Search results for: body weight
1417 Effects of Repetitive Strain/Stress Injury on the Human Body
Authors: Mohd Abdullah
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This review describes some of the effects of repetitive strain/stress injury (RSI) on the human body especially among computer professionals today that spend extended hours of prolonged sitting in front of a computer day in and day out. The review briefly introduces the main factors that contribute to an increase of RSI among such computer professionals. The review briefly discusses how the human spinal column and knees are mainly affected by the onset of RSI resulting in poor posture. The root and secondary causes and effects of RSI are reviewed. The importance and value of the various breathing techniques are reviewed in an attempt to alleviate some of the effects of RSI. The review concludes with a small sample of suggested office stretches and poses geared towards at reducing RSI follows in this review. Readers will learn about the effects of RSI, as well as ways to cope with it. A better understanding of coping strategies may lead to well-being and a healthier overall lifestyle. Ultimately, the investment of time to connect with oneself with the poses and the power of the breath would promote a well-being that is overall healthier thus resulting in a better ability to cope/manage life stresses.
Keywords: Health, wellness, repetitive, chairs.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10721416 Investigation into Behavior of Suspen-Domes in Comparison with Single-Layer Domes
Authors: Behnam Shirkhanghah, Ali Darabadi-Zare, Houshyar Eimani-Kalesar, Babak Pahlevan
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Prestressing in structure increases ratio of load-bearing capacity to weight. Suspendomes are single-layer braced domes reinforced with cable and strut. Prestressing of cables alter value and distribution of stress in structure. In this study two configuration, diamatic and lamella domes is selected. Investigated domes have span of 100m with rise-to-span ratios of 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3. Single layer domes loaded under service load combinations according to ISO code. After geometric nonlinear analysis, models are designed with tubular and I-shaped sections then reinforced with cable and strut and converted to suspendomes. Displacements and stresses of some groups of nodes and elements in all of single-layer domes and suspendomes for three load combinations, symmetric snow, asymmetric snow and wind are compared. Variation due to suspending system is investigated. Suspendomes are redesigned and minimum possible weight after addition of cable and strut is obtained.
Keywords: Braced dome, Prestressing, Single-layer, Suspendome.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 28731415 Structural Evaluation of Airfield Pavement Using Finite Element Analysis Based Methodology
Authors: Richard Ji
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Nondestructive deflection testing has been accepted widely as a cost-effective tool for evaluating the structural condition of airfield pavements. Backcalculation of pavement layer moduli can be used to characterize the pavement existing condition in order to compute the load bearing capacity of pavement. This paper presents an improved best-fit backcalculation methodology based on deflection predictions obtained using finite element method (FEM). The best-fit approach is based on minimizing the squared error between falling weight deflectometer (FWD) measured deflections and FEM predicted deflections. Then, concrete elastic modulus and modulus of subgrade reaction were back-calculated using Heavy Weight Deflectometer (HWD) deflections collected at the National Airport Pavement Testing Facility (NAPTF) test site. It is an alternative and more versatile method in considering concrete slab geometry and HWD testing locations compared to methods currently available.
Keywords: Nondestructive testing, Pavement moduli backcalculation, Finite Element Method, FEM, concrete pavements.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8011414 Designing Social Care Plans Considering Cause-Effect Relationships: A Study in Scotland
Authors: Sotirios N. Raptis
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The paper links social needs to social classes by the creation of cohorts of public services matched as causes to other ones as effects using cause-effect (CE) models. It then compares these associations using CE and typical regression methods (LR, ARMA). The paper discusses such public service groupings offered in Scotland in the long term to estimate the risk of multiple causes or effects that can ultimately reduce the healthcare cost by linking the next services to the likely causes of them. The same generic goal can be achieved using LR or ARMA and differences are discussed. The work uses Health and Social Care (H&Sc) public services data from 11 service packs offered by Public Health Services (PHS) Scotland that boil down to 110 single-attribute year series, called ’factors’. The study took place at Macmillan Cancer Support, UK and Abertay University, Dundee, from 2020 to 2023. The paper discusses CE relationships as a main method and compares sample findings with Linear Regression (LR), ARMA, to see how the services are linked. Relationships found were between smoking-related healthcare provision, mental-health-related services, and epidemiological weight in Primary-1-Education Body-Mass-Index (BMI) in children as CE models. Insurance companies and public policymakers can pack CE-linked services in plans such as those for the elderly, low-income people, in the long term. The linkage of services was confirmed allowing more accurate resource planning.
