Search results for: data envelopment analysis

Authors: Ana Luisa Mouro, Ana Maria Ramalheira

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The Reunification of Germany, in 1990, was not received with great enthusiasm by other European countries. On the contrary, the union of the two German states was accompanied by great concern towards its possible political and economic consequences. The Europeans had not forgotten Germany’s responsibility in the outbreak of the Second World War, and many feared that this new nation would again long for a hegemonic role. During the following years, however, the notion of a threatening Germany faded away, giving place to a description of Germany as an economic giant but a political dwarf. Twenty years after the Reunification, with the outbreak of the financial crisis, Germany conquered a key and powerful position at the heart of Europe and Germanophobia started to gain ground again. The present study has been based on the survey, selection and critical analysis of news reporting, opinion articles, interviews and editorials, published in the weekly Expresso and the daily Público, during two historical moments: the Reunification of Germany in 1990 and the European Crisis, between 2008 and 2015. The findings of this study will show that Germany’s growing influence over the current European economic and political scene woke up old 'demons' that had been 'sleeping' since 1990.

Keywords: media and cultural studies, Euro crisis, German Unification, Germanophobia, Portuguese quality press

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Authors: Tugrul Torun, Ihsan A. Yuksel, Si̇nem On Aktan, Taha K. Vezi̇roglu

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In the quality control processes in some industries, the usage of CMM has increased in recent years. Consequently, the CMMs play important roles in the acceptance or rejection of manufactured parts. For parts, it’s important to be able to make decisions by performing fast measurements. According to related technical drawing and its tolerances, measurement uncertainty should also be considered during assessment. Since uncertainty calculation is difficult and time-consuming, most companies ignore the uncertainty value in their routine inspection method. Although studies on measurement uncertainty have been carried out on CMM’s in recent years, there is still no applicable method for analyzing task-specific measurement uncertainty. There are some standard series for calculating measurement uncertainty (ISO-15530); it is not possible to use it in industrial measurement because it is not a practical method for standard measurement routine. In this study, the inter-laboratory comparison test has been carried out in the ROKETSAN A.Ş. with all dimensional inspection units. The reference part that we used is traceable to the national metrology institute TUBİTAK UME. Each unit has measured reference parts according to related technical drawings, and the task-specific measuring uncertainty has been calculated with related parameters. According to measurement results and uncertainty values, the En values have been calculated.

Keywords: coordinate measurement, CMM, comparison, uncertainty

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Authors: Samir Srairi

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This paper investigates the impact of the internal corporate governance on bank performance by constructing a corporate governance index (CGI) for 27 Islamic banks operating in five Arab Gulf countries. Using content analysis on the banks’ annual reports for 3 years (2011-2013), the index construction uses information on six important corporate governance mechanisms, namely board structure, risk management, transparency and disclosure, audit committee, Sharia supervisory board and investment account holders. The results demonstrate that Islamic banks adhere to 54% of the attributes addressed in the CGI. The most frequently reported and disclosed elements are Sharia supervisory board followed by board structure and risk management. The findings related to countries revealed that only two countries, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, possess a higher level of CGI. Our regression results provide evidence that Islamic banks with higher levels of corporate governance report high operating performance measured by return on assets and net interest margin. Finally, as of the effect of internal and external factors, we identified four variables that were associated with bank performance, namely size, equity, risk and concentration.

Keywords: governance mechanisms, corporate governance index, bank performance, Islamic banks, GCC countries

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Authors: Kankrong Suangka

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This research explored behaviors of toll way users that impact their decision to use the Electronic Toll Collection System (ETC). It also went on to explore and evaluated the efficiency of toll plaza in terms of number of ETC booths in toll plaza and its lane location. The two main parameters selected for the scenarios analyzed were (1) the varying ration of ETC enabled users (2) the varying locations of the dedicated ETC lane. There were a total of 42 scenarios analyzed. Researched data indicated that in A.D.2013, the percentage of ETC user from the total toll user is 22%. It was found that the delay at the payment booth was reduced by increasing the ETC booth by 1 more lane under the condition that the volume of ETC users passing through the plaza less than 1,200 vehicles/hour. Meanwhile, increasing the ETC lanes by 2 lanes can accommodate an increased traffic volume to around 1,200 to 1,800 vehicles/hour. Other than that, in terms of the location of ETC lane, it was found that if for one ETC lane-plazas, installing the ETC lane at the far right are the best alternative. For toll plazas with 2 ETC lanes, the best layout is to have 1 lane in the middle and 1 lane at the far right. This layout shows the least delay when compared to other layouts. Furthermore, the results from this research showed that micro-simulator traffic models have potential for further applications and use in designing toll plaza lanes. Other than that, the results can also be used to analyze the system of the nearby area with similar traffic volume and can be used for further design improvements.

