Search results for: rapid access clinic

Authors: Chowdhury Dilruba Shoma

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Gender is about equal rights that both males and females having access to responsibilities and opportunities in decision making is a fundamental human right. It is also a precondition for, and a mark of, sustainable people-oriented development. In Bangladesh, women have fewer opportunities than men do to access credit from banks and financial institutions. Entrenched patriarchal attitudes, unequal inheritance rights, and male-dominated hierarchies in the financial system, plus high interest rates and a lack of security/collateral, make it harder for women to obtain bank loans. Limited access to institutional credit is a serious restraint on the productivity and income of women entrepreneurs, (and the wider economy). These gender-biased and structural barriers inhibit women’s access to fundamental economic rights. Using a liberal feminist theoretical lens, this study provides some useful insights into the relationship between gender inequality and entrepreneurship, leading to a better understanding of women’s entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh. Recently, the Bangladesh Government, the United Nations Capital Development Fund, and Bangladesh Bank opened up the Women Entrepreneur Support Fund (WESF) ‒ Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) pilot project to cover collateral shortfalls for women entrepreneurs in the small and medium enterprise sector. The aim is to improve gender equality and advance women’s rights in relation to receiving credit. This article examines the challenges and prospects of the WESF-CGS, and suggests that implementation of measures in WESF-CGS policymaking, coupled with a combination of legislatory and regulatory reforms that implement the fundamental tenets of liberal feminism, can lead to a comprehensive and effective credit policy to boost women’s agency and economic empowerment. This may ultimately lead to more sustainable development in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Bangladesh, credit guarantee scheme, liberal feminist theory, women entrepreneur support fund

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Authors: Ali Showail Ali Alasmari

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Introduction: Cataract is the loss of transparency of the lens inside the eye. It is the most common cause of visual loss and blindness worldwide. This study provides a systemic review of the recent findings on the association of vitamin D, and vitamin B12, and their possible role in preventing cataracts in senile (S) and diabetic mellitus (DM) patient groups. Objective: This study was intended to establish and investigate if there is any role between vitamin D and vitamin B12? Secondly, the connection between serum level of vitamin D and vitamin B12 in cataract incidence senile (s) vs. diabetic mellitus (DM) cataract patient groups. Furthermore, to evaluate and analyze cataract occurrence regarding vitamin D and vitamin B12 levels with other risk factors. Finally, to evaluate lens opacities pre and post treatment with vitamin D and vitaminB12 linked to age and visual acuity loss in both senile(S) and diabetic mellitus (DM) cataract patients’ groups. Methods: This study conducted at the ophthalmology clinic at Muhyail General Hospital. Select a prospective case-control to study the effect of vitamin D and Vit B12 on senile(S) cataracts that caused by age and diabetic mellitus (DM)cataract patients; then we compare these two groups. This study prospectively enrolled a total of 50 samples, 25 with senile cataract and 25 with diabetic cataract, from ophthalmology clinic at Muhyail General Hospital. Measuring 25-hydroxy vitamin D and vitamin B12 level concentrations in the assigned samples. Analyses were performed using SAS (statistical analysis software) program. Results: The most important finding in this study was that the senile(s) cataract patients’ group greatly benefited by the combination therapy of vitamin D, and Vitamin B12 reached (28.5±1.50 and 521.1±21.10) respectively; on the contrary, the diabetic cataract patient group hardly shows any significant improvement (21.5 ± 1.00 and 197.2 ± 7.20) respectively. This is because of the Metformin, the first line drug for treating diabetes, has been reported to potentially decrease vitamin B-12 status. This epigenetic modification was correlated with the diabetic mellitus (DM) cataract patients’ group not responding. Vitamin B12 deficiency also leads to an impairment of the conversion of methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA, which has been associated with insulin resistance. There was no significant difference between the age, body mass index (BMI), the mean of Vit-D pre-treatments, and the mean values of Hemoglobin A1C of both senile (S) and diabetic mellitus (DM) cataract patient groups. On other hand, there was a highly significant difference between the mean values of glucose levels in both senile (S) and diabetic mellitus (DM) cataract patient groups. Conclusion: Here we conclude that diabetic mellitus (DM) cataract patient group hardly benefited from this combination therapy vitamin D and vitamin B12; on the other hand senile patient group (s) benefited a lot from the therapy.

Keywords: cataract patients, senile, diabetes mellitus, vitamin B12, vitamin D, Muhyail General Hospital, Saudi Arabia

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Authors: Adel Khorramrouz, Monireh Ahmadi Bani, Ehsan Norouzi

