全國中小學科展

依國際科展年度查詢

2022年

Generating Conditioned Air in an Open Space in Accordance with Sustainable Architecture Criteria (Based on Wind-Catchers)

Nowadays, cooling open spaces in hot seasons without using fossil fuels has gained a lot of attention. In this regard, natural air conditioning is a great method for conserving energy that can be used for reducing energy consumption and environmental pollution. Structures like windcatchers are used for natural air conditioning as a building component in warm climates since they are placed in the path of the wind and direct the wind to play a significant role in reducing the temperature. The main objective of the current study is to explore air conditioning in open spaces based on sustainable architecture. The current study reviews the relevant literature from credible journals, and it includes studies with relevant subjects published from 1851 to 2021. The findings show that implementing this design project can result in significant advances in terms of reducing humidity, removing dust and insects from the air, conserving energy, reducing the global temperature, using renewable energies, and producing conditioned air for the area

The Use of Brine Shrimp to Test for Water Pollutants

The use of brine shrimp nauplii to test for the overall toxicity of sediment samples is proposed. Brine shrimp nauplii were cultured with different concentrations of heavy metals, including chromium (III), copper (II), nickel, lead and zinc, and organic pollutants, including triclosan, oxybenzone, octinoxate and bisphenol A. The brine shrimp nauplii were observed under a dissection microscope to determine the death rate. Results showed that brine shrimp nauplii are more sensitive to copper, cadmium, bisphenol A and oxybenzone. The LC50 (24h) are 55.5, 24.9, 5.6 and 2.7 ppm respectively. Zinc is likely to have synergistic toxic effect with nickel or lead. The synergistic toxic effects of other heavy metals and organic pollutants should be confirmed with further investigations. Brine shrimp nauplii were treated with extracts from sediment samples collected from the oyster culture zone of the Deep Bay, namely Pak Nei, Sha Kiu Tsuen and Hang Hau Tsuen. The sediment samples were extracted with neutral sodium acetate to dissolve the exchangeable heavy metal ions and some organic pollutants. The death rate of brine shrimp nauplii treated with the sediment extract of Hang Hau Tsuen was similar to 1 ppm PBA. It was also about 10 to 20% higher than that of the other two sites (Pak Nei and Sha Kiu Tsuen). Since Hang Hau Tsuen is closer to the residential area and Lau Fau Shan Seafood Market than the other two sites, its sediment sample is likely to have a higher level of environmental pollutants. The results suggest that brine shrimp nauplii may be used as a biomarker to monitor the environmental changes in the overall level of pollutants in sediment samples.

Anti-bacterial Crab bio-bandages with Bio-dressings 2.0

Commercially available bandages such as hydrocolloid are neither biodegradable nor anti-bacterial. Chitin is known to be the second most naturally available polysaccharide which could be transformed to chitosan which is known to be anti-bacterial (Hasan, 2018) (Chao, 2019) and haemostatic (Okamoto, 2003) (Hu, 2018). Chitosan can be further converted to hydrogel which is bio-degradable and has good water absorbance. Anti-bacterial crab bio-bandages and crab bio-dressings should be bio-degradable as it took 42 days and a month for complete bio-degradation respectively, so they should be better than commercial bandages such as Nexcare Hydrocolloid as the disposal of anti-bacterial crab bio-bandages with bio-dressings would no longer pose burden to landfilling or threat to our environment. Anti-bacterial crab bio-bandages with bio-dressings are anti-bacterial with degree of deacetylation of DD% (measured using FTIR Spectrum II) 82.6% (due to the presence of chitosan) even without the application of other anti-bacterial agents and hence can provide complete protection of wounds from skin and soft tissues infections and haemostatic (due to the presence of chitosan). After testing and certification based on IS997:2004 and BS EN 13726-1, they should meet many requirements specified. Anti-bacterial crab bio-bandages should be eligible for marketing. Some results were as follows: 1.4 Anti-bacterial effect of crab hydrogels and roasted crab hydrogels Pure chitosan, crab chitosan, crab hydrogels and roasted crab hydrogels showed significant anti-bacterial effect. NO oral bacterial colonies were present in drinking water with crab hydrogels. Thus crab hydrogels could serve as effective anti-bacterial wound dressings. 1.6 Basing on IS997:2004 standard, the load per unit of area of anti-bacterial bio-bandages was 342g/m2 which met the minimum requirement of 36g/m2, the anti-bacterial bio-bandages had stronger tension strength (>20N both in dry and wet conditions) than commercial hydrocolloid. (2.7N dry 2.8N wet) which was comparable with that required (50-67N) and pH of about 7 which met the pH range of 4.5-8. 1.7 The FSA Free-Swell Absorbency of synthetic blood of crab hydrogel bio-dressings was 1.86g per 5cm x 5cm dressing which was much higher than that of commercial hydrocolloid (0.299g per 5cm x 5cm dressing) based on BS EN 13726-1.

