Search results for: The Times of India

Authors: B. Petrović, L. Rutonjski, M. Baucal, M. Teodorović, O. Čudić, B. Basarić

Abstract:

Radiotherapy treatment planning computers use CT data of the patient. For the computation of a treatment plan, treatment planning system must have an information on electron densities of tissues scanned by CT. This information is given by the conversion curve CT (CT number) to ED (electron density), or simply calibration curve. Every treatment planning system (TPS) has built in default CT to ED conversion curves, for the CTs of different manufacturers. However, it is always recommended to verify the CT to ED conversion curve before actual clinical use. Objective of this study was to check how the default curve already provided matches the curve actually measured on a specific CT, and how much it influences the calculation of a treatment planning computer. The examined CT scanners were from the same manufacturer, but four different scanners from three generations. The measurements of all calibration curves were done with the dedicated phantom CIRS 062M Electron Density Phantom. The phantom was scanned, and according to real HU values read at the CT console computer, CT to ED conversion curves were generated for different materials, for same tube voltage 140 kV. Another phantom, CIRS Thorax 002 LFC which represents an average human torso in proportion, density and two-dimensional structure, was used for verification. The treatment planning was done on CT slices of scanned CIRS LFC 002 phantom, for selected cases. Interest points were set in the lungs, and in the spinal cord, and doses recorded in TPS. The overall calculated treatment times for four scanners and default scanner did not differ more than 0.8%. Overall interest point dose in bone differed max 0.6% while for single fields was maximum 2.7% (lateral field). Overall interest point dose in lungs differed max 1.1% while for single fields was maximum 2.6% (lateral field). It is known that user should verify the CT to ED conversion curve, but often, developing countries are facing lack of QA equipment, and often use default data provided. We have concluded that the CT to ED curves obtained differ in certain points of a curve, generally in the region of higher densities. This influences the treatment planning result which is not significant, but definitely does make difference in the calculated dose.

Keywords: Computation of treatment plan, conversion curve, radiotherapy, electron density

Procedia PDF Downloads 479

Authors: R. N. Pateriya, T. K. Bhattacharya

Abstract:

In India, rice-wheat cropping system occupies the major area and contributes about 40% of the country’s total food grain production. It is necessary that production of rice and wheat must keep pace with growing population. However, various factors such as degradation in natural resources, shift in cropping pattern, energy constraints etc. are causing reduction in the productivity of these crops. Seedbed for rice after wheat is difficult to prepare due to presence of straw and stubbles, and require excessive tillage operations to bring optimum tilth. In addition, delayed sowing and transplanting of rice is mainly due to poor crop residue management, multiplicity of tillage operations and non-availability of the power source. With increasing concern for fuel conservation and energy management, farmers might wish to estimate the best cultivation system for more productivity. The widest spread method of tilling land is ploughing with mould board plough. However, with the mould board plough upper layer of soil is neither always loosened at the desired extent nor proper mixing of different layers are achieved. Therefore, additional operations carried out to improve tilth. The farmers are becoming increasingly aware of the need for minimum tillage by minimizing the use of machines. Soil management can be achieved by using the combined active-passive tillage machines. A study was therefore, undertaken in wheat-harvested field to study the impact of conventional and modified tillage practices on paddy crop cultivation. Tillage treatments with tractor as a power source were selected during the experiment. The selected level of tillage treatments of tractor machinery management were (T1:- Direct Sowing of Rice), (T2:- 2 to 3 harrowing and no Puddling with manual transplanting), (T3:- 2 to 3 harrowing and Puddling with paddy harrow with manual transplanting), (T4:- 2 to 3 harrowing and Puddling with Rotavator with manual transplanting). The maximum output was obtained with treatment T1 (7.85 t/ha)) followed by T4 (6.4 t/ha), T3 (6.25 t/ha) and T2 (6.0 t/ha)) respectively.

Keywords: crop residues, cropping system, minimum tillage, yield

Procedia PDF Downloads 205

Authors: Balasooriya B. M. C. M., Sujeeva N., Thowfeek Z., Siddiqa Omo, Liyanagunawardana J. E., Jayawardana Saiu, Manathunga S. S., Katulanda G. W.

Abstract:

Introduction and objectives: Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is the gold standard to discriminate unilateral primary aldosteronism (UPA) from bilateral disease (BPA). AVS is technically demanding and only performed in a limited number of centers worldwide. To the best of our knowledge, Except for one study conducted in India, no other research studies on this area have been conducted in South Asia. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of AVS in the management of primary aldosteronism. Methods: A total of 32 patients who underwent AVS at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka from April 2021 to April 2023 were enrolled. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were obtained retrospectively. A procedure was considered successful when adequate cannulation of both adrenal veins was demonstrated. Cortisol gradient across the adrenal vein (AV) and the peripheral vein was used to establish the success of venous cannulation. Lateralization was determined by the aldosterone gradient between the two sides. Continuous and categorical variables were summarized with mean, SD, and proportions, respectively. The mean and standard deviation of the contralateral suppression index (CSI) were estimated with an intercept-only Bayesian inference model. Results: Of the 32 patients, the average age was 52.47 +26.14 and 19 (59.4%) were males. Both AVs were successfully cannulated in 12 (37.5%). Among them, lateralization was demonstrated in 11(91.7%), and one was diagnosed as a bilateral disease. There were no total failures. Right AV cannulation was unsuccessful in 18 (56.25%), of which lateralization was demonstrated in 9 (50%), and others were inconclusive. Left AV cannulation was unsuccessful only in 2 (6.25%); one was lateralized, and the other remained inconclusive. The estimated mean of the CSI was 0.33 (89% credible interval 0.11-0.86). Seven patients underwent unilateral adrenalectomy and demonstrated significant improvement in blood pressure during follow-up. Two patients await surgery. Others were treated medically. Conclusions: Despite failure due to procedural difficulties, AVS remained useful in the management of patients with PA. Moreover, the success of the procedure needs experienced hands and advanced equipment to achieve optimal outcomes in PA.

Keywords: adrenal venous sampling, lateralization, contralateral suppression index, primary aldosteronism

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Pujiyono, Reda Manthovani, Deny Tri Ardianto, Rabani Halawa, Isharyanto

Abstract:

This research has background that the taxpayer (defendant) who has paid off the tax payable and the tax penalty payable after the tax case file has been transferred to the court, while the legality of stopping the prosecution of tax cases on the grounds that in the interest of state revenue is not regulated in the provisions of Law Number 8 of 1981 concerning The Criminal Procedure Code and Law Number 28 of 2007 concerning the Third Amendment to Law Number 6 of 1983 concerning General Provisions and Tax Procedures as amended several times, most recently by Law Number 16 of 2009 concerning Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law Number 5 of 2008 concerning Fourth Amendment to Law Number 6 0f 1983 concerning General Provisions and Tax Procedures to become Law, even though at the investigation stage it regulates the mechanism for stopping the investigation for the sake of the interest of acceptance ne this is because before the case file is transferred to the court where at the request of the Minister of Finance of The Republic of Indonesia can stop the investigation in the interest of state revenue so that based on this phenomenon a legal vacuum is found. Therefore, a non-penal policy is needed from the public prosecutor to resolve tax crime cases without going through litigation in court through the penal mediation method using the Plea Bargaining System which adheres to the principles of restorative justice and obligative justice based on the ultimum remedium principle and the principle of opportunity in order to realize the principle of fast, simple and low cost justice (content principle). This research is a normative legal research, using a statutory approach, conceptual approach, and comparative law approach. Regulations that is used in many countries, include America, The Netherlands and Singapore. The results of this study indicate that there is a reformulation of the tax criminal justice system which regulates the mechanism, qualifications and authority to terminate the prosecution of tax cases in the interest of state revenues in order to achieve legal goals which are not only for legal certainty but more that, namely providing benefits and legal justice for people seeking justice.

