Search results for: occupant size classification
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2917

Search results for: occupant size classification

157 Investigation of Improved Chaotic Signal Tracking by Echo State Neural Networks and Multilayer Perceptron via Training of Extended Kalman Filter Approach

Authors: Farhad Asadi, S. Hossein Sadati

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This paper presents a prediction performance of feedforward Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Echo State Networks (ESN) trained with extended Kalman filter. Feedforward neural networks and ESN are powerful neural networks which can track and predict nonlinear signals. However, their tracking performance depends on the specific signals or data sets, having the risk of instability accompanied by large error. In this study we explore this process by applying different network size and leaking rate for prediction of nonlinear or chaotic signals in MLP neural networks. Major problems of ESN training such as the problem of initialization of the network and improvement in the prediction performance are tackled. The influence of coefficient of activation function in the hidden layer and other key parameters are investigated by simulation results. Extended Kalman filter is employed in order to improve the sequential and regulation learning rate of the feedforward neural networks. This training approach has vital features in the training of the network when signals have chaotic or non-stationary sequential pattern. Minimization of the variance in each step of the computation and hence smoothing of tracking were obtained by examining the results, indicating satisfactory tracking characteristics for certain conditions. In addition, simulation results confirmed satisfactory performance of both of the two neural networks with modified parameterization in tracking of the nonlinear signals.

Keywords: Feedforward neural networks, nonlinear signal prediction, echo state neural networks approach, leaking rates, capacity of neural networks.

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156 A Survey of Field Programmable Gate Array-Based Convolutional Neural Network Accelerators

Authors: Wei Zhang

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With the rapid development of deep learning, neural network and deep learning algorithms play a significant role in various practical applications. Due to the high accuracy and good performance, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) especially have become a research hot spot in the past few years. However, the size of the networks becomes increasingly large scale due to the demands of the practical applications, which poses a significant challenge to construct a high-performance implementation of deep learning neural networks. Meanwhile, many of these application scenarios also have strict requirements on the performance and low-power consumption of hardware devices. Therefore, it is particularly critical to choose a moderate computing platform for hardware acceleration of CNNs. This article aimed to survey the recent advance in Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based acceleration of CNNs. Various designs and implementations of the accelerator based on FPGA under different devices and network models are overviewed, and the versions of Graphic Processing Units (GPUs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) and Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) are compared to present our own critical analysis and comments. Finally, we give a discussion on different perspectives of these acceleration and optimization methods on FPGA platforms to further explore the opportunities and challenges for future research. More helpfully, we give a prospect for future development of the FPGA-based accelerator.

Keywords: Deep learning, field programmable gate array, FPGA, hardware acceleration, convolutional neural networks, CNN.

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155 A New Multi-Target, Multi-Agent Search-and-Rescue Path Planning Approach

Authors: Jean Berger, Nassirou Lo, Martin Noel

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Perfectly suited for natural or man-made emergency and disaster management situations such as flood, earthquakes, tornadoes, or tsunami, multi-target search path planning for a team of rescue agents is known to be computationally hard, and most techniques developed so far come short to successfully estimate optimality gap. A novel mixed-integer linear programming (MIP) formulation is proposed to optimally solve the multi-target multi-agent discrete search and rescue (SAR) path planning problem. Aimed at maximizing cumulative probability of successful target detection, it captures anticipated feedback information associated with possible observation outcomes resulting from projected path execution, while modeling agent discrete actions over all possible moving directions. Problem modeling further takes advantage of network representation to encompass decision variables, expedite compact constraint specification, and lead to substantial problem-solving speed-up. The proposed MIP approach uses CPLEX optimization machinery, efficiently computing near-optimal solutions for practical size problems, while giving a robust upper bound obtained from Lagrangean integrality constraint relaxation. Should eventually a target be positively detected during plan execution, a new problem instance would simply be reformulated from the current state, and then solved over the next decision cycle. A computational experiment shows the feasibility and the value of the proposed approach.

Keywords: Search path planning, search and rescue, multi-agent, mixed-integer linear programming, optimization.

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154 Computational Identification of Bacterial Communities

Authors: Eleftheria Tzamali, Panayiota Poirazi, Ioannis G. Tollis, Martin Reczko

Abstract:

Stable bacterial polymorphism on a single limiting resource may appear if between the evolved strains metabolic interactions take place that allow the exchange of essential nutrients [8]. Towards an attempt to predict the possible outcome of longrunning evolution experiments, a network based on the metabolic capabilities of homogeneous populations of every single gene knockout strain (nodes) of the bacterium E. coli is reconstructed. Potential metabolic interactions (edges) are allowed only between strains of different metabolic capabilities. Bacterial communities are determined by finding cliques in this network. Growth of the emerged hypothetical bacterial communities is simulated by extending the metabolic flux balance analysis model of Varma et al [2] to embody heterogeneous cell population growth in a mutual environment. Results from aerobic growth on 10 different carbon sources are presented. The upper bounds of the diversity that can emerge from single-cloned populations of E. coli such as the number of strains that appears to metabolically differ from most strains (highly connected nodes), the maximum clique size as well as the number of all the possible communities are determined. Certain single gene deletions are identified to consistently participate in our hypothetical bacterial communities under most environmental conditions implying a pattern of growth-condition- invariant strains with similar metabolic effects. Moreover, evaluation of all the hypothetical bacterial communities under growth on pyruvate reveals heterogeneous populations that can exhibit superior growth performance when compared to the performance of the homogeneous wild-type population.

Keywords: Bacterial polymorphism, clique identification, dynamic FBA, evolution, metabolic interactions.

