Search results for: Indonesia sharia stock index

Authors: Walaa Mohammed Saeed

Abstract:

Studies suggest a crosstalk between bone and metabolism through Osteocalcin (OC), a bone-derived protein that plays an important role in regulating glucose and fat metabolism. Studies relate type II Diabetes Mellitus (DMII) with Homocysteine (Hcy) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD). This study investigates the relationship between levels of OC, Hcy, and DMII in 85 subjects of which 50 were diabetic female patients (29–65 years) and 35 healthy controls. OC and Hcy levels were measured in fasting blood samples using immunoassay analyzer. Fasting serum glucose, glycated hemoglobin, lipid profile, were estimated by automated Siemens Dimension XP auto-analyzer. A significant increase in the frequency of low OC levels (p < 0.001) and high Hcy levels (p < 0.001) was detected in diabetic patients compared to controls (chi-squared test). Using ANOVA test, patients were divided into tertiles based on plasma OC and Hcy levels; fasting serum glucose varied inversely with OC but directly with Hcy tertiles (p=0.049, p=0.033 respectively). Atherogenic Index of Plasma (AIP=Log TG/HDL) predicts that diabetic patients with 36% high and 15% intermediate cardiovascular risk had increased frequency of low OC levels compared to low-risk patients (p=0.047). Another group of diabetic patients with 39% high and 11% intermediate CVD risk had increased frequency of high Hcy levels (p=0.033). A significant negative correlation existed between OC and glucose (r = -0.318; p = 0.035) while correlation between glucose level and Hcy (r = 0.851 p=0.022) was positive. Hence, low serum OC levels and high Hcy levels were associated with impaired glucose metabolism that may increase cardiovascular risk in DMII.

Keywords: osteocalcin, homocysteine, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Kanyarat Sikhao, Nichakorn Khondee

Abstract:

Adjuvant is commonly mixed with agricultural spray solution during foliar application to improve the performance of microbial-based biological control, including better spreading, absorption, and penetration on a plant leaf. This research aims to replace chemical surfactants in adjuvant by biosurfactants for reducing a negative impact on antagonistic microorganisms and crops. Biosurfactant was produced from Brevibacterium casei NK8 and used as a cell-free broth solution containing a biosurfactant concentration of 3.7 g/L. The studies of microemulsion formation and phase behavior were applied to obtain the suitable composition of biosurfactant-based adjuvant, consisting of cell-free broth (70-80%), coconut oil-based fatty alcohol C12-14 (3) ethoxylate (1-7%), and sodium chloride (8-30%). The suitable formula, achieving Winsor Type III microemulsion (bicontinuous), was 80% of cell-free broth, 7% of fatty alcohol C12-14 (3) ethoxylate, and 8% sodium chloride. This formula reduced the contact angle of water on parafilm from 70 to 31 degrees. The non-phytotoxicity against plant seed of Oryza sativa and Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis were obtained from biosurfactant-based adjuvant (germination index equal and above 80%), while sodium dodecyl sulfate and tween80 showed phytotoxic effects to these plant seeds. The survival of Bacillus subtilis in biosurfactant-based adjuvant was higher than sodium dodecyl sulfate and tween80. The mixing of biosurfactant and plant-based surfactant could be considered as a viable, safer, and acceptable alternative to chemical adjuvant for sustainable organic farming.

Keywords: biosurfactant, microemulsion, bio-adjuvant, antagonistic microorganisms

Procedia PDF Downloads 141

Authors: Zi-Ang Li, Mu-Xuan Tao

Abstract:

During the process of the industrialization of steel structure housing, a composite structural system with separated gravity and lateral resistant systems has been applied in engineering practices, which consists of composite frame with hinged beam-column joints, steel brace and RC shear wall. As an attempt in steel structural system area, seismic performance evaluation of the separated composite structure is important for further application in steel housing. This paper focuses on the seismic performance comparison of the separated composite structural system and traditional steel frame-shear wall system under the same inter-story drift ratio (IDR) provision limit. The same architectural layout of a high-rise building is designed as two different structural systems at the same IDR level, and finite element analysis using pushover method is carried out. Static pushover analysis implies that the separated structural system exhibits different lateral deformation mode and failure mechanism with traditional steel frame-shear wall system. Different indexes are adopted and discussed in seismic performance evaluation, including IDR, safe factor (SF), shear wall damage, etc. The performance under maximum considered earthquake (MCE) demand spectrum shows that the shear wall damage of two structural systems are similar; the separated composite structural system exhibits less plastic hinges; and the SF index value of the separated composite structural system is higher than the steel frame shear wall structural system.

Keywords: finite element analysis, new composite structural system, seismic performance evaluation, static pushover analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Aigul Abduldayeva, Gulnar Tuleshova

Abstract:

Osteoporosis (OP) is a major socio-economic problem and is a major cause of disability, reduced quality of life and premature death of elderly people. In Astana, the study involved 93 respondents, of whom 17 were men (18.3%), and 76 were women (81.7%). Age distribution of the respondents is as follows: 40-59 (66.7%), 60-75 (29.0%), 75-90 (4.3%). In the city of Astana general breach of bone mass (CCM) was determined in 83.8% (nationwide figure - RRP - 79.0%) of the patients, and normal levels of ultrasound densitometry were detected in 16.1% (RRP 21.0%) of the patients. OP was diagnosed in 20.4% of people over 40 (RRP for citizens is 19.0%), 25.4% in the group older than 50 (23.4% PIU), 22,6% in the group older than 60 (RRP 32.6%), 25.0% in the group older than 70 (47.6% of RRP). OPN was detected in 63.4% (RRP 59.6%) of the surveyed population. These data indicate that, there is no sharp difference between Astana and other cities in the country regarding the incidence of OP, that is, the situation with the OP is not aggravated by any regional characteristics. In the distribution of respondents by clusters it was found that 80.0% of the respondents with CCM were in the "best urban cluster", 93.8% were in "average urban cluster", and 77.4% were in a "poor urban cluster". There is a high rate construction of new buildings in Astana, presumably, that the new settlers inhabit the outskirts of the city, and very difficult to trace the socio-economic differences there. Based on these data the following conclusions can be made: 1. According to the ultrasound densitometry of the calcaneus the prevalence rate of NCM among the residents of Astana is 83.3%, OP - 20.4%, which generally coincides with data elsewhere in the country. 2. The urban population of Astana is under a high degree of risk for low energetic fracture, 46.2% of the population had medium and high risks of fracture, while the nationwide index is 26.7%. 3. In the development of CCM residents of Akmola region play a significant role gender, age, ethnic factors. According to the ultrasound densitometry women are more prone to Astana OP - 22.4% of respondents than men - 11.8% of respondents.

