Search results for: multiple scales method
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 23012

Search results for: multiple scales method

14612 Investigating Suicide Cases in Attica, Greece: Insight from an Autopsy-Based Study

Authors: Ioannis N. Sergentanis, Stavroula Papadodima, Maria Tsellou, Dimitrios Vlachodimitropoulos, Sotirios Athanaselis, Chara Spiliopoulou

Abstract:

Introduction: The aim of this study is the investigation of characteristics of suicide, as documented in autopsies during a five-year interval in the greater area of Attica, including the city of Athens. This could reveal possible protective or aggravating factors for suicide risk during a period strongly associated with the Greek debt crisis. Materials and Methods: Data was obtained following registration of suicide cases among autopsies performed in the Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Department, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece, during the time interval from January 2011 to December 2015. Anonymity and medical secret were respected. A series of demographic and social factors in addition to special characteristics of suicide were entered into a specially established pre-coded database. These factors include social data as well as psychiatric background and certain autopsy characteristics. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and Fisher’s exact test. The software used was STATA/SE 13 (Stata Corp., College Station, TX, USA). Results: A total of 162 cases were studied, 128 men and 34 women. Age ranged from 14 to 97 years old with an average of 53 years, presenting two peaks around 40 and 60 years. A 56% of cases were single/ divorced/ widowed. 25% of cases occurred during the weekend, and 66% of cases occurred in the house. A predominance of hanging as the leading method of suicide (41.4%) followed by jumping from a height (22.8%) and firearms (19.1%) was noted. Statistical analysis showed an association was found between suicide method and gender (P < 0.001, Fisher’s exact test); specifically, no woman used a firearm while only one man used medication overdose (against four women). Discussion: Greece has historically been one of the countries with the lowest suicide rates in Europe. Given a possible change in suicide trends during the financial crisis, further research seems necessary in order to establish risk factors. According to our study, suicide is more frequent in men who are not married, inside their house. Gender seems to be a factor affecting the method of suicide. These results seem in accordance with the international literature. Stronger than expected predominance in male suicide can be associated with failure to live up to social and family expectations for financial reasons.

Keywords: autopsy, Greece, risk factors, suicide

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14611 Acute Kidney Injury in Severe Trauma Patients: Clinical Presentation and Risk Factor Analysis

Authors: Inkyong Yi

Abstract:

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in trauma patients is known to be associated with multiple factors, especially shock and consequent inadequate renal perfusion, yet its clinical presentation is little known in severe trauma patients. Our aim was to investigate the clinical presentation of acute kidney injury and its outcome in severe trauma patients at a level I trauma center. A total of 93 consecutive adult trauma patients with an injury severity score (ISS) of more than 15 were analyzed retrospectively from our Level I trauma center data base. Patients with direct renal injury were excluded. Patients were dichotomized into two groups, according to the presence of AKI. Various clinical parameters were compared between two groups, with Student’s T test and Mann-Whitney’s U test. The AKI group was further dichotomized into patients who recovered within seven days, and those who required more than 7days for recovery or those who did not recover at all. Various clinical parameters associated with outcome were further analyzed. Patients with AKI (n=33, 35%) presented with significantly higher age (61.4±17.3 vs. 45.4±17.3, p < 0.0001), incidence of comorbidities (hypertension; 51.5% vs. 13.3%, OR 6.906 95%CI 2.515-18.967, diabetes; 27.3% vs. 6.7%, OR 5.250, 95%CI 1.472-18.722), odds of head and neck trauma (69.7% vs. 41.7%, OR 3.220, 95%CI 1.306-7.942) and presence of shock during emergency room care (66.7% vs 21.7% OR 7.231, 95%CI, 2.798-18.687). Among AKI patients, patients who recovered within 1 week showed lower peak lactate (4.7mmol/L, 95%CI 2.9-6.5 vs 7.3mmol/L, 95%CI 5.0-9.6, p < 0.0287), lesser units of transfusion during first 24 hours (pRBC; 20.4unit, 95%CI 12.5-28.3 vs. 58.9unit, 95%CI 39.4-78.5, p=0.0003, FFP; 16.6unit, 95%CI 6.8-26.4 vs. 56.1unit, 95%CI 26.9-85.2, p=0.0027). In severe trauma patients, patients with AKI showed different clinical presentations and worse outcomes. Initial presence of shock and higher DIC profiles may be important risk factors for AKI in severe trauma patients. In patients with AKI, peak lactate level and amounts of transfusion are related to recovery.

