Loose Connection Research Articles

Exploring the Communication Experiences of Hearing-Impaired College Students

Objectives: The studies on hearing-impaired college students in Korea tend to focus on sign language and deaf culture, however studies exploring the communication experiences or communication strategies of students who communicate using spoken language are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to deeply understand their communication experiences and obtain practical information for improving communication services by exploring the meaning and essence of the communication experiences of hearing-impaired college students who use spoken language. Methods: Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with six hearing-impaired college students, and data was organized and analyzed using the Colaizzi phenomenological methodology. The statements extracted during the categorization process were continuously compared, and the analysis and interpretation were repeated, following a cyclical flow of qualitative research. Results: 13 subthemes and 4 themes were categorized into ‘Limitations in communication accessibility’, ‘Positive communication experiences’, ‘Communication characteristics: Loose connection’, and ‘Communication recovery strategies’. And the final category was ‘Communication experiences: Continuation of ceaseless efforts’. Conclusion: The hearing-impaired college students who participated in this study experienced limitations in environmental and physical communication accessibility. Nevertheless, it was confirmed that they positively overcame the communication difficulties caused by hearing impairment through continuous efforts and social communication supports. Based on the results of this study, important factors to consider for smooth communication of hearing-impaired college students and future services were discussed.

INSTALASI PEMBUMIAN DAN INSTALASI LISTRIK MUSHOLA AL MUTTAQIIN TEMBESI KIBING-BATU AJI BATAM

The condition of the electrical installation system in people's homes and especially places of pray (Mushola) in Tembesi Kalurahan Kibing, Batu Aji District, Batam City, most people still do not understand about electrical installations and there are still many things that do not comply with general regulations regarding electrical installations, apart from There are still many electrical installation connections carried out by the community themselves which do not comply with the provisions. Community service by providing counseling and going directly to see the location that is the target for carrying out service activities, namely the Al Muttaqiin prayer room. By holding community service (PKM), residents of Kibing Village will understand how to install electricity properly, correctly and safely. The equipment selected for installation in an electrical installation must meet applicable standards and must be suitable for its environment. Installation of equipment must comply with the provisions in PUIL, and match the equipment manufacturer's instructions. Electrical installations must be regularly inspected and tested for misuse, damage or poor installation, including loose connections. To protect against leakage currents, grounding and ELCB can be installed.In order to achieve an increase in public knowledge and understanding about the importance of electrical hazards, this activity needs to be sustainable

Effect of platform design of dental implant abutment on loosening and fatigue performance

Under the influence of daily occlusal forces, mechanical complications such as loose connections and fatigue damage are significant factors contributing to dental implant failure. The structural design of implant components is crucial in enhancing the long-term durability of implant systems. This research explores the impact of the platform structure of the abutment on connection loosening and fatigue properties. Four abutments with varying platform structures were designed and produced. The study involved testing and comparing screw loosening behavior before and after loading, as well as evaluating static load strength and fatigue characteristics. Observations were made on abutment surface wear and fatigue sections. A three-dimensional model was utilized to confirm damage location using the finite element method. Results indicate that the abutment’s platform structure enhances anti-loosening performance and static failure load, while reducing fatigue life. Additionally, the position of fatigue fracture in the abutment is influenced by the load magnitude. The finite element analysis (FEA) findings align with the results of the static load tests.

Study on the evolution laws and induced failure of series arcs in cylindrical lithium-ion batteries

With the increase of voltage level in energy-storage and power battery system, the electrical safety phenomenon of battery systems has received extensive attention. The issue of series arcs caused by electrical failure such as loose connections in battery systems has become increasingly serious. However, research on series arcs in battery systems is still in its early stages. Therefore, to investigate arc-related disasters in batteries, this study establishes an experimental platform to simulate series arc faults. Taking positive electrode terminal arcs as the focused point, this study explores the evolutionary patterns of battery-related arcs and under different conditions, and analyzes the hazardous effects on batteries. The results indicate that stable arcs can be generated in batteries with different states of charge (SOC) when the system voltage is 200 V and the circuit current is 2C. At the same time, the arc can melt the battery casing to form holes, leading to electrolyte leakage, and triggering battery short-circuit and open-circuit failures. The research findings of this study fill a gap in the field of battery system arc safety and are of vital importance for enhancing the safety performance of arc protection.