Keywords: nutrition, osteoporosis, elderly, urban population

Procedia PDF Downloads 473

Authors: Ayda Youssef, Mohammed Ali Khalaf, Tarek Rafaat

Abstract:

Background: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare multi-systemic disease that shows an abnormal proliferation of these kinds of cells associated with a granular infiltration that affects different structures of the human body, including the lung, liver, spleen, lymph nodes, brain, mucocutaneous, soft tissue (head and neck), and salivary glands. Evaluation of the extent of disease is one of the major predictors of patient outcome. Objectives: To recognize the pathogenesis of Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), describe the radiologic criteria that are suggestive of LCH in different organs rather than the bones and to illustrate the appropriate differential diagnoses for LCH in each of the common extra-osseous sites. Material and methods: A retrospective study was done on 150 biopsy-proven LCH patients from 2007 to 2012. All patients underwent imaging studies, mostly US, CT, and MRI. These patients were reviewed to assess the extra-skeletal manifestations of LCH. Results: In 150 patients with biopsy-proven LCH, There were 33 patients with liver affection, 5 patients with splenic lesions, 55 patients with enlarged lymph nodes, 9 patient with CNS disease and 11 patients with lung involvement. Conclusions: Because of the frequent LCH children and evaluation of the extent of disease is one of the major predictors of patient outcome. Radiologist need to be familiar with its presentation in different organs and regions of body outside the commonest site of affection (bones). A high-index suspicion should be raised a biopsy is recommended in the presence of radiological suspicion. Chemotherapy is the preferred therapeutic modality.

Keywords: langerhans cell histiocytosis, extra-skeletal, pediatrics, radiology

Procedia PDF Downloads 437

Authors: Paria Soleimani, Arezoo Neshati

Abstract:

Myocardial infarction is one of the leading causes of ‎death in the world. Some of these deaths occur even before the patient ‎reaches the hospital. Myocardial infarction occurs as a result of ‎impaired blood supply. Because the most of these deaths are due to ‎coronary artery disease, hence the awareness of the warning signs of a ‎heart attack is essential. Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but ‎most of them start slowly, with mild pain or discomfort, then early ‎detection and successful treatment of these symptoms is vital to save ‎them. Therefore, importance and usefulness of a system designing to ‎assist physicians in the early diagnosis of the acute heart attacks is ‎obvious.‎ The purpose of this study is to determine how well a predictive ‎model would perform based on the only patient-reportable clinical ‎history factors, without using diagnostic tests or physical exams. This ‎type of the prediction model might have application outside of the ‎hospital setting to give accurate advice to patients to influence them to ‎seek care in appropriate situations. For this purpose, the data were ‎collected on 711 heart patients in Iran hospitals. 28 attributes of clinical ‎factors can be reported by patients; were studied. Three logistic ‎regression models were made on the basis of the 28 features to predict ‎the risk of heart attacks. The best logistic regression model in terms of ‎performance had a C-index of 0.955 and with an accuracy of 94.9%. ‎The variables, severe chest pain, back pain, cold sweats, shortness of ‎breath, nausea, and vomiting were selected as the main features.‎

Keywords: Coronary heart disease, Acute heart attacks, Prediction, Logistic ‎regression‎

Procedia PDF Downloads 449

Authors: Rajesh Chakraborty, Dibyendu Das, Rabindra Nath Barman, Uttam Kumar Mandal

Abstract:

In the present study, the objective is to find out the most effective zone causing soil erosion in the Gumati river basin located in the state of Tripura, a north eastern state of India using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA).The watershed is segmented into 20 zones based on Area. The watershed is considered by pointing the maximum elevation from sea lever from Google earth. The soil erosion is determined using the universal soil loss equation. The different independent variables of soil loss equation bear different weightage for different soil zones. And therefore, to find the weightage factor for all the variables of soil loss equation like rainfall runoff erosivity index, soil erodibility factor etc, analytical hierarchy process (AHP) is used. And thereafter, multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA) approach is used to select the most effective zone causing soil erosion. The MCDM technique concludes that the maximum soil erosion is occurring in the zone 14.

Keywords: soil erosion, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), multi criteria decision making (MCDM), universal soil loss equation (USLE), multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis (MOORA)

Procedia PDF Downloads 539

Authors: Mukhamad Fatkhullah, Arfan Fadli, Marini Kristina Situmeang, Siti Hazar Sitorus

Abstract:

The emergence of a community of people with disabilities along with the various works produced has made great progress to open the public eye to their existence in society. This study focuses attention on a community that is suspected to be one of the pioneers in pursuing the movement. It is Deaf Art Community (DAC), a community of persons with disabilities based in Yogyakarta, with deaf and speech-impaired members who use sign language in everyday communication. Knowing the movement of disabled communities is a good thing, the description of the things behind it then important to know as the basis for initiating similar movements. This research focuses on the question of how community of people with disabilities begin to take shape in different regions and interact with collaborative events. Qualitative method with in-depth interview as data collection techniques was used to describe the process of formation and the emergence of community. The analytical unit in the study initially focuses on the subject in the community, but in the process, it develops to institutional analysis. Therefore some informants were determined purposively and expanded using the snowball technique. The theory used in this research is Phenomenology of Alfred Schutz to be able to see reality from the subject and institutional point of view. The results of this study found that the community is formed because the existing educational institutions (both SLB and inclusion) are less able to empower and make children with disabilities become equal with the society. Through the SLB, the presence of children with disabilities becomes isolated from the society, especially in children of his or her age. Therefore, discrimination and labeling will never be separated from society's view. Meanwhile, facilities for the basic needs of children with disabilities can not be fully provided. Besides that, the guarantee of discrimination, glances, and unpleasant behavior from children without disability does not exist, which then indicates that the existing inclusion schools offer only symbolic acceptance. Thus, both in SLB and Inclusive Schools can not empower children with disabilities. Community-based assistance, in this case, has become an alternative to actually empowering children with disabilities. Not only giving them a place to interact, through the same community, children with disabilities will be guided to discover their talents and develop their potential to be self-reliant in the future.

