Search results for: significance

Authors: Rima Zakzouk, Noriko Hiraishi, Mohamed Mahdi Alshahni, Koichi Makimura, Junji Tagami

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Background and Purpose: Silver diamine fluoride (SDF) is used to prevent and arrest dental caries. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of SDF on reducing Candida albicans adhesion on dentin. Materials and Methods: Bovine dentin disks (6×6 mm) were cut by Isomet and polished using grit silicon carbide papers down to 2000 in order to obtain flat dentin surfaces. Samples were divided into two groups. The first group (SDF group) was treated with 38% SDF for 3 min, while the other group (control group) did not undergo SDF treatment. All samples were exposed to C. albicans suspension, washed after 6 hours incubation at 30 °C before to be tested using XTT (2,3-Bis-(2-Methoxy-4-Nitro-5-Sulfophenyl)-2H-Tetrazolium-5-Carboxanilide) and real time PCR approaches. Statistical analyses of the results were performed at the significance level α = 0.05. Results: SDF inhibited C. albicans adhesion onto dentin. A significant difference was found between the SDF and control groups in both XTT and real time PCR tests. Conclusion: Using SDF to arrest the caries, could inhibit the Candida growth on dentin.

Keywords: silver diamine fluoride, dentin, real time PCR, XTT

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Authors: David O. A. Ogunrinade

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The significance of education to the growth and development of man is imperative. The Nigerian education philosophy and national objectives are geared towards self-realization, social, cultural, and economic, just to mention a few. The acquisition of skills and abilities, both mental and physical, for individual to live and contribute to the development of society should be of major importance to a functional education curriculum. This study specifically set out to examine the momentous potentials of popular music as a veritable tool to be properly incorporated into the curriculum of music education in Nigeria. This will equip the learners to be self-reliant and contribute to the national economy. Interviews with exponents of Nigerian popular music and the stakeholders in the music industry, as well as audio-visual materials were employed to elicit information. Findings reveal that there are lots of potentials and dexterities in popular music that can enable Nigerian music graduates to contribute their own quota to the national development of the nation, as well as being useful to themselves. If the Nigerian society is not to be plagued by a breed of unemployable youths who could not raise the economic productivity of the country, it is deemed pertinent that the music curriculum as one of the vocational education needs to be reviewed to incorporate popular music, as well as to reflect more of the Nigerian cultural heritage.

Keywords: popular music, music curriculum, music in schools, popular music prospect

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Authors: Elena Valeryevna Pozhidaeva

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This linguistic case study is based on an interaction between the social position and foodways. In every culture there is a social hierarchical system in which there can be means to express and to identify the social status of a person. Food serves as a class indicator. The British being a verbal nation use the words as a preferred medium for signalling and recognising the social status. The linguistic analysis reflects a symbolic hierarchy determined by social groups in the UK. The linguistic class indicators of a British hierarchical system are detectable directly – in speech acts. They are articulated in every aspect of a national identity’s life from preferences of the food and the choice to call it to the names of the meals. The linguistic class indicators can as well be detected indirectly – through symbolic meaning or via the choice of the mealtime, its class (e.g the classes of tea or marmalade), the place to buy food (the class of the supermarket) and consume it (the places for eating out and the frequency of such practices). Under analysis of this study are not only food items and their names but also such categories as cutlery as a class indicator and the act of eating together as a practice of social significance and a class indicator. Current social changes and economic developments are considered and their influence on the class indicators appearance and transformation.

Keywords: linguistic, class, social indicator, English, food class

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Authors: Eva Tsouparopoulou, Maria Symeonaki

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The internationally documented declining survey response rates of the last two decades are mainly attributed to refusals. In fieldwork, a refusal may be obtained not only from the respondent himself/herself, but from other sources on the respondent’s behalf, such as other household members, apartment building residents or administrator(s), and neighborhood residents. In this paper, we investigate how the composition of the demographic profile of survey refusals changes when different classifications are implemented and the classification issues arising from that. The analysis is based on the 2002-2018 European Social Survey (ESS) datasets for Belgium, Germany, and United Kingdom. For these three countries, the size of selected sample units coded as a type of refusal for all nine under investigation rounds was large enough to meet the purposes of the analysis. The results indicate the existence of four different possible classifications that can be implemented and the significance of choosing the one that strengthens the contrasts of the different types of respondents' demographic profiles. Since the foundation of social quantitative research lies in the triptych of definition, classification, and measurement, this study aims to identify the multiplicity of the definition of survey refusals as a methodological tool for the continually growing research on non-response.

