Search results for: vascular endothelial growth factor

Authors: Hoyeon Park, Kyoung-jae Kim

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The product recommendation is a field of research that has received much attention in the recent information overload phenomenon. The proliferation of the mobile environment and social media cannot help but affect the results of the recommendation depending on how the factors of the user's situation are reflected in the recommendation process. Recently, research has been spreading attention to the context-aware recommender system which is to reflect user's contextual information in the recommendation process. However, until now, most of the context-aware recommender system researches have been limited in that they reflect the passive context of users. It is expected that the user will be able to express his/her contextual information through his/her active behavior and the importance of the context-aware recommender system reflecting this information can be increased. The purpose of this study is to propose a context-aware recommender system that can reflect the user's emotional state as an active context information to recommendation process. The context-aware recommender system is a recommender system that can make more sophisticated recommendations by utilizing the user's contextual information and has an advantage that the user's emotional factor can be considered as compared with the existing recommender systems. In this study, we propose a method to infer the user's emotional state, which is one of the user's context information, by using the user's facial expression data and to reflect it on the recommendation process. This study collects the facial expression data of a user who is looking at a specific product and the user's product preference score. Then, we classify the facial expression data into several categories according to the previous research and construct a model that can predict them. Next, the predicted results are applied to existing collaborative filtering with contextual information. As a result of the study, it was shown that the recommended results of the context-aware recommender system including facial expression information show improved results in terms of recommendation performance. Based on the results of this study, it is expected that future research will be conducted on recommender system reflecting various contextual information.

Keywords: context-aware, emotional state, recommender systems, business analytics

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Authors: M. G. Nasuruddin, S. Ishak

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In anthropological medicine (traditional therapeutic healing) symbolic interface are used to connect with the cognitive and metacognitive mechanisms to activate conscious and unconscious response of patients or other recipients. At the same time they are used to communicate with the inhabitants of the nether world to whom are ascribed almost all cases of psychosomatic illness. The symbols, which are cultural specific, are divided into verbal and non-verbal forms of communication. The verbal forms are chanting of mantra and doa and the invocation to invoke the spirits while the non-verbal ones are the physical materials such as the offerings, props and decorative elements, music, movements, olfactory sensation and the performance space. The process of communication through these symbols is affected by the Shaman who is a link or intermediary between the healer (Shaman) and the patients and between the healer and the spirits of the nether world. The paper also examines the scientific perspective of the traditional healing through the use of these symbols. The response to these symbols as external stimuli is embedded in the genes that are linked to the hereditary factor in the person’s DNA. When the patients are tuned in to external stimuli such as music, chanting and singing (sonic orders), it can triggers a response from the brain, which may activate its inner pharmacy by releasing drugs such as dopamine and/or opiodsto ameliorate pain and counter depression, anxiety and create a feel good feeling. These symbols act like placebo, evoking the power of the mind over the body and triggering the innate self-healing energy. At the same time they could also be used as nocebo, for example black magic, which has the opposite effect of placebo. In whatever capacity they operate these symbols, which are either visual or auditory, is an integral part of anthropological medicine. For they communicate and conjure emotional responses that are conducive to healing by activating the internal brain pharmacy.

Keywords: communication, healing, placebo, nacebo, symbol

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Authors: Lijuan Wang, Junsheng Huo, Jing Sun, Wenxian Li, Jian Huang, Lin Ling, Yiping Zhou, Chengyu Huang, Jifang Hu

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Backgrounds and Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of highly nutrient-dense complementary food supplement-Yingyangbao, at the time of 3 months after Wenchuan earthquake, on the anemia of young children in a county in Sichuan province. Methods: The young children aged 6-23 months in the county were fed one sachet Yingyangbao per day. Yingyangbao were distributed for 15 months for free. The children entering 6 months age would be included. The length, weight and hemoglobin of the children aged 6-29 months were assessed at baseline (n=257) and Yingyangbao intervention for 6 (n=218) and 15 months (n=253) by cluster sampling. Growth status has not been described in the paper. The analysis was conducted based on 6-11, 12-17, 18-23 and 24-29 months. Results: It showed that the hemoglobin concentration in each group among the 4 groups increased by 4.9, 6.4, 8.0, 9.5 g/L after 6 months and 12.7, 11.4, 16.7, 15.7 g/L after 15 months compared to the baseline, respectively. The total anemia prevalence in each group was significantly lower after 6 and 15 months than the baseline (P<0.001), except the 6-11 months group after 6 months because of fewer Yingyangbao consumption. Total moderate anemia rate decreased from 18.3% to 5.5% after 6 months, and kept decreasing to 0.8% after another 9 months. The hemoglobin concentration was significantly correlated with the amount of Yingyangbao consumption(P<0.001) The anemia rate was significantly different based on the Yingyangbao compliance (P<0.001). Conclusion: It was concluded that Yingyangbao which contains quality protein, vitamins and micronutrients intervened 15 months could be effective for the improvement of anemia of young children. The study provides the support that the application of the complementary food supplements to reduce the anemia of young children in the emergency of natural disaster.

Keywords: young children, anemia, nutrition intervention, complementary food supplements, Yingyangbao

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Authors: Felipe Bedoya Maya, Agustina Calatayud, Vileydy Gonzalez Mejia

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Encompassing inventory, warehousing, and transportation management, logistics is a crucial predictor of firm performance. This has been extensively proven by extant literature in business and operations management. Logistics is also a fundamental determinant of a country's ability to access international markets. Available studies in international and transport economics have shown that limited transport infrastructure and underperforming transport services can severely affect international competitiveness. However, the evidence lacks the overall impact of logistics performance-encompassing all inventory, warehousing, and transport components- on global trade. In order to fill this knowledge gap, the paper uses a gravitational trade model with 155 countries from all geographical regions between 2007 and 2018. Data on logistics performance is obtained from the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index (LPI). First, the relationship between logistics performance and a country’s total trade is estimated, followed by a breakdown by the economic sector. Then, the analysis is disaggregated according to the level of technological intensity of traded goods. Finally, after evaluating the intensive margin of trade, the relevance of logistics infrastructure and services for the extensive trade margin is assessed. Results suggest that: (i) improvements in both logistics infrastructure and services are associated with export growth; (ii) manufactured goods can significantly benefit from these improvements, especially when both exporting and importing countries increase their logistics performance; (iii) the quality of logistics infrastructure and services becomes more important as traded goods are technology-intensive; and (iv) improving the exporting country's logistics performance is essential in the intensive margin of trade while enhancing the importing country's logistics performance is more relevant in the extensive margin.

