Search results for: geometric imaging relationship

Authors: Alicia Muñoz, Pedro Oyola, Cristian Henriquez

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Pollution in Santiago de Chile has a spatial variability due to different factors, including meteorological parameters and emission sources. Socioenvironmental aspects are also significant for pollution in the canopy layer since it influences the type of edification, vegetal mass proportion and other environmental conditions. This study analyzes spatially urban pollution in Santiago, specifically, from the bike path perspective. Bike paths are located in high traffic zones, as consequence, users are constantly exposed to urban pollution. Measurements were made at the higher polluted hour, three days a week, including three transit regimes, on the most polluted month of the year. The environmental parameters are fine particulate matter (Model 8520, DustTrak Aerosol Monitor, TSI), temperature and relative humidity; it was also considerate urban parameters as sky view factor and vegetal mass. Identification of an environmental injustice will be achieved with a spatial modeling, including all urban factors and environmental mediations with an economic index of population.

Keywords: canopy layer, environmental injustice, spatial modeling, urban pollution

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Authors: Uwalomwa Uwuigbe, Olubukola Ranti Uwuigbe, Jinadu Olugbenga, Otekunrin Adegbola

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Corporate reporting has evolved over the years resulting from criticisms of the precedent by shareholders, stakeholders and other relevant financial institutions. Integrated reporting has become a globalized corporate reporting style, with its adoption around the world occurring rapidly to bring about an improvement in the quality of corporate reporting. While some countries have swiftly clinched into reporting in an integrated manner, others have not. In addition, there are ample research that has been conducted on the benefits of adopting integrated reporting, however, the same is not true in developing economies like Nigeria. Hence, this study basically examined the factors determining the adoption of integrated reporting in Nigeria. One hundred (100) copies of questionnaire was administered to financial managers of 20 selected listed companies in the Nigeria stock exchange market. The data obtained was analysed using the Spearman Rank Order Correlation via the Statistical Package for Social Science. This study observed that there is a significant relationship between the social pressures of isomorphic changes and integrated reporting adoption in Nigeria. The study recommends the need for an enforcement mechanism to be put in place while considering the adoption of integrated reporting in Nigeria, enforcement mechanisms should put into consideration the investors demand, the level of economic development, and the degree of corporate social responsibility.

Keywords: corporate social responsibility, isomorphic, integrated reporting, Nigeria, sustainability

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Authors: María Isabel Núñez-Peña, Macarena Suárez Pellicioni

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In the present study, we used event-related potentials (ERP) to address the question of whether high (HMA) and low math-anxious (LMA) individuals differ on a complex addition verification task, which involved both carrying and non-carrying additions. ERPs were recorded while seventeen HMA and seventeen LMA individuals performed the verification task. Groups did not differ in trait anxiety or gender distribution. Participants were presented with two-digit additions and were asked to decide whether the proposed solution was correct or incorrect. Behavioral data showed a significant Carrying x Proposed solution x Group interaction for accuracy, showing that carrying additions were more error prone than non-carrying ones for both groups, although the difference non-carrying minus carrying was larger for the HMA group. As for ERPs, a P2 component larger in HMA individuals than in their LMA peers was found both for carrying and non-carrying additions. The P2 was followed by a sustained negative slow wave at parietal positions. Because the negative slow waves are thought to reflect the updating of working memory, these results give support to the relationship among working memory, math performance and math anxiety.

Keywords: math anxiety, carrying, working memory, P2

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Authors: Zhengyi Kong, Xueqing Wang, Quang-Viet Vu

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In this study, the structural behavior of high strength steel (HSS) hot-finished elliptical hollow section (EHS) subjected to uniaxial eccentric compression is investigated. A finite element method for predicting the cross-section resistance of HSS hot-finished EHS is developed using ABAQUS software, which is then verified by comparison with previous experiments. The validated finite element method is employed to carry out parametric studies for investigating the structural behavior of HSS hot-finished EHS under uniaxial eccentric compression and evaluate the current design guidance for HSS hot-finished EHS. Different parameters, such as the radius of the larger and smaller outer diameter of EHS, thickness of EHS, eccentricity, and material property, are considered. The resulting data from 84 finite element models are used to obtain the relationship between the cross-section resistance of HSS hot-finished EHS and cross-section slenderness. It is concluded that current design provisions, such as EN 1993-1-1, BS 5950-1, AS4100, and Gardner et al., are conservative for predicting the HSS hot-finished EHS under uniaxial eccentric compression.

Keywords: hot-finished, elliptical hollow section, uniaxial eccentric compression, finite element method

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Authors: Inezia Aurelia, Soebowo Musa

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Many firms still fail to develop organizational agility. There are more than 40% of organizations think that they are low/not agile in facing market change. Organizational culture plays an important role in developing the organizations to be adaptive in order to manage the VUCA effectively. This study examines the relationships of organizational culture towards participative leadership, employee satisfaction, employee work motivation, organizational learning, and absorptive capacity in developing organizational agility in managing the VUCA environment. 263 employees located from international chemical-based company offices across the globe who have worked for more than three years were the respondents in this study. This study showed that organizational clan culture promotes the development of participative leadership, which it has an empowering effect on people in the organization resulting in employee satisfaction. The study also confirms the role of organizational culture in creating organizational behavior within the organization that fosters organizational learning, absorptive capacity, and organizational agility, while the study also found that the relationship between participative leadership and employee work motivation is not significant.

