Search results for: positive and negative models matching
15337 Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of the Pathogens Isolated from Hospital Acquired Acute Bacterial Meningitis in a Tertiary Health Care Centre in North India
Authors: M. S. Raza, A. Kapil, Sonu Tyagi, H. Gautam, S. Mohapatra, R. Chaudhry, S. Sood, V. Goyal, R. Lodha, V. Sreenivas, B. K. Das
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Background: Acute bacterial meningitis remains the major cause of mortality and morbidity. More than half of the survivors develop the significant lifelong neurological abnormalities. Diagnosis of the hospital acquired acute bacterial meningitis (HAABM) is challenging as it appears either in the post operative patients or patients acquire the organisms from the hospital environment. In both the situations, pathogens are exposed to high dose of antibiotics. Chances of getting multidrug resistance organism are very high. We have performed this experiment to find out the etiological agents of HAABM and its antibiotics susceptibility pattern. Methodology: A perspective study was conducted at the Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. From March 2015 to April 2018 total 400 Cerebro spinal fluid samples were collected aseptically. Samples were processed for cell count, Gram staining, and culture. Culture plates were incubated at 37°C for 18-24 hours. Organism grown on blood and MacConkey agar were identified by MALDI-TOF Vitek MS (BioMerieux, France) and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed by Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method as per CLSI 2015 guideline. Results: Of the 400 CSF samples processed, 43 (10.75%) were culture positive for different bacteria. Out of 43 isolates, the most prevalent Gram-positive organisms were S. aureus 4 (9.30%) followed by E. faecium 3 (6.97%) & CONS 2 (4.65%). Similarly, E. coli 13 (30.23%) was the commonest Gram-negative isolates followed by A. baumannii 12 (27.90%), K. pneumonia 5 (11.62%) and P. aeruginosa 4(9.30%). Most of the antibiotics tested against the Gram-negative isolates were resistance to them. Colistin was most effective followed by Meropenem and Imepenim for all Gram-negative HAABM isolates. Similarly, most of antibiotics tested were susceptible to S. aureus and CONS. However, E. faecium (100%) were only susceptible to vancomycin and teicoplanin. Conclusion: Hospital acquired acute bacterial meningitis (HAABM) is becoming the emerging challenge as most of isolates are showing resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Gram-negative organisms are emerging as the major player of HAABM. Great care needs to be taken especially in tertiary care hospitals. Similarly, antibiotic stewardship should be followed and antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) should be performed regularly to update the antibiotic patter and to prevent from the emergence of resistance. Updated information of the AST will be helpful for the better management of the meningitis patient.Keywords: CSF, MALDI-TOF, hospital acquired acute bacterial meningitis, AST
Procedia PDF Downloads 16015336 A Nonlinear Stochastic Differential Equation Model for Financial Bubbles and Crashes with Finite-Time Singularities
Authors: Haowen Xi
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We propose and solve exactly a class of non-linear generalization of the Black-Scholes process of stochastic differential equations describing price bubble and crashes dynamics. As a result of nonlinear positive feedback, the faster-than-exponential price positive growth (bubble forming) and negative price growth (crash forming) are found to be the power-law finite-time singularity in which bubbles and crashes price formation ending at finite critical time tc. While most literature on the market bubble and crash process focuses on the nonlinear positive feedback mechanism aspect, very few studies concern the noise level on the same process. The present work adds to the market bubble and crashes literature by studying the external sources noise influence on the critical time tc of the bubble forming and crashes forming. Two main results will be discussed: (1) the analytical expression of expected value of the critical timeKeywords: bubble, crash, finite-time-singular, numerical simulation, price dynamics, stochastic differential equations
Procedia PDF Downloads 13215335 Body Dysmorphia in Adolescent's Fixation on Cosmetic Surgeries
Authors: Noha El Toukhy
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The ‘beauty is good” stereotype suggests that people perceive attractive people as having several positive characteristics. Likewise, an “anomalous-is-bad” stereotype is hypothesized to facilitate biases against people with anomalous or less attractive faces. Researchers integrated both into a stereotype content model, which is one of the frameworks used in this study to assess how facial anomalies influence people’s social attitudes and, specifically, people’s ratings of warmth and competence. The mind perception theory, as well as the assessment of animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization against facially anomalous people, are two further frameworks that we are using in this study. This study will test the hypothesis that people have negative attitudes towards people with facial anomalies. We also hypothesize that people have negative biases toward faces with visible differences compared to faces without such differences regardless of the specific type of anomaly, as well as that individual differences in psychological dispositions bear on the expression of the anomalous-is-bad stereotype. Using highly controlled and some never-before-used face stimuli, this pre-registered study examines whether moral character influences perceptions of attractiveness, warmth, and competence for facial anomalies.Keywords: adolescents, attractiveness, competence, social attitudes, warmth
Procedia PDF Downloads 9915334 Knowledge Attitude and Practices of COVID-19 among Tamil Nadu Residence
Authors: Shivanand Pawar
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In India, a collective range of measurements had been adopted to control the massive spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, but World Health Organization (2022) revealed 525 930 fatalities and 43,847,065 confirmed cases. There are currently 30,857 cases per million people. Lack of knowledge, attitude and practices are the main causes thought to be increased COVID-19. The present study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practice among Tamil Nadu residents. The participants (N=332) were aged 20 to 50 (mean=42.78, & SD=13.98) and were selected using purposive sampling, and data were collected online using knowledge, attitude and practice scale. Data were analyzed using person correlation and multiple regression analysis. The result found that 31.30% had satisfactory knowledge, 68.70% had non-satisfactory knowledge, followed by 45.20% had a positive attitude, 54.80% had a negative attitude, and 34.30% had a good practice, and 65.70% had poor practice towards COVID-19. Correlation results revealed that age has a negative and significant relationship with Knowledge and Practice towards COVID-19. The current study results contribute to the existing literature on knowledge, attitude and practice of COVID-19 to reduce the COVID-19 cases by managing unhealthy knowledge, attitude and practice to control the massive spread of COVID-19.Keywords: COVID-19, knowledge, practice, attitude, Fisherman community