Keywords: gravity models, infrastructure, international trade, logistics

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Authors: Batoul Mohamed Abdullatif, Nouf Ali Asiri

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O. basilicum plant was subjected to deficit irrigation using four treatments viz. control, irrigated with 70% of soil water capacity (SWC), Treatment 1, irrigated with 50% SWC, Treatment 2, irrigated with 30% SWC and Treatment 3, irrigated with 10 % SWC. Photosynthesis pigments viz. chlorophyll a, b, and the carotenoids, proline accumulation, and oil quantity were investigated under these irrigation treatments. The results indicate that photosynthesis pigments and oil content of deficit irrigation treatments did not significantly reduced than that of the full irrigation control. Photosynthesis pigments were affected by the stage of growth and not by irrigation treatments. They were high during flowering stage and low during seed formation stage for all treatments. The lowest irrigation plants (10 % SWC) achieved, during flowering stage, 0.72 mg\g\fresh weight of chlorophyll a, compared to 0.43 mg\g\fresh weight in control plant, 0.40 mg\g\fresh weight of chlorophyll b, compared to 0.19 mg\g\fresh weight in control plants and 0.29 mg\g\fresh weight of carotenoids, compared to 0.21 mg\g\fresh weight in control plants. It has been shown that reduced irrigation rates tend to enhance O. basilicum to have high oil quantity reaching a value of 63.37 % in a very low irrigation rate (10 % SWC) compared to 45.38 of control in seeds. Proline was shown to be accumulated in roots to almost double the amount in shoot during flowering stage in treatment 3. This accumulation seems to have a pronounce effect on O. basilicum acclimation to deficit irrigation.

Keywords: deficit irrigation, photosynthesis pigments, proline accumulation, oil quantity, sweet basil flowering formation, seed formation

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Authors: Rajesh Agarwal

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Carrier mobility at the organic/insulator interface is essential to the performance of organic thin film transistors (OTFT). The present work describes estimation of field dependent mobility (FDM) parameters and the threshold voltage of an OTFT using a simple, easy to fabricate two terminal asymmetric capacitive test structure using admittance measurements. Conventionally, transfer characteristics are used to estimate the threshold voltage in an OTFT with field independent mobility (FIDM). Yet, this technique breaks down to give accurate results for devices with high contact resistance and having field dependent mobility. In this work, a new technique is presented for characterization of long channel organic capacitor (LCOC). The proposed technique helps in the accurate estimation of mobility enhancement factor (γ), the threshold voltage (V_th) and band mobility (µ₀) using capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurement in OTFT. This technique also helps to get rid of making short channel OTFT or metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structures for making C-V measurements. To understand the behavior of devices and ease of analysis, transmission line compact model is developed. The 2-D numerical simulation was carried out to illustrate the correctness of the model. Results show that proposed technique estimates device parameters accurately even in the presence of contact resistance and field dependent mobility. Pentacene/Poly (4-vinyl phenol) based top contact bottom-gate OTFT’s are fabricated to illustrate the operation and advantages of the proposed technique. Small signal of frequency varying from 1 kHz to 5 kHz and gate potential ranging from +40 V to -40 V have been applied to the devices for measurement.

Keywords: capacitance, mobility, organic, thin film transistor

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Authors: Maninder Singh

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The Chandigarh city is under the strain of exponential growth of car density across various neighborhood. The consumerist nature of society today is to be blamed for this menace because everyone wants to own and ride a car. Car manufacturers are busy selling two or more cars per household. The Regional Transport Offices are busy issuing as many licenses to new vehicles as they can in order to generate revenue in the form of Road Tax. The car traffic in the neighborhoods of Chandigarh has reached a tipping point. There needs to be a more empirical and sustainable model of cars per household, which should be based on specific parameters of livable neighborhoods. Sector 22 in Chandigarh is one of the first residential sectors to be established in the city. There is scope to think, reflect, and work out a method to know how many cars we need to sell our citizens before we lose the argument to traffic problems, parking problems, and road rage. This is where the true challenge of a planner or a designer of the city lies. Currently, in Chandigarh city, there are no clear visible answers to this problem. The way forward is to look at spatial mapping, planning, and design of car parking units to address the problem, rather than suggesting extreme measures of banning cars (short-term) or promoting plans for citywide transport (very long-term). This is a chance to resolve the problem with a pragmatic approach from a citizen’s perspective, instead of an orthodox development planner’s methodology. Since citizens are at the center of how the problem is to be addressed, acceptable solutions are more likely to emerge from the car and traffic problem as defined by the citizens. Thus, the idea and its implementation would be interesting in comparison to the known academic methodologies. The novel and innovative process would lead to a more acceptable and sustainable approach to the issue of number of car parks in the neighborhood of Chandigarh city.

