Midpoint Research Articles

Changes in Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Instructional Technology Attributed to Completing the ISTE NETS*T Certificate of Proficiency Capstone Program

An evaluation was conducted of teachers’ attitudinal perceptions of their confidence for implementation, stages of innovation adoption, and satisfaction, as a result of participating in the International Society for Technology in Education's National Educational Technology Standards-Teachers (ISTE NETS*T) Certificate of Proficiency Capstone Program. The Self-Efficacy and Stages of Concern instruments provide insight into the attitudinal progression of program participants. Data were collected at pre, mid, post, and follow-up points. Results showed that the capstone program is effective; participants were clearly more confident that they could implement the technology-based/enhanced teaching/learning strategies in their schools; had far fewer concerns about their level of preparedness; were anxious to work with others in their schools; and believed their school/classroom climate was conducive to and supportive of technology integration. Additionally, participants’ principals and/or supervisors were asked to provide data on their perception of the influence the capstone courses had on their teachers.

A generalized analytical compliance model for cartwheel flexure hinges.

Normal cartwheel flexure hinge (NCFH) typically consists of two flexible springs crossing at their mid points. These have been used in compliant mechanism applications owing to the large motion range of such hinges. In this paper, a novel generalized cartwheel flexure hinge (GCFH) is proposed by modifying spring number and varying the angle between two springs on the basis of the NCFH. A 6 degrees of freedom (6-DOF) compliance model of the GCFH was derived. Validity of this model was demonstrated using finite element analysis simulation and experimental results on a GCFH with 3 pairs of springs and 70° angle. According to the model, influence of distribution and shape parameters of GCFH on performance was analyzed. Characteristics such as compliance, off-axis/axis compliance ratio, motion precision, and capacity of rotation were determined. Results show that the GCFH can achieve improved performance compared to NCFH with optimized GCFH parameters.

Digital anatomic study of computer simulated sacral pedicle screw placement for treatment of sacral fracture

Objective To investigate the digitized anatomical structure and application of computer simulated sacral pedicle screw placement for treatment of sacral fracture. Methods Three-dimensional reconstruction from CT data of the 61 adult human pelvises was conducted using the Mimics software. Safe zones for S1-4 pedicle screw placement were defined, imbedding of sacral screw was simulated, and screw entry point, length, diameter and direction were measured. Results Screws entry site of S1 was located on the lateral border of S1 superior articular process basilar part. Screw entry sites of S2-4 was located on the upward of the midpoint of ligature between sacral plate upper and lower foramina sacralia posteriora lateral border, and the screw entry site moved outside gradually from the top to the bottom along with larger camber and smaller diameter and length of the pedicle screws. Significant differences between the female and male patients were noted in the distance between screw entry site of S2 and S3 sacral hole superior border tangent (L2), the vertical dimension between screw entry site of S2 and center of the sacral crest (L3), the largest diameter of S3 screw (P 0.05). Conclusion Anatomical measurements of sacral pedicle including the screw entry point, length, diameter, and direction by the Mimics software might be a reference for clinical treatment of sacral fracture. Key words: Sacrum; Bone nails; Computer simulation; Anatomy

An inequality related to $eta$-convex functions (II)

Using the notion of eta-convex functions as generalization of convex functions, we estimate the difference between the middle and right terms in Hermite-Hadamard-Fejer inequality for differentiable mappings. Also as an application we give an error estimate for midpoint formula.

Estimation of the rootzone depth above a gravel layer (in wild blueberry fields) using electromagnetic induction method

