Search results for: countries e-government index

Authors: Besik Goginava

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Several days later after the end of 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Venezuela and Nicaragua formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In 2009-10 both countries established diplomatic relations with self-declared republics. It is a paradoxical fact that after neighboring Russia-Georgian conflict territories were internationally recognized by two Latin American states with ongoing territorial disputes. The Venezuela-Guyana territorial dispute which officially began in the early XIX century became conflict-ridden again in the late 1990s and 2000s. Venezuela has long claimed the land which comprises 40% of Guyana’s current territory. Territorial disputes of Nicaragua include dispute with Colombia over Caribbean Islands, with Costa Rica over the San Juan River and maritime dispute with Honduras. Based on historical and analytical research methods the purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia by Venezuela and Nicaragua and Venezuela’s territorial dispute with Guyana, as well as Nicaragua’s with Colombia, Costa Rica and Honduras. The objective of the study is to investigate the factors that led Venezuela and Nicaragua to formally recognize Georgian conflict territories and how could their own territorial disputes affect on their decision.

Keywords: Latin America, Georgia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Abkhazia, South Ossetia

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Authors: Kadeejah Alsolami, Zainab Alrefay, Husaam Awad

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Obesity and vitamin D deficiency have both been related to cardiovascular disease. The present work aimed to investigate the possible protective effect of vitamin D on cardiac apoptosis in a rat model of dietary-induced obesity. Methods: 30 male Wistar rats included in this study. They were allocated into 4 groups: Control (n=5), animal were fed standard diet for 3 months: Control + vitamin D (VD) (n=5),animals were fed a standard diet with 400IU VD/kg for 3 months: hypercaloric diets group (n=10), animals were fed a high fat diet for 3 months: hypercaloric diet with VD group (n=10), animals were fed a high fat diet with 400IU VD/kg for 3 months. At the beginning of the experiment, the weight and length were measured to assess body mass index (BMI) and repeated every 45 days. Food intake and body weight were monitored throughout the study period. Then rats were sacrificed and heart tissues collected for Quantitative Real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). qRT-PCR used to detect different genetic markers of apoptosis (anti-apoptotic gene (BCL2), a pro-apoptotic gene(BAX), pro-apoptotic genes (FAS, FAS-L), tumour necrosis factor (TNF), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK). Results: FAS and FAS-L gene expression were significantly upregulated in rats fed with high fat diet. And FAS-L gene expression was significantly upregulated in all groups on comparison with control. Whereas Bax gene expression was significantly downregulated in rats fed with high-fat diet supplied with vitamin D. TNF was significantly upregulated in rats fed with high-fat diet treated with vitamin D. MAPK was significantly upregulated in rats fed with high fat diet group, and in rats fed with high-fat diet supplied with vitamin D. Conclusion: The cardiac apoptotic pathways were more activated in rats fed with high-fat than lean rats. And vitamin D protect the heart from the cardiac mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway.

Keywords: apoptosis, heart, obesity, Vitamin D

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Authors: Fatima Majeed Almonajim

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Panucum miliaceum L is a plant from the genus Gramineae, In the world, millets are regarded as a significant grain, however, they are very little exploited. Millet grain is abundant in nutrients and health-beneficial phenolic compounds, making it suitable as food and feed. The plant has received considerable attention for its high content of phenolic compounds, low glycemic index, the presence of unsaturated fats and lack of gluten which are beneficial to human health, and thus, have made the plant being effective in treating celiac disease, diabetes, lowering blood lipids (cholesterol) and preventing tumors. Moreover, the plant requires little water to grow, a property that is worth considering. This study provides an overview of the nutritional and health benefits provided by millet types grown in 2 areas Iraq and Iran, aiming to compare the effect of climate on the components of millet. In this research, millet samples collected from the both Babylon (Iraqi) and Isfahan (Iranian) types were extracted and after HPTLC, the resulted pattern of the two samples were compared. As a result, the Iranian millet showed more terpenoid compounds than Iraqi millet, and therefore, Iranian millet has a higher priority than Iraqi millet in increasing the human body's immunity. On the other hand, in view of the number of essential amino acids, the Iraqi millet contains more nutritional value compared to the Iranian millet. Also, due to the higher amount of histidine in the Iranian millet, compiled to the lack of gluten found from previous studies, we came to the conclusion that the addition of millet in the diet of children, more specifically those children with irritable bowel syndrome, can be considered beneficial. Therefore, as a component of dairy products, millet can be used in preparing food for children such as dry milk.