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153 Effect of Supplementary Premium on the Optimal Portfolio Policy in a Defined Contribution Pension Scheme with Refund of Premium Clauses

Authors: Edikan E. Akpanibah Obinichi C. Mandah Imoleayo S. Asiwaju

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In this paper, we studied the effect of supplementary premium on the optimal portfolio policy in a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme with refund of premium clauses. This refund clause allows death members’ next of kin to withdraw their relative’s accumulated wealth during the accumulation period. The supplementary premium is to help sustain the scheme and is assumed to be stochastic. We considered cases when the remaining wealth is equally distributed and when it is not equally distributed among the remaining members. Next, we considered investments in cash and equity to help increase the remaining accumulated funds to meet up with the retirement needs of the remaining members and composed the problem as a continuous time mean-variance stochastic optimal control problem using the actuarial symbol and established an optimization problem from the extended Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equations. The optimal portfolio policy, the corresponding optimal fund size for the two assets and also the efficient frontier of the pension members for the two cases was obtained. Furthermore, the numerical simulations of the optimal portfolio policies with time were presented and the effect of the supplementary premium on the optimal portfolio policy was discussed and observed that the supplementary premium decreases the optimal portfolio policy of the risky asset (equity). Secondly we observed a disparity between the optimal policies for the two cases.

Keywords: Defined contribution pension scheme, extended Hamilton Jacobi Bellman equations, optimal portfolio policies, refund of premium clauses, supplementary premium.

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152 Simulation of Complex-Shaped Particle Breakage Using the Discrete Element Method

Authors: Felix Platzer, Eric Fimbinger

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In Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulations, the breakage behavior of particles can be simulated based on different principles. In the case of large, complex-shaped particles that show various breakage patterns depending on the scenario leading to the failure and often only break locally instead of fracturing completely, some of these principles do not lead to realistic results. The reason for this is that in said cases, the methods in question, such as the Particle Replacement Method (PRM) or Voronoi Fracture, replace the initial particle (that is intended to break) into several sub-particles when certain breakage criteria are reached, such as exceeding the fracture energy. That is why those methods are commonly used for the simulation of materials that fracture completely instead of breaking locally. That being the case, when simulating local failure, it is advisable to pre-build the initial particle from sub-particles that are bonded together. The dimensions of these sub-particles  consequently define the minimum size of the fracture results. This structure of bonded sub-particles enables the initial particle to break at the location of the highest local loads – due to the failure of the bonds in those areas – with several sub-particle clusters being the result of the fracture, which can again also break locally. In this project, different methods for the generation and calibration of complex-shaped particle conglomerates using bonded particle modeling (BPM) to enable the ability to depict more realistic fracture behavior were evaluated based on the example of filter cake. The method that proved suitable for this purpose and which furthermore  allows efficient and realistic simulation of breakage behavior of complex-shaped particles applicable to industrial-sized simulations is presented in this paper.

Keywords: Bonded particle model (BPM), DEM, filter cake, particle breakage, particle fracture.

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151 Constraint Based Frequent Pattern Mining Technique for Solving GCS Problem

Authors: First G.M. Karthik, Second Ramachandra.V.Pujeri, Dr.

Abstract:

Generalized Center String (GCS) problem are generalized from Common Approximate Substring problem and Common substring problems. GCS are known to be NP-hard allowing the problems lies in the explosion of potential candidates. Finding longest center string without concerning the sequence that may not contain any motifs is not known in advance in any particular biological gene process. GCS solved by frequent pattern-mining techniques and known to be fixed parameter tractable based on the fixed input sequence length and symbol set size. Efficient method known as Bpriori algorithms can solve GCS with reasonable time/space complexities. Bpriori 2 and Bpriori 3-2 algorithm are been proposed of any length and any positions of all their instances in input sequences. In this paper, we reduced the time/space complexity of Bpriori algorithm by Constrained Based Frequent Pattern mining (CBFP) technique which integrates the idea of Constraint Based Mining and FP-tree mining. CBFP mining technique solves the GCS problem works for all center string of any length, but also for the positions of all their mutated copies of input sequence. CBFP mining technique construct TRIE like with FP tree to represent the mutated copies of center string of any length, along with constraints to restraint growth of the consensus tree. The complexity analysis for Constrained Based FP mining technique and Bpriori algorithm is done based on the worst case and average case approach. Algorithm's correctness compared with the Bpriori algorithm using artificial data is shown.

Keywords: Constraint Based Mining, FP tree, Data mining, GCS problem, CBFP mining technique.

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150 Social Security Reform and Management: The Case of Three Member Territories of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

Authors: Cleopatra Gittens

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It has been recognized that some social security and national insurance systems in the Eastern Caribbean are experiencing ageing populations and economic and other crises that will present a financial challenge of being unable to pay pension benefits in fifteen to twenty years. This has implications for the fiscal and economic positions of the countries themselves. Hence, organizations would need to address the issue urgently. The study adds to the body of knowledge on social security systems and social security reforms in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). It also makes recommendations for the types of reforms that social security systems in other SIDS can implement given their special circumstances. Secondary research is used to gather financial and other related information on three social security schemes in the Eastern Caribbean. Actuarial and financial reports and other documents of the social security systems are analysed to obtain financial and static data on each of the schemes. The findings show that the three schemes studied are experiencing steady increases in benefit expenditure versus contributions and increasing pensioner to insured ratios. The schemes will deplete their reserves between 2038 and 2050. Two of the schemes have increased their retirement age while the other has not embarked on any reforms. One scheme has made changes to its contribution percentages. Due to their small size, small populations and other unique circumstances, the social security schemes in the identified territories are not likely to be able to take advantage of all of the reform initiatives that the developed world embarked on when faced with similar problems. These schemes will need to make incremental changes that align with the timeframes recommended by the actuarial studies.

Keywords: Pension benefits, pension, Small Island Developing States, Social Security Reform.

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149 Rotor Bearing System Analysis Using the Transfer Matrix Method with Thickness Assumption of Disk and Bearing

Authors: Omid Ghasemalizadeh, Mohammad Reza Mirzaee, Hossein Sadeghi, Mohammad Taghi Ahmadian

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There are lots of different ways to find the natural frequencies of a rotating system. One of the most effective methods which is used because of its precision and correctness is the application of the transfer matrix. By use of this method the entire continuous system is subdivided and the corresponding differential equation can be stated in matrix form. So to analyze shaft that is this paper issue the rotor is divided as several elements along the shaft which each one has its own mass and moment of inertia, which this work would create possibility of defining the named matrix. By Choosing more elements number, the size of matrix would become larger and as a result more accurate answers would be earned. In this paper the dynamics of a rotor-bearing system is analyzed, considering the gyroscopic effect. To increase the accuracy of modeling the thickness of the disk and bearings is also taken into account which would cause more complicated matrix to be solved. Entering these parameters to our modeling would change the results completely that these differences are shown in the results. As said upper, to define transfer matrix to reach the natural frequencies of probed system, introducing some elements would be one of the requirements. For the boundary condition of these elements, bearings at the end of the shaft are modeled as equivalent spring and dampers for the discretized system. Also, continuous model is used for the shaft in the system. By above considerations and using transfer matrix, exact results are taken from the calculations. Results Show that, by increasing thickness of the bearing the amplitude of vibration would decrease, but obviously the stiffness of the shaft and the natural frequencies of the system would accompany growth. Consequently it is easily understood that ignoring the influences of bearing and disk thicknesses would results not real answers.