Procedia PDF Downloads 11415333 Multicenter Evaluation of the ACCESS Anti-HCV Assay on the DxI 9000 ACCESS Immunoassay Analyzer, for the Detection of Hepatitis C Virus Antibody
Authors: Dan W. Rhodes, Juliane Hey, Magali Karagueuzian, Florianne Martinez, Yael Sandowski, Vanessa Roulet, Mahmoud Badawi, Mohammed-Amine Chakir, Valérie Simon, Jérémie Gautier, Françoise Le Boulaire, Catherine Coignard, Claire Vincent, Sandrine Greaume, Isabelle Voisin
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Background: Beckman Coulter, Inc. (BEC) has recently developed a fully automated second-generation anti-HCV test on a new immunoassay platform. The objective of this multicenter study conducted in Europe was to evaluate the performance of the ACCESS anti-HCV assay on the recently CE-marked DxI 9000 ACCESS Immunoassay Analyzer as an aid in the diagnosis of HCV (Hepatitis C Virus) infection and as a screening test for blood and plasma donors. Methods: The clinical specificity of the ACCESS anti-HCV assay was determined using HCV antibody-negative samples from blood donors and hospitalized patients. Sample antibody status was determined by a CE-marked anti-HCV assay (Abbott ARCHITECTTM anti-HCV assay or Abbott PRISM HCV assay) with an additional confirmation method (Immunoblot testing with INNO-LIATM HCV Score - Fujirebio), if necessary, according to pre-determined testing algorithms. The clinical sensitivity was determined using known HCV antibody-positive samples, identified positive by Immunoblot testing with INNO-LIATM HCV Score - Fujirebio. HCV RNA PCR or genotyping was available on all Immunoblot positive samples for further characterization. The false initial reactive rate was determined on fresh samples from blood donors and hospitalized patients. Thirty (30) commercially available seroconversion panels were tested to assess the sensitivity for early detection of HCV infection. The study was conducted from November 2019 to March 2022. Three (3) external sites and one (1) internal site participated. Results: Clinical specificity (95% CI) was 99.7% (99.6 – 99.8%) on 5852 blood donors and 99.0% (98.4 – 99.4%) on 1527 hospitalized patient samples. There were 15 discrepant samples (positive on ACCESS anti-HCV assay and negative on both ARCHITECT and Immunoblot) observed with hospitalized patient samples, and of note, additional HCV RNA PCR results showed five (5) samples had positive HCV RNA PCR results despite the absence of HCV antibody detection by ARCHITECT and Immunoblot, suggesting a better sensitivity of the ACCESS anti-HCV assay with these five samples compared to the ARCHITECT and Immunoblot anti-HCV assays. Clinical sensitivity (95% CI) on 510 well-characterized, known HCV antibody-positive samples was 100.0% (99.3 – 100.0%), including 353 samples with known HCV genotypes (1 to 6). The overall false initial reactive rate (95% CI) on 6630 patient samples was 0.02% (0.00 – 0.09%). Results obtained on 30 seroconversion panels demonstrated that the ACCESS anti-HCV assay had equivalent sensitivity performances, with an average bleed difference since the first reactive bleed below one (1), compared to the ARCHITECTTM anti-HCV assay. Conclusion: The newly developed ACCESS anti-HCV assay from BEC for use on the DxI 9000 ACCESS Immunoassay Analyzer demonstrated high clinical sensitivity and specificity, equivalent to currently marketed anti-HCV assays, as well as a low false initial reactive rate.Keywords: DxI 9000 ACCESS Immunoassay Analyzer, HCV, HCV antibody, Hepatitis C virus, immunoassay
Procedia PDF Downloads 10015332 Comparison of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks Models for Plant Disease Identification
Authors: Megha Gupta, Nupur Prakash
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Identification of plant diseases has been performed using machine learning and deep learning models on the datasets containing images of healthy and diseased plant leaves. The current study carries out an evaluation of some of the deep learning models based on convolutional neural network (CNN) architectures for identification of plant diseases. For this purpose, the publicly available New Plant Diseases Dataset, an augmented version of PlantVillage dataset, available on Kaggle platform, containing 87,900 images has been used. The dataset contained images of 26 diseases of 14 different plants and images of 12 healthy plants. The CNN models selected for the study presented in this paper are AlexNet, ZFNet, VGGNet (four models), GoogLeNet, and ResNet (three models). The selected models are trained using PyTorch, an open-source machine learning library, on Google Colaboratory. A comparative study has been carried out to analyze the high degree of accuracy achieved using these models. The highest test accuracy and F1-score of 99.59% and 0.996, respectively, were achieved by using GoogLeNet with Mini-batch momentum based gradient descent learning algorithm.Keywords: comparative analysis, convolutional neural networks, deep learning, plant disease identification
Procedia PDF Downloads 19815331 Directly Observed Treatment Short-Course (DOTS) for TB Control Program: A Ten Years Experience
Authors: Solomon Sisay, Belete Mengistu, Woldargay Erku, Desalegne Woldeyohannes
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Background: Tuberculosis is still the leading cause of illness in the world which accounted for 2.5% of the global burden of disease, and 25% of all avoidable deaths in developing countries. Objectives: The aim of study was to assess impact of DOTS strategy on tuberculosis case finding and treatment outcome in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia from 2003 up to 2012 and from 2002 up to 2011, respectively. Methods: Health facility-based retrospective study was conducted. Data were collected and reported in quarterly basis using WHO reporting format for TB case finding and treatment outcome from all DOTS implementing health facilities in all zones of the region to Federal Ministry of Health. Results: A total of 10024 all form of TB cases had been registered between the periods from 2003 up to 2012. Of them, 4100 (40.9%) were smear-positive pulmonary TB, 3164 (31.6%) were smear-negative pulmonary TB and 2760 (27.5%) had extra-pulmonary TB. Case detection rate of smear-positive pulmonary TB had increased from 31.7% to 46.5% from the total TB cases and treatment success rate increased from 13% to 92% with average mean value of being 40.9% (SD= 0.1) and 55.7% (SD=0.28), respectively for the specified year periods. Moreover, the average values of treatment defaulter and treatment failure rates were 4.2% and 0.3%, respectively. Conclusion: It is possible to achieve the recommended WHO target which is 70% of CDR for smear-positive pulmonary TB, and 85% of TSR as it was already been fulfilled the targets for treatments more than 85% from 2009 up to 2011 in the region. However, it requires strong efforts to enhance case detection rate of 40.9% for smear-positive pulmonary TB through implementing alternative case finding strategies.Keywords: Gambella Region, case detection rate, directly observed treatment short-course, treatment success rate, tuberculosis