Keywords: HPTLC, phytochemicals, specialty foods, Panucum miliaceum L, nutrition

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Authors: Parmeet Kaur, Nighat Yaseen Sofi, Shakti Kumar Gupta, Veena Pandey, Rajvaedhan Azad

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Nutritional status and prevailing blood glucose level trends amongst hospitalized patients has been linked to clinical outcome. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to assess hospitalized Diabetic Eye Disease (DED) patients' anthropometric and dietary intake trends. DED patients with type 1 or 2 diabetes > 20 years were enrolled. Actual food intake was determined by weighed food record method. Mifflin St Joer predictive equation multiplied by a combined stress and activity factor of 1.3 was applied to estimate caloric needs. A questionnaire was further administered to obtain reasons of inadequate dietary intake. Results indicated validity of joint analyses of body mass index in combination with waist circumference for clinical risk prediction. Dietary data showed a significant difference (p < 0.0005) between average daily caloric and carbohydrate intake and actual daily caloric and carbohydrate needs. Mean fasting and post-prandial plasma glucose levels were 150.71 ± 72.200 mg/dL and 219.76 ± 97.365 mg/dL, respectively. Improvement in food delivery systems and nutrition educations were indicated for reducing plate waste and to enable better understanding of dietary aspects of diabetes management. A team approach of nurses, physicians and other health care providers is required besides the expertise of dietetics professional. To conclude, findings of the present study will be useful in planning nutritional care process (NCP) for optimizing glucose control as a component of quality medical nutrition therapy (MNT) in hospitalized DED patients.

Keywords: nutritional status, diabetic eye disease, nutrition care process, medical nutrition therapy

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Authors: Fatmeh Alzoubi, Reem Ali

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Jordan is a developing country in the Middle East and, much like other countries in the world, has high rates of intimate partner violence (IPV). Little information is available on Jordanian men’s and women’s attitudes toward IPV. The purpose of this study is to examine men’s and women’s attitudes toward IPV in Jordan and its relationship with some demographics and family functioning. A descriptive cross-sectional correlational design with a sample of 401 men and women was used. Descriptive statistics (M, SD), Pearson r, t test, and ANOVA were used. The results indicated that Jordanian men and women have a lower score of IPVAS, 40.06 (SD = 8.20), indicating lower acceptance of IPV compared with the literature. Family functioning was 3.12 (SD = 0.46), indicating more healthy families. Family functioning was negatively correlated with IPVAS scores (r = –.22, p = .00). All demographic variables showed small to moderate correlations with IPVAS. Education for both study participants and their spouses had a negative correlation with IPVAS (r = –.27, p = .00) and (r = –.20, p = .00), respectively. Male participants, individuals who were living with extended family, and those living in rural areas had significantly high IPVAS scores, indicating more accepting attitudes toward IPV. Practitioners should provide families with education on the methods of conflict resolution, effective communication within the family, problem-solving approaches, equal role distribution, and appropriate styles of establishing a family.

Keywords: intimate partner violence, Jordanian men and women’s health, attitudes, family functioning

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Authors: Biruk Wolde, Atalay Ayele, Yonatan Garkabo, Trufat Hailmariam, Zemenu Germewu

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A comprehensive three-dimensional (3D) geological modeling and engineering geological characterization of shallow subsurface soils and rocks are essential for a wide range of geotechnical and seismological engineering applications, particularly in urban environments. The spatial distribution and geological variation of the shallow subsurface of Addis Ababa city have not been studied so far in terms of geological and geotechnical modeling. This study aims at the construction of a 3D geological model, as well as provides awareness into the engineering geological characteristics of shallow subsurface soil and rock of Addis Ababa city. The 3D geological model was constructed by using more than 1500 geotechnical boreholes, well-drilling data, and geological maps. A well-known geostatistical kriging 3D interpolation algorithm was applied to visualize the spatial distribution and geological variation of the shallow subsurface. Due to the complex nature of geological formations, vertical and lateral variation of the geological profiles horizons-solid command has been selected via the Groundwater Modelling System (GMS) graphical user interface software. For the engineering geological characterization of typical soils and rocks, both index and engineering laboratory tests have been used. The geotechnical properties of soil and rocks vary from place to place due to the uneven nature of subsurface formations observed in the study areas. The constructed model ascertains the thickness, extent, and 3D distribution of the important geological units of the city. This study is the first comprehensive research work on 3D geological modeling and subsurface characterization of soils and rocks in Addis Ababa city, and the outcomes will be important for further future research on subsurface conditions in the city. Furthermore, these findings provide a reference for developing a geo-database for the city.

Keywords: 3d geological modeling, addis ababa, engineering geology, geostatistics, horizons-solid

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Authors: Jagdish Baheti, Sampat Navale

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The present study was performed to evaluate the anti-ulcerogenic activity of hydro-alcoholic extract of Ficus bengalensis Linn. against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats and pylorus ligation gastric secretion in rats. Five groups of adult wistar rats were orally pre-treated respectively with carboxy methyl cellulose (CMC) solution (ulcer control group), Omeprazole 20 mg/kg (reference group), and 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract in CMC solution (experimental groups), one hour before oral administration of absolute ethanol to generate gastric mucosal injury. Rats were sacrificed and the ulcer index, gastric volume, gastric pH, free acidity, total acidity of the gastric content was determined. Grossly, the ulcer control group exhibited severe mucosal injury, whereas pre-treatment with F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract exhibited significant protection of gastric mucosal injury in both model. Histological studies revealed that ulcer control group exhibited severe damage of gastric mucosa, along with edema and leucocytes infiltration of submucosal layer compared to rats pre-treated with F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract which showed gastric mucosal protection, reduction or absence of edema and leucocytes infiltration of submucosal layer. Acute toxicity study did not manifest any toxicological signs in rats. The present finding suggests that F. bengalensis Linn. bark extract promotes ulcer protection as ascertained grossly and histologically compared to the ulcer control group.

