Search results for: revised national tuberculosis control programme (RNTCP)

Authors: T. Sanches, K. Bousson

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As part of the development of a 4D autopilot system for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), i.e. a time-dependent robust trajectory generation and control algorithm, this work addresses the problem of optimal path control based on the flight sensors data output that may be unreliable due to noise on data acquisition and/or transmission under certain circumstances. Although several filtering methods, such as the Kalman-Bucy filter or the Linear Quadratic Gaussian/Loop Transfer Recover Control (LQG/LTR), are available, the utter complexity of the control system, together with the robustness and reliability required of such a system on a UAV for airworthiness certifiable autonomous flight, required the development of a proper robust filter for a nonlinear system, as a way of further mitigate errors propagation to the control system and improve its ,performance. As such, a nonlinear algorithm based upon the LQG/LTR, is validated through computational simulation testing, is proposed on this paper.

Keywords: autonomous flight, LQG/LTR, nonlinear state estimator, robust flight control

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Authors: Aleksandra Chiniaeva

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The following paper describes the activity of national and international parliamentary assemblies of the European region in protection and promotion of human rights. It may be said that parliamentarians have a “double mandate” — as members of the international assembly and of their respective national parliaments. In other words, parliamentarization at both international and national level provides a situation for parliamentarians, where they link people, national governments and international organizations. The paper is aimed towards demonstrating that the activity of the main international parliamentary assemblies of the European region have a real positive impact on the human rights situation in the European region. In addition, the paper describes the assemblies that include protection of human rights in their Agenda as one of the main subjects: the EP, the PACE, the OSCE PA and the IPA CIS. Co-operation activities such as joint election observation; participation in inter-parliamentary associations, such as the IPU; conclusion agreements allow assemblies to provide observation of human right situation in the states that are not members of the particular organization and as consequence make their impact broader.

Keywords: human rights, international parliamentary assembly, IPU, EP, PACE, OSCE, international election observation

Procedia PDF Downloads 363

Authors: Komathy Thiagarajan, Mohd. Azizuddin Mohd. Yussof, Hasnoorina Husin, Noor Azreena Abd Aziz, Faezah Shekh Abdullah, Abdul Wahaf Abdul Wahid

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Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) presents with a plethora of clinical features owing to the multifaceted underlying pathophysiology. This study was conducted to determine the clinical features unique to the sub fertile women attending the Sub fertility Clinic of the National Population and Family Development Board (NPFDB) so that a more holistic approach can be adopted to further enhance the pregnancy outcome in those women. This was a case-control study conducted over a span of three years (from January 2014 until December 2016), whereby women who fulfilled the Rotterdam Criteria 2004 were classified as PCOS (n=79) and women who did not fulfill the Rotterdam Criteria were classified as controls (n=88). The mean age of the women was 30.1 years and the mean duration of marriage was 3.93 years. The majority of women suffered from primary sub fertility (82.6%). The median age was lower among PCOS women (29.0 years) compared to the controls (30.0 years), p<0.05. The majority of PCOS women (43.0%) were obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2) compared to only 19.3% who were obese in the control group, p<0.05. Hypertension was present in 59.5% of PCOS women and only in 36.4% of the control group, p<0.05. There were significantly more women who presented with hirsutism in PCOS group (27.8%) as compared to the control group (5.7%), p<0.05. The findings of this study elucidate that the clinical features of significance among sub fertile women suffering from PCOS, if detected early, are amenable to lifestyle modifications and timely interventions can potentially improve the fertility outcomes in this group of women.

Keywords: clinical features, fertility, lifestyle modification, PCOS

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Authors: Changho Han, Jaemin Lee, Li Hua, Seokkwon Jeong

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Design of membership function ranges in fuzzy logic control (FLC) is presented for robust control of a variable speed refrigeration system (VSRS). The criterion values of the membership function ranges can be carried out from the static experimental data, and two different values are offered to compare control performance. Some simulations and real experiments for the VSRS were conducted to verify the validity of the designed membership functions. The experimental results showed good agreement with the simulation results, and the error change rate and its sampling time strongly affected the control performance at transient state of the VSRS.