Keywords: Probability, regression, cause-effect cohorts, data frames, services, prediction.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 581413 The Influence of Thermic Plastic Films on Vegetative and Reproductive Growth of Iceberg Lettuce ‘Dublin’
Authors: Wael M. Semida, P. Hadley, W. Sobeih, N. A. El-Sawah, M. A. S. Barakat
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Photoselective plastic films with thermic properties are now available so that greenhouses clad with such plastics exhibit a higher degree of “Greenhouse Effect” with a consequent increase in night time temperature. In this study, we investigate the potential benefits of a range of thermic plastic films used as greenhouse cover materials on the vegetative and reproductive growth and development of Iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa L). Transplants were grown under thermic films and destructively harvested 4, 5, and 6 weeks after transplanting. Thermic films can increase night temperatures up to 2 ⁰C reducing the wide fluctuation in greenhouse temperature during winter compared to the standard commercial film and consequently increased the yield (leaf number, fresh weight, and dry weight) of lettuce plants. Lettuce plants grown under Clear film respond to cold stress by the accumulation of secondary products (phenolics, and flavonoids).
Keywords: Photoselective plastic films, thermic films, secondary metabolites.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 20781412 Synthesis and Characterization of Silver/Polylactide Nanocomposites
Authors: Kamyar Shameli, Mansor Bin Ahmad, Wan Md Zin Wan Yunus, Nor Azowa Ibrahim, Maryam Jokar, Majid Darroudi
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Silver/polylactide nanocomposites (Ag/PLA-NCs) were synthesized via chemical reduction method in diphase solvent. Silver nitrate and sodium borohydride were used as a silver precursor and reducing agent in the polylactide (PLA). The properties of Ag/PLA-NCs were studied as a function of the weight percentages of silver nanoparticles (8, 16 and 32 wt% of Ag-NPs) relative to the weight of PLA. The Ag/PLA-NCs were characterized by Xray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), electro-optical microscopy (EOM), UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). XRD patterns confirmed that Ag-NPs crystallographic planes were face centered cubic (fcc) type. TEM images showed that mean diameters of Ag-NPs were 3.30, 3.80 and 4.80 nm. Electro-optical microscopy revealed excellent dispersion and interaction between Ag-NPs and PLA films. The generation of silver nanoparticles was confirmed from the UVvisible spectra. FT-IR spectra showed that there were no significant differences between PLA and Ag/PLA-NCs films. The synthesized Ag/PLA-NCs were stable in organic solution over a long period of time without sign of precipitation.Keywords: Nanocomposites, Polylactide, Silver Nanoparticles, Sodium Borohydride, Transmission Electron Microscopy.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 35551411 The Estimation of Human Vital Signs Complexity
Authors: L. Bikulciene, E. Venskaityte, G. Jarusevicius
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Nonstationary and nonlinear signals generated by living complex systems defy traditional mechanistic approaches, which are based on homeostasis. Previous our studies have shown that the evaluation of the interactions of physiological signals by using special analysis methods is suitable for observation of physiological processes. It is demonstrated the possibility of using deep physiological model, based on the interpretation of the changes of the human body’s functional states combined with an application of the analytical method based on matrix theory for the physiological signals analysis, which was applied on high risk cardiac patients. It is shown that evaluation of cardiac signals interactions show peculiar for each individual functional changes at the onset of hemodynamic restoration procedure. Therefore, we suggest that the alterations of functional state of the body, after patients overcome surgery can be complemented by the data received from the suggested approach of the evaluation of functional variables’ interactions.
