Search results for: alternative family structures

Authors: Najie Hassanzade, Mohammad Rabbani Khorasgani

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Dairy products have been regarded as the natural source of lactic acid bacteria with potential characteristics of probiotics; therefore, a lot of research and practical works have been carried out about the isolation of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) from dairy products, especially traditional yogurt and related products. Interest in traditional dairy products continues in the area of isolation of new LAB that can complement or replace currently used starters and/or that can be candidates as beneficial microorganisms for prevention or treatment purposes. In this perspective, such products are potentially good candidates for isolating new strains of probiotics. On the other hand, some infectious diseases such as salmonellosis have expressed resistance against many antibiotics; therefore, many attempts have been performed to use an alternative approach to overcome antibiotic resistance. The current research focuses on the isolation of LAB from dairy products, especially traditional dairy products and screening of them for anti-Salmonella activities. Twenty-five samples, including 15 sheep milk samples, one camel milk sample and seven cow milk samples from different areas of Iran and 2 yogurt samples from Herat, Afghanistan are collected. 20 bacteria are isolated by culturing the samples on MRS agar specific medium; among them 4 Lactobacillus strains, including 3L. plantarum strains and one L.gasseri strain, are identified by analyzing the biochemical tests and PCR tests in which 27F and 1492R primers are used. Then, their effects against Salmonella typhimurium using the well-diffusion method are evaluated.

Keywords: lactic acid bacteria, probiotics, dairy products Salmonella

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Authors: S. Kamil Akin, Turgut Acikara

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In recent years the world and our country has experienced several explosion events occurred due to terrorist attacks and accidents. In these explosion events many people have lost their lives and many buildings have been damaged. If structures were designed taking the blast loads into account, these results may not have happened or the casualties would have been less. In this thesis analysis of the protection walls have been conducted to prevent the building damage from blast loads. These analyzes was carried out for two different types of wall, concrete and reinforced concrete. Analyses were carried out on four different thicknesses of each wall element. In each wall element the stresses and displacements of the exposed surface due to the detonation charge has been calculated. The limit shear stress and displacement of the wall element according to their material properties has been taken into account. As the result of the analyses the standoff distances and TNT equivalent amount has been determined. According to equivalent TNT amounts and standoff distances the structural response of the protective wall elements has been observed. These structural responses have been observed by ABAQUS finite element package. Explosion loads were brought into effect to the protective wall element models by using the ABAQUS / CONWEP.

Keywords: blast loading, blast wave, TNT equivalent method, CONWEP, finite element analysis, detonation

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Authors: Murat Avci, Fatih Kosar, Ismail Yilmaz

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In this study, structure-flow interaction for water brake mechanism is studied with Abaqus CEL approach. The water brake mechanism is used for dynamic systems such as sled system on rail. For the achievement of these system tests, structure-flow interaction should be investigated in detail. This study is about a sled test of an aircraft subsystem which rises to supersonic speeds thanks to rocket engines. To decrease or to stop the thrusting rocket sleds, water brake mechanisms are used. Water brake mechanism provides the deceleration of the structures that have supersonic speeds. Therefore, structure-flow interaction may cause damage to the water brake mechanism. To verify all design revisions with system tests are so costly so that some decisions are taken in accordance with numerical methods. In this study, structure-flow interaction that belongs to water brake mechanism is solved with Abaqus CEL approach. Fluid and deformation on the structure behaviors are modeled at the same time thanks to CEL approach. Provided analysis results are corrected with the dynamic tests. Deformation zones seen in numerical analysis are also observed in dynamic tests. Finally, Johnson-Cook material model parameters used for this analysis are proven, and it is understood that these parameters can be used for dynamic analysis like water brake mechanism.

Keywords: aircraft, rocket, structure-flow, supersonic

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Authors: Hyang Lim, Sungwon Choi

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Many previous studies in area of adolescents' depression have used a longitudinal design. The previous studies have found that the developmental trajectory of them is only one. But it needs to be examined whether the trajectory is applied to all adolescents. Some factors in their home and/or school have an effect on adolescents' depression and more likely to be specific groups. The present study was a longitudinal study aimed to identify the trajectories and to explore the predictors of adolescents' depression. The study used Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) data. In this study, 2,351 second and third-year of middle school and first of high school students' data was analyzed by using semi-parametric group modeling (SGM). There were 5 trajectory groups for adolescents; low depressed stables, low depressed risers, moderately depressed decreases, moderately depressed stables, severe depressed decreases. The predictors of adolescents' depression were parental abuse, parental neglect, annual family income, parental academic background, friendship at school, and teacher-student relationship at school. All predictors had the significant difference across trajectory group profile for adolescents. The findings of the present study recommend to promote the socioeconomic status and to train social skill for the interpersonal relationship at the home and school. And the results suggest that the proper prevention programs for each group in the middle adolescents that target selected factors may be helpful in reducing the level of depression.