Keywords: absorptive capacity, employee satisfaction, employee work motivation, organizational agility, organizational culture, organizational learning, participative leadership

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Authors: Cosmin-Gabriel Porumb-Ghiurco, Dumitrana Fiț-Iordache, Szőke Árpád

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The literature incorporating geographical or tourist-geographical themes and explicit references to the Carpathian area is extremely abundant. Through this paper, we attempt to “undermine” the traditional, tourist-geographical approaches of the Carpathian Arch by targeting an aspect often regarded as marginal but which, if examined, even only empirically, takes the form of a vast problem with multidisciplinary vocation. Therefore, we propose a more extravagant yet pro-touristic approach to the Romanian Carpathian geo-space. Consequently, the explicit goal of this approach consists precisely in broadening the multidisciplinary, essentially geographic scope of the research, the vision and mental representation of the Carpathian area by advancing a lever that would symbolize a different kind of unification between geography and tourism on a more intimate, subtle, mythological and archetypal level. The spiritual and mercantile dimensions of the tourism field in general and of the local Carpathian tourism can meld harmoniously together in order to create a common territorial reality of referral and favorable perspectives for the consolidation of their symbiotic relationship.

Keywords: tourist image, mythical geography, collective imaginary, spiritual patrimony, Carpathians

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Authors: Jun Zhou, Xingping Wang, Paul Milbourne

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Evidences in the world shows that the industry and population have being greatly concentrated in metropolitan regions which is getting to be the most important area for the economic power and people living standard in the future. In the meanwhile, the relevant innovation theories of Agglomeration, New Industrial Geography and Modern Evolutionary innovation prove that the reason why the agglomeration in world-class city and metropolitan areas and also verify innovation is the key point for the development of metropolis. The primary purpose of this paper is to analyze the geographical spatial characteristics of innovative subjects which contain firm, university, research institution, government and intermediary organ in metropolis throughout the amount data analysis in Yangtze River Metropolis in China. The results show three main conclusions. The first is different subjects in different regions have different spatial characteristics. The second one is different structure and pattern between the subjects also can produce different innovative effect. The last but not the least is agglomeration of innovative subjects’ is not only influenced by the innovative network or local policies but also affected by the localized industry characteristics and culture which are getting to be the most important crucial factors.

Keywords: metropolitan development, innovative subject, spatial, Yangtze River Metropolis, China

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Authors: Pranee Tridhoskul

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This research paper is aimed to examine a relationship between the service marketing mix and customers’ frequency of use of service at Mercedes Benz Auto Repair Centres under Thonburi Group, Thailand. Based on 2,267 customers who used the service of Thonburi Group’s Auto Repair Centres as the population, the sampling of this research was a total of 340 samples, by use of Probability Sampling Technique. Systematic Random Sampling was applied by use of questionnaire in collecting the data at Thonburi Group’s Auto Repair Centres. Mean and Pearson’s basic statistical correlations were utilized in analyzing the data. The study discovered a medium level of customers’ perception towards product and service of Thonburi Group’s Auto Repair Centres, price, place or distribution channel and promotion. People who provided service were perceived also at a medium level, whereas the physical evidence and service process were perceived at a high level. Furthermore, there appeared a correlation between the physical evidence and service process, and customers’ frequency of use of automobile service per year.

Keywords: service marketing mix, behavior, Mercedes Auto Service Centre, frequency of use

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Authors: C. Noknoi, W. Boripunt

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This research aims to compare the corrupt behavior of local government officials and the public’s opinion about the effects of this corruption, as classified by the personal factors of the public. It also analyzes the relationship between the corrupt behavior of local government officials and the public’s opinion toward the effects of this corruption. The sample used in this research comprised 322 voters from Songkhla province, with a questionnaire being used to collect the data. The statistics used in the data analysis were the percentage, mean, standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. The results showed that the corrupt behavior of local government officials was at a high overall level. The sample’s opinion toward the effects of corrupt local government officials was also at a high overall level. Hypothesis testing indicated that samples with different personal factors did not vary in how they regarded the corrupt behavior of local government officials, and the samples’ opinions toward the effects of corrupt local government officials also did not vary. The corrupt behavior of local government officials and the opinions toward the effect of corrupt local government officials are both at consistently high levels and follow the same trend.