Wild blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) fields in the north east Canada are naturally grown in a course textured thin layer of soil and below this layer is a soilless layer of gravel. The root zone depth of this crop varies from 10 to 15 cm. Investigating the depth to the gravel layer below the course textured soil is advantageous, as it affects the water holding capacity of the root zone. Water and nutrient management are the two primary determinants of crop yield and the amount of leaching. The objective of this study was to estimate the depth to the gravel layer using DualEM-2 instrument. A C++ program written in Visual Studio 2010 was used to develop mathematical models for estimating the depth to the gravel layer from the outputs of DualEM-2 sensor. Two wild blueberry fields were selected in central Nova Scotia, Canada to evaluate the performance of DualEM-2 instrument in estimating the rootzone depth above the gravel layer. The mid points of squares created by grid lines were used as the sampling points at each experimental site. The actual depth to the interface was measured manually at selected grid points (n = 50). The apparent ground conductivity (ECa) values of DualEM-2 were recorded and the depth to the interface was estimated for the same sampling points within the selected fields. The fruit yield samples were also collected from the same grid points to identify the impact of the depth to the gravel layer on crop yield. After calibrations, comprehensive surveys were conducted and the actual and estimated depths to the interface were established. The interpolated maps of fruit yield, and the actual (zin) and estimated ( $$ {\text{z}}_{\text{in}}^{*} $$ ) depths to the interface were created in ArcGIS 10 software. Results indicated that the zin was significantly correlated with $$ {\text{z}}_{\text{in}}^{*} $$ for the North River (R 2 = 0.73; RMSE = 0.27 m) and the Carmel (R 2 = 0.45; RMSE = 0.20 m) sites. Results revealed that the areas with shallow depth to the gravel layer were low yielding, indicating that the variation in the depth to the gravel layer can have an impact on crop productivity. Non-destructive estimations of the depth to the gravel layer can be used to develop erosion control strategies, which will result in an increased crop production.

Numerical method for evaluation triple integrals by using midpoint's rule

In this paper, we derive method to find the values of the triple integrals numerically its integrands continuous but have singularity in partial derivatives in the region of the integrals by using Midpoint's rule on the three dimensions , and and how to findthe general form of the errors (correction terms) and we will improve the results by using Romberg acceleraion from correction terms that we found it when the number of subintervals that divided interval integral on the exterior dimension equal to twice the number of subintervals(n) on the interior dimension and the number of subintervals on the middle dimension.

Enhanced magnetic response and metallicity in AB stacked bilayer graphene via Cr-doping

First-principles study for the electronic and magnetic properties of Cr atom doping in lower layer of AB bernal stacked bilayer graphene (BLG) is presented. This doping is analysed in three different configurations; (i) Hollow type (above the centre of C hexagon), (ii) Top-type (directly on the top of any C atom) and (iii) Bridge type (mid point of any C–C bond). It has been observed that the doping of Cr atom enlarges the interlayer spacing in BLG as compared to pure one. The Top-type (T-type) doping is found to be most stable energetically. The doping of Cr atom in all configurations generates the large spin polarization and induces the appreciable magnetic moment. Half metallicity has been obtained in Hollow type (H-type) doping with a suitable band gap of 0.28 eV in minority spin channel. The origin of magnetism has been identified via interactions of 3d-states of doped Cr atom with p-states of inequivalent C atoms present in the vicinity of doping site. The electron densities plots also confirm the metallic nature of Cr-doped BLG. Our results reveal that the resultant BLG has potential for futuristic applications such as high frequency transistors, spintronics, photodetectors and energy resources.

Hybrid technique for robust and imperceptible multiple watermarking using medical images

This paper presents a secure multiple watermarking method based on discrete wavelet transform (DWT), discrete cosine transforms (DCT) and singular value decomposition (SVD). For identity authentication purpose, the proposed method uses medical image as the image watermark, and the personal and medical record of the patient as the text watermark. In the embedding process, the cover medical image is decomposed up to second level of DWT coefficients. Low frequency band (LL) of the host medical image is transformed by DCT and SVD. The watermark medical image is also transformed by DCT and SVD. The singular value of watermark image is embedded in the singular value of the host image. Furthermore, the text watermark is embedding at the second level of the high frequency band (HH) of the host image. In order to enhance the security of the text watermark, encryption is applied to the ASCII representation of the text watermark before embedding. Results are obtained by varying the gain factor, size of the text watermark, and medical image modalities. Experimental results are provided to illustrate that the proposed method is able to withstand a variety of signal processing attacks such as JPEG, Gaussian, Salt-and-Pepper, Histogram equalization etc. The performance of the proposed technique is also evaluated by using the benchmark software Checkmark and the technique is found to be robust against the Checkmark attacks such as Collage, Trimmed Mean, Hard and Soft Thresholding, Wavelet Compression, Mid Point, Projective, and Wrap etc.