Keywords: acute kidney injury, lactate, transfusion, trauma

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14610 Effective Layer-by-layer Chemical Grafting of a Reactive Oxazoline Polymer and MWCNTs onto Carbon Fibers for Enhancing Mechanical Properties of Composites using Polystyrene as a Model Thermoplastic Matrix

Authors: Ryoma Tokonami, Teruya Goto, Tatsuhiro Takahashi,

Abstract:

For enhancing the mechanical property ofcarbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP), the surface modification of carbon fiber (CF) by multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) has received considerable attention using direct MWCNT growth on CF with a catalysis, MWCNT electrophoresis, and layer-by-layer of MWCNT with reactive polymers, etc. Among above approaches, the layer-by-layer method is the simplest process, however, the amount of MWCNTs on CF is very little, resulting in the small amount of improvement of the mechanical property of the composite. The remaining amount of MWCNT on CF after melt mixing of CF (short fiber) with thermoplastic matrix polymer was not examined clearly in the former studies. The present research aims to propose an effective layer-by-layer chemical grafting of a highly reactive oxazoline polymer, which has not been used before, and MWCNTs onto CF using the highly reactivity of oxazoline and COOH on the surface of CF and MWCNTs.With layer-by-layer method, the first uniform chemically bonded mono molecular layer on carbon fiber was formed by chemical surface reaction of carbon fiber, a reactive oxazoline polymer solution between COOH of carbon fiber and oxazoline. The second chemically bonded uniform layer of MWCNTs on the first layer was prepared through the first layer coated carbon fiber in MWCNT dispersion solution by chemical reaction between oxazoline and COOH of MWCNTs. The quantitative analysis of MWCNTs on carbon fiber was performed, showing 0.44 wt.% of MWCNTs based on carbon fiber, which is much larger amount compared with the former studies in layer-by-layer method. In addition, MWCNTs were also observed uniform coating on carbon fiber by scanning electron micrograph (SEM). Carbon fiber composites were prepared by melting mixing using polystyrene (PS) as a thermoplastic matrix because of easy removal of PS by solvent for additional analysis, resulting the 20% of enhancement of tensile strength and modulus by tensile strength test. It was confirmed bySEM the layer-by-layer structure on carbon fibers were remained after the melt mixing by removing PS with a solvent. As a conclusion, the effectiveness for the enhancement of the mechanical properties of CF(short fiber)/PS composite using the highly reactive oxazoline polymer for the first layer and MWCNT for the second layer, which act as the physical anchor, was demonstrated.

Keywords: interface, layer-by-layer, multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), oxazoline

Procedia PDF Downloads 195
14609 Understanding Factors that Affect the Prior Knowledge of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students and their Relation to Reading Comprehension

Authors: Khalid Alasim

Abstract:

The reading comprehension levels of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) are low compared to those of their hearing peers. One possible reason for this low reading levels is related to the students’ prior knowledge. This study investigated the potential factors that might affected DHH students’ prior knowledge, including their degree of hearing loss, the presence or absence of family members with a hearing loss, and educational stage (elementary–middle school). The study also examined the contribution of prior knowledge in predicting DHH students’ reading comprehension levels, and investigated the differences in the students’ scores based on the type of questions, including text-explicit (TE), text-implicit (TI), and script-implicit (SI) questions. Thirty-one elementary and middle-school students completed a demographic form and assessment, and descriptive statistics and multiple and simple linear regressions were used to answer the research questions. The findings indicated that the independent variables—degree of hearing loss, presence or absence of family members with hearing loss, and educational stage—explained little of the variance in DHH students’ prior knowledge. Further, the results showed that the DHH students’ prior knowledge affected their reading comprehension. Finally, the result demonstrated that the participants were able to answer more of the TI questions correctly than the TE and SI questions. The study concluded that prior knowledge is important in these students’ reading comprehension, and it is also important for teachers and parents of DHH children to use effective ways to increase their students’ and children’s prior knowledge.