Keywords: cars, Chandigarh, neighborhood, sustainable living, walkability

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Authors: Afnan Ahmad, Shahid Ali, Mujahid Khan

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This research presents the parametric study of an existing earth fill dam located at Latamber, Karak city, Pakistan. The study consists of carrying out seepage analysis, slope stability analysis, and Earthquake analysis of the dam for the existing dam geometry and do the same for modified geometry. Dams are massive as well as expensive hydraulic structure, therefore it needs proper attention. Additionally, this dam falls under zone 2B region of Pakistan, which is an earthquake-prone area and where ground accelerations range from 0.16g to 0.24g peak. So it should be deal with great care, as the failure of any dam can cause irreparable losses. Similarly, seepage as well as slope failure can also cause damages which can lead to failure of the dam. Therefore, keeping in view of the importance of dam construction and associated costs, our main focus is to carry out parametric study of newly constructed dam. GeoStudio software is used for this analysis in the study in which Seep/W is used for seepage analysis, Slope/w is used for Slope stability analysis and Quake/w is used for earthquake analysis. Based on the geometrical, hydrological and geotechnical data, Seepage and slope stability analysis of different proposed geometries of the dam are carried out along with the Seismic analysis. A rigorous analysis was carried out in 2-D limit equilibrium using finite element analysis. The seismic study began with the static analysis, continuing by the dynamic response analysis. The seismic analyses permitted evaluation of the overall patterns of the Latamber dam behavior in terms of displacements, stress, strain, and acceleration fields. Similarly, the seepage analysis allows evaluation of seepage through the foundation and embankment of the dam, while slope stability analysis estimates the factor of safety of the upstream and downstream of the dam. The results of the analysis demonstrate that among multiple geometries, Latamber dam is secure against seepage piping failure and slope stability (upstream and downstream) failure. Moreover, the dam is safe against any dynamic loading and no liquefaction has been observed while changing its geometry in permissible limits.

Keywords: earth-fill dam, finite element, liquefaction, seepage analysis

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Authors: Neslihan Beyazit, Sahin Bayraktar, Cahit Demetgul

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Transition metal ions have an important role in biochemistry and biomimetic systems and may provide the basis of models for active sites of biological targets. The presence of copper(II), iron(II) and zinc(II) is crucial in many biological processes. Tetradentate N2O2 donor Schiff base ligands are well known to form stable transition metal complexes and these complexes have also applications in clinical and analytical fields. In this study, we present salient structural features and the details of cathecholase activity of Fe(II) complex of a new Schiff Base ligand. A new asymmetrical N2O2 donor Schiff base ligand and its Fe(II) complex were synthesized by condensation of 4-nitro-1,2 phenylenediamine with 6-formyl-7-hydroxy-5-methoxy-2-methylbenzopyran-4-one and by using an appropriate Fe(II) salt, respectively. Schiff base ligand and its metal complex were characterized by using FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, UV-Vis, elemental analysis and magnetic susceptibility. In order to determine the kinetics parameters of catechol oxidase-like activity of Schiff base Fe(II) complex, the oxidation of the 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol (3,5-DTBC) was measured at 25°C by monitoring the increase of the absorption band at 390-400 nm of the product 3,5-di-tert-butylcatequinone (3,5-DTBQ). The compatibility of catalytic reaction with Michaelis-Menten kinetics also investigated by the method of initial rates by monitoring the growth of the 390–400 nm band of 3,5-DTBQ as a function of time. Kinetic studies showed that Fe(II) complex of the new N2O2 donor Schiff base ligand was capable of acting as a model compound for simulating the catecholase properties of type-3 copper proteins.

Keywords: catecholase activity, Michaelis-Menten kinetics, Schiff base, transition metals

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Authors: Preeyarach Whisetkhan, Malai Taweechotipatr, Ulisa Pachekrepapol

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Elevated level of blood cholesterol or hypercholesterolemia may lead to atherosclerosis and poses a major risk for cardiovascular diseases. Probiotics play a crucial role in human health, and probiotic bacteria that possesses bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity can be used to lower cholesterol level of the host. The aim of this study was to investigate whether lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from traditional Thai fermented foods were able to exhibit bile salt hydrolase activity and their use in fermented milk. A total of 28 isolates were tested for BSH activity by plate method on MRS agar supplemented with 0.5% sodium salt of taurodeoxycholic acid and incubated at 37°C for 48 h under anaerobic condition. The results showed that FN1-1 and FN23-3 isolates possessed strong BSH activity. FN1-1 and FN23-3 isolates were then identified for phenotype, biochemical characteristics, and genotype (16S rRNA sequencing). FN1-1 isolate showed 99.92% similarity to Lactobacillus pentosus DSM 20314(T), while FN23-3 isolate showed 99.94% similarity to Enterococcus faecium CGMCC1.2136 (T). Lactobacillus pentosus FN1-1 and Enterococcus faecium FN23-3 were tolerant of pH 3-4 and 0.3 and 0.8% bile. Bacterial count and pH of milk fermented with Lactobacillus pentosus FN1-1 at 37°C and 43°C were investigated. The results revealed that Lactobacillus pentosus FN1-1 was able to grow in milk, which led to decrease in pH level. Fermentation at 37°C resulted in faster growth rate than at 43 °C. Lactobacillus pentosus FN1-1 was a candidate probiotic to be used in fermented milk products to reduce the risk of high-cholesterol diseases.

Keywords: probiotics, lactic acid bacteria, bile salt hydrolase, cholesterol

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Authors: Judith Correa-Gomez, Cristina Garcia-De la Pena, Veronica Avila-Rodriguez, David R. Aguillon-Gutierrez

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Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is the smallest species of sea turtle. It nests on the beaches of the Gulf of Mexico during summer. To date, there is no information about congenital anomalies in this species, which could be an important factor to be considered as a survival threat. The aim of this study was to determine congenital anomalies in dead embryos and hatchlings of Kemp's ridley sea turtle during 2020 nesting season. Fieldwork was conducted at the 'Campamento Tortugero Barra Norte', on the shores of Tuxpan, Veracruz, Mexico. A total of 95 nests were evaluated, from which 223 dead embryos and hatchlings were collected. Anomalies were detected by detailed physical examinations. Photographs of each anomaly were taken. From the 223 dead turtles, 213 (95%) showed a congenital anomaly. A total of 53 types of congenital anomalies were found: 22 types on the head region, 21 on the carapace region, 6 on the flipper region, and 4 regarding the entire body. The most prevalent anomaly in the head region was the presence of prefrontal supernumerary scales (42%, 93 occurrences). On the carapace region, the most common anomaly was the presence of supernumerary gular scales (59%, 131 occurrences). The two most common anomalies on the flipper region were amelia in fore flippers and rear bifurcation of flippers (0.9%, 2 occurrences each). The most common anomaly involving the entire body was hypomelanism (35%, 79 occurrences). These results agree with the recent studies on congenital malformations on sea turtles, being the head and the carapace regions the ones with the highest number of congenital anomalies. It is unknown whether the reported anomalies can be related to the death of these individuals. However, it is necessary to develop embryological studies in this species. To our best knowledge, this is the first worldwide report on Kemp’s ridley sea turtle anomalies.

