424 research outputs found
Halal science: synergizing opportunities / E. Tavasuria Elangovan
Get PDFFaculty of Applied Sciences organized an Industry Collaboration Visit to Wisma FMM with the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers of Malay-sian Food Manufacturing Group (FMM-MAFMAG). The strategic partnership was aimed at forming a collaboration in the development of the newly proposed Bachelor Degree in Halal Science programme. This industry collaboration involved six members of Federation of Malaysian Manu-facturers of Malaysian Food Manufacturing Group namely, En. Sariffuddin Mahmud, Nestle Halal Operations Manag-er, Pn. Nurul Husna Ahmad Ripaai, Nestle Halal Develop-ment Manager, En. Wan Ahmad Syazwan Mohamed, Dutch Lady Regulatory Affairs & Halal Manager, En. Zulkefli Kasri, Ajinamoto Head Specialist of Corporate Affairs Department, En. Akhtar Hisseini Mohd Nor, Head of Halal Affairs, F&N Beverages Intuitional Support & Sourcing and En. Ahmad Syukry Ibrahim, Mamee-Double Decker Manager of Islamic Affairs & Government Relation
A robot-aided visuo-motor training that improves proprioception and spatial accuracy of untrained movement
No full textProprioceptive function can become enhanced during motor learning. Yet, we have incomplete knowledge to what extent proprioceptive function is trainable and how a training that enhances proprioception may influence performance in untrained motor skills. To address this knowledge gap, healthy young adults (N = 14) trained in a visuomotor task that required learners to make increasingly accurate wrist movements. Using a robotic exoskeleton coupled with a virtual visual environment, participants tilted a virtual table through continuous wrist flexion/extension movements with the goal to position a rolling ball on table into a target. With learning progress, the level of difficulty increased by altering the virtual ball mechanics and the gain between joint movement and ball velocity. Before and after training, wrist position sense acuity and spatial movement accuracy in an untrained, discrete wrist-pointing task was assessed using the same robot. All participants showed evidence of proprioceptive-motor learning. Mean position sense discrimination threshold improved by 34%. Wrist movement accuracy in the untrained pointing task improved by 27% in 13/14 participants. This demonstrates that a short sensorimotor training challenging proprioception can a) effectively enhance proprioceptive acuity and b) improve the accuracy of untrained movement. These findings provide a scientific basis for applying such somatosensory-based motor training to clinical populations with known proprioceptive dysfunction to enhance sensorimotor performance.Version of Recor
Evaluation of wrist joint proprioception by means of a robotic device
No full textStroke, Parkinson's disease and other neurological conditions often cause proprioceptive deficits which impact the neural control of movement. Proprioception, which is the sense of body awareness, is central to assess accurate interaction with external environment and when compromised it results in several limitations in the activities of daily living. On the other hand, clinical assessment of the impact of proprioceptive deficits on motor functions has been difficult to elucidate mostly for the lack of accurate measurement devices especially for multi-DoF. Haptic robotic interfaces can be exploited to quantitatively evaluate proprioceptive acuity. We introduce a new method based on the use of a three-DoF robotic device to deliver accurate wrist kinematics and perform fine measurements in order to assess wrist joint proprioceptive acuity. Research protocol consists of passive movement in single-DoF configuration providing variable amplitude position stimuli. Data were collected from a group of healthy subjects who were instructed to discriminate the difference between stimuli intensities. Results highlight the efficacy and intrinsic simplicity of the proposed method marking the milestone for further investigations and characterization of proprioceptive acuity in pathologies and age related degradation of sensory motor functions. Moreover the robotic system can be used to design patient-customized therapies based on the particular impairment level and evaluate after every session the effectiveness of the therapeutic exercise
Adaptive memory power management techniques for HPC workloads
No full textThe memory subsystem is responsible for a large fraction of the energy consumed by compute nodes in High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. The rapid increase in the number of cores has been accompanied by a proportional increase in the DRAM capacity and bandwidth. Thus, the memory system consumes a significant amount of the power budget available to a compute node. There is a broad research effort focused on power management techniques using DRAM low-power modes. However, memory power management still presents many challenges towards Exascale. In this thesis, the potential of Dynamic Voltage and Frequency memory Scaling (DVFS) is studied considering the ability to select different frequencies for different memory channels. The approach adopted is based on tuning voltage and frequency dynamically to maximize the energy savings while maintaining performance degradation within tolerable limits. It was observed that HPC workloads rarely require maximum bandwidth, and the bandwidth demand placed by applications is spread over different channels. Also, HPC applications do not use all the bandwidth in a sustained manner, and they have phases where this bandwidth demand is not at its peak. Hence applications can tolerate reduction in bandwidth to save energy. Channel access patterns of applications are studied to determine the potential additional energy savings by controlling channels independently. Evaluation of proposed DVFS algorithm is conducted through a novel hybrid evaluation methodology that includes simulation and executions on real hardware. Results show the large potential of adaptive memory power management techniques based on DVFS for HPC workloads.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Karthik Elangova