Keywords: reading comprehension, prior knowledge, metacognition, elementary, self-contained classrooms

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14608 Role of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy in Management of Diabetic Foot

Authors: Magdy Al Shourbagi

Abstract:

Diabetes mellitus is the commonest cause of neuropathy. The common pattern is a distal symmetrical sensory polyneuropathy, associated with autonomic disturbances. Less often, Diabetes mellitus is responsible for a focal or multifocal neuropathy. Common causes for non-healing of diabetic foot are the infection and ischemia. Diabetes mellitus is associated with a defective cellular and humoral immunity. Particularly, decreased phagocytosis, decreased chemotaxis, impaired bacterial killing and abnormal lymphocytic function resulting in a reduced inflammatory reaction and defective wound healing. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is defined by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society as a treatment in which a patient intermittently breathes 100% oxygen and the treatment chamber is pressurized to a pressure greater than sea level (1 atmosphere absolute). The pressure increase may be applied in mono-place (single person) or multi-place chambers. Multi-place chambers are pressurized with air, with oxygen given via face mask or endotracheal tube; while mono-place chambers are pressurized with oxygen. Oxygen gas plays an important role in the physiology of wound healing. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy can raise tissue oxygen tensions to levels where wound healing can be expected. HBOT increases the killing ability of leucocytes also it is lethal for certain anaerobic bacteria and inhibits toxin formation in many other anaerobes. Multiple anecdotal reports and studies in HBO therapy in diabetic patients report that HBO can be an effective adjunct therapy in the management of diabetic foot wounds and is associated with better functional outcomes.

Keywords: hyperbari oxygen therapy, diabetic foot, neuropathy, multiplace chambers

Procedia PDF Downloads 286
14607 Practical Method for Failure Prediction of Mg Alloy Sheets during Warm Forming Processes

Authors: Sang-Woo Kim, Young-Seon Lee

Abstract:

An important concern in metal forming, even at elevated temperatures, is whether a desired deformation can be accomplished without any failure of the material. A detailed understanding of the critical condition for crack initiation provides not only the workability limit of a material but also a guide-line for process design. This paper describes the utilization of ductile fracture criteria in conjunction with the finite element method (FEM) for predicting the onset of fracture in warm metal working processes of magnesium alloy sheets. Critical damage values for various ductile fracture criteria were determined from uniaxial tensile tests and were expressed as the function of strain rate and temperature. In order to find the best criterion for failure prediction, Erichsen cupping tests under isothermal conditions and FE simulations combined with ductile fracture criteria were carried out. Based on the plastic deformation histories obtained from the FE analyses of the Erichsen cupping tests and the critical damage value curves, the initiation time and location of fracture were predicted under a bi-axial tensile condition. The results were compared with experimental results and the best criterion was recommended. In addition, the proposed methodology was used to predict the onset of fracture in non-isothermal deep drawing processes using an irregular shaped blank, and the results were verified experimentally.

Keywords: magnesium, AZ31 alloy, ductile fracture, FEM, sheet forming, Erichsen cupping test

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14606 Administrative Determinants of Students' Sports Participation in Private and Public Secondary Schools in Kwara State, Nigeria

Authors: Danjuma Moudu Momoh

Abstract:

Participation in sports is of immense benefit to the soundness of individual mental and social wellness, particularly among youngsters. The 1980’s and 1990’s compared to 2000’s witnessed great involvement of youngsters in school games arising from the high administrative supports attached to sports. Previous studies in an attempt to increase youngster’s participation in sports had focused more on other factors rather than on administrative factors. This study, therefore, investigated the importance of administrative factors (availability of facilities, availability of equipment, funding, scheduling of sports programme and administrative style of school principals) on students’ sports participation in private and public secondary schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design using validated and structured questionnaire, was adopted. Stratified random sampling technique was used to pick the students both male and female. A total of two thousand five hundred and sixty participants were involved in the study. A reliable coefficient of r=0.82 was obtained for the instruments using Cronbach Alpha. Data were analyzed using multiple regressions to test the hypotheses at 00.5 significant levels. At the end of the study, it was discovered that the relative contributions of administrative factors among the students were: availability of facilities (β=0.314), availability of equipment (β=0.444), funding (β=0.301), scheduling of sports programme (β=0.447), made relative contributions to the dependent variable, administrative style of school principal (β=0.077) did not make significant but minimal contribution to the student’s sports participation.