搶救生命大作戰 - AI姿態辨識在智慧型高品質CPR訓練引導式教學輔具系統設計之研究

本研究以CPR訓練模型輔具做為研究對象,根據專家說明CPR動作要正確純熟,除了依賴良好的教學輔具系統引導外,其功能上更需要有按壓姿勢的正確判斷,因此本研究藉助科技AI輔助,設計AI姿態辨識的智慧型高品質CPR訓練引導式教學輔具系統,經研究證實系統能逹到: 一、協助學習者熟練CPR的操作流程並解決訓練模型設計問題。 二、成功運用邊際運算功能提高AI辨識的速度。 三、拍肩反應、判斷按壓位置、深度更可利用壓力感測器及超音波感應器進行偵測。 四、能應用AI代替人類專家判斷按壓姿勢之正確性。 五、具專家模式且可獨立操作的CPR引導式教學輔具系統。 期望人人都能學到CPR正確操作技巧及爭取黃金復甦時間,搶救寶貴生命。

Development of an Android Application for Triage Prediction in Hospital Emergency Departments

Triage is the process by which nurses manage hospital emergency departments by assigning patients varying degrees of urgency. While triage algorithms such as the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) have been standardized worldwide, many of them are highly inconsistent, which could endanger the lives of thousands of patients. One way to improve on nurses’ accuracy is to use machine learning models (ML), which can learn from past data to make predictions. We tested six ML models: random forest, XGBoost, logistic regression, support vector machines, k-nearest neighbors, and multilayer perceptron. These models were tasked with predicting whether a patient would be admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), another unit in the hospital, or be discharged. After training on data from more than 30,000 patients and testing using 10-fold cross-validation, we found that all six models outperformed ESI. Of the six, the random forest model achieved the highest average accuracy in predicting both ICU admission (81% vs. 69% using ESI; p<0.001) and hospitalization (75% vs. 57%; p<0.001). These models were then added to an Android application, which would accept patient data, predict their triage, and then add them to a priority-ordered waiting list. This approach may offer significant advantages over conventional triage: mainly, it has a higher accuracy than nurses and returns predictions instantaneously. It could also stand-in for triage nurses entirely in disasters, where medical personnel must deal with a large influx of patients in a short amount of time.

水熊蟲於化學環境壓力耐受機制探討Tolerance mechanisms of Tardigrade under chemical environmental stresses

常見模式生物檢測化學環境壓力後無法重複使用。本研究探討對環境變化敏感的大生熊蟲抗化學環境壓力機制,評估其作為重複使用模式生物可行性。得知多數大生熊蟲於硝酸鹽、酸鹼值改變與殺蟲劑環境壓力下仍能活動或隱生。以亞甲藍簡易染色可確認化學環境壓力下大生熊蟲是否受傷害,如體表角質層被破壞會導致完全染色。分析大生熊蟲於常見硝酸鹽環境壓力下體內脂質含量、總蛋白質單體表現量與總抗氧化能力,推測出大生熊蟲對抗硝酸鹽環境壓力機制:1.藉由> 20 kDa持續性活化蛋白抗硝酸鹽環境壓力。2.活動大生熊蟲增加體內脂質含量隔絕環境硝酸鹽。3.隱生大生熊蟲以抗氧化系統降低硝酸鹽產生的氧化壓力傷害。以上結果得知大生熊蟲具潛能檢測常見化學環境壓力並作為重複檢測之模式生物。未來將持續評估大生熊蟲可檢測的化學環境壓力並為人類健康把關。

CONTACTLESS AND NON-DESTRUCTIVE DETECTION OF CHICKEN MEAT CONTAMINATION WITH LASER SPECKLE METHOD

Harmful microorganisms in food can cause deterioration of human health, poisoning and in some cases even death. Especially fresh meat and chicken products create a suitable environment for the growth of microorganisms in terms of the nutrients it contains, water activity and pH level. For this reason, detection of microorganisms in meat products is an important issue in terms of food safety and human health. In this project, it is aimed to detect live microorganisms in meat products, especially chicken meat, in a simple, non-destructive, non-contact and fast way using laser speckle method. Laser speckle images of healthy and stale chicken meat were taken, contrast parameter and correlation analysis of the obtained patterns were made. It was observed that the contrast parameter for staled chicken meat increased by approximately 3 times compared to fresh chicken. This increase provides an understanding of the difference between contaminated chicken and fresh chicken. Speckle density changes over time in relation to the movements of living microorganisms. Thus, the correlation in laser speckle density patterns taken from contaminated tissues is disrupted. In the measurements taken with photodiode, by analyzing the change of light intensity of the speckle patterns on fresh and contaminated tissues over time, the detection of microorganisms was made easier and more precisely without the need for image processing. The proposed measurement system is a new method that detects meat contamination with laser speckle imaging. It can be developed and made portable and can be used easily in homes. Since it is a simple, non-destructive and fast method, it can be used to determine the shelf life of meat in food distribution places and markets. In addition, it has the potential to be calibrated and used for other food products other than meat products. The system developed with this study is cheap and easy to use, and the laser speckle imaging method is used in a different field other than biomedical, contributing to the literature.