Keywords: variable speed refrigeration system, fuzzy logic control, membership function range, control performance

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Authors: E. Cenderelli, E. Bruno, G. Iacoviello, A. Lazzini

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The financial sector is exposed to the risk of cyber-attacks like any other industrial sector. Furthermore, the topic of CybeRisk (cyber risk) has become particularly relevant given that Information Technology (IT) attacks have increased drastically in recent years, and cannot be stopped by single organizations requiring a response at international and national level. IT risk is never a matter purely for the IT manager, although he clearly plays a key role. A bank's risk management function requires a thorough understanding of the evolving risks as well as the tools and practical techniques available to address them. Upon the request of European and national legislation regarding CybeRisk in the financial system, banks are therefore called upon to strengthen the operational model for CybeRisk management. This will require an important change with a more intense collaboration with the structures that deal with information security for the development of an ad hoc system for the evaluation and control of this type of risk. The aim of the work is to propose a framework for the management and control of CybeRisk that will bridge the gap in the literature regarding the understanding and consideration of CybeRisk as an integral part of business management. The IT function has a strong relevance in the management of CybeRisk, which is perceived mainly as operational risk, but with a positive tendency on the part of risk management to the identification of CybeRisk assessment methods that are increasingly complete, quantitative and able to better describe the possible impacts on the business. The paper provides answers to the research questions: Is it possible to define a CybeRisk governance structure able to support the comparison between risk and security? How can the relationships between IT assets be integrated into a cyberisk assessment framework to guarantee a system of protection and risks control? From a methodological point of view, this research uses a case study approach. The choice of “Monte dei Paschi di Siena” was determined by the specific features of one of Italy’s biggest lenders. It is chosen to use an intensive research strategy: an in-depth study of reality. The case study methodology is an empirical approach to explore a complex and current phenomenon that develops over time. The use of cases has also the advantage of allowing the deepening of aspects concerning the "how" and "why" of contemporary events, on which the scholar has little control. The research bases on quantitative data and qualitative information obtained through semi-structured interviews of an open-ended nature and questionnaires to directors, members of the audit committee, risk, IT and compliance managers, and those responsible for internal audit function and anti-money laundering. The added value of the paper can be seen in the development of a framework based on a mapping of IT assets from which it is possible to identify their relationships for purposes of a more effective management and control of cyber risk.

Keywords: bank, CybeRisk, information technology, risk management

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Authors: Praveen Battula

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Any high performance car has the tendency to over steer and Understeer under slippery conditions, An Electronic Stability Control System is needed under these conditions to regulate the steering of the car. It uses Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS) and Traction Control and Wheel Speed Sensor, Steering Angle Sensor, Rotational Speed Sensors to correct the problems. The focus of this paper is to improve the driving dynamics and safety by controlling the forces applied on each wheel. ESC Control the Yaw Stability, traction controls the Roll Stability, where actually the vehicle slip rate and lateral acceleration is controlled. ESC uses differential braking on all four brakes independently to control the vehicle’s motion. A mathematical model is developed in Simulink for the FlexRay based Electronic Stability Control. Vehicle steering is developed using Neuro Fuzzy Logic Controller. 7 Degrees of Freedom Vehicle Model is used as a Plant Model using dSpace autobox. The Performance of the system is assessed using two different road Scenarios, Vehicle Control under standard maneuvering conditions. The entire system is set using Dspace Control Desk. Results are provided by comparison of how a Vehicle with and without Electronic Stability Control which shows an improved performance in control.

Keywords: ESC, flexray, chassis control, steering, neuro fuzzy, vehicle dynamics

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Authors: S. A. Al-Qallaf, S. A. Al-Mawsawi, A. Haider

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In order to evaluate the performance of a unified power flow controller (UPFC), mathematical models for steady state and dynamic analysis are to be developed. The steady state model is mainly concerned with the incorporation of the UPFC in load flow studies. Several load flow models for UPFC have been introduced in literature, and one of the most reliable models is the decoupled UPFC model. In spite of UPFC decoupled load flow model simplicity, it is more robust compared to other UPFC load flow models and it contains unique capabilities. Some shortcoming such as additional set of nonlinear equations are to be solved separately after the load flow solution is obtained. The aim of this study is to investigate the different control strategies that can be realized in the decoupled load flow model (individual control and combined control), and the impact of the location of the UPFC in the network on its control parameters.