Keywords: Rotor System, Disk and Bearing Thickness, Transfer Matrix, Amplitude.

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148 An Evaluation of the Feasibility of Several Industrial Wastes and Natural Materials as Precursors for the Production of Alkali Activated Materials

Authors: O. Alelweet, S. Pavia

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In order to face current compelling environmental problems affecting the planet, the construction industry needs to adapt. It is widely acknowledged that there is a need for durable, high-performance, low-greenhouse gas emission binders that can be used as an alternative to Portland cement (PC) to lower the environmental impact of construction. Alkali activated materials (AAMs) are considered a more sustainable alternative to PC materials. The binders of AAMs result from the reaction of an alkali metal source and a silicate powder or precursor which can be a calcium silicate or an aluminosilicate-rich material. This paper evaluates the particle size, specific surface area, chemical and mineral composition and amorphousness of silicate materials (most industrial waste locally produced in Ireland and Saudi Arabia) to develop alkali-activated binders that can replace PC resources in specific applications. These include recycled ceramic brick, bauxite, illitic clay, fly ash and metallurgical slag. According to the results, the wastes are reactive and comply with building standards requirements. The study also evidenced that the reactivity of the Saudi bauxite (with significant kaolinite) can be enhanced on thermal activation; and high calcium in the slag will promote reaction; which should be possible with low alkalinity activators. The wastes evidenced variable water demands that will be taken into account for mixing with the activators. Finally, further research is proposed to further determine the reactive fraction of the clay-based precursors.

Keywords: Reactivity, water demand, alkali-activated materials, brick, bauxite, illitic clay, fly ash, slag.

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147 Study and Analysis of Permeable Articulated Concrete Blocks Pavement: With Reference to Indian Context

Authors: Shrikant Charhate, Gayatri Deshpande

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Permeable pavements have significant benefits like managing runoff, infiltration, and carrying traffic over conventional pavements in terms of sustainability and environmental impact. Some of the countries are using this technique, especially at locations where durability and other parameters are of importance in nature; however, sparse work has been done on this concept. In India, this is yet to be adopted. In this work, the progress in the characterization and development of Permeable Articulated Concrete Blocks (PACB) pavement design is described and discussed with reference to Indian conditions. The experimentation and in-depth analysis was carried out considering conditions like soil erosion, water logging, and dust which are significant challenges caused due to impermeability of pavement. Concrete blocks with size 16.5’’x 6.5’’x 7’’ consisting of arch shape (4’’) at beneath and ½” PVC holes for articulation were casted. These blocks were tested for flexural strength. The articulation process was done with nylon ropes forming series of concrete block system. The total spacing between the blocks was kept about 8 to 10% of total area. The hydraulic testing was carried out by placing the articulated blocks with the combination of layers of soil, geotextile, clean angular aggregate. This was done to see the percentage of seepage through the entire system. The experimental results showed that with the shape of concrete block the flexural strength achieved was beyond the permissible limit. Such blocks with the combination could be very useful innovation in Indian conditions and useful at various locations compared to the traditional blocks as an alternative for long term sustainability.

Keywords: Connections, geotextile, permeable ACB, pavements, stone base.

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146 Effect of Segregation on the Reaction Rate of Sewage Sludge Pyrolysis in a Bubbling Fluidized Bed

Authors: A. Soria-Verdugo, A. Morato-Godino, L. M. García-Gutiérrez, N. García-Hernando

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The evolution of the pyrolysis of sewage sludge in a fixed and a fluidized bed was analyzed using a novel measuring technique. This original measuring technique consists of installing the whole reactor over a precision scale, capable of measuring the mass of the complete reactor with enough precision to detect the mass released by the sewage sludge sample during its pyrolysis. The inert conditions required for the pyrolysis process were obtained supplying the bed with a nitrogen flowrate, and the bed temperature was adjusted to either 500 ºC or 600 ºC using a group of three electric resistors. The sewage sludge sample was supplied through the top of the bed in a batch of 10 g. The measurement of the mass released by the sewage sludge sample was employed to determine the evolution of the reaction rate during the pyrolysis, the total amount of volatile matter released, and the pyrolysis time. The pyrolysis tests of sewage sludge in the fluidized bed were conducted using two different bed materials of the same size but different densities: silica sand and sepiolite particles. The higher density of silica sand particles induces a flotsam behavior for the sewage sludge particles which move close to the bed surface. In contrast, the lower density of sepiolite produces a neutrally-buoyant behavior for the sewage sludge particles, which shows a proper circulation throughout the whole bed in this case. The analysis of the evolution of the pyrolysis process in both fluidized beds show that the pyrolysis is faster when buoyancy effects are negligible, i.e. in the bed conformed by sepiolite particles. Moreover, sepiolite was found to show an absorbent capability for the volatile matter released during the pyrolysis of sewage sludge.

Keywords: Bubbling fluidized bed, pyrolysis time, segregation effects, sewage sludge.

