Search results for: Blood Supply Chain

Authors: A.C. Duarte, C.I.L. Justino, K. Duarte, A.C. Freitas, R. Pereira, P. Chaves, P. Bettencourt, S. Cardoso, T.A.P. Rocha-Santos

Abstract:

This paper aims at overviewing the topics of a research project (CARDIOSENSOR) on the field of health sciences (biomaterials and biomedical engineering). The project has focused on the development of a nanosensor for the assessment of the risk of cardiovascular diseases by the monitoring of C-reactive protein (CRP), which has been currently considered as the best validated inflammatory biomarker associated to cardiovascular diseases. The project involves tasks such as: 1) the development of sensor devices based on field effect transistors (FET): assembly, optimization and validation; 2) application of sensors to the detection of CRP in standard solutions and comparison with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); and 3) application of sensors to real samples such as blood and saliva and evaluation of their ability to predict the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Keywords: Carbon nanotubes field effect transistors, cardiovascular diseases, C-reactive protein, sensor.

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Authors: Kahil Amar, Boukais Said, Kezmane Ali, Hamizi Mohand, Hannachi Naceur Eddine

Abstract:

The principle of the seismic performance evaluation methods is to provide a measure of capability for a building or set of buildings to be damaged by an earthquake. The common objective of many of these methods is to supply classification criteria. The purpose of this study is to present a method for assessing the seismic performance of structures, based on Pushover method; we are particularly interested in reinforced concrete frame structures, which represent a significant percentage of damaged structures after a seismic event. The work is based on the characterization of seismic movement of the various earthquake zones in terms of PGA and PGD that is obtained by means of SIMQK_GR and PRISM software and the correlation between the points of performance and the scalar characterizing the earthquakes will developed.

Keywords: Seismic performance, Pushover method, characterization of seismic motion, harmfulness of the seismic signal

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Authors: Jacques J. Scheepers, Edison Muzenda

Abstract:

This work focused on the interactions which occur between ester solvents and alcohol solutes. The alcohols selected ranged from the simplest alcohol (methanol) to C10-alcohols, and solubility predictions in the form of infinite dilution activity coefficients were made using the Modified UNIFAC Dortmund group contribution model. The model computation was set up on a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet specifically designed for this purpose. It was found that alcohol/ ester interactions yielded an increase in activity coefficients (i.e. became less soluble) with an increase in the size of the ester solvent molecule. Furthermore, activity coefficients decreased with an increase in the size of the alcohol solute. The activity coefficients also decreased with an increase in the degree of unsaturation of the ester hydrocarbon tail. Tertiary alcohols yielded lower activity coefficients than primary alcohols. Finally, cyclic alcohols yielded higher activity coefficients than straight-chain alcohols until a point is reached where the trend is reversed, referred to as the ‘crossover’ point.

Keywords: Activity coefficients, alcohols, esters, solubility, van der Waals, UNIFAC.

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Authors: S. S. Deswal, Ratna Dahiya, D. K. Jain

Abstract:

Process control and energy conservation are the two primary reasons for using an adjustable speed drive. However, voltage sags are the most important power quality problems facing many commercial and industrial customers. The development of boost converters has raised much excitement and speculation throughout the electric industry. Now utilities are looking to these devices for performance improvement and reliability in a variety of areas. Examples of these include sags, spikes, or transients in supply voltage as well as unbalanced voltages, poor electrical system grounding, and harmonics. In this paper, simulations results are presented for the verification of the proposed boost converter topology. Boost converter provides ride through capability during sag and swell. Further, input currents are near sinusoidal. This eliminates the need of braking resistor also.

Keywords: Adjustable speed drive, power quality, boost converter, ride through capabilities.

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Authors: G. Robles, A. Stifi, José L. Ponz-Tienda, S. Gentes

Abstract:

This research paper aims to identify, analyze and rank factors affecting labor productivity in Spain with respect to their relative importance. Using a selected set of 35 factors, a structured questionnaire survey was utilized as the method to collect data from companies. Target population is comprised by a random representative sample of practitioners related with the Spanish construction industry. Findings reveal the top five ranked factors are as follows: (1) shortage or late supply of materials; (2) clarity of the drawings and project documents; (3) clear and daily task assignment; (4) tools or equipment shortages; (5) level of skill and experience of laborers. Additionally, this research also pretends to provide simple and comprehensive recommendations so that they could be implemented by construction managers for an effective management of construction labor forces.