Keywords: children with disabilities, community-based assessment, community empowerment, social equity

Procedia PDF Downloads 263

Authors: Tripta Dixit, Smita Sahu, William Selvamurthy, Sadhana Srivastava

Abstract:

The translation of healthcare technologies is an expensive, complex affair, current healthcare challenges in Asian countries and their efforts to meet Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), necessitates continuous technology advancement to save countless lives, improve the quality of life and for socio-economic development. India’s consistently improving global innovation index (57) demonstrates its innovation potential, but access to health care is asymmetric and lacks priority in India. Therefore, there is utmost need of a robust translation system for point-of-care (POC) solutions, inexpensive, low-maintenance, reliable, and easy-to-use diagnostic technologies. Few cases of POC technologies viz. Elisa based diagnostic kits for regional viral disease, a device for detection of cancerous lesions were studied to understand the process and challenges involved in their translation. Accordingly, the entire translation ecosystem was summarized proposing a nexus of various actors such as technology developer, technology transferor technology receiver, funding entities, government/regulatory bodies and their effect on translation of different medical technologies. This study highlights the role and concerns pertaining to these actors for POC such as unsystematic and unvalidated research roadmap, low profit preposition, unfocused approach of up-scaling, low market acceptability and multiple window regulatory framework, etc. This provides an opportunity to devise solutions to overcome problem areas in translation path.

Keywords: healthcare technologies, point-of-care solutions, public health, translation

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Rokia A. El Banna, Mones M. Abu Shady, Muhammad Al-Tohamy, Manal Mouhamed Ali, Mehrevan M. Abd El-Moniem, Mona Anwar

Abstract:

Association between vitamin D, adiponectin and obesity is a matter of debate, as they play important role in linking obesity with different cardiometabolic risk factors. Objectives: Evaluation of the association between metabolic risk factors with both adiponectin and vitamin D levels and that between adiponectin and vitamin D among obese Egyptian children. Subjects and Methods: This case-control cross-sectional study consisted of 65 obese and 30 healthy children, aged 8-11 years. 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH) D) level, serum adiponectin, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured. Results: The mean 25(OH) D levels in the obese and control groups were 29.9± 10.3 and 39.7 ± 12.7 ng/mL respectively (P < 0.001). The mean 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels in the obese were lower than that in the control group (P < 0.0001). 25(OH) D were inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), while adiponectin level were inversely correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and positively correlated with HDL-C. However, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels among obese children and total sample. Conclusion: In spite of strong association between vitamin D and adiponectin levels with metabolic risk factors and obesity, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels. In obese children, there are significant negative correlations between 25(OH) D with lipid profile, and between adiponectin levels with blood pressure. At certain adiponectin level, the relation between it and BMI disappears.

Keywords: 25-hydroxy vitamin D, adiponectin, lipid profile, blood pressure, children

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Yuvarani Naidu, Yasmeen Siddiqui, Mohd Yusof Rafii , Abu Seman Idris

Abstract:

Sustainability of oil palm production in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, is jeopardized by Ganoderma boninense, the fungus which causes basal stem rot (BSR) in oil palm. The root contact with unattended infected debris left in the plantations during replanting is known to be the primary source of inoculum. Abiding by the law, potentially effective technique of managing Ganoderma infected oil palm debris is deemed necessary because of the zero-burning policy in Malaysian oil palm plantations. White-rot hymenomycetes antagonistic to Ganoderma sp were selected to test their efficacy as log treatments in degrading Ganoderma infected oil palm logs and to minimize the survival of Ganoderma inoculum. Decay rate in terms of mass loss was significantly higher after the application of solid-state cultivation (SSC) of Trametes lactinea FBW (64% ±1.2), followed by Pycnoporus sanguineus FBR (55% ±1.7) in infected log block tissues, after 10 months of treatments. The degradation pattern was clearly distinguished between the treated and non-treated log blocks with the developed SSC formulations. The control infected log blocks showed the highest, whereas infected log blocks treated with either P. sanguineus FBR or T. lactinea FBW SSC formulations exhibited statistically lowest number of Ganoderma spp. recovery on Ganoderma Selective Medium (GSM), after 8 months of treatment. Out of that, the lowest recovery of Ganoderma spp. was reported in infected log blocks inoculated with the strain T. lactinea FBW (21% ± 0.9) followed by P. sanguineus FBR (33% ± 2.2), after 8 months, Further, no recovery of Ganoderma was noticeable, 10 months after treatment applications in log blocks treated with both of the formulations. This is the first nursery-base study to substantiate the initial colonization of white-rot hymenomycetes on oil palm log blocks previously infected with BSR pathogen, G. boninense. The present study has indicated that log blocks treatment with white-rot hymenomycetes significantly affected the mass loss of diseased and healthy log block tissues. This study provides a basis of biotechnological approaches inefficient degradation of oil palm-generated crop debris, under natural conditions with an ultimate aim of reducing the Ganoderma inoculum under heavy BSR infection pressure in eco-friendly manner.

