SaferCross: Enhancing Pedestrian Safety Using Embedded Sensors of Smartphone

The number of pedestrian accidents continues to keep climbing. Distraction from smartphone is one of the biggest causes for pedestrian fatalities. In this paper, we develop SaferCross, a mobile system based on the embedded sensors of smartphone to improve pedestrian safety by preventing distraction from smartphone. SaferCross adopts a holistic approach by identifying and developing essential system components that are missing in existing systems and integrating the system components into a "fully-functioning" mobile system for pedestrian safety. Specifically, we create algorithms for improving the accuracy and energy efficiency of pedestrian positioning, effectiveness of phone activity detection, and real-time risk assessment. We demonstrate that SaferCross, through systematic integration of the developed algorithms, performs situation awareness effectively and provides a timely warning to the pedestrian based on the information obtained from smartphone sensors and Direct Wi-Fi-based peer-to-peer communication with approaching cars. Extensive experiments are conducted in a department parking lot for both component-level and integrated testing. The results demonstrate that the energy efficiency and positioning accuracy of SaferCross are improved by 52% and 72% on average compared with existing solutions with missing support for positioning accuracy and energy efficiency, and the phone-viewing event detection accuracy is over 90%. The integrated test results show that SaferCross alerts the pedestrian timely with an average error of 1.6sec in comparison with the ground truth data, which can be easily compensated by configuring the system to fire an alert message a couple of seconds early.Comment: Published in IEEE Access, 202

New Frontiers of Laser Welding Technology

With the advances in power sources and optic technologies, high-power laser welding has been utilized in many applications such as automotive, battery manufacturing, and electronic industries. The low-heat input of laser power and its precise control enables minimal thermal damage and geometric inaccuracy in the weldment. Recently, laser welding has evolved in combination with machine learning, monitoring and control technology, new materials, and new processes. This Special Issue aims to present the recent advances in the development in innovative laser welding technologies based on new laser power sources, laser optics, systems, and monitoring technologies. A total of six papers are presented in this Special Issue

Role of Binder on Yield Strength of polycaprolactone/dimethylsulfone composites for bio-applications

Polycaprolactone (PCL) and dimethylsulfone (DMSO2) composites can tailor the properties of scaffold materials, allowing their use in bone tissue engineering. With an increase in DMSO2 content, the modulus of the material increases but not the yield strength. In order to increase yield strength, a binder was added. However, the optimization of the content and the mixing process of the binder were not optimized in the previous studies. In this study, gamma-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (A-174) was used as a binder to increase the strength of a composite. Four different mixing processes were employed based on the binder mixing sequence. The binders with content of 0, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7, and 1.5 phr were employed. The yield strengths of composites were investigated in terms of the binder mixing sequence and binder content. When the binder and DMSO2 particle fillers were premixed in the PCL matrix consisting of a DMSO2 filler and an A-174 binder system, the filler surface was coated smoothly and uniformly, and less agglomeration occurred. The yield strength of the composites with the appropriate mixing sequence was 36.71 % higher than that of the specimen without a binder, which was attributed to the improved adhesion between the matrix and fillers. Upon increasing the binder content, elongation and tearing of the matrix surface were observed in the cross-sections after yield tests; however, the weakening of mechanical anchoring was caused by excessive binder content, and filler debonding was observed on the surface. Because of the use of the A-174 silane binder at a concentration of 0.5 phr and the premixing of the binder and filler, the highest performance in terms of strength improvement of a PCL-20 wt % DMSO2 composite was achieved

Soybeans Ameliolate Diabetic Nephropathy in Rats

Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most frequent and serious complications of diabetes mellitus. Soybeans have been shown to reduce urinary albumin excretion and total cholesterol in non-diabetic patients with nephrotic syndrome. However, reports focusing specifically on diabetic nephropathy are scarce and the available results are inconsistent. It was reported that soybean consumption reduced urinary protein excretion in type 1 diabetic patients with diabetic nephropathy, whereas it was found to elicit an increase in urinary protein excretion when soybeans were consumed by type 2 diabetic patients. This study aims to investigate the effects of soybean in diabetic nephropathy, particularly the effects of consuming soybeans on the histopathology of diabetic nephropathy, using aquaporin (AQP) and osteopontin (OPN) expression as diagnostic markers. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to one of three groups: control, diabetic with red chow diet and diabetic with soybean diet. For histological examination, the expression of OPN and AQP, renal function and hemoglobin A1c were evaluated at the end of the study. Improvements in glomerular and tubulointerstitial lesions were demonstrated in the diabetic rat group given a soybean diet. OPN and AQP expression were suppressed in the kidney specimens of diabetic rats with the soybean diet. In conclusion, soybeans may prevent the weight loss and morphological disruption of the kidney associated with diabetes mellitus. Soybeans also may improve glycemic control. It seems likely that long-term control of blood glucose levels using a soybean diet could prevent the progression of diabetes mellitus, and therefore, nephropathy could be prevented

