Search results for: index terms— PIC

Authors: A.L. Tamm, N. Šott, J. Jürimäe, E. Lätt, A. Orav, Ü. Parm

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Coffee is one of the most frequently consumed beverages in the world but still its effects on human organism are not completely understood. Coffee has also been used as a method for weight loss, but its effectiveness has not been proved. There is also not similar comprehension in classifying overweight in choosing between body mass index (BMI) and fat percentage (fat%). The aim of the study was to determine associations between coffee consumption and body composition. Secondly, to detect which measure (BMI or fat%) is more accurate to use describing overweight. Altogether 103 persons enrolled the study and divided into three groups: coffee non-consumers (n=39), average coffee drinkers, who consumed 1 to 4 cups (1 cup = ca 200ml) of coffee per day (n=40) and excessive coffee consumers, who drank at least five cups of coffee per day (n=24). Body mass (medical electronic scale, A&D Instruments, Abingdon, UK) and height (Martin metal anthropometer to the nearest 0.1 cm) were measured and BMI calculated (kg/m2). Participants´ body composition was detected with dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA, Hologic) and general data (history of chronic diseases included) and information about coffee consumption, and physical activity level was collected with questionnaires. Results of the study showed that excessive coffee consumption was associated with increased fat-free mass. It could be foremost due to greater physical activity level in school time or greater (not significant) male proportion in excessive coffee consumers group. For estimating the overweight the fat% in comparison to BMI recommended, as it gives more accurate results evaluating chronical disease risks. In conclusion coffee consumption probably does not affect body composition and for estimating the body composition fat% seems to be more accurate compared with BMI.

Keywords: body composition, body fat percentage, body mass index, coffee consumption

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Authors: Hemalatha Ganapathyswamy, Thirukkumar Subramani

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Celiac disease is an autoimmune response to dietary wheat gluten. Gluten is the main structure forming protein in bread and hence developing gluten-free bread is a technological challenge. The study aims at using nonwheat flours like barnyard millet and lentil flour to replace wheat in bread formulations. Other characteristics of these grains, such as high protein, soluble fiber, mineral content and bioactive components make them attractive alternatives to traditional gluten-free ingredients in the production of high protein, gluten-free bread. The composite flour formulations for the development of gluten-free bread were optimized using lentil flour (50 to 70 g), barnyard millet flour (0 to 30 g) and corn flour (0 to 30 g) by means of response surface methodology with various independent variables for physical, sensorial and nutritional characteristics. The optimized composite flour which had a desirability value of 0.517, included lentil flour –62.94 g, barnyard millet flour– 24.34 g and corn flour– 12.72 g with overall acceptability score 8.00/9.00. The optimized gluten-free bread formulation had high protein (14.99g/100g) and fiber (1.95g/100g) content. The glycemic index of the gluten-free bread was 54.58 rendering it as low glycemic which enhances the functional benefit of the gluten-free bread. Since the standardised gluten-free bread from barnyard millet and lentil flour are high protein, and gluten-free with low glycemic index, the product would serve as an ideal therapeutic food in the management of both celiac disease and diabetes mellitus with better nutritional value.

Keywords: gluten free bread, lentil, low glycemic index, response surface methodology

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Authors: S. Zenia, A. Menasseria, A. E. Kheidous, F. Lariouna, A. Smai, H. Saadi, F. Haddadj, A. Milla, F. Marniche

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The objective of this study was to estimate the correlation ship between different pheasant external egg quality traits. A total of 938 eggs were collected. Egg weight (g), egg length (mm), egg width (mm), volume (cm3), shape index egg, surface area and water loss were measured. The overall mean values obtained for the different variables are respectively 29.2 ± 2,24, 43.01 ± 1,84, 34.05 ± 1,44, 25.63 ± 2.88 cm3, 79.00 ± 3%, 68% and 13%. Concerning studied regressions, it was considered only the most important regressions. Those that show significant links between the different parameters studied. The ANOVA procedure was applied to estimate correlations for the examined traits. The weights of the eggs being observed before incubation and before hatching are linearly correlated with a positive correlation coefficient of order 0.75. Egg length and the weight before incubation had a good and positive correlation with a coefficient r = 0.6. However, density had high and negative correlations with egg height r = -0.78. Shape index had a good linear and negative r= - 0.71 correlation with water loss.

Keywords: correlation, egg, morphometry of eggs, analysis of variance

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Authors: Parul Suraia, Harshit Sosan Lakra

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Indigenous communities represent some of the most marginalized populations globally, with India labeled as tribals, experiencing particularly pronounced marginalization and a concerning decline in their numbers. These communities often inhabit geographically challenging regions characterized by low population densities, posing significant challenges to providing essential infrastructure services. Jharkhand, a Schedule 5 state, is infamous for its low-level health status due to disparities in access to health care. The primary objective of this study is to investigate the spatial inequalities in healthcare accessibility among tribal populations within the state and pinpoint critical areas requiring immediate attention. Health indicators were selected based on the tribal perspective and association of Sustainable Goal 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing) with other SDGs. Focused group discussions in which tribal people and tribal experts were done in order to finalize the indicators. Employing Principal Component Analysis, two essential indices were constructed: the Tribal Health Index (THI) and the Tribal Health Intervention Index (THII). Index values were calculated based on the district-wise secondary data for Jharkhand. The bivariate spatial association technique, Moran’s I was used to assess the spatial pattern of the variables to determine if there is any clustering (positive spatial autocorrelation) or dispersion (negative spatial autocorrelation) of values across Jharkhand. The results helped in facilitating targeting policy interventions in deprived areas of Jharkhand.