Keywords: the electronic toll collection system, average queuing delay, toll plaza configuration, bioinformatics, biomedicine

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Authors: Jordan Deliversky

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Unlike all conventional forms of migration, migration crisis and migratory processes provide pressure to governments and are being expressed as different phenomenon in relation to nature and forms. The objective of this paper is to present the migration and refugee crisis as revealing numerous challenges faced by authorities responsible for the social and economic stability in Bulgaria as well as those providing conditions for reinforcement of the high level of national security in Bulgaria. The analysis is focused on exploring the multiple origins of factors influencing migration processes in Europe, in the light of the measures provided by the Bulgarian state authorities. The main results show that the society itself is facing the challenge of integrating refugees and migrants, so to be able to comply with the principles and values associated with tolerance to social, religious and cultural differences, and not allowing migrants to become marginalized community. Migration pressure creates a number of risks and threats to the Bulgarian national security. Our country has the capacity and resources to meet these potential threats, as a main factor for minimizing the risks to national security is the improvement of coordination and coherence of actions between various actors serving to the security sector.

Keywords: legislation, migrants, refugees, security, terrorism

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Authors: M. Moaeen-ud-Din, G. Bilal, M. Yaqoob

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Identification of genes of importance regarding production traits in buffalo is impaired by a paucity of genomic resources. Choice to fill this gap is to exploit data available for cow. The cross-species application of comparative genomics tools is potential gear to investigate the buffalo genome. However, this is dependent on nucleotide sequences similarity. In this study gene diversity between buffalo and cattle was determined by using 86 gene orthologues. There was about 3% difference in all genes in term of nucleotide diversity; and 0.267±0.134 in amino acids indicating the possibility for successfully using cross-species strategies for genomic studies. There were significantly higher non synonymous substitutions both in cattle and buffalo however, there was similar difference in term of dN – dS (4.414 vs 4.745) in buffalo and cattle respectively. Higher rate of non-synonymous substitutions at similar level in buffalo and cattle indicated a similar positive selection pressure. Results for relative rate test were assessed with the chi-squared test. There was no significance difference on unique mutations between cattle and buffalo lineages at synonymous sites. However, there was a significance difference on unique mutations for non synonymous sites indicating ongoing mutagenic process that generates substitutional mutation at approximately the same rate at silent sites. Moreover, despite of common ancestry, our results indicate a different divergent time among genes of cattle and buffalo. This is the first demonstration that variable rates of molecular evolution may be present within the family Bovidae.

Keywords: buffalo, cattle, gene diversity, molecular evolution

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Authors: Ya-Ching Wang, Yi-Maun Subeq

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Background: There is a lack of evidence to understand differences in risk for developing breast cancer between sexual minority women and heterosexual women in Taiwan. The purpose of this study is to compare differences in risk for developing breast cancer between the two groups of Taiwanese women. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey was used to collect data. A total of 238 Taiwanese women (mean age 30.69 years old, SD=8.231, range 20-60) were recruited between December 2016 and February 2017, including 115 heterosexual women and 123 sexual minority women. Results: There were no significant differences between heterosexual women and sexual minority women in body mass index, history of non-malignant breast disease, age at menarche and menopause, use of hormone replacement therapy, use of hormone replacement therapy, nor the prevalence of breast cancer. The sexual minority women had higher rates of current drinking, smoking and using breast-bindings and also reported exercise more a week; the heterosexual women had higher rates of pregnancy, children, breastfeed, miscarriages, abortion and use of birth control pills. Discussion/Conclusion: There were significant differences between heterosexual women and sexual minority women in reproductive factors and behavioral risk factors for the development of breast cancer. In particular, the finding that the sexual minority women had higher rate of using breast-bindings (56.6%) than the heterosexual women (4.7%) should be further explore, in order to understand whether long-term breast compression is associated with the development of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, risk, sexual orientation, Taiwan

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Authors: Elkington Sibusiso Mnguni

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In South Africa, mining has been a key economic sector since the discovery of gold in 1886 in the Witwatersrand region, where the city of Johannesburg is located. However, some mines have since been decommissioned, and the continuous pumping of acid mine drainage (AMD) also stopped causing the AMD to rise towards the ground surface. This posed a serious environmental risk to the groundwater resources and river systems in the region. This paper documents the development and extent of the environmental damage as well as the measures implemented by the government to alleviate such damage. The study will add to the body of knowledge on the subject of AMD treatment to prevent environmental degradation. The method used to gather and collate relevant data and information was the desktop study. The key findings include the social and environmental impact of the AMD, which include the pollution of water sources for domestic use leading to skin and other health problems and the loss of biodiversity in some areas. It was also found that the technical intervention of constructing a plant to pump and treat the AMD using the high-density sludge technology was the most effective short-term solution available while a long-term solution was being explored. Some successes and challenges experienced during the implementation of the project are also highlighted. The study will be a useful record of the current status of the AMD treatment interventions in the region.