Heat and mass transfer in polygonal micro heat pipes under small imposed temperature differences

Micro heat pipes have been used to cool microelectronic devices, but their heat transfer coefficients are low compared with those of conventional heat pipes. We model heat and mass transfer in triangular, square, hexagonal, and rectangular micro heat pipes under small imposed temperature differences. A micro heat pipe is a closed microchannel filled with a wetting liquid and a long vapor bubble. When a temperature difference is applied across a micro heat pipe, the equilibrium vapor pressure at the hot end is higher than that at the cold end, and the difference drives a vapor flow. As the vapor moves, the vapor pressure at the hot end drops below the saturation pressure. This pressure drop induces continuous evaporation from the interface. We solve for the evaporation rate in the limit the evaporation number E→∞, and find that the liquid evaporates mainly in a boundary layer at the contact line. An analytic solution is obtained for the leading-order evaporation rate. Since the pipe is slender and the imposed temperature difference small, the heat and mass transfer along the pipe is skew-symmetric about the mid point of the pipe. Hence, we only need to focus on the heated half of the pipe. Furthermore, because the pipe and bubble are long, the coupled vapor and liquid flows along the pipe are predominantly uni-directional, and the heat transfer by vapor flow and by conduction in the liquid and wall are essentially one-dimensional. Thus, we find analytic solutions for the temperature profile and vapor and liquid pressure distributions along the pipe. Two dimensionless numbers emerge from the momentum and energy equations: the heat-pipe number, H, which is the ratio of heat transfer by vapor flow to conductive heat transfer in the liquid and pipe wall, and the evaporation exponent S, which controls the evaporation gradient along the pipe. In the limit H→0 or S→0, conduction in the liquid and wall dominates. When H→∞ and S→∞, vapor-flow heat transfer dominates and a thermal boundary layer appears at the hot end, the thickness of which scales as S-1L, where L is the half-length of the pipe. A similar boundary layer exists at the cold end. Outside the boundary layers, the temperature is uniform. These regions correspond to the evaporating, adiabatic, and condensing regions commonly observed in conventional heat pipes and are absent in most micro heat pipes leading to their low heat transfer coefficients. We also find a dimensionless optimal pipe length Sm=SmH for maximum evaporative heat transfer. Thus, our model suggests that micro heat pipes should be designed with H≫1 and S=Sm. We calculate H and S for four published micro-heat-pipe experiments, and find encouraging support for our design criterion.

On the instability of symmetric formulas for numerical differentiation and integration

The stability of the order of symmetric formulas for derivative approximation used in finite-difference methods for solving differential equations is analyzed. The stability of the order of a numerical differentiation formula with respect to the shift of the application point (at which this formula is applied) is defined. The conditions of numerical experiments determining the behavior of the order of the simplest symmetric approximation formulas for the first and second derivatives in the case of point shifts are described, and some numerical results are presented. The instability of the maximum order of these formulas is shown in examples. A family of rectangular quadrature rules is examined in a similar manner, and the instability of the second order of the quadrature midpoint formula is demonstrated.

Morphometric analysis of fibular graft dimensions for placement of dental implants

IntroductionSurgical resections in the maxilla and mandible due to varied etiologies may lead to significant facial deformities, altered oral functions and subsequent psychological problems, raising the need for advanced reconstruction techniques. The goal of reconstruction being establishment of mandibular continuity with acceptable cosmetic result, establishment of osseous alveolar base for further dental rehabilitation and correction of soft tissue defect.The present study was aimed for observing the length of the fibular graft with maximum height and width along which the implants with bigger diameter and maximum height can be fitted. MethodsThe study was conducted on thirty dry human fibula bones. The mean length of fibular bone extending from the styloid process to the lateral malleollus was calculated. The mean width at the midpoint was recorded. The mean width of the medial, lateral and posterior surfaces was assessed for compatibility of different standard commercially available dental implant systems. ResultsThe study recorded the mean length of the fibula (X–Y) as 35.58 cm, ranging between 32 and 40 cm. Mean length of the bone available for graft (W–Z) is recorded as 16.72 cm. The mean width at the midpoint (A) being 12.83 mm. DiscussionThe maximum width and height of the fibula existed from a point 30 mm proximal to the mid point and 20 mm distal to the mid point and fibular graft if procured between these two points will provide us with maximum width and height. This knowledge would help the maxillofacial surgeons to procure the vascularised graft.

