Search results for: panel regression techniques

Authors: Muhammad Naeem, Abdus Salam, Sumera Yasmin, Abir Ishtiaq

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In the present study, eighty-three wild Oreochromis aureus of different body size ranging 5.3-14.6 cm in total length were collected from the River Chenab, District Muzzafer Garh, Pakistan to investigate the parameters of length –weight, length-length relationships and condition factor in relation to size. Each fish was measured and weighed on arrival at laboratory. Log transformed regressions were used to test the allometric growth. Length-weight relationship was found highly significant (r = 0.964; P < 0.01). The values of exponent “ b” in Length–weight regression (W=aL^b), deviated from 3, showing isometric growth (b = 2.75). Results for LLRs indicated that these are highly correlated (P < 0.001). Condition factor (K) found constant with increasing body weight, however, showed negative influence with increasing total length.

Keywords: lenght-weight, Oreochromis aureus, morphometric study

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Authors: Somchai Buaroong

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This research aims to investigating strong points and challenges in application of an online learning management system to an English course. Data were collected from observation, learners’ oral and written reports, and the teacher’s journals. A questionnaire was utilized as a tool to collect data. Statistics utilized in this research included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and multiple regression analysis. The findings show that the system was an additional channel to enhance English language learning through written class assignments that were digitally accessible by any group members, and through communication between the teacher and learners and among learners themselves. Thus, the learning management system could be a promising tool for foreign language teachers. Also revealed in the study were difficulties in its use. The article ends with discussions of findings of the system for foreign language classes in association to pedagogy are also included and in the level of signification.

Keywords: english course, foreign language system, online learning management system, teacher’s journals

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Smart E. Amanfo

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Although the exact functional relationship between energy consumption and economic growth and development remains a complex social science, there is a sustained growing of agreement among energy economists and the likes on direct or indirect role of energy use in the development process, and as sustenance for many of societal achieved socio-economic and environmental developments in any economy. According to OECD, the world economy will double by 2050 in which the two members of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries: China and India lead. There is a global apprehension that if countries constituting the epicenter of the present and future economic growth follow the same trajectory as during and after Industrial Revolution, involving higher energy throughputs, especially fossil fuels, the already known and models predicted threats of climate change and global warming could be exacerbated, especially in the developing economies. The international community’s challenge is how to address the trilemma of economic growth, social development, poverty eradication and stability of the ecological systems. This paper aims at providing the estimates of economic growth, energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions using BRICS members’ panel data from 1980 to 2017. The preliminary results based on fixed effect econometric model show positive significant relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. The paper further identified a strong relationship between economic growth and CO2 emissions which suggests that the global agenda of low-carbon-led growth and development is not a straight forward achievable The study therefore highlights the need for BRICS member states to intensify low-emissions-based production and consumption policies, increase renewables in order to avoid further deterioration of climate change impacts.

Keywords: BRICS, sustainability, sustainable development, energy consumption, economic growth

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Authors: Evy Rombaut, Marie-Anne Guerry

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Predicting voluntary turnover of employees is an important topic of study, both in academia and industry. Researchers try to uncover determinants for a broader understanding and possible prevention of turnover. In the current study, we use a data set based approach to reveal determinants for turnover, differing for blue and white collar workers. Our data set based approach made it possible to study actual turnover for more than 500000 employees in 15692 Belgian corporations. We use logistic regression to calculate individual turnover probabilities and test the goodness of our model with the AUC (area under the ROC-curve) method. The results of the study confirm the relationship of known determinants to employee turnover such as age, seniority, pay and work distance. In addition, the study unravels unknown and verifies known differences between blue and white collar workers. It shows opposite relationships to turnover for gender, marital status, the number of children, nationality, and pay.

Keywords: employee turnover, blue collar, white collar, dataset analysis

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Authors: Sokkhey Phauk, Takeo Okazaki

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The challenging task in educational institutions is to maximize the high performance of students and minimize the failure rate of poor-performing students. An effective method to leverage this task is to know student learning patterns with highly influencing factors and get an early prediction of student learning outcomes at the timely stage for setting up policies for improvement. Educational data mining (EDM) is an emerging disciplinary field of data mining, statistics, and machine learning concerned with extracting useful knowledge and information for the sake of improvement and development in the education environment. The study is of this work is to propose techniques in EDM and integrate it into a web-based system for predicting poor-performing students. A comparative study of prediction models is conducted. Subsequently, high performing models are developed to get higher performance. The hybrid random forest (Hybrid RF) produces the most successful classification. For the context of intervention and improving the learning outcomes, a feature selection method MICHI, which is the combination of mutual information (MI) and chi-square (CHI) algorithms based on the ranked feature scores, is introduced to select a dominant feature set that improves the performance of prediction and uses the obtained dominant set as information for intervention. By using the proposed techniques of EDM, an academic performance prediction system (APPS) is subsequently developed for educational stockholders to get an early prediction of student learning outcomes for timely intervention. Experimental outcomes and evaluation surveys report the effectiveness and usefulness of the developed system. The system is used to help educational stakeholders and related individuals for intervening and improving student performance.