Keywords: acid mine drainage, groundwater resources, pollution, river systems, technical intervention, high density sludge

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Authors: Samira Brahimi

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Throughout Aisha, her first collection of short stories, Ahdaf Soueif draws a multilayered picture of the Other as others, picturing a series of encounters of her protagonist with this very Other as a set of binary elements. The current essay includes a comparative study between two narratives, namely The Returning and The Nativity. The Other is portrayed as a male/female binary in The Returning and as 'The Foreigner' in an exotic land vs. the local in The Nativity. The analysis is to focus on Aisha, the main female character, who figures as conforming to the portrait of the stereotyped Arab Muslim woman as a sex-subject, submissive, and maudlin character, confining her vision of the Other to the boundaries of her cocooned self, epitomizing a self-centered vision of the world. This reduced vision results in the possibility of viewing the Other as a hindrance to her attaining a clarified and centrifugal representation of the latter, herself, and the outside world. The encounters could also be considered as the character's opportunity for a less stigmatized perception of the elements set forth. The main queries to be probed are: what are the different perceptions of the Other by the author in the narratives set forth? How does the protagonist's encounter with the Other(s) impede her ability to understand the Other, herself, and the world around her? Or how does this encounter allow her an enlightened vision of the aforementioned elements to forge a new start? The possibility of imagining a dialogic relation between different perceptions of the Other opens up new perspectives for adopting magnified representations of the later, oneself, and the world, dilating one's imagination.

Keywords: dialogic, female, foreigner, local, male, other, others

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Authors: Mohamad Javad Shakouri, Hamid Tavakkolipour, Mahdis Jamshidi Tehranian

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The inclination toward using food coatings is increasing daily, due to containing natural elements and not producing environmental pollution. Food coatings are uniform and thin layers of natural substances that cover the food product and act as a barrier against moisture, oxygen, and substances dissolved in food. Using food coatings on fruits and vegetables can delay water dissipation, losing aroma, decolorization, and improve the appearance of the product, and in general, preserve and protect the quality of fresh produce. When fruits and vegetables grow, they are equipped with a natural shield, called cuticle– a layer of wax. Washing the products, after harvest, the cuticle – this protective coating – is removed. In order to replace the cuticle, we can use an edible protective coating. This coating delays dehydration and deterioration and hence increases the life of the product while keeping its moisture. In this study, it was concluded that using food coatings, such as corn zein, carrageenan, and starch can have a substantial effect on the quantitative and qualitative preservation of food products, such as fruits, vegetables, and mushrooms.

Keywords: food coating, corn zein, button and oyster mushrooms, ascorbic and citric acids

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Authors: Purnendu Bose, Jyoti Kainthola

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Due to recent advances in illumination technology, artificially illuminated algal-bacterial photo bioreactors are now a potentially feasible option for simultaneous and comprehensive organic carbon and nutrients removal from secondary treated domestic sewage. The experiments described herein were designed to determine the extent of nutrient uptake in photo bioreactors through algal assimilation. Accordingly, quasi steady state data on algal photo bioreactor performance was obtained under 20 different conditions. Results indicated that irrespective of influent N and P levels, algal biomass recycling resulted in superior performance of algal photo bioreactors in terms of both N and P removals. Further, both N and P removals were positively related to the growth of algal biomass in the reactor. Conditions in the reactor favouring greater algal growth also resulted in greater N and P removals. N and P removals were adversely impacted in reactors with low algal concentrations due to the inability of the algae to grow fast enough under the conditions provided. Increasing algal concentrations in reactors over a certain threshold value through higher algal biomass recycling was also not fruitful, since algal growth slowed under such conditions due to reduced light availability due to algal ‘self-shading’. It was concluded that N removals greater than 80% at high influent N concentrations is not possible with the present reactor configuration. Greater than 80% N removals may however be possible in similar reactors if higher light intensity is provided. High P removal is possible only if the influent N: P ratio in the reactor is aligned closely with the algal stoichiometric requirements for P.

Keywords: nutrients, algae, photo, bioreactor

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Authors: Mahdi Biabanaki

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Religion is present in all human societies and has been for tens of thousands of years. What is noteworthy is that although religious traditions vary in different societies, there are considerable similarities in their religious beliefs. In all human cultures, for example, there is a widespread belief in the afterlife. Cognitive science of Religion (CSR), an emerging branch of cognitive science, searches for the root of these widespread similarities and the widespread prevalence of beliefs such as beliefs in the afterlife in common mental structures among humans. Accordingly, the cognitive architecture of the human mind has evolved to produce such beliefs automatically and non-reflectively. For CSR researchers, belief in the afterlife is an intuitive belief resulting from the functioning of mental tools. Our purpose in this article is to extract and evaluate the cognitive explanations presented in the CSR field for explaining beliefs in the afterlife. Our research shows that there are two basic theories in this area of CSR, namely "intuitive dualism" and "simulation constraint" theory. We show that these two theories face four major challenges and limitations in explaining belief in the afterlife: inability to provide a causal explanation, inability to explain cultural/religious differences in afterlife belief, the lack of distinction between the natural and the rational foundations of belief in the afterlife and disregarding the supernatural foundations of the afterlife belief.