Procedia PDF Downloads 34415330 The Promotion Effects for a Supply Chain System with a Dominant Retailer
Authors: Tai-Yue Wang, Yi-Ho Chen
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In this study, we investigate a two-echelon supply chain with two suppliers and three retailers among which one retailer dominates other retailers. A price competition demand function is used to model this dominant retailer, which is leading market. The promotion strategies and negotiation schemes are integrated to form decision-making models under different scenarios. These models are then formulated into different mathematical programming models. The decision variables such as promotional costs, retailer prices, wholesale price, and order quantity are included in these models. At last, the distributions of promotion costs under different cost allocation strategies are discussed. Finally, an empirical example used to validate our models. The results from this empirical example show that the profit model will create the largest profit for the supply chain but with different profit-sharing results. At the same time, the more risk a member can take, the more profits are distributed to that member in the utility model.Keywords: supply chain, price promotion, mathematical models, dominant retailer
Procedia PDF Downloads 40015329 Predicting Child Attachment Style Based on Positive and Safe Parenting Components and Mediating Maternal Attachment Style in Children With ADHD
Authors: Alireza Monzavi Chaleshtari, Maryam Aliakbari
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Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prediction of child attachment style based on a positive and safe combination parenting method mediated by maternal attachment styles in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Method: The design of the present study was descriptive of correlation and structural equations and applied in terms of purpose. The population of this study includes all children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder living in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province and their mothers. The sample size of the above study includes 165children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province with their mothers, who were selected by purposive sampling method based on the inclusion criteria. The obtained data were analyzed in two sections of descriptive and inferential statistics. In the descriptive statistics section, statistical indices of mean, standard deviation, frequency distribution table and graph were used. In the inferential section, according to the nature of the hypotheses and objectives of the research, the data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient tests, Bootstrap test and structural equation model. findings:The results of structural equation modeling showed that the research models fit and showed a positive and safe combination parenting style mediated by the mother attachment style has an indirect effect on the child attachment style. Also, a positive and safe combined parenting style has a direct relationship with child attachment style, and She has a mother attachment style. Conclusion:The results and findings of the present study show that there is a significant relationship between positive and safe combination parenting methods and attachment styles of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder with maternal attachment style mediation. Therefore, it can be expected that parents using a positive and safe combination232 parenting method can effectively lead to secure attachment in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Keywords: child attachment style, positive and safe parenting, maternal attachment style, ADHD
Procedia PDF Downloads 6615328 The Effect of Institutions on Economic Growth: An Analysis Based on Bayesian Panel Data Estimation
Authors: Mohammad Anwar, Shah Waliullah
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This study investigated panel data regression models. This paper used Bayesian and classical methods to study the impact of institutions on economic growth from data (1990-2014), especially in developing countries. Under the classical and Bayesian methodology, the two-panel data models were estimated, which are common effects and fixed effects. For the Bayesian approach, the prior information is used in this paper, and normal gamma prior is used for the panel data models. The analysis was done through WinBUGS14 software. The estimated results of the study showed that panel data models are valid models in Bayesian methodology. In the Bayesian approach, the effects of all independent variables were positively and significantly affected by the dependent variables. Based on the standard errors of all models, we must say that the fixed effect model is the best model in the Bayesian estimation of panel data models. Also, it was proved that the fixed effect model has the lowest value of standard error, as compared to other models.Keywords: Bayesian approach, common effect, fixed effect, random effect, Dynamic Random Effect Model
Procedia PDF Downloads 6815327 Impact of Geomagnetic Variation over Sub-Auroral Ionospheric Region during High Solar Activity Year 2014
Authors: Arun Kumar Singh, Rupesh M. Das, Shailendra Saini
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The present work is an attempt to evaluate the sub-auroral ionospheric behavior under changing space weather conditions especially during high solar activity year 2014. In view of this, the GPS TEC along with Ionosonde data over Indian permanent scientific base 'Maitri', Antarctica (70°46′00″ S, 11°43′56″ E) has been utilized. The results suggested that the nature of ionospheric responses to the geomagnetic disturbances mainly depended upon the status of high latitudinal electro-dynamic processes along with the season of occurrence. Fortunately, in this study, both negative and positive ionospheric impact to the geomagnetic disturbances has been observed in a single year but in different seasons. The study reveals that the combination of equator-ward plasma transportation along with ionospheric compositional changes causes a negative ionospheric impact during summer and equinox seasons. However, the combination of pole-ward contraction of the oval region along with particle precipitation may lead to exhibiting positive ionospheric response during the winter season. Other than this, some Ionosonde based new experimental evidence also provided clear evidence of particle precipitation deep up to the low altitudinal ionospheric heights, i.e., up to E-layer by the sudden and strong appearance of E-layer at 100 km altitudes. The sudden appearance of E-layer along with a decrease in F-layer electron density suggested the dominance of NO⁺ over O⁺ at a considered region under geomagnetic disturbed condition. The strengthening of E-layer is responsible for modification of auroral electrojet and field-aligned current system. The present study provided a good scientific insight on sub-auroral ionospheric to the changing space weather condition.Keywords: high latitude ionosphere, space weather, geomagnetic storms, sub-storm
Procedia PDF Downloads 16915326 Visualization of Wave Propagation in Monocoupled System with Effective Negative Stiffness, Effective Negative Mass, and Inertial Amplifier
Authors: Abhigna Bhatt, Arnab Banerjee
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A periodic system with only a single coupling degree of freedom is called a monocoupled system. Monocoupled systems with mechanisms like mass in the mass system generates effective negative mass, mass connected with rigid links generates inertial amplification, and spring-mass connected with a rigid link generateseffective negative stiffness. In this paper, the representative unit cell is introduced, considering all three mechanisms combined. Further, the dynamic stiffness matrix of the unit cell is constructed, and the dispersion relation is obtained by applying the Bloch theorem. The frequency response function is also calculated for the finite length of periodic unit cells. Moreover, the input displacement signal is given to the finite length of periodic structure and using inverse Fourier transform to visualize the wave propagation in the time domain. This visualization explains the sudden attenuation in metamaterial due to energy dissipation by an embedded resonator at the resonance frequency. The visualization created for wave propagation is found necessary to understand the insights of physics behind the attenuation characteristics of the system.Keywords: mono coupled system, negative effective mass, negative effective stiffness, inertial amplifier, fourier transform
Procedia PDF Downloads 12615325 Comparative Study of Medical and Fine Art Students on the Level of Perceived Stress and Coping Skills
Authors: Bushra Mussawar, Saleha Younus
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Students often view their academic life demanding and stressful. However, apart from academics, stress springs from various other sources namely, finance, family, health, friends etc. The present study aims to assess the level of perceived stress in medical and fine arts students, and to determine the coping strategies used by the students to mitigate stress. The sample of the study consisted of 178 medical and fine arts students. The sample was selected through purposive sampling. Pearson correlation coefficient and T-test were used to analyze data. Results of the study revealed that there exists a positive relationship between perceived stress and coping strategies. Additionally, the two groups showed marked differences in terms of stress perception and coping styles. The level of perceived stress was found to be high in medical students nonetheless, they employed more positive coping strategies than fine arts students who scored high on negative coping strategies which are deleterious to the overall wellbeing.Keywords: perceived stress, coping strategies, medical, fine arts students
Procedia PDF Downloads 30715324 The Treatment Effect of Turmeric (Curcuma domestica Val.) Rhizome Extract to Reduce Serum Transaminase Level on Paracetamol Induced Liver Toxicity in Wistar White Male Rats (Rattus norvegicus)
Authors: David Tanujaya Kurniawan
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Background: Liver injury caused by paracetamol is marked by increased serum transaminase levels. Turmeric is a local herb that is available in large quantities and inexpensive in contradiction to its substantial benefits, including its potency to increase glutathione production and regenerate hepatocyte into normal condition. Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze the potencial treatment effect of turmeric rhizome extract to reduce serum transaminase level on paracetamol induced liver toxicity in rats. Methods: This study was a laboratory experimental research with post-test only controlled group design. A group of 24 Wistar white male rats was induced with paracetamol 360 mg/kg body weight for 10 days. The group was then separated into four groups: the first and the second was treated with 100 mg/kg body weight and 150 mg/kg body weight of turmeric rhizome extract, subsequently, the third as positive control was given 27 mg/kg body weight of lesichol, while the fourth as negative control was given CMC-Na 1%. Each of this treatment was given for seven days. At the end of the study, the blood samples were taken to measure SGOT and SGPT levels. The one-way Anova test revealed significant difference in mean of SGPT level (p=0,001). The LSD test showed significant differences of SGPT levels in both treatment groups and negative control group. However, there was no sgnificant difference between positive control and both treatment groups. Conclusion: Curcuma domestica Val. rhizome extract could not reduce SGOT level, but it reduced SGPT level significantly.Keywords: Curcuma domestica val., SGOT, SGPT, paracetamol, liver toxicity
Procedia PDF Downloads 39815323 Copula-Based Estimation of Direct and Indirect Effects in Path Analysis Models
Authors: Alam Ali, Ashok Kumar Pathak
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Path analysis is a statistical technique used to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of variables in path models. One or more structural regression equations are used to estimate a series of parameters in path models to find the better fit of data. However, sometimes the assumptions of classical regression models, such as ordinary least squares (OLS), are violated by the nature of the data, resulting in insignificant direct and indirect effects of exogenous variables. This article aims to explore the effectiveness of a copula-based regression approach as an alternative to classical regression, specifically when variables are linked through an elliptical copula.Keywords: path analysis, copula-based regression models, direct and indirect effects, k-fold cross validation technique