Alterations in anterior lens capsule structure and LTBP-2 expression in primary angle-closure glaucoma

ObjectiveThis study investigated the role of latent-transforming growth factor β-binding protein 2 (LTBP-2) in primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) by analysing its expression and the ultrastructure of the anterior lens capsule...

PCG-based exercise fatigue detection method using multi-scale feature fusion model

Accurate detection of exercise fatigue based on physiological signals is vital for reasonable physical activity. Existing studies utilize widely Electrocardiogram (ECG) signals to achieve exercise monitoring. Nevertheless, ECG signals may be corrupted because of sweat or loose connection. As a non-invasive technique, Phonocardiogram (PCG) signals have a strong ability to reflect the Cardiovascular information, which is closely related to physical state. Therefore, a novel PCG-based detection method is proposed, where the feature fusion of deep learning features and linear features is the key technology of improving fatigue detection performance. Specifically, Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) is employed to convert 1D PCG signals into 2D images, and images are fed into the pre-trained convolutional neural network (VGG-16) for learning. Then, the fusion features are constructed by concatenating the VGG-16 output features and PCG linear features. Finally, the concatenated features are sent to Support Vector Machines (SVM) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) to distinguish six levels of exercise fatigue. The experimental results of two datasets show that the best performance of the proposed method achieves 91.47% and 99.00% accuracy, 91.49% and 99.09% F1-score, 90.99% and 99.07% sensitivity, which has comparable performance to an ECG-based system which is as gold standard (94.32% accuracy, 94.33% F1-score, 94.52% sensitivity).

Analysis on failure test and evaluation about refueling receptacle of onboard hydrogen system

ABSTRACT As the key component of the onboard hydrogen system, the service life and failure problem of the refueling receptacle easily leads to the hydrogen leakage accident which give rise to the suffocation, the frostbite, the burns, and the impact injuries. The typical hydrogen leakage accidents include the accidental leakage, the ignition, the deflagration, and the explosion. Therefore, the failure test and evaluation problem about the refueling receptacle is focused on. In this paper, the failure test and evaluation about the refueling receptacle covering the vibration resistance performance, the temperature resistance performance, and the durability was studied. First, the failure mechanisms of the refueling receptacle involving the vibration, the temperature, and the durability based on the vehicle operating conditions were clarified. Second, according to the test experience and the vehicle operating condition, the test methods about the failure phenomenon of the refueling receptacle were established, respectively. Finally, the failure test results of the refueling receptacle were analyzed. The failure of the refueling receptacle may caused by the aging and failure of sealing element, the metal creep aging and material damage, the decline in the contact stress at the low-temperature connection, the loose connection, and the internal structural ectopia.

Recent research and developments of degradation assessment and its diagnosis methods for solar PV plant: a review

The world is moving forward to a transition in the form of increasing the contribution of renewable energy sources in the energy sector, and among these, solar photovoltaic-based power generation is catching pace. Several factors are responsible for the lowering of outputs due to different degradation causes such as hotspots, corrosion, humidity, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, temperature effects, dust, aging, weathering, yellowing, snail trails, discoloration, junction box failure, delamination, cracks, and faults from the solar photovoltaic (PV) plants. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the various form of degradation and their implications on solar PV power plant performance. The review has been carried out considering the different degradation causes and their identification methods in solar PV plant. Further, the analysis has been done on the basis of the earlier studies to understand the rates of degradation for various solar PV power plants in various climatic conditions. The PV technologies used in solar power plants are also responsible for the change in the performance of power plants over time; therefore, degradation based on different solar PV cell technologies is also analyzed. The visual inspection tools like thermal imaging with IR cameras help identify areas with abnormal heat patterns, indicating potential issues like cell or interconnect failures, loose electrical connections, or bypass diode malfunctions while EL cameras are used to identify low-level electrical excitation and defects such as cracks, hotspots, and cell-level degradation.

