Search results for: critical analysis

Authors: Salima R. Rajwani, Tazeen Ali, Rubina Barolia, Yasmin Parpio, Nasreen Alwani, Salima B. Virani

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Introduction: Nurses and physicians have a critical role in initiating lifesaving interventions during cardiac arrest. It is important that timely delivery of high quality Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) with advanced resuscitation skills and management of cardiac arrhythmias is a key dimension of code during cardiac arrest. It will decrease the chances of patient survival if the healthcare professionals are unable to initiate CPR timely. Moreover, traditional training will not prepare physicians and nurses at a competent level and their knowledge level declines over a period of time. In this regard, simulation training has been proven to be effective in promoting resuscitation skills. Simulation teaching learning strategy improves knowledge level, and skills performance during resuscitation through experiential learning without compromising patient safety in real clinical situations. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation training in Advanced Cardiac Life Support Courses by using the selfefficacy tool. Methods: The study design is a quantitative research design and non-randomized quasi-experimental study design. The study examined the effectiveness of simulation through self-efficacy in two instructional methods; one is Medium Fidelity Simulation (MFS) and second is Traditional Training Method (TTM). The sample size was 220. Data was compiled by using the SPSS tool. The standardized simulation based training increases self-efficacy, knowledge, and skills and improves the management of patients in actual resuscitation. Results: 153 students participated in study; CG: n = 77 and EG: n = 77. The comparison was done between arms in pre and post-test. (F value was 1.69, p value is <0.195 and df was 1). There was no significant difference between arms in the pre and post-test. The interaction between arms was observed and there was no significant difference in interaction between arms in the pre and post-test. (F value was 0.298, p value is <0.586 and df is 1. However, the results showed self-efficacy scores were significantly higher within experimental group in post-test in advanced cardiac life support resuscitation courses as compared to Traditional Training Method (TTM) and had overall (p <0.0001) and F value was 143.316 (mean score was 45.01 and SD was 9.29) verses pre-test result showed (mean score was 31.15 and SD was 12.76) as compared to TTM in post-test (mean score was 29.68 and SD was 14.12) verses pre-test result showed (mean score was 42.33 and SD was 11.39). Conclusion: The standardized simulation-based training was conducted in the safe learning environment in Advanced Cardiac Life Suport Courses and physicians and nurses benefited from self-confidence, early identification of life-threatening scenarios, early initiation of CPR, and provides high-quality CPR, timely administration of medication and defibrillation, appropriate airway management, rhythm analysis and interpretation, and Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC), team dynamics, debriefing, and teaching and learning strategies that will improve the patient survival in actual resuscitation.

Keywords: advanced cardiac life support, cardio pulmonary resuscitation, return of spontaneous circulation, simulation

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Jui-Chien Wang

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Because of China’s continued economic growth and dominance, increasingly many students of Chinese from western countries are interested in pursuing careers related to China. Unless we do more to teach them about contemporary Chinese society and Chinese cultural codes, however, few will be able to do so successfully. Most traditional language textbooks treat these topics only cursorily, and, because of the rapid pace of China’s social and economic development, what they do cover is frequently outdated and insufficient. However, understanding contemporary Chinese society and Chinese cultural codes is essential to successfully negotiating real-world China. The current paper details one of the main ways in which the presenter has dealt with this educational lacuna: the development and implementation of a series of teaching modules for advanced Chinese language classes. Each module explores a particular area, provides resources, and raises questions to engage students in strengthening their language and cultural competencies. The teaching modules address four main areas: (1) Chinese behavioral culture; (2) critical issues in contemporary China; (3) current events in China; and (4) great social transformations in contemporary China. The presenter will also discuss lessons learned and insights gained during the development and implementation process as well as the benefits of using these modules. In addition, the presenter will offer suggestions for the application of these modules, so that other language teachers will be able to make better use of them in their own classrooms.

Keywords: behavioral culture, contemporary Chinese society, cultural code, teaching module

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Authors: Samanta Tiague, Igor Michel Gachig

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The practice of inclusive education within general education classrooms is becoming more prevalent in Cameroon. In this context, quality Education is an important driver of the development agenda in this era of global sustainable development. This requires that the Cameroon’s educational system be strategically restructured to provide every citizen with the needed quality education for sustainable development. This study thus examined the need for the restructuring of the Cameroon educational system towards inclusive education as a target of the Sustainable Development Goal #4 (Ensure Quality Education), from a critical disability theory perspective. Special focus was on the education of children with visual impairment in the early childhood classroom. This study is suggesting a model design of responsive and contextual inclusive education policies, and the provision of quality human, material and financial educational resources to support the improvement of curriculums and inclusive instructional strategies. This paper is therefore designed as a basic starting point for early childhood educators with limited to no experience in working with students having visual impairments. Ultimately, this work represents a contribution to early childhood educators toward understanding visual impairment challenges and innovative practices to approach accessibility in a meaningful way to students in Cameroon. This is important to achieve quality education due to the peculiar nature of the educational needs of children with visual impairment, toward attainment of the global sustainable development agenda.

