Search results for: negative differential resistnace

Authors: Juan A. Ferriz-Papi, Allan L. Nantel, Talib E. Butt

Abstract:

Buildings are thought to consume about 50% of the total energy in the UK. The use stage in a building life cycle has the largest energy consumption, although different assessments are showing that the construction can equal several years of maintenance and operations. The selection of materials with lower embodied energy is very important to reduce this consumption. For this reason, timber is one adequate material due to its low embodied energy and the capacity to be used as carbon storage. The use of timber in the construction industry is very significant. Sawn wood, for example, is one of the top 5 construction materials consumed in the UK according to National Statistics. Embodied energy for building products considers the energy consumed in extraction and production stages. However, it is not the same consideration if this product is produced locally as when considering the resource produced further afield. Transport is a very relevant matter that profoundly influences in the results of embodied energy. The case of timber use in the UK is important because the balance between imports and exports is far negative, industry consuming more imported timber than produced. Nearly 80% of sawn softwood used in construction is imported. The imports-exports deficit for sawn wood accounted for more than 180 million pounds during the first four-month period of 2016. More than 85% of these imports come from Europe (83% from the EU). The aim of this study is to analyze climate change impact due to transport for timber products consumed in the UK. An approximate estimation of energy consumed and carbon emissions are calculated considering the timber product’s import origin. The results are compared to the total consumption of each product, estimating the impact of transport on the final embodied energy and carbon emissions. The analysis of these results can help deduce that one big challenge for climate change is the reduction of external dependency, with the associated improvement of internal production of timber products. A study of different types of timber products produced in the UK and abroad is developed to understand the possibilities for this country to improve sustainability and self-management. Reuse and recycle possibilities are also considered.

Keywords: embodied energy, climate change, CO2 emissions, timber, transport

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Fariya Tahreen

Abstract:

Women are an important part of the society comprising more than 50% population of the world. Participation of women in public services is increasing in the present era while cultural values embedded with gender differences still influencing the performance of working women. Many researches have been carried out on cultural impact on working women like managers, doctors, and lawyers and other public servants. But very rare efforts were made to study the impact of cultural values on the performance of women bureaucrats. The present study aimed to find out the relationship of cultural values (i.e., collective identity, gender segregation, and gender asymmetrical relations) with the performance of women bureaucrats. Sample of the present study comprised of 130 women bureaucrats from the Office Management Group, Inland Revenue, District Management Group, and Pakistan Police Services which is selected by convenient sampling technique. The locale of the study was Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore city. The current research study was conducted by using a quantitative approach in research method and data were collected through survey method. The measures used in the study included: personal information, three main cultural values, and performance of women bureaucrats. Uni-variate and bi-variate analyses were implied by using correlation and multiple linear regression test. The current study shows a negative significant relationship between cultural values and performance of women bureaucrats (R²= 0.790, p-value 0.000). It shows that cultural values (collective identity, gender segregation and gender asymmetrical relations) significantly influence the performance of women bureaucrats. Due to the influence and pressure of these cultural values, women bureaucrats give less time to the office and avail more leaves. They also avoid contacting with male colleagues, public dealings, field visits and playing leadership role. Further, they attend fewer meetings of policy formulation due to given less importance for it. In a nutshell, the study concluded that cultural values significantly influence the performance of women bureaucrats in Pakistan.

Keywords: cultural values, performance, Pakistan, women bureaucrats

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Ammara Khan

Abstract:

Sepsis is characterized by an overwhelming surge of cytokines and oxidative stress to one of many factors, gram-negative bacteria commonly implicated. Despite major expansion and elaboration of sepsis pathophysiology and therapeutic approach; death rate remains very high in septic patients due to multiple organ damages including hepatotoxicity.The present study was aimed to ascertain the adequacy of three different drugs delivered separately and collectively- low dose steroid-dexamethasone (3mg/kg i.p) ,antioxidant-melatonin(10 mg/kg i.p) ,and phosphodiesterases inhibitor - pentoxifylline (75 mg/kg i.p)in endotoxin-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. Endotoxin/lipopolysaccharides induced hepatotoxicity was reproduced in mice by giving lipopolysaccharide of serotype E.Coli intraperitoneally. The preventive role was questioned by giving the experimental agent half an hour prior to LPS injection whereas the therapeutic potential of the experimental agent was searched out via post-LPS delivering. The extent of liver damage was adjudged via serum alanine aminotransferases (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) estimation along with a histopathological examination of liver tissue. Dexamethasone is given before (Group 3) and after LPS (group 4) significantly attenuated LPS generated liver injury.Pentoxifylline generated similar results and serum ALT; AST histological alteration abated considerably (p≤ 0.05) both in animals subjected to pentoxifylline pre (Group 5) and post-treatment(Group 6). Melatonin was also prosperous in aversion (Group 7) and curation (Group 8) of LPS invoked hepatotoxicity as evident by lessening of augmented ALT (≤0.01) and AST (≤0.01) along with restoration of pathological changes in liver sections (p≤0.05). Combination therapies with dexamethasone in conjunction with melatonin (Group 9), dexamethasone together with pentoxifylline (Group 10), and pentoxifylline along with melatonin (Group 11) after LPS administration tapered LPS evoked hepatic dysfunction statistically considerably. In conclusion, both melatonin and pentoxifylline set up promising results in endotoxin-induced hepatotoxicity and can be used therapeutic adjuncts to conventional treatment strategies in sepsis-induced liver failure.

Keywords: endotoxin/lipopolysacchride, dexamethasone, hepatotoxicity, melatonin, pentoxifylline

Procedia PDF Downloads 280

Authors: Aldona Kluczek

Abstract:

In recent years, manufacturing processes have interacted with sustainability issues realized in the cost-effective ways that minimalize energy, decrease negative impacts on the environment and are safe for society. However, the attention has been on separate sustainability assessment methods considering energy and material flow, energy consumption, and emission release or process control. In this paper, the energy-led sustainability assessment approach combining the methods: energy Life Cycle Assessment to assess environmental impact, Life Cycle Cost to analyze costs, and Social Life Cycle Assessment through ‘energy LCA-based value stream map’, is used to assess the energy sustainability of the hardwood lumber manufacturing process in terms of technologies. The approach integrating environmental, economic and social issues can be visualized in the considered energy-efficient technologies on the map of an energy LCA-related (input and output) inventory data. It will enable the identification of efficient technology of a given process to be reached, through the effective analysis of energy flow. It is also indicated that interventions in the considered technology should focus on environmental, economic improvements to achieve energy sustainability. The results have indicated that the most intense energy losses are caused by a cogeneration technology. The environmental impact analysis shows that a substantial reduction by 34% can be achieved with the improvement of it. From the LCC point of view, the result seems to be cost-effective, when done at that plant where the improvement is used. By demonstrating the social dimension, every component of the energy of plant labor use in the life-cycle process of the lumber production has positive energy benefits. The energy required to install the energy-efficient technology amounts to 30.32 kJ compared to others components of the energy of plant labor and it has the highest value in terms of energy-related social indicators. The paper depicts an example of hardwood lumber production in order to prove the applicability of a sustainability assessment method.

