Search results for: robust back-‎stepping control

Authors: Zain Ul Abadeen, Muhammad Zargham Khan, Muhammad Kashif Saleemi, Ahrar Khan, Ijaz Javed Hassan, Aisha Khatoon, Qasim Altaf

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Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites produced by toxigenic fungi, and there are four types of aflatoxins include AFB1, AFB2, AFG1 and AFG2. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is considered as most toxic form. It is mainly responsible for the contamination of poultry feed and produces a condition called aflatoxicosis leads to immunosuppression in poultry birds. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a single cell microorganism and acts as a source of growth factors, minerals and amino acids which improve the immunity and digestibility in poultry birds as probiotics. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is well recognized to cause the biological degradation of mycotoxins (toxin binder) because its cell wall contains β-glucans and mannans which specifically bind with aflatoxins and reduce their absorption or transfer them to some non-toxic compounds. The present study was designed to investigate the immunosuppressive effects of aflatoxins in broiler chicks and the reduction of severity of these effects by the use of Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). One-day-old broiler chicks were procured from local hatchery and were divided into various groups (A-I). These groups were treated with different levels of AFB1 @ 400 µg/kg and 600 µg/kg along with different levels of Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) 0.1% and 0.5 % in the feed. The total duration of the experiment was six weeks and different immunological parameters including the cellular immune response by injecting PHA-P (Phytohemagglutinin-P) in the skin of the birds, phagocytic function of mononuclear cells by Carbon clearance assay from blood samples and humoral immune response against intravenously injected sheep RBCs from the serum samples were determined. The birds from each group were slaughtered at the end of the experiment to determine the presence of gross lesions in the immune organs and these tissues were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for histological investigations. The results showed that AFB1 intoxicated groups had reduced body weight gain, feed intake, organs weight and immunological responses compared to the control and Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) treated groups. Different gross and histological degenerative changes were recorded in the immune organs of AFB1 intoxicated groups compared to control and Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) treated groups. The present study concluded that Baker’s Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) addition in the feed helps to ameliorate the immunotoxigenic effects produced by AFB1 in broiler chicks.

Keywords: aflatoxins, body weight gain, feed intake, immunological response, toxigenic effect

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Authors: Seree Klaengair, Sunpetch Angkititrakul, Dusadee Phongaran, Chaiyaporn Soikum

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The objectives of this study is to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Salmonella spp. isolated from chickens at slaughterhouses in northeast of Thailand. During 2015-2016, all samples were isolated and identified by ISO 6579:2002. A total of 604 samples of rectal swab were collected and isolated for the presence of Salmonella. Salmonella was detected in 109 of 604 (18.05%) samples. The most prevalent serovars were Salmonella Kentucky (22.94%), Give (20.18%) and Typhimurium (7.34%). In this study, 66.97% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial drug and 38.39% were multidrug resistant. The highest resistances were found in nalidixic acid (49.54%), ampicillin (30.28%), tetracycline (27.52%), amoxicillin (26.61%), ciprofloxacin (23.85) and norfloxacin (19.27%). The results showed high prevalence of Salmonella spp. in chickens and antimicrobial resistance patterns. Prevention and control of Salmonella contamination in chickens should be consumer healthy.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, Salmonella spp., chicken, slaughterhouse

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Authors: M. Djekoun, H. Berrebah, M. R. Djebar

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Fusarium wilt is destructive disease of cereal crops with small grains. It affects yields but also the quality of the crop and economic losses arising are often very heavy. Chemical control is currently one of the most effective ways to fight against these diseases. In this study, the efficacy of three fungicides (tebuconazole, thiram, and fludioxonil-difenoconazole mixture) was tested. In vitro, on the phytopathogenic Fusarium spp. isolated from seeds of wheat. The active ingredients were tested at different concentrations: 0.06, 1.39, 2.79, 5.58, and 11.16 mg/l for tebuconazole, 0.035, 0.052, 0.105, 0.21, and 0.42 mg/l for thiram and finally, for the mixture fludioxonil-difenoconazole 4 concentrations were tested: 0.05, 0.1, 0.5 and 1 mg/l. Toxicity responses were expressed as effective concentration, which inhibits mycelial growth by 50%, (EC50). Of the three selected fungicides, thirame proved to be the most effective with EC50 value of the order of 0,15 mg/l followed by the mixture of fludioxonil-difenoconazole with 0,27mg/l and finally tebuconazole with a value of 3.79 mg/l.

Keywords: Fusarium spp., thiram, tebuconazole, fludioxonil, difenoconazole, percentage of inhibition, EC50

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Authors: Bruce Wrightsman

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Construction and design are inexorably linked. Traditional building methodologies, including those using wood, comprise a series of material layers differentiated and separated from each other. This results in the separation of two agencies of building envelope (skin) separate from the structure. However, from a material performance position reliant on additional materials, this is not an efficient strategy for the building. The merits of traditional platform framing are well known. However, its enormous effectiveness within wood-framed construction has seldom led to serious questioning and challenges in defining what it means to build. There are several downsides of using this method, which is less widely discussed. The first and perhaps biggest downside is waste. Second, its reliance on wood assemblies forming walls, floors and roofs conventionally nailed together through simple plate surfaces is structurally inefficient. It requires additional material through plates, blocking, nailers, etc., for stability that only adds to the material waste. In contrast, when we look back at the history of wood construction in airplane and boat manufacturing industries, we will see a significant transformation in the relationship of structure with skin. The history of boat construction transformed from indigenous wood practices of birch bark canoes to copper sheathing over wood to improve performance in the late 18th century and the evolution of merged assemblies that drives the industry today. In 1911, Swiss engineer Emile Ruchonnet designed the first wood monocoque structure for an airplane called the Cigare. The wing and tail assemblies consisted of thin, lightweight, and often fabric skin stretched tightly over a wood frame. This stressed skin has evolved into semi-monocoque construction, in which the skin merges with structural fins that take additional forces. It provides even greater strength with less material. The monocoque, which translates to ‘mono or single shell,’ is a structural system that supports loads and transfers them through an external enclosure system. They have largely existed outside the domain of architecture. However, this uniting of divergent systems has been demonstrated to be lighter, utilizing less material than traditional wood building practices. This paper will examine the role monocoque systems have played in the history of wood construction through lineage of boat and airplane building industries and its design potential for wood building systems in architecture through a case-study examination of a unique wood construction approach. The innovative approach uses a wood monocoque system comprised of interlocking small wood members to create thin shell assemblies for the walls, roof and floor, increasing structural efficiency and wasting less than 2% of the wood. The goal of the analysis is to expand the work of practice and the academy in order to foster deeper, more honest discourse regarding the limitations and impact of traditional wood framing.