Keywords: afterlife, cognitive science of religion, intuitive dualism, simulation constraint

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Authors: Mahdi Jalili

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Functional connectivity in the human brain can be represented as a network using electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Network representation of EEG time series can be an efficient vehicle to understand the underlying mechanisms of brain function. Brain functional networks – whose nodes are brain regions and edges correspond to functional links between them – are characterized by neurobiologically meaningful graph theory metrics. This study investigates the degree to which graph theory metrics are sex dependent. To this end, EEGs from 24 healthy female subjects and 21 healthy male subjects were recorded in eyes-closed resting state conditions. The connectivity matrices were extracted using correlation analysis and were further binarized to obtain binary functional networks. Global and local efficiency measures – as graph theory metrics– were computed for the extracted networks. We found that male brains have a significantly greater global efficiency (i.e., global communicability of the network) across all frequency bands for a wide range of cost values in both hemispheres. Furthermore, for a range of cost values, female brains showed significantly greater right-hemispheric local efficiency (i.e., local connectivity) than male brains.

Keywords: EEG, brain, functional networks, network science, graph theory

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Authors: Constantin Ott, Dietmar Drummer

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The direct encapsulation of electronic components is an effective way of protecting components against external influences. In addition to achieving a sufficient protective effect, there are two other big challenges for satisfying the increasing demand for encapsulated circuit boards. The encapsulation process should be both suitable for mass production and offer a low component load. Injection molding is a method with good suitability for large series production but also with typically high component stress. In this article, two aims were pursued: first, the development of a calculation model that allows an estimation of the occurring forces based on process variables and material parameters. Second, the evaluation of a new approach for stress reduction by means of thermoplastic foam injection molding. For this purpose, simulation-based process data was generated with the Moldflow simulation tool. Based on this, component stresses were calculated with the calculation model. At the same time, this paper provided a model for estimating the forces occurring during overmolding and derived a solution method for reducing these forces. The suitability of this approach was clearly demonstrated and a significant reduction in shear forces during overmolding was achieved. It was possible to demonstrate a process development that makes it possible to meet the two main requirements of direct encapsulation in addition to a high protective effect.

Keywords: encapsulation, stress reduction, foam-injection-molding, simulation

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Authors: Alieu B. Sanneh

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In a country where there are minimal economic opportunities, with a declining living condition of the people, do electorates in Africa’s newest democracy reevaluate their support for a candidate based on issues or ethnicity. In the 2016 presidential election in The Gambia, the opposition coalition party had successfully managed to overthrow an authoritarian government, which has ruled the country for 22 years. The results of the election are not only surprising but also presented an interesting theoretical puzzle that raises important this paper is going to address. An important fact is that dictator had organized an election which he lost, and this paper will assess the voting decisions of Gambian electorates to determine whether they were more concerned with issues such as status of the economy, human rights abuses by the Jammeh administration or the ethnicities of the contestants who took part in the election. This study uses field survey data, conducted six months after this historic vote, to evaluate the opinion of the electorates. Contrary to the notion of the prevalence of ethnic voting in African elections, an argument made by many scholars, this study concluded that Gambian voters were more concerned with issues such as the economy and human rights under the Jammeh administration than they were for the ethnicities of the candidates. The election was issue-based, and that Jammeh lost the polls due to the concern the electorate had on human rights abuses by his government.

Keywords: election, issue, ethnicity, regime change

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Authors: Mohammad Aziz Shah Mohamed Arip, Aslina Ahmad, Fauziah Mohd Sa'ad, Samsiah Mohd Jais, Syed Sofian Syed Salim

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This experimental study evaluates the effect of using Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Multidimensional Self-Concept Model (MSCM) in a drug prevention programme to increase resiliency and reduce aggression among at-risk youth in Malaysia. A number of 60 (N=60) university students who were at-risk of taking drugs were involved in this study. Participants were identified with self-rating scales, Adolescent Resilience Attitude Scale (ARAS) and Aggression Questionnaire. Based on the mean score of these instruments, the participants were divided into the treatment group, and the control group. Data were analyzed using t-test. The finding showed that the mean score of resiliency was increased in the treatment group compared to the control group. It also shows that the mean score of aggression was reduced in the treatment group compared to the control group. Drug Prevention Programme was found to help in enhancing resiliency and reducing aggression among participants in the treatment group compared to the controlled group. Implications were given regarding the preventive actions on drug abuse among youth in Malaysia.