Keywords: academic performance prediction system, educational data mining, dominant factors, feature selection method, prediction model, student performance

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Authors: Megan E. Davies

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With the intention of identifying cognitive processes uniquely involved in the dark triad personality traits of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism, this study aimed to determine further potential differences and parameters of individual traits by explaining a statistically significant amount of variance between the constructs of manipulativeness, impulsiveness, grit, and need for cognition within the dark triad. Applying a cross-sectional design, N = 96 participants self-reported using the MACH-IV, SRP-III, NFC-S, and Grit Scale for Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that only manipulativeness predicted Machiavellianism, whereas manipulativeness and impulsiveness were found to have predictive qualities for psychopathy. Overall, these results found areas of discrepancy and overlap between manipulation and impulsivity regarding psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Additionally, this study serves to preliminarily eliminate the Need for Cognition and grit as predictive variables for Machiavellianism and psychopathy.

Keywords: Machiavellianism, psychopathy, manipulation, impulsiveness, need for cognition, grit, dark triad

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Authors: Yagmur Soylu, Emir Ozeren, Erol Esen, Digdem M. Siyez, Ozlem Belkis, Ezgi Burc, Gülce Demirgurz

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The aim of the study is to determine the predictive power of personal growth initiative, socio-demographic variables (such as sex, grade, and working condition) on career adaptability and optimism of bachelor students in Dokuz Eylul University in Turkey. According to career construction theory, career adaptability is viewed as a psychosocial construct, which refers to an individual’s resources for dealing with current and expected tasks, transitions and traumas in their occupational roles. Career optimism is defined as positive results for future career development of individuals in the expectation that it will achieve or to put the emphasis on the positive aspects of the event and feel comfortable about the career planning process. Personal Growth Initiative (PGI) is defined as being proactive about one’s personal development. Additionally, personal growth is defined as the active and intentional engagement in the process of personal. A study conducted on college students revealed that individuals with high self-development orientation make more effort to discover the requirements of the profession and workspaces than individuals with low levels of personal development orientation. University life is a period that social relations and the importance of academic activities are increased, the students make efforts to progress through their career paths and it is also an environment that offers opportunities to students for their self-realization. For these reasons, personal growth initiative is potentially an important variable which has a key role for an individual during the transition phase from university to the working life. Based on the review of the literature, it is expected that individual’s personal growth initiative, sex, grade, and working condition would significantly predict one’s career adaptability. In the relevant literature, it can be seen that there are relatively few studies available on the career adaptability and optimism of university students. Most of the existing studies have been carried out with limited respondents. In this study, the authors aim to conduct a comprehensive research with a large representative sample of bachelor students in Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey. By now, personal growth initiative and career development constructs have been predominantly discussed in western contexts where individualistic tendencies are likely to be seen. Thus, the examination of the same relationship within the context of Turkey where collectivistic cultural characteristics can be more observed is expected to offer valuable insights and provide an important contribution to the literature. The participants in this study were comprised of 1500 undergraduate students being included from thirteen faculties in Dokuz Eylul University. Stratified and random sampling methods were adopted for the selection of the participants. The Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II and Career Futures Inventory were used as the major measurement tools. In data analysis stage, several statistical analysis concerning the regression analysis, one-way ANOVA and t-test will be conducted to reveal the relationships of the constructs under investigation. At the end of this project, we will be able to determine the level of career adaptability and optimism of university students at varying degrees so that a fertile ground is likely to be created to carry out several intervention techniques to make a contribution to an emergence of a healthier and more productive youth generation in psycho-social sense.

Keywords: career optimism, career adaptability, personal growth initiative, university students

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Authors: Saba Riaz, Syed A. Hussain

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This paper is addressing the estimation method of the unknown population variance of the variable of interest. A new generalized class of estimators of the finite population variance has been suggested using the auxiliary information. To improve the precision of the proposed class, known population variance of the auxiliary variable has been used. Mathematical expressions for the biases and the asymptotic variances of the suggested class are derived under large sample approximation. Theoretical and numerical comparisons are made to investigate the performances of the proposed class of estimators. The empirical study reveals that the suggested class of estimators performs better than the usual estimator, classical ratio estimator, classical product estimator and classical linear regression estimator. It has also been found that the suggested class of estimators is also more efficient than some recently published estimators.

Keywords: study variable, auxiliary variable, finite population variance, bias, asymptotic variance, percent relative efficiency

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Authors: H. Nouri, I. E. Achouri, A. Grimes, H. Ait Said, M. Aissou, Y. Zebboudj

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This paper aims to analysis the behaviour of DC corona discharge in wire-to-plate electrostatic precipitators (ESP). Current-voltage curves are particularly analysed. Experimental results show that discharge current is strongly affected by the applied voltage. The proposed method of current identification is to use the method of least squares. Least squares problems that of into two categories: linear or ordinary least squares and non-linear least squares, depending on whether or not the residuals are linear in all unknowns. The linear least-squares problem occurs in statistical regression analysis; it has a closed-form solution. A closed-form solution (or closed form expression) is any formula that can be evaluated in a finite number of standard operations. The non-linear problem has no closed-form solution and is usually solved by iterative.