Keywords: basal stem rot disease, ganoderma boninense, oil palm, white-rot fungi

Procedia PDF Downloads 210

Authors: S. Gharbi, S. Labidi, M. Mars, M. Chelli, F. Ladeb

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is to reduce radiation dose for chest CT examination by including Tube Current Modulation (TCM) to a standard CT protocol. A scan of an anthropomorphic male Alderson phantom was performed on a 128-slice scanner. The estimation of effective dose (ED) in both scans with and without mAs modulation was done via multiplication of Dose Length Product (DLP) to a conversion factor. Results were compared to those measured with a CT-Expo software. The size specific dose estimation (SSDE) values were obtained by multiplication of the volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) with a conversion size factor related to the phantom’s effective diameter. Objective assessment of image quality was performed with Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) measurements in phantom. SPSS software was used for data analysis. Results showed including CARE Dose 4D; ED was lowered by 48.35% and 51.51% using DLP and CT-expo, respectively. In addition, ED ranges between 7.01 mSv and 6.6 mSv in case of standard protocol, while it ranges between 3.62 mSv and 3.2 mSv with TCM. Similar results are found for SSDE; dose was higher without TCM of 16.25 mGy and was lower by 48.8% including TCM. The SNR values calculated were significantly different (p=0.03<0.05). The highest one is measured on images acquired with TCM and reconstructed with Filtered back projection (FBP). In conclusion, this study proves the potential of TCM technique in SSDE and ED reduction and in conserving image quality with high diagnostic reference level for thoracic CT examinations.

Keywords: anthropomorphic phantom, computed tomography, CT-expo, radiation dose

Procedia PDF Downloads 221

Authors: Umi Pudji Astuti, Dedi Sugandi

Abstract:

The effectiveness of agricultural extension is determined by the component in the agricultural extension system among others are agricultural extension methods. Effective methods should be selected and defined based on the characteristics of the target, the resources, the materials, and the objectives to be achieved. Citrus agribusiness development in Lebong is certainly supported by the role of stakeholders and citrus farmers, as well as the proper dissemination methods. Adoption in the extension process substantially can be interpreted as the changes of behavior process such as knowledge (cognitive), attitudes (affective), and skill (psycho-motoric) in a person after receiving "innovation" from extension submitted by target communities. Knowledge and perception are needed as a first step in adopting a innovation, especially of citrus agribusiness development in Lebong. The process of Specific technology adoption is influenced by internal factors and farmer perceptions of technological innovation. Internal factors such as formal education, experience trying to farm, owned land, production farm goods. The output of this study: 1) to analyze the effectiveness of field trial methods in improving cognitive and affective farmers; 2) Knowing the relationship of adoption level and knowledge of farmers; 3) to analyze the factors that influence farmers' adoption of citrus technology innovation. The method of this study is through the survey to 40 respondents in Rimbo Pengadang Sub District, Lebong District in 2014. Analyzing data is done by descriptive and statistical parametric (multiple linear functions). The results showed that: 1) Field trip method is effective to improve the farmer knowledge (23,17% ) and positively affect the farmer attitude; 2) the knowledge level of PTKJS innovation farmers "positively and very closely related".; 3) the factors that influence the level of farmers' adoption are internal factors (education, knowledge, and the intensity of training), and external factors respondents (distance from the house to the garden and from the house to production facilities shop).

Keywords: affect, adoption technology, citrus gerga, effectiveness dissemination

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Enas El Sayed Abutaleb, Mohamed Taher Eldesoky, Shahenda Abd El Rasol

Abstract:

Background: Muscle energy techniques (MET) have been widely used by manual therapists over the past years, but still limited research validated its use and there was limited evidence to substantiate the theories used to explain its effects. Objective: To investigate the effect of muscle energy technique (MET) on anterior pelvic tilt in patients with lumbar spondylosis. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Thirty patients with anterior pelvic tilt from both sexes were involved, aged between 35 to 50 years old and they were divided into MET and control groups with 15 patients in each. Methods: All patients received 3 sessions/week for 4 weeks where the study group received MET, Ultrasound and Infrared, and the control group received U.S and I.R only. Pelvic angle was measured by palpation meter, pain severity by the visual analogue scale and functional disabilities by the Oswestry disability index. Results: Both groups showed significant improvement in all measured variables. The MET group was significantly better than the control group in pelvic angle, pain severity, and functional disability as p-value were (0.001, 0.0001, 0.0001) respectively. Conclusion and implication: The study group fulfilled greater improvement in all measured variables than the control group which implies that application of MET in combination with U.S and I.R were more effective in improving pelvic tilting angle, pain severity and functional disabilities than using electrotherapy only.

Keywords: anterior pelvic tilt, lumbar spondylosis, muscle energy technique exercise, pelvic tilting angle

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Lubica Muckova, Petr Jost, Jaroslav Pejchal, Daniel Jun

Abstract:

The development of acetylcholinesterase reactivators, i.e. antidotes against organophosphorus poisoning, is an important goal of defence research. The aim of this study was to compare cytotoxicity and chemical structure of 5 currently available (pralidoxime, trimedoxime, obidoxime, methoxime, and asoxime) and 4 newly developed compounds (K027, K074, K075, and K203). In oximes, there could be at least four important structural factors affecting their toxicity, including the number of oxime groups in the molecule, the position of oxime group(s) on pyridinium ring, the length of carbon linker, and the substitution by oxygen or insertion of the double bond into the connection chain. The cytotoxicity of tested substances was measured using colorimetric 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-tetrazolium bromide assay (MTT assay) in SH-SY5Y cell line. Toxicity was expressed as toxicological index IC₅₀. The tested compounds showed different cytotoxicity ranging from 1.5 to 27 mM. K027 was the least, and methoxime was the most toxic reactivator. The lowest toxicity was found in a monopyridinium reactivator and bispyridinium reactivators with simple 3C carbon linker. Shortening of connection chain length to 1C, incorporation of oxygen moiety into 3C compounds, elongation of carbon linker to 4C and insertion of a double bond into 4C substances increase AChE reactivators' cytotoxicity. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by a long-term organization development plan Medical Aspects of Weapons of Mass Destruction of the Faculty of Military Health Sciences, University of Defence.