Keywords: Construction management, Factors, Improvement, Labor productivity, Lean construction.

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Authors: M. O. Welcome, Y. E. Razvodovsky, E. V. Pereverzeva, V. A. Pereverzev

Abstract:

The error monitoring and processing system, EMPS is the system located in the substantia nigra of the midbrain, basal ganglia and cortex of the forebrain, and plays a leading role in error detection and correction. The main components of EMPS are the dopaminergic system and anterior cingulate cortex. Although, recent studies show that alcohol disrupts the EMPS, the ways in which alcohol affects this system are poorly understood. Based on current literature data, here we suggest a hypothesis of alcohol-related glucose-dependent system of error monitoring and processing, which holds that the disruption of the EMPS is related to the competency of glucose homeostasis regulation, which in turn may determine the dopamine level as a major component of EMPS. Alcohol may indirectly disrupt the EMPS by affecting dopamine level through disorders in blood glucose homeostasis regulation.

Keywords: Alcohol related disruption, Error monitoring andprocessing system, Mechanism.

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Authors: Ahmad Manbohi, Seyyed Hamid Ahmadi

Abstract:

A low-cost paper-based microfluidic device (PAD) for the multiplex electrochemical determination of glucose, uric acid, and dopamine in biological fluids was developed. Using wax printing, PAD containing a central zone, six channels, and six detection zones was fabricated, and the electrodes were printed on detection zones using pre-made electrodes template. For each analyte, two detection zones were used. The carbon working electrode was coated with chitosan-BSA (and enzymes for glucose and uric acid). To detect glucose and uric acid, enzymatic reactions were employed. These reactions involve enzyme-catalyzed redox reactions of the analytes and produce free electrons for electrochemical measurement. Calibration curves were linear (R^² > 0.980) in the range of 0-80 mM for glucose, 0.09–0.9 mM for dopamine, and 0–50 mM for uric acid, respectively. Blood samples were successfully analyzed by the proposed method.

Keywords: Multiplex, microfluidic paper-based electrochemical biosensors, biomarkers, biological fluids.

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Authors: Faisal Al Yahmadi, Muhammad R. Ahmed

Abstract:

Electric power is a fundamental necessity in the 21^st century. Consequently, any break in electric power is probably going to affect the general activity. To make the power supply smooth and efficient, a smart grid network is introduced which uses communication technology. In any communication network, security is essential. It has been observed from several recent incidents that adversary causes an interruption to the operation of networks. In order to resolve the issues, it is vital to understand the threats and vulnerabilities associated with the smart grid networks. In this paper, we have investigated the threats and vulnerabilities in Smart Grid Networks (SGN) and the few solutions in the literature. Proposed solutions showed developments in electricity theft countermeasures, Denial of services attacks (DoS) and malicious injection attacks detection model, as well as malicious nodes detection using watchdog like techniques and other solutions.

Keywords: Smart grid network, security, threats, vulnerabilities.

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Authors: Murat Koklu, Yavuz Unal

Abstract:

Data mining can be called as a technique to extract information from data. It is the process of obtaining hidden information and then turning it into qualified knowledge by statistical and artificial intelligence technique. One of its application areas is medical area to form decision support systems for diagnosis just by inventing meaningful information from given medical data. In this study a decision support system for diagnosis of illness that make use of data mining and three different artificial intelligence classifier algorithms namely Multilayer Perceptron, Naive Bayes Classifier and J.48. Pima Indian dataset of UCI Machine Learning Repository was used. This dataset includes urinary and blood test results of 768 patients. These test results consist of 8 different feature vectors. Obtained classifying results were compared with the previous studies. The suggestions for future studies were presented.

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Classifiers, Data Mining, Diabetic Patients.