Keywords: wood building systems, material histories, monocoque systems, construction waste

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Authors: Tosin Ige

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Ethics must be a condition of the world, like logic. (Ludwig Wittgenstein, 1889-1951). As important as data mining is, it possess a significant threat to ethics, privacy, and legality, since data mining makes it difficult for an individual or consumer (in the case of a company) to control the accessibility and usage of his data. This research focuses on Current issues and the latest research and development on Privacy preserving data mining methods as at year 2022. It also discusses some advances in those techniques while at the same time highlighting and providing a new technique as a solution to an existing technique of privacy preserving data mining methods. This paper also bridges the wide gap between Data mining and the Web Application Programing Interface (web API), where research is urgently needed for an added layer of security in data mining while at the same time introducing a seamless and more efficient way of data mining.

Keywords: data, privacy, data mining, association rule, privacy preserving, mining technique

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Authors: Omar M. Aldenali

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Planning is one of the most important phases of the management science and network planning, which represents the project activities relationship. Critical path is one of the project management techniques used to plan and control the execution of a project activities. The objective of this paper is to implement a fuzzy logic approach to arrange network planning on construction projects. This method is used to finding out critical path in the fuzzy construction project network. The trapezoidal fuzzy numbers are used to represent the activity construction project times. A numerical example that represents a house construction project is introduced. The critical path method is implemented on the fuzzy construction network activities, and the results showed that this method significantly affects the completion time of the construction projects.

Keywords: construction project, critical path, fuzzy network project, planning

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Authors: Min-Hao Wang, Shih-Chih Chen

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Recently, the merits such as simple structure, low power consumption, and compatibility with complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) process give an advantage of resistive random access memory (RRAM) as a promising candidate for the next generation memory， hafnium dioxide (HfO2) has been widely studied as an oxide layer material, but the use of copper (Cu) as both top and bottom electrodes has rarely been studied. In this study, radio frequency sputtering was used to deposit the intermediate layer HfO₂, and electron beam evaporation was used. For the upper and lower electrodes (cu), using different AR: O ratios, we found that the control of the metal filament will make the filament widely distributed, causing the current to rise to the limit current during Reset. However, if the flow ratio is controlled well, the ON/OFF ratio can reach 104, and the set voltage is controlled below 3v.

Keywords: RRAM, metal filament, HfO₂, Cu electrode

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Authors: J. E. M. Macwan, D. A. Pastagia, Reeta Meena

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Government of Gujarat (India) wishes to create smart villages to improve the quality of life. The significance of these efforts will result into higher rural productivity. The main aim of this research is to identify, design and propose implementable planning solutions suited for an Indian village set up. The methodology adopted is to create a database by conducting onsite study as well as gathering public opinion to help researchers to satisfy rural needs. The outcome of this research exercise is a planning design preparation and channelizing funds in right direction for a result oriented better village shape. The proposals are accepted after slight modifications by the stakeholders. Planning solutions were designed through public participatory approach. To control rural Urban migration, villagers were offered better quality of life.

Keywords: smart village, digitization, development plan, gram panchayats

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Authors: Roni Ramon-Gonen, Amir Dori, Shahar Shelly

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Background and objectives: Healthcare professionals produce abundant textual information in their daily clinical practice. The extraction of insights from all the gathered information, mainly unstructured and lacking in normalization, is one of the major challenges in computational medicine. In this respect, text mining assembles different techniques to derive valuable insights from unstructured textual data, so it has led to being especially relevant in Medicine. Neurological patient’s history allows the clinician to define the patient’s symptoms and along with the result of the nerve conduction study (NCS) and electromyography (EMG) test, assists in formulating a differential diagnosis. Past medical history (PMH) helps to direct the latter. In this study, we aimed to identify relevant PMH, understand which PMHs are common among patients in the referral cohort and documented by the medical staff, and examine the differences by sex and age in a large cohort based on textual format notes. Methods: We retrospectively identified all patients with abnormal NCS between May 2016 to February 2022. Age, gender, and all NCS attributes reports were recorded, including the summary text. All patients’ histories were extracted from the text report by a query. Basic text cleansing and data preparation were performed, as well as lemmatization. Very popular words (like ‘left’ and ‘right’) were deleted. Several words were replaced with their abbreviations. A bag of words approach was used to perform the analyses. Different visualizations which are common in text analysis, were created to easily grasp the results. Results: We identified 5282 unique patients. Three thousand and five (57%) patients had documented PMH. Of which 60.4% (n=1817) were males. The total median age was 62 years (range 0.12 – 97.2 years), and the majority of patients (83%) presented after the age of forty years. The top two documented medical histories were diabetes mellitus (DM) and surgery. DM was observed in 16.3% of the patients, and surgery at 15.4%. Other frequent patient histories (among the top 20) were fracture, cancer (ca), motor vehicle accident (MVA), leg, lumbar, discopathy, back and carpal tunnel release (CTR). When separating the data by sex, we can see that DM and MVA are more frequent among males, while cancer and CTR are less frequent. On the other hand, the top medical history in females was surgery and, after that, DM. Other frequent histories among females are breast cancer, fractures, and CTR. In the younger population (ages 18 to 26), the frequent PMH were surgery, fractures, trauma, and MVA. Discussion: By applying text mining approaches to unstructured data, we were able to better understand which medical histories are more relevant in these circumstances and, in addition, gain additional insights regarding sex and age differences. These insights might help to collect epidemiological demographical data as well as raise new hypotheses. One limitation of this work is that each clinician might use different words or abbreviations to describe the same condition, and therefore using a coding system can be beneficial.