Keywords: non-response, refusals, European social survey, classification

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Authors: Pongsawee Supanonth

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This study aims to investigate the consumer behavior and marketing mixed factor affect on consumer decision making for independent movies presented in Lido cinema. The research method will use quantitative research, data was collected by questionnaires distributed to the audience in the Lido cinema for 400 sample by accidental sampling technique. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistic including percentage, mean, standard deviation and inferential statistic including independent t-test for hypothesis testing. The results showed that marketing mixed factors affecting consumer decision-making for Independent movies presented in Lido cinema by gender as different as less than the 0.05 significance level, it was found that the kind of movie ,quality of theater ,price of ticket, facility of watching movies, staff services and promotion of Lido cinema respectively had a vital influence on their attention and response which makes the advertisement more attractive is in harmony with the research hypotheses also.

Keywords: consumer behavior, marketing mixed factor, resonance, consumer decision making, Lido cinema

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Authors: Hossain A, Hossain S.

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Introduction: In a small cohort, we sought to assess the magnetic resonance spectroscopy's (MRS) ability to predict the presence of metastatic lesions. Method: A Popular Diagnostic Centre Limited enrolled patients with neuroepithelial tumors. The 1H CSI MRS of the brain allows us to detect changes in the concentration of specific metabolites caused by metastatic lesions. Among these metabolites are N-acetyl-aspartate (NNA), creatine (Cr), and choline (Cho). For Cho, NAA, Cr, and Cr₂, the metabolic ratio was calculated using the division method. Results: The NAA values were 0.63 and 5.65 for tumor cells, 1.86 and 5.66 for normal cells, and 1.86 and 5.66 for normal cells 2. NAA values for normal cells 1 were 1.84, 10.6, and 1.86 for normal cells 2, respectively. Cho levels were as low as 0.8 and 10.53 in the tumor cell, compared to 1.12 and 2.7 in the normal cell 1 and 1.24 and 6.36 in the normal cell 2. Cho/Cr₂ barely distinguished itself from the other ratios in terms of significance. For tumor cells, the ratios of Cho/NAA, Cho/Cr₂, NAA/Cho, and NAA/Cr₂ were significant. Normal cell 1 had significant Cho/NAA, Cho/Cr, NAA/Cho, and NAA/Cr ratios. Conclusion: The clinical result can be improved by using 1H-MRSI to guide the size of resection for metastatic lesions. Even though it is non-invasive and doesn't present any difficulties during the procedure, MRS has been shown to predict the detection of metastatic lesions.

Keywords: metabolite ratio, MRI images, metastatic lesion, MR spectroscopy, N-acetyl-aspartate

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Authors: Sangwon Han, Chengquan Jin

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Time-cost trade-off (TCTO) is one of the most significant part of construction project management. Despite the significance, current TCTO analysis, based on the Critical Path Method, does not consider resource constraint, and accordingly sometimes generates an impractical and/or infeasible schedule planning in terms of resource availability. Therefore, resource constraint needs to be considered when doing TCTO analysis. In this research, genetic algorithms (GA) based optimization model is created in order to find the optimal schedule. This model is utilized to compare four distinct scenarios (i.e., 1) initial CPM, 2) TCTO without considering resource constraint, 3) resource allocation after TCTO, and 4) TCTO with considering resource constraint) in terms of duration, cost, and resource utilization. The comparison results identify that ‘TCTO with considering resource constraint’ generates the optimal schedule with the respect of duration, cost, and resource. This verifies the need for consideration of resource constraint when doing TCTO analysis. It is expected that the proposed model will produce more feasible and optimal schedule.

