Search results for: high intensity exercise

Authors: Kazumoto Tanaka, Takayuki Fujino

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Sports games conducted as a group are a form of therapeutic exercise for aged people with decreased strength and for people suffering from permanent damage of stroke and other conditions. However, it is difficult for patients with different athletic abilities to play a game on an equal footing. This study specifically examines a computer video game designed for therapeutic exercise, and a game system with support given depending on athletic ability. Thereby, anyone playing the game can participate equally. This video-game, to be specific, is a popular variant of balloon volleyball, in which players hit a balloon by hand before it falls to the floor. In this game system, each player plays the game watching a monitor on which the system displays tailor-made video-game images adjusted to the person’s athletic ability, providing players with player-adaptive assist support. We have developed a multiplayer game system with an image generation technique for the tailor-made video-game and conducted tests to evaluate it.

Keywords: therapeutic exercise, computer video game, disability-adaptive assist, tailor-made video-game image

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Authors: Shield B. Lin, Ziraguen O. Williams

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In a task to assist NASA in analyzing the dynamic forces caused by operational countermeasures of an astronaut’s exercise platform impacting the spacecraft, an active proportional-integral-derivative controller commanding a linear actuator is proposed in a vibration isolation system to regulate the movement of the exercise platform. Computer simulation shows promising results that most exciter forces can be reduced or even eliminated. This paper emphasizes on parameter uncertainties, variations and exciter force variations. Drift and variations of system parameters in the vibration isolation system for astronaut’s exercise platform are analyzed. An active controlled scheme is applied with the goals to reduce the platform displacement and to minimize the force being transmitted to the spacecraft structure. The controller must be robust enough to accommodate the wide variations of system parameters and exciter forces. Computer simulation for the vibration isolation system was performed via MATLAB/Simulink and Trick. The simulation results demonstrate the achievement of force reduction with small platform displacement under wide ranges of variations in system parameters.

Keywords: control, counterweight, isolation, vibration

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Authors: Ismail Okur, Betul Taspinar, Turkan Pasali Kilit, Eda O. Okur, Ferruh Taspinar

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Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most important global health emergencies and every year more and more people are affected by T2DM. T2DM causes life-changing complications by affecting organ and systems. Although diet and exercise are the best way to treat patients with T2DM, those patients generally have a sedentary life style. This study was planned to determine whether patients with T2DM have kinesiophobia (fear of movement). A controlled trial was conducted on 87 adults. Forty-one individuals with T2DM (study group, 34 female and 7 male) and 46 nondiabetic individuals (control group, 39 female and 7 male) were included in the study. Patients were screened for fear of movement using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK). The data including age, sex, weight, height, and TSK scores were obtained. Mann Whitney U test were used to analyse the data. The mean ages and BMI of study and control groups were 51.98 ± 6.03 year and 49.52 ± 5.61 year and 31.82 ± 2.88 kg/m2 and 30.22 ± 2.91 kg/m2, respectively. The groups have similar demographic properties. The kinesiophobia scores of study and control groups were 42.78 ± 5.50 and 39.48 ± 5.05, respectively and the difference was statistically significant (p=0.05). This study showed that patients with T2DM had high kinesiophobia scores rather than nondiabetics. Those patients might avoid to do exercise. In other words, patients with T2DM might have lower physical activity level. Therefore the authors suggest that to evaluate and interfere with kinesiophobia before conducting exercise therapy will be useful for diabetes care.

Keywords: diabetes, fear of movement, kinesiophobia, type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Jiahui Song, Ravindra Joshi

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High-intensity, nanosecond, pulsed electric fields have been shown to be useful non-thermal tools capable of producing a variety of specific cellular responses. While reversible and temporary changes are often desired based on electromanipulation, irreversible effects can also be important objectives. These include elimination of tumor cells and bacterial decontamination. A simple model-based rate-equation treatment of the various cellular biochemical processes was used to qualitatively predict the pulse number-dependent caspase activation and cell survival trends. The model incorporated the caspase-8 associated extrinsic pathway, the delay inherent in its activation, cytochrome c release, and the internal feedback mechanism between caspase-3 and Bid. Results were roughly in keeping with the experimental cell-survival data. A pulse-number threshold was predicted followed by a near-exponential fall-off. The intrinsic pathway was shown to be much weaker as compared to the extrinsic mechanism for electric pulse induced cell apoptosis. Also, delays of about an hour are predicted for detectable molecular concentration increases following electrical pulsing.

Keywords: apoptosis, cell survival, model, pathway

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Authors: Paúl I. Cornejo

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The elastic energy released through Strombolian explosions has been quite studied, detailing various processes, sources, and precursory events at several volcanoes. We realized an analysis based on the relative partitioning of the elastic energy radiated into the atmosphere and ground by Strombolian-type explosions recorded at El Reventador volcano, using infrasound and seismic signals at high and moderate seismicity episodes during intense eruptive stages of explosive and effusive activity. Our results show that considerable values of Volcano Acoustic-Seismic Ratio (VASR or η) are obtained at high seismicity stages. VASR is a physical diagnostic of explosive degassing that we used to compare eruption mechanisms at El Reventador volcano for two datasets of explosions recorded at a Broad-Band BB seismic and infrasonic station located at ~5 kilometers from the vent. We conclude that the acoustic energy EA released during explosive activity (VASR η = 0.47, standard deviation σ = 0.8) is higher than the EA released during effusive activity; therefore, producing the highest values of η. Furthermore, we realized the analysis and characterization of the eruptive intensity for two episodes at high seismicity, calculating a η three-time higher for an episode of effusive activity with an occasional explosive component (η = 0.32, and σ = 0.42), than a η for an episode of only effusive activity (η = 0.11, and σ = 0.18), but more energetic.

Keywords: effusive, explosion quakes, explosive, Strombolian, VASR

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Authors: Bouziane Mohamed Tewfik

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In order to improve the understanding of the influence of rainfall intensity on infiltration and deformation behaviour of unsaturated soil slopes, numerical 2D analyses are carried out by a three phase elasto-viscoplastic seepage-deformation coupled method. From the numerical results, it is shown that regardless of the saturated permeability of the soil slope, the increase in the pore water pressure (reduction in suction) during rainfall infiltration is localized close to the slope surface. In addition, the generation of the pore water pressure and the lateral displacement are mainly controlled by the ratio of the rainfall intensity to the saturated permeability of the soil.

Keywords: unsaturated soil, slope stability, rainfall infiltration, numerical analysis

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Authors: Sajjad Shojaeidoust, Mohsen Ghanbarzadeh, Abdolhamid Habibi

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Exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) is a transitory condition of airflow obstruction that is associated with physical activities. It is noted that high ventilation can lead to an increase in the heat and reduce in the moisture in airways resistance of trachea. Also causes of pathophysiological mechanism are EIB. Accordingly, studying some parameters of pulmonary function (FVC, FEV1) among active people seems quintessential. The aim of this study was to analyze bronchospasm following the implementation of a program of maximum aerobic exercise in active men at Chamran University of Ahwaz. Method: In this quasi-experimental study, the population consisted of all students at Chamran University. Among from 55 participants, of which, 15 were randomly selected as the experimental group. In this study, the size of the maximum oxygen consumption was initially measured, and then, based on the maximum oxygen consumed, the active individuals were identified. After five minutes’ warm-up, Strand treadmill exercise test was taken (one session) and pulmonary parameters were measured at both pre- and post-tests (spirometer). After data normalization using KS and non-normality of the data, the Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the data. The significance level for all statistical surveys was considered p≤0/05. Results: The results showed that the ventilation factors and bronchospasm (FVC, FEV1) in the pre-test and post-test resulted in no significant difference among the active people (p≥0/05). Discussion and conclusion: Based on the results observed in this study, it appears that pulmonary indices in active individuals increased after aerobic test. The increase in this indicator in active people is due to increased volume and elasticity of the lungs as well. In other words, pulmonary index is affected by rib muscles. It is considered that progress over respiratory muscle strength and endurance has raised FEV1 in the active cases.

Keywords: aerobic active maximum, bronchospasm, pulmonary function, spirometer

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Authors: M. Abdullah Al Faruque, Ram Balachandar

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An experimental study with four different types of bed conditions was carried out to understand the effect of roughness in open channel flow at two different Reynolds numbers. The bed conditions include a smooth surface and three different roughness conditions which were generated using sand grains with a median diameter of 2.46 mm. The three rough conditions include a surface with distributed roughness, a surface with continuously distributed roughness and a sand bed with a permeable interface. A commercial two-component fibre-optic LDA system was used to conduct the velocity measurements. The variables of interest include the mean velocity, turbulence intensity, the correlation between the streamwise and the wall normal turbulence, Reynolds shear stress and velocity triple products. Quadrant decomposition was used to extract the magnitude of the Reynolds shear stress of the turbulent bursting events. The effect of roughness was evident throughout the flow depth. The results show that distributed roughness has the greatest roughness effect followed by the sand bed and the continuous roughness. Compared to the smooth bed, the streamwise turbulence intensity reduces but the vertical turbulence intensity increases at a location very close to the bed due to the introduction of roughness. Although the same sand grain is used to create the three different rough bed conditions, the difference in the turbulence intensity is an indication that the specific geometry of the roughness has an influence on turbulence structure.

Keywords: open channel flow, smooth and rough bed, Reynolds number, turbulence

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Authors: Rawa Delshada, Sanaa G. Hamab, Rastee D. Koyeec

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Eighty patients with suspected ischemic heart disease were enrolled in the present study. They were classified into two groups: patients with positive exercise stress test results (n=40) and control group with negative exercise stress test results (n=40). Serum concentration of troponin I, Heart-type Fatty Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP) and Ischemia Modified Albumin (IMA) were measured one hour after performing stress test. Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay was used to measure both troponin I, H-FABP levels, while IMA levels were measured by albumin cobalt binding test. There was no statistically significant difference in the mean concentration of troponin I between two groups (0.75±0.55ng/ml) for patients with positive test result vs. (0.71±0.55ng/ml) for negative test result group with P>0.05. Contrary to our expectation, mean IMA level was slightly higher among control group (70.88±39.76U/ml) compared to (62.7±51.9U/ml) in positive test result group, but still with no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). Median H-FABP level was also higher among negative exercise stress testing group compared the positive one (2ng/ml vs. 1.9ng/ml respectively), but failed to reach statistically significant difference (P>0.05). When quartiles model used to explore the possible association between each study biomarkers with the others; serum H-FABP level was lowest (1.7ng/ml) in highest quartile of IMA and lowest H-FABP (1.8ng/ml) in highest quartile of troponin I but with no statistically significant association (P>0.05). Myocardial ischemia, more likely occurred after exercise stress test, is not capable of causing troponin I release. Furthermore, an increase in H-FABP and IMA levels after stress test are not reflecting myocardial ischemia. Moreover, the combination of troponin I, H-FABP and IMA after measuring their post exercise levels does not improve the diagnostic utility of exercise stress test enormously.

Keywords: cardiac biomarkers, ischemic heart disease, troponin I, ischemia modified albumin, heart-type fatty acid binding protein, exercise stress testing

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Authors: Boudjema Nouara, Mameri Nabil

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Bacteria have played an important role in water contamination as a consequence of organic pollution. In this study, an electrocoagulation process was adopted to remove fecal contamination and pathogenic bacteria from waste water. The effect of anode/cathodes materials as well as operating conditions for bacteria removal from water, such as current intensity and initial pH and temperature. The results indicated that the complete removal was achevied when using aluminium anode as anode at current intensity of 3A, initial pH of 7-8 and electrolysis time of 30 minutes. This process showed a bactericidal effect of 95 to 99% for the total and fecal coliforms and 99% to 100% for Eschercichia coli and fecal Streptococci. A decrease of 72% was recorded for sulphite-reducing Clostridia. Thus, this process has the potential to be one the options for treatment where high amount of bacteria in wastewater river.

Keywords: bacteria, el Harrach river, electrocoagulation, wastewater, treatment

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Authors: Adkham Paiziev, Fikrat Kerimov

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Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) is one of the biophotonic techniques which can be used to monitor oxygenation and hemodynamics in a variety of human tissues, including skeletal muscle. In the present work, we are offering tissue oximetry (OxyPrem) to measure hemodynamic parameters of skeletal muscles in rest and exercise. Purpose: - To elaborate the new wireless, portable, noninvasive, wearable NIRS device to measure skeletal muscle oxygenation during exercise. - To test this device on brachioradialis muscle of wrestler volunteers by using combined method of arterial occlusion (AO) and NIRS (AO+NIRS). Methods: Oxyprem NIRS device has been used together with AO test. AO test and Isometric brachioradialis muscle contraction experiments have been performed on one group of wrestler volunteers. ‘Accu- Measure’ caliper (USA) to measure skinfold thickness (SFT) has been used. Results: Elaborated device consists on power supply box, a sensor head and installed ‘Tubis’ software for data acquisition and to compute deoxyhemoglobin ([HHb), oxyhemoglobin ([O2Hb]), tissue oxygenation (StO2) and muscle tissue oxygen consumption (mVO2). Sensor head consists on four light sources with three light emitting diodes with nominal wavelengths of 760 nm, 805 nm, and 870 nm, and two detectors. AO and isometric voluntary forearm muscle contraction (IVFMC) on five healthy male subjects (23,2±0.84 in age, 0.43±0.05cm of SFT ) and four female subjects (22.0±1.0 in age and 0.24±0.04 cm SFT) has been measured. mVO2 for control group has been calculated (-0.65%/sec±0.07) for male and -0.69%/±0.19 for female subjects). Tissue oxygenation index for wrestlers in average about 75% whereas for control group StO2 =63%. Second experiment was connected with quality monitoring muscle activity during IVFMC at 10%,30% and 50% of MVC. It has been shown, that the concentration changes of HbO2 and HHb positively correlated to the contraction intensity. Conclusion: We have presented a portable multi-channel wireless NIRS device for real-time monitoring of muscle activity. The miniaturized NIRS sensor and the usage of wireless communication make the whole device have a compact-size, thus can be used in muscle monitoring.

Keywords: skeletal muscle, oxygenation, instrumentation, near infrared spectroscopy

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Authors: Namita Mittal, Himakshi Shekhawat, Ankit Vidyarthi

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In medical research study, doctors and radiologists face lot of complexities in analysing the brain tumors in Magnetic Resonance (MR) images. Brain tumor detection is difficult due to amorphous tumor shape and overlapping of similar tissues in nearby region. So, radiologists require one such clinically viable solution which helps in automatic segmentation of tumor inside brain MR image. Initially, segmentation methods were used to detect tumor, by dividing the image into segments but causes loss of information. In this paper, a hybrid method is proposed which detect Region of Interest (ROI) on the basis of difference in intensity values and texture values of tumor region using nearby tissues with Gradient Vector Flow (GVF) technique in the identification of ROI. Proposed approach uses both intensity and texture values for identification of abnormal section of the brain MR images. Experimental results show that proposed method outperforms GVF method without any loss of information.

Keywords: brain tumor, GVF, intensity, MR images, segmentation, texture

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Authors: Rosaria Tizzani, Tomas Morosinotto, Fabrizio Bezzo, Eleonora Sforza

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Red microalga Porphyridium marinum CCAP 13807/10 has the potential to produce a broad range of commercially valuable chemicals such as PhycoErytrin (PE) and sulphated ExoPolySaccharides (EPS). Multiple abiotic factors influence the growth of Porphyridium sp., e.g. the wavelength of the light source and different cultivation strategies (one or two steps, batch, semi-, and continuous regime). The microalga of interest is cultivated in a two-step system. First, the culture grows photoautotrophically in a controlled bioreactor with pH-dependent CO2 injection, temperature monitoring, light intensity, and LED wavelength remote control in a semicontinuous mode. In the second step, the harvested biomass is subjected to mixotrophic conditions to enhance further growth. Preliminary tests have been performed to define the suitable media, salinity, pH, and organic carbon substrate to obtain the highest biomass productivity. Dynamic light and operational conditions (e.g. HRT) are evaluated to achieve high biomass production, high PE accumulation in the biomass, and high EPS release in the medium. Porphyridium marinum is able to chromatically adapt the photosynthetic apparatus to efficiently exploit the full light spectra composition. The effect of specific narrow LED wavelengths (white W, red R, green G, blue B) and a combination of LEDs (WR, WB, WG, BR, BG, RG) are identified to understand the phenomenon of chromatic adaptation under photoautotrophic conditions. The effect of light intensity, residence time, and light quality are investigated to define optimal operational strategies for full scale commercial applications. Production of biomass, phycobiliproteins, PE, EPS, EPS sulfate content, EPS composition, Chlorophyll-a, and pigment content are monitored to determine the effect of LED wavelength on the cultivation Porphyridium marinum in order to optimize the production of these multiple, highly valuable bioproducts of commercial interest.

Keywords: red microalgae, LED, exopolysaccharide, phycoerythrin

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Authors: Ikram Slamani, Hicheme Ferdjani

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This study focuses on analyzing a Griffith crack situated at the center of an infinite strip. The problem is reformulated as a hyper-singular integral equation and solved numerically using second-order Chebyshev polynomials. The primary objective is to calculate the stress intensity factor in mode 1, denoted as K1. The obtained results reveal the influence of the strip width and crack length on the stress intensity factor, assuming stress-free edges. Additionally, a comparison is made with relevant literature to validate the findings.

Keywords: center crack, Chebyshev polynomial, hyper singular integral equation, Griffith, infinite strip, stress intensity factor

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Authors: Shireen Ibish

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Physical inactivity and unhealthy diets have contributed to a global burden of disease with increased relation to non-communicable diseases, increased risk of colon and breast cancer, high prevalence of depression, reduced quality of life and early death. The World Health Organisation’s facts on Obesity show a tripling in prevalence across the European Region since the 1980s. This has lead to a huge public health burden, being responsible for and 10-13% of deaths (fourth largest cause of global mortality) and 2-8% of health costs in the Region. In the UK alone, the present cost of physical inactivity has been estimated to be £8.2 billion. In 2002 a paper published in the International Journal of Epidemiology on ‘sedentary’ lifestyle, put into figures the increasingly worrying statistics across European countries. “Percentages of sedentary lifestyles across European countries ranged between 43.3% (Sweden) and 87.8% (Portugal)”. This was especially so amongst obese subjects, less- educated people, and smokers. While in the UK’s “50% of adult population in the UK is predicted to be obese by 2050.” Sports and Exercise Medicine, as a specialty, has a lot to offer in targeting this globally increasing epidemic. The worrying figures and the increasing knowledge of combating and preventing this issue have lead to increased awareness amongst the medical profession and more targeted interventions to reduce the burden of disease. “The public health element of the specialty is critical – this is not simply a specialty for the management of elite athletes’ medical conditions – it is central to the promotion of exercise as a means of disease prevention, to enhance well-being and in the management of disease.” WHO advised on creating National policies, encouraging and providing opportunities for greater physical activity, and improve the affordability, availability and accessibility of healthy foods. In the UK various different movements have been established to target this problem. The Motivate2Move, Move Eat Treat and guidelines advising specialties on targeting and encouraging exercise in the population (Sport and Exercise Medicine A Fresh Approach).

Keywords: sedentary lifestyle, obesity, public health burden, medicine

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Authors: Boulis M. Ibrahim, Iordanis A. Kalaitzoglou

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A micro structural pricing model is proposed in which price components account for learning by incorporating changing expectations of the trading intensity and the risk level of incoming trades. An analysis of European carbon futures transactions finds expected trading intensity to increase the information component and decrease the liquidity component of price changes, but at different rates. Among the results, the expected persistence in trading intensity explains the majority of the auto correlations in the level and the conditional volatility of price changes, helps predict hourly patterns in the bid–ask spread and differentiates between the impact of buy versus sell and continuing versus reversing trades.

Keywords: CO2 emission allowances, market microstructure, duration, price discovery

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Authors: Sanjin Kršćanski, Josip Brnić

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Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) is a method used for calculating stress intensity factor (SIF) of a cracked body that is easily implemented on top of basic finite element (FE) codes and as such can be applied on the various component geometries. It is a relatively simple method that does not require any special finite elements to be used and is usually used for calculating stress intensity factors at the crack tip for components made of brittle materials. This paper studies applicability and accuracy of VCCT applied on standard metal specimens containing trough thickness crack, subjected to an in-plane bending load. Finite element analyses were performed using regular 4-node, regular 8-node and a modified quarter-point 8-node 2D elements. Stress intensity factor was calculated from the FE model results for a given crack length, using data available from FE analysis and a custom programmed algorithm based on virtual crack closure technique. Influence of the finite element size on the accuracy of calculated SIF was also studied. The final part of this paper includes a comparison of calculated stress intensity factors with results obtained from analytical expressions found in available literature and in ASTM standard. Results calculated by this algorithm based on VCCT were found to be in good correlation with results obtained with mentioned analytical expressions.

Keywords: VCCT, stress intensity factor, finite element analysis, 2D finite elements, bending

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Authors: Gopal Chandra Saha, Sumanta Daw

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Warm-up is an essential component for optimizing performance in various sports before a physical fitness training session. This study investigated the immediate comparative effect of Self-Myofascial Release through vibration rolling (VR), non-vibration rolling (NVR), and static stretching as a part of a warm-up treatment on the functional fitness of young adults. Functional fitness is a classification of training that prepares the body for real-life movements and activities. For the present study 20male physical education students were selected as subjects. The age of the subjects was ranged from 20-25 years. The functional fitness variables undertaken in the present study were flexibility, muscle strength, agility, static and dynamic balance of the lower extremity. Each of the three warm-up protocol was administered on consecutive days, i.e. 24 hr time gap and all tests were administered in the morning. The mean and SD were used as descriptive statistics. The significance of statistical differences among the groups was measured by applying ‘F’-test, and to find out the exact location of difference, Post Hoc Test (Least Significant Difference) was applied. It was found from the study that only flexibility showed significant difference among three types of warm-up exercise. The observed result depicted that VR has more impact on myofascial release in flexibility in comparison with NVR and stretching as a part of warm-up exercise as ‘p’ value was less than 0.05. In the present study, within the three means of warm-up exercises, vibration roller showed better mean difference in terms of NVR, and static stretching exercise on functional fitness of young physical education practitioners, although the results were found insignificant in case of muscle strength, agility, static and dynamic balance of the lower extremity. These findings suggest that sports professionals and coaches may take VR into account for designing more efficient and effective pre-performance routine for long term to improve exercise performances. VR has high potential to interpret into an on-field practical application means.

Keywords: self-myofascial release, functional fitness, foam roller, physical education

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Authors: Walid Tawfik

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The interaction of high intensity ultrashort laser pulses with plasma generates many significant applications, including soft x-ray lasers, time-resolved laser induced plasma spectroscopy LIPS, and laser-driven accelerators. The development in producing of femtosecond down to ten femtosecond optical pulses has facilitates scientists with a vital tool in a variety of ultrashort phenomena, such as high field physics, femtochemistry and high harmonic generation HHG. In this research, we generate a two-octave-wide ultrashort supercontinuum pulses with an optical spectrum extending from 3.5 eV (ultraviolet) to 1.3 eV (near-infrared) using a capillary fiber filled with neon gas. These pulses are formed according to nonlinear self-phase modulation in the neon gas as a nonlinear medium. The investigations of the created pulses were made using spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER). A complete description of the output pulses was considered. The observed characterization of the produced pulses includes the beam profile, the pulse width, and the spectral bandwidth. After reaching optimization conditions, the intensity of the reconstructed pulse autocorrelation function was applied for the shorts pulse duration to achieve transform limited ultrashort pulses with durations below 6-fs energies up to 600μJ. Moreover, the effect of neon pressure variation on the pulse width was examined. The nonlinear self-phase modulation realized to be increased with the pressure of the neon gas. The observed results may lead to an advanced method to control and monitor ultrashort transit interaction in femtochemistry.

Keywords: supercontinuum, ultrafast, SPIDER, ultra-broadband

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Authors: Jeries J. Abou-Hanna

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Several techniques exist for determining stress-intensity factors in linear elastic fracture mechanics analysis. These techniques are based on analytical, numerical, and empirical approaches that have been well documented in literature and engineering handbooks. However, not all techniques share the same merit. In addition to overly-conservative results, the numerical methods that require extensive computational effort, and those requiring copious user parameters hinder practicing engineers from efficiently evaluating stress-intensity factors. This paper investigates the prospects of reducing the complexity and required variables to determine stress-intensity factors through the utilization of the stress gradient and a weighting function. The heart of this work resides in the understanding that fracture emanating from stress concentration locations cannot be explained by a single maximum stress value approach, but requires use of a critical volume in which the crack exists. In order to understand the effectiveness of this technique, this study investigated components of different notch geometry and varying levels of stress gradients. Two forms of weighting functions were employed to determine stress-intensity factors and results were compared to analytical exact methods. The results indicated that the “exponential” weighting function was superior to the “absolute” weighting function. An error band +/- 10% was met for cases ranging from a steep stress gradient in a sharp v-notch to the less severe stress transitions of a large circular notch. The incorporation of the proposed method has shown to be a worthwhile consideration.

Keywords: fracture mechanics, finite element method, stress intensity factor, stress gradient

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Authors: Wai Sang Wu, Florence Pik Sze Mok

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Introduction: Ageing population is one of the hot topics nowadays in the world and this phenomenon is believed to exacerbate continuously in the future. According to the latest information from World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016, the proportion of people aged more than 60 years is projected to be doubled from 12% in 2015 to 22% in 2050 of the world's population. Similarly, according to figures released by the Census and Statistic Department of Hong Kong in 2015, the contribution of elderly aged more than 65 years olds is projected to increase from 15% in 2014 to 34% in 2064 in local community. On the other hand, falls in elderly is a common problem, and it can bring along many negative consequences among elders, such as reducing their mobility level as well as their quality of life. In addition, it can also increase the caring stress of their family caregivers and as well increase the reliance and burden on the medical care system of Hong Kong. Therefore, appropriate measures should be implemented in order to minimize the risk of fall among elders. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the chair-based exercise programme in affecting the balance of the elderly in Hong Kong. Methods: Thirteen healthy subjects (males = 2; females = 11; mean age: 76.2 ± 7.8 years old) were recruited from an elderly social centre in the community to participate in a structural chair-based exercise programme for 6 weeks (1 session per week; 60-minutes per session). Subjects were being assessed on their balance ability using three commonly used clinical assessments, namely, 1) single leg stance (SLS) test, 2) functional reach test, and 3) 360-degree turn test, before and after their participation in the chair-based exercise programme. Pre and post within-subject comparison was adopted to assess the effectiveness of the programme. Results: There was significant improvement (p < 0.05) in all balance parameters of the subjects after their participation in the exercise programme. Elderly demonstrated significant improvement in SLS (p < 0.012), functional reach (p < 0.030) and 360 degree turn (p < 0.043). Conclusions: This study showed that a community chair-based exercise programme is effective in improving the balance ability of the elders. It seems to be another exercise regime that should be promoted among the elders in order to minimize their risk of falls and its negative consequence.

Keywords: balance, chair-based exercise programme, community, elderly

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Authors: Pooja Seth, Shruti Aggarwal

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The Europium (Eu) doped (0.02-0.1 wt %) lithium fluoride (LiF) crystal in the form of multicrystalline sheet was gown by the edge defined film fed growth (EFG) technique. Crystals were grown in argon gas atmosphere using graphite crucible and stainless steel die. The systematic incorporation of Eu inside the host LiF lattice was confirmed by X-ray diffractometry. Thermoluminescence (TL) glow curve was recorded on annealed (AN) crystals after irradiation with a gamma dose of 15 Gy. The effect of different concentration of Eu in enhancing the thermoluminescence (TL) intensity of LiF was studied. The normalized peak height of the Eu-doped LiF crystal was nearly 12 times that of the LiF crystals. The optimized concentration of Eu in LiF was found to be 0.05wt% at which maximum TL intensity was observed with main TL peak positioned at 185 °C. At higher concentration TL intensity decreases due to the formation of precipitates in the form of clusters or aggregates. The nature of the energy traps in Eu doped LiF was analysed through glow curve deconvolution. The trap depth was found to be in the range of 0.2 – 0.5 eV. These results showed that doping with Eu enhances the TL intensity by creating more defect sites for capturing of electron and holes during irradiation which might be useful for dosimetry application.

Keywords: thermoluminescence, defects, gamma radiation, crystals

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Authors: Sylwia Wiewiorowska, Zbigniew Muskalski

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The strain intensity and redundant strains, dependent in multistage TRIP wire drawing processes from values used single partial reductions, should influence on the intensity of transformation the retained austenite into martensite and thereby on mechanical properties of drawn wires. The numerical analysis of drawing processes with use of Drawing 2D programme, for steel wires made from TRIP steel with 0,29 % has been shown in the work. The change of strain intensity Ԑc and the values of redundant strain Ԑxy, has been determined for particular draws in dependence of used single partial reductions.

Keywords: steel wire, TRIP steel, drawing processes, fem modelling

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Authors: Tallal Abdel Karim Bouzir, Nourdinne Zemmouri, Djihed Berkouk

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In this research, a quantitative assessment of the urban sound environment of the city of Biskra, Algeria, was conducted. To determine the quality of the soundscape based on in-situ measurement, using a Landtek SL5868P sound level meter in 47 points, which have been identified to represent the whole city. The result shows that the urban noise level varies from 55.3 dB to 75.8 dB during the weekdays and from 51.7 dB to 74.3 dB during the weekend. On the other hand, we can also note that 70.20% of the results of the weekday measurements and 55.30% of the results of the weekend measurements have levels of sound intensity that exceed the levels allowed by Algerian law and the recommendations of the World Health Organization. These very high urban noise levels affect the quality of life, the acoustic comfort and may even pose multiple risks to people's health.

Keywords: road traffic, noise pollution, sound intensity, public health

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Authors: Salam Nazhan Ahmed

Abstract:

Influence of variable polarization angle (θp) of optical feedback on the Relative Intensity Noise (RIN) of a Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) has been experimentally investigated. The RIN is a minimum at θp = 0° for the dominant polarization mode (XP), and at θp = 90° for the suppressed polarization mode (YP) of VCSEL. Furthermore, the RIN of the XP mode increases rapidly with increasing θp, while for the YP mode, it increases slightly to θp = 45° and decreases for angles greater than 45°.

Keywords: lasers, vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers, optical switching, optical polarization feedback, relative intensity noise

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Authors: Aditya Jayadas

Abstract:

During a pandemic like the one we are in with COVID-19, older adults, especially those who live in a senior retirement facility, experience even bigger challenges as they are often dependent on other individuals for care. Many older adults are dependent on caregivers to assist with their instrumented activities of daily living (IADL). With travel restrictions imposed during a pandemic, there is a critical need to ensure that older adults who are homebound continue to be able to participate in physical exercise, cognitive exercise, and social interaction programs. The objective of this study was to better understand the challenges that older adults faced during the pandemic and what they were doing specifically to cope with the pandemic physically, mentally, and through social interaction. A focus group was conducted with ten older adults (age: 82.70 ± 7.81 years; nine female and one male) who resided in a senior retirement facility. During the course of one hour, seven open-ended questions were posed to the participants: a) What has changed in your life since the start of the pandemic, b) What has been most challenging for you, c) What are you doing to take care of yourself, d) Are you doing anything specifically as it relates to your physical health, e) Are you doing anything specifically as it relates to your mental health, f) What did you do for social interaction during the pandemic, g) Is there anything else you would like to share as it relates to your experience during the pandemic. The focus group session was audio-taped, and verbatim transcripts were created to evaluate the responses of the participants. The transcript consisted of 4,698 words and 293 lines of text. The data was analyzed using content analysis. The unit of analysis was the text from the audio recordings that were transcribed. From the review of the transcribed text, themes and sub-themes were identified, along with salient quotes under each sub-theme. The major themes that emerged from the data were: having a routine, engaging in activities, attending exercise classes, use of technology, family, community, and prayer. The quotes under the sub-themes provided compelling evidence of how older adults coped during the pandemic while addressing the challenges they faced and developing strategies to address their physical and mental health while interacting with others. Lessons learned from this focus group can be used to develop specific physical exercise, cognitive exercise, and social interaction programs that benefit the health and well-being of older adults.

Keywords: cognitive exercise, pandemic, physical exercise, social interaction

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Authors: Konstantinos G. Kostinakis, Manthos K. Papadopoulos, Asimina M. Athanatopoulou

Abstract:

An important area of research in seismic risk analysis is the evaluation of expected seismic damage of structures under a specific earthquake ground motion. Several conventional intensity measures of ground motion have been used to estimate their damage potential to structures. Yet, none of them was proved to be able to predict adequately the seismic damage of any structural system. Therefore, alternative advanced intensity measures which take into account not only ground motion characteristics but also structural information have been proposed. The adequacy of a number of advanced earthquake intensity measures in prediction of structural damage of 3D R/C buildings under seismic excitation which attacks the building with arbitrary incident angle is investigated in the present paper. To achieve this purpose, a symmetric in plan and an asymmetric 5-story R/C building are studied. The two buildings are subjected to 20 bidirectional earthquake ground motions. The two horizontal accelerograms of each ground motion are applied along horizontal orthogonal axes forming 72 different angles with the structural axes. The response is computed by non-linear time history analysis. The structural damage is expressed in terms of the maximum interstory drift as well as the overall structural damage index. The values of the aforementioned seismic damage measures determined for incident angle 0° as well as their maximum values over all seismic incident angles are correlated with 9 structure-specific ground motion intensity measures. The research identified certain intensity measures which exhibited strong correlation with the seismic damage of the two buildings. However, their adequacy for estimation of the structural damage depends on the response parameter adopted. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the widely used spectral acceleration at the fundamental period of the structure is a good indicator of the expected earthquake damage level.

Keywords: damage indices, non-linear response, seismic excitation angle, structure-specific intensity measures

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Authors: Patrick Louie Robles, Jerry Suls, Ciaran Friel, Mark Butler, Samantha Gordon, Frank Vicari, Joan Duer-Hefele, Karina W. Davidson

Abstract:

Physical activity guidelines focus on increasing moderate-intensity activity for older adults, but adherence to recommendations remains low. This is despite the fact that scientific evidence finds increasing physical activity is positively associated with health benefits. Behavior change techniques (BCTs) have demonstrated some effectiveness in reducing sedentary behavior and promoting physical activity. This pilot study uses a personalized trials (N-of-1) design, delivered virtually, to evaluate the efficacy of using five BCTs in increasing low-intensity physical activity (by 2,000 steps of walking per day) in adults aged 45-75 years old. The 5 BCTs described in habit formation theory are goal setting, action planning, rehearsal, rehearsal in a consistent context, and self-monitoring. The study recruited health system employees in the target age range who had no mobility restrictions and expressed interest in increasing their daily activity by a minimum of 2,000 steps per day at least five days per week. Participants were sent a Fitbit Charge 4 fitness tracker with an established study account and password. Participants were recommended to wear the Fitbit device 24/7 but were required to wear it for a minimum of ten hours per day. Baseline physical activity was measured by Fitbit for two weeks. Participants then engaged remotely with a clinical research coordinator to establish a “walking plan” that included a time and day interval (e.g., between 7am -8am on Monday-Friday), a location for the walk (e.g., park), and how much time the plan would need to achieve a minimum of 2,000 steps over their baseline average step count (20 minutes). All elements of the walking plan were required to remain consistent throughout the study. In the 10-week intervention phase of the study, participants received all five BCTs in a single, time-sensitive text message. The text message was delivered 30 minutes prior to the established walk time and signaled participants to begin walking when the context (i.e., day of the week, time of day) they pre-selected is encountered. Participants were asked to log both the start and conclusion of their activity session by pressing a button on the Fitbit tracker. Within 30 minutes of the planned conclusion of the activity session, participants received a text message with a link to a secure survey. Here, they noted whether they engaged in the BCTs when prompted and completed an automaticity survey to identify how “automatic” their walking behavior had become. At the end of their trial, participants received a personalized summary of their step data over time, helping them learn more about their responses to the five BCTs. Whether the use of these 5 ‘habit formation’ BCTs in combination elicits a change in physical activity behavior among older adults will be reported. This study will inform the feasibility of a virtually-delivered N-of-1 study design to effectively promote physical activity as a component of healthy aging.

Keywords: aging, exercise, habit, walking

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Authors: Boopen Seetanah, R. V. Sannassee, Sheereen Fauzel, Robin Nunkoo

Abstract:

The bulk of research on the impact of research and development (R&D) has been carried out in developed economies where the intensity of R&D expenditure has been relatively high and stable for many years. However, there is a paucity of similar studies in developing countries. In this paper, we provide empirical estimates of the impact of R&D investment on economic growth in a developing African economy (Mauritius) where R&D expenditure intensity has been low initially, but rising, albeit moderately in recent years. Using a dynamic time series analysis over the period 1980 to 2014 in a Vector Autoregressive framework, R & D is shown to have a positive and significant effect on the economic progress of the island, although the impact is considerably less when compared to both other ingredients of growth and also to reported elasticities fromdeveloped economies . Interestingly, there is evidence of bicausality between R & D and growth. furthermore, R & D positively impacts on both domestic and foreign investment, suggesting the possibilities of indirect effects.

Keywords: R & D, VECM, Africa, Mauritius

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Authors: Adeline Fontvieille, Hugo Parent-Roberge, Marie-France Langlois, Tamas Fulop, Michel Pavic, Eleonor Riesco

Abstract:

Introduction: Total lean body mass is reduced during cancer treatment. This loss is called cancer cachexia and is accompanied by a progressive loss of fat mass. In older adults, these body composition changes can have a larger impact on metabolic health, physical autonomy, and cancer survival. Although currently untreatable, exercise training could reduce these effects. Hence, the objective of this pilot study is to investigate if 12 weeks of exercise training during cancer treatment can mitigate the loss of muscle mass and fat mass in older adults. Methods: A total of 40 older adults (65-80 years) with an ongoing treatment for a curable cancer are currently recruited and randomised in two groups: 1) Combined training (EX, n=20) and 2) Control group (CON, n=20). All variables are measured before and after 12 weeks of intervention: Anthropometry (weight, height, body mass index), body composition (total fat mass, visceral adipose tissue, total and appendicular muscle mass; DXA), metabolic profile (HDL-C and LDL-C, triglycerides, glucose and insulin levels). Results: Preliminary analyses revealed no impact of exercise training on appendicular muscle mass (p=0,31) and fat mass (p=0,31). Furthermore, total body weight, waist circumference, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, glucose and insulin levels remained unchanged (all p ≥ 0.79) after 12 weeks of training. However, statistical analyses revealed that triglyceride levels slightly increased (p=0.03), irrespective of the group. Conclusion: Preliminary analyses did not reveal any impact of aerobic and resistance exercise training on body composition in oncogeriatric patients. Furthermore, exercise training seems not efficient to prevent the cancer treatment-related triglyceride levels increase.

Keywords: muscle mass, fat mass, metabolic profile, combined training, aging, cancer

Procedia PDF Downloads 331