Keywords: abnormal studies, healthcare analytics, medical history, nerve conduction studies, text mining, textual analysis

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Authors: Yasunori Kobori, Nobukazu Tsukiji, Nobukazu Takai, Haruo Kobayashi

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In this paper, we study a Pulse-WidthModulation (PWM) controlled Zero-Voltage-Switching (ZVS) for single-inductor dual-output (SIDO) converters. This method can meet the industry demands for high efficiency due to ZVS and small size and low cost, thanks to single-inductor per multiple voltages. We show the single inductor single-output (SISO) ZVS buck converter with its operation and simulation and then the experimental results. Next proposed ZVS-PWM controlled SIDO converters are explained in the simulation. Finally we have proposed EMI reduction method with spread spectrum.

Keywords: DC-DC switching converter, zero-oltage switching control, single-inductor dual-output converter, EMI reduction, spread spectrum

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Authors: Nabiha Bouafia, Asma Ben Cheikh, Asma Ammar, Olfa Ezzi, Mohamed Mahjoub, Khaoula Meddeb, Imed Chouchene, Hamadi Boussarsar, Mansour Njah

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Background: Hospital acquired infections (HAI) cause significant morbidity, mortality, length of stay and hospital costs, especially in the intensive care unit (ICU), because of the debilitated immune systems of their patients and exposure to invasive devices. The aims of this study were to determine the rate and the risk factors of HAI in an ICU of a university hospital in Tunisia. Materials/Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the 8-bed adult medical ICU of a University Hospital (Sousse Tunisia) during 14 months from September 15th, 2015 to November 15th, 2016. Patients admitted for more than 48h were included. Their surveillance was stopped after the discharge from ICU or death. HAIs were defined according to standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria. Risk factors were analyzed by conditional stepwise logistic regression. The p-value of < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: During the study, 192 patients had admitted for more than 48 hours. Their mean age was 59.3± 18.20 years and 57.1% were male. Acute respiratory failure was the main reason of admission (72%). The mean SAPS II score calculated at admission was 32.5 ± 14 (range: 6 - 78). The exposure to the mechanical ventilation (MV) and the central venous catheter were observed in 169 (88 %) and 144 (75 %) patients, respectively. Seventy-three patients (38.02%) developed 94 HAIs. The incidence density of HAIs was 41.53 per 1000 patient day. Mortality rate in patients with HAIs was 65.8 %( n= 48). Regarding the type of infection, Ventilator Associated Pneumoniae (VAP) and central venous catheter Associated Infections (CVC AI) were the most frequent with Incidence density: 14.88/1000 days of MV for VAP and 20.02/1000 CVC days for CVC AI. There were 5 Peripheral Venous Catheter Associated Infections, 2 urinary tract infections, and 21 other HAIs. Gram-negative bacteria were the most common germs identified in HAIs: Multidrug resistant Acinetobacter Baumanii (45%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.96%) were the most frequently isolated. Univariate analysis showed that transfer from another hospital department (p= 0.001), intubation (p < 10-4), tracheostomy (p < 10-4), age (p=0.028), grade of acute respiratory failure (p=0.01), duration of sedation (p < 10-4), number of CVC (p < 10-4), length of mechanical ventilation (p < 10-4) and length of stay (p < 10-4), were associated to high risk of HAIS in ICU. Multivariate analysis reveals that independent risk factors for HAIs are: transfer from another hospital department: OR=13.44, IC 95% [3.9, 44.2], p < 10-4, duration of sedation: OR= 1.18, IC 95% [1.049, 1.325], p=0.006, high number of CVC: OR=2.78, IC 95% [1.73, 4.487], p < 10-4, and length of stay in ICU: OR= 1.14, IC 95% [1.066,1.22], p < 10-4. Conclusion: Prevention of nosocomial infections in ICUs is a priority of health care systems all around the world. Yet, their control requires an understanding of epidemiological data collected in these units.

Keywords: healthcare associated infections, incidence, intensive care unit, risk factors

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Authors: Yu-Sheng Lu, Chung-Hsin Cheng, Shuen-Shing Jan

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This paper presents the design and implementation of a sliding-mod controller for tracking servo of optical disk drives. The tracking servo is majorly subject to two disturbance sources: radial run-out and shock. The lateral run-out disturbance is mostly repeatable, and a model of such disturbance is incorporated into the controller design to effectively compensate for it. Meanwhile, as a shock disturbance is usually non-repeatable and unpredictable, the sliding-mode controller is employed for its robustness to abrupt perturbations. As a result, a sliding-mode controller design based on the internal model principle is tailored for tracking servo of optical disk drives in order to deal with these two major disturbances. Experimental comparative studies are conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the specially designed controller.

Keywords: mechatronics, optical disk drive, sliding-mode control, servo systems

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Authors: O. R. Razanakoto, L. Temple

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Living in a least developed country, the Malagasy society has a weak capacity to internalize progress, including health concerns. Since the arrival in the fifteenth century of Arabic script, called Sorabe, that was mainly dedicated to the aristocracy, until the colonial era beginning at the end of the nineteenth century and that has popularized the current usual script of the occidental civilization, the upcoming manuscripts that deal with apparent scientific or at least academic issue have been slowly established. So that, the Malagasy communities’ way of life is not well documented yet to allow a precise understanding of the major concerns, reason, and purpose of the existence of the farmers that compose them. A question arises, according to literature, how does Malagasy community that is dominated by agrarian society conceive the conservation of its wellbeing? This study aims to emphasize the scope and the limits of the « One Health » concept or of the Health Integrated Approach (HIA) that evolves at global scale, with regard to the specific context of local Malagasy smallholder farms. It is expected to identify how this society represents linked risks and the mechanisms between human health, animal health, plant health, and ecosystem health within the last 100 years. To do so, the framework to conduct systematic review for agricultural research has been deployed to access available literature. This task has been coupled with the reading of articles that are not indexed by online scientific search engine but that mention part of a history of agriculture and of farmers in Madagascar. This literature review has informed the interactions between human illnesses and those affecting animals and plants (breeded or wild) with any unexpected event (ecological or economic) that has modified the equilibrium of the ecosystem, or that has disturbed the livelihoods of agrarian communities. Besides, drivers that may either accentuate or attenuate the devasting effects of these illnesses and changes were revealed. The study has established that the reasons of human worries are not only physiological. Among the factors that regulate global health, food system and contemporary medicine have helped to the improvement of life expectancy from 55 to 63 years in Madagascar during the last 50 years. However, threats to global health are still occurring. New human or animal illnesses and livestock / plant pathology or enemies may also appear, whereas ancient illnesses that are supposed to have disappeared may be back. This study has highlighted how much important are the risks associated to the impact of unmanaged externalities that weaken community’s life. Many risks, and also solutions, come from abroad and have long term effects even though those happen as punctual event. Thus, a constructivist strategy is suggested to the « One Health » global concept throughout the record of local facts. This approach should facilitate the exploration of methodological pathways and the identification of relevant indicators for research related to HIA.

