Search results for: total floating time (TFT)

Authors: Corina Muscurel, Irina Stoian, Laura Gaman, Valeriu Atanasiu

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Chronic inflammation predisposes cells to neoplastic transformation and is associated with angiogenesis. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) give rise to anti-inflammatory metabolites and decrease some inflammatory cytokines. The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of n-3 PUFAs intake on patients with tumors in early-stage (without regional or distant metastasis). There were two groups of patients: one group with colon tumors and one group with lung tumors. All patients took for 60 days daily supplements from fish-oil containing 600 mg eicosapentaenoic acid and 400 mg docosahexaenoic acid. The plasma markers were evaluated before and after PUFAs intake: ceruloplasmin (using p-phenylenediamine oxidase method), plasma total thiol groups (using dithiobis-nitrobenzoic acid method) and CEA (carcinoembryonic antigen using electrochemiluminescent immunoassay). The results reflect ceruloplasmin decrease (p < 0.05), plasma total thiol groups increase (not statistically significant) and CEA decrease (p < 0.05) after n-3 PUFAs intake. Conclusions: n-3 PUFAs intake is favorable in premalignant lesions or in early tumor stage and dietary fish-oil has anti-inflammatory effects and can contribute to reduce cancer progression.

Keywords: cancer, fish-oil, inflammation, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids

Procedia PDF Downloads 121

Authors: Mandeep Kumar, Hari Singh

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The effective optimization of machining process parameters affects dramatically the cost and production time of machined components as well as the quality of the final products. This paper presents the optimization aspects of a Wire Electrical Discharge Machining operation using Inconel X-750 as work material. The objective considered in this study is minimization of the dimensional deviation. Six input process parameters of WEDM namely spark gap voltage, pulse-on time, pulse-off time, wire feed rate, peak current and wire tension, were chosen as variables to study the process performance. Taguchi's design of experiments methodology has been used for planning and designing the experiments. The analysis of variance was carried out for raw data as well as for signal to noise ratio. Four input parameters and one two-factor interaction have been found to be statistically significant for their effects on the response of interest. The confirmation experiments were also performed for validating the predicted results.

Keywords: ANOVA, DOE, inconel, machining, optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Yin Rui, Yin Ming, Wang Yang

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For a rotational reference frame of the theory of special relativity, the critical radius is defined as the distance from the axis to the point where the tangential velocity is equal to the speed of light, and the critical cylinder as the set of all points separated from the axis by this critical radius. Based on these terms, two relativistic effects of rotation are discovered: (i) the tangential velocity in the region of Outside Critical Cylinder (OCC) is not superluminal due to the existence of space-time exchange; (ii) some of the physical quantities of the rotational body have an opposite mathematic sign at OCC versus those at Inside Critical Cylinder (ICC), which is termed as the Critical Cylindrical Effect (CCE). The laboratory experiments demonstrate that the repulsive force exerted on an anion by electrons will change to an attractive force by the electrons in precession while the anion is at OCC of the precession. Thirty-six screenshots from four experimental videos are provided. Theoretical proofs for both space-time exchange and CCE are then presented. The CCEs of field force are also discussed.

Keywords: critical radius, critical cylindrical effect, special relativity, space-time exchange

Procedia PDF Downloads 51

Authors: Zhongmin Wang, Wudong Fan, Hengshan Zhang, Yimin Zhou

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In data-driven prognostic methods, the prediction accuracy of the estimation for remaining useful life of bearings mainly depends on the performance of health indicators, which are usually fused some statistical features extracted from vibrating signals. However, the existing health indicators have the following two drawbacks: (1) The differnet ranges of the statistical features have the different contributions to construct the health indicators, the expert knowledge is required to extract the features. (2) When convolutional neural networks are utilized to tackle time-frequency features of signals, the time-series of signals are not considered. To overcome these drawbacks, in this study, the method combining convolutional neural network with gated recurrent unit is proposed to extract the time-frequency image features. The extracted features are utilized to construct health indicator and predict remaining useful life of bearings. First, original signals are converted into time-frequency images by using continuous wavelet transform so as to form the original feature sets. Second, with convolutional and pooling layers of convolutional neural networks, the most sensitive features of time-frequency images are selected from the original feature sets. Finally, these selected features are fed into the gated recurrent unit to construct the health indicator. The results state that the proposed method shows the enhance performance than the related studies which have used the same bearing dataset provided by PRONOSTIA.

Keywords: continuous wavelet transform, convolution neural net-work, gated recurrent unit, health indicators, remaining useful life

Procedia PDF Downloads 114

Authors: Victor Chomel, Maziyar Panahi, David Chavalarias

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Misinformation has taken an increasingly worrying place in social media. Propagation patterns are closely linked to the structure of communities. This study proposes a method of community analysis based on a combination of centrality indicators for the network and its main communities. The objective is to establish a link between the stability of the communities over time, the social ascension of its members internally, and the propagation of information in the community. To this end, data from the debates about global warming and political communities on Twitter have been collected, and several tens of millions of tweets and retweets have helped us better understand the structure of these communities. The quantification of this stability allows for the study of the propagation of information of any kind, including disinformation. Our results indicate that the most stable communities over time are the ones that enable the establishment of nodes capturing a large part of the information and broadcasting its opinions. Conversely, communities with a high turnover and social ascendancy only stabilize themselves strongly in the face of adversity and external events but seem to offer a greater diversity of opinions most of the time.