Keywords: Cardiac diseases, Complex systems theory, ECG analysis, matrix analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 22471410 Neuromuscular Control and Performance during Sudden Acceleration in Subjects with and without Unilateral Acute Ankle Sprains
Authors: M. Qorbani
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Neuromuscular control of posture as understood through studies of responses to mechanical sudden acceleration automatically has been previously demonstrated in individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI), but the presence of acute condition has not been previously explored specially in a sudden acceleration. The aim of this study was to determine neuromuscular control pattern in those with and without unilateral acute ankle sprains. Design: Case - control. Setting: University research laboratory. The sinker–card protocol with surface translation was be used as a sudden acceleration protocol with study of EMG upon 4 posture stabilizer muscles in two sides of the body in response to sudden acceleration in forward and backward directions. 20 young adult women in two groups (10 LAS; 23.9 ± 2.03 yrs and 10 normal; 26.4 ± 3.2 yrs). The data of EMG were assessed by using multivariate test and one-way repeated measures 2×2×4 ANOVA (P< 0.05). The results showed a significant muscle by direction interaction. Higher TA activity of left and right side in LAS group than normal group in forward direction significantly be showed. Higher MGR activity in normal group than LAS group in backward direction significantly showed. These findings suggest that compared two sides of the body in two directions for 4 muscles EMG activities between and within group for neuromuscular control of posture in avoiding fall. EMG activations of two sides of the body in lateral ankle sprain (LAS) patients were symmetric significantly. Acute ankle instability following once ankle sprains caused to coordinated temporal spatial patterns and strategy selection.Keywords: Neuromuscular response, sEMG, Lateral Ankle Sprain, posture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 10341409 Performance Evaluation of Complex Electrical Bio-impedance from V/I Four-electrode Measurements
Authors: Towfeeq Fairooz, Salim Istyaq
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The passive electrical properties of a tissue depends on the intrinsic constituents and its structure, therefore by measuring the complex electrical impedance of the tissue it might be possible to obtain indicators of the tissue state or physiological activity [1]. Complete bio-impedance information relative to physiology and pathology of a human body and functional states of the body tissue or organs can be extracted by using a technique containing a fourelectrode measurement setup. This work presents the estimation measurement setup based on the four-electrode technique. First, the complex impedance is estimated by three different estimation techniques: Fourier, Sine Correlation and Digital De-convolution and then estimation errors for the magnitude, phase, reactance and resistance are calculated and analyzed for different levels of disturbances in the observations. The absolute values of relative errors are plotted and the graphical performance of each technique is compared.Keywords: Electrical Impedance, Fast Fourier Transform, Additive White Gaussian Noise, Total Least Square, Digital De-Convolution, Sine-Correlation.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27331408 Human Motion Regeneration in 2-Dimension as Stick Figure Animation with Accelerometers
Authors: Alpha Agape Gopalai, Darwin Gouwanda, S.M.N. Arosha Senanayake
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This paper explores the opportunity of using tri-axial wireless accelerometers for supervised monitoring of sports movements. A motion analysis system for the upper extremities of lawn bowlers in particular is developed. Accelerometers are placed on parts of human body such as the chest to represent the shoulder movements, the back to capture the trunk motion, back of the hand, the wrist and one above the elbow, to capture arm movements. These sensors placement are carefully designed in order to avoid restricting bowler-s movements. Data is acquired from these sensors in soft-real time using virtual instrumentation; the acquired data is then conditioned and converted into required parameters for motion regeneration. A user interface was also created to facilitate in the acquisition of data, and broadcasting of commands to the wireless accelerometers. All motion regeneration in this paper deals with the motion of the human body segment in the X and Y direction, looking into the motion of the anterior/ posterior and lateral directions respectively.Keywords: Motion Regeneration, Virtual Instrumentation, Wireless Accelerometers
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17301407 Effect of Stocking Density on Monosex Nile Tilapia Growth during Pond Culture in India
Authors: Suman B. Chakraborty, Samir Banerjee
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Stocking density is considered one of the important factors affecting fish growth. But, information related to impact of stocking density on growth performance of monosex tilapia population under the ecological conditions of Gangetic plains in West Bengal, India is limited. The aim of our study was to compare the growth potential of monosex tilapia at various stocking densities and to determine an ideal stocking density for culture of all-male monosex fish. The males were isolated by examination of genital papilla region and were stocked separately in 0.01 ha earthen ponds at different stocking densities (5000, 10000, 15000, 20000, 25000 and 30000 fingerlings/ha). It was found that the highest weight, length, daily weight gain, growth rate and protein content were observed for the 20000 fish/ha density class. Thus, culture of monosex tilapia at a density of 20000 fish/ha can be considered ideal for augmented production of the fish under Indian context.Keywords: Growth potential, Nile tilapia, Pond culture, Stockingdensity.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 58601406 A Study on the Performance Characteristics of Variable Valve for Reverse Continuous Damper
