CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-P63WKM1TM1"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-P63WKM1TM1'); </script>  <script type="text/javascript" > (function(m,e,t,r,i,k,a){m[i]=m[i]||function(){(m[i].a=m[i].a||[]).push(arguments)}; m[i].l=1*new Date(); for (var j = 0; j < document.scripts.length; j++) {if (document.scripts[j].src === r) { return; }} k=e.createElement(t),a=e.getElementsByTagName(t)[0],k.async=1,k.src=r,a.parentNode.insertBefore(k,a)}) (window, document, "script", "https://mc.yandex.ru/metrika/tag.js", "ym"); ym(55165297, "init", { clickmap:false, trackLinks:true, accurateTrackBounce:true, webvisor:false }); </script> <noscript><div><img src="https://mc.yandex.ru/watch/55165297" style="position:absolute; left:-9999px;" alt="" /></div></noscript>    <title>Search results for: Chong Feng Duan</title> <meta name="description" content="Search results for: Chong Feng Duan"> <meta name="keywords" content="Chong Feng Duan"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, minimum-scale=1, maximum-scale=1, user-scalable=no"> <meta charset="utf-8"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/favicon.ico" type="image/x-icon" rel="shortcut icon"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/bootstrap-4.2.1/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/fontawesome/css/all.min.css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://cdn.waset.org/static/css/site.css?v=150220211555" rel="stylesheet"> </head> <body> <header> <div class="container"> <nav class="navbar navbar-expand-lg navbar-light"> <a class="navbar-brand" href="https://waset.org"> <img src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/images/wasetc.png" alt="Open Science Research Excellence" title="Open Science Research Excellence" /> </a> <button class="d-block d-lg-none navbar-toggler ml-auto" type="button" data-toggle="collapse" data-target="#navbarMenu" aria-controls="navbarMenu" aria-expanded="false" aria-label="Toggle navigation"> <span class="navbar-toggler-icon"></span> </button> <div class="w-100"> <div class="d-none d-lg-flex flex-row-reverse"> <form method="get" action="https://waset.org/search" class="form-inline my-2 my-lg-0"> <input class="form-control mr-sm-2" type="search" placeholder="Search Conferences" value="Chong Feng Duan" name="q" aria-label="Search"> <button class="btn btn-light my-2 my-sm-0" type="submit"><i class="fas fa-search"></i></button> </form> </div> <div class="collapse navbar-collapse mt-1" id="navbarMenu"> <ul class="navbar-nav ml-auto align-items-center" id="mainNavMenu"> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/conferences" title="Conferences in 2024/2025/2026">Conferences</a> </li> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/disciplines" title="Disciplines">Disciplines</a> </li> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/committees" rel="nofollow">Committees</a> </li> <li class="nav-item dropdown"> <a class="nav-link dropdown-toggle" href="#" id="navbarDropdownPublications" role="button" data-toggle="dropdown" aria-haspopup="true" aria-expanded="false"> Publications </a> <div class="dropdown-menu" aria-labelledby="navbarDropdownPublications"> <a class="dropdown-item" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts">Abstracts</a> <a class="dropdown-item" href="https://publications.waset.org">Periodicals</a> <a class="dropdown-item" href="https://publications.waset.org/archive">Archive</a> </div> </li> <li class="nav-item"> <a class="nav-link" href="https://waset.org/page/support" title="Support">Support</a> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </header> <main> <div class="container mt-4"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-9 mx-auto"> <form method="get" action="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search"> <div id="custom-search-input"> <div class="input-group"> <i class="fas fa-search"></i> <input type="text" class="search-query" name="q" placeholder="Author, Title, Abstract, Keywords" value="Chong Feng Duan"> <input type="submit" class="btn_search" value="Search"> </div> </div> </form> </div> </div> <div class="row mt-3"> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Commenced</strong> in January 2007</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Frequency:</strong> Monthly</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Edition:</strong> International</div> </div> </div> <div class="col-sm-3"> <div class="card"> <div class="card-body"><strong>Paper Count:</strong> 371</div> </div> </div> </div> <h1 class="mt-3 mb-3 text-center" style="font-size:1.6rem;">Search results for: Chong Feng Duan</h1> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">71</span> Extending Theory of Planned Behavior to Modelling Chronic Patients’ Acceptance of Health Information: An Information Overload Perspective</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shu-Lien%20Chou">Shu-Lien Chou</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chung-Feng%20Liu"> Chung-Feng Liu</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Self-health management of chronic illnesses plays an important part in chronic illness treatments. However, various kinds of health information (health education materials) which government or healthcare institutions provide for patients may not achieve the expected outcome. One of the critical reasons affecting patients’ use intention could be patients’ perceived Information overload regarding the health information. This study proposed an extended model of Theory of Planned Behavior, which integrating perceived information overload as another construct to explore patients’ use intention of the health information for self-health management. The independent variables are attitude, subject norm, perceived behavior control and perceived information overload while the dependent variable is behavior intention to use the health information. The cross-sectional study used a structured questionnaire for data collection, focusing on the chronic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), who are the potential users of the health information, in a medical center in Taiwan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of the basic information distribution of the questionnaire respondents, and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation model to study the reliability and construct validity for testing our hypotheses. A total of 110 patients were enrolled in this study and 106 valid questionnaires were collected. The PLS analysis result indicates that the patients’ perceived information overload of health information contributes the most critical factor influencing the behavioral intention. Subjective norm and perceived behavioral control of TPB constructs had significant effects on patients’ intentions to use health information also, whereas the attitude construct did not. This study demonstrated a comprehensive framework, which extending perceived information overload into TPB model to predict patients’ behavioral intention of using heath information. We expect that the results of this study will provide useful insights for studying health information from the perspectives of academia, governments, and healthcare providers. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=chronic%20patients" title="chronic patients">chronic patients</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=health%20information" title=" health information"> health information</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=information%20overload" title=" information overload"> information overload</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=theory%20of%20planned%20behavior" title=" theory of planned behavior"> theory of planned behavior</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/24279/extending-theory-of-planned-behavior-to-modelling-chronic-patients-acceptance-of-health-information-an-information-overload-perspective" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/24279.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">436</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">70</span> A Numerical Studies for Improving the Performance of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine by a Wind Power Tower</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Soo-Yong%20Cho">Soo-Yong Cho</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong-Hyun%20Cho"> Chong-Hyun Cho</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chae-Whan%20Rim"> Chae-Whan Rim</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sang-Kyu%20Choi"> Sang-Kyu Choi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jin-Gyun%20Kim"> Jin-Gyun Kim</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ju-Seok%20Nam"> Ju-Seok Nam</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Recently, vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) have been widely used to produce electricity even in urban. They have several merits such as low sound noise, easy installation of the generator and simple structure without yaw-control mechanism and so on. However, their blades are operated under the influence of the trailing vortices generated by the preceding blades. This phenomenon deteriorates its output power and makes difficulty predicting correctly its performance. In order to improve the performance of VAWT, wind power towers can be applied. Usually, the wind power tower can be constructed as a multi-story building to increase the frontal area of the wind stream. Hence, multiple sets of the VAWT can be installed within the wind power tower, and they can be operated at high elevation. Many different types of wind power tower can be used in the field. In this study, a wind power tower with circular column shape was applied, and the VAWT was installed at the center of the wind power tower. Seven guide walls were used as a strut between the floors of the wind power tower. These guide walls were utilized not only to increase the wind velocity within the wind power tower but also to adjust the wind direction for making a better working condition on the VAWT. Hence, some important design variables, such as the distance between the wind turbine and the guide wall, the outer diameter of the wind power tower, the direction of the guide wall against the wind direction, should be considered to enhance the output power on the VAWT. A numerical analysis was conducted to find the optimum dimension on design variables by using the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) among many prediction methods. The CFD could be an accurate prediction method compared with the stream-tube methods. In order to obtain the accurate results in the CFD, it needs the transient analysis and the full three-dimensional (3-D) computation. However, this full 3-D CFD could be hard to be a practical tool because it requires huge computation time. Therefore, the reduced computational domain is applied as a practical method. In this study, the computations were conducted in the reduced computational domain and they were compared with the experimental results in the literature. It was examined the mechanism of the difference between the experimental results and the computational results. The computed results showed this computational method could be an effective method in the design methodology using the optimization algorithm. After validation of the numerical method, the CFD on the wind power tower was conducted with the important design variables affecting the performance of VAWT. The results showed that the output power of the VAWT obtained using the wind power tower was increased compared to them obtained without the wind power tower. In addition, they showed that the increased output power on the wind turbine depended greatly on the dimension of the guide wall. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=CFD" title="CFD">CFD</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=performance" title=" performance"> performance</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=VAWT" title=" VAWT"> VAWT</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=wind%20power%20tower" title=" wind power tower "> wind power tower </a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/39928/a-numerical-studies-for-improving-the-performance-of-vertical-axis-wind-turbine-by-a-wind-power-tower" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/39928.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">387</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">69</span> Combination of Diane-35 and Metformin to Treat Early Endometrial Carcinoma in PCOS Women with Insulin Resistance</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Xin%20Li">Xin Li</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yan-Rong%20Guo"> Yan-Rong Guo</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jin-Fang%20Lin"> Jin-Fang Lin</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yi%20Feng"> Yi Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=H%C3%A5kan%20Billig"> Håkan Billig</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ruijin%20Shao"> Ruijin Shao</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background: Young women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have a high risk of developing endometrial carcinoma. There is a need for the development of new medical therapies that can reduce the need for surgical intervention so as to preserve the fertility of these patients. The aim of the study was to describe and discuss cases of PCOS and insulin resistance (IR) women with early endometrial carcinoma while being co-treated with Diane-35 and metformin. Methods: Five PCOS-IR women who were scheduled for diagnosis and therapy for early endometrial carcinoma were recruited. The hospital records and endometrial pathology reports were reviewed. All patients were co-treated with Diane-35 and metformin for 6 months to reverse the endometrial carcinoma and preserve their fertility. Before, during, and after treatment, endometrial biopsies and blood samples were obtained and oral glucose tolerance tests were performed. Endometrial pathology was evaluated. Body weight (BW), body mass index (BMI), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), total testosterone (TT), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), free androgen index (FAI), insulin area under curve (IAUC), and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were determined. Results: Clinical stage 1a, low grade endometrial carcinoma was confirmed before treatment. After 6 months of co-treatment, all patients showed normal epithelia. No evidence of atypical hyperplasia or endometrial carcinoma was found. Co-treatment resulted in significant decreases in BW, BMI, TT, FAI, IAUC, and HOMA-IR in parallel with a significant increase in SHBG. There were no differences in the FSH and LH levels after co-treatment. Conclusions: Combined treatment with Diane-35 and metformin has the potential to revert the endometrial carcinoma into normal endometrial cells in PCOS-IR women. The cellular and molecular mechanisms behind this effect merit further investigation. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=PCOS" title="PCOS">PCOS</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=progesterone%20resistance" title=" progesterone resistance"> progesterone resistance</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=insulin%20resistance" title=" insulin resistance"> insulin resistance</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=steroid%20hormone%20receptors" title=" steroid hormone receptors"> steroid hormone receptors</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=endometrial%20carcinoma" title=" endometrial carcinoma"> endometrial carcinoma</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/5720/combination-of-diane-35-and-metformin-to-treat-early-endometrial-carcinoma-in-pcos-women-with-insulin-resistance" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/5720.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">409</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">68</span> A Reflective Investigation on the Course Design and Coaching Strategy for Creating a Trans-Disciplinary Leaning Environment</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Min-Feng%20Hsieh">Min-Feng Hsieh</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Nowadays, we are facing a highly competitive environment in which the situation for survival has come even more critical than ever before. The challenge we will be confronted with is no longer can be dealt with the single system of knowledge. The abilities we urgently need to acquire is something that can lead us to cross over the boundaries between different disciplines and take us to a neutral ground that gathers and integrates powers and intelligence that surrounds us. This paper aims at discussing how a trans-disciplinary design course organized by the College of Design at Chaoyang University can react to this modern challenge. By orchestrating an experimental course format and by developing a series of coaching strategies, a trans-disciplinary learning environment has been created and practiced in which students selected from five different departments, including Architecture, Interior Design, Visual Design, Industrial Design, Landscape and Urban Design, are encouraged to think outside their familiar knowledge pool and to learn with/from each other. In the course of implementing this program, a parallel research has been conducted alongside by adopting the theory and principles of Action Research which is a research methodology that can provide the course organizer emergent, responsive, action-oriented, participative and critically reflective insights for the immediate changes and amendments in order to improve the effect of teaching and learning experience. In the conclusion, how the learning and teaching experience of this trans-disciplinary design studio can offer us some observation that can help us reflect upon the constraints and division caused by the subject base curriculum will be pointed out. A series of concepts for course design and teaching strategies developed and implemented in this trans-disciplinary course are to be introduced as a way to promote learners’ self-motivated, collaborative, cross-disciplinary and student-centered learning skills. The outcome of this experimental course can exemplify an alternative approach that we could adopt in pursuing a remedy for dealing with the problematic issues of the current educational practice. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=course%20design" title="course design">course design</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=coaching%20strategy" title=" coaching strategy"> coaching strategy</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=subject%20base%20curriculum" title=" subject base curriculum"> subject base curriculum</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=trans-disciplinary" title=" trans-disciplinary"> trans-disciplinary</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/57120/a-reflective-investigation-on-the-course-design-and-coaching-strategy-for-creating-a-trans-disciplinary-leaning-environment" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/57120.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">203</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">67</span> A Multi-Regional Structural Path Analysis of Virtual Water Flows Caused by Coal Consumption in China</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Cuiyang%20Feng">Cuiyang Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Xu%20Tang"> Xu Tang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yi%20Jin"> Yi Jin</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Coal is the most important primary energy source in China, which exerts a significant influence on the rapid economic growth. However, it makes the water resources to be a constraint on coal industry development, on account of the reverse geographical distribution between coal and water. To ease the pressure on water shortage, the ‘3 Red Lines’ water policies were announced by the Chinese government, and then ‘water for coal’ plan was added to that policies in 2013. This study utilized a structural path analysis (SPA) based on the multi-regional input-output table to quantify the virtual water flows caused by coal consumption in different stages. Results showed that the direct water input (the first stage) was the highest amount in all stages of coal consumption, accounting for approximately 30% of total virtual water content. Regional analysis demonstrated that virtual water trade alleviated the pressure on water use for coal consumption in water shortage areas, but the import of virtual water was not from the areas which are rich in water. Sectoral analysis indicated that the direct inputs from the sectors of ‘production and distribution of electric power and heat power’ and ‘Smelting and pressing of metals’ took up the major virtual water flows, while the sectors of ‘chemical industry’ and ‘manufacture of non-metallic mineral products’ importantly but indirectly consumed the water. With the population and economic growth in China, the water demand-and-supply gap in coal consumption would be more remarkable. In additional to water efficiency improvement measures, the central government should adjust the strategies of the virtual water trade to address local water scarcity issues. Water resource as the main constraints should be highly considered in coal policy to promote the sustainable development of the coal industry. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=coal%20consumption" title="coal consumption">coal consumption</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=multi-regional%20input-output%20model" title=" multi-regional input-output model"> multi-regional input-output model</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=structural%20path%20analysis" title=" structural path analysis"> structural path analysis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=virtual%20water" title=" virtual water"> virtual water</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/62252/a-multi-regional-structural-path-analysis-of-virtual-water-flows-caused-by-coal-consumption-in-china" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/62252.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">302</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">66</span> Predictive Value of Hepatitis B Core-Related Antigen (HBcrAg) during Natural History of Hepatitis B Virus Infection</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yanhua%20Zhao">Yanhua Zhao</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yu%20Gou"> Yu Gou</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shu%20Feng"> Shu Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Dongdong%20Li"> Dongdong Li</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chuanmin%20Tao"> Chuanmin Tao</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The natural history of HBV infection could experience immune tolerant (IT), immune clearance (IC), HBeAg-negative inactive/quienscent carrier (ENQ), and HBeAg-negative hepatitis (ENH). As current biomarkers for discriminating these four phases have some weaknesses, additional serological indicators are needed. Hepatits B core-related antigen (HBcrAg) encoded with precore/core gene contains denatured HBeAg, HBV core antigen (HBcAg) and a 22KDa precore protein (p22cr), which was demonstrated to have a close association with natural history of hepatitis B infection, but no specific cutoff values and diagnostic parameters to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy. This study aimed to clarify the distribution of HBcrAg levels and evaluate its diagnostic performance during the natural history of infection from a Western Chinese perspective. 294 samples collected from treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients in different phases (IT=64; IC=72; ENQ=100, and ENH=58). We detected the HBcrAg values and analyzed the relationship between HBcrAg and HBV DNA. HBsAg and other clinical parameters were quantitatively tested. HBcrAg levels of four phases were 9.30 log U/mL, 8.80 log U/mL, 3.00 log U/mL, and 5.10 logU/mL, respectively (p < 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis demonstrated that the area under curves (AUCs) of HBcrAg and quantitative HBsAg at cutoff values of 9.25 log U/mL and 4.355 log IU/mL for distinguishing IT from IC phases were 0.704 and 0.694, with sensitivity 76.39% and 59.72%, specificity 53.13% and 79.69%, respectively. AUCs of HBcrAg and quantitative HBsAg at cutoff values of 4.15 log U/mlmL and 2.395 log IU/mlmL for discriminating between ENQ and ENH phases were 0.931 and 0.653, with sensitivity 87.93% and 84%, specificity 91.38% and 39%, respectively. Therefore, HBcrAg levels varied significantly among four natural phases of HBV infection. It had higher predictive performance than quantitative HBsAg for distinguishing between ENQ-patients and ENH-patients and similar performance with HBsAg for the discrimination between IT and IC phases, which indicated that HBcrAg could be a potential serological marker for CHB. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=chronic%20hepatitis%20B" title="chronic hepatitis B">chronic hepatitis B</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hepatitis%20B%20core-related%20antigen" title=" hepatitis B core-related antigen"> hepatitis B core-related antigen</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hepatitis%20B%20surface%20antigens" title=" hepatitis B surface antigens"> hepatitis B surface antigens</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hepatitis%20B%20virus" title=" hepatitis B virus"> hepatitis B virus</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/68938/predictive-value-of-hepatitis-b-core-related-antigen-hbcrag-during-natural-history-of-hepatitis-b-virus-infection" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/68938.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">417</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">65</span> Petrologic and Geochemical Characteristics of Marine Sand Strip in the Proterozoic Chuanlinggou Formation of the North China</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yue%20Feng">Yue Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chun-jiang%20Wang"> Chun-jiang Wang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Zhi-long%20Huang"> Zhi-long Huang</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The study of the sedimentary environment of Mesoproterozoic marine deposits in North China has attracted special attention in recent years. It is not clear that the sedimentary environment and the cause of formation of the sandstone strip and its internal carbonate cements and pyrite in the Mesoproterozoic Chuanlinggou Formation in North China. In this study, drilling core samples in North China were identified by microscopy, and their petrological characteristics such as mineral composition and structure were identified. The geochemical data of carbon and oxygen isotopes, total organic carbon (TOC) contents and total sulfur (TS) contents were obtained by processing and analyzing the samples. The samples are mainly quartz particles with low compositional maturity, combined with low value of TOC, it shows that the sedimentary environment of the sandy clastic is a sandy littoral sedimentary environment with relative strong hydrodynamic force, and then the sandstone strip in black shale are formed by the deposition of gravity flow. Analysis of TS values reflect sandstone bands formed in hypoxic environments. The carbonate cements and the pyrite in the sandstone belt are authigenic. The carbon isotope values of authigenic carbonate cements are negatively biased in comparison with the carbonate isotope of carbonate rocks in the same period, but it is more biased than the carbon isotopic values of anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) genetic carbonate rocks. Authigenic pyrite may be mainly due to the formation of HS- by the action of bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR) and Fe²⁺, their causes are in contact. This indicates that authigenic carbonate cements are mainly carbonate precipitates formed but are significantly affected by the effects of AOM. Summary, the sedimentary environment of the sandstone zone in the Chuanlinggou Formation in the North China is a shallow sea facies with iron rich and anoxic. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sandstone%20strip" title="sandstone strip">sandstone strip</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sedimentary%20environment" title=" sedimentary environment"> sedimentary environment</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=authigenic%20carbonate%20cements" title=" authigenic carbonate cements"> authigenic carbonate cements</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=authigenic%20pyrite" title=" authigenic pyrite"> authigenic pyrite</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=The%20Chuanlinggou%20group" title=" The Chuanlinggou group"> The Chuanlinggou group</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=North%20China" title=" North China"> North China</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/95234/petrologic-and-geochemical-characteristics-of-marine-sand-strip-in-the-proterozoic-chuanlinggou-formation-of-the-north-china" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/95234.