Keywords: UPFC, decoupled model, load flow, control parameters

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Authors: Mukesh R. Goswami

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Sports Competition Anxiety test (SCAT) constructed and standardized by Martens was Administrated on 30 National level (15 male, 15 female) Volleyball players of Gujarat. The age of subjects ranged between 19 to 22 years. The purpose of the study was to compare the level of Anxiety between male and female national level Volleyball players of Gujarat. Statistical analysis has been done by T-test and the significance of the result was seen on 0.05 level. The t-test showed that there was no significant difference found in mean difference among the male and the female National level Volleyball players in relation to sports competition anxiety.

Keywords: competition, anxiety, male and female volleyball players, sports

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Authors: Mohieldin Elmashad, Salwa Yassin

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Expansive soils regarded as one of the most problematic unsaturated formations in the Egyptian arid zones and present a great challenge in civil engineering, in general, and geotechnical engineering, in particular. Severe geotechnical complications and consequent structural damages have been arising due to an excessive and differential volumetric change upon wetting and change in water content. Different studies have been carried out concerning the swelling performance of the expansive soils using different additives including phospho-gypsum as an industrial waste product. However, this paper describes the results of a comprehensive testing programme that was carried out to investigate the effect of phospho-gypsum (PG) and sodium chloride (NaCl), as an additive mixture, on the swelling performance of constituent samples of swelling soils. The constituent samples comprise commercial bentonite collected from a natural site, mixed with different percentages of PG-NaCl mixture. The testing programme had been scoped to cover the physical and chemical properties of the constituent samples. In addition, a mineralogical study using x-ray diffraction (XRD) was performed on the collected bentonite and the mixed bentonite with PG-NaCl mixture samples. The obtained results of this study showed significant improvement in the swelling performance of the tested samples with the increase of the proposed PG-NaCl mixture content.

Keywords: expansive soils, industrial waste, mineralogical study, swelling performance, X-ray diffraction

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Authors: Soltani Amir, Wang Xuan

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The advantage of using non-linear passive damping system in vibration control of two adjacent structures is investigated under their base excitation. The base excitation is El Centro earthquake record acceleration. The damping system is considered as an optimum and effective non-linear viscous damper that is connected between two adjacent structures. A Matlab program is developed to produce the stiffness and damping matrices and to determine a time history analysis of the dynamic motion of the system. One structure is assumed to be flexible while the other has a rule as laterally supporting structure with rigid frames. The response of the structure has been calculated and the non-linear damping coefficient is determined using optimum LQR algorithm in an optimum vibration control system. The non-linear parameter of damping system is estimated and it has shown a significant advantage of application of this system device for vibration control of two adjacent tall building.

Keywords: active control, passive control, viscous dampers, structural control, vibration control, tall building

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Authors: A. V. Dolzhikova

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The article deals with the problems of labour migration in the Russian Federation in the context of Russia's national security, provides the typology of migrants residing in the territory of the Russian Federation and analyzes the risk factors. The author considers the structure of migration flows and the terms of legal, economic and socio-cultural adaptation of migrants in the Russian Federation. In this connection, the status of the Russian migration legislation, the concept of the comprehensive exam in Russian as a foreign language, history of Russia and the basics of the Russian Federation legislation for foreign citizens which was introduced in Russia on January 1, 2015, are analyzed. The article discloses its role as the adaptation strategy and the factor of Russia's migration security.

Keywords: comprehensive exam, migration policy, migration legislation, Russia's national security

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Authors: Buse A. Ataç, Doğan K. Cenan, Arda Çetinkaya, Naz D. Şahin, Köksal Sanlı, Zeynep Koç, Akın Kısa

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With its spatial data reliability, interpretation and questioning capabilities, Geographical Information Systems make significant contributions to scientists, planners and practitioners. Geographic information systems have received great attention in today's digital world, growing rapidly, and increasing the efficiency of use. Access to and use of current and accurate geographical data, which are the most important components of the Geographical Information System, has become a necessity rather than a need for sustainable and economic development. This project aims to enable sharing of data collected by public institutions and organizations on a web-based platform. Within the scope of the project, INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in the European Community) data specifications are considered as a road-map. In this context, Turkey's National Geographic Information System (TUCBS) Integration Project supports sharing spatial data within 61 pilot public institutions as complied with defined national standards. In this paper, which is prepared by the project team members in the TUCBS Integration Project, the technical process with a detailed methodology is explained. In this context, the main technical processes of the Project consist of Geographic Data Analysis, Geographic Data Harmonization (Standardization), Web Service Creation (WMS, WFS) and Metadata Creation-Publication. In this paper, the integration process carried out to provide the data produced by 61 institutions to be shared from the National Geographic Data Portal (GEOPORTAL), have been trying to be conveyed with a detailed methodology.