Keywords: corrupt behavior, local government, official, Thailand

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Authors: Abdolamir Gatezadeh, Jamal Daghaleh

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The lifestyle of individuals is important and determinant for the status of psychological and social health. Recently, especially in developed countries, the relationship between lifestyle and mental illnesses, including depression, has attracted the attention of many people. In order to test the causal model of depression based on lifestyle with mediation of social health in the study, basic and applied methods were used in terms of objective and descriptive-field as well as the data collection. Methods: This study is a basic research type and is in the framework of correlational plans. In this study, the population includes all adults in Ahwaz city. A randomized, multistage sampling of 384 subjects was selected as the subjects. Accordingly, the data was collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results: In data analysis, path analysis indicated the confirmation of the assumed model fit of research. This means that subscales lifestyle has a direct effect on depression and subscales lifestyle through the mediation of social health which in turn has an indirect effect on depression. Discussion and conclusion: According to the results of the research, the depression can be used to explain the components of the lifestyle and social health.

Keywords: depression, subscales lifestyle, social health, causal model

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Authors: Saifunnahar

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As a former English colony, the relationship of Bangladesh with the English language goes a long way back. English is taught as a compulsory subject in Bangladesh from an early age starting from grade 1 and continuing through the 12th, yet, students are not competent enough to communicate in English proficiently. To improve students’ English language competency, the Bangladesh Ministry of Education introduced communicative language teaching (CLT) methods in English classrooms in the 1990s. It has been decades since this effort was taken, but the students’ level of proficiency is still not satisfactory. The main reason behind this failure is that CLT-based teaching-learning methods have not been effectively implemented. Very little research has been conducted to address the issues English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms are facing to carry out CLT methodologies in secondary schools (grades 6 to 10) in Bangladesh. Though the secondary level is crucial for students’ language learning and retention, EFL classrooms are marked with various issues that make teaching-learning harder for teachers and students. This study provides an overview of the status of CLT in EFL classrooms and the reasons behind failing to implement CLT in secondary schools in Bangladesh through an analysis of the qualitative data collected from different literature. Based on the findings, effective approaches have been recommended to employ CLT in EFL classrooms.

Keywords: Bangladesh, communicative language teaching, English as a foreign language, secondary schools, pedagogy

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Authors: Nihan Akdemir

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Clothes are more than a piece of fabric, and the most visible material item of the fashion symbol is the garment, which carries multiple and various meanings. The dynamism of the clothing symbol can carry open or closed codes depending on culture, gender, and social location. And each one can be the expression of social identity over ethnicity, religious beliefs, age, education and social class. Through observation of clothing styles over these items, the assumptions could be made about a person’s identity. A distinctive and typical style, form or character of the clothing such as ‘zoot suits’, ‘ao dai’, removes the garment from functional and ordinary element to the symbolic area. Clothing is an 'identification' tool that functions in determining the symbolic boundaries between people in a sense. And this paper includes the investigation of the relation between social identity and clothing and also fashion. And this relationship has been taken into consideration over the visual expression because even during the ancient times, the clothes were the basic and simple way of representing the identity and social classes. The visible expression of identity over clothing from Ancient Egypt to today’s clothing and fashion has been researched in this article. And all these items have been explained with visual images and supported by the literature investigations. Then the results have shown that every piece of clothing from fabric to coloring have visual significations about social identity.

Keywords: social identity, clothing, fashion, visual expression, visual signification

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Authors: Raafat A. Mandour

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Background; Water may be regarded as polluted if it contains substances that render it unsafe for public use. The surface, subsoil waters and the shallow water-bearing geologic formation are more subjected to pollution due to its closeness to the human daily work. Aim of the work; determine the distribution of iron level in drinking water and its relation to iron level in blood patients suffering from liver diseases. Materials and Methods; For the present study, a total number of (71) drinking water samples (surface, wells and tap) have been collected and Blood samples were carried out on (71) selected inhabitants who attended in different hospitals, from different localities and suffering from liver diseases. Serum iron level in these patients was estimated by using IRON-B kit, Biocon company (Germany) and the 1, 10-phenanthroline method. Results; The water samples analyzed for iron are found suitable for drinking except two samples at Mit-Ghamr district showing values higher than the permissible limit of Egyptian Ministry of Health (EMH) and World Health Organization (WHO).The comparison between iron concentrations in drinking water and human blood samples shows a positive relationship. Conclusion; groundwater samples from the polluted areas should have special attention for treatment.

Keywords: water samples, blood samples, EMH, WHO

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Authors: Muhammad Waleed Asfandyar, Akhtar Ahmed, Syed Adib-ul-Hasan Rizvi

