Eye-tracking assistive technologies for individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS, is a progressive nervous system disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in the loss of muscle control. For individuals with ALS, where mobility is limited to the movement of the eyes, the use of eye-tracking-based applications can be applied to achieve some basic tasks with certain digital interfaces. This paper presents a review of existing eye-tracking software and hardware through which eye-tracking their application is sketched as an assistive technology to cope with ALS. Eye-tracking also provides a suitable alternative as control of game elements. Furthermore, artificial intelligence has been utilized to improve eye-tracking technology with significant improvement in calibration and accuracy. Gaps in literature are highlighted in the study to offer a direction for future research

Distribution power loss minimization via distributed generation, capacitor and network reconfiguration

This paper presents a solution to solve the network reconfiguration, DG coordination (location and size) and capacitor coordination (location and size), simultaneously. The proposed solution will be determined by using Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). Various case studies are presented to see the impact on the test system, in term of power loss reduction and also voltage profiles. The proposed approach is applied to a 33-bus test system and simulate by using MATLAB programming. The simulation results show that combination of DG, capacitor and network reconfiguration gives a positive impact on total power losses minimization as well as voltage profile improvement compared to other case studies

Integrins are not essential for entry of coxsackievirus A9 into SW480 human colon adenocarcinoma cells

Background: Coxsackievirus A9 (CV-A9) is a pathogenic enterovirus type within the family Picornaviridae. CV-A9 infects A549 human epithelial lung carcinoma cells by attaching to the aVβ6 integrin receptor through a highly conserved Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) motif, which is located at the exposed carboxy-terminus of the capsid protein VP1 in all studied clinical isolates. However, genetically-modified CV-A9 that lacks the RGD motif (CV-A9-RGDdel) has been shown to be infectious in some cell lines but not in A549, suggesting that RGD-mediated integrin binding is not always essential for efficient entry of CV-A9.   Methods: Two cell lines, A549 and SW480, were used in the study. SW480 was the study object for the integrin-independent entry and A549 was used as the control for integrin-dependent entry. Receptor levels were quantitated by cell sorting and quantitative PCR. Antibody blocking assay and siRNA silencing of receptor-encoding genes were used to block virus infection. Peptide phage display library was used to identify peptide binders to CV-A9. Immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy were used to visualize the virus infection in the cells.   Results: We investigated the receptor use and early stages of CV-A9 internalization to SW480 human epithelial colon adenocarcinoma cells. Contrary to A549 infection, we showed that both CV-A9 and CV-A9-RGDdel internalized into SW480 cells and that function-blocking anti-αV integrin antibodies had no effect on the binding and entry of CV-A9. Whereas siRNA silencing of β6 integrin subunit had no influence on virus infection in SW480, silencing of β2-microglobulin (b2M) inhibited the virus infection in both cell lines. By using a peptide phage display screening, the virus-binding peptide identical to the N-terminal sequence of HSPA5 protein was identified and shown to block the virus infection in both A549 and SW480 cell lines. HSPA5 was also found to co-localize with CV-A9 at the SW480 cell periphery during the early stages of infection by confocal microscopy.   Conclusions: The data suggest that while aVβ6 integrin is essential for CV-A9 in A549 cell line, it is not required in SW480 cell line in which β2M and HSPA5 alone are sufficient for CV-A9 infection. This suggests that the choice of CV-A9 receptor(s) is dependent on the tissue/cellular environment.</p

A New Weak Area Identification Method in Power System Based on Voltage Stability

Identification of voltage stability weak area in power system plays an important role in preventing the occurrence of voltage collapse. A fast and accurate identification method helps power system operators to apply voltage stability control action on the weak area and thus avoids voltage collapse. This paper presents a new technique for weak area identification in a power system based on voltage stability named as Weak Area Indicator (WAI). WAI is derived from a newly developed voltage stability index, Voltage Stability Condition Indicator (VSCI). For verification purpose, the proposed WAI was tested with the existing method in the literature that used voltage stability variation method to detect weak area. Test results show that the proposed WAI is able to cluster weak areas correctly. All methods were tested on IEEE 30-bus and IEEE 118-bus test system

Distribution power loss minimization via distributed generation, capacitor and network reconfiguration