Stories as Boundary Objects: Digital Storytelling with Migrant Communities for Heritage Discourses

Heritage is a dynamic concept, being constantly redefined by those that value it. Modern approaches to heritage bring focus to participatory processes that put communities at the centre of the heritage discourse. For migrant communities, these participatory processes can show the tension of integration versus identity, as migrants integrating into their host country can maintain, adapt or loose connections to their cultural identity. Digital storytelling platforms can offer space for exposing such tensions. In this paper, storytelling is adopted as a practice to engage three communities of migrants (with different socio-cultural contexts) on their relation to heritage. Through workshops, participants created 78 stories (accessible through a Digital Storytelling platform), which were thematically analysed. Using the concept of boundary objects, we discuss how participant's stories reflect heritage discourse and how they are entangled within the wider social, economic, and environmental context.

Strengths within the Community Perceived by Older Adults Living Alone in a Semi-Mountainous Rural Region: A Qualitative Study.

It is recommended that health promotion activities in the community focus on residents' strengths. Hence, this study explored the community strengths perceived by older adults living alone in a semi-mountainous rural region of Japan. A qualitative, descriptive approach was used. Content analysis was performed using data obtained through face-to-face interviews. Interview data were coded; codes were classified based on similarity to create subcategories and categories. The strengths within the community, as perceived by older adults living alone in a semi-mountainous rural region, were revealed in four categories related to ten subcategories: "loose connections with others", "active community participation", "close relationships with community professionals", and "familiarity with the living environment". Strengths within the community perceived by older adults living alone in a semi-mountainous rural region were cultivated in an environment formed by their past lives. Utilizing these resources may help support community-based societies in semi-mountainous rural regions where depopulation and aging are expected to continue in the future. This study was not registered.

1067 Accuracy of an Augmented Reality Spine Surgery Guidance System With Stereoscopic Targeting Head Mounted Display Compared to Standard Computer Navigation, Robotic Systems, and Existing AR Systems

INTRODUCTION: Augmented Reality (AR) offers the benefit of improved hand-eye coordination by accurately superimposing 3D stereoscopic displays for surgical instruments onto anatomic landmarks. METHODS: 120 pedicle screws were implanted using an AR system (OnPoint AR, OnPoint Surgical, Bedford, MA) (thoracic 50, lumbosacral 70; pre-op CT 40, O-arm 80). Heary grading was applied by an independent radiologist assessing the degree of pedicle breaches. 3D measurements of positional error (PE) and angular error (AE) were performed by comparing post-operative CT scans of implanted screws with planned trajectories. Statistical analyses compared PE and AE for OnPoint AR with the available values for other systems using an unequal variance t-test method. RESULTS: 113 screws placed demonstrated Heary grade 1 accuracy. 6 screws had a larger diameter than the pedicle and were planned with in-out-in technique with Heary grade 2 accuracy. One screw demonstrated a lateral breach (grade 2) caused by a loose connection to the screwdriver. PE and AE (mean ± 1SD) for OnPoint AR were the following: for intra-operative spin 1.1mm±0.5mm and 1.3°±0.5°; for pre-operative CT 1.9mm±1.2mm and 2.2°±1.3°. Percent increment in PE and AE for Medtronic Stealth Station, Brainlab navigation, Stryker nav3i, Medtronic Mazor X robot, Globus Excelsius robot, Augmedics Xvision, and Novarad VisAR compared to OnPoint AR ranged between 40–80%, with differences being highly significant for all comparisons. CONCLUSIONS: PE and AE for placing pedicle screws are statistically significantly smaller for the novel AR system compared to existing navigation, robotic, and AR systems. A positional error of 1.1mm and angular error of 1.3° makes this technology particularly suited for small pedicles, challenging anatomy, and MIS techniques.

