Search results for: assessment tool

Authors: Yan Zi, Han Xiao

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Across the globe, ICTs are influencing employment both as an industry that creates jobs and as a tool that empowers disabled people to access new forms of work, in innovative and more flexible ways. The advancements in ICT and the number of apps and solutions that support persons with physical, cognitive and intellectual disabilities challenge traditional biased notions and offer a pathway out of traditional sheltered workshops. As the global leader in digital technology innovation, China is arguably a leader in the use of digital technology as a 'lever' in ending the economic and social marginalization of the disabled. This study investigates factors that influence adoption and use of employment-oriented ICT applications among disabled people in China and seeks to integrate three theoretical approaches: the technology acceptance model (TAM), the uses and gratifications (U&G) approach, and the social model of disability. To that end, the study used data from self-reported survey of 214 disabled adults who have been involved in two top-down 'Internet + employment' programs promoted by local disabled persons’ federation in Shanghai. A structural equation model employed in the study demonstrates that the use of employment-oriented ICT applications is affected by demographic factors of gender, categories of disability, education and marital status. The organizational support of local social organizations demonstrates significate effects on the motivations of disabled people. Results from the focus group interviews particularly suggested that to maximize the positive impact of ICTs on employment, there is significant need to build stakeholder capacity on how ICTs could benefits persons with disabilities.

Keywords: disabled people, ICTs, technology acceptance model, uses and gratifications, the social model of disability

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Authors: Sidra Majeed, Irum Ali, Aroosa Ishfaq, Munazzah Parveen

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Objectives: The objective is to compare the effects of high-intensity interval training VS moderate moderate-intensity continuous training on cardiovascular endurance in young healthy females. Method: 30 young, healthy females were collected and randomly assigned into two training groups, HIIT and MICT, each group having a sample size of (n=15). There will be three parameters to be tested, including (VO2max, Resting heart rate, and Rate perceived exertion). Each group will be tested at three different times, e.g. (at Baseline measurement, after two weeks and after four weeks). For the first two weeks, the HIIT group has to perform at 70%HRR and for the third and fourth weeks, at 75%HRR for two minutes, followed by an active resting interval at 30%HRR for two minutes (1:1) with warm-up and cool-down period (2 minutes each period ) on the treadmill. For the first two weeks, the MICT group has to perform at 40%HRR and for the third and fourth weeks at 50% HRR for fifteen minutes continuously on the treadmill, including warm up and cool down period (2 minutes each period). Result: The final assessment of HIIT and MICT groups had shown p values for VO2max (p=.000), RHR (p=.323) and for RPE (p=.085). These values indicating significant improvement in these three parameters in both groups. Conclusion: This study showed that there were significant improvements in both groups but there were more improvements in VO2max in HIIT group so, it is proved that HIIT is more beneficial than MICT in improving cardiovascular endurance.

Keywords: HIIT, MICT, RPE, RHR

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Authors: Charlene Petersen, Herman Grobler, Karel Botha

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Exposure to family violence has an impact on adolescent development, more specifically the identity process. This article explores the process of change in identity constructs of adolescents’ exposed to family violence in a Cape Town community in South Africa. In order to understand the process of identity formation the article explores and describes how the meaning that these adolescents give to family violence can contribute to change in their identity constructs. A mixed method approached was used in the study. A psycho-education strategy was implemented as the intervention and pretest-post-test scales were used to assess for change after the intervention process. Twelve participants were purposely selected for the study and included both male and female adolescents with ages ranging from 15 to 18 years from three secondary schools. The research data for this article were mainly extracted from the pre-test post-test design and the psycho-education strategy of the overall research study. The research results of the psycho-education strategy were thematically analyzed and a statistical procedure was used to measure for significant change within pre-test-post-test scales. The research merely refers to the outcome of psycho-education strategy and how it correlates with the outcome of the pre-test post-test design. Adolescents’ exposure to a psycho-education strategy, as well the pre-test post-test findings reveal a change within identity construct in terms of how they perceive themselves and interaction with others in the context of family violence.

Keywords: process of change in adolescent identity, family violence, psycho-education strategy, pre and post assessment

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Authors: Farouk Metiri, Halim Zeghdoudi, Mohamed Riad Remita

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Credibility theory is an experience rating technique in actuarial science which can be seen as one of quantitative tools that allows the insurers to perform experience rating, that is, to adjust future premiums based on past experiences. It is used usually in automobile insurance, worker's compensation premium, and IBNR (incurred but not reported claims to the insurer) where credibility theory can be used to estimate the claim size amount. In this study, we focused on a popular tool in credibility theory which is the Bayesian premium estimator, considering Lindley distribution as a claim distribution. We derive this estimator under entropy loss which is asymmetric and squared error loss which is a symmetric loss function with informative and non-informative priors. In a purely Bayesian setting, the prior distribution represents the insurer’s prior belief about the insured’s risk level after collection of the insured’s data at the end of the period. However, the explicit form of the Bayesian premium in the case when the prior is not a member of the exponential family could be quite difficult to obtain as it involves a number of integrations which are not analytically solvable. The paper finds a solution to this problem by deriving this estimator using numerical approximation (Lindley approximation) which is one of the suitable approximation methods for solving such problems, it approaches the ratio of the integrals as a whole and produces a single numerical result. Simulation study using Monte Carlo method is then performed to evaluate this estimator and mean squared error technique is made to compare the Bayesian premium estimator under the above loss functions.