Keywords: acetylcholinesterase, cytotoxicity, organophosphorus poisoning, reactivators of acetylcholinesterase

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Meenal Surawar, Rajashree Kotharkar

Abstract:

Urban Heat Island (UHI) is found more pronounced as a prominent urban environmental concern in developing cities. To study the UHI effect in the Indian context, the Nagpur urban area has been explored in this paper using Landsat 7 ETM+ satellite images through Remote Sensing and GIS techniques. This paper intends to study the effect of LU/LC pattern on daytime Land Surface Temperature (LST) variation, contributing UHI formation within the Nagpur Urban area. Supervised LU/LC area classification was carried to study urban Change detection using ENVI 5. Change detection has been studied by carrying Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) to understand the proportion of vegetative cover with respect to built-up ratio. Detection of spectral radiance from the thermal band of satellite images was processed to calibrate LST. Specific representative areas on the basis of urban built-up and vegetation classification were selected for observation of point LST. The entire Nagpur urban area shows that, as building density increases with decrease in vegetation cover, LST increases, thereby causing the UHI effect. UHI intensity has gradually increased by 0.7°C from 2000 to 2006; however, a drastic increase has been observed with difference of 1.8°C during the period 2006 to 2013. Within the Nagpur urban area, the UHI effect was formed due to increase in building density and decrease in vegetative cover.

Keywords: land use/land cover, land surface temperature, remote sensing, urban heat island

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Abdul G. Miah, Hirotada Tsujii, Ummay Salma, Iwao Takeda

Abstract:

The study was designed to investigate the effects of dietary Selenium-enriched radish sprouts (Se-RS), Vitamin E (Vit E) and Rhodobacter capsulatus (RC) on broiler's immunity, cholesterol concentration and fatty acid composition in broiler meat. A total of 100 two-week-old male broiler chicks were randomly assigned into 5 dietary groups, such as i) Control; ii) Se-RS (5 μg/kg Se-RS); iii) Se-RS+RC (5 μg/kg Se-RS + 0.2 g/kg RC); iv) Se-RS+Vit E (5 μg/kg Se-RS + 50 mg/kg Vit E) and v) Se-RS+RC+Vit E (5 μg/kg Se-RS + 0.2 g/kg RC + 50 mg/kg Vit E). The broilers were offered ad libitum specific diets and clean drinking water. After the end of 3-wk of feeding period, serum cholesterol and triglycerides concentrations were decreased (p<0.05) specially, in the broilers fed Se-RS+RC+Vit E supplemented diet compared to the broilers fed control diet. At the end of the 6-wk feeding period, Se-RS+RC+Vit E supplemented diet significantly (p<0.05) reduced cholesterol and triglycerides concentrations, and improved the ratio of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) to saturated fatty acids (SFA) in broiler meat. The highest (p<0.05) number of leukocytes was observed in the broilers fed Se-RS+RC+Vit E supplemented diet than that of the broilers fed control diet. Spleen, bursa and thymus weight were significantly (p<0.05) increased by Se-RS+RC+Vit E supplemented diet than the control diet. Compared to the control diet, Se-RS+RC+Vit E supplemented diet significantly (p<0.05) increased foot web index. Moreover, there was no mortality in all groups of broilers during the experimental period. Therefore, the study may conclude that there are dual benefits of Se-RS+RC+Vit E supplementation in broiler diet improved immunity and meat quality for health conscious consumers.

Keywords: hypocholesterolemia, immunity of broiler, rhodobacter capsulatus, selenium-enriched radish sprouts, vitamin E

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: Suzan Arslanturk, Mohammad-Reza Siadat, Theophilus Ogunyemi, Ananias Diokno

Abstract:

Missing data is a common challenge in statistical analyses of most clinical survey datasets. A variety of methods have been developed to enable analysis of survey data to deal with missing values. Imputation is the most commonly used among the above methods. However, in order to minimize the bias introduced due to imputation, one must choose the right imputation technique and apply it to the correct type of missing data. In this paper, we have identified different types of missing values: missing data due to skip pattern (SPMD), undetermined missing data (UMD), and genuine missing data (GMD) and applied rough set imputation on only the GMD portion of the missing data. We have used rough set imputation to evaluate the effect of such imputation on prediction by generating several simulation datasets based on an existing epidemiological dataset (MESA). To measure how well each dataset lends itself to the prediction model (logistic regression), we have used p-values from the Wald test. To evaluate the accuracy of the prediction, we have considered the width of 95% confidence interval for the probability of incontinence. Both imputed and non-imputed simulation datasets were fit to the prediction model, and they both turned out to be significant (p-value < 0.05). However, the Wald score shows a better fit for the imputed compared to non-imputed datasets (28.7 vs. 23.4). The average confidence interval width was decreased by 10.4% when the imputed dataset was used, meaning higher precision. The results show that using the rough set method for missing data imputation on GMD data improve the predictive capability of the logistic regression. Further studies are required to generalize this conclusion to other clinical survey datasets.

Keywords: rough set, imputation, clinical survey data simulation, genuine missing data, predictive index

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: I Putu Indra Kusuma

Abstract:

The rapid development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools has improved the implementation of flipped classrooms in English Language Teaching (ELT), especially in speaking course. Flipped classrooms have therefore evolved from the oldest version, which uses recorded videos to the newest one (3.0 version), which combines various materials and enables out-of-class interaction and learning engagement. However, how the latest version of flipped classrooms affects students’ speaking performance and influences students’ learning engagement remains unclear. This study therefore sought (1) to examine the effect of flipped classrooms 3.0 towards students’ speaking performance and (2) to explore the students’ learning engagement during the implementation of flipped classrooms in the speaking course. This study then employed explanatory sequential mixed-method design. This study conducted a quasi-experimental study by recruiting 164 twelfth grade students of a public senior high school in Indonesia as the sample. They were distributed into experimental (80 students) and control (84 students) groups. The experimental group was treated by implementing flipped classrooms with various use of ICT tools such as Schoology, Youtube, websites, and Flipgrid for eight weeks. Meanwhile, the control group implemented a conventional method. Furthermore, there were two variables examined in this study, such as the implementation of flipped classrooms 3.0 as the independent variable and students’ speaking performance as the dependent variable. The data of these two variables were then collected through administering a speaking test to both groups. The data from this experimental study were analyzed by using independent t-test analysis. Also, five students were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews to explore their learning engagement during the implementation of flipped classrooms. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference in students’ speaking performance between experimental where t (df = 162) = 5.810, p < 0.001, d = 0.91 in which experimental group performed better in speaking than the control group. Also, the results of interviews showed that the students had positive learning engagement during the implementation of flipped classrooms 3.0, especially on out-of-class interactions and face-to-face meetings. Some relevant implications to ELT, especially in speaking courses, are also drawn from the data findings. From the findings, it can be concluded that flipped classrooms 3.0 has a significant effect on students’ speaking performance and it promotes students’ learning engagement. Therefore, flipped classrooms 3.0 should be embraced as the newest version of flipped classrooms that promotes interaction outside the classrooms and learning engagement.