Keywords: electrostatic precipitator, current-voltage characteristics, least squares method, electric field, magnetic field

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Authors: Gelila Tamyalew, Asres Abitie

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Community Pharmacists (CPs) have a significant part in consumer choice in the rational use of LMPPs. The opinion of pharmacists regarding branded and generic medications can offer a perception of the potential obstacles that might have to be overcome to advance generic medicine utilization. Many factors affect CPs' attitudes negatively toward LMPPs. Therefore, the current study assessed factors that can affect CPs' attitudes toward LMPPs. In the regression analysis of variables, three variables were associated with CPs' attitudes toward LMPPs. These are; maximum educational status, professional status, and year of experience in community pharmacy practice. Moreover, lack of belief in LMPPs, substitution agreement with the prescriber, cost-effectiveness of LMPPs, and consumer preference/demand were the most influencing reasons for the selection of LMPPs. In conclusion, the attitude of CPs seems suboptimal that requires an intervention to optimize LMPP utilization.

Keywords: locally manufactured pharmaceutical products, attitude, community pharmacist, Ethiopia

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Authors: Hui-Yu Peng, Hsiu-I Hsueh, Li-Ming Chen

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Most studies focused on bullying behaviors among students, however few research concerns about teachers’ bullying behaviors against students. In order to have more understandings and reduce teacher bullying, it is important to examine what factors may affect teachers’ bullying behaviors. This study aimed to explore the connections between different psychological variables and teacher bullying. Four variables, neuroticism, extraversion, teacher-student relationship, and belief in a just world for others (BJW-others), were selected in this study. Four hundred and five elementary and secondary school teachers in Taiwan endorsed the self-reported surveys. Multiple regression method was used to analyze data. Results revealed that teachers’ BJW-others and extraversion did not have significant correlations with teacher bullying scores. However, closed teacher-student relationship and neuroticism can negatively and positively predict teachers’ bullying behaviors against students, respectively. Implications for preventing teacher bullying were discussed at the end of this study.

Keywords: belief in a just world for others, big five personality traits, teacher bullying, teacher-student relationship

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Authors: Meimei Shi

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Objectives: The identification of endangered species, especially simultaneous detection of multiple species in complex samples, plays a critical role in alleged wildlife crime incidents and prevents illegal trade. This study was to develop a multi-locus DNA metabarcoding method for endangered animal species identification. Methods: Several pairs of universal primers were designed according to the mitochondria conserved gene regions. Experimental mixtures were artificially prepared by mixing well-defined species, including endangered species, e.g., forest musk, bear, tiger, pangolin, and sika deer. The artificial samples were prepared with 1-16 well-characterized species at 1% to 100% DNA concentrations. After multiplex-PCR amplification and parameter modification, the amplified products were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis and used for NGS library preparation. The DNA metabarcoding was carried out based on Illumina MiSeq amplicon sequencing. The data was processed with quality trimming, reads filtering, and OTU clustering; representative sequences were blasted using BLASTn. Results: According to the parameter modification and multiplex-PCR amplification results, five primer sets targeting COI, Cytb, 12S, and 16S, respectively, were selected as the NGS library amplification primer panel. High-throughput sequencing data analysis showed that the established multi-locus DNA metabarcoding method was sensitive and could accurately identify all species in artificial mixtures, including endangered animal species Moschus berezovskii, Ursus thibetanus, Panthera tigris, Manis pentadactyla, Cervus nippon at 1% (DNA concentration). In conclusion, the established species identification method provides technical support for customs and forensic scientists to prevent the illegal trade of endangered animals and their products.

Keywords: DNA metabarcoding, endangered animal species, mitochondria nucleic acid, multi-locus

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Authors: Zahzouh Zoubir

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The widespread adoption of photovoltaic panel systems for global electricity generation is a prominent trend. Algeria, demonstrating steadfast commitment to strategic development and innovative projects for harnessing solar energy, emerges as a pioneering force in the field. Heat and radiation, being fundamental factors in any solar system, are currently subject to comprehensive studies aiming to discern their genuine impact on crucial elements within photovoltaic systems. This endeavor is particularly pertinent given that solar module performance is exclusively assessed under meticulously defined Standard Test Conditions (STC). Nevertheless, when deployed outdoors, solar modules exhibit efficiencies distinct from those observed under STC due to the influence of diverse environmental factors. This discrepancy introduces ambiguity in performance determination, especially when surpassing test conditions. This article centers on the performance monitoring of an Algerian photovoltaic project, specifically the Oued El Keberite power (OKP) plant boasting a 15 megawatt capacity, situated in the town of Souk Ahras in eastern Algeria. The study elucidates the behavior of a subfield within this facility throughout the year, encompassing various conditions beyond the STC framework. To ensure the optimal efficiency of solar panels, this study integrates crucial factors, drawing on an authentic technical sheet from the measurement station of the OKP photovoltaic plant. Numerical modeling and simulation of a sub-field of the photovoltaic station were conducted using MATLAB Simulink. The findings underscore how radiation intensity and temperature, whether low or high, impact the short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage; fill factor, and overall efficiency of the photovoltaic system.