Keywords: bayesian estimator, credibility theory, entropy loss, monte carlo simulation

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Authors: Sherif A. Abu El-Magd, Ahmed M. Sefelnasr, Ahmed M. Masoud

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Groundwater modeling is the way and tool for assessing and managing groundwater resources efficiently. The present work was carried out in the ancient Egyptian archeological site (Abydos) fromDynastyIandII.Theareaislocated about 13km west of the River Nilecourse, Upper Egypt. The main problem in this context is that the ground water level rise threatens and damages fragile carvings and paintings of the ancient buildings. The main objective of the present work is to identify the sources of the groundwater recharge in the site, further more, equally important there is to control the ground water level rise. Numerical modeling combined with field water level measurements was implemented to understand the ground water recharge sources. However, building a conceptual model was an important step in the groundwater modeling to phase to satisfy the modeling objectives. Therefore, boreholes, crosssections, and a high-resolution digital elevation model were used to construct the conceptual model. To understand the hydrological system in the site, the model was run under both steady state and transient conditions. Then, the model was calibrated agains the observation of the water level measurements. Finally, the results based on the modeling indicated that the groundwater recharge is originating from an indirect flow path mainly from the southeast. Besides, there is a hydraulic connection between the surface water and groundwater in the study site. The decision-makers and archeologyists could consider the present work to understand the behavior of groundwater recharge and water table level rise.

Keywords: numerical modeling, archeological site, groundwater recharge, egypt

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Authors: Elmeida Effendy, Mustafa M. Amin, Nauli Aulia Lubis, P. J. Sirait

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Music therapy may have an effect on mental illnesses. This is a comparative, quasi-experimental study to examine the effect of music therapy added to standard care on Positive Negative Syndrome Scale, Cognitive Function and Quality of Life in female schizophrenic patients. 50 schizophrenic participants who were diagnosed with semistructured MINI ICD-X, were assigned into two groups received pharmacotherapy. Participants were assigned into each group of therapy by using matched allocation method. Music therapy added on to the first group. They received music therapy, using Mozart Sonata four times a week, over a period of six week. Positive and negative symptoms were measured by using Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Cognitive function were measured by using Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA). All rating scale were administrated by certified skill residents every week after music therapy session. The participants who were received pharmaco-and-music therapy significantly showed greater response than who received pharmacotherapy only. The mean difference of response were -6,6164 (p=0,001) for PANNS, 2,911 (p=0,004) for MMSE, 3,618 (p=0,001) for MOCA, 4,599 (p=0,001) for SF-36. Music therapy have beneficial effects on PANSS, Cognitive Function and Quality of Life in schizophrenic patients.

Keywords: music therapy, rating scale, schizophrenia, symptoms

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Authors: Eija Raatikainen

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The aim of the study is to examine psychological safety in the context of change in working life and continuous learning in social- and educational organizations. The participants in the study are social workers and vocational teachers working as employees and supervisors in the capital region of Finland (public and private sectors). Research data has been collected during 2022-2023 using the qualitative method called empathy-based stories (MEBS). Research participants were asked to write short stories about situations related to their work and work community. As researchers, we created and varied the framework narratives (MEBS) in line with the aim of the study and theoretical background. The data were analyzed with content analysis. According to the results, the barriers and prerequisites for psychological safety at work could be located in four different working culture dimensions. The work culture dimensions were named as follows: 1) a work culture focusing on interaction and emotional culture between colleagues, 2) communal work culture, 3) a work culture that enables learning, and 4) a work culture focused on structures and operating models. All these have detailed elements of barriers and prerequisites of psychological safety at work. The results derived from the enlivening methods can be utilized when working with the work community and have discussed psychological safety at work. Also, the method itself (MEBS) can prevent open discussion and reflection on psychological safety at work because of the sensitivity of the topic. Method aloud to imagine, not just talk and share your experiences directly. Additionally, the results of the study can offer one tool or framework while developing phycological safety at work.

Keywords: psychological safety, empathy, empathy-based stories, working life

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Authors: Imtiaz Ali, Imam Mansoor

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Investigations as a part of the academic study were undertaken to identify and evaluate the significant risks associated with the construction of K-span buildings in the region of UAE. Primary field data was collected through questionnaires obtaining specific open and close-ended questions from carefully selected construction firms, civil engineers and, construction manager regarding risks associated to K-span building construction. Historical data available for other regions of the same construction technique was available which was compared for identifying various non-critical and critical risk parameters by comparative evaluation techniques to come up with important risks and potential sources for their control and minimization in K-Span buildings that is increasing in the region. The associated risks have been determined with their Relative Importance Index (RII) values of which Risk involved in Change of Design required by Owners carries the highest value (RII=0.79) whereas, Delayed Payment by Owner to Contractor is one of the least (RII=0.42) value. The overall findings suggest that most relative risks as quantified originate or associated with the contractors. It may be concluded that project proponents undertaking K-span projects in planning and budgeting the cost and delays should take into account of risks on high account if changes in design are also required any delays in the material by the supplier would then be a major risk in K-span project delay. Since projects are, less costly, so owners have limited budgets, then they hire small contractors, which are not highly competent contractors. So study suggests that owner should be aware of these types of risks associated with the construction of K-span buildings in order to make it cost effective.