Keywords: agrarian system, health integrated approach, history, madagascar, resilience, risk

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Authors: Tahisa M. Pedroso, Hérida R. N. Salgado

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The microbiological turbidimetric assay allows the determination of potency of the drug, by measuring the turbidity (absorbance), caused by inhibition of microorganisms by ertapenem sodium. Ertapenem sodium (ERTM), a synthetic antimicrobial agent of the class of carbapenems, shows action against Gram-negative, Gram-positive, aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. Turbidimetric assays are described in the literature for some antibiotics, but this method is not described for ertapenem. The objective of the present study was to develop and validate a simple, sensitive, precise and accurate microbiological assay by turbidimetry to quantify ertapenem sodium injectable as an alternative to the physicochemical methods described in the literature. Several preliminary tests were performed to choose the following parameters: Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, IAL 1851, 8 % of inoculum, BHI culture medium, and aqueous solution of ertapenem sodium. 10.0 mL of sterile BHI culture medium were distributed in 20 tubes. 0.2 mL of solutions (standard and test), were added in tube, respectively S1, S2 and S3, and T1, T2 and T3, 0.8 mL of culture medium inoculated were transferred to each tube, according parallel lines 3 x 3 test. The tubes were incubated in shaker Marconi MA 420 at a temperature of 35.0 °C ± 2.0 °C for 4 hours. After this period, the growth of microorganisms was inhibited by addition of 0.5 mL of 12% formaldehyde solution in each tube. The absorbance was determined in Quimis Q-798DRM spectrophotometer at a wavelength of 530 nm. An analytical curve was constructed to obtain the equation of the line by the least-squares method and the linearity and parallelism was detected by ANOVA. The specificity of the method was proven by comparing the response obtained for the standard and the finished product. The precision was checked by testing the determination of ertapenem sodium in three days. The accuracy was determined by recovery test. The robustness was determined by comparing the results obtained by varying wavelength, brand of culture medium and volume of culture medium in the tubes. Statistical analysis showed that there is no deviation from linearity in the analytical curves of standard and test samples. The correlation coefficients were 0.9996 and 0.9998 for the standard and test samples, respectively. The specificity was confirmed by comparing the absorbance of the reference substance and test samples. The values obtained for intraday, interday and between analyst precision were 1.25%; 0.26%, 0.15% respectively. The amount of ertapenem sodium present in the samples analyzed, 99.87%, is consistent. The accuracy was proven by the recovery test, with value of 98.20%. The parameters varied did not affect the analysis of ertapenem sodium, confirming the robustness of this method. The turbidimetric assay is more versatile, faster and easier to apply than agar diffusion assay. The method is simple, rapid and accurate and can be used in routine analysis of quality control of formulations containing ertapenem sodium.

Keywords: ertapenem sodium, turbidimetric assay, quality control, validation

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Authors: Rozh Abdulrahman Kareem

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The displacement of individuals has become a common interest for international players. Mostly occurs in Islamic states, as religion is considered the most common cause of this form of displacement. Therefore, this thesis aims to depict the reality of the situations of the refugees, particularly in KRI, illustrating how they are treated and protected and if the treatment merits the protection clause as envisaged in the 1951 Refugee Convention. Overall, the aim is to touch on the issue of protection by non-governmental organizations and government towards the refugees here. In light of this, it focused on the adequate protection of refugees in relation to the refugee law. In the Middle East, including Iraq, there have been multiple reports on violations of these refugee laws and human rights. Protection involves providing physical security to the concerned parties, functional administration with legal structures, and infrastructural setup that could help citizens exercise rights. The KRI has provided the refugees with various benefits, including education, access to residency, and employment. It also provided transitionary in various social dimensions like gender-based violence. The Convention on Status of Refugees 1951 tried to resolve this problem, whereby the principle of ‘nonrefoulement’ under Article 33 was passed. The ‘nonrefoulement’, an exceptional reference, was enacted to protect refugees from forcible return to their countries of the original. However, the convention never addressed an unusual scenario regarding the application of this principle, ‘Extradition Treaties.’ Even though some scholarly article exists regarding the problems of refugees, the topic of interplay between Nonrefoulement and Extradition Treaties has never been explained in detail in the available books on refugee laws and practices. Each year, millions of refugees seek protection from foreign countries for fear of being tortured, victimized, or executed. People seeking international protection are susceptible and insecure. The main objective of the prevention is to provide security to citizens susceptible to inhuman treatment, distress, oppression, or other human rights defilements when they arrive back in their own countries. The refugee situation may get worse in the near future. Just like several nations within the Middle East, Iraq is not a signatory to the globally acknowledged legal structure for the protection of refugees. The first law of 1971 in Iraq was issued only for military or political causes. This law also establishes benefits such as the right to education and health services and the right to acquire employment just as the Iraqi nationals. The other legislative instrument is the 21st law from the ministry of migration of Iraq widened the description of an immigrant to incorporate the definition from the refugee resolution. Nonetheless, there is a lack of overall consistency in the protection provided under these legislations regarding rights and entitlement. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in October 2016 by the UNHCR and the Iraq government to develop the protection of refugees. Under the term of this MoU, the Iraqi Government is obligated to provide identity documents to asylum seekers beside that UNHCR provides more guidance.

Keywords: law, refugee, protection, Kurdistan

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Authors: Ketevan Kokrashvili, Rusudan Kutateladze, Nino Pailodze

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Importance of management of legal entities under private law of which especially corporate management, as well as looking for ways of its improvement and perfection has become especially relevant in the twenty-first century, which was greatly contributed to by the global economic crisis. Some states have adopted Corporate Governance Codes; the European Union has set to work on a series of directives the main purpose of which is an improvement of corporate governance, provision of greater transparency and implementation of an effective control mechanism. This process is not yet completed, and various problematic issues associated with management of legal persons are still being debated among practitioner experts and scholars. Georgia is not an exception in this regard. The article discusses the legislative gaps, and in some cases, discrepancies having arisen in legal relationships under private law and having caused many practical problems. This especially applies to the management of capital companies.