Keywords: community analysis, disinformation, misinformation, Twitter

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Digvijaysingh S. Bana, Kiran R. Trivedi

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This paper introduces various methods for the alpha wave to detect the difference between two states of brain. One healthy subject participated in the experiment. EEG was measured on the forehead above the eye (FP1 Position) with reference and ground electrode are on the ear clip. The data samples are obtained in the form of EEG raw data. The time duration of reading is of one minute. Various test are being performed on the alpha band EEG raw data.The readings are performed in different time duration of the entire day. The statistical analysis is being carried out on the EEG sample data in the form of various tests.

Keywords: electroencephalogram(EEG), biometrics, authentication, EEG raw data

Procedia PDF Downloads 450

Authors: R. Sabre, W. Horrigue, J. C. Simon

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This paper is interested in two difficulties encountered in practice when observing a continuous time process. The first is that we cannot observe a process over a time interval; we only take discrete observations. The second is the process frequently observed with a constant additive error. It is important to give an estimator of the spectral density of such a process taking into account the additive observation error and the choice of the discrete observation times. In this work, we propose an estimator based on the spectral smoothing of the periodogram by the polynomial Jackson kernel reducing the additive error. In order to solve the aliasing phenomenon, this estimator is constructed from observations taken at well-chosen times so as to reduce the estimator to the field where the spectral density is not zero. We show that the proposed estimator is asymptotically unbiased and consistent. Thus we obtain an estimate solving the two difficulties concerning the choice of the instants of observations of a continuous time process and the observations affected by a constant error.

Keywords: spectral density, stable processes, aliasing, periodogram

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Zeytu G. Asfaw, Serkalem K. Abrha, Demisew G. Degefu

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Background: HIV/AIDS remains a major public health problem in Ethiopia and heavily affecting people of productive and reproductive age. We aimed to compare the performance of Parametric Survival Analysis and Bayesian Survival Analysis using simulations and in a real dataset application focused on determining predictors of HIV patient survival. Methods: A Parametric Survival Models - Exponential, Weibull, Log-normal, Log-logistic, Gompertz and Generalized gamma distributions were considered. Simulation study was carried out with two different algorithms that were informative and noninformative priors. A retrospective cohort study was implemented for HIV infected patients under Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy in Alamata General Hospital, North Ethiopia. Results: A total of 320 HIV patients were included in the study where 52.19% females and 47.81% males. According to Kaplan-Meier survival estimates for the two sex groups, females has shown better survival time in comparison with their male counterparts. The median survival time of HIV patients was 79 months. During the follow-up period 89 (27.81%) deaths and 231 (72.19%) censored individuals registered. The average baseline cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) cells count for HIV/AIDS patients were 126.01 but after a three-year antiretroviral therapy follow-up the average cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) cells counts were 305.74, which was quite encouraging. Age, functional status, tuberculosis screen, past opportunistic infection, baseline cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) cells, World Health Organization clinical stage, sex, marital status, employment status, occupation type, baseline weight were found statistically significant factors for longer survival of HIV patients. The standard error of all covariate in Bayesian log-normal survival model is less than the classical one. Hence, Bayesian survival analysis showed better performance than classical parametric survival analysis, when subjective data analysis was performed by considering expert opinions and historical knowledge about the parameters. Conclusions: Thus, HIV/AIDS patient mortality rate could be reduced through timely antiretroviral therapy with special care on the potential factors. Moreover, Bayesian log-normal survival model was preferable than the classical log-normal survival model for determining predictors of HIV patients survival.

Keywords: antiretroviral therapy (ART), Bayesian analysis, HIV, log-normal, parametric survival models

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Michael Brazley

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Virtual Reality (VR) and 3D videos are the most current generation of learning technology today. Virtual Reality and 3D videos are being used in professional offices and Schools now for marketing and education. Technology in the field of design has progress from two dimensional drawings to 3D models, using computers and sophisticated software. Virtual Reality is being used as collaborative means to allow designers and others to meet and communicate inside models or VR platforms using avatars. This research proposes to teach students from different backgrounds how to take a digital model into a 3D video, then into VR, and finally VR with multiple avatars communicating with each other in real time. The next step would be to develop the model where people from three or more different locations can meet as avatars in real time, in the same model and talk to each other. This research is longitudinal, studying the use of 3D videos in graduate design and Virtual Reality in XR (Extended Reality) courses. The research methodology is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The qualitative methods begin with the literature review and case studies. The quantitative methods come by way of student’s 3D videos, survey, and Extended Reality (XR) course work. The end product is to develop a VR platform with multiple avatars being able to communicate in real time. This research is important because it will allow multiple users to remotely enter your model or VR platform from any location in the world and effectively communicate in real time. This research will lead to improved learning and training using Virtual Reality and Avatars; and is generalizable because most Colleges, Universities, and many citizens own VR equipment and computer labs. This research did produce a VR platform with multiple avatars having the ability to move and speak to each other in real time. Major implications of the research include but not limited to improved: learning, teaching, communication, marketing, designing, planning, etc. Both hardware and software played a major role in project success.