Authors: Se Kyung Oh, Young Hwan Yoon, Ary Bachtiar Krishna
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Nowadays, a passenger car suspension must has high performance criteria with light weight, low cost, and low energy consumption. Pilot controlled proportional valve is designed and analyzed to get small pressure change rate after blow-off, and to get a fast response of the damper, a reverse damping mechanism is adapted. The reverse continuous variable damper is designed as a HS-SH damper which offers good body control with reduced transferred input force from the tire, compared with any other type of suspension system. The damper structure is designed, so that rebound and compression damping forces can be tuned independently, of which the variable valve is placed externally. The rate of pressure change with respect to the flow rate after blow-off becomes smooth when the fixed orifice size increases, which means that the blow-off slope is controllable using the fixed orifice size. Damping forces are measured with the change of the solenoid current at the different piston velocities to confirm the maximum hysteresis of 20 N, linearity, and variance of damping force. The damping force variance is wide and continuous, and is controlled by the spool opening, of which scheme is usually adapted in proportional valves. The reverse continuous variable damper developed in this study is expected to be utilized in the semi-active suspension systems in passenger cars after its performance and simplicity of the design is confirmed through a real car test.Keywords: Blow-off, damping force, pilot controlledproportional valve, reverse continuous damper.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24401405 Multimodal Database of Emotional Speech, Video and Gestures
Authors: Tomasz Sapiński, Dorota Kamińska, Adam Pelikant, Egils Avots, Cagri Ozcinar, Gholamreza Anbarjafari
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People express emotions through different modalities. Integration of verbal and non-verbal communication channels creates a system in which the message is easier to understand. Expanding the focus to several expression forms can facilitate research on emotion recognition as well as human-machine interaction. In this article, the authors present a Polish emotional database composed of three modalities: facial expressions, body movement and gestures, and speech. The corpora contains recordings registered in studio conditions, acted out by 16 professional actors (8 male and 8 female). The data is labeled with six basic emotions categories, according to Ekman’s emotion categories. To check the quality of performance, all recordings are evaluated by experts and volunteers. The database is available to academic community and might be useful in the study on audio-visual emotion recognition.Keywords: Body movement, emotion recognition, emotional corpus, facial expressions, gestures, multimodal database, speech.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 11251404 Effect of Coal on Engineering Properties in Building Materials: Opportunity to Manufacturing Insulating Bricks
Authors: Bachir Chemani, Halima Chemani
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The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of adding coal to obtain insulating ceramic product. The preparation of mixtures is achieved with 04 types of different masse compositions, consisting of gray and yellow clay, and coal. Analyses are performed on local raw materials by adding coal as additive. The coal content varies from 5 to 20 % in weight by varying the size of coal particles ranging from 0.25mm to 1.60mm.
Initially, each natural moisture content of a raw material has been determined at the temperature of 105°C in a laboratory oven. The Influence of low-coal content on absorption, the apparent density, the contraction and the resistance during compression have been evaluated. The experimental results showed that the optimized composition could be obtained by adding 10% by weight of coal leading thus to insulating ceramic products with water absorption, a density and resistance to compression of 9.40 %, 1.88 g/cm3, 35.46 MPa, respectively. The results show that coal, when mixed with traditional raw materials, offers the conditions to be used as an additive in the production of lightweight ceramic products.
Keywords: Clay, coal, resistance to compression, insulating bricks.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 21811403 Pyrolysis Characteristics and Kinetics of Macroalgae Biomass Using Thermogravimetric Analyzer
Authors: Zhao Hui, Yan Huaxiao, Zhang Mengmeng, Qin Song
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The pyrolysis characteristics and kinetics of seven marine biomass, which are fixed Enteromorpha clathrata, floating Enteromorpha clathrata, Ulva lactuca L., Zosterae Marinae L., Thallus Laminariae, Asparagus schoberioides kunth and Undaria pinnatifida (Harv.), were studied with thermogravimetric analysis method. Simultaneously, cornstalk, which is a grass biomass, and sawdust, which is a lignocellulosic biomass, were references. The basic pyrolysis characteristics were studied by using TG- DTG-DTA curves. The results showed that there were three stages (dehydration, dramatic weight loss and slow weight loss) during the whole pyrolysis process of samples. The Tmax of marine biomass was significantly lower than two kinds of terrestrial biomass. Zosterae Marinae L. had a relatively high stability of pyrolysis, but floating Enteromorpha clathrata had lowest stability of pyrolysis and a good combustion characteristics. The corresponding activation energy E and frequency factor A were obtained by Coats-Redfern method. It was found that the pyrolysis reaction mechanism functions of three kinds of biomass are different.