Keywords: time-cost trade-off, genetic algorithms, critical path, resource availability

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Authors: Naureen Naeem, M. S. Aslam

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Chia seeds found to be a rich source of dietary fiber contain oil which is high in omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids and helpful in the control of cardiovascular diseases. Owing to its spectacular significance, present research had been designed to explore its effect on cholesterol level of the individuals after consumption of chia seed oil supplemented ice cream. The project was designed in such a manner that fat of ice cream was replaced with chia seed oil in different proportions i.e., 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. After physico-chemical and sensory evaluation of ice cream, best treatment was selected and used for efficacy trials. After baseline line study and thorough inclusion criteria 10 individuals were selected and divided into two groups. One group treated as control and the other was given chia seed oil supplemented l(50%) ice cream. Significant decrease in cholesterol level was observed in the treated group. 18% decrease in cholesterol level was observed at 40th day followed by 8% at 20th day. Similarly 20% decrease in LDL cholesterol with 14% increase in HDL cholesterol. It was recommended that further trials be conducted with sophisticated techniques to completely replace saturated fat in ice cream with unsaturated fats and to study its effect in hyperglycemia and oxidative stress.

Keywords: hypercholesterolemia, chia seed oil, HDL, triglycerides

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Authors: Qiang Zhang, Xiaojian Hu1

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Intersection is the place where vehicles and pedestrians must pass through, turn and evacuate. Obtaining the motion data of vehicles near the intersection is of great significance for transportation research. Since there are usually many targets and there are more conflicts between targets, this makes it difficult to obtain vehicle motion parameters in traffic videos of intersections. According to the characteristics of traffic videos, this paper applies video technology to realize the automated track, count and trajectory extraction of vehicles to collect traffic data by roadside surveillance cameras installed near the intersections. Based on the video recognition method, the vehicles in each lane near the intersection are tracked with extracting trajectory and counted respectively in various degrees of occlusion and visibility. The performances are compared with current recognized CPU-based algorithms of real-time tracking-by-detection. The speed of the presented system is higher than the others and the system has a better real-time performance. The accuracy of direction has reached about 94.99% on average, and the accuracy of classification and statistics has reached about 75.12% on average.

Keywords: tracking and statistics, vehicle, signalized intersection, motion parameter, trajectory

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Authors: Cui Long (Allen)

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The role of the Arctic in world politics and international relations has increased significantly over the past decades. With its large natural resources, the Arctic region has important geopolitical, strategic, and economic significance. All this determines the interest in it not only of the Arctic states but also of states located far from the Arctic. One of these states is the People's Republic of China. Relations between China and Russia in recent decades have been built on the basis of strategic partnership. Joint projects in the Arctic have become the most important priority area of this partnership. These are projects in the transport and energy fields. A large number of works by Russian scientists are devoted to the Sino-Russian Arctic cooperation. Most authors consider cooperation as a guarantee of stability for China and Russia in a globalized world. However, there are authors who believe that there are separate contradictions in the relations between the Arctic and non-Arctic countries. In their opinion, China sometimes acts as a competitor, and its activities become expansionist. In general, according to the Russian authors, Sino-Russian cooperation is mutually beneficial and is under development. China and Russia have a long way to go in the issue of sustainable development of the Arctic.

Keywords: People’s Republic of China, Russian Federation, Arctic, historiography

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Authors: Isyaku Labaran Fagge

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This study investigated on appraisal of civil servants level of participation in recreational activities in North Western States of Nigeria. To achieve this purpose, a descriptive survey was employed for the designed questionnaire which were administered on 300 respondents, who served as subject for this study, in North Western States of Nigeria. Descriptive statistics of simple frequency count, percentage and Chi square (x2) statistical techniques at 0.05 alpha level were used for all statistical tests of significance. The findings of the study revealed that senior civil servants by (gender, status and location) do participate in recreational activities. On the knowledgeable personnels, all the recreational centres (by gender, status and location) had no knowledgeable personnels to handle the centres across North Western States. Many recreational centers should be create. Government should train and employ more knowledgeable personnel to handle the centres. Civil servants in urban areas do participate more than the civil servants in rural areas.

