Activating Background Knowledge: An Effective Strategy to Develop Reading Comprehension Skills

The present paper is a report on a small classroom based research study. The researcher has tried Activating Background Knowledge as a strategy to improve reading comprehension skills of the students in the First Year B.Com. Classroom in a degree college affiliated to the University of Mumbai. The teacher-researcher assigned two passages dealing with two different social issues and set in two different contexts, i.e., foreign and local, for comprehension to the students in the classroom. The classroom experience indicated that activating and building on the students’ background knowledge did help in facilitating their reading comprehension skills. The paper thus recommends it as an effective strategy to develop the students’ reading comprehension skills

k - Version of Finite Element Method for Polymer flows using Giesekus Constitutive Model

One of the fundamental differences in the polymer flows compared to Newtonian or generalized Newtonian flow is the presence of elasticity due to polymer in addition to the viscosities of the solvent and the polymer. While for Newtonian and generalized Newtonian fluids viscous stresses are explicitly defined in terms of strain rates and transport properties, and thus can be completely eliminated from the governing differential equations (GDEs) by their substitution in the momentum and energy equations. This however is not possible in the case of polymer flows. The mathematical models for polymer flows are derived using conservation laws in which many different choices of stresses as dependent variables are possible. In the published works it is generally accepted that GDEs in elastic stresses are meritorious in Galerkin method with weak form over other choices. However, regardless of the choices of stresses the GDEs always remain non-linear and hence, the Galerkin method with weak form yields variationally inconsistent integral forms for all possible choices of the stresses. Thus, one of the investigation in this study is to show the influence of the choices of stresses in the mathematical models on the computational processes when the integral forms are variationally consistent (VC). Another significant issue in polymer flows is the issue of numerical solutions for higher Deborah numbers. For a given fluid and a given geometric configuration the choices of length ( Lo ) and relaxation time are generally fixed and hence high Deborah number flows are invariably associated with higher flow rates and thus higher velocities. In many standard model problems such as couette flow, lid driven cavity, expansion, contraction etc, severe deborah number (De) limitations are reported in the computational processes based on Galerkin method with weak form while there appears to be no such apparent limitation in the constitutive model such as Giesekus model. In this work we investigate if such Deborah number limitations exist in hpk framework or are such limitations a consequence of VIC integral form and C0 local approximations. The work presented here considers boundary value problems ( BVPs ) as well as initial value problems ( IVPs ) using Giesekus constitutive model. For BVPs, numerical studies are presented for (i) One dimensional fully developed flow between parallel plates (ii)developing flow between parallel plates and (iii) lid driven square cavity. In case of one dimensional fully developed flow solutions are reported for Deborah numbers up to 6514.52 and there does not seem to be any limit of deborah number in 'hpk' framework. Solutions are reported for developing flow between parallel plates upto deborah number of 20.13. Excellent agreement is obtained between for one dimensional fully developed flow between parallel plates and developing flow between parallel plates. For lid driven square cavity, mathematical idealization of the physics at the corners where stationary walls intersect the lid is presented. It is shown that in the hpk framework when hd goes to 0 and k goes to infinity, physics is approached where the lid meets the stationary vertical walls. Various numerical studies are presented upto deborah number of 2.4 for hd = 0.1 and 0.05. The converged solutions independent of h, p and k are reported. The convergence of the Newton's method with line search slows down for high deborah numbers primarily due to the fact that the stokes flow is not in the close neighborhood of the solution sought. This problem is overcome by using the solution at lower deborah number as the initial solution for high deborah number i.e. continuation in Deborah number. The numerical solutions of boundary value problem (BVP) and initial value problem (IVP) arising in Fiber spinning of polymers are presented using Least squares and space-time least squares finite element process in H(k,p) scalar product spaces. The parameter k, the order of the space defines the global differentiability of order (k-1) and is an independent parameter in all finite element computations in addition to characteristic length h and degree p of the approximations. This work discusses various mathematical models, assumptions employed in their derivations, integral forms and approximation spaces. The need and the importance of higher order spaces in space and time and the meritorious features of the variationally consistent (VC) integral forms are demonstrated. Numerical studies consist of four different benchmark problems used most frequently in the published work. Numerical studies are presented for different draw ratios and lengths of the physical domain. In all cases stationary states of the evolutions are compared with the solution of the corresponding BVP. Numerical studies show that for a given polymer there is a limiting value of draw ratio for a fixed length beyond which computations will fail due to excessive stresses in the polymeric liquid indicating possibility of the onset and progression of damage. The higher order global differentiability of the approximations in space and time and VC (or STVC) integral forms are essential for incorporating the desired physics in the computational process and for unconditional stability of the computational processes

Barriers to exercise in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: A patient survey

Background: Although adequate physical activity is an essential component of treatment for metabolic dysfunction-associated stea-totic liver disease (MASLD), the majority of people with MASLD do not engage in regular exercise and lead sedentary lifestyles. We aimed to identify perceived barriers to exercise and to examine awareness about the role of exercise in the treatment of MASLD. Methods: Individuals aged 18 years and above were recruited from a hepatology outpatient clinic. MASLD severity was assessed using controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) and transient elastography (TE) determined liver stiffness measurement (LSM) for the severity of hepatic steatosis and fibrosis, respectively. An online questionnaire was administered to record self-reported exercise patterns, barriers to exercise, and knowledge regarding effectiveness of different types of exercise for MASLD. Results: Eighty-one participants (57% female) with a mean age of 55.3 ± 13.4 years and a mean body mass index (BMI) of 33.8 ± 6.4 answered the questionnaire. The mean CAP score was 335.7 ± 47.8 dB/m, and the median LSM was 12.45 kPa. While most patients (83%) considered MASLD to be a serious health concern, 73% did not achieve the recommended exercise levels of \u3e 150 min of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, and 54% were unsure about the role of exercise in the treatment of MASLD. Commonly reported barriers to exercise included physical and mental health issues (57%), lack of time (43%), lack of enjoyment in exercising (31%), fatigue caused by exercise (24%), and others (25%). Conclusions: Most participants with MASLD were unaware of the role of exercise as a potential treatment option and were not achieving recommended exercise levels. Inadequate time, physical and mental health problems, lack of enjoyment in exercise, and fatigue were major barriers