Keywords: performance monitoring, photovoltaic system, numerical modeling, radiation intensity

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Authors: Areej Al-Khabbaz, Swapna Goerge, Majedah Abdul-Rasoul

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Introduction: The most prevalent periodontal disease among children is gingivitis, and it usually becomes more severe in adolescence. A number of intervention studies suggested that resolution of periodontal inflammation can improve metabolic control in patients diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Aim: to assess the effect of non-surgical periodontal therapy on glycemic control of children diagnosed with diabetes mellitus. Method: Twenty-eight children diagnosed with diabetes mellitus were recruited with established diagnosis diabetes for at least 1 year. Informed consent and child assent form were obtained from children and parents prior to enrolment. The dental examination for the participants was performed on the same week directly following their annual medical assessment. All patients had their glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c%) test one week prior to their annual medical and dental visit and 3 months following non-surgical periodontal therapy. All patients received a comprehensive periodontal examination The periodontal assessment included clinical attachment loss, bleeding on probing, plaque score, plaque index and gingival index. All patients were referred for non-surgical periodontal therapy, which included oral hygiene instruction and motivation followed by supra-gingival and subg-ingival scaling using ultrasonic and hand instruments. Statistical Analysis: Data were entered and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science software (SPSS, Chicago, USA), version 18. Statistical analysis of clinical findings was performed to detect differences between the two groups in term of periodontal findings and HbA1c%. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed in order to examine which factors were significant in multivariate analysis after adjusting for confounding between effects. The regression model used the dependent variable ‘Improved glycemic control’, and the independent variables entered in the model were plaque index, gingival index, bleeding %, plaque Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Result: A total of 28 children. The mean age of the participants was 13.3±1.92 years. The study participants were divided into two groups; Compliant group (received dental scaling) and non-complaints group (received oral hygiene instructions only). No statistical difference was found between compliant and non-compliant group in age, gender distribution, oral hygiene practice and the level of diabetes control. There was a significant difference between compliant and non-compliant group in term of improvement of HBa1c before and after periodontal therapy. Mean gingival index was the only significant variable associated with improved glycemic control level. In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that non-surgical mechanical periodontal therapy can improve HbA1c% control. The result of this study confirmed that children with diabetes mellitus who are compliant to dental care and have routine professional scaling may have better metabolic control compared to diabetic children who are erratic with dental care.

Keywords: children, diabetes, metabolic control, periodontal therapy

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Authors: Chander Shekhar, Jeetendra Yadav, Shaziya Allarakha

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Hypertension has been described as an 'iceberg disease' as those who suffered are ignored and hence usually seek healthcare services at a very late stage. It is estimated that more than 2 million Indians are suffering from hypertensive heart disease that contributed to above 0.13 million deaths in 2016. The paper study aims to know the prevalence of Hypertension in India and its variation by socioeconomic backgrounds and to find out risk factors discriminating hypertension with special emphasis on consumption of tobacco and alcohol among men aged 15-54 years in India. The paper uses NFHS (2015-16) data. The paper used binary logistic regression and discriminant analysis to find significant predictors and discriminants of interest. The prevalence of hypertension was 16.5% in the study population. The results suggest that consumption of alcohol and tobacco are significant discriminant characteristics in carrying hypertension irrespective of what socioeconomic background characteristic he possesses.

Keywords: hypertention, alcohol, tobacco, discriminant

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Authors: Maurizio E. Picarella, Ludovica Fumelli, Francesca Siligato, Andrea Mazzucato

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Studies on reproductive dynamics in crops subjected to heat stress are crucial to breed more tolerant cultivars. In tomato, cultivars, breeding lines, and wild species have been thoroughly evaluated for the response to heat stress in several studies. Here, we address the reaction to temperature stress in a panel of selected landraces representing genotypes cultivated before the advent of professional varieties that usually show high adaptation to local environments. We adopted an experimental design with two open field trials, where transplanting was spaced by one month. In the second field, plants were thus subjected to mild stress with natural temperature fluctuations. The genotypes showed wide variation for both vegetative (plant height) and reproductive (stigma exsertion, pollen viability, number of flowers per inflorescence, and fruit set) traits. On average, all traits were affected by heat conditions; except for the number of flowers per inflorescence, the “G*E” interaction was always significant. In agreement with studies based on different materials, estimated broad sense heritability was high for plant height, stigma exsertion, and pollen viability and low for the number of flowers per inflorescence and fruit set. Despite the interaction, traits recorded in control and in heat conditions were positively correlated. The first two principal components estimated by multivariate analysis explained more than 50% of the total variability. The study indicated that landraces present a wide variability for the response of reproductive traits to temperature stress and that such variability could be very informative to dissect the traits with higher heritability and identify new QTL useful for breeding more resilient varieties.