Keywords: k-span buildings, k-span construction, risk management, relative improvement index (RII)

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Authors: Levent Taylan Ozgur Yildirim, Qihao Qian, John Yilin Wang

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A critical review of assessments of geological carbon dioxide (CO2) storage resources in Pennsylvania and the surrounding region was completed with a focus on the studies of Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP), United States Department of Energy (US-DOE), and United States Geological Survey (USGS). Pennsylvania Geological Survey participated in the MRCSP Phase I research to characterize potential storage formations in Pennsylvania. The MRCSP’s volumetric method estimated ~89 gigatonnes (Gt) of total CO2 storage resources in deep saline formations, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, coals, and shales in Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the US-DOE calculated storage efficiency factors using log-odds normal distribution and Monte Carlo sampling, revealing contingent storage resources of ~18 Gt to ~20 Gt in deep saline formations, depleted oil and gas reservoirs, and coals in Pennsylvania. Additionally, the USGS employed Beta-PERT distribution and Monte Carlo sampling to determine buoyant and residual storage efficiency factors, resulting in 20 Gt of contingent storage resources across four storage assessment units in Appalachian Basin. However, few studies have explored CO2 storage resources in shales in the region, yielding inconclusive findings. This article provides a critical and most up to date review and analysis of geological CO2 storage resources in Pennsylvania and the region.

Keywords: carbon capture and storage, geological CO2 storage, pennsylvania, appalachian basin

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Authors: Girlie D. Leopoldo, Myrna S. Ceniza, Ronnie L. Besagas, Antonio Y. Asoy, Noel T. Dael, Romeo M. Del Rosario

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The quality of groundwater from main deep well sources of seven (7) municipalities in Western Misamis Oriental, Philippines was examined. The study looks at the well waters’ physicochemical properties (temperture, pH, turbidity, conductivity, TDS, salinity, chlorides, TOC, and total hardness), the heavy metals and other metals (Pb, Cd, Al, As, Hg, Sb, Zn, Cu, Fe) and their microbiological (total coliform and E. coli) characteristics. The physicochemical properties of groundwater samples were found to be within the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW)/US-EPA except for the TDS, chlorides, and hardness of some sources. Well waters from both Initao and Gitagum municipalities have TDS values of 643.2 mg/L and 578.4 mg/L, respectively, as compared to PNSDW/US-EPA standard limit of 500 mg/L. These same two municipalities Initao and Gitagum as well as the municipality of Libertad also have chloride levels beyond the 250 mg/L limit of PNSDW/US-EPA/EU with values at 360, 318 and 277 mg/L respectively. The Libertad sample also registered a total hardness of 407.5 mg/L CaCO3 as compared to the 300 mg/L PNSDW limit. These mentioned three (3) municipalities are noticed to have similar geologic structures. Although metal analyses revealed the presence of Zn, Cu and Fe in almost all well water sources, their concentrations are below allowable limit. All well waters from the seven municipalities failed in total coliform count. Escherichia coli were also found in well waters from four (4) municipalities including Laguindingan, Lugait, Gitagum, and Libertad. The presence of these pathogens in the well waters needs to be addressed to make the waters suitable for human consumption.

Keywords: groundwater, deep well, physico-chemical, heavy metal, microbiological

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Authors: Rajendra K. Meena, Maneesh S. Bhandari, Santan Barthwal, Harish S. Ginwal

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Microsatellite markers are the most valuable tools for the characterization of plant genetic resources or population genetic analysis. Since it is codominant and allelic markers, utilizing them in polyploid species remained doubtful. In such cases, the microsatellite marker is usually analyzed by treating them as a dominant marker. In the current study, it has been showed that despite losing the advantage of co-dominance, microsatellite markers are still a powerful tool for genotyping of polyploid species because of availability of large number of reproducible alleles per locus. It has been studied by genotyping of 19 subpopulations of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii (hexaploid bamboo species) with 17 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) primer pairs. Among these, ten primers gave typical banding pattern of microsatellite marker as expected in diploid species, but rest 7 gave an unusual pattern, i.e., more than two bands per locus per genotype. In such case, genotyping data are generally analyzed by considering as dominant markers. In the current study, data were analyzed in both ways as dominant and co-dominant. All the 17 primers were first scored as nonallelic data and analyzed; later, the ten primers giving standard banding patterns were analyzed as allelic data and the results were compared. The UPGMA clustering and genetic structure showed that results obtained with both the data sets are very similar with slight variation, and therefore the SSR marker could be utilized to characterize polyploid species by considering them as a dominant marker. The study is highly useful to widen the scope for SSR markers applications and beneficial to the researchers dealing with polyploid species.

Keywords: microsatellite markers, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, dominant and codominant, polyploids

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Authors: Maria Gonzalez Alriols, Itziar Egues, Maria A. Andres, Mirari Antxustegi

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Peer to peer learning is an educational tool very useful to enhance teamwork and reinforce cooperation between mates. It is particularly successful to work with students of different level of previous knowledge, as it often happens among pupils of subjects in the first course of science and engineering studies. Depending on the performed pre-university academic itinerary, the acquired knowledge in disciplines as mathematics, physics, or chemistry may be quite different. This fact is an added difficulty to the tuition of first-course basic science subjects of engineering degrees, with inexperienced students that do not know each other. In this context, peer to peer learning applied in small groups facilitates the communication between mates and makes it easier for the students with low level to be helped by the ones with better prior knowledge. In this work, several collaborative learning strategies were designed to be applied in the tuition of the subject 'chemistry', which is imparted in the first course of an engineering degree. Students were organized in groups combining mates with different level of prior knowledge. The teaching role was offered to the more experienced students who were responsible for designing learning pills to help the other mates in their group. This workload was rewarded with an extra mark, and more extra points were offered to all the group mates if every student in the group reached a determined level at the end of the semester. It was very important to start these activities from the beginning of the semester in order to avoid absenteeism. The obtained results were positive as a higher percentage of mates signed up and passed the final exam, the obtained final marks were higher, and a much better atmosphere was observed in the class.