Keywords: macroalgae biomass, pyrolysis, thermogravimetric analysis, thermolysis kinetics.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 27401402 Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Mg-Zn Alloys
Authors: Young Sik Kim, Tae Kwon Ha
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Effect of Zn addition on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Mg-Zn alloys with Zn contents from 6 to 10 weight percent was investigated in this study. Through calculation of phase equilibria of Mg-Zn alloys, carried out by using FactSage® and FTLite database, solution treatment temperature was decided as temperatures from 300 to 400oC, where supersaturated solid solution can be obtained. Solid solution treatment of Mg-Zn alloys was successfully conducted at 380oC and supersaturated microstructure with all beta phase resolved into matrix was obtained. After solution treatment, hot rolling was successfully conducted by reduction of 60%. Compression and tension tests were carried out at room temperature on the samples as-cast, solution treated, hot-rolled and recrystallized after rolling. After solid solution treatment, each alloy was annealed at temperatures of 180 and 200oC for time intervals from 1 min to 48 hrs and hardness of each condition was measured by micro-Vickers method. Peak aging conditions were deduced as at the temperature of 200oC for 10 hrs. By addition of Zn by 10 weight percent, hardness and strength were enhanced.Keywords: Mg-Zn alloy, Heat treatment, Microstructure, Mechanical properties, Hardness.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 23671401 Design and Analysis of Flexible Slider Crank Mechanism
Authors: Thanh-Phong Dao, Shyh-Chour Huang
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This study presents the optimal design and formulation of a kinematic model of a flexible slider crank mechanism. The objective of the proposed innovative design is to take extra advantage of the compliant mechanism and maximize the fatigue life by applying the Taguchi method. A formulated kinematic model is developed using a pseudo-rigid-body model (PRBM). By means of mathematic models, the kinematic behaviors of the flexible slider crank mechanism are captured using MATLAB software. Finite element analysis (FEA) is used to show the stress distribution. The results show that the optimal shape of the flexible hinge includes a force of 8.5N, a width of 9mm and a thickness of 1.1mm. Analysis of variance shows that the thickness of the proposed hinge is the most significant parameter, with an F test of 15.5. Finally, a prototype is manufactured to prepare for testing the kinematic and dynamic behaviors.
Keywords: Kinematic behavior, fatigue life, pseudo-rigid-body model, flexible slider crank mechanism.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 51311400 The Effect of Different Level Crop Load and Humic Substance Applications on Yield and Yield Components of Alphonse Lavallee Grape Cultivar
Authors: A. Sarıkaya, A. Akın
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This study was carried out to investigate effects of Control (C), 18 bud/vine, 23 bud/vine, 28 bud/vine, 18 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil), 23 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil), 28 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil) applications on yield and yield components of Alphonse Lavallee grape cultivar. The results were obtained as the highest cluster weight (302.31 g) with 18 bud/vine application; the highest berry weight (6.31 g) with 23 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil) and (6.79 g) with 28 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil) applications; the highest maturity index (36.95) with 18 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil) application; the highest L* color intensity (33.99) with 18 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil); the highest a* color intensity (1.53) with 23 bud/vine + TKI-Humas (soil) application. The effects of applications on grape fresh yield, grape juice yield and b* color intensity values were not found statistically significant.
Keywords: Alphonse Lavallee grape cultivar, crop load, TKI-Humas substances (soil), yield, quality.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 16671399 Laboratory Indices in Late Childhood Obesity: The Importance of DONMA Indices
Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma, Muhammet Demirkol, Murat Aydin, Tuba Gokkus, Burcin Nalbantoglu, Aysin Nalbantoglu, Birol Topcu
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Obesity in childhood establishes a ground for adulthood obesity. Especially morbid obesity is an important problem for the children because of the associated diseases such as diabetes mellitus, cancer and cardiovascular diseases. In this study, body mass index (BMI), body fat ratios, anthropometric measurements and ratios were evaluated together with different laboratory indices upon evaluation of obesity in morbidly obese (MO) children. Children with nutritional problems participated in the study. Written informed consent was obtained from the parents. Study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee. Sixty-two MO girls aged 129.5±35.8 months and 75 MO boys aged 120.1±26.6 months were included into the scope of the study. WHO-BMI percentiles for age-and-sex were used to assess the children with those higher than 99th as morbid obesity. Anthropometric measurements of the children were recorded after their physical examination. Bio-electrical impedance analysis was performed to measure fat distribution. Anthropometric ratios, body fat ratios, Index-I and Index-II as well as insulin sensitivity indices (ISIs) were calculated. Girls as well as boys were binary grouped according to homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index of <2.5 and >2.5, fasting glucose to insulin ratio (FGIR) of <6 and >6 and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) of <0.33 and >0.33 as the frequently used cut-off points. They were evaluated based upon their BMIs, arms, legs, trunk, whole body fat