Keywords: Flipped Classrooms 3.0, learning engagement, teaching speaking with technology, technology-enhanced language learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Carla Idely Palencia-Aguilar

Abstract:

Mining in Colombia represents around 2% of the GDP (USD 8 billion in 2018), with main productions represented by coal, nickel, gold, silver, emeralds, iron, limestone, gypsum, among others. Sand and Gravel had been decreasing its participation of the GDP with a reduction of 33.2 million m3 in 2015, to 27.4 in 2016, 22.7 in 2017 and 15.8 in 2018, with a consumption of approximately 3 tons/inhabitant. However, with the new government policies it is expected to increase in the following years. Mining causes temporary environmental impacts, once restoration and rehabilitation takes place, social, environmental and economic benefits are higher than the initial state. A way to demonstrate how the mining interventions had contributed to improve the characteristics of the region after sand and gravel mining, the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) from MODIS and ASTER were employed. The histograms show not only increments of vegetation in the area (8 times higher), but also topographies similar to the ones before the intervention, according to the application for sustainable development selected: either agriculture, forestry, cattle raising, artificial wetlands or do nothing. The decision was based upon a Multicriteria analysis for optimal land use, with three main variables: geostatistics, evapotranspiration and groundwater characteristics. The use of remote sensing, meteorological stations, piezometers, sunphotometers, geoelectric analysis among others; provide the information required for the multicriteria decision. For cattle raising and agricultural applications (where various crops were implemented), conservation of products were tested by means of nanotechnology. The results showed a duration of 2 years with no chemicals added for preservation and concentration of vitamins of the tested products.

Keywords: ASTER, Geostatistics, MODIS, Multicriteria

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Mojtaba Mahmoodian, Joshua Phelan, Mehdi Shahparvari

Abstract:

With a large percentage of countries’ total infrastructure expenditure attributed to water network maintenance, it is essential to optimise maintenance strategies to rehabilitate or replace underground pipes before failure occurs. The aim of this paper is to provide water utility managers with a maintenance management approach for underground water pipes, subject to external loading and material corrosion, to give the lowest life cycle cost over a predetermined time period. This reliability-based maintenance management methodology details the optimal years for intervention, the ideal number of maintenance activities to perform before replacement and specifies feasible renewal options and intervention prioritisation to minimise the life cycle cost. The study was then extended to include feasible renewal methods by determining the structural condition index and potential for soil loss, then obtaining the failure impact rating to assist in prioritising pipe replacement. A case study on optimisation of maintenance plans for the Melbourne water pipe network is considered in this paper to evaluate the practicality of the proposed methodology. The results confirm that the suggested methodology can provide water utility managers with a reliable systematic approach to determining optimum maintenance plans for pipe networks.

Keywords: water pipe networks, maintenance management, reliability analysis, optimum maintenance plan

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Oibar Martinez, Clara Oliver, Jose Miguel Miranda

Abstract:

The study of dispersion phenomena in electromagnetic waves reflected by conductors at infrared and lower frequencies is a topic which finds a number of applications. We aim to explain in this work what are the most relevant ones and how this phenomenon is modeled from both optics and electromagnetics points of view. We also explain here how the amplitude of an electromagnetic wave reflected by a lossy conductor could depend on both the frequency of the incident wave, as well as on the electrical properties of the conductor, and we illustrate this phenomenon with a practical example. The mathematical analysis made by a specialist in electromagnetics or a microwave engineer is apparently very different from the one made by a specialist in optics. We show here how both approaches lead to the same physical result and what are the key concepts which enable one to understand that despite the differences in the equations the solution to the problem happens to be the same. Our study starts with an analysis made by using the complex refractive index and the reflectance parameter. We show how this reflectance has a dependence with the square root of the frequency when the reflecting material is a good conductor, and the frequency of the wave is low enough. Then we analyze the same problem with a less known approach, which is based on the reflection coefficient of the electric field, a parameter that is most commonly used in electromagnetics and microwave engineering. In summary, this paper presents a mathematical study illustrated with a worked example which unifies the modeling of dispersion effects made by specialists in optics and the one made by specialists in electromagnetics. The main finding of this work is that it is possible to reproduce the dependence of the Fresnel reflectance with frequency from the intrinsic impedance of the reflecting media.

Keywords: dispersion, electromagnetic waves, microwaves, optics

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Li-Hua Luu, Alexis Doghmane, Abbas Farhat, Mohammad Sanayei, Pierre Philippe, Pablo Cuellar

Abstract:

Suction buckets are promising innovative foundations for offshore wind turbines. They generally feature the shape of an inverted bucket and rely on a suction system as a driving agent for their installation into the seabed. Water is pumped out of the buckets that are initially placed to rest on the seabed, creating a net pressure difference across the lid that generates a seepage flow, lowers the soil resistance below the foundation skirt, and drives them effectively into the seabed. The stability of the suction mechanism as well as the possibility of a piping failure (i.e., localized fluidization within the internal soil plug) during their installation are some of the key questions that remain open. The present work deals with an experimental study of localized fluidization by suction within a fixed bucket partially embedded into a submerged artificial soil made of spherical beads. The transient process, from the onset of granular motion until reaching a stationary regime for the fluidization at the embedded bucket wall, is recorded using the combined optical techniques of planar laser-induced fluorescence and refractive index matching. To conduct a systematic study of the piping threshold for the seepage flow, we vary the beads size, the suction pressure, and the initial depth for the bucket. This experimental modelling, by dealing with erosion-related phenomena from a micromechanical perspective, shall provide qualitative scenarios for the local processes at work which are missing in the offshore practice so far.