Keywords: energy efficiency, energy life cycle assessment, life cycle cost, social life cycle analysis, manufacturing process, sustainability assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Raouf Ahmed Mohamed Hassan

Abstract:

In Egypt, the excess sewage sludge from wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs) is rapidly increasing due to the continuous increase of population, urban planning and industrial developments. Also, cane bagasses constitute an important component of Urban Solid Waste (USW), especially at the south of Egypt, which are difficult to degrade under normal composting conditions. These wastes need to be environmentally managed to reduce the negative impacts of its application or disposal. In term of biogas recovery, the anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge or bagasse separately is inefficient, due to the presence of nutrients and minerals. Also, the Carbone-Nitrogen Ratio (C/N) play an important role, sewage sludge has a ratio varies from 6-16, where cane bagasse has a ratio around 150, whereas the suggested optimum C/N ratio for anaerobic digestion is in the range of 20 to 30. The anaerobic co-digestion is presented as a successful methodology that combines several biodegradable organic substrates able to decrease the amount of output wastes by biodegradation, sharing processing facilities, reducing operating costs, while enabling recovery of biogas. This paper presents the study of co-digestion of sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants as a type of organic wastes and bagasse as agriculture wastes. Laboratory-scale mesophilic and thermophilic digesters were operated with varied hydraulic retention times. Different percentage of sludge and bagasse are investigated based on the total solids (TS). Before digestion, the bagasse was subjected to grinding pretreatment and soaked in distilled water (water pretreatment). The effect of operating parameters (mixing, temperature) is investigated in order to optimize the process in the biogas production. The yield and the composition of biogas from the different experiments were evaluated and the cumulative curves were estimated. The conducted tests did show that there is a good potential to using the co-digestion of wastewater sludge and bagasse for biogas production.

Keywords: co-digestion, sewage sludge, bagasse, mixing, mesophilic, thermophilic

Procedia PDF Downloads 512

Authors: Barun K. De

Abstract:

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is caused by two types of human immunodeficiency viruses, collectively designated HIV. HIV infection is spreading globally particularly in developing countries. Before an individual is diagnosed with HIV, the disease goes through different phases. First there is an acute early phase that is followed by an established or chronic phase. Subsequently, there is a latency period after which the individual becomes immunodeficient. It is in the acute phase that an individual is highly infectious due to a high viral load. Presently, HIV diagnosis involves use of tests that do not detect the acute phase infection during which both the viral RNA and p24 antigen are expressed. Instead, these less sensitive tests detect antibodies to viral antigens which are typically sero-converted later in the disease process following acute infection. These antibodies are detected in both asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals as well as AIDS patients. Studies indicate that early diagnosis and treatment of HIV infection can reduce medical costs, improve survival, and reduce spreading of infection to new uninfected partners. Newer 4th generation combination antigen/antibody tests are highly sensitive and specific for detection of acute and established HIV infection (HIV1 and HIV2) enabling immediate linkage to care. The CDC (Center of Disease Control, USA) recently recommended an algorithm involving three different tests to screen and diagnose acute and established infections of HIV-1 and HIV-2 in a general population. Initially a 4th generation combo test detects a viral antigen p24 and specific antibodies against HIV -1 and HIV-2 envelope proteins. If the test is positive it is followed by a second test known as a differentiation assay which detects antibodies against specific HIV-1 and HIV-2 envelope proteins confirming established infection of HIV-1 or HIV-2. However if it is negative then another test is performed that measures viral load confirming an acute HIV-1 infection. Screening results of a Phoenix area population detected 0.3% new HIV infections among which 32.4% were acute cases. Studies in the U.S. indicate that this algorithm effectively reduces HIV infection through immediate treatment and education following diagnosis.

Keywords: new algorithm, HIV, diagnosis, infection

Procedia PDF Downloads 412

Authors: Boris Blostotsky, Elia Efraim

Abstract:

The phenomenon of buckling of structural elements under compression is revealed in many cases of loading and found consideration in many structures and mechanisms. In the present work the method and results of dynamic test for buckling of bar loaded by a compression force directed towards the pole are considered. Experimental determination of critical force for such system has not been made previously. The tested object is a bar with semi-rigid connection to the base at one of its ends, and with a hinge moving along a circle at the other. The test includes measuring the natural frequency of the bar at different values of compression load. The lateral stiffness is calculated based on natural frequency and reduced mass on the bar's movable end. The critical load is determined by extrapolation the values of lateral stiffness up to zero value. For the experimental investigation the special test-bed was created that allows the stability testing at positive and negative curvature of the movable end's trajectory, as well as varying the rotational stiffness of the other end connection. Decreasing a friction at the movable end allows extend the diapason of applied compression force. The testing method includes: - Methodology of the experiment planning, that allows determine the required number of tests under various loads values in the defined range and the type of extrapolating function; - Methodology of experimental determination of reduced mass at the bar's movable end including its own mass; - Methodology of experimental determination of lateral stiffness of uncompressed bar rotational semi-rigid connection at the base. For planning the experiment and for comparison of the experimental results with the theoretical values of critical load, the analytical dependencies of lateral stiffness of the bar with defined end conditions on compression load. In the particular case of perfectly rigid connection of the bar to the base, the critical load value corresponds to solution by S.P. Timoshenko. Correspondence of the calculated and experimental values was obtained.

Keywords: non-destructive test, buckling, dynamic method, semi-rigid connections

Procedia PDF Downloads 355

Authors: Angelica Alvarez-Lee, Sergio Martinez-Diaz, Jose Luis Garcia-Corona, Humberto Lanz-Mendoza

Abstract:

World aquaculture is always looking for improvements to achieve productions with high yields avoiding the infection by pathogenic agents. The best way to achieve this is to know the biological model to create alternative treatments that could be applied in the hatcheries, which results in greater economic gains and improvements in human public health. In the last decade, immunomodulation in shrimp culture with probiotics, organic acids and different carbon sources has gained great interest, mainly in larval and juvenile stages. Immune priming is associated with a strong protective effect against a later pathogen challenge. This work provides another perspective about immunostimulation from spawning until hatching. The stimulation happens during development embryos and generates resistance to infection by pathogenic bacteria. Massive spawnings of white shrimp L. vannamei were obtained and placed in experimental units with 700 mL of sterile seawater at 30 °C, salinity of 28 ppm and continuous aeration at a density of 8 embryos.mL⁻¹. The immunostimulating effect of three death strains of non-pathogenic bacterial (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus subtilis) and a pathogenic strain for white shrimp (Vibrio parahaemolyticus) was evaluated. The strains killed by heat were adjusted to O.D. 0.5, at A 600 nm, and directly added to the seawater of each unit at a ratio of 1/100 (v/v). A control group of embryos without inoculum of dead bacteria was kept under the same physicochemical conditions as the rest of the treatments throughout the experiment and used as reference. The duration of the stimulus was 12 hours, then, the larvae that hatched were collected, counted and transferred to a new experimental unit (same physicochemical conditions but at a salinity of 28 ppm) to carry out a challenge of infection against the pathogen V. parahaemolyticus, adding directly to seawater an amount 1/100 (v/v) of the live strain adjusted to an OD 0.5; at A 600 nm. Subsequently, 24 hrs after infection, nauplii survival was evaluated. The results of this work shows that, after 24 hrs, the hatching rates of immunostimulated shrimp embryos with the dead strains of B. subtillis and V. parahaemolyticus are significantly higher compared to the rest of the treatments and the control. Furthermore, survival of L. vanammei after a challenge of infection of 24 hrs against the live strain of V. parahaemolyticus is greater (P < 0.05) in the larvae immunostimulated during the embryonic development with the dead strains B. subtillis and V. parahaemolyticus, followed by those that were treated with E. coli. In summary superficial antigens can stimulate the development cells to promote hatching and can have normal development in agreeing with the optical observations, plus exist a differential response effect between each treatment post-infection. This research provides evidence of the immunostimulant effect of death pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacterial strains in the rate of hatching and oversight of shrimp L. vannamei during embryonic and larval development. This research continues evaluating the effect of these death strains on the expression of genes related to the defense priming in larvae of L. vannamei that come from massive spawning in hatcheries before and after the infection challenge against V. parahaemolyticus.