A FEM-DEM technique for studying the motion of particles in non-Newtonian fluids. Application to the transport of drill cuttings in wellbores

We present a procedure for coupling the finite element method (FEM) and the discrete element method (DEM) for analysis of the motion of particles in non-Newtonian fluids. Particles are assumed to be spherical and immersed in the fluid mesh. A new method for computing the drag force on the particles in a non-Newtonian fluid is presented. A drag force correction for non-spherical particles is proposed. The FEM-DEM coupling procedure is explained for Eulerian and Lagrangian flows and the basic expressions of the discretized solution algorithm are given. The usefulness of the FEM-DEM technique is demonstrated in its application to the transport of drill cuttings in wellbores

Acute MI in a stented patient following snake bite-possibility of stent thrombosis – A case report

AbstractAcute myocardial infarction following snake bite is rare with few reported cases in literature. A 60-year-old male underwent uneventful stenting to a critical stenosis in left anterior descending coronary artery in June 2012. A month later, he presented to the local hospital with history of snake bite. During admission he developed chest pain with ST-segment elevation in anterior leads consistent with stent thrombosis. He was successfully thrombolysed and his coronary angiogram 5 days later revealed patent stent with TIMI III flow and no evidence of thrombus

A deep audiovisual approach for human confidence classification

Research on self-efficacy and confidence has spread across several subfields of psychology and neuroscience. The role of one’s confidence is very crucial in the formation of attitude and communication skills. The importance of differentiating the levels of confidence is quite visible in this domain. With the recent advances in extracting behavioral insight from a signal in multiple applications, detecting confidence is found to have great importance. One such prominent application is detecting confidence in interview conversations. We have collected an audiovisual data set of interview conversations with 34 candidates. Every response (from each of the candidate) of this data set is labeled with three levels of confidence: high, medium, and low. Furthermore, we have also developed algorithms to efficiently compute such behavioral confidence from speech and video. A deep learning architecture is proposed for detecting confidence levels (high, medium, and low) from an audiovisual clip recorded during an interview. The achieved unweighted average recall (UAR) reaches 85.9% on audio data and 73.6% on video data captured from an interview session

Cancer stem cell metabolism: A potential target for cancer therapy

© 2016 The Author(s). Cancer Stem cells (CSCs) are a unipotent cell population present within the tumour cell mass. CSCs are known to be highly chemo-resistant, and in recent years, they have gained intense interest as key tumour initiating cells that may also play an integral role in tumour recurrence following chemotherapy. Cancer cells have the ability to alter their metabolism in order to fulfil bio-energetic and biosynthetic requirements. They are largely dependent on aerobic glycolysis for their energy production and also are associated with increased fatty acid synthesis and increased rates of glutamine utilisation. Emerging evidence has shown that therapeutic resistance to cancer treatment may arise due to dysregulation in glucose metabolism, fatty acid synthesis, and glutaminolysis. To propagate their lethal effects and maintain survival, tumour cells alter their metabolic requirements to ensure optimal nutrient use for their survival, evasion from host immune attack, and proliferation. It is now evident that cancer cells metabolise glutamine to grow rapidly because it provides the metabolic stimulus for required energy and precursors for synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. It can also regulate the activities of some of the signalling pathways that control the proliferation of cancer cells. This review describes the key metabolic pathways required by CSCs to maintain a survival advantage and highlights how a combined approach of targeting cellular metabolism in conjunction with the use of chemotherapeutic drugs may provide a promising strategy to overcome therapeutic resistance and therefore aid in cancer therapy

A Cone Penetration Test (CPT) based assessment of explosive compaction in mine tailings

Failure of tailings dams can occur due to liquefaction of saturated and loosely deposited silt and sand sized tailings under both seismic and static conditions. The consequences in terms of loss of lives and property are severe. As tailings possess soil-like structure and grain size distribution, it is possible to use ground improvement measures typically used for soils to improve the stability of these dams. It is also possible to use densification techniques to reduce the volume of the in-place tailings to provide greater storage space. This thesis reviews the assessment of ground densification at a tailings facility in Northern Ontario at which a section of tailings dam was densified by explosive compaction (EC). The EC was complemented by surface compaction using Dynamic Compaction and Rapid Impact Compaction. Due to the nature of tailings deposition, the grain size distribution and density of materials in the dam varied considerably both laterally and with depth. This complicated the assessment of the improvement obtained. Piezometer cone penetration test data obtained before and at various times after ground treatment were reviewed to assess the range of tailings types encountered in the dam and the level of tip resistance achieved by the ground treatment. Settlement and piezometer data were also reviewed but were of insufficient quality or quantity to be useful as indicators of the degree of improvement obtained. Cone data were normalized for stress level and were sorted according to a unified soil behaviour type classification scheme previously used in soils and tailings. The soil behaviour type index, Ic, was found to be a useful indicator of tailings type. Despite the extreme variability of the deposits, it proved possible to identify the level of tip resistance achieved by the ground treatment in various material types at the site.Applied Science, Faculty ofCivil Engineering, Department ofGraduat