Keywords: early childhood educators, inclusive education, sustainable development, visual impairment

Procedia PDF Downloads 145

Authors: Rizwana Tabassum

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Introductive Statement: Delay in budget releases is often cited as one of the biggest bottlenecks to smooth and efficient service delivery. While budget release from the ministry of finance to the line ministries has been expedited by simplifying the procedure, budget distribution within the line ministries remains one of the major causes of slow budget utilization. While the budget preparation is a bottom-up process where all DDOs submit their proposals to their controlling officers (such as Upazila Civil Surgeon sends it to Director General Health), who consolidate the budget proposals in iBAS++ budget preparation module, the approved budget is not disaggregated by all DDOs. Instead, it is left to the discretion of the controlling officers to distribute the approved budget to their sub-ordinate offices over the course of the year. Though there are some need-based criteria/formulae to distribute the approved budget among DDOs in some sectors, there is little evidence that these criteria are actually used. This means that majority of the DDOs don’t know their yearly allocations upfront to enable yearly planning of activities and expenditures. This delays the implementation of critical activities and the payment to the suppliers of goods and services and sometimes leads to undocumented arrears to suppliers for essential goods/services. In addition, social sector budgets are fragmented because of the vertical programs and externally financed interventions that pose several management challenges at the level of the budget holders and frontline service providers. Slow procurement processes further delay the provision of necessary goods and services. For example, it takes an average of 15–18 months for drugs to reach the Upazila Health Complex and below, while it should not take more than 9 months in procuring and distributing these. Aim of the Study: This paper aims to investigate the budget distribution practices of an emerging economy, Bangladesh. The paper identifies challenges of timely distribution and ways to deal with problems as well. Methodology: The study draws conclusions on the basis of document analysis which is a branch of the qualitative research method. Major Findings: Upon approval of the National Budget, the Ministry of Finance is required to distribute the budget to budget holders at the department level; however, budget is distributed to drawing and disbursing officers much later. Conclusions: Timely and predictable budget releases assist completion of development schemes on time and on budget, with sufficient recurrent resources for effective operation. ADP implementation is usually very low at the beginning of the fiscal year and expedited dramatically during the last few months, leading to inefficient use of resources. The timely budget release will resolve this issue and deliver economic benefits faster, better, and more reliably. This will also give the project directors/DDOs the freedom to think and plan the budget execution in a predictable manner, thereby ensuring value for money by reducing time overrun and expediting the completion of capital investments, and improving infrastructure utilization through timely payment of recurrent costs.

Keywords: budget distribution, challenges, digitization, emerging economy, service delivery

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: G. S. Dangayach, Gaurav Gaurav, Alok Bihari Singh

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The popularity of vehicles in both industrialized and developing economies led to a rise in the production of tyres. People have become increasingly concerned about the tyre industry's possible environmental impact in the last two decades. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology was used to assess the environmental impacts of industrial tyres throughout their life cycle, which included four stages: manufacture, transportation, consumption, and end-of-life. The majority of prior studies focused on tyre recycling and disposal. Only a few studies have been conducted on the environmental impact of tyre production process. LCA methodology was employed to determine the environmental impact of tyre manufacture process (gate to gate) at an Indian firm. Comparative analysis was also conducted to identify the environmental hotspots in various stages of tire manufacturing. This study is limited to gate-to-gate analysis of manufacturing processes with the functional unit of a single tyre weighing 50 kg. GaBi software was used to do both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Different environmental impact indicators are measured in terms of CO2, SO2, NOx, GWP (global warming potential), AP (acidification potential), EP (eutrophication potential), POCP (photochemical oxidant formation potential), and HTP (toxic human potential). The results demonstrate that the major contributor to environmental pollution is electricity. The Banbury process has a very high negative environmental impact, which causes respiratory problems to workers and operators.

Keywords: life cycle assessment (LCA), environmental impact indicators, tyre manufacturing process, environmental impact assessment

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Shagufta Jabeen, Faez J. Firdaus Abdullah, Zunita Zakaria, Nurulfiza M. Isa, Yung C. Tan, Wai Y. Yee, Abdul R. Omar

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Pasteurella multocida (PM) is an important veterinary opportunistic pathogen particularly associated with septicemic pasteurellosis, pneumonic pasteurellosis and hemorrhagic septicemia in cattle and buffaloes. P. multocida serotype A has been reported to cause fatal pneumonia and septicemia. Pasteurella multocida subspecies multocida of serotype A Malaysian isolate PMTB2.1 was first isolated from buffaloes died of septicemia. In this study, the genome of P. multocida strain PMTB2.1 was sequenced using third-generation sequencing technology, PacBio RS2 system and analyzed bioinformatically via de novo analysis followed by in-depth analysis based on comparative genomics. Bioinformatics analysis based on de novo assembly of PacBio raw reads generated 3 contigs followed by gap filling of aligned contigs with PCR sequencing, generated a single contiguous circular chromosome with a genomic size of 2,315,138 bp and a GC content of approximately 40.32% (Accession number CP007205). The PMTB2.1 genome comprised of 2,176 protein-coding sequences, 6 rRNA operons and 56 tRNA and 4 ncRNAs sequences. The comparative genome sequence analysis of PMTB2.1 with nine complete genomes which include Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae, Haemophilus parasuis, Escherichia coli and five P. multocida complete genome sequences including, PM70, PM36950, PMHN06, PM3480, PMHB01 and PMTB2.1 was carried out based on OrthoMCL analysis and Venn diagram. The analysis showed that 282 CDs (13%) are unique to PMTB2.1and 1,125 CDs with orthologs in all. This reflects overall close relationship of these bacteria and supports the classification in the Gamma subdivision of the Proteobacteria. In addition, genomic distance analysis among all nine genomes indicated that PMTB2.1 is closely related with other five Pasteurella species with genomic distance less than 0.13. Synteny analysis shows subtle differences in genetic structures among different P.multocida indicating the dynamics of frequent gene transfer events among different P. multocida strains. However, PM3480 and PM70 exhibited exceptionally large structural variation since they were swine and chicken isolates. Furthermore, genomic structure of PMTB2.1 is more resembling that of PM36950 with a genomic size difference of approximately 34,380 kb (smaller than PM36950) and strain-specific Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICE) which was found only in PM36950 is absent in PMTB2.1. Meanwhile, two intact prophages sequences of approximately 62 kb were found to be present only in PMTB2.1. One of phage is similar to transposable phage SfMu. The phylogenomic tree was constructed and rooted with E. coli, A. pleuropneumoniae and H. parasuis based on OrthoMCL analysis. The genomes of P. multocida strain PMTB2.1 were clustered with bovine isolates of P. multocida strain PM36950 and PMHB01 and were separated from avian isolate PM70 and swine isolates PM3480 and PMHN06 and are distant from Actinobacillus and Haemophilus. Previous studies based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) and Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) unable to show a clear phylogenetic relatedness between Pasteurella multocida and the different host. In conclusion, this study has provided insight on the genomic structure of PMTB2.1 in terms of potential genes that can function as virulence factors for future study in elucidating the mechanisms behind the ability of the bacteria in causing diseases in susceptible animals.