Keywords: obligative justice, regulation, state reveneus, tax criminal

Procedia PDF Downloads 80

Authors: Hallal Nouria, Kharoubi Omar

Abstract:

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) is a medicinal and aromatic bitter herb, which has been used as a medicine from ancient times. It has traditionally been used as anthelmintic, choleretic, antiseptic, balsamic, depurative, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue and in treating leukemia and sclerosis. The species was cited to be used externally as cataplasm of crushed leaves for snake and scorpion bites or decoction for wounds and sores applied locally as antiseptic and antifungal. Wormwood extract have high contents of total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids indicating that these compounds contribute to antiradical and antioxidative activity. Most of the degenerative diseases are caused by free radicals. Antioxidants are the agents responsible for scavenging free radicals. The aim of present study was to evaluate the phytochemical and in vitro antioxidant properties of Wormwood extract. DPPH assay and reducing power assay were the method adopted to study antioxidant potentials of extracts. Standard methods were used to screen preliminary phytochemistry and quantitative analysis of tannin, phenolics and flavanoids. Aqueous and alcoholic extracts were showed good antioxidant effect with IC50 ranges from 62 μg/ml for aqueous and 116μg/ml for alcoholic extracts. Phenolic compounds, tannins and flavonoids were the major phytochemicals present in both the extracts. Percentage of inhibition increased with the increased concentration of extracts. The aqueous and alcoholic extract yielded 20, 15& 3, 59 mg/g gallic acid equivalent phenolic content 2, 78 & 1,83 mg/g quercetin equivalent flavonoid and 2, 34 & 6, 40 g tannic acid equivalent tannins respectively. The aqueous and methanol extracts of the aerial parts showed a positive correlation between the total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity measured in the plant samples. The present study provides evidence that both extracts of Artemisia absinthium is a potential source of natural antioxidant.

Keywords: pharmaceutical industries, medicinal and aromatic plant, antioxidants, phenolic compounds, Artemisia absinthium

Procedia PDF Downloads 429

Authors: Sanpetchuda Krutkrua, Suphawatchara Malanond

Abstract:

Competition law is not a new thing in Thailand. Thailand first passed the first competition law during the Second World War in order to stop business operator monopolizing food and basic living supplies. The competition law in Thailand has been amended several times during the past eighty years in order to make it suitable for the current economic and social condition. In 2017, Thailand enacted the current Trade Competition Act of B.E. 2560, which contain several changes to the regime in order to enhance a prevention of collusive practices and monopolization through both vertical restraints and horizontal restraints. Section 56 of the Act provides exemptions for the vertical relationship; i.e., the arrangement in form of complementary relationship, between business operators, franchising agreements between franchisor and franchisee, and licensing agreement between licensor and licensee. The key is that such agreements must not be excessive, create monopolization or attempt to monopolize, or cause any impacts the consumers regarding price, quality, quantity of the goods. The goal of the paper is to explore the extent of the exemption under Section 56 and its sequential regulations regarding vertical trade restraints in the case intellectual property licensing. The research will be conducted in form of a comparative analysis on exemptions for collusive practices under the United States Antitrust law and the Thai Competition Act of B.E. 2560. The United Antitrust law, fairly similar to the Thai Competition Act of B.E. 2561, views the intellectual property licensing to have pro-competitive benefits to the market as long as the intellectual property licensing agreement does not harm the competition amongst the business operators that could have or would have been competitors. The United States Antitrust law identifies the relationship between the parties of the agreement whether such agreement is horizontal or vertical or both. Even though the nature of licensing agreements is primarily vertical, the relationship between licensor and licensees can also be horizontal if they could have been potential competitors in the market as well. The United States Antitrust law frowns upon, if not prohibits, the horizontal restraints regarding the intellectual property licensing but does not impose the same restrictions on the vertical trade restraints regarding intellectual property licensing.

Keywords: antitrust, competition law, vertical restraint, intellectual property, intellectual property licensing, comparative law

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Joanna Peksa, Faith Dillon-Lee

Abstract:

Current developments in the Western economies have turned some universities into corporate institutions driven by practices of production and commodity. Academia is increasingly becoming integrated into national economies as a result of students paying fees and is consequently using business practices in student retention and engagement. With these changes, pedagogy status as a priority within the institution has been changing in light of these new demands. New strategies have blurred the boundaries that separate a student from a client. This led to a change of the dynamic, disrupting the traditional idea of the knowledge market, and emphasizing the corporate aspect of universities. In some cases, where students are seen primarily as a customer, the purpose of academia is no longer to educate but sell a commodity and retain fee-paying students. This paper considers opposing viewpoints on the commodification of higher education, reflecting on the reality of maintaining a pedagogic grounding in an increasingly commercialized sector. By analysing a case study of the Student Success Festival, an event that involved academic and marketing teams, the differences are considered between the respective visions of the pedagogic arm of the university and the corporate. This study argues that the initial concept of the event, based on the principles of gamification, independent learning, and cognitive criticality, was more clearly linked to a grounded pedagogic approach. However, when liaising with the marketing team in a crucial step in the creative process, it became apparent that these principles were not considered a priority in terms of their remit. While the study acknowledges in the power of pedagogy, the findings show that a pact of concord is necessary between different stakeholders in order for students to benefit fully from their learning experience. Nevertheless, while issues of power prevail and whenever power is unevenly distributed, reaching a consensus becomes increasingly challenging and further research should closely monitor the developments in pedagogy in the UK higher education.

