Intelligent alarm system for hospitals using smartphone technology

During the last decade, attention was paid to detect the accident and call the ambulance as soon as possible, the situation was neglected after the arrival of the patient to the specified service point. This negligence led to an increase in the mortality rate, especially where the highest percentage of deaths occurred during the first hour after the accident. This highest Mortality can be avoided by providing proper health care after the arrival of the patient to the hospital, the proposed system reduces the rescue time after the arrival of a patient to the hospital, and it requires each hospital to be endowed with a reception model responsible for detecting and reporting accident situations to the emergency service. It was be found that there is an urgent need for a web-based hospital management system with a mobile web service to respond immediately to incidents in the event of an accident. This system utilizes the Android phone application to connect to the server for transferring the specified data to the hospital and it can be used for comprehensive accident analysis and management. In this paper, a combination of Android phone application, database, and visual studio 2012 was used to develop the system

Band Limited Signals Observed Over Finite Spatial and Temporal Windows: An Upper Bound to Signal Degrees of Freedom

The study of degrees of freedom of signals observed within spatially diverse broadband multipath fields is an area of ongoing investigation and has a wide range of applications, including characterising broadband MIMO and cooperative networks. However, a fundamental question arises: given a size limitation on the observation region, what is the upper bound on the degrees of freedom of signals observed within a broadband multipath field over a finite time window? In order to address this question, we characterize the multipath field as a sum of a finite number of orthogonal waveforms or spatial modes. We show that (i) the "effective observation time" is independent of spatial modes and different from actual observation time, (ii) in wideband transmission regimes, the "effective bandwidth" is spatial mode dependent and varies from the given frequency bandwidth. These findings clearly indicate the strong coupling between space and time as well as space and frequency in spatially diverse wideband multipath fields. As a result, signal degrees of freedom does not agree with the well-established degrees of freedom result as a product of spatial degrees of freedom and time-frequency degrees of freedom. Instead, analogous to Shannon's communication model where signals are encoded in only one spatial mode, the available signal degrees of freedom in spatially diverse wideband multipath fields is the time-bandwidth product result extended from one spatial mode to finite modes. We also show that the degrees of freedom is affected by the acceptable signal to noise ratio (SNR) in each spatial mode.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Signal Processin

Analysis of Degrees of Freedom of Wideband Random Multipath Fields Observed Over Time and Space Windows

In multipath systems, available degrees of freedom can be considered as a key performance indicator, since the channel capacity grows linearly with the available degrees of freedom. However, a fundamental question arises: given a size limitation on the observable region, what is the intrinsic number of degrees of freedom available in a wideband random multipath wavefield observed over a finite time interval? In this paper, we focus on answering this question by modelling the wavefield as a sum of orthogonal waveforms or spatial orders. We show that for each spatial order, (i) the observable wavefield is band limited within an effective bandwidth rather than the given bandwidth and (ii) the observation time varies from the given observation time. These findings show the strong coupling between space and time as well as space and bandwidth. In effect, for spatially diverse multipath wavefields, the classical degrees of freedom result of "time-bandwidth" product does not directly extend to "time-space-bandwidth" product.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, Accepted in 2014 IEEE Workshop on Statistical Signal Processin

Computational and Experimental Study on Vertical Axis Wind Turbine in Search for an Efficient Design