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145 Development of Energy Benchmarks Using Mandatory Energy and Emissions Reporting Data: Ontario Post-Secondary Residences

Authors: C. Xavier Mendieta, J. J McArthur

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Governments are playing an increasingly active role in reducing carbon emissions, and a key strategy has been the introduction of mandatory energy disclosure policies. These policies have resulted in a significant amount of publicly available data, providing researchers with a unique opportunity to develop location-specific energy and carbon emission benchmarks from this data set, which can then be used to develop building archetypes and used to inform urban energy models. This study presents the development of such a benchmark using the public reporting data. The data from Ontario’s Ministry of Energy for Post-Secondary Educational Institutions are being used to develop a series of building archetype dynamic building loads and energy benchmarks to fill a gap in the currently available building database. This paper presents the development of a benchmark for college and university residences within ASHRAE climate zone 6 areas in Ontario using the mandatory disclosure energy and greenhouse gas emissions data. The methodology presented includes data cleaning, statistical analysis, and benchmark development, and lessons learned from this investigation are presented and discussed to inform the development of future energy benchmarks from this larger data set. The key findings from this initial benchmarking study are: (1) the importance of careful data screening and outlier identification to develop a valid dataset; (2) the key features used to develop a model of the data are building age, size, and occupancy schedules and these can be used to estimate energy consumption; and (3) policy changes affecting the primary energy generation significantly affected greenhouse gas emissions, and consideration of these factors was critical to evaluate the validity of the reported data.

Keywords: Building archetypes, data analysis, energy benchmarks, GHG emissions.

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144 Accounting for Rice Productivity Heterogeneity in Ghana: The Two-Step Stochastic Metafrontier Approach

Authors: Franklin Nantui Mabe, Samuel A. Donkoh, Seidu Al-Hassan

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Rice yields among agro-ecological zones are heterogeneous. Farmers, researchers and policy makers are making frantic efforts to bridge rice yield gaps between agro-ecological zones through the promotion of improved agricultural technologies (IATs). Farmers are also modifying these IATs and blending them with indigenous farming practices (IFPs) to form farmer innovation systems (FISs). Also, different metafrontier models have been used in estimating productivity performances and their drivers. This study used the two-step stochastic metafrontier model to estimate the productivity performances of rice farmers and their determining factors in GSZ, FSTZ and CSZ. The study used both primary and secondary data. Farmers in CSZ are the most technically efficient. Technical inefficiencies of farmers are negatively influenced by age, sex, household size, education years, extension visits, contract farming, access to improved seeds, access to irrigation, high rainfall amount, less lodging of rice, and well-coordinated and synergized adoption of technologies. Albeit farmers in CSZ are doing well in terms of rice yield, they still have the highest potential of increasing rice yield since they had the lowest TGR. It is recommended that government through the ministry of food and agriculture, development partners and individual private companies promote the adoption of IATs as well as educate farmers on how to coordinate and synergize the adoption of the whole package. Contract farming concept and agricultural extension intensification should be vigorously pursued to the latter.

Keywords: Efficiency, farmer innovation systems, improved agricultural technologies, two-step stochastic metafrontier approach.

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143 Performance Evaluation of Filtration System for Groundwater Recharging Well in the Presence of Medium Sand-Mixed Storm Water

Authors: Krishna Kumar Singh, Praveen Jain

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Collection of storm water runoff and forcing it into the groundwater is the need of the hour to sustain the ground water table. However, the runoff entraps various types of sediments and other floating objects whose removal are essential to avoid pollution of ground water and blocking of pores of aquifer. However, it requires regular cleaning and maintenance due to problem of clogging. To evaluate the performance of filter system consisting of coarse sand (CS), gravel (G) and pebble (P) layers, a laboratory experiment was conducted in a rectangular column. The effect of variable thickness of CS, G and P layers of the filtration unit of the recharge shaft on the recharge rate and the sediment concentration of effluent water were evaluated. Medium sand (MS) of three particle sizes, viz. 0.150–0.300 mm (T1), 0.300–0.425 mm (T2) and 0.425–0.600 mm of thickness 25 cm, 30 cm and 35 cm respectively in the top layer of the filter system and having seven influent sediment concentrations of 250–3,000 mg/l were used for experimental study. The performance was evaluated in terms of recharge rates and clogging time. The results indicated that 100 % suspended solids were entrapped in the upper 10 cm layer of MS, the recharge rates declined sharply for influent concentrations of more than 1,000 mg/l. All treatments with higher thickness of MS media indicated recharge rate slightly more than that of all treatment with lower thickness of MS media respectively. The performance of storm water infiltration systems was highly dependent on the formation of a clogging layer at the filter. An empirical relationship has been derived between recharge rates, inflow sediment load, size of MS and thickness of MS with using MLR.

Keywords: Groundwater, medium sand-mixed storm water filter, inflow sediment load.

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142 The Emergence of Smart Growth in Developed and Developing Countries and Its Possible Application in Kabul City, Afghanistan

Authors: Bashir Ahmad Amiri, Nsenda Lukumwena

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The global trend indicates that more and more people live and will continue to live in urban areas. Today cities are expanding both in physical size and number due to the rapid population growth along with sprawl development, which caused the cities to expand beyond the growth boundary and exerting intense pressure on environmental resources specially farmlands to accommodate new housing and urban facilities. Also noticeable is the increase in urban decay along with the increase of slum dwellers present another challenge that most cities in developed and developing countries have to deal with. Today urban practitioners, researchers, planners, and decision-makers are seeking for alternative development and growth management policies to house the rising urban population and also cure the urban decay and slum issues turn to Smart Growth to achieve their goals. Many cities across the globe have adopted smart growth as an alternative growth management tool to deal with patterns and forms of development and to cure the rising urban and environmental problems. The method used in this study is a literature analysis method through reviewing various resources to highlight the potential benefits of Smart Growth in both developed and developing countries and analyze, to what extent it can be a strategic alternative for Afghanistan’s cities, especially the capital city. Hence a comparative analysis is carried on three countries, namely the USA, China, and India to identify the potential benefits of smart growth likely to serve as an achievable broad base for recommendations in different urban contexts.

Keywords: Growth management, housing, Kabul city, smart growth, urban-expansion.