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Objective: To evaluate the ability of serum concentration of prostate specific antigen between two cutting points considering it as a predictor of skeletal metastasis on bone scintigraphy in men with prostate cancer. Settings: This study was carried out in department of Nuclear Medicine at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) Karachi, Pakistan. Materials and Method: From August 2013 to November 2013, forty two (42) consecutive patients with prostate cancer who underwent technetium-99m methylene diphosphonate (Tc-99mMDP) whole body bone scintigraphy were prospectively analyzed. The information was collected from the scintigraphic database at a Nuclear medicine department Sindh institute of urology and transplantation Karachi Pakistan. Patients who did not have a serum PSA concentration available within 1 month before or after the time of performing the Tc-99m MDP whole body bone scintigraphy were excluded from this study. A whole body bone scintigraphy scan (from the toes to top of the head) was performed using a whole-body Moving gamma camera technique (anterior and posterior) 2–4 hours after intravenous injection of 20 mCi of Tc-99m MDP. In addition, all patients necessarily have a pathological report available. Bony metastases were determined from the bone scan studies and no further correlation with histopathology or other imaging modalities were performed. To preserve patient confidentiality, direct patient identifiers were not collected. In all the patients, Prostate specific antigen values and skeletal scintigraphy were evaluated. Results: The mean age, mean PSA, and incidence of bone metastasis on bone scintigraphy were 68.35 years, 370.51 ng/mL and 19/42 (45.23%) respectively. According to PSA levels, patients were divided into 5 groups < 10ng/mL (10/42), 10-20 ng/mL (5/42), 20-50 ng/mL (2/42), 50-100 (3/42), 100- 500ng/mL (3/42) and more than 500ng/mL (0/42) presenting negative bone scan. The incidence of positive bone scan (%) for bone metastasis for each group were O1 patient (5.26%), 0%, 03 patients (15.78%), 01 patient (5.26%), 04 patients (21.05%), and 10 patients (52.63%) respectively. From the 42 patients 19 (45.23%) presented positive scintigraphic examination for the presence of bone metastasis. 1 patient presented bone metastasis on bone scintigraphy having PSA level less than 10ng/mL, and in only 1 patient (5.26%) with bone metastasis PSA concentration was less than 20 ng/mL. therefore, when the cutting point adopted for PSA serum concentration was 10ng/mL, a negative predictive value for bone metastasis was 95% with sensitivity rates 94.74% and the positive predictive value and specificities of the method were 56.53% and 43.48% respectively. When the cutting point of PSA serum concentration was 20ng/mL the observed results for Positive predictive value and specificity were (78.27% and 65.22% respectively) whereas negative predictive value and sensitivity stood (100% and 95%) respectively. Conclusion: Results of our study allow us to conclude that serum PSA concentration of higher than 20ng/mL was the most accurate cutting point than a serum concentration of PSA higher than 10ng/mL to predict metastasis in radionuclide bone scintigraphy. In this way, unnecessary cost can be avoided, since a considerable part of prostate adenocarcinomas present low serum PSA levels less than 20 ng/mL and for these cases radionuclide bone scintigraphy could be unnecessary.

Keywords: bone scan, cut off value, prostate specific antigen value, scintigraphy

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Authors: Seyyed Hossein Alavi, Soudabe Mehri Talarposhti

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Passages urban landscape is made up of various components that the component parts of the whole and vice versa has relationships. In today’s cities, we have not seen a dual relationship and only one side of the equation which is the relationships of the component parts are considered. However, the effect of the component to whole is stronger and also longer. This means that every time the outer shell of the building was constructed instant impact on the viewers while it takes a long time to understand the impact of the building in its environment and basically, it seems city portrait has the sensory and untouchable effect on observer. Today, building facades are designated individually and in isolation from the context. Designers are familiar with the details of the facade, but they are not informed with the science of combination and its impact on portrait. The importance of city and also more important than that, the city portrait haven’t confirmed for those involved in the building and authorities and the construction been changed to a market for more glaring taste of designers and attracting more business and the city and its landscape has been forgotten. This essay is an attempt to collect a part of the principles and definitions needed on perspective issues and portrait, and it is hoped that it will open arena for more research and studies in this field and other related fields.

Keywords: facade, urban housing, urban design, sustainable architecture

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Authors: N. David, H. O. Gao

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Air pollution is a serious environmental threat on a global scale and can cause harm to human health, morbidity and premature mortality. Reliable monitoring and control systems are therefore necessary to develop coping skills against the hazards associated with this phenomenon. However, existing environmental monitoring means often do not provide a sufficient response due to practical and technical limitations. Commercial microwave links that form the infrastructure for transmitting data between cell phone towers can be harnessed to map rain at high tempo-spatial resolution. Rainfall causes a decrease in the signal strength received by these wireless communication links allowing it to be used as a built-in sensor network to map the phenomenon. In this study, we point to the potential that lies in this system to indirectly monitor areas where air pollution is reduced. The relationship between pollutant wash-off and rainfall provides an opportunity to acquire important spatial information about air quality using existing cell-phone tower signals. Since the density of microwave communication networks is high relative to any dedicated sensor arrays, it could be possible to rely on this available observation tool for studying precipitation scavenging on air pollutants, for model needs and more.

Keywords: air pollution, commercial microwave links, rainfall, washout

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Authors: Susana Marques, Cleide Abreu

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Presently, more than ever, men’s grooming is seen as a broad category. The problem comes when the previous research about male consumer behavior have neglected some aspects in this subject. The purpose of this investigation is to examine the role of celebrity endorsement in men’s grooming communication to Generation Y. After identifying some gaps in the literature, with regard to this contemporary subject, the most important variables were defined in order to develop the investigation and draw conclusions through statistical analysis and validation, about the role celebrity endorsement as source of credibility in men’s grooming communication. According to the design and methodology, this research was sustained through in depth marketing analysis (secondary data), and primary data collection via online questionnaire, whereby 168 male respondents, from Brazil and Portugal, were exposed to some advertisement pieces in order to express their opinion and feelings. The findings reveal all the relationships among the variables, suggested by the literature, have occurred, presenting a significant relationship in terms of Source Credibility scale dimensions – attractiveness, trustworthiness and expertise. This paper aims to contribute to the existing literature with important conclusions about the role of celebrity endorsement and its credibility in men’s grooming advertisement.

Keywords: communication, celebrity endorsement, men’s grooming, consumer behavior

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Authors: Dielle Martins

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A 45-year-old female, Manju Devi, presented with a 6-month history of progressively changing voice, difficulty breathing for the past month, and worsening dysphagia for the past two weeks, particularly with solids. Direct laryngoscopy revealed an ulceroproliferative mass arising from the left aryepiglottic fold, obscuring the glottic opening. Imaging with contrast-enhanced CT of the neck showed a lobulated, heterogeneous mass in the hypo-pharyngeal region, encroaching into the airway and involving the aryepiglottic fold and pyriform sinus, raising concerns for a malignant lesion. Small reactive lymph nodes were identified in the left submandibular region and along the carotid sheath. Due to the location of the mass near the glottis and the risk of complete airway obstruction, securing the airway was a critical concern. An awake fiberoptic bronchoscopy for endotracheal intubation was chosen as the safest approach. The patient was prepped with local anesthesia to the airway using nebulized 10% lignocaine and 4% lignocaine spray to the oral mucosa. After obtaining informed consent, the patient was positioned supine on the operating table. To facilitate the fiberoptic intubation, the patient’s neck was extended, and the head was laterally rotated 30 degrees to the left. This positioning helped optimize the visualization of the glottic opening, which was obscured by the mass. The fiberoptic scope was carefully passed through the oral cavity, past the uvula, and into the laryngeal area. As the scope advanced, the ulceroproliferative mass was observed covering most of the glottis, with only the anterior commissure visible. After further gentle manipulation, including the use of a shoulder roll for additional neck extension and rotation, a clearer view of the anterior two-thirds of the glottis was achieved. A 6.5mm internal diameter endotracheal tube was advanced over the fiberoptic scope and successfully positioned just above the carina. General anesthesia was then induced, and an excision biopsy of the growth was performed. This case underscores the importance of careful preoperative airway evaluation and the role of awake fiberoptic intubation in managing complex airway obstructions. Proper patient positioning, including neck extension and lateral rotation, proved crucial for successful intubation in the presence of a mass obstructing the glottic opening. This case emphasizes the techniques used in the fiberoptic intubation and the careful positioning of the patient, which were critical for the success of the procedure.

Keywords: awake fiberoptic bronchoscopy in laryngeal growth, Difficult intubation in glottic cancer, glottic cancer, difficult airway

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Authors: Rufina C. Abul, Dylan Kyle D. Apostol, Darius Rex G. Binuya, Alyanah Mae F. Cauilan, Darren A. Diaz, Angelica Jones A. Gallang, Charisse G. Kiwang, Alyanna Nicole G. Mactal, Nadine Beatrize V. Nerona, Janella Nicole R. Posadas, Charisse Purie C. Toledo

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Background: Dramatic physical development, socioemotional adjustment, and cognitive changes highlight adolescent development. Adolescent brains are susceptible to emotional reactivity, making them likely to engage in risk-taking and impulsive behaviors. The family is crucial in laying the foundations of good health. Aims: This study determined the degree of family cohesion, quality of father-child and mother-child relationships, and degree of academic pressure across cultures, age groups, and sexual orientations. Further, it sought the prevalence of adolescent health concerns, including suicide risks, risk-taking behaviors, social media engagement, and self-care deviations. Finally, the correlations between health risk behaviors and the elements of family dynamics were unraveled. Methods: The descriptive-correlational design served as the blueprint for this study. Data were collected from 1095 adolescents aged 12-21 in two high schools and two universities in Baguio City using self-report questionnaires. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel Toolpak and IBM SPSS Statistics to identify significant differences and relationships among variables through descriptive statistics (frequency, %, means and figures) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and logistic regression). Results and Discussion: Adolescents generally have strong family cohesion (FC), high-quality father-child relationships (F-CR), very high-quality mother-child relationships(M-CR), and experience high academic pressure (AP). Cultural affiliation does not influence the 4 elements of family dynamics; the higher the age, the stronger the family cohesion; males score significantly higher on family cohesion and mother-child relationship while significantly lower in perceived academic pressure compared to their female and LGBT counterparts. Suicide risk is prevalent among 29-63% of the population, safety issues have the lowest prevalence for having an abusive relationship (8.22%) and the highest for encountering major family changes (53.52%). Substance use was highest for vaping (22.74%), sexual engagement occurs in 14.61% of the population, while 63% are engaged in social media for >5 hours/day. The self-care deviation is highest for weight concerns (63.39%), lack of visits to health care professionals (64.65%) and lack of exercise (49.94%). All 4 elements of family dynamic (FC, F-CR, M-CR and AP) are significantly associated with safety concerns, suicide risks and social media engagement, while M-CR significantly influences cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, rugby use and engagement in sex. Conclusion and Recommendations: Strong family cohesion and quality parent-child interactions improve emotional and behavioral outcomes. Sexual orientation has a significant impact on academic pressure and social media use, demanding targeted treatments. The link between family dynamics and health-risk behaviors emphasizes the importance of promoting positive family relationships and encouraging safer behaviors, which are critical for increasing adolescents' well-being.

Keywords: adolescent health, family cohesion, health risk behaviors, suicide risk

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Authors: Thanasuwit Thabhiranrak

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This research aims to study factors that affected the operations of the cassava industrial enterprises in northeast of Thailand. Hypothesis was tested by regress analysis and also the analysis in order to determine the relationship between variables with Pearson correlation and show a class action in cassava process including the owner of business executives and supervisors. The research samples were 400 people in northeast region of Thailand. The research results revealed that success of entrepreneurs related to transformation leadership and knowledge management in a positive way at statistical significance level of 0.01 and respondents also emphasized on the importance of transformational leadership factors. The individual and the use of intelligence affect the success of entrepreneurs in cassava industry at statistical significance level of 0.05. The qualitative data were also collected by interviewing with operational level staff, supervisors, executives, and enterprise owners in the northeast of Thailand. The result was found that knowledge management was important in their business operations. Personnel in the organizations should learn from working experience, develop their skills, and increase knowledge from education.

Keywords: transformational leadership, knowledge management (KM), cassava, northeast of Thailand, industrial

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Authors: Jeonghun Lee

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In this study, we investigated the relationship between stress and thyroid dysfunction in such patients who underwent thyroidectomy. This study included 101 patients who underwent thyroidectomy from January 2015 to June 2020 and experienced hypothyroidism. The included patients had good drug compliance with the same dosage of levothyroxine (LT4). The male-to-female ratio was 1:4.6, and the mean age was 45.4 years at surgery and 50.2 years at stressful events. Eighteen patients underwent lobectomies and, of these, 12 did not take LT4. The mean follow-up period was 49(8-93) months. Statistical analyses were performed using the paired t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, and McNemer test using PROC MIXED with SAS 9.4. Forty-five patients (44.6%) had hypothyroidism with thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) >10 μIU/mL. There was distress in 81 patients and eustress in 10 patients. TSH levels increased during a mean 5.8 months (min 1, max 12) in 24 patients who specified the date of their life events. Even though each patient took the same dose of LT4, when the patients were under stress, both the free T4 and T3 decreased and TSH increased, regardless of whether the patient experienced distress or eustress (P <0.001). While adjusting for the effect of the free T4 and T3, TSH increased significantly in the patients after stress (P <0.001). For patients with thyroid cancer who are simultaneously experiencing life events, TSH may be used as a stress biomarker to enable the implementation of appropriate treatment and counseling strategies.

Keywords: endocrine, thyroid, thyroid function, biomarker, stress

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Authors: Maman Ali M. Moustapha, Qian Yu, Benjamin Adjei Danquah

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This paper investigates the dynamic interaction between renewable energy consumption (REC) and economic growth using dataset from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 2002 to 2016. For this study the Autoregressive Distributed Lag- Bounds test approach (ARDL) was used to examine the long run relationship between real gross domestic product and REC, while VECM based on Granger causality has been used to examine the direction of Granger causality. Our empirical findings indicate that REC has significant and positive impact on real gross domestic product. In addition, we found that REC and the percentage of access to electricity had unidirectional Granger causality to economic growth while carbon dioxide emission has bidirectional Granger causality to economic growth. Our findings indicate also that 1 per cent increase in the REC leads to an increase in Real GDP by 0.009 in long run. Thus, REC can be a means to ensure sustainable economic growth in the ECOWAS sub-region. However, it is necessary to increase further support and investments on renewable energy production in order to speed up sustainable economic development throughout the region

Keywords: Economic Growth, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development, Sustainable Energy

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Authors: Umberto Platini

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This paper analyses the role of government fragmentation as predictor of the use of emergency decrees in parliamentary democracies. In particular, it focuses on the relationship between ideological divisiveness within cabinets and the choice by executives to issue emergency decrees rather initiating ordinary legislative procedures. A Bayesian multilevel analysis conducted on the population of government-initiated legislation in Italy between 1996 and 2018 finds significant evidence that those legislative proposals which are further away from the ideological centre of gravity of the executive are around three times more likely to be issued as emergency decrees. Likewise, legislative projects regulating more contentious policy areas are significantly more likely to be issued by decree. However, for more contentious issues the importance of ideological distance as a predictor diminishes. This evidence suggests that cabinets prefer decrees to ordinary legislative procedures when they expect that the bargaining environment in Parliament is more hostile. These results persist regardless of the fluctuations of the political-economic cycle. Their robustness is also tested against a battery of controls and against fixed effects both at the government level and at the legislature level.