Keywords: fruit set, heat stress, solanum lycopersicum L., style exsertion, tomato

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Authors: B. Chen, F. Kuznik, M. Horgnies, K. Johannes, V. Morin, E. Gengembre

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More attention on renewable energy has been done after the achievement of Paris Agreement against climate change. Solar-based technology is supposed to be one of the most promising green energy technologies for residential buildings since its widely thermal usage for hot water and heating. However, the seasonal mismatch between its production and consumption makes buildings need an energy storage system to improve the efficiency of renewable energy use. Indeed, there exist already different kinds of energy storage systems using sensible or latent heat. With the consideration of energy dissipation during storage and low energy density for above two methods, thermochemical energy storage is then recommended. Recently, ettringite (3CaO∙Al₂O₃∙3CaSO₄∙32H₂O) based materials have been reported as potential thermochemical storage materials because of high energy density (~500 kWh/m³), low material cost (700 €/m³) and low storage temperature (~60-70°C), compared to reported salt hydrates like SrBr₂·6H₂O (42 k€/m³, ~80°C), LaCl₃·7H₂O (38 k€/m³, ~100°C) and MgSO₄·7H₂O (5 k€/m³, ~150°C). Therefore, they have the possibility to be largely used in building sector with being coupled to normal solar panel systems. On the other side, the lack in terms of extensive examination leads to poor knowledge on their thermal properties and limit maturity of this technology. The aim of this work is to develop a modular reactor adapting to thermal characterizations of ettringite-based material particles of different sizes. The filled materials in the reactor can be self-compacted vertically to ensure hot air or humid air goes through homogenously. Additionally, quick assembly and modification of reactor, like LEGO™ plastic blocks, make it suitable to distinct thermochemical energy storage material samples with different weights (from some grams to several kilograms). In our case, quantity of stored and released energy, best work conditions and even chemical durability of ettringite-based materials have been investigated.

Keywords: dehydration, ettringite, hydration, modular reactor, thermochemical energy storage

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Authors: Rouzbeh Ramezani, Renzo Di Felice

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Nowadays, removal of CO₂ as one of the major contributors to global warming using alternative solvents with high CO₂ absorption efficiency, is an important industrial operation. In this study, three amines, including 2-methylpiperazine, potassium sarcosinate and potassium lysinate as potential additives, were added to the potassium carbonate solution as a base solvent for CO₂ capture. In order to study the absorption performance of CO₂ in terms of loading capacity of CO₂ and absorption rate, the absorption experiments in a blend of additives with potassium carbonate were carried out using the vapor-liquid equilibrium apparatus at a temperature of 313.15 K, CO₂ partial pressures ranging from 0 to 50 kPa and at mole fractions 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4. Furthermore, the performance of CO₂ absorption in these blend solutions was compared with pure monoethanolamine and with pure potassium carbonate. Finally, a correlation with good accuracy was developed using the nonlinear regression analysis in order to predict CO₂ loading capacity.

Keywords: absorption rate, carbon dioxide, CO2 capture, global warming, loading capacity

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Authors: Aisha Bano, Rizwan Nazir

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The present study aimed at exploring the impact of meaning in life on psychological well-being and stress among university students. Victor Frankl's paradigm provided the theoretical foundation for this study. A sample of 560 university students was drawn from Quaid-i-Azam University Islamabad. The sample was drawn using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected using Existence Scale, Warwick-Edinburg Mental Well-Being Scale, and Stress Scale. Results of linear regression analysis reveals that high perception of meaning in life will lead to high psychological well-being and low stress among university students. Non-significant differences are found on meaning in life variable with regard to gender in the sample using t-test. Together these results suggest that meaning in life independent of gender, is a significant predictor of the levels of stress and psychological well-being being directly related to psychological well-being and inversely related to stress levels.

Keywords: existential meaning in life, psychological well-being, stress, students

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Authors: Atziri Moreno Vite, David Silva Gutiérrez

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Oil companies have become the key player in the world energy scenario thanks to their strong control of the level of hydrocarbon reserves and production. The present research aims to identify the main factors that explain the results of these companies through an in-depth review of the specialized literature and to analyze the results of these companies by means of econometric analysis with techniques such as Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The results show the relevance and impact of factors such as the level of employment or investment of the company.

Keywords: oil companies, performance, determinants, productive

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Authors: Angrita Denziana, Haninun, Hepiana Patmarina, Ferdinan Fatah

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The aims of the study are to determine the effect of the company's financial performance with Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE) indicators. The macroeconomic factors with the indicators of Indonesia interest rate (SBI) and exchange rate on stock returns of non-financial companies listed in IDX. The results of this study indicate that the variable of ROA has negative effect on stock returns, ROE has a positive effect on stock returns, and the variable interest rate and exchange rate of SBI has positive effect on stock returns. From the analysis data by using regression model, independent variables ROA, ROE, SBI interest rate and the exchange rate very significant (p value < 0.01). Thus, all the above variable can be used as the basis for investment decision making for investment in Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) mainly for shares in the non- financial companies.