Keywords: immunostimulation, L. vannamei, hatching, survival

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Mahmoud B. Rokaya

Abstract:

The study of opinion mining and sentiment analysis includes analysis of opinions, sentiments, evaluations, attitudes, and emotions. The rapid growth of social media, social networks, reviews, forum discussions, microblogs, and Twitter, leads to a parallel growth in the field of sentiment analysis. The field of sentiment analysis tries to develop effective tools to make it possible to capture the trends of people. There are two approaches in the field, lexicon-based and corpus-based methods. A lexicon-based method uses a sentiment lexicon which includes sentiment words and phrases with assigned numeric scores. These scores reveal if sentiment phrases are positive or negative, their intensity, and/or their emotional orientations. Creation of manual lexicons is hard. This brings the need for adaptive automated methods for generating a lexicon. The proposed method generates dynamic lexicons based on the corpus and then classifies text using these lexicons. In the proposed method, different approaches are combined to generate lexicons from text. The proposed method classifies the tweets into 5 classes instead of +ve or –ve classes. The sentiment classification problem is written as an optimization problem, finding optimum sentiment lexicons are the goal of the optimization process. The solution was produced based on mathematical programming approaches to find the best lexicon to classify texts. A genetic algorithm was written to find the optimal lexicon. Then, extraction of a meta-level feature was done based on the optimal lexicon. The experiments were conducted on several datasets. Results, in terms of accuracy, recall and F measure, outperformed the state-of-the-art methods proposed in the literature in some of the datasets. A better understanding of the Arabic language and culture of Arab Twitter users and sentiment orientation of words in different contexts can be achieved based on the sentiment lexicons proposed by the algorithm.

Keywords: social media, Twitter sentiment, sentiment analysis, lexicon, genetic algorithm, evolutionary computation

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Amar Ranjan, Julieana Durai, Pranay Tanwar

Abstract:

Background &Introduction: Ovarian cancer is one of the most common malignant tumor in the female. 70% of the cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage. The five-year survival rate associated with ovarian cancer is less than 30%. The early diagnosis of ovarian cancer becomes a key factor in improving the survival rate of patients. Presently, CAl25 (carbohydrate antigen125) is used for the diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of ovarian cancer, but its sensitivity and specificity is not ideal. The introduction of HE4, human epididymis protein 4 has attracted much attention. HE4 has a sensitivity and specificity of 72.9% and 95% for differentiating between benign and malignant adnexal masses, which is better than CA125 detection.  Methods: Serum HE4 and CA -125 were estimated using the chemiluminescence method. Our cases were 40 epithelial ovarian cancer, 9 benign ovarian tumor, 29 benign gynaecological diseases and 13 healthy individuals. This group include healthy woman those who have undergoing family planning and menopause-related medical consultations and they are negative for ovarian mass. Optimal cut off values for HE4 and CA125 were 55.89pmol/L and 40.25U/L respectively (determined by statistical analysis). Results: The level of HE4 was raised in all ovarian cancer patients (n=40) whereas CA125 levels were normal in 6/40 ovarian cancer patients, which were the cases of OC confirmed by histopathology. There is a significant decrease in the level of HE4 with comparison to CA125 in benign ovarian tumor cases. Both the levels of HE4 and CA125 were raised in the nonovarian cancer group, which includes cancer of endometrium and cervix. In the healthy group, HE4 was normal in all patients except in one case of the rudimentary horn, and the reason for this raised HE4 level is due to the incomplete development of uterus whereas CA125 was raised in 3 cases. Conclusions: Findings showed that the serum level of HE4 is an important indicator in the diagnosis of ovarian cancer, and it also distinguishes between benign and malignant pelvic masses. However, a combination of HE4 and CA125 panel will be extremely valuable in improving the diagnostic efficiency of ovarian cancer. These findings of our study need to be validated in the larger cohort of patients.

Keywords: human epididymis protein 4, ovarian cancer, diagnosis, benign lesions

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Hailemariam Solomon, Taye Tadesse, Daniel Nadew, Firezer Girma

Abstract:

Sorghum is an important crop in semi-arid regions and has shown resilience to drought stress. However, recurrent drought is affecting its productivity. Therefore, it is necessary to explore genes that contribute to drought stress adaptation to increase sorghum productivity. The aim of this study is to evaluate and determine the effect of root system traits, specifically root angle, on drought stress adaptation and grain yield performance in sorghum genotypes. A total of 428 sorghum genotypes from the Ethiopian breeding program were evaluated in three drought-stress environments. Field trials were conducted using a row-column design with three replications. Root system traits were phenotyped using a high-throughput phenotyping platform and analyzed using a row-column design with two replications. Data analysis was performed using R software and regression analysis. The study found significant variations in root system architecture among the sorghum genotypes. Non-stay-green genotypes had a grain yield ranging from 1.63 to 3.1 tons/ha, while stay-green genotypes had a grain yield ranging from 2.4 to 2.9 tons/ha. The analysis of root angle showed that non-stay-green genotypes had an angle ranging from 8.0 to 30.5 degrees, while stay-green genotypes had an angle ranging from 12.0 to 29.0 degrees. Improved varieties exhibited angles between 14.04 and 19.50 degrees. Positive and significant correlations were observed between leaf areas and shoot dry weight, as well as between leaf width and shoot dry weight. Negative correlations were observed between root angle and leaf area, as well as between root angle and root length. This research highlights the importance of root system architecture, particularly root angle traits, in enhancing grain yield production in drought-stressed conditions. It also establishes an association between root angle and grain yield traits for maximizing sorghum productivity.

Keywords: roor sysytem architecture, root angle, narrow root angle, wider root angle, drought

Procedia PDF Downloads 75

Authors: Ryan Villafuerte Lansangan

Abstract:

Assessing students’ understanding in the microscopic level of an abstract subject like chemistry poses a challenge to teachers. Literature reveals that the use of representations serves as an essential avenue of measuring the extent of understanding in the discipline as an alternative to traditional assessment methods. This undertaking explored the representational competence profile of high school students from the University of Santo Tomas High School in understanding selected chemical principles and correlate this with their academic profile in chemistry based on their performance in the academic achievement examination in chemistry administered by the Center for Education Measurement (CEM). The common misconceptions of the students on the selected chemistry principles based on their representations were taken into consideration as well as the students’ views regarding their understanding of the role of chemical representations in their learning. The students’ level of representation task instrument consisting of the main lessons in chemistry with a corresponding scoring guide was prepared and utilized in the study. The study revealed that most of the students under study are unanimously rated as Level 2 (symbolic level) in terms of their representational competence in understanding the selected chemical principles through the use of chemical representations. Alternative misrepresentations were most observed on the students’ representations on chemical bonding concepts while the concept of chemical equation appeared to be the most comprehensible topic in chemistry for the students. Data implies that teachers’ representations play an important role in helping the student understand the concept in a microscopic level. Results also showed that the academic achievement in the chemistry of the students based on the standardized CEM examination has a significant association with the students’ representational competence. In addition, the students’ responses on the students’ views in chemical representations questionnaire evidently showed a good understanding of what a chemical representation or a mental model is by drawing a negative response that these tools should be an exact replica. Moreover, the students confirmed a greater appreciation that chemical representations are explanatory tools.