Keywords: administrative determinants, secondary school students, physical activity, sports participation

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14605 Kinoform Optimisation Using Gerchberg- Saxton Iterative Algorithm

Authors: M. Al-Shamery, R. Young, P. Birch, C. Chatwin

Abstract:

Computer Generated Holography (CGH) is employed to create digitally defined coherent wavefronts. A CGH can be created by using different techniques such as by using a detour-phase technique or by direct phase modulation to create a kinoform. The detour-phase technique was one of the first techniques that was used to generate holograms digitally. The disadvantage of this technique is that the reconstructed image often has poor quality due to the limited dynamic range it is possible to record using a medium with reasonable spatial resolution.. The kinoform (phase-only hologram) is an alternative technique. In this method, the phase of the original wavefront is recorded but the amplitude is constrained to be constant. The original object does not need to exist physically and so the kinoform can be used to reconstruct an almost arbitrary wavefront. However, the image reconstructed by this technique contains high levels of noise and is not identical to the reference image. To improve the reconstruction quality of the kinoform, iterative techniques such as the Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm (GS) are employed. In this paper the GS algorithm is described for the optimisation of a kinoform used for the reconstruction of a complex wavefront. Iterations of the GS algorithm are applied to determine the phase at a plane (with known amplitude distribution which is often taken as uniform), that satisfies given phase and amplitude constraints in a corresponding Fourier plane. The GS algorithm can be used in this way to enhance the reconstruction quality of the kinoform. Different images are employed as the reference object and their kinoform is synthesised using the GS algorithm. The quality of the reconstructed images is quantified to demonstrate the enhanced reconstruction quality achieved by using this method.

Keywords: computer generated holography, digital holography, Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm, kinoform

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14604 The Survey of Relationship between Health Literacy and Knowledge of Heart Failure with Rehospitalization in Patients with Heart Failure Admitted to Heart Failure Clinic

Authors: Jaleh Mohammad Aliha, Rezvan Razazi, Nasim Naderi

Abstract:

Introduction: Despite the progress in new effective drugs in the treatment of heart failure, the disease still accompanied with frequent hospitalization, impaired quality of life, early mortality and significant economic burden. Patients with chronic disease and consequently patients with heart failure need the knowledge and optimal health literacy to improve the quality of life and minimize the rate of rehopitalizatio. So, considering to importance of knowledge and health literacy in this patients as well as contradictory literature, this study conducted to investigate the relationship between health literacy and Knowledge of heart failure with rehospitalization in patients with heart failure admitted to heart failure clinic in Rajai Heart center in 1394. Methods: The cross-sectional method with convenience sampling method was used in this study. After obtaining the necessary permissions from the ethics committee and the Shahid Rajai Heart center, 238 patients who were older than 18 years and had ejection fraction 35% or less with the ability to read and write and lack of psychiatric, neurological and cognitive disorders and signed the informed consent were recruited. Data collection were perfomed through demographic data questionnaire, short standard health literacy questionnaire 'Short-TOFHLA-16' and Vanderwall (2005) knowledge of heart failure questionnaire. Reliability was assessed by internal consistency method and Cronbach's alpha for both questionnaires was more than 0.7. Then data were analysed by SPSS-20 with descriptive statistic and analytical statistic such as T-test, Chi-square and ANOVA. Results: The majority of patients were male (66%), married (80%) and had age between 50 to 70 years old (42%). The majority of studied men and women have good health literacy and About half of them have adequate knowledge about heart failure. Fisher's exact test showed that there was a significant statistical correlation between health literacy and knowlegh about heart failure. In other words, higher health literacy associated with more knowledge about their condition. Also findings showed that there was no significant statistical correlation between health literacy and knowledge about heart failure and frequency of CCU and emergency admissions. Conclusion: The study results showed that the higher health literacy, associated with the greater knowledge about heart failure and patients' perception about caring recommendations and disease outcomes. Therefore, the knowledge about heart failure and factors which related to severity of the disease, is the important issue to problem identification and treatment and reduction of rehospitalization.