Keywords: tribal health, health spatial disparities, health status, Jharkhand

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Authors: Hatice Derya Arslan

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Religious buildings in terms of architectural features are known as the most repeated building types. Mosques representing Islam religion shows big differences in terms of architecture. In Turkey, every year many mosques are built all over the country and a majority of the mosques being built are inspired by the Ottoman and Seljuk architecture. Unfortunately, inspired by the architecture of the mosque made from traditional mosque architecture is often inadequate. In this study, first of all, the evolution of the mosque architecture in Turkey has been examined chronologically and shortly. After that, in the other part of the paper, Mekke Mosque which was built in Kutahya City Center of Turkey is discussed in terms of architectural properties. In this mosque, quasi-postmodern design was preferred. Generally preferred classical Ottoman architecture has been abandoned in this mosque. However, there exists a lot of issue in the interior and exterior design of the mosque was criticized in the conclusion part of the paper in a comparative manner.

Keywords: architectural criticism, mosque, ottoman and seljuk architecture, religious building

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Authors: Faiz N. K. Yusufi, Aquil Ahmed, Jamal Ahmad

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Predicting the risk of diabetic retinopathy (DR) in Indian type 2 diabetes patients is immensely necessary. India, being the second largest country after China in terms of a number of diabetic patients, to the best of our knowledge not a single risk score for complications has ever been investigated. Diabetic retinopathy is a serious complication and is the topmost reason for visual impairment across countries. Any type or form of DR has been taken as the event of interest, be it mild, back, grade I, II, III, and IV DR. A sample was determined and randomly collected from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology, J.N.M.C., A.M.U., Aligarh, India. Collected variables include patients data such as sex, age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood sugar fasting (BSF), post prandial sugar (PP), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), smoking, alcohol habits, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), physical activity, duration of diabetes, diet control, history of antihypertensive drug treatment, family history of diabetes, waist circumference, hip circumference, medications, central obesity and history of DR. Cox proportional hazard regression is used to design risk scores for the prediction of retinopathy. Model calibration and discrimination are assessed from Hosmer Lemeshow and area under receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC). Overfitting and underfitting of the model are checked by applying regularization techniques and best method is selected between ridge, lasso and elastic net regression. Optimal cut off point is chosen by Youden’s index. Five-year probability of DR is predicted by both survival function, and Markov chain two state model and the better technique is concluded. The risk scores developed can be applied by doctors and patients themselves for self evaluation. Furthermore, the five-year probabilities can be applied as well to forecast and maintain the condition of patients. This provides immense benefit in real application of DR prediction in T2DM.

Keywords: Cox proportional hazard regression, diabetic retinopathy, ROC curve, type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Ali Kassem, Yaser Kamal, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Mohamed Hussen

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Introduction: Atherosclerosis is one of the leading causes of death all over the world. Recently, there is an increasing interest in Carotid Intima-Medial Thickness (CIMT) and Ankle Brachial Index (ABI) as non-invasive tools for identifying subclinical atherosclerosis. We aim to examine the role of CIMT and ABI as predictors of the severity of angiographically documented coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted on 60 patients who were investigated by coronary angiography at Sohag University Hospital, Egypt. CIMT: After the carotid arteries were located by transverse scans, the probe was rotated 90 ° to obtain and record longitudinal images of bilateral carotid arteries ABI: Each patient was evaluated in the supine position after resting for 5 min. ABI was measured in each leg using a Doppler Ultrasound while the patient remained in the same position. The lowest ABI obtained for either leg was taken as the ABI measurement for the patient. Results: Patients with carotid mean IMT ≥ 0.9 mm had significantly more severe coronary artery disease than patients without thickening (mean IMT > 0.9 mm). Similarly, patients with low ABI (< 0.9) had significantly more severe coronary artery disease than patients with ABI ≥ 0.9. When the patients were divided into 4 groups (group A, n = 15, mean IMT < 0.9 mm, ABI ≥ 0.9; group B, n = 25, mean IMT < 0.9 mm, low ABI; group C, n = 5, mean IMT ≥ 0.9 mm, ABI ≥ 0.9; group D, n = 19, mean IMT ≤ 0.9 mm, low ABI), the presence of significant coronary stenosis (> 50%) of the groups were significantly different (group A, n = 5: (33.3%); group B, n = 11: (52.4%); group C, n = 4: (60%); group D, n=15, (78.9%), P = 0.001). Conclusion: CIMT and ABI provide useful information on the severity of CAD. Early and aggressive intervention should be considered in patients with CAD and abnormalities in one or both of these non-invasive modalities.

Keywords: ankle brachial index, carotid intima media thickness, coronary artery disease, predictors of severity

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Authors: Om Kalthoum Sallem, Saidakilani, Kamiliya Ounaissa, Abdelmajid Abid

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Introduction and purposes: Olive oil is the main oil used in the Mediterranean diet. Virgin olive oil is valued for its organoleptic and nutritional characteristics and is resistant to oxidation due to its high monounsaturated fatty acid content (MUFAs), and low polyunsaturates (PUFAs) and the presence of natural antioxidants such as phenols, tocopherols and carotenoids. The fatty acid composition, especially the MUFA content, and the natural antioxidants provide advantages for health. The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of method of extraction on the chemical profiles of ‘Chemchali’ olive oil variety, which is cultivated in the city of Gafsa, and to compare it with chetoui and chemchali varieties. Methods: Our study is a qualitative prospective study that deals with ‘Chemchali’ olive oil variety. Analyses were conducted during three months (from December to February) in different oil mills in the city of Gafsa. We have compared ‘Chemchali’ olive oil obtained by continuous method to this obtained by superpress method. Then we have analyzed quality index parameters, including free fatty acid content (FFA), acidity, and UV spectrophotometric characteristics and other physico-chemical data [oxidative stability, ß-carotene, and chlorophyll pigment composition]. Results: Olive oil resulting from super press method compared with continuous method is less acid(0,6120 vs. 0,9760), less oxydazible(K232:2,478 vs. 2,592)(k270:0,216 vs. 0,228), more rich in oleic acid(61,61% vs. 66.99%), less rich in linoleic acid(13,38% vs. 13,98 %), more rich in total chlorophylls pigments (6,22 ppm vs. 3,18 ppm ) and ß-carotene (3,128 mg/kg vs. 1,73 mg/kg). ‘Chemchali’ olive oil showed more equilibrated total content in fatty acids compared with the varieties ’Chemleli’ and ‘Chetoui’. Gafsa’s variety ’Chemlali’ have significantly less saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Whereas it has a higher content in monounsaturated fatty acid C18:2, compared with the two other varieties. Conclusion: The use of super press method had benefic effects on general chemical characteristics of ‘Chemchali’ olive oil, maintaining the highest quality according to the ecocert legal standards. In light of the results obtained in this study, a more detailed study is required to establish whether the differences in the chemical properties of oils are mainly due to agronomic and climate variables or, to the processing employed in oil mills.