Keywords: data specification, geoportal, GIS, INSPIRE, Turkish National Geographic Information System, TUCBS, Turkey's national geographic information system

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Authors: Jeonghwan Jeon

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Technology planning with both internal capacity and external resource is necessary for successful open innovation. Until now, many types of research have been conducted for this issue. However, technology planning for open innovation at the national level has not been researched sufficiently. This study proposes Open roadmap for open innovation at the national level. The proposed open roadmap can manage the inflow & outflow open innovation systematically. Six types of open roadmap are classified with respect to the innovation direction and characteristics. The proposed open roadmap is applied to the open innovation cases of the Roman period. The proposed open roadmap is expected to be helpful tool for technology policy planning at the national level.

Keywords: technology planning, open innovation, internal resource, external resource, technology management

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Authors: Nur Aisyah Jalalludin, Arwindra Rizqiawan, Goro Fujita

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In this study, we aim to demonstrate a microgrid system experimental simulation for an easy understanding of a large-scale microgrid system. This model is required for industrial training and learning environments. However, in order to create an exact representation of a microgrid system, the laboratory-scale system must fulfill the requirements of a grid-connected inverter, in which power values are assigned to the system to cope with the intermittent output from renewable energy sources. Aside from that, during changes in load capacity, the grid-connected system must be able to supply power from the utility grid side and microgrid side in a balanced manner. Therefore, droop control is installed in the inverter’s control board to maintain equal power sharing in both sides. This power control in a stand-alone condition and droop control in a grid-connected condition must be implemented in order to maintain a stabilized system. Based on the experimental results, power control and droop control can both be applied in the system by comparing the experimental and reference values.

Keywords: droop control, droop characteristic, grid-connected inverter, microgrid, power control

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Authors: Adnan F. Sheikh, Fayaz A. Mir

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After the recent devastating flood in Kashmir in 2014, dredging of the local water bodies, especially Jhelum River has become a priority for the government. Local government under the project name of 'Comprehensive Flood Management Programme' plans to undertake an increase in discharge of existing flood channels by removal of encroachments and acquisition of additional land, dredging and other works of the water bodies. The total quantity of soil to be dredged will be 16.15 lac cumecs. Dredged soil is a major component that would result from the project which requires disposal/utilization. This study analyses the effect of cement and sand on the engineering properties of soil. The tests were conducted with variable additions of sand (10%, 20% and 30%), whereas cement was added at 12%. Samples with following compositions: soil-cement (12%) and soil-sand (30%) were tested as well. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the engineering characteristics of soil, i.e., compaction, strength, and CBR characteristics. The strength characteristics of the soil were determined by unconfined compressive strength test and direct shear test. Unconfined compressive strength of the soil was tested immediately and for a curing period of seven days. CBR test was performed for unsoaked, soaked (worst condition- 4 days) and cured (4 days) samples.

Keywords: comprehensive flood management programme, dredge soil, strength characteristics, flood

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Authors: Mishack Thiza Gumbo

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The participatory action research study reported in this paper aims to explore indigenous mathematics, science, and technology to develop an indigenous Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Master’s Programme ultimately. The study is based on an ongoing collaborative project between the Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Departments of the University of South Africa, University of Botswana and Chinhoyi University of Technology. The study targets the Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Master’s students and indigenous knowledge holders in these three contexts as research participants. They will be interviewed; documents of existing Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Master’s Programmes will be analysed; mathematics, science and technology-related artefacts will also be collected and analysed. Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education are traditionally referred to as gateway subjects because the world economy revolves around them. Scores of scholars call for the indigenisation of research and methodologies so that research can suit and advance indigenous knowledge and sustainable development. There are ethnomathematics, ethnoscience and ethnotechnology which exist in indigenous contexts such as blacksmithing, woodcarving, textile-weaving and dyeing, but the current curricula and research in institutions of learning reflect the Western notions of these subjects. Indigenisation of the academic programmecontributes toward the decolonisation of education. Hence, the development of an indigenous Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Master’s Programme, which will be jointly offered by the three universities mentioned above, will contribute to the transformation of higher education in this sense.