Keywords: adolescent, depression, KCYPS, school life, semi-parametric group-based modeling

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Authors: Valdir Moura, FranciléIa De Oliveira E. Silva, Erivelto Mercante, Ranieli Dos Anjos De Souza, Jerry Adriani Johann

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Several colonization projects were implemented in the Brazilian Legal Amazon in the 1970s and 1980s. Among all of these colonization projects, the most prominent were those with the Fishbone and Topographic models. Within this scope, the projects of settlements known as Anari and Machadinho were created, which stood out because they are contiguous areas with different models and structure of occupation and colonization. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the dynamics of Land-Use and Land-Cover (LULC) in two different colonization models, implanted in the State of Rondonia in the 1980s. The Fishbone and Topographic models were implanted in the Anari and Machadinho settlements respectively. The understanding of these two forms of occupation will help in future colonization programs of the Brazilian Legal Amazon. These settlements are contiguous areas with different occupancy structures. A 32-year Landsat time series (1984-2016) was used to evaluate the rates and trends in the LULC process in the different colonization models. In the different occupation models analyzed, the results showed a rapid loss of primary and secondary forests (deforestation), mainly due to the dynamics of use, established by the Agriculture/Pasture (A/P) relation and, with heavy dependence due to road construction.

Keywords: land-cover, deforestation, rate fragments, remote sensing, secondary succession

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Authors: Shehu Usman Hassan

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Published accounting information in financial statements are required to provide various users - shareholders, employees, suppliers, creditors, financial analysts, stockbrokers and government agencies – with timely and reliable information useful for making prudent, effective and efficient decisions. The widespread failure in the financial information quality has created the need to improve the financial information quality and to strengthen the control of managers by setting up good firms structures. This paper investigates firm attributes from perspective of structure, monitoring, performance elements of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria. The study adopted correlational research design with balanced panel data of 14 banks as sample of the study using multiple regression as a tool of analysis. The result reveals that firms attributes (leverage, profitability, liquidity, bank size and bank growth) has as significant influence on earnings quality of listed deposit money banks in Nigeria after the adoption of IFRS, while the pre period shows that the selected firm attributes has no significant impact on earnings quality. It is therefore concluded that the adoption of IFRS is right and timely.

Keywords: earnings quality, firm attributes, listed deposit money bank, Nigeria

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Authors: Aisha Abdulkarim Aliyu, Alice Sabrina Ismail, Fadhlina Binti Ahmad

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The study's main goal is to improve Afrocentric cultural approaches in Nigerian residential environments (Kano) in terms of physical, aesthetical, and socio-cultural factors. Kano's fast-changing residential settings and city image have been subjected to a significant neoliberal restructuring process in recent decades. Architects have evolved in lockstep with the society they serve, first as an art form, then as a science, and finally as a business that designs structures. Design values have always emphasized a certain building style throughout history. Architects and architectural critics have a different perspective on them than the general public. In fact, a popular style among the general public was taken into consideration. When it comes to the current design, this study examines the values and viewpoints of architects on the usage of an Afrocentric cultural approach to housing. The qualitative data analysis of surveys conducted with Kano housing and planning professionals is used to determine the criteria for using an Afrocentric cultural approach in housing development in order to preserve and restore our cultural heritage, as well as to rank these criteria according to their importance. The professional lens on this subject differs insignificantly across Nigeria, although they do vary to some amount based on the sector of the housing industry, according to the study.

Keywords: architects lens, Afrocentric culture, housing, northern Nigeria

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Authors: Yousuf Nasser Al Khamisi

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Purpose: This paper presents a Knowledge Transfer (KT) Framework in healthcare sectors by applying a systematic literature review process to the healthcare organizations domain to identify enablers and barriers of KT in Healthcare. Methods: The paper conducted a systematic literature search of peer-reviewed papers that described key elements of KT using four databases (Medline, Cinahl, Scopus, and Proquest) for a 10-year period (1/1/2008–16/10/2017). The results of the literature review were used to build a conceptual framework of KT in healthcare organizations. The author used a systematic review of the literature, as described by Barbara Kitchenham in Procedures for Performing Systematic Reviews. Findings: The paper highlighted the impacts of using Knowledge Management (KM) concept at a healthcare organization in controlling infectious diseases in hospitals, improving family medicine performance and enhancing quality improvement practices. Moreover, it found that good-coding performance is analytically linked with a knowledge sharing network structure rich in brokerage and hierarchy rather than in density. The unavailability or ignored of the latest evidence on more cost-effective or more efficient delivery approaches leads to increase the healthcare costs and may lead to unintended results. Originality: Search procedure produced 12,093 results, of which 3523 were general articles about KM and KT. The titles and abstracts of these articles had been screened to segregate what is related and what is not. 94 articles identified by the researchers for full-text assessment. The total number of eligible articles after removing un-related articles was 22 articles.