Keywords: business entities, corporate management, capital public management, existing problems, legal discrepancies

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Authors: Motahar Reza, Rajni Chahal, Neha Sharma

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This article addresses the boundary layer flow and heat transfer of Casson fluid over a nonlinearly permeable stretching surface with chemical reaction in the presence of variable magnetic field. The effect of thermal radiation is considered to control the rate of heat transfer at the surface. Using similarity transformations, the governing partial differential equations of this problem are reduced into a set of non-linear ordinary differential equations which are solved by finite difference method. It is observed that the velocity at fixed point decreases with increasing the nonlinear stretching parameter but the temperature increases with nonlinear stretching parameter.

Keywords: boundary layer flow, nonlinear stretching, Casson fluid, heat transfer, radiation

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Authors: Jean Akiana, Digne Merveille Nganga Bouanga, Nardiouf Sjelin Nsana, Wilfrid Sapromet Ngoubili, Chyvanelle Ndous Akiridzo, Vishnou Reize Ampiri, Henri-Joseph Parra, Florence Fenollar, Didier Raoult, Oleg Mediannikov, Cheikh Sadhibou Sokhna

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Schistosoma haematobium schistosomiasis is an endemic disease in which the level of human exposure, incidence, and fatality attributed to it remains, unfortunately, high worldwide. The erection of hydroelectric infrastructures constitute a major factor in the emergence of this disease. In the context of the Republic of the Congo, which considers industrialization and modernization as two essential pillars of development, building the hydroelectric dams of Liouesso (19 Mw) and the feasibility studies of the dams of Chollet (600MW) in the Sangha, of Sounda (1000MW) in Kouilou and Kouembali (150MW) on Lefini is necessary to increase the country's energy capacities. Likewise, the urbanization of former endemic localities should take into account the maintenance of contamination points. However, health impact studies on schistosomiasis epidemiology in general and urinary bilharzia, in particular, have never been carried out in these areas, neither before nor after the erection of those dams. Participants benefited from an investigative questionnaire, urinalysis both by dipstick and urine filtrate examined under a microscope. Assessment of the genetic diversity of schistosoma species populations was considered as well as PCR analysis to confirm the test strip and microscopy tests. 405 participants were registered in five localities. The sampling was made up of a balanced population in terms of male/female ratio, which is around 1. The prevalence rate was 45% (55/123) in Nkayi, 10.40% (11/106) in Loudima, 1 case in Mbomo (West Cuvette), which would probably be imported, zero in Liouesso and Kabo. The highest oviuria (number of eggs per volume of urine) is 150 S. haematobium eggs/10ml in Nkayi, apart from the case of imported Mbomo, imported from Gabon, which has 160 S. haematobium eggs/10ml. The lowest oviuria was 2 S. haematobium eggs/10ml. Prevalence rates are still high in semi-urban areas (Nkayi). As praziquantel treatments are available and effective, it is important to step up mass treatment campaigns in high risk areas already largely initiated by the National Schistosomiasis Control Program. Prevalence rates are still high in semi-urban areas (Nkayi). As praziquantel treatments are available and effective, it is important to step up mass treatment campaigns in high risk areas already largely initiated by the National Schistosomiasis Control Program.

Keywords: Bilharzia, Schistosoma haematobium, oviuria, urbanization, Congo

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Authors: Nima Samie, Sekaran Muniandy, Zahurin Mohamed, M. S. Kanthimathi

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Although number of indole containing compounds have been reported to have anticancer properties in vitro but only a few of them show potential as anticancer compounds in vivo. The current study was to evaluate the mechanism of cytotoxicity of selected indolic compound in vivo and in vitro. In this context, we determined the potency of the compound in the induction of apoptosis, cell cycle arrest, and cytoskeleton rearrangement. HT-29, WiDr, CCD-18Co, human monocyte/macrophage CRL-9855, and B lymphocyte CCL-156 cell lines were used to determine the IC50 of the compound using the MTT assay. Analysis of apoptosis was carried out using immunofluorescence, acridine orange/ propidium iodide double staining, Annexin-V-FITC assay, evaluation of the translocation of NF-kB, oxygen radical antioxidant capacity, quenching of reactive oxygen species content, measurement of LDH release, caspase-3/-7, -8 and -9 assays and western blotting. The cell cycle arrest was examined using flowcytometry and gene expression was assessed using qPCR array. Results displayed a potent suppressive effect on HT-29 and WiDr after 24 h of treatment with IC50 value of 2.52±0.34 µg/ml and 2.13±0.65 µg/ml respectively. This cytotoxic effect on normal, monocyte/macrophage and B-cells was insignificant. Dipping in the mitochondrial membrane potential and increased release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria indicated induction of the intrinsic apoptosis pathway by the compound. Activation of this pathway was further evidenced by significant activation of caspase-9 and 3/7. The compound was also shown to activate the extrinsic pathways of apoptosis via activation of caspase-8 which is linked to the suppression of NF-kB translocation to the nucleus. Cell cycle arrest in the G1 phase and up-regulation of glutathione reductase, based on excessive ROS production were also observed. These findings were further investigated for inhibitory efficiency of the compound on colonic aberrant crypt foci in male rats. Rats were divided in to 5 groups: vehicle, cancer control, positive control groups and the groups treated with 25 and 50 mg/kg of compounds for 10 weeks. Administration of compound suppressed total colonic ACF formation up to 73.4%. The results also showed that treatment with the compound significantly reduced the level of malondialdehyde while increasing superoxide dismutase and catalase activities. Furthermore, the down-regulation of PCNA and Bcl2 and the up-regulation of Bax was confirmed by immunohistochemical staining. The outcome of this study suggest sthat the indolic compound is a potent anti-cancer agent against colon cancer and can be further evaluated by animal trial.

