through causal mechanisms while 20th-century science attempted to save the appearance and relinquish causal explanations. Now 21st-century science in the form of Big Data is concerned with the prediction of appearances and nothing more. However, this pulls social science back in the direction of a more rule- or law-governed reality model of science and away from a consideration of the internal nature of rules in relation to various practices. In effect Big Data offers us no more than a world of surface appearance and in doing so it makes disappear any context-specific conceptual sensitivity.

Keywords: big data, appearance, disappearance, surface, epistemology

Procedia PDF Downloads 385
713 Self-Tuning Robot Control Based on Subspace Identification

Authors: Mathias Marquardt, Peter Dünow, Sandra Baßler

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The paper describes the use of subspace based identification methods for auto tuning of a state space control system. The plant is an unstable but self balancing transport robot. Because of the unstable character of the process it has to be identified from closed loop input-output data. Based on the identified model a state space controller combined with an observer is calculated. The subspace identification algorithm and the controller design procedure is combined to a auto tuning method. The capability of the approach was verified in a simulation experiments under different process conditions.

Keywords: auto tuning, balanced robot, closed loop identification, subspace identification

Procedia PDF Downloads 332
712 Evaluating Psychologist Practice Competencies through Multisource Feedback: An International Research Design

Authors: Jac J. W. Andrews, James B. Hale

Abstract:

Effective practicing psychologists require ongoing skill development that is constructivist and recursive in nature, with mentor, colleague, co-worker, and patient feedback critical to successful acquisition and maintenance of professional competencies. This paper will provide an overview of the nature and scope of psychologist skill development through multisource feedback (MSF) or 360 degree evaluation, present a rationale for its use for assessing practicing psychologist performance, and advocate its use in psychology given the demonstrated model utility in other health professions. The paper will conclude that an international research design is needed to assess the feasibility, reliability, and validity of MSF system ratings intended to solicit feedback from mentors, colleagues, coworkers, and patients about psychologist competencies. If adopted, the MSF model could lead to enhanced skill development that fosters patient satisfaction within and across countries.

Keywords: psychologist, multisource feedback, psychologist competency, professionalism

Procedia PDF Downloads 415
711 Deficits and Solutions in the Development of Modular Factory Systems

Authors: Achim Kampker, Peter Burggräf, Moritz Krunke, Hanno Voet

Abstract:

As a reaction to current challenges in factory planning, many companies think about introducing factory standards to lower planning times and decrease planning costs. If these factory standards are set-up with a high level of modularity, they are defined as modular factory systems. This paper deals with the main current problems in the application of modular factory systems in practice and presents a solution approach with its basic models. The methodology is based on methods from factory planning but also uses the tools of other disciplines like product development or technology management to deal with the high complexity, which the development of modular factory systems implies. The four basic models that such a methodology has to contain are introduced and pointed out.

Keywords: factory planning, modular factory systems, factory standards, cost-benefit analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 571
710 Determining a Suitable Maintenance Measure for Gentelligent Components Using Case-Based Reasoning

Authors: Maximilian Winkens, Peter Nyhuis

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Components with sensory properties such as gentelligent components developed at the Collaborative Research Center 653 offer a new angle on the full utilization of the remaining service life in case of a preventive maintenance. The developed methodology of component status driven maintenance analyses the stress data obtained during the component's useful life and on the basis of this knowledge assesses the type of maintenance called for in this case. The procedure is derived from the case-based reasoning method and will be elucidated in detail. The method's functionality is demonstrated with real-life data obtained during test runs of a racing car prototype.

Keywords: gentelligent component, preventive maintenance, case-based reasoning, sensory

Procedia PDF Downloads 337
709 Detection of Epinephrine in Chicken Serum at Iron Oxide Screen Print Modified Electrode

Authors: Oluwole Opeyemi Dina, Saheed E. Elugoke, Peter Olutope Fayemi, Omolola E. Fayemi

Abstract:

This study presents the detection of epinephrine (EP) at Fe₃O₄ modified screen printed silver electrode (SPSE). The iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles were characterized with UV-visible spectroscopy, Fourier-Transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) prior to the modification of the SPSE. The EP oxidation peak current (Iap) increased with an increase in the concentration of EP as well as the scan rate (from 25 - 400 mVs⁻¹). Using cyclic voltammetry (CV), the relationship between Iap and EP concentration was linear over a range of 3.8 -118.9 µM and 118.9-175 µM with a detection limit of 41.99 µM and 83.16 µM, respectively. Selective detection of EP in the presence of ascorbic acid was also achieved at this electrode.

Keywords: screenprint electrode, iron oxide nanoparticle, epinephrine, serum, cyclic voltametry

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708 Percolation Transition in an Agglomeration of Spherical Particles

Authors: Johannes J. Schneider, Mathias S. Weyland, Peter Eggenberger Hotz, William D. Jamieson, Oliver Castell, Alessia Faggian, Rudolf M. Füchslin

Abstract:

Agglomerations of polydisperse systems of spherical particles are created in computer simulations using a simplified stochastic-hydrodynamic model: Particles sink to the bottom of the cylinder, taking into account gravity reduced by the buoyant force, the Stokes friction force, the added mass effect, and random velocity changes. Two types of particles are considered, with one of them being able to create connections to neighboring particles of the same type, thus forming a network within the agglomeration at the bottom of a cylinder. Decreasing the fraction of these particles, a percolation transition occurs. The critical regime is determined by investigating the maximum cluster size and the percolation susceptibility.

Keywords: binary system, maximum cluster size, percolation, polydisperse

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707 Plasma-Induced Modification of Biomolecules: A Tool for Analysis of Protein Structures

Authors: Yuting Wu, Faraz Choudhury, Daniel Benjamin, James Whalin, Joshua Blatz, Leon Shohet, Michael Sussman, Mark Richards

Abstract:

Plasma-Induced Modification of Biomolecules (PLIMB) has been developed as a technology, which, together with mass spectrometry, measures three-dimensional structural characteristics of proteins. This technique uses hydroxyl radicals generated by atmospheric-pressure plasma discharge to react with the solvent-accessible side chains of protein in an aqueous solution. In this work, we investigate the three-dimensional structure of hemoglobin and myoglobin using PLIMB. Additional modifications to these proteins, such as oxidation, fragmentations, and conformational changes caused by PLIMB are also explored. These results show that PLIMB, coupled with mass spectrometry, is an effective way to determine solvent access to hemoproteins. Furthermore, we show that many factors, including pH and the electrical parameters used to generate the plasma, have a significant influence on solvent accessibility.

Keywords: plasma, hemoglobin, myoglobin, solvent access

Procedia PDF Downloads 157