Keywords: healthcare organisation, knowledge management, knowledge transfer, KT framework

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Authors: H. Al-Baghli, F. Al-Asfour

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The current applied asphalt technology for Kuwait roads pavement infrastructure is the hot mix asphalt (HMA) pavement, including both pen grade and polymer modified bitumen (PMBs), that is produced and compacted at high temperature levels ranging from 150 to 180 °C. There are no current specifications for warm and cold mix asphalts in Kuwait’s Ministry of Public Works (MPW) asphalt standard and specifications. The process of the conventional HMA is energy intensive and directly responsible for the emission of greenhouse gases and other environmental hazards into the atmosphere leading to significant environmental impacts and raising health risk to labors at site. Warm mix asphalt (WMA) technology, a sustainable alternative preferred in multiple countries, has many environmental advantages because it requires lower production temperatures than HMA by 20 to 40 °C. The reduction of temperatures achieved by WMA originates from multiple technologies including foaming and chemical or organic additives that aim to reduce bitumen and improve mix workability. This paper presents a literature review of WMA technologies and techniques followed by an experimental study aiming to compare the results of produced WMA samples, using a water containing additive (foaming process), at different compaction temperatures with the HMA control volumetric properties mix designed in accordance to the new MPW’s specifications and guidelines.

Keywords: warm-mix asphalt, water-bearing additives, foaming-based process, chemical additives, organic additives

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Authors: Jihad S. Daba, J. P. Dubois, Yvette Antar

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With the exponential growth of cellular users, a new generation of cellular networks is needed to enhance the required peak data rates. The co-channel interference between neighboring base stations inhibits peak data rate increase. To overcome this interference, multi-cell cooperation known as coordinated multipoint transmission is proposed. Such a solution makes use of multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems under two different structures: Micro- and macro-diversity. In this paper, we study the capacity and bit error rate in cellular networks using MIMO technology. We analyse both micro- and macro-diversity schemes and develop a hybrid model that switches between macro- and micro-diversity in the case of hard handoff based on a cut-off range of signal-to-noise ratio values. We conclude that our hybrid switched micro-macro MIMO system outperforms classical MIMO systems at the cost of increased hardware and software complexity.

Keywords: cooperative multipoint transmission, ergodic capacity, hard handoff, macro-diversity, micro-diversity, multiple-input-multiple output systems, orthogonal frequency division multiplexing

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Authors: Bhavana Mahajan

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International Relations is a discipline of paradoxes. The State is the dominant political institution, yet little attention has been accorded to why individual countries behave the way they do with the theoretical analysis dismissing the State as a reactionary monolith – thus States either play to “quest for power” or to “systemic” forces. However, States do behave as and are influenced by agents when interacting with international structures as well as with other states. While questions on “competitive power politics” and “trust” have been examined and developed to a fair extent by International Relations theorists in the post 1990s period, their application to the domain of South Asian politics is limited and little research, if any, examines the conduct of foreign policy beyond rational choice. This paper is an initial attempt to marry these theoretical insights with the foreign policy exercised by India especially the case of the “Gujral Doctrine, as one of “non-reciprocal accommodation”. Ignoring the view that such a policy move can be viewed as political “feinting” or deception, it is noteworthy that India even made the first move in terms of defining its role as one who “trusts” rather than one who “seeks” to trust, given the country’s geo-strategic context and threat perceptions.

Keywords: India’s foreign policy, South Asia, social constructivism, English school, trusting relationships, Gujral Doctrine, rationality

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Authors: Phusit Phukamchanoad

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This research aims to analyze the fundamental factors of the community leader and citizens behind the self-sufficient living in Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic. The data were collected by asking 400 citizens to fill out the questionnaires and having in-depth interviews with 30 community leaders. It was found that the factors which had influenced the practice of the sufficiency economy philosophy were age, occupation, length of time living in Vientiane, education, monthly income, monthly expense, and the sufficiency economy philosophy training. The people who had been trained could practice the sufficiency economy philosophy better at both individual and household level than the people who had not been trained. The people who were older than 36 years old had practiced the sufficiency economy philosophy more than the people who were younger than 35 years old. The people who worked in state-owned enterprises, private businesses, and government officials: teachers, police officers, soldiers, and ministers applied the sufficiency economy philosophy more than the samples who were students. The people who lived in Vientiane for more than 31 years applied the sufficiency economy philosophy more than the samples who lived in Vientiane for not more than 30 years. The people whose incomes exceeded 20,001 baht applied the sufficiency economy philosophy more than the people whose incomes did not exceed 20,000 baht. Both community leaders and citizens had a good relationship with their families and community. The community members supported each other during tough times. There were regular meetings in the community. There was unity within the families. The time to build a bond in the family was the time when everyone was eating together. Also, most community leaders and citizens had at least two jobs per one person.