Keywords: chemical representations, representational competence, academic profile in chemistry, secondary students

Procedia PDF Downloads 406

Authors: Marcel Verwey, Anna M. Joubert, Elsie M. Nolte, Wolfgang Dohle, Barry V. L. Potter, Anne E. Theron

Abstract:

A tetrahydroisoquinolinone (THIQ) core can be used to mimic the A,B-ring of colchicine site-binding microtubule disruptors such as 2-methoxyestradiol in the design of anti-cancer agents. Steroidomimeric microtubule disruptors were synthesized by introducing C'2 and C'3 of the steroidal A-ring to C'6 and C'7 of the THIQ core and by introducing a decorated hydrogen bond acceptor motif projecting from the steroidal D-ring to N'2. For this in vitro study, four non-steroidal THIQ-based analogues were investigated and comparative studies were done between the non-sulphamoylated compound STX 3450 and the sulphamoylated compounds STX 2895, STX 3329 and STX 3451. The objective of this study was to investigate the modes of cell death induced by these four THIQ-based analogues in A549 lung carcinoma epithelial cells and metastatic breast adenocarcinoma MDA-MB-231 cells. Cytotoxicity studies to determine the half maximal growth inhibitory concentrations were done using spectrophotometric quantification via crystal violet staining and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays. Microtubule integrity and morphologic changes of exposed cells were investigated using polarization-optical transmitted light differential interference contrast microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and confocal microscopy. Flow cytometric quantification was used to determine apoptosis induction and the effect that THIQ-based analogues have on cell cycle progression. Signal transduction pathways were elucidated by quantification of the mitochondrial membrane integrity, cytochrome c release and caspase 3, -6 and -8 activation. Induction of autophagic cell death by the THIQ-based analogues was investigated by morphological assessment of fluorescent monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining of acidic vacuoles and by quantifying aggresome formation via flow cytometry. Results revealed that these non-steroidal microtubule disrupting analogues inhibited 50% of cell growth at nanomolar concentrations. Immunofluorescence microscopy indicated microtubule depolarization and the resultant mitotic arrest was further confirmed through cell cycle analysis. Apoptosis induction via the intrinsic pathway was observed due to depolarization of the mitochondrial membrane, induction of cytochrome c release as well as, caspase 3 activation. Potential involvement of programmed cell death type II was observed due to the presence of acidic vacuoles and aggresome formation. Necrotic cell death did not contribute significantly, indicated by stable LDH levels. This in vitro study revealed the induction of the intrinsic apoptotic pathway as well as possible involvement of autophagy after exposure to these THIQ-based analogues in both MDA-MB-231- and A549 cells. Further investigation of this series of anticancer drugs still needs to be conducted to elucidate the temporal, mechanistic and functional crosstalk mechanisms between the two observed programmed cell deaths pathways.

Keywords: apoptosis, autophagy, cancer, microtubule disruptor

Procedia PDF Downloads 253

Authors: Ivy Angelique Malit, Marion Nicole Dela Vega, Marjorie Mae Mendoza

Abstract:

Death practices and rituals of the Philippines is rich with facts about our history mostly on our beliefs of the afterlife before the arrival of the western culture which is still being practiced by the indigenous people of the Philippines. The death practices and rituals are acts of showing the inner thoughts, and feelings towards the person who died. The meanings behind those practices and rituals become the reason why the indigenous people still treasure these death practices and rituals as a part of their culture. This study seeks to know the experiences of the death practices and rituals of one of the Indigenous groups in Apayao, the Isnegs and the meaning of those experiences. The researchers aimed to look at it on a psychological lens. In which the researchers aim (1) to know their experiences of their death practices from the perspective of their thoughts, feelings and actions, and (2) to seek the meaning behind their death rituals. The design used in the research is a qualitative design and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. The participants were gathered by using purposive sampling. The researchers gathered the data from a form of a semi-structured interview with guide questions. The researchers used Thematic Analysis to analyze the verbatim transcriptions from the interview. The experiences of death practices and rituals of the Isneg people have been presented in the aspects of their thoughts, feelings and behavior. The experiences were presented with 7 superordinate themes namely, (1) Refusal of Reality (2) Feelings of mixed emotions (3) Oblivious Acts of the participants (4) Conflict with self and culture (5) Negative thinking of the participants (6) Process of Acceptance (8) Act of Love. The make meaning behind the death practices and rituals of the Isneg people have been presented with 2 superordinate themes, (1) Act of Respect and (2) Act of Loyalty. The results of the research show that the experiences and meaning behind their death practices and burials were being based more by their own beliefs. In their culture, which has been passed through by their ancestors and becomes the foundation of their beliefs and their newly found religion which was introduced by the travelling missionaries. Doing those death practices and rituals is their way to show their affections, like respect and loyalty towards the person who died.

Keywords: death practices, interpretative phenomenological analysis, isneg people, rituals, theory of grieving

Procedia PDF Downloads 254

Authors: Archana Surendran, Kalpana C. A.

Abstract:

Vitamin D insufficiency is highly prevalent in women. Vitamin D bioavailability could be reduced in obesity due to increased sequestration by white adipose tissue. Increased sun exposure due to more frequent outdoor physical activity as well as a diet rich in vitamin D could be the common cause of both higher levels of 25(OH)D and a more favorable lipid profile. The study was conducted with the aim to assess the obesity status among selected working women in Coimbatore, determine their lifestyle and physical activity pattern, study their dietary intake, estimate the vitamin D and lipid profile of selected women and associate the relationship between Vitamin D and obesity among the selected women. A total of 100 working women (non pregnant, non lactating) working in IT sector, hotels and teaching staff were selected for the study. Anthropometric measurements and dietary recall were conducted for all. The women were further categorized as obese and non-obese based on their BMI. Fifteen obese and 15 non-obese women were selected and their fasting blood glucose level, serum Vitamin D and lipid profile were measured. Association between serum vitamin D, lipid profile, anthropometric measurements, food intake and sun exposure was correlated. Fifty six percent of women in the age group between 25-39 years and 44 percent of women in the age group between 40-45 years were obese. Waist and hip circumference of women in the age group between 40-45 years (89.7 and 107.4 cm) were higher than that of obese women in the age group between 25-39 years (88.6 and 102.8 cm). There were no women with sufficient vitamin D levels. In the age group between 40-45 years (obese women), serum Vitamin D was inversely proportional to waist-hip ratio and LDL cholesterol. There was an inverse relationship between body fat percentage and Total cholesterol with serum vitamin D among the women of the age group between 25-39 years. Consumption of milk and milk products were low among women. Intake of calcium was deficit among the women in both the age groups and showed a negative correlation. Sun exposure was less for all the women. Findings from the study revealed that obese women with a higher consumption of fat and less intake of calcium-rich foods have low serum Vitamin D levels than the non-obese women. Thus, it can be concluded that there is an association between Vitamin D status and obesity among adult women.

Keywords: obesity, sun exposure, vitamin D, women

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Ramesh Bhat, Ammu Somanath, A. K. Nayanatara

Abstract:

Background: The increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity is a critical public health problem for women. The negative effect of stress on memory and cognitive functions has been widely explored for decades in numerous research projects using a wide range of methodology. Deterioration of memory and other brain functions are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Estrogen fluctuations and withdrawal have myriad direct effects on the central nervous system that have the potential to influence cognitive functions. Aim: The present study aims to compare the effect of stress on the cognitive functions in overweight/obese women before and after menopause. Material and Methods: A total of 142 female subjects constituting women before menopause between the age group of 18–44 years and women after menopause between the age group of 45–60 years were included in the sample. Participants were categorized into overweight/obese groups based on the body mass index. The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) the major tool was used for measuring the perception of stress. Based on the stress scale measurement each group was classified into with stress and without stress. Addenbrooke’s cognitive Examination-III was used for measuring the cognitive functions. Results: Premenopausal women with stress showed a significant (P<0.05) decrease in the cognitive parameters such as attention and orientation Fluency, language and visuospatial ability. Memory did not show any significant change in this group. Whereas, in the postmenopausal stressed women all the cognitive functions except fluency showed a significant (P<0.05) decrease after menopause stressed group. Conclusion: Stress is a significant factor on the cognitive functions of obese and overweight women before and after menopause. Practice of Yoga, Encouragement in activities like gardening, embroidery, games and relaxation techniques should be recommended to prevent stress. Insights into the neurobiology before and after menopause can be gained from future studies examining the effect on the HPA axis in relation to cognition and stress.

Keywords: cognition, stress, premenopausal, body mass index

Procedia PDF Downloads 305

Authors: S. Cichosz, A. Masek

Abstract:

A new cellulose hybrid modification approach, which is undoubtedly a scientific novelty, is introduced. The study reports the properties of cellulose (Arbocel UFC100 – Ultra Fine Cellulose) and characterizes cellulose filled polymer composites based on an ethylene-norbornene copolymer (TOPAS Elastomer E-140). Moreover, the approach of physicochemical two-stage cellulose treatment is introduced: solvent exchange (to ethanol or hexane) and further chemical modification with maleic anhydride (MA). Furthermore, the impact of the drying process on cellulose properties was investigated. Suitable measurements were carried out to characterize cellulose fibers: spectroscopic investigation (Fourier Transform Infrared Spektrofotometer-FTIR, Near InfraRed spectroscopy-NIR), thermal analysis (Differential scanning calorimetry, Thermal gravimetric analysis ) and Karl Fischer titration. It should be emphasized that for all UFC100 treatments carried out, a decrease in moisture content was evidenced. FT-IR reveals a drop in absorption band intensity at 3334 cm-1, the peak is associated with both –OH moieties and water. Similar results were obtained with Karl Fischer titration. Based on the results obtained, it may be claimed that the employment of ethanol contributes greatly to the lowering of cellulose water absorption ability (decrease of moisture content to approximately 1.65%). Additionally, regarding polymer composite properties, crucial data has been obtained from the mechanical and thermal analysis. The highest material performance was noted in the case of the composite sample that contained cellulose modified with MA after a solvent exchange with ethanol. This specimen exhibited sufficient tensile strength, which is almost the same as that of the neat polymer matrix – in the region of 40 MPa. Moreover, both the Payne effect and filler efficiency factor, calculated based on dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), reveal the possibility of the filler having a reinforcing nature. What is also interesting is that, according to the Payne effect results, fibers dried before the further chemical modification are assumed to allow more regular filler structure development in the polymer matrix (Payne effect maximum at 1.60 MPa), compared with those not dried (Payne effect in the range 0.84-1.26 MPa). Furthermore, taking into consideration the data gathered from DSC and TGA, higher thermal stability is obtained in case of the materials filled with fibers that were dried before the carried out treatments (degradation activation energy in the region of 195 kJ/mol) in comparison with the polymer composite samples filled with unmodified cellulose (degradation activation energy of approximately 180 kJ/mol). To author’s best knowledge this work results in the introduction of a novel, new filler hybrid treatment approach. Moreover, valuable data regarding the properties of composites filled with cellulose fibers of various moisture contents have been provided. It should be emphasized that plant fiber-based polymer bio-materials described in this research might contribute significantly to polymer waste minimization because they are more readily degraded.

Keywords: cellulose fibers, solvent exchange, moisture content, ethylene-norbornene copolymer

Procedia PDF Downloads 115

Authors: Farzaneh Askari, Jila Ganji, Sedigheh Hasani Moghadam

Abstract:

Background and Aim: Endometriosis has been reported as one of the most common chronic gynecological conditions characterized by physical and psychological complications. Given that the impact of this disease on marital relationships and quality of life is multidimensional, the present review study aimed to reflect on the effect of psychosomatic aspects of endometriosis on marital relationships and quality of life. Materials and Methods: A narrative review methodology using keywords determined by the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus was adopted in this study. For this purpose, the databases of ScienceDirect, Scientific Information Database (SID), Google Scholar, and PubMed were searched by means of key terms including endometriosis, marital relationships, physical complications, psychological complications, and quality of life in English and Persian from 2005 to 2020. At the end of the search, 38 articles were retrieved, and ultimately a total number of 16 studies were recruited for this review. Results: A review of the selected articles demonstrated that endometriosis could affect marital relationships and quality of life among couples featuring in three different categories, i.e. “category I: physical health dimension” (chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, cramps but not period, reduction and loss of fertility), “category II: sexual health dimension” (no sexual intercourse, dyspareunia, lack of sexual satisfaction), and “category III: psychosocial health dimension” (negative self-esteem, low energy, sense of loneliness, depression, social isolation, insufficient sleep, marital distress, divorce and marriage breakdown, inability to work and socialize). Conclusion: In general, it is suggested to pay particular attention to psychosomatic aspects of marital problems in patients affected with endometriosis. Accordingly, implementing educational and counseling strategies to minimize the complications of this disease can provide the grounds for improving marital relationships and maintaining the quality of life in these patients.

Keywords: Endometriosis, marital relationships, psychosomatic complications, quality of life

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: A. Ibovi Mouondayi, S. Zaher, R. Assadi, K. Erraoui, S. Sboul, J. Daoudim, S. Bousselham, K. Nassar, S. Janani

Abstract:

Introduction: Neuropathic pain (NP) is chronic pain; it can be observed in a large number of clinical situations. This pain results from a lesion of the peripheral or central nervous system. It is a frequent reason for consultations in rheumatology. This pain being chronic, can become disabling for the patient, thereby altering his quality of life. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of neuropathic pain on the quality of life of patients followed-up for chronic neuropathic pain. Material and Method: This is a monocentric, cross-sectional, descriptive, retrospective study conducted in our department over a period of 19 months from October 2020 to April 2022. The missing parameters were collected during phone calls of the patients concerned. The diagnostic tool adopted was the DN4 questionnaire in the dialectal Arabic version. The impact of NP was assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS) on pain, sleep, and function. The impact of PN on mood was assessed by the hospital anxiety, and depression scale (HAD) score in the validated Arabic version. The exclusion criteria were patients followed up for depression and other psychiatric pathologies. Results: A total of 1528 patient data were collected; the average age of the patients was 57 years (standard deviation: 13 years) with extremes ranging from 17 years to 94 years, 91% were women and 9% men with a sex ratio man/woman equal to 0.10. 67% of our patients were married, and 63% of our patients were housewives. 43% of patients were followed-up for degenerative pathology. The NP was cervical radiculopathy in 26%, lumbosacral radiculopathy in 51%, and carpal tunnel syndrome in 20%. 23% of our patients had poor sleep quality, and 54% had average sleep quality. The pain was very intense in 5% of patients; 33% had severe pain, and 58% had moderate pain. The function was limited in 55% of patients. The average HAD score for anxiety and depression was 4.39 (standard deviation: 2.77) and 3.21 (standard deviation: 2.89), respectively. Conclusion: Our data clearly illustrate that neuropathic pain has a negative impact on the quality of sleep and function, as well as the mood of patients, thus influencing their quality of life.

Keywords: neuropathic pain, sleep, quality of life, chronic pain

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Yuhan Wu, CTB (Kees) Ahaus, Martina Buljac-Samardzic

Abstract:

Patient aggression and violence is a complex occupational hazards for physicians working in hospitals, and it can have multiple severe negative effects for physicians and hospitals. Although there is a range of interventions in the healthcare sector applied in various countries, China lacks a comprehensive set of interventions at the hospital level in this area. Therefore, due to cultural differences, this study investigates whether international interventions are important and feasible in the Chinese cultural context by conducting a Delphi study. Based on a literature search, a list of 47 hospital interventions to prevent and manage patient aggression and violence was constructed, including 8 categories: hospital environment design, access and entrance, staffing and work practice, training and education, leadership and culture, support, during/after-the-event actions, and hospital policy. The list of interventions will be refined, extended and brought back during a three-round Delphi study. The panel consists of 17 Chinese experts, including physicians experiencing patient aggression and violence, hospital management team members, scientists working in this research area, and policymakers in the healthcare sector. In each round, experts will receive the possible interventions with the instruction to indicate the importance and feasibility of each intervention for preventing and managing patient violence and aggression in Chinese hospitals. Experts will be asked about the importance and feasibility of interventions for patient violence and aggression at the same time. This study will exclude or include interventions based on the score of importance. More specifically, an intervention will be included after each round if >80% of the experts judged it as important or very important and excluded if >50% judged an intervention as not or moderately important. The three-round Delphi study will provide a list of included interventions and assess which of the 8 categories of interventions are considered as important. It is expected that this study can bring new ideas and inspiration to Chinese hospitals in the prevention and management of patient aggression and violence.

Keywords: patient aggression and violence, hospital interventions, feasibility, importance

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Çağrı Bekir Baysal, Göktuğ Burak Çalık

Abstract:

Armored vehicles may have different traction layouts as a result of terrain capabilities and mobility needs. Two main categories of layouts can be separated as wheeled and tracked. Tracked vehicles have superior off-road capabilities but what they gain on terrain performance they lose on mobility front. Wheeled vehicles on the other hand do not have as good terrain capabilities as tracked vehicles but they have superior mobility capabilities such as top speed, range and agility with respect to tracked vehicles. Conventional armored vehicles employ a diesel ICE as main power source. In these vehicles ICE is mechanically connected to the powertrain. This determines the ICE rpm as a result of speed and torque requested by the driver. ICE efficiency changes drastically with torque and speed required and conventional vehicles suffer in terms of fuel consumption because of this. Hybrid electric vehicles employ at least one electric motor in order to improve fuel efficiency. There are different types of hybrid vehicles but main types are Series Hybrid, Parallel Hybrid and Series-Parallel Hybrid. These vehicles introduce an electric motor for traction and also can have a generator electric motor for range extending purposes. Having an electric motor as the traction power source brings the flexibility of either using the ICE as an alternative traction source while it is in efficient range or completely separating the ICE from traction and using it solely considering efficiency. Hybrid configurations have additional advantages for armored vehicles in addition to fuel efficiency. Heat signature, silent operation and prolonged stationary missions can be possible with the help of the high-power battery pack that will be present in the vehicle for hybrid drivetrain. Because of the reasons explained, hybrid armored vehicles are becoming a target area for military and also for vehicle suppliers. In order to have a better idea and starting point when starting a hybrid armored vehicle design, hybrid drivetrain configuration has to be selected after performing a trade-off study. This study has to include vehicle mobility simulations, integration level, vehicle level and performance level criteria. In this study different hybrid traction configurations possible for an 8x8 vehicle is compared using above mentioned criteria set. In order to compare hybrid traction configurations ease of application, cost, weight advantage, reliability, maintainability, redundancy and performance criteria have been used. Performance criteria points have been defined with the help of vehicle simulations and tests. Results of these simulations and tests also help determining required tractive power for an armored vehicle including conditions like trench and obstacle crossing, gradient climb. With the method explained in this study, each configuration is assigned a point for each criterion. This way, correct configuration can be selected objectively for every application. Also, key aspects of armored vehicles, mine protection and ballistic protection will be considered for hybrid configurations. Results are expected to vary for different types of vehicles but it is observed that having longitudinal differential locking capability improves mobility and having high motor count increases complexity in general.

Keywords: armored vehicles, electric drivetrain, electric mobility, hybrid vehicles

Procedia PDF Downloads 86

Authors: Johns Paul, Santhosh J. Nalluveettil, P. Purushothaman, M. Premdas

Abstract:

Lunar landing is one of the most critical phases of lunar mission. The lander is provided with a soft landing system to prevent structural damage of lunar module by absorbing the landing shock and also assure stability during landing. Presently available software are not capable to simulate the rigid body dynamics coupled with contact simulation and elastic/plastic deformation analysis. Hence a separate mathematical model has been generated for studying the dynamics of a typical lunar soft lander. Parameters used in the analysis includes lunar surface slope, coefficient of friction, initial touchdown velocity (vertical and horizontal), mass and moment of inertia of lander, crushing force due to energy absorbing material in the legs, number of legs and geometry of lander. The mathematical model is capable to simulate plastic and elastic deformation of honey comb, frictional force between landing leg and lunar soil, surface contact simulation, lunar gravitational force, rigid body dynamics and linkage dynamics of inverted tripod landing gear. The non linear differential equations generated for studying the dynamics of lunar lander is solved by numerical method. Matlab programme has been used as a computer tool for solving the numerical equations. The position of each kinematic joint is defined by mathematical equations for the generation of equation of motion. All hinged locations are defined by position vectors with respect to body fixed coordinate. The vehicle rigid body rotations and motions about body coordinate are only due to the external forces and moments arise from footpad reaction force due to impact, footpad frictional force and weight of vehicle. All these force are mathematically simulated for the generation of equation of motion. The validation of mathematical model is done by two different phases. First phase is the validation of plastic deformation of crushable elements by employing conservation of energy principle. The second phase is the validation of rigid body dynamics of model by simulating a lander model in ADAMS software after replacing the crushable elements to elastic spring element. Simulation of plastic deformation along with rigid body dynamics and contact force cannot be modeled in ADAMS. Hence plastic element of primary strut is replaced with a spring element and analysis is carried out in ADAMS software. The same analysis is also carried out using the mathematical model where the simulation of honeycomb crushing is replaced by elastic spring deformation and compared the results with ADAMS analysis. The rotational motion of linkages and 6 degree of freedom motion of lunar Lander about its CG can be validated by ADAMS software by replacing crushing element to spring element. The model is also validated by the drop test results of 4 leg lunar lander. This paper presents the details of mathematical model generated and its validation.

Keywords: honeycomb, landing leg tripod, lunar lander, primary link, secondary link

Procedia PDF Downloads 351

Authors: Elsa Marta Soares, Ana Rita Valente, Cristiana Rodrigues, Filipa Gonçalves

Abstract:

Background: The assessment of feelings and attitudes of preschool children in relation to stuttering is crucial. Negative experiences can lead to anxiety, worry or frustration. To avoid the worsening of attitudes and feelings related to stuttering, it is important the early detection in order to intervene as soon as possible through an individualized intervention plan. Then it is important to have Portuguese instruments that allow this assessment. Aims: The aim of the present study is to realize the translation and adaptation of the Communication Attitude Test for Children in Preschool Age and Kindergarten (KiddyCat) for EP. Methodology: For the translation and adaptation process, a methodological study was carried out with the following steps: translation, back translation, assessment by a committee of experts and pre-test. This abstract describes the results of the first two phases of this process. The translation was accomplished by two bilingual individuals without experience in health and any knowledge about the instrument. One of them was an English teacher and the other one a Translator. The back-translation was conducted by two Senior Class Teachers that live in United Kingdom without any knowledge in health and about the instrument. Results and Discussion: In translation there were differences in semantic equivalences of various expressions and concepts. A discussion between the two translators, mediated by the researchers, allowed to achieve the consensus version of the translated instrument. Taking into account the original version of KiddyCAT the results demonstrated that back-translation versions were similar to the original version of this assessment instrument. Although the back-translators used different words, they were synonymous, maintaining semantic and idiomatic equivalences of the instrument’s items. Conclusion: This project contributes with an important resource that can be used in the assessment of feelings and attitudes of preschool children who stutter. This was the first phase of the research; expert panel and pretest are being developed. Therefore, it is expected that this instrument contributes to an holistic therapeutic intervention, taking into account the individual characteristics of each child.

Keywords: assessment, feelings and attitudes, preschool children, stuttering

Procedia PDF Downloads 150

Authors: Katalin Gocze, Vanda A Nemes, Charlotte Briest

Abstract:

Introduction: Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is a psychoneuroendocrinological disorder adversely affecting life-quality for over 80% of hormonally active women. PMS has a negative impact on women’s daily life in terms of work, interpersonal relationships and leisure time activities. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of a yoga intervention focusing on the female pelvic area. Materials and methods: 34 women (ages 18-40) with PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool) and no previous experience in yoga were recruited and randomly assigned to either the yoga or the control group. The intervention consisted of 90’ yoga sessions twice a week and a daily 15’ self-practice module with carefully chosen yogic exercises addressing the reproductive organs by toning the pelvic floor and opening the hips as well as relieving stress and improving concentration. Severity of symptoms of PMS was assessed at the beginning and after the 8-week-long intervention. Pre- and post-program data collection included physical and psychological parameters and the evaluation of ACOQ PMS questionnaire and daily symptom diary. Results: Age and educational background were similar in the control and intervention group with an overall mean age of 29.11±4.78 years. PSST scores significantly improved in the yoga group (p=0.002), while difference in the control group’s pre and post-program values were non-significant (p=0.38). Perception and tolerance of anxiety and stress was significantly better after the intervention (p=0.008). As for changes in physical symptoms distinct improvement was registered for breast tenderness (p=0.028) and for meteorism (p=0.015). Discussion: Yoga’s success originates from the synergic positive effects of stress relief and regular physical activity. Benefits (both mental and physical) of strategically planned, focused yoga practice are apparent even after shorter time periods and can help women with PMS manage or eliminate symptoms in order to improve their life-quality.

Keywords: life-quality, physical symptoms, premenstrual syndrome, psychological impact, yoga

Procedia PDF Downloads 117

Authors: Yasir Ali Soomro

Abstract:

Companies that demonstrate corporate social responsibilities (CSR) are more likely to withstand any downturn or crises because of the trust built with stakeholders. Many firms are utilizing CSR marketing to improve the interactions with their various stakeholders, mainly the consumers. Most previous research on CSR has focused on the impact of CSR on customer responses and behaviors toward a company. As online food ordering and grocery shopping remains inevitable. This study will investigate structural relationships among consumer positive emotions (CPE) and negative emotions (CNE), Corporate Reputation (CR), Customer Trust (CT), Brand Image (BI), and Brand attitude (BA) on behavioral outcomes such as Online purchase intention (OPI) and Word of mouth (WOM) in retail grocery and food restaurants setting. Hierarchy of Effects Model will be used as theoretical, conceptual framework. The model describes three stages of consumer behavior: (i) cognitive, (ii) affective, and (iii) conative. The study will apply a quantitative method to test the hypotheses; a self-developed questionnaire with non-probability sampling will be utilized to collect data from 500 consumers belonging to generation X, Y, and Z residing in KSA. The study will contribute by providing empirical evidence to support the link between CSR and customer affective and conative experiences in Saudi Arabia. The theoretical contribution of this study will be empirically tested comprehensive model where CPE, CNE, CR, CT, BI, and BA act as mediating variables between the perceived CSR & Online purchase intention (OPI) and Word of mouth (WOM). Further, the study will add more to how the emotional/ psychological process mediates in the CSR literature, especially in the Middle Eastern context. The proposed study will also explain the effect of perceived CSR marketing initiatives directly and indirectly on customer behavioral responses.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, corporate reputation, consumer emotions, loyalty, online purchase intention, word-of-mouth, structural equation modeling

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Muhammad Nasar-u-Minallah, Dagmar Haase, Salman Qureshi

Abstract:

In a rapidly growing developing country cities are becoming more urbanized leading to modifications in urban climate. Rapid urbanization, especially unplanned urban land expansion, together with climate change has a profound impact on the urban settlement and urban thermal environment. Cities, particularly Pakistan are facing remarkably environmental issues and uneven development, and thus it is important to strengthen the investigation of urban environmental pressure brought by land-use changes and urbanization. The present study investigated the long term modification of the urban environment by urbanization utilizing Spatio-temporal dynamics of land-use change, urban population data, urban heat islands, monthly maximum, and minimum temperature of thirty years, multi remote sensing imageries, and spectral indices such as Normalized Difference Built-up Index and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index. The results indicate rapid growth in an urban built-up area and a reduction in vegetation cover in the last three decades (1990-2020). A positive correlation between urban heat islands and Normalized Difference Built-up Index, whereas a negative correlation between urban heat islands and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index clearly shows how urbanization is affecting the local environment. The increase in air and land surface temperature temperatures is dangerous to human comfort. Practical approaches, such as increasing the urban green spaces and proper planning of the cities, have been suggested to help prevent further modification of the urban thermal environment by urbanization. The findings of this work are thus important for multi-sectorial use in the cities of Pakistan. By taking into consideration these results, the urban planners, decision-makers, and local government can make different policies to mitigate the urban land use impacts on the urban thermal environment in Pakistan.

Keywords: land use, urban environment, local climate, Lahore

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Hardik Goswami, Gayatri Swarnakar

Abstract:

-Mastitis disease has been known as one of the most costly diseases of dairy cattle and observed as an inflammatory disease of cow and buffalo udder. Mastitis badly affected animal health, quality of milk and economics of milk production along with cause’s great economic loss. Bacteria have been representing the most common etiological agents of mastitis. The antibiotic sensitivity test was important to attain accurate treatment of mastitis. The aim of present research work was to explore prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates recovered from cow and buffalo clinical mastitis milk sample. During the period of April 2010 to April 2014, total 1487 clinical mastitis milk samples of cow and buffalo were tested to check the prevalence of mastitis causing bacterial isolates. Milk samples were collected aseptically from the udder at the time of morning milking. The most prevalent bacterial isolates were Staphylococcus aureus (24.34%) followed by coliform bacteria (15.87%), coagulase negative Staphylococcus aureus (13.85%), non-coliform bacteria (13.05%), mixed infection (12.51%), Streptococcus spp. (10.96%). Out of 1487, 140 (9.42%) mastitis milk samples showed no growth on culture media. Identification of bacteria made on the basis of Standard Microbial features and procedures. Antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial isolates was investigated by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. In vitro Antibiotic susceptibility test of bacterial isolates revealed higher sensitivity to Gentamicin (74.6%), Ciprofloxacin (62.1%) and Amikacin (59.4%). The lower susceptibility was shown to Amoxicillin (21.6%), Erythromycin (26.4%) and Ceftizoxime (29.9%). Antibiotic sensitivity pattern revealed Gentamicin are the possible effective antibiotic against the major prevalent mastitis pathogens. Present research work would be helpful in increase production, quality and quantity of milk, increase annual income of dairy owners and improve health of cow and buffaloes.

Keywords: antibiotic, buffalo, cow, mastitis, prevalence

Procedia PDF Downloads 404

Authors: Pardeep, Yugandhar Bitla, A. K. Patra, G. A. Basheed

Abstract:

The topological protected nanosized particle-like swirling spin textures, “skyrmion,” has been observed in various ferromagnets with chiral crystal structures like MnSi, FeGe, Cu₂OSeO₃ alloys, however the magnetic ordering in these systems takes place at very low temperatures. For skyrmion-based spintronics devices, the skyrmion phase is required to stabilize in a wide temperature – field (T - H) region. The equilibrium skyrmion phase (SkX) in Co₇Zn₇Mn₆ alloy exists in a narrow T – H region just below transition temperature (TC ~ 215 K) and can be quenched by field cooling as a metastable skyrmion phase (MSkX) below SkX region. To realize robust MSkX at 110 K, field sweep ac susceptibility χ(H) measurements were performed after the zero field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) process. In ZFC process, the sample was cooled from 320 K to 110 K in zero applied magnetic field and then field sweep measurement was performed (up to 2 T) in positive direction (black curve). The real part of ac susceptibility (χ′(H)) at 110 K in positive field direction after ZFC confirms helical to conical phase transition at low field HC₁ (= 42 mT) and conical to ferromagnetic (FM) transition at higher field HC₂ (= 300 mT). After ZFC, FC measurements were performed i.e., sample was initially cooled in zero fields from 320 to 206 K and then a sample was field cooled in the presence of 15 mT field down to the temperature 110 K. After FC process, isothermal χ(H) was measured in positive (+H, red curve) and negative (-H, blue curve) field direction with increasing and decreasing field upto 2 T. Hysteresis behavior in χ′(H), measured after ZFC and FC process, indicates the stabilization of MSkX at 110 K which is in close agreement with literature. Also, the asymmetry between field-increasing curves measured after FC process in both sides confirm the stabilization of MSkX. In the returning process from the high field polarized FM state, helical state below HC₁ is destroyed and only the conical state is observed. Thus, the robust MSkX state is stabilized below its SkX phase over a much wider T - H region by FC in polycrystalline Co₇Zn₇Mn₆ alloy.

Keywords: skyrmions, magnetic susceptibility, metastable phases, topological phases

Procedia PDF Downloads 104

Authors: Norzaliza Md. Nor, Sh-Hussain Salleh, Mahyar Hamedi, Hadrina Hussain, Wahab Abdul Rahman

Abstract:

Motivational factor is mainly the students’ desire to involve in learning process. However, it also depends on the goal towards their involvement or non-involvement in academic activity. Even though, the students’ motivation might be in the same level, but the basis of their motivation may differ. In this study, it focuses on the intrinsic motivational factor which student enjoy learning or feeling of accomplishment the activity or study for its own sake. The intrinsic motivational factor of students in learning mathematics and science has found as difficult to be achieved because it depends on students’ interest. In the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) for mathematics and science, Malaysia is ranked as third lowest. The main problem in Malaysian educational system, students tend to have extrinsic motivation which they have to score in exam in order to achieve a good result and enrolled as university students. The use of electroencephalogram (EEG) signals has found to be scarce especially to identify the students’ intrinsic motivational factor in learning science and mathematics. In this research study, we are identifying the correlation between precursor emotion and its dynamic emotion to verify the intrinsic motivational factor of students in learning mathematics and science. The 2-D Affective Space Model (ASM) was used in this research in order to identify the relationship of precursor emotion and its dynamic emotion based on the four basic emotions, happy, calm, fear and sad. These four basic emotions are required to be used as reference stimuli. Then, in order to capture the brain waves, EEG device was used, while Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficient (MFCC) was adopted to be used for extracting the features before it will be feed to Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) to classify the valence and arousal axes for the ASM. The results show that the precursor emotion had an influence the dynamic emotions and it identifies that most students have no interest in mathematics and science according to the negative emotion (sad and fear) appear in the EEG signals. We hope that these results can help us further relate the behavior and intrinsic motivational factor of students towards learning of mathematics and science.

Keywords: EEG, MLP, MFCC, intrinsic motivational factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 367

Authors: Naeemeh Silvari

Abstract:

The tourism industry is important for different nations in two ways. Apart from economic benefits, it provides a basis for getting acquainted with the culture of different regions of the world. Depending on the capacities and contexts of their geography, countries try to attract more people to their country in different ways. Health tourism has been an important branch of the tourism industry in recent years, and many countries around the world are trying to make progress in this field and attract many tourists from around the world. Iran, like many developing countries in the Middle East and East Asia, is trying to improve and develop tourist attractions in the field of health. Due to the cheapness of providing medical services to tourists, many people have traveled to Iran for medical and health care. However, there is a long way to go before recognizing and reaching the desired position in this field. Due to the direct relationship between tourism and culture, the negative attitude towards the context of Iran has caused foreign travelers not to choose this country as their tourist destination. In this article, we tried to study the change in their attitude towards Iran by using semi-structured interviews of foreign travelers who traveled to Iran for treatment and medical services. The text of the interviews was coded and analyzed by MAX QDA software. Many of the people in the sample were from Middle Eastern and Arabic-speaking countries. Influenced by the media, they felt rejected by the Iranians before the trip. During their stay in Iran and in connection with the health care staff, in the first stage, they pointed out that many of their anxieties about the kind of treatment of Iranians have been allayed. In addition to the satisfaction with the medical services provided, they considered the atmosphere of Iranians' interaction with foreign travelers to be relatively appropriate, and some stated that Iran would be the destination of their leisure trip in the future. At the end of the research, policymakers were suggested that in order to resolve cultural contradictions rooted in values, they should first be recognized and seek to use other opportunities to resolve contradictions and form interactions with other cultures.

Keywords: cultural conflict, health tourism, cultural prejudice, advertising and media

Procedia PDF Downloads 75