Keywords: ROA, ROE, interest rate, exchange rate, stock return

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Authors: Pranita Shivankar, Arun Suryawanshi, Prabodhachandra Deshmukh, S. V. C. Kameswara Rao

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Many undesirable significant changes in landscapes and the regions in the vicinity of historically important structures occur as impacts due to anthropogenic activities over a period of time. A better understanding of such influences using recently developed satellite remote sensing techniques helps in planning the strategies for minimizing the negative impacts on the existing environment. In 1982, a fossilized hominid skull cap was discovered at a site located along the northern bank of the east-west flowing river Narmada in the village Hathnora. Close to the same site, the presence of Late Acheulian and Middle Palaeolithic tools have been discovered in the immediately overlying pebbly gravel, suggesting that the ‘Narmada skull’ may be from the Middle Pleistocene age. The reviews of recently carried out research studies relevant to hominid remains all over the world from Late Acheulian and Middle Palaeolithic sites suggest succession and contemporaneity of cultures there, enhancing the importance of Hathnora as a rare precious site. In this context, the maximum likelihood classification using digital interpretation techniques was carried out for this study area using the satellite imagery from Landsat ETM+ for the year 2006 and Landsat TM (OLI and TIRS) for the year 2016. The overall accuracy of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) classification of 2016 imagery was around 77.27% based on ground truth data. The significant reduction in the main river course and agricultural activities and increase in the built-up area observed in remote sensing data analysis are undoubtedly the outcome of human encroachments in the vicinity of the eminent heritage site.

Keywords: cultural succession, digital interpretation, Hathnora, Homo Sapiens, Late Acheulian, Middle Palaeolithic

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Authors: Sheikh Omar Sillah

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Introduction: Monitoring is an important means of ensuring the smooth implementation and quality of clinical trials. For many years, traditional site monitoring approaches have been critical in detecting data errors but not optimal in identifying fabricated and implanted data as well as non-random data distributions that may significantly invalidate study results. The objective of this paper was to provide recommendations based on best statistical monitoring practices for detecting data-integrity issues suggestive of fabrication and implantation early in the study conduct to allow implementation of meaningful corrective and preventive actions. Methodology: Electronic bibliographic databases (Medline, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) were used for the literature search, and both qualitative and quantitative studies were sought. Search results were uploaded into Eppi-Reviewer Software, and only publications written in the English language from 2012 were included in the review. Gray literature not considered to present reproducible methods was excluded. Results: A total of 18 peer-reviewed publications were included in the review. The publications demonstrated that traditional site monitoring techniques are not efficient in detecting data anomalies. By specifying project-specific parameters such as laboratory reference range values, visit schedules, etc., with appropriate interactive data monitoring, statistical monitoring can offer early signals of data anomalies to study teams. The review further revealed that statistical monitoring is useful to identify unusual data patterns that might be revealing issues that could impact data integrity or may potentially impact study participants' safety. However, subjective measures may not be good candidates for statistical monitoring. Conclusion: The statistical monitoring approach requires a combination of education, training, and experience sufficient to implement its principles in detecting data anomalies for the statistical aspects of a clinical trial.

Keywords: statistical monitoring, data anomalies, clinical trials, traditional monitoring

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Authors: Yichin Chen

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Taiwan is an island characterized by an active tectonics and high erosion rates. Monitoring the dynamic landscape of Taiwan is an important issue for disaster mitigation, geomorphological research, and watershed management. Long-term and high spatiotemporal landform data is essential for quantifying and simulating the geomorphological processes and developing warning systems. Recently, the advances in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and computational photogrammetry technology have provided an effective way to rebuild and monitor the topography changes in high spatio-temporal resolutions. This study rebuilds the 30-years landform change in the Aiyuzi watershed in 1986-2017 by using the aerial photogrammetry-based techniques. The Aiyuzi watershed, located in central Taiwan and has an area of 3.99 Km², is famous for its frequent landslide and debris flow disasters. This study took the aerial photos by using UAV and collected multi-temporal historical, stereo photographs, taken by the Aerial Survey Office of Taiwan’s Forestry Bureau. To rebuild the orthoimages and digital surface models (DSMs), Pix4DMapper, a photogrammetry software, was used. Furthermore, to control model accuracy, a set of ground control points was surveyed by using eGPS. The results show that the generated DSMs have the ground sampling distance (GSD) of ~10 cm and ~0.3 cm from the UAV’s and historical photographs, respectively, and vertical error of ~1 m. By comparing the DSMs, there are many deep-seated landslides (with depth over 20 m) occurred on the upstream in the Aiyuzi watershed. Even though a large amount of sediment is delivered from the landslides, the steep main channel has sufficient capacity to transport sediment from the channel and to erode the river bed to ~20 m in depth. Most sediments are transported to the outlet of watershed and deposits on the downstream channel. This case study shows that UAV and photogrammetry technology are useful for topography change monitoring effectively.

Keywords: aerial photogrammetry, landslide, landform change, Taiwan

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Authors: K. Assis, B. Bonaventure, A. Abdul Rahim, H. Affendy, A. Mohammad Amizi

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Oil palm smallholders are considered as a very important producer of oil palm in Malaysia. They are categorized into two, which are organized smallholder and independent smallholder. In this study, there were 1000 oil palms smallholders have been interviewed by using a structured questionnaire. The main objective of the survey is to identify the relationship between socioeconomic characteristics of smallholders with their knowledge, attitude, and practices toward Ganoderma disease. The locations of study include Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah. There were three important aspects studied, namely knowledge of Ganoderma disease, attitude towards the disease as well as the practices in managing the disease. Cluster analysis, factor analysis, and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data collected. The findings of the study should provide a baseline data which can be used by the relevant agencies to conduct programs or to formulate a suitable development plan to improve the knowledge, attitude and practices of oil palm smallholders in managing Ganoderma disease.