Keywords: comparative genomics, DNA sequencing, phage, phylogenomics

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Authors: M. Alpaslan Koroglu

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Fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) bridge decks have become an innovative alternative, and they have offered many advantages, and this has been increasing attention for applications in not only reinforcement of existing bridges decks but also construction of new bridges decks. The advantages of these FRP decks are; lightweight, high-strength FRP materials, corrosion resistance. However, this high strength deck is not ductile. In this study, the behaviour of hybrid FRP-steel decks are investigated. All FRP decks was analysed with the commercial package ABAQUS. In the FE model, the webs and flanges were discretised by 4 nodes shell elements. A full composite action between the steel and the FRP composite was assumed in the FE analysis because the bond-slip behaviour was unknown at that time. The performance of the proposed hybrid FRP deck panel with steel plates was evaluated by means of FE analysis.

Keywords: FRP, deck, bridge, finite element

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Authors: Florence A. Undiyaundeye, Aniashie Akpanke

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Early identification of developmental disorders in infants and toddlers is critical for the well being of children. It is also an integral function of the primary care medical provider and the early care given in the home or crèche. This paper is focused at providing information on special need infants and toddlers and strategies to support them in developmental concern to cope with the challenges in and out of the classroom and to interact with their peers without stigmatization and inferiority complex. The target children are from birth through three years of age. There is a strong recommendation for developmental surveillance to be incorporated at every well child preventive care program in training and practical stage of formal school settings. The paper posits that any concerns raised during surveillance should be promptly addressed with standardized developmental screening by appropriate health service providers. In addition screening tests should be administered regularly at age 9+, 19+ and 30 months of these infants. The paper also establishes that the early identification of these developmental challenges of the infants and toddlers should lead to further developmental and medical evaluation, diagnosis and treatment, including early developmental school intervention, control and teaching and learning integration and inclusion for proper career build up. Children diagnosed with developmental disorders should be identified as children with special needs so that management is initiated and its underlying etiology may also drive a range of treatment of the child, to parents. Conselling and school integration as applicable to the child’s specific need and care for sustenance in societal functioning.

Keywords: care, special need, support, infants and toddlers, management and developmental disorders

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Authors: Zhen Li

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In contemporary China, the rise of consumer culture and feminism has facilitated the ‘She-Economy’, where Chinese women’s consumption power has been boosted along with the thriving Chinese economy. Domestic reality TV shows such as Sisters Who Make Waves (hereafter SWMW) target female audiences by bringing women's issues such as age, appearance, and balance between family and career to the discussion. Against this backdrop, this study adopted multimodal content analysis to investigate how SWMW failed to live up to the feminist goals the show had claimed and how serious women’s issues were consumed and capitalized by the consumer media culture from consumer culture and feminist perspectives. The findings reveal that while the female-themed work claims to uncover the charm that age brings to women over their thirties, it merely mentions female anxiety and uses feminism in disguise to achieve commercial success without in-depth thinking and discussion of what real-life issues women in China are tackling. They further show that the mass media-promoted modern femininity combined with consumerism deepens anxiety over aging among female audiences. The study sheds light on understanding the new development of Chinese femininity and the impact of consumer culture on feminist consciousness in contemporary China.

Keywords: consumer culture, feminism, multimodal content analysis, she-economy

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Authors: Sílvia Pereira Mello, Eliane Rodrigues, Maria de Lourdes Andrade, Marcelo Pereira, Giselle Dias, Jose Seixas Filho

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Frog meat is a highly digestible food and its use is recommended in diets aimed at fighting cholesterol, obesity, and arterial hypertension, as well as for treating gastrointestinal disorders. In this study, the soups were developed with frog meat in addition to other ingredients which did not present allergenic potential. The carcasses of the thawed frogs went through bleaching and deboning, and other ingredients (vegetables and condiments) were then added to the separated meat. After the process of cooking, the soups were cooled and later on frozen at -40° C for 3 hours and then taken to the LS 3000 B lyophilizer for 24 hours. The soups were submitted to microbiological analysis: enumeration of total coliforms and Bacillus cereus; identification of coagulase positive Staphylococcus; isolation and identification of Salmonella spp.; and physical-chemical analysis; application of micro-Kjeldahl method for protein, Soxhlet method for lipids, use of a heating chamber at 105ºC for moisture, incineration method (500-550°C) for ash, and Decagon's Pawkit equipment for determining water activity. Acceptance test was performed with 50 elderly people, all between 60 and 85 years of age. The degree of acceptance was demonstrated using a seven points structured hedonic scale in which the taster expressed their impression towards the product. Results of the microbiological analysis showed that all samples met the standards established by the National Health Surveillance Agency of Brazil (ANVISA). Results of the acceptance test indicated that all the soups were accepted considering overall impression and intended consumption. In addition to its excellent nutritional quality, the dehydrated soups made with frog meat are presented as a solution for consumers due to convenience in preparation, consumption and storage.

