Microwire regenerative peripheral nerve interfaces with wireless recording and stimulation capabilities

A scalable microwire peripheral nerve interface was developed, which interacted with regenerated peripheral nerves in microchannel scaffolds. Neural interface technologies are envisioned to facilitate direct connections between the nervous system and external technologies such as limb prosthetics or data acquisition systems for further processing. Presented here is an animal study using a handcrafted microwire regenerative peripheral nerve interface, a novel neural interface device for communicating with peripheral nerves. The neural interface studies using animal models are crucial in the evaluation of efficacy and safety of implantable medical devices before their use in clinical studies.16-electrode microwire microchannel scaffolds were developed for both peripheral nerve regeneration and peripheral nerve interfacing. The microchannels were used for nerve regeneration pathways as a scaffolding material and the embedded microwires were used as a recording electrode to capture neural signals from the regenerated peripheral nerves. Wireless stimulation and recording capabilities were also incorporated to the developed peripheral nerve interface which gave the freedom of the complex experimental setting of wired data acquisition systems and minimized the potential infection of the animals from the wire connections

Handcrafted Microwire Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces with Wireless Neural Recording and Stimulation Capabilities

A scalable microwire peripheral nerve interface was developed, which interacted with regenerated peripheral nerves in microchannel scaffolds. Neural interface technologies are envisioned to facilitate direct connections between the nervous system and external technologies such as limb prosthetics or data acquisition systems for further processing. Presented here is an animal study using a handcrafted microwire regenerative peripheral nerve interface, a novel neural interface device for communicating with peripheral nerves. The neural interface studies using animal models are crucial in the evaluation of efficacy and safety of implantable medical devices before their use in clinical studies. 16- electrode microwire microchannel scaffolds were developed for both peripheral nerve regeneration and peripheral nerve interfacing. The microchannels were used for nerve regeneration pathways as a scaffolding material and the embedded microwires were used as a recording electrode to capture neural signals from the regenerated peripheral nerves. Wireless stimulation and recording capabilities were also incorporated to the developed peripheral nerve interface which gave the freedom of the complex experimental setting of wired data acquisition systems and minimized the potential infection of the animals from the wire connections. A commercially available wireless recording system was efficiently adopted to the peripheral nerve interface. The 32-channel wireless recording system covered 16-electrode microwires in the peripheral nerve interface, two cuff electrodes, and two electromyography electrodes. The 2-channel wireless stimulation system was connected to a cuff electrode on the sciatic nerve branch and was used to make evoked signals which went through the regenerated peripheral nerves and were captured by the wireless recording system at a different location. The successful wireless communication was demonstrated in the result section and the future goals of a wireless neural interface for chronic implants and clinical trials were discussed together

Study of water salinity effect on geotechnical behavior of soil structure using response surface method (RSM), (Case study: Gotvand Dam)

Specifying the mechanical characteristics of soil is as one of the major steps in designing the foundation for civil projects, particularly hydraulic structures. This study examines the water salinity effect on engineering characteristics of fine-grained soil in clayey core of Gotvand dam which it is located on the Karun River in Khuzestan province, Iran. For this purpose, three types of salt; sodium chloride, magnesium chloride and calcium sulfate is considered that the last one has the highest concentration in the water of reservoir behind the dam, and then their effect on the mechanical characteristics of clay including density, Atterberg limits, angel of internal friction, adhesion and open inflation have examined. Therefore, treatments required for testing were provided by combining the mentioned salts considering the weight percentage of salt in the water behind the dam and designing a test using response surface methodology (RSM). The results were statistically analyzed by RSM. Results showed that type and amount of soil salinity has no significant impact on the compaction characteristics of soil namely optimum moisture content and the maximum dry density. Results of changes in Atterberg limits showed that presence of salt ions reduces the plasticity of the soil and it was seen a certain decrease in the liquid limit and subsequently a dramatic drop in soil plasticity by increasing the percentage of soil; while the plastic limit remained almost unchanged. Eventually, results of open inflation showed that whatever the salt concentration be higher, the rate of sample's open inflation will be lower

Study of water salinity effect on geotechnical behavior of soil structure using response surface method (RSM), (Case study: Gotvand Dam)