percentages, body fat ratios such as fat mass index (FMI), trunk-to-appendicular fat ratio (TAFR), whole body fat ratio (WBFR), anthropometric measures and ratios [waist-to-hip, head-to-neck, thigh-to-arm, thigh-to-ankle, height/2-to-waist, height/2-to-hip circumference (C)]. SPSS/PASW 18 program was used for statistical analyses. p≤0.05 was accepted as statistically significance level. All of the fat percentages showed differences between below and above the specified cut-off points in girls when evaluated with HOMA-IR and QUICKI. Differences were observed only in arms fat percent for HOMA-IR and legs fat percent for QUICKI in boys (p≤ 0.05). FGIR was unable to detect any differences for the fat percentages of boys. Head-to-neck C was the only anthropometric ratio recommended to be used for all ISIs (p≤0.001 for both girls and boys in HOMA-IR, p≤0.001 for girls and p≤0.05 for boys in FGIR and QUICKI). Indices which are recommended for use in both genders were Index-I, Index-II, HOMA/BMI and log HOMA (p≤0.001). FMI was also a valuable index when evaluated with HOMA-IR and QUICKI (p≤0.001). The important point was the detection of the severe significance for HOMA/BMI and log HOMA while they were evaluated also with the other indices, FGIR and QUICKI (p≤0.001). These parameters along with Index-I were unique at this level of significance for all children. In conclusion, well-accepted ratios or indices may not be valid for the evaluation of both genders. This study has emphasized the limiting properties for boys. This is particularly important for the selection process of some ratios and/or indices during the clinical studies. Gender difference should be taken into consideration for the evaluation of the ratios or indices, which will be recommended to be used particularly within the scope of obesity studies.Keywords: Anthropometry, childhood obesity, gender, insulin sensitivity index.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 14681398 Effect of Retained Austenite Stability in Corrosion Mechanism of Dual Phase High Carbon Steel
Authors: W. Handoko, F. Pahlevani, V. Sahajwalla
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Dual-phase high carbon steels (DHCS) are commonly known for their improved strength, hardness, and abrasive resistance properties due to co-presence of retained austenite and martensite at the same time. Retained austenite is a meta-stable phase at room temperature, and stability of this phase governs the response of DHCS at different conditions. This research paper studies the effect of RA stability on corrosion behaviour of high carbon steels after they have been immersed into 1.0 M NaCl solution for various times. For this purpose, two different steels with different RA stabilities have been investigated. The surface morphology of the samples before and after corrosion attack was observed by secondary electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM), along with the weight loss and Vickers hardness analysis. Microstructural investigations proved the preferential attack to retained austenite phase during corrosion. Hence, increase in the stability of retained austenite in dual-phase steels led to decreasing the weight loss rate.Keywords: High carbon steel, austenite stability, atomic force microscopy, corrosion.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 13851397 Embodied Cognition and Its Implications in Education: An Overview of Recent Literature
Authors: Panagiotis Kosmas, Panayiotis Zaphiris
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Embodied Cognition (EC) as a learning paradigm is based on the idea of an inseparable link between body, mind, and environment. In recent years, the advent of theoretical learning approaches around EC theory has resulted in a number of empirical studies exploring the implementation of the theory in education. This systematic literature overview identifies the mainstream of EC research and emphasizes on the implementation of the theory across learning environments. Based on a corpus of 43 manuscripts, published between 2013 and 2017, it sets out to describe the range of topics covered under the umbrella of EC and provides a holistic view of the field. The aim of the present review is to investigate the main issues in EC research related to the various learning contexts. Particularly, the study addresses the research methods and technologies that are utilized, and it also explores the integration of body into the learning context. An important finding from the overview is the potential of the theory in different educational environments and disciplines. However, there is a lack of an explicit pedagogical framework from an educational perspective for a successful implementation in various learning contexts.
Keywords: Embodied cognition, embodied learning, education, technology, schools.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17351396 Analysis of the Coupled Stretching Bending Problem of Stiffened Plates by a BEM Formulation Based on Reissner's Hypothesis
Authors: Gabriela R. Fernandes, Danilo H. Konda, Luiz C. F. Sanches
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In this work, the plate bending formulation of the boundary element method - BEM, based on the Reissner?s hypothesis, is extended to the analysis of plates reinforced by beams taking into account the membrane effects. The formulation is derived by assuming a zoned body where each sub-region defines a beam or a slab and all of them are represented by a chosen reference surface. Equilibrium and compatibility conditions are automatically imposed by the integral equations, which treat this composed structure as a single body. In order to reduce the number of degrees of freedom, the problem values defined on the interfaces are written in terms of their values on the beam axis. Initially are derived separated equations for the bending and stretching problems, but in the final system of equations the two problems are coupled and can not be treated separately. Finally are presented some numerical examples whose analytical results are known to show the accuracy of the proposed model.