Keywords: bacteriological quality, lithobates catesbeianus, instant soup, proximate composition, sensory analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Amjad Abdullah, Amjad Yahya, Bushra Aljohani, Amani Alghamdi

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Change point detection is an important part of data analysis. The presence of a change point refers to a significant change in the behavior of a time series. In this article, we examine the detection of multiple change points of parameters of the exponential Lomax distribution, which is broad and flexible compared with other distributions while fitting data. We used the Schwarz information criterion and binary segmentation to detect multiple change points in publicly available data on the average temperature in the ozone layer. The change points were successfully located.

Keywords: binary segmentation, change point, exponentialLomax distribution, information criterion

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: A. Amar

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Analysis of the elastic scattering of protons on ¹⁰B nuclei has been done in the framework of the optical model and single folding model at the beam energies up to 17 MeV. We could enhance the optical potential parameters using Esis88 Code, as well as SPI GENOA Code. Linear relationship between volume real potential (V₀) and proton energy (E_p) has been obtained. Also, surface imaginary potential W_D is proportional to the proton energy (E_p) in the range 0.400 and 17 MeV. The radiative reaction ¹⁰B(p,γ)¹¹C has been analyzed using potential model. A comparison between ¹⁰B(p,γ)¹¹C and ⁶Li(p,γ)⁷Be has been made. Good agreement has been found between theoretical and experimental results in the whole range of energy. The radiative resonance reaction ⁷Li(p,γ)⁸Be has been studied.

Keywords: elastic scattering of protons on 10B nuclei, optical potential parameters, potential model, radiative reaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 206

Authors: Khelifa Tarek, Benmebarek Sadok

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The 2D passive earth pressures acting on rigid retaining walls problem has been widely treated in the literature using different approaches (limit equilibrium, limit analysis, slip line and numerical computation), however, the 3D passive earth pressures problem has received less attention. This paper is concerned with the numerical study of 3D passive earth pressures induced by the translation of a rigid rough retaining wall for associated and non-associated soils. Using the explicit finite difference code FLAC3D, the increase of the passive earth pressures due to the decrease of the wall breadth is investigated. The results given by the present numerical analysis are compared with other investigation. The influence of the angle of dilation on the coefficients is also studied.

Keywords: numerical modeling, FLAC3D, retaining wall, passive earth pressures, angle of dilation

Procedia PDF Downloads 321

Authors: Krizette Ladera

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Fathers are there not only to provide the financial stability of a family but a father is also there to provide the love and support that usually people would see as the mother’s responsibility. To describe the lived experiences and how fathers make sense of their lived experiences with their children who have cerebral palsy is the main objective of the study. A qualitative research using a thematic analysis was used for the study. The qualitative research focused on the personal narratives, self-report and expression of the participant’s memory in terms of how they tell their stories. The interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to focus on the experience of the participants on how they will describe their experiences, and to also add on that the IPA will also attempt to describe and explain the meaning of human experiences using interview, specifically on the father who have a child that suffers from cerebral palsy. For the sampling technique, the snowball technique was used to gather participants from the referral of other participants. The five non-randomly selected fathers will be served as the participants for the research. A self-made interview with an open-ended question was used as the research instrument; it includes profiling of the respondent as well as their experiences in taking care of their child that suffers from cerebral palsy. In analyzing a data, the researcher used the thematic analysis where in the interview was made into a transcript, then it was organized and divided themes. After that, the relations of each themes, was identified and it was later documented and translated into written text format using thematic grouping. Finally, the researcher analyzed each data according to its themes and put it in a table to be presented in the result section of the study And as for the result of the study, the researcher was able to come up with the four (4) main themes that most of the participants experienced and those are: The experiences in finding out about the condition of the Child, disclosing the condition of the child to the family and its emotional effect, The experiences of living the day of day realities in providing the physical, financial, emotional and a well balanced environment to the child, and the religious perspectives of the fathers. Along with those four (4) themes comes the subtheme which explains the themes in a more detailed explanation.