Keywords: drug prevention programme, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), multidimensional self concept model (MSCM), resiliency, aggression, at-risk youth

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Authors: Irfan Mehmood

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The goal of this study is to examine The Bluest Eye (1979) by Toni Morrison from a Marxist perspective, a literary theory developed by Louis Althusser, which emphasizes capitalism and class conflict in the modern world. Marxist literary philosophy holds that the absence of opportunities for lower-class people to own and earn properties and resources of production is the main cause of their repression. In The Communist Manifesto (1848), Karl Marx divided society into two main classes, the proletariat (the lowest class) and the bourgeois (the ruling class). Marx contends that the proletarian class has been brutally exploited by the bourgeois class in all facets of existence. The exploitation of the lower class by means of hegemony and capitalism is covered by Toni Morrison in her first novel, The Bluest Eye (1979). The goal of this study is to determine how Morrison's chosen work highlights the struggle of oppressed African Americans against entrenched systems of hegemony, interpellation, and state apparatuses. This study will look more closely at the claim that all of the miseries experienced by Afro-Americans are mostly the result of the capitalist class structure and that they can also enjoy the blessings of life through unity, hard work, and economic stability.

Keywords: class conflict; African American culture; hegemony; interpellation; state apparatuses

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Authors: Vallence Ngabo M., Leonard Atuhaire, Peter Clever Rutayisire

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The main aim of this study was to establish the differences in both the determinants of stunting and the causal mechanism through which the identified determinants influence stunting amongst male and female under-fives in Uganda. Literature shows that male children below the age of five years are at a higher risk of being stunted than their female counterparts. Specifically, studies in Uganda indicate that being a male child is positively associated with stunting, while being a female is negatively associated with stunting. Data for 904 males and 829 females under-fives was extracted form UDHS-2016 survey dataset. Key variables for this study were identified and used in generating relevant models and paths. Structural equation modeling techniques were used in their generalized form (GSEM). The generalized nature necessitated specifying both the family and link functions for each response variable in the system of the model. The sex of the child (b4) was used as a grouping factor and the height for age (HAZ) scores were used to construct the status for stunting of under-fives. The estimated models and path clearly indicated that the set of underlying factors that influence male and female under-fives respectively was different and the path through which they influence stunting was different. However, some of the determinants that influenced stunting amongst male under-fives also influenced stunting amongst the female under-fives. To reduce the stunting problem to the desirable state, it is important to consider the multifaceted and complex nature of the risk factors that influence stunting amongst the under-fives but, more importantly, consider the different sex-specific factors and their causal mechanism or paths through which they influence stunting.

Keywords: stunting, underfives, sex of the child, GSEM, causal mechanism

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Authors: Adekunle O. Afolabi, Pekka Toivanen

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The world is expected to experience growth in the number of ageing population, and this will bring about high cost of providing care for these valuable citizens. In addition, many of these live with chronic diseases that come with old age. Providing adequate care in the face of rising costs and dwindling personnel can be challenging. However, advances in technologies and emergence of the Internet of Things are providing a way to address these challenges while improving care giving. This study proposes the integration of recommendation systems into homecare to provide real-time recommendations for effective management of people receiving care at home and those living with chronic diseases. Using the simplified Training Logic Concept, stakeholders and requirements were identified. Specific requirements were gathered from people living with cancer. The solution designed has two components namely home and community, to enhance recommendations sharing for effective care giving. The community component of the design was implemented with the development of a mobile app called Recommendations Sharing Community for Aged and Chronically Ill People (ReSCAP). This component has illustrated the possibility of real-time recommendations, improved recommendations sharing among care receivers and between a physician and care receivers. Full implementation will increase access to health data for better care decision making.

Keywords: recommendation systems, Internet of Things, healthcare, homecare, real-time

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Authors: Asma'u Mahe, Abdullahi A. Imam, Adamu J. Alhassan, Nasiru Abdullahi, Sadiya A. Bichi, Nura Lawal, Kamaluddeen Babagana