Keywords: Boundary elements, Building floor structures, Platebending.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 19821395 Architectural Stratification and Woody Species Diversity of a Subtropical Forest Grown in a Limestone Habitat in Okinawa Island, Japan
Authors: S. M. Feroz, K. Yoshimura, A. Hagihara
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The forest stand consisted of four layers. The species composition between the third and the bottom layers was almost similar, whereas it was almost exclusive between the top and the lower three layers. The values of Shannon-s index H' and Pielou-s index J ' tended to increase from the bottom layer upward, except for H' -value of the top layer. The values of H' and J ' were 4.21 bit and 0.73, respectively, for the total stand. High woody species diversity of the forest depended on large trees in the upper layers, which trend was different from a subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest grown in silicate habitat in the northern part of Okinawa Island. The spatial distribution of trees was overlapped between the third and the bottom layers, whereas it was independent or slightly exclusive between the top and the lower three layers. Mean tree weight of each layer decreased from the top toward the bottom layer, whereas the corresponding tree density increased from the top downward. This relationship was analogous to the process of self-thinning plant populations.Keywords: Canopy multi-layering, limestone habitat, mean tree weight-density relationship, species diversity, subtropical forest.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12281394 Systematic Analysis of Dynamic Association of Health Outcomes with Computer Usage for Office Staff
Authors: Xiaoshu Lu, Esa-Pekka Takala, Risto Toivonen
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This paper systematically investigates the timedependent health outcomes for office staff during computer work using the developed mathematical model. The model describes timedependent health outcomes in multiple body regions associated with computer usage. The association is explicitly presented with a doseresponse relationship which is parametrized by body region parameters. Using the developed model we perform extensive investigations of the health outcomes statically and dynamically. We compare the risk body regions and provide various severity rankings of the discomfort rate changes with respect to computer-related workload dynamically for the study population. Application of the developed model reveals a wide range of findings. Such broad spectrum of investigations in a single report literature is lacking. Based upon the model analysis, it is discovered that the highest average severity level of the discomfort exists in neck, shoulder, eyes, shoulder joint/upper arm, upper back, low back and head etc. The biggest weekly changes of discomfort rates are in eyes, neck, head, shoulder, shoulder joint/upper arm and upper back etc. The fastest discomfort rate is found in neck, followed by shoulder, eyes, head, shoulder joint/upper arm and upper back etc. Most of our findings are consistent with the literature, which demonstrates that the developed model and results are applicable and valuable and can be utilized to assess correlation between the amount of computer-related workload and health risk.Keywords: Computer-related workload, health outcomes, dynamic association, dose-response relationship, systematic analysis.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 12881393 Influence of After Body Shape on the Performance of Blunt Shaped Bodies as Vortex Shedders
Authors: Lavish Ordia, A. Venugopal, Amit Agrawal, S. V. Prabhu
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The present study explores flow visualization experiments with various blunt shaped bluff bodies placed inside a circular pipe. The bodies mainly comprise of modifications of trapezoidal cylinder, most widely used in practical applications, such as vortex flowmeters. The present configuration possesses the feature of both internal and external flows with low aspect ratio. The vortex dynamics of bluff bodies in such configuration is seldom reported in the literature. Dye injection technique is employed to visualize the complex vortex formation mechanism behind the bluff bodies. The influence of orientation, slit and after body shape is studied in an attempt to obtain better understanding of the vortex formation mechanism. Various wake parameters like Strouhal number, vortex formation length and wake width are documented for these shapes. Vortex formation both with and without shear layer interaction is observed for most of the shapes.
Keywords: Flow visualization, Reynolds number, Strouhal number, vortex, vortex formation length, wake width.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 29781392 Evaluation Rabbit Serum of the Immunodominant Proteins of Mycobacterium Avium Paratuberculosis Extracts
Authors: M. Hashemi, R. Madani, N. Razmi
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M. paratuberculosis is a slow growing mycobactin dependent mycobacterial species known to be the causative agent of Johne’s disease in all species of domestic ruminants worldwide. JD is characterized by gradual weight loss; decreased milk production. Excretion of the organism may occur for prolonged periods (1 to 2.5 years) before the onset of clinical disease. In recent years researchers focus on identification a specific antigen of MAP to use in diagnosis test and preparation of effective vaccine. In this paper, for production of polyclonal antibody against proteins of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis cell well a rabbit immunization at a certain time period with antigen. After immunization of the animal, rabbit was bleeded for producing enriched serum. Antibodies were purification with ion exchange chromatography. For exact measurement of interaction, western blotting test was used that this study demonstrated sharp bands appears in nitrocellulose paper and specific bands were 50 and 150 KD molecular weight. These were indicating immunodominant proteins.