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Authors: S. Aghainajafi Zadeh, M.R. Hemami., F. Heydari

Abstract:

Knowledge of food resource of the houbara which an endangered species would be a important step toward the preservation of this bird. Adequate study has not been done in this field and therefore the food sources of the houbara during the brooding season was studied in the central steppe of Iran. In order to determine the density of insect in plant communities the pitfall trap was used , positioned in five linear transects divided between plant communities and in two repetitions. The results showed that the among communities there was a significant difference in term of the number beetles and ants ( p= 0.01, F2, 29= 4.66) collectively. Also bush steppe habitat had a higher arthropoda density in comparison with the shrub steppe habitat. Considering that most houbara nests were found in the bush steppe habitat .It seems this habitat provides the most available food supply for the houbara chicks.

Keywords: Asiatic houbara bustard, Brooding season, Food resource

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Authors: Václav Voltr, Jan Leština

Abstract:

The basis of examines is survey of 500 in the years 2002-2010, which was selected according to homogeneity of land cover and where 1090 revenues were evaluated. For achieved yields of winter wheat is obtained multicriterial regression function depending on the major factors influencing the consumption of nitrogen. The coefficient of discrimination of the established model is 0.722. The increase in efficiency of fertilization is involved in supply of organic nutrients, tillage, soil pH, past weather, the humus content in the subsoil and grain content to 0.001 mm. The decrease in efficiency was mainly influenced by the total dose of mineral nitrogen, although it was divided into multiple doses, the proportion loamy particles up to 0.01 mm, rainy, or conversely dry weather during the vegetation. The efficiency of nitrogen was found to be the smallest on undeveloped soils and the highest on chernozem and alluvial soils.

Keywords: Nitrogen efficiency, winter wheat, regression model

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Authors: M. A. Sanda, B. Johansson, J. Johansson

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The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a futureoriented human work environment and organizational activity in deep mines that entails a vision of good and safe workplace. Futureoriented technological challenges and mental images required for modern work organization design were appraised. It is argued that an intelligent-deep-mine covering the entire value chain, including environmental issues and with work organization that supports good working and social conditions towards increased human productivity could be designed. With such intelligent system and work organization in place, the mining industry could be seen as a place where cooperation, skills development and gender equality are key components. By this perspective, both the youth and women might view mining activity as an attractive job and the work environment as a safe, and this could go a long way in breaking the unequal gender balance that exists in most mines today.

Keywords: Mining activity; deep mining; human operators; intelligent deep mine; work environment; organizational activity.

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Authors: Etty Riani, Endang Gumbira-Said, Kashwar Syamsu, Kustiariyah, Kaseno, Muhammad Reza Cordova

Abstract:

Sandfish is one of marine biota that has a biomedicine (bioactive compound) potency. People in Gorontalo Province, Indonesia, have been sandfish as an aphrodisiac for men as it is believed that sandfish has a steroid hormone potency. This research aims at studying using the steroid hormone potency from every fraction of sandfish (meat and innards) and its activity of male reproduction (rooster) as an aphrodisiac. Steroid extraction was done using Touchstone and Kasparow method, and then it was utilized to study the effectiveness of bioassay of rooster. This research had five treatments and was done in complete randomized design. Based on Lieberman-Burchard and bioassay test, the author found that sandfish extract contains steroid hormone. Sandfish extract was able to enrich testosterone and cholesterol concentration in blood serum; fastening secondary reproduction characteristics of the rooster, and increasing growth as well as improving rooster’s comb. Therefore, sandfish steroid is potential to be used as an aphrodisiac for men.

Keywords: Aphrodisiac, sandfish, secondary reproduction characteristic, steroid.

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Authors: Ying Shen, Weihua Zhu

Abstract:

Medical images are important to help identifying different diseases, for example, Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to investigate the brain, spinal cord, bones, joints, breasts, blood vessels, and heart. Image segmentation, in medical image analysis, is usually the first step to find out some characteristics with similar color, intensity or texture so that the diagnosis could be further carried out based on these features. This paper introduces an improved C-means model to segment the MRI images. The model is based on information entropy to evaluate the segmentation results by achieving global optimization. Several contributions are significant. Firstly, Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used for achieving global optimization in this model where fuzzy C-means clustering algorithm (FCMA) is not capable of doing that. Secondly, the information entropy after segmentation is used for measuring the effectiveness of MRI image processing. Experimental results show the outperformance of the proposed model by comparing with traditional approaches.

Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Image, C-means model, image segmentation, information entropy.

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Authors: M. S. Annie Christi

Abstract:

Transportation Problem (TP) is based on supply and demand of commodities transported from one source to the different destinations. Usual methods for finding solution of TPs are North-West Corner Rule, Least Cost Method Vogel’s Approximation Method etc. The transportation costs tend to vary at each time. We can use fuzzy numbers which would give solution according to this situation. In this study the Best Candidate Method (BCM) is applied. For ranking Centroid Ranking Technique (CRT) and Robust Ranking Technique have been adopted to transform the fuzzy TP and the above methods are applied to EDWARDS Vacuum Company, Crawley, in West Sussex in the United Kingdom. A Comparative study is also given. We see that the transportation cost can be minimized by the application of CRT under BCM.

Keywords: Best candidates method, centroid ranking technique, robust ranking technique, transportation problem, fuzzy transportation problem.

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Authors: Reza Faghih Mirzaee, Mohammad Hossein Moaiyeri, Keivan Navi

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In this paper we present two novel 1-bit full adder cells in dynamic logic style. NP-CMOS (Zipper) and Multi-Output structures are used to design the adder blocks. Characteristic of dynamic logic leads to higher speeds than the other standard static full adder cells. Using HSpice and 0.18┬Ám CMOS technology exhibits a significant decrease in the cell delay which can result in a considerable reduction in the power-delay product (PDP). The PDP of Multi-Output design at 1.8v power supply is around 0.15 femto joule that is 5% lower than conventional dynamic full adder cell and at least 21% lower than other static full adders.

Keywords: Bridge Style, Dynamic Logic, Full Adder, HighSpeed, Multi Output, NP-CMOS, Zipper.

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Authors: Rohana Musa, Yuzman Yusoff, Chia Chieu Yin, Hanif Che Lah

Abstract:

This paper presents the design and characterization of a low power Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) process sensor. The design is targeted for implementation using Silterra’s 180 nm CMOS process technology. The proposed process sensor employs a voltage threshold (V_th) extractor architecture for detection of variations in the fabrication process. The process sensor generates output voltages in the range of 401 mV (fast-fast corner) to 443 mV (slow-slow corner) at nominal condition. The power dissipation for this process sensor is 6.3 µW with a supply voltage of 1.8V with a silicon area of 190 µm X 60 µm. The preliminary result of this process sensor that was fabricated indicates a close resemblance between test and simulated results.

Keywords: CMOS Process sensor, Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) sensor, threshold extractor circuit, Vth extractor circuit.

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Authors: A. Novák, K. Máriás

Abstract:

We examined the effects of the sowing time on the yield production and oil content of the sunflower hybrids in 2010 and 2012. The crop year and the sowing time had both a strong impact on the yield, on the oil- content and yield. By delaying the sowing time both the yield crop result and the oil yield increased. In 2010 in terms of crop yield and oil yield results PR64H42 was the best, in 2012 NK Neoma, in all three sowing times. The oil content of the hybrids was better in 2010. The highest oil content was recorded at early sowing time. We found out that the hybrid had a stronger impact in 2010 on both crop yield result and on oil content than in 2012. The sowing time played a bigger role regarding yield results in 2012. In addition the sowing time influenced oil content development highly.

Keywords: Genotypes, oil content, sowing time, sunflower, yield.