Keywords: indolic compound, chemoprevention, crypt, azoxymethane, colon cancer

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Authors: Michael McCann

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Managerial theories propose that, in joint stock companies, executives may be tempted to waste excess free cash on unprofitable projects to keep control of resources. In order to conceal their projects' poor performance, they may seek to engage in earnings management. On the one hand, managers may manipulate earnings upwards in order to post ‘good’ performances and safeguard their position. On the other, since managers pursuit of unrewarding investments are likely to lead to low long-term profitability, managers will use negative accruals to reduce current year’s earnings, smoothing earnings over time in order to conceal the negative effects. Agency models argue that boards of directors are delegated by shareholders to ensure that companies are governed properly. Part of that responsibility is ensuring the reliability of financial information. Analyses of the impact of board characteristics, particularly board independence on the misuse of free cash flow and earnings management finds conflicting evidence. However, existing characterizations of board independence do not account for such directors gaining firm-specific knowledge over time, influencing their monitoring ability. Further, there is little analysis of the influence of the relative experience of independent directors and executives on decisions surrounding the use of free cash. This paper contributes to this literature regarding the heterogeneous characteristics of boards by investigating the influence of independent director tenure on earnings management and the relative tenures of independent directors and Chief Executives. A balanced panel dataset comprising 51 companies across 11 annual periods from 2005 to 2015 is used for the analysis. In each annual period, firms were classified as conducting earnings management if they had discretionary accruals in the bottom quartile (downwards) and top quartile (upwards) of the distributed values for the sample. Logistical regressions were conducted to determine the marginal impact of independent board tenure and a number of control variables on the probability of conducting earnings management. The findings indicate that both absolute and relative measures of board independence and experience do not have a significant impact on the likelihood of earnings management. It is the level of free cash flow which is the major influence on the probability of earnings management. Higher free cash flow increases the probability of earnings management significantly. The research also investigates whether board monitoring of earnings management is contingent on the level of free cash flow. However, the results suggest that board monitoring is not amplified when free cash flow is higher. This suggests that the extent of earnings management in companies is determined by a range of company, industry and situation-specific factors.

Keywords: corporate governance, boards of directors, agency theory, earnings management

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Authors: Husnil Khatimah, Fairol Halim

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This research examines the moderating impact of security on intention to use e-money that adapted from some variables of the TAM (Technology Acceptance Model) and TPB (Theory of Planned Behavior). This study will use security as moderating variable and finds these relationship depends on customer intention to use e-money as payment tools. The conceptual framework of e-money transactions was reviewed to understand behavioral intention of consumers from perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived behavioral control and security. Quantitative method will be utilized as sources of data collection. A total of one thousand respondents will be selected using quota sampling method in Medan, Indonesia. Descriptive analysis and Multiple Regression analysis will be conducted to analyze the data. The article ended with suggestion for future studies.

Keywords: e-money transaction, TAM & TPB, moderating variable, behavioral intention, conceptual paper

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Authors: Andreas Schomburg, Claire Le Bayon, Claire Guenat, Philip Brunner

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Numerous river restoration projects have been established in Switzerland in recent years after decades of human activity in floodplains. The success of restoration projects in terms of biodiversity and ecosystem functions largely depend on the development of the floodplain soil system. Plants and earthworms as ecosystem engineers are known to be able to build up a stable soil structure by incorporating soil organic matter into the soil matrix that creates water stable soil aggregates. Their engineering efficiency however largely depends on changing soil properties and frequent floods along an evolutive floodplain transect. This study, therefore, aims to quantify the effect of flood frequency and duration as well as of physico-chemical soil parameters on plants’ and earthworms’ engineering efficiency. It is furthermore predicted that these influences may have a different impact on one of the engineers that leads to a varying contribution to aggregate formation within the floodplain transect. Ecosystem engineers were sampled and described in three different floodplain habitats differentiated according to the evolutionary stages of the vegetation ranging from pioneer to forest vegetation in a floodplain restored 15 years ago. In addition, the same analyses were performed in an embanked adjacent pasture as a reference for the pre-restored state. Soil aggregates were collected and analyzed for their organic matter quantity and quality using Rock Eval pyrolysis. Water level and discharge measurements dating back until 2008 were used to quantify the return period of major floods. Our results show an increasing amount of water stable aggregates in soil with increasing distance to the river and show largest values in the reference site. A decreasing flood frequency and the proportion of silt and clay in the soil texture explain these findings according to F values from one way ANOVA of a fitted mixed effect model. Significantly larger amounts of labile organic matter signatures were found in soil aggregates in the forest habitat and in the reference site that indicates a larger contribution of plants to soil aggregation in these habitats compared to the pioneer vegetation zone. Earthworms’ contribution to soil aggregation does not show significant differences in the floodplain transect, but their effect could be identified even in the pioneer vegetation with its large proportion of coarse sand in the soil texture and frequent inundations. These findings indicate that ecosystem engineers seem to be able to create soil aggregates even under unfavorable soil conditions and under frequent floods. A restoration success can therefore be expected even in ecosystems with harsh soil properties and frequent external disturbances.

Keywords: ecosystem engineers, flood frequency, floodplains, river restoration, rock eval pyrolysis, soil organic matter incorporation, soil structuration

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Authors: Mohammed Raza Mehdi, Kamran Ahmed

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Mega-city Karachi has numerous unplanned slum areas and squatter settlements with irregular growth of building structures. Due to weak development policy and lack of development control, such settlements are increasing at a rapid pace. Mapping such areas for planning and infrastructure development requires an integrated approach of socio-spatial and technological tools. Therefore in this study, an attempt is made to create GIS information layers on complex inbound built-up areas of slums at the coastal belt of Karachi by using a stereo pair of satellite images. The outcome expected is technological application to aid planning institutions for crisis management and infrastructure development in irregularly developed slum areas of Karachi, Pakistan.