Keywords: economic pressure, commodification, pedagogy, gamification, public service, marketization

Procedia PDF Downloads 129

Authors: Mike Chia-Yu Huang

Abstract:

China’s port facility construction projects in the Indian Ocean (IO) region, Gwadar Port and Djibouti Port projects in particular, have led to a heated debate among both Chinese and Western strategists over whether the country has literally been carrying out its “string of pearls” strategy, an alleged Chinese plan to challenge America’s military predominance in South Asia. Even though the Chinese government repeatedly denied the existence of such a strategy and highlighted the civilian/commercial nature of its port projects, it has significantly enhanced its strategic cooperation with littoral countries in the IO region since the “One Belt One Road” initiative was introduced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. Whether China does have a plan to expand its sphere of military influence westward concerns the balance of power in the IO region. If the answer is positive, the security environment there will be changed drastically. This paper argues that rather than simply copying the U.S. model of developing overseas military bases along the IO periphery, Beijing has been deliberating a more sophisticated plan for its physical presence there: creating a new set of “overseas strategic pivots.” These “pivots,” semi-military and semi-commercial in nature, are designed to help Beijing sustain its anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden and serve as forward stations for the transportation of China’s imported energy and merchandise. They can support the Chinese Navy’s operations overseas but are not supposed to undertake face-to-face combat missions. This upgraded Chinese scheme can be identified as “string of pearls” strategy 2.0. Moreover, it is expected to help China deepen its roots in the IO region, implying that Beijing has to a large extent scratched its old diplomatic philosophy which highlighted the merits of non-interference and nonalignment. While a full-scale maritime confrontation between China and the U.S.-India security alliance is unlikely to be witnessed in the near future, an ambitious Chinese plan to step into the global maritime domain has been evidently shown.

Keywords: Chinese navy, Djibouti, Gwadar, Indian Ocean, string of pearls strategy

Procedia PDF Downloads 328

Authors: May Khei Hu, Kevin Leong, Fu Siong Ng, Nicholas Peter

Abstract:

Introduction: Sympathetic stimulation has been recognised as a potent stimulus of arrhythmogenesis in various cardiac pathologies, possibly by augmenting dispersion of repolarisation. The effects of sympathetic stimulation in healthy subjects however remain unclear. It is, therefore, crucial to first establish the effects of physiological stress on dispersion of repolarisation in healthy subjects before understanding these effects in pathological cardiac conditions. We hypothesised that activation-recovery interval (ARI; which is a surrogate of action potential duration) and dispersion of repolarisation decrease on sympathetic stimulation. Methods: Eight patients aged 18-55 years with structurally normal hearts underwent head-up tilt test (HUTT) and exercise tolerance test (ETT) while wearing the electrocardiographic imaging (ECGi) vest. Patients later underwent CT scan and the epicardial potentials are reconstructed using the ECGi software. Activation and recovery times were determined from the acquired electrograms. ARI was calculated and later corrected using Bazett’s formula. Global and regional dispersion of repolarisation were determined from standard deviation of the corrected ARI (ARIc). One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Wilcoxon test were used to evaluate statistical significance. Results: Global ARIc increased significantly [p<0.01] when patients were tilted upwards but decreased significantly after five minutes [p<0.01]. A subsequent post- hoc analysis revealed that the decrease in R-R was more substantial compared to the change in ARI, resulting in the observed increase in ARIc. Global ARIc decreased on peak exercise [p<0.01] but increased on recovery [p<0.01]. Global dispersion increased significantly on peak exercise [p<0.05] although there were no significant changes in regional dispersion. There were no significant changes in both global and regional dispersion during tilt. Conclusion: ARIc decreases upon sympathetic stimulation in healthy subjects. Global dispersion of repolarisation increases upon exercise although there were no changes in global or regional dispersion during orthostatic stress.

Keywords: dispersion of repolarisation, sympathetic stimulation, Head-up tilt test (HUTT), Exercise tolerance test (ETT), Electrocardiographic imaging (ECGi)

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Prangya Ranjan Rout, Puspendu Bhunia, Rajesh Roshan Dash

Abstract:

In a developing country like India, providing reliable and affordable wastewater treatment facilities in rural areas is a huge challenge. With the aim of enhancing the nutrient removal from rural domestic wastewater while reducing the cost of treatment process, a novel, integrated treatment system consisting of a multistage bio-filter with drop aeration and a post positioned attached growth carbonaceous denitrifying-bioreactor was designed and developed in this work. The bio-filter was packed with ‘dolochar’, a sponge iron industry waste, as an adsorbent mainly for phosphate removal through physiochemical approach. The Denitrifying bio-reactor was packed with many waste organic solid substances (WOSS) as carbon sources and substrates for biomass attachment, mainly to remove nitrate in biological denitrification process. The performance of the modular system, treating real domestic wastewater was monitored for a period of about 60 days and the average removal efficiencies during the period were as follows: phosphate, 97.37%; nitrate, 85.91%, ammonia, 87.85%, with mean final effluent concentration of 0.73, 9.86, and 9.46 mg/L, respectively. The multistage bio-filter played an important role in ammonium oxidation and phosphate adsorption. The multilevel drop aeration with increasing oxygenation, and the special media used, consisting of certain oxides were likely beneficial for nitrification and phosphorus removal, respectively, whereas the nitrate was effectively reduced by biological denitrification in the carbonaceous bioreactor. This treatment system would allow multipurpose reuse of the final effluent. Moreover, the saturated dolochar can be used as nutrient suppliers in agricultural practices and the partially degraded carbonaceous substances can be subjected to composting, and subsequently used as an organic fertilizer. Thus, the system displays immense potential for treating domestic wastewater significantly decreasing the concentrations of nutrients and more importantly, facilitating the conversion of the waste materials into usable ones.

Keywords: nutrient removal, denitrifying bioreactor, multi-stage bio-filter, dolochar, waste organic solid substances

Procedia PDF Downloads 379

Authors: Bougema Theodore Ntenkeh, Chi-bikom Barbara Kyien

Abstract:

The reduction of poverty and hunger sits at the heart of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and are the first two of the Sustainable Development Goals. The World Food Day celebrated on the 16th of October every year, highlights the need for people to have physical and economic access at all times to enough nutritious and safe food to live a healthy and active life; while the world poverty day celebrated on the 17th of October is an opportunity to acknowledge the struggle of people living in poverty, a chance for them to make their concerns heard, and for the community to recognize and support poor people in their fight against poverty. The association between household food security and poverty reduction is not only sparse in Cameroon but mostly qualitative. The paper therefore investigates the effect of household food security on poverty reduction in Cameroon quantitatively using data from the Cameroon Household Consumption Survey collected by the Government Statistics Office. The methodology employed five indicators of household food security using the Multiple Correspondence Analysis and poverty is captured as a dummy variable. Using a control function technique, with pre and post estimation test for robustness, the study postulates that household food security has a positive and significant effect on poverty reduction in Cameroon. A unit increase in the food security score reduces the probability of the household being poor by 31.8%, and this effect is statistically significant at 1%. The result further illustrates that the age of the household head and household size increases household poverty while households residing in urban areas are significantly less poor. The paper therefore recommends that households should diversify their food intake to enhance an effective supply of labour in the job market as a strategy to reduce household poverty. Furthermore, family planning methods should be encouraged as a strategy to reduce birth rate for an equitable distribution of household resources including food while the government of Cameroon should also develop the rural areas given that trend in urbanization are associated with the concentration of productive economic activities, leading to increase household income, increased household food security and poverty reduction.