Keywords: health literacy, heart failure, knowlegde, rehospitalization

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14603 Tracking of Linarin from the Ethyl Acetate Fraction of Melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) Seeds Using Preparative High Performance Liquid Chromatography

Authors: Asep Sukohar, Ramadhan Triyandi, Muhammad Iqbal, Sahidin, Suharyani

Abstract:

Introduction: Resveratrol is a class of bioactive chemicals found in melinjo, which has a wide range of biological actions. The purpose of this study is to determine the linarin content of the melinjo fraksi by using preparative-high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC). Method: Extraction used the soxhletation method with 96% ethanol solvent. Fractionation used ethyl acetate and ethanol in a ratio of 1:1. Tracing of linarin compound used prep-HPLC with a mobile phase ratio of distilled water: methanol (55: 45, v/v). The presence of linarin was detected using a wavelength of 215 nm. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) was used to identify the functional groups of compound. Result: The retention time required to elute the ethyl acetate fraction was 2.601 minutes. Compound separation identification using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy - Quest Attenuated Total Reflectance (FTIR - QATR) has a similarity value range with standards from 0 to 1000. The elution results of the ethyl acetate fraction have similar values with the standard compounds linarin (668), resveratrol (578), and catechin (455). Conclusion: Tracing for active compound in the ethyl acetate fraction of Gnetum Gnemon L. using prep-HPLC showed a strong suspicion of the presence of linarin compound.

Keywords: Gnetum gnemon L., linarin, prep-HPLC, fraction ethyl acetate

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14602 Isolation, Identification and Characterization of the Bacteria and Yeast from the Fermented Stevia Extract

Authors: Asato Takaishi, Masashi Nasuhara, Ayuko Itsuki, Kenichi Suga

Abstract:

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni) is a composite plant native to Paraguay. Stevia sweetener is derived from a hot water extract of Stevia (Stevia extract), which has some effects such as histamine decomposition, antioxidative effect, and blood sugar level-lowering function. The steviol glycosides in the Stevia extract are considered to contribute to these effects. In addition, these effects increase by the fermentation. However, it takes a long time for fermentation of Stevia extract and the fermentation liquid sometimes decays during the fermentation process because natural fermentation method is used. The aim of this study is to perform the fermentation of Stevia extract in a shorter period, and to produce the fermentation liquid in stable quality. From the natural fermentation liquid of Stevia extract, the four strains of useful (good taste) microorganisms were isolated using dilution plate count method and some properties were determined. The base sequences of 16S rDNA and 28S rDNA revealed three bacteria (two Lactobacillus sp. and Microbacterium sp.) and one yeast (Issatchenkia sp.). This result has corresponded that several kinds of lactic bacterium such as Lactobacillus pentosus and Lactobacillus buchneri were isolated from Stevia leaves. Liquid chromatography/mass spectrometory (LC/MS/MS) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) were used to determine the contents of steviol glycosides and neutral sugars. When these strains were cultured in the sterile Stevia extract, the steviol and stevioside were increased in the fermented Stevia extract. So, it was suggested that the rebaudioside A and the mixture of steviol glycosides in the Stevia extract were decomposed into stevioside and steviol by microbial metabolism.

Keywords: fermentation, lactobacillus, Stevia, steviol glycosides, yeast

Procedia PDF Downloads 555
14601 Aural Skills Pedagogy for Students with Absolute Pitch

Authors: Rika Uchida

Abstract:

In teaching sophomore level aural skills, I have dealt with students with absolute pitch do poorly in my courses, particularly in harmonic dictation. They can identify triads; however, identifying quality of seventh chords or chromatic chords poses serious challenges. Most often, they need to spell all the pitches before identifying the chord qualities and Roman Numerals. Growing up in a country where acquiring absolute pitch is considered essential, I started my early music training with fixed do system at age three and learned all my music with solfege. When I was assigned as a TA in aural skills courses at graduate school in US, I had to learn relative pitch quickly. My survival method was listening to music with absolute pitch first, then quickly "translate" to relative pitch. In teaching my courses, I have been using chord progressions (5-8 chords total), in which students are asked to sing chord arpeggiation with movable do solfege. I use same progressions for harmonic dictation; I hoped that students learn to incorporate singing and listening skills by overlapping same materials. This method has proven to be successful for most students; in particular, it has helped students with absolute pitch to hear chord quality and function. Although original progressions are written in C as a tonic, they can identify chords in harmonic dictation in other keys as well. In short, I believe singing chord progression with movable do arpeggiation helps students with absolute pitch to improve hearing function and quality of chords in harmonic dictation.