Keywords: peer to peer tuition, collaborative learning, engineering instruction, chemistry

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Authors: Sikiru Oluwarotimi Ismail, Hom Nath Dhakal, Anish Roy, Dong Wang, Ivan Popov

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The ultrasonically-assisted drilling (UAD) is a non-traditional technique which involves the superimposition of a high frequency and low amplitude vibration, usually greater than 18kHz and less than 20µm respectively, on a drill bit along the feed direction. UAD has remarkable advantages over the conventional drilling (CD), especially the high drilling-force reduction. Force reduction improves the quality of the drilled holes, reduces power consumption rate and cost of production. Nevertheless, in addition to the setbacks of UAD including expensiveness of set-up, unpredicted results and chipping effects, this paper presents the problems of insignificant force reduction and poor surface quality during UAD of hemp fibre-reinforced composites (HFRCs), a natural composite, with polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix. The experimental results obtained depict that HFRCs/PCL samples have more burnt chip-materials attached on the drilled holes during UAD than CD. This effect produced a very high surface roughness (Ra), up to 13µm. In a bid to reduce these challenges, different drilling parameters (feed rates and cutting speeds, frequencies and amplitudes for UAD), conditions (dry machining and airflow cooling) and diameters of drill bits (3mm and 6mm of high speed steel), as well as HFRCs/PCL samples of various fibre aspect ratios, including 0 (neat), 19, 26, 30 and 38 have been used. However, the setbacks still persisted. Evidently, the benefits of UAD are not obtainable for the drilling of the HFRCs/PCL laminates. These problems occurred due to the 60 °C melting temperature of PCL, quite lower than 56-90.2 °C and 265–290.8 °C composite-tool interface temperature during CD and UAD respectively.

Keywords: force reduction, hemp fibre-reinforced composites, ultrasonically-assisted drilling, surface quality

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Authors: Sudhaveni Naresh

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International migration is an important subject and gaining more significance andinterest among scholars in recent years. It is defined as crossing of the boundaries of political or administrative units for a certain minimum period for reasons such as education, employment, etc.International migration is not new for India because it has a long history with the Gulf region since ancient period. India is also one of the largest migrant-sending countries after China in the world. Migration towards the Gulf region became more prominent during early 1970s due to oil boom which led to rapid increase in the demand for foreign labour. Of 25 million Indian emigrants are living across the world, about six million Indian emigrants working in the Gulf. Most of these migrants were either unskilled or semi-skilled. Both the pull and push factors behind labour emigrate to Gulf countries. India is world’s leading receiver of remittances and the flow of remittances to India has been increasing steadily since the 1970s. In 2011-12, it was about 4 percent of GDP.Emigrants play a significant role in the economic development and growth of the country via the remittances and knowledge and skill transfer. Scholars see remittances as vital tool in the development for origin country. This paper examines the recent trend and pattern of migration from India to Gulf countries and explores impact of remittances on emigrants’ families at home country. It also highlights opportunities, challenges and the need for strengthening multilateral cooperation to transform migration into an efficient, orderly and humane process.The study propose to undertake a primary survey for this purpose. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used to study the above issues.

Keywords: development, international migration, remittances, unskilled labour

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Authors: Siti Khadijah Che Osmi, Mohammed Ahmad Syed

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Underground structures are crucial components which required detailed analysis and design. Tunnels, for instance, are massively constructed as transportation infrastructures and utilities network especially in urban environments. Considering their prime importance to the economy and public safety that cannot be compromised, thus any instability to these tunnels will be highly detrimental to their performance. Recent experience suggests that tunnels become vulnerable during earthquakes and blast scenarios. However, a very limited amount of studies has been carried out to study and understanding the dynamic response and performance of underground tunnels under those unpredictable extreme hazards. In view of the importance of enhancing the resilience of these structures, the overall aims of the study are to evaluate probabilistic future performance of shallow tunnels subjected to seismic and blast loads by developing detailed fragility analysis. Critical non-linear time history numerical analyses using sophisticated finite element software Midas GTS NX have been presented about the current methods of analysis, taking into consideration of structural typology, ground motion and explosive characteristics, effect of soil conditions and other associated uncertainties on the tunnel integrity which may ultimately lead to the catastrophic failure of the structures. The proposed fragility curves for both extreme loadings are discussed and compared which provide significant information the performance of the tunnel under extreme hazards which may beneficial for future risk assessment and loss estimation.