Wind alone can fulfill most of the energy requirement of the world by its efficient conversion in to energy. Though Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine (HAWT) is more popular but needs high wind speed to generate energy. On the other hand Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) needs low wind speed and can be installed anywhere which are some of the reasons for this research. The main objective of this research is to improve the design and performance of VAWT to make it more attractive, efficient, durable and sustainable. For a VAWT the blades perform the main role to extract energy from the wind. Airfoil is considered as the blade for this new design of VAWT. Airfoil has some good aerodynamic characteristics, match with the characteristics of Savonius type VAWT, such as good stall characteristics and little roughness effect, relatively high drag and low lift coefficient. Integration of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation and wind tunnel experimentation has made the current research more acceptable. 3-Dimensional CAD models of various simple airfoils have been designed in Solidworks. Using these airfoils and other shape, CFD simulation has been performed with five different VAWT designed models. Moving mesh and fluid flow simulation have been developed in CFD software FLUENT. The findings of these numerical simulations provided pressure contour, velocity contour, drag coefficient, lift coefficient, torque coefficient and power coefficient for all these models. Physical models of NACA5510, NACA7510 and semicircular rotors of three bladed are fabricated and tested in-house subsonic wind tunnel. From these experiments dynamic torque has been measured using dynamic torque sensors for all these models at three different speeds. By comparing the numerical and experimental results it can be concluded that NACA7510 air foiled VAWT model gives the better performance at higher Tip Speed Ratio than other two models

Two-dimensional Polymer and Thin-Film Semiconductor-based Photonic Crystals for Biosensing Applications

Detecting biomolecules at very low concentrations is of a significant importance for a wide variety of applications ranging from human health to national security. A diverse class of sensing platforms utilizing the specificity of physical properties of materials and their change in the presence of target analytes has been developed. The main objective of such systems is to deliver cost-effective, ultrasensitive, and reliable sensors that can withstand noisy environments (i.e. dirty samples) with efficient operational characteristics (low power, high throughput, etc.). Optical, electrochemical, and mechanical sensors have demonstrated promising detection capabilities, which further encouraged research aimed at producing even much more sensitive systems that are capable of extending detection limits to single molecules.;The unique optical properties of photonic crystals (PhCs) as well as their nano-meter scale features, which can be comparable to that of single molecules, make them well suited as a basis for sensors capable of fulfilling the ultra-sensitive detection requirements. Semiconductor materials are commonly used to engineer PhCs that can either trap light at high efficiency in high-quality factor resonant cavities to enhance fluorescence emission from labeled molecules, or cause a very precise attenuation of the transmitted or reflected light after the adsorption of unlabeled molecules to the surface of these PhC structures. However, the high cost of sensing platforms utilizing semiconductor materials motivates the development of soft lithographic techniques to fabricate photonic crystals in biocompatible polymer materials and simplify their integration with microfluidic channels and optical waveguides.;The theory, design, fabrication, and optical characterization of PhC lattice structures as biosensing platforms in both semiconductor and polymer materials will be demonstrated throughout this thesis. Electron Beam Lithography as well as soft lithographic techniques are presented to achieve submicrometer scale PhC lattices in silicon, Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), and epoxy. The main focus will be on a passive detection modality in which the PhC structures are used to manipulate light emitted from fluorescing molecules to achieve an enhancement of this emission. A 27-fold enhancement factor has been recorded when IR-emitting quantum dots were utilized as the emitting molecules within the PhCs

Analysis of nutritive contents of some Nigerian fruits

Fruits are one of the oldest forms of food known to man and they present an important part of human diet in almost any culture of the world due to their high nutrients content. This study was undertaken to analyze the nutritive, minerals and energy values of some fruits such as banana (Musa esculentum), paw-paw(Carica papaya), pineapple (Ananas comosus), African mango (Irvigna gabonensis) and Avocado pear (Persia americana) that are consumed in Nigeria. The proximate composition of fruits shows that paw-paw has the highest moisture content (90.0±1.0%) while African mango has the highest ash content (13.06±1.0%). Similarly, the highest crude protein, lipid and fiber contents were recorded by avocado pea (10.0±0.2%, 2.85±0.7 and 15.81±1.0% respectively). The highest available carbohydrate content was observed in pineapple (82.57±0.8%) whereas; the highest energy values were recorded by paw-paw and pineapple (355.94±1.6 and 355.94±1.4 respectively). The results of the mineral analysis showed that Ca content was very low in all studied samples. However, appreciable amounts of K, Mg, Na and P were observed. Highest concentration of K was observed in the pulp of pineapple (436.1±4.8mg/100g) while banana pulp recorded highest amounts of Mg (81.7±1.4mg/100g). Moreover, the Na content was found to be highest in husk of avocado pear (7.3±0.7mg/100g) while the peel of banana has the highest content of P (49.0±0.5mg/100g). Comparing values of mineral elements obtained in this study with the recommended daily allowance (RDA), only K, Mg and P levels could possibly meet the stipulated requirements in these fruits. Meanwhile, the presence of mineral elements in the husks of these fruits indicates that they could be used as source of minerals in the formulation of animal feed.Keywords: Fruits, Pulp, Husk, Proximate, Mineral elements, RD