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141 Association of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor with Iron as well as Vitamin D, Folate and Cobalamin in Pediatric Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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The impact of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on cognition and functions of the brain is being investigated. Iron deficiency and deficiencies of B9 (folate) as well as B12 (cobalamin) vitamins are best-known nutritional anemias. They are associated with cognitive disorders and learning difficulties. The antidepressant effects of vitamin D are known and the deficiency state affects mental functions negatively. The aim of this study is to investigate possible correlations of MetS with serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), iron, folate, cobalamin and vitamin D in pediatric patients. 30 children, whose age- and sex-dependent body mass index (BMI) percentiles vary between 85 and 15, 60 morbid obese children with above 99th percentiles constituted the study population. Anthropometric measurements were taken. BMI values were calculated. Age- and sex-dependent BMI percentile values were obtained using the appropriate tables prepared by the World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity classification was performed according to WHO criteria. Those with MetS were evaluated according to MetS criteria. Serum BDNF was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Serum folate was analyzed by an immunoassay analyzer. Serum cobalamin concentrations were measured using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Vitamin D status was determined by the measurement of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol [25-hydroxy vitamin D3, 25(OH)D] using high performance liquid chromatography. Statistical evaluations were performed using SPSS for Windows, version 16. The p values less than 0.05 were accepted as statistically significant. Although statistically insignificant, lower folate and cobalamin values were found in MO children compared to those observed for children with normal BMI. For iron and BDNF values, no alterations were detected among the groups. Significantly decreased vitamin D concentrations were noted in MO children with MetS in comparison with those in children with normal BMI (p ≤ 0.05). The positive correlation observed between iron and BDNF in normal-BMI group was not found in two MO groups. In THE MetS group, the partial correlation among iron, BDNF, folate, cobalamin, vitamin D controlling for waist circumference and BMI was r = -0.501; p ≤ 0.05. None was calculated in MO and normal BMI groups. In conclusion, vitamin D should also be considered during the assessment of pediatric MetS. Waist circumference and BMI should collectively be evaluated during the evaluation of MetS in children. Within this context, BDNF appears to be a key biochemical parameter during the examination of obesity degree in terms of mental functions, cognition and learning capacity. The association observed between iron and BDNF in children with normal BMI was not detected in MO groups possibly due to development of inflammation and other obesity-related pathologies. It was suggested that this finding may contribute to mental function impairments commonly observed among obese children.

Keywords: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor, iron, Vitamin B9, Vitamin B12, Vitamin D.

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140 Long Wavelength Coherent Pulse of Sound Propagating in Granular Media

Authors: Rohit Kumar Shrivastava, Amalia Thomas, Nathalie Vriend, Stefan Luding

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A mechanical wave or vibration propagating through granular media exhibits a specific signature in time. A coherent pulse or wavefront arrives first with multiply scattered waves (coda) arriving later. The coherent pulse is micro-structure independent i.e. it depends only on the bulk properties of the disordered granular sample, the sound wave velocity of the granular sample and hence bulk and shear moduli. The coherent wavefront attenuates (decreases in amplitude) and broadens with distance from its source. The pulse attenuation and broadening effects are affected by disorder (polydispersity; contrast in size of the granules) and have often been attributed to dispersion and scattering. To study the effect of disorder and initial amplitude (non-linearity) of the pulse imparted to the system on the coherent wavefront, numerical simulations have been carried out on one-dimensional sets of particles (granular chains). The interaction force between the particles is given by a Hertzian contact model. The sizes of particles have been selected randomly from a Gaussian distribution, where the standard deviation of this distribution is the relevant parameter that quantifies the effect of disorder on the coherent wavefront. Since, the coherent wavefront is system configuration independent, ensemble averaging has been used for improving the signal quality of the coherent pulse and removing the multiply scattered waves. The results concerning the width of the coherent wavefront have been formulated in terms of scaling laws. An experimental set-up of photoelastic particles constituting a granular chain is proposed to validate the numerical results.

Keywords: Discrete elements, Hertzian Contact, polydispersity, weakly nonlinear, wave propagation.

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139 The Association of Vitamin B₁₂ with Body Weight-and Fat-Based Indices in Childhood Obesity

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

Vitamin deficiencies are common in obese individuals. Particularly, the status of vitamin B12 and its association with vitamin B9 (folate) and vitamin D is under investigation in recent time. Vitamin B12 is closely related to many vital processes in the body. In clinical studies, its involvement in fat metabolism draws attention from the obesity point of view. Obesity, in its advanced stages and in combination with metabolic syndrome (MetS) findings, may be a life-threatening health problem. Pediatric obesity is particularly important, because it may be a predictor of the severe chronic diseases during adulthood period of the child. Due to its role in fat metabolism, vitamin B12 deficiency may disrupt metabolic pathways of the lipid and energy metabolisms in the body. The association of low B12 levels with obesity degree may be an interesting topic to be investigated. Obesity indices may be helpful at this point. Weight- and fat-based indices are available. Of them, body mass index (BMI) is in the first group. Fat mass index (FMI), fat-free mass index (FFMI) and diagnostic obesity notation model assessment-II (D2I) index lie in the latter group. The aim of this study is to clarify possible associations between vitamin B12 status and obesity indices in pediatric population. The study comprises a total of 122 children. 32 children were included in the normal-body mass index (N-BMI) group. 46 and 44 children constitute groups with morbid obese children without MetS and with MetS, respectively. Informed consent forms and the approval of the institutional ethics committee were obtained. Tables prepared for obesity classification by World Health Organization were used. MetS criteria were defined. Anthropometric and blood pressure measurements were taken. BMI, FMI, FFMI, D2I were calculated. Routine laboratory tests were performed. Vitamin B9, B12, D concentrations were determined. Statistical evaluation of the study data was performed. Vitamin B9 and vitamin D levels were reduced in MetS group compared to children with N-BMI (p > 0.05). Significantly lower values were observed in vitamin B12 concentrations of MetS group (p < 0.01). Upon evaluation of blood pressure as well as triglyceride levels, there exist significant increases in morbid obese children. Significantly decreased concentrations of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were observed. All of the obesity indices and insulin resistance index exhibit increasing tendency with the severity of obesity. Inverse correlations were calculated between vitamin D and insulin resistance index as well as vitamin B12 and D2I in morbid obese groups. In conclusion, a fat-based index, D2I, was the most prominent body index, which shows strong correlation with vitamin B12 concentrations in the late stage of obesity in children. A negative correlation between these two parameters was a confirmative finding related to the association between vitamin B12 and obesity degree. 

Keywords: Body mass index, children, D2I index, fat mass index, obesity.

