Humanoid robots as teaching assistants in an arab school

© 2019 Association for Computing Machinery. The proliferation of educational robots has led to an investigation of suitable roles that humanoids robots can take in the classroom. In the recent past, the focus has been on humanoids being used in student focused roles or as peer learners. Coupled with the seemingly absence of any case studies of educational robots in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or the Arab world, we present a study where we employed the Nao robot as a teaching assistant in a local primary school in Abu Dhabi, UAE. The Nao robot was used to revise a topic in Mathematics and its efficacy in comparison to a human teaching assistant was measured through pre and post test scores, facial expressions and indirect verbal responses. Our results showed that while there no significant differences in test scores, the children were much more engaged when interacting with the Nao robot. We conclude with a positive outlook towards the implementation of humanoid robots in UAE classrooms

Shifting trends of lung tumours and its diagnosis by lung biopsy: a study of 78 cases

Background: The objective of the study was to study the spectrum of pathological lesions in patients with lung mass and to study correlation between clinical findings, histopathological pattern and immunohistochemical stains in various biopsy specimen for differentiation and typing of tumors.Methods: This retrospective study was done for the period of three years at Department of Pathology, New Civil Hospital, Surat, India, which is a tertiary health care Centre. Here we studied 78 cases of lung biopsy received in formalin, which were subjected to histopathological examination. Immunohistochemistry was performed as and when required.Results: Total 78 lung biopsy specimens were examined. Out of which, 59 cases (75.6%) were neoplastic, 12 cases(15.4%) were non-neoplastic and 7 cases (9%) were inconclusive. The commonest histological type of malignancy was adenocarcinoma which is associated with peripheral mass lesion, female gender and in non-smokers. Commonest non-neoplastic lesion was tuberculosis.  Malignancy was seen quite common in patients presented with lung masses in our institute.Conclusions: Lung tumours are quite common in patients presented with mass lesion. Similar to global trend, adenocarcinoma is the commonest histological type now and associated with change in incidence among women, in non-smokers, molecular alteration and prognosis which need further investigation. Immunohistochemistry is helpful in cases which are not accurately subtyped by histomorphology alone.

Fabrication of carbon thin films by pulsed laser deposition in different ambient environments

In this work, carbon thin films are grown in different background environments (Air, Helium and Argon) at different pressures (60, 160, 500 and 1000 mbar) by ablating the graphite target with Nd:YAG laser of wavelength of 1064 nm, pulse energy of 740 mJ and pulse rate of 6 ns. 10,000 laser shots are used to ablate graphite target under different ambient conditions. Grown thin films are analyzed by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to measure thickness, roughness average, maximum profile peak height, average maximum height of profile and spacing ratio of the surface. The obtained results show that the roughness average, thickness of film, maximum profile peak height, average maximum height of profile and spacing ratio of thin films decreases with increase in ambient pressures and shows highest value at low pressure (160 mbar) in helium environment as compared with air and argon

A rare case of multilocular cystic renal neoplasm of low malignant potential diagnosed on intra-operative fine needle aspiration cytology

Multi-locular Cystic Renal Cell Carcinoma (MCRCC) is now considered as Multilocular cystic renal neoplasm of low malignant potential (MCRNLMP) in World health organisation classification (WHO) 2016. It is usually seen in elderly people where it can mimic most of the time as benign cystic lesion. Authors are reporting a case of MCRNLMP in a 70 year male diagnosed intraoperative with the help of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC). Radiological and other clinical findings are in favour of cystic renal lesion. And it is very important to differentiate it from conventional renal cell carcinoma which requires radical nephrectomy. So, radiological finding and FNAC is instrumental in diagnosing this rare case which require different mode of surgical management

Acinic cell carcinoma, papillary-cystic variant: a rare case diagnosed in fine needle aspiration cytology

Acinic Cell Carcinoma is a rarest malignant epithelial neoplasm arising from pleuripotent stem cells. ACC constitute 6% of all salivary gland tumor. Most common site is parotid. It is slowly growing tumor with female preponderance most commonly occur during fifth and sixth decades of life. Diagnosis by imaging study are complex, but USG is helpful in evaluating tumor. We are presenting a 9year female, complaint of a painless, freely movable, atraumatic swelling on left cheek measuring 2x1cm2, slowly enlarging since, 8 months. FNAC was performed from the swelling and routine stain (H and E, MGG, Pap) and special stain (PAS) was performed. On cytological smears, overall findings are suggestive of papillary-cystic variant of ACC which is difficult to diagnosed in cytology. PAS stain showed positivity for both intra-cytoplasmic granules and extra-cellular secretions. ACC is a slowly growing multi-potent malignant salivary gland tumor. Management is with surgery

The effect of strict state measures on the epidemiologic curve of COVID-19 infection in the context of a developing country : a simulation from Jordan