The Crocodylian proatlas functions to redistribute venous blood and cerebrospinal fluid.

The proatlas, a bone located between the skull and the neural spines of the cervical vertebrae, is best known from reptiles. Most previous studies of the proatlas have centered on its developmental, debating the relationship between the proatlas and the cervical neural arches. The present study was intended as a description of the proatlas in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) and an experimental test of its hypothesized role in venous blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) distribution. In Alligator, the proatlas is chevron-shaped; ventrally it has a loose connection to the dorsal surface of the first cervical vertebrae, dorsally it has a robust elastic tissue tether on the otoccipital and supraoccipital bones. The ventral surface of the proatlas parallels the dorsal margin of the foramen magnum and rests on the dorsal surface of the spinal venous sinus. Experimental manipulation of the proatlas demonstrated that displacement of the proatlas causes pressure changes in both the spinal venous sinus and the enclosed spinal CSF. The results of this study represent the first demonstration of an explicit functional role for the proatlas, the circulation of fluids between the cranial and spinal compartments of the central nervous system.

Growing attention on the toxicity of Chinese herbal medicine: a bibliometric analysis from 2013 to 2022.

Introduction: Despite the clinical value of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM), restricted comprehension of its toxicity limits the secure and efficacious application. Previous studies primarily focused on exploring specific toxicities within CHM, without providing an overview of CHM's toxicity. The absence of a quantitative assessment of focal points renders the future research trajectory ambiguous. Therefore, this study aimed to reveal research trends and areas of concern for the past decade. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on publications related to CHM and toxicity over the past decade from Web of Science Core Collection database. The characteristics of the publication included publication year, journal, institution, funding, keywords, and citation counts were recorded. Co-occurrence analysis and trend topic analysis based on bibliometric analysis were conducted on keywords and citations. Results: A total of 3,225 publications were analyzed. Number of annal publications increased over the years, with the highest number observed in 2022 (n = 475). The Journal of Ethnopharmacology published the most publications (n = 425). The most frequently used toxicity classifications in keywords were hepatotoxicity (n = 119) or drug-induced liver injury (n = 48), and nephrotoxicity (n = 40). Co-occurrence analysis revealed relatively loose connections between CHM and toxicity, and their derivatives. Keywords emerging from trend topic analysis for the past 3 years (2019-2022) included ferroptosis, NLRP3 inflammasome, machine learning, network pharmacology, traditional uses, and pharmacology. Conclusion: Concerns about the toxicity of CHM have increased in the past decade. However, there remains insufficient studies that directly explore the intersection of CHM and toxicity. Hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity, as the most concerned toxicity classifications associated with CHM, warrant more in-depth investigations. Apoptosis was the most concerned toxicological mechanism. As a recent increase in attention, exploring the mechanisms of ferroptosis in nephrotoxicity and NLRP3 inflammasome in hepatotoxicity could provide valuable insights. Machine learning and network pharmacology are potential methods for future studies.

A study on the effect of music listening on people with high neurotic tendency as evidenced by negative affective scores and physiological responses.

Music listening has been found to be effective in reducing stress levels with different participant samples. Relatively little evidence has been obtained from people with high neurotic tendency (HNT), whose dispositional psychological characteristics might dampen the effect of music listening. This study therefore tried to examine the immediate effect of music listening in reducing stressful feelings of participants with either high or low neurotic tendency. Seventy-nine undergraduate participants who were identified as having either HNT or low neurotic tendency (LNT) accomplished a stressful task before listening to a comforting music piece. Negative affect (NA) scores and heart rate were measured at different phases. Results in a within-subjects analysis showed that the stressor and music listening could significantly alter the stressful feeling of both participant groups. Although the percentage changes in heart rate were similar between the groups, the changes of NA score which were measured after either the stressful task or the music listening session were consistently lower in the HNT group than the LNT group. The divergence revealed a loose connection between the subjective feelings and the bodily changes in the HNT group, which could be important for clinicians and practitioners to take into consideration in psychology when evaluating the stressful feelings for their clients with HNT.