Keywords: Ficus bengalensis Linn., gastric ulcer, hydroalcoholic, pylorus ligation

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Authors: Joseph Levodo, Andy Ford, ISSA Chaer

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Africa enjoys some of the best solar radiation levels in the world averaging between 4-6 kWh/m2/day for most of the year and the global economic and political conditions that tend to make African countries more dependent on their own energy resources have caused growing interest in wanting renewable energy based technologies. However to-date, implementation of Modern Energy Technologies in Africa is still very low especially the use of solar conversion technologies. It was initially speculated that the low uptake of solar technology in Africa was associated with the continent’s high poverty levels and limitations in technical capacity as well as awareness. Nonetheless, this is not an academic based speculation and the exact reasons for this low trend in technology adoption are unclear and require further investigation. This paper presents literature review and analysis relating to the techno-economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation in Africa. The literature review would include the following four main categories: design methods, techno-economic feasibility of solar photovoltaic power generation, performance evaluations of various systems, Then it looks at the role of policy and potential future of technological development of photovoltaic (PV) by exploring the impact of alternative policy instruments and technology cost reductions on the financial viability of investing solar photovoltaic (PV) in Africa.

Keywords: Africa Solar Potential, policy, photovoltaic, technologies

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Authors: Ghassen Kharroubi, Ines Cherif, Leila Bouabid, Adel Gharbi, Aicha Boukthir, Margaret McCarron, Nissaf Ben Alaya, Afif Ben Salah, Jihene Bettaieb

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Influenza vaccination (IV) is recommended for elderly persons, especially those with underlying conditions. In countries where IV rates in the elderly remain unsatisfactory, exploring attitudes of older persons toward the flu vaccine could be useful to identify barriers and facilitators to IV. The aim of this study was to determine the reasons for IV acceptance or decline in the Tunisian elderly. A national cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019, among persons aged 60 years and over with chronic disease. Data were collected using a standard administered questionnaire. Of the 1191 older persons included, 19.4% received the influenza vaccine in the 2018-2019 flu season. The two main reasons that may lead to refusal of vaccination were concerns that the vaccine could cause side effects (71.5%) and a belief that the vaccine was ineffective (33.9%). The main reason that may lead to accepting vaccination was a doctor’s recommendation (41.1%). Doctors were by far the most trusted source for information regarding influenza vaccine (91.5%) followed by pharmacists (17.6%). Our results highlighted the important role that doctors could play in promoting IV among the Tunisian elderly. Physicians should correct misconceptions about adverse events and the efficiency of the vaccine. In fact, influenza vaccines are generally effective and safe among older persons.

Keywords: attitudes, influenza vaccination, older persons, Tunisia

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Authors: Endah Tri Lestari, Mustafa Mahmud Amin, Elmeida Effendy

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Background: Vitamin D levels with schizophrenia is lower than the control due to lifestyle and physical health factors such as smoking, increases of body mass index, inactivity, and social withdrawal including decreases of sunlight exposure. Asia has the lowest average of vitamin D serum levels and Europe with lighter colored skin has higher serum levels of vitamin D. Indonesia is a tropical region in the area of the equator, and has only two seasons: the rainy season and summer. The Indonesian people are known as a nation that has a diversity of ethnic groups that exist in many areas. Each tribe has differences in living habits. Ethnic diversity, culture, religion, customs, geographical location, this is reflected in our daily lives that will affect the levels of vitamin D in patients with schizophrenic. Individuals with darker skin tend to be deficient in vitamin D and increases the chance of schizophrenia than the general population. Aims: To determine the difference of vitamin D serum by ethnicity between Bataknese and Malayan schizophrenic patient. Methods: This study was an analytical study to recruited 60 subjects of schizophrenic male patient (30 Bataknese and 30 Malayan), aged between 15 to 55 years old, period at May - November 2016, the acute phase with no agitation. Statistical analysis was using T- independent test. Blood sample for vitamin D serum was using ELFA method. Results: The vitamin D serum levels were lower in Bataknese ethnic group schizophrenic patients in highland than Malayan ethnic group in lowland, reaching statistically (22.9±3.33 ng/ml) vs (27.9±4.19 ng/ml) p < 0,001. Conclusion: There are significant differences of vitamin D serum Status by Ethnicity between Bataknese in the Highland and Malayan in the Lowland on Schizophrenic Patient in North Sumatera.

Keywords: schizophrenia, serum vitamin D, ethnicity

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Authors: Sudheer Gupta

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Approximately 4 billion citizens of the world live on the equivalent of less than $8 a day. This segment constitutes a $5 trillion global market that remains under-served. Multinational corporations have historically tended to focus their innovation efforts on the upper segments of the economic pyramid. The academic literature has also been dominated by theories and frameworks of innovation that are valid when applied to the developed markets and consumer segments, but fail to adequately account for the challenges and realities of new product and service creation for the poor. Theories of entrepreneurship developed in the context of developed markets similarly ignore the challenges and realities of operating in developing economies that can be characterized by missing institutions, missing markets, information and infrastructural challenges, and resource constraints. Social entrepreneurs working in such contexts develop solutions differently. In this talk, we summarize lessons learnt from a long-term research project that involves data collection from a broad range of social entrepreneurs in developing countries working towards solutions to alleviate poverty, and grounded theory-building efforts. We aim to develop a better understanding of consumers, producers, and other stakeholder involvement, thus laying the foundation to build a robust theory of innovation and entrepreneurship for the poor.

Keywords: poverty alleviation, social enterprise, social innovation, development

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Authors: Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Mahvish Maqbool, Hafiz Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Saqib, Haroon Ahmad

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Ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasite that causes a decrease in production and economic losses and affects mammals, reptiles, and birds. Hyalomma anatolicum is the main vector for CCHF transmission and Pakistan has faced several outbreaks of CCHF in the recent past. Ferritin (fer)is a highly conserved molecule that is ubiquitous in most tick tissues and responsible for iron metabolism and storage. It was hypothesized that the development of acaricidal resistance and residual effects of commercially used acaricides could be controlled by using alternative control methods, including RNA interference. The current study aimed to evaluate the fer silencing effects on tick feeding, average body weight, egg mass index, and mortality. Ticks, collected through the standard collection protocols were further subjected to RNA isolation using the Trizol method. Commercially available kit procedures were followed for cDNA and dsRNA synthesis. The soaking/Immersion method was used for dsRNA delivery. Our findings have shown a 27% reduction in body weight of fer silenced group and showed a significant association of fer and body weight. Silencing of fer had a significant effect on the engorgement percentage (P= 0.0007), oviposition (P=0.008), egg mass (P= 0.004) and hatching (P= 0.001). The soaking method was used for dsRNA delivery and 15°C was found to be an optimum temperature for inducing gene silencing in ticks as at this temperature, maximum survivability after immersion was attained. This study along with previous studies, described that iron toxicity due to the silencing of fer could play an important role in the control of ticks and fer can be used as a potent candidate for vaccine development.

Keywords: ticks, iron, ferritin, engorgement, oviposition, immersion, RNA interference

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Authors: Menelik Tilahun Alemu

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Customs administrations are now increasingly regarded as the key border agencies responsible for all transactions related to issues arising from the border crossings of goods and people. Raising revenue has traditionally been high on the agenda of governments, represented by the Ministry of Finance (MOF), because of the critical importance of import duties as a source of budget revenue for many developing countries. Most of these functions are undertaken in close cooperation with other national agencies. Due to the need to make structural reforms that consider the nature of business activities in the world and the needs of consumers, the institution was previously divided into the Ministry of Revenue and the Customs Commission. Accordingly, the Ministry of Revenue is primarily responsible for administering and collecting local taxes, while the Customs Commission is responsible for administering customs matters; It supports exports and collects revenue from it. The National Import and Export Trade Service System is working to make the world more transparent and standardized and adapt to the current situation by formulating various guidelines, rules and procedures to provide a clear, simple, predictable and accessible service to customers. As a result, the commission will be able to streamline the business process by enabling Paperless customer service to support the service delivery technology and eliminate the customer iteration without having to incur unnecessary costs and inconveniences.

Keywords: business, consumers, adapt, transparent

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Authors: Iva Košek Bartošová

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There is great attention being paid in the field of development of first reading, thus early literacy skills in the Czech Republic. Yet inconclusive results of PISA and PIRLS force us to think over the teacher´s work, his/her roles in the education process and methods and forms used in lessons. There is also a significant importance to monitor the family environment and the pupil, themselves. The aim of the publishing output is to focus on one side dealing with methods of practicing reading technique and their results in the process of comprehension. In the first part of the contribution there are the goals of development of reading literacy and the methods used in reading practice in some EU countries and a follow-up comparison of research implemented by the help of modern technology of an eye tracker device in the year 2015 and a research conducted at the Institute of Education and Psychological Counselling of the Czech Republic in the year 2011/12. These are the results of a diagnostic test of reading in first classes of primary schools, taught by the genetic method and analytic-synthetic method. The results show that in the first stage of practice there are no statistically significant differences between any researched subjects taught by different methods of reading practice (with the use of several diagnostic texts focused on reading technique and its comprehension). Different results are shown at the end of Grade One and during Grade Two of primary school.

Keywords: elementary literacy, eye tracker device, diagnostic reading tests, reading teaching method

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Authors: Insaf Sayar, Moôtez Marzougui, Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman

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Background: Physical Education and Sports (PES) plays an important role in the overall education of the student. It has physical, affective, psychological, and social repercussions. In fact, overweight children are sometimes underestimated by their lower physical performance and suffer from discriminatory attitudes by their peers and their physical education (PE) teachers. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of both teacher’s pedagogy and overweight or obesity on the inclusion of obese students in physical education classes in the school setting in the Emirate of Ajman (United Arab Emirates) and to understand how physical education and sports (PES) teachers adapt their pedagogical interventions towards this category. Methods: A sample of 48 overweight or obese students and 20 teachers were approached from different schools in Ajman Emirate. Two standardized questionnaires for obese students and PSE teachers were used. Overweight and obesity were defined using age and sex-specific Body Mass Index (BMI). Results: Our results showed that the average BMI of the surveyed students is 28.58 ± 3.14 kg/m². According to the collected data, 85.42% of obese students report that they do not practice physical activity or rarely practice outside of school, and 73.42% go to school by bus or car. In addition, 66.7% of the surveyed students said that being overweight is a barrier to PES practice, and 100% of obese or overweight students do not prefer some physical activities such as running and jumping. Similarly, 75% of the surveyed teachers said that obese students are not integrated into the PES course, but only 55% of teachers reported that the obese student became an obstacle in PES sessions, while 80% of teachers reported that obese or overweight students were marginalized by their colleagues. In the same way, most of them (75%) said that obese students are exempted from PES courses. Conclusion: Overweight/obesity is prevalent among school children in the Emirate of Ajman, with a high correlation with sedentary behavior. The study confirmed an urgent need and effective teaching strategies/ pedagogies for including overweight or obese students in physical education engagement and learning.

Keywords: adolescent, mainstreaming, obesity, PES education, UAE

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Authors: S. N. Al-Bahry, Y. M. Al-Wahaibi, S. J. Joshi, E. A. Elshafie, A. S. Al-Bimani

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Oman is one of the oil producing countries in the Arabian Peninsula and the Gulf region. About 30-40 % of oil produced from the Gulf is transported globally along the seacoast of Oman. Oil pollution from normal tanker operations, ballast water, illegal discharges and accidental spills are always serious threats to terrestrial and marine habitats. Due to Oman’s geographical location at arid region where the temperature ranges between high 40s and low 50s Celsius in summers with low annual rainfall, the main source of fresh water is desalinated sea and brackish water. Oil pollution, therefore, pose a major threat to drinking water. Biosurfactants are secondary metabolites produced by microorganisms in hydrophobic environments to release nutrients from solid surfaces, such as oil. In this study, indigenous oil degrading thermophilic spore forming bacteria were isolated from oil fields contaminated soil. The isolates were identified using MALDI-TOF biotyper and 16s RNA. Their growth conditions were optimized for the production of biosurfactant. Surface tension, interfacial tensions and microbial oil biodegradation capabilities were tested. Some thermophilic bacteria degraded either completely or partially heavy crude oil (API 10-15) within 48h suggesting their high potential in oil spill bioremediation and avoiding the commonly used physical and chemical methods which usually lead to other environmental pollution.

Keywords: bacteria, bioremediation, biosurfactant, crude-oil-pollution

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Authors: Mehani Mouna, Ladjel segni

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Humans use plants for thousands of years to treat various ailments, In many developing countries, Much of the population relies on traditional doctors and their collections of medicinal plants to cure them. Essential oils have many therapeutic properties. In herbal medicine, They are used for their antiseptic properties against infectious diseases of fungal origin, Against dermatophytes, Those of bacterial origin. The aim of our study is to determine the antimicrobial effect of essential oils of the plant Schinus molle on some pathogenic bacteria. It is a medicinal plant used in traditional therapy. Essential oils have many therapeutic properties. In herbal medicine, They are used for their antiseptic properties against infectious diseases of fungal origin, Against dermatophytes, Those of bacterial origin. The test adopted is based on the diffusion method on solid medium (Antibiogram), This method allows to determine the susceptibility or resistance of an organism according to the sample studied. Our study reveals that the essential oil of the plant Schinus molle has a different effect on the resistance of germs: For Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain is a moderately sensitive with an inhibition zone of 10 mm, Further Antirobactere, Escherichia coli and Proteus are strains that represent a high sensitivity, A zone of inhibition equal to 14.66 mm.

Keywords: Essential oil, microorganism, antibiogram, shinus molle

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Authors: Jinhyun Ryu, Chengliang Xie, Nal Ae Yoon, Dong Hoon Lee, Gu Seob Roh, Hyun Joon Kim, Gyeong Jae Cho, Wan Sung Choi, Sang Soo Kang

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Type 2 diabetes is a heterogeneous group of metabolic disorders featured by a deficit in or loss of insulin activity to maintain normal glucose homeostasis. Mainly, it results from the compromised insulin secretion and/or reduced insulin activity. The frequency of type 2 diabetes (T2D) has been increased rapidly in recent decades with the increase in the trend of obesity due to life style and food habit. Obesity is considered to be the primary risk factor for the development of insulin resistance and thereby developing T2D. Traditionally naturally occurring fruits, vegetables etc. are being used to treat many pathogenic conditions. In this study, we tried to find out the effect of a popularly used vegetable in Bangladesh and several other Asian countries, ‘bitter melon’ on high fat diet induced T2D. To investigate the effect, we used 70% ethanol extract of bitter melon (BME) as dietary supplement with chow. BME was found to attenuate the high fat diet (HFD) induced body weight and total fat mass significantly. We also observed that BME reduced the insulin resistance induced by HFD effectively. Furthermore, dietary supplementation of BME was highly effective in increasing insulin sensitivity, and reducing the hepatic fat and obesity. These results indicate that BME could be effective to attenuate T2D and could be a preventive measure against T2D.

Keywords: bitter melon, obesity, type 2 diabetes, high fat diet

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Authors: Bousnane Nour El Houda, Chennaf Ali, Yahia Mouloud, Benbia Souhila

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Male infertility or the inability of a man to procreate is a major public health problem, where it is a leading cause of marital discord in several countries such Algeria. The objective of this work is to study some biological profiles of infertile men from the city of Batna/Algeria and to identify the causes of infertility in a population of infertile males to improve its management and to establish a good therapeutic strategy through a study that lasted 10 months in the Department of Urology of the University Hospital of Banta and on a population of 140 infertile subjects. For every man, series of assessments was performed to determine the exact causes of infertility. We found 102 cases of primary infertility against 38 cases of secondary infertility; the average age of men was 39.7 years, with a predominance of the age group (46-50 years). 34.29% of subjects had genital infections against 17.14% with varicocele. 132 men presented spermiologiques abnormalities; a asthénospermie (AS) in 27.27% of the cases, astheno-terato spermiea (OATS) 11.36% while Azoospermes showed 5.07%. Genital infections are the main causes of infertility (34.29%) of the cases. The results of spermocytogramme showed a predominance of head abnormalities (41.70%), while the flagellum abnormalities presented 33.83%. The dosage of the seminal plasma carnitine showed no pathological cases, which makes it difficult to know their association with infertility. By against some disturbances Fructose and Zinc have been reported.

Keywords: male infertility, spermogramme, spermocytogramme, biological profils

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Authors: Ahmed Osama, Hassan A. Mahdy, Khalid A. Kandil, Mohamed Elhabiby

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Automatic Vehicle Location systems (AVL) have been used worldwide for more than twenty years and have showed great success in public transportation management and monitoring. Cairo public bus service suffers from several problems such as unscheduled stops, unscheduled route deviations, and inaccurate schedules, which have negative impacts on service reliability. This research aims to study those problems for a selected bus route in Cairo using a prototype AVL system. Experimental trips were run on the selected route; and the locations of unscheduled stops, regions of unscheduled deviations, along with other trip time and speed data were collected. Data was analyzed to demonstrate the reliability of passengers on the unscheduled stops compared to the scheduled ones. Trip time was also modeled to assess the unscheduled stops’ impact on trip time, and to check the accuracy of the applied scheduled trip time. Moreover, frequency and length of the unscheduled route deviations, as well as their impact on the bus stops, were illustrated. Solutions were proposed for the bus service deficiencies using the AVL system. Finally, recommendations were proposed for further research.

Keywords: automatic vehicle location, public transportation, unscheduled stops, unscheduled route deviations, inaccurate schedule

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Authors: H. Z. M. Chong, M. E. Y. Leong, G. L. Khor, S. C. Loke

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Vitamin D insufficiency is reported to be prevalent among women living in different altitudes including the equator where sunshine is available throughout the year. Multiple factors for vitamin D insufficiency include poor intake of vitamin D rich food and inadequate sun exposure, especially among women working indoor with a sedentary lifestyle. Furthermore, Muslim women in Malaysia whose attire covers the entire body are likely to receive poor sun exposure. This research determined serum vitamin D status, vitamin D intake and sun exposure of women aged 20-45 years of different ethnicity in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Blood samples were collected from 106 women for determination of serum 25(OH)D levels. Information about vitamin D intake and sun exposure were obtained by interviewing the subjects using pre-tested questionnaires. The overall mean serum 25(OH)D was found to be 29.9 ± 14 nmol/L. Vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency was prevalent and highest among the Malay women. Less than ten percent of the subjects in this study met the sufficient vitamin D level recommendation of ≥50 nmol/L. Intake of vitamin D rich food such as oily fishes was poor across the different ethnicity. Other dietary sources of vitamin D in the diet were fortified bread and skim milk. On the other hand, the median sunlight exposure of the subjects was 3.9 hours per week. The Malay women reported to have the highest duration being exposed to the sun. Nevertheless, due to cultural clothing practices, these women had the least body surface area exposed to sunlight, resulting in the lowest calculated sun index score compared to the Chinese and the Indians. Low intake of vitamin D rich foods and sun exposure were negatively correlated with serum 25(OH)D level. In conclusion, intake of food sources rich in vitamin D and adequate body surface area exposed to the sun are essential to ensure healthy vitamin D level. Supplementation of vitamin D may be recommended to women whom unable to meet these recommendations.

Keywords: serum 25-OH, sun exposure, vitamin D food frequency, vitamin D deficiency

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Authors: Newton Muhury, Armando A. Apan, Tek N. Marasani, Gebiaw T. Ayele

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The changing climate has degraded freshwater availability in Australia that influencing vegetation growth to a great extent. This study assessed the vegetation responses to groundwater using Terra’s moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and soil water content (SWC). A hydrological model, SWAT, has been set up in a southeast Australian river catchment for groundwater analysis. The model was calibrated and validated against monthly streamflow from 2001 to 2006 and 2007 to 2010, respectively. The SWAT simulated soil water content for 43 sub-basins and monthly MODIS NDVI data for three different types of vegetation (forest, shrub, and grass) were applied in the machine learning tool, Waikato Environment for Knowledge Analysis (WEKA), using two supervised machine learning algorithms, i.e., support vector machine (SVM) and random forest (RF). The assessment shows that different types of vegetation response and soil water content vary in the dry and wet seasons. The WEKA model generated high positive relationships (r = 0.76, 0.73, and 0.81) between NDVI values of all vegetation in the sub-basins against soil water content (SWC), the groundwater flow (GW), and the combination of these two variables, respectively, during the dry season. However, these responses were reduced by 36.8% (r = 0.48) and 13.6% (r = 0.63) against GW and SWC, respectively, in the wet season. Although the rainfall pattern is highly variable in the study area, the summer rainfall is very effective for the growth of the grass vegetation type. This study has enriched our knowledge of vegetation responses to groundwater in each season, which will facilitate better floodplain vegetation management.

Keywords: ArcSWAT, machine learning, floodplain vegetation, MODIS NDVI, groundwater

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Authors: Luqman Afolabi

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This paper measures the impacts of trade and institutions on environmental quality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). To examine the direction and the magnitude of the effects, the study employs the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation technique on the panel data obtained from the World Bank’s World Development and Governance Indicators, between 1996 and 2018. The empirical estimates validate the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis (EKC) for the region, even though there have been inconclusive results on the environment – growth nexus. Similarly, a positive coefficient is obtained on the impact of trade on the environment, while the impact of the institutional indicators produce mixed results. A significant policy implication is that the governments of the SSA countries pursue policies that tend to increase economic growth, so that pollutants may be reduced. Such policies may include the provision of incentives for sustainable growth-driven industries in the region. In addition, the governance infrastructures should be improved in such a way that appropriate penalties are imposed on the pollutants, while advanced technologies that have the potentials to reduce environmental degradation should be encouraged. Finally, it is imperative from these findings that the governments of the region should promote their trade relations and the competitiveness of their local industries in order to keep pace with the global markets.

Keywords: environmental quality, institutional quality sustainable development goals, trade

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Authors: M. Safiqul Islam, Md Arafat Hossain Sarkar

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Brachytherapy is one of the most important cancer treatment management systems in radiotherapy department. Brachytherapy treatment is moved into High Dose Rate (HDR) after loader from Low Dose Rate (LDR) after loader due to radiation protection advantage. HDR Brachytherapy is a highly multipurpose system for enhancing cure and achieving palliation in many common cancers disease of developing countries. High-dose rate (HDR) Brachytherapy is a type of internal radiation therapy that delivers radiation from implants placed close to or inside, the tumor(s) in the body. This procedure is very effective at providing localized radiation to the tumor site while minimizing the patient’s whole body dose. Brachytherapy has proven to be a highly successful treatment for cancers of the prostate, cervix, endometrium, breast, skin, bronchus, esophagus, and head and neck, as well as soft tissue sarcomas and several other types of cancer. For the time being in our country we have 10 new HDR Remote after loading Brachytherapy. Right now 4 HDR Brachytherapy is already installed and running for patient’s treatment out of 10 HDR Brachytherapy. Ir-192 source is more comfortable than Co-60. In that case people or expert personnel prefer Ir-192 source for different kind of cancer patients. Ir-192 are economically, more flexible and familiar in our country.

Keywords: Ir-192, brachytherapy, cancer treatment, prostate, cervix, endometrium, breast, skin, bronchus, esophagus, soft tissue sarcomas

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Authors: N. P. Tien, S. Songsermpong, T. H. Quan

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Mung bean vermicelli is a popular food in Asian countries and is made from mung bean starch. The preparation process involves several steps, including drying, which affects the structure and quality of the vermicelli. This study aims to examine the effects of different drying technologies on the rehydration time and quality of mung bean vermicelli. Three drying technologies, namely hot air drying, microwave continuous drying, and microwave vacuum drying, were used for the drying process. The vermicelli strands were dried at 45°C for 12h in a hot air dryer, at 70 Hz of conveyor belt speed inverter in a microwave continuous dryer, and at 30 W.g⁻¹ of microwave power density in a microwave vacuum dryer. The results showed that mung bean vermicelli dried using hot air drying had the longest rehydration time of 12.69 minutes. On the other hand, vermicelli dried through microwave continuous drying and microwave vacuum drying had shorter rehydration times of 2.79 minutes and 2.14 minutes, respectively. Microwave vacuum drying also resulted in larger porosity, higher water absorption, and cooking loss. The tensile strength and elasticity of vermicelli dried using hot air drying were higher compared to microwave drying technologies. The sensory evaluation did not reveal significant differences in most attributes among the vermicelli treatments. Overall, microwave drying technology proved to be effective in reducing rehydration time and producing good-quality mung bean vermicelli.

Keywords: mung bean vermicelli, drying, hot air, microwave continuous, microwave vacuum

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Authors: Charitha Harshani Perera, Rajkishore Nayak, Long Thang Van Nguyen

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With the advent of social media, Vietnam has changed the way customers perceive the information about the brand. In the context of higher education, the adoption of social media has received attention with the increasing rate of social media usage among undergraduates. Brand-related user-generated content (UGC) on social media emphasizes the social ties between users and users’ participation, which promotes the communication to build and maintain the relationship with the brands. Although brand positioning offers a significant competitive advantage, the association with brand-related user-generated content in social media with brand positioning in the context of higher education is still an under-researched area. Accordingly, using social identity theory and social exchange theory, this research aims to deepen our understanding of the influence of brand-related user-generated content on brand positioning and purchase intention. Employing a quantitative survey design,384 Vietnamese undergraduates were selected based on purposive sampling. The findings suggest that brand-related user-generated content influence brand positioning and brand choice intention. However, there is a significant mediating effect of the reliability and understandability of the content.

Keywords: brand positioning, brand-related user-generated content, emerging countries, higher education

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Authors: Fernanda S. Oliveira

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The architectural science of lighting has been mainly concerned with technical aspects and has tended to ignore the psychophysical. There is a growing evidence that adopting passive design solutions may contribute to higher satisfaction. This is even more important in countries with higher solar radiation, which should take advantage of favourable daylighting conditions. However, in art museums, the same light that stimulates vision can also cause permanent damage to the exhibits. Not only the visitors want to see the objects, but also to understand their nature and the artist’s intentions. This paper examines the hypothesis that the more varied and exciting the lighting (and particularly the daylight) in museums rooms, over space and time, the more likely it is that visitors will stay longer, enjoy their experience and be willing to return. This question is not often considered in museums that privilege artificial lighting neglecting the various qualities of daylight other than its capacity to illuminate spaces. The findings of this paper show that daylight plays an important role in museum design, affecting how visitors perceive the exhibition space, as well as contributing to their overall enjoyment in the museum. Rooms with high luminance means were considered more pleasant (r=.311, p<.05) and cheerful (r=.349, p<.05). Lighting conditions also have a direct effect on the phenomenon of museum fatigue with the overall room quality showing an effect on how tired visitors reported to be (r=.421, p<.01). The control and distribution of daylight in museums can therefore contribute to create pleasant conditions for learning, entertainment and amusement, so that visitors are willing to return.

Keywords: daylight, comfort, museums, luminance, visitor

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Authors: Hayle Makda Gebru

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Companies are inevitable for society. They are the building blocks of every development in a country aimed at producing continuous goods and services for the people and, in turn, obliged to pay taxes, which enhances the economy of the nation. For the proper functioning of companies, their relationship with their stakeholders must be secure. The major stakeholders are suppliers, consumers, employees, creditors, etc. The law plays an important role in enhancing the relationship between these different stakeholders. If the law fails to keep track of the relationship, both the company and stakeholders remain unprotected. As a result, the potential benefits are prejudiced. This paper makes a comparative analysis of the types and formation of companies under the Transitional Commercial Code of Eritrea and the Company Law of the Peoples Republic of China. In particular, the paper addresses the legal lacuna under the TCrCE on handling the failure of shareholders to pay the promised capital. So, the methodology of the study is entirely analyzing the two countries' laws using practical cases. After analyzing the practical problems on the ground using real cases, this paper calls on Eritrea to update its outdated Commercial Code to give proper protection to the stakeholders.

Keywords: companies, company law of the People's Republic of China, transitional commercial code of Eritrea, protection of stakeholders, failure to pay the promised capital

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Authors: Hui Wang

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Traditional collection building approaches are limited in breadth and scope and are not necessarily suitable for multidisciplinary fields development in the institutes of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The increasing of multidisciplinary fields researches require a viable approach to collection development in these libraries. This study uses qualitative and quantitative analysis to assess collection. The quantitative analysis consists of three levels of evaluation, which including realistic demand, potential demand and trend demand analysis. For one institute, three samples were separately selected from the object institute, more than one international top institutes in highly relative research fields and future research hotspots. Each sample contains an appropriate number of papers published in recent five years. Several keywords and the organization names were reasonably combined to search in commercial databases and the institutional repositories. The publishing information and citations in the bibliographies of these papers were selected to build the dataset. One weighted evaluation model and citation analysis were used to calculate the demand intensity index of every journal and book. Principal Investigator selector and database traffic provide a qualitative evidence to describe the demand frequency. The demand intensity, demand frequency and academic committee recommendations were comprehensively considered to recommend collection development. The collection gaps or weaknesses were ascertained by comparing the current collection and the recommend collection. This approach was applied in more than 80 institutes’ libraries in Chinese Academy of Sciences in the past three years. The evaluation results provided an important evidence for collections building in the second year. The latest user survey results showed that the updated collection’s capacity to support research in a multidisciplinary subject area have increased significantly.

Keywords: citation analysis, collection assessment, collection development, quantitative analysis

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Authors: Richard Ssempala, Francis Kintu, Christine K. Tashobya

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Funding for health remains a key constraint facing many developing countries, Uganda inclusive. Uganda’s health sector budget to the national budgetary allocation has stagnated between 8.2% to 10% over the years. Using data collected from different government documents, we sought to establish the implications of the budget allocation over the period (FY2010/11-2018/19) on health services delivery in Uganda to inform policymakers specifically Members of Parliament who are critical in making sectorial allocation on the steps they can adapt to change the terrain of health financing in Uganda. Findings revealed that the contribution of public funding to the health sector is low (15.7%) with private sources (42.6%) and donors contributing much more, with the bulk of private funds, are out of pocket. The study further revealed that low budget allocation had been manifested in inadequate and poorly motivated health workers, essential drug stock-outs that ultimately contribute to poor access to services, catastrophic health expenditures, and high morbidity rates. We recommend for a substantial and sustained increase in the government health budget, optimizing the available resources by addressing wastages, prioritizing health promotion, prevention and finally, institutionalizing the National Health Insurance Scheme.

Keywords: budget allocations, universal health coverage, health service delivery, Uganda

Procedia PDF Downloads 197