Development of Prediction Method for Dimensional Stability of 3D-Printed Objects

Fused deposition modeling (FDM), as one of the additive manufacturing processes, is known for strong layer adhesion suitable for prototypes and end-use items. This study used a multiple regression model and statistical analysis to explore the dimensional accuracy of FDM objects. Factors such as inclination angle, layer thickness, support space, and raster angle were examined. Machine learning models (Gaussian process regression (GPR), support vector machines (SVM), and artificial neural network (ANN)) predicted dimensions using 81 datapoints. The mean squared dimensional error (MSDE) between the measured and designed surface profiles was selected as an output for the dimensional accuracy. Support spacing, layer thickness, and raster angle were determined to be statistically significant, and all factors were confirmed as significant predictors. The coefficients of determination for multiple linear regression, GPR, SVM, and ANN models were 76%, 98%, 93%, and 99%, respectively. The mean absolute errors (MAEs)—errors between the measured and the predicted MSDEs—were 0.020 mm and 0.034 mm, respectively, for GPR and SVM models. The MAEs for ANN models were 0.0055 mm for supporting cases and 2.1468 x 10 -5 mm for non-supporting cases

Regulation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase by agmatine after transient global cerebral ischemia in rat brain

Nitric oxide (NO) production by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) plays a protective role in cerebral ischemia by maintaining vascular permeability, whereas NO derived from neuronal and inducible NOS is neurotoxic and can participate in neuronal damage occurring in ischemia. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are up-regulated by ischemic injury and degrade the basement membrane if brain vessels to promote cell death and tissue injury. We previously reported that agmatine, synthesized from L-arginine by arginine decarboxylase (ADC) which is expressed in endothelial cells, has shown a direct increased eNOS expression and decreased MMPs expression in bEnd3 cells. But, there are few reports about the regulation of eNOS by agmatine in ischemic animal model. In the present study, we examined the expression of eNOS and MMPs by agmatine treatment after transient global ischemia in vivo. Global ischemia was induced with four vessel occlusion (4-VO) and agmatine (100 mg/kg) was administered intraperitoneally at the onset of reperfusion. The animals were euthanized at 6 and 24 hours after global ischemia and prepared for other analysis. Global ischemia led severe neuronal damage in the rat hippocampus and cerebral cortex, but agmatine treatment protected neurons from ischemic injury. Moreover, the level and expression of eNOS was increased by agmatine treatment, whereas inducible NOS (iNOS) and MMP-9 protein expressions were decreased in the brain. These results suggest that agmatine protects microvessels in the brain by activation eNOS as well as reduces extracellular matrix degradation during the early phase of ischemic insult

PCL and DMSO2 Composites for Bio-Scaffold Materials

Polycaprolactone (PCL) has been one of the most popular biomaterials in tissue engineering due to its relatively low melting temperature, excellent thermal stability, and cost-effectiveness. However, its low cell attraction, low elastic modulus, and long-term degradation time have limited its application in a wide range of scaffold studies. Dimethyl sulfone (DMSO2) is a stable and non-hazardous organosulfur compound with low viscosity and high surface tension. PCL and DMSO2 composites may overcome the limitations of PCL as a biomaterial and tailor the properties of biocomposites. In this study, PCL and DMSO2 composites were investigated as a new bio-scaffold material to increase hydrophilicity and mechanical properties and tailor degradation properties in vitro. PCL and DMSO2 were physically mixed with 10, 20, and 30 wt% of DMSO2 to evaluate thermal, hydrophilicity, mechanical, and degradation properties of the composites. The water contact angle of the composites for hydrophilicity decreased by 15.5% compared to pure PCL. The experimental results showed that the mechanical and degradation properties of PCL and DMSO2 were better than those of pure PCL, and the properties can be tuned by regulating DMSO2 concentration in the PCL matrix. The elastic modulus of the composite with 30 wt% of DMSO2 showed 532 MPa, and its degradation time was 18 times faster than that of PCL

Continuous productivity improvement using ioe data for fault monitoring: An automotive parts production line case study

This paper presents a case study of continuous productivity improvement of an automotive parts production line using Internet of Everything (IoE) data for fault monitoring. Continuous productivity improvement denotes an iterative process of analyzing and updating the production line configuration for productivity improvement based on measured data. Analysis for continuous improvement of a production system requires a set of data (machine uptime, downtime, cycle-time) that are not typically monitored by a conventional fault monitoring system. Although productivity improvement is a critical aspect for a manufacturing site, not many production systems are equipped with a dedicated data recording system towards continuous improvement. In this paper, we study the problem of how to derive the dataset required for continuous improvement from the measurement by a conventional fault monitoring system. In particular, we provide a case study of an automotive parts production line. Based on the data measured by the existing fault monitoring system, we model the production system and derive the dataset required for continuous improvement. Our approach provides the expected amount of improvement to operation managers in a numerical manner to help them make a decision on whether they should modify the line configuration or not. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.1

A Preliminary Report of Crosslinguistic Evidence on Efficacy of Semantic-Complexity Based Naming Treatment in Korean Aphasics

The current study investigated the efficacy of semantic-complexity based naming treatment in Korean participants with aphasia. Results suggested that both participants showed small to medium effect sizes in the trained items. However, generalization effects were greater in the participant who received treatment on the atypical items first, than the participant who was initiated on the typical items. These results are consistent with the previous findings in English-speaking aphasic participants (Kiran & Thompson, 2003; Kiran, 2008). Preliminary findings of two Korean participants with aphasia added crosslinguistic evidence on efficacy of the semantic complexity based naming treatment