Keywords: attitude, Ganoderma, knowledge, oil palm, practices, smallholders

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Authors: N. Šarlija, S. Pfeifer, M. Jeger, A. Bilandžić

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Enterprise growth is generally considered as a key driver of competitiveness, employment, economic development and social inclusion. As such, it is perceived to be a highly desirable outcome of entrepreneurship for scholars and decision makers. The huge academic debate resulted in the multitude of theoretical frameworks focused on explaining growth stages, determinants and future prospects. It has been widely accepted that enterprise growth is most likely nonlinear, temporal and related to the variety of factors which reflect the individual, firm, organizational, industry or environmental determinants of growth. However, factors that affect growth are not easily captured, instruments to measure those factors are often arbitrary, causality between variables and growth is elusive, indicating that growth is not easily modeled. Furthermore, in line with heterogeneous nature of the growth phenomenon, there is a vast number of measurement constructs assessing growth which are used interchangeably. Differences among various growth measures, at conceptual as well as at operationalization level, can hinder theory development which emphasizes the need for more empirically robust studies. In line with these highlights, the main purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, to compare structure and performance of three growth prediction models based on the main growth measures: Revenues, employment and assets growth. Secondly, to explore the prospects of financial indicators, set as exact, visible, standardized and accessible variables, to serve as determinants of enterprise growth. Finally, to contribute to the understanding of the implications on research results and recommendations for growth caused by different growth measures. The models include a range of financial indicators as lag determinants of the enterprises’ performances during the 2008-2013, extracted from the national register of the financial statements of SMEs in Croatia. The design and testing stage of the modeling used the logistic regression procedures. Findings confirm that growth prediction models based on different measures of growth have different set of predictors. Moreover, the relationship between particular predictors and growth measure is inconsistent, namely the same predictor positively related to one growth measure may exert negative effect on a different growth measure. Overall, financial indicators alone can serve as good proxy of growth and yield adequate predictive power of the models. The paper sheds light on both methodology and conceptual framework of enterprise growth by using a range of variables which serve as a proxy for the multitude of internal and external determinants, but are unlike them, accessible, available, exact and free of perceptual nuances in building up the model. Selection of the growth measure seems to have significant impact on the implications and recommendations related to growth. Furthermore, the paper points out to potential pitfalls of measuring and predicting growth. Overall, the results and the implications of the study are relevant for advancing academic debates on growth-related methodology, and can contribute to evidence-based decisions of policy makers.

Keywords: growth measurement constructs, logistic regression, prediction of growth potential, small and medium-sized enterprises

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Authors: Jared Cheves, Amanda DeChent, Joyce Pan

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Total knee replacements (TKAs) are one of the most common but painful surgical procedures performed in the United States. Currently, the gold standard for postoperative pain management is the utilization of opioids. However, in the wake of the opioid epidemic, the healthcare system is attempting to reduce opioid consumption by trialing innovative opioid sparing analgesic techniques such as continuous peripheral nerve blocks (CPNB) and continuous periarticular infiltration (CPAI). The alleviation of pain, particularly during the first 72 hours postoperatively, is of utmost importance due to its association with delayed recovery, impaired rehabilitation, immunosuppression, the development of chronic pain, the development of rebound pain, and decreased patient satisfaction. While both CPNB and CPAI are being used today, there is limited evidence comparing the two to the current standard of care or to each other. An extensive literature review was performed to explore the safety profiles and effectiveness of CPNB and CPAI in reducing reported pain scores and decreasing opioid consumption. The literature revealed the usage of CPNB contributed to lower pain scores and decreased opioid use when compared to opioid-only control groups. Additionally, CPAI did not improve pain scores or decrease opioid consumption when combined with a multimodal analgesic (MMA) regimen. When comparing CPNB and CPAI to each other, neither unanimously lowered pain scores to a greater degree, but the literature indicates that CPNB decreased opioid consumption more than CPAI. More research is needed to further cement the efficacy of CPNB and CPAI as standard components of MMA in TKA procedures. In addition, future research can also focus on novel catheter-free applications to reduce the complications of continuous catheter analgesics.