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138 Development of a Health Literacy Scale for Chinese-Speaking Adults in Taiwan

Authors: Frank C. Pan, Che-Long Su, Ching-Hsuen Chen

Abstract:

Background, measuring an individual-s Health Literacy is gaining attention, yet no appropriate instrument is available in Taiwan. Measurement tools that were developed and used in western countries may not be appropriate for use in Taiwan due to a different language system. Purpose of this research was to develop a Health Literacy measurement instrument specific for Taiwan adults. Methods, several experts of clinic physicians; healthcare administrators and scholars identified 125 common used health related Chinese phrases from major medical knowledge sources that easy accessible to the public. A five-point Likert scale is used to measure the understanding level of the target population. Such measurement is then used to compare with the correctness of their answers to a health knowledge test for validation. Samples, samples under study were purposefully taken from four groups of people in the northern Pingtung, OPD patients, university students, community residents, and casual visitors to the central park. A set of health knowledge index with 10 questions is used to screen those false responses. A sample size of 686 valid cases out of 776 was then included to construct this scale. An independent t-test was used to examine each individual phrase. The phrases with the highest significance are then identified and retained to compose this scale. Result, a Taiwan Health Literacy Scale (THLS) was finalized with 66 health-related phrases under nine divisions. Cronbach-s alpha of each division is at a satisfactory level of 89% and above. Conclusions, factors significantly differentiate the levels of health literacy are education, female gender, age, family members of stroke victims, experience with patient care, and healthcare professionals in the initial application in this study..

Keywords: Health literacy, health knowledge, REALM, THLS.

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137 Development of a System for Measuring the Three-Axis Pedal Force in Cycling and Its Applications

Authors: Joo-Hack Lee, Jin-Seung Choi, Dong-Won Kang, Jeong-Woo Seo, Ju-Young Kim, Dae-Hyeok Kim, Seung-Tae Yang, Gye-Rae Tack

Abstract:

For cycling, the analysis of the pedal force is one of the important factors in the study of exercise ability assessment and overuse injuries. In past studies, a two-axis measurement sensor was used at the sagittal plane to measure the force only in the anterior, posterior, and vertical directions and to analyze the loss of force and the injury on the frontal plane due to the forces in the right and left directions. In this study, which is a basic study on diverse analyses of the pedal force that consider the forces on the sagittal plane and the frontal plane, a three-axis pedal force measurement sensor was developed to measure the anterior-posterior (Fx), medio-lateral (Fz), and vertical (Fy) forces. The sensor was fabricated with a size and shape similar to those of the general flat pedal, and had a 550g weight that allowed smooth pedaling. Its measurement range was ±1000 N for Fx and Fz and ±2000 N for Fy, and its non-linearity, hysteresis, and repeatability were approximately 0.5%. The data were sampled at 1000 Hz using a signal collector. To use the developed sensor, the pedaling efficiency (index of efficiency, IE) and the range of left and right (medio-lateral, ML) forces were measured with two seat heights (low and high). The results of the measurement showed that the IE was higher and the force range in the ML direction was lower with the high position than with the low position. The developed measurement sensor and its application results will be useful in understanding and explaining the complicated pedaling technique, and will enable diverse kinematic analyses of the pedal force on the sagittal plane and the frontal plane.

Keywords: Cycling, Index of effectiveness, Pedal force.

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136 Firing Angle Range Control For Minimising Harmonics in TCR Employed in SVC-s

Authors: D. R. Patil, U. Gudaru

Abstract:

Most electrical distribution systems are incurring large losses as the loads are wide spread, inadequate reactive power compensation facilities and their improper control. A typical static VAR compensator consists of capacitor bank in binary sequential steps operated in conjunction with a thyristor controlled reactor of the smallest step size. This SVC facilitates stepless control of reactive power closely matching with load requirements so as to maintain power factor nearer to unity. This type of SVC-s requiring a appropriately controlled TCR. This paper deals with an air cored reactor suitable for distribution transformer of 3phase, 50Hz, Dy11, 11KV/433V, 125 KVA capacity. Air cored reactors are designed, built, tested and operated in conjunction with capacitor bank in five binary sequential steps. It is established how the delta connected TCR minimizes the harmonic components and the operating range for various electrical quantities as a function of firing angle is investigated. In particular firing angle v/s line & phase currents, D.C. components, THD-s, active and reactive powers, odd and even triplen harmonics, dominant characteristic harmonics are all investigated and range of firing angle is fixed for satisfactory operation. The harmonic spectra for phase and line quantities at specified firing angles are given. In case the TCR is operated within the bound specified in this paper established through simulation studies are yielding the best possible operating condition particularly free from all dominant harmonics.

Keywords: Binary Sequential switched capacitor bank, TCR, Nontriplen harmonics, step less Q control, Active and Reactivepower, Simulink

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135 Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Pregnant Women toward Antenatal Care at Public Hospitals in Sana'a City-Yemen

Authors: Abdulfatah Al-Jaradi, Marzoq Ali Odhah, Abdulnasser A. Haza’a

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Background: Antenatal care can be defined as the care provided by skilled healthcare professionals to pregnant women and adolescent girls to ensure the best health conditions for both mother and baby during pregnancy. The components of Antenatal Care (ANC) include risk identification; prevention and management of pregnancy-related or concurrent diseases; and health education and health promotion. The aim of this study: to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice of pregnant women regarding ANC. Methodology: A descriptive knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) study was conducted in public hospitals in Sana'a City, Yemen. The study population included all pregnant women that intended to the prenatal department and clinical outpatient department; the final sample size was 371 pregnant women. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data, statistical package for social sciences SPSS was used to data analysis. The results: Most (79%) of pregnant women had correct answers in total knowledge regarding ANC, and about two-thirds (67%) of pregnant women had performance practice regarding ANC and two-third (68%) of pregnant women had a positive attitude. Conclusions: More than three quarter of pregnant women had good knowledge level, most of pregnant women had moderate practice level, and more than two-thirds of pregnant women had a positive attitude regarding antenatal care. There was a statistically significant association between overall knowledge and practice level toward ANC and demographic characteristics of pregnant women, at P-value ≤ 0.05. Recommendations: we recommended more education and training courses, lecturers, and education sessions in clinical facilitators focused on ANC, which relies on evidence-based interventions provided to women during pregnancy by skilled healthcare providers such as midwives, doctors, and nurses.