Keywords: Bayesian multilevel logit models, executive action, executive decrees, ideology, legislative studies, polarization

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Authors: Sanat Kumar, Rahul Kumar Tiwari

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At this time when society is becoming increasingly aware of the declining reserves of fossil, it has become apparent that biodiesel is destined to make a substantial contribution to the future energy demands of the domestic and industrial economies. In this regard, the significance of biodiesel is technically and commercially viable alternative to fossil-diesel. There are different potential feed stocks for biodiesel production. This paper analyses the performance, combustion and emission characteristics of biodiesel from different feed stocks. Biodiesel fuel is considered as offering many benefits like reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and many harmful pollutants (PM, HC, CO etc.). This paper critically reviews the effect of injection timing on combustion and emission characteristics. An attempt has been carried out to discuss the effect of biodiesel in terms of combustion, emission and performance based up on composition and properties. The results of the study show that different chemical composition leads to variation in its combustion, performance and emission characteristics. Biodiesel produced from different aspired feed stocks reduces the pollutant emission and resistive to oxidation but exhibit poor atomization. As a conclusion many research needs to be carried out to understand the relationship between the types of biodiesel feed stock, performance conclusion and emission.

Keywords: atomization, biodiesel, greenhouse gas, oxidation

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Authors: Doaa El-Shereef

Abstract:

This paper will focus on proving a theory that it is an Egyptian knife with Canaanite relief and will discuss the nature of the Gebel el-Arak Knife and the civilization to which it belongs and the relationship of the Canaanite deity with Mount Abydos in Egypt, and the influence between the ancient Egyptian religion and the Canaanite religion and their effect on each other. Finally, the paper will discuss in full detail the engraving of the two faces of the knife handle and analyze the register on the front face, which is the scene of the two lions engraved, and between them, an old man symbolized as the deity in the middle and compared it with other drawings similar in the Egyptian civilization. The paper will also discuss the registers on the back face, which are the engravings of a battle, soldiers, uniforms, and boats, and how the back face describes a water battle between three Egyptian boats and two foreign ships. In addition, it will prove that those foreign ships were not Mesopotamian ships because, in the period to which the knife of Gebel Al-Arak belongs, between 3300-3100 BC, there were no battles or trade exchanges between Egypt and Mesopotamia on sea routes. However, there was already a strong land and sea trade between Canaan and Egypt during Chalcolithic Age (4500-3500 BC), as described in many primary sources.

Keywords: Canaan, Egypt, Gebel el-Arak Knife, Louvre

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Authors: Raeesa Moolla, Ryan S. Johnson

Abstract:

Air travel, and the use of airports, has experienced proliferative growth in the past few decades, resulting in the concomitant release of air pollutants. Air pollution needs to be monitored because of the known relationship between exposure to air pollutants and increased adverse effects on human health. This study monitored a group of volatile organic compounds (VOCs); specifically BTEX (viz. benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylenes), as many are detrimental to human health. Through the use of passive sampling methods, the spatial variability of BTEX within an international airport was investigated, in order to determine ‘hotspots’ where occupational exposure to BTEX may be intensified. The passive sampling campaign revealed BTEX_total concentrations ranged between 12.95–124.04 µg m^-3. Furthermore, BTEX concentrations were dispersed heterogeneously within the airport. Due to the slow wind speeds recorded (1.13 m.s^-1); the hotspots were located close to their main BTEX sources. The main hotspot was located over the main apron of the airport. Employees working in this area may be chronically exposed to these emissions, which could be potentially detrimental to their health.

Keywords: air pollution, air quality, hotspot monitoring, volatile organic compounds

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Authors: Abayomi Olatoke Adejobi

Abstract:

The study investigated maternal deprivation as predictor of academic performance and psychosocial adjustment of primary school pupils in Abeokuta metropolis. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Two hundred public primary school pupils were randomly selected as subjects for the study. The instruments used for data collection were Index of Family Relations (IFR) by Hudson, modified version of Psychosocial Adjustment Scale (PAS) by O’ bailey and Academic records of the pupils from Cumulative Records Folder (CRF). The data collected were statistically treated and the three hypotheses were tested using t-test and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Confident statistical methods at 0.05 alpha level. The results of the analysis showed that there is a significant difference in the academic performance of children who suffered maternal deprivation and those who did not (t – 5.61; df = 198; P < 0.05). Also, there was a significant relationship between psychosocial adjustment of children and maternal deprivation (r = 0.37, df = 10; P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference in academic performance of boys and girls who suffered maternal deprivation (t = 0.32; df = 109; P > 0.05). Based on the results some recommendations were made.