Keywords: olive oil, extraction method, fatty acids, chemchali olive oil

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Authors: Yike Lamu, Jieyu Tang, Jialin Wu, Jianyun Huang

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With the development of economy and science and technology, the urban heat island effect becomes more and more serious. Taking Beijing city as an example, this paper divides the value of each influence index of heat island intensity and establishes a mathematical model – neural network system based on the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation index of heat island effect. After data preprocessing, the algorithm of weight of each factor affecting heat island effect is generated, and the data of sex indexes affecting heat island intensity of Shenyang City and Shanghai City, Beijing, and Hangzhou City are input, and the result is automatically output by the neural network system. It is of practical significance to show the intensity of heat island effect by visual method, which is simple, intuitive and can be dynamically monitored.

Keywords: heat island effect, neural network, comprehensive evaluation, visualization

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Authors: Osamah A. Alsayegh

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This paper contributes to the literature by updating the analysis of the impact of the recent oil prices fall on the renewable energy (RE) industry and deployment. The research analysis uses the Renewable Energy Industrial Index (RENIXX), which tracks the world’s 30 largest publicly traded companies and oil prices daily data from January 2003 to March 2016. RENIXX represents RE industries developing solar, wind, geothermal, bioenergy, hydropower and fuel cells technologies. This paper tests the hypothesis that claims high oil prices encourage the substitution of alternate energy sources for conventional energy sources. Furthermore, it discusses RENIXX performance behavior with respect to the governments’ policies factor that investors should take into account. Moreover, the paper proposes a theoretical model that relates RE industry progress with oil prices and policies through the fuzzy logic system.

Keywords: Fuzzy logic, investment, policy, stock exchange index

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Authors: Nokwethaba Makhanya, Babatunde J. Abiodun, Piotr Wolski

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Climate change possibly intensifies hydrological droughts and reduces water availability in river basins. Despite this, most research on climate change effects in southern Africa has focused exclusively on meteorological droughts. This thesis projects the potential impact of climate change on the future characteristics of hydrological droughts in the Limpopo River Basin (LRB). The study uses regional climate model (RCM) measurements (from the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment, CORDEX) and a combination of hydrological simulations (using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool Plus model, SWAT+) to predict the impacts at four global warming levels (GWLs: 1.5℃, 2.0℃, 2.5℃, and 3.0℃) under the RCP8.5 future climate scenario. The SWAT+ model was calibrated and validated with a streamflow dataset observed over the basin, and the sensitivity of model parameters was investigated. The performance of the SWAT+LRB model was verified using the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), Percent Bias (PBIAS), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), and coefficient of determination (R²). The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) have been used to detect meteorological droughts. The Soil Water Index (SSI) has been used to define agricultural drought, while the Water Yield Drought Index (WYLDI), the Surface Run-off Index (SRI), and the Streamflow Index (SFI) have been used to characterise hydrological drought. The performance of the SWAT+ model simulations over LRB is sensitive to the parameters CN2 (initial SCS runoff curve number for moisture condition II) and ESCO (soil evaporation compensation factor). The best simulation generally performed better during the calibration period than the validation period. In calibration and validation periods, NSE is ≤ 0.8, while PBIAS is ≥ ﹣80.3%, RMSE ≥ 11.2 m³/s, and R² ≤ 0.9. The simulations project a future increase in temperature and potential evapotranspiration over the basin, but they do not project a significant future trend in precipitation and hydrological variables. However, the spatial distribution of precipitation reveals a projected increase in precipitation in the southern part of the basin and a decline in the northern part of the basin, with the region of reduced precipitation projected to increase with GWLs. A decrease in all hydrological variables is projected over most parts of the basin, especially over the eastern part of the basin. The simulations predict meteorological droughts (i.e., SPEI and SPI), agricultural droughts (i.e., SSI), and hydrological droughts (i.e., WYLDI, SRI) would become more intense and severe across the basin. SPEI-drought has a greater magnitude of increase than SPI-drought, and agricultural and hydrological droughts have a magnitude of increase between the two. As a result, this research suggests that future hydrological droughts over the LRB could be more severe than the SPI-drought projection predicts but less severe than the SPEI-drought projection. This research can be used to mitigate the effects of potential climate change on basin hydrological drought.