Keywords: Amelia, hypomelanism, morphology, supernumerary scales

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: M. Afzal, Salem Safer Alghamdi, Awais Ahmad

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Limited amount of irrigation water is an alarming threat to arid and semiarid agriculture. However, genotypic response differences to water deficit conditions within species have been reported frequently. Present study was conducted in order to measure the genotypic differences among faba bean accessions under Regular Deficit Irrigation (RDI). Five seeds from each accession were sown in 135 silt filled pots (30 x 24 cm). Experiment was planned under split plot arrangement and replicated thrice. Treatments consisted of three RDI levels (100% (control), 60% and 40% of the field capacity) and fifteen faba bean accessions (two local accessions as reference while thirteen from different sources around the world). Irrigation treatment was started from the very first day of sowing. Plant height, shoot dry weight, stomatal conductance and total chlorophyll contents (SPAD reading) were measured one month after germination. Irrigation, faba bean accessions and the all possible interactions has stood significantly high for all studied parameters. Regular deficient irrigation has hampered the plant growth and associated parameters in decreasing order (100% < 60% < 40%). Accessions have responded differently under regular deficient irrigation and some of them are even better than local accession. A highly significant correlation among all parameters has also been observed. It was concluded from results that above parameters could be used as markers to identify the genotypic differences for water deficit stress response. This outcome encouraged the use of superior faba bean genotypes in breeding programs for improved varieties to enhance water use efficiency under stress conditions.

Keywords: accessions, stomatal conductance, total chlorophyll contents, RDI, regular deficient irrigation

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Authors: Felicity Aphiwe Mkhongi, Walter Musakwa

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Smallholder crop production is a defining factor in achieving food security, particularly at the household level. However, the number of abandoned arable fields is increasing in communal areas of South Africa. While substantial efforts have been devoted to addressing food insecurity in the country, ownership of arable land has not been supplemented with sustainable food production for households. This paper analyses household food security in the context of deagrarianization in two villages, Ambros (Eastern Cape) and Maramanzhi (Limpopo). Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to acquire both qualitative and quantitative data from 106 heads of households. The IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0 computer program was applied to complete data analysis. From the findings of the study, it was evident that compared to arable fields, a greater proportion of households own home-gardens with an average size of 2100m in Ambros and 3400m in Maramanzhi village. The majority of arable fields were abandoned, particularly in Ambros village. Household food access challenges were measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). This food security indicator revealed that the majority of households were mildly food insecure owing to food shortages emanating from insufficient monthly income and waning household crop production. Food was rated as a very important reason for engaging in cultivation in both villages of the study, but deagrarianization has eroded opportunities for increasing household crop production. Among other possible solutions, this study recommends that the government invest more in agriculture to allow for sustainable strategies that revive abandoned arable land, such as arable fields in communal areas of South Africa, as this could increase food production for households.

Keywords: cultivation, deagrarianization, food security, rural households, smallholder farmers

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Authors: Mahfoodh Saleh Al Sabbagh, Amitabh Mishra, Anwar Al Sheyadi

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A tremendous transformation is taking place in the state of education in Sultanate of Oman. The vision 2040 for Higher Education focuses on both academic and technical sides of education aims at improving the quality of education as per higher international standards with emphasis on learning and innovation, creativity and scientific research. The objective is to achieve a proficient education system that keeps abreast of the recent development, the essentials of sustainable development and enhancing the national identity. Higher Education Institutes have contributed immensely to the growth of education in Oman, in this context; Business Organization represents the most complex social structure known today due to its dynamic nature. Employees are considered as one of the dynamic resources of the organization and through their commitment and involvement organization becomes competitive. Organization Culture can be promoted to facilitate the achievement of job satisfaction and employees commitment. The purpose of the research is to explore the impact of Higher Educational Institutions Culture on employee satisfaction, and commitment. Based on primary data, the study was conducted in Higher Education Institutions in the Sultanate of Oman. Data was collected through questionnaire consisting of 60 questions related to culture, satisfaction, and commitment. The sample consisted of 330 employees of leading Higher Education Institutes in the Sultanate of Oman. Structural Equation Modeling was carried out on the data through SPSS and AMOS. Results indicate that culture of organization is significantly related with employees’ satisfaction and commitment both in direct and indirect ways. Significant theoretical and practical implications are driven from the outcomes of the study.

Keywords: organization culture, employee satisfaction and commitment, higher education, Sultanate of Oman

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Authors: Widari

Abstract:

This study aims to determine the relationship of fast food consumption preferences with macro and micro nutrient adequacy students of SMP Negeri 5 Padang. This study used a cross sectional study conducted on 100 students of SMP Negeri 5 Padang. The variables studied were fast food preferences, nutrition adequacy macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fat, fiber) and micro nutrients (sodium, calcium, iron). Confounding factor in this study was the physical activity level because it was considered quite affecting food consumption of students. Data collected by using a questionnaire food recall as many as 2 x 24 hours to see the history of the respondents eat at school day and on holidays. Then, data processed using software Nutrisurvey and Microsoft Excel 2010. The analysis was performed on samples that have low and medium category on physical activity. The physical activity was not analyzed with another variable to see the strength of the relationship between independent and dependent variables. So that, do restrictions on physical activity variables in an attempt to get rid of confounding in design. Univariate and bivariate analyzes performed using SPSS 16.0 for Windows with Kolmogrov-Smirnov statistical tests, confidence level = 95% (α = 0,05). Results of univariate analysis showed that more than 70% of respondents liked fast food. On average, respondents were malnourished macro; malnourished fiber (100%), carbohydrates (72%), and protein (56%), whereas for fat, excess intake of the respondents (41%). Furthermor, many respondents who have micronutrient deficiencies; 98% for sodium, 96% for iron, and 91% for calcium. The results of the bivariate analysis showed no significant association between fast food consumption preferences with macro and micro nutrient adequacy (p > 0,05). This happens because in the fact not all students who have a preference for fast food actually eat them. To study better in the future, it is expected sampling really like and eat fast food in order to obtain better analysis results.

Keywords: fast food, nutritional adequacy, preferences, students

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Authors: Li-Ting Huang, Yu-Hsiang Shen, Cing-Ciao Ke, Sheng-Pin Tseng, Fan-Pin Tseng, Yu-Ching Ni, Chia-Yu Lin

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Chest radiography is the most common technique for the diagnosis and follow-up of pulmonary diseases. However, the lesions superimposed with normal structures are difficult to be detected in chest radiography. Chest tomosynthesis is a relatively new technique to obtain 3D section images from a set of low-dose projections acquired over a limited angular range. However, there are some limitations with chest tomosynthesis. Patients undergoing tomosynthesis have to be able to hold their breath firmly for 10 seconds. A digital tomosynthesis system with advanced reconstruction algorithm and high-stability motion mechanism was developed by our research group. The potential for the system to perform a bidirectional chest scan within 10 seconds is expected. The purpose of this study is to realize the influences of the scan speed on the image quality for our digital tomosynthesis system. The major factors that lead image blurring are the motion of the X-ray source and the patient. For the fore one, an experiment of imaging a chest phantom with three different scan speeds, which are 6 cm/s, 8 cm/s, and 15 cm/s, was proceeded to understand the scan speed influences on the image quality. For the rear factor, a normal SD (Sprague-Dawley) rat was imaged with it alive and sacrificed to assess the impact on the image quality due to breath motion. In both experiments, the profile of the ROIs (region of interest) and the CNRs (contrast-to-noise ratio) of the ROIs to the normal tissue of the reconstructed images was examined to realize the degradations of the qualities of the images. The preliminary results show that no obvious degradation of the image quality was observed with increasing scan speed, possibly due to the advanced designs for the hardware and software of the system. It implies that higher speed (15 cm/s) than that of the commercialized tomosynthesis system (12 cm/s) for the proposed system is achieved, and therefore a complete chest scan within 10 seconds is expected.

Keywords: chest radiography, digital tomosynthesis, image quality, scan speed

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Authors: Arun Perumbilavil Anand

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In the recent years, Kerala is witnessing a large inflow of migrants from different parts of the country. Though initially, the migrants were largely from the districts of Tamil Nadu and mostly of seasonal nature, but at a later period, the state started getting migrants from the far-off states like UP, Assam, Bengal, etc. Higher wages for unskilled labour, large opportunities for employment, the reluctance on the part of Kerala workers to do menial and hard physical work, and the shortage of local labour, paradoxically despite the high unemployment rate in the state, led to the massive influx of migrant labourers. This study takes a multi-dimensional overview of migrant labour in Kerala by encompassing factors such as channels of migration, nature of employment contracts entered into and the corresponding wages and benefits obtained by them. The study also analysed the circumstances that led to the large influx of migrants from different states of India. It further makes an attempt to examine the varying dimensions of living and working environment, and also the health conditions of migrants. The study is based on the empirical findings obtained as a result of the primary interviews conducted with migrants in the districts of Palakkad, Malappuram, and Ernakulam. The study concludes by noting that Kerala will inevitably have to depend on migrant labour and is likely to experience heavy in-migration of labour in future, provided that if the existing socioeconomic and demographic situations persist. Since, this is inevitable, the best way before the state is to prepare well in advance to receive and accommodate such migrant labour to lead a comfortable life in a hassle free environment, so that it would definitely play a vital role in further strengthening and sustaining the growth trajectory of not only Kerala’s economy but also the states of origin.

Keywords: Kerala, labour, migration, migrant workers

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Authors: Benselama Amel, Ounane S. Mohamed, Bekki Abdelkader

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A collection of 20 isolates from fresh Nodules of the legume plant Lablab purpureus was isolated. These isolates have been authenticated by seedling inoculation grown in jars containing sand. The results obtained after two months of culture have revealed that the 20 isolates (100% of the isolates) are able to nodulate their host plants. The results obtained were analyzed statistically by ANOVA using the software statistica and had shown that the effect of the inoculation has significantly improved all the growth parameters (the height of the plant and the dry weight of the aerial parts and roots, and the number of nodules). We have evaluated the tolerance of all strains of the collection to the major stress factors as the salinity, pH and extreme temperature. The osmotolerance reached a concentration up to 1710mm of NaCl. The strains were also able to grow on a wide range of pH, ranging from 4.5 to 9.5, and temperature, between 4°C and 40°C. Also, we tested the effect of the acidity, aluminum and ferric deficit on the Lablab-rhizobia symbiosis. Lablab purpureus has not been affected by the presence of high concentrations of aluminum. On the other hand, iron deficiency has caused a net decrease in the dry biomass of the aerial part. The results of all the phenotypic characters have been treated by the statistical Minitab software, the numerical analysis had shown that these bacterial strains are divided into two distinct groups at a level of similarity of 86 %. The SDS-PAGE was carried out to determine the profile of the total protein of the strains. The coefficients of similarity of polypeptide bands between the isolates and strains reference (Bradyrhizobium, Mesorizobium sp.) confirm that our strain belongs to the groups of rhizobia.

Keywords: SDS-PAGE, rhizobia, symbiosis, phenotypic characterization, Lablab purpureus

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Authors: Yeimis Milton, Palomino Pichihua

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The city, like living organisms, originates from codes, structured information in the form of rules that condition the physical form and performance of urban space. Usually, the so-called urban codes clash with the spontaneous nature of the city, with the urban Kháos that contextualizes the free creation (poiesis) of human collectives. This contradiction is especially evident in Latin America, which, like other developing regions, lacks adequate instruments to guide urban growth. Thus constructing a hybrid between the formal and informal city, categories that are difficult to separate one from the other. This is a comparative study focusing on the urban codes created to address the pandemic. The objective is to build an overview of these innovations in the region. The sample is made up of official norms published in pandemic, directly linked to urban planning and building control (urban form). The countries analyzed are Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Colombia, and Chile. The study uncovers a shared interest in facing future urban problems, in contrast to the inconsistency of proposed legal instruments. Factors such as the lack of articulation, validity time, and ambiguity, among others, accentuate this problem. Likewise, it evidences that the political situation of each country has a significant influence on the development of these norms and the possibility of their long-term impact. In summary, the global emergency has produced opportunities to transform urban systems from their internal rules; however, there are very few successful examples in this field. Therefore, Latin American cities have the task of learning from this defeat in order to lay the foundations for a more resilient and sustainable urban future.

Keywords: pandemic, regulation, urban planning, latin America

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Authors: Dmitry K. Shaytan, Georgy D. Laptev

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In our research we aimed to test a managerial approach for the fuzzy front end (FFE) of innovation by creating controlled experiment/ business case in a breakthrough innovation development. The experiment was in the sport industry and covered all aspects of the customer discovery stage from ideation to prototyping followed by patent application. In the paper we describe and analyze mile stones, tasks, management challenges, decisions made to create the break through innovation, evaluate overall managerial efficiency that was at the considered FFE stage. We set managerial outcome of the FFE stage as a valid product concept in hand. In our paper we introduce hypothetical construct “Q-factor” that helps us in the experiment to distinguish quality of FFE outcomes. The experiment simulated for entrepreneur the FFE of innovation and put on his shoulders responsibility for the outcome of valid product concept. While developing managerial approach to reach the outcome there was a decision to look on product concept from the cognitive psychology and cognitive science point of view. This view helped us to develop the profile of a person whose projection (mental representation) of a new product could optimize for a manager or entrepreneur FFE activities. In the experiment this profile was tested to develop breakthrough innovation for swimmers. Following the managerial approach the product concept was created to help swimmers to feel/sense water. The working prototype was developed to estimate the product concept validity and value added effect for customers. Based on feedback from coachers and swimmers there were strong positive effect that gave high value for customers, and for the experiment – the valid product concept being developed by proposed managerial approach for the FFE. In conclusions there is a suggestion of managerial approach that was derived from experiment.

Keywords: concept development, concept testing, customer discovery, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial management, idea generation, idea screening, startup management

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Authors: Shu-Lien Chou, Chung-Feng Liu

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Self-health management of chronic illnesses plays an important part in chronic illness treatments. However, various kinds of health information (health education materials) which government or healthcare institutions provide for patients may not achieve the expected outcome. One of the critical reasons affecting patients’ use intention could be patients’ perceived Information overload regarding the health information. This study proposed an extended model of Theory of Planned Behavior, which integrating perceived information overload as another construct to explore patients’ use intention of the health information for self-health management. The independent variables are attitude, subject norm, perceived behavior control and perceived information overload while the dependent variable is behavior intention to use the health information. The cross-sectional study used a structured questionnaire for data collection, focusing on the chronic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), who are the potential users of the health information, in a medical center in Taiwan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of the basic information distribution of the questionnaire respondents, and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation model to study the reliability and construct validity for testing our hypotheses. A total of 110 patients were enrolled in this study and 106 valid questionnaires were collected. The PLS analysis result indicates that the patients’ perceived information overload of health information contributes the most critical factor influencing the behavioral intention. Subjective norm and perceived behavioral control of TPB constructs had significant effects on patients’ intentions to use health information also, whereas the attitude construct did not. This study demonstrated a comprehensive framework, which extending perceived information overload into TPB model to predict patients’ behavioral intention of using heath information. We expect that the results of this study will provide useful insights for studying health information from the perspectives of academia, governments, and healthcare providers.

Keywords: chronic patients, health information, information overload, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: Intissar Farid

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Groundwater quality assessment is crucial for sustainable water use, especially in semi-arid regions like the Jeloula basin in Tunisia, where groundwater is essential for domestic and agricultural needs. The present research aims to characterize the suitability of groundwater for irrigational purposes by considering various parameters: total salt concentration as measured by Electrical Conductivity EC, relative proportions of Na⁺ as expressed by %Na and SAR, Kelly’s ratio, Permeability Index, Magnesium hazard and Residual Sodium chloride. Chemical data indicate that the percent sodium (%Na) in the study area ranged from 26.3 to 45.3%. According to the Wilcox diagram, the quality classification of irrigation water suggests that analyzed groundwaters are suitable for irrigation purposes. The SAR values vary between 2.1 and 5. Most of the groundwater samples plot in the Richards’C3S1 water class and indicate little danger from sodium content to soil and plant growth. The Kelly’s ratio of the analyzed samples ranged from 0.3 to 0.8. These values indicate that the waters are fit for agricultural purposes. Magnesium hazard (MH) values range from 27.5 to 52.6, with an average of 38.9 in the analyzed waters. Hence, the Mg²⁺ content of the groundwater from the shallow aquifer cannot cause any problem to the soil permeability. Permeability index (PI) values computed for the area ranged from 33.6 to 52.7%. The above result, therefore, suggests that most of the water samples fall within class I of the Doneen chart and can be categorized as good irrigation water. The groundwaters collected from the Jeloula shallow aquifer were found to be within the safe limits and thus suitable for irrigation purposes.