Keywords: cerebral palsy, children, fathers, lived experiences

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Authors: Mehmet Savsar

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Industrial Engineering is one of the engineering disciplines that deal with analysis, design, and improvement of systems, which include manufacturing, supply chain, healthcare, communication, and general service systems. Industrial engineers involve with comprehensive study of a given system, analysis of its interacting units, determination of problem areas, application of various optimization and operations research tools, and recommendation of solutions resulting in significant improvements. The Senior Design course in Industrial Engineering is the culmination of the Industrial Engineering Curriculum in a Capstone Design course, which fundamentally deals with systems analysis and design. The course at Kuwait University has been carefully designed with various course objectives and course outcomes in mind to achieve several program outcomes by practices and learning experiences, which are explicitly gained by systems analysis and design. The Senior Design Course is carried out in a selected industrial or service organization, with support from its engineering personnel, during a full semester by a team of students, who are usually in the last semester of their academic programs. A senior faculty member constantly administers the course to ensure that the students accomplish the prescribed objectives. Students work in groups to formulate issues and propose solutions and communicate, results in formal written and oral presentations. When the course is completed, they emerge as engineers that can be clearly identified as more mature, able to communicate better, able to participate in team work, able to see systems perspective in analysis and design, and more importantly, able to assume responsibility at entry level as engineers. The accomplishments are mainly due to real life experiences gained during the course of their design study. This paper presents methods, procedures, and experiences in teaching a Senior Design Course in Industrial Engineering Curriculum. A detailed description of the course, its role, its objectives, outcomes, learning practices, and assessments are explained in relation to other courses in Industrial Engineering Curriculum. The administration of the course, selected organizations where the course project is carried out, problems and solution tools utilized, student accomplishments and obstacles faced are presented. Issues discussed in this paper could help instructors in teaching the course as well as in clarifying the contribution of a design course to the industrial engineering education in general. In addition, the methods and teaching procedures presented could facilitate future improvements in industrial engineering curriculum.

Keywords: senior design course, industrial engineering, capstone design, education

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Authors: Sandra Cecilia Muhirirwe, Bart Van Der Bruggen, Violet Kisakye

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Economic analysis of Rainwater harvesting (RWH) systems is vital in search of a cost-effective solution to water unreliability, especially in low-income countries. There is little literature focusing on the financial aspects of RWH for dairy farmers. The main purpose was to assess the economic viability of rainwater harvesting for diary framers in the Rwenzori region. The study focused on the use of rainwater harvesting systems from the rooftop and collection in above surface tanks. Daily rainfall time series for 12 years was obtained across nine gauging stations. The daily water balance equation was used for optimal sizing of the tank. Economic analysis of the investment was carried out based on the life cycle costs and the accruing benefits for the period of 15 years. Roof areas were varied from 75m2 as the minimum required area to 500m2 while maintaining the same number of cattle and keeping the daily water demand constant. The results show that the required rainwater tank sizes are very large and may be impractical to install due to the strongly varying terrain and the initial cost of investment. In all districts, there is a significant reduction of the volume of the required tank with an increasing collection area. The results further show that increasing the collection area has a minor effect on reducing the required tank size. Generally, for all rainfall areas, the reliability increases with an increase in the roof area. The results indicate that 100% reliability can only be realized with very large collection areas that are impractical to install. The estimated benefits outweigh the cost of investment. The Present Net Value shows that the investment is economically viable and investment with a short payback of a maximum of 3 years for all the time series in the study area.

Keywords: dairy cattle, optimisation, rainwater harvesting, economic analysis

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Authors: Ana L. Martins, Rita S. Saraiva, João C. Ferreira

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Much effort has been placed on the assessment of perceived service quality. Several models can be found in literature, but these are mainly focused on business-to-consumer (B2C) relationships. Literature on how to assess perceived quality in business-to-business (B2B) contexts is scarce both conceptually and in terms of its application. This research aims at filling this gap in literature by applying INDSERV to a case study situation. Under this scope, this research aims at analyzing the adequacy of the proposed assessment tool to other context besides the one where it was developed and by doing so analyzing the perceive quality of the advertisement service provided by a specific television network to its B2B customers. The INDSERV scale was adopted and applied to a sample of 33 clients, via questionnaires adapted to interviews. Data was collected in person or phone. Both quantitative and qualitative data collection was performed. Qualitative data analysis followed content analysis protocol. Quantitative analysis used hypotheses testing. Findings allowed to conclude that the perceived quality of the television service provided by television network is very positive, being the Soft Process Quality the parameter that reveals the highest perceived quality of the service as opposed to Potential Quality. To this end, some comments and suggestions were made by the clients regarding each one of these service quality parameters. Based on the hypotheses testing, it was noticed that only advertisement clients that maintain a connection to the television network from 5 to 10 years do show a significant different perception of the TV advertisement service provided by the company in what the Hard Process Quality parameter is concerned. Through the collected data content analysis, it was possible to obtain the percentage of clients which share the same opinions and suggestions for improvement. Finally, based on one of the four service quality parameter in a B2B context, managerial suggestions were developed aiming at improving the television network advertisement perceived quality service.

Keywords: B2B, case study, INDSERV, perceived service quality

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Authors: Zainab S. Ahmed, Mohammed S. Ali, Nadia A. Elshiekh, Sami Adam Ibrahim, Ghada M. El-Tayeb, Ahmed H. Elsadig, Rihab A. Omer, Sofia B. Mohamed