Keywords: sufficiency economy philosophy, fundamental factors, way of life, Vientiane Lao PDR

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Authors: Adnan Lanjawi

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This paper is carried out to investigate the management of hazardous waste in the chemistry section which belongs to Dubai Police forensic laboratory. The chemicals are the main contributor toward the accumulation of hazardous waste in the section. This is due to the requirement to use it in analysis, such as of explosives, drugs, inorganic and fire debris cases. This leads to negative effects on the environment and to the employees’ health and safety. The research investigates the quantity of chemicals there, the labels, the storage room and equipment used. The target is to reduce the need for disposal by looking at alternative options, such as elimination, substitution and recycling. The data was collected by interviewing the top managers there who have been working in the lab more than 20 years. Also, data was collected by observing employees and how they carry out experiments. Therefore, a survey was made to assess their knowledge about the hazardous waste. The management of hazardous chemicals in the chemistry section needs to be improved. The main findings illustrate that about 110 bottles of reference substances were going to be disposed of in 2014. These bottles were bought for about 100,000 UAE Dirhams (£17,600). This means that the management of substances purchase is not organised. There is no categorisation programme in place, which makes the waste control very difficult. In addition, the findings show that chemical are segregated according to alphabetical order, whereas the efficient way is to separate them according to their nature and property. In addition, the research suggested technology and experiments to follow to reduce the need for using solvents and chemicals in the sample preparation.

Keywords: control, hazard, laboratories, waste,

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Authors: Nora Alkharji, Wafa Fallatah

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Introduction: One of the major issues to consider when is deciding on what to feed a baby is the quality of the food itself. Whilst commercially prepared infant formulas are a nutritious alternative to breast milk, and even contain some vitamins and nutrients, most major medical organizations consider breastfeeding the best nutritional option for babies. Choosing whether to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is one of the first decisions expectant parents will make. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is in agreement with other organizations such as the American Medical Association (AMA), the American Dietetic Association (ADA), and the World Health Organization (WHO) in recommending breastfeeding as the best nutrition for babies and best suited for a baby's digestive system. In addition, breastfeeding helps in the combatting of infections, prevention of allergies, and protection against various chronic conditions. The decision to breastfeed or formula feed one’s baby is a very personal one. However, certain points need to be clarified regarding the nutritional value of breastfeeding versus formula feeding to allow for informed decision-making. Methodology: -A formal debate about whether to breastfeed or formula feed babies as the better choice. -There will be two debaters, both lactation consultants -Arguments will be based on evidence-based medicine -Duration period of debated: 45 min Result: Clarification and heightened awareness of the benefits of breastfeeding. Conclusion: This debate will make the choice between breastfeeding or formula feeding a relatively easy one to make by both health worker and parents.

Keywords: breastmilk, formula milk, nutritional, comparison

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Authors: Stanley Yap, Chong Wei Ying, Leow Hon Wei

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Purpose: In Malaysia, an effective financial planning is vital to accumulate wealth and financial independence. However, retirees are required to resume working due to insufficient pension fund. This study examines how the financial decision in retirement planning is being made based on the net worth from the household. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses financial data from a married working couple with children to evaluate their composition of financial position. Numerous financial methods are made pertaining to net worth analysis, insurance needs analysis, investment portfolio rebalancing, estate planning, education planning and retirement planning to enhance the financial decision. Findings: Our results show, firstly, financial planning is essential to achieve financial independence; secondly, insurance needs, education and retirement funding are the most significant for household. Thirdly, current resources are critical to maintain family lifestyle after retirement, emergency funds for critical illness, and the long term children education funding. Practical implications: Refer to the findings, sufficient net worth is priority in financial planning. Different suggestions for household include reduction of unnecessary expenses, re-allocate of cash flow, adequate insurance coverage and re-balancing of investment portfolios to accumulate wealth. It is a challenge to obtain financial independence, hence, there is a need to increase the literature on financial planning. Originality/value: To the best of our knowledge, this is the important paper that uses financial information from household to provide solutions to enhance the efficiency of financial planning industry.

