ARO-THE SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF KOYA UNIVERSITY
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Employing Neural Style Transfer for Generating Deep Dream Images
Get PDFIn recent years, deep dream and neural style transfer emerged as hot topics in deep learning. Hence, mixing those two techniques support the art and enhance the images that simulate hallucinations among psychiatric patients and drug addicts. In this study, our model combines deep dream and neural style transfer (NST) to produce a new image that combines the two technologies. VGG-19 and Inception v3 pre-trained networks are used for NST and deep dream, respectively. Gram matrix is a vital process for style transfer. The loss is minimized in style transfer while maximized in a deep dream using gradient descent for the first case and gradient ascent for the second. We found that different image produces different loss values depending on the degree of clarity of that images. Distorted images have higher loss values in NST and lower loss values with deep dreams. The opposite happened for the clear images that did not contain mixed lines, circles, colors, or other shapes
Synchro Software-Based Alternatives for Improving Traffic Operations at Signalized Intersections
Get PDFTraffic congestion is a considerable problem in urban arterials, especially at signalized intersections. Signalized intersections are critical elements of the highway system, thus improving their performance would significantly influence the overall operating performance of the system in terms of delay and level of service (LOS). The aim of this study is to assess the capacity performance of two signalized intersections in Duhok city, namely, Zari land intersection and Salahaddin Mosque intersection using the procedure in the Highway Capacity Manual and Synchro software. Total intersection delay, LOS, and volume to capacity ratio (v/c) were the measures of effectiveness used for comparison purposes. Different optimization alternatives have been tested to improve current and future performance. The results have shown that the Zari land intersection is currently operating at LOS F with an average delay of 590 s/veh and high values of v/c at specific movements. Results of optimization show that the scenario of creating an overpass with a change in cycle length and adding one additional lane in each direction is the best alternative to improve its performance to the LOS D with the maximum v/c ratio of 0.86. For Salahaddin Mosque intersection, the delay can be reduced from 544 s/veh (LOS F) with high values of v/c at the major street through movement to an average delay of 70 s/veh (LOS E) and maximum v/c ratio of 1, when cycle length and geometrics are changed, and approaching traffic from the minor street is prohibited
Effect of Static Magnetic Field on Bone Marrow Cellular Density
Get PDFThis study was undertaken to investigate the influence of static magnetic field (SMF) on bone marrow cellular density (BMCD) variation proportionally to bone trabeculae. Female albino Wistar rats exposed with 2.4 ± 0.2 millitesla for 1–4weeks duration continuously versus 1h, 2h, 6h, and 8h/day. Trephine biopsy of femurs bone was examined under optical microscope. Data analyzed with ImageJ software. Results showed that short time exposure per day did not enhance the BMCD compare to high exposure period/day. Six hours/day exposure during 1week increased the marrow cellular density (hypercellularity) significantly (P ≤ 0.05) compares to bone trabeculae. Contrarily, 8h/day exposure reduced the BMCD slightly and significantly (hypocellularity, about 50% reduction) due to 1week and 4weeks exposure duration, respectively. The SMF has associated bone marrow cellularity tendency of rat’s femur
Determination of the Potassium Content in Fruit Samples by Gamma Spectrometry to Emphasize its Health Implications
Get PDFIn this study, the activity concentration of 40K and its’ concentrations in 24 different types of fruits were determined using high purity germanium (HPGe) and sodium iodide scintillation (NaI) detectors. The results of the two measurements are consistent. The Maximum and minimum activities of 40K in dry samples were 750.61 ± 11.88 and 15.64 ± 0.86 Bq kg−1 in apricot and olive, respectively, while in fresh samples they were 152.27 ± 2.12 and 1.99 ± 0.11 Bq kg−1 in dates and olive, respectively. The highest and lowest potassium contents were 489.81 and 6.42 mg/100gm in fresh dates and olives, respectively. Drupe and Tropical fruits, as a fruit family, typically had the highest level of 40K activity and potassium concentration, whereas pome fruits showed the lowest levels. Many of these commonly consumed fresh fruits with rich potassium and water contents are lowering hypertension and improving the hydration status (HS) in people's nutrition. The rate of potassium-40 and total potassium concentration intake for a single unit or portion of the fruits was calculated.  
In Silico Domain Structural Model Analysis of Coronavirus ORF1ab Polyprotein
Get PDFThe world today is battling with a coronavirus infection that is considered a global pandemic. Coronavirus infection is mainly attribute to the varying technique of the replication and release of different genomic components of the virus. The present study aims to establish the physical and chemical features, as well as the basic structural and functional properties of Coronavirus ORF1ab domain. A molecular approach was adopt in this study using the Swiss Model and Phyre2 server whereas the prediction of the active ligand binding sites was done using Phyre2. The analysis of the structure of the protein showed that it has good structural and heat stability, as well as better hydrophilic features and acidic in nature. Based on the Homology modeling, only two binding active sites were noted with catalytic function being mediated by Zn2+ as the metallic heterogeneous ligand for binding sites prediction. The proteins mostly exhibited helical secondary configurations. This study can help in predicting and understanding the role of this domain protein in active coronavirus infection
An Optimized SWCSP Technique for Feature Extraction in EEG-based BCI System
Get PDFBrain-computer interface (BCI) is an evolving technology having huge potential for rehabilitation of patients suffering from disorders of the nervous system, besides many other nonmedical applications. Multichannel electroencephalography (EEG) is widely used to provide input signals to a BCI system. Significant research in methodology employed to implement different stages of BCI system, has led to discovery of new issues and challenges. The raw EEG data includes artifacts from environmental and physiological sources, which is eliminated in preprocessing phase of BCI system. It is then followed by a feature extraction stage to isolate a few relevant features for further classification to a particular motor imagery (MI) activity. A feature extraction approach based on spectrally weighted common spatial pattern (SWCSP) is proposed in this paper to improve overall accuracy of a BCI system. The reported literature uses SWCSP for feature extraction, as it has outperformed other techniques. The proposed approach enhances its performance by optimizing its parameters. The independent component analysis (ICA) method is used for detection and removal of irrelevant data, while linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is used as a classifier. The proposed approach is executed on benchmark data-set 2a of BCI competition IV. It yielded classification accuracy of 70.6% across nine subjects, which is higher than all the reported approaches. 