Anatomy of General Surgical Operations

Safe surgery is founded upon accurate knowledge of the appropriate anatomy. The purpose of this book is to bring the latter into the operating theatre to describe operations principally in terms of the anatomy concerned. The second edition of this book describes the anatomy of general surgical operations in 44 chapters written by a variety of specialists in their fields, with all the chapters being co-authored by the main author. Although entitled ‘General Surgical Operations’, many of these operations would currently be undertaken in the UK by specialist surgeons, particularly those on the head and neck, neurosurgery and vascular surgery. Indeed, it is difficult to know what the definition of general surgery is at the present time, especially in the UK. The preface is very short and does not clearly indicate what the author considers to be the appropriate readership for the book. Certainly, many of the chapters are too advanced for those taking the MRCS but are eminently suitable for those taking the intercollegiate speciality FRCS in general surgery and equivalent examinations, in particular the Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons. The second edition has been totally redesigned with new art work and there is a greater coverage of the anatomical variation that the surgeon will encounter. There is also a greater accent on endoscopic procedures. The book is divided into seven parts – abdominal operations, general surgical operations in the thorax, head and neck surgery, surgical oncological procedures, arterial and venous surgery, general surgical neurological operations and surgery of the skin. Chapter 9, which describes the various forms of vagotomy, is a little dated but is of historical interest with the authors indicating that this operation is rarely undertaken nowadays. I particularly enjoyed reading chapter 15, which gives an exceptionally clear and practical approach to the anatomy of the anal canal. There were one or two inaccuracies in the book. For example, Figure 1.4 is not very clear and is poorly labelled (surely the first part of the figure should be labelled ‘rectus sheath – above the costal margin’). Also the third part of the figure should refer to the internal rather than external oblique aponeurosis while the word aponeurosis is also misspelt. In addition, some of the figures are unclear especially Figure 21.3, which is poorly drawn and at one point incorrectly labelled. Figure 23.1 is also unclear and poorly labelled. There is also some lack of consistency; in Chapter 21, Figure 21.4 contains the Latin nomenclature of muscles. In Chapter 36, the abdominal aorta is described as passing through the aortic hiatus in the diaphragm. Strictly speaking, there is no aortic hiatus in the diaphragm as the aorta passes behind the crura of the diaphragm in an osseoaponeurotic opening between the vertebral column and the diaphragm and, therefore, clearly behind the latter. In Chapter 37, the external iliac artery is described as crossing behind the mid-point of the inguinal ligament rather than the mid-inguinal point. Apart from these minor criticisms this is an excellent book describing the anatomical basis for general surgical operations. It is clearly written and the majority of the diagrams are excellent. Being written by surgeons it accentuates the important aspects of applied anatomy, giving sound practical advice. The problem is to whom would I recommend this book in the UK? Certainly, I would recommend it to those studying for the intercollegiate speciality examination in general surgery. Many of the chapters are probably too advanced for those studying for the MRCS. More experienced surgeons will also find it useful as a source of reference that clearly demonstrates the practical application of anatomy to the art of surgery.