Keywords: virtual reality, avatars, education, XR

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Vinay Singh, Chandra Deo, Asit Chakrabarti, Lopamudra Sahoo, Mahak Singh, Rakesh Kumar, Dinesh Kumar, H. Bharati, Biswajit Das, V. K. Mishra

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The most widely used feed resources in poultry feed, like maize and soybean, are expensive as well as in short supply. Hence, there is a need to utilize non-conventional feed ingredients to cut down feed costs. As an alternative, brewery by-products like brewers’ dried grains are potential non-conventional feed resources. North-East India is inhabited by many tribes, and most of these tribes prepare their indigenous local brew, mostly using rice grains as the primary substrate. Choak, a homemade rice beer waste, is an excellent and cheap source of protein and other nutrients. Fresh homemade rice beer waste (rice brewer’s grain) was collected locally. The proximate analysis indicated 28.53% crude protein, 92.76% dry matter, 5.02% ether extract, 7.83% crude fibre, 2.85% total ash, 0.67% acid insoluble ash, 0.91% calcium, and 0.55% total phosphorus. A feeding trial with 5 treatments (incorporating rice beer waste at the inclusion levels of 0,10,20,30 & 40% by replacing maize and soybean from basal diet) was conducted with 25 laying hens per treatment for 16 weeks under completely randomized design in order to study the production performance, blood-biochemical parameters, immunity, egg quality and cost economics of laying hens. The results showed substantial variations (P<0.01) in egg production, egg mass, FCR per dozen eggs, FCR per kg egg mass, and net FCR. However, there was not a substantial difference in either body weight or feed intake or in egg weight. Total serum cholesterol reduced significantly (P<0.01) at 40% inclusion of rice beer waste. Additionally, the egg haugh unit grew considerably (P<0.01) when the graded levels of rice beer waste increased. The inclusion of 20% rice brewers dried grain reduced feed cost per kg egg mass and per dozen egg production by Rs. 15.97 and 9.99, respectively. Choak (homemade rice beer waste) can thus be safely incorporated into the diet of laying hens at a 20% inclusion level for better production performance and cost-effectiveness.

Keywords: choak, rice beer waste, laying hen, production performance, cost economics

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Pawan Kumar, Dhananjoy Shaw, Manoj Kumar Rathi

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Purpose of the study were to compare between (a) frequencies among the four quartiles of percentile norms of autonomic variables from power events and (b) frequencies among the four quartiles percentile norms of autonomic variables from aerobic events of Indian sportspersons withdrawn from competitive games and sports in regard to number of samples falling in each quartile. The study was conducted on 430 males of 30 to 35 years of age. Based on the nature of game/sports the retired sportspersons were classified into power events (throwers, judo players, wrestlers, short distance swimmers, cricket fast bowlers and power lifters) and aerobic events (long distance runners, long distance swimmers, water polo players). Date was collected using ECG polygraphs. Data were processed and extracted using frequency domain analysis and time domain analysis. Collected data were computed with frequency, percentage of each quartile and finally the frequencies were compared with the chi square analysis. The finding pertaining to norm reference comparison of frequencies among the four quartiles of Indian sportspersons withdrawn from competitive games and sports from (a) power events suggests that frequency distribution in four quartile namely Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 are significantly different at .05 level in regard to variables namely, SDNN, Total Power (Absolute Power), HF (Absolute Power), LF (Normalized Power), HF (Normalized Power), LF/HF ratio, deep breathing test, expiratory respiratory ratio, valsalva manoeuvre, hand grip test, cold pressor test and lying to standing test, whereas, insignificantly different at .05 level in regard to variables namely, SDSD, RMSSD, SDANN, NN50 Count, pNN50 Count, LF (Absolute Power) and 30: 15 Ratio (b) aerobic events suggests that frequency distribution in four quartile are significantly different at .05 level in regard to variables namely, SDNN, LF (Normalized Power), HF (Normalized Power), LF/HF ratio, deep breathing test, expiratory respiratory ratio, hand grip test, cold pressor test, lying to standing test and 30: 15 ratio, whereas, insignificantly different at .05 level in regard to variables namely, SDSD, RMSSD. SDANN, NN50 count, pNN50 count, Total Power (Absolute Power), LF(Absolute Power) HF(Absolute Power), and valsalva manoeuvre. The study concluded that comparison of frequencies among the four quartiles of Indian retired sportspersons from power events and aerobic events are different in four quartiles in regard to selected autonomic functions, hence the developed percentile norms are not homogenously distributed across the percentile scale; hence strengthen the percentage distribution towards normal distribution.

Keywords: power, aerobic, absolute power, normalized power

Procedia PDF Downloads 343

Authors: Michael Stevens

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David Hunter, a musicologist, has suggested that both Beethoven and Handel had chronic lead poisoning from the wine that they drank. These two eminent musical composers had some striking similarities. Beethoven had alcohol dependency and preferred wine, to which lead had been added to improve the taste. Handel was obese due to an eating disorder that included drinking tainted wine after large meals. They both had paresthesia of their extremities that they interpreted as rheumatism. This is a common sensory symptom from chronic lead poisoning. Their differences are marked in that Beethoven was profoundly deaf by the end of his life, whereas Handel had remarkably good hearing. Handel had paresis of three fingers of his right hand, whereas Beethoven lacked any motor symptoms. Beethoven reported recurrent abdominal pain suggestive of lead colic, whereas it can only be inferred that this symptom was present in Handel. Lead poisoning is likely in Handel because his paralysis was consistent with radial nerve involvement in the dominant hand. In addition, it was cured by hot baths, which have been shown to reduce total body lead content by exchanging with iron and calcium ions in water. Although lead produces predominantly motor symptoms in classic or subacute lead poisoning, and sensory symptoms in chronic lead poisoning, lead poisoning causes a variety of symptoms that depending on duration and level of exposure, are extremely variable from person to person. It therefore seems likely that Handel had lead poisoning, but extremely likely that Beethoven did because of the confirmatory finding of high levels of lead deep in his skull bone, which is a good measure of total body burden.