Design, Modeling, and Characterization of Hot Electron Light Emission and Lasing in Semiconductor Heterostructure-VCSOA with Optical Gain up to 36 dB
Get PDFVertical-cavity semiconductor optical amplifiers (VCSOAs) are interesting devices for optical communication applications. In this work, we have studied the characteristics of gain spectra and amplifier bandwidth in reflection mode at 1300 nm GaInNAs/GaAs hot electron light emission and lasing in semiconductor heterostructure-VCSOA structure using MATLAB program. The device contains 16 Ga0.7In0.3N0.038As0.962 multiple quantum wells (QWs) in its intrinsic region; the active region is bounded between eight pairs of GaAs/AlAs top distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) mirror and 25 pairs of AlAs/GaAs bottom DBRs mirror. Simulation results suggest that the resonance cavity of QW of HILLISH-VCSOA is varied with temperature and number of DBRs periods. We compare the relation between the wavelength and gain at a different single-pass gain in both reflection and transmission modes. The highest gain at around 36 dB is observed in reflection mode. Moreover, we calculated the amplifier bandwidth at different periods of top mirror’s reflectivity, in which when the peak reflection gains increases, the amplifier bandwidth decreases
Evaluation and Assessment of Existing Design Codes and Standards for Building Construction: A State of the Art
Get PDFBuilding design codes (BDC) are used to control the construction industry in general and building design in particular. The BDC offers the construction sector with a standard language and set of requirements. There are several BDCs developed and utilized for construction purposes throughout the world. Certain design codes are employed in structural design to assure the structure’s health and safety, as well as its cost-effectiveness. It also assures that the structure is sufficiently sturdy to endure all potential climatic conditions, bear its intended load, and is integrated to ensure effective use of building materials and resources. This research aims to compare various building construction design codes to identify and explore the most appropriate standard in terms of safe design, economics, and availability of details. In Kurdistan and different parts of Iraq, many international companies have designed building structures with various codes during the past 20 years. This is a bad condition since the government has no control over the construction of the buildings, which includes both the code and the building materials. There is currently no overview of the design codes in use in Kurdistan, nor is it clear whether they are congruent with what students’ study in institutions
Toxic Metals in Some Decorative Cosmetics and Nail Products: Analysis, Evaluation, and Mitigation
Get PDFCosmetic marketing is one of the most profitable and fast increasing markets in Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In recent years, the use of cosmetics has witnessed a rapid increase, especially with the emergence of social media and its impact on this trade. The market is full of different cosmetic brands and nail products. Moderate and low-quality brands of cosmetic samples that available in the local markets were selected to investigate their heavy metals and chemical composition. Samples from face foundation, eye shadow, and nail polish products were taken and examined to evaluate the concentration of metals, that is, Hg, Pb, Cd, As, Mn, Cr, Ni, Co, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Al ions, using X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence techniques. The examination results show high concentrations of Fe and Al metals in the lipstick samples whereas the Hg, Cd, Cr, and Ni were out of detection limit. Moreover, the results show contamination of Hg heavy metal in one of the examined nail polishes brands, whereas the rest of foundation and eye shadow samples show a higher concentration of Al and Fe. Curcumin, as a natural bio-friendly chelate, has been used to deplete metal ions using ultraviolet-visible Spectrophotometer
A Computational Model for Temperature Monitoring During Human Liver Treatment by Nd:YaG Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT)
Get PDFDescribing heat transfer in biological organs is absolutely challenging because it is involved with many complex phenomena. Therefore, understanding the optical and thermal properties of living system during external irradiation sources such as laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) are too important for therapeutic purposes, especially for hyperthermia treatments. The purpose of this study was to determine a proper laser power and irradiation time for LITT applicator to irradiate liver tissue during hyperthermia treatment. For this aim, bioheat equation in one-dimensional spherical coordinate is solved by Green function method to simulate temperature distribution and rate of damage around irradiated target and how thermal and optical properties such as laser power, laser exposure time, and blood perfusion rate affect the rate of temperature distribution. Guiding equations according to the suggested boundary conditions are written and solved by MATLAB software. The outcomes show that increasing laser exposure time and power increase the temperature, especially at the nearest distance from the center of diffusion. Accordingly, a decrease in blood perfusion rate leads to decrease temperature distribution. The findings show that the model is useful to help the physicians to monitor the amount of heat diffusion by laser power during the treatment to protect healthy cells