Keywords: fluidization, micromechanical approach, offshore foundations, suction bucket

Procedia PDF Downloads 182

Authors: Febri Ramadhan, Sigid Hariyadi, Niken Tunjung Murti Pratiwi, Budiman Djoko Said

Abstract:

The scope about maritime security copes all of the problems emanating from maritime domain. Those problems can give such threats to national security of the state. One of threats taking place nowadays in maritime domain is about pollution. Pollution coming from many sources may increase water-borne disease risk that can cause the instability of national security. Pollution coming from many sources may increase water-borne disease risk. Hence the pollution makes an improper condition of environments for humans and others biota dwelling in the waters. One of the tools that can determine about pollution is by measuring about the water quality of its waters. In this case, what brings the waste and pollutants is there an activity of tidal waves introducing substances or energy into the natural environment. Cengkareng Drain is one of the water channels which is affected by tidal waves. Cengkareng Drain was become an observation area to examine the relation between water quality and tide waves. This research was conducted monthly from July to November 2015. Sampling of water was conducted every ebb and tide in every observation. Pollution index showed that the level of pollution on Cengkareng drain was moderately polluted, with the score about 7.7-8.6. Based on the results of t-test and analysis of similarity, the characteristic of water quality on rising tide does not significantly differ from the characteristic of water quality on ebbing tide. Therefore, we need a proper management as a means to control the pollutants in order to make good maritime security strategy.

Keywords: maritime security, Cengkareng drain, water quality, tidal waves

Procedia PDF Downloads 216

Authors: Saba Gachpaz, Hamid Reza Heidari

Abstract:

The sharp increase in population growth leads to more pressure on agricultural areas to satisfy the food supply. To achieve this, more resources should be consumed and, besides other environmental concerns, highlight sustainable agricultural development. Land-use management is a crucial factor in obtaining optimum productivity. Machine learning is a widely used technique in the agricultural sector, from yield prediction to customer behavior. This method focuses on learning and provides patterns and correlations from our data set. In this study, nine physical control factors, namely, soil classification, electrical conductivity, normalized difference water index (NDWI), groundwater level, elevation, annual precipitation, pH of water, annual mean temperature, and slope in the alluvial plain in Khuzestan (an agricultural hotspot in Iran) are used to decide the best agricultural land use for both rainfed and irrigated agriculture for ten different crops. For this purpose, each variable was imported into Arc GIS, and a raster layer was obtained. In the next level, by using training samples, all layers were imported into the python environment. A random forest model was applied, and the weight of each variable was specified. In the final step, results were visualized using a digital elevation model, and the importance of all factors for each one of the crops was obtained. Our results show that despite 62% of the study area being allocated to agricultural purposes, only 42.9% of these areas can be defined as a suitable class for cultivation purposes.

Keywords: land suitability, machine learning, random forest, sustainable agriculture

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Idris Garba, Aisha Rabiu Abdullahi, Mansur Yahuza, Akintade Dare

Abstract:

Background: CT urography (CTU) is efficient radiological examination for the evaluation of the urinary system disorders. However, patients are exposed to a significant radiation dose which is in a way associated with increased cancer risks. Objectives: To determine Computed Tomography Dose Index following CTU, and to evaluate organs equivalent doses. Materials and Methods: A prospective cohort study was carried at a tertiary institution located in Kano northwestern. Ethical clearance was sought and obtained from the research ethics board of the institution. Demographic, scan parameters and CT radiation dose data were obtained from patients that had CTU procedure. Effective dose, organ equivalent doses, and cancer risks were estimated using SPSS statistical software version 16 and CT dose calculator software. Result: A total of 56 patients were included in the study, consisting of 29 males and 27 females. The common indication for CTU examination was found to be renal cyst seen commonly among young adults (15-44yrs). CT radiation dose values in DLP, CTDI and effective dose for CTU were 2320 mGy cm, CTDIw 9.67 mGy and 35.04 mSv respectively. The probability of cancer risks was estimated to be 600 per a million CTU examinations. Conclusion: In this study, the radiation dose for CTU is considered significantly high, with increase in cancer risks probability. Wide radiation dose variations between patient doses suggest that optimization is not fulfilled yet. Patient radiation dose estimate should be taken into consideration when imaging protocols are established for CT urography.

Keywords: CT urography, cancer risks, effective dose, radiation exposure

Procedia PDF Downloads 345

Authors: Vikrant Gupta, Amrit Goswami

Abstract:

The fixed income market forms the basis of the modern financial market. All other assets in financial markets derive their value from the bond market. Owing to its over-the-counter nature, corporate bonds have relatively less data publicly available and thus is researched upon far less compared to Equities. Bond price prediction is a complex financial time series forecasting problem and is considered very crucial in the domain of finance. The bond prices are highly volatile and full of noise which makes it very difficult for traditional statistical time-series models to capture the complexity in series patterns which leads to inefficient forecasts. To overcome the inefficiencies of statistical models, various machine learning techniques were initially used in the literature for more accurate forecasting of time-series. However, simple machine learning methods such as linear regression, support vectors, random forests fail to provide efficient results when tested on highly complex sequences such as stock prices and bond prices. hence to capture these intricate sequence patterns, various deep learning-based methodologies have been discussed in the literature. In this study, a recurrent neural network-based deep learning model using long short term networks for prediction of corporate bond prices has been discussed. Long Short Term networks (LSTM) have been widely used in the literature for various sequence learning tasks in various domains such as machine translation, speech recognition, etc. In recent years, various studies have discussed the effectiveness of LSTMs in forecasting complex time-series sequences and have shown promising results when compared to other methodologies. LSTMs are a special kind of recurrent neural networks which are capable of learning long term dependencies due to its memory function which traditional neural networks fail to capture. In this study, a simple LSTM, Stacked LSTM and a Masked LSTM based model has been discussed with respect to varying input sequences (three days, seven days and 14 days). In order to facilitate faster learning and to gradually decompose the complexity of bond price sequence, an Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) has been used, which has resulted in accuracy improvement of the standalone LSTM model. With a variety of Technical Indicators and EMD decomposed time series, Masked LSTM outperformed the other two counterparts in terms of prediction accuracy. To benchmark the proposed model, the results have been compared with traditional time series models (ARIMA), shallow neural networks and above discussed three different LSTM models. In summary, our results show that the use of LSTM models provide more accurate results and should be explored more within the asset management industry.