Keywords: beethoven, handel, lead, poisoning

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Reenu Yadav, Abhay Asthana, S. K. Yadav

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Purpose: The aim of the present work was to develop an oral gel for brushing with an antimicrobial activity which will cure/protect from various periodontal diseases such as periodontitis, gingivitis, and pyorrhea. Methods: Plant materials procured from local suppliers, extracted and standardized. Screening of antimicrobial activity was carried out with the help of disk diffusion method. The gel was formulated by dried extracts of Beautea monosperma and Cordia obliquus. Gels were evaluated on various parameters and standardization of the formulation was performed. The release of drugs was studied in pH 6.8 using a mastication device.Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were estimated by folin-Ciocalteu and aluminium chloride method, and stability studies were performed (40°C and RH 75% ± 5% for 90 days) to assess the effect of temperature and humidity on the concentration of phenolic and flavonoid contents. The results of accelerated stability conditions were compared with that of samples kept at controlled conditions (RT). The control samples were kept at room temperature (25°C, 35% RH for 180 days). Results: Results are encouraging; extracts possess significant antimicrobial activity at very low concentration (15µg/disc, 20µg/disc and 15 µg/ disc) on oral pathogenic bacteria. The formulation has optimal characteristics, as well as has a pleasant appearance, fragrance, texture, and taste, is highly acceptable by the volunteers. The diffusion coefficient values ranged from 0.6655 to 0.9164. Since the R values of korsmayer papas were close to 1, Drug release from formulation follows matrix diffusion kinetics. Hence, diffusion was the mechanism of the drug release. Formulation follows non-Fickian transport mechanism. Most Formulations released 50 % of their contents within 25-30 minutes. Results obtained from the accelerated stability studies are indicative of a slight reduction in flavonoids and phenolic contents with time on long time storage. When measured degradation under ambient conditions, degradation was significantly lower than in accelerated stability study. Conclusion: Plant extracts possess compounds with antimicrobial properties can be used as. Developed formulation will cure/protect from various periodontal diseases. Further development and evaluations oral gel including the isolated compounds on the commercial scale and their clinical and toxicological studies are the future challenges.

Keywords: herbal gel, dental care, ambient conditions, commercial scale

Procedia PDF Downloads 428

Authors: Yoon- Ho Shin, Jin-Seung Choi, Dong-Won Kang, Jeong-Woo Seo, Joo-Hack Lee, Ju-Young Kim, Dae-Hyeok Kim, Seung-Tae Yang, Gye-Rae Tack

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It is difficult to study the effect of various variables on cycle fitting through actual experiment. To overcome such difficulty, the forward dynamics of a musculoskeletal model was applied to cycle fitting in this study. The measured EMG data were compared with the muscle activities of the musculoskeletal model through forward dynamics. EMG data were measured from five cyclists who do not have musculoskeletal diseases during three minutes pedaling with a constant load (150 W) and cadence (90 RPM). The muscles used for the analysis were the Vastus Lateralis (VL), Tibialis Anterior (TA), Bicep Femoris (BF), and Gastrocnemius Medial (GM). Person’s correlation coefficients of the muscle activity patterns, the peak timing of the maximum muscle activities, and the total muscle activities were calculated and compared. BIKE3D model of AnyBody (Anybodytech, Denmark) was used for the musculoskeletal model simulation. The comparisons of the actual experiments with the simulation results showed significant correlations in the muscle activity patterns (VL: 0.789, TA: 0.503, BF: 0.468, GM: 0.670). The peak timings of the maximum muscle activities were distributed at particular phases. The total muscle activities were compared with the normalized muscle activities, and the comparison showed about 10% difference in the VL (+10%), TA (+9.7%), and BF (+10%), excluding the GM (+29.4%). Thus, it can be concluded that muscle activities of model & experiment showed similar results. The results of this study indicated that it was possible to apply the simulation of further improved musculoskeletal model to cycle fitting.

Keywords: musculoskeletal modeling, EMG, cycle fitting, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 550

Authors: J. Niyitegeka, G. Nshimirimana, A. Silverstein, J. Odhiambo, Y. Lin, T. Nkurunziza, R. Riviello, S. Rulisa, P. Banguti, H. Magge, M. Macharia, J. P. Dushime, R. Habimana, B. Hedt-Gauthier

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In low-resource settings, women needing an emergency cesarean section experiences various delays in both reaching and receiving care that is often linked to poor neonatal outcomes. In this study, we quantified different measures of delays and assessed the association between these delays and neonatal outcomes at three rural district hospitals in Rwanda. This retrospective study included 441 neonates and their mothers who underwent emergency cesarean sections in 2015 at Butaro, Kirehe and Rwinkwavu District Hospitals. Four possible delays were measured: Time from start of labor to district hospital admission, travel time from a health center to the district hospital, time from admission to surgical incision, and time from the decision for the emergency cesarean section to surgical incision. Neonatal outcomes were categorized as unfavorable (APGAR < 7 or death) and favorable (APGAR ≥ 7). We assessed the relationship between each type of delay and neonatal outcomes using multivariate logistic regression. In our study, 38.7% (108 out of 279) of neonates’ mothers labored for 12 to 24 hours before hospital admission and 44.7% (159 of 356) of mothers were transferred from health centers that required 30 to 60 minutes of travel time to reach the district hospital. 48.1% (178 of 370) of caesarean sections started within five hours after admission and 85.2% (288 of 338) started more than thirty minutes after the decision for the emergency cesarean section was made. Neonatal outcomes were significantly worse among mothers with more than 90 minutes of travel time from the health center to the district hospital compared to health centers attached to the hospital (OR = 5.12, p = 0.02). Neonatal outcomes were also significantly different depending on decision to incision intervals; neonates with cesarean deliveries starting more than thirty minutes after decision had better outcomes than those started immediately (OR = 0.32, p = 0.04). Interventions that decrease barriers to access to maternal health care services can improve neonatal outcome after emergency cesarean section. Triaging could explain the inverse relationship between time from decision to incision and neonatal outcome; this must be studied more in the future.