COVID-19 has posed an unprecedented global public health threat and caused a significant number of severe cases that necessitated long hospitalization and overwhelmed health services in the most affected countries. In response, governments initiated a series of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) that led to severe economic and social impacts. The effect of these intervention measures on the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic are not well investigated within developing country settings. This study simulated the trajectories of the COVID-19 pandemic curve in Jordan between February and May and assessed the effect of Jordan’s strict NPI measures on the spread of COVID-19. A modified susceptible, exposed, infected, and recovered (SEIR) epidemic model was utilized. The compartments in the proposed model categorized the Jordanian population into six deterministic compartments: suspected, exposed, infectious pre-symptomatic, infectious with mild symptoms, infectious with moderate to severe symptoms, and recovered. The GLEAMviz client simulator was used to run the simulation model. Epidemic curves were plotted for estimated COVID-19 cases in the simulation model, and compared against the reported cases. The simulation model estimated the highest number of total daily new COVID-19 cases, in the pre-symptomatic compartmental state, to be 65 cases, with an epidemic curve growing to its peak in 49 days and terminating in a duration of 83 days, and a total simulated cumulative case count of 1048 cases. The curve representing the number of actual reported cases in Jordan showed a good pattern compatibility to that in the mild and moderate to severe compartmental states. The reproduction number under the NPIs was reduced from 5.6 to less than one. NPIs in Jordan seem to be effective in controlling the COVID-19 epidemic and reducing the reproduction rate. Early strict intervention measures showed evidence of containing and suppressing the disease

Floffy: Designing an Outdoor Robot for Children

In our research we utilized the domain of entertainment robotics to educate children on the principles of environmental awareness by playful means outdoors. Our research revolved around the iterative design of Floffy: the environmental robot, which was essentially a playful toy robot that would respond positively to interaction that was beneficial for the environment and the child’s own well being and negatively to interaction or behaviour that was detrimental to the surroundings. We conducted an explorative, informal evaluation of Floffy with two small groups of children and they rated their experience with it positively. Our results show that there is potential in utilizing entertainment robots to educate children on serious and critical issues such as saving our environment and being sustainable

KAJIAN POTENSI SUMBER AIR BAKU UNTUK PENYEDIAAN AIR MINUM DI LINGKUNGAN KAMPUS III UMM

Berada di tepian Sungai Brantas Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang (UMM) memiliki keuntungan tersendiri ditinjau dari segi hidrogeologi oleh karena memiliki potensi sumber air bersih yang cukup melimpah. Dalam upaya meningkatkan nilai manfaat potensi air bersih Fakultas Teknik UMM berinisiatif melakukan penelitian yang bertujuan untuk mengidentifikasi potensi sumber air yang ada guna meningkatkan manfaatnya menjadi air bersih siap minum. Penelitian tahap awal dilaksanakan pada sumber air eksisting yang dianggap potensial dan relevan untuk dikembangkan, yaitu : Sumur Bor RS-UMM dan Sumur Bor GKB-3. Melalui uji pompa dan pengamatan waktu pengisian tandon tampak bahwa kedua sumber air tersebut masih menyimpan potensi air yang cukup besar ditinjau dari segi kuantitas. Hasil analisa menunjukkan bahwa sisa potensi air di Sumur Bor RS-UMM adalah 3.13 l/detik dan di Sumur Bor GKB-3 sebesar 1.78 l/detik. Hasil analisa laboratorium kualitas air pada kedua sumber tersebut menunjukkan hasil sangat baik. Semua parameter kimia kualitas air yang diuji menunjukkan hasil di bawah ambang batas yang disyaratkan oleh Departemen Kesehatan RI dalam PERMEKES No. 492/MENKES/PER/IV/2010. Hal tersebut mengindikasikan bahwa kedua sumber air baku yang diteliti layak ditingkatkan manfaatnya menjadi air bersih siap minum dengan menerapkan teknologi yang relevan

Control of vehicle driving model by non-linear controller

A new drive control system which has an effect on controlling the vehicle slip during accelerating and braking is proposed in this paper. This drive control system uses a nonlinear controller designed by following the Lyapunov theorem. The controller is designed in order that it can work at both conditions that is the slippery and non-slippery road. The effectiveness of this control system is proved by a basic experiments

Transition metal oxide (NiO, CuO, ZnO)-doped calcium oxide catalysts derived from eggshells for the transesterification of refined waste cooking oil

This paper reports the synthesis of new transition metal oxide-modified CaO catalysts derived from eggshells for the transesterification of refined waste cooking oil. CaO is a well-known base catalyst for transesterification. However, its moderate basicity and low surface area have restricted its catalytic performance. Therefore, a new attempt was made to modify the CaO catalyst with transition metal oxides, including Ni, Cu and Zn oxides, via simple wetness impregnation method. The catalytic performance of the resulting modified CaO-based catalysts was evaluated through the transesterification reaction using refined waste cooking oil. The results showed that the NiO/CaO(10 : 90)(ES) catalyst calcined at 700 degrees C, demonstrated being highly potential as a catalyst. It gave the highest biodiesel production (97.3%) at the optimum conditions of 1 : 18 oil-to-methanol molar ratio, 6 wt% catalyst loading and 180 minutes reaction time as verified by response surface methodology (RSM). The high catalytic activity of NiO/CaO(10 : 90)(ES)(700 degrees C) was attributed to its high basicity (8.5867 mmol g(-1)) and relatively large surface area (7.1 m(2) g(-1)). The acid value and free fatty acids of the biodiesel produced under optimal process conditions followed the EN 14214 and ASTM D6751 limit with 0.17 mg KOH per g (AV) and 0.09 mg KOH per g (FFA), respectively