Designing Android Based Software for Anthropometry, Hearing test, and Visual Test to Monitor Children Developmental Status

The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018 reported that the prevalence for children under five with growth and development disorders was 28.7%, and Indonesia was included in the third country with the highest prevalence in the Southeast Asia region. As such, monitoring child growth and development is pivotal to determine necessary intervention and prevention. With technological advancement, monitoring child growth and development has become more accessible. The main objective of this paper is to explain the process of designing an Android software application for anthropometry, hearing test, and visual test to monitor children's developmental status. We employed to research and development methods, including need analysis, data collection, application design, user trial, and evaluation. The findings showed that the application could monitor growth and development in children from the age of zero to 72 months based on anthropometric testing related to auditory and visual stimulation in children. The application is useful in detecting the growth and development of children based on the results of the child's stimulation response. Based on the results of user trials by medical experts, parents, technological experts, it can be concluded that the software is applicable in monitoring the status of children's growth and development.

A Study on Soot and Ash Accumulation Characteristics of Diesel Particulate Filter Substrate Using Nondestructive Computed Radiography X-ray Imaging Technique

The diesel particulate filter of a diesel engine is an after-treatment device that removes particulate matter from exhaust emissions by filtering and oxidating them through a regeneration process. When the diesel particulate filter is damaged, a vehicle inspection is usually performed; if the cause is not found through using on-board diagnostics, then the diesel particulate filter is removed, and a visual test is conducted. However, it is not easy to find the exact cause of the diesel particulate filter being damaged, and a visual test takes a long time as the diesel particulate filter substrate is covered by a canister. In this study, using the computed radiography X-ray imaging technique, X-ray images were taken after placing an accumulated amount of carbon powder, similar to soot and ash powder in the substrate. Results confirmed that carbon powder and ash powder were shown in white in X-ray images, leading to a conclusion that distinguishing between carbon powder and ash powder is possible by analyzing the pixel value through the image processing technique. However, since pixel values alone are insufficient for exact quantitative evaluation, various studies and analyses are necessary for quantitative evaluation.

SpecTalk: Conforming IoT Implementations to Sensor Specifications

Due to the fast evolution of Sensor and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, several large-scale smart city applications have been commercially developed in recent years. In these developments, the contracts are often disputed in the acceptance due to the fact that the contract specification is not clear, resulting in a great deal of discussion of the gray area. Such disputes often occur in the acceptance processes of smart buildings, mainly because most intelligent building systems are expensive and the operations of the sub-systems are very complex. This paper proposes SpecTalk, a platform that automatically generates the code to conform IoT applications to the Taiwan Association of Information and Communication Standards (TAICS) specifications. SpecTalk generates a program to accommodate the application programming interface of the IoT devices under test (DUTs). Then, the devices can be tested by SpecTalk following the TAICS data formats. We describe three types of tests: self-test, mutual-test, and visual test. A self-test involves the sensors and the actuators of the same DUT. A mutual-test involves the sensors and the actuators of different DUTs. A visual-test uses a monitoring camera to investigate the actuators of multiple DUTs. We conducted these types of tests in commercially deployed applications of smart campus constructions. Our experiments in the tests proved that SpecTalk is feasible and can effectively conform IoT implementations to TACIS specifications. We also propose a simple analytic model to select the frequency of the control signals for the input patterns in a SpecTalk test. Our study indicates that it is appropriate to select the control signal frequency, such that the inter-arrival time between two control signals is larger than 10 times the activation delay of the DUT.