Specifying the mechanical characteristics of soil is as one of the major steps in designing the foundation for civil projects, particularly hydraulic structures. This study examines the water salinity effect on engineering characteristics of fine-grained soil in clayey core of Gotvand dam which it is located on the Karun River in Khuzestan province, Iran. For this purpose, three types of salt; sodium chloride, magnesium chloride and calcium sulfate is considered that the last one has the highest concentration in the water of reservoir behind the dam, and then their effect on the mechanical characteristics of clay including density, Atterberg limits, angel of internal friction, adhesion and open inflation have examined. Therefore, treatments required for testing were provided by combining the mentioned salts considering the weight percentage of salt in the water behind the dam and designing a test using response surface methodology (RSM). The results were statistically analyzed by RSM. Results showed that type and amount of soil salinity has no significant impact on the compaction characteristics of soil namely optimum moisture content and the maximum dry density. Results of changes in Atterberg limits showed that presence of salt ions reduces the plasticity of the soil and it was seen a certain decrease in the liquid limit and subsequently a dramatic drop in soil plasticity by increasing the percentage of soil; while the plastic limit remained almost unchanged. Eventually, results of open inflation showed that whatever the salt concentration be higher, the rate of sample's open inflation will be lower

Using the SERVQUAL model to evaluate the quality of services for a farm school store

The main objective of this paper is to present and analyse the findings of research which aims to measure the services that a locally-based SME (Small-Medium Enterprise) campus store of a farm school provides to its customers. The examined start-up store is operated by the College students in the context of their entrepreneurship, business and marketing classes. After one year of operation students decided to evaluate the quality of the store’s services and measure the customers’ satisfaction by applying the well-known SERVQUAL model. The deployment of the model revealed at first the importance of the store know-how to measure services from the consumers’ perspective so as to better understand their needs. Secondly, the findings of the research highlighted ‘Security’, ‘Reliability’ and ‘Empathy’ as the most significant dimensions. The findings of this research can help small and medium enterprises to improve the services they provide to their customers by focusing on these three important dimensions

Evaluation of internet banking service adoption among Yemeni customers

The main aim of this study is to examine empirically the factors that affect the adoption of Internet banking. Although Internet banking has been widely adopted in various developed countries, consumers’ adoption of this service in developing countries has been slower than anticipated. That is, in developing countries, Internet banking services has not been used as much as they could or should have been. There is sill a limited empirical research on Internet banking service in developing countries. There is a clear need to investigate the factors that influence customers' intention to adopt Internet banking. Identifying influential factors that influence customer's intention to adopt Internet banking service is crucial. This study extended Innovation Diffusion Theory by trust. Data collected from 1286 respondents in Yemen. Structural equation modelling was used for data analysis. The results indicate that perceived relative advantage, perceived ease of use, perceived compatibility, perceived trialability, and trust are salient determinants of customers’ adoption of Internet banking. The findings of this study provide several important implications for Internet banking adoption research and practice

Internet banking adoption: integrating technology acceptance model and trust

Rejection of Internet banking is one of the most important problems that faces banks in developing countries. So far, very few academic studies have been conducted on Internet banking adoption in Arab countries. Hence, this research aims to investigate factors that influence the intention to use Internet banking in Yemen. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1286 respondents through a survey. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze data. The findings supported the research hypotheses and confirmed that perceived relative advantages, perceived ease of use, trust of the Internet banking all impact attitude toward the intention of adopting Internet banking. This paper makes a contribution to Internet banking literature. It sheds light on the factors that affect Internet banking adoption. The findings made a contribution in terms of understanding the factors that can contribute to the adoption of Internet banking by Yemeni consumers

Internet banking adoption: an empirical study

Rejection of Internet banking is one of the most important problems that faces banks in developing countries. So far, very few academic studies have been conducted on internet banking adoption in Arab countries. Hence, this research aims to investigate factors that influence the behavioral intention to use Internet banking in Yemen. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1286 respondents through a survey. Data were then analyzed by structural equation modeling. The findings verified the research hypotheses and confirmed that perceived relative advantages and perceived ease of use, all impact attitude toward the intention of adopting Internet banking. This paper makes a contribution to Internet banking literature by providing insights on the factors that affect Internet banking adoption. The results hint that information about Internet banking services, and its benefits is a critical factor influencing the adoption of Internet banking service. The findings made a contribution in terms of understanding the factors that can contribute to the adoption of Internet banking by Yemeni consumers