Exploring flat-band properties in two-dimensional M3QX7 compounds.

We present a computational study of the M3QX7 family of two-dimensional compounds, focusing specifically on their flat-band properties. We use a high-throughput search methodology, accelerated by machine learning, to explore the vast chemical space spawned by this family. In this way, we identify numerous stable 2D compounds within the M3QX7 family. We investigate how the chemical composition can be manipulated to modulate the position and dispersion of the flat bands. By employing a tight-binding model we explain the formation of flat bands as a result of a relatively loose connection between triangular M3QX3 clusters via bridges of X atoms. The model provides an understanding of the residual interactions that can impact the band dispersion. The same loose connection between clusters not only leads to strongly localized electronic states and thus flat electronic bands but also leads to localized phonon modes and flat bands in the phonon dispersion.

Self-Detachment of Nanoporous Thin Films

Nanoporous metals consist of a network of interconnected ligaments with diameters tunable between 5 and 500 nm. The talk focusses on nanoporous metal thin films prepared by electrochemical dealloying of 300 nm thick Au25Ag75 films deposited on a pure Au base layer. This type of nanoporous gold film is the subject of many studies investigating the material as sensor, as catalyst, or as substrate for energy storage.The massive Au base layer is intended as an adhesion promoter and to prevent the corrosion from attacking the substrate. Yet, contrary to expectation, we observed that the as-dealloyed nanoporous films developed a gap near the base layer, with extremely loose connection. Screening electron micrographs in earlier publications revealed that the deficit in connectivity is ubiquitous – even though it has not been broached. We could readily reproduce the feature in kinetic Monte Carlo simulations of dealloying, with no special assumptions on the processes near the base layer. The talk will describe these observations, and we argue that the evolution of the connectivity in nanoporous thin films is sensitive to gradients, in the direction of the film thickness, of the laterally averaged surface mean curvature. Specifically, surface diffusion driven by the energetically favorable planar substrate results in a net current from ligaments connected to the substrate towards the substrate, leading to degradation and eventual pinch-off of these ligaments. A similar phenomenon occurs at the outer surface, causing densification and retraction of the outermost ligaments.Our findings suggest that this phenomenon may be relevant for all nanoscopic contact interfaces where surface diffusion is sufficiently fast. These results have significant implications for the design and implementation of nanoporous thin films in various applications, including sensor and actuator devices. Mitigation strategies will be discussed.Reference:G. Henkelmann, D. Waldow, M. Liu, L. Lührs, Y. Li and J. Weissmüller; Self-Detachment and Subsurface Densification of Dealloyed Nanoporous Thin Films. Nano Lett 22 (2022) 6787. Figure 1

Slope conception as rate of change starter kit: Malaysian pre-service secondary mathematics teachers’ subject matter knowledge in rate of change

Past research on calculus has shown that students often struggle to understand derivatives due to an overemphasis on algebraic manipulation and procedures rather than grasping the underlying concept. A key factor contributing to this challenge is the lack of a solid understanding of slope as a rate of change. Conceptualizing slope as a rate of change is essential, as it serves as the basis for comprehending derivative concepts. To address this gap, our research explored subject matter knowledge of rate of change, specifically focusing on the slope concept, among Malaysian pre-service mathematics teachers. Our research followed a qualitative methodology, conducting task-based interviews with two pre-service mathematics teachers, Zheng and Amitha, who are majoring in mathematics. The interviews included seven tasks related to slope and ratio concepts. The findings revealed inconsistencies in their notion of rate of change, as they have a loose connection between rate of change and slope concepts, along with its multiplicative property. While they recognized that equivalent values of rate of change indicate a constant rate, they did not grasp that slope also represents a rate of change. Their knowledge appeared limited to viewing derivatives as a method to calculate rate of change, without conceiving the changes occurring between quantities and their multiplicative relationship.