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">142</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">64</span> Synergistic Cytotoxicity of Cisplatin and Taxol in Overcoming Taxol Resistance through the Inhibition of LDHA in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Lin%20Feng">Lin Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ling-Ling%20E."> Ling-Ling E.</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hong-Chen%20Liu"> Hong-Chen Liu</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The development of chemoresistance in patients represents a major challenge in cancer treatment. Lactate dehydrogenase‑A (LDHA) is one of the principle isoforms of LDH that is expressed in breast tissue, controlling the conversion of pyruvate to lactate and also playing a significant role in the metabolism of glucose. The aim of this study was to identify whether LDHA was involved in oral cancer cell resistance to Taxol and whether the downregulation of LDHA, as a result of cisplatin treatment, may overcome Taxol resistance in human oral squamous cells. The OECM‑1 oral epidermal carcinoma cell line was used, which has been widely used as a model of oral cancer in previous studies. The role of LDHA in Taxol and cisplatin resistance was investigated and the synergistic cytotoxicity of cisplatin and/or Taxol in oral squamous cells was analyzed. Cell viability was analyzed by MTT assay, LDHA expression was analyzed by western blot analysis and siRNA transfection was performed to knock down LDHA expression. The present study results showed that decreased levels of LDHA were responsible for the resistance of oral cancer cells to cisplatin (CDDP). CDDP treatments downregulated LDHA expression and lower levels of LDHA were detected in the CDDP‑resistant oral cancer cells compared with the CDDP‑sensitive cells. By contrast, the Taxol‑resistant cancer cells showed elevated LDHA expression levels. In addition, small interfering RNA‑knockdown of LDHA sensitized the cells to Taxol but desensitized them to CDDP treatment while exogenous expression of LDHA sensitized the cells to CDDP, but desensitized them to Taxol. The present study also revealed the synergistic cytotoxicity of CDDP and Taxol for killing oral cancer cells through the inhibition of LDHA. This study highlights LDHA as a novel therapeutic target for overcoming Taxol resistance in oral cancer patients using the combined treatments of Taxol and CDDP. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cisplatin" title="cisplatin">cisplatin</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Taxol" title=" Taxol"> Taxol</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=carcinoma" title=" carcinoma"> carcinoma</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=oral%20squamous%20cells" title=" oral squamous cells"> oral squamous cells</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/27921/synergistic-cytotoxicity-of-cisplatin-and-taxol-in-overcoming-taxol-resistance-through-the-inhibition-of-ldha-in-oral-squamous-cell-carcinoma" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/27921.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">417</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">63</span> Validation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 Inactivation on Apple-Carrot Juice Treated with Manothermosonication by Kinetic Models</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ozan%20Kahraman">Ozan Kahraman</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hao%20Feng"> Hao Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Several models such as Weibull, Modified Gompertz, Biphasic linear, and Log-logistic models have been proposed in order to describe non-linear inactivation kinetics and used to fit non-linear inactivation data of several microorganisms for inactivation by heat, high pressure processing or pulsed electric field. First-order kinetic parameters (D-values and z-values) have often been used in order to identify microbial inactivation by non-thermal processing methods such as ultrasound. Most ultrasonic inactivation studies employed first-order kinetic parameters (D-values and z-values) in order to describe the reduction on microbial survival count. This study was conducted to analyze the E. coli O157:H7 inactivation data by using five microbial survival models (First-order, Weibull, Modified Gompertz, Biphasic linear and Log-logistic). First-order, Weibull, Modified Gompertz, Biphasic linear and Log-logistic kinetic models were used for fitting inactivation curves of Escherichia coli O157:H7. The residual sum of squares and the total sum of squares criteria were used to evaluate the models. The statistical indices of the kinetic models were used to fit inactivation data for E. coli O157:H7 by MTS at three temperatures (40, 50, and 60 0C) and three pressures (100, 200, and 300 kPa). Based on the statistical indices and visual observations, the Weibull and Biphasic models were best fitting of the data for MTS treatment as shown by high R2 values. The non-linear kinetic models, including the Modified Gompertz, First-order, and Log-logistic models did not provide any better fit to data from MTS compared the Weibull and Biphasic models. It was observed that the data found in this study did not follow the first-order kinetics. It is possibly because of the cells which are sensitive to ultrasound treatment were inactivated first, resulting in a fast inactivation period, while those resistant to ultrasound were killed slowly. The Weibull and biphasic models were found as more flexible in order to determine the survival curves of E. coli O157:H7 treated by MTS on apple-carrot juice. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Weibull" title="Weibull">Weibull</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Biphasic" title=" Biphasic"> Biphasic</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=MTS" title=" MTS"> MTS</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=kinetic%20models" title=" kinetic models"> kinetic models</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=E.coli%20O157%3AH7" title=" E.coli O157:H7"> E.coli O157:H7</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/57326/validation-of-escherichia-coli-o157h7-inactivation-on-apple-carrot-juice-treated-with-manothermosonication-by-kinetic-models" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/57326.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">366</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">62</span> Inactivation of Semicarbazide-Sensitive Amine Oxidase Induces the Phenotypic Switch of Smooth Muscle Cells and Aggravates the Development of Atherosclerotic Lesions</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Miao%20Zhang">Miao Zhang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Limin%20Liu"> Limin Liu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Feng%20Zhi"> Feng Zhi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Panpan%20Niu"> Panpan Niu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mengya%20Yang"> Mengya Yang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Xuemei%20Zhu"> Xuemei Zhu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ying%20Diao"> Ying Diao</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jun%20Wang"> Jun Wang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ying%20Zhao"> Ying Zhao</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background and Aims: Clinical studies have demonstrated that serum semicarbazide-sensitive amine oxidase (SSAO) activities positively correlate with the progression of atherosclerosis. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of SSAO inactivation on the development of atherosclerosis. Methods: Female LDLr knockout (KO) mice were given the Western-type diet for 6 and 9 weeks to induce the formation of early and advanced lesions, and semicarbazide (SCZ, 0.125%) was added into the drinking water to inactivate SSAO in vivo. Results: Despite no impact on plasma total cholesterol levels, abrogation of SSAO by SCZ not only resulted in the enlargement of both early (1.5-fold, p=0.0043) and advanced (1.8-fold, p=0.0013) atherosclerotic lesions, but also led to reduced/increased lesion contents of macrophages/smooth muscle cells (SMCs) (macrophage: ~0.74-fold, p=0.0002(early)/0.0016(advanced); SMC: ~1.55-fold, p=0.0003(early) /0.0001(advanced)), respectively. Moreover, SSAO inactivation inhibited the migration of circulating monocytes into peripheral tissues and reduced the amount of circulating Ly6Chigh monocytes (0.7-fold, p=0.0001), which may account for the reduced macrophage content in lesions. In contrast, the increased number of SMCs in lesions of SCZ-treated mice is attributed to an augmented synthetic vascular SMC phenotype switch as evidenced by the increased proliferation of SMCs and accumulation of collagens in vivo. Conclusion: SSAO inactivation by SCZ promotes the phenotypic switch of SMCs and the development of atherosclerosis. The enzymatic activity of SSAO may thus represent a potential target in the prevention and/or treatment of atherosclerosis. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=atherosclerosis" title="atherosclerosis">atherosclerosis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=phenotype%20switch%20of%20smooth%20muscle%20cells" title=" phenotype switch of smooth muscle cells"> phenotype switch of smooth muscle cells</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=SSAO%2FVAP-1" title=" SSAO/VAP-1"> SSAO/VAP-1</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=semicarbazide" title=" semicarbazide"> semicarbazide</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/45625/inactivation-of-semicarbazide-sensitive-amine-oxidase-induces-the-phenotypic-switch-of-smooth-muscle-cells-and-aggravates-the-development-of-atherosclerotic-lesions" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/45625.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">329</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">61</span> Changing the Dynamics of the Regional Water Security in the Mekong River Basin: An Explorative Study Understanding the Cooperation and Conflict from Critical Hydropolitical Perspective</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Richard%20Gr%C3%BCnwald">Richard Grünwald</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Wenling%20Wang"> Wenling Wang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yan%20Feng"> Yan Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The presented paper explores the changing dynamics of regional water security in the Mekong River Basin and examines the contemporary water-related challenges from a critical hydropolitical perspective. By drawing on the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and Conflict Database (LMCCD) recording more than 3000 water-related events within the basin in the last 30 years, we identified several trends changing the dynamics of the regional water security in the Mekong River Basin. Firstly, there is growing politicization of water that is no longer interpreted as abundant. While some scientists blame the rapid basin development, particularly in upstream countries, other researchers consider climate change and cumulative environmental impacts of various water projects as the main culprit for changing the water flow. Secondly, there is an increasing securitization of large-scale hydropower dams with questionable outcomes. Despite hydropower dams raise many controversies, many riparian states push the development at all cost. Such water security dilemma can be especially traced to Laos and Cambodia, which highly invest in the hydropower sector even at the expense of the local environment and good relations with neighbouring countries situated lower on the river. Thirdly, there is a lack of accountable transboundary water governance that will effectively face a looming water crisis. To date, most of the existing cooperation mechanisms are undermined by the geopolitical interests of foreign donors and increasing mistrust to scientific approaches dealing with water insecurity. Our findings are beneficial for the policy-makers and other water experts who want to grasp the broader hydropolitical context in the Mekong River Basin and better understand the new water security threats, including misinterpretation of the hydrological data and legitimization of the pro-development narratives. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=critical%20hydropolitics" title="critical hydropolitics">critical hydropolitics</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mekong%20river" title=" mekong river"> mekong river</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=politicization%20of%20science" title=" politicization of science"> politicization of science</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=water%20governance" title=" water governance"> water governance</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=water%20security" title=" water security"> water security</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/134001/changing-the-dynamics-of-the-regional-water-security-in-the-mekong-river-basin-an-explorative-study-understanding-the-cooperation-and-conflict-from-critical-hydropolitical-perspective" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/134001.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">213</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">60</span> A Simple Approach to Establish Urban Energy Consumption Map Using the Combination of LiDAR and Thermal Image</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yu-Cheng%20Chen">Yu-Cheng Chen</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Tzu-Ping%20Lin"> Tzu-Ping Lin</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Feng-Yi%20Lin"> Feng-Yi Lin</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chih-Yu%20Chen"> Chih-Yu Chen</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Due to the urban heat island effect caused by highly development of city, the heat stress increased in recent year rapidly. Resulting in a sharp raise of the energy used in urban area. The heat stress during summer time exacerbated the usage of air conditioning and electric equipment, which caused more energy consumption and anthropogenic heat. Therefore, an accurate and simple method to measure energy used in urban area can be helpful for the architectures and urban planners to develop better energy efficiency goals. This research applies the combination of airborne LiDAR data and thermal imager to provide an innovate method to estimate energy consumption. Owing to the high resolution of remote sensing data, the accurate current volume and total floor area and the surface temperature of building derived from LiDAR and thermal imager can be herein obtained to predict energy used. In the estimate process, the LiDAR data will be divided into four type of land cover which including building, road, vegetation, and other obstacles. In this study, the points belong to building were selected to overlay with the land use information; therefore, the energy consumption can be estimated precisely with the real value of total floor area and energy use index for different use of building. After validating with the real energy used data from the government, the result shows the higher building in high development area like commercial district will present in higher energy consumption, caused by the large quantity of total floor area and more anthropogenic heat. Furthermore, because of the surface temperature can be warm up by electric equipment used, this study also applies the thermal image of building to find the hot spots of energy used and make the estimation method more complete. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=urban%20heat%20island" title="urban heat island">urban heat island</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=urban%20planning" title=" urban planning"> urban planning</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=LiDAR" title=" LiDAR"> LiDAR</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=thermal%20imager" title=" thermal imager"> thermal imager</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=energy%20consumption" title=" energy consumption"> energy consumption</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/81506/a-simple-approach-to-establish-urban-energy-consumption-map-using-the-combination-of-lidar-and-thermal-image" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/81506.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">239</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">59</span> Multibody Constrained Dynamics of Y-Method Installation System for a Large Scale Subsea Equipment</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Naeem%20Ullah">Naeem Ullah</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Menglan%20Duan"> Menglan Duan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mac%20Darlington%20Uche%20Onuoha"> Mac Darlington Uche Onuoha</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The lowering of subsea equipment into the deep waters is a challenging job due to the harsh offshore environment. Many researchers have introduced various installation systems to deploy the payload safely into the deep oceans. In general practice, dual floating vessels are not employed owing to the prevalent safety risks and hazards caused by ever-increasing dynamical effects sourced by mutual interaction between the bodies. However, while keeping in the view of the optimal grounds, such as economical one, the Y-method, the two conventional tugboats supporting the equipment by the two independent strands connected to a tri-plate above the equipment, has been employed to study multibody dynamics of the dual barge lifting operations. In this study, the two tugboats and the suspended payload (Y-method) are deployed for the lowering of subsea equipment into the deep waters as a multibody dynamic system. The two-wire ropes are used for the lifting and installation operation by this Y-method installation system. 6-dof (degree of freedom) for each body are considered to establish coupled 18-dof multibody model by embedding technique or velocity transformation technique. The fundamental and prompt advantage of this technique is that the constraint forces can be eliminated directly, and no extra computational effort is required for the elimination of the constraint forces. The inertial frame of reference is taken at the surface of the water as the time-independent frame of reference, and the floating frames of reference are introduced in each body as the time-dependent frames of reference in order to formulate the velocity transformation matrix. The local transformation of the generalized coordinates to the inertial frame of reference is executed by applying the Euler Angle approach. The spherical joints are articulated amongst the multibody as the kinematic joints. The hydrodynamic force, the two-strand forces, the hydrostatic force, and the mooring forces are taken into consideration as the external forces. The radiation force of the hydrodynamic force is obtained by employing the Cummins equation. The wave exciting part of the hydrodynamic force is obtained by using force response amplitude operators (RAOs) that are obtained by the commercial solver ‘OpenFOAM’. The strand force is obtained by considering the wire rope as an elastic spring. The nonlinear hydrostatic force is obtained by the pressure integration technique at each time step of the wave movement. The mooring forces are evaluated by using Faltinsen analytical approach. ‘The Runge Kutta Method’ of Fourth-Order is employed to evaluate the coupled equations of motion obtained for 18-dof multibody model. The results are correlated with the simulated Orcaflex Model. Moreover, the results from Orcaflex Model are compared with the MOSES Model from previous studies. The MBDS of single barge lifting operation from the former studies are compared with the MBDS of the established dual barge lifting operation. The dynamics of the dual barge lifting operation are found larger in magnitude as compared to the single barge lifting operation. It is noticed that the traction at the top connection point of the cable decreases with the increase in the length, and it becomes almost constant after passing through the splash zone. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=dual%20barge%20lifting%20operation" title="dual barge lifting operation">dual barge lifting operation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Y-method" title=" Y-method"> Y-method</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=multibody%20dynamics" title=" multibody dynamics"> multibody dynamics</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=shipbuilding" title=" shipbuilding"> shipbuilding</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=installation%20of%20subsea%20equipment" title=" installation of subsea equipment"> installation of subsea equipment</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=shipbuilding" title=" shipbuilding"> shipbuilding</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/141768/multibody-constrained-dynamics-of-y-method-installation-system-for-a-large-scale-subsea-equipment" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/141768.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">203</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">58</span> The Impacts of an Adapted Literature Circle Model on Reading Comprehension, Engagement, and Cooperation in an EFL Reading Course</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Tiantian%20Feng">Tiantian Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> There is a dearth of research on the literary circle as a teaching strategy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in Chinese colleges and universities and even fewer empirical studies on its impacts. In this one-quarter, design-based project, the researcher aims to increase students’ engagement, cooperation, and, on top of that, reading comprehension performance by utilizing a researcher-developed, adapted reading circle model in an EFL reading course at a Chinese college. The model also integrated team-based learning and portfolio assessment, with an emphasis on the specialization of individual responsibilities, contributions, and outcomes in reading projects, with the goal of addressing current issues in EFL classes at Chinese colleges, such as passive learning, test orientation, ineffective and uncooperative teamwork, and lack of dynamics. In this quasi-experimental research, two groups of students enrolled in the course were invited to participate in four in-class team projects, with the intervention class following the adapted literature circle model and team members rotating as Leader, Coordinator, Brain trust, and Reporter. The researcher/instructor used a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach to quantitatively analyze the final grades for the pre-and post-tests, as well as individual scores for team projects and will code students' artifacts in the next step, with the results to be reported in a subsequent paper(s). Initial analysis showed that both groups saw an increase in final grades, but the intervention group enjoyed a more significant boost, suggesting that the adapted reading circle model is effective in improving students’ reading comprehension performance. This research not only closes the empirical research gap of literature circles in college EFL classes in China but also adds to the pool of effective ways to optimize reading comprehension performance and class performance in college EFL classes. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=literature%20circle" title="literature circle">literature circle</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=EFL%20teaching" title=" EFL teaching"> EFL teaching</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=college%20english%20reading" title=" college english reading"> college english reading</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=reading%20comprehension" title=" reading comprehension"> reading comprehension</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/148452/the-impacts-of-an-adapted-literature-circle-model-on-reading-comprehension-engagement-and-cooperation-in-an-efl-reading-course" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/148452.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">100</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">57</span> Price Compensation Mechanism with Unmet Demand for Public-Private Partnership Projects</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Zhuo%20Feng">Zhuo Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ying%20Gao"> Ying Gao</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Public-private partnership (PPP), as an innovative way to provide infrastructures by the private sector, is being widely used throughout the world. Compared with the traditional mode, PPP emerges largely for merits of relieving public budget constraint and improving infrastructure supply efficiency by involving private funds. However, PPP projects are characterized by large scale, high investment, long payback period, and long concession period. These characteristics make PPP projects full of risks. One of the most important risks faced by the private sector is demand risk because many factors affect the real demand. If the real demand is far lower than the forecasting demand, the private sector will be got into big trouble because operating revenue is the main means for the private sector to recoup the investment and obtain profit. Therefore, it is important to study how the government compensates the private sector when the demand risk occurs in order to achieve Pareto-improvement. This research focuses on price compensation mechanism, an ex-post compensation mechanism, and analyzes, by mathematical modeling, the impact of price compensation mechanism on payoff of the private sector and consumer surplus for PPP toll road projects. This research first investigates whether or not price compensation mechanisms can obtain Pareto-improvement and, if so, then explores boundary conditions for this mechanism. The research results show that price compensation mechanism can realize Pareto-improvement under certain conditions. Especially, to make the price compensation mechanism accomplish Pareto-improvement, renegotiation costs of the government and the private sector should be lower than a certain threshold which is determined by marginal operating cost and distortionary cost of the tax. In addition, the compensation percentage should match with the price cut of the private investor when demand drops. This research aims to provide theoretical support for the government when determining compensation scope under the price compensation mechanism. Moreover, some policy implications can also be drawn from the analysis for better risk-sharing and sustainability of PPP projects. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=infrastructure" title="infrastructure">infrastructure</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=price%20compensation%20mechanism" title=" price compensation mechanism"> price compensation mechanism</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=public-private%20partnership" title=" public-private partnership"> public-private partnership</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=renegotiation" title=" renegotiation"> renegotiation</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/93123/price-compensation-mechanism-with-unmet-demand-for-public-private-partnership-projects" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/93123.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">179</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">56</span> Morphology Analysis of Apple-Carrot Juice Treated by Manothermosonication (MTS) and High Temperature Short Time (HTST) Processes</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ozan%20Kahraman">Ozan Kahraman</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hao%20Feng"> Hao Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Manothermosonication (MTS), which consists of the simultaneous application of heat and ultrasound under moderate pressure (100-700 kPa), is one of the technologies which destroy microorganisms and inactivates enzymes. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through an ultra-thin specimen, interacting with the specimen as it passes through it. The environmental scanning electron microscope or ESEM is a scanning electron microscope (SEM) that allows for the option of collecting electron micrographs of specimens that are "wet," uncoated. These microscopy techniques allow us to observe the processing effects on the samples. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of MTS and HTST treatments on the morphology of apple-carrot juices by using TEM and ESEM microscopy. Apple-carrot juices treated with HTST (72 0C, 15 s), MTS 50 °C (60 s, 200 kPa), and MTS 60 °C (30 s, 200 kPa) were observed in both ESEM and TEM microscopy. For TEM analysis, a drop of the solution dispersed in fixative solution was put onto a Parafilm ® sheet. The copper coated side of the TEM sample holder grid was gently laid on top of the droplet and incubated for 15 min. A drop of a 7% uranyl acetate solution was added and held for 2 min. The grid was then removed from the droplet and allowed to dry at room temperature and presented into the TEM. For ESEM analysis, a critical point drying of the filters was performed using a critical point dryer (CPD) (Samdri PVT- 3D, Tousimis Research Corp., Rockville, MD, USA). After the CPD, each filter was mounted onto a stub and coated with gold/palladium with a sputter coater (Desk II TSC Denton Vacuum, Moorestown, NJ, USA). E.Coli O157:H7 cells on the filters were observed with an ESEM (Philips XL30 ESEM-FEG, FEI Co., Eindhoven, The Netherland). ESEM (Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy) and TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy) images showed extensive damage for the samples treated with MTS at 50 and 60 °C such as ruptured cells and breakage on cell membranes. The damage was increasing with increasing exposure time. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=MTS" title="MTS">MTS</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=HTST" title=" HTST"> HTST</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=ESEM" title=" ESEM"> ESEM</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=TEM" title=" TEM"> TEM</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=E.COLI%20O157%3AH7" title=" E.COLI O157:H7"> E.COLI O157:H7</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/57139/morphology-analysis-of-apple-carrot-juice-treated-by-manothermosonication-mts-and-high-temperature-short-time-htst-processes" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/57139.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">285</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">55</span> Research on Low interfacial Tension Viscoelastic Fluid Oil Displacement System in Unconventional Reservoir</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Long%20Long%20Chen">Long Long Chen</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Xinwei%20Liao"> Xinwei Liao</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shanfa%20Tang"> Shanfa Tang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shaojing%20Jiang"> Shaojing Jiang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ruijia%20Tang"> Ruijia Tang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rui%20Wang"> Rui Wang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shu%20Yun%20Feng"> Shu Yun Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Si%20Yao%20Wang"> Si Yao Wang</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Unconventional oil reservoirs have the characteristics of strong heterogeneity and poor injectability, and traditional chemical flooding technology is not effective in such reservoirs; polymer flooding in the production of heavy oil reservoirs is difficult to handle produced fluid and easy to block oil wells, etc. Therefore, a viscoelastic fluid flooding system with good adaptability, low interfacial tension, plugging, and diverting capabilities was studied. The viscosity, viscoelasticity, surface/interfacial activity, wettability, emulsification, and oil displacement performance of the anionic Gemini surfactant flooding system were studied, and the adaptability of the system to the reservoir environment was evaluated. The oil displacement effect of the system in low-permeability and high-permeability (heavy oil) reservoirs was investigated, and the mechanism of the system to enhance water flooding recovery was discussed. The results show that the system has temperature resistance and viscosity increasing performance (65℃, 4.12mPa•s), shear resistance and viscoelasticity; at a lower concentration (0.5%), the oil-water interfacial tension can be reduced to ultra-low (10-3mN/m); has good emulsifying ability for heavy oil, and is easy to break demulsification (4.5min); has good adaptability to reservoirs with high salinity (30000mg/L). Oil flooding experiments show that this system can increase the water flooding recovery rate of low-permeability homogeneous and heterogeneous cores by 13% and 15%, respectively, and can increase the water-flooding recovery rate of high-permeability heavy oil reservoirs by 40%. The anionic Gemini surfactant flooding system studied in this paper is a viscoelastic fluid, has good emulsifying and oil washing ability, can effectively improve sweep efficiency, reduce injection pressure, and has broad application in unconventional reservoirs to enhance oil recovery prospect. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=oil%20displacement%20system" title="oil displacement system">oil displacement system</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=recovery%20factor" title=" recovery factor"> recovery factor</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=rheology" title=" rheology"> rheology</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=interfacial%20activity" title=" interfacial activity"> interfacial activity</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=environmental%20adaptability" title=" environmental adaptability"> environmental adaptability</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146670/research-on-low-interfacial-tension-viscoelastic-fluid-oil-displacement-system-in-unconventional-reservoir" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146670.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">124</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">54</span> Radar Fault Diagnosis Strategy Based on Deep Learning</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Bin%20Feng">Bin Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Zhulin%20Zong"> Zhulin Zong</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Radar systems are critical in the modern military, aviation, and maritime operations, and their proper functioning is essential for the success of these operations. However, due to the complexity and sensitivity of radar systems, they are susceptible to various faults that can significantly affect their performance. Traditional radar fault diagnosis strategies rely on expert knowledge and rule-based approaches, which are often limited in effectiveness and require a lot of time and resources. Deep learning has recently emerged as a promising approach for fault diagnosis due to its ability to learn features and patterns from large amounts of data automatically. In this paper, we propose a radar fault diagnosis strategy based on deep learning that can accurately identify and classify faults in radar systems. Our approach uses convolutional neural networks (CNN) to extract features from radar signals and fault classify the features. The proposed strategy is trained and validated on a dataset of measured radar signals with various types of faults. The results show that it achieves high accuracy in fault diagnosis. To further evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy, we compare it with traditional rule-based approaches and other machine learning-based methods, including decision trees, support vector machines (SVMs), and random forests. The results demonstrate that our deep learning-based approach outperforms the traditional approaches in terms of accuracy and efficiency. Finally, we discuss the potential applications and limitations of the proposed strategy, as well as future research directions. Our study highlights the importance and potential of deep learning for radar fault diagnosis. It suggests that it can be a valuable tool for improving the performance and reliability of radar systems. In summary, this paper presents a radar fault diagnosis strategy based on deep learning that achieves high accuracy and efficiency in identifying and classifying faults in radar systems. The proposed strategy has significant potential for practical applications and can pave the way for further research. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=radar%20system" title="radar system">radar system</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=fault%20diagnosis" title=" fault diagnosis"> fault diagnosis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=deep%20learning" title=" deep learning"> deep learning</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=radar%20fault" title=" radar fault"> radar fault</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/163350/radar-fault-diagnosis-strategy-based-on-deep-learning" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/163350.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">90</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">53</span> Two-Level Graph Causality to Detect and Predict Random Cyber-Attacks</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Van%20Trieu">Van Trieu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shouhuai%20Xu"> Shouhuai Xu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yusheng%20Feng"> Yusheng Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Tracking attack trajectories can be difficult, with limited information about the nature of the attack. Even more difficult as attack information is collected by Intrusion Detection Systems (IDSs) due to the current IDSs having some limitations in identifying malicious and anomalous traffic. Moreover, IDSs only point out the suspicious events but do not show how the events relate to each other or which event possibly cause the other event to happen. Because of this, it is important to investigate new methods capable of performing the tracking of attack trajectories task quickly with less attack information and dependency on IDSs, in order to prioritize actions during incident responses. This paper proposes a two-level graph causality framework for tracking attack trajectories in internet networks by leveraging observable malicious behaviors to detect what is the most probable attack events that can cause another event to occur in the system. Technically, given the time series of malicious events, the framework extracts events with useful features, such as attack time and port number, to apply to the conditional independent tests to detect the relationship between attack events. Using the academic datasets collected by IDSs, experimental results show that the framework can quickly detect the causal pairs that offer meaningful insights into the nature of the internet network, given only reasonable restrictions on network size and structure. Without the framework’s guidance, these insights would not be able to discover by the existing tools, such as IDSs. It would cost expert human analysts a significant time if possible. The computational results from the proposed two-level graph network model reveal the obvious pattern and trends. In fact, more than 85% of causal pairs have the average time difference between the causal and effect events in both computed and observed data within 5 minutes. This result can be used as a preventive measure against future attacks. Although the forecast may be short, from 0.24 seconds to 5 minutes, it is long enough to be used to design a prevention protocol to block those attacks. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=causality" title="causality">causality</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=multilevel%20graph" title=" multilevel graph"> multilevel graph</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=cyber-attacks" title=" cyber-attacks"> cyber-attacks</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=prediction" title=" prediction"> prediction</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146227/two-level-graph-causality-to-detect-and-predict-random-cyber-attacks" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/146227.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">156</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">52</span> Assessing the Mass Concentration of Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Wastewater Treatment Plants by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography−Mass Spectrometry</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yanghui%20Xu">Yanghui Xu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Qin%20Ou"> Qin Ou</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Xintu%20Wang"> Xintu Wang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Feng%20Hou"> Feng Hou</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Peng%20Li"> Peng Li</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jan%20Peter%20van%20der%20Hoek"> Jan Peter van der Hoek</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Gang%20Liu"> Gang Liu</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> The level and removal of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has been well evaluated by the particle number, while the mass concentration of MPs and especially nanoplastics (NPs) remains unclear. In this study, microfiltration, ultrafiltration and hydrogen peroxide digestion were used to extract MPs and NPs with different size ranges (0.01−1, 1−50, and 50−1000 μm) across the whole treatment schemes in two WWTPs. By identifying specific pyrolysis products, pyrolysis gas chromatography−mass spectrometry were used to quantify their mass concentrations of selected six types of polymers (i.e., polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyamide (PA)). The mass concentrations of total MPs and NPs decreased from 26.23 and 11.28 μg/L in the influent to 1.75 and 0.71 μg/L in the effluent, with removal rates of 93.3 and 93.7% in plants A and B, respectively. Among them, PP, PET and PE were the dominant polymer types in wastewater, while PMMA, PS and PA only accounted for a small part. The mass concentrations of NPs (0.01−1 μm) were much lower than those of MPs (>1 μm), accounting for 12.0−17.9 and 5.6− 19.5% of the total MPs and NPs, respectively. Notably, the removal efficiency differed with the polymer type and size range. The low-density MPs (e.g., PP and PE) had lower removal efficiency than high-density PET in both plants. Since particles with smaller size could pass the tertiary sand filter or membrane filter more easily, the removal efficiency of NPs was lower than that of MPs with larger particle size. Based on annual wastewater effluent discharge, it is estimated that about 0.321 and 0.052 tons of MPs and NPs were released into the river each year. Overall, this study investigated the mass concentration of MPs and NPs with a wide size range of 0.01−1000 μm in wastewater, which provided valuable information regarding the pollution level and distribution characteristics of MPs, especially NPs, in WWTPs. However, there are limitations and uncertainties in the current study, especially regarding the sample collection and MP/NP detection. The used plastic items (e.g., sampling buckets, ultrafiltration membranes, centrifugal tubes, and pipette tips) may introduce potential contamination. Additionally, the proposed method caused loss of MPs, especially NPs, which can lead to underestimation of MPs/NPs. Further studies are recommended to address these challenges about MPs/NPs in wastewater. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=microplastics" title="microplastics">microplastics</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=nanoplastics" title=" nanoplastics"> nanoplastics</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=mass%20concentration" title=" mass concentration"> mass concentration</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=WWTPs" title=" WWTPs"> WWTPs</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Py-GC%2FMS" title=" Py-GC/MS"> Py-GC/MS</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/165249/assessing-the-mass-concentration-of-microplastics-and-nanoplastics-in-wastewater-treatment-plants-by-pyrolysis-gas-chromatographymass-spectrometry" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/165249.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">281</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">51</span> Constructing Digital Memory for Chinese Ancient Village: A Case on Village of Gaoqian </h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Linqing%20Ma">Linqing Ma</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Huiling%20Feng"> Huiling Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jihong%20%20Liang"> Jihong Liang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yi%20Qian"> Yi Qian</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> In China, some villages have survived in the long history of changes and remain until today with their unique styles and featured culture developed in the past. Those ancient villages, usually aged for hundreds or thousands of years, are the mirror for traditional Chinese culture, especially the farming-studying culture represented by the Confucianism. Gaoqian, an ancient village with a population of 3,000 in Zhejiang province, is such a case. With a history dating back to Yuan Dynasty, Gaoqian Village has 13 well-preserved traditional Chinese houses with a courtyard, which were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. It is a fine specimen to study traditional rural China. In China, some villages have survived in the long history of changes and remain until today with their unique styles and featured culture developed in the past. Those ancient villages, usually aged for hundreds or thousands of years, are the mirror for traditional Chinese culture, especially the farming-studying culture represented by the Confucianism. Gaoqian, an ancient village with a population of 3,000 in Zhejiang province, is such a case. With a history dating back to Yuan Dynasty, Gaoqian Village has 13 well-preserved traditional Chinese houses with a courtyard, which were built in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. It is a fine specimen to study traditional rural China. Then a repository for the memory of the Village will be completed by doing arrangement and description for those multimedia resources such as texts, photos, videos and so on. Production of Creative products with digital technologies is also possible based a thorough understanding of the culture feature of Gaoqian Village using research tools for literature and history studies and a method of comparative study. Finally, the project will construct an exhibition platform for the Village and its culture by telling its stories with completed structures and treads. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=ancient%20villages" title="ancient villages">ancient villages</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=digital%20exhibition" title=" digital exhibition"> digital exhibition</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=multimedia" title=" multimedia"> multimedia</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=traditional%20culture" title=" traditional culture"> traditional culture</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/64299/constructing-digital-memory-for-chinese-ancient-village-a-case-on-village-of-gaoqian" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/64299.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">587</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">50</span> Case Report: Opioid Sparing Anaesthesia with Dexmedetomidine in General Surgery</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Shang%20Yee%20Chong">Shang Yee Chong</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Perioperative pain is a complex mechanism activated by various nociceptive, neuropathic, and inflammatory pathways. Opioids have long been a mainstay for analgesia in this period, even as we are continuously moving towards a multimodal model to improve pain control while minimising side effects. Dexmedetomidine, a potent alpha-2 agonist, is a useful sedative and hypnotic agent. Its use in the intensive care unit has been well described, and it is increasingly an adjunct intraoperatively for its opioid sparing effects and to decrease pain scores. We describe a case of a general surgical patient in whom minimal opioids was required with dexmedetomidine use. The patient was a 61-year-old Indian gentleman with a history of hyperlipidaemia and type 2 diabetes mellitus, presenting with rectal adenocarcinoma detected on colonoscopy. He was scheduled for a robotic ultra-low anterior resection. The patient was induced with intravenous fentanyl 75mcg, propofol 160mg and atracurium 40mg. He was intubated conventionally and mechanically ventilated. Anaesthesia was maintained with inhalational desflurane and anaesthetic depth was measured with the Masimo EEG Sedline brain function monitor. An initial intravenous dexmedetomidine dose (bolus) of 1ug/kg for 10 minutes was given prior to anaesthetic induction and thereafter, an infusion of 0.2-0.4ug/kg/hr to the end of surgery. In addition, a bolus dose of intravenous lignocaine 1.5mg/kg followed by an infusion at 1mg/kg/hr throughout the surgery was administered. A total of 10mmol of magnesium sulphate and intravenous paracetamol 1000mg were also given for analgesia. There were no significant episodes of bradycardia or hypotension. A total of intravenous phenylephrine 650mcg was given throughout to maintain the patient’s mean arterial pressure within 10-15mmHg of baseline. The surgical time lasted for 5 hours and 40minutes. Postoperatively the patient was reversed and extubated successfully. He was alert and comfortable and pain scores were minimal in the immediate post op period in the postoperative recovery unit. Time to first analgesia was 4 hours postoperatively – with paracetamol 1g administered. This was given at 6 hourly intervals strictly for 5 days post surgery, along with celecoxib 200mg BD as prescribed by the surgeon regardless of pain scores. Oral oxycodone was prescribed as a rescue analgesic for pain scores > 3/10, but the patient did not require any dose. Neither was there nausea or vomiting. The patient was discharged on postoperative day 5. This case has reinforced the use of dexmedetomidine as an adjunct in general surgery cases, highlighting its excellent opioid-sparing effects. In the entire patient’s hospital stay, the only dose of opioid he received was 75mcg of fentanyl at the time of anaesthetic induction. The patient suffered no opioid adverse effects such as nausea, vomiting or postoperative ileus, and pain scores varied from 0-2/10. However, intravenous lignocaine infusion was also used in this instance, which would have helped improve pain scores. Paracetamol, lignocaine, and dexmedetomidine is thus an effective, opioid-sparing combination of multi-modal analgesia for major abdominal surgery cases. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=analgesia" title="analgesia">analgesia</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=dexmedetomidine" title=" dexmedetomidine"> dexmedetomidine</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=general%20surgery" title=" general surgery"> general surgery</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=opioid%20sparing" title=" opioid sparing"> opioid sparing</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109472/case-report-opioid-sparing-anaesthesia-with-dexmedetomidine-in-general-surgery" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/109472.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">135</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">49</span> Application of Multilayer Perceptron and Markov Chain Analysis Based Hybrid-Approach for Predicting and Monitoring the Pattern of LULC Using Random Forest Classification in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Basit%20Aftab">Basit Aftab</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Zhichao%20Wang"> Zhichao Wang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Feng%20Zhongke"> Feng Zhongke</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Land Use and Land Cover Change (LULCC) is a critical environmental issue that has significant effects on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and climate change. This study examines the spatiotemporal dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) across a three-decade period (1992–2022) in a district area. The goal is to support sustainable land management and urban planning by utilizing the combination of remote sensing, GIS data, and observations from Landsat satellites 5 and 8 to provide precise predictions of the trajectory of urban sprawl. In order to forecast the LULCC patterns, this study suggests a hybrid strategy that combines the Random Forest method with Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Markov Chain analysis. To predict the dynamics of LULC change for the year 2035, a hybrid technique based on multilayer Perceptron and Markov Chain Model Analysis (MLP-MCA) was employed. The area of developed land has increased significantly, while the amount of bare land, vegetation, and forest cover have all decreased. This is because the principal land types have changed due to population growth and economic expansion. The study also discovered that between 1998 and 2023, the built-up area increased by 468 km² as a result of the replacement of natural resources. It is estimated that 25.04% of the study area's urbanization will be increased by 2035. The performance of the model was confirmed with an overall accuracy of 90% and a kappa coefficient of around 0.89. It is important to use advanced predictive models to guide sustainable urban development strategies. It provides valuable insights for policymakers, land managers, and researchers to support sustainable land use planning, conservation efforts, and climate change mitigation strategies. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=land%20use%20land%20cover" title="land use land cover">land use land cover</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Markov%20chain%20model" title=" Markov chain model"> Markov chain model</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=multi-layer%20perceptron" title=" multi-layer perceptron"> multi-layer perceptron</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=random%20forest" title=" random forest"> random forest</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sustainable%20land" title=" sustainable land"> sustainable land</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=remote%20sensing." title=" remote sensing."> remote sensing.</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/188578/application-of-multilayer-perceptron-and-markov-chain-analysis-based-hybrid-approach-for-predicting-and-monitoring-the-pattern-of-lulc-using-random-forest-classification-in-jhelum-district-punjab-pakistan" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/188578.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">33</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">48</span> Interpretable Deep Learning Models for Medical Condition Identification</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Dongping%20Fang">Dongping Fang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Lian%20Duan"> Lian Duan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Xiaojing%20Yuan"> Xiaojing Yuan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Mike%20Xu"> Mike Xu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Allyn%20Klunder"> Allyn Klunder</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Kevin%20Tan"> Kevin Tan</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Suiting%20Cao"> Suiting Cao</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yeqing%20Ji"> Yeqing Ji</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Accurate prediction of a medical condition with straight clinical evidence is a long-sought topic in the medical management and health insurance field. Although great progress has been made with machine learning algorithms, the medical community is still, to a certain degree, suspicious about the model's accuracy and interpretability. This paper presents an innovative hierarchical attention deep learning model to achieve good prediction and clear interpretability that can be easily understood by medical professionals. This deep learning model uses a hierarchical attention structure that matches naturally with the medical history data structure and reflects the member’s encounter (date of service) sequence. The model attention structure consists of 3 levels: (1) attention on the medical code types (diagnosis codes, procedure codes, lab test results, and prescription drugs), (2) attention on the sequential medical encounters within a type, (3) attention on the medical codes within an encounter and type. This model is applied to predict the occurrence of stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD3), using three years’ medical history of Medicare Advantage (MA) members from a top health insurance company. The model takes members’ medical events, both claims and electronic medical record (EMR) data, as input, makes a prediction of CKD3 and calculates the contribution from individual events to the predicted outcome. The model outcome can be easily explained with the clinical evidence identified by the model algorithm. Here are examples: Member A had 36 medical encounters in the past three years: multiple office visits, lab tests and medications. The model predicts member A has a high risk of CKD3 with the following well-contributed clinical events - multiple high ‘Creatinine in Serum or Plasma’ tests and multiple low kidneys functioning ‘Glomerular filtration rate’ tests. Among the abnormal lab tests, more recent results contributed more to the prediction. The model also indicates regular office visits, no abnormal findings of medical examinations, and taking proper medications decreased the CKD3 risk. Member B had 104 medical encounters in the past 3 years and was predicted to have a low risk of CKD3, because the model didn’t identify diagnoses, procedures, or medications related to kidney disease, and many lab test results, including ‘Glomerular filtration rate’ were within the normal range. The model accurately predicts members A and B and provides interpretable clinical evidence that is validated by clinicians. Without extra effort, the interpretation is generated directly from the model and presented together with the occurrence date. Our model uses the medical data in its most raw format without any further data aggregation, transformation, or mapping. This greatly simplifies the data preparation process, mitigates the chance for error and eliminates post-modeling work needed for traditional model explanation. To our knowledge, this is the first paper on an interpretable deep-learning model using a 3-level attention structure, sourcing both EMR and claim data, including all 4 types of medical data, on the entire Medicare population of a big insurance company, and more importantly, directly generating model interpretation to support user decision. In the future, we plan to enrich the model input by adding patients’ demographics and information from free-texted physician notes. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=deep%20learning" title="deep learning">deep learning</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=interpretability" title=" interpretability"> interpretability</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=attention" title=" attention"> attention</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=big%20data" title=" big data"> big data</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=medical%20conditions" title=" medical conditions"> medical conditions</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/159135/interpretable-deep-learning-models-for-medical-condition-identification" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/159135.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">91</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">47</span> Hindrances to Effective Delivery of Infrastructural Development Projects in Nigeria’s Built Environment</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Salisu%20Gidado%20Dalibi">Salisu Gidado Dalibi</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Sadiq%20Gumi%20Abubakar"> Sadiq Gumi Abubakar</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=JingChun%20Feng"> JingChun Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Nigeria’s population is about 190 million and is on the increase annually making it the seventh most populated nation in the world and first in Africa. This population growth comes with its prospects, needs, and challenges especially on the existing and future infrastructure. Infrastructure refers to structures, systems, and facilities serving the economy of a country, city, town, businesses, industries, etc. These include roads, railways lines, bridges, tunnels, ports, stadiums, dams and water projects, power generation plants and distribution grids, information, and communication technology (ICT), etc. The Nigerian government embarked on several infrastructural development projects (IDPs) to address the deficit as the present infrastructure cannot cater to the needs nor sustain the country. However, delivering such IDPs have not been smooth; comes with challenges from within and outside the project; frequent delays and abandonment. Thus, affecting all the stakeholders involved. Hence, the aim of this paper is to identify and assess the factors that are hindering the effective delivery of IDPs in Nigeria’s built environment with the view to offer more insight into such factors, and ways to address them. The methodology adopted in this study involves the use of secondary sources of data from several materials (official publications, journals, newspapers, internet, etc.) were reviewed within the IDPs field by laying more emphasis on Nigeria’s cases. The hindrance factors in this regard were identified which forms the backbone of the questionnaire. A pilot survey was used to test its suitability; after which it was randomly administered to various project professionals in Nigeria’s construction industry using a 5-point Likert scale format to ascertain the impact of these hindrances. Cronbach’s Alpha reliability test, mean item score computations, relative importance indices, T-test, Chi-Square statistics were used for data analyses. The results outline the impact of various internal, external and project related factors that are hindering IDPs within Nigeria’s built environment. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=built%20environment" title="built environment">built environment</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=development" title=" development"> development</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=factors" title=" factors"> factors</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=hindrances" title=" hindrances"> hindrances</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=infrastructure" title=" infrastructure"> infrastructure</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Nigeria" title=" Nigeria"> Nigeria</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=project" title=" project"> project</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/99167/hindrances-to-effective-delivery-of-infrastructural-development-projects-in-nigerias-built-environment" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/99167.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">177</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">46</span> A Significant Clinical Role for the Capitalbio™ DNA Microarray in the Diagnosis of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Patients with Tuberculous Spondylitis Simultaneous with Pulmonary Tuberculosis in High Prevalence Settings in China</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Wenjie%20Wu">Wenjie Wu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Peng%20Cheng"> Peng Cheng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Zehua%20Zhang"> Zehua Zhang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Fei%20Luo"> Fei Luo</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Feng%20Wu"> Feng Wu</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Min%20Zhong"> Min Zhong</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jianzhong%20Xu"> Jianzhong Xu</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Background: There has been limited research into the therapeutic efficacy of rapid diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis. We attempted to discover whether the utilization of a DNA microarray assay to detect multidrug-resistant spinal tuberculosis complicated with pulmonary tuberculosis can improve clinical outcomes. Methods: A prospective study was conducted from February 2006 to September 2015. One hundred and forty-three consecutive culture–confirmed, clinically and imaging diagnosed MDR-TB patients with spinal tuberculosis complicated by pulmonary tuberculosis were enrolled into the study. The initial time to treatment for MDR-TB, the method of infection control, radiological indicators of spinal tubercular infectious foci, culture conversion, and adverse drug reactions were compared with the standard culture methods. Results: Of the total of 143 MDR-TB patients, 68 (47.6%) were diagnosed by conventional culture methods and 75 (52.4%) following the implementation of detection using the DNA microarray. Patients in the microarray group began rational use of the second-line drugs schedule more speedily than sufferers in the culture group (17.3 vs. 74.1 days). Among patients were admitted to a general tuberculosis ward, those from the microarray group spent less time in the ward than those from the culture group (7.8 vs. 49.2 days). In those patients with six months follow-up (n=134), patients in the microarray group had a higher rate of sputum negativity conversion at six months (89% vs. 73%). In the microarray group, the rate of drug adverse reactions was significantly lower (22.2% vs. 67.7%). At the same time, they had a more obvious reduction of the area with spinal tuberculous lesions in radiological examinations (77% vs. 108%). Conclusions: The application of the CapitalBio™ DNA Microarray assay caused noteworthy clinical advances including an earlier time to begin MDR-TB treatment, increased sputum culture conversion, improved infection control measures and better radiographical results <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=tuberculosis" title="tuberculosis">tuberculosis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=multidrug-resistant" title=" multidrug-resistant"> multidrug-resistant</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=tuberculous%20spondylitis" title=" tuberculous spondylitis"> tuberculous spondylitis</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=DNA%20microarray" title=" DNA microarray"> DNA microarray</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=clinical%20outcomes" title=" clinical outcomes"> clinical outcomes</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/63965/a-significant-clinical-role-for-the-capitalbio-dna-microarray-in-the-diagnosis-of-multidrug-resistant-tuberculosis-in-patients-with-tuberculous-spondylitis-simultaneous-with-pulmonary-tuberculosis-in-high-prevalence-settings-in-china" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/63965.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">288</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">45</span> Synthesis and Characterization of Sulfonated Aromatic Hydrocarbon Polymers Containing Trifluoromethylphenyl Side Chain for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yi-Chiang%20Huang">Yi-Chiang Huang</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hsu-Feng%20Lee"> Hsu-Feng Lee</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Yu-Chao%20Tseng"> Yu-Chao Tseng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Wen-Yao%20Huang"> Wen-Yao Huang</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Proton exchange membranes as a key component in fuel cells have been widely studying over the past few decades. As proton exchange, membranes should have some main characteristics, such as good mechanical properties, low oxidative stability and high proton conductivity. In this work, trifluoromethyl groups had been introduced on polymer backbone and phenyl side chain which can provide densely located sulfonic acid group substitution and also promotes solubility, thermal and oxidative stability. Herein, a series of novel sulfonated aromatic hydrocarbon polyelectrolytes was synthesized by polycondensation of 4,4''''-difluoro-3,3''''- bis(trifluoromethyl)-2'',3''-bis(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-1,1':4',1'':4'',1''':4''',1''''-quinquephenyl with 2'',3''',5'',6''-tetraphenyl-[1,1':4',1'': 4'',1''':4''',1''''-quinquephenyl]-4,4''''-diol and post-sulfonated was through chlorosulfonic acid to given sulfonated polymers (SFC3-X) possessing ion exchange capacities ranging from 1.93, 1.91 and 2.53 mmol/g. ¹H NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy were applied to confirm the structure and composition of sulfonated polymers. The membranes exhibited considerably dimension stability (10-27.8% in length change; 24-56.5% in thickness change) and excellent oxidative stability (weight remain higher than 97%). The mechanical properties of membranes demonstrated good tensile strength on account of the high rigidity multi-phenylated backbone. Young's modulus were ranged 0.65-0.77GPa which is much larger than that of Nafion 211 (0.10GPa). Proton conductivities of membranes ranged from 130 to 240 mS/cm at 80 °C under fully humidified which were comparable or higher than that of Nafion 211 (150 mS/cm). The morphology of membranes was investigated by transmission electron microscopy which demonstrated a clear hydrophilic/hydrophobic phase separation with spherical ionic clusters in the size range of 5-20 nm. The SFC3-1.97 single fuel cell performance demonstrates the maximum power density at 1.08W/cm², and Nafion 211 was 1.24W/cm² as a reference in this work. The result indicated that SFC3-X are good candidates for proton exchange membranes in fuel cell applications. Fuel cell of other membranes is under testing. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=fuel%20cells" title="fuel cells">fuel cells</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=polyelectrolyte" title=" polyelectrolyte"> polyelectrolyte</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=proton%20exchange%20membrane" title=" proton exchange membrane"> proton exchange membrane</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=sulfonated%20polymers" title=" sulfonated polymers"> sulfonated polymers</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/49002/synthesis-and-characterization-of-sulfonated-aromatic-hydrocarbon-polymers-containing-trifluoromethylphenyl-side-chain-for-proton-exchange-membrane-fuel-cell" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/49002.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">453</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">44</span> Ultrasound-Mediated Separation of Ethanol, Methanol, and Butanol from Their Aqueous Solutions </h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ozan%20Kahraman">Ozan Kahraman</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hao%20Feng"> Hao Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Ultrasonic atomization (UA) is a useful technique for producing a liquid spray for various processes, such as spray drying. Ultrasound generates small droplets (a few microns in diameter) by disintegration of the liquid via cavitation and/or capillary waves, with low range velocity and narrow droplet size distribution. In recent years, UA has been investigated as an alternative for enabling or enhancing ultrasound-mediated unit operations, such as evaporation, separation, and purification. The previous studies on the UA separation of a solvent from a bulk solution were limited to ethanol-water systems. More investigations into ultrasound-mediated separation for other liquid systems are needed to elucidate the separation mechanism. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of the operational parameters on the ultrasound-mediated separation of three miscible liquid pairs: ethanol-, methanol-, and butanol-water. A 2.4 MHz ultrasonic mister with a diameter of 18 mm and rating power of 24 W was installed on the bottom of a custom-designed cylindrical separation unit. Air was supplied to the unit (3 to 4 L/min.) as a carrier gas to collect the mist. The effects of the initial alcohol concentration, viscosity, and temperature (10, 30 and 50°C) on the atomization rates were evaluated. The alcohol concentration in the collected mist was measured with high performance liquid chromatography and a refractometer. The viscosity of the solutions was determined using a Brookfield digital viscometer. The alcohol concentration of the atomized mist was dependent on the feed concentration, feed rate, viscosity, and temperature. Increasing the temperature of the alcohol-water mixtures from 10 to 50°C increased the vapor pressure of both the alcohols and water, resulting in an increase in the atomization rates but a decrease in the separation efficiency. The alcohol concentration in the mist was higher than that of the alcohol-water equilibrium at all three temperatures. More importantly, for ethanol, the ethanol concentration in the mist went beyond the azeotropic point, which cannot be achieved by conventional distillation. Ultrasound-mediated separation is a promising non-equilibrium method for separating and purifying alcohols, which may result in significant energy reductions and process intensification. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=azeotropic%20mixtures" title="azeotropic mixtures">azeotropic mixtures</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=distillation" title=" distillation"> distillation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=evaporation" title=" evaporation"> evaporation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=purification" title=" purification"> purification</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=seperation" title=" seperation"> seperation</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=ultrasonic%20atomization" title=" ultrasonic atomization"> ultrasonic atomization</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/86780/ultrasound-mediated-separation-of-ethanol-methanol-and-butanol-from-their-aqueous-solutions" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/86780.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">180</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">43</span> A Closed Loop Audit of Pre-operative Transfusion Samples in Orthopaedic Patients at a Major Trauma Centre</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Tony%20Feng">Tony Feng</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Rea%20Thomson"> Rea Thomson</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Kathryn%20Greenslade"> Kathryn Greenslade</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Ross%20Medine"> Ross Medine</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Jennifer%20Easterbrook"> Jennifer Easterbrook</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Calum%20Arthur"> Calum Arthur</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Matilda%20Powell-bowns"> Matilda Powell-bowns</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> There are clear guidelines on taking group and screen samples (G&S) for elective arthroplasty and major trauma. However, there is limited guidance on blood grouping for other trauma patients. The purpose of this study was to review the level of blood grouping at a major trauma centre and validate a protocol that limits the expensive processing of G&S samples. After reviewing the national guidance on transfusion samples in orthopaedic patients, data was prospectively collected for all orthopaedic admissions in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh between January to February 2023. The cause of admission, number of G&S samples processed on arrival and need for red cells was collected using the hospital blood bank. A new protocol was devised based on a multidisciplinary meeting which limited the requirement for G&S samples only to presentations in “category X”, including neck-of-femur fractures (NOFs), pelvic fractures and major trauma. A re-audit was completed between April and May after departmental education and institution of this protocol. 759 patients were admitted under orthopaedics in the major trauma centre across two separate months. 47% of patients were admitted with presentations falling in category X (354/759) and patients in this category accounted for 88% (92/104) of those requiring post-operative red cell transfusions. Of these, 51% were attributed to NOFs (47/92). In the initial audit, 50% of trauma patients outwith category X had samples sent (116/230), estimated to cost £3800. Of these 230 patients, 3% required post-operative transfusions (7/230). In the re-audit, 23% of patients outwith category X had samples sent (40/173), estimated to cost £1400, of which 3% (5/173) required transfusions. None of the transfusions in these patients in either audit were related to their operation and the protocol achieved an estimated cost saving of £2400 over one month. This study highlights the importance of sending samples for patients with certain categories of orthopaedic trauma (category X) due to the high demand for post-operative transfusions. However, the absence of transfusion requirements in other presentations suggests over-testing. While implementation of the new protocol has markedly reduced over-testing, additional interventions are required to reduce this further. <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=blood%20transfusion" title="blood transfusion">blood transfusion</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=quality%20improvement" title=" quality improvement"> quality improvement</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=orthopaedics" title=" orthopaedics"> orthopaedics</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=trauma" title=" trauma"> trauma</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/168569/a-closed-loop-audit-of-pre-operative-transfusion-samples-in-orthopaedic-patients-at-a-major-trauma-centre" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/168569.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">76</span> </span> </div> </div> <div class="card paper-listing mb-3 mt-3"> <h5 class="card-header" style="font-size:.9rem"><span class="badge badge-info">42</span> Physicochemical Properties of Pea Protein Isolate (PPI)-Starch and Soy Protein Isolate (SPI)-Starch Nanocomplexes Treated by Ultrasound at Different pH Values</h5> <div class="card-body"> <p class="card-text"><strong>Authors:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Gulcin%20Yildiz">Gulcin Yildiz</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Hao%20%20Feng"> Hao Feng</a> </p> <p class="card-text"><strong>Abstract:</strong></p> Soybean proteins are the most widely used and researched proteins in the food industry. Due to soy allergies among consumers, however, alternative legume proteins having similar functional properties have been studied in recent years. These alternative proteins are also expected to have a price advantage over soy proteins. One such protein that has shown good potential for food applications is pea protein. Besides the favorable functional properties of pea protein, it also contains fewer anti-nutritional substances than soy protein. However, a comparison of the physicochemical properties of pea protein isolate (PPI)-starch nanocomplexes and soy protein isolate (SPI)-starch nanocomplexes treated by ultrasound has not been well documented. This study was undertaken to investigate the effects of ultrasound treatment on the physicochemical properties of PPI-starch and SPI-starch nanocomplexes. Pea protein isolate (85% pea protein) provided by Roquette (Geneva, IL, USA) and soy protein isolate (SPI, Pro-Fam® 955) obtained from the Archer Daniels Midland Company were adjusted to different pH levels (2-12) and treated with 5 minutes of ultrasonication (100% amplitude) to form complexes with starch. The soluble protein content was determined by the Bradford method using BSA as the standard. The turbidity of the samples was measured using a spectrophotometer (Lambda 1050 UV/VIS/NIR Spectrometer, PerkinElmer, Waltham, MA, USA). The volume-weighted mean diameters (D4, 3) of the soluble proteins were determined by dynamic light scattering (DLS). The emulsifying properties of the proteins were evaluated by the emulsion stability index (ESI) and emulsion activity index (EAI). Both the soy and pea protein isolates showed a U-shaped solubility curve as a function of pH, with a high solubility above the isoelectric point and a low one below it. Increasing the pH from 2 to 12 resulted in increased solubility for both the SPI and PPI-starch complexes. The pea nanocomplexes showed greater solubility than the soy ones. The SPI-starch nanocomplexes showed better emulsifying properties determined by the emulsion stability index (ESI) and emulsion activity index (EAI) due to SPI’s high solubility and high protein content. The PPI had similar or better emulsifying properties at certain pH values than the SPI. The ultrasound treatment significantly decreased the particle sizes of both kinds of nanocomplex. For all pH levels with both proteins, the droplet sizes were found to be lower than 300 nm. The present study clearly demonstrated that applying ultrasonication under different pH conditions significantly improved the solubility and emulsify¬ing properties of the SPI and PPI. The PPI exhibited better solubility and emulsifying properties than the SPI at certain pH levels <p class="card-text"><strong>Keywords:</strong> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=emulsifying%20properties" title="emulsifying properties">emulsifying properties</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=pea%20protein%20isolate" title=" pea protein isolate"> pea protein isolate</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=soy%20protein%20isolate" title=" soy protein isolate"> soy protein isolate</a>, <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=ultrasonication" title=" ultrasonication"> ultrasonication</a> </p> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/53195/physicochemical-properties-of-pea-protein-isolate-ppi-starch-and-soy-protein-isolate-spi-starch-nanocomplexes-treated-by-ultrasound-at-different-ph-values" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">Procedia</a> <a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/53195.pdf" target="_blank" class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">PDF</a> <span class="bg-info text-light px-1 py-1 float-right rounded"> Downloads <span class="badge badge-light">319</span> </span> </div> </div> <ul class="pagination"> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=10" rel="prev">&lsaquo;</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=1">1</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=2">2</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=3">3</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=4">4</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=5">5</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=6">6</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=7">7</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=8">8</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=9">9</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=10">10</a></li> <li class="page-item active"><span class="page-link">11</span></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=12">12</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=13">13</a></li> <li class="page-item"><a class="page-link" href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts/search?q=Chong%20Feng%20Duan&page=12" rel="next">&rsaquo;</a></li> </ul> </div> </main> <footer> <div id="infolinks" class="pt-3 pb-2"> <div class="container"> <div style="background-color:#f5f5f5;" class="p-3"> <div class="row"> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> About <li><a href="https://waset.org/page/support">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/page/support#legal-information">Legal</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/WASET-16th-foundational-anniversary.pdf">WASET celebrates its 16th foundational anniversary</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Account <li><a href="https://waset.org/profile">My Account</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Explore <li><a href="https://waset.org/disciplines">Disciplines</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/conferences">Conferences</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/conference-programs">Conference Program</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/committees">Committees</a></li> <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org">Publications</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Research <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org/abstracts">Abstracts</a></li> <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org">Periodicals</a></li> <li><a href="https://publications.waset.org/archive">Archive</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Open Science <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Open-Science-Philosophy.pdf">Open Science Philosophy</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Open-Science-Award.pdf">Open Science Award</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Open-Society-Open-Science-and-Open-Innovation.pdf">Open Innovation</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Postdoctoral-Fellowship-Award.pdf">Postdoctoral Fellowship Award</a></li> <li><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://publications.waset.org/static/files/Scholarly-Research-Review.pdf">Scholarly Research Review</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="col-md-2"> <ul class="list-unstyled"> Support <li><a href="https://waset.org/page/support">Support</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/profile/messages/create">Contact Us</a></li> <li><a href="https://waset.org/profile/messages/create">Report Abuse</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="container text-center"> <hr style="margin-top:0;margin-bottom:.3rem;"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/" target="_blank" class="text-muted small">Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License</a> <div id="copy" class="mt-2">© 2024 World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology</div> </div> </footer> <a href="javascript:" id="return-to-top"><i class="fas fa-arrow-up"></i></a> <div class="modal" id="modal-template"> <div class="modal-dialog"> <div class="modal-content"> <div class="row m-0 mt-1"> <div class="col-md-12"> <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal" aria-label="Close"><span aria-hidden="true">×</span></button> </div> </div> <div class="modal-body"></div> </div> </div> </div> <script src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/jquery-3.3.1.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/plugins/bootstrap-4.2.1/js/bootstrap.bundle.min.js"></script> <script src="https://cdn.waset.org/static/js/site.js?v=150220211556"></script> <script> jQuery(document).ready(function() { /*jQuery.get("https://publications.waset.org/xhr/user-menu", function (response) { jQuery('#mainNavMenu').append(response); });*/ jQuery.get({ url: "https://publications.waset.org/xhr/user-menu", cache: false }).then(function(response){ jQuery('#mainNavMenu').append(response); }); }); </script> </body> </html>