Keywords: recreation, civil servants, participation, recreational activities

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Authors: S. S. L. Andrade, E. A. Souza, L. C. L. Santos, C. Moraes, A. K. C. L. Lobato

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Biodiesel production using membrane reactor has become increasingly studied, because this process minimizes some of the main problems encountered in the biodiesel purification. The membrane reactor tries to minimize post-treatment steps, resulting in cost savings and enabling the competitiveness of biodiesel produced by homogeneous alkaline catalysis. This is due to the reaction and product separation may occur simultaneously. In order to evaluate the production of biodiesel from soybean oils using a tubular membrane reactor, a factorial experimental design was conducted (2³) to evaluate the influence of following variables: temperature (45 to 60 °C), catalyst concentration (0.5 to 1% by weight) and molar ratio of oil/methanol (1/6 to 1/9). In addition, the parametric sensitivity was evaluated by the analysis of variance and model through the response surface. The results showed a tendency of influence of the variables in the reaction conversion. The significance effect was higher for the catalyst concentration followed by the molar ratio of oil/methanol and finally the temperature. The best result was obtained under the conditions of 1% catalyst (KOH), molar ratio oil/methanol of 1/9 and temperature of 60 °C, resulting in an ester content of 99.07%.

Keywords: biodiesel production, factorial design, membrane reactor, soybean oil

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Authors: Vineet Gairola

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In many cultures, ethnographers have tried to set up a tight link between music and possession. However, they rarely informed us about the psychology of interactions between music and the possessed. Ancient myths and the archetypal find expression through the rituals practiced in Uttarakhand. In Uttarakhand (a part of the Central Himalayan region), an intriguing archetypal healing mechanism takes place. Some people get 'possessed' by a deity and shower blessings onto people gathered for a puja in a temple, where invocation of deity takes place through two archetypal drumming instruments played together named dhol-damaun. There is devi-doli (palanquin of the goddess) worship, which is carried on the shoulders of two people and is said to be tilting and shaking on its own. Archetypal in the modern mind survives effortlessly. The 'oceanic' of religious feelings are explored through an oral text of Dholsagar. The method of ethnography along with case-studies has been used. A substantial part of fieldwork was carried out in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand. The research suggests that the collective unconscious is also sonic in nature, which is characterized by sounds and rhythms—not only symbols and images, as Dr. Jung suggested.

Keywords: archetypal, music, myth, mysticism, possession, sonic collective unconscious

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Authors: A. Fogliata, L. Martiniello, A. Ambretti

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Introduction: The significance of balance and stability in physical education among adolescents is well-established. This study aims to assess the efficacy of Centering (CENT), which employs intra-abdominal pressure (IAP) in line with the Synchrony Method, in optimizing balance and reducing perceived stress. Materials and Methods: A 6-week intervention was conducted on a sample of adolescents, divided into a control group and an experimental group that incorporated CENT into their physical education program. The Stork Balance Test and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were used to measure changes. Results: Findings revealed a significant enhancement in the balance of both the dominant and non-dominant limbs in the experimental group compared to the control group. Moreover, the PSS test indicated a reduction in perceived stress within the experimental group. Conclusion: Integrating the centering technique into physical education programs can lead to substantial improvements in adolescents' balance and stability, in addition to a reduction in perceived stress levels. These findings suggest the need for further research on broader populations to solidify these pivotal outcomes.

Keywords: adolescents, physical education, balance, centering, intra-abdominal pressure

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Authors: J. O. Idoko, I. Nwajiaku

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Unripe and ripe plantain were dried and milled into flour and used with wheat flour in biscuit production to determine the best plantain-wheat composite flour for biscuit production. The blends as follows: 100% wheat flour, 100% ripe plantain flour, 100% unripe plantain flour, 50% wheat flour and 50% ripe plantain flour and 50% wheat flour and 50% unripe plantain flour. The Biscuit samples were stored at ambient temperature for 8 weeks after which the equilibrium moisture content and water activity were determined. The sensory evaluation of the biscuit samples was also determined. The results of these analyses showed 100% unripe plantain flour as the most stable of the biscuit samples judging from its equilibrium moisture content level of 0.32% and water activity of 0.62. The sensory evaluation results showed Biscuit made from 150:50 ripe plantain and wheat flour as most generally accepted at 5% level of significance.