Keywords: Africa, emergency obstetric care, rural health delivery, maternal and child health

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Dhiraj Dolai, Rupayan Bhattacharya

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In this study, a comparison of Range Of Motion (ROM) of middle and long-distance runners and swimmers has been made. The mobility of the various joints is essential for the quick movement of any sportsman. Knowledge of a ROM helps in preventing injuries, in repeating the movement, and in generating speed and power. ROM varies among individuals, and it is influenced by factors such as gender, age, and whether the motion is performed actively or passively. ROM for running and swimming, both performed with due consideration on speed, plays an important role. The time of generation of speed and mobility of the particular joints are very important for both kinds of athletes. The difficulties that happen during running and swimming in the direction of motion is changed. In this study, data were collected for a total of 102 subjects divided into three groups: control group (22), middle and long-distance runners (40), and swimmers (40), and their ages are between 12 to 18 years. The swimmers have higher ROM in shoulder joint flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction movement. Middle and long-distance runners have significantly greater ROM from Control Group in the left shoulder joint flexion with a 5.82 mean difference. Swimmers have significantly higher ROM from the Control Group in the left shoulder joint flexion with 24.84 mean difference and swimmers have significantly higher ROM from the Middle and Long distance runners in left shoulder flexion with 19.02 mean difference. The picture will be clear after a more detailed investigation.

Keywords: range of motion, runners, swimmers, significance

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Authors: Yiseyon Hosu, Joseph Akande

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Wheat is one of the most important staple food grains of human for centuries and is largely consumed in South Africa. It has a special place in the South African economy because of its significance in food security, trade, and industry. This paper modelled and forecast the production and consumption of wheat in South Africa in the time covid-19 and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war by using annual time series data from 1940–2021 based on the ARIMA models. Both the averaging forecast and selected models forecast indicate that there is the possibility of an increase with respect to production. The minimum and maximum growth in production is projected to be between 3million and 10 million tons, respectively. However, the model also forecast a possibility of depression with respect to consumption in South Africa. Although Covid-19 and the war between Ukraine and Russia, two major producers and exporters of global wheat, are having an effect on the volatility of the prices currently, the wheat production in South African is expected to increase and meat the consumption demand and provided an opportunity for increase export with respect to domestic consumption. The forecasting of production and consumption behaviours of major crops play an important role towards food and nutrition security, these findings can assist policymakers and will provide them with insights into the production and pricing policy of wheat in South Africa.

Keywords: ARIMA, food security, price volatility, staple food, South Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 82

Authors: Jake Tempo, Stephen Brough

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Introduction and Objectives: Urine cytology has a role in the diagnosis of urothelial cancer when used alongside cystoscopy and imaging, according to the European Association of Urology guidelines. It also has a role in the surveillance post-treatment of urothelial carcinoma. Collecting and analysing urine cytology is costly and time-consuming. We investigated the use of urine cytology in an Australian regional hospital to determine whether clinicians are following international guidelines. Materials and Methods: We analysed all urine cytology requests performed in an Australian regional hospital between 1st January 2017 and 31st December 2018. We reviewed the indication for urine cytology and the patients’ case notes to determine whether urine cytology changed management. Results: During the two-year study period, 153 patients had urine cytology analysed for a variety of indications. In no cases did cytology change the outcome of patient management significantly. In total, 69 of 153 (41%) urine cytology requests were not supported by urological society guidelines. Fifty requests were for haematuria, and twenty requests were for urothelial cancer surveillance. Seven were analysed for follow-up from previous urological investigations. Nine samples were sent for ureteric obstruction of unknown origin. Conclusion: Urine cytology, even when positive, did not significantly change management for the investigation of potential urothelial cancer, and therefore, its use as a diagnostic tool for this purpose should be reconsidered. Many cytology tests are expensive, unnecessary, and not supported by urological society guidelines.

Keywords: cytology, bladder cancer, urine, urothelial carcinoma

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Authors: Kanica Goel, Nilam

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Infectious diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide and hence a great challenge for every nation. Thus, it becomes utmost essential to prevent and reduce the spread of infectious disease among humans. Mathematical models help to better understand the transmission dynamics and spread of infections. For this purpose, in the present article, we have proposed a nonlinear time-delayed SVIRS (Susceptible-Vaccinated-Infected-Recovered-Susceptible) mathematical model with nonlinear type incidence rate and nonlinear type treatment rate. Analytical study of the model shows that model exhibits two types of equilibrium points, namely, disease-free equilibrium and endemic equilibrium. Further, for the long-term behavior of the model, stability of the model is discussed with the help of basic reproduction number R₀ and we showed that disease-free equilibrium is locally asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number R₀ is less than one and unstable if the basic reproduction number R₀ is greater than one for the time lag τ≥0. Furthermore, when basic reproduction number R₀ is one, using center manifold theory and Casillo-Chavez and Song theorem, we showed that the model undergoes transcritical bifurcation. Moreover, numerical simulations are being carried out using MATLAB 2012b to illustrate the theoretical results.