Keywords: fragility analysis, seismic loads, shallow tunnels, blast loads

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Authors: Hamilton V. Niculescu

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Following a three year study conducted on eighteen Irish people that are involved in growing vegetables in various community gardens around Dublin, Republic of Ireland, it was revealed that addition of some automated features aimed at improving agricultural practices represented a process which was regarded as potentially beneficial, and as a great tool to closely monitor climate conditions inside the greenhouses. The participants were provided with a free custom-built mobile app through which they could remotely monitor and control features such as irrigation, air ventilation, and windows to ensure optimal growing conditions for vegetables growing inside purpose-built greenhouses. While the initial interest was generally high, within weeks, the participants' level of interaction with the enclosures slowly declined. By employing a constructivist grounded theory methodology, following focus group discussions, in-depth semi-structured interviews, and observations, it was revealed that participants' trust in newer technologies, and renewables, in particular, was low. There are various reasons for this, but because the participants in this study consist of mainly working-class people, it can be argued that lack of education and knowledge are the main barriers acting against the adoption of innovations. Consequently, it was revealed that most participants eventually decided to "set and forget" the systems in automatic working mode, indicating that the immediate effect of introducing people to assisting technologies also introduced some unintended consequences into their lifestyle. It is argued that this occurrence also indicates the fact that people initially "read" newer technologies and only adopt those features that they find useful and less intrusive in regards to their current lifestyle.

Keywords: automation, communication, greenhouse, sustainable

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Authors: Jaturong Som-ard

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The heavy rainfall from 3rd to 22th January 2017 had swamped much area of Ranot district in southern Thailand. Due to heavy rainfall, the district was flooded which had a lot of effects on economy and social loss. The major objective of this study is to detect flooding extent using Sentinel-1A data and identify a number of damaged buildings over there. The data were collected in two stages as pre-flooding and during flood event. Calibration, speckle filtering, geometric correction, and histogram thresholding were performed with the data, based on intensity spectral values to classify thematic maps. The maps were used to identify flooding extent using change detection, along with the buildings digitized and collected on JOSM desktop. The numbers of damaged buildings were counted within the flooding extent with respect to building data. The total flooded areas were observed as 181.45 sq.km. These areas were mostly occurred at Ban khao, Ranot, Takhria, and Phang Yang sub-districts, respectively. The Ban khao sub-district had more occurrence than the others because this area is located at lower altitude and close to Thale Noi and Thale Luang lakes than others. The numbers of damaged buildings were high in Khlong Daen (726 features), Tha Bon (645 features), and Ranot sub-district (604 features), respectively. The final flood extent map might be very useful for the plan, prevention and management of flood occurrence area. The map of building damage can be used for the quick response, recovery and mitigation to the affected areas for different concern organization.

Keywords: flooding extent, Sentinel-1A data, JOSM desktop, damaged buildings

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Authors: Enze Zhang

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Large numbers of inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) projects are constructed or proposed all around the world as solutions to water distribution and supply problems. Nowadays, as climate change warms the atmosphere, alters the hydrologic cycle, and perturbs water availability, large scale IBWTs which are sensitive to these water-related changes may carry significant risk. Given this reality, IBWTs have elicited great controversy and assessments of vulnerability to climate change are urgently needed worldwide. In this paper, we consider the South-to-North Water Transfer Project (SNWTP) in China as a case study, and introduce a bottom-up vulnerability assessment framework. Key hazards and risks related to climate change that threaten future water availability for the SNWTP are firstly identified. Then a performance indicator is presented to quantify the vulnerability of IBWT by taking three main elements (i.e., sensitivity, adaptive capacity, and exposure degree) into account. A probabilistic Budyko model is adapted to estimate water availability responses to a wide range of possibilities for future climate conditions in each region of the study area. After bottom-up quantifying the vulnerability based on the estimated water availability, our findings confirm that SNWTP would greatly alleviate geographical imbalances in water availability under some moderate climate change scenarios but raises questions about whether it is a long-term solution because the donor basin has a high level of vulnerability due to extreme climate change.

Keywords: vulnerability, climate change, inter-basin water transfer, bottom-up

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Authors: Abha Cherkani Hassani, Imane Ghanname, Nezha Mouane

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Background: This is the first systematic review summarizing 43 years of research from 36 countries in the assessment of cadmium in breast milk; a suitable matrix in human biomonitoring. Objectives: To report from the published literature the levels of cadmium in breast milk and the affecting factors causing the increase of cadmium concentrations; also to gather several quantitative data which might be useful to evaluate the international degrees of maternal and infant exposure. Methods: We reviewed the literature for studies reporting quantitative data about cadmium levels in human breast milk in the world that have been published between 1971 and 2014 and that are available on Pubmed, Science direct and Google scholar. The aim of the study, country, period of samples collection, size of samples, sampling method, time of lactation, mother’s age, area of residence, cadmium concentration and other information were extracted. Results: 67 studies were selected and included in this systematic review. Some concentrations greatly exceed the limit of the WHO, However about 50% of the studies had less than 1 µg/l cadmium concentration (the recommendation of the WHO); as well many factors have shown their implication in breast milk contamination by Cadmium as lactation stage, smoking, diet, supplement intake, interaction with other mineral elements, age of mothers, parity and other parameters. Conclusion: Breast milk is a pathway of maternal excretion of cadmium. It is also a biological indicator of the degree of environmental pollution and cadmium exposure of the lactating women and the nourished infant. Therefore preventive measures and continuous monitoring are necessary.