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Maple syrup urine (MSUD) is an autosomal recessive disease that causes a deficiency in the enzyme branched-chain alpha-keto acid (BCKA) dehydrogenase. The development of disease has been associated with SNPs in the DBT gene. Despite that, the computational analysis of SNPs in coding and noncoding and their functional impacts on protein level still remains unknown. Hence, in this study, we carried out a comprehensive in silico analysis of missense that was predicted to have a harmful influence on DBT structure and function. In this study, eight different in silico prediction algorithms; SIFT, PROVEAN, MutPred, SNP&GO, PhD-SNP, PANTHER, I-Mutant 2.0 and MUpo were used for screening nsSNPs in DBT including. Additionally, to understand the effect of mutations in the strength of the interactions that bind protein together the ELASPIC servers were used. Finally, the 3D structure of DBT was formed using Mutation3D and Chimera servers respectively. Our result showed that a total of 15 nsSNPs confirmed by 4 software (R301C, R376H, W84R, S268F, W84C, F276C, H452R, R178H, I355T, V191G, M444T, T174A, I200T, R113H, and R178C) were found damaging and can lead to a shift in DBT gene structure. Moreover, we found 7 nsSNPs located on the 2-oxoacid_dh catalytic domain, 5 nsSNPs on the E_3 binding domain and 3 nsSNPs on the Biotin Domain. So these nsSNPs may alter the putative structure of DBT’s domain. Furthermore, we detected all these nsSNPs are on the core residues of the protein and have the ability to change the stability of the protein. Additionally, we found W84R, S268F, and M444T have high significance, and they affected Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine, which reduces or disrupt the function of BCKD complex, E2-subunit which the DBT gene encodes. In conclusion, based on our extensive in-silico analysis, we report 15 nsSNPs that have possible association with protein deteriorating and disease-causing abilities. These candidate SNPs can aid in future studies on Maple Syrup Urine Disease type II base in the genetic level.

Keywords: DBT gene, ELASPIC, in silico analysis, UCSF chimer

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Authors: Sandeep Vasaikar, Lary Obi

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Rapid and discriminative genotyping methods are useful for determining the clonality of the isolates in nosocomial or household outbreaks. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is a nucleotide sequence-based approach for characterising bacterial isolates. The genetic diversity and the clinical relevance of the drug-resistant Klebsiella isolates from Mthatha are largely unknown. For this reason, prospective, experimental study of the molecular epidemiology of Klebsiella isolates from patients being treated in Mthatha over a three-year period was analysed. Methodology: PCR amplification and sequencing of the drug-resistance-associated genes, and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) using 7 housekeeping genes mdh, pgi, infB, FusAR, phoE, gapA and rpoB were conducted. A total of 32 isolates were analysed. Results: The percentages of multidrug-resistant (MDR), extensively drug-resistance (XDR) and pandrug-resistant (PDR) isolates were; MDR 65.6 % (21) and XDR and PDR with 0 % each. In this study, K. pneumoniae was 19/32 (59.4 %). MLST results showed 22 sequence types (STs) were identified, which were further separated by Maximum Parsimony into 10 clonal complexes and 12 singletons. The most dominant group was Klebsiella pneumoniae with 23/32 (71.8 %) isolates, Klebsiella oxytoca as a second group with 2/32 (6.25 %) isolates, and a single (3.1 %) K. varricola as a third group while 6 isolates were of unknown sequences. Conclusions/significance: A phylogenetic analysis of the concatenated sequences of the 7 housekeeping genes showed that strains of K. pneumoniae form a distinct lineage within the genus Klebsiella, with K. oxytoca and K. varricola its nearest phylogenetic neighbours. With the analysis of 7 genes were determined 1 K. variicola, which was mistakenly identified as K. pneumoniae by phenotypic methods. Two misidentifications of K. oxytoca were found when phenotypic methods were used. No significant differences were observed between ESBL blaCTX-M, blaTEM and blaSHV groups in the distribution of Sequence types (STs) or Clonal complexes (CCs).

Keywords: phylogenetic analysis, phylogeny, klebsiella phylogenetic, klebsiella

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Authors: Bin Mu, Site Li, Shijin Yuan

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Under the circumstance of environment deterioration, people are increasingly concerned about the quality of the environment, especially air quality. As a result, it is of great value to give accurate and timely forecast of AQI (air quality index). In order to simplify influencing factors of air quality in a city, and forecast the city’s AQI tomorrow, this study used MATLAB software and adopted the method of constructing a mathematic model of PCA-GABP to provide a solution. To be specific, this study firstly made principal component analysis (PCA) of influencing factors of AQI tomorrow including aspects of weather, industry waste gas and IAQI data today. Then, we used the back propagation neural network model (BP), which is optimized by genetic algorithm (GA), to give forecast of AQI tomorrow. In order to verify validity and accuracy of PCA-GABP model’s forecast capability. The study uses two statistical indices to evaluate AQI forecast results (normalized mean square error and fractional bias). Eventually, this study reduces mean square error by optimizing individual gene structure in genetic algorithm and adjusting the parameters of back propagation model. To conclude, the performance of the model to forecast AQI is comparatively convincing and the model is expected to take positive effect in AQI forecast in the future.

Keywords: AQI forecast, principal component analysis, genetic algorithm, back propagation neural network model

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: Lei Zhang, Li Ji

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Formal learning and informal learning represent two distinct learning styles: one is systematic and organized, another is causal and unstructured. Although there are many factors influencing online learning satisfaction, including self-regulation, self-efficacy, and interaction, factors influencing online formal learning and informal learning satisfaction may differ from each other. This paper investigated and compared influential factors of online formal and informal learning. Two questionnaires were created based on previous studies to explore factors influencing online formal learning and online informal learning satisfaction, respectively. A sample of 105 college students from different departments in a university located in the eastern part of China was selected to participate in this study. They all had an online learning experience and agreed to fill out questionnaires. Correlation analysis, variance analysis, and regression analysis were employed in this study. In addition, five participants were chosen for interviews. The study found that student-content, interaction, self-regulation, and self-efficacy related positively to both online formal learning and informal learning satisfaction. In addition, compared to online formal learning, student-content interaction in informal learning was the most influential factor for online learning satisfaction, perhaps that online informal learning was more goal-oriented and learners paid attention to the quality of content. In addition, results also revealed that interactions among students or teachers had little impact on online informal learning satisfaction. This study compared influential factors in online formal and informal learning satisfaction helped to add discussions to online learning satisfaction and contributed to further practices of online learning.