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Malaria is a disease with global health significance. It is caused by parasites and transmitted by Anopheles mosquitoes. Increase in insecticide resistance threatens the disease vector control. The strength of selection pressure acting on a mosquito population in relation to insecticide resistance can be assess by determining the genetic diversity of a fragment spanning exon- 20 of IIS6 of the voltage gated sodium channel (VGSC). Larval samples reared to adulthood were identified and kdr (knock down resistance) profile was determined. The DNA sequences were used to assess the patterns of genetic differentiation by determining the levels of genetic variability between the Anopheles mosquitoes. Genetic differentiation of the Anopheles mosquitoes based on a portion of the voltage gated sodium channel gene was obtained. Polymorphisms were detected; sequence variation and analysis were presented as a phylogenetic tree. Phylogenetic tree of VGSC haplotypes was constructed for samples of the Anopheles mosquitoes using the maximum likelihood method in MEGA 6.0 software. DNA sequences were edited using BioEdit sequence editor. The edited sequences were aligned with reference sequence (Kisumu strain). Analyses were performed as contained in dnaSP 5.10. Results of genetic parameters of polymorphism and haplotype reconstruction were presented in count. Twenty sequences were used for the analysis. Regions selected were 1- 576, invariable (monomorphic) sites were 460 while variable (polymorphic) sites were 5 giving the number of total mutations observed in this study. Mutations obtained from the study were at codon 105: TTC- Phenylalanine replaces TCC- Serine, codon 513: TAG- Termination replaces TTG- Leucine, codon 153, 300 and 553 mutations were non-synonymous. From the constructed phylogenetic tree, some groups were shown to be closer with Exon20Gambiae Kisumu (Reference strain) having some genetic distance, while 5-Exon20Gambiae-F I13.ab1, 18-Exon20Gambiae-F C17.ab1, and 2-Exon20Gambiae-F C13.ab1 clustered together genetically differentiated away from others. Mutations observed in this study can be attributed to the high insecticide resistance profile recorded in the study areas. Haplotype networks of pattern of genetic variability and polymorphism for the fragment of the VGSC sequences of sampled Anopheles mosquitoes revealed low haplotypes for the present study. Haplotypes are set of closely linked DNA variation on X-chromosome. Haplotypes were scaled accordingly to reflect their respective frequencies. Low haplotype number, four VGSC-1014F haplotypes were observed in this study. A positive association was previously established between low haplotype number of VGSC diversity and pyrethroid resistance through kdr mechanism. Significant values at (P < 0.05) of Tajima D and Fu and Li D’ were observed for some of the results indicating possible signature of positive selection on the fragment of VGSC in the study. This is the first report of VGSC-1014F in the study site. Based on the results, the mutation was present in low frequencies. However, the roles played by the observed mutations need further investigation. Mutations, environmental factors among others can affect genetic diversity. The study area has recorded increase in insecticide resistance that can affect vector control in the area. This finding might affect the efforts made against malaria. Sequences were deposited in GenBank for Accession Number.

Keywords: anopheles mosquitoes, insecticide resistance, kdr, malaria, voltage gated sodium channel

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Authors: Ridwan Dewayanto Rusli

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We show how prisoner's dilemma-type competition problems can be mitigated through rapid platform diversification and ecosystem expansion. We analyze a ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia, Gojek, whose network grew to more than 170 million users comprising consumers, partner drivers, merchants, and complementors within a few years and has already achieved higher contribution margins than ride-hailing peers Uber and Lyft. Its ecosystem integrates ride-hailing, food delivery and logistics, merchant solutions, e-commerce, marketplace and advertising, payments, and fintech offerings. The company continues growing its network of complementors and App developers, expanding content and gaining critical mass in consumer data analytics and advertising. We compare the company's growth and diversification trajectory with those of its main international rivals and peers. The company's rapid growth and future potential are analyzed using Cusumano's (2012) Staying Power and Six Principles, Hax and Wilde's (2003) and Hax's (2010) The Delta Model as well as Santos' (2016) home-market advantages frameworks. The recently announced multi-billion-dollar merger with one of Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce majors lends additional support to the above arguments.

Keywords: ride-hailing, prisoner's dilemma, platform and ecosystem strategy, digital applications, diversification, home market advantages, e-commerce

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Authors: M. Y. Ismail, M. Inam

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This paper presents the design and analysis of Liquid Crystal (LC) based tunable reflectarray antenna with slot embedded patch element configurations within X-band frequency range. The slots are shown to modify the surface current distribution on the patch element of reflectarray which causes the resonant patch element to provide different resonant frequencies depending on the slot dimensions. The simulated results are supported and verified by waveguide scattering parameter measurements of different reflectarray unit cells. Different rectangular slots on patch element have been fabricated and a change in resonant frequency from 10.46GHz to 8.78GHz has been demonstrated as the width of the rectangular slot is varied from 0.2W to 0.6W. The rectangular slot in the center of the patch element has also been utilized for the frequency tunable reflectarray antenna design based on K-15 Nematic LC. For the active reflectarray antenna design, a frequency tunability of 1.2% from 10GHz to 9.88GHz has been demonstrated with a dynamic phase range of 103° provided by the measured scattering parameter results. Time consumed by liquid crystals for reconfiguration, which is one of the drawback of LC based design, has also been disused in this paper.

Keywords: liquid crystal, tunable reflectarray, frequency tunability, dynamic phase range

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Authors: Maria Magdy Danial Riad

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Background: In the United Kingdom (UK), pharmacists' roles have expanded considerably in recent decades to encompass clinical practice through more direct patient care. However, dispensing and compounding remain core activities for pharmacists. A lack of marketed preparations for species-specific animal use results in veterinary pharmacy practice compounding, retaining its prominence. Current participation by pharmacists to support this sphere of practice would appear to be minimal. Objectives: This study was undertaken to determine the opinions and views toward the practice of veterinary pharmacy by a cross-sectional group of pharmacists. Methods: Research data were collected via a self-administered survey questionnaire distributed at the 2012 annual conference of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Sampling was purposive, with a random distribution of the questionnaire to pharmacists during the conference sessions. Key findings: Interaction by pharmacists with veterinary pharmacies is currently minimal, primarily due to a lack of knowledge of veterinary medicines. Respondents revealed a lack of veterinary pharmacy courses during their undergraduate studies. This has led to situations where some veterinary prescriptions are dispensed without adequate checks being performed by the pharmacist. Pharmacists, on occasion, do not dispense veterinary prescriptions presented to them due to insufficient knowledge of veterinary medicines and/or a lack of consultable reference sources. The effect on practice is that pharmacists do not always participate as fully as would seem logical. Conclusions: Pharmacists' participation in veterinary pharmacy is limited by a lack of knowledge of veterinary medicines, mostly resulting from inadequate tuition on veterinary pharmacy during their initial education.