Keywords: food security, poverty reduction, SDGs, Cameroon

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Meltem Anafarta Şendağ, Funda Kutlu

Abstract:

Attachment theory has some major postulates that direct attention of psychologists from many different domains. First, the theory suggests that attachment is a lifetime process. This means that every human being from cradle to grave needs someone stronger to depend on in times of stress. Second, the attachment is a dynamic process and as one goes through developmental stages it is being transferred from one figure to another (friends, romantic partners). Third, the quality of attachment relationships later in time directly affected by the earliest attachment relationship established between the mother and the infant. Depending on these postulates, attachment literature focuses mostly on mother – child attachment during childhood and romantic relationship during adulthood. However, although romantic partners are important attachment figures in adults’ life, parents are not dropped out from the attachment hierarchy but they keep being important attachment figures. Despite the fact that parents could still be an important figure in adults’ life, adult – parent attachment is overlooked in the literature. Accordingly, this study focuses on adult daughters’ current attachment to their old mothers in relation with early parental bonding and current attachment to husbands. Participants of the study were 383 adult women (Average age = 40, ranging between 23 and 70) whose mothers were still alive and who were married at the time of the study. Participants were completed Adult Attachment Scale, Parental Bonding Instrument, and Experiences in Close Relationship – II together with demographic questionnaire. Results revealed that daughters’ attachment to their mothers weakens as they get older, have more children, and have longer marriages. Stronger attachment to mothers was found positively correlated with current satisfaction with the relationship, perception of maternal care before the age of 12 and negatively correlated with perception of controlling behavior before the age 12. Considering the relationship between current parental attachment and romantic attachment, it was found that as the current attachment to mother strengthens attachment avoidance towards husband decreases. Results revealed that although attachment between the adult daughters and old mothers weakens, the relationship is still critical in daughters’ lives. The strength of current attachment with the mother is related both with the early relationship with the mother and current attachment with the husband. The current study is thought to contribute to attachment theory emphasizing the attachment as a lifetime construct.

Keywords: adult daughter, attachment, old mothers, parental bonding

Procedia PDF Downloads 327

Authors: Ahmed Assem Abd El Rahim

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Low back pain (LBP) is enormously common health problem& most of subjects experience it at some point of their life. Kinesio-taping is one of therapy methods introduced for studied cases with nonspecific low back pain. OBJECTIVES: to look at how Kinesio-taping affects studied cases with non-specific low back pain in terms of discomfort, range of motion, & back muscular strength. SUBJECTS: 40 mechanical LBP patients aged 20-40 years had been assigned haphazardly into two groups, They had been selected from outpatient clinic, KasrAl-AiniHospital, Cairo university. Methods: GroupA: 20 patients received the I-shape KT longitudinally & conventional physiotherapy program. Group B:20 studied cases received application of the KT Horizontally & conventional physiotherapy program. pain had been measured by visual analog scale, Range of motion had been measured by Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), & strength had been measured by an isokinetic dynamometer before & after therapy. Therapy sessions had been three times weekly for four weeks. RESULTS: Groups (A & B) discovered decrease in pain& disability and rise in their flexion, extension ROM & peak torque of trunk extensor after end of 4 weeks of program. mean values of pain scale after therapy had been 3.7 and 5.04 in groups A & B. mean values of Disability scale after treatment had been 7.87.and 9.35 in groups A & B. mean values of ROM of flexion had been 28.06, and 24.53 in groups A & B. mean values of ROM of extension had been 13.43 & 10.73 in groups A & B. mean values of Peak torque of lumbar extensors were 65.43 and 63.22 in groups A & B. Though, participants who received the I-shape KT longitudinally as well as conventional physiotherapy program (group A), discovered more reduction in pain& disability and more improvement in ROM of flexion, extension, and Peak torque of lumbar extensors value (P<0.001) after therapy program CONCLUSION: Therapeutic longitudinal Kinesio-taping application with conventional physiotherapy will be more valuable than Therapeutic horizontal Kinesio-taping application with conventional physiotherapy when treating nonspecific low back pain studied cases.

Keywords: Kinesio taping, function, low back pain, muscle power

Procedia PDF Downloads 59

Authors: Mohammad Ehsani, Elham Karimi, Hashem Koozechian

Abstract:

Aim: The purpose of current semi-experimental study was a survey on effect of 16 week walking on psychosocial function related quality of life among 60 to 75 years old men. Methodology: For this reason, short from of health – related quality of life questionnaire (SF – 36) and Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) had been distributed to the subjects at 2 times of pre – test and posttest. Statistical sample of current study was 60 to 75 years old men who placed at Kahrizak house and assessed by considering physically and medical background. Also factors of entrance to the intervention like age range, have satisfaction and have intent to participating in walking program, lack of having diabetic, cardiovascular, Parkinsonism diseases and postural, neurological, musculoskeletal disorders, lack of having clinical background like visual disorders or disordering on equilibrium system, lack of motor limitation, foot print disorders, having surgery and mental health had been determined and assessed. Finally after primary studies, 80 persons selected and categorized accidentally to the 3 experimental group (1, 2, 3 sessions per week, 30 min walking with moderate intension at every sessions) and one control group (without physical activity in period of 16 weeks). Data analysed by employing ANOVA, Pearson coefficient and Scheffe Post – Hoc tests at the significance level of p < 0.05. Results: Results showed that psychosocial function of men with 60 to 75 years old increase by influence of 16 week walking and increase of exercise sessions lead to more effectiveness of walking. Also there was no significant difference between psychosocial function of subjects within 1 session and 3 sessions experimental groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: On the basis of results, we can say that doing regular walking with efficient and standard dosage for elderly people, can increase their quality of life. Furthermore, designing and action operation regular walking program for elderly men on the basis of special, logical and systematic pattern under the supervision of aware coaches have been recommended on the basis of results.

Keywords: walking, quality of life, psychosocial function, elders

Procedia PDF Downloads 586

Authors: Jelka Pleadin, Greta Krešić, Tina Lešić, Ana Vulić, Renata Barić, Tanja Bogdanović, Dražen Oraić, Ana Legac, Snježana Zrnčić

Abstract:

Fish has been acknowledged as an integral component of a well-balanced diet, providing a healthy source of energy, high-quality proteins, vitamins, essential minerals and, especially, n-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC PUFA), mainly eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5 n-3 EPA), and docosahexaenoicacid, (22:6 n-3 DHA), whose pleiotropic effects in terms of health promotion and disease prevention have been increasingly recognised. In this study, the fatty acids composition of three commercially important farmed fish species: sea bream (Sparus aurata), sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) and dentex (Dentex dentex) was investigated. In total, 60 fish samples were retrieved during 2015 (n = 30) and 2016 (n = 30) from different locations in the Adriatic Sea. Methyl esters of fatty acids were analysed using gas chromatography (GC) with flame ionization detection (FID). The results show that the most represented fatty acid in all three analysed species is oleic acid (C18:1n-9, OA), followed by linoleic acid (C18:2n-6, LA) and palmitic acid (C16:0, PA). Dentex was shown to have two to four times higher eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acid content as compared to sea bream and sea bass. The recommended n-6/n-3 ratio was determined in all fish species but obtained results pointed to statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in fatty acid composition among the analysed fish species and their potential as a dietary source of valuable fatty acids. Sea bass and sea bream had a significantly higher proportion of n-6 fatty acids, while dentex had a significantly higher proportion of n-3 (C18:4n-3, C20:4n-3, EPA, DHA) fatty acids. A higher hypocholesterolaemic and hypercholesterolaemic fatty acids (HH) ratio was determined for sea bass and sea bream, which comes as the consequence of a lower share of SFA determined in these two species in comparison to dentex. Since the analysed fish species vary in their fatty acids composition consumption of diverse fish species would be advisable. Based on the established lipid quality indicators, dentex, a fish species underutilised by the aquaculture, seems to be a highly recommendable and important source of fatty acids recommended to be included into the human diet.