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Authors: Ramya Rathan, Miral N. F. Salama

Abstract:

The variations in the arteries have been drawing attention of anatomists for a long time because of their clinical significance. The brachial artery is the principal artery of the arm which is the continuation of the axillary artery from the lower border of the Teres Major. It terminates into the radial and ulnar arteries below the elbow joint at the neck radius. The present study aims at exploring the clinical significance of the high termination of the brachial artery. During the routine cadaveric dissection of the arm, for the undergraduate students of medicine at our university, we observed a high bifurcation of the radial and the ulnar artery at the midshaft of the humerus. The median nerve was seen passing between these two junctions. Further, the course and the relations of this artery were studied. The accurate knowledge regarding these kinds of variation in the blood vessels is mandatory for planning of designing. General physicians, surgeons and radiologists should keep in mind the variations in the branching pattern of the arteries in their daily medical, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to avoid complications in diagnostic and surgical procedures.

Keywords: Brachial artery, high termination, radial artery, ulnar artery.

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Authors: Labar Hocine, Rekik Badri, Bounaya Kamel, Kelaiaia Mounia Samira

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Diagnostic goal of transformers in service is to detect the winding or the core in fault. Transformers are valuable equipment which makes a major contribution to the supply security of a power system. Consequently, it is of great importance to minimize the frequency and duration of unwanted outages of power transformers. So, Frequency Response Analysis (FRA) is found to be a useful tool for reliable detection of incipient mechanical fault in a transformer, by finding winding or core defects. The authors propose as first part of this article, the coupled circuits method, because, it gives most possible exhaustive modelling of transformers. And as second part of this work, the application of FRA in low frequency in order to improve and simplify the response reading. This study can be useful as a base data for the other transformers of the same categories intended for distribution grid.

Keywords: Diagnostic, Coupled Circuit Method, FRA, Transformer Faults

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Authors: V. Rashtchi, R. Aghmasheh

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Detection of squirrel cage induction motor (SCIM) broken bars has long been an important but difficult job in the detection area of motor faults. Early detection of this abnormality in the motor would help to avoid costly breakdowns. A new detection method based on particle swarm optimization (PSO) is presented in this paper. Stator current in an induction motor will be measured and characteristic frequency components of faylted rotor will be detected by minimizing a fitness function using pso. Supply frequency and side band frequencies and their amplitudes can be estimated by the proposed method. The proposed method is applied to a faulty motor with one and two broken bars in different loading condition. Experimental results prove that the proposed method is effective and applicable.

Keywords: broken bar, PSO, fault detection, SCIM

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Authors: Ahmad Rouhani

Abstract:

Iran has several potential for using renewable energies, so use them could significantly contribute to energy supply. The purpose of this paper is to identify the potential of the country and select the appropriate DG technologies with consideration the potential and primary energy resources in the regions. In this context, hybrid energy systems proportionate with the potential of different regions will be determined based on technical, economic, and environmental aspect. In the following the proposed structure will be optimized in terms of size and cost. DG technologies used in this project include photovoltaic system, wind turbine, diesel generator and battery bank. The HOMER software is applied for choosing the appropriate structure and the optimization of system sizing. The results have been analyzed in terms of technical and economic. The performance and the cost of each project demonstrate the appropriate structure of hybrid energy system in that region.

Keywords: Feasibility, Hybrid Energy System, Iran, Renewable Energy.

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Authors: A. Zidani, M. Yahia K. Belhadi, S. Benbia

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Hepatitis C is an infectious disease transmitted by blood and due to hepatitis C virus (HCV), which attacks the liver. The infection is characterized by liver inflammation (hepatitis) that is often asymptomatic but can progress to chronic hepatitis and later cirrhosis and liver cancer. Our problem tends to highlight on the one hand the prevalence of infectious disease in the population of the region of Batna and on other hand the biological characteristics of this disease by a screening and a specific diagnosis based on serological tests, liver checkup (measurement of haematological and biochemical parameters). The results showed: The serology of hepatitis C establishes the diagnosis of infection with hepatitis C. In this study and with the serological test, 24 cases of the disease of hepatitis C were found in 1000 suspected cases (7 cases with normal transaminases and 17 cases with elevated transaminases). The prevalence of this disease in this study population was 2.4%. The presence of hepatitis C disrupts liver function including the onset of cytolysis, cholestasis, jaundice, thrombocytopenia, and coagulation disorders.

Keywords: Disease hepatitis C, serology, liver checkup

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Authors: Aurobi Das, V. Balakrishnan

Abstract:

This paper focuses on the integration of hybrid renewable energy resources available in remote isolated islands of Sundarban-24 Parganas-South of Eastern part of India to National Grid of conventional power supply to give a Smart-Grid scenario. Before grid-integration, feasibility of optimization of hybrid renewable energy system is monitored through an Intelligent Controller proposed to be installed at Moushuni Island of Sundarban. The objective is to ensure the reliability and efficiency of the system to optimize the utilization of the hybrid renewable energy sources and also a proposition of how theses isolated Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems at remote islands can be grid-connected is analyzed towards vision of green smart-grid.

Keywords: Intelligent controller, hybrid renewable, solar photo voltaic, smart-grid.

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Authors: Phoenix Lawhon Isler, John Merson, David Roser

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Urban water management in Australia faces increasing pressure to deal with the challenges of droughts, growing population and the climate change uncertainty. Addressing these challenges is an opportunity to incorporate the parallel goals of sustainable water management and climate change adaptation through holistic, non-technical means. This paper presents case studies from Perth and Sydney which show how despite robust adaptation plans and experience, recent efforts to 'drought proof' cities have focused on supply-side measures (i.e. desalination), rather than rethinking how water is used and managing demand. The trend towards desalination as a climate adaptation measure raises questions about the sustainability of urban water futures in Australia.

Keywords: Climate change adaptation, desalination, drought management, sustainable urban water management.

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Authors: G. Tozsin, F. Bakir, C. Acar, E. Koç

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Kurtbogazi Dam has gained special meaning for Ankara, Turkey for the last decade due to the rapid depletion of nearby resources of drinking water. In this study, the results of the analyses of Kurtbogazi Dam outlet water and the rivers flowing into the Kurtbogazi Dam were discussed for the period of last five years between 2008 and 2012. Some physical and chemical properties (pH, temperature, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), nitrate, phosphate and chlorine) of these water resources were evaluated. They were classified according to the Council Directive (75/440/EEC). Moreover, the properties of these surface waters were assessed to determine the quality of water for drinking and irrigation purposes using Piper, US Salinity Laboratory and Wilcox diagrams. The results showed that all the water resources are acceptable level as surface water except for Pazar Stream in terms of ortho-phosphate and BOD5 concentration for 2008.

Keywords: Kurtbogazi dam, water quality assessment, Ankara water, water supply.

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Authors: Cheng-En Tsai, Chung-Chun Hsiao, Fu-Yuan Chang, Liang-Lun Lan, Jia-Ying Tu

Abstract:

New design of three dimensional (3D) flywheel system based on gimbal and gyro mechanics is proposed. The 3D flywheel device utilizes the rotational motion of three spherical shells and the conservation of angular momentum to achieve planar locomotion. Actuators mounted to the ring-shape frames are installed within the system to drive the spherical shells to rotate, for the purpose of steering and stabilization. Similar to the design of 2D flywheel system, it is expected that the spherical shells may function like a “flyball” to store and supply mechanical energy; additionally, in comparison with typical single-wheel and spherical robots, the 3D flywheel can be used for developing omnidirectional robotic systems with better mobility. The Lagrangian method is applied to derive the equation of motion of the 3D flywheel system, and simulation studies are presented to verify the proposed design.

Keywords: Gimbal, spherical robot, gyroscope, Lagrangian formulation, flyball.

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Authors: Cheng-En Tsai, Chung-Chun Hsiao, Fu-Yuan Chang, Liang-Lun Lan, Jia-Ying Tu

Abstract:

New design of three dimensional (3D) flywheel system based on gimbal and gyro mechanics is proposed. The 3D flywheel device utilizes the rotational motion of three spherical shells and the conservation of angular momentum to achieve planar locomotion. Actuators mounted to the ring-shape frames are installed within the system to drive the spherical shells to rotate, for the purpose of steering and stabilization. Similar to the design of 2D flywheel system, it is expected that the spherical shells may function like a “flyball” to store and supply mechanical energy; additionally, in comparison with typical single-wheel and spherical robots, the 3D flywheel can be used for developing omnidirectional robotic systems with better mobility. The Lagrangian method is applied to derive the equation of motion of the 3D flywheel system, and simulation studies are presented to verify the proposed design.