Keywords: breast milk, cadmium level, factors, systematic review

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Authors: Abdul Basit Kiani, Maryam Kiani

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Content Management Systems (CMS) have transformed the landscape of web development by providing an accessible and efficient platform for creating and managing digital content. This abstract explores the key features and benefits of CMS in web development, highlighting its impact on website creation and maintenance. CMS offers a user-friendly interface that empowers individuals to create, edit, and publish content without requiring extensive technical knowledge. With customizable templates and themes, users can personalize the design and layout of their websites, ensuring a visually appealing online presence. Furthermore, CMS facilitates efficient content organization through categorization and tagging, enabling visitors to navigate and search for information effortlessly. It also supports version control, allowing users to track and manage revisions effectively. Scalability is a notable advantage of CMS, as it offers a wide range of plugins and extensions to integrate additional features into websites. From e-commerce functionality to social media integration, CMS adapts to evolving business needs. Additionally, CMS enhances collaborative workflows by allowing multiple user roles and permissions. This enables teams to collaborate effectively on content creation and management, streamlining processes and ensuring smooth coordination. In conclusion, CMS serves as a powerful tool in web development, simplifying content creation, customization, organization, scalability, and collaboration. With CMS, individuals and businesses can create dynamic and engaging websites, establishing a strong online presence with ease.

Keywords: web development, content management systems, information technology, programming

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Authors: Upasana Bhumbla

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Background: Hepatitis C virus is a major cause of chronic hepatitis, which can further lead to cirrhosis of the liver and hepatocellular carcinoma. Worldwide the burden of Hepatitis C infection has become a serious threat to the human race. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) has population-specific genotypes and provides valuable epidemiological and therapeutic information. Genotyping and assessment of viral load in HCV patients are important for planning the therapeutic strategies. The aim of the study is to study the changing trends of prevalence and genotypic distribution of hepatitis C virus in a tertiary care hospital in Western India. Methods: It is a retrospective study; blood samples were collected and tested for anti HCV antibodies by ELISA in Dept. of Microbiology. In seropositive Hepatitis C patients, quantification of HCV-RNA was done by real-time PCR and in HCV-RNA positive samples, genotyping was conducted. Results: A total of 114 patients who were seropositive for Anti HCV were recruited in the study, out of which 79 (69.29%) were HCV-RNA positive. Out of these positive samples, 54 were further subjected to genotype determination using real-time PCR. Genotype was not detected in 24 samples due to low viral load; 30 samples were positive for genotype. Conclusion: Knowledge of genotype is crucial for the management of HCV infection and prediction of prognosis. Patients infected with HCV genotype 1 and 4 will have to receive Interferon and Ribavirin for 48 weeks. Patients with these genotypes show a poor sustained viral response when tested 24 weeks after completion of therapy. On the contrary, patients infected with HCV genotype 2 and 3 are reported to have a better response to therapy.

Keywords: hepatocellular, genotype, ribavarin, seropositive

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Authors: Gali Moritz, Jacqueline H. Becker, Jyoti V. Ankam, Kimberly Arcoleo, Matthew Wysocki, Roee Holtzer, Juan Wisnivesky, Paula J. Busse, Alex D. Federman, Sunit P. Jariwala, Jonathan M. Feldman

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Objective: Cognitive impairment (CI), whose incidence is greater among ethnic/racial minorities, is a significant barrier to asthma self-management (SM) behaviors and outcomes in older adults. The aim of this study was to examine the relationships between CI, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and asthma SM behaviors and outcomes in a sample of predominantly Black and Hispanic participants. Additionally, we evaluated whether using two different MoCA cutoff scores influenced the association between CI and study outcomes. Methods: Baseline cross-sectional data were extracted from a longitudinal study of older adults with asthma (N=165) age≥ 60 years and used for analysis. Cognition was assessed using the MoCA. Asthma control, asthma-related quality of life (QOL), inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dosing, and ICS adherence were assessed using self-report. The inhaler technique was observed and rated. Results: Using established MoCA cutoff scores of 23 and 26 yielded 45% and 74% CI rates, respectively. CI, defined using the 23 cutoff score, was significantly associated with worse asthma control (p=.04) and worse ICS adherence (p=.01). With a cutoff score of 26, only asthma-related QOL was significantly associated with CI (p=.03). Race/ethnicity and education did not moderate the relationships between CI and asthma SM behaviors and outcomes. Conclusions: CI in older adults with asthma is associated with important clinical outcomes, but this relationship is influenced by the cutoff score used to define CI.

Keywords: cognition, respiratory, elderly, testing, adherence, validity

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Authors: Olga Blagova, Yuliya Osipova, Evgeniya Kogan, Alexander Nedostup

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Purpose: to quantify the value of various clinical, laboratory and instrumental signs in the diagnosis of myocarditis in comparison with morphological studies of the myocardium. Methods: in 100 patients (65 men, 44.7±12.5 years) with «idiopathic» arrhythmias (n = 20) and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM, n = 80) were performed 71 endomyocardial biopsy (EMB), 13 intraoperative biopsy, 5 study of explanted hearts, 11 autopsy with virus investigation (real-time PCR) of the blood and myocardium. Anti-heart antibodies (AHA) were also measured as well as cardiac CT (n = 45), MRI (n = 25), coronary angiography (n = 47). The comparison group included of 50 patients (25 men, 53.7±11.7 years) with non-inflammatory heart diseases who underwent open heart surgery. Results. Active/borderline myocarditis was diagnosed in 76.0% of the study group and in 21.6% of patients of the comparison group (p < 0.001). The myocardial viral genome was observed more frequently in patients of comparison group than in study group (group (65.0% and 40.2%; p < 0.01. Evaluated the diagnostic value of noninvasive markers of myocarditis. The panel of anti-heart antibodies had the greatest importance to identify myocarditis: sensitivity was 81.5%, positive and negative predictive value was 75.0 and 60.5%. It is defined diagnostic value of non-invasive markers of myocarditis and diagnostic algorithm providing an individual assessment of the likelihood of myocarditis is developed. Conclusion. The greatest significance in the diagnosis of latent myocarditis in patients with 'idiopathic' arrhythmias and DCM have AHA. The use of complex of noninvasive criteria allows estimate the probability of myocarditis and determine the indications for EMB.

Keywords: myocarditis, "idiopathic" arrhythmias, dilated cardiomyopathy, endomyocardial biopsy, viral genome, anti-heart antibodies

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Authors: S. Vadivukkarasi, K. Karthi, M. Karthick, C. Dinesh, S. Santhosh, A. Yogaraj

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The appointment system was designed to minimize patient’s idle time overlooking patients waiting time in hospitals. This is no longer valid in today’s consumer oriented society. Long waiting times for treatment in the outpatient department followed by short consultations has long been a complaint. Nowadays, customers use waiting time as a decisive factor in choosing a service provider. Queuing theory constitutes a very powerful tool because queuing models require relatively little data and are simple and fast to use. Because of this simplicity and speed, modelers can be used to quickly evaluate and compare various alternatives for providing service. The application of queuing models in the analysis of health care systems is increasingly accepted by health care decision makers. Timely access to care is a key component of high-quality health care. However, patient delays are prevalent throughout health care systems, resulting in dissatisfaction and adverse clinical consequences for patients as well as potentially higher costs and wasted capacity for providers. Arguably, the most critical delays for health care are the ones associated with health care emergencies. The allocation of resources can be divided into three general areas: bed management, staff management, and room facility management. Effective and efficient patient flow is indicated by high patient throughput, low patient waiting times, a short length of stay at the hospital and overtime, while simultaneously maintaining adequate staff utilization rates and low patient’s idle times.

Keywords: appointment system, patient scheduling, bed management, queueing calculation, system analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Shalini Rankawat, Mansi Rankawat, Rahul Dubey, Mazad Zaveri

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Physiological signals such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and arterial blood pressure (ABP) in the intensive care unit (ICU) are often seriously corrupted by noise, artifacts, and missing data, which lead to errors in the estimation of heart rate (HR) and incidences of false alarm from ICU monitors. Clinical support in ICU requires most reliable heart rate estimation. Cardiac activity, because of its relatively high electrical energy, may introduce artifacts in Electroencephalogram (EEG), Electrooculogram (EOG), and Electromyogram (EMG) recordings. This paper presents a robust heart rate estimation method by detection of R-peaks of ECG artifacts in EEG, EMG & EOG signals, using energy-based function and a novel Signal Quality Index (SQI) assessment technique. SQIs of physiological signals (EEG, EMG, & EOG) were obtained by correlation of nonlinear energy operator (teager energy) of these signals with either ECG or ABP signal. HR is estimated from ECG, ABP, EEG, EMG, and EOG signals from separate Kalman filter based upon individual SQIs. Data fusion of each HR estimate was then performed by weighing each estimate by the Kalman filters’ SQI modified innovations. The fused signal HR estimate is more accurate and robust than any of the individual HR estimate. This method was evaluated on MIMIC II data base of PhysioNet from bedside monitors of ICU patients. The method provides an accurate HR estimate even in the presence of noise and artifacts.

Keywords: ECG, ABP, EEG, EMG, EOG, ECG artifacts, Teager-Kaiser energy, heart rate, signal quality index, Kalman filter, data fusion

Procedia PDF Downloads 691

Authors: Xin Chen

Abstract:

It has been widely observed that marine food webs have significantly larger predator–prey body-size ratios compared with their terrestrial counterparts. A number of hypotheses have been proposed to account for such difference on the basis of primary productivity, trophic structure, biophysics, bioenergetics, habitat features, energy efficiency, etc. In this study, an alternative explanation is suggested based on the difference in the spatial dimensions of foraging arenas: terrestrial animals primarily forage in two dimensional arenas, while marine animals mostly forage in three dimensional arenas. Using 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional random walk simulations, it is shown that marine predators with 3-dimensional foraging would normally have a greater foraging efficiency than terrestrial predators with 2-dimensional foraging. Marine prey with 3-dimensional dispersion usually has greater swarms or aggregations than terrestrial prey with 2-dimensional dispersion, which again favours a greater predator foraging efficiency in marine animals. As an analytical tool, a Lotka-Volterra based adaptive dynamical model is developed with the predator-prey ratio embedded as an adaptive variable. The model predicts that high predator foraging efficiency and high prey conversion rate will dynamically lead to the evolution of a greater predator-prey ratio. Therefore, marine food webs with 3-dimensional foraging space, which generally have higher predator foraging efficiency, will evolve a greater predator-prey ratio than terrestrial food webs.

Keywords: predator-prey, body size, lotka-volterra, random walk, foraging efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Peijen Pamela Chuang, Tzu-Hua Wang

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To address the notion of educational equity, undergo the global pandemic, a digital learning system was cross-disciplinarily designed by a 15-year-experienced teaching practitioner. A study was performed on students through the use of this pioneering e-learning system, in which Taiwanese students with different learning styles and special needs have a foreign language- English as the target subject. 121 students are particularly selected from an N= 580 sample spread across 20 inclusive and special education schools throughout districts of Taiwan. To bring off equity, the participants are selected from a mix of different socioeconomic statuses. Grouped data, such as classroom observation, individual learning preference, prerequisite knowledge, learning interest, and learning performance of the population, is carefully documented for further analyzation. The paper focuses on documenting the awareness and needs of this pedagogical methodology revolution, data analysis of UX (User Experience), also examination and system assessment of this system. At the time of the pilot run, this newly-developed e-learning system had successfully applied for and received a national patent in Taiwan. This independent research hoped to expand the awareness of the importance of individual differences in SDG4 (Substantial Development Goals 4) as a part of the ripple effect, and serve as a comparison for future scholars in the pedagogical research with an interdisciplinary approach.