Keywords: aural skills pedagogy, music theory, absolute pitch, harmonic dictation

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14600 Effect of Post and Pre Induced Treatment with Hesperidin in N-Methyl N-Nitrosourea Induced Mammary Gland Cancer in Female Sprague-Dawley Rats

Authors: Vinay Kumar Theendra

Abstract:

The main objective of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of hesperidin in the treatment of breast cancer and causing less (or) no bone marrow depression which is the major side effect of the present anticancer drugs treating breast cancer, also to evaluate the mechanisms through which these compounds are exerting their effect. Breast cancer is induced by administering N-methyl N-Nitrosourea (MNU) at a dose of 50mg/kg body weight. Upon the termination of the experiment, the animals were sacrificed by the method of cervical dislocation. The animals were dissected along the ventral midline and were grossly examined for the presence of tumors. Then the tumours were removed along with the stroma. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels were estimated by using ELISA method. The first occurrence of palpable tumors was eight weeks after carcinogen treatment and the final tumour incidence was 100% in the MNU alone and topical treated rats. Whereas in rats of other treatment groups there is decreased tumour incidence which might be due to their antitumour activity. Hesperidin therapy inhibited angiogenesis which can be evident from the significant reduction in serum as well as tumour VEGF concentrations in comparison to the untreated mammary carcinoma bearing rats. Hesperidin is promising agents that exert direct antitumor and also antiangiogenic, antiproliferative and anti-inflammatory activities. Even though the potency is little lesser than standard drug vincristine, it has been proved to be safe without effecting haematological count.

Keywords: hesperidin, VEGF, COX 2, N-methyl N-nitrosourea

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14599 Improving the Teaching of Mathematics at University Using the Inverted Classroom Model: A Case in Greece

Authors: G. S. Androulakis, G. Deli, M. Kaisari, N. Mihos

Abstract:

Teaching practices at the university level have changed and developed during the last decade. Implementation of inverted classroom method in secondary education consists of a well-formed basis for academic teachers. On the other hand, distance learning is a well-known field in education research and widespread as a method of teaching. Nonetheless, the new pandemic found many Universities all over the world unprepared, which made adaptations to new methods of teaching a necessity. In this paper, we analyze a model of an inverted university classroom in a distance learning context. Thus, the main purpose of our research is to investigate students’ difficulties as they transit to a new style of teaching and explore their learning development during a semester totally different from others. Our teaching experiment took place at the Business Administration department of the University of Patras, in the context of two courses: Calculus, a course aimed at first-year students, and Statistics, a course aimed at second-year students. Second-year students had the opportunity to attend courses in the university classroom. First-year students started their semester with distance learning. Using a comparative study of these two groups, we explored significant differences in students’ learning procedures. Focused group interviews, written tests, analyses of students’ dialogues were used in a mixed quantity and quality research. Our analysis reveals students’ skills, capabilities but also a difficulty in following, non-traditional style of teaching. The inverted classroom model, according to our findings, offers benefits in the educational procedure, even in a distance learning environment.

Keywords: distance learning, higher education, inverted classroom, mathematics teaching

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14598 A Study of the Establishment of the Evaluation Index System for Tourist Attraction Disaster Resilience

Authors: Chung-Hung Tsai, Ya-Ping Li

Abstract:

