Search results for: Molecular Interaction
1025 Virtual Environments...Vehicle for Pedagogical Advancement
Authors: Elizabeth M. Hodge, Sharon K. Collins, Eric Kisling
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Virtual environments are a hot topic in academia and more importantly in courses offered via distance education. Today-s gaming generation view virtual worlds as strong social and interactive mediums for communicating and socializing. And while institutions of higher education are challenged with increasing enrollment while balancing budget cuts, offering effective courses via distance education become a valid option. Educators can utilize virtual worlds to offer students an enhanced learning environment which has the power to alleviate feelings of isolation through the promotion of communication, interaction, collaboration, teamwork, feedback, engagement and constructivists learning activities. This paper focuses on the use of virtual environments to facilitate interaction in distance education courses so as to produce positive learning outcomes for students. Furthermore, the instructional strategies were reviewed and discussed for use in virtual worlds to enhance learning within a social context.
Keywords: Virtual Environments, Second Life, Instructional Strategies and Technology
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15421024 Metal-Based Anticancer Agents: In vitro DNA Binding, Cleavage and Cytotoxicity
Authors: Mala Nath, Nagamani Kompelli, Partha Roy, Snehasish Das
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Two new metal-based anticancer chemotherapeutic agents, [(Ph2Sn)2(HGuO)2(phen)Cl2] 1 and [(Ph3Sn)(HGuO)(phen)]- Cl.CH3OH.H2O 2, were designed, prepared and characterized by analytical and spectral (IR, ESI-Mass, 1H, 13C and 119Sn NMR) techniques. The proposed geometry of Sn(IV) in 1 and 2 is distorted octahedral and distorted trigonal-bipyramidal, respectively. Both 1 and 2 exhibit potential cytotoxicity in vitro against MCF-7, HepG-2 and DU-145 cell lines. The intrinsic binding constant (Kb) values of 1 (2.33 × 105 M-1) and 2 (2.46 × 105 M-1) evaluated from UV-Visible absorption studies suggest non-classical electrostatic mode of interaction via phosphate backbone of DNA double helix. The Stern- Volmer quenching constant (Ksv) of 1 (9.74 × 105 M-1) and 2 (2.9 × 106 M-1) determined by fluorescence studies suggests the groove binding and intercalation mode for 1 and 2, respectively. Effective cleavage of pBR322 DNA is induced by 1.Their interaction with DNA of cancer cells may account for potency.
Keywords: Anticancer agents, DNA binding studies, NMR spectroscopy, organotin.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27671023 Robot Technology Impact on Dyslexic Students’ English Learning
Authors: Khaled Hamdan, Abid Amorri, Fatima Hamdan
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Involving students in English language learning process and achieving an adequate English language proficiency in the target language can be a great challenge for both teachers and students. This can prove even a far greater challenge to engage students with special needs (Dyslexia) if they have physical impairment and inadequate mastery of basic communicative language competence/proficiency in the target language. From this perspective, technology like robots can probably be used to enhance learning process for the special needs students who have extensive communication needs, who face continuous struggle to interact with their peers and teachers and meet academic requirements. Robots, precisely NAO, can probably provide them with the perfect opportunity to practice social and communication skills, and meet their English academic requirements. This research paper aims to identify to what extent robots can be used to improve students’ social interaction and communication skills and to understand the potential for robotics-based education in motivating and engaging UAEU dyslexic students to meet university requirements. To reach this end, the paper will explore several factors that come into play – Motion Level-involving cognitive activities, Interaction Level-involving language processing, Behavior Level -establishing a close relationship with the robot and Appraisal Level- focusing on dyslexia students’ achievement in the target language.
Keywords: Dyslexia, robot technology, motion, interaction, behavior and appraisal levels, social and communication skills.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13771022 Application of Interferometric Techniques for Quality Control of Oils Used in the Food Industry
Authors: Andres Piña, Amy Meléndez, Pablo Cano, Tomas Cahuich
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The purpose of this project is to propose a quick and environmentally friendly alternative to measure the quality of oils used in food industry. There is evidence that repeated and indiscriminate use of oils in food processing cause physicochemical changes with formation of potentially toxic compounds that can affect the health of consumers and cause organoleptic changes. In order to assess the quality of oils, non-destructive optical techniques such as Interferometry offer a rapid alternative to the use of reagents, using only the interaction of light on the oil. Through this project, we used interferograms of samples of oil placed under different heating conditions to establish the changes in their quality. These interferograms were obtained by means of a Mach-Zehnder Interferometer using a beam of light from a HeNe laser of 10mW at 632.8nm. Each interferogram was captured, analyzed and measured full width at half-maximum (FWHM) using the software from Amcap and ImageJ. The total of FWHMs was organized in three groups. It was observed that the average obtained from each of the FWHMs of group A shows a behavior that is almost linear, therefore it is probable that the exposure time is not relevant when the oil is kept under constant temperature. Group B exhibits a slight exponential model when temperature raises between 373 K and 393 K. Results of the t-Student show a probability of 95% (0.05) of the existence of variation in the molecular composition of both samples. Furthermore, we found a correlation between the Iodine Indexes (Physicochemical Analysis) and the Interferograms (Optical Analysis) of group C. Based on these results, this project highlights the importance of the quality of the oils used in food industry and shows how Interferometry can be a useful tool for this purpose.Keywords: Food industry, interferometric, oils, quality control.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21691021 Virtual Reality Classrooms Strategies for Creating a Social Presence
Authors: Elizabeth M. Hodge, M.H.N. Tabrizi, Mary A. Farwell, Karl L. Wuensch
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Delivering course material via a virtual environment is beneficial to today-s students because it offers the interactivity, real-time interaction and social presence that students of all ages have come to accept in our gaming rich community. It is essential that the Net Generation also known as Generation Why, have exposure to learning communities that encompass interactivity to form social and educational connections. As student and professor become interconnected through collaboration and interaction in a virtual learning space, relationships develop and students begin to take on an individual identity. With this in mind the research project was developed to investigate the use of virtual environments on student satisfaction and the effectiveness of course delivery. Furthermore, the project was designed to integrate both interactive (real-time) classes conducted in the Virtual Reality (VR) environment while also creating archived VR sessions for student use in retaining and reviewing course content.Keywords: Virtual Reality, Social Presence, Virtual Environments, Course Delivery Methods.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18941020 Determination of Alkali Treatment Conditions Effects Which Influence the Variability of Kenaf Fiber Mean Cross Sectional Area
Authors: Mohd Yussni Hashim, Mohd Nazrul Roslan, Shahruddin Mahzan @ Mohd Zin, Saparudin Ariffin
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Fiber cross sectional area value is a crucial factor in determining the strength properties of natural fiber. Furthermore, unlike synthetic fiber, a diameter and cross sectional area of natural fiber has a large variation along and between the fibers. This study aims to determine the main and interaction effects of alkali treatment conditions which influence kenaf bast fiber mean cross sectional area. Three alkali treatment conditions at two different levels were selected. The conditions setting were alkali concentrations at 2 and 10 w/v %; fiber immersed temperature at room temperature and 1000C; and fiber immersed duration for 30 and 480 minutes. Untreated kenaf fiber was used as a control unit. Kenaf bast fiber bundle mounting tab was prepared according to ASTM C1557-03. Cross sectional area was measured using a Leica video analyzer. The study result showed that kenaf fiber bundle mean cross sectional area was reduced 6.77% to 29.88% after alkali treatment. From analysis of variance, it shows that interaction of alkali concentration and immersed time has a higher magnitude at 0.1619 compared to alkali concentration and immersed temperature interaction which was 0.0896. For the main effect, alkali concentration factor contributes to the higher magnitude at 0.1372 which indicated are decrease pattern of variability when the level was change from lower to higher level. Then, it was followed by immersed temperature at 0.1261 and immersed time at 0.0696 magnitudes.
Keywords: Natural fiber, kenaf bast fiber bundles, alkali treatment, cross sectional area.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19301019 Researching International PhD Algerian Students’ Communication Challenges in Speaking When Discussing and Interacting with Their British Peers: A Researcher’s Interpretive Perspective through the Use of Semi-Structured Interview
Authors: H. Maita
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This paper addresses the issue of the speaking challenges that the Algerian PhD students experience during their studies abroad, particularly in UK territory; more specifically, this study describes how these students may deal with such challenges and whether the cultural differences is one core reason in such dilemma or not. To this end, an understanding and interpretation of what actually encompasses both linguistic interference and cultural differences are required. Throughout the paper there is an attempt to explain the theoretical basis of the interpretive research and to theoretically discuss the pivotal use of the interview, as a data collection tool, in interpretive research. Thus, the central issue of this study is to frame the theoretical perspective of the interpretive research through the discussion of PhD Algerian’s communication and interaction challenges in the EFL context. This study is a corner stone for other research studies to further investigate the issue related to communication challenges because no specific findings will be pointed out in this research.
Keywords: EFL, communication, interaction, interpretive research.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 6521018 Dynamic Analysis of Porous Media Using Finite Element Method
Authors: M. Pasbani Khiavi, A. R. M. Gharabaghi, K. Abedi
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The mechanical behavior of porous media is governed by the interaction between its solid skeleton and the fluid existing inside its pores. The interaction occurs through the interface of gains and fluid. The traditional analysis methods of porous media, based on the effective stress and Darcy's law, are unable to account for these interactions. For an accurate analysis, the porous media is represented in a fluid-filled porous solid on the basis of the Biot theory of wave propagation in poroelastic media. In Biot formulation, the equations of motion of the soil mixture are coupled with the global mass balance equations to describe the realistic behavior of porous media. Because of irregular geometry, the domain is generally treated as an assemblage of fmite elements. In this investigation, the numerical formulation for the field equations governing the dynamic response of fluid-saturated porous media is analyzed and employed for the study of transient wave motion. A finite element model is developed and implemented into a computer code called DYNAPM for dynamic analysis of porous media. The weighted residual method with 8-node elements is used for developing of a finite element model and the analysis is carried out in the time domain considering the dynamic excitation and gravity loading. Newmark time integration scheme is developed to solve the time-discretized equations which are an unconditionally stable implicit method Finally, some numerical examples are presented to show the accuracy and capability of developed model for a wide variety of behaviors of porous media.
Keywords: Dynamic analysis, Interaction, Porous media, time domain
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18651017 The Relationship between Democracy, Freedom, and Economic Development
Authors: Ugur Karakaya, Hasan Bulent Kantarcı
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In this study, firstly democratic thoughts which directly or indirectly affect economic development and/or the interaction between authoritarian regimes and the economic development and the direction and channels of this interaction were studied and then the study tried to determine how democracy affects economic development. It was concluded that the positive contributions of democracy to economic development were more determinant than the effects that were either negative or restrictive in terms of development. When compared to autocracy, since democracy is more successful in managing social conflicts, ensuring political stability and preventing social disasters such as famine, it contributes more to economic development. Democracy also facilitates delegation of authority, provides a stable investment environment and accelerates mobilization of resources in accordance with economic growth/development. Democracy leads to an increase in human capital accumulation and increases the growth rate through reducing income inequality. It can be said that democratic regimes are the most appropriate ones in terms of increasing economic performance and supporting economic development through their strong institutional structures and the assurance they will ensure in property rights.Keywords: Autocratic Regime, Democracy, Economic Development, Economic Freedom.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 55421016 OPEN_EmoRec_II- A Multimodal Corpus of Human-Computer Interaction
Authors: Stefanie Rukavina, Sascha Gruss, Steffen Walter, Holger Hoffmann, Harald C. Traue
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OPEN_EmoRec_II is an open multimodal corpus with experimentally induced emotions. In the first half of the experiment, emotions were induced with standardized picture material and in the second half during a human-computer interaction (HCI), realized with a wizard-of-oz design. The induced emotions are based on the dimensional theory of emotions (valence, arousal and dominance). These emotional sequences - recorded with multimodal data (facial reactions, speech, audio and physiological reactions) during a naturalistic-like HCI-environment one can improve classification methods on a multimodal level. This database is the result of an HCI-experiment, for which 30 subjects in total agreed to a publication of their data including the video material for research purposes*. The now available open corpus contains sensory signal of: video, audio, physiology (SCL, respiration, BVP, EMG Corrugator supercilii, EMG Zygomaticus Major) and facial reactions annotations.Keywords: Open multimodal emotion corpus, annotated labels.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18131015 OPEN_EmoRec_II- A Multimodal Corpus of Human-Computer Interaction
Authors: Stefanie Rukavina, Sascha Gruss, Steffen Walter, Holger Hoffmann, Harald C. Traue
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OPEN_EmoRec_II is an open multimodal corpus with experimentally induced emotions. In the first half of the experiment, emotions were induced with standardized picture material and in the second half during a human-computer interaction (HCI), realized with a wizard-of-oz design. The induced emotions are based on the dimensional theory of emotions (valence, arousal and dominance). These emotional sequences - recorded with multimodal data (facial reactions, speech, audio and physiological reactions) during a naturalistic-like HCI-environment one can improve classification methods on a multimodal level. This database is the result of an HCI-experiment, for which 30 subjects in total agreed to a publication of their data including the video material for research purposes*. The now available open corpus contains sensory signal of: video, audio, physiology (SCL, respiration, BVP, EMG Corrugator supercilii, EMG Zygomaticus Major) and facial reactions annotations.Keywords: Open multimodal emotion corpus, annotated labels.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 3731014 Unsteady Aerodynamics of Multiple Airfoils in Configuration
Authors: Hossain Aziz, Rinku Mukherjee
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A potential flow model is used to study the unsteady flow past two airfoils in configuration, each of which is suddenly set into motion. The airfoil bound vortices are modeled using lumped vortex elements and the wake behind the airfoil is modeled by discrete vortices. This consists of solving a steady state flow problem at each time-step where unsteadiness is incorporated through the “zero normal flow on a solid surface" boundary condition at every time instant. Additionally, along with the “zero normal flow on a solid surface" boundary condition Kelvin-s condition is used to compute the strength of the latest wake vortex shed from the trailing edge of the airfoil. Location of the wake vortices is updated at each time-step to get the wake shape at each time instant. Results are presented to show the effect of airfoil-airfoil interaction and airfoil-wake interaction on the aerodynamic characteristics of each airfoil.Keywords: Aerodynamics, Airfoils, Configuration, Unsteady.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20441013 ANP-based Intra and Inter-industry Analysis for Measuring Spillover Effect of ICT Industries
Authors: Yongyoon Suh, Yongtae Park
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The interaction among information and communication technology (ICT) industries is a recently ubiquitous phenomenon through fixed-mobile integration. To monitor the impact of interaction, previous research has mainly focused on measuring spillover effect among ICT industries using various methods. Among others, inter-industry analysis is one of the useful methods for examining spillover effect between industries. However, more complex ICT industries become, more important the impact within an industry is. Inter-industry analysis is limited in mirroring intra-relationships within an industry. Thus, this study applies the analytic network process (ANP) to measure the spillover effect, capturing all of the intra and inter-relationships. Using ANP-based intra and inter-industry analysis, the spillover effect is effectively measured, mirroring the complex structure of ICT industries. A main ICT industry and its linkages are also explored to show the current structure of ICT industries. The proposed approach is expected to allow policy makers to understand interactions of ICT industries and their impact.
Keywords: ANP, intra and inter-industry analysis, spillover effect
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17251012 Tactile Sensory Digit Feedback for Cochlear Implant Electrode Insertion
Authors: Yusuf Bulale, Mark Prince, Geoff Tansley, Peter Brett
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Cochlear Implantation (CI) which became a routine procedure for the last decades is an electronic device that provides a sense of sound for patients who are severely and profoundly deaf. The optimal success of this implantation depends on the electrode technology and deep insertion techniques. However, this manual insertion procedure may cause mechanical trauma which can lead to severe destruction of the delicate intracochlear structure. Accordingly, future improvement of the cochlear electrode implant insertion needs reduction of the excessive force application during the cochlear implantation which causes tissue damage and trauma. This study is examined tool-tissue interaction of large prototype scale digit embedded with distributive tactile sensor based upon cochlear electrode and large prototype scale cochlea phantom for simulating the human cochlear which could lead to small scale digit requirements. The digit, distributive tactile sensors embedded with silicon-substrate was inserted into the cochlea phantom to measure any digit/phantom interaction and position of the digit in order to minimize tissue and trauma damage during the electrode cochlear insertion. The digit have provided tactile information from the digitphantom insertion interaction such as contact status, tip penetration, obstacles, relative shape and location, contact orientation and multiple contacts. The tests demonstrated that even devices of such a relative simple design with low cost have potential to improve cochlear implant surgery and other lumen mapping applications by providing tactile sensory feedback information and thus controlling the insertion through sensing and control of the tip of the implant during the insertion. In that approach, the surgeon could minimize the tissue damage and potential damage to the delicate structures within the cochlear caused by current manual electrode insertion of the cochlear implantation. This approach also can be applied to other minimally invasive surgery applications as well as diagnosis and path navigation procedures.Keywords: Cochlear electrode insertion, distributive tactile sensory feedback information, flexible digit, minimally invasive surgery, tool/tissue interaction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21571011 Simulating the Dynamics of Distribution of Hazardous Substances Emitted by Motor Engines in a Residential Quarter
Authors: S. Grishin
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This article is dedicated to development of mathematical models for determining the dynamics of concentration of hazardous substances in urban turbulent atmosphere. Development of the mathematical models implied taking into account the time-space variability of the fields of meteorological items and such turbulent atmosphere data as vortex nature, nonlinear nature, dissipativity and diffusivity. Knowing the turbulent airflow velocity is not assumed when developing the model. However, a simplified model implies that the turbulent and molecular diffusion ratio is a piecewise constant function that changes depending on vertical distance from the earth surface. Thereby an important assumption of vertical stratification of urban air due to atmospheric accumulation of hazardous substances emitted by motor vehicles is introduced into the mathematical model. The suggested simplified non-linear mathematical model of determining the sought exhaust concentration at a priori unknown turbulent flow velocity through non-degenerate transformation is reduced to the model which is subsequently solved analytically.Keywords: Urban ecology, time-dependent mathematical model, exhaust concentration, turbulent and molecular diffusion, airflow velocity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13991010 ME/CFS Health Outcomes: The Interaction of Mode of Illness Onset and Psychiatric Comorbidity
Authors: Mary Gloria C. Njoku, Leonard A. Jason, Nicole Porter, Molly Brown
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The objective of this study was to examine the interaction between mode of illness onset and psychiatric comorbidity on the health outcomes of persons with ME/CFS. A total of 114 individuals with ME/CFS participated in this study. Individuals completed a battery of baseline measures including the fatigue severity scale and measures of disability. Findings indicated that those with sudden illness onset had more impaired physical health functioning. In addition, among individuals with sudden onset, those without psychiatric comorbidity had greater fatigue severity and lower overall physical health than those with psychiatric comordibity. In contrast, among individuals with gradual illness onset, those with psychiatric comorbity had higher fatigue severity than those without comorbid psychiatric disorders. The health outcomes of individuals who have ME/CFS with or without psychiatric comorbidity are impacted by the mode of illness onset and this suggest that it is important to examine these factors in future research.Keywords: Health Outcomes, ME/CFS, Mode of Illness Onset, Psychiatric Comorbidity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19981009 Tuned Mass Damper Effects of Stationary People on Structural Damping of Footbridge Due to Dynamic Interaction in Vertical Motion
Authors: M. Yoneda
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It is known that stationary human occupants act as dynamic mass-spring-damper systems and can change the modal properties of civil engineering structures. This paper describes the full scale measurement to explain the tuned mass damper effects of stationary people on structural damping of footbridge with center span length of 33 m. A human body can be represented by a lumped system consisting of masses, springs, and dashpots. Complex eigenvalue calculation is also conducted by using ISO5982:1981 human model (two degree of freedom system). Based on experimental and analytical results for the footbridge with the stationary people in the standing position, it is demonstrated that stationary people behave as a tuned mass damper and that ISO5982:1981 human model can explain the structural damping characteristics measured in the field.Keywords: Dynamic interaction, footbridge, stationary people, structural damping.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11071008 A Novel Multiplex Real-Time PCR Assay Using TaqMan MGB Probes for Rapid Detection of Trisomy 21
Authors: Mehrdad Hashemi, Mitra Behrooz Aghdam, Reza Mahdian, Ahmad Reza Kamyab
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Cytogenetic analysis still remains the gold standard method for prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21 (Down syndrome, DS). Nevertheless, the conventional cytogenetic analysis needs live cultured cells and is too time-consuming for clinical application. In contrast, molecular methods such as FISH, QF-PCR, MLPA and quantitative Real-time PCR are rapid assays with results available in 24h. In the present study, we have successfully used a novel MGB TaqMan probe-based real time PCR assay for rapid diagnosis of trisomy 21 status in Down syndrome samples. We have also compared the results of this molecular method with corresponding results obtained by the cytogenetic analysis. Blood samples obtained from DS patients (n=25) and normal controls (n=20) were tested by quantitative Real-time PCR in parallel to standard G-banding analysis. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood lymphocytes. A high precision TaqMan probe quantitative Real-time PCR assay was developed to determine the gene dosage of DSCAM (target gene on 21q22.2) relative to PMP22 (reference gene on 17p11.2). The DSCAM/PMP22 ratio was calculated according to the formula; ratio=2 -ΔΔCT. The quantitative Real-time PCR was able to distinguish between trisomy 21 samples and normal controls with the gene ratios of 1.49±0.13 and 1.03±0.04 respectively (p value <0.001). These results represent the presence of 3 copies of target gene in DS samples Vs 2 copies in normal controls. The results of quantitative Real-time PCR were in complete agreement with results of cytogenetic analysis. This study confirms previous reports regarding successful implementation of quantitative Real-time PCR for detection of trisomy 21. However, the assay has been improved by using MGB probes and more accurate data analysis. This assay, in particular, when performed in combination with another molecular assay such as QF-PCR or MLPA, can be used as a reliable technique for rapid prenatal diagnosis of trisomy 21.
Keywords: Trisomy 21, Real-time PCR, MGB-TaqMan Probes, Gene Dosage.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 25251007 Aerodynamic Interaction between Two Speed Skaters Measured in a Closed Wind Tunnel
Authors: Ola Elfmark, Lars M. Bardal, Luca Oggiano, H˚avard Myklebust
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Team pursuit is a relatively new event in international long track speed skating. For a single speed skater the aerodynamic drag will account for up to 80% of the braking force, thus reducing the drag can greatly improve the performance. In a team pursuit the interactions between athletes in near proximity will also be essential, but is not well studied. In this study, systematic measurements of the aerodynamic drag, body posture and relative positioning of speed skaters have been performed in the low speed wind tunnel at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in order to investigate the aerodynamic interaction between two speed skaters. Drag measurements of static speed skaters drafting, leading, side-by-side, and dynamic drag measurements in a synchronized and unsynchronized movement at different distances, were performed. The projected frontal area was measured for all postures and movements and a blockage correction was performed, as the blockage ratio ranged from 5-15% in the different setups. The static drag measurements where performed on two test subjects in two different postures, a low posture and a high posture, and two different distances between the test subjects 1.5T and 3T where T being the length of the torso (T=0.63m). A drag reduction was observed for all distances and configurations, from 39% to 11.4%, for the drafting test subject. The drag of the leading test subject was only influenced at -1.5T, with the biggest drag reduction of 5.6%. An increase in drag was seen for all side-by-side measurements, the biggest increase was observed to be 25.7%, at the closest distance between the test subjects, and the lowest at 2.7% with ∼ 0.7 m between the test subjects. A clear aerodynamic interaction between the test subjects and their postures was observed for most measurements during static measurements, with results corresponding well to recent studies. For the dynamic measurements, the leading test subject had a drag reduction of 3% even at -3T. The drafting showed a drag reduction of 15% when being in a synchronized (sync) motion with the leading test subject at 4.5T. The maximal drag reduction for both the leading and the drafting test subject were observed when being as close as possible in sync, with a drag reduction of 8.5% and 25.7% respectively. This study emphasize the importance of keeping a synchronized movement by showing that the maximal gain for the leading and drafting dropped to 3.2% and 3.3% respectively when the skaters are in opposite phase. Individual differences in technique also appear to influence the drag of the other test subject.Keywords: Aerodynamic interaction, drag cycle, drag force, frontal area, speed skating.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10191006 Behavior of Concrete Slab Track on Asphalt Trackbed Subjected to Thermal Load
Authors: Woo Young Jung, Seong Hyeok Lee, Jin Wook Lee, Bu Seog Ju
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Concrete track slab and asphalt trackbed are being introduced in Korea for providing good bearing capacity, durability to the track and comfortable rideness to passengers. Such a railway system has been designed by the train load so as to ensure stability. But there is lack of research and design for temperature changes which influence the behavior characteristics of concrete and asphalt. Therefore, in this study, the behavior characteristics of concrete track slab subjected to varying temperatures were analyzed through structural analysis using the finite element analysis program. The structural analysis was performed by considering the friction condition on the boundary surfaces in order to analyze the interaction between concrete slab and asphalt trackbed. As a result, the design of the railway system should be designed by considering the interaction and temperature changes between concrete track slab and asphalt trackbed.
Keywords: Con’c Track Slab, Asphalt Trackbed, Thermal Load, Friction Condition.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 34291005 Interaction of Building Stones with Inorganic Water-Soluble Salts
Authors: Z. Pavlík, J. Žumár, M. Pavlíková, R. Černý
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Interaction of inorganic water-soluble salts and building stones is studied in the paper. Two types of sandstone and one type of spongillite as representatives of materials used in historical masonry are subjected to experimental testing. Within the performed experiments, measurement of moisture and chloride concentration profiles is done in order to get input data for computational inverse analysis. Using the inverse analysis, moisture diffusivity and chloride diffusion coefficient of investigated materials are accessed. Additionally, the effect of salt presence on water vapor storage is investigated using dynamic vapor sorption device. The obtained data represents valuable information for restoration of historical masonry and give evidence on the performance of studied stones in contact with water soluble salts.
Keywords: Moisture and chloride transport, sandstone, spongillite, moisture diffusivity, chloride diffusion coefficient.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 18201004 Experimental and Finite Element Analysis for Mechanics of Soil-Tool Interaction
Authors: A. Armin, R. Fotouhi, W. Szyszkowski
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In this paper a 3-D finite element (FE) investigation of soil-blade interaction is described. The effects of blade’s shape and rake angle are examined both numerically and experimentally. The soil is considered as an elastic-plastic granular material with non-associated Drucker-Prager material model. Contact elements with different properties are used to mimic soil-blade sliding and soil-soil cutting phenomena. A separation criterion is presented and a procedure to evaluate the forces acting on the blade is given and discussed in detail. Experimental results were derived from tests using soil bin facility and instruments at the University of Saskatchewan. During motion of the blade, load cells collect data and send them to a computer. The measured forces using load cells had noisy signals which are needed to be filtered. The FE results are compared with experimental results for verification. This technique can be used in blade shape optimization and design of more complicated blade’s shape.
Keywords: Finite element analysis, soil-blade contact modeling, blade force, experimental results.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11661003 Molecular Detection and Characterization of Infectious Bronchitis Virus from Libya
Authors: Abdulwahab Kammon, Tan Sheau Wei, Abdul Rahman Omar, Abdunaser Dayhum, Ibrahim Eldghayes, Monier Sharif
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Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is a very dynamic and evolving virus, causing major economic losses to the global poultry industry. Recently, the Libyan poultry industry faced severe outbreak of respiratory distress associated with high mortality and dramatic drop in egg production. Tracheal and cloacal swabs were analyzed for several poultry viruses. IBV was detected using SYBR Green I real-time PCR detection based on the nucleocapsid (N) gene. Sequence analysis of the partial N gene indicated high similarity (~ 94%) to IBV strain 3382/06 that was isolated from Taiwan. Even though the IBV strain 3382/06 is more similar to that of the Mass type H120, the isolate has been implicated associated with intertypic recombinant of 3 putative parental IBV strains namely H120, Taiwan strain 1171/92 and China strain CK/CH/LDL/97I. Complete sequencing and antigenicity studies of the Libya IBV strains are currently underway to determine the evolution of the virus and its importance in vaccine induced immunity. In this paper we documented for the first time the presence of possibly variant IBV strain from Libya which required dramatic change in vaccination program.
Keywords: Libya, Infectious bronchitis, Molecular characterization.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24821002 Posture Recognition using Combined Statistical and Geometrical Feature Vectors based on SVM
Authors: Omer Rashid, Ayoub Al-Hamadi, Axel Panning, Bernd Michaelis
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It is hard to percept the interaction process with machines when visual information is not available. In this paper, we have addressed this issue to provide interaction through visual techniques. Posture recognition is done for American Sign Language to recognize static alphabets and numbers. 3D information is exploited to obtain segmentation of hands and face using normal Gaussian distribution and depth information. Features for posture recognition are computed using statistical and geometrical properties which are translation, rotation and scale invariant. Hu-Moment as statistical features and; circularity and rectangularity as geometrical features are incorporated to build the feature vectors. These feature vectors are used to train SVM for classification that recognizes static alphabets and numbers. For the alphabets, curvature analysis is carried out to reduce the misclassifications. The experimental results show that proposed system recognizes posture symbols by achieving recognition rate of 98.65% and 98.6% for ASL alphabets and numbers respectively.Keywords: Feature Extraction, Posture Recognition, Pattern Recognition, Application.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 15071001 Assessing Mobile Robotic Telepresence Based On Measures of Social Telepresence
Authors: A. Bagherzadhalimi, E. Di Maria
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The feedbacks obtained regarding the sense of presence from pilot users operating a Mobile Robotic presence (MRP) system to visit a simulated museum are reported in this paper. The aim is to investigate how much the perception of system’s usefulness and ease of use is affected by operators’ sense of social telepresence (presence) in the remote location. Therefore, scenarios of visiting a museum are simulated and the user operators are supposed to perform some regular tasks inside the remote environment including interaction with local users, navigation and visiting the artworks. Participants were divided into two groups, those who had previous experience of operation and interaction with a MRP system and those who never had experience. Based on the results, both groups provided different feedbacks. Moreover, there was a significant association between user’s sense of presence and their perception of system usefulness and ease of use.
Keywords: Mobile Robotic Telepresence, Museum, Social Telepresence, Usability test.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17011000 Stroma-Providing Activity of Adipose Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells in Tissue-Related O2 Microenvironment
Authors: P. I. Bobyleva, E. R. Andreeva, I. V. Andrianova, E. V. Maslova, L.B. Buravkova
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This work studied the ability of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to form stroma for expansion of cord blood hematopoietic cells. We showed that 72-hour interaction of MSCs with cord blood mononuclear cells (MNCs) in vitro at atmospheric (20%) and low (5%) O2 conditions increased the expression of ICAM-1, HCAM (at the beginning of interaction) on MSCs. Viability of MSCs and MNCs were maintained at high level. Adhesion of MNCs to MSCs was faster at 20% O2. MSCs promoted the proliferation of adhered MNCs to form the suspension containing great number of hematopoietic colony-forming units, and this effect was more pronounced at 5% O2. Thus, adipose-derived MSCs supplied sufficient stromal support to cord blood MNCs both at 20% and 5% О2, providing their adhesion with further expansion of new generation of different hematopoietic lineages.
Keywords: Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, mesenchymal stromal cells, tissue-related oxygen.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 1736999 The Impact of Gender Differences on the Expressions of Refusal in Jordanian Arabic
Authors: Hanan Yousef, Nisreen Naji Al-Khawaldeh
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The present study investigates the use of the expression of refusal by native speakers of Jordanian Arabic (NSsJA) in different social situations (i.e. invitations, suggestions, and offers). It also investigates the influence of gender on the refusal realization patterns within the Jordanian culture to provide a better insight into the relation between situations, strategies and gender in the Jordanian culture. To that end, a group of 70 participants, including 35 male and 35 female students from different departments at the Hashemite University (HU) participated in this study using mixed methods (i.e. Discourse Completion Test (DCT), interviews and naturally occurring data). Data were analyzed in light of a developed coding scheme. The results showed that NSsJA preferred indirect strategies which mitigate the interaction such as "excuse, reason and, explanation" strategy more than other strategies which aggravate the interaction such as "face-threatening" strategy. Moreover, the analysis of this study has revealed a considerable impact of gender on the use of linguistic forms expressing refusal among NSsJA. Significant differences in the results of the Chi-square test relating the effect of participants' gender indicate that both males and females were conscious of the gender of their interlocutors. The findings provide worthwhile insights into the relation amongst types of communicative acts and the rapport between people in social interaction. They assert that refusal should not be labeled as face threatening act since it does not always pose a threat in some cases especially where refusal is expressed among friends, relatives and family members. They highlight some distinctive culture-specific features of the communicative acts of refusal.
Keywords: Speech act, refusals, semantic formulas, politeness, Jordanian Arabic, mixed methodology, gender.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 930998 Comparative DNA Binding of Iron and Manganese Complexes by Spectroscopic and ITC Techniques and Antibacterial Activity
Authors: Maryam Nejat Dehkordi, Per Lincoln, Hassan Momtaz
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Interaction of Schiff base complexes of Iron and Manganese: Iron [N, N’ Bis (5- (triphenyl phosphonium methyl) salicylidene) -1, 2 ethanediamine) chloride, [Fe Salen]Cl; Manganese [N, N’ Bis (5- (triphenyl phosphonium methyl) salicylidene) -1, 2 ethanediamine) acetate, were investigated by spectroscopic and isothermal titration calorimetry techniques (ITC). The absorbance spectra of complexes have shown hyper and hypochromism in the presence of DNA that is indication of interaction of complexes with DNA. The linear dichroism (LD) measurements confirmed the bending of DNA in the presence of complexes. Furthermore, Isothermal titration calorimetry experiments approved that complexes bound to DNA on the base of both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. More, ITC profile exhibits the existence of two binding phases for the complexes. Antibacterial activity of ligand and complexes were tested in vitro to evaluate their activity against the gram positive and negative bacteria.
Keywords: Schiff base complexes, Linear dichroism (LD), Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC).
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2589997 Emotion Classification using Adaptive SVMs
Authors: P. Visutsak
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The study of the interaction between humans and computers has been emerging during the last few years. This interaction will be more powerful if computers are able to perceive and respond to human nonverbal communication such as emotions. In this study, we present the image-based approach to emotion classification through lower facial expression. We employ a set of feature points in the lower face image according to the particular face model used and consider their motion across each emotive expression of images. The vector of displacements of all feature points input to the Adaptive Support Vector Machines (A-SVMs) classifier that classify it into seven basic emotions scheme, namely neutral, angry, disgust, fear, happy, sad and surprise. The system was tested on the Japanese Female Facial Expression (JAFFE) dataset of frontal view facial expressions [7]. Our experiments on emotion classification through lower facial expressions demonstrate the robustness of Adaptive SVM classifier and verify the high efficiency of our approach.Keywords: emotion classification, facial expression, adaptive support vector machines, facial expression classifier.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 2214996 Wave Interaction with Defects in Pressurized Composite Structures
Authors: R. K. Apalowo, D. Chronopoulos, V. Thierry
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A wave finite element (WFE) and finite element (FE) based computational method is presented by which the dispersion properties as well as the wave interaction coefficients for one-dimensional structural system can be predicted. The structural system is discretized as a system comprising a number of waveguides connected by a coupling joint. Uniform nodes are ensured at the interfaces of the coupling element with each waveguide. Then, equilibrium and continuity conditions are enforced at the interfaces. Wave propagation properties of each waveguide are calculated using the WFE method and the coupling element is modelled using the FE method. The scattering of waves through the coupling element, on which damage is modelled, is determined by coupling the FE and WFE models. Furthermore, the central aim is to evaluate the effect of pressurization on the wave dispersion and scattering characteristics of the prestressed structural system compared to that which is not prestressed. Numerical case studies are exhibited for two waveguides coupled through a coupling joint.Keywords: Finite element, prestressed structures, wave finite element, wave propagation properties, wave scattering coefficients.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 943