Keywords: bond prices, long short-term memory, time series forecasting, empirical mode decomposition

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Monika Verma, Renuka Sharma, B. R. Gulati, Namita Singh

Abstract:

In combination therapy, two chemotherapeutic agents work together in a collaborative action. It has appeared as one of the promising approaches to improve anti-cancer treatment efficacy. In the present investigation, piperine (P-NPS), paclitaxel (PTX NPS), and a combination of both, piperine-paclitaxel nanoparticle (Pip-PTX NPS), were made by the nanoprecipitation method and later characterized by PSA, DSC, SEM, TEM, and FTIR. All nanoparticles exhibited a monodispersed size distribution with a size of below 200 nm, zeta potential ranges from (-30-40mV) and a narrow polydispersity index (>0.3) of the drugs. The average encapsulation efficiency was found to be between 80 and 90%. In vitro release of drugs for nanoparticles was done spectrophotometrically. FTIR and DSC results confirmed the presence of the drug. The Pip-PTX NPS significantly inhibit cell proliferation as compared to the native drugs nanoparticles in the breast cancer cell line MCF-7. In addition, Pip-PTX NPS suppresses cells in colony formation and soft gel agar assay. Scratch migration and Transwell chamber invasion assays revealed that combined nanoparticles reduce the migration and invasion of breast cancer cells. Morphological studies showed that Pip-PTX NPS penetrates the cells and induces apoptosis, which was further confirmed by DNA fragmentation, SEM, and western blot analysis. Taken together, Pip-PTX NPS inhibits cell proliferation, anchorage dependent and anchorage independent cell growth, reduces migration and invasion, and induces apoptosis in cells. These findings support that combination therapy using Pip-PTX NPS represents a potential approach and could be helpful in the future for breast cancer therapy.

Keywords: piperine, paclitaxel, breast cancer, apoptosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: A. A. M. A. S. S. Perera, L. A. Ranasinghe, T. K. H. Nimeshika, D. M. Dhanushka Dissanayake, Namalie Walgampaya

Abstract:

Nowadays, skin fungal diseases are mostly found in people of tropical countries like Sri Lanka. A skin fungal disease is a particular kind of illness caused by fungus. These diseases have various dangerous effects on the skin and keep on spreading over time. It becomes important to identify these diseases at their initial stage to control it from spreading. This paper presents an automated skin fungal disease identification system implemented to speed up the diagnosis process by identifying skin fungal infections in digital images. An image of the diseased skin lesion is acquired and a comprehensive computer vision and image processing scheme is used to process the image for the disease identification. This includes colour analysis using RGB and HSV colour models, texture classification using Grey Level Run Length Matrix, Grey Level Co-Occurrence Matrix and Local Binary Pattern, Object detection, Shape Identification and many more. This paper presents the approach and its outcome for identification of four most common skin fungal infections, namely, Tinea Corporis, Sporotrichosis, Malassezia and Onychomycosis. The main intention of this research is to provide an automated skin fungal disease identification system that increase the diagnostic quality, shorten the time-to-diagnosis and improve the efficiency of detection and successful treatment for skin fungal diseases.

Keywords: Circularity Index, Grey Level Run Length Matrix, Grey Level Co-Occurrence Matrix, Local Binary Pattern, Object detection, Ring Detection, Shape Identification

Procedia PDF Downloads 232

Authors: Arief, Noovirman Jamarun, Benni Satria

Abstract:

Background: The main problem in the development of livestock in Indonesia is feed both in terms of quality and quantity. On the other hand, conventional feed ingredients are expensive and difficult to obtain. Therefore, it is necessary to find alternative feed ingredients that have good quality, potential, and low cost. Feed ingredients that meet the above requirements are by-products of the palm oil industry, namely palm kernel cake (PKC). This study aims to obtain the best PKC composition for Etawa goat concentrate ration. Material and Methode : This research consists of 2 stages. Stage I is invitro study using Tilley and Terry method. The study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 4 treatments of rations and 4 replications. The treatment is the composition of the use of palm kernel cake (PKC) in the ration, namely, A). 10%, B). 20%, C). 30%, D). 40%. Other feed ingredients are corn, rice bran, tofu waste and minerals. The measured variables are the characteristics of the rumen fluid (pH, VFA and NH3). Stage II was done using the best ration of stage I (Ration C), followed by testing the use of Tithonia (Thitonia difersifolia) and agricultural waste of sweet potato leaves as a source of forage for livestock by in-vitro. The study used a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 treatments and 5 replications. The treatments were: Treatment A) Best Concentrate Ration Stage I + Titonia (Thitonia difersifolia), Treatment B) Best Concentrate Ration Stage I + Tithonia (Thitonia difersifolia) and Sweet potato Leaves, Treatment C) Best Concentrate Ration Stage I + Sweet potato leaves. The data obtained were analyzed using variance analysis while the differences between treatments were tested using the Duncant Multiple Range Test (DMRT) according to Steel and Torrie. Results of Stage II showed that the use of PKC in rations as concentrate feed combined with forage originating from Tithonia (Thitonia difersifolia) and sweet potato leaves produced pH, VFA and NH3-N which were still in normal conditions. The best treatment was obtained from diet B (P <0.05) with 6.9 pH, 116.29 mM VFA and 15mM NH3-N. Conclussion From the results of the study it can be concluded that PKC can be used as feed ingredients for dairy goat concentrate with a combination of forage from Tithonia (Tithonia difersifolia) and sweet potato leaves.

Keywords: palm oil by-product, palm kernel cake, concentrate, rumen fluid, Etawa goat

Procedia PDF Downloads 175