Keywords: learning satisfaction, formal learning, informal learning, online learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 160

Authors: Marwah Mohsin, Thomas Beach, Alan Kwan, Mahdi Ismail

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This paper describes the differences in views on sustainable development between the general public and experts in a developing country, Iraq. This paper will answer the question: How do the views of the public differ from the generally accepted view of experts in the context of sustainable urban development in Iraq? In order to answer this question, the views of both the public and the experts will be analysed. These results are taken from a public survey and a Delphi questionnaire. These will be analysed using statistical methods in order to identify the significant differences. This will enable investigation of the different perceptions between the public perceptions and the experts’ views towards urban sustainable development factors. This is important due to the fact that different viewpoints between policy-makers and the public will impact on the acceptance by the public of any future sustainable development work that is undertaken. The brief findings of the statistical analysis show that the views of both the public and the experts are considered different in most of the variables except six variables show no differences. Those variables are ‘The importance of establishing sustainable cities in Iraq’, ‘Mitigate traffic congestion’, ‘Waste recycling and separating’, ‘Use wastewater recycling’, ‘Parks and green spaces’, and ‘Promote investment’.

Keywords: urban sustainability, experts views, public views, principle component analysis, PCA

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Anupuma Raina, Ajay Parkash

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In forensic investigation, DNA analysis helps in the identification of a particular individual under investigation. A set of Short Tandem Repeats loci are widely used for individualization at a molecular level in forensic testing. STRs with tetrameric repeats of DNA are highly polymorphic and widely used for forensic DNA analysis. Identification of an individual became challenging for forensic examiners after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. HSCT is a well-accepted and life-saving treatment to treat malignant and nonmalignant diseases. It involves the administration of healthy donor stem cells to replace the patient’s own unhealthy stem cells. A successful HSCT results in complete donor-derived cells in a patient’s hematopoiesis and hence have the capability to change the genetic makeup of the patient. Although an individual who has undergone HSCT and then committed a crime is a very rare situation, but not impossible. Keeping such a situation in mind, various biological samples like blood, buccal swab, and hair follicle were collected and studied after a certain interval of time after HSCT. Blood was collected from both the patient and the donor before the transplant. The DNA profile of both was analyzed using a short tandem repeat kit for autosomal chromosomes. Among all exhibits studied, only hair follicles were found to be the most suitable biological exhibit, as no donor DNA profile was observed for up to 90 days of study.

Keywords: chimerism, HSCT, STRs analysis, forensic identification

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Yogesh S. Patel

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Novel polyimides were synthesized by Diels–Alder polymerization. Bisfuran was reacted with a couple of bismaleimides containing diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A and F (epoxy) segment to obtain Diels–Alder polyadducts. Polyadducts were then aromatized and imidized (i.e. cyclized) through carboxylic and amide groups to afford polyimides. Synthesized polyadducts and polyimides were characterized by elemental analysis, spectral features, the number of average molecular weight (Mn) and thermal analysis. The ‘in situ’ glass fiber reinforced composites were prepared and characterized by mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. These properties were compared with the other reported polyimides. All the composites showed good mechanical and electrical properties and good resistance to organic solvents and mineral acids.

Keywords: Diels-Alder reaction, bisfuran, bismaleimides, polyimide

Procedia PDF Downloads 370

Authors: Jeonghwan Jeon

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Recently, the industry and academia have been planning development through industry/university cooperation (IUC), and the government has been promoting alternative methods to achieve successful IUC. Representatively, business cultivation involves the lead university (regarding IUC), research and development (R&D), company support, professional manpower cultivation, and marketing, etc., and the scale of support expands every year. Research is performed by many academic researchers to achieve IUC and although satisfaction of their results is high, expectations are not being met and study of the main factor is insufficient. Therefore, this research improves on theirs by analysing the main factors influencing their satisfaction. Each factor is analysed by AHP, and portfolio analysis is performed on the importance and current satisfaction level. This will help improve satisfaction of business participants and ensure effective IUC in the future.

Keywords: industry/university cooperation, satisfaction, portfolio analysis, research and development

Procedia PDF Downloads 506

Authors: Guozhen Li, Philip Hall, Nick Miles, Tao Wu, Jie Dong

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This paper presents a Euler-Lagrange model of the water-particles multiphase flows in a Vorsyl separator where particles with different densities are separated. A series of particles with their densities ranging from 760 kg/m³ to 1380 kg/m³ were fed into the Vorsyl separator with water by means of tangential inlet. The simulation showed that the feed materials acquired centrifugal force which allows most portion of the particles with a density less than water to move to the center of the separator, enter the vortex finder and leave the separator through the bottom outlet. While the particles heavier than water move to the wall, reach the throat area and leave the separator through the side outlet. The particles were thus separated and particles collected at the bottom outlet are pure and clean. The influence of particle density on separation efficiency was investigated which demonstrated a positive correlation of the separation efficiency with increasing density difference between medium liquid and the particle. In addition, the influence of the split ratio on the performance was studied which showed that the separation efficiency of the Vorsyl separator can be improved by the increase of split ratio. The simulation also suggested that the Vorsyl separator may not function when the feeding velocity is smaller than a certain critical feeding in velocity. In addition, an increasing feeding velocity gives rise to increased pressure drop, however does not necessarily increase the separation efficiency.

Keywords: Vorsyl separator, separation efficiency, CFD, split ratio

Procedia PDF Downloads 344

Authors: Ridwan Dewayanto Rusli

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We show how prisoner's dilemma-type competition problems can be mitigated through rapid platform diversification and ecosystem expansion. We analyze a ride-hailing company in Southeast Asia, Gojek, whose network grew to more than 170 million users comprising consumers, partner drivers, merchants, and complementors within a few years and has already achieved higher contribution margins than ride-hailing peers Uber and Lyft. Its ecosystem integrates ride-hailing, food delivery and logistics, merchant solutions, e-commerce, marketplace and advertising, payments, and fintech offerings. The company continues growing its network of complementors and App developers, expanding content and gaining critical mass in consumer data analytics and advertising. We compare the company's growth and diversification trajectory with those of its main international rivals and peers. The company's rapid growth and future potential are analyzed using Cusumano's (2012) Staying Power and Six Principles, Hax and Wilde's (2003) and Hax's (2010) The Delta Model as well as Santos' (2016) home-market advantages frameworks. The recently announced multi-billion-dollar merger with one of Southeast Asia's largest e-commerce majors lends additional support to the above arguments.

Keywords: ride-hailing, prisoner's dilemma, platform and ecosystem strategy, digital applications, diversification, home market advantages, e-commerce

Procedia PDF Downloads 91

Authors: Raghunandan Gurumurthy, Aricson Pereira, Sandeep Patil

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The escalating adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) across the globe has underscored the critical importance of advancing battery system technologies. This has catalyzed a shift towards the design and development of battery systems that not only exhibit higher energy efficiency but also boast enhanced thermal performance and sophisticated multi-material enclosures. A significant leap in this domain has been the incorporation of simulation-based design optimization for battery packs and Battery Management Systems (BMS), a move further enriched by integrating artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) approaches. These strategies are pivotal in refining the design, manufacturing, and operational processes for electric vehicles and energy storage systems. By leveraging AI/ML, stakeholders can now predict battery performance metrics—such as State of Health, State of Charge, and State of Power—with unprecedented accuracy. Furthermore, as Li-ion batteries (LIBs) become more prevalent in urban settings, the imperative for bolstering thermal and fire resilience has intensified. This has propelled Battery Thermal Management Systems (BTMs) to the forefront of energy storage research, highlighting the role of machine learning and AI not just as tools for enhanced safety management through accurate temperature forecasts and diagnostics but also as indispensable allies in the early detection and warning of potential battery fires.

Keywords: electric vehicles, battery thermal management, industrial engineering, machine learning, artificial intelligence, manufacturing

Procedia PDF Downloads 88

Authors: Hassan M. Al-Ahmadi

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The fatality index (deaths/100 K population) due to road traffic accidents in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is over 25, according to the World Health Organization Statistics (WHO) statistics, which is much higher than in the neighboring Arab regions. The KSA has implemented measures to mitigate traffic accidents by enforcing road safety regulations. As a result, there has been a slight decline in the frequency of road traffic accidents within the Kingdom. This study was based on the variations in the accidents for three provinces of KSA, i.e., Riyadh, Eastern Province (EP), & Qaseem, for 2016 and 2017 using ANOVA method. Data appropriateness for the ANOVA method was confirmed by the normality and the randomness of residuals. Additionally, the half-normal plot was used to identify the significant terms for the ANOVA analysis. The analysis revealed that the accidents in the EP were significantly higher than in the other two provinces during the analysis period. The monthly variation showed a spike in the accidents from month 7th to 9th month in the EP region and a slight drop in the accidents in the Qaseem and the Riyadh region during the same period, which was attributed to the increased leisure travels from the other regions to the EP. Furthermore, most of the accidents were found to occur in the age group of 18+ and 30+, and also the major reduction of accidents in 2017 as compared to 2016 was found to have occurred in the same group. These findings can be beneficial for developing strategies to further reduce the number of accidents.

Keywords: fatality index, emergency, road traffic accident, safety, leisure travels

Procedia PDF Downloads 31

Authors: Souvik Das, Sandip Bhattacharya, Goutam Mukhopadhyay, Manashi Adhikary

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Wires breakages during cold drawing are a complex phenomenon; wire breakages may be induced by improper wire-rod quality, inappropriate heat-treated microstructure, and/or lubrication breakdown on the wire surface. A comprehensive metallurgical investigation of failed/broken wire samples is therefore essential for understanding the origin of failure. Frequent breakage of wires during drawing is a matter of serious concern to the wire drawers as it erodes their already slim margins through reduced productivity and loss in yield. The present paper highlights the failure investigation of wires of Low Relaxation Prestressed High Carbon grade during cold drawing due to entrapment of hard constituents detached from the roller entry guide during rolling operations. The hardness measurement of this entrapped location indicates 54.9 Rockwell Hardness as against the rest portion 33.4 Rockwell Hardness. The microstructure chemical analysis and X-ray mapping analysis data of the entrapment location confirmed complex chromium carbide originated from D2-steel used in entry guide during the rolling process. Since the harder entrapped phase could not be deformed in the same manner as the parent phase, the failure of the wire rod occurs during hot rolling.

Keywords: LRPC, D2-steel, chromium carbide, roller guide

Procedia PDF Downloads 156