Keywords: Kelly's ratio, magnesium hazard, permeability index, residual sodium chloride

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Authors: Mathewos Temesgen, Lemi Geleta

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Lake Koka is one of the Ethiopian Central Rift Valleys lakes, where the absorbance of domestic, agricultural, and industrial waste from the nearby industrial and agro-industrial activities is very common. The aim of this research was to assess the heavy metal bioaccumulation in edible parts of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) in Lake Koka and the health risks associated with the dietary intake of the fish. Three sampling sites were selected randomly for primary data collection. Physicochemical parameters (pH, Total Dissolved Solids, Dissolved Oxygen and Electrical Conductivity) were measured in-situ. Four heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn) in water and bio-accumulation in the edible parts of the fish were analyzed with flame atomic absorption spectrometry. The mean values of TDS, EC, DO and pH of the lake water were 458.1 mg/L, 905.7 µ s/cm, 7.36 mg/L, and 7.9, respectively. The mean concentrations of Zn, Cr, and Cd in the edible part of fish were also 0.18 mg/kg, ND-0.24 mg/kg, and ND-0.03 mg/kg, respectively. Pb was, however, not identified. The amount of Cr in the examined fish muscle was above the level set by FAO, and the accumulation of the metals showed marked differences between sampling sites (p<0.05). The concentrations of Cd, Pb and were below the maximum permissible limit. The results also indicated that Cr has a high transfer factor value and Zn has the lowest. The carcinogenic hazard ratio values were below the threshold value (<1) for the edible parts of fish. The estimated weekly intake of heavy metals from fish muscles ranked as Cr>Zn>Cd, but the values were lower than the Reference Dose limit for metals. The carcinogenic risk values indicated a low health risk due to the intake of individual metals from fish. Furthermore, the hazard index of the edible part of fish was less than unity. Generally, the water quality is not a risk for the survival and reproduction of fish, and the heavy metal contents in the edible parts of fish exhibited low carcinogenic risk through the food chain.

Keywords: bio-accumulation, cyprinus carpio, hazard index, heavy metals, Lake Koka

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Authors: Hasnun Wara Khondker, M. Tarek Morad

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Bangladesh is one of the most populous countries of the world in terms of density. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh currently has a population of approximately 15-16 million of which around 9 million people are accommodated in Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) within around 109 square kilometer area. Despite having various urban issues, country is at its pick of economic progress and Dhaka is the core of this economic growth. To ensure the proper economic development and citizens wellbeing, city needs an ingenious, congestion-free public transportation network. Bus stop/bus bay is an essential infrastructure for ensuring efficient public transportation flow within the city along with enhancing accessibility, user comfort, and safety through public amenities. At present, there is no established Mass Rapid Transit or Bus Rapid Transit network within the city and therefore these private owned buses are the only major mode of mass transportation of Dhaka city. DSCC has undertaken a project to re-design several bus stops and bus bays according to the universal standard for better urban mobility and user satisfaction. This paper will analyze the design approach of the bus stop/bay infrastructure within Dhaka South, putting the research lens on sustainable urban mobility with case studies of similar kind of urban context. The paper will also study the design process with setting several parameters, i.e., accessibility, passenger safety, comfort, sustainability, etc. Moreover, this research will recommend a guideline for designing a bus stop based on the analysis of the design methods.

Keywords: bus stop, Dhaka, public transportation, sustainable urban mobility, universal accessibility, user safety

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Authors: Pius Babuna, Xiaohua Yang, Roberto Xavier Supe Tulcan, Bian Dehui, Mohammed Takase, Bismarck Yelfogle Guba, Chuanliang Han, Doris Abra Awudi, Meishui Lia

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Water inequality, water security, and water governance are fundamental parameters that affect the sustainable use of water resources. Through policy formulation and decision-making, water governance determines both water security and water inequality. Largely, where water inequality exists, water security is undermined through unsustainable water use practices that lead to pollution of water resources, conflicts, hoarding of water, and poor sanitation. Incidentally, the interconnectedness of water governance, water inequality, and water security has not been investigated previously. This study modified the Gini coefficient and used a Logistics Growth of Water Resources (LGWR) Model to access water inequality and water security mathematically, and discussed the connected role of water governance. We tested the validity of both models by calculating the actual water inequality and water security of Ghana. We also discussed the implications of water inequality on water security and the overarching role of water governance. The results show that regional water inequality is widespread in some parts. The Volta region showed the highest water inequality (Gini index of 0.58), while the central region showed the lowest (Gini index of 0.15). Water security is moderately sustainable. The use of water resources is currently stress-free. It was estimated to maintain such status until 2132 ± 18, when Ghana will consume half of the current total water resources of 53.2 billion cubic meters. Effectively, water inequality is a threat to water security, results in poverty, under-development heightens tensions in water use, and causes instability. With proper water governance, water inequality can be eliminated through formulating and implementing approaches that engender equal allocation and sustainable use of water resources.

Keywords: water inequality, water security, water governance, Gini coefficient, moran index, water resources management

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Authors: Ahmad Ammar, Umar Khan Khattak, Muhammad Majid

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Empirically based lumped hydrologic models have an extensive track record of use for various watershed managements and flood related studies. This study focuses on the impacts of LULC change for 10 year period on the discharge in watershed using lumped model HEC-HMS. The Indus above Tarbela region acts as a source of the main flood events in the middle and lower portions of Indus because of the amount of rainfall and topographic setting of the region. The discharge pattern of the region is influenced by the LULC associated with it. In this study the Landsat TM images were used to do LULC analysis of the watershed. Satellite daily precipitation TRMM data was used as input rainfall. The input variables for model building in HEC-HMS were then calculated based on the GIS data collected and pre-processed in HEC-GeoHMS. SCS-CN was used as transform model, SCS unit hydrograph method was used as loss model and Muskingum was used as routing model. For discharge simulation years 2000 and 2010 were taken. HEC-HMS was calibrated for the year 2000 and then validated for 2010.The performance of the model was assessed through calibration and validation process and resulted R2=0.92 during calibration and validation. Relative Bias for the years 2000 was -9% and for2010 was -14%. The result shows that in 10 years the impact of LULC change on discharge has been negligible in the study area overall. One reason is that, the proportion of built-up area in the watershed, which is the main causative factor of change in discharge, is less than 1% of the total area. However, locally, the impact of development was found significant in built up area of Mansehra city. The analysis was done on Mansehra city sub-watershed with an area of about 16 km2 and has more than 13% built up area in 2010. The results showed that with an increase of 40% built-up area in the city from 2000 to 2010 the discharge values increased about 33 percent, indicating the impact of LULC change on discharge value.