Procedia PDF Downloads 4115322 Assessing Effects of an Intervention on Bottle-Weaning and Reducing Daily Milk Intake from Bottles in Toddlers Using Two-Part Random Effects Models
Authors: Yungtai Lo
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Two-part random effects models have been used to fit semi-continuous longitudinal data where the response variable has a point mass at 0 and a continuous right-skewed distribution for positive values. We review methods proposed in the literature for analyzing data with excess zeros. A two-part logit-log-normal random effects model, a two-part logit-truncated normal random effects model, a two-part logit-gamma random effects model, and a two-part logit-skew normal random effects model were used to examine effects of a bottle-weaning intervention on reducing bottle use and daily milk intake from bottles in toddlers aged 11 to 13 months in a randomized controlled trial. We show in all four two-part models that the intervention promoted bottle-weaning and reduced daily milk intake from bottles in toddlers drinking from a bottle. We also show that there are no differences in model fit using either the logit link function or the probit link function for modeling the probability of bottle-weaning in all four models. Furthermore, prediction accuracy of the logit or probit link function is not sensitive to the distribution assumption on daily milk intake from bottles in toddlers not off bottles.Keywords: two-part model, semi-continuous variable, truncated normal, gamma regression, skew normal, Pearson residual, receiver operating characteristic curve
Procedia PDF Downloads 34915321 Self-Efficacy as a Predictor of Well-Being in University Students
Authors: Enes Ergün, Sedat Geli̇bolu
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The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and subjective well-being among university students. We are aiming to determine whether self efficacy of university students predicts their subjective well-being and if there is a statistically significant difference among boys and girls in this context. Sample of this study consists of 245 university students from Çanakkale, ages ranging between 17 and 24. 72% (n=171) of the participants were girls and 28% (n=69) boys. Three different scales were utilized as data collection tools that Life Satisfaction Scale, General Self-Efficacy Scale, and Positive Negative Experiences Scale. Pearson correlation coefficient, independent sample t test and simple linear regression were used for data analyses. Results showed that well-being is significantly correlated with self-efficacy and self-efficacy is a statistically significant predictor of well-being too. In terms of gender differences, there is no significant difference between self-efficacy scores of boys and girls which shows the same case with well being scores, as well. Fostering university students' academic, social and emotional self-efficacy will increase their well-being which is very important for young adults especially their freshman years.Keywords: positive psychology, self-efficacy, subjective well being, university students
Procedia PDF Downloads 28215320 Evaluation of 18F Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography, MRI, and Ultrasound in the Assessment of Axillary Lymph Node Metastases in Patients with Early Stage Breast Cancer
Authors: Wooseok Byon, Eunyoung Kim, Junseong Kwon, Byung Joo Song, Chan Heun Park
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Purpose: 18F Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET) is a noninvasive imaging modality that can identify nodal metastases in women with primary breast cancer. The aim of this study was to compare the accuracy of FDG-PET with MRI and sonography scanning to determine axillary lymph node status in patients with breast cancer undergoing sentinel lymph node biopsy or axillary lymph node dissection. Patients and Methods: Between January and December 2012, ninety-nine patients with breast cancer and clinically negative axillary nodes were evaluated. All patients underwent FDG-PET, MRI, ultrasound followed by sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Results: Using axillary lymph node assessment as the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET were 51.4% (95% CI, 41.3% to 65.6%) and 92.2% (95% CI, 82.7% to 97.4%) respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI and ultrasound were 57.1% (95% CI, 39.4% to 73.7%), 67.2% (95% CI, 54.3% to 78.4%) and 42.86% (95% CI, 26.3% to 60.7%), 92.2% (95% CI, 82.7% to 97.4%). Stratification according to hormone receptor status showed an increase in specificity when negative (FDG-PET: 42.3% to 77.8%, MRI 50% to 77.8%, ultrasound 34.6% to 66.7%). Also, positive HER2 status was associated with an increase in specificity (FDG-PET: 42.9% to 85.7%, MRI 50% to 85.7%, ultrasound 35.7% to 71.4%). Conclusions: The sensitivity and specificity of FDG-PET compared with MRI and ultrasound was high. However, FDG-PET is not sufficiently accurate to appropriately identify lymph node metastases. This study suggests that FDG-PET scanning cannot replace histologic staging in early-stage breast cancer, but might have a role in evaluating axillary lymph node status in hormone receptor negative or HER-2 overexpressing subtypes.Keywords: axillary lymph node metastasis, FDG-PET, MRI, ultrasound
Procedia PDF Downloads 37515319 Study of Chemical State Analysis of Rubidium Compounds in Lα, Lβ₁, Lβ₃,₄ and Lγ₂,₃ X-Ray Emission Lines with Wavelength Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
Authors: Harpreet Singh Kainth
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Rubidium salts have been commonly used as an electrolyte to improve the efficiency cycle of Li-ion batteries. In recent years, it has been implemented into the large scale for further technological advances to improve the performance rate and better cyclability in the batteries. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) is a powerful tool for obtaining the information in the electronic structure which involves the chemical state analysis in the active materials used in the batteries. However, this technique is not well suited for the industrial applications because it needs a synchrotron X-ray source and special sample file for in-situ measurements. In contrast to this, conventional wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometer is nondestructive technique used to study the chemical shift in all transitions (K, L, M, …) and does not require any special pre-preparation planning. In the present work, the fluorescent Lα, Lβ₁ , Lβ₃,₄ and Lγ₂,₃ X-ray spectra of rubidium in different chemical forms (Rb₂CO₃ , RbCl, RbBr, and RbI) have been measured first time with high resolution wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WDXRF) spectrometer (Model: S8 TIGER, Bruker, Germany), equipped with an Rh anode X-ray tube (4-kW, 60 kV and 170 mA). In ₃₇Rb compounds, the measured energy shifts are in the range (-0.45 to - 1.71) eV for Lα X-ray peak, (0.02 to 0.21) eV for Lβ₁ , (0.04 to 0.21) eV for Lβ₃ , (0.15 to 0.43) eV for Lβ₄ and (0.22 to 0.75) eV for Lγ₂,₃ X-ray emission lines. The chemical shifts in rubidium compounds have been measured by considering Rb₂CO₃ compounds taking as a standard reference. A Voigt function is used to determine the central peak position of all compounds. Both positive and negative shifts have been observed in L shell emission lines. In Lα X-ray emission lines, all compounds show negative shift while in Lβ₁, Lβ₃,₄, and Lγ₂,₃ X-ray emission lines, all compounds show a positive shift. These positive and negative shifts result increase or decrease in X-ray energy shifts. It looks like that ligands attached with central metal atom attract or repel the electrons towards or away from the parent nucleus. This pulling and pushing character of rubidium affects the central peak position of the compounds which causes a chemical shift. To understand the chemical effect more briefly, factors like electro-negativity, line intensity ratio, effective charge and bond length are responsible for the chemical state analysis in rubidium compounds. The effective charge has been calculated from Suchet and Pauling method while the line intensity ratio has been calculated by calculating the area under the relevant emission peak. In the present work, it has been observed that electro-negativity, effective charge and intensity ratio (Lβ₁/Lα, Lβ₃,₄/Lα and Lγ₂,₃/Lα) are inversely proportional to the chemical shift (RbCl > RbBr > RbI), while bond length has been found directly proportional to the chemical shift (RbI > RbBr > RbCl).Keywords: chemical shift in L emission lines, bond length, electro-negativity, effective charge, intensity ratio, Rubidium compounds, WDXRF spectrometer
Procedia PDF Downloads 50715318 Emotions and Message Sharing on the Chinese Microblog
Authors: Yungeng Xie, Cong Liu, Yi Liu, Xuanao Wan
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The study aims to explore microblog users’ emotion expression and sharing behaviors on the Chinese microblog (Weibo). The first theme of study analyzed whether microblog emotions impact readers’ message sharing behaviors, specifically, how the strength of emotion (positive and negative) in microblog messages facilitate/inhibit readers’ sharing behaviors. The second theme compared the differences among the three types of microblog users (i.e., verified enterprise users, verified individual users and unverified users) in terms of their profiles and microblog behaviors. A total of 7114 microblog messages about 24 hot public events in China were sampled from Sina Weibo. The first study results show that strength of negative emotions that microblog messages carry significantly increase the possibility of the message being shared. The second study results indicate that there are significant differences across the three types of users in terms of their emotion expression and its influence on microblog behaviors.Keywords: emotion expression, information diffusion, microblog, sharing
Procedia PDF Downloads 23915317 Comparison of Meshing Stiffness of Altered Tooth Sum Spur Gear Tooth with Different Pressure Angles
Authors: H. K. Sachidananda, K. Raghunandana, B. Shivamurthy
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The estimation of gear tooth stiffness is important for finding the load distribution between the gear teeth when two consecutive sets of teeth are in contact. Based on dynamic model a C-program has been developed to compute mesh stiffness. By using this program position dependent mesh stiffness of spur gear tooth for various profile shifts have been computed for a fixed center distance and altering tooth-sum gearing (100 by ± 4%). It is found that the C-program using dynamic model is one of the rapid soft computing technique which helps in design of gears. The mesh tooth stiffness along the path of contact is studied for both 20° and 25° pressure angle gears at various profile shifts. Better tooth stiffness is noticed in case of negative alteration tooth-sum gears compared to standard and positive alteration tooth-sum gears. Also, in case of negative alteration tooth-sum gearing better mesh stiffness is noticed in 20° pressure angle when compared to 25°.Keywords: altered tooth-sum gearing, bending fatigue, mesh stiffness, spur gear
Procedia PDF Downloads 32515316 Positive Parenting and Subjective Well-Being: Proposed Program for Parents of Gifted Children
Authors: Suzy Pereira, Alberto Rocha, Ana Almeida, Catarina Figueiredo, Helena Fonseca, Leonor Moreira, Carla Blum Vestena, Cristina Costa-Lobo
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The socio-educational support to parents, through parental education intervention programs, is part of European social policies, aiming to respond to the needs of education, promotion of well-being and development of children and young people. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the impact of the Positive Parenting Program on the subjective well-being of the parents of gifted children. The Positive Parenting Program is authored and is conducted by the National Association of Study and Intervention in Giftedness, Portuguese Association. The central question to be explored in this research is: Does the promotion of positive parenting in parents of gifted children have a positive impact on the subjective well-being? The sample consisted of 30 parents, non-probabilistic sampling of convenience, of which 15 parents belong to the intervention group and the rest to the control group. One dimension will be evaluated - subjective well-being, through the PANAS questionnaire - before and after the sessions of this program. The aim is to contribute to the understanding of the process and results of the positive parenting program in parents of gifted children.Keywords: positive parenting, subjective well-being, giftedness, parental education intervention programs
Procedia PDF Downloads 32015315 Management of Cultural Heritage: Bologna Gates
Authors: Alfonso Ippolito, Cristiana Bartolomei
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A growing demand is felt today for realistic 3D models enabling the cognition and popularization of historical-artistic heritage. Evaluation and preservation of Cultural Heritage is inextricably connected with the innovative processes of gaining, managing, and using knowledge. The development and perfecting of techniques for acquiring and elaborating photorealistic 3D models, made them pivotal elements for popularizing information of objects on the scale of architectonic structures.Keywords: cultural heritage, databases, non-contact survey, 2D-3D models
Procedia PDF Downloads 42315314 Web Data Scraping Technology Using Term Frequency Inverse Document Frequency to Enhance the Big Data Quality on Sentiment Analysis
Authors: Sangita Pokhrel, Nalinda Somasiri, Rebecca Jeyavadhanam, Swathi Ganesan