Keywords: Antenatal care, knowledge, practice, attitude, pregnant women.

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134 Explicit Solution of an Investment Plan for a DC Pension Scheme with Voluntary Contributions and Return Clause under Logarithm Utility

Authors: Promise A. Azor, Avievie Igodo, Esabai M. Ase

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The paper merged the return of premium clause and voluntary contributions to investigate retirees’ investment plan in a defined contributory (DC) pension scheme with a portfolio comprising of a risk-free asset and a risky asset whose price process is described by geometric Brownian motion (GBM). The paper considers additional voluntary contributions paid by members, charge on balance by pension fund administrators and the mortality risk of members of the scheme during the accumulation period by introducing return of premium clause. To achieve this, the Weilbull mortality force function is used to establish the mortality rate of members during accumulation phase. Furthermore, an optimization problem from the Hamilton Jacobi Bellman (HJB) equation is obtained using dynamic programming approach. Also, the Legendre transformation method is used to transform the HJB equation which is a nonlinear partial differential equation to a linear partial differential equation and solves the resultant equation for the value function and the optimal distribution plan under logarithm utility function. Finally, numerical simulations of the impact of some important parameters on the optimal distribution plan were obtained and it was observed that the optimal distribution plan is inversely proportional to the initial fund size, predetermined interest rate, additional voluntary contributions, charge on balance and instantaneous volatility.

Keywords: Legendre transform, logarithm utility, optimal distribution plan, return clause of premium, charge on balance, Weibull mortality function.

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133 Green Synthesized Iron Oxide Nanoparticles: A Nano-Nutrient for the Growth and Enhancement of Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) Plant

Authors: G. Karunakaran, M. Jagathambal, N. Van Minh, E. Kolesnikov, A. Gusev, O. V. Zakharova, E. V. Scripnikova, E. D. Vishnyakova, D. Kuznetsov

Abstract:

Iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3NPs) are widely used in different applications due to its ecofriendly nature and biocompatibility. Hence, in this investigation, biosynthesized Fe2O3NPs influence on flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) plant was examined. The biosynthesized nanoparticles were found to be cubic phase which is confirmed by XRD analysis. FTIR analysis confirmed the presence of functional groups corresponding to the iron oxide nanoparticle. The elemental analysis also confirmed that the obtained nanoparticle is iron oxide nanoparticle. The scanning electron microscopy and the transmission electron microscopy confirm that the average particle size was around 56 nm. The effect of Fe2O3NPs on seed germination followed by biochemical analysis was carried out using standard methods. The results obtained after four days and 11 days of seed vigor studies showed that the seedling length (cm), average number of seedling with leaves, increase in root length (cm) was found to be enhanced on treatment with iron oxide nanoparticles when compared to control. A positive correlation was noticed with the dose of the nanoparticle and plant growth, which may be due to changes in metabolic activity. Hence, to evaluate the change in metabolic activity, peroxidase and catalase activities were estimated. It was clear from the observation that higher concentration of iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3NPs 1000 mg/L) has enhanced peroxidase and catalase activities and in turn plant growth. Thus, this study clearly showed that biosynthesized iron oxide nanoparticles will be an effective nano-nutrient for agriculture applications.

Keywords: Catalase, fertilizer, iron oxide nanoparticles, Linum usitatissimum L., nano-nutrient, peroxidase.

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132 Iris Recognition Based On the Low Order Norms of Gradient Components

Authors: Iman A. Saad, Loay E. George

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Iris pattern is an important biological feature of human body; it becomes very hot topic in both research and practical applications. In this paper, an algorithm is proposed for iris recognition and a simple, efficient and fast method is introduced to extract a set of discriminatory features using first order gradient operator applied on grayscale images. The gradient based features are robust, up to certain extents, against the variations may occur in contrast or brightness of iris image samples; the variations are mostly occur due lightening differences and camera changes. At first, the iris region is located, after that it is remapped to a rectangular area of size 360x60 pixels. Also, a new method is proposed for detecting eyelash and eyelid points; it depends on making image statistical analysis, to mark the eyelash and eyelid as a noise points. In order to cover the features localization (variation), the rectangular iris image is partitioned into N overlapped sub-images (blocks); then from each block a set of different average directional gradient densities values is calculated to be used as texture features vector. The applied gradient operators are taken along the horizontal, vertical and diagonal directions. The low order norms of gradient components were used to establish the feature vector. Euclidean distance based classifier was used as a matching metric for determining the degree of similarity between the features vector extracted from the tested iris image and template features vectors stored in the database. Experimental tests were performed using 2639 iris images from CASIA V4-Interival database, the attained recognition accuracy has reached up to 99.92%.

Keywords: Iris recognition, contrast stretching, gradient features, texture features, Euclidean metric.

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131 Assessing the Potential of a Waste Material for Cement Replacement and the Effect of Its Fineness in Soft Soil Stabilisation

Authors: Hassnen M. Jafer, W. Atherton, F. Ruddock, E. Loffil

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This paper represents the results of experimental work to investigate the suitability of a waste material (WM) for soft soil stabilisation. In addition, the effect of particle size distribution (PSD) of the waste material on its performance as a soil stabiliser was investigated. The WM used in this study is produced from the incineration processes in domestic energy power plant and it is available in two different grades of fineness (coarse waste material (CWM) and fine waste material (FWM)). An intermediate plasticity silty clayey soil with medium organic matter content has been used in this study. The suitability of the CWM and FWM to improve the physical and engineering properties of the selected soil was evaluated dependant on the results obtained from the consistency limits, compaction characteristics (optimum moisture content (OMC) and maximum dry density (MDD)); along with the unconfined compressive strength test (UCS). Different percentages of CWM were added to the soft soil (3, 6, 9, 12 and 15%) to produce various admixtures. Then the UCS test was carried out on specimens under different curing periods (zero, 7, 14, and 28 days) to find the optimum percentage of CWM. The optimum and other two percentages (either side of the optimum content) were used for FWM to evaluate the effect of the fineness of the WM on UCS of the stabilised soil. Results indicated that both types of the WM used in this study improved the physical properties of the soft soil where the index of plasticity (IP) was decreased significantly. IP was decreased from 21 to 13.64 and 13.10 with 12% of CWM and 15% of FWM respectively. The results of the unconfined compressive strength test indicated that 12% of CWM was the optimum and this percentage developed the UCS value from 202kPa to 500kPa for 28 days cured samples, which is equal, approximately 2.5 times the UCS value for untreated soil. Moreover, this percentage provided 1.4 times the value of UCS for stabilized soil-CWA by using FWM which recorded just under 700kPa after 28 days curing. 