Keywords: e-learning, educational equity, foreign language acquisition, inclusive education, individual differences, interdisciplinary innovation, learning preferences, SDG4

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Tamer M. Shehata, Heba S. Elsewedy, Mashel Al Dosary, Alaa Elshehry, Mohamed A. Khedr, Maged E. Mohamed

Abstract:

Objective: 2,4-Dichlorophenoxy acetic acid (2,4-D) is a well-known herbicide widely used as a weed killer. Recently, 2,4-D was rediscovered as a new anti-inflammatory agent through in silico as well as in-vivo experiments. However, poor solubility of 2,4-D could represent a problems during pharmaceutical development in addition to lower bioavailability. Solid dispersion (SD) refers to a group of solid products consisting of at least two different components, usually a hydrophobic drug and hydrophilic matrix. It is well known technique for enhancing drug solubility. Therefore, selecting SD as a tool for enhancing 2,4-D could be of great interest to the formulator. Method: In our project, several polymers were investigated (such as PEG, HPMC, citric acid and others) in addition to drug polymer ratios and its effect on solubility. Evaluation of drug polymer interaction was investigated through both Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Finally, in-vivo evaluation was performed for the best selected preparation through inflammatory response of rat induce hind paw. Results: Results indicated that, citric acid 2,4-D and in ratio of 0.75 : 1 showed modified the dissolution profile of the drug. The FTIR resltes indicated no significant chemical interaction, however DSC showed shifting of the drug melting point. Finally, Carragenan induced rat hind paw edema showed significant reduction of the drug solid dispersion in comparison to the pure drug, indicating rapid and complete absorption of the drug in solid dispersion form. Conclusion: Solid dispersion technology can be utilized efficiently to enhance the solubility of 2,4-D.

Keywords: solid dispersion, 2, 4-D solubility, carragenan induced edema

Procedia PDF Downloads 438

Authors: Ronita Singh, Yaman Pattanaik, Soham Lalwala

Abstract:

In today’s highly competitive business environment, every organization is striving towards lean manufacturing systems to achieve lower Production Lead Times, lower costs, less inventory and overall improvement in supply chains efficiency. Based on the similar idea, this paper presents the practical application of Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tool and ECRS (Eliminate, Combine, Reduce, and Simplify) technique in the receipt section of the material management center of an oil refinery. A value stream is an assortment of all actions (value added as well as non-value added) that are required to bring a product through the essential flows, starting with raw material and ending with the customer. For drawing current state value stream mapping, all relevant data of the receipt cycle has been collected and analyzed. Then analysis of current state map has been done for determining the type and quantum of waste at every stage which helped in ascertaining as to how far the warehouse is from the concept of lean manufacturing. From the results achieved by current VSM, it was observed that the two processes- Preparation of GRN (Goods Receipt Number) and Preparation of UD (Usage Decision) are both bottle neck operations and have higher cycle time. This root cause analysis of various types of waste helped in designing a strategy for step-wise implementation of lean tools. The future state thus created a lean flow of materials at the warehouse center, reducing the lead time of the receipt cycle from 11 days to 7 days and increasing overall efficiency by 27.27%.

Keywords: current VSM, ECRS, future VSM, receipt cycle, supply chain, VSM

Procedia PDF Downloads 301

Authors: Nurcan Cetinkaya, Nadide Hulya Ozdemir

Abstract:

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) live yeast culture on microbial protein supply to the small intestine in Kivircik male yearlings when fed with different ratio of forage and concentrate diets. Four Kivircik male yearlings with permanent rumen canula were used in the experiment. . The treatments were allocated to a 4x4 Latin square design. Diet I consisted of 70% alfalfa hay and 30% concentrate, Diet II consisted of 30% alfalfa hay and 70% concentrate, Diet I and II were supplemented with a SC. Daily urine was collected and stored at -20°C until analysis. Calorimetric methods were used for the determination of urinary allantoin and creatinin levels. The estimated microbial N supply to small intestine for Diets I, I+SC, II and II+SC were 2.51, 2.64, 2.95 and 3.43 g N/d respectively. Supplementation of Diets I and II with SC significantly affected the allantoin levels in µmol/W0. 75 (p<0.05). Mean creatinine values in µmol/W0. 75 and allantoin:creatinin ratios were not significantly different among diets. In conclusion, supplementation with SC live yeast culture had a significant effect on urinary allantoin excretion and microbial protein supply to small intestine in Kivircik yearlings fed with high concentrate Diet II (P<0.05). Hence urinary allantoin excretion may be used as a tool for estimating microbial protein supply in Kivircık yearlings. However, further studies are necessary to understand the metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae live yeast culture with different forage: concentrate ratio in Kıvırcık Yearlings.

Keywords: allantoin, creatinin, Kivircik yearling, microbial nitrogen, Saccharomyces cerevisia

Procedia PDF Downloads 407