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Background:-Due to the essential role of the foot in movement, foot disorders (FDs) have significant impacts on activity and quality of life. Many studies confirmed the association between FDs and demographic characteristics. On the other hand, recent advances in data collection and statistical analysis led to an increase in the volume of databases. Analysis of patient’s data through the decision tree can be used to explore the relationship between demographic characteristics and FDs. Significance of the study: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between demographic characteristics with common FDs. The second purpose is to better inform foot intervention, we classify FDs based on demographic variables. Methodologies: We analyzed 2323 subjects with pes-planus (PP), pes-cavus (PC), hallux-valgus (HV) and plantar-fasciitis (PF) who were referred to a foot therapy clinic between 2015 and 2021. Subjects had to fulfill the following inclusion criteria: (1) weight between 14 to 150 kilogram, (2) height between 30 to 220, (3) age between 3 to 100 years old, and (4) BMI between 12 to 35. Medical archives of 2323 subjects were recorded retrospectively and all the subjects examined by an experienced physician. Age and BMI were classified into five and four groups, respectively. 80% of the data were randomly selected as training data and 20% tested. We build a decision tree model to classify FDs using demographic characteristics. Findings: Results demonstrated 981 subjects from 2323 (41.9%) of people who were referred to the clinic with FDs were diagnosed as PP, 657 (28.2%) PC, 628 (27%) HV and 213 (9%) identified with PF. The results revealed that the prevalence of PP decreased in people over 18 years of age and in children over 7 years. In adults, the prevalence depends first on BMI and then on gender. About 10% of adults and 81% of children with low BMI have PP. There is no relationship between gender and PP. PC is more dependent on age and gender. In children under 7 years, the prevalence was twice in girls (10%) than boys (5%) and in adults over 18 years slightly higher in men (62% vs 57%). HV increased with age in women and decreased in men. Aging and obesity have increased the prevalence of PF. We conclude that the accuracy of our approach is sufficient for most research applications in FDs. Conclusion:-The increased prevalence of PP in children is probably due to the formation of the arch of the foot at this age. Increasing BMI by applying high pressure on the foot can increase the prevalence of this disorder in the foot. In PC, the Increasing prevalence of PC from women to men with age may be due to genetics and innate susceptibility of men to this disorder. HV is more common in adult women, which may be due to environmental reasons such as shoes, and the prevalence of PF in obese adult women may also be due to higher foot pressure and housekeeping activities.

Keywords: decision tree, demographic characteristics, foot disorders, machine learning

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Authors: Jiangping Wang

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This presentation describes the design and implementation of PaaS (platform as a service) cloud-based labs that are used in database-related courses to teach students practical skills. Traditionally, all labs are implemented in a desktop-based environment where students have to install heavy client software to access database servers. In order to release students from that burden, we have successfully deployed the cloud-based solution to support database-related courses, from which students and teachers can practice and learn database topics in various database courses via cloud access. With its development environment, execution runtime, web server, database server, and collaboration capability, it offers a shared pool of configurable computing resources and comprehensive environment that supports students’ needs without the complexity of maintaining the infrastructure.

Keywords: PaaS, database environment, e-learning, web server

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Authors: Simiso Fisokuhle Nyandeni

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Climate change has turned out to be a pandemic that has drawn the attention of many countries’ households around the globe, especially those whose livelihood and economic status depend on agricultural productivity. Hence, the agricultural sector is regarded as the sector that is most dependent on climate conditions for its productivity/harvest, yet in recent years this sector has been experiencing drought. However, adaptation seems to be a tool that every farmer looks upon as a solution to their challenges as their productivity keeps on being vulnerable to climate effects. Thus, exposure/access to the market seems to be a major challenge that faces especially small-scale farmers. We, therefore, examine the small-scale farmers’ constraints or challenges towards getting access to the market for them to get proper sales of their farming products. As a result, the adaptation capacity of every farm household varies on the financial status.

Keywords: climate change, small-scale farming, agriculture sector, adaptation

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Authors: Aulanni’am Aulanni’am

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Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) progressively increasing it became a serious problem in Indonesia and it is a disease that government is priority to be addressed. The longer a person is suffering from diabetes the more likely to develop complications particularly diabetic patients who are not well maintained. Therefore, Incidence of Diabetes Mellitus needs to be done in the early diagnosis of pre-phase of the disease. In this pre-phase disease, already happening destruction of pancreatic beta cells and declining in beta cell function and the sign autoimmunity reactions associated with beta cell destruction. Type 1 DM is a multifactorial disease triggered by genetic and environmental factors, which leads to the destruction of pancreatic beta cells. Early marker of "beta cell autoreactivity" is the synthesis of autoantibodies against 65-kDa protein, which can be a molecule that can be detected early in the disease pathomechanism. The importance of early diagnosis of diabetic patients held in the phase of pre-disease is to determine the progression towards the onset of pancreatic beta cell destruction and take precautions. However, the price for this examination is very expensive ($ 150/ test), the anti-GAD65 abs examination cannot be carried out routinely in most or even in all laboratories in Indonesia. Therefore, production-based Rapid Test Recombinant Human Protein GAD65 with "Reverse Flow Immunchromatography Technique" in Indonesia is believed to reduce costs and improve the quality of care of patients with diabetes in Indonesia. Rapid Test Product innovation is very simple and suitable for screening and routine inspection of GAD65 autoantibodies. In the blood serum of patients with diabetes caused by autoimmunity, autoantibody-GAD65 is a major serologic marker to detect autoimmune reaction because their concentration level of stability.GAD65 autoantibodies can be found 10 years before clinical symptoms of diabetes. Early diagnosis is more focused to detect the presence autontibodi-GAD65 given specification and high sensitivity. Autoantibodies- GAD65 that circulates in the blood is a major indicator of the destruction of the islet cells of the pancreas. Results of research in collaboration with Biofarma has produced GAD65 autoantibodies based Rapid Test had conducted the soft launch of products and has been tested with the results of a sensitivity of 100 percent and a specificity between 90 and 96% compared with the gold standard (import product) which worked based on ELISA method.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, GAD65 autoantibodies, rapid test, sensitivity, specificity