Keywords: slum, satellite imageries, GIS, Karachi, Pakistan

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Authors: Paola Millare, Nelinda Catherine Pangilinan

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Background and Aim: Cervical cancer is the most commonly diagnosed gynecological malignancy during pregnancy. Owing to the rarity of the disease, and the complexity of all factors that have to be taken into consideration, standardization of treatment is very difficult. Cervical cancer is the second most common malignancy among women. The treatment of cancer during pregnancy is most challenging in the case of cervical cancer, since the pregnant uterus itself is affected. This report aims to present a case of cervical cancer in a pregnant woman and how to manage this case and several issues accompanied with it. Methods: This is a case of a 28 year-old, Gravida 4 Para 2 (1111), who presented with watery to mucoid, whitish, non-foul smelling and increasing in amount. Internal examination revealed normal external genitalia, parous outlet, cervix was transformed into a fungating mass measuring 5x4 cm, with left parametrial involvement, body of uterus was enlarged to 24 weeks size, no adnexal mass or tenderness. She had cervical punch biopsy, which revealed, adenocarcinoma, well-differentiated cervical tissue. Standard management for cases with stage 2B cervical carcinoma was to start radiation or radical hysterectomy. In the case of patients diagnosed with cervical cancer and currently pregnant, these kind of management will result to fetal loss. The patient still declined the said management and opted to delay the treatment and wait for her baby to reach at least term and proceed to cesarean section as route of delivery. Results: The patient underwent an elective cesarean section at 37th weeks age of gestation, with an outcome of a term, live baby boy APGAR score 7,9 birthweight 2600 grams. One month postpartum, the patient followed up and completed radiotherapy, chemotherapy and brachytherapy. She was advised to go back after 6 months for monitoring. On her last check up, an internal examination was done which revealed normal external genitalia, vagina admits 2 fingers with ease, there is a palpable fungating mass at the cervix measuring 2x2 cm. A repeat gynecologic oncologic ultrasound was done revealing cervical mass, endophytic, grade 1 color score with stromal invasion 35% post radiation reactive lymph nodes with intact paracolpium, pericervical, and parametrial involvement. The patient was then advised to undergo pelvic boost and for close monitoring of the cervical mass. Conclusion: Cervical cancer in pregnancy is rare but is a dilemma for women and their physicians. Treatment should be multidisciplinary and individualized following careful counseling. In this case, the treatment was clearly on the side of preventing the progression of cervical cancer while she is pregnant, however due to ethical reasons, the management deviates on the right of the patient to decide for her own health and her unborn child. The collaborative collection of data relating to treatment and outcome is strongly encouraged.

Keywords: cancer, cervical, ethical, pregnancy

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Authors: Jyh J. Chen, Fu H. Yang, Ming H. Liao

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This study describes a capillary-based device integrated with the heating and cooling modules for polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The device consists of the reaction polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) capillary, the aluminum blocks, and is equipped with two cartridge heaters, a thermoelectric (TE) cooler, a fan, and some thermocouples for temperature control. The cartridge heaters are placed into the heating blocks and maintained at two different temperatures to achieve the denaturation and the extension step. Some thermocouples inserted into the capillary are used to obtain the transient temperature profiles of the reaction sample during thermal cycles. A 483-bp DNA template is amplified successfully in the designed system and the traditional thermal cycler. This work should be interesting to persons involved in the high-temperature based reactions and genomics or cell analysis.

Keywords: polymerase chain reaction, thermal cycles, capillary, TE cooler

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Authors: Raoudha Chaabane, Faouzi Askri, Sassi Ben Nasrallah

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A new numerical algorithm is developed to solve coupled convection-radiation heat transfer in a two dimensional enclosure. Radiative heat transfer in participating medium has been carried out using the control volume finite element method (CVFEM). The radiative transfer equations (RTE) are formulated for absorbing, emitting and scattering medium. The density, velocity and temperature fields are calculated using the two double population lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE). In order to test the efficiency of the developed method the Rayleigh Benard convection with and without radiative heat transfer is analyzed. The obtained results are validated against available works in literature and the proposed method is found to be efficient, accurate and numerically stable.

Keywords: participating media, LBM, CVFEM- radiation coupled with convection

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Authors: Idowu R. Akomolafe, Naven Chetty

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Background: The widespread medical application of ionizing radiation has raised public concern about radiation exposure and, thus, associated cancer risk. The production of reactive oxygen species and free radicals as a result of radiation exposure can cause severe damage to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of cells, thus leading to biological effect. Radiotherapy is an excellent modality in the treatment of cancerous cells, comes with a few challenges. A significant challenge is the exposure of healthy cells surrounding the tumour to radiation. The last few decades have witnessed lots of attention shifted to plants, herbs, and natural product as an alternative to synthetic compound for radioprotection. Thus, the study investigated the radioprotective efficacy of Costus afer against whole-body radiation-induced haematological, histopathological disorder in mice. Materials and Method: Fifty-four mice were randomly divided into nine groups. Animals were pretreated with the extract of Costus afer by oral gavage for six days before irradiation. Control: 6 mice received feed and water only; 6 mice received feed, water, and 3Gy; 6 mice received feed, water, and 6Gy; experimental: 6 mice received 250 mg/kg extract; 6 mice received 500 mg/kg extract; 6 mice received 250 mg/kg extract and 3Gy; 6 mice received 500 mg/kg extract and 3Gy; 6 mice received 250 mg/kg extract and 6Gy; 6 mice received 500 mg/kg extract and 6Gy in addition to feeding and water. The irradiation was done at the Radiotherapy and Oncology Department of Grey's Hospital using linear accelerator (LINAC). Thirty-six mice were sacrificed by cervical dislocation 48 hours after irradiation, and blood was collected for haematology tests. Also, the liver and kidney of the sacrificed mice were surgically removed for histopathology tests. The remaining eighteen (18) mice were used for mortality and survival studies. Data were analysed by one-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey's multiple comparison test. Results: Prior administration of Costus afer extract decreased the symptoms of radiation sickness and caused a significant delay in the mortality as demonstrated in the experimental mice. The first mortality was recorded on day-5 post irradiation, and this happened to the group E- that is, mice that received 6Gy but no extract. There was significant protection in the experimental mice, as demonstrated in the blood counts against hematopoietic and gastrointestinal damage when compared with the control. The protection was seen in the increase in blood counts of experimental animals and the number of survivor. The protection offered by Costus afer may be due to its ability to scavenge free radicals and restore gastrointestinal and bone marrow damage produced by radiation. Conclusions: The study has demonstrated that exposure of mice to radiation could cause modifications in the haematological and histopathological parameters of irradiated mice. However, the changes were relieved by the methanol extract of Costus afer, probably through its free radical scavenging and antioxidant properties.