Keywords: maternal deprivation, psychosocial adjustment, academic performance, primary school pupils

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Authors: Amy Atkinson

Abstract:

Teacher burnout and dissatisfaction is a concerning challenge for visual art (VA) programs within the western (Canadian) educational context, however VA programs who offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum within international schools are thriving. The purpose of this research was to investigate the experiences of Canadian-educated seasoned VA teachers within a range of curriculums, administrative systems and locations focusing on issues related to the VA teaching experience such as viability of the artist-teacher relationship, teaching satisfaction and teacher burnout. Research was conducted using an auto-ethnography approach coupled with a comparative case study method using in-depth interviews. Insights were uncovered into VA teacher’s lived experience, values and decisions, occupational ideology, cultural knowledge, and perspectives. Research for creation methods were explored to develop a creative narrative to amplify teacher voice; endeavouring to make the obscure vivid, empathy possible, direct attention to individuality and locate the universal. Case study results sustain ethnographic observations revealing that VA teachers are experiencing more efficacy, satisfaction and success, with less burn out within the international school/IB context.

Keywords: international baccalaureate, autoethnography, teacher voice, visual arts

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Authors: Abdelmounaim Zanaz, Sylvie Yotte, Fazia Fouchal, Alaa Chateauneuf

Abstract:

This paper presents a methodology for probabilistic assessment of bearing capacity and prediction of failure mechanism of masonry vaults at the ultimate state with consideration of the natural variability of Young’s modulus of stones. First, the computation model is explained. The failure mode is the most reported mode, i.e. the four-hinge mechanism. Based on this assumption, the study of a vault composed of 16 segments is presented. The Young’s modulus of the segments is considered as random variable defined by a mean value and a coefficient of variation CV. A relationship linking the vault bearing capacity to the modulus variation of voussoirs is proposed. The failure mechanisms, in addition to that observed in the deterministic case, are identified for each CV value as well as their probability of occurrence. The results show that the mechanism observed in the deterministic case has decreasing probability of occurrence in terms of CV, while the number of other mechanisms and their probability of occurrence increase with the coefficient of variation of Young’s modulus. This means that if a significant change in the Young modulus of the segments is proven, taken it into account in computations becomes mandatory, both for determining the vault bearing capacity and for predicting its failure mechanism.

Keywords: masonry, mechanism, probability, variability, vault

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Authors: Fatemeh Sadeghi, Peyman Sheikhzadeh

Abstract:

Introduction: Block Sequential Regularized Expectation Maximization (BSREM) reconstruction algorithm was recently developed to suppress excessive noise by applying a relative difference penalty. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of various strengths of noise penalization factor in the BSREM algorithm under different acquisition duration and lesion sizes in order to determine an optimum penalty factor by considering both quantitative and qualitative image evaluation parameters in clinical uses. Materials and Methods: The NEMA IQ phantom and 15 clinical whole-body patients with prostate cancer were evaluated. Phantom and patients were injected withGallium-68 Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen(68 Ga-PSMA)and scanned on a non-time-of-flight Discovery IQ Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography(PET/CT) scanner with BGO crystals. The data were reconstructed using BSREM with a β-value of 100-500 at an interval of 100. These reconstructions were compared to OSEM as a widely used reconstruction algorithm. Following the standard NEMA measurement procedure, background variability (BV), recovery coefficient (RC), contrast recovery (CR) and residual lung error (LE) from phantom data and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-background ratio (SBR) and tumor SUV from clinical data were measured. Qualitative features of clinical images visually were ranked by one nuclear medicine expert. Results: The β-value acts as a noise suppression factor, so BSREM showed a decreasing image noise with an increasing β-value. BSREM, with a β-value of 400 at a decreased acquisition duration (2 min/ bp), made an approximately equal noise level with OSEM at an increased acquisition duration (5 min/ bp). For the β-value of 400 at 2 min/bp duration, SNR increased by 43.7%, and LE decreased by 62%, compared with OSEM at a 5 min/bp duration. In both phantom and clinical data, an increase in the β-value is translated into a decrease in SUV. The lowest level of SUV and noise were reached with the highest β-value (β=500), resulting in the highest SNR and lowest SBR due to the greater noise reduction than SUV reduction at the highest β-value. In compression of BSREM with different β-values, the relative difference in the quantitative parameters was generally larger for smaller lesions. As the β-value decreased from 500 to 100, the increase in CR was 160.2% for the smallest sphere (10mm) and 12.6% for the largest sphere (37mm), and the trend was similar for SNR (-58.4% and -20.5%, respectively). BSREM visually was ranked more than OSEM in all Qualitative features. Conclusions: The BSREM algorithm using more iteration numbers leads to more quantitative accuracy without excessive noise, which translates into higher overall image quality and lesion detectability. This improvement can be used to shorter acquisition time.

Keywords: BSREM reconstruction, PET/CT imaging, noise penalization, quantification accuracy

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