Keywords: climate change, CORDEX, drought, hydrological modelling, Limpopo River Basin

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Authors: Sylvanus N. Wosu

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Research shows that factors, such as low motivation, preparation, resources, emotional and social integration, and fears of risk-taking, are the most common barriers to access, matriculation, and retention into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines for underrepresented (URM) students. These factors have been shown to impact students’ attraction and success in STEM fields. Standardized tests such as the SAT and ACT often used as predictor of success, are not always true predictors of success for African and Hispanic American students. Without an adequate academic support environment, even a high SAT score does not guarantee academic success in science and engineering. This paper proposes a model for Academic Coaching for building success and inclusive excellence in STEM education. Academic coaching is framed as a process of motivating students to be independent learners through relational mentorship, facilitating learning supports inside and outside of the classroom or school environment, and developing problem-solving skills and success attitudes that lead to higher performance in the specific subjects. The model is formulated based on best strategies and practices for enriching Academic Performance Impact skills and motivating students’ interests in STEM. A scaled model for measuring the Academic Performance Impact (API) index and STEM is discussed. The study correlates API with state standardized test and shows that the average impact of those skills can be predicted by the Academic Performance Impact (API) index or Academic Preparedness Index.

Keywords: diversity, equity, graduate education, inclusion, inclusive excellence, model

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Authors: Barbara Erjauz, Juliane Eichhorn

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Background and Purpose: The world´s population is rapidly aging, wherefore the World Health Organization (WHO) is dealing with concepts of Age-Friendly-Communities and criteria to define them. Also in Germany, we can find an aging population and a large amount of seniors is living in rural areas. Those regions are defined by unique social and environmental characteristics, which can enhance or decrease age-friendliness. To identify and work with these characteristics, we are in need of appropriate assessment instruments. To the author’s best knowledge until now, no instrument could be identified as suitable and scientifically proven for the German speaking area. The aim of the study was to identify an assessment instrument to measure the age-friendliness of rural communities and its psychometric testing regarding the content validity. Methods: A literature search was carried out to identify instruments related to concepts of Age-Friendly-Communities. According to the German situation, an instrument was chosen and modified based on a Delphi-study. In this context, the content validity was investigated by calculating the Content Validity Index (CVI). Results: An instrument consisting of 86 items based on WHO indicators and the German situation in rural areas was created. 43 items (50%) had a Content Validity Index for Items (I-CVI) of 1,00, 37 items (43%) had an I-CVI of >0,78 and > 1.00, and 6 items had an I-CVI of >0,78. The value of the Content Validity Index for Scales, averaging calculation method (S-CVI/Ave) for the entire scale was 0,91. Conclusions: The results indicate a good content validity and it can be concluded that the created instrument represents the phenomenon of age-friendliness in rural areas. Nevertheless, further psychometric testing related to reliability, validity and responsiveness is recommended.

Keywords: assessment, age-friendly, rural, psychometric testing

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Authors: Cheng-Yu Tsai, Wen-Te Liu, Chen-Chen Lo, Yin-Tzu Lin, Kang Lo

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Background: Driving fatigue related to inadequate or disordered sleep accounts for a major percentage of traffic accidents. Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common respiratory disorder during sleep. However, the effects of OSAS severity on driving drowsiness remain unclear. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between OSAS severity and driving fatigue. Methodologies: The physical condition while driving was obtained from the questionnaires to classify the state of driving fatigue. OSAS severity was quantified as the polysomnography, and the mean hourly number of greater than 3% dips in oxygen saturation during examination in a hospital in New Taipei City (Taiwan). The severity of OSAS was diagnosed by the apnea and hypopnea index (AHI) with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) guideline. The logistic regression model was used to examine the associations after adjusted age, gender, neck circumstance, waist circumstance, and body mass index (BMI). Results: There were 880 subjects recruited in this study, who had been done polysomnography for evaluating severity for OSAS as well as completed the driver condition questionnaire. 752 subjects were diagnosed with OSA, and 484 subjects had fatigue driving behavior in the past week. Patients diagnosed with OSAS had a 9.42-fold higher odds ratio (p < 0.01, 95% CI = 5.41 – 16.42) of driving drowsiness for cohorts with a normal degree. Conclusion: We observe the considerable correlation between OSAS and driving fatigue. For the purpose of promoting traffic safety, OSAS should be monitored and treated.

Keywords: obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, driving fatigue, polysomnography, apnea and hypopnea index

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Authors: Natchaphon Auampradit, Patama Vapattanawong, Sureeporn Punpuing, Malee Sunpuwan, Tawanchai Jirapramukpitak

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Longitudinal studies related to cognitive impairment in elderly are necessary for health promotion and development. The purposes of this study were (1) to examine changes in cognition of elderly over time and (2) to examine the impacts of changes in social determinants of health (SDH) toward changes in cognition of elderly by using the secondary data derived from the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS) by the Institute for Population and Social Research (IPSR) which contained longitudinal data on individuals, households, and villages. Two selected projects included the Health and Social Support for Elderly in KDSS in 2007 and the Population, Economic, Social, Cultural, and Long-term Care Surveillance for Thai Elderly People’s Health Promotion in 2011. The samples were 586 elderly participated in both projects. SDH included living arrangement, social relationships with children, relatives, and friends, household asset-based wealth index, household monthly income, loans for livings, loans for investment, and working status. Cognitive impairment was measured by category fluency and delayed recall. This study employed Generalized Estimating Equation (GEE) model to investigate changes in cognition by taking SDH and other variables such as age, gender, marital status, education, and depression into the model. The unstructured correlation structure was selected to use for analysis. The results revealed that 24 percent of elderly had cognitive impairment at baseline. About 13 percent of elderly still had cognitive impairment during 2007 until 2011. About 21 percent and 11 percent of elderly had cognitive decline and cognitive improvement, respectively. The cross-sectional analysis showed that household asset-based wealth index, social relationship with friends, working status, age, marital status, education, and depression were significantly associated with cognitive impairment. The GEE model revealed longitudinal effects of household asset-based wealth index and working status against cognition during 2007 until 2011. There was no longitudinal effect of social conditions against cognition. Elderly living with richer household asset-based wealth index, still being employed, and being younger were less likely to have cognitive impairment. The results strongly suggested that poorer household asset-based wealth index and being unemployed were served as a risk factor for cognitive impairment over time. Increasing age was still the major risk for cognitive impairment as well.