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Authors: Seonggil Kim, Jeonghun Nam, Chae Seung Lim

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Rapid diagnosis of fungal infections is critical for rapid antifungal therapy. However, it is difficult to detect extremely low concentration fungi in blood sample. To address the limitation, separation and concentration of fungi in blood sample are required to enhance the sensitivity of PCR analysis. In this study, we demonstrated a sheathless separation and concentration of fungi, candida cells using a viscoelastic fluid. To validate the performance of the device, microparticle mixture (2 and 13 μm) was used, and those particles were successfully separated based on the size difference at high flow rate of 100 μl/min. For the final application, successful separation of the Candida cells from the white blood cells (WBCs) was achieved. Based on the viscoelastic lateral migration toward the equilibrium position, Candida cells were separated and concentrated by center focusing, while WBCs were removed by patterning into two streams between the channel center and the sidewalls. By flow cytometric analysis, the separation efficiency and the purity were evaluated as ~99% and ~ 97%, respectively. From the results, the device can be the powerful tool for detecting extremely rare disease-related cells.

Keywords: candida cells, concentration, separation, viscoelastic fluid

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Authors: Soma Kanta Baral

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Background: Since 1981, when the first AIDS case was reported, worldwide, more than 34 million people have been infected with HIV. Almost 95 percent of the people infected with HIV live in developing countries. As HBV & HIV share similar routes of transmission by sexual intercourse or drug use by parenteral injection, co-infection is common. Because of the limited access to healthcare & HIV treatment in developing countries, HIV-infected individuals are present late for care. Enumeration of CD4+ T cell count at the time of diagnosis has been useful to initiate the therapy in HIV infected individuals. The baseline CD4+ T cell count shows high immunological variability among patients. Methods: This prospective study was done in the serology section of the Department of Microbiology over a period of one year from august 2012 to July 2013. A total of 13037 individuals subjected for HIV test were included in the study comprising of 4982 males & 8055 females. Blood sample was collected by vein puncture aseptically with standard operational procedure in clean & dry test-tube. All blood samples were screened for HIV as described by WHO algorithm by Immuno-chromatography rapid kits. Further confirmation was done by biokit ELISA method as per the manufacturer’s guidelines. After informed consent, HIV positive individuals were screened for HBsAg by Immuno-chromatography rapid kits (Hepacard). Further confirmation was done by biokit ELISA method as per the manufacturer’s guidelines. EDTA blood samples were collected from the HIV sero-positive individuals for baseline CD4+ T count. Then, CD4+ T cells count was determined by using FACS Calibur Flow Cytometer (BD). Results: Among 13037 individuals screened for HIV, 104 (0.8%) were found to be infected comprising of 69(66.34%) males & 35 (33.65%) females. The study showed that the high infection was noted in housewives (28.7%), active age group (30.76%), rural area (56.7%) & in heterosexual route (80.9%) of transmission. Out of total HIV infected individuals, distribution of HBV co-infection was found to be 6(5.7%). All co- infected individuals were married, male, above the age of 25 years & heterosexual route of transmission. Baseline CD4+ T cell count of HIV infected patient was found higher (mean CD4+ T cell count; 283cells/cu.mm) than HBV co-infected patients (mean CD4+ T cell count; 91 cells/cu.mm). Majority (77.2%) of HIV infected & all co-infected individuals were presented in our center late (CD4+ T cell count;< 350/cu. mm) for diagnosis and care. Majority of co- infected 4 (80%) were late presented with advanced AIDS stage (CD4+ count; <200/cu.mm). Conclusions: The study showed a high percentage of HIV sero-positive & co- infected individuals. Baseline CD4+ T cell count of majority of HIV infected individuals was found to be low. Hence, more sustained and vigorous awareness campaigns & counseling still need to be done in order to promote early diagnosis and management.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS, HBsAg, co-infection, CD4+

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Authors: Hashim Ali, Sheheryar Khan

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Security for applications is always been a keen issue of concern. In general, security is to allow access of grant to legal user or to deny non-authorized access to the system. Shoulder surfing is an observation technique to hack an account or to enter into a system. When a malicious observer is capturing or recording the fingers of a user while he is entering sensitive inputs (PIN, Passwords etc.) and may be able to observe user’s password credential. It is very rigorous for a novice user to prevent himself from shoulder surfing or unaided observer in a public place while accessing his account. In order to secure the user account, there are five factors of authentication; they are: “(i) something you have, (ii) something you are, (iii) something you know, (iv) somebody you know, (v) something you process”. A technique has been developed of fifth-factor authentication “something you process” to provide novel approach to the user. In this paper, we have applied position based operational code authentication in such a way to more easy and user friendly to the user.

Keywords: shoulder surfing, malicious observer, sensitive inputs, authentication

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Authors: Sherif K. El Dyasti, Esam A. Hagras, Adel E. El-Hennawy

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This paper addresses the performance of antenna array beam-forming on Chip-Interleaved Code Division Multiple Access (CI_CDMA) system based on Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) detector in aeronautical mobile radio channel. Multipath fading, Doppler shifts caused by the speed of the aircraft, and Multiple Access Interference (MAI) are the most important reasons that affect and reduce the performance of aeronautical system. In this paper, we suggested the CI-CDMA with antenna array to combat this fading and improve the bit error rate (BER) performance. We further evaluate the performance of the proposed system in the four standard scenarios in aeronautical mobile radio channel.