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Tourism is a booming industry with huge future potential for global wealth and employment. There are countless data generated over social media sites every day, creating numerous opportunities to bring more insights to decision-makers. The integration of Big Data Technology into the tourism industry will allow companies to conclude where their customers have been and what they like. This information can then be used by businesses, such as those in charge of managing visitor centers or hotels, etc., and the tourist can get a clear idea of places before visiting. The technical perspective of natural language is processed by analysing the sentiment features of online reviews from tourists, and we then supply an enhanced long short-term memory (LSTM) framework for sentiment feature extraction of travel reviews. We have constructed a web review database using a crawler and web scraping technique for experimental validation to evaluate the effectiveness of our methodology. The text form of sentences was first classified through Vader and Roberta model to get the polarity of the reviews. In this paper, we have conducted study methods for feature extraction, such as Count Vectorization and TFIDF Vectorization, and implemented Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classifier algorithm for the sentiment analysis to decide the tourist’s attitude towards the destinations is positive, negative, or simply neutral based on the review text that they posted online. The results demonstrated that from the CNN algorithm, after pre-processing and cleaning the dataset, we received an accuracy of 96.12% for the positive and negative sentiment analysis.Keywords: counter vectorization, convolutional neural network, crawler, data technology, long short-term memory, web scraping, sentiment analysis
Procedia PDF Downloads 8815313 The Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Physiological Stress of Managers
Authors: Mikko Salminen, Simo Järvelä, Niklas Ravaja
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One of the central models of emotional intelligence (EI) is that of Mayer and Salovey’s, which includes ability to monitor own feelings and emotions and those of others, ability to discriminate different emotions, and to use this information to guide thinking and actions. There is vast amount of previous research where positive links between EI and, for example, leadership successfulness, work outcomes, work wellbeing and organizational climate have been reported. EI has also a role in the effectiveness of work teams, and the effects of EI are especially prominent in jobs requiring emotional labor. Thus, also the organizational context must be taken into account when considering the effects of EI on work outcomes. Based on previous research, it is suggested that EI can also protect managers from the negative consequences of stress. Stress may have many detrimental effects on the manager’s performance in essential work tasks. Previous studies have highlighted the effects of stress on, not only health, but also, for example, on cognitive tasks such as decision-making, which is important in managerial work. The motivation for the current study came from the notion that, unfortunately, many stressed individuals may not be aware of the circumstance; periods of stress-induced physiological arousal may be prolonged if there is not enough time for recovery. To tackle this problem, physiological stress levels of managers were collected using recording of heart rate variability (HRV). The goal was to use this data to provide the managers with feedback on their stress levels. The managers could access this feedback using a www-based learning environment. In the learning environment, in addition to the feedback on stress level and other collected data, also developmental tasks were provided. For example, those with high stress levels were sent instructions for mindfulness exercises. The current study focuses on the relation between the measured physiological stress levels and EI of the managers. In a pilot study, 33 managers from various fields wore the Firstbeat Bodyguard HRV measurement devices for three consecutive days and nights. From the collected HRV data periods (minutes) of stress and recovery were detected using dedicated software. The effects of EI on HRV-calculated stress indexes were studied using Linear Mixed Models procedure in SPSS. There was a statistically significant effect of total EI, defined as an average score of Schutte’s emotional intelligence test, on the percentage of stress minutes during the whole measurement period (p=.025). More stress minutes were detected on those managers who had lower emotional intelligence. It is suggested, that high EI provided managers with better tools to cope with stress. Managing of own emotions helps the manager in controlling possible negative emotions evoked by, e.g., critical feedback or increasing workload. High EI managers may also be more competent in detecting emotions of others, which would lead to smoother interactions and less conflicts. Given the recent trend to different quantified-self applications, it is suggested that monitoring of bio-signals would prove to be a fruitful direction to further develop new tools for managerial and leadership coaching.Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, heart rate variability, personality, stress
Procedia PDF Downloads 22615312 Financial Inclusion and Modernization: Secure Energy Performance in Shanghai Cooperation Organization
Authors: Shama Urooj
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The present work investigates the relationship among financial inclusion, modernization, and energy performance in SCO member countries during the years 2011–2021. PCA is used to create composite indexes of financial inclusion, modernization, and energy performance. We used panel regression models that are both reliable and heteroscedasticity-consistent to look at the relationship among variables. The findings indicate that financial inclusion (FI) and modernization, along with the increased FDI, all appear to contribute to the energy performance in the SCO member countries. However, per capita GDP has a negative impact on energy performance. These results are unbiased and consistent with the robust results obtained by applying different econometric models. Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS) estimation is also used for checking the uniformity of the main model results. This research work concludes that there has been no policy coherence in SCO member countries regarding the coordination of growing financial inclusion and modernization for energy sustainability in recent years. In order to improve energy performance with modern development, policies regarding financial inclusion and modernization need be integrated both at national as well as international levels.Keywords: financial inclusion, energy performance, modernization, technological development, SCO.