FC21: Loose functional connectivity within the striatum in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

Objective:Previous studies have reported that the structure and function of the striatum are important in bvFTD, and the striatum can be divided into more subregions. Changes within brain regions has recently attracted increasing attention, but most studies have explored the relationship between the striatum and other brain regions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the changes in the intra-striatal resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC).Methods:We acquired fMRI data from 26 bvFTD patients and 36 healthy controls. The Human Brainnetome Atlas was used to define the spatial extent of the striatum and delineate its subregions. Intra- and extra-striatal FC values were then calculated for each individual and compared between bvFTD and control groups.Results:Compared to healthy controls, bvFTD showed decreased intra-striatal FC. Both intra-hemispheric and inter-hemispheric functional connectivity were compromised. There was also a gradient reduction in terms of the functional connectivity within striatum: the left dorsolateral putamen showed most decrease and the left ventral caudate exhibited the least (Fig 1). The extra-striatal FC between striatum and the insula was also decreased.Conclusion:The loose intra-striatal functional connectivity may underly the neural substrate of bvFTD.

The convenient method and application for monitoring the health of traffic sign poles based on mobile phone

Traffic sign poles are crucial components of the highway system, and their maintenance mainly relies on the subjective judgment of staff, which is low-efficiency and will lead to mistaken inspections. This paper proposes a convenient and effective method to monitor the health of sign poles by using a mobile phone. It is unknown whether a mobile phone can be used as a conventional acceleration sensor. Therefore, the performance of the mobile phone was initially tested to ensure its suitability for acquiring the acceleration data of the traffic sign pole. The results show that the acceleration sensor of mobile phones is high-performance and can be used as a traditional acceleration sensor under the similar sampling frequency. The mobile phone can measure the 1st, 2nd and 5th natural frequencies of the traffic sign pole. Although the 1st and 5th natural frequencies have a large error with simulation, the 2nd natural frequency is accurate and stable. The looseness of the base connection greatly impacts on the 2nd natural frequency, which can be used as a measure of the loose base connection. The 2nd natural frequency was measured for 21 times and found to conform to a normal distribution. The relationship between the 2nd natural frequency and base connection loosening was investigated, which fitted to the equation. The fitting result is good and can be used to predict the degree of sign pole base connection loosening. Therefore, the mobile phone based convenient health monitoring method for traffic sign poles is feasible.

A cetacean limb from the Middle Eocene of Ukraine sheds light on mammalian adaptations to life in water

Abstract There are a few mammalian lineages secondarily adapted to life in water throughout their evolutionary history. Of them, only sirenians and cetaceans evolved as fully aquatic organisms. This transition was accompanied by changes in swimming mode, from foot paddling to tail-powered propulsion, with the forelimbs acting as efficient hydrofoils and the gradual loss of external hindlimbs. Here, we describe an isolated limb from the Middle Eocene of Ukraine, 43–42 Mya, identified as a hindlimb of a fully aquatic cetacean and being the earliest cetacean reported from Europe. It is represented by flattened, jointly articulated bones, identified as the tibia and fibula with a partly reduced knee joint and loose connection to the pes, and by flattened phalanges. This anatomy reveals a hitherto only presumed cetacean morphotype, showing that some of the early fully aquatic cetaceans were four-legged animals with functional hindlimbs that could be involved in advanced styles of swimming. They used either body undulation or lift-based propulsion powered by the tail or feet and could also use a transitional swimming style combining these modes.