Keywords: Paratuberculosis, Immunodominant, Western blotting, Ion exchange choromatography.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 17571391 Effect of Plant Nutrients on Anthocyanin Content and Yield Component of Black Glutinous Rice Plants
Authors: Chonlada Bennett, Phumon Sookwong, Sakul Moolkam, Sivapong Naruebal Sugunya Mahatheeranont
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The cultivation of black glutinous rice rich in anthocyanins can provide great benefits to both farmers and consumers. Total anthocyanins content and yield component data of black glutinous rice cultivar (KHHK) grown with the addition of mineral elements (Ca, Mg, Cu, Cr, Fe and Se) under soilless conditions were studied. Ca application increased seed anthocyanins content by three-folds compared to controls. Cu application to rice plants obtained the highest number of grains panicle, panicle length and subsequently high panicle weight. Se application had the largest effect on leaf anthocyanins content, the number of tillers, number of panicles and 100-grain weight. These findings showed that the addition of mineral elements had a positive effect on increasing anthocyanins content in black rice plants and seeds as well as the heightened development of black glutinous rice plant growth.Keywords: Anthocyanins, black glutinous rice, mineral elements, soilless culture.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 8491390 Potential of Henna Leaves as Dye and Its Fastness Properties on Fabric
Authors: Nkem Angela Udeani
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Despite the wide spread use of synthetic dyes, natural dyes are still exploited and used to enhance its inherent aesthetic qualities as a major material for beautification of the body. Centuries before the discovery of synthetic dyes, natural dyes were the only source of dye open to mankind. Dyes are extracted from plant - leaves, roots and barks, insect secretions, and minerals. However, research findings have made it clear that of all, plants- leaves, roots, barks or flowers are the most explored and exploited in which henna (Lawsonia innermis L.) is one of those plants. Experiment has also shown that henna is used in body painting in conjunction with an alkaline (Ammonium Sulphate) as a fixing agent. This of course gives a clue that if colour derived from henna is properly investigated, it may not only be used for body decoration but possibly, may have affinity to fiber substrate. This paper investigates the dyeing potentials – dye ability and fastness qualities of henna dye extracts on cotton and linen fibers using mordants like ammonium sulphate and other alkalis (hydrosulphate and caustic soda, potash, common salt, potassium alum). Hot and cold water and ethanol solvent were used in the extraction of the dye to investigate the most effective method, dye ability, and fastness qualities of these extracts under room temperature. The results of the experiment show that cotton have a high rate of dye intake than other fiber. On a similar note, the colours obtained depend most on the solvent used. In conclusion, hot water extraction appears more effective. While the colours obtained from ethanol and both cold hot methods of extraction range from light to dark yellow, light green to army green and to some extent shades of brown hues.Keywords: Dye, fabrics, henna leaves, potential.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 41101389 Exploiting Global Self Similarity for Head-Shoulder Detection
Authors: Lae-Jeong Park, Jung-Ho Moon
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People detection from images has a variety of applications such as video surveillance and driver assistance system, but is still a challenging task and more difficult in crowded environments such as shopping malls in which occlusion of lower parts of human body often occurs. Lack of the full-body information requires more effective features than common features such as HOG. In this paper, new features are introduced that exploits global self-symmetry (GSS) characteristic in head-shoulder patterns. The features encode the similarity or difference of color histograms and oriented gradient histograms between two vertically symmetric blocks. The domain-specific features are rapid to compute from the integral images in Viola-Jones cascade-of-rejecters framework. The proposed features are evaluated with our own head-shoulder dataset that, in part, consists of a well-known INRIA pedestrian dataset. Experimental results show that the GSS features are effective in reduction of false alarmsmarginally and the gradient GSS features are preferred more often than the color GSS ones in the feature selection.
Keywords: Pedestrian detection, cascade of rejecters, feature extraction, self-symmetry, HOG.
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 24001388 Regional Aircraft Selection Using Preference Analysis for Reference Ideal Solution (PARIS)
Authors: C. Ardil
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The paper presents a multiple criteria decision making analysis process to determine the most suitable regional aircraft type according to a set of evaluation criteria. The main purpose of this study is to use different decision making methods to determine the most suitable regional aircraft for aviation operators. In this context, the nine regional aircraft types were analyzed using multiple criteria decision making analysis methods. Preference analysis for reference ideal solution (PARIS) was used in regional aircraft selection process. The findings of the proposed model show that the ranking results of the multiple criteria decision making models are consistent with each other, and the proposed method is efficient, and the results are valid. Finally, the Embraer E195-E2 model regional aircraft is chosen as the most suitable aircraft type.
Keywords: aircraft, regional aircraft selection, multiple criteria decision making, multiple criteria decision making analysis, mean weight, entropy weight, MCDMA, PARIS
Procedia APA BibTeX Chicago EndNote Harvard JSON MLA RIS XML ISO 690 PDF Downloads 449