Keywords: changes in cognition, cognitive impairment, elderly, KDSS, longitudinal study

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Authors: R. W. Brown, P. J. Blignaut

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An online performance management system was evaluated, and recommendations were made to improve the system. The study shows the effects of not adhering to the established web design principles and conventions. Furthermore, the study indicates that if the online performance management system is not well designed, it may have negative effects on the overall usability of the system and these negative effects will have consequences for both the employer and employees. The evaluation was done in terms of the usability metrics of effectiveness, efficiency and user satisfaction. Effectiveness was measured in terms of the success rate with which users could execute prescribed tasks in a sandbox system. Efficiency was expressed in terms of the time it took participants to understand what is expected of them and to execute the tasks. Post-test questionnaires were used in order to determine the satisfaction of the participants. Recommendations were made to improve the usability of the online performance management system.

Keywords: eye tracking, human resource management, performance management, usability

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Authors: Md. Refat Jahan Rakiba, M. Belal Hossaina, Rakesh Kumarc, Md. Akram Ullaha, Sultan Al Nahiand, Nazmun Naher Rimaa, Tasrina Rabia Choudhury, Samia Islam Libaf, Jimmy Yub, Mayeen Uddin Khandakerg, Abdelmoneim Suliemanh, Mohamed Mahmoud Sayedi

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Microplastics (MPs) have become an emerging global pollutant due to their wide spread and dispersion and potential threats to marine ecosystems. However, studies on MPs of estuarine and coastal ecosystems of Bangladesh are very limited or not available. In this study, we conducted the first study on the abundance, distribution, characteristics and potential risk assessment of microplastics in the sediment of Karnaphuli River estuary, Bangladesh. Microplastic particles were extracted from sediments of 30 stations along the estuary by density separation, and then enumerated and characterize by using steromicroscope and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. In the collected sediment, the number of MPs varied from 22.29 - 59.5 items kg−1 of dry weight (DW) with an average of 1177 particles kg−1 DW. The mean abundance was higher in the downstream and left bank of estuary where the predominant shape, colour, and size of MPs were films (35%), white (19%), and >5000 μm (19%), respectively. The main polymer types were polyethylene terephthalate, polystyrene, polyethylene, cellulose, and nylon. MPs were found to pose risks (low to high) in the sediment of the estuary, with the highest risk occuring at one station near a sewage outlet, according to the results of risk analyses using the pollution risk index (PRI), polymer risk index (H), contamination factors (CFs), and pollution load index (PLI). The single value index, PLI clearly demonastated that all sampling sites were considerably polluted (as PLI >1) with microplastics. H values showed toxic polymers even in lower proportions possess higher polymeric hazard scores and vice versa. This investigation uncovered new insights on the status of MPs in the sediments of Karnaphuli River estuary, laying the groundwork for future research and control of microplastic pollution and management.

Keywords: microplastics, polymers, pollution risk assessment, Karnaphuli esttuary

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Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

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Obesity and weight gain are associated with increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and the progression of liver fibrosis. Aspartate transaminase–to-platelet count ratio index (AST-to-PLT, APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) were primarily considered as the formulas capable of differentiating hepatitis from cirrhosis. Recently, they have found clinical use as measures of liver fibrosis and cardiovascular risk. However, their status in children has not been evaluated in detail yet. The aim of this study is to determine APRI and FIB-4 status in obese (OB) children and compare them with values found in children with normal body mass index (N-BMI). A total of sixty-eight children examined in the outpatient clinics of the Pediatrics Department in Tekirdag Namik Kemal University Medical Faculty were included in the study. Two groups were constituted. In the first group, thirty-five children with N-BMI, whose age- and sex-dependent BMI indices vary between 15 and 85 percentiles, were evaluated. The second group comprised thirty-three OB children whose BMI percentile values were between 95 and 99. Anthropometric measurements and routine biochemical tests were performed. Using these parameters, values for the related indices, BMI, APRI, and FIB-4, were calculated. Appropriate statistical tests were used for the evaluation of the study data. The statistical significance degree was accepted as p<0.05. In the OB group, values found for APRI and FIB-4 were higher than those calculated for the N-BMI group. However, there was no statistically significant difference between the N-BMI and OB groups in terms of APRI and FIB-4. A similar pattern was detected for triglyceride (TRG) values. The correlation coefficient and degree of significance between APRI and FIB-4 were r=0.336 and p=0.065 in the N-BMI group. On the other hand, they were r=0.707 and p=0.001 in the OB group. Associations of these two indices with TRG have shown that this parameter was strongly correlated (p<0.001) both with APRI and FIB-4 in the OB group, whereas no correlation was calculated in children with N-BMI. Triglycerides are associated with an increased risk of fatty liver, which can progress to severe clinical problems such as steatohepatitis, which can lead to liver fibrosis. Triglycerides are also independent risk factors for cardiovascular disease. In conclusion, the lack of correlation between TRG and APRI as well as FIB-4 in children with N-BMI, along with the detection of strong correlations of TRG with these indices in OB children, was the indicator of the possible onset of the tendency towards the development of fatty liver in OB children. This finding also pointed out the potential risk for cardiovascular pathologies in OB children. The nature of the difference between APRI vs FIB-4 correlations in N-BMI and OB groups (no correlation versus high correlation), respectively, may be the indicator of the importance of involving age and alanine transaminase parameters in addition to AST and PLT in the formula designed for FIB-4.

Keywords: APRI, children, FIB-4, obesity, triglycerides

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Authors: Zihan Geng, L. Quentin Dixon

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It has been proposed that early bilingual experience confers a number of advantages in the development of executive control mechanisms. Although the literature provides empirical evidence for bilingual benefits, some studies also reported null or mixed results. To make sense of these contradictory findings, the current review synthesize recent empirical studies investigating bilingual effects on children’s executive function and attention control. The publication time of the studies included in the review ranges from 2010 to 2017. The key searching terms are bilingual, bilingualism, children, executive control, executive function, and attention. The key terms were combined within each of the following databases: ERIC (EBSCO), Education Source, PsycINFO, and Social Science Citation Index. Studies involving both children and adults were also included but the analysis was based on the data generated only by the children group. The initial search yielded 137 distinct articles. Twenty-eight studies from 27 articles with a total of 3367 participants were finally included based on the selection criteria. The selective studies were then coded in terms of (a) the setting (i.e., the country where the data was collected), (b) the participants (i.e., age and languages), (c) sample size (i.e., the number of children in each group), (d) cognitive outcomes measured, (e) data collection instruments (i.e., cognitive tasks and tests), and (f) statistic analysis models (e.g., t-test, ANOVA). The results show that the majority of the studies were undertaken in western countries, mainly in the U.S., Canada, and the UK. A variety of languages such as Arabic, French, Dutch, Welsh, German, Spanish, Korean, and Cantonese were involved. In relation to cognitive outcomes, the studies examined children’s overall planning and problem-solving abilities, inhibition, cognitive complexity, working memory (WM), and sustained and selective attention. The results indicate that though bilingualism is associated with several cognitive benefits, the advantages seem to be weak, at least, for children. Additionally, the nature of the cognitive measures was found to greatly moderate the results. No significant differences are observed between bilinguals and monolinguals in overall planning and problem-solving ability, indicating that there is no bilingual benefit in the cooperation of executive function components at an early age. In terms of inhibition, the mixed results suggest that bilingual children, especially young children, may have better conceptual inhibition measured in conflict tasks, but not better response inhibition measured by delay tasks. Further, bilingual children showed better inhibitory control to bivalent displays, which resembles the process of maintaining two language systems. The null results were obtained for both cognitive complexity and WM, suggesting no bilingual advantage in these two cognitive components. Finally, findings on children’s attention system associate bilingualism with heightened attention control. Together, these findings support the hypothesis of cognitive benefits for bilingual children. Nevertheless, whether these advantages are observable appears to highly depend on the cognitive assessments. Therefore, future research should be more specific about the cognitive outcomes (e.g., the type of inhibition) and should report the validity of the cognitive measures consistently.

Keywords: attention, bilingual advantage, children, executive function

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Authors: Ayman El Sabagh, Celaleddin Barutçular, Hirofumi Saneoka

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Drought is one of the most serious problems posing a grave threat to cereals production including maize. Maize improvement in drought-stress tolerance poses a great challenge as the global need for food and bio-enegry increases. Thus, the current study was planned to explore the variations and determine the performance of target traits of maize hybrids at grain growth stage under drought conditions during 2014 under Adana, Mediterranean climate conditions, Turkey. Maize hybrids (Sancia, Indaco, 71May69, Aaccel, Calgary, 70May82, 72May80) were evaluated under (irrigated and water stress). Results revealed that, grain yield and yield traits had a negative effects because of water stress conditions compared with the normal irrigation. As well as, based on the result under normal irrigation, the maximum biological yield and harvest index were recorded. According to the differences among hybrids were found that, significant differences were observed among hybrids with respect to yield and yield traits under current research. Based on the results, grain weight had more effect on grain yield than grain number during grain filling growth stage under water stress conditions. In this concern, according to low drought susceptibility index (less grain yield losses), the hybrid (Indaco) was more stable in grain number and grain weight. Consequently, it may be concluded that this hybrid would be recommended for use in the future breeding programs for production of drought tolerant hybrids.

Keywords: drought susceptibility index, grain growth, grain yield, maize, water stress

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Authors: B. O. Adegoke, B. O. Ola, D. T. Ademiluyi

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This paper examines the use of computer and its related health hazard among computer users in South-Western zone of Nigeria. Two hundred and eighteen (218) computer users constituted the population used to evaluate association between posture, extensive computer use and related health hazard. The instruments for the study are a questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle, body features and work ability index while mean rating, standard deviation and t test were used for data analysis. Identified health related hazard include damages to the eyesight, bad posture, arthritis, musculoskeletal disorders, headache, stress and so on. The results showed that factors such as work demand, posture, closeness to computer screen and excessive working hours on computers constitute health hazards in both old and young computer users of various gender. It is therefore recommended that total number of hours spent with computer should be monitored and controlled.

Keywords: computer-related health hazard, musculoskeletal disorders, computer usage, work ability index

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Authors: Mohamad Nizam Asmuni, Ahmad Naszeri Salleh, Yunus Adam, Azhar Yaacob, Mohd Hafiz Rosli, Muhamad Nazrul Hakim Abdullah

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Physical Education teacher at the school should have good physical fitness to educate and guide students in the school. Currently, there are no standards for the level of physical fitness for teachers who teaches physical education at the school. Therefore, this research is to determine the level of physical fitness of teacher of Physical Education at Maktab Rendah Sains MARA (MRSM). A total of 28 samples (18 men and 10 women, age 33 ± 4.91), teachers of physical education at MRSM, were randomly selected to participate in this study. Height, weight, body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI) and other physical testing are measured and recorded. The results showed that the average of body mass index (BMI) for teachers of Physical Education is 25.9 ± 4:57. Body mass index (BMI) of teachers can be categorized as pre-obese based on World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Body fat percentage for male (age; 34.3 ± 5.13) and female (age; 30.9 ± 3.81) teachers is 24.7% ± 6.54 and 30.6% ± 6.28, respectively. Male teachers were categorized as overfat, however, female teachers were categorized as healthy based on body fat ranges for standard adults at NY Obesity Research Center. Bleep test results show that the average Bleep test is level 4 and shuttle 2; average VO2max was 27.5 ± 5.94 L/min. Physical fitness and performance of physical education teachers at MRSM is much lower compared to the rugby junior athlete in University Putra Malaysia (UPM). Therefore, physical fitness of teachers must be improved to ensure the physical education classes at MRSM could be done better.

Keywords: physical fitness, BMI, bleep test, obesity

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Authors: Naoyuki Sugihashi, Toshiharu Kishi

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The probability of occurrence of thermal cracks in mass concrete in Japan is evaluated by the cracking probability diagram that represents the relationship between the thermal cracking index and the probability of occurrence of cracks in the actual structure. In this paper, we propose a method to directly calculate the cracking probability, following a probabilistic theory by modeling the variance of tensile stress and tensile strength. In this method, the relationship between the variance of tensile stress and tensile strength, the thermal cracking index, and the cracking probability are formulated and presented. In addition, standard deviation of tensile stress and tensile strength was identified, and the method of calculating cracking probability in a general construction controlled environment was also demonstrated.

Keywords: thermal crack control, mass concrete, thermal cracking probability, durability of concrete, calculating method of cracking probability

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Authors: Cheng-Yu Tsai, Wen-Te Liu, Shin-Mei Hsu, Yin-Tzu Lin, Chi Wu

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Background: Obstructive Sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a common respiratory disorder during sleep. In addition, Body parameters were identified high predictive importance for OSAS severity. However, the effects of body parameters on OSAS severity remain unclear. Objective: In this study, the objective is to establish a prediction model for OSAS by using body parameters and investigate the effects of body parameters in OSAS. Methodologies: Severity was quantified as the polysomnography and the mean hourly number of greater than 3% dips in oxygen saturation during examination in a hospital in New Taipei City (Taiwan). Four levels of OSAS severity were classified by the apnea and hypopnea index (AHI) with American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) guideline. Body parameters, including neck circumference, waist size, and body mass index (BMI) were obtained from questionnaire. Next, dividing the collecting subjects into two groups: training and testing groups. The training group was used to establish the random forest (RF) to predicting, and test group was used to evaluated the accuracy of classification. Results: There were 3330 subjects recruited in this study, whom had been done polysomnography for evaluating severity for OSAS. A RF of 1000 trees achieved correctly classified 79.94 % of test cases. When further evaluated on the test cohort, RF showed the waist and BMI as the high import factors in OSAS. Conclusion It is possible to provide patient with prescreening by body parameters which can pre-evaluate the health risks.

Keywords: apnea and hypopnea index, Body parameters, obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, Random Forest

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Authors: H. Majour, L. Djabri

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Many methods in the groundwater vulnerability have been developed in the world (methods like PRAST, DRIST, APRON/ARAA, PRASTCHIM, GOD). In this study, our choice dealt with two recent complementary methods using category mapping of index with weighting criteria (Point County Systems Model MSCP) namely the standard DRASTIC method and SI (Susceptibility Index). At present, these two methods are the most used for the mapping of the intrinsic vulnerability of groundwater. Two classes of groundwater vulnerability in the Biskra sandy aquifer were identified by the DRASTIC method (average and high) and the SI method (very high and high). Integrated analysis has revealed that the high class is predominant for the DRASTIC method whereas for that of SI the preponderance is for the very high class. Furthermore, we notice that the method SI estimates better the vulnerability for the pollution in nitrates, with a rate of 85 % between the concentrations in nitrates of groundwater and the various established classes of vulnerability, against 75 % for the DRASTIC method. By including the land use parameter, the SI method produced more realistic results.

Keywords: DRASTIC, SI, GIS, Biskra sandy aquifer, Algeria

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Authors: Muhammad Sohail Sajid, Muhammad Abdullah Malik, Muhammad Saqib, Faiz Ahmad Raza, Waseem Akram

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Aedes (Ae.) aegypti, the vector of pathogens of one health significance, has gained currency over the last decade. The present study reports the prevalence of A. aegypti larvae in indoor and outdoor niches from the three districts of different agro-geo-climatic zones of Punjab, including Chakwal (north), Faisalabad (central), and Dera Ghazi Khan (south). Mosquito larvae were collected, preserved, and transferred for identification. The relevant data were collected on a predesigned questionnaire. Stegomyia indices, including House Index (HI), Breteau Index (BI), and Container Index (CI), were calculated. The association of different breeding containers with the prevalence of Ae. aegypti larvae were estimated through Chi-square analysis. The highest Stegomyia indices were calculated in Chakwal (HI = 46.61%, BI = 91.67%, and CI = 15.28%) as compared to Faisalabad (HI = 34.11%, BI = 68.75% and, CI = 13.04%) and DG Khan (HI = 28.39%, BI = 68.23% and, CI = 11.29%), respectively. Irrespective of the geographical area, earthen jars, water tanks, and tree holes were found to be significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the abundance of Ae. aegypti larvae. However, tires and plastic bottles in Faisalabad and DG Khan while flower tubs and plastic buckets in Faisalabad and Chakwal were found to be significantly associated (p < 0.05) with the larval abundance. The results are a maiden attempt to correlate the magnitude of Ae. aegypti larvae in various microclimatic niches of Punjab, Pakistan, which might help in policy-making for preventive management of the menace.

Keywords: Aedes aegypti, ecology, breeding habitats, Stegomyia indices, breeding containers

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Authors: Asma Ammar

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Being different in theory and practice from their conventional counterparts, this research aims to assess the performance of Islamic banks beyond the financial performance by emphasizing their ethical and social identity based on the higher purposes of Islamic law, namely Maqasid al-Shariah. Using Imam al-Ghazali’s theory of Maqasid al-Shariah and Sekaran’s (2000) method, we develop a Maqasid-based index including the five objectives of Shariah (preservation of life, religion, intellect, posterity, and wealth). Our sample covers 9 Islamic banks considered among the largest Islamic banks in the world. For the five years of study (2017-2021), our results reveal that the highest score is performed by Bank Muamalat while the least score is given to Dubai Islamic Bank. The overall Maqasid performance of the sample is unimpressive, indicating that there is a lack of achievement in Maqasid al-Shariah performance of Islamic banks. Consequently, serious measures should be taken by Islamic banks to improve their Maqasid performance and thus contribute effectively to the socio-economic development of the countries in which they operate.

Keywords: Maqasid al-Shariah, Maqasid al-Shariah index, Islamic banks, performance assessment

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Authors: Kais Ben-Ahmed, Mhamed Ali-El-Aroui

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This paper develops a Local Generalized Linear Spatial Model (LGLSM) to describe the spatial variation of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL) infection risk in northern and central Tunisia. The response from each region is a number of affected children less than five years of age recorded from 1996 through 2006 from Tunisian pediatric departments and treated as a poison county level data. The model includes climatic factors, namely averages of annual rainfall, extreme values of low temperatures in winter and high temperatures in summer to characterize the climate of each region according to each continentality index, the pluviometric quotient of Emberger (Q2) to characterize bioclimatic regions and component for residual extra-poison variation. The statistical results show the progressive increase in the number of affected children in regions with high continentality index and low mean yearly rainfull. On the other hand, an increase in pluviometric quotient of Emberger contributed to a significant increase in VL incidence rate. When compared with the original GLSM, Bayesian locally modeling is improvement and gives a better approximation of the Tunisian VL risk estimation. According to the Bayesian approach inference, we use vague priors for all parameters model and Markov Chain Monte Carlo method.

Keywords: generalized linear spatial model, local model, extra-poisson variation, continentality index, visceral leishmaniasis, Tunisia

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Authors: Khodzhaberdi Allaberdiev

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Aromaticity, one of the most important concepts in organic chemistry, has attracted considerable interest from both experimentalists and theoreticians. The geometry optimization of p-substituted o-(N-dialkyl)aminomethylphenols, o-DEAMPH XC₆ H₅CH ₂Y (X=p-OCH₃, CH₃, H, F, Cl, Br, COCH₃, COOCH₃, CHO, CN and NO₂, Y=o-N (C₂H₅)₂, o-DEAMPHs have been performed in the gas phase using the B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level. Aromaticities of the considered molecules were investigated using different indices included geometrical (HOMA and Bird), electronic (FLU, PDI and SA) magnetic (NICS(0), NICS(1) and NICS(1)zz indices. The linear dependencies were obtained between some aromaticity indices. The best correlation is observed between the Bird and PDI indices (R² =0.9240). However, not all types of indices or even different indices within the same type correlate well among each other. Surprisingly, for studied molecules in which geometrical and electronic cannot correctly give the aromaticity of ring, the magnetism based index successfully predicts the aromaticity of systems. 1H NMR spectra of compounds were obtained at B3LYP/6–311+G(d,p) level using the GIAO method. Excellent linear correlation (R²= 0.9996) between values the chemical shift of hydrogen atom obtained experimentally of 1H NMR and calculated using B3LYP/6–311+G(d,p) demonstrates a good assignment of the experimental values chemical shift to the calculated structures of o-DEAMPH. It is found that the best linear correlation with the Hammett substituent constants is observed for the NICS(1)zz index in comparison with the other indices: NICS(1)zz =-21.5552+1,1070 σp- (R²=0.9394). The presence intramolecular hydrogen bond in the studied molecules also revealed changes the aromatic character of substituted o-DEAMPHs. The HOMA index predicted for R=NO2 the reduction in the π-electron delocalization of 3.4% was about double that observed for p-nitrophenol. The influence intramolecular H-bonding on aromaticity of benzene ring in the ground state (S0) are described by equations between NICS(1)zz and H-bond energies: experimental, Eₑₓₚ, predicted IR spectroscopical, Eν and topological, EQTAIM with correlation coefficients R² =0.9666, R² =0.9028 and R² =0.8864, respectively. The NICS(1)zz index also correlates with usual descriptors of the hydrogen bond, while the other indices do not give any meaningful results. The influence of the intramolecular H-bonding formation on the aromaticity of some substituted o-DEAMPHs is criteria to consider the multidimensional character of aromaticity. The linear relationships as well as revealed between NICS(1)zz and both pyramidality nitrogen atom, ΣN(C₂H₅)₂ and dihedral angle, φ CAr – CAr -CCH₂ –N, to characterizing out-of-plane properties.These results demonstrated the nonplanar structure of o-DEAMPHs. Finally, when considering dependencies of NICS(1)zz, were excluded data for R=H, because the NICS(1) and NICS(1)zz values are the most negative for unsubstituted DEAMPH, indicating its highest aromaticity; that was not the case for NICS(0) index.

Keywords: aminomethylphenols, DFT, aromaticity, correlations

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Authors: Yang, Min-chih, Shih-Jen Feng, Bo-Tsang Li

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The concept of “Brownfield” has been developed for nearly 35 years since it was put forward in 《Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, CERCLA》of USA in 1980 for solving the problem of soil contamination of those old industrial lands, and later, many countries have put forward relevant policies and researches continuously. But the related concept in Taiwan, a country has developed its industry for 60 years, is still in its infancy. This leads to the slow development of Brownfield related research and policy in Taiwan. When it comes to build the foundation of Brownfield development, we have to depend on the related experience and research of other countries. They are four aspects about Brownfield: 1. Contaminated Land; 2. Derelict Land; 3. Vacant Land; 4. Previously Development Land. This study will focus on and deeply investigate the Vacant land and contaminated land.

Keywords: brownfield, industrial land, redevelopment, assessment index

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