Weldability of Underwater Wet-Welded HSLA Steel: Effects of Electrode Hydrophobic Coatings

The paper presents the effects of waterproof coatings use to cover electrodes on the weldability of high-strength, low-alloy (HSLA) steel in water. With the aim of improving the weldability of S460N HSLA steel in water, modifications of welding filler material were chosen. The surfaces of electrodes were covered by different hydrophobic substances. The aim of the controlled thermal severity (CTS) test was to check the influence of these substances on the HSLA steel weldability in the wet welding conditions. The visual test, metallographic tests, and hardness Vickers HV10 measurements were performed during investigations. The results proved that hydrophobic coatings can reduce the hardness of welded joints in the heat-affected zone by 40–50 HV10. Additionally, the number of cold cracks can be significantly reduced by application of waterproof coatings on the filler material. The obtained results showed that electrode hydrophobic coatings can be used to improve the weldability of HSLA steel in underwater conditions.

IMPLEMENTATION OF ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS METHOD TO INVESTIGATE FAILURE OF FRONT WALL TUBE BOILER

Root cause analysis is a method that observes on all of possible causes that can make the system or components fail. This research is implemented such method to investigate failed front wall tube on the boiler. The purpose of this research is to find out the main cause of failure on front wall tube in order to avoid similar problem in the future.  With considering all aspects that have potential to be the main cause of failure therefore, many tests and examinations are done including visual test, fractography, metallography, chemical analysis, hardness test, SEM and EDS analysis.  Examination result on the fracture surface shows two bulges on a tube and some longitudinal cracks spread on bulges outside surface area. While thick scale is also found on inside surface of these bulges. Moreover microstructure and hardness changes are also found on this area.  From all of tests result that obtained it is concluded that the main cause of failure is the presence of scale that reduce heat transfer, so that local over heating occurred. Consequently, its tensile strength in this area is decreased and finally tube could not support operational pressure and deformed to make bulge.     Root cause analysis is a method that observes on all of possible causes that can make the system or components fail. This research is implemented such method to investigate failed front wall tube on the boiler. The purpose of this research is to find out the main cause of failure on front wall tube in order to avoid similar problem in the future.  With considering all aspects that have potential to be the main cause of failure therefore, many tests and examinations are done including visual test, fractography, metallography, chemical analysis, hardness test, SEM and EDS analysis.  Examination result on the fracture surface shows two bulges on a tube and some longitudinal cracks spread on bulges outside surface area. While thick scale is also found on inside surface of these bulges. Moreover microstructure and hardness changes are also found on this area.  From all of tests result that obtained it is concluded that the main cause of failure is the presence of scale that reduce heat transfer, so that local over heating occurred. Consequently, its tensile strength in this area is decreased and finally tube could not support operational pressure and deformed to make bulge.    Â

The Relationship between Spatial Ability and the Conservation of Matter in Middle School

Research has shown that spatial ability plays a key role in understanding STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) content, including chemistry. Conservation of Matter (CoM) is an essential but challenging topic for chemistry students of all ages to grasp; it is often taught in a way where students memorize it but do not learn what it means conceptually. This research explored the relationship between understanding spatial ability and conceptual understanding of CoM in middle school students. CoM was examined in two ways using the Conservation of Matter Assessment (CoMA): through questions on conservation of atoms and the conservation of mass. Spatial ability was measured using the Purdue Spatial Visual Test: Rotations (PSVT). Significant, moderate correlations were found between spatial ability and understanding of CoM prior to and after a chemistry unit including instruction on CoM; the correlation was stronger after instruction. Scores on the PSVT and CoMA significantly increased pre to post instruction. The data show spatial ability may impact students’ understanding of CoM, which contributes to the literature on factors that impact students’ understanding of chemistry. Additionally, it provides evidence that teachers should consider including spatially rich experiences in their chemistry classroom, such as making explicit connections between the areas of Johnstone’s Triad.

