How Electronics Knowledge Relates to Industrial Design Education

This study has two purposes: To clarify how industrial design relates to electronics knowledge and to determine whether industrial design education is sufficient for teaching it. As digital product design is frequently focused on the design of virtual interfaces until recently, less attention was paid to the design of physical interactions and electronic interfaces. There is increasing interest in electronics education in industrial design, yet electronics is still a bottleneck for many industrial designers. What electronics knowledge industrial designers should have and whether they know it is debatable. Therefore, the study presents a literature review and thematically analyzed interviews to determine its scope. Then, a survey is planned based on the concepts which interviewees remark on. The survey aims to determine whether senior-grade and fresh-graduate industrial designers use correct reasoning in design cases based on electronics. Findings remark that two-thirds of the participants failed in the critical electronics domains and their reasoning scores are distributed equally depending on whether they took electronics courses. Therefore, it is discussed that there is a need for developing a common understanding of the role of electronics in design education. And it is recommended that the approach may focus more on a hands-on terminology education

Deep levels in a-plane, high Mg-content MgxZn1-xO epitaxial layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Deep level defects in n-type unintentionally doped a-plane MgxZn1−xO, grown by molecular beam epitaxy on r-plane sapphire were fully characterized using deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS) and related methods. Four compositions of MgxZn1−xO were examined with x = 0.31, 0.44, 0.52, and 0.56 together with a control ZnO sample. DLOS measurements revealed the presence of five deep levels in each Mg-containing sample, having energy levels of Ec − 1.4 eV, 2.1 eV, 2.6 V, and Ev + 0.3 eV and 0.6 eV. For all Mg compositions, the activation energies of the first three states were constant with respect to the conduction band edge, whereas the latter two revealed constant activation energies with respect to the valence band edge. In contrast to the ternary materials, only three levels, at Ec − 2.1 eV, Ev + 0.3 eV, and 0.6 eV, were observed for the ZnO control sample in this systematically grown series of samples. Substantially higher concentrations of the deep levels at Ev + 0.3 eV and Ec − 2.1 eV were observed in ZnO compared to the Mg alloyed samples. Moreover, there is a general invariance of trap concentration of the Ev + 0.3 eV and 0.6 eV levels on Mg content, while at least and order of magnitude dependency of the Ec − 1.4 eV and Ec − 2.6 eV levels in Mg alloyed samples

Scaling forecasting algorithms using clustered modeling

Research on forecasting has traditionally focused on building more accurate statistical models for a given time series. The models are mostly applied to limited data due to efficiency and scalability problems. However, many enterprise applications require scalable forecasting on large number of data series. For example, telecommunication companies need to forecast each of their customers’ traffic load to understand their usage behavior and to tailor targeted campaigns. Forecasting models are typically applied on aggregate data to estimate the total traffic volume for revenue estimation and resource planning. However, they cannot be easily applied to each user individually as building accurate models for large number of users would be time consuming. The problem is exacerbated when the forecasting process is continuous and the models need to be updated periodically. This paper addresses the problem of building and updating forecasting models continuously for multiple data series. We propose dynamic clustered modeling for forecasting by utilizing representative models as an analogy to cluster centers. We apply the models to each individual series through iterative nonlinear optimization. We develop two approaches: The Integrated Clustered Modeling integrates clustering and modeling simultaneously, and the Sequential Clustered Modeling applies them sequentially. Our findings indicate that modeling an individual’s behavior using its segment can be more scalable and accurate than the individual model itself. The grouped models avoid overfits and capture common motifs even on noisy data. Experimental results from a telco CRM application show the method is efficient and scalable, and also more accurate than having separate individual models. © 2014, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

An Instructional Model for Social Design Education: A Design Project for Stray Animals Including Production-Based Learning Approach

Social design education has become a significant part of industrial design education, thus new methodologies are required and being developed. One of these societal problems is animal welfare and human interaction with stray animals that is not a common topic amongst previous studies. This study presents a toolkit for social design teaching, combining social design thinking and product development processes to generate and realise design solutions for stray animals with a production-based learning approach. The toolkit consisting of nine phases under two processes was implemented into the second-year ‘Product Design II’ 7-week studio project at Gazi University. A total of 35 sophomores taking the course offered during the second semester of the 2017/2018 academic year, participated in housing and feeding stations for a stray animals’ design project. To analyse the appropriateness of the toolkit, the submissions and process of the project were observed and evaluated by instructors and post-project questionnaires were employed to both instructors and students. The results revealed that this toolkit for social design education combining design thinking and product development processes improved industrial design students’ competencies and learning outcomes

Effect of exogenous GnRH at the time of artificial insemination on reproductive performance of awassi ewes synchronized with progestagen-PMSG-PGF2α combination