This paper presents a solution to solve the network reconfiguration, DG coordination (location and size), and capacitor coordination (location and size), simultaneously. The proposed solution will be determined by using Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). Various case studies are presented to see the impact on the test system, in terms of power loss reduction and also voltage profiles. The proposed approach is applied to a 33-bus test system and simulated by using MATLAB programming. The simulation results show that combination of DG, capacitor and network reconfiguration gives a positive impact on total power losses minimization as well as voltage profile improvement compared to other case studies

Conceptualizing Communication Capital for a Changing Environment

With rapidly evolving technologies, boundaries between traditional modes of communication have blurred, creating an environment that scholars still describe from viewpoints as researchers in interpersonal, organizational or mass communication. This manuscript looks at the social capital literature and argues for conceptualizing “communication capital” to help understand the impact of communication phenomena in a changing environment. The literature has treated interpersonal communication variables as components of social capital and mass communication variables as factors affecting social capital, but scholars long ago recognized their reinforcing nature, leading us to develop a concept of communication capital merging symbolic activity across domains in its potential for impacting civic engagement, defined as persistent communication patterns that facilitate social problem solving in the community. Analysis of survey data shows that 4 dimensions of communication capital explain variance in civic engagement beyond that accounted for by traditional measures of social capital, media use, neighborhood communication, and efficacy

Developing a solar calculator system

There is a rapid increase in global warming over the years. This follows with continues campaign on reducing the energy consumption and protecting the earth against climate change. The Feed-In Tariff (FiT) program was introduced to encourage people to use renewable energy. One of the alternative energies that has shown significant potential is solar energy, which could be harvested using the solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. This project is intended in developing an online application system to help the user in making a decision about installing a solar PV system. This system will help the user to calculate the size of solar panel that a user should install, the amount of electricity generated from the system and the profit that the user will gain after a few years in implement solar PV system in his premise(s) or house(s)

Recent advances in MXene composites research, applications and opportunities

MXene composites have emerged as a promising class of materials due to their exceptional properties and versatility in various applications. In recent years, researchers have made significant progress in the development and characterization of MXene composites, paving the way for new opportunities in various fields, including energy storage, environmental remediation, and catalysis. The incorporation of MXenes into polymers has led to enhanced mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. Additionally, advances in MXene synthesis and functionalization have expanded the scope of their applications. This review summarizes recent research progress in MXene composites, highlights the challenges, and discusses potential opportunities for future development

Impact of dispersed generation modes in optimal coordination between distributed generation and capacitor simultaneously

This paper describes the impact of the mode selection in Distributed Generation (DG) has in order to reduce the total power losses in the distribution system when coordination between the DG and capacitor is done simultaneously There are two modes available for the DG to operate which are the Power-Reactive Power (PQ) and Power-Voltage (PV) modes. The coordination between the DG and capacitor is a crucial task that needs to be done during the initial planning stage. Any error in identifying the power output and the location of the DG as well as the size and the location of the capacitor can increase the losses in distribution system. In this paper, some modifications were made on Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) by combining several steps on Artificial Immune System (AIS) will be used. Several cases studies are carried out to see the impact of mode selection on 33-bus distribution system by using MATLAB programming

Mode i fracture toughness of optimized alkali-treated bambusa vulgaris bamboo by box-behnken design

Alkaline treatment is widely being used to treat natural fibres and it improves the fibre surface for better bonding with the polymer matrix. The aim of this study is to optimize the alkaline treatment variables such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration, soaking and drying time that influence the strength of natural fibres, including bamboo. In this study, Box-Behnken design (BBD) of the response surface method was employed to set an experimental parameter of alkaline treatment for the bamboo specimen. In order to investigate the effect of treatment conditions on crack propagation behaviour of the bamboo along the longitudinal direction, Mode I interlaminar fracture toughness (GIC) test was carried out. It can be suggested from the statistical analysis approach (ANOVA) that bamboo treated with 1 wt% concentration of NaOH is able to reach fracture toughness value up to 365.86 J/m2, which differs by only 0.82% from the experimental finding. It is also shown that all proposed variables for treatment in this study i.e. the concentration of the NaOH is highly significant with the soaking and drying time