Szemmozgások elemzése tradicionális és újszerű vizuális tesztkörnyezetben: a háttérkép disztraktor hatása a szakkádikus paraméterekre

Háttér és célkitűzésekA szakkádikus szemmozgási paraméterek biomarkerként történő önálló használata egyes degeneratív neuropszhichiátriai kórképek felismerésében egyelőre kérdéses. Jelen vizsgálatunk célkitűzése egy olyan szakkádikus szemmozgásvizsgálati protokoll megvalósítása, amely a nemzetközi klinikai kutatásoknak megfelelően kialakított vizsgálati paraméterekkel jellemezhető. Továbbá egészséges vizsgált személyek szakkádparamétereinek a nemzetközileg publikált adatokkal való összehasonlítása, illetve a Boston Sütilopás feladatban használt kép vizuális tesztkörnyezetbe történő beépítésének disztraktor-hatásvizsgálata a szakkádikus paraméterekre.MódszerVizsgálatainkat egészséges önkéntes alanyokon végeztük Tobii Pro X3-120 berendezéssel, két eltérő vizuális környezetet tartalmazó, egyéb tekintetben teljesen megegyező felépítésű, proszakkád és antiszakkád tesztek gap és overlap feladataiban. Az egyik csoport vizuális tesztkörnyezete standard szürke háttérből és fekete stimulusokból állt (STD tesztcsoport), a másiké a Boston Afázia Teszt Sütilopás képleírási feladatban használt képet és zöld-piros színű stimulusokat tartalmazott (BSL tesztcsoport).EredményekA proszakkád és antiszakkád overlap latencia mindkét csoportban nagyobb volt, mint a gap feladatban. A vizsgálati alanyok életkora közepes erősségű módon korrelált az STD csoport proszakkád gap latenciájával, illetve a BSL csoport proszakkád overlap latencia, antiszakkád gap/overlap latencia és overlap időtartam értékével. A csoportok közötti életkori eltérés statisztikai kontrollja mellett nem találtunk különbséget a proszakkád és antiszakkád latencia, illetve csúcssebesség tekintetében. A szakkád időtartamok szignifi kánsan rövidebbek voltak a BSL csoportban. Az iránytévesztési ráta a proszakkád tesztben megegyezett; az antiszakkád gap időtartam, az overlap időtartam, illetve a gap iránytévesztési ráta szignifi káns csoportkülönbséget mutatott.KövetkeztetésekA nemzetközi sztenderdeknek megfelelő újszerű vizsgálati protokoll alkalmasnak látszik hagyományos neuropszichológiai tesztekkel és kutatócsoportunk közelmúltban kidolgozott automatikus beszédfelismerő algoritmusokat alkalmazó tesztjeivel kombinálva egészséges és demencia szindrómával élő személyek multimodális klinikai vizsgálatában történő felhasználásra.Background and aimsThe use of saccadic parameters as specifi c biomarkers in the diagnosis of degenerative neuropsychiatric disorders is still problematic. The aim of the current study was to 1) establish a protocol for saccadic eye movement measurements that is concordant with international clinical investigations; 2) compare saccadic parameters of healthy subjects with internationally published data, and 3) integrate the picture from Boston Cookie Theft test into the visual test environment and evaluate its distractor effects on saccadic parameters.MethodsHealthy volunteers were assessed with Tobii Pro X3-120 eye tracker in two distinct visual settings, but otherwise identical test environment evaluating prosaccades and antisaccades in gap and overlap conditions. One group was assessed in a visual test environment based on a traditional uniform grey background with black stimuli (STD test group), while the visual test environment of the other group contained the Cookie Theft picture of the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination with green and red stimuli (BSL group).ResultsProsaccade and antisaccade latencies were signifi cantly longer in the overlap condition both in the BSL and STD groups. After controlling for age, the STD and BSL group did not differ in terms of prosaccade latency, antisaccade latency or peak velocity; only saccade durations were shorter in the BSL group. Saccadic direction error rate in the prosaccade task was identical in both groups, while the antisaccade gap duration, overlap duration and gap direction error rates showed signifi cant group differences.The present, newly developed protocol conforms to international standards, and may be useful for multi-modal clinical studies assessing healthy subjects and people suffering from dementia, combined with traditional neuropsychological tasks and the speech recognition task recently developed by our research group.