Adaptive "3R" De-Noising Algorithm Based on Near Infrared Bi-Spectrum

Adaptive de-noising algorithm is proposed based on transmission spectrum and absorption spectrum of near infrared. Near infrared transmission spectrum and absorption spectrum collected synchronously are decomposed into intrinsic mode functions by ensemble empirical mode decomposition; the intrinsic mode function is a single frequency component. Correlations between intrinsic mode functions and transmission spectrum, absorption spectrum were calculated, and the correlation between intrinsic mode functions of transmission spectrum and absorption spectrum was also computed. The results show that the intrinsic mode function with minimum correlation coefficient should be noise component. The self-correlation of this intrinsic mode function was analyzed to judge whether the intrinsic mode function is noise. IF the self-correlation is very large at the midpoint and is zero or very small at the other point of the spectrum, then the intrinsic mode function is noise component for judgment, based on which "3R" algorithm is named to judge whether the intrinsic mode function is noise component. Removing noise component, constructing spectral signal and circulating the previous decomposition was conducted, and the noise reduction process was ended until it did not meet the "3R" rule. To do experiment on the simulated spectrum with noise, the effect of de-noising with "3R" algorithm is better than EMD and EEMD low pass filter, and it is not so good as wavelet decomposition. In the real spectrum testing, the model was established between spectra treated by above methods with chlorophyll on three layers. BP neural network, and the model de-noised by "3R" method has the biggest correlation coefficient and prediction coefficient, but the smallest correction standard error and prediction standard error. "3R" method's effects on the peak position and peak intensity of spectrum are the smallest among the four kinds of de-noising methods. Experiments show that the "3R" algorithm based on bi-spectrum can be used for near infrared spectra de-nosing without presetting the number of iterations, there is no need to consider layers of decomposition, also no need of basis function, and the adaptability is very strong.

Empirical Evaluation of Drivers’ Operating Speeds along Curvatures on Single Carriageway Roads

Choice of vehicle’s speed is one of the most important factors for a driver for proper vehicle’s control and selecting a wrong speed results in loss of vehicle’s control; particularly in negotiating road curvatures. Many of such speed related errors could be attributed to inconsistencies in the road alignment, that surprise the driver as a result of sudden change in road characteristics leading to an excess critical speed, hence, losing the vehicle’s control. This inconsistency should be accounted for and controlled by the engineers. This study was carried out to evaluate the speeds of the drivers when negotiating various layouts of road bends, determination of possible factors affecting drivers’ operating speed and development of prediction models for operational 85th percentile driver’s speed. Speeds of over 4000 vehicles (light and heavy) were collected at 10 road curves of various designs using speed radar meter and video recording system. Speeds were measured at three different points along the curves; the entry, mid and exit points. Preliminary findings from this study revealed that there are some inconsistencies in the features of the existing road curves. The design of the existing curves used in this study can be regarded as fair as the change in the operating speed of light vehicles was found to be higher than 10 km/h; being the established lower limiting value. Likewise, the road curves could also be regarded to fall within a fair and poor design because the average change in operating speed exceeded the limiting value of 20 km/h when compared with the posted speed limit. However, more data would be required to improve the accuracy of the results.

Current Differential Protection for Distributed Transmission Lines using Low Sampling Frequency

Current differential protection has been affected negatively by the distributed capacitive current of transmission lines. In order to solve the problem of distributed capacitance current of transmission line, the current differential protection in this paper is based on distributed parameters model of the transmission line. The current formula along with the transmission line is derived under this distributed parameter line model. The differential criterion is constructed with the current calculated from both ends to the set point. In order to improve the practicality of the criterion, the implementation of the differential protection is given under low sampling frequency. By adding a cubic spline data interpolation point at each sampling interval, the calculation of the set point distributed current under low sampling frequency is achieved. In order to improve the operating speed of current differential protection, the point is set at the midpoint of the line, and the magnitude of the current is calculated with a half data window absolute value integrals. The results show that the proposed novel current differential principle is not affected by the distributed capacitance current. It has obvious advantages compared with traditional current differential protection principle for the low sampling frequency requirement, fast action speed and the small amount of computation.

The Morphometric Study of Degenerative Lateral Canal Stenosis at L4-L5 and L5-S1 Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): Feasibility Analysis for Posterior Surgical Decompression.

This study was to evaluate the morphological features of degenerative spinal stenosis and adequacy of lateral canal stenosis decompression via unilateral and bilateral laminectomy. Measurements of facet joint angulation (FJA), mid facet point (MFP), mid facet point distance (MFPD), the narrowest point of the lateral spinal canal (NPLC) and the narrowest point of the lateral spinal canal distance (NPLCD) were performed. At L4L5 of the right and left side, the mean distance between the lateral border of the dura and MFP was 1.0 ± 0.2 cm and 1.0 ± 0.3cm respectively. The mean NPLC was seen at 0.7 ± 0.3 and 0.7 ± 0.3 cm cm from the dura. At L5S1 of the right and left side, the mean distance between the lateral border of the dura and MFP was 1.2± 0.2 and 1.3 ± 0.2 cm respectively. The mean NPLC was seen at 0.8 ± 0.4 and 0.9 ± 0.5 cm from the dura. Unilateral laminectomy may result in incomplete decompression.

Preliminary evaluation of shear wave elastography for median nerve neuropathy

Objective To explore the feasibility of real-time quantitative shear wave elastography (SWE) in median nerve (MN) lesions. Methods Seventy-three healthy volunteers (total 146 nerves) were included as control group (group A). The neuropathic group consisted of 85 patients (total 115 nerves), according their clinical symptoms and electrophysiological results. They were divided into two groups: diabetic peripheral neuropathy group (group B, 57 nerves) and carpal tunnel syndrome group (group C, 58 nerves). The real-time quantitative SWE embedded in Supersonic AixPlorer was used to detect the MN. The mean elasticity modulus of the MN at the wrist (WEmean), at the midpoint of the forearm (FEmean) and the mean elasticity modulus ratio of the MN and the musculus flexor digitorum superficialis in the same interest region at the midpoint of the forearm (FRatio) were calculated. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to assess the diagnostic efficiency. Pearson rank correlation was used to analyze the correlation between the cross-sectional area (CSA) and WEmean of MN at the level of pisiform bone. Results There were significant differences of the elastic parameters between group C and A (P 0.05). The area under the curve(AUC) of elastic parameters indicated that WEmean and FEmean were higher than FRatio in diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome(AUC>0.8). No significant difference of diagnostic value was found between WEmean and FEmean(P>0.05). The CSA of MN positively correlated with WEmean (r=0.33, P<0.05). Conclusions SWE technology showed its feasibility in MN evaluation. It could be used to assess the stiffness of nerve neuropathy and may be a quantitative tool for clinical median neuropathy diagnostics. Key words: Ultrasonography; Median neuropathy; Shear wave elastography

Effect of TCVR Controlled Voltage on Short-Circuit Calculations in Case of Ground Fault in the Algerian Network

Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) technology has been developed to control voltage and reactive power in power systems by incorporating high speed power electronic devices. The FACTS device presented in this research work is Thyristor Controlled Voltage Regulator (TCVR) which is a novel FACTS device that aims to control system voltage and hence improves voltage regulation. This paper studies the effect of voltages injected by TCVR, whether positive or negative, on short-circuit calculations. The type of fault considered is a ground fault that occurs at the end of a high voltage line compensated at its mid point by TCVR while maintaining a fixed fault resistance. A case study is selected for a high voltage power line in the Algerian transmission network. In this research work, the illustrated simulation results show perfect agreement with the presented theoretical analysis which is based on the method of symmetrical components.

A GENERALIZATION OF OSTROWSKI TYPE INEQUALITY FOR MAPPINGS WHOSE SECOND DERIVATIVES BELONG TO L1(a,b) AND APPLICATIONS

In this paper, we will improve and generalize inequality of Os- trowski type for mappings whose second derivatives belong to L1 (a,b). Some well known inequalities can be derived as special cases. In addition, per- turbed mid-point inequality and perturbed trapezoid inequality are also ob- tained. The obtained inequalities have immediate applications in numerical integration where new estimates are obtained for the remainder term of the trapezoid and midpoint formula. Applications to some special means are also investigated.

A Method for Human Emotion Recognition System

This paper studied computationally efficient algorithm for facial feature selection based on template matching method which further leads to identification of sm iling face or neutral face. At first, minimal pre-processing including gray scale conversion is done on the image. After that, matching between original image and template image is done using normalized cross-correlation technique. Each matching area is bounded by box to identify that region of interest. The n the mid points between the eye regions are found and the distance between the mid points and the corne rs of the mouth region is calculated. On the basis of the distances between these features, emotions are recognized. After detecting neutral or smiling face, different types of facial expressions are classi fied using linear support vector machine used as multiclass classifier.