Context-Aware Recursive Bayesian Graph Traversal in BCIs

Noninvasive brain computer interfaces (BCI), and more specifically Electroencephalography (EEG) based systems for intent detection need to compensate for the low signal to noise ratio of EEG signals. In many applications, the temporal dependency information from consecutive decisions and contextual data can be used to provide a prior probability for the upcoming decision. In this study we proposed two probabilistic graphical models (PGMs), using context information and previously observed EEG evidences to estimate a probability distribution over the decision space in graph based decision-making mechanism. In this approach, user moves a pointer to the desired vertex in the graph in which each vertex represents an action. To select a vertex, a Select command, or a proposed probabilistic Selection criterion (PSC) can be used to automatically detect the user intended vertex. Performance of different PGMs and Selection criteria combinations are compared over a keyboard based on a graph layout. Based on the simulation results, probabilistic Selection criterion along with the probabilistic graphical model provides the highest performance boost for individuals with pour calibration performance and achieving the same performance for individuals with high calibration performance.Comment: This work has been submitted to EMBC 201

Decoding Complex Imagery Hand Gestures

Brain computer interfaces (BCIs) offer individuals suffering from major disabilities an alternative method to interact with their environment. Sensorimotor rhythm (SMRs) based BCIs can successfully perform control tasks; however, the traditional SMR paradigms intuitively disconnect the control and real task, making them non-ideal for complex control scenarios. In this study, we design a new, intuitively connected motor imagery (MI) paradigm using hierarchical common spatial patterns (HCSP) and context information to effectively predict intended hand grasps from electroencephalogram (EEG) data. Experiments with 5 participants yielded an aggregate classification accuracy--intended grasp prediction probability--of 64.5\% for 8 different hand gestures, more than 5 times the chance level.Comment: This work has been submitted to EMBC 201

The XDEM Multi-physics and Multi-scale Simulation Technology: Review on DEM-CFD Coupling, Methodology and Engineering Applications

The XDEM multi-physics and multi-scale simulation platform roots in the Ex- tended Discrete Element Method (XDEM) and is being developed at the In- stitute of Computational Engineering at the University of Luxembourg. The platform is an advanced multi- physics simulation technology that combines flexibility and versatility to establish the next generation of multi-physics and multi-scale simulation tools. For this purpose the simulation framework relies on coupling various predictive tools based on both an Eulerian and Lagrangian approach. Eulerian approaches represent the wide field of continuum models while the Lagrange approach is perfectly suited to characterise discrete phases. Thus, continuum models include classical simulation tools such as Computa- tional Fluid Dynamics (CFD) or Finite Element Analysis (FEA) while an ex- tended configuration of the classical Discrete Element Method (DEM) addresses the discrete e.g. particulate phase. Apart from predicting the trajectories of individual particles, XDEM extends the application to estimating the thermo- dynamic state of each particle by advanced and optimised algorithms. The thermodynamic state may include temperature and species distributions due to chemical reaction and external heat sources. Hence, coupling these extended features with either CFD or FEA opens up a wide range of applications as diverse as pharmaceutical industry e.g. drug production, agriculture food and processing industry, mining, construction and agricultural machinery, metals manufacturing, energy production and systems biology

Effect of supplemented zinc on treatment period of acute diarrhea in 6 to 36 months old children

چکیده: زمینه و هدف: اسهال یک بیماری مهلک و کشنده در شیرخواران و کودکان است. علی رغم پیشرفت‌های بهداشتی و درمانی که در مورد تشخیص سریع و درمان این بیماری انجام شده است، هنوز به عنوان یک معضل بزرگ بهداشتی در بین شیرخواران و کودکان می‌باشد. بر طبق مطالعات مختلف، کمبود روی یکی از عوامل مهم اسهال در کودکان بوده و در کشور ما نیز شایع می باشد. لذا هدف از این مطالعه بررسی اثر روی در کودکان سنین بین 6 تا 36 ماه مبتلا به اسهال می باشد. روش بررسی: این مطالعه یک کارآزمایی بالینی است که به صورت دو سویه کور بر روی 200 کودک مبتلا به اسهال آبکی حاد غیر تهاجمی بستری در بیمارستان امیرکبیر اراک انجام شد. کودکان مذکور به صورت تصادفی ساده به دو گروه کنترل و مداخله تقسیم شدند. به افراد گروه مداخله مقدار mg/kg/day 3 روی و به گروه کنترل همین مقدار دارو داده شد. در نهایت تجزیه و تحلیل داده‌ها با استفاده از آزمون‌ t مستقل انجام گردید. یافته ها: میانگین سنی کودکان شرکت کننده در مطالعه 18/8±07/14 ماه بود. میانگین تعداد روزهای بستری در کودکان گروه مداخله 25/1±14/3 روز و در کودکان گروه کنترل 83/1±59/3 روز بود (05/0

ALKALINE PRETREATMENT OF SPRUCE AND BIRCH TO IMPROVE BIOETHANOL AND BIOGAS PRODUCTION

Alkaline pretreatment with NaOH under mild operating conditions was used to improve ethanol and biogas production from softwood spruce and hardwood birch. The pretreatments were carried out at different temperatures between minus 15 and 100ºC with 7.0% w/w NaOH solution for 2 h. The pretreated materials were then enzymatically hydrolyzed and subsequently fermented to ethanol or anaerobically digested to biogas. In general, the pretreatment was more successful for both ethanol and biogas production from the hardwood birch than the softwood spruce. The pretreatment resulted in significant reduction of hemicellulose and the crystallinity of cellulose, which might be responsible for improved enzymatic hydrolyses of birch from 6.9% to 82.3% and spruce from 14.1% to 35.7%. These results were obtained with pretreatment at 100°C for birch and 5°C for spruce. Subsequently, the best ethanol yield obtained was 0.08 g/g of the spruce while pretreated at 100°C, and 0.17 g/g of the birch treated at 100°C. On the other hand, digestion of untreated birch and spruce resulted in methane yields of 250 and 30 l/kg VS of the wood species, respectively. The pretreatment of the wood species at the best conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis resulted in 83% and 74% improvement in methane production from birch and spruce

Numerical study of wave run-up on a fixed surfacepiercing cylinder in non-breaking waves

In wave-structure interaction, wave run-up is an important phenomenon that needs to be considered in the design of offshore structures. A thorough understanding of the physics of the nonlinear flow phenomena is necessary for the better insight into the runup phenomenon. The present work, primarily, is focused on the hydrodynamic simulation of wave run-up and mainly seeks to evaluate the importance of highfrequency wave scattering types identified by Swan-et al. [2005] and lateral progressive edge waves on nonlinear wave amplification around a single fixed cylinder. The physics of the problem involves the interaction of single surface piercing cylinder with surface gravity incident waves which are propagating over a flat bed in an unbounded domain in deep water. The analysis is performed numerically using CFD based Navier-Stokes equations and Potential-flow theory. The numerical results are compared with experimental data provided by ITTC (OEC),[2013]. Taking into account the numerical simulation of the physical mechanism of wave scattering around the cylinder, the first part of the thesis deals with the investigation of the importance of the aforementioned high-frequency wave scattering and also lateral edge waves on nonlinear wave field and also inline wave force over a range of wave steepnesses and wavelengths. Then the Influence of potential flow, viscous and turbulence effects on wave run-up is explored. Afterward, in the second part of the thesis, the effects of the change in cylinder submerged geometry and finally, change in cross-section on the wave field around the cylinder is studied.Na interação onda-estrutura, o wave run-up é um fenômeno importante a ser considerado no projeto de estruturas offshore. Uma maior compreensão da física desse fenômeno não-linear é necessária. O presente estudo está, principalmente, focado na simulação hidrodinâmica da onda e procura avaliar a importância dos tipos de espalhamento das ondas identificados por Swan-et al. [2005], nas ondas de borda progressivas laterais e na amplificação das elevações das ondas em torno de um único cilindro circular fixo. A física do problema inclui a interação do cilindro que atravessa a superfície livre com ondas gravitacionais de superfície incidentes que estão se propagando sobre um fundo plano em um domínio ilimitado. A análise é realizada numericamente usando CFD para resolver a equação de Navier-Stokes e na teoria de escoamento potencial. Os resultados numéricos são comparados com os dados experimentais apresentados em ITTC (OEC), [2013]. Inicialmente, investiga-se a importância do espalhamento da onda incidente na forma de ondas de alta frequência e ondas de borda laterais não lineares. É explorada a influência da amplitude e do comprimento da onda incidente no espalhamento da onda e nas forças geradas sobre o cilindro. Em seguida, investiga-se a Influência dos efeitos das ondas no wave run-up assumindo que o escoamento é potencial, a influência dos efeitos viscosos e influência dos efeitos da turbulência. Posteriormente, na segunda parte da tese, estudam-se os efeitos das mudanças na geometria submersa e na seção transversal do cilindro no campo de onda em seu entorno

Urdu version of the neck disability index: a reliability and validity study

Abstract Background Despite the wide use of the neck disability index (NDI) for assessing disability in patients with neck pain, the NDI has not yet been translated and validated in Urdu. The first purpose of the present study was to translate and cross-culturally adapt the NDI into the Urdu language (NDI-U). The second purpose was to investigate the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the NDI-U in Urdu-speaking patients experiencing chronic mechanical neck pain (CMNP). Methods Translation and cross-cultural adaptation of the original version of the NDI were carried out using previously described procedures. Seventy-six patients with CMNP and thirty healthy participants were recruited for the study. NDI-U and visual analogue scales for pain intensity (VASpain) and disability (VASdisability) were administered to all the participants at baseline and to the patients 3 weeks after receiving physiotherapy intervention. The global rating of change scale (GROC) was also administered at this time. Test-retest reliability and internal consistency were carried out on forty-six randomly selected patients two days after they completed the NDI-U. The NDI-U was evaluated for factor analysis, content validity, construct validity (discriminative and convergent validity) and responsiveness. Results An intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC2,1) revealed excellent test-retest reliability for all items (ICC2,1 = 0.86–0.98) and total scores (ICC2,1 = 0.99) of the NDI-U. The NDI-U was found internally consistent with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.90 and a fair to good correlation between single items and the NDI-U total scores (r = 0.34 to 0.89). Factor analysis of the NDI-U produced two factors explaining 66.71% of the variance. Content validity was good, as no floor or ceiling effects were detected for the NDI-U total score. To determine discriminative validity, an independent t-test revealed a significant difference in the NDI-U total scores between the patients and healthy controls (P < 0.001). For convergent validity, Pearson’s correlation coefficient showed a strong correlation between NDI-U and VASdisability (r = 0.83, P < 0.001) and a moderate correlation between NDI-U and VASpain (r = 0.62, P < 0.001). To measure responsiveness, an independent t-test showed a significant difference in the NDI-U change scores between the stable and the improved groups (P < 0.001). Furthermore, moderate correlations were found between the NDI-U change scores and the GROC (r = 0.50, P < 0.001), VASdisability change scores (r = 0.58, P < 0.001) and VASpain change scores (r = 0.55, P < 0.001). Conclusion The results showed that the NDI-U is a reliable, valid and responsive questionnaire to measure disability in Urdu-speaking patients with CMNP

A study on anti-diabetic and anti-hypertension herbs used in Lorestan province, Iran

Introduction: Diabetes and hypertension are amongst the most prevalent diseases in the world, while they can be controlled and prevented, create many problems and complications for affected patients. This study was aimed to identify and report the most important and effective herbs for diabetes and high blood pressure treatment in Lorestan province (West of Iran). Methods: By gathering and integrating indigenous data from local inhabitants of Lorestan, Iran, the goal of this study was accomplished. Data were gathered by cooperation of the agents of public health services network all over the towns of Dorud, Boroujerd, Khorramabad, Aleshtar, Poledokhtar, Aligoodarz, Nurabad and Kouhdasht. Results: Results of this study showed that there were overall 17 medicinal plants which were used for treatment and controlling of diabetes and high blood pressure. Conclusion: Medicinal plants reported in this study are indigenous to the Lorestan province. Some of the foresaid herbs seem to have some unknown therapeutic effects which are reported in this study for the first time, and some others have various known therapeutic effects mentioned in other similar studies. It is essential for researchers to find out the actuality of clinical effectiveness of the herbs and their active substances. Once the positive effects of these herbs proved, it would be possible to produce drugs which are useful in curing and controlling diabetes and hypertension.</p

A Cognitively-oriented Encapsulation of Strategies Utilized for Lexical Development: In search of a flexible and highly interactive curriculum

The purpose of this paper is to inquire in depth into vocabulary learning/ acquisition strategies and techniques as related to second/foreign language. In doing so, the study is intended to focus particularly on the variables connected to lexical knowledge and accordingly set up a fairly comprehensive framework which includes and accounts for the most important strategies and pertinent factors within the vocabulary acquisition context. The study presents four salient variables; three from Flavell’s cognitive model (1992), and the variable of context is introduced to give meticulous importance to review. The organic notion underlying this investigation is that the most effectual and successful lexical development will occur in multipurpose and highly interactive curriculums that attain a pedagogically well-reasoned equilibrium between explicit and implicit activities for L2 learners at all levels of their progress.El objetivo de este trabajo es comprobar en profundidad las estrategias y técnicas de adquisición/aprendizaje de vocabulario relacionadas con una lengua extranjera. El trabajo se centra en las variables que tiene que ver con el conocimiento léxico y consecuentemente establecer un marco comprensivo que tenga en cuenta las estrategias más importantes y los factores más pertinentes dentro del contexto de adquisición de vocabulario. El estudio presenta cuatro variables, tres del modelo cognitivo de Flavell (1992) y una cuarta, el contexto se añade para dar más importancia a la revisión. La noción que subyace a esta investigación es que los desarrollos léxicos con mayor éxito se darán en curriculums que ofrezcan múltiples objetivos y que sean muy interactivos para obtener un equilibrio pedagógico equilibrado y bien razonado entre actividades explícitas e implícitas para estudiantes de una segunda lengua en todos niveles de su progreso