Keywords: aeronautical channel, CI-CDMA, beamforming, communication, information

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Authors: Liwen Wang, Yuting Chen, Tong Wu, Shaolei Hu

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In order to enhance the security of critical financial infrastructure, this study carries out a transformation of the architecture of a financial trading terminal to a zero trust architecture (ZTA), constructs an active defense system for cybersecurity, improves the security level of trading services in the Internet environment, enhances the ability to prevent network attacks and unknown risks, and reduces the industry and security risks brought about by cybersecurity risks. This study introduces the SDP technology of ZTA, adapts and applies it to a financial trading terminal to achieve security optimization and fine-grained business grading control. The upgraded architecture of the trading terminal moves security protection forward to the user access layer, replaces VPN to optimize remote access, and significantly improves the security protection capability of Internet transactions. The study achieves 1. deep integration with the access control architecture of the transaction system; 2. no impact on the performance of terminals and gateways, and no perception of application system upgrades; 3. customized checklist and policy configuration; 4. introduction of industry-leading security technology such as single-packet authorization (SPA) and secondary authentication. This study carries out a successful application of ZTA in the field of financial trading and provides transformation ideas for other similar systems while improving the security level of financial transaction services in the Internet environment.

Keywords: zero trust, trading terminal, architecture, network security, cybersecurity

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Authors: Gurkirat Kaur, Manoj Kumar, Manju Bala

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Ethernet is the most influential and widely used technology in the world. With the growing demand of low latency and high throughput technologies like InfiniBand and RoCE, unique features viz. RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access) have evolved. RDMA is an effective technology which is used for reducing system load and improving performance. InfiniBand is a well known technology which provides high-bandwidth and low-latency and makes optimal use of in-built features like RDMA. With the rapid evolution of InfiniBand technology and Ethernet lacking the RDMA and zero copy protocol, the Ethernet community has came out with a new enhancements that bridges the gap between InfiniBand and Ethernet. By adding the RDMA and zero copy protocol to the Ethernet a new networking technology is evolved, called RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE). RoCE is a standard released by the IBTA standardization body to define RDMA protocol over Ethernet. With the emergence of lossless Ethernet, RoCE uses InfiniBand’s efficient transport to provide the platform for deploying RDMA technology in mainstream data centres over 10GigE, 40GigE and beyond. RoCE provide all of the InfiniBand benefits transport benefits and well established RDMA ecosystem combined with converged Ethernet. In this paper, we evaluate the heterogeneous Linux cluster, having multi nodes with fast interconnects i.e. gigabit Ethernet and Soft RoCE. This paper presents the heterogeneous Linux cluster configuration and evaluates its performance using Intel’s MPI Benchmarks. Our result shows that Soft RoCE is performing better than Ethernet in various performance metrics like bandwidth, latency and throughput.

Keywords: ethernet, InfiniBand, RoCE, RDMA, MPI, Soft RoCE

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Authors: Carlos Alves

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This research paper demonstrates how payments for environmental services (PES) can be an effective mechanism to combat food insecurity and reduce environmental degradation in developing countries. The paper begins by discussing how environmental services affect each one of the pillars of food security: availability, access, and utilization of food. However, due to numerous global environmental challenges, a new pillar of food security based on environmental sustainability is proposed and discussed. An argument is then made that PES can usefully combat food insecurity. It can provide an extra income to those who take on environmental service and help them to have a better access to food. In order to be successful in addressing food insecurity, PES schemes should target on the poor and redress issues that can prevent their effectiveness. Finally, the research presents a case study that discusses how several developing countries addressed problems and successfully developed PES programs.

Keywords: environmental sustainability, food security, nutrition, payments for environmental services

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Authors: Liang Zhao, Guangwen Wang, Guichang Liu

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Constant potometer is an important component of pipeline anti-corrosion systems in the chemical industry. Based on Internet of Things (IoT) technology, Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) technology and database technology, this paper developed a set of a constant potometer remote monitoring management system. The remote monitoring and remote adjustment of the working status of the constant potometer are realized. The system has real-time data display, historical data query, alarm push management, user permission management, and supporting Web access and mobile client application (APP) access. The actual engineering project test results show the stability of the system, which can be widely used in cathodic protection systems.

Keywords: internet of things, pipe corrosion protection, potentiostat, remote monitoring

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Authors: Abdul Rofiq Badril Rizal M. Z.

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This case study examines the experiences of four beginning teachers currently working in New South Wales secondary schools. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews conducted one on one over the period of one month. The data were coded with findings reported through key areas of discovery, which linked to the research presented in the literature review. The participants involved in the case study all reported positive experiences with mentoring, though none were given the opportunity to take part in a formal mentoring program, and all the mentors offered their time voluntarily. The mentoring took different forms, but the support most valued by the participants was the emotional and curriculum related supported received. All participants wished they had greater access to mentoring and felt it would have benefits for most beginning teachers. The study highlights ongoing issues around the lack of access to mentoring, which could be due to factors such as funding, time and training.

Keywords: mentor, mentee, pre-service teacher, beginning teacher

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Authors: Kingsley Agyapong

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Research conducted in recent years has delved into the concept of patient-perceived value within the context of co-creation, particularly in the realm of doctor-patient interactions within healthcare settings. However, existing scholarly discourse lacks exploration regarding the emergence of patient-derived value in the co-creation process, specifically within encounters involving patients and stakeholders such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals. This study aims to fill this gap by elucidating the perspectives of patients regarding the value they derive from their interactions with multiple stakeholders in the delivery of healthcare services. The fieldwork was conducted at a university clinic located in Ghana. Data collection procedures involved conducting 20 individual interviews with key informants on distinct value accrued from co-creation practices and interactions with stakeholders. The key informants consisted of patients receiving care at the university clinic during the Malaria Treatment Process. Three themes emerged from both the existing literature and the empirical data collected. The first theme, labeled as "patient value needs in co-creation," encapsulates elements such as communication effectiveness, interpersonal interaction quality, treatment efficacy, and enhancements to the overall quality of life experienced by patients during their interactions with healthcare professionals. The second theme, designated as "services that enhance patients' experience in value co-creation," pertains to patients' perceptions of services that contribute favourably to co-creation experiences, including initiatives related to health promotion and the provision of various in-house services that patients deem pertinent for augmenting their overall experiences. The third theme, titled "Challenges in the co-creation of patients' value," delineates obstacles encountered within the co-creation process, including health professionals' challenges in effectively following up with patients scheduled for review and prolonged waiting times for healthcare delivery. This study contributes to the patients' perceptions of value within the co-creation process during their interactions with service providers, particularly healthcare professionals. By gaining a deeper insight into this process, healthcare providers can enhance the delivery of patient-centered care, thereby leading to improved healthcare outcomes. The study further offers managerial implications derived from its findings, providing actionable insights for healthcare managers and policymakers aiming to optimize patient value creation in healthcare services. Furthermore, it suggests avenues for future research endeavors within healthcare settings.

Keywords: patient, healthcare, co-creation, malaria

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Authors: Bing–Jing Zhao, Chang-Kui Liu, Hong Wang, Min Hu

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Electron beam rapid manufacturing (EBRM) or Selective laser melting is an additive manufacturing process that uses 3D CAD data as a digital information source and energy in the form of a high-power laser beam or electron beam to create three-dimensional metal parts by fusing fine metallic powders together.Object:The present study was conducted to evaluate the mechanical properties ,the phase transformation,the corrosivity and the biocompatibility of Ti-6Al-4V by EBRM,SLM and forging technique.Method: Ti-6Al-4V alloy standard test pieces were manufactured by EBRM, SLM and forging technique according to AMS4999,GB/T228 and ISO 10993.The mechanical properties were analyzed by universal test machine. The phase transformation was analyzed by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The corrosivity was analyzed by electrochemical method. The biocompatibility was analyzed by co-culturing with mesenchymal stem cell and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and alkaline phosphatase assay (ALP) to evaluate cell adhesion and differentiation, respectively. Results: The mechanical properties, the phase transformation, the corrosivity and the biocompatibility of Ti-6Al-4V by EBRM、SLM were similar to forging and meet the mechanical property requirements of AMS4999 standard. a­phase microstructure for the EBM production contrast to the a’­phase microstructure of the SLM product. Mesenchymal stem cell adhesion and differentiation were well. Conclusion: The property of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy manufactured by EBRM and SLM technique can meet the medical standard from this study. But some further study should be proceeded in order to applying well in clinical practice.

Keywords: 3D printing, Electron Beam Rapid Manufacturing (EBRM), Selective Laser Melting (SLM), Computer Aided Design (CAD)

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Authors: Sherine S. Aly, Fahd A. Hemeida, Mohamed A. Elshamy

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In the face of rapid urbanization and the myriad challenges posed by climate change, population growth, and socio-economic disparities, fostering urban resilience has become paramount. This abstract offers a comprehensive overview of the study on "Urban Resilience Challenges," exploring the background, methodologies, major findings, and concluding insights. The paper unveils a spectrum of challenges encompassing environmental stressors and deep-seated socio-economic issues, such as unequal access to resources and opportunities. Emphasizing their interconnected nature, the study underscores the imperative for holistic and integrated approaches to urban resilience, recognizing the intricate web of factors shaping the urban landscape. Urbanization has witnessed an unprecedented surge, transforming cities into dynamic and complex entities. With this growth, however, comes an array of challenges that threaten the sustainability and resilience of urban environments. This study seeks to unravel the multifaceted urban resilience challenges, exploring their origins and implications for contemporary cities. Cities serve as hubs of economic, social, and cultural activities, attracting diverse populations seeking opportunities and a higher quality of life. However, the urban fabric is increasingly strained by climate-related events, infrastructure vulnerabilities, and social inequalities. Understanding the nuances of these challenges is crucial for developing strategies that enhance urban resilience and ensure the longevity of cities as vibrant and adaptive entities. This paper endeavors to discern strategic guidelines for enhancing urban resilience amidst the dynamic challenges posed by rapid urbanization. The study aims to distill actionable insights that can inform strategic approaches. Guiding the formulation of effective strategies to fortify cities against multifaceted pressures. The study employs a multifaceted approach to dissect urban resilience challenges. A qualitative method will be employed, including comprehensive literature reviews and data analysis of urban vulnerabilities that provided valuable insights into the lived experiences of resilience challenges in diverse urban settings. In conclusion, this study underscores the urgency of addressing urban resilience challenges to ensure the sustained vitality of cities worldwide. The interconnected nature of these challenges necessitates a paradigm shift in urban planning and governance. By adopting holistic strategies that integrate environmental, social, and economic considerations, cities can navigate the complexities of the 21st century. The findings provide a roadmap for policymakers, planners, and communities to collaboratively forge resilient urban futures that withstand the challenges of an ever-evolving urban landscape.

Keywords: resilient principles, risk management, sustainable cities, urban resilience

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Authors: Vaibhavi Birle

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Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a rare clinic-radiological syndrome associated with acute changes in blood pressure during pregnancy. It is characterized symptomatically by headache, seizures, altered mental status, and visual blurring with radiological changes of white matter (vasogenic oedema) affecting the posterior occipital and parietal lobes of the brain. It is being increasingly recognized due to increased institutional deliveries and advances in imaging particularly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In spite of the increasing diagnosis the prediction of PRES and patient factors affecting susceptibility is still not clear. Hence, we conducted the retrospective study to analyse the factors associated with PRES at our tertiary centre.

Keywords: pres syndrome, eclampsia, maternal outcome, fetal outcome

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Authors: Parastoo Kazemiyan

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Over the past 80 years, in compliance with the advent of modernity in Iran and Turkey, the presence of women in economic and social arenas has creates serious challenges in the capacity of urban spaces to respond to their presence and transport because urban spaces up until then were based on masculine criteria and therefore, women could use such spaces in the company of their fathers or husbands. However, as modernity expanded by Reza Shah and Ataturk, women found the opportunity to work and be present in urban spaces alongside men and their presence in economic and social domains resulted in their presence in these spaces in the early and late hours of the day. Therefore, the city had to be transformed in structural, social, and environmental terms to accommodate women's activities and presence in various urban arenas, which was a huge step in transition from a masculine man-based culture to an all-inclusive human-based culture in these two countries. However, the optimization of urban space was subject to political changes in the two countries, leading to significant differences in designing urban spaces in Tehran and Istanbul. What shows the importance and novelty of the present study lie in the differences in urban planning and optimization in the two capital cities, which gave rise to different outcomes in desirability and quality of living in these two capital cities. Due to the importance of the topic, one of the most significant factors in desirability and acceptability of urban space for women was examined using a descriptive-analytic method based on qualitative methodology in Tehran and Istanbul. The results showed that the infrastructural factors in Istanbul, including safety of access, variety, and number of public transport modes, transparency, and supervision over public spaces have provided women with a safer and more constant presence compared to Tehran. It seems that challenges involved in providing access to urban spaces in Tehran in terms of infrastructure and function have made Tehran unable to respond to the most basic needs of its female citizens.

Keywords: gender differences, urban space security, access to transportation systems, women's challenges

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Authors: Gurjit Kaur, Neena Gupta

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In this paper, we have analyzed and compared the performance of various coding schemes. The basic ID prime sequence codes are unique in only dimension, i.e. time slots, whereas 2D coding techniques are not unique by their time slots but with their wavelengths also. In this research, we have evaluated and compared the performance of 1D and 2D coding techniques constructed using prime sequence coding pattern for Optical Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA) system on a single platform. Analysis shows that 2D prime code supports lesser number of active users than 1D codes, but they are having large code family and are the most secure codes compared to other codes. The performance of all these codes is analyzed on basis of number of active users supported at a Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10-9.

Keywords: CDMA, OCDMA, BER, OOC, PC, EPC, MPC, 2-D PC/PC, λc, λa

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Authors: Lucy W. Mburu, Richard Karanja, Simon N. Mwendia

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Over recent years, learners have experienced a constant need to access on demand knowledge that is fully aligned with the paradigm of cloud computing. As motivated by the global sustainable development goal to ensure inclusive and equitable learning opportunities, this research has developed a framework hinged on the knowledge-as-a-service architecture that utilizes knowledge from ambient learning systems. Through statistical analysis and decision tree modeling, the study discovers influential variables for ambient learning among university students. The main aim is to generate a platform for disseminating and exploiting the available knowledge to aid the learning process and, thus, to improve educational support on the ambient learning system. The research further explores how collaborative effort can be used to form a knowledge network that allows access to heterogeneous sources of knowledge, which benefits knowledge consumers, such as the developers of ambient learning systems.

Keywords: actionable knowledge, ambient learning, cloud computing, decision trees, knowledge as a service

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Authors: Ashwin Belle, Bryce Benson, Mark Salamango, Fadi Islim, Rodney Daniels, Kevin Ward

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A reliable, real-time, and non-invasive system that can identify patients at risk for hemodynamic instability is needed to aid clinicians in their efforts to anticipate patient deterioration and initiate early interventions. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the clinical capabilities of a real-time analytic from a single lead of an electrocardiograph to correctly distinguish between rapid response team (RRT) activations due to hemodynamic (H-RRT) and non-hemodynamic (NH-RRT) causes, as well as predict H-RRT cases with actionable lead times. The study consisted of a single center, retrospective cohort of 21 patients with RRT activations from step-down and telemetry units. Through electronic health record review and blinded to the analytic’s output, each patient was categorized by clinicians into H-RRT and NH-RRT cases. The analytic output and the categorization were compared. The prediction lead time prior to the RRT call was calculated. The analytic correctly distinguished between H-RRT and NH-RRT cases with 100% accuracy, demonstrating 100% positive and negative predictive values, and 100% sensitivity and specificity. In H-RRT cases, the analytic detected hemodynamic deterioration with a median lead time of 9.5 hours prior to the RRT call (range 14 minutes to 52 hours). The study demonstrates that an electrocardiogram (ECG) based analytic has the potential for providing clinical decision and monitoring support for caregivers to identify at risk patients within a clinically relevant timeframe allowing for increased vigilance and early interventional support to reduce the chances of continued patient deterioration.

Keywords: critical care, early warning systems, emergency medicine, heart rate variability, hemodynamic instability, rapid response team

Procedia PDF Downloads 134

Authors: Lilla Anjani, Ervina Ahyudanari

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Tourism is one of the contributors to regional economic income. Banyuwangi has made rapid developments related to the tourism sector, especially since 2010. There are 25 tourist visit locations that can become tourist destinations. Banyuwangi has tourism transportation to support the ease of reaching tourist places. This transportation operates with six routes, namely the final destination of Ijen Crater, Glenmore, Bajangan, Bangsring, Red Island, and Pine Forest. Despite having tourism transportation, tourists tend to choose to use a private car or rent a car because there is no access to tourist places using public transportation. Tourism transportation is also one form of sustainable tourism development in the future, such as the Sustainable Development Goals. The Banyuwangi government has a special program for tourism development that is supported by all sectors in Banyuwangi. To support the development of tourism in Banyuwangi, it is necessary to analyze existing tourism transportation as well as suggestions regarding new routes to reach all tourism locations in Banyuwangi Regency. The analysis reviewed in this study is an analysis of accessibility, distance, and time to the tourism location. There are 30 tourism destination points from 39 ODTW references from the transportation service, and the tourism office of Banyuwangi Regency Banyuwangi tourism objects can be divided into six zones based on travel time and distance. The highest accessibility value for Zone A is 51.96, and the lowest is 11.989. The highest accessibility value for Zone B is 33.4269, and the lowest is 21.737. The highest accessibility value for Zone C is 33,407, and the lowest is 14,848. The highest accessibility value for Zone D is 58,967, and the lowest is 14,742. The highest accessibility value for Zone E is 56,401, and the lowest is 14.1. The highest accessibility value for Zone F is 176.14, and the lowest is 44.1. There are two tourist transportation routes with six sessions every day. The resulting new route is in the form of grouping based on locations that can be reached in one particular area.

Keywords: accessibility, tourism clustering, Banyuwangi tourism, sustainable development goals

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Jaleh Mohammad Aliha, Rezvan Razazi, Nasim Naderi

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Introduction: Despite the progress in new effective drugs in the treatment of heart failure, the disease still accompanied with frequent hospitalization, impaired quality of life, early mortality and significant economic burden. Patients with chronic disease and consequently patients with heart failure need the knowledge and optimal health literacy to improve the quality of life and minimize the rate of rehopitalizatio. So, considering to importance of knowledge and health literacy in this patients as well as contradictory literature, this study conducted to investigate the relationship between health literacy and Knowledge of heart failure with rehospitalization in patients with heart failure admitted to heart failure clinic in Rajai Heart center in 1394. Methods: The cross-sectional method with convenience sampling method was used in this study. After obtaining the necessary permissions from the ethics committee and the Shahid Rajai Heart center, 238 patients who were older than 18 years and had ejection fraction 35% or less with the ability to read and write and lack of psychiatric, neurological and cognitive disorders and signed the informed consent were recruited. Data collection were perfomed through demographic data questionnaire, short standard health literacy questionnaire 'Short-TOFHLA-16' and Vanderwall (2005) knowledge of heart failure questionnaire. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency method and Cronbach's alpha for both questionnaires was more than 0.7. Then data were analysed by SPSS-20 with descriptive statistic and analytical statistic such as T-test, Chi-square and ANOVA. Results: The majority of patients were male (66%), married (80%) and had age between 50 to 70 years old (42%). The majority of studied men and women have good health literacy and About half of them have adequate knowledge about heart failure. Fisher's exact test showed that there was a significant statistical correlation between health literacy and knowlegh about heart failure. In other words, higher health literacy associated with more knowledge about their condition. Also findings showed that there was no significant statistical correlation between health literacy and knowledge about heart failure and frequency of CCU and emergency admissions. Conclusion: The study results showed that the higher health literacy, associated with the greater knowledge about heart failure and patients' perception about caring recommendations and disease outcomes. Therefore, the knowledge about heart failure and factors which related to severity of the disease, is the important issue to problem identification and treatment and reduction of rehospitalization.

Keywords: health literacy, heart failure, knowlegde, rehospitalization

Procedia PDF Downloads 380

Authors: Hafiz Awais Ahmad

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This paper aims to examine the root causes of gender-based violence (GBV) in Pakistan and proposes strategies to address this issue. Using a qualitative approach, this study analyzed data from various sources, including interviews with survivors of GBV and experts in the field. The findings revealed that GBV in Pakistan is deeply rooted in patriarchal attitudes and practices, economic insecurity, lack of education, and limited access to justice. The study recommends a multi-faceted approach to address GBV, including legislative reforms, awareness-raising campaigns, economic empowerment, and improved access to justice for survivors. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of engaging men and boys in efforts to address GBV and promote gender equality. The findings of this study have important implications for policy-makers, practitioners, and researchers working towards ending GBV in Pakistan.

Keywords: gender-based violence, Pakistan, legislative reforms, advocacy

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Chinaza Uleanya, Martin Duma, Bongani Gamede

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The study investigated learning challenges experienced by students in universities situated in developing sub-Saharan African countries using selected universities in South Africa and Nigeria. Questionnaires were administered to 2,335 randomly selected students from selected universities in South Africa and Nigeria. The outcome of the study shows that six common learning challenges are visible in developing sub-Sahara African universities. The causes of these learning challenges cut across the failure in responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the field of education and the effects are monumental both to the students and society. This paper suggests recommendations to university administrators, education policy makers and implementers on the need to take education more seriously, to review and implement appropriate policies, and to ensure provision of quality education through the supply of adequate amenities and other motivating factors.

Keywords: learning, challenges, learning challenges, access with success, participatory access

Procedia PDF Downloads 279

Authors: Elizabeth Howarth, Dawn Green, Sean Connolly, Geena Vabulas, Sara Smolley

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Through the EU Horizon 2020 Nuvoic Project, the project team recruited 70 individuals in the UK and Ireland to test the Voiceitt speech recognition app and provide user feedback to developers. The app is designed for people with dysarthric speech, to support communication with unfamiliar people and access to speech-driven technologies such as smart home equipment and smart assistants. Participants with atypical speech, due to a range of conditions such as cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury, Down syndrome, stroke and hearing impairment, were recruited, primarily through organisations supporting disabled people. Most had physical or learning disabilities in addition to dysarthric speech. The project team worked with individuals, their families and local support teams, to provide access to the app, including through additional assistive technologies where needed. Testing was user-led, with participants asked to identify and test use cases most relevant to their daily lives over a period of three months or more. Ongoing technical support and training were provided remotely and in-person throughout the testing period. Structured interviews were used to collect feedback on users' experiences, with delivery adapted to individuals' needs and preferences. Informal feedback was collected through ongoing contact between participants, their families and support teams and the project team. Focus groups were held to collect feedback on specific design proposals. User feedback shared with developers has led to improvements to the user interface and functionality, including faster voice training, simplified navigation, the introduction of gamification elements and of switch access as an alternative to touchscreen access, with other feature requests from users still in development. This work offers a case-study in successful and inclusive co-design with the disabled community.

Keywords: co-design, assistive technology, dysarthria, inclusive speech recognition

Procedia PDF Downloads 89

Authors: Olakanmi Oladayo Olufemi, Bamifewe Olusegun James, Badmus Yaya Opeyemi, Adegoke Kayode

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The wireless sensor network (WSN) has made a significant contribution to the emergence of various intelligent services or cloud-based applications. Most of the time, these data are stored on a cloud platform for efficient management and sharing among different services or users. However, the sensitivity of the data makes them prone to various confidentiality and performance-related attacks during and after harvesting. Various security schemes have been developed to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the WSNs' data. However, their specificity towards particular attacks and the resource constraint and heterogeneity of WSNs make most of these schemes imperfect. In this paper, we propose a secure variance-aware routing and authentication scheme with two-tier verification to collect, share, and manage WSN data. The scheme is capable of classifying WSN into different subnets, detecting any attempt of wormhole and black hole attack during harvesting, and enforcing access control on the harvested data stored in the cloud. The results of the analysis showed that the proposed scheme has more security functionalities than other related schemes, solves most of the WSNs and cloud security issues, prevents wormhole and black hole attacks, identifies the attackers during data harvesting, and enforces access control on the harvested data stored in the cloud at low computational, storage, and communication overheads.

Keywords: data block, heterogeneous IoT network, data harvesting, wormhole attack, blackhole attack access control

Procedia PDF Downloads 52

Authors: Rabia Shabbir, Sheikh Saeed Ahmad, Amna Butt

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Rapid land use changes have taken place in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, over the past decades due to accelerated urbanization and industrialization. In this study, land use changes in the metropolitan area of Islamabad was observed by the combined use of GIS and satellite remote sensing for a time period of 15 years. High-resolution Google Earth images were downloaded from 2000-2015, and object-based classification method was used for accurate classification using eCognition software. The information regarding urban settlements, industrial area, barren land, agricultural area, vegetation, water, and transportation infrastructure was extracted. The results showed that the city experienced a spatial expansion, rapid urban growth, land use change and expanding transportation infrastructure. The study concluded the integration of GIS and remote sensing as an effective approach for analyzing the spatial pattern of urban growth and land use change.

Keywords: land use change, urban growth, Islamabad, object-based classification, Google Earth, remote sensing, GIS

Procedia PDF Downloads 141