This study was carried out to investigate the efficacy of PGF2a for oestrus synchronization (ES) in Awassi ewes to which were administered the progestagen–PMSG combination, and to evaluate the effect of the exogenous GnRH administration immediately after the artificial insemination (AI) on their pregnancy rate and lambing performance during the breeding season. The ewes (n ¼ 33) were treated with an intravaginal sponge impregnated with 30 mg fluorogestane acetate for 12 days and were injected with 500 IU PMSG at the time of removal of the sponge. The ewes were then divided into three equal groups of 11 ewes each. One millilitre of physiological saline (0.9% NaCl; placebo) was administered to each ewe in Group 1 at the time of second AI. Approximately 4 lg GnRH (busereline) was injected to each ewe in Group 2 immediately after second AI. A total of 150 lg PGF2a (cloprostenole) was injected at the time of sponge removal on day 12 and 4 lg GnRH immediately after the second AI was also treated to each ewe in Group 3. Intracervical AI with diluted fresh semen was performed twice at 12 and 24 h following the onset of oestrus. The injection-oestrus onset and injection-oestrus-end interval in Group 3 was significantly (p < 0.001) shorter than both Groups 1 and 2. Although the pregnancy rates of Groups 2 and 3 (81.8%; 9/11) were numerically higher than of Group 1 (63.6%; 7/11), the difference among the groups was statistically insignificant. The multiple birth rate of Group 3 was found higher than Groups 1 and 2. However, the number of single lambs of Group 1 was also higher than Groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05). Despite the litter sizes of Groups 2 (1.27; 14/11) and 3 (1.55; 17/11) being numerically higher than Group 1 (0.73; 8/11), the differences among all the groups were statistically insignificant. In conclusion, the administration of PGF2a at the time of removal of the sponge shortens the injection oestrus-onset and oestrus-end interval in Awassi ewes treated with progestagen–PMSG. Additionally, exogenous GnRH treatment immediately after the AI increases the multiple birth rate of Awassi ewes synchronized with progestagen– PMSG–PGF2a combination

Effects of pomegranate juice consumption on sperm quality, spermatogenic cell density, antioxidant activity and testosterone level in male rats

Background & aim: Pomegranate fruit is inescapably linked with fertility, birth and eternal life because of its many seeds. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pomegranate juice (PJ) consumption on sperm quality, spermatogenic cell density, antioxidant activity and testosterone level of male healthy rats. Methods: Twenty-eight healthy adult male Wistar rats were divided into four groups; each group containing seven rats. One milliliter distilled water, 0.25 mL PJ plus 0.75 mL distilled water, 0.50 mL PJ plus 0.50 mL distilled water and 1 mL PJ were given daily for seven weeks by gavage to rats in the first, second, third and fourth groups, respectively. Body and reproductive organ weights, spermatogenic cell density, sperm characteristics, levels of antioxidant vitamins, testosterone, and lipid peroxidation and, antioxidant enzyme activities were investigated. All analyses were done only once at the end of the seven week study period. Data were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the degree of significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: A significant decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) level and marked increases in glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) activities, and vitamin C level were observed in rats treated with different doses of PJ. PJ consumption provided an increase in epididymal sperm concentration, sperm motility, spermatogenic cell density and diameter of seminiferous tubules and germinal cell layer thickness, and it decreased abnormal sperm rate when compared to the control group. Conclusion: The results suggest that PJ consumption improves sperm quality and antioxidant activity of rats

Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus: bad news and good news from the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net), formerly EARSS), 2002 to 2009

Based on data collected by the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) and the former EARSS, the present study describes the trends in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns and occurrence of invasive infections caused by Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in the period from 2002 to 2009. Antimicrobial susceptibility results from 198 laboratories in 22 European countries reporting continuously on these two microorganisms during the entire study period were included in the analysis. The number of bloodstream infections caused by E. coli increased remarkably by 71% during the study period, while bloodstream infections caused by S. aureus increased by 34%. At the same time, an alarming increase of antimicrobial resistance in E. coli was observed, whereas for S. aureus the proportion of meticillin resistant isolates decreased. The observed trend suggests an increasing burden of disease caused by E. coli. The reduction in the proportion of meticillin-resistant S. aureus and the lesser increase in S. aureus infections, compared with E. coli, may reflect the success of infection control measures at hospital level in several European countries.</p

Assessment of imidacloprid toxicity on reproductive organ system of adult male rats

In the current study it was aimed to investigate the toxicity of low doses of imidacloprid (IMI) on the reproductive organ systems of adult male rats. The treatment groups received 0.5 (IMI-0.5), 2 (IMI-2) or 8 mg IMI/kg body weight by oral gavage (IMI-8) for three months. The deterioration in sperm motility in IMI-8 group and epidydimal sperm concentration in IMI-2 and IMI-8 groups and abnormality in sperm morphology in IMI-8 were significant. The levels of testosterone (T) and GSH decreased significantly in group IMI-8 compared to the control group. Upon treatment with IMI, apoptotic index increased significantly only in germ cells of the seminiferous tubules of IMI-8 group when compared to control. Fragmentation was striking in the seminal DNA from the IMI-8 group, but it was much less obvious in the IMI-2 one. IMI exposure resulted in elevation of all fatty acids analyzed, but the increases were significant only in stearic, oleic, linoleic and arachidonic acids. The ratios of 20:4/20:3 and 20:4/18:2 were decreased and 16:1n-9/16:0 ratio was increased. In conclusion, the present animal experiments revealed that the treatment with IMI at NOAEL dose-levels caused deterioration in sperm parameters, decreased T level, increased apoptosis of germ cells, seminal DNA fragmentation, the depletion of antioxidants and change in disturbance of fatty acid composition. All these changes indicate the suppression of testicular function