A robot-aided visuomotor wrist training induces motor and proprioceptive learning that transfers to the untrained ipsilateral elbow
Get PDFBackground: Learning of a visuomotor task not only leads to changes in motor performance but also improves proprioceptive function of the trained joint/limb system. Such sensorimotor learning may show intra-joint transfer that is observable at a previously untrained degrees of freedom of the trained joint. Objective: Here, we examined if and to what extent such learning transfers to neighboring joints of the same limb and whether such transfer is observable in the motor as well as in the proprioceptive domain. Documenting such intra-limb transfer of sensorimotor learning holds promise for the neurorehabilitation of an impaired joint by training the neighboring joints. Methods: Using a robotic exoskeleton, 15 healthy young adults (18-35 years) underwent a visuomotor training that required them to make continuous, increasingly precise, small amplitude wrist movements. Wrist and elbow position sense just-noticeable-difference (JND) thresholds and spatial movement accuracy error (MAE) at wrist and elbow in an untrained pointing task were assessed before and immediately after, as well as 24 h after training. Results: First, all participants showed evidence of proprioceptive and motor learning in both trained and untrained joints. The mean JND threshold decreased significantly by 30% in trained wrist (M: 1.26° to 0.88°) and by 35% in untrained elbow (M: 1.96° to 1.28°). Second, mean MAE in untrained pointing task reduced by 20% in trained wrist and the untrained elbow. Third, after 24 h the gains in proprioceptive learning persisted at both joints, while transferred motor learning gains had decayed to such extent that they were no longer significant at the group level. Conclusion: Our findings document that a one-time sensorimotor training induces rapid learning gains in proprioceptive acuity and untrained sensorimotor performance at the practiced joint. Importantly, these gains transfer almost fully to the neighboring, proximal joint/limb system
Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions in inflammatory, premalignant, and malignant oral lesions: A quantitative and qualitative assessment
No full textBackground and Objective: Argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) have found widespread application in the past, especially in tumor histopathology. This study was undertaken to evaluate the significance of various AgNOR parameters and to assess their role in differentiating hyperplastic, premalignant, and malignant lesions. Materials and Methods: The study sample consisted of archival biopsy specimens of ten squamous cell carcinomas, ten premalignant lesions, and five inflammatory lesions. Two biopsies from normal mucosa acted as control. AgNORs were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The data were analyzed using Student′s independent t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and multiple range test (Tukey-HSD). Results: Quantitatively significant difference existed in the number of AgNORs between the normal mucosa, inflammatory lesions, and carcinomas, but the premalignant lesions failed to differ significantly from the normal mucosa. The number of AgNORs was found to be related to epithelial proliferation. Qualitatively, in terms of size, shape, and pattern of distribution, the normal mucosa and inflammatory lesion were alike, but the premalignant and malignant lesions differed significantly from the normal, with a marked degree of AgNOR pleomorphism being observed in carcinomas. Conclusions: AgNOR quantity is strictly proportional to the proliferative activity of the cell and does not necessarily indicate malignancy. It is the qualitative characteristics of AgNOR that help to differentiate hyperplastic, premalignant, and malignant lesions
Electrical, structural and optical characterization of copper oxide thin films as a function of post annealing temperature
No full textCopper oxide thin films were obtained by annealing (temperature ranging between 100 and 450 degrees C) the metallic Cu films deposited on glass substrates by e-beam evaporation. XRD studies confirmed that the cubic Cu phase of the asdeposited films changes into single cubic Cu2O phase and single monoclinic CuO phase, depending on the annealing conditions. The crystallite size is varied between similar to 12 and 31 nm. The lattice parameters of cubic Cu and Cu2O phases are estimated to similar to 3.60 and similar to 4.26 angstrom, respectively. The films with Cu2O phase showed p-type characteristics. The conductivity is decreased linearly with the decreasing temperature (1/T), which has confirmed the semiconductor nature of the deposited films. The calculated activation energy is varied between 0.10 and 0.16 eV. The surface microstructure is changed depending on the variation in the annealing temperature. The poor transmittance of the asdeposited films (<1%) is increased to a maximum of similar to 80% (800 nm) on annealing at 200'degrees C. The estimated direct allowed band gap is varied between 1.73 and 2.89 eV. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei
Robot-aided assessment of wrist proprioception