Keywords: nonlinear incidence rate, nonlinear treatment rate, stability, time delayed SVIRS epidemic model

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Mahmudur Rahman Khan, Saima Sharif Nilla, Kawser Ahmed, Abdul Aziz

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The marine phyto and zooplankton of the extreme north-eastern part of the Bay of Bengal, off the coast of Bangladesh have been studied. Relative occurrence of phyto and zooplankton and their relationship with physico-chemical conditions (f.e. temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, carbonate, phosphate, and sulphate) of the water and Shannon-Weiber diversity indices were also studied. The phytoplankton communities represented by 25 genera with 69 species of Bacillariophyceae, 5 genera with 12 species of Dinophyceae and 6 genera with 16 species of Chlorophyceae have been found. A total of 24 genera of 25 species belonging to Protozoa, Coelenterata, Chaetognatha, Nematoda, Cladocera, Copepoda, and decapoda have been recorded. In addition, the average phytoplankton was 80% of all collections, whereas the zooplankton was 20%, Z ratio of about 4:1. The total numbers of plankton individuals per liter were generally higher during low tide than those of high one. Shannon-Weiber diversity indices were highest (3.675 for phytoplankton and 3.021 for zooplankton) in the north-east part and lowest (1.516 for phytoplankton and 1.302 for zooplankton) in the south-east part of the study area. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) showed the relationship between pH and some species of phyto and zooplankton where all diatoms and copepods have showed positive correlation and dinoflagellates showed negative correlation with pH.

Keywords: plankton presence, shannon-weiber diversity index, principal component analysis, Bay of Bengal

Procedia PDF Downloads 634

Authors: Elmahdi Khalil, Saad Enniari, Mostapha Zbakh

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Cloud computing promises to increase innovation and the velocity with witch applications are deployed, all while helping any enterprise meet most IT service needs at a lower total cost of ownership and higher return investment. As the march of cloud continues, it brings both new opportunities and new security challenges. To take advantages of those opportunities while minimizing risks, we think that Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) integrated in the cloud is one of the best existing solutions nowadays in the field. The concept of intrusion detection was known since past and was first proposed by a well-known researcher named Anderson in 1980's. Since that time IDS's are evolving. Although, several efforts has been made in the area of Intrusion Detection systems for cloud computing environment, many attacks still prevail. Therefore, the work presented in this paper proposes a multi criteria analysis and a comparative study between several IDS architectures designated to work in a cloud computing environments. To achieve this objective, in the first place we will search in the state of the art of several consistent IDS architectures designed to work in a cloud environment. Whereas, in a second step we will establish the criteria that will be useful for the evaluation of architectures. Later, using the approach of multi criteria decision analysis Mac Beth (Measuring Attractiveness by a Categorical Based Evaluation Technique we will evaluate the criteria and assign to each one the appropriate weight according to their importance in the field of IDS architectures in cloud computing. The last step is to evaluate architectures against the criteria and collecting results of the model constructed in the previous steps.

Keywords: cloud computing, cloud security, intrusion detection/prevention system, multi-criteria decision analysis

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Authors: Poonam Magu, Kumud Khanna, Premavathy Seetharaman

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The two important resources of any worker performing any type of work at any workplace are time and energy. These are important inputs of the worker and need to be utilised in the best possible manner. The kitchen is an important workplace where the homemaker performs many essential activities. Its layout should be so designed that optimum use of her resources can be achieved.Ideally, the shape of the kitchen, as determined by the physical space enclosed by the four walls, can be square, rectangular or irregular. But it is the shape of the arrangement of counter that one normally refers to while talking of the layout of the kitchen. The arrangement can be along a single wall, along two opposite walls, L shape, U shape or even island. A study was conducted in 50 kitchens belonging to middle income group families. These were DDA built kitchens located in North, South, East and West Delhi.The study was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, 510 non working homemakers were interviewed. The data related to personal characteristics of the homemakers was collected. Additional information was also collected regarding the kitchens-the size, shape , etc. The homemakers were also questioned about various aspects related to meal preparation-people performing the task, number of items cooked, areas used for meal preparation , etc. In the second phase, a suitable technique was designed for conducting time and motion study in the kitchen while the meal was being prepared. This technique was called Path Process Chart. The final phase was carried out in 50 kitchens. The criterion for selection was that all items for a meal should be cooked at the same time. All the meals were cooked by the homemakers in their own kitchens. The meal preparation was studied using the Path Process Chart technique. The data collected was analysed and conclusions drawn. It was found that of all the shapes, it was the kitchen with L shape arrangement in which, on an average a homemaker spent minimum time on meal preparation and also travelled the minimum distance. Thus, the average distance travelled in a L shaped layout was 131.1 mts as compared to 181.2 mts in an U shaped layout. Similarly, 48 minutes was the average time spent on meal preparation in L shaped layout as compared to 53 minutes in U shaped layout. Thus, the L shaped layout was more time and energy saving layout as compared to U shaped.