Keywords: Soft soil stabilisation, waste materials, fineness, and unconfined compressive strength.

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130 Replicating Brain’s Resting State Functional Connectivity Network Using a Multi-Factor Hub-Based Model

Authors: B. L. Ho, L. Shi, D. F. Wang, V. C. T. Mok

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The brain’s functional connectivity while temporally non-stationary does express consistency at a macro spatial level. The study of stable resting state connectivity patterns hence provides opportunities for identification of diseases if such stability is severely perturbed. A mathematical model replicating the brain’s spatial connections will be useful for understanding brain’s representative geometry and complements the empirical model where it falls short. Empirical computations tend to involve large matrices and become infeasible with fine parcellation. However, the proposed analytical model has no such computational problems. To improve replicability, 92 subject data are obtained from two open sources. The proposed methodology, inspired by financial theory, uses multivariate regression to find relationships of every cortical region of interest (ROI) with some pre-identified hubs. These hubs acted as representatives for the entire cortical surface. A variance-covariance framework of all ROIs is then built based on these relationships to link up all the ROIs. The result is a high level of match between model and empirical correlations in the range of 0.59 to 0.66 after adjusting for sample size; an increase of almost forty percent. More significantly, the model framework provides an intuitive way to delineate between systemic drivers and idiosyncratic noise while reducing dimensions by more than 30 folds, hence, providing a way to conduct attribution analysis. Due to its analytical nature and simple structure, the model is useful as a standalone toolkit for network dependency analysis or as a module for other mathematical models.

Keywords: Functional magnetic resonance imaging, multivariate regression, network hubs, resting state functional connectivity.

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129 The Cooperation among Insulin, Cortisol and Thyroid Hormones in Morbid Obese Children and Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Orkide Donma, Mustafa M. Donma

Abstract:

Obesity, a disease associated with a low-grade inflammation, is a risk factor for the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). So far, MetS risk factors such as parameters related to glucose and lipid metabolisms as well as blood pressure were considered for the evaluation of this disease. There are still some ambiguities related to the characteristic features of MetS observed particularly in pediatric population. Hormonal imbalance is also important, and quite a lot information exists about the behaviour of some hormones in adults. However, the hormonal profiles in pediatric metabolism have not been cleared yet. The aim of this study is to investigate the profiles of cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones in children with MetS. The study population was composed of morbid obese (MO) children without (Group 1) and with (Group 2) MetS components. WHO BMI-for age and sex percentiles were used for the classification of obesity. The values above 99 percentile were defined as morbid obesity. Components of MetS (central obesity, glucose intolerance, high blood pressure, high triacylglycerol levels, low levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol) were determined. Anthropometric measurements were performed. Ratios as well as obesity indices were calculated. Insulin, cortisol, thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free T3 and free T4 analyses were performed by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Data were evaluated by statistical package for social sciences program. p<0.05 was accepted as the degree for statistical significance. The mean ages±SD values of Group 1 and Group 2 were 9.9±3.1 years and 10.8±3.2 years, respectively. Body mass index (BMI) values were calculated as 27.4±5.9 kg/m2 and 30.6±8.1 kg/m2, successively. There were no statistically significant differences between the ages and BMI values of the groups. Insulin levels were statistically significantly increased in MetS in comparison with the levels measured in MO children. There was not any difference between MO children and those with MetS in terms of cortisol, T3, T4 and TSH. However, T4 levels were positively correlated with cortisol and negatively correlated with insulin. None of these correlations were observed in MO children. Cortisol levels in both MO as well as MetS group were significantly correlated. Cortisol, insulin, and thyroid hormones are essential for life. Cortisol, called the control system for hormones, orchestrates the performance of other key hormones. It seems to establish a connection between hormone imbalance and inflammation. During an inflammatory state, more cortisol is produced to fight inflammation. High cortisol levels prevent the conversion of the inactive form of the thyroid hormone T4 into active form T3. Insulin is reduced due to low thyroid hormone. T3, which is essential for blood sugar control- requires cortisol levels within the normal range. Positive association of T4 with cortisol and negative association of it with insulin are the indicators of such a delicate balance among these hormones also in children with MetS.

Keywords: Children, cortisol, insulin, metabolic syndrome, thyroid hormones.

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128 Faster Pedestrian Recognition Using Deformable Part Models

Authors: Alessandro Preziosi, Antonio Prioletti, Luca Castangia

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Deformable part models achieve high precision in pedestrian recognition, but all publicly available implementations are too slow for real-time applications. We implemented a deformable part model algorithm fast enough for real-time use by exploiting information about the camera position and orientation. This implementation is both faster and more precise than alternative DPM implementations. These results are obtained by computing convolutions in the frequency domain and using lookup tables to speed up feature computation. This approach is almost an order of magnitude faster than the reference DPM implementation, with no loss in precision. Knowing the position of the camera with respect to horizon it is also possible prune many hypotheses based on their size and location. The range of acceptable sizes and positions is set by looking at the statistical distribution of bounding boxes in labelled images. With this approach it is not needed to compute the entire feature pyramid: for example higher resolution features are only needed near the horizon. This results in an increase in mean average precision of 5% and an increase in speed by a factor of two. Furthermore, to reduce misdetections involving small pedestrians near the horizon, input images are supersampled near the horizon. Supersampling the image at 1.5 times the original scale, results in an increase in precision of about 4%. The implementation was tested against the public KITTI dataset, obtaining an 8% improvement in mean average precision over the best performing DPM-based method. By allowing for a small loss in precision computational time can be easily brought down to our target of 100ms per image, reaching a solution that is faster and still more precise than all publicly available DPM implementations.

Keywords: Autonomous vehicles, deformable part model, dpm, pedestrian recognition.

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