Keywords: indigenous, mathematics, science, technology, master's program, universities, collaboration

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Authors: Mustapha Yakubu, Ahmed Usman, Hashim Ambursa

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This paper presents the findings of a research which sought to investigate techniques used to improve cost and time control of construction projects management practice in Nigeria. However, there is limited research on issues surrounding the practical usage of these techniques. Data were collected through a questionnaire distributed to construction experts through a survey conducted on the 100 construction organisations and 50 construction consultancy firms in the Nigeria aimed at identifying common project cost and time control practices and factors inhibiting effective project control in practice. The study reveals that despite the vast application of control techniques a high proportion of respondents still experienced cost and time overruns on a significant proportion of their projects. Analysis of the survey results concluded that more effort should be geared at the management of the identified top project control inhibiting factors. This paper has outlined some measures for mitigating these inhibiting factors so that the outcome of project time and cost control can be improved in practice.

Keywords: construction project, cost control, Nigeria, time control

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Authors: Halima Benazzouz

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It is often believed that British English and American English are the foremost varieties of the English Language serving as reference norms for other varieties;that is the reason why they have obviously been compared and contrasted.Meanwhile,the terms “British English” and “American English” are used differently by different people to refer to: 1) Two national varieties each subsuming regional and other sub-varieties standard and non-standard. 2) Two national standard varieties in which each one is only part of the range of English within its own state, but the most prestigious part. 3) Two international varieties, that is each is more than a national variety of the English Language. 4) Two international standard varieties that may or may not each subsume other standard varieties.Furthermore,each variety serves as a reference norm for users of the language elsewhere. Moreover, without a clear identification, as primarily belonging to one variety or the other, British English(Br.Eng) and American English (Am.Eng) are understood as national or international varieties. British English and American English are both “variants” and “varieties” of the English Language, more similar than different.In brief, the following may justify general categories of difference between Standard American English (S.Am.E) and Standard British English (S.Br.e) each having their own sociolectic value: A difference in pronunciation exists between the two foremost varieties, although it is the same spelling, by contrast, a divergence in spelling may be recognized, eventhough the same pronunciation. In such case, the same term is different but there is a similarity in spelling and pronunciation. Otherwise, grammar, syntax, and punctuation are distinctively used to distinguish the two varieties of the English Language. Beyond these differences, spelling is noted as one of the chief sources of variation.

Keywords: Greek, Latin, French pronunciation expert, varieties of English language

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Authors: Taiki Baba, Tomoaki Hashimoto

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The random dither quantization method enables us to achieve much better performance than the simple uniform quantization method for the design of quantized control systems. Motivated by this fact, the stochastic model predictive control method in which a performance index is minimized subject to probabilistic constraints imposed on the state variables of systems has been proposed for linear feedback control systems with random dither quantization. In other words, a method for solving optimal control problems subject to probabilistic state constraints for linear discrete-time control systems with random dither quantization has been already established. To our best knowledge, however, the feasibility of such a kind of optimal control problems has not yet been studied. Our objective in this paper is to investigate the feasibility of stochastic model predictive control problems for linear discrete-time control systems with random dither quantization. To this end, we provide the results of numerical simulations that verify the feasibility of stochastic model predictive control problems for linear discrete-time control systems with random dither quantization.

Keywords: model predictive control, stochastic systems, probabilistic constraints, random dither quantization

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Authors: Ugabi John Ibak, Odey Boniface Ugbem

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Education is considered the bedrock of any meaningful developments and teacher education plays a critical role in this direction. Teacher education is the master keys that can alleviate poverty, promote peace, conserve the environment, improve the quality of life for all and help achieve all round sustain enable development in Nigeria and the world over. This paper X-rays the nature and character of the teaching profession, historical background to teacher education in Nigeria, national policy on education, problems of teacher education in Nigeria and prospects of teacher education for sustainable national development. The study shows that the misfortunes of the teacher education owes much to it historical antecedent. Also majorly, is the failure of government to adequately fund education at the various levels in the country. It was discovered that in the history of the nation no government has budgeted 13% of its annual budget (half of 26% UNESCO minimum) to education. This has resulted to poor infrastructure, inadequate equipment and poorly motivated personnel in all the nations public schools at all levels. Hence, the paper concludes that in spite of these overwhelming challenges, teachers have a lot of prospects both in the teaching profession and outside teaching.