Keywords: dentex, fatty acids, farmed fish, sea bass, sea bream

Procedia PDF Downloads 387

Authors: Tzong-Ying Hao, Mohammad T. Rahmani

Abstract:

This article presents the structural health monitoring (SHM) method based on changes in wave traveling times (wave method) within a layered 1-D shear beam model of structure. The wave method measures the velocity of shear wave propagating in a building from the impulse response functions (IRF) obtained from recorded data at different locations inside the building. If structural damage occurs in a structure, the velocity of wave propagation through it changes. The wave method analysis is performed on the responses of Torre Central building, a 9-story shear wall structure located in Santiago, Chile. Because events of different intensity (ambient vibrations, weak and strong earthquake motions) have been recorded at this building, therefore it can serve as a full-scale benchmark to validate the structural health monitoring method utilized. The analysis of inter-story drifts and the Fourier spectra for the EW and NS motions during 2010 Chile earthquake are presented. The results for the NS motions suggest the coupling of translation and torsion responses. The system frequencies (estimated from the relative displacement response of the 8th-floor with respect to the basement from recorded data) were detected initially decreasing approximately 24% in the EW motion. Near the end of shaking, an increase of about 17% was detected. These analysis and results serve as baseline indicators of the occurrence of structural damage. The detected changes in wave velocities of the shear beam model are consistent with the observed damage. However, the 1-D shear beam model is not sufficient to simulate the coupling of translation and torsion responses in the NS motion. The wave method is proven for actual implementation in structural health monitoring systems based on carefully assessing the resolution and accuracy of the model for its effectiveness on post-earthquake damage detection in buildings.

Keywords: Chile earthquake, damage detection, earthquake response, impulse response function, shear beam model, shear wave velocity, structural health monitoring, torre central building, wave method

Procedia PDF Downloads 362

Authors: Shalini Arora, Sri Sivakumar

Abstract:

The deep removal of high molecular weight sulphur compounds (e.g., 4,6, dimethyl dibenzothiophene) is challenging due to their steric hindrance. Hydrogenation desulfurization (HYD) pathway is the main pathway to remove these sulfur compounds, and it is mainly governed by the number of type 2 sites. The formation of type 2 sites can be enhanced by modulating the pore structure and the interaction between the active metal and support. To this end, we report the enhanced HDS catalytic activity of ultrasmall NiMo supported on amorphous alumina (A-Al₂O₃) catalysts by one pot colloidal synthesis method followed by calcination and sulfidation. The amorphous alumina (A-Al₂O₃) was chosen as the support due to its lower surface energy, better physicochemical properties, and enhanced acidic sites (due to the dominance of tetra and penta coordinated [Al] sites) than crystalline alumina phase. At 20% metal oxide composition, NiMo supported on A-Al₂O₃ catalyst showed 1.4 and 1.2 times more reaction rate constant and turn over frequency (TOF) respectively than the conventional catalyst (wet impregnated NiMo catalysts) for HDS reaction of dibenzothiophene reactant molecule. A-Al₂O₃ supported catalysts represented enhanced type 2 sites formation (because this catalystpossesses higher sulfidation degree (80%) and NiMoS sites (19.3 x 10¹⁷ sites/mg) with desired optimum stacking degree (2.5) than wet impregnated catalyst at same metal oxide composition 20%) along with higher active metal dispersion, Mo edge site fraction. The experimental observations were also supported by DFT simulations. Lower heat of adsorption (< 4.2 ev for MoS2 interaction and < 3.15 ev for Ni doped MoS2 interaction) values for A-Al₂O₃ confirmed the presence of weaker metal-support interaction in A-Al₂O₃ in contrast to crystalline ℽ-Al₂O3. The weak metal-support interaction for prepared catalysts clearly suggests the higher formation of type 2 sites which leads to higher catalytic activity for HDS reaction.

Keywords: amorphous alumina, colloidal, desulfurization, metal-support interaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 261

Authors: Dimuthu Manage

Abstract:

Introduction: The prevalence of obesity and obesity-related non-communicable diseases are becoming a massive health concern in the whole world. Physical activity is recognized as an effective solution for this matter. The published data on the effectiveness of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in improving health parameters in overweight and obese individuals in Sri Lanka is sparse. Hence this study is conducted. Methodology: This is a quasi-experimental study that was conducted at the Sports medicine clinic, General Hospital, Kalutara. Participants have engaged in a programme of HIIT three times per week for six weeks. Data collection was based on precise measurements by using structured and validated methods. Ethical clearance was obtained. Results: Registered number for the study was 48, and only 52% have completed the study. The mean age was 32 (SD=6.397) years, with 64% males. All the anthropometric measurements which were assessed (i.e. waist circumference(P<0.001), weight(P<0.001) and BMI(P<0.001)), body fat percentage(P<0.001), VO2 max(P<0.001), and lipid profile (ie. HDL(P=0.016), LDL(P<0.001), cholesterol(P<0.001), triglycerides(P<0.010) and LDL: HDL(P<0.001)) had shown statistically significant improvement after the intervention with the HIIT programme. Conclusions: This study confirms HIIT as a time-saving and effective exercise method, which helps in preventing obesity as well as non-communicable diseases. HIIT ameliorates body anthropometry, fat percentage, cardiopulmonary status, and lipid profile in overweight and obese individuals markedly. As with the majority of studies, the design of the current study is subject to some limitations. The first is the study focused on a correlational study. If it is a comparative study, comparing it with other methods of training programs would have given more validity. Although the validated tools used to measure variables and the same tools used in pre and post-exercise occasions with the available facilities, it would have been better to measure some of them using gold-standard methods. However, this evidence should be further assessed in larger-scale trials using comparative groups to generalize the efficacy of the HIIT exercise program.

Keywords: HIIT, lipid profile, BMI, VO2 max

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Carie Cunningham, Krsiten Lynch

Abstract:

Despite a viewer’s thought that they may be paying attention, many times they are missing out on their surrounds-- a phenomenon referred to as inattentional blindness. Inattention blindness refers to the failure of an individual to orient their attention to a particular item in their visual field. This well-defined in the psychology literature. Similarly, this phenomenon has been evaluated in media types in advertising. In advertising, not comprehending/remembering items in one’s field of vision is known as banner blindness. On the other hand, banner blindness is a phenomenon that occurs when individuals habitually see a banner in a specific area on a webpage, and thus condition themselves to ignore those habitual areas. Another reason that individuals avoid these habitual areas (usually on the top or sides of a webpage) is due to the lack of personal relevance or pertinent information to the viewer. Banner blindness, while a web-based concept, may also relate this inattention blindness. This paper is proposing an analysis of the true similarities and differences between these concepts bridging the two dimensions of thinking together. Forty participants participated in an eye-tracking and post-survey experiment to test attention and memory measures in both a banner blindness and inattention blindness condition. The two conditions were conducted between subjects semi-randomized order. Half of participants were told to search through the content ignoring the advertising banners; the other half of participants were first told to search through the content ignoring the distractor icon. These groups were switched after 5 trials and then 5 more trials were completed. In review of the literature, sustainability communication was found to have many inconsistencies with message production and viewer awareness. For the purpose of this study, we used advertising materials as stimuli. Results suggest that there are gaps between the two concepts and that more research should be done testing these effects in a real world setting versus an online environment. This contributes to theory by exploring the overlapping concepts—inattention blindness and banner blindness and providing the advertising industry with support that viewers can still fall victim to ignoring items in their field of view even if not consciously, which will impact message development.

Keywords: attention, banner blindness, eye movement, inattention blindness

Procedia PDF Downloads 272

Authors: Wang Huiwen

Abstract:

Since its release, Toni Morrison's novel Beloved has garnered significant international recognition, and its adaptation of a historical account has profoundly affected readers and scholars, evoking a visceral understanding of the suffering endured by black slaves. The ecofeminist approach has garnered more attention in recent times. The emergence of ecofeminism may be attributed to the feminist movement, which has subsequently evolved into several branches, including cultural ecofeminism, social ecofeminism, and socialist ecofeminism, each of which is developing its own specific characteristics. The many branches hold differing perspectives, yet they all converge on a key principle: the interconnectedness between the subjugation of women and the exploitation of nature can be traced back to a common underlying cognitive framework. Scholarly investigations into the novel Beloved have primarily centered on the cultural interpretations around the emancipation of African American women, with a predominant lens rooted in cultural ecofeminism. This thesis aims to analyze Morrison's feminist beliefs in the novel Beloved by integrating socialist and cultural ecofeminist perspectives, which seeks to challenge the limitations of essentialism within ecofeminism while also proposing a strategy to address exploitation and dismantle oppressive structures depicted in Beloved. This thesis examines the white patriarchal oppression system underlying the relationships between men and women, blacks and whites, and man and nature as shown in the novel. What the black women have been deprived of compared with the black men, white women and white men is a main clue of this research, while nature is a key complement of each chapter for their loss. The attainment of spiritual redemption and ultimate freedom is contingent upon the social revolution that enables bodily emancipation, both of which are indispensable for black women. The weighty historical pains, traumatic recollections, and compromised sense of self prompted African slaves to embark on a quest for personal redemption. The restoration of the bond between black men and women, as well as the relationship between black individuals and nature, is a clear and undeniable pathway towards the final freedom of black women in the novel Beloved.

Keywords: beloved, ecofeminism, black women, nature, essentialism

Procedia PDF Downloads 64

Authors: Jemal Ebrahim Dessie, Lukács Zsolt

Abstract:

High-strength aluminum alloys have drawn a lot of attention because of the expanding demand for lightweight vehicle design in the automotive sector. Due to poor formability at room temperature, warm and hot forming have been advised. However, warm and hot forming methods need more steps in the production process and an advanced tooling system. In contrast, since ordinary tools can be used, forming sheets at room temperature in the W temper condition is advantageous. However, springback of supersaturated sheets and their thinning are critical challenges and must be resolved during the use of this technique. In this study, AA6082-T6 aluminum alloy was solution heat treated at different oven temperatures and times using a specially designed and developed furnace in order to optimize the W-temper heat treatment temperature. A U-shaped bending test was carried out at different time periods between W-temper heat treatment and forming operation. Finite element analysis (FEA) of U-bending was conducted using AutoForm aiming to validate the experimental result. The uniaxial tensile and unload test was performed in order to determine the kinematic hardening behavior of the material and has been optimized in the Finite element code using systematic process improvement (SPI). In the simulation, the effect of friction coefficient & blank holder force was considered. Springback parameters were evaluated by the geometry adopted from the NUMISHEET ’93 benchmark problem. It is noted that the change of shape was higher at the more extended time periods between W-temper heat treatment and forming operation. Die radius was the most influential parameter at the flange springback. However, the change of shape shows an overall increasing tendency on the sidewall as the increase of radius of the punch than the radius of the die. The springback angles on the flange and sidewall seem to be highly influenced by the coefficient of friction than blank holding force, and the effect becomes increases as increasing the blank holding force.

Keywords: aluminum alloy, FEA, springback, SPI, U-bending, W-temper

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Vidya Yadav

Abstract:

Migration is the demographic process that links rural to urban areas, generating or spurring the growth of cities. Evidence shows the role of the city as a production processes. It looks the city as a power of centre, and a centre of change. It has been observed that not only the professionals want to settle down in an urban area but rural labourers are also coming to cities for employment. These are the people who are compelled to migrate to metropolises because of lack of employment opportunities in their place of residence. However, the cities also fail to provide adequate employment because of limited job opportunity creation and capital-intensive industrialization. So these masses of incoming migrants are force to take up whatever employment absorption is available to them particularly in urban informal activities. Ultimately with this informal job they are compelled to stay in the slum areas, which is another form of deprived housing colonies. The paper seeks to examine the evidences of poverty induced migration from rural to urban areas (particularly in urban agglomeration). The present paper utilizes an abundant rich source of census migration data (D-Series) of 1991-2001. Result shows that Mumbai remain as the most attractive place to migrate. The migrants are mainly from the major states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Rajasthan. Male dominated migration is related mostly for employment and females due to marriages. The picture of occupational absorption of migrants who moved for employment, cross classified with educational status. Result shows that illiterate males are primarily engaged in low grade production processing work. Illiterate’s females engaged in service sectors; but these are actually very low grade services in urban informal sectors in India like maid servants, domestic help, hawkers, vendors or vegetables sellers. Among the higher educational level, a small percentage of males and females got absorbed in professional or clerical work but the percentage has been increased in the period 1991-2001.

Keywords: informal, job, migration, urban

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Hasan Ziari, Hassan Fazaeli, Seyed Javad Vaziri Kang Olyaei, Asma Sadat Dabiri

Abstract:

The presence of cracks in concrete pavements is a place for the ingression of corrosive substances, acids, oils, and water into the pavement and reduces its long-term durability and level of service. One of the causes of early cracks in concrete pavements is the plastic shrinkage. This shrinkage occurs due to the formation of negative capillary pressures after the equilibrium of the bleeding and evaporation rates at the pavement surface. These cracks form if the tensile stresses caused by the restrained shrinkage exceed the tensile strength of the concrete. Different climate conditions change the rate of evaporation and thus change the balance time of the bleeding and evaporation, which changes the severity of cracking in concrete. The present study examined the relationship between the balance time of bleeding and evaporation and the area of cracking in the concrete slabs using the standard method ASTM C1579 in 27 different environmental conditions by using continuous video recording and digital image analyzing. The results showed that as the evaporation rate increased and the balance time decreased, the crack severity significantly increased so that by reducing the balance time from the maximum value to its minimum value, the cracking area increased more than four times. It was also observed that the cracking area- balance time curve could be interpreted in three sections. An examination of these three parts showed that the combination of climate conditions has a significant effect on increasing or decreasing these two variables. The criticality of a single factor cannot cause the critical conditions of plastic cracking. By combining two mild environmental factors with a severe climate factor (in terms of surface evaporation rate), a considerable reduction in balance time and a sharp increase in cracking severity can be prevented. The results of this study showed that balance time could be an essential factor in controlling and predicting plastic shrinkage cracking in concrete pavements. It is necessary to control this factor in the case of constructing concrete pavements in different climate conditions.

Keywords: bleeding and cracking severity, concrete pavements, climate conditions, plastic shrinkage

Procedia PDF Downloads 144

Authors: Yenny Paola Morales Cortés, Fabián Rico Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Serrato Bermúdez, Carlos Arturo Martínez Riascos

Abstract:

Numerous benefits of galactooligosaccharides (GOS) as prebiotics have motivated the study of enzymatic processes for their production. These processes have special complexities due to several factors that make difficult high productivity, such as enzyme type, reaction medium pH, substrate concentrations and presence of inhibitors, among others. In the present work the production of galactooligosaccharides (with different degrees of polymerization: two, three and four) from lactose was studied. The study considers the formulation of a mathematical model that predicts the production of GOS from lactose using the enzyme β-galactosidase. The effect of pH in the reaction was studied. For that, phosphate buffer was used and with this was evaluated three pH values (6.0.6.5 and 7.0). Thus it was observed that at pH 6.0 the enzymatic activity insignificant. On the other hand, at pH 7.0 the enzymatic activity was approximately 27 times greater than at 6.5. The last result differs from previously reported results. Therefore, pH 7.0 was chosen as working pH. Additionally, the enzyme concentration was analyzed, which allowed observing that the effect of the concentration depends on the pH and the concentration was set for the following studies in 0.272 mM. Afterwards, experiments were performed varying the lactose concentration to evaluate its effects on the process and to generate the data for the adjustment of the mathematical model parameters. The mathematical model considers the reactions of lactose hydrolysis and transgalactosylation for the production of disaccharides and trisaccharides, with their inverse reactions. The production of tetrasaccharides was negligible and, because of that, it was not included in the model. The reaction was monitored by HPLC and for the quantitative analysis of the experimental data the Matlab programming language was used, including solvers for differential equations systems integration (ode15s) and nonlinear problems optimization (fminunc). The results confirm that the transgalactosylation and hydrolysis reactions are reversible, additionally inhibition by glucose and galactose is observed on the production of GOS. In relation to the production process of galactooligosaccharides, the results show that it is necessary to have high initial concentrations of lactose considering that favors the transgalactosylation reaction, while low concentrations favor hydrolysis reactions.

Keywords: β-galactosidase, galactooligosaccharides, inhibition, lactose, Matlab, modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Chanchal Biswas, Anrin Bhattacharyya, Gopes Chandra Das, Mahua Ghosh Chaudhuri, Rajib Dey

Abstract:

Boiler coals with low fixed carbon and higher ash content have always challenged the metallurgists to develop a suitable method for their utilization. In the present study, an attempt is made to establish an energy effective method for the reduction of iron ore fines in the form of nuggets by using ‘Syngas’. By devolatisation (expulsion of volatile matter by applying heat) of boiler coal, gaseous product (enriched with reducing agents like CO, CO2, H2, and CH4 gases) is generated. Iron ore nuggets are reduced by this syngas. For that reason, there is no direct contact between iron ore nuggets and coal ash. It helps to control the minimization of the sulphur intake of the reduced nuggets. A laboratory scale devolatisation furnace designed with reduction facility is evaluated after in-depth studies and exhaustive experimentations including thermo-gravimetric (TG-DTA) analysis to find out the volatile fraction present in boiler grade coal, gas chromatography (GC) to find out syngas composition in different temperature and furnace temperature gradient measurements to minimize the furnace cost by applying one heating coil. The nuggets are reduced in the devolatisation furnace at three different temperatures and three different times. The pre-reduced nuggets are subjected to analytical weight loss calculations to evaluate the extent of reduction. The phase and surface morphology analysis of pre-reduced samples are characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), carbon sulphur analyzer and chemical analysis method. Degree of metallization of the reduced nuggets is 78.9% by using boiler grade coal. The pre-reduced nuggets with lesser sulphur content could be used in the blast furnace as raw materials or coolant which would reduce the high quality of coke rate of the furnace due to its pre-reduced character. These can be used in Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) as coolant also.

Keywords: alternative ironmaking, coal gasification, extent of reduction, nugget making, syngas based DRI, solid state reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 257

Authors: Anargha A. Dhorde, Deshpande Gauri, Amit G. Dhorde

Abstract:

Mula-Mutha basin is one of the speedily urbanizing watersheds, wherein two major urban centers, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, have developed at a shocking rate in the last two decades. Such changing land use/land cover (LULC) is prone to hydrological problems and flash floods are a frequent, eventuality in the lower reaches of the basin. The present research brings out the impact of varying LULC, impervious surfaces on urban surface hydrology and generates storm-runoff scenarios for the hydrological units. The two multi-temporal satellite images were processed and supervised classification is performed with > 75% accuracy. The built-up has increased from 14.4% to 34.37% in the 28 years span, which is concentrated in and around the Pune-PCMC region. Impervious surfaces that were obtained by population calibrated multiple regression models. Almost 50% area of the watershed is impervious, which attribute to increase surface runoff and flash floods. The SCS-CN method was employed to calculate surface runoff of the watershed. The comparison between calculated and measured values of runoff was performed in a statistically precise way which shows no significant difference. Increasing built-up areas, as well as impervious surface areas due to rapid urbanization and industrialization, may lead to generating high runoff volumes in the basin especially in the urbanized areas of the watershed and along the major transportation arteries. Simulations generated with 50 mm and 100 mm rainstorm depth conspicuously noted that most of the changes in terms of increased runoff are constricted to the highly urbanized areas. Considering whole watershed area, the runoff values 39 m³ generated with 1'' rainfall whereas only urbanized areas of the basin (Pune and Pimpari-Chinchwad) were generated 11154 m³ runoff. Such analysis is crucial in providing information regarding their intensity and location, which proves instrumental in their analysis in order to formulate proper mitigation measures and rehabilitation strategies.

Keywords: land use/land cover, LULC, impervious surfaces, surface hydrology, storm-runoff scenarios

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Meenakshi

Abstract:

Background: The complications during pregnancy are the major cause of morbidity and deaths among women in the reproductive age group. Childbearing is the most important phase in women’s lives that occur mainly in the adolescent and adult years. Maternal health, thus is an important issue as this as this is important phase is also productive time for women as they strive fulfill their capabilities as an individual, mothers, family members and also as a citizen. The objective of the study is to document the coverage of ANC and its determinants among domestic workers. Method: A survey of 300 domestic workers were carried in Delhi. Only respondents in the age group (15-49) and whose recent birth was of 5 years preceding the survey were included. Socio-demographic data and information on maternal health was collected from these respondents Information on ANC was collected from total 300 respondents. Standard of living index were composed based on households assists and similarly autonomy index was computed based on women decision making power in the households taking certain key variables. Cross tabulations were performed to obtain frequency and percentages. Potential socio-economic determinants of utilization of ANC among domestic workers were examined using binary logistic regressions. Results: Out of 300 domestic workers survey, only 70.7 per cent per cent received ANC. Domestic workers who married at age 18 years and above are 4 times more likely to utilize antenatal services during their last birth (***p< 0.01). Comparison to domestic workers with number of living children two or less, domestic workers with number of living children more than two are less likely to utilize antenatal care services (**p< 0.05). Domestic workers belonging to Other Backward Castes are more likely to utilize antenatal care services than domestic workers belonging to scheduled tribes ((**p< 0.05). Conclusion: The level of utilization of maternal health services are less among domestic workers is less, as they spend most of their time at the employers household. Though demonstration effect do have impact on their life styles but utilization of maternal health services is poor. Strategies and action are needed to improve the utilization of maternal health services among this section of workers as they are vulnerable because of no proper labour legislations.

Keywords: antenatal care, domestic workers, health services, maternal health, women’s health

Procedia PDF Downloads 197

Authors: Zhenzhen Xu, Chunfu Shao, Shengyou Wang, Chunjiao Dong

Abstract:

To improve the satisfaction of residents' travel, this paper analyzes the characteristics and influencing factors of urban residents' travel behavior. First, a Multinominal Logit Model (MNL) model is built to analyze the characteristics of residents' travel behavior, reveal the influence of individual attributes, family attributes and travel characteristics on the choice of travel mode, and identify the significant factors. Then put forward suggestions for policy improvement. Finally, Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) models are introduced to evaluate the policy effect. This paper selects Futian Street in Futian District, Shenzhen City for investigation and research. The results show that gender, age, education, income, number of cars owned, travel purpose, departure time, journey time, travel distance and times all have a significant influence on residents' choice of travel mode. Based on the above results, two policy improvement suggestions are put forward from reducing public transportation and non-motor vehicle travel time, and the policy effect is evaluated. Before the evaluation, the prediction effect of MNL, SVM and MLP models was evaluated. After parameter optimization, it was found that the prediction accuracy of the three models was 72.80%, 71.42%, and 76.42%, respectively. The MLP model with the highest prediction accuracy was selected to evaluate the effect of policy improvement. The results showed that after the implementation of the policy, the proportion of public transportation in plan 1 and plan 2 increased by 14.04% and 9.86%, respectively, while the proportion of private cars decreased by 3.47% and 2.54%, respectively. The proportion of car trips decreased obviously, while the proportion of public transport trips increased. It can be considered that the measures have a positive effect on promoting green trips and improving the satisfaction of urban residents, and can provide a reference for relevant departments to formulate transportation policies.

Keywords: neural network, travel characteristics analysis, transportation choice, travel sharing rate, traffic resource allocation

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Constantinos Adamides, Petros Petrikkos

Abstract:

In the era of growing hybrid threats, small states find themselves in need to re-evaluate existing foreign and defense policies. The pressure to establishing or maintain a status of a reliable partner in the community in which they belong to, vis-à-vis their multilateral relations with other organisations and entities, small states may need to shift their policies in the field to accommodate security needs that are not only pertinent to their security, but also to that of the organisations (bloc) in which they interact. Unlike potential shortcomings in a small state’s mainstream security and defence framework where the threat would be limited to the state itself, in more contemporary times with dominating hybrid threats, the small states’ security shortcomings may also become a security problem for the bloc in which these states belong to. An indicative example is small states like Cyprus and Malta, which belong and 'interact' in the European Union. As a result, the nature of hybrid threats can be utilised to hurt bigger states in a bloc by exploiting the small states’ vulnerabilities and security gaps. Inevitably, both the defensive and foreign policy collaborations of small states with bigger states have been and are constantly re-evaluated to tackle and prevent such problems. In essence, the goal of this ‘re-evaluation’ aims to achieve a twofold goal: The first is the small states’ quest to appear as a reliable partner within the bloc, while the second is to avoid being the weakest security link in the bloc’s defence against hybrid threats. Indeed, the hybrid arena is a security area where they can excel in the bloc, despite the potential and expected conventional military deficiencies. This new environment prompts us to think security from the perspective of small states differently and in relation to their role as members or big organisations. The paper focuses on the case of Cyprus following its accession to the European Union and examines how a country that has had a very focused security orientation –not least due to its ongoing security problems– altered its foreign and defence policies within the European Union to ensure compliance with the rest of the bloc, while at the same time maximizing its role as a security player. Specifically, it examines the methods through which the country shifted its policies as well as the challenges and opportunities that emerged from these security shifts.

Keywords: Cyprus, defence, foreign policy, hybrid threats, ontological security, small states

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Sonu Rana, Jyoti Verma, A. K. Gautam

Abstract:

In most developing countries like India, the majority of the population heavily relies on agriculture for their livelihood. The yield of agriculture is heavily dependent on uncertain weather conditions like a monsoon, soil fertility, availability of irrigation facilities and fertilizers as well as support from the government. The agricultural yield is quite less compared to the effort put in due to inefficient agricultural facilities and obsolete farming practices on the one hand and lack of knowledge on the other hand, and ultimately agricultural community does not prosper. It is therefore essential for the farmers to improve their harvest yield by the acquisition of related data such as soil condition, temperature, humidity, availability of irrigation facilities, availability of, manure, etc., and adopt smart farming techniques using modern agricultural equipment. Nowadays, using IOT technology in agriculture is the best solution to improve the yield with fewer efforts and economic costs. The primary focus of this work-related is IoT technology in the agriculture field. By using IoT all the parameters would be monitored by mounting sensors in an agriculture field held at different places, will collect real-time data, and could be transmitted by a transmitting device like an antenna. To improve the system, IoT will interact with other useful systems like Wireless Sensor Networks. IoT is exploring every aspect, so the radio frequency spectrum is getting crowded due to the increasing demand for wireless applications. Therefore, Federal Communications Commission is reallocating the spectrum for various wireless applications. An antenna is also an integral part of the newly designed IoT devices. The main aim is to propose a new antenna structure used for IoT agricultural applications and compatible with this new unlicensed frequency band. The main focus of this paper is to present work related to these technologies in the agriculture field. This also presented their challenges & benefits. It can help in understanding the job of data by using IoT and correspondence advancements in the horticulture division. This will help to motivate and educate the unskilled farmers to comprehend the best bits of knowledge given by the huge information investigation utilizing smart technology.

Keywords: smart agriculture, IoT, agriculture technology, data analytics, smart technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 111