Keywords: LULC change, HEC-HMS, Indus Above Tarbela, SCS-CN

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Authors: Florian Billing, Soren Segan, Meike Jakobi, Elsa Arefaine, Aliki Jerch, Xin Xiong, Matthias Becker, Thomas Joos, Burkhard Schlosshauer, Ulrich Rothbauer, Nicole Schneiderhan-Marra, Hanna Hartmann, Christopher Shipp

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The immune response plays a major role in implant biocompatibility, but an understanding of how to design biomaterials for specific immune responses is yet to be achieved. We aimed to better understand how changing certain material properties can drive immune responses. To this end, we tested immune response to experimental implant coatings that vary in specific characteristics. A layer-by-layer approach was employed to vary surface charge and wettability. Human-based in vitro models (THP-1 macrophages and primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCS)) were used to assess immune responses using multiplex cytokine analysis, flow cytometry (CD molecule expression) and microscopy (cell morphology). We observed dramatic differences in immune response due to specific alterations in coating properties. For example altering the surface charge of coating A from anionic to cationic resulted in the substantial elevation of the pro-inflammatory molecules IL-1beta, IL-6, TNF-alpha and MIP-1beta, while the pro-wound healing factor VEGF was significantly down-regulated. We also observed changes in cell surface marker expression in relation to altered coating properties, such as CD16 on NK Cells and HLA-DR on monocytes. We furthermore observed changes in the morphology of THP-1 macrophages following cultivation on different coatings. A correlation between these morphological changes and the cytokine expression profile is ongoing. Targeted changes in biomaterial properties can produce vast differences in immune response. The properties of the coatings examined here may, therefore, be a method to direct specific biological responses in order to improve implant biocompatibility.

Keywords: biomaterials, coatings, immune system, implants

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Authors: Jianguo Chen, Fenggang Zang, Yu Yang, Liangang Zheng

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Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) is an important security barrier in nuclear power plant. Crack like defects may be produced on RPV during the whole operation lifetime due to the harsh operation condition and irradiation embrittlement. During the severe loss of coolant accident, thermal shock happened as the injection of emergency cooling water into RPV, which results in re-pressurization of the vessel and very high tension stress on the vessel wall, this event called Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS). Crack on the vessel wall may propagate even penetrate the vessel, so the safety of the RPV would undergo great challenge. Many assumptions in structure integrity evaluation make the result of deterministic fracture mechanics very conservative, which affect the operation lifetime of the plant. Actually, many parameters in the evaluation process, such as fracture toughness and nil-ductility transition temperature, have statistical distribution characteristics. So it is necessary to assess the structural integrity of RPV subjected to PTS event by means of Probabilistic Fracture Mechanics (PFM). Structure integrity evaluation methods of RPV subjected to PTS event are summarized firstly, then evaluation method based on probabilistic fracture mechanics are presented by considering the probabilistic characteristics of material and structure parameters. A comprehensive analysis example is carried out at last. The results show that the probability of crack penetrates through wall increases gradually with the growth of fast neutron irradiation flux. The results give advice for reactor life extension.

Keywords: fracture toughness, integrity evaluation, pressurized thermal shock, probabilistic fracture mechanics, reactor pressure vessel

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Authors: Babu Veeregowda, Rongfang Liu

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The current traffic impact assessment methodology and environmental quality review process for approval of land development project are conventional, stagnant, and one-dimensional. The environmental review policy and procedure lacks in providing the direction to regulate or seek alternative land uses and sizes that exploits the existing or surrounding elements of built environment (‘4 D’s’ of development – Density, Diversity, Design, and Distance to Transit) or smart growth principles which influence the travel behavior and have a significant effect in reducing vehicular traffic. Additionally, environmental review policy does not give directions on how to incorporate urban planning into the development in ways such as incorporating non-motorized roadway elements such as sidewalks, bus shelters, and access to community facilities. This research developed a methodology to optimize the mix of land uses and sizes using the heuristic optimization process to minimize the auto dependency development and to meet the interests of key stakeholders. A case study of Willets Point Mixed Use Development in Queens, New York, was used to assess the benefits of the methodology. The approved Willets Point Mixed Use project was based on maximum envelop of size and land use type allowed by current conventional urban renewal plans. This paper will also evaluate the parking accumulation for various land uses to explore the potential for shared parking to further optimize the mix of land uses and sizes. This research is very timely and useful to many stakeholders interested in understanding the benefits of integrated land uses and its development.

Keywords: traffic impact, mixed use, optimization, trip generation

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Authors: Beatriz Mella Lira, Karla Yohannessen, Robin Hickman

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The aim of the paper is recognising inequalities through the self-assessment of health-related factors, in the context of daily mobilities in Santiago de Chile. Human capabilities will be used as the theoretical basis for the recognition and assessment of these factors regarding the functioning (what people are currently able to do) and capabilities (what people want to achieve and what is valuable for them), reflecting differences across social groups and among types of transport users. The self-assessment of health-related factors considers perceptions of stress, physical effort, proximity to other transport users, pollution, safety, and comfort. The types of transport users are classified as: private (cars, taxis, colectivos, motos), public (buses and metro) and active (bicycles and walking). The methodology follows a capability-based questionnaire, which was applied in different areas of Santiago de Chile, considering concepts extracted from the human capabilities list. The self-assessment of these health-related factors examines the context of peoples’ mobilities for performing their daily activities, considering socioeconomic differences as income, age, gender, disabilities, residence location and primary mode choice. The paper uses Relative Importance Index (RII) for weighting the relative influence or valuation of the factors. The respondents were asked to rate the importance of each factor on a scale from 1 to 5, in an ascending order of importance. The results suggest that these health-related factors impact not just the perceptions of users, but their well-being and their propensity for achieving their capabilities and the things they value in life. The paper is focused on the development of an applicable approach, measuring factors that should be included in transport project appraisal, as a more comprehensive and complementary method.

Keywords: active transport, health, human capabilities, Santiago de Chile, transport inequalities, transportation planning, urban planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 187