Keywords: teacher education, teaching profession, sustainable national development, education, development

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Authors: Fasil Wagnew, Kerri Viney, Kefyalew Addis Alene, Matthew Kelly, Darren Gray

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Background: Undernutrition is a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB), including poor treatment outcomes. However, evidence regarding the effect of undernutrition on TB treatment outcomes is not well understood. We aimed to evaluate the effect of undernutrition on sputum culture conversion and treatment outcomes among people with multi-drug resistance (MDR)-TB. Methods: We searched for publications in the Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases without restrictions on geography or year of publication. We conducted a random-effect meta-analysis to estimate the effects of undernutrition on sputum culture conversion and treatment outcomes. Two reviewers independently assessed the study eligibility, extracted the necessary information, and assessed the risk of bias. Depending on the nature of the data, odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to summarize the effect estimates. Potential publication bias was checked using funnel plots and Egger’s tests. Results: Of 2358 records screened, 59 studies comprising a total of 31,254 people with MDR-TB were included. Undernutrition was significantly associated with a lower sputum culture conversion rate (HR 0·7, 95% CI 0·6–0·9, I2=67·1%) and a higher rate of mortality (OR 2·9, 95%CI 2·1–3·8, I2=23·7%) and unfavourable treatment outcomes (OR 1·8, 95%CI 1·5–2·0, I2=72·7%). There was no statistically significant publication bias in the included studies. Three studies were low, forty-two studies were moderate, and fourteen studies were high quality. Interpretations: Undernutrition was significantly associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes, including mortality and lower sputum culture conversion among people with MDR-TB. These findings have implications for supporting targeted nutritional interventions alongside standardised second-line TB drugs.

Keywords: undernutrition, MDR-TB, sputum culture conversion, treatment outcomes, meta-analysis

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Authors: Sahl Abdullah Waheeb

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The Ministry of Higher Education is currently developing and executing a large number of university buildings and campuses Al around Saudi Arabia annually due to the increased number of students. This is carried out through high international standards. Energy and environmental issues have been given a lot of consideration so the operation will be economical, environmentally and socially efficient enough. This paper will shed light on the application of building sustainability standards on buildings and university campuses during the design and construction stage. University campuses and buildings are currently under major construction development. In this research, data for green building standards were collected and a building sustainability methodology was appointed for applying sustainable standards, recommend to all is inserted imparting a guidelines standards for university buildings. Architecture design and construction imparting were assisted by environmental criteria. This paper highly recommends applying an environmental and sustainable building measurement tool in Saudi Arabia. Special attention should be paid to university building and similar project organizers due to the high energy demand in such project organizers. Moreover, a national environmental programme should be created to set the related standards to the local architecture to be applied to measuring green building and sustainable architecture design in Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: sustainable universities, university buildings, sustainability in Saudi Arabia, green buildings, sustainable building

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Authors: Elena Kovalevich, Irina Tomasheva

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The research relevance is caused by the importance of studying features of cross-cultural communication in the system of intensive language contacts, on the one hand, and on the other – by the need of control over the language situation as cross-cultural contacts often reflect emotionally intense reality, destructive for national culture and language and also for health and mentality of the individual. The objective consists in systematization of requirements imposed by the globalized society on ethics, aesthetics and emotive component of cross-cultural communication under conditions of language hybridization of modern Russian-speaking society. Problems connected with establishing the criteria differentiating eco-friendly and eco-unfriendly communication; identifying the specifics of the eco-unfriendly communication containing language hybrids; justifying the negative impact of language hybridization on ethics and esthetics of cross-cultural communication are considered, taking into account the category of emotivity. The study makes a contribution to the development of key problems of modern linguistics connected with exploration of basics in the theory of language personality, ecology of language, emotive linguistics. The results can be used by specialists in the fields of sociolinguistics, cross-cultural communication, the national language policy.

Keywords: cross-cultural communication, eco-linguistics, ethics and aesthetics, emotivity, language hybrids

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Authors: Kingston Rajiah, Mari Kannan Maharajan, Si Jen Yeen, Sara Lew