Tourism industry is highly depended on the natural environment and climate. Compared to other industries, it is more susceptible to environment and climate. Taiwan belongs to a sea island country and located in the subtropical monsoon zone. The events of climate variability, frequency of typhoons and rainfalls raged are caused regularly serious disaster. In traditional disaster assessment, it usually focuses on the disaster damage and risk assessment, which is short of the features from different industries to understand the impact of the restoring force in post-disaster resilience and the main factors that constitute resilience. The object of this study is based on disaster recovery experience of tourism area and to understand the main factors affecting the tourist area of disaster resilience. The combinations of literature review and interviews with experts are prepared an early indicator system of the disaster resilience. Then, it is screened through a Fuzzy Delphi Method and Analytic Network Process for weight analysis. Finally, this study will establish the tourism disaster resilience evaluation index system considering the Taiwan's tourism industry characteristics. We hope that be able to enhance disaster resilience after tourist areas and increases the sustainability of industrial development. It is expected to provide government departments the tourism industry as the future owner of the assets in extreme climates responses.

Keywords: resilience, Fuzzy Delphi Method, Analytic Network Process, industrial development

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14597 Digital Geological Map of the Loki Crystalline Massif (The Caucasus) and Its Multi-Informative Explanatory Note

Authors: Irakli Gamkrelidze, David Shengelia, Giorgi Chichinadze, Tamara Tsutsunava, Giorgi Beridze, Tamara Tsamalashvili, Ketevan Tedliashvili, Irakli Javakhishvili

Abstract:

The Caucasus is situated between the Eurasian and Africa-Arabian plates and represents a component of the Mediterranean (Alpine-Himalayan) collision belt. The Loki crystalline massif crops out within one of the terranes of the Caucasus – Baiburt-Sevanian terrane. By the end of 2018, a digital geological map (1:50 000) of the Loki massif was compiled. The presented map is of great importance for the region since there is no large-scale geological map which reflects the present standards of the geological study of the massif up to the last time. The existing State Geological Map of the Loki massif is very outdated. A new map drown by using GIS (Geographic Information System) technology is loaded with multi-informative details that include: specified contours of geological units and separate tectonic scales, key mineral assemblages and facies of metamorphism, temperature conditions of metamorphism, ages of metamorphism events and the massif rocks, genetic-geodynamic types of magmatic rocks. Explanatory note, attached to the map includes the large specter of scientific information. It contains characterization of the geological setting, composition and petrogenetic and geodynamic models of the massif formation. To create a geological map of the Loki crystalline massif, appropriate methodologies were applied: a sampling of rocks, GIS technology-based mapping of geological units, microscopic description of the material, composition analysis of rocks, microprobe analysis of minerals and a new interpretation of obtained data. To prepare a digital version of the map the appropriated activities were held including the creation of a common database. Finally, the design was created that includes the elaboration of legend and the final visualization of the map. The results of the study presented in the explanatory note are given below. The autochthonous gneissose quartz diorites of normal alkalinity and sub-alkaline gabbro-diorites included in them belong to different phases of magmatism. They represent “igneous” granites corresponding to mixed mantle-crustal type granites. Four tectonic plates of the allochthonous metamorphic complex–Lower Gorastskali, Sapharlo–Lok-Jandari, Moshevani, and Lower Gorastskali differ from each other by structure and degree of metamorphism. The initial rocks of these plates are formed in different geodynamic conditions and during the Early Bretonian orogeny while overthrusting due to tectonic compression they form a thick tectonic sheet. The Lower Gorastskali overthrust sheet is a fragment of ophiolitic association corresponding to the Paleotethys oceanic crust. The protolith of the ophiolitic complex basites corresponds to the tholeiitic series of basalts. The Sapharlo–Lok-Jandari overthrust sheet is metapelites, metamorphosed in conditions of greenschist facies of regional metamorphism. The regional metamorphism of Moshevani overthrust sheet crystalline schists quartzites corresponds to a range from greenschist to hornfels facies. The “mélange” is built of rock fragments and blocks of above-mentioned overthrust sheets. Sub-alkaline and normal alkaline post-metamorphic granites of the Loki crystalline massif belong to “igneous” and rarely to “sialic” and “anorogenic” types of granites.

Keywords: digital geological map, 1:50 000 scale, crystalline massif, the caucasus

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14596 Effect of Brewing on the Bioactive Compounds of Coffee

Authors: Ceyda Dadali, Yeşim Elmaci

Abstract:

Coffee was introduced as an economic crop during the fifteenth century; nowadays it is the most important food commodