59 research outputs found
Improving Accessibility of Elevation Control in an Immersive Virtual Environment
No full textDespite the advances made in Virtual Reality (VR) technology, the design of VR experiences lacks sufficient focus on accessibility and inclusion as the primary requirements. These are especially important for STEM education, where engaging in experiential activities is essential. This study was conducted to investigate accessibility considerations in the design and development of Immersive VR (IVR) learning spaces for wheelchair users. The specific research question is: How can we make a VR system easier to interact with for wheelchair users needing vertical movement? A user study with thirty (30) participants in three groups was conducted: Group A (the control group, non-wheelchair users) who used natural body movement to interact with the environment, Group B (verification group, non-wheelchair users) who used software controls for accessibility, and Group C (wheelchair users) who used the same software accessibility feature. The results indicate that the accessibility feature enabled wheelchair users to complete the tasks requiring raising or lowering of the body, with almost similar levels of completion rate and accuracy. Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.ChemE/Materials for Energy Conversion and Storag
Designing a reliable-sustainable supply chain network: adaptive m-objective ε-constraint method
No full textIn the current era emphasizing sustainability and circularity, supply chain network design is a critical challenge for making reliable decisions. The optimization of facility location-allocation inventory problems (FLAIPs) holds the key to achieving dependable product delivery with reduced costs and carbon emissions. Despite the importance of these challenges, a substantial research gap exists regarding economic, reliability, and sustainability criteria for FLAIPs. This paper aims to fill this gap by introducing a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model, focusing on configuring a reliable sustainable supply chain network. The model addresses three key objectives: minimizing costs, minimizing emissions, and maximizing reliability. A notable contribution of this research lies in elaborating on five levels of a supply chain network catering to the delivery of multiple products across various periods. Another novelty is the simultaneous incorporation of economic, environmental, and reliability objectives in the network design—a facet rarely addressed in prior research. Results highlight that varying demand levels for each facility lead to altered trade-offs between objectives, empowering practitioners to make diverse decisions in facility location allocation. The proposed mathematical model undergoes validation through numerical examples and sensitivity analysis of parameters. The paper concludes by presenting theoretical and managerial implications, contributing valuable insights to the field of sustainable supply chains.Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineerin
Designed electrochemical sensor based on metallocene modified conducting polymer composite for effective determination of tramadol in real samples
No full textA novel composite for the electrochemical sensing of tramadol (Tr) was developed by the inclusion of metallocene mediator between two layers of conducting poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) polymer, in presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS); (P/mediator/P…SDS). Three charge transfer mediators were evaluated: ferrocene carboxylic acid (FC1), ferrocene (FC2) and cobaltocene (CC) for Tr electrocatalytic oxidation. FC1-charge mediator showed relatively higher current response that was assisted by the electronic conduction of the polymer film. Moreover, SDS presented a great impact, resulting in the enhancement of the preconcentration/accumulation of Tr ions at the interface leading to faster electron transfer. In addition, the practical application of the proposed FC1 composite for the determination of Tr in real urine and serum samples was successfully achieved with adequate recovery results. Very low detection limits of 18.6 nM and 16 nM in the linear dynamic ranges of 7 M to 300 M and 5 M to 280 M, respectively, were obtained at the proposed sensor. Furthermore, the simultaneous determination of of Tr with common interfering species; paracetamol (PAPA), morphine (MO), dopamine (DA), ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) proved excellent with good resolution and large potential peaks separation. The excellent characteristics of the proposed composite such as high reproducibility, good sensitivity, selectivity, anti-interference ability and good stability enhanced its application for determination of other narcotics drugs.The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the pdf file of the accepted manuscript may differ slightly from what is displayed on the item page. The information in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript reflects the original submission by the author
Author Correction: COVID-19 infection segmentation using hybrid deep learning and image processing techniques
No full textSangabasis feliculoi Villanueva & Dow, 2014, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Sangabasis feliculoi</i> sp. nov. <p>(Figs. 13, 25, 35, 48, 60, 65)</p> <p> <i>Amphicnemis</i> sp. (cf. <i>dentifer</i>);— Hämäläinen & Müller (1997: 259, 278: Note 31; part, population from Samar).</p> <p> <b>Type material</b> (all in RMNH, all Philippines, Samar Island, Western Samar Province). <b>Holotype:</b> ♂, Hinabangan, Bagakay, Arizona, 180–200m, 29 viii–20 ix 1996, leg. A. Buenafe. <b>Paratypes</b>: 20 ♂ Hinabangan, Bagakay, Arizona, 100–200m, 29 viii–20 ix 1996, Leg. A. Buenafe.</p> <p> <b>Other material</b> (all Philippines, Samar Island, all in RMNH unless otherwise stated). Western Samar Province: ♂, Hinabangan, 50 – 150m, 1–14 iv 1992, leg. T. Borromeo jr; ♂, Hinabangan, 7 iv 1992, leg. T. Borromeo Sr”; 38 ♂, 8 ♀, Hinabangan, Bagakay, Arizona, 100–200m, 29 viii–20 ix 1996, leg. A. Buenafe; 162 ♂, 27 ♀, Hinabangan, Arizona, 100–280m, 29 iii–6 iv 1997, leg. R.A. Müller; 21 ♂, 6 ♀, Hinabangan, Arizona area, 100–280m, 5–12 v 1997, leg. A. Buenafe; 2 ♂, 2 ♀, Hinabangan, San Isidro, San Isidro River 90–200m, 31 iii–5 iv 1997, leg. R.A. Müller; 2 ♂, Basey, Mt. Sohoton, 150–200m, 10–19 vii 1994, leg. T. Borromeo. Eastern Samar Province: ♂, San Rafael, 50–180m, 21–24 iv 1992, leg. T.</p> <p>Borromeo jr; 3 ♂, ♀, San Rafael, 20–28 v 1993, leg. T. Borromeo; ♂, Taft, San Rafael, ix 2009, in coll. RJTV; ♀, Oras, 50–150m, 16–18 iv 1992, leg. T. Borromeo jr; 2 ♂, Oras, 16–17 iii 1994, leg. T. Borromeo; ♂, ♀, Oras, 21 iii 1994, leg. T. Borromeo; ♂, 2 ♀, Oras, 11–22 iv 1994, leg. T. Borromeo. Northern Samar: ♂, Las Navas, Brgy. San Isidro, 100–350m, 22–28 v 1997, leg. A. Buenafe”.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> A noun in the genitive case, named after the grandfather, Feliculo G. Torayno, of the first author.</p> <p> <b>Description of holotype male.</b> Head: Labium pale, mandible bases pale with large dark mark. Labrum shiny black except for yellow distal third. Genae pale, pale colour continued to eye margin and narrowly along eye margin from ridge of frons to level of antennal sockets. Anteclypeus pale blue with dark central marking adjacent to postclypeus. Postclypeus black. Frons black, with distinct ridge, anterior face with paired transverse yellow streaks separated centrally. Vertex black with metallic reflection. Broad vertical pale streak on antennal socket, top of scape pale, pale vertical streak on pedicel, rest of antennae brown. Remainder of head dark metallic green. Distinct tubercle situated anteriorly beside eye margin in postocular area.</p> <p>Thorax: Prothorax dark metallic green except for pale transverse streak on crest of anterior lobe and pale lower part of propleuron. Shelf of posterior pronotal lobe (as in Fig. 13, which shows a paratype) short, with corners raised. Horns of posterior pronotal lobe long, rearward directed, abruptly bent outward at right angle apically, tapering to tip (Fig. 13). Synthorax (Fig. 35) with long process at ca 1/4 of length of dorsa carina, directed upward and slightly forward. Mesinfraepisternum metallic green with partial, irregular pale borders. Mesepisternum metallic green. Mesepimeron mostly metallic green with broad pale streak along interpleural suture, not reaching antealar carina (Fig. 35). Metepisternum pale, large metallic green marking adjacent to antealar carina, separated from small dark mark spanning metapleural suture, metepimeron otherwise pale. Legs with coxa and trochanter pale, femur and tibia pale with dark spines, blackish streaks on extensor surfaces and dark markings around joint. Tarsi without denticle. Wings hyaline with black veins. Arc just off Ax2, Ac near to Ax2, petiolation ceases before Arc. R4 arising at or a little distal to subnodus; IR3 slightly more distal. 14 Px in Fw, 13 Px in Hw. Pt brown, almost rectangular, costal side a little shorter than subcostal side.</p> <p>Abdomen: S1–2 metallic black dorsally, becoming pale lower on sides; S3–7 dorsally black, paler laterally with narrow pale basal ring. S8–10 black, paler lower laterally. Cerci pale, more than twice length of S10. Fork of upper branch at ca 1/3 length of upper branch (Fig. 48). In lateral view upper branch shaped as in Fig. 60, with small black internal tooth at tip, in dorsal view slightly hollowed interiorly toward tips. Spur ca 1/2 length of distance from S10 to fork in dorsal view, longer than wide and well visible in lateral view, tuft of dense setae at tip. Lower branch short, white, barely visible in lateral view with tip ca halfway from S10 to base of spur. Paraprocts typical for genus.</p> <p> <b>Measurements</b> (mm): abdomen including cerci 39, Hw 23.</p> <p> <b>Female.</b> Similar to male except for lateral portion of posterior pronotal lobe curved upward instead of out (Fig. 25). S8–9 lateral pale marking more extensive with bluish tint, S9 with black restricted to dorsum.</p> <p> <b>Measurements</b> (mm): abdomen 38, Hw 24.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> The very long, flat tubercle of the dorsal carina of the synthorax and the right angle outward turn of the apical part of the horns of the posterior pronotal lobe serve to separate this species from all others. <i>S. dentifer</i> from Dinagat and Siargao Islands also possess a long tubercle on the dorsum of the synthorax but lack the lower branch of the cercus and differ in the posterior lobe of the prothorax.</p>Published as part of <i>Villanueva, R. J. T. & Dow, R. A., 2014, Review of the Philippine taxa formerly assigned to the genus Amphicnemis Selys, II. Genus Sangabasis with descriptions of eight new species (Odonata: Coenagrionidae), pp. 1-28 in Zootaxa 3815 (1)</i> on pages 15-19, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3815.1.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/286240">http://zenodo.org/record/286240</a>
Evaluating mechanical properties of resin infused veneer materials
No full textPLEASE NOTE: This work is protected by copyright. Downloading is restricted to the BU community: please log in with a valid BU account to access and click Download. If you are the author of this work and would like to make it publicly available, please contact [email protected] (DScD)--Boston University, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 2015 (Department of Restorative Sciences and Biomaterials)Includes bibliographic references: leaves 235-247.Objectives: The objectives of this study were to investigate the mechanical properties including flexural strength and hardness of resin-infused ceramic and to compare it to feldspathic porcelain and commercially available composite resin products, and to investigate the effect of thermocycling and cyclic fatigue on flexural strength of resin-infused ceramic, feldspathic porcelain and composite resin and to test their abrasion resistance against vita MKII.
Materials: RIC ceramic powder and Enamic Vita dry pressed blocks were used in this study. Diurethane dimethacrylate and silane solution were used for fabricating resin-infused ceramics. For biaxial flexural strength, thermocycling and cyclic fatigue testings, discs cut out of blocks were made from resin-infused RIC, resin-infused Enamic, Vita blocks MKII, Paradigm MZ100, and Lava Ultimate Paradigm. One of the specimens from a biaxial flexure strength test of each material was tested for knoop microhardness, while bars cut out of blocks were used for wear testing.
Methods: Die-pressed porous ceramic blocks were prepared from RIC ceramic powder. The blocks were sintered at different temperatures and density was measured. The porous ceramic blocks were infused with UDMA (Diurethane dimethacrylate), TEGDMA (Triethylene glycol dimethacrylate), and BP (Benzoyl Peroxide) resin mixture under vacuum condition. The polymerized resin-infused ceramic blocks were smoothed into round cylinders and cut into disc-shaped specimens (13x2 ±2 mm) and subjected to biaxial flexural strength test. They were also cut into bar-shaped specimens (21x13x2 ± 2 mm) and subjected to wear test using Pin-on-Plate wear mach ine. Fragments from biaxial flexural strength test were used for knoop microhardness using a Buehler Micromat 2003 microhardness (Manufacturer, location) indenter. Specimens were categorized into two main ceramic groups (RIC and Enamic mono) and two main composite resin groups (MZl00 Paradigm and Lava Ultimate Paradigm). In the Enamic resin infused group, there were two subgroups, one vita resin infused and one resin infused at BU lab. For a study of thermocycling effect, specimens were thermocycled between water temperature of S°C and 55°C in a custom fabricated thermocycling machine. After being thermocycled, specimens were subjected to cyclic fatigue to test their fracture toughness then to biaxial flexural strength test. Another group of specimens were only subjected to a cyclic fatigue test then to biaxial flexural strength test without thermocycling. The data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey multiple comparisons.
Results and Conclusions: In the Biaxial flexural strength test, Paradigm MZl00 had the highest mean biaxial flexural strength (219.86 ± 30.31 MPa), followed by Paradigm Lava Ultimate (165.20 ± 27.37 MPa), RIC post-sintering density 1.75g/ mm 3 (160.59 ± 9.76 MPa), RIC post-sintering density 1.6 g/ mm3 (149.17 ± 11.16 MPa), Vita MKII (126.67 ± 7.82MPa), experimental Vita resin-infused Enamic (126 ± 11.77 MPa), and experimental BU lab resin-infused Enamic (121.91 ± 9.82 MPa) materials. Thermocycling plus cyclic fatigue had a statistically significant effect on the biaxial flexural strength of the materials with no difference observed between cyclic fatigued groups without thermocycling. In the Knoop microhardness test, RIC post-sintering density 1.75 g/ mm3 recorded the highest mean hardness (240 ± 18.57 HK), followed by Vita MKII (232.80 ± 15.04 HK), experimental Vita resin-infused Enamic (219.10 ± 20.73 HK), experimental BU lab resin-infused Enamic (195 ± 8.24 HK), RIC post-sintering density 1.6g/ mm3 ( 175.59 ± 13.89 HK), Paradigm MZ100 (109.82 ± 6.34), and Paradigm Lava Ultimate (96.67 ± 4.74 HK) materials with statistically significant higher hardness values of ceramics over composites and no statistically significancant difference between Paradigm MZ100 and Paradigm Lava Ultimate. In the pin-on-plate abrasion test, Vita Mark II and resin-infused Enamic demonstrated wear that was significantly higher than all other materials tested (RIC, and composite MZ100 Paradigm and composite Lava ultimate Paradigm) significantly when they were abraded by the same type of ceramic over a long span (39 mm length) regardless of resin infusion RIC material scored scoring the lowest volume loss among this travel span. However, when Vita Mark II and resin infused Enamic were abraded over a short span (15 mm wear groove length) they gave comparable results to the other materials were obtained; with resin-infused Enamic scoring the lowest wear values
A scoping review of bereavement risk assessment measures: Implications for palliative care
No full text© The Author(s) 2015. Background: Palliative care standards and policies recommend that bereavement support be provided to family caregivers, yet uncertainty surrounds whether support currently offered by palliative care services throughout developed countries meets caregiver needs. The public health model of bereavement support, which aligns bereavement support needs with intervention, may address this gap between policy and practice. Aim: The aim was to review the literature to identify bereavement risk assessment measures appropriate for different points in the caring and bereavement trajectories, evaluate their psychometric properties and assess feasibility for use in palliative care. Design: A scoping review was systematically undertaken following Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework. Data sources: PsycINFO, CINAHL, PubMed and Cochrane Reviews databases, as well as grey literature including Internet searches of Google, World Health Organization, CareSearch, the Grey Literature Report and OAIster were searched. Bereavement organisations and palliative care websites, reference lists in obtained articles and grief and bereavement handbooks were also scrutinised. Results: Of 3142 records screened, 356 records yielded 70 grief measures. In all, 19 measures published between 1982 and 2014 were identified for inclusion in this review, and categorised for use with family caregivers at three points in time - before the patient's death (n = 5), in the period following the death (n = 10) and for screening of prolonged or complex grief (n = 4). The majority had acceptable psychometric properties; feasibility for use in palliative care varied substantially. Conclusion: This review is an important preliminary step in improving the assessment of bereavement risk and, consequently, better bereavement outcomes for palliative care family caregivers
Notes on Osmoxylon (Araliaceae), II
No full textThe mainly East Malesian araliaceous trees and shrubs characterized by inflorescences with ‘false fruits’ were first accorded generic rank by Miquel (1863) under the name Osmoxylon. The name stood for the elegance of the vegetative parts of the plants as depicted by Rumphius and once collected by Zippelius. In the next decade, working partly from his own collections and emphasizing the distinctive inflorescences and their biology, Beccari (1878) added several species with palmately lobed or dissected leaves and described the characteristic reproductive mechanism. In a further study, however, Boerlage (1887) separated the palmately veined species as Eschweileria. This latter name was a homonym and Harms (1894) not unnaturally proposed Boerlagiodendron. Eighty years later, revision for Flora Malesiana brought about a reassessment and, as some species appeared to be ‘intermediate’ (notably B. dinagatense Merr. and B. simplicifolium Elmer, respectively from Dinagat Island and NE Mindanao in the Philippines) the two genera were merged by Philipson (1976, 1979) without recognition of any formal subdivisions.
Further study indicates, however, that the former Boerlagiodendron and Osmoxylon s.s. do form distinct groups. Osmoxylon dinagatense (Merr.) Philipson and O. simplicifolium (Elmer) Philipson may have simple leaves, but both have – though rather small – a typical erect ‘Boerlagiodendron’ inflorescence. In O. simplicifolium, based on Elmer 13689 from NE Mindanao (Philippines), the leaves are coarsely toothed and feature craspedodromous venation. There is a further record from Samar [PNH 117163 (Gutierrez et al.) Osmoxylon dinagatense, based on BS 35220 (Ramos & Pascasio) from Dinagat Island, is similar but the leaf apex is more obtuse and the margins are merely crenate, the teeth obscure. I interpret these species as representative of miniaturization, a process also evident within O. micranthum (Harms) Philipson. Little is known of their ecology; however, Dinagat is known to have serpentine surface rock and in Samar the collection of O. simplicifolium was recorded from forest on limestone. Both species are shrubs or small trees to 4 m. With respect to O. oblongifolium Philipson (no. 8 in Philipson, 1979), also described as having simple leaves, its author has noted that the petiolar crests are sometimes fimbriate and the leaf-blades occasionally have a small triangular lobe on each side below the middle. The plants are moreover stream-bank dwellers and the leaves are clustered at branch ends. All these indicate membership of the Boerlagiodendron group
Design, novel one-pot green synthesis, and biological evaluation of pyrazolopyridine-congeners selectively targeting HER2+ breast cancer
No full textBreast cancer (BC) is among the most prevalent and most aggressive cancer types affecting females. Several targets were investigated to tackle this problem, among them HER2 receptors are one on the most studied targets. In this study we report the synthesis of 18 different pyrazolopyridine (3a–r) derivatives using a novel green onepot method. The synthesized compounds were screened against NCI 60 human tumor cell panel at single concentration. The six top compounds (3c, 3d, 3f, 3l, 3m and 3o) were followed up by plotting their IC50 values and selectivity indices against different cancer types. Kinase profiling for the top two compounds (3f and 3o) was done against 20 different kinases and showed that they have selective inhibition of HER2 (with − 88 and − 75 % inhibition) comparable to Tucatinib (− 90 % inhibition). In addition, Annexin V PI/FITC apoptosis assay using BT474 cell lines on compounds 3l, 3o and 3f demonstrate the target specificity of our most potent compounds towards HER2 + ve harboring cells. In vivo antitumor activity of compound 3f on BC xenograft mouse model demonstrates that the recorded tumor size over the course of study was significantly reduced by 19.45 % when mice treated with 3f compared to 38.6 % reduction when treated with lapatinib. Finally molecular docking and molecular dynamics studies were used to investigate and understand the potential binding modes and interactions between the synthesized compounds and HER2 on the molecular level. In summary, this study presents the synthesis of this new promising scaffold as anti breast cancer medication using a novel green one-pot method
Risk factors for human helminthiases in rural Philippines
No full textSummaryBackgroundA cross-sectional survey was performed in 2012 among 18 rural barangays in Northern Samar, the Philippines in order to determine the prevalence of single and multiple species helminth infections and the underlying risk factors of acquiring one or more parasites.MethodsA total of 6976 participants who completed a medical questionnaire and provided a stool sample for examination were included in the final analysis.ResultsThe overall prevalence rates of Schistosoma japonicum, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworm were found to be moderate to high at 28.9%, 36.5%, 61.8%, and 28.4%, respectively. However, the prevalence of harbouring any of the helminths was found to be higher at 75.6%. Significant variation was evident among the predicted barangay-specific random effects for infection with S. japonicum (barangay variance of 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.31–1.40) and for any helminth infection (barangay variance of 0.63, 95% confidence interval 0.30–1.29). The predictive models showed, with greater than 80% sensitivity and specificity, that low socio-economic status, low levels of education, poor sanitation, proximity to water sources, occupation (i.e., farming and fishing), and male sex were all reliable indicators of infection status.ConclusionsThis study will aid in the targeting of limited resources for national treatment and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) efforts in low- and middle-income countries
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