Procedia PDF Downloads 7515311 Fiscal Size and Composition Effects on Growth: Empirical Evidence from Asian Economies
Authors: Jeeban Amgain
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This paper investigates the impact of the size and composition of government expenditure and tax on GDP per capita growth in 36 Asian economies over the period of 1991-2012. The research employs the technique of panel regression; Fixed Effects and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) as well as other statistical and descriptive approaches. The finding concludes that the size of government expenditure and tax revenue are generally low in this region. GDP per capita growth is strongly negative in response to Government expenditure, however, no significant relationship can be measured in case of size of taxation although it is positively correlated with economic growth. Panel regression of decomposed fiscal components also shows that the pattern of allocation of expenditure and taxation really matters on growth. Taxes on international trade and property have a significant positive impact on growth. In contrast, a major portion of expenditure, i.e. expenditure on general public services, health and education are found to have significant negative impact on growth, implying that government expenditures are not being productive in the Asian region for some reasons. Comparatively smaller and efficient government size would enhance the growth.Keywords: government expenditure, tax, GDP per capita growth, composition
Procedia PDF Downloads 47515310 Search of Сompounds with Antimicrobial and Antifungal Activity in the Series of 1-(2-(1H-Tetrazol-5-yl)-R1-phenyl)-3-R2-phenyl(ethyl)ureas
Authors: O. Antypenko, I. Vasilieva, S. Kovalenko
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Investigations for new effective and less toxic antimicrobials agents are always up-to-date. The tetrazole derivatives are quite interesting objects as for synthesis as well as for pharmacological screening. Thus, some derivatives of tetrazole demonstrated antimicrobial activity, namely 5-phenyl-tetrazolo[1,5-c]quinazoline was effective one against Staphylococcus aureus and Esherichia faecalis (MIC = 250 mg/L). Besides, investigation of the 9-bromo(chloro)-5-morpholin(piperidine)-4-yl-tetrazolo[1,5-c]quinazoline’s antimicrobial activity against Esherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus revealed that sensitivity of Gram-positive bacteria to the compounds was higher than that of Gram-negative bacteria. So, our previously synthesized, 31 derivatives of 1-(2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-R1-phenyl)-3-R2-phenyl(ethyl)ureas were decided to test for their in vitro antibacterial activity against Gram-positive bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212), Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 9027, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Klebsiella pneumoniae 68) and antifungal properties against Candida albicans ATCC 885653. Agar-diffusion method was used for determination of the preliminary activity compared to well-known reference antimicrobials. All the compounds were dissolved in DMSO at a concentration of 100 μg/disk, using inhibition zone diameter (IZD, mm) as a measure for the antimicrobial activity. The most active turned to be 3 structures, that inhibited several bacterial strains: 1-ethyl-3-(5-fluoro-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)phenyl)urea (1), 1-(4-bromo-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-phenyl)-3-(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)urea (2) and 1-(4-chloro-2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)phenyl)-3-(3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)urea (3). IZM (mm) was 40 (Escherichia coli), 25 (Klebsiella pneumonia) for compound 1; 12 (Pseudomonas aeruginosa), 15 (Staphylococcus aureus), 10 (Enterococcus faecalis) for compound 2; 25 (Staphylococcus aureus), 15 (Enterococcus faecalis) for compound 3. The most sensitive to the activity of the substances were Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While none of compound effected on Candida albicans. Speaking about, reference drugs: Amikacin (30 µg/disk) showed 27 and Ceftazide (30 µg/disk) 25 against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. That is, unfortunately, higher than studied 1-(2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-R1-phenyl)-3-R2-phenyl(ethyl)ureas. Obtained results will be used for further purposeful optimization of the leading compounds in the more effective antimicrobials because of the ever-mounting problem of microorganism’s resistance.Keywords: antimicrobial, antifungal, compounds, 1-(2-(1H-tetrazol-5-yl)-R1-phenyl)-3-R2-phenyl(ethyl)ureas
Procedia PDF Downloads 35815309 Affect and Helping Behavior as Explanatory Account of the Relationship between Psychological Safety and Supervisor Satisfaction
Authors: Mariam Musaddiq, Muhammad Ali Asadullah
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Psychological safety is referred as a 'nonthreatening' and 'predictable' work environment leading employees, particularly interested to contribute positively to the organization, to engage and express their true selves at work without suffering negative results. We posit that the employee who is feeling psychologically safe experiences positive emotions, feels happy and shows helping behavior towards his coworkers and supervisors. Particularly, the supervisor reciprocates this helping behavior in form of greater satisfaction to the employee showing helping behavior. We tested our hypothesis in light of Feedback system theory and functional motive theory. We collected data from 453 employees and their supervisor in Pakistani hotels and restaurants through survey method. Result showed that positive affect and helping behavior mediate the relationship between psychological safety and supervisor satisfaction. Cross sectional design of the study is a major limitation of the study. Moreover, we focused on psychological safety only that is one of three dimensions of psychological conditions.Keywords: affect, helping behavior, psychological safety, supervisor, supervisor satisfaction
Procedia PDF Downloads 41415308 Developing Urban Design and Planning Approach to Enhance the Efficiency of Infrastructure and Public Transportation in Order to Reduce GHG Emissions
Authors: A. Rostampouryasouri, A. Maghoul, S. Tahersima
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The rapid growth of urbanization and the subsequent increase in population in cities have resulted in the destruction of the environment to cater to the needs of citizens. The industrialization of urban life has led to the production of pollutants, which has significantly contributed to the rise of air pollution. Infrastructure can have both positive and negative effects on air pollution. The effects of infrastructure on air pollution are complex and depend on various factors such as the type of infrastructure, location, and context. This study examines the effects of infrastructure on air pollution, drawing on a range of empirical evidence from Iran and China. Our paper focus for analyzing the data is on the following concepts: 1. Urban design and planning principles and practices 2. Infrastructure efficiency and optimization strategies 3. Public transportation systems and their environmental impact 4. GHG emissions reduction strategies in urban areas 5. Case studies and best practices in sustainable urban development This paper employs a mixed methodology approach with a focus on developmental and applicative purposes. The mixed methods approach combines both quantitative and qualitative research methods to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the research topic. A group of 20 architectural specialists and experts who are proficient in the field of research, design, and implementation of green architecture projects were interviewed in a systematic and purposeful manner. The research method was based on content analysis using MAXQDA2020 software. The findings suggest that policymakers and urban planners should consider the potential impacts of infrastructure on air pollution and take measures to mitigate negative effects while maximizing positive ones. This includes adopting a nature-based approach to urban planning and infrastructure development, investing in information infrastructure, and promoting modern logistic transport infrastructure.Keywords: GHG emissions, infrastructure efficiency, urban development, urban design
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