Line Following Waiter Robot

Technology is erratic. We never know what could be the next big thing. Nowadays, IoT (the internet of things) has taken over the market. Every technology created nowadays is somehow related to IoT. You should manage to connect the IoT technology with a robust area of hospitality. Catering customers' needs during peak hours at any restaurant or cafe could get overwhelmed with hectic tasks such as taking orders, fetching water, and ordering meals. We created a raw model to accommodate the limitations of the human mind. The technology-based IoT (Internet of things) can come in handy during hectic sessions. A Robot waiter is built from scratch using materials like Arduino (2), Gear DC motor (2), L298N motor driver (1), Ultrasonic sensor (2), IR sensor (2), Servo motor (4) HC-05 Bluetooth module. Desired orders are sent on a wireless network through the menu bar to the kitchen. Then, the robots transfer the food from the kitchen to the customers. The floor will be all white, while there will be a strip of black line to connect every sitting and the kitchen. For instance, if table number three is to be served, we click the number three in the app, which renders an obstacle in table 3. The motor barricades the robot, and the ultrasonic sensors sense it, and it stops. If anyone picks the plate, the ultrasonic sensor senses it, the blockage is removed, and the robot paces in the designated path. People visited the place more often to experience such stimuli. Using the robots attracted more customers and made the work very quick.

BIOINFORMATIC PREDICTION OF CORONAVIRUS (SARS-COV-2) MUTATIONS THAT INCREASE CONTAGIOUSNESS

Inhibitory effects of the secondary metabolite of actinomycete were examined on cell cycle of the yeasts of S. pombe and S. cerevisiae. The secondary metabolite was obtained from cultivation of the actinomycete isolated from the soil of Owakudani in Hakone, Japan. The fifth fraction of the secondary metabolite by ODS column separation (HK-T5), which was soluble to pure methanol, was used in the present experiments. The HK-T5 brought about the delay of forming colonies of S. pombe for about 11 days compared to that cultivated without the HK-T5. The delay of the colony formation was longer for the S. pombe cultivated with more amount of the HK-T5. The cultivation with HK-T5 also brought about the extension of the lifespan of the S. pombe for more than 10 weeks in a liquidus medium. The cell life recovered the ordinary manner by removal of the HK-T5, meaning that the activities of the HK-T5 is reversible. These facts confirm the suppression of cell cycle, and the delay of cell growth by the HK-T5. These phenomena were similarly observed for S. cerevisiae. Comparison of the action of HK-T5 with hydroxyurea, which is an anticancer drug inhibiting the cell cycle at S phase, clarified that the inhibitory action of HK-T5 worked at the phase earlier than S phase. The combined effects of HK-T5 on the cell cycle were evaluated with triamcinolone acetonide (TA), or aspirin, the former of which is a drug synchronizing cancer cells in S phase, and the latter keeping human cells in G1/G0 phases. The combined use of HK-T5 with TA synchronized the cells at the phase slightly proceeding from G1 to S phase without toxicity. On the other hand, the combined use with aspirin made the inhibitory effect of HK-T5 inactive. Hence, the HK-T5 is attractive as a drug for the extension of cell lifespan, and anticancer therapy.

Solving Mathematical and Chemical Equations using Python

Max Gold's project, titled “Solving Mathematical and Chemical Equations using Python”, is a website comprising of 4 main programmes: one to find the smallest possible combination of two chemical compounds or elements; a self-made parsing function to convert a chemical equation into a matrix, then using Gaussian-Jordan elimination to find coefficients for an equation; a programme to parse a mathematical expression and use that parsed expression in algebraic division of an algebraic dividend of nth degree polynomial by a divisor of 1st degree polynomial; finally, a programme to solve binomial equations for the power s∈Q. This website was originally made so that Max Gold could improve his programming skills for GCSE computer science but expanded to incorporate his passion for chemistry and maths and thus allow others to use these programmes to help them with their problems as well. A problem with many conventional calculator websites is their lack of specificity – they tend to be able to compute some functions but not all. These programmes are tailored to GCSE and A level maths and chemistry, meaning this website provides an outlet to compute specific topics of problems.