Keywords: Gimbal, spherical robot, gyroscope, Lagrangian formulation, flyball.

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Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma

Abstract:

Obesity is a low-grade inflammatory disease and may lead to health problems such as hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes. It is also associated with important risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. This requires the detailed evaluation of obesity, particularly in children. The aim of this study is to enlighten the potential associations between lipid ratios and obesity indices and to introduce those with discriminating features among children with obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). A total of 408 children (aged between six and eighteen years) participated in the scope of the study. Informed consent forms were taken from the participants and their parents. Ethical Committee approval was obtained. Anthropometric measurements such as weight, height as well as waist, hip, head, neck circumferences and body fat mass were taken. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were recorded. Body mass index (BMI), diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index-II (D2 index), waist-to-hip, head-to-neck ratios were calculated. Total cholesterol, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLChol), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLChol) analyses were performed in blood samples drawn from 110 children with normal body weight, 164 morbid obese (MO) children and 134 children with MetS. Age- and sex-adjusted BMI percentiles tabulated by World Health Organization were used to classify groups; normal body weight, MO and MetS. 15^th-to-85^th percentiles were used to define normal body weight children. Children, whose values were above the 99th percentile, were described as MO. MetS criteria were defined. Data were evaluated statistically by SPSS Version 20. The degree of statistical significance was accepted as p≤0.05. Mean±standard deviation values of BMI for normal body weight children, MO children and those with MetS were 15.7±1.1, 27.1±3.8 and 29.1±5.3 kg/m², respectively. Corresponding values for the D2 index were calculated as 3.4±0.9, 14.3±4.9 and 16.4±6.7. Both BMI and D2 index were capable of discriminating the groups from one another (p≤0.01). As far as other obesity indices were considered, waist-to hip and head-to-neck ratios did not exhibit any statistically significant difference between MO and MetS groups (p≥0.05). Diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index-II was correlated with the triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio in normal body weight and MO (r=0.413, p≤0.01 and r=0.261, (p≤0.05, respectively). Total cholesterol-to-HDL-C and LDL-C-to-HDL-C showed statistically significant differences between normal body weight and MO as well as MO and MetS (p≤0.05). The only group in which these two ratios were significantly correlated with waist-to-hip ratio was MetS group (r=0.332 and r=0.334, p≤0.01, respectively). Lack of correlation between the D2 index and the triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio was another important finding in MetS group. In this study, parameters and ratios, whose associations were defined previously with increased cardiovascular risk or cardiac death have been evaluated along with obesity indices in children with morbid obesity and MetS. Their profiles during childhood have been investigated. Aside from the nature of the correlation between the D2 index and triglycerides-to-HDL-C ratio, total cholesterol-to-HDL-C as well as LDL-C-to- HDL-C ratios along with their correlations with waist-to-hip ratio showed that the combination of obesity-related parameters predicts better than one parameter and appears to be helpful for discriminating MO children from MetS group.

Keywords: Children, lipid ratios, metabolic syndrome, obesity indices.

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Authors: V. Sacca, A. Sarica, F. Novellino, S. Barone, T. Tallarico, E. Filippelli, A. Granata, P. Valentino, A. Quattrone

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In the last few years, resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was widely used to investigate the architecture of brain networks by investigating the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent response. This technique represented an interesting, robust and reliable approach to compare pathologic and healthy subjects in order to investigate neurodegenerative diseases evolution. On the other hand, the elaboration of rs-fMRI data resulted to be very prone to noise due to confounding factors especially the head motion. Head motion has long been known to be a source of artefacts in task-based functional MRI studies, but it has become a particularly challenging problem in recent studies using rs-fMRI. The aim of this work was to evaluate in MS patients a well-known motion correction algorithm from the FMRIB's Software Library - MCFLIRT - that could be applied to minimize the head motion distortions, allowing to correctly interpret rs-fMRI results.

Keywords: Head motion correction, MCFLIRT algorithm, multiple sclerosis, resting state fMRI.

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