Keywords: kitchen layout, meal preparation, path process chart technique, workplace

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Authors: Nemi Bhattarai

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In recent years, there has been a rapid increase in the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAVs) in search and rescue (SAR) operations, disaster management, and many more areas where information about the location of human beings are important. This research will primarily focus on the use of optical and thermal camera via UAV platform in real-time detection, localization, and visualization of human beings on GIS. This research will be beneficial in disaster management search of lost humans in wilderness or difficult terrain, detecting abnormal human behaviors in border or security tight areas, studying distribution of people at night, counting people density in crowd, manage people flow during evacuation, planning provisions in areas with high human density and many more.

Keywords: UAV, human detection, real-time, localization, visualization, haar-like, GIS, thermal sensor

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Authors: Neşe Alkan

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Purpose: The point that applied/clinical psychology, which is the practice and research discipline of the mental health field, has reached today can be summarized as the necessity of handling the psychological well-being of people from multiple perspectives and the goal of moving it to a higher level. Clients' subjective assessment of their own condition and wellbeing is an integral part of evidence-based interventions. There is a need for tools through which clients can evaluate the effectiveness of the psychotherapy/intervention performed with them and their contribution to the wellbeing and wellbeing of this process in a valid and reliable manner. The aim of this research is to meet this need, to test the reliability and validity of the index in Turkish, and explore its usability in the practices of both researchers and psychotherapists. Method: A total of 213 adults aged between 18-54, 69.5% working and 29.5% university students, were included in the study. Along with their demographic information, the participants were administered a set of scales: wellbeing, life satisfaction, spiritual satisfaction, shopping addiction, and loneliness, namely via an online platform. The construct validity of the wellbeing scale was tested with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, convergent and discriminant validity were tested with two-way full and partial correlation analyses and, measurement invariance was tested with one-way analysis of variance. Results: Factor analyzes showed that the scale consisted of six dimensions as it is in its original structure. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be Cronbach α = .82. Two-way correlation analyzes revealed that the wellbeing scale total score was positively correlated with general life satisfaction (r = .62) and spiritual satisfaction (r = .29), as expected. It was negatively correlated with loneliness (r = -.51) and shopping addiction (r = -.15). While the scale score did not vary by gender, previous illness, or nicotine addiction, it was found that the total wellbeing scale scores of the participants who had used antidepressant medication during the past year were lower than those who did not use antidepressant medication (F(1,204) = 7.713, p = .005). Conclusion: It has been concluded that the 12-item wellbeing scale consisting of six dimensions can be used in research and health sciences practices as a valid and reliable measurement tool. Further research which examines the reliability and validity of the scale in different widely used languages such as Spanish and Chinese is recommended.

Keywords: wellbeing, intervention effectiveness, reliability and validity, effectiveness

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Authors: Norhidayu Muhamad Zain

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Gelatin, a purified protein derived mostly from porcine and bovine sources, is used widely in food manufacturing, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. However, the presence of any porcine-related products are strictly forbidden for Muslim and Jewish consumption. Therefore, analytical methods offering reliable results to differentiate the sources of gelatin are needed. The aim of this study was to differentiate the sources of gelatin (porcine and tilapia fish) using Fourier transform infrared- attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR) combined with two dimensional infrared (2DIR) correlation analysis. Porcine gelatin (PG) and tilapia fish gelatin (FG) samples were diluted in distilled water at concentrations ranged from 4-20% (w/v). The samples were then analysed using FTIR-ATR and 2DIR correlation software. The results showed a significant difference in the pattern map of synchronous spectra at the region of 1000 cm⁻¹ to 1100 cm⁻¹ between PG and FG samples. The auto peak at 1080 cm⁻¹ that attributed to C-O functional group was observed at high intensity in PG samples compared to FG samples. Meanwhile, two auto peaks (1080 cm⁻¹ and 1030 cm⁻¹) at lower intensity were identified in FG samples. In addition, using 2D correlation analysis, the original broad water OH bands in 1D IR spectra can be effectively differentiated into six auto peaks located at 3630, 3340, 3230, 3065, 2950 and 2885 cm⁻¹ for PG samples and five auto peaks at 3630, 3330, 3230, 3060 and 2940 cm⁻¹ for FG samples. Based on the rule proposed by Noda, the sequence of the spectral changes in PG samples is as following: NH₃⁺ amino acid > CH₂ and CH₃ aliphatic > OH stretch > carboxylic acid OH stretch > NH in secondary amide > NH in primary amide. In contrast, the sequence was totally in the opposite direction for FG samples and thus both samples provide different 2D correlation spectra ranged from 2800 cm-1 to 3700 cm⁻¹. This method may provide a rapid determination of gelatin source for application in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products.

Keywords: 2 dimensional infrared (2DIR) correlation analysis, Fourier transform infrared- attenuated total reflection (FTIR-ATR), porcine gelatin, tilapia fish gelatin

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Authors: Ruby Siwach, Manish Kumar, Raman Seth

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Extent of inactivation of pectin methylesterase (PME) in mosambi juice during thermal and thermosonication treatments was studied to obtain a minimally processed product. Effect of both treatments on cloud value, pH, titratable acidity, oBrix, and sensory attributes (flavour and taste) was studied. Thermal treatments (HT) were carried out at three temperatures 60, 70, and 80°C in a serological water bath for 5, 10, 15, and 20 min at each temperature. Thermosonication treatments (TS) were also given for same time-temperature combinations in water bath of a thermosonicator. Treated samples were stored in a deep freezer at 18°C for PME assay. PME activity of untreated sample was also assayed and residual PME activity and % loss in PME activity was calculated at each time-temperature combination. The extent of inactivation of PME increased with increase in treatment temperature and duration. Thermosonication treatments were found far more effective than thermal treatments of same time temperature combination in PME inactivation and retention of sensory attributes.