Keywords: total knee arthroplasty, continuous peripheral nerve blocks, continuous periarticular infiltration, opioid, multimodal analgesia

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Authors: Piotr Muzyk, Beata Morawiec, Mariusz Opara, Andrzej Tomasik, Brygida Przywara-Chowaniec, Wojciech Jachec, Ewa Nowalany-Kozielska, Damian Kawecki

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Background: Coronary bifurcation is one of the most complex lesion in patients with coronary ar-tery disease. Provisional T-stenting is currently one of the recommended techniques. The aim was to assess optimal methods of treatment in the era of drug-eluting stents (DES). Methods: The regis-try consisted of data from 1916 patients treated with coronary percutaneous interventions (PCI) using either first- or second-generation DES. Patients with bifurcation lesion entered the analysis. Major adverse cardiac and cardiovascular events (MACCE) were assessed at one year of follow-up and comprised of death, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), repeated PCI (re-PCI) of target ves-sel and stroke. Results: Of 1916 registry patients, 204 patients (11%) were diagnosed with bifurcation lesion >50% and entered the analysis. The most commonly used technique was provi-sional T-stenting (141 patients, 69%). Optimization with kissing-balloons technique was performed in 45 patients (22%). In 59 patients (29%) second-generation DES was implanted, while in 112 pa-tients (55%), first-generation DES was used. In 33 patients (16%) both types of DES were used. The procedure success rate (TIMI 3 flow) was achieved in 98% of patients. In one-year follow-up, there were 39 MACCE (19%) (9 deaths, 17 AMI, 16 re-PCI and 5 strokes). Provisional T-stenting resulted in similar rate of MACCE to other techniques (16% vs. 5%, p=0.27) and similar occurrence of re-PCI (6% vs. 2%, p=0.78). The results of post-PCI kissing-balloon technique gave equal out-comes with 3% vs. 16% of MACCE in patients in whom no optimization technique was used (p=0.39). The type of implanted DES (second- vs. first-generation) had no influence on MACCE (4% vs 14%, respectively, p=0.12) and re-PCI (1.7% vs. 51% patients, respectively, p=0.28). Con-clusions: The treatment of bifurcation lesions with PCI represent high-risk procedures with high rate of MACCE. Stenting technique, optimization of PCI and the generation of implanted stent should be personalized for each case to balance risk of the procedure. In this setting, the operator experience might be the factor of better outcome, which should be further investigated.

Keywords: coronary bifurcation, drug eluting stents, long-term follow-up, percutaneous coronary interventions

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Authors: Dieudonne Mevono Mvogo

Abstract:

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) co-sponsored workshop report suggests that climate change and biodiversity loss are two of the most pressing issues of the Anthropocene. Research establishes the interconnection between climate change and biodiversity. On the one hand, the impact of climate change on biodiversity loss – 14 % over the past century – is projected to surpass other threats – land and sea use 34 % and direct exploitation of species 23 % – during the 21st century. Response measures to climate change also affect biodiversity negatively or positively. On the other hand, actions to halt or reverse biodiversity loss can enhance land and ocean capacity for carbon sequestration. These actions can also promote adaptation by ensuring adaptive capacity. This systemic interaction between climate change and biodiversity affects the human quality of life. The United Nations Secretariat's report entitled 'Gaps in international environmental law and environment-related instruments: towards a global pact for the environment,' released in 2018, states that cooperation and mutual support among agreements dealing with climate change, the protection of the marine environment, freshwater resources and hazardous waste are indispensable for the effective implementation of the Convention on the Biological Diversity (CBD). Since biodiversity is being lost at an alarming rate, this study aims to evaluate the cooperative framework for the coherence and coordination between climate change and biodiversity regimes to provide co-benefits for climate and biodiversity crises. It questions the potential improvement regarding integrating ecosystem-based approaches and nature-based solutions – promoted by the CBD – into the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Keywords: rio conventions, climate change, biodiversity, cooperative framework, ecosystem-based approaches, nature-based solutions

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Authors: Scott Nielsen, Luca Longanesi, Chris Chuck

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Palm oil is obtained from the flesh and kernel of the fruit of oil palms and is the most productive and inexpensive oil crop. The global demand for palm oil is approximately 75 million metric tonnes, a 29% increase in global production of palm oil since 2016. This expansion of oil palm cultivation has resulted in mass deforestation, vast biodiversity destruction and increasing net greenhouse gas emissions. One possible alternative is to produce a saturated oil, similar to palm, from microbes such as oleaginous yeast. The yeasts can be cultured on sugars derived from second-generation sources and do not compete with tropical forests for land. One highly promising oleaginous yeast for this application is Metschnikowia pulcherrima. However, recent techno-economic modeling has shown that cell lysis and standard lipid extraction are major contributors to the cost of the oil. Typical cell disruption techniques to extract either single cell oils or proteins have been based around bead-beating, homogenization and acid lysis. However, these can have a detrimental effect on lipid quality and are energy-intensive. In this study, a vortex separator, which produces high sheer with minimal energy input, was investigated as a potential low energy method of lysing cells. This was compared to four more traditional methods (thermal lysis, acid lysis, alkaline lysis, and osmotic lysis). For each method, the yeast loading was also examined at 1 g/L, 10 g/L and 100 g/L. The quality of the cell disruption was measured by optical cell density, cell counting and the particle size distribution profile comparison over a 2-hour period. This study demonstrates that the vortex separator is highly effective at lysing the cells and could potentially be used as a simple apparatus for lipid recovery in an oleaginous yeast process. The further development of this technology could potentially reduce the overall cost of microbial lipids in the future.

Keywords: palm oil substitute, metschnikowia pulcherrima, cell disruption, cell lysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 185