Keywords: costus afer, hematological, mortality, radioprotection, radiotherapy

Procedia PDF Downloads 125

Authors: Swati Vohra

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A genuine economic and social transformation requires equal contribution and participation from both men and women; however, achieving this gender parity is a global concern. In the patriarchal societies around the world, women have been silenced, oppressed, and subjugated. Girls and women comprise half of the world’s population. This, however, must not be the lone reason for recognizing and providing equal opportunities to them. Every individual has a right to develop through opportunities without the biases of gender, caste, race, or ethnicity. The world today is confronted by pressing issues of climate change, economic crisis, violence against women and children, escalating conflicts, to name a few. Achieving gender parity is thus an essential component in meeting this wide array of challenges in order to create just, robust and inclusive societies. In 2015, The United Nation enunciated achieving 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030, one of which is SGD#5- Gender Equality, that is not merely a stand-alone goal. It is central to the achievement of all 17 SDG’s. Without progress on gender equality, the global community will not only fail to achieve the SDG5, but it will also lose the impetus towards achieving the broad 2030 agenda. This research is based on a hypothesis that aims to connect the targets laid by the UN under SDG#5 - 5.4 (Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work) and 5.5 (Ensure women participation for leadership at all levels of decision-making). The study evaluates the impact of unpaid household responsibilities on women’s leadership in India. In Indian society, women have experienced a low social status for centuries, which is reflected throughout the Indian history with preference of a male child and common occurrences of female infanticides that are still prevalent in many parts of the country. Insistence on the traditional gender roles builds patriarchal inequalities into the structure of Indian society. It is argued that a burden of unpaid labor on women is placed, which narrows the opportunities and life chances women are given and the choices they are able to make, thereby shutting them from shared participation in public and economic leadership. The study investigates theoretical framework of social construction of gender, unpaid labor, challenges to women leaders and peace theorist perspective as the core components. The methodology used is qualitative research of comprehensive literature, accompanied by the data collected through interviews of representatives of women leaders from various fields within Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR). The women leaders interviewed had the privilege of receiving good education and a conducive family support; however, post marriage and children it was not the case and the social obligations weighed heavy on them. The research concludes by recommending the importance of gender-neutral parenting and education along with government ratified paternal leaves for at least six months and childcare facilities available for both the parents at workplace.

Keywords: gender equality, gender roles, peace studies, sustainable development goals, social construction, unpaid labor, women’s leadership

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Zuyong Chen, Jianghao Wu, Yanlai Zhang

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Flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle (FMAV) is a new type of aircraft by mimicking the flying behavior to that of small birds or insects. Comparing to the traditional fixed wing or rotor-type aircraft, FMAV only needs to control the motion of flapping wings, by changing the size and direction of lift to control the flight attitude. Therefore, its transmission system should be designed very compact. Lightweight design can effectively extend its endurance time, while engineering experience alone is difficult to simultaneously meet the requirements of FMAV for structural strength and quality. Current researches still lack the guidance of considering nonlinear factors of 3D printing material when carrying out topology optimization, especially for the tiny FMAV transmission system. The coupling of non-linear material properties and non-linear contact behaviors of FMAV transmission system is a great challenge to the reliability of the topology optimization result. In this paper, topology optimization design based on FEA solver package Altair Optistruct for the transmission system of FMAV manufactured by 3D Printing was carried out. Firstly, the isotropic constitutive behavior of the Ultraviolet (UV) Cureable Resin used to fabricate the structure of FMAV was evaluated and confirmed through tensile test. Secondly, a numerical computation model describing the mechanical behavior of FMAV transmission structure was established and verified by experiments. Then topology optimization modeling method considering non-linear factors were presented, and optimization results were verified by dynamic simulation and experiments. Finally, detail discussions of different load status and constraints were carried out to explore the leading factors affecting the optimization results. The contributions drawn from this article helpful for guiding the lightweight design of FMAV are summarizing as follow; first, a dynamic simulation modeling method used to obtain the load status is presented. Second, verification method of optimized results considering non-linear factors is introduced. Third, based on or can achieve a better weight reduction effect and improve the computational efficiency rather than taking multi-states into account. Fourth, basing on makes for improving the ability to resist bending deformation. Fifth, constraint of displacement helps to improve the structural stiffness of optimized result. Results and engineering guidance in this paper may shed lights on the structural optimization and light-weight design for future advanced FMAV.

Keywords: flapping-wing micro aerial vehicle, 3d printing, topology optimization, finite element analysis, experiment

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Ayça Utkan Karasu, Elif Balevi Batur, Gülçin Kaymak Karataş

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The aim of this study was to examine the efficiency of virtual reality exercises with Nintendo Wii system on balance and independence in motor functions. This randomized controlled assessor-blinded study included 23 stroke inpatients with hemiparesis all within 12 months poststroke. Patients were randomly assigned to control group (n=11) or experimental group (n=12) via block randomization method. Control group participated in a conventional balance rehabilitation programme. Study group received a four-week balance training programme five times per week with a session duration of 20 minutes in addition to the conventional balance rehabilitation programme. Balance was assessed by the Berg’s balance scale, the functional reach test, the timed up and go test, the postural assessment scale for stroke, the static balance index. Also, displacement of centre of pressure sway and centre of pressure displacement during weight shifting was calculated by Emed-SX system. Independence in motor functions was assessed by The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) ambulation and FIM transfer subscales. The outcome measures were evaluated at baseline, 4th week (posttreatment), 8th week (follow-up). Repeated measures analysis of variance was performed for each of the outcome measure. Significant group time interaction was detected in the scores of the Berg’s balance scale, the functional reach test, eyes open anteroposterior and mediolateral center of pressure sway distance, eyes closed anteroposterior center of pressure sway distance, center of pressure displacement during weight shifting to effected side, unaffected side and total centre of pressure displacement during weight shifting (p < 0.05). Time effect was statistically significant in the scores of the Berg’s balance scale, the functional reach test, the timed up and go test, the postural assessment scale for stroke, the static balance index, eyes open anteroposterior and mediolateral center of pressure sway distance, eyes closed mediolateral center of pressure sway distance, the center of pressure displacement during weight shifting to effected side, the functional independence measure ambulation and transfer scores (p < 0.05). Virtual reality exercises with Nintendo Wii system combined with a conventional balance rehabilitation programme enhances balance performance and independence in motor functions in stroke patients.

Keywords: balance, hemiplegia, stroke rehabilitation, virtual reality

Procedia PDF Downloads 212