Keywords: pectin methylesterase, heat inactivation kinetics, thermosonication, thermal treatment

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Authors: Jakub Bartus, Jaroslav Odrobinak

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In general, composite steel and concrete structures present an effective structural solution utilizing the full potential of both materials. As they have numerous advantages on the construction side, they can greatly reduce the overall cost of construction, which has been the main objective of the last decade, highlighted by the current economic and social crisis. The study represents not only an analysis of composite beams’ behavior having web openings but emphasizes the influence of these openings on the total strain distribution at the level of the steel bottom flange as well. The major investigation was focused on a change in structural performance with respect to various layouts of openings. Examining this structural modification, an improvement of load carrying capacity of composite beams was a prime objective. The study is divided into analytical and numerical parts. The analytical part served as an initial step into the design process of composite beam samples, in which optimal dimensions and specific levels of utilization in individual stress states were taken into account. The numerical part covered the discretization of the preset structural issue in the form of a finite element (FE) model using beam and shell elements accounting for material non–linearities. As an outcome, several conclusions were drawn describing and explaining the effect of web opening presence on the structural performance of composite beams.

Keywords: beam, steel flange, total strain, web opening

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Authors: Ersumo Tessema, Bogale Girmaye Tamrat, Mohammed Burka

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Background: Hyperthyroidism is a common thyroid disorder especially in women and characterized by increased thyroid hormone synthesis and secretion. The disorder manifests predominantly as Graves’ disease in iodine-sufficient areas and has increasing prevalence in iodine-deficient countries in patients with nodular thyroid disease and following iodine fortification. In Ethiopia, the magnitude of the disorder is unknown and, in Africa, due to scarcity of resources, its management remains suboptimal. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the pattern and management of patients with hyperthyroidism at the United Vision Medical Services Center, Addis Ababa between August 30, 2013, and February 1, 2018. Patients and methods: The study was a retrospective analysis of medical records of all patients with hyperthyroidism at the United Vision Private Medical Services Center, Addis Ababa. A questionnaire was filled out; the collected data entered into a computer and statistically analyzed using the SPSS package. The results were tabulated and discussed with literature review. Results: A total of 589 patients were included in this study. The median age was 40 years, and the male to female ratio was 1.0:7.9. Most patients (93%) presented with goiter and the associated features of toxic goiter except weight loss, sweating and tachycardia were uncommon. Majority of patients presented more than two years after the onset of their presenting symptoms. The most common physical finding (91%), as well as diagnosis, was toxic nodular goiter. The most frequent (83%) derangement in the thyroid function tests was a low thyroid-stimulating hormone, and the most commonly (94%) used antithyroid drug was a propylthiouracil. The most common (96%) surgical procedure in 213 patients was a near-total thyroidectomy with a postoperative course without incident in 92% of all the patients. Conclusion: The incidence and prevalence of hyperthyroidism are apparently on the increase in Addis Ababa, which may be related to the existing severe iodine-deficiency and or the salt iodation program (iodine-induced hyperthyroidism). Hyperthyroidism predominantly affects women and, in surgical services, toxic nodular goiter is more common than diffuse goiter, and the treatment of choice in experienced hands is a near-total thyroidectomy.

Keywords: Ethiopia, grave’s disease, hyperthyroidism, toxic nodular goiter

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Authors: Ritchie Ann Dionela, Jorilyn Tabuena

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This study measured the economic empowerment of women from small-scale fisheries and agriculture sector of Sebaste, Antique. There were a total of 199 respondents selected using stratified random sampling. The Five Domains of Empowerment (5DE) Index was used in measuring the economic empowerment of study participants. Through this composite index, it was determined how women scored in the five domains of empowerment, namely production, resources, income, leadership, and time. The result of the study shows that women fishers are more economically empowered than women farmers. The two sectors showed high disparity in their scores on input in productive decision; autonomy in production; ownership of assets; control over use of income; group member; speaking in public; workload; and leisure. Group member indicator contributed largely to the disempowered population in both sectors. Although income of women farmers is higher than that of women fishers, the latter are still economically empowered which suggests that economic empowerment is not dependent on income alone. The study recommends that fisheries and agriculture organization for women should be established so that their needs and concerns will be heard and addressed. It is further recommended that government projects focused on enhancing women empowerment should also give importance on other factors such as organization and leisure and not just income to totally promote of women empowerment. Further studies on measuring women’s empowerment using other methods should be pursued to provide more information on women’s well-being.

Keywords: agriculture, composite index, fisheries, women economic empowerment

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Authors: Nazia Sulemna, Sadia Gul

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With the invade of mobile phones text messaging has become a popular medium of communication. Its users are multiplying with every passing day. Its use is not only limites to informal but to formal communication as well. Students are the advent users of mobile phones and of SMS as well. The present study manifests the fact that students are practicing SMS for a number of reasons and a good amount of time is spent upon it which is resulting in typographical features, graphones and rebus writing. Data was collected through questionnaires and came to the conclusion that its effect is obvious in the L2 users and in exam as well.

Keywords: text messaging, technology, exams, formal writing

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