Magnetic Nanoparticles as MRI Contrast Agents

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive imaging modality that offers both anatomical and functional information. Intrinsic longitudinal and transverse relaxation times (T1 and T2, respectively) provide tools to manipulate image contrast. Additional control is yielded when paramagnetic and magnetic particulate materials are used as contrast materials. Superparamagnetic particles are mostly synthesized from iron oxide and are usually coated with polymers and functional particles to offer multifunctional biomedical applications. The latter include not only MRI but also cancer treatment through drug delivery and hyperthermia. This Chapter reviews the fundamental dipole–dipole diamagnetic proton relaxation mechanism dominant in water followed by a brief description of the use of gadolinium complexes as MRI contrast agent. Finally, a description of the important chemical and physical properties of magnetic nanoparticle (MNP) that define their use as MRI relaxation enhancing agents especially for T2. The main governing models are described for the different motional regimes with few simulation results demonstrating the applicability of the given equations

Psychometric Properties of an Instrument Developed to Assess Students’ Evaluation of Teaching in Higher Education

Student evaluation of teaching is a global predominant practice in higher education institutions. Therefore, a major university in Jordan developed a questionnaire for students’ use in evaluating their instructors’ teaching effectiveness.  Since student evaluation of teaching is an important process, the present study tried to examine the psychometric properties of the instrument. Item-total correlations showed acceptable internal consistency. In addition, a two-factor structure of the scale (teaching effectiveness and course attributes) was supported by exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis from two independent samples. Convergent validity was supported by a moderate correlation coefficient between course averages of students’ ratings on the first factor and course averages of students’ final grades in each course. Finally, students’ responses on the factor that captures teaching effectiveness were found to have very high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha of 0.96). However, this instrument lacks evidences of content validity and convergent validity. Therefore, it is important to be cautious in evaluating faculty members and making promotion decisions that is based solely on the scores obtained using this instrument.

Assessment of Microbiological Quality of Fura Da Nono Produced in Kebbi State, Nigeria

Fura da Nono is a nutritious and refreshing drink made from fermented milk and ground millet grains. In this study, the microbiology of traditional and small-scale industrial production of Fura da Nono in Birnin Kebbi and Jega was investigated. Samples of Fura da Nono were collected from Birnin Kebbi emir’s palace, Mini Factory JEGA and a local hawker in Jega. Food borne and spoilage pathogens were identified based on their colonial morphology, gram staining reaction and series of biochemical tests. Viable colony counts, coliform test, fungal analysis and pH test were also conducted. The results revealed the highest average count of 1.25×108 cfu/ml in the samples  collected from local hawker while Birnin Kebbi emir’s palace had the lowest average count of 8.3×105 cfu/ml. The bacteria identified in Fura da Nono were Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp, Lactobacillus plantarum and Escherichia coli. The fungi isolated were  Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus niger and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The highest pH (6.8) was recorded in the sample obtained from local hawker and the lowest (3.1) from the Birnin Kebbi emir’s palace. The study showed the presence of food borne and spoilage pathogens in Fura da Nono which indicates poor hygienic practices during production. Therefore, in order to produce commercial Furada Nono either at large or small-scale quantity, it is necessary to improve the acceptability, microbiological stability and hygiene of the product