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Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with evolving layers of complexity. Both motor and non-motor symptoms of PD may affect patients’ quality of life (QoL). Life expectancy for an individual with Parkinson’s disease depends on the level of care the individual has access to, can have a direct impact on length of life. Therefore, improvement of the QoL is a significant part of therapeutic plans. Patients with PD, especially those who are in advanced stages, are in great need of assistance, mostly from their family members or caregivers in terms of medical, emotional, and social support. The role of a caregiver becomes increasingly important with the progression of PD, the severity of motor impairment and increasing age of the patient. The nature and symptoms associated with PD can place significant stresses on the caregivers’ burden. As the prevalence of PD is estimated to more than double by 2030, it is important to recognize and alleviate the burden experienced by caregivers. This study focused on the impact of the clinical features on the QoL of PD patients, and of their caregivers. This study included PD patients along with their caregivers and was undertaken at the Malaysian Parkinson's Disease Association from June 2016 to November 2016. Clinical features of PD patients were assessed using the Movement Disorder Society revised Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS); the Hoehn and Yahr Staging of Parkinson's Disease were used to assess the severity and Parkinson's disease activities of daily living scale were used to assess the disability of Parkinson’s disease patients. QoL of PD patients was measured using the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire-39 (PDQ-39). The revised version of the Zarit Burden Interview assessed caregiver burden. At least one of the clinical features affected PD patients’ QoL, and at least one of the QoL domains affected the caregivers’ burden. Clinical features ‘Saliva and Drooling’, and ‘Dyskinesia’ explained 29% of variance in QoL of PD patients. The QoL domains ‘stigma’, along with ‘emotional wellbeing’ explained 48.6% of variance in caregivers’ burden. Clinical features such as saliva, drooling and dyskinesia affected the QoL of PD patients. The PD patients’ QoL domains such as ‘stigma’ and ‘emotional well-being’ influenced their caregivers’ burden.

Keywords: carers, quality of life, clinical features, Malaysia

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Authors: Lee Da Hyun

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The purpose of this study is to explore the relation between the internal dynamics of standing committees and legislative productivity of the Korean National Assembly using statistical methods. Studies on legislation in South Korea have been largely revolved around political parties due to the uniqueness of its political context including strong party cohesion and party’s nomination right. However, as standing committees have been at the center of legislatures since the 6th National Assembly, there is a growing need for studying the operation and effectiveness of standing committees in legislation process. Thus, through panel data analysis for the sixteen standing committees across the four terms of the Korean National Assembly-from the 16th to the 19th-this article attempts to reveal that legislators’ bill passing rate is not a sole function of factors pertaining to political party as the existing studies have believed. By measuring the ideological distribution within a committee and the bill passing rate, this article provides differentiated interpretation from established theories of standing committees and presents compelling evidence describing complex interactions and independent operation of the standing committees with the subsequent legislative results.

Keywords: collective decision-making, lawmaking, legislation, political polarization, standing committees

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Authors: Sonja Gögele, Petra Kletzenbauer

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International strategies are ranked as one of the core activities in the development plans of Austrian universities. This has led to numerous promising activities in terms of internationalization (i.e. development of international degree programmes, increased staff and student mobility, and blended international projects). The latest innovative approach in terms of Erasmus+ are so called Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP) which combine jointly delivered teaching and learning elements of at least three participating ERASMUS universities in a virtual and short-term mobility setup. Students who participate in BIP can maintain their study plans at their home institution and include BIP as a parallel activity. This paper presents the experiences of this programme on the topic of sustainable computing hosted by the University of Applied Sciences FH JOANNEUM. By means of an online survey and face-to-face interviews with all stakeholders (20 students, 8 professors), the empirical study addresses the challenges of hosting an international blended learning programme (i.e. virtual phase and on-site intensive phase) and discusses the impact of such activities in terms of internationalization and Englishization. In this context, key roles are assigned to the development of future transnational and transdisciplinary curricula by considering innovative aspects for learning and teaching (i.e. virtual collaboration, research-based learning).

Keywords: internationalization, englishization, short-term mobility, international teaching and learning

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Authors: Egboja Simon Oga

Abstract:

One of the most important keys to the success of a nation is to ensure steady development and national economic self-sufficiency and independence. It is therefore in this regard that this paper is designed to identify food security to be crucial to all nations’ effort toward sustainable national development. Nigeria as a case study employed various effort by the successive government towards food security. Emphasis were placed on the extent to which government has boosted food security situation on the basis of the identified limitations, conclusion was drawn, recommendation/suggestions proffered, that subsidization of the process of farm inputs like fertilizer, improved seeds and agrochemical, education of farmers on modern methods of farming through extension services, improvisation of village-based food storage mechanism and provision of infrastructural facilities in rural areas to facilitate the preservation and easy evacuation of farm produces are necessary.