Keywords: veterinary pharmacy, veterinary medicines, pharmacy education, pharmacists continuing professional development

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Authors: Sayed Abdallah Mohamed Dahy

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Aswan High Dam Reservoir extends for 500 km along the Nile River; it is a vast reservoir in southern Egypt and northern Sudan. It was created as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam between 1958 and 1970; about 95% of the main water resources for Egypt are from it. The purpose of this study is to discuss and understand the effect of the fluctuation of the water level in the reservoir on natural and human-induced environmental like earthquakes in the Aswan area, Egypt. In summary, the correlation between the temporal variations of earthquake activity and water level changes in the Aswan reservoir from 1982 to 2014 are investigated and analyzed. This analysis confirms a weak relation between the fluctuation of the water level and earthquake activity in the area around Aswan reservoir. The result suggests that the seismicity in the area becomes active during a period when the water level is decreasing from the maximum to the minimum. Behavior of the water level in this reservoir characterized by a special manner that is the unloading season extends to July or August, and the loading season starts to reach its maximum in October or November every year. Finally, daily rate of change in the water level did not show any direct relation with the size of the earthquakes, hence, it is not possible to be used as a single tool for prediction.

Keywords: Aswan high dam reservoir, earthquake activity, environmental, Egypt

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Authors: Umm-E-Hani, Faiza Babar, Hanif Durad

Abstract:

Malware-detecting approaches suffer many limitations, due to which all anti-malware solutions have failed to be reliable enough for detecting zero-day malware. Signature-based solutions depend upon the signatures that can be generated only when malware surfaces at least once in the cyber world. Another approach that works by detecting the anomalies caused in the environment can easily be defeated by diligently and intelligently written malware. Solutions that have been trained to observe the behavior for detecting malicious files have failed to cater to the malware capable of detecting the sandboxed or protected environment. Machine learning and deep learning-based approaches greatly suffer in training their models with either an imbalanced dataset or an inadequate number of samples. AI-based anti-malware solutions that have been trained with enough samples targeted a selected feature vector, thus ignoring the input of leftover features in the maliciousness of malware just to cope with the lack of underlying hardware processing power. Our research focuses on producing an anti-malware solution for detecting malicious PE files by circumventing the earlier-mentioned shortcomings. Our proposed framework, which is based on automated feature engineering through autoencoders, trains the model over a fairly large dataset. It focuses on the visual patterns of malware samples to automatically extract the meaningful part of the visual pattern. Our experiment has successfully produced a state-of-the-art accuracy of 99.54 % over test data.

Keywords: malware, auto encoders, automated feature engineering, classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 50

Authors: Benu Gupta

Abstract:

The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of yogic exercise on cardiovascular exercises on selected college students of high altitude. The research was conducted on college students of high altitude in Shimla for their cardiovascular function [Blood Pressure (BP), VO2 Max (TLC) and Pulse Rate (PR)] in respect to yogic exercise. Total 139 students were randomly selected from Himachal University colleges in Shimla. The study was conducted in three phases. The subjects were identified in the first phase of research program then further in next phase they were physiologically tested, and yogic exercise battery was operated in different time frame. The entire subjects were treated with three months yogic exercise. The entire lot of students were again evaluated physiologically [(Cardiovascular measurement: Blood Pressure (BP), VO2 Max (TLC) and Pulse Rate (PR)] with standard equipments. The statistical analyses of the variance (PR, BP (SBP & DBP) and TLC) were done. The result reveals that there was a significant difference in TLC; whereas there was no significant difference in PR. For BP statistical analysis suggests no significant difference were formed. Result showed that the BP of the participants were more inclined towards normal standard BP i.e. 120-80 mmHg.

Keywords: cardiovascular function, college students, high altitude, yogic exercise

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Pramod K. Prabhakar, Prem P. Srivastav

Abstract:

Rohu (Labeo rohita) is an Indian major carp and highly relished freshwater food for its unique flavor, texture, and culinary properties. It is highly perishable and, spoilage occurs as a result of series of complicated biochemical changes brought about by enzymes which are the function of time and storage temperature also. The influence of storage temperature (5, 0, and -5 °C) on colour and texture of fish were studied during 14 days storage period in order to analyze kinetics of colour and textural changes. The rate of total colour change was most noticeable at the highest storage temperature (5°C), and these changes were well described by the first order reaction. Texture is an important variable of quality of the fish and is increasing concern to aquaculture industries. Textural parameters such as hardness, toughness and stiffness were evaluated on a texture analyzer for the different day of stored fish. The significant reduction (P ≤ 0.05) in hardness was observed after 2nd, 4th and 8th day for the fish stored at 5, 0, and -5 °C respectively. The textural changes of fish during storage followed a first order kinetic model and fitted well with this model (R2 > 0.95). However, the textural data with respect to time was also fitted to modified Maxwell model and found to be good fit with R2 value ranges from 0.96 to 0.98. Temperature dependence of colour and texture change was adequately modelled with the Arrhenius type equation. This fitted model may be used for the determination of shelf life of Rohu Rohu (Labeo rohita) Fish.

Keywords: first order kinetics, biochemical changes, Maxwell model, colour, texture, Arrhenius type equation

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Jodie Stevenson, Lisa-Marie Emerson, Abigail Millings

Abstract:

Mindfulness has been conceptualized as a dispositional trait, which is different across individuals. Previous research has independently identified both adult attachment orientations and emotion regulation abilities as correlates of dispositional mindfulness. Research has also presented a two-factor model of the relationship between these three constructs. The present study aimed to further develop this model and investigated theses relationships in a sample of 186 participants. Participants completed the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Form (FFMQ-SF), the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale for global attachment (ECR), the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERC), and the Adult Disorganized Attachment scale (ADA). Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 3-factor solution accounting for 59% of the variance across scores on these measures. The first factor accounted for 32% of the variance and loaded highly on attachment and mindfulness subscales. The second factor accounted for 15% of the variance with strong loadings on emotion regulation subscales. The third factor accounted for 12% of the variance with strong loadings on disorganized attachment, and the mindfulness observes subscale. The results further confirm the relationship between attachment, mindfulness, and emotion regulation along with the unique addition of disorganized attachment. The extracted factors will then be used to predict well-being outcomes for an undergraduate student population.

Keywords: adult attachment, emotion regulation, mindfulness, well-being

Procedia PDF Downloads 355

Authors: Justyna Moskwa, Patryk Nowakowski, Sylwia K. Naliwajko, Renata Markiewicz-Zukowska, Krystyna Gromkowska-Kepka, Anna Puscion-Jakubik, Konrad Mielcarek, Maria H. Borawska

Abstract:

For centuries, mushrooms have been used in folk medicine; however, knowledge of the composition and properties of fungi comes from the last twenty years. Mushrooms show antibacterial, antioxidant, antitumor and immune-stimulating properties; however, there is a lack of reports, on anticancer treatment of brain gliomas. The aim of this study was to examine influence of Chanterelle mushroom (Cantharellus Adans. ex Fr.) ethanolic (CHE) and water (CHW) extracts, on glioblastoma multiforme cell line (U87MG). Anti-proliferative activity of CHE and CHW in concentration (50-1000 µg/mL) was determined by a cytotoxicity test and DNA binding by [³H]-thymidine incorporation after 24, 48 and 72h of incubation with U87MG glioblastoma cell line. The statistical analysis was performed using Statistica v. 13.0 software. Significant differences were assumed for p < 0.05. We examined that CHE extracts in all the tested concentrations (50, 100, 250, 500, 1000 µg/mL) after all hours of incubation significantly decreased cell viability (p < 0.05) on U87MG cell line, which was confirmed by the significant (p < 0.05) reduction of DNA synthesis. Our results suggest that only CHE extract a cytotoxic and anti-proliferation activities on U87MG cell line.

Keywords: anticancer, food, glioblastoma, mushroom

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Murniwati, Nurul Khairiyah, Putri Ovieza Maizar

Abstract:

The association between general and oral health is clearly important, particularly in adults with medical conditions. Many of the medical systemic conditions are either caused or aggravated by poor oral hygiene and vice versa. Hypertension is one of common medical systemic problem which has been a public health concern worldwide due to its known consequences. Those consequences must be related to oral health status as well, whether it may cause or worsen the oral health conditions. The objective of this study was to find out the association between hypertension and oral health status in adults. This study was an analytical observational study by using cross-sectional method. A total of 42 adults both male and female in Padusunan Village, Pariaman, West Sumatra, Indonesia were selected as subjects by using purposive sampling. Manual sphygmomanometer was used to measure blood pressure and dental examination was performed to calculate the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (DMFT) scores in order to represent oral health status. The data obtained was analyzed statistically using One Way ANOVA to determine the association between hypertensive adults and their oral health status. The result showed that majority age of the subjects was ranging from 51-70 years (40.5%). Based on blood pressure examination, 57.1% of subjects were classified to prehypertension. Overall, the mean of DMFT score calculated in normal, prehypertension and hypertension group was not considered statistically significant. There was no significant association (p>0.05) between hypertension and oral health status in adults.

Keywords: blood pressure, hypertension, DMFT, oral health status

Procedia PDF Downloads 303