Get PDFIntroduction. Impaired proprioception severely affects the control of gross and fine motor function. However, clinical assessment of proprioceptive deficits and its impact on motor function has been difficult to elucidate. Recent advances in haptic robotic interfaces designed for sensorimotor rehabilitation enabled the use of such devices for the assessment of proprioceptive function.Purpose. This study evaluated the feasibility of a wrist robot system to determine proprioceptive discrimination thresholds for two different DoFs of the wrist. Specifically, we sought to accomplish three aims: first, to establish data validity; second, to show that the system is sensitive to detect small differences in acuity; third, to establish test-retest reliability over repeated testing.Methodology. Eleven healthy adult subjects experienced two passive wrist movements and had to verbally indicate which movement had the larger amplitude. Based on a subject’s response data a psychometric function was fitted and the wrist acuity threshold was established at the 75% correct response level. A subset of five subjects repeated the experimentation three times (T1, T2 and T3) to determine the test-retest reliability.Results. Mean threshold for wrist flexion was 2.15°± 0.43° and 1.52°± 0.36° for abduction. Encoder resolutions were 0.0075° (flexion-extension) and 0.0032° (abduction-adduction). Motor resolutions were 0.2° (flexion-extension) and 0.3° (abduction-adduction). Reliability coefficients were rT2-T1=0.986 and rT3-T2=0.971.Conclusions. We currently lack established norm data on the proprioceptive acuity of the wrist to establish direct validity. However, the magnitude of our reported thresholds are physiological plausible and well in line with available threshold data obtained at the elbow joint. Moreover, system has high resolution and is sensitive enough to detect small differences in acuity. Finally, the system produces reliable data over repeated testing
Finite Element Analysis of Human Bone Structures on the Cell Broadband Engine
No full textWith the current advances in bone imaging and progress in numerical techniques, the micro structural Finite Element analysis (FEM) of human bone for stiffness and strength assessment for individual fracture risk prediction, with a massive potential for parallelism as become a signi?cant candidate for investigation in the current multicore processors. This master thesis work focuses on investigating the credibility of Finite Element analysis of the human bone structure on the IBM Cell processor.Microelectronics & Computer EngineeringElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Our quest for a great place to work: meaning in and at work through the fit perspective
No full textOur work and the organization in which we work play significant roles in many of our lives. Yet, theoretically grounded understanding of when is it that the relationships with our work and that with our work environment make a great place to work is almost non-existent. So far the organizations that feature in the Fortune Best Companies to Work For, or the Forbes the Happiest Companies to Work For, or the Glassdoor Best Places to Work, etc., are considered as proxies for great places to work. However, the characterizations of the antecedents of these workplaces are fragmented, idiosyncratic, and confounding, as they cover a wide span of factors (e.g., pride, job satisfaction, flexibility, inspiring leadership, camaraderie, trust, work-life balance, etc.), and adopt a one-size fits all approach, without a theoretical underpinning, limiting their generalizability and usefulness.
In my dissertation, I addressed these shortcomings through the fit perspective and through the mechanism of meaning in and at work. I proposed the meaning-through-fit model of great places to work, underpinned by identity (Stryker & Berke, 2000), social identity (Ashforth & Mael, 1989), and social information processing theories (Salancik & Pfeffer, 1978). The model hypothesized that the employees’ perception of a great place to work is built and sustained by meaning in work (from the relationship with the work itself) based on the underlying person-work fit, and by meaning at work (from the relationship with the work environment) based on the underlying person-supervisor, the person-group, and the person-organization fits.
I tested the proposed model using a mixed methods approach, with the help of three Studies. In Study 1, I conducted 26 semi-structured interviews to assess the face validity of the model and to obtain inputs for the survey instrument and for the scenario descriptions to be used in Study 2. In Study 2, I tested the hypothesized model with the help of quantitative data gathered through a three-wave Main Survey with participants from MTurk (N=481), after two Pilot Surveys (N=95 and 247). I confirmed the results through Scenario Analysis with participants from MTurk (N=399). Out of the seven main variables in the proposed model, I developed scales to measure three variables (employees’ perception of a great place to work, meaning at work, and person-group fit), and refined the scales to measure four variables (person-work fit, person-supervisor fit, person-organization fit, and meaning in work). In Study 3, I conducted 45 structured interviews in order to gain a deeper understanding of the findings from Study 2.
The quantitative data gathered in Study 2 provided partial support to the proposed model, indicating that meaning in work partly mediated the relationship between person-work fit and employees’ perception of a great places to work, and meaning at work partly mediated the relationship between person-organization fit and employees’ perception of a great place to work. The data also indicated that meaning at work is the more significant predictor compared to meaning in work. Among the fits, person-organization fit mattered the most. Study 3 provided interesting insights and explanations about the findings from Study 2. The meaning-through-fit model of great places to work works around the problematic one-size fits all approach, acknowledges the differences among the employees in the understanding of and expectations from a great places to work, offers increased generalizability and a pathway to leaders to build great places to work from the employees’ perspective, and contributes theoretically and empirically to Positive Organizational Scholarship.Graduate2019-08-2
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