Keywords: food, governance, development, security

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Authors: N. Ben Si Ali, N. Benalia, N. Zerzouri

Abstract:

Many electronic drivers for the induction motor control are based on sensorless technologies. Speed and torque control is usually attained by application of a speed or position sensor which requires the additional mounting space, reduce the reliability and increase the cost. This paper seeks to analyze dynamical performances and sensitivity to motor parameter changes of reactive power based technique used in sensorless control of induction motors. Validity of theoretical results is verified by simulation.

Keywords: adaptive observers, model reference adaptive system, RP-based estimator, sensorless control, stability analysis

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Authors: Stella Chioma Nwizu

Abstract:

The National Commission for Adult and Non Formal Education (NMEC) in Nigeria is charged with the reduction of illiteracy rate through the development, monitoring, and supervision of literacy programmes in Nigeria. In spite of various efforts by NMEC to reduce illiteracy, literature still shows that the illiteracy rate is still high. According to NMEC/UNICEF, about 60 million Nigerians are non-literate, and nearly two thirds of them are women. This situation forced the government to search for innovative and better approaches to literacy promotion and delivery. The literacy by radio project was adopted as an innovative intervention to literacy delivery in Nigeria because the radio is the cheapest and most easily affordable medium for non-literates. The project aimed at widening access to literacy programmes for the non-literate marginalized and disadvantaged groups in Nigeria by taking literacy programmes to their door steps. The literacy by radio has worked perfectly well in non-literacy reduction in Cuba. This innovative intervention of literacy by radio is anchored on the diffusion of innovation theory by Rogers. The literacy by radio has been going on for fifteen years and the efficacy and contributions of this innovation need to be investigated. Thus, the purpose of this research is to review the contributions of the literacy by radio in Nigeria. The researcher adopted the survey research design for the study. The population for the study consisted of 2,706 participants and 47 facilitators of the literacy by radio programme in the 10 pilot states in Nigeria. A sample of four states made up of 302 participants and eight facilitators were used for the study. Information was collected through Focus Group Discussion (FGD), interviews and content analysis of official documents. The data were analysed qualitatively to review the contributions of literacy by radio project and determine the efficacy of this innovative approach in facilitating literacy in Nigeria. Results from the field experience showed, among others, that more non-literates have better access to literacy programmes through this innovative approach. The pilot project was 88% successful; not less than 2,110 adults were made literate through the literacy by radio project in 2017. However, lack of enthusiasm and commitment on the part of the technical committee and facilitators due to non-payment of honorarium, poor signals from radio stations, interruption of lectures with adverts, low community involvement in decision making in the project are challenges to the success rate of the project. The researcher acknowledges the need to customize all materials and broadcasts in all the dialects of the participants and the inclusion of more civil rights, environmental protection and agricultural skills into the project. The study recommends among others, improved and timely funding of the project by the Federal Government to enable NMEC to fulfill her obligations towards the greater success of the programme, setting up of independent radio stations for airing the programmes and proper monitoring and evaluation of the project by NMEC and State Agencies for greater effectiveness. In an era of the knowledge-driven economy, no one should be allowed to get saddled with the weight of illiteracy.

Keywords: innovative approach, literacy, project, radio, survey

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Authors: B. Moaveni, S. Morovati

Abstract:

In recent years, increasing the usage of railway transportations especially in developing countries caused more attention to control systems railway vehicles. Consequently, designing and implementing the modern control systems to improve the operating performance of trains and locomotives become one of the main concerns of researches. Dynamic braking systems is an important safety system which controls the amount of braking torque generated by traction motors, to keep the adhesion coefficient between the wheel-sets and rail road in optimum bound. Adhesion force has an important role to control the braking distance and prevent the wheels from slipping during the braking process. Cascade control structure is one of the best control methods for the wide range of industrial plants in the presence of disturbances and errors. This paper presents cascade control structure based on two forward simple controllers with two feedback loops to control the slip ratio and braking torque. In this structure, the inner loop controls the angular velocity and the outer loop control the longitudinal velocity of the locomotive that its dynamic is slower than the dynamic of angular velocity. This control structure by controlling the torque of DC traction motors, tries to track the desired velocity profile to access the predefined braking distance and to control the slip ratio. Simulation results are employed to show the effectiveness of the introduced methodology in dynamic braking system.

Keywords: cascade control, dynamic braking system, DC traction motors, slip control

Procedia PDF Downloads 359