Keywords: biscuit, equilibrium moisture content, performance, plantain, water activity

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Authors: Sunil M. Gaikwad, Yogesh J. Koli, Gopal A. Raut, Ganesh P. Bhawane

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The present investigation was directed to study the diversity of short-horned grasshoppers from a forested area of Kolhapur district, Maharashtra, India, which is spread along the hilly terrain of the Northern Western Ghats. The collection was made during 2013 to 2015, and identified with the help of a reference collection of ZSI, Kolkata, and recent literature and dry preserved. The study resulted in the enumeration of 40 species of short-horned grasshoppers belonging to four families of suborder: Caelifera. The family Acrididae was dominant (27 species) followed by Tetrigidae (eight species), Pyrgomorphidae (four species) and Chorotypidae (one species). The report of 40 species from the forest habitat of the study region highlights the significance of the Western Ghats. Ecologically, short-horned grasshoppers are integral to food chains, being consumed by a wide variety of animals. The observations of the present investigation may prove useful for conservation of the Diversity in Northern Western Ghats.

Keywords: diversity, Kolhapur, northern western Ghats, short-horned grasshoppers

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Authors: Widhi Hanantyo Suryadinata

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Efforts undertaken by Indonesia and China to shift the strategies and security of renewable energy on a global stage involve approaches through policy construction related to rare minerals processing or value-adding in Indonesia and manufacturing policies through the New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) policy in China. Both policies encompass several practical regulations and policies that can be utilized for the implementation of Indonesia and China's grand efforts and ideas. Policy development in Indonesia and China can be analyzed using a comparative analysis method, as well as employing a pyramid illustration to identify policy construction phases based on the real conditions of the domestic market and implemented policies. This approach also helps to identify the potential integration of policies needed to enhance the policy development phase of a country within the pyramid. It also emphasizes the significance of integration policy to redefine renewable energy strategy and security on the global stage.

Keywords: global renewable energy security, global energy security, policy development, comparative analysis, shifting of global energy security, Indonesia, China

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Authors: Xinyuan Liu, Xiaojun Jing, Yuan He, Junsheng Mu

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Aspect-based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) has attracted much attention due to its capacity to determine the sentiment polarity of the certain aspect in a sentence. In previous works, great significance of the interaction between aspect and sentence has been exhibited in ABSA. In consequence, a Multi-Level Attentional Networks (MLAN) is proposed. MLAN consists of four parts: Embedding Layer, Encoding Layer, Multi-Level Attentional (MLA) Layers and Final Prediction Layer. Among these parts, MLA Layers including Aspect Level Attentional (ALA) Layer and Interactive Attentional (ILA) Layer is the innovation of MLAN, whose function is to focus on the important information and obtain multiple levels’ attentional weighted representation of aspect and sentence. In the experiments, MLAN is compared with classical TD-LSTM, MemNet, RAM, ATAE-LSTM, IAN, AOA, LCR-Rot and AEN-GloVe on SemEval 2014 Dataset. The experimental results show that MLAN outperforms those state-of-the-art models greatly. And in case study, the works of ALA Layer and ILA Layer have been proven to be effective and interpretable.

Keywords: deep learning, aspect-based sentiment analysis, attention, natural language processing

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Authors: Shankar M. Bakkannavar, Smitha Nayak, Vinod C. Nayak, Ravi Bagali

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Attendance rate for hospital outpatient appointments plays a pivotal role in operational efficiency of a hospital. Strategic interventions like ‘reminder systems’ prior to the scheduled appointment has proved to be an effective strategy for outpatient appointment ‘show-ups’. This study is designed with an objective to assess the effectiveness of SMS reminders as an intervention to enhance the effectiveness of hospital outpatient attendance. Method: The survey was conducted at Columbia Asia Hosiptal, Bangalore. We surveyed 60 patients who had a scheduled outpatient appointment in Department of General Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Orthopedics department, as these departments had a heavy patient flow and had higher contributions to the top line of the hospital. Results: Majority (64%) of the patients preferred to be sent an SMS reminder on the outpatient appointment schedule. 37 (61%) respondents stated that the ideally, reminders could be effective only if they are sent 24-48 hours prior to the appointment schedule. 41(68%) respondents were of the opinion that a minimum of two reminders would be necessary to ensure patients show up for the appointment. 1% level of significance. It also observed that there is strong association between age and preference on mode of reminder (P=0.002).

Keywords: reminder systems, appointment show-ups, SMS reminders, health Information

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Authors: Ashlyn Smith, Chloe Zampelli, Vincent Manna, Vernon Murray

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According to Polaris (a UN affiliate), there are currently 44 million human trafficking victims globally. Using a sample of 137 labor trafficking victims in Poland, we found that all were Ukrainian citizens. We categorized victims according to the “Victim Intervention Marketing” (Murray) social marketing framework. The largest victim type consisted of “Willing Assimilators” (57%). This means they entered their particular trafficking situations without coercion and were left at will. Such victims are typically driven by financial desperation. Twenty percent (20%) of Willing Assimilators were men, and 80% were women. Victims who were not Willing Assimilators were forced as either “Enlightened Apostates” (37%) or “Tricked and Trapped” (7%). All of the forced victims were women. Crosstabs with Chi-square test (Pearson Chi-Square test significance = .002) results indicated that the male victims were all between 30 and 38 years old, while female victim ages ranged from 24 to 47. Accordingly, labor trafficking victim interventions in Poland should be age-sensitive and focus on three areas: 1) economic development for the Willing Assimilators, 2) training to identify fraudulent job postings, etc. for the Tricked and Trapped segment, and 3) training to equip potential victims to distrust certain close “loved ones” for the Enlightened Apostates.

Keywords: Poland, labor trafficking, social marketing, victim intervention marketing

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Authors: Prajna Metta, Yanti Rusyanti, Nunung Rusminah, Bremmy Laksono

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The decrease of neutrophil chemotaxis function may cause increased susceptibility to aggressive periodontitis (AP). Neutrophil chemotaxis is affected by formyl peptide receptor 1 (FPR1), which when activated will respond to bacterial chemotactic peptide formyl methionyl leusyl phenylalanine (FMLP). FPR1 protein value is decreased in response to a wide number of inflammatory stimuli in AP patients. This study was aimed to assess the alteration of FPR1 protein value in AP patients and if FPR1 protein value could be used as an indicator of neutrophil chemotaxis dysfunction in AP. This is a case control study with 20 AP patients and 20 control subjects. Three milliliters of peripheral blood were drawn and analyzed for FPR1 protein value with ELISA. The data were statistically analyzed with Mann-Whitney test (p>0,05). Results showed that the mean value of FPR1 protein value in AP group is 0,353 pg/mL (0,11 to 1,18 pg/mL) and the mean value of FPR1 protein value in control group is 0,296 pg/mL (0,05 to 0,88 pg/mL). P value 0,787 > 0,05 suggested that there is no significant difference of FPR1 protein value in both groups. The present study suggests that FPR1 protein value has no significance alteration in AP patients and could not be used as an indicator of neutrophil chemotaxis dysfunction.

Keywords: aggressive periodontitis, chemotaxis dysfunction, FPR1 protein value, neutrophil

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Authors: Haifa Ben Saber, Mourad Elloumi

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In a number of domains, like in DNA microarray data analysis, we need to cluster simultaneously rows (genes) and columns (conditions) of a data matrix to identify groups of constant rows with a group of columns. This kind of clustering is called biclustering. Biclustering algorithms are extensively used in DNA microarray data analysis. More effective biclustering algorithms are highly desirable and needed. We introduce a new algorithm called, Enumerative tree (EnumTree) for biclustering of binary microarray data. is an algorithm adopting the approach of enumerating biclusters. This algorithm extracts all biclusters consistent good quality. The main idea of ​​EnumLat is the construction of a new tree structure to represent adequately different biclusters discovered during the process of enumeration. This algorithm adopts the strategy of all biclusters at a time. The performance of the proposed algorithm is assessed using both synthetic and real DNA micryarray data, our algorithm outperforms other biclustering algorithms for binary microarray data. Biclusters with different numbers of rows. Moreover, we test the biological significance using a gene annotation web tool to show that our proposed method is able to produce biologically relevent biclusters.

Keywords: DNA microarray, biclustering, gene expression data, tree, datamining.

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Authors: Felicia Kikelomo Oluwalola

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This study examined lecturers’ perception of the roles of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Office Technology and Management (OTM) programme in polytechnics, in South-West, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted in this study. Purposive sampling technique was used to select all OTM lecturers in the nine (9) Polytechnics in the South-West, Nigeria. A 4-rating scale was adopted questionnaire titled ‘Lecturers’ Perception of the Roles of ICT in OTM Programme in Polytechnics’ with a reliability index of 0.93 was used. Two research questions were answered, and one null hypothesis was tested for the study. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test and one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that lecturers have right perception of the roles of ICT in OTM programme in polytechnics. Also, the study revealed no significant difference between the mean perception of male and female lecturers in office technology and management. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that recruitment of professionals in the field of ICT is necessary for effective teaching learning to be established and OTM curriculum should be constantly reviewed to enhance some ICT package that is acceptable globally.

Keywords: communication, information, perception, technology

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Authors: Fahad Javed, Tasneem Akhter, Maria Zafar, Adnan Shafique

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Evaluation and quantification of techniques is critical element of research and development of technology. Simulations and models play an important role in providing the tools for such assessments. When we look at technologies which impact or is dependent on an average Joe consumer then modeling the socio-economic and psychological aspects of the consumer also gain an importance. For feed in tariff for home consumers which is being deployed for average consumer may force many consumers to be adapters of the technology. Understanding how consumers will adapt this technologies thus hold as much significance as evaluating how the techniques would work in consumer agnostic scenarios. In this paper we first build the case for simulators which accommodate socio-economic realities of the consumers to evaluate smart grid technologies, provide a glossary of data that can aid in this effort and present an abstract model to capture and simulate consumers' adaptation and behavioral response to smart grid technologies. We provide a case study to express the power of such simulators.

Keywords: smart grids, simulation, socio-economic parameters, feed in tariff (FiT), forecasting

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Authors: Silvia Lorenzo, Hongmian Gong

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With the influx of research assessing the economic impact of the global financial crisis of 2007-8, a spatial analysis based on empirical data is needed to better understand the spatial significance of the financial crisis in New York, a key international financial center also considered the origin of the crisis. Using spatial statistics, the existence of financial clusters specializing in credit and securities throughout the New York metropolitan area are identified for 2000 and 2010, the time period before and after the height of the global financial crisis. Geographically Weighted Regressions are then used to examine processes underlying the formation and movement of financial geographies across state, county and ZIP codes of the New York metropolitan area throughout the 2000s with specific attention to tax regimes, employment, household income, technology, and transportation hubs. This analysis provides useful inputs for financial risk management and public policy initiatives aimed at addressing regional economic sustainability across state boundaries, while also developing the groundwork for further research on a spatial analysis of the global financial crisis.

Keywords: financial clusters, New York, global financial crisis, geographically weighted regression

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Authors: Zahid Ullah, Atlas Khan

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The presented research is dedicated to an extensive examination of the regularity properties associated with a specific class of equations, namely extremely degenerate elliptic equations. This study holds significance in unraveling the complexities inherent in these equations and understanding the smoothness of their solutions. The focus is on analyzing the regularity of results, aiming to contribute to the broader field of mathematical theory. By delving into the intricacies of extremely degenerate elliptic equations, the research seeks to advance our understanding beyond conventional analyses, addressing challenges posed by degeneracy and pushing the boundaries of classical analytical methods. The motivation for this exploration lies in the practical applicability of mathematical models, particularly in real-world scenarios where physical phenomena exhibit characteristics that challenge traditional mathematical modeling. The research aspires to fill gaps in the current understanding of regularity properties within solutions to extremely degenerate elliptic equations, ultimately contributing to both theoretical foundations and practical applications in diverse scientific fields.

Keywords: investigating smoothness, extremely degenerate elliptic equations, regularity properties, mathematical analysis, complexity solutions

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Authors: Khan Farhan Rafat, M. Junaid Hussain

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Seamless modification of an entity for the purpose of hiding a message of significance inside its substance in a manner that the embedding remains oblivious to an observer is known as steganography. Together with today's pervasive registering frameworks, steganography has developed into a science that offers an assortment of strategies for stealth correspondence over the globe that must, however, need a critical appraisal from security breach standpoint. Microsoft Word is amongst the preferably used word processing software, which comes as a part of the Microsoft Office suite. With a user-friendly graphical interface, the richness of text editing, and formatting topographies, the documents produced through this software are also most suitable for stealth communication. This research aimed not only to epitomize the fundamental concepts of steganography but also to expound on the utilization of Microsoft Word document as a carrier for furtive message exchange. The exertion is to examine contemporary message hiding schemes from security aspect so as to present the explorative discoveries and suggest enhancements which may serve a wellspring of information to encourage such futuristic research endeavors.

Keywords: hiding information in plain sight, stealth communication, oblivious information exchange, conceal, steganography

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Authors: Behrooz Balaei, Suzanne Wilkinson, Regan Potangaroa, Larry Abel, Philip McFarlane

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Water supply system failure has serious direct and indirect effects on people wellbeing. Post-disaster water system serviceability depends on a variety of factors from technical characteristics to social, economic, and organizational attributes of communities. This paper tests the organizational factors affecting water supply resilience to outline how these factors contributed to previous disasters. To do so, a framework is briefly introduced in this study to provide a clear guide to identify the significant relevant organizational factors. Then the factors affecting water serviceability following a disaster are outlines. Next, these factors are measured in the case of Tropical Cyclone Pam, which hit Vanuatu in March 2015. Reviewing the existing literature has also been carried out to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the background A site visit and a series of interviews have also been undertaken following the cyclone to collect site-specific data and information. In the end, the organizational factors were ranked to enable decision makers to identify significance of each factor compared to the others.

Keywords: water supply, resilience, organizational capacity, Vanuatu, Tropical Cyclone Pam

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Authors: Ryunhye Kim

Abstract:

Despite its relatively short history as an independent state, Qatar has emerged as a highly regarded Gulf state and global power. Since its independence in September 1971, the state has employed deliberate policy initiatives designed to put Qatar on the map and distinguish it from other Gulf states. Because Qatar and its neighbors are resource-poor apart from energy, whoever is first to introduce a unique aspect of branding not only takes the lead but assumes what is often an insurmountable advantage. This study examines three specific modes of branding undertaken by Qatar: (1) energy policies to utilize its natural gas to become a dominant supplier; (2) the deliberate construction of a distinct cultural brand utilizing sports, architecture, museums, and media; and (3) ‘niche diplomacy’ to serve as a mediator in regional and intra-national conflicts, especially as interlocutor between the United States and Arab regimes and Muslim groups. Gleaning data from a range of sources, this study analyzes the effectiveness and significance of Qatar’s place branding on the global stage, as well as potential disadvantages and limits in this branding, including problems encountered before and after the ‘Qatar crisis.’

Keywords: national branding, national-identity, Qatar, soft-power

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Authors: Farzad Jalilian, Mehdi Mirzaei Alavijeh, Fazel Zinat Motlagh

Abstract:

Social support is an important benchmark of health for people in avoidance conditions. The main goal of this study was to determine the three kinds of social support (family, friend and other significant) to drug cessation among male addicts, in Kermanshah, the west of Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 132 addicts, randomly selected to participate voluntarily in the study. Data were collected from conduct interviews based on standard questionnaire and analyzed by using SPSS-18 at 95% significance level. The majority of addicts were young (Mean: 30.4 years), and with little education. Opium (36.4%), Crack (21.2%), and Methamphetamine (12.9%) were the predominant drugs. Inabilities to reject the offer and having addict friends are the most often reasons for drug usage. Almost, 18.9% reported history of drug injection. 43.2% of the participants already did drug cessation at least once. Logistic regression showed the family support (OR = 1.110), age (OR = 1.106) and drug use initiation age (OR = 0.918) was predicting drug cessation. Our result showed; family support is a more important effect among types of social support in drug cessation. It seems that providing educational program to addict’s families for more support of patients at drug cessation can be beneficial.

Keywords: drug cessation, family support, drug use, initiation age

Procedia PDF Downloads 530