Keywords: net worth, financial planning, wealth and financial independence, retirement planning

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Authors: Zhanxing Li, Liqi Zhu

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Authorities often intervene in children’s property conflicts, which may affect young children’s ownership understanding. First possession is a typical rule of ownership judgment. We recruited Chinese preschoolers as subjects and investigated their ownership reasoning regarding first possession, by setting three conditions via a conflicting cues method, in which a third party (mother or peer friend)’s testimony was always opposite to the cue of first possession (authority/non-authority testimony condition), or only the cue of first possession was present (no testimony condition). In Study A, we examined forty-two 3- and 5-year olds’ attribution and justification of ownership. The results showed while 5-year olds gave more support for the first possessor as the owner across three conditions, 3-year olds’ choice for the first possessor had no difference from the non-first possessor in the authority testimony condition. Moreover, 3-year olds tended to justify by reference to what mother said in the authority testimony condition, 5-year olds consistently referred to the first possession in three conditions. In Study B, we added two ownership questions to quantify children’s ability of ownership reasoning with four age groups (n = 32 for the 3-year-olds, n = 33 for the 4-year-olds, n = 27 for the 5-year olds and n = 30 for the adults) to explore the developmental trajectory further. It revealed that while 5-year olds’ performances were similar to the adults’ and always judged the first possessor as owner in three conditions, 3- and 4-year olds’ performed at chance level in the authority testimony condition. The results imply that Chinese young preschooler’s ownership reasoning was susceptible to authority’s testimony. Family authority may play an important role in diluting children’s adherence to ownership principles, which will be helpful for children to learn to share with others.

Keywords: authority, ownership judgment, preschoolers, testimony

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Authors: Eugene Ivanov, Eduardo del-Rio, Igor Kapchenko, Maija Nystrӧm, Juha Kotila

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Series of low modulus beta Ti alloy billets and powders can be produced in commercial quantities using a combination of electron beam melting (EBM) and EIGA atomization processes. In the present study, TNZT alloy powder was produced and processed in the EOSINT M290 laser sintering system to produce parts for mechanical testing. Post heat treatments such as diffusion annealing to reduce internal stresses or hot isostatic pressing to remove closed pores were not applied. The density can visually be estimated to be > 99,9 %. According to EDS study Nb, Zr, and Ta are distributed homogeneously throughout the printed sample. There are no indications for any segregation or chemical inhomogeneity, i.e. variation of the element distribution. These points to the fact that under the applied experimental conditions the melt generated by the laser rapidly cools down in the SLM (Selective Laser Melting) process. The selective laser sintering yielded dense structures with relatively good surface quality. The mechanical properties, especially the elongation (24%) along with tensile strength ( > 500MPa) and modulus of elasticity (~60GPa), were found to be promising compared to titanium alloys in general.

Keywords: beta titanium alloys, additive manufacturing, powder, implants

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Authors: A. Aslihan Gokaltun, Ali Tuncel

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The unique properties of capillary electrochromatography (CEC) such as high performance, high selectivity, low consumption of both reagents and analytes ensure this technique an attractive one for the separation of biomolecules including nucleosides and nucleotides, peptides, proteins, carbohydrates. Monoliths have become a well-established separation media for CEC in the format that can be compared to a single large 'particle' that does not include interparticular voids. Convective flow through the pores of monolith significantly accelerates the rate of mass transfer and enables a substantial increase in the speed of the separation. In this work, we propose a new approach for the preparation of cationic monolithic stationary phase for capillary electrochromatography. Instead of utilizing a charge bearing monomer during polymerization, the desired charge-bearing group is generated on the capillary monolith after polymerization by using the reactive moiety of the monolithic support via one-pot, simple reaction. Optimized monolithic column compensates the disadvantages of frequently used reversed phases, which are difficult for separation of polar solutes. Rapid separation and high column efficiencies are achieved for the separation of neutral analytes, nucleic acid bases and nucleosides in reversed phase mode. Capillary monolith showed satisfactory hydrodynamic permeability and mechanical stability with relative standard deviation (RSD) values below 2 %. A new promising, reactive support that has a 'ligand selection flexibility' due to its reactive functionality represent a new family of separation media for CEC.

Keywords: biomolecules, capillary electrochromatography, cationic monolith, neutral analytes

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Authors: Wafa Tourab, Abdessalem Babouri, Mohamed Nemamcha

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This work presents an experimental and theoretical characterization of electromagnetic environment in the vicinity of EL-HADJAR high voltage substation located in the eastern Algerian within a very high populated zone. There have been analyses on the effects of electromagnetic fields emanating from coupled multi-lines power systems on the health of the workers and people living in proximity of substations. An experimental investigation has been conducted around a circuit of two 220Kv lines running in parallel. The experimental results are validated by a flexible code of calculus developed in the environment Matlab. The implications of the results are discussed and are in very good agreement with the ICNIRP reference levels for occupational and non-occupational exposures. In a case of study, the separation between the two structures “S” is varied to demonstrate its influence on the electric and magnetic charges quantities generated by the circuit of lines proposed. It is found that increasing S decreases the electric and magnetic fields which occur at the center of the structure then reduces the coupling between lines. We concluded that the evaluation of the spacing between the phase conductors is of paramount interest in the preparation of the line’s implantation inside the electrical posts to reduce them radiations in the environment.

Keywords: low frequency, electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic coupling, high voltage power lines

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Authors: Titap Yazicioglu

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Purpose: Losing an eye due to trauma is a challenging situation that reduces the quality of life by causing physical, cosmetic, and serious psychological problems. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of aesthetic rehabilitation on the change in psychological status and quality of life of patients with eye loss resulting in phthisis bulbi. Materials and Methods: The files of 25 males and 15 females with an average age of 27.5 years who had trauma-related phthisic eye and had applied to the Department of Ophthalmology at the Dr. Lütfi Kırdar Kartal Education and Research Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey, for aesthetic rehabilitation during the years 2015-19 were retrospectively analyzed. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Beck Anxiety Scale(BAS), and Short Form 36 quality-of-life survey (SF-36) were used to collect data on admission and one-year follow-up. Results: Of the patients reviewed, 65% stated that eye loss had caused their avoidance of family and social environments; 30% had moderate anxiety and depression. The post-operative sub-dimension scores of general health, emotional role function, and physical and social functions were statistically significant (p = 0.001; p<0.01), but the variations in the sub-dimension scores of vitality, mental health, and total physical health were not (p>0.05). Conclusion: Lossing an eye is a traumatic event that can affect all aspects of a person’s social and professional life. A patient who has suffered from the psychological damage of physical loss of eye needs a prosthesis that can give the desired function and appearance in different aspects of life.

Keywords: eye loss, phthisis bulbi, quality of life, psychological trauma

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Authors: Benguerine Zohra, Merzak Siham, Pr. Chelghoum

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Introduction: The widespread production and consumption of antibiotics have raised significant concerns due to various adverse effects and the development of bacterial resistance. This increasing resistance to currently available antibiotics necessitates the search for new antibacterial agents. One alternative strategy to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria is the use of natural antimicrobial substances such as plant extracts. This study aims to provide an overview of the antibacterial effects of Salvia officinalis (sage), a plant native to the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. Materials and Methods: This review was conducted by searching studies in databases such as PubMed, Scopus, JSTOR, and SpringerLink. The search terms were “Salvia officinalis L.” and “antibacterial effects.” Only studies that met our inclusion criteria (in English, focusing on the antibacterial effects of Salvia officinalis L., and primarily dated from 2012 to 2023) were considered for further review. Results and Discussion: The initial search strategy identified approximately 78 references, of which only 13 articles were included in this review. The synthesis of these articles revealed that multiple data sources confirm the antimicrobial effects of S. officinalis. Its essential oil and alcoholic extract exhibit strong bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Conclusion: The significant value of the extract, oil, and leaves of S. officinalis demands further studies on other useful and unknown properties of this multipurpose plant.

Keywords: salvia officinalis, literature review, antibacterial., botany

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Authors: Karl Bryant Buan, Owaida Macadadaya Jr., Mon Eleazar Nonato, Zeke Andrew Palabrica, Charistabelle Mae Santiago

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This study explored the occupational health risks faced by employees in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, particularly in the Telco Account department of Alorica. The study used a stratified sampling method and a diagnostic tool called Workplace Integrated Safety and Health (WISH) Assessment to measure and evaluate the employees' perception of workplace health and safety. The results showed that more than 50% of call center workers reported feeling emotionally drained, sleep deprived, burnt out, and in need of anxiety or stress medication due to their work. Additionally, there was a significant difference in the perception of employee diversity, specifically in terms of leadership commitment, participation, policies, programs, and practices. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) results revealed that most employees complained of discomfort in their lower back, shoulder, upper back, neck, and hip. The researchers recommended an implementation plan for alternative work set-up, a satisfaction survey for employees, team-building activities or programs, and motivational approaches through benefits, incentives, and rewards.

Keywords: WISH assessment, CMDQ, ANOVA, diverse SOGIESC

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Authors: Seyyed Mohammad Hasheminia, Heoung Jae Chun, Jong Chan Park, Hong Suk Chang

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Composite joints have been getting attention recently due to their high specific mechanical strength to weight ratio that is crucial for structures such as aircrafts and automobiles. In this study on hybrid joints, quasi-static experiments and finite element analysis were performed to investigate the failure mechanism of hybrid composite joint with respect to the joint properties such as the adhesive material, clamping force, and joint geometry. The outcomes demonstrated that the stiffness of the adhesive is the most imperative design parameter. In this investigation, two adhesives with various stiffness values were utilized. Regarding the joints utilizing the adhesive with the lower stiffness modulus, it was observed that the load was exchanged promptly through the adhesive since it was shared more proficiently between the bolt and adhesive. This phenomenon permitted the hybrid joints with low-modulus adhesive to support more prominent loads before failure when contrasted with the joints that utilize the stiffer adhesive. In the next step, the stress share between the bond and bolt as a function of various design parameters was studied using a finite element model in which it was understood that the geometrical parameters such as joint overlap and width have a significant influence on the load sharing between the bolt and the adhesive.

Keywords: composite joints, composite materials, hybrid joints, single-lap joint

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Authors: Hui-Min Lai, Chin-Pin Chen, Yung-Fu Chang

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The expectation-confirmation model (ECM) is one of the most widely used models for evaluating information system continuance, and this model has been extended to other study backgrounds, or expanded with other theoretical perspectives. However, combining ECM with other theories or investigating the background problem may produce some disparities, thus generating inaccurate conclusions. Habit is considered to be an important factor that influences the user’s continuance behavior. This paper thus critically examines seven pairs of relationships from the original ECM and the habit variable. A meta-analysis was used to tackle the development of ECM research over the last 10 years from a range of journals and conference papers published in 2005–2014. Forty-six journal articles and 19 conference papers were selected for analysis. The results confirm our prediction that a high effect size for the seven pairs of relationships was obtained (ranging from r=0.386 to r=0.588). Furthermore, a meta-analytic structural equation modeling was performed to simultaneously test all relationships. The results show that habit had a significant positive effect on continuance intention at p<=0.05 and that the six other pairs of relationships were significant at p<0.10. Based on the findings, we refined our original research model and an alternative model was proposed for understanding and predicting information system continuance. Some theoretical implications are also discussed.

Keywords: Expectation-confirmation theory, Expectation-confirmation model, Meta-analysis, meta-analytic structural equation modeling.

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Authors: Amer Alzaidi

Abstract:

Islamic banking is an alternative solution to those people who are worried about Riba (interest) in all forms of transaction while using banking services and products. Today, banks around the world have Islamic banking services and products the in one form or another. The use of Islamic banking is not only restricted to Muslims world but have reached to non-Muslim countries like UK, USA, Australia and Canada as well. Compared to conventional banking, the adoption rate of Islamic banking is low because of unawareness of customers, financial cost, and performance issues. The interest in Islamic banking by financial institutions as well as low adoption rate motivated us to look this matter into detail in order to identify Critical Success Factors, which are positively motivating customers to use Islamic banking services/ products and Critical Risk Factors, which have significantly negative effect on the adoption of Islamic banking. The CSFs and CRFs will be initially identified from the literature using methodology called Systematic Literature Review, followed by the empirical analysis of these factors using survey research method. Later, we will develop Islamic Banking Adoption Model (IBAM) to help banks to assess their Islamic banking strategic positioning and to improve their operational efficiency. The first potential contribution of this research study will be the development of IBAM protocol that will provide us guidelines for conducting our actual SLR. The second major contribution of this research will be the development of Islamic Banking Adoption Model (IBAM), and the third contribution of this research study will be the evaluation of the developed IBMA.

Keywords: Islamic banking, adoption model, protocol, technology

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Authors: Fines Fatimah, SH. MH.

Abstract:

Indonesia is one of the countries that has ratified the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities). The ratification of this convention brings consequences on the adjustment of national legislation with the UNCRPD convention, where this ratification at the same time is a measure in the eyes of the international community that a state party could be consistent with the issues and problems of disability. Persons with disabilities often have little access to justice when they are forced to deal with the criminal justice system. Pursuit of justice through litigation are often not in their favor, therefore without any awareness of law enforcement/awareness of disability will further complicate access to justice for persons with disabilities. Under Article 13 of the UNCRPD, it appeared that the convention requires ratifying states to guarantee equal opportunity and treatment in justice for persons with disabilities. The States should also ensure that any judicial rules must be adapted to the circumstances of persons with disabilities so that people with disabilities can fully participate in all stages of the trial court and, for example, as a witness. Finally, the state must provide training to understand these persons with disabilities (for those who work in the judiciary institution such as police or prison officials). Further, this paper aims to describe problem faced by persons with intellectual disabilities to access justice in Indonesian Criminal Justice System. This paper tries to find and propose the alternative solutions to promote the quality of law enforcement in Indonesia, especially for persons with intellectual disabilities.

Keywords: access to justice, Indonesian criminal justice system, intellectual disability, ratifying states

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Authors: Amal Alatar

Abstract:

The paper focuses on the exploration of architectural characteristics and decorative elements of the temple of Echmun, emphasizing the socio-economic significance of Sidon during the Greek and Roman periods to understand the implications of their spread and development on the Phoenician cities, as well as reveal the symbolical and societal connotations that may have been connected with the buildings, in order to allow a well-founded examination of common characteristics. In general, studying Phoenician archaeology posed some problems. The main problem is that most major Phoenician settlements lay beneath modern urban centers. This situation often prevented or largely restricted full archaeological investigations; the publications are frequently not complete enough to determine the basic characteristics of the architectural elements. Another key problem is the political instability of the region, which affected the archaeological research in the Phoenician homeland for many years. Nevertheless, during the past decades, an ever-growing cache of data was acquired from the archaeological surroundings of the Phoenician sites. Both the architectural elements from the Greek and Roman period have never been studied as a group before. Surprisingly, they have been largely ignored, despite their apparent profusion throughout the cities. The Roman period of Sidon has generally been neglected in preference to earlier periods, where it is often difficult to distinguish between Roman, Bronze age, medieval and Ottoman structures.

Keywords: archaeology, classical, Hellenistic, Eshmun Temple, architecture, Sidon, Lebanon

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Authors: Talat Baran

Abstract:

Palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling reactions are powerful ways for synthesis of biaryls compounds and so far different palladium sources as have been used in catalyst systems. However, the high cost of the ligands using as support materials for palladium ion and so researchers have explored alternative low-cost support materials such as silica, cellule and zeolite. A natural polymer chitosan is suitable for support material because of it unique properties such as eco-friendly, renewable, abundant, low cost, biodegradable and it has free reactive -NH2 and –OH groups. Especially, pendant amino groups of chitosan can easily react with carbonyl groups of aldehyde or ketone by Schiff base formation and thus palladium ions can coordinate with imine groups of Schiff base. This purpose, in this study, firstly a new chitosan Schiff base supported palladium (II) catalyst was synthesized and its chemical structure was characterized with FT-IR, SEM/EDAX, XRD, TG-DTG, ICP-OES and magnetic moment techniques. Then catalytic performance of the catalyst was investigated in Suzuki cross coupling reactions under simple and fast microwave heating methods. Also, recycle activity of palladium catalyst was tested under optimum condition and the catalyst showed long life time. At the end of catalytic performance tests of chitosan supported palladium (II) catalysts indicated high turnover numbers, turnover frequency and selectivity with very small loading catalyst

Keywords: catalyst, chitosan, Schiff base, Suzuki coupling

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Authors: Jing Lin, Zou Yiming, Goei Ronn, Li Yun, Amanda Ong Jiamin, Alfred Tok Iing Yoong

Abstract:

High-entropy alloy (HEA) coatings comprise multiple (five or more) principal elements that give superior mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. However, the current synthesis methods of HEA coating still face huge challenges in facile and controllable preparation, as well as conformal integration, which seriously restricts their potential applications. Herein, we report a controllable synthesis of conformal quinary HEA coating consisting of noble metals (Rh, Ru, Ir, Pt, and Pd) by using the atomic layer deposition (ALD) with a post-annealing approach. This approach realizes low temperature (below 200 °C), precise control (nanoscale), and conformal synthesis (over complex substrates) of HEA coating. Furthermore, the resulting quinary HEA coating shows promising potential as a platform for catalysis, exhibiting substantially enhanced electrocatalytic hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) performances as compared to other noble metal-based structures such as single metal coating or multi-layered metal composites.

Keywords: high-entropy alloy, thin-film, catalysis, water splitting, atomic layer deposition

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Authors: Yan Cheng, Yijun Shao, James Rudolph, Charlene R. Weir, Beth Sahlmann, Qing Zeng-Treitler

Abstract:

Supervised predictive models require labeled data for training purposes. Complete and accurate labeled data, i.e., a ‘gold standard’, is not always available, and imperfectly labeled data may need to serve as an alternative. An important question is if the accuracy of the labeled data creates a performance ceiling for the trained model. In this study, we trained several models to recognize the presence of delirium in clinical documents using data with annotations that are not completely accurate (i.e., weakly-supervised learning). In the external evaluation, the support vector machine model with a linear kernel performed best, achieving an area under the curve of 89.3% and accuracy of 88%, surpassing the 80% accuracy of the training sample. We then generated a set of simulated data and carried out a series of experiments which demonstrated that models trained on imperfect data can (but do not always) outperform the accuracy of the training data, e.g., the area under the curve for some models is higher than 80% when trained on the data with an error rate of 40%. Our experiments also showed that the error resistance of linear modeling is associated with larger sample size, error type, and linearity of the data (all p-values < 0.001). In conclusion, this study sheds light on the usefulness of imperfect data in clinical research via weakly-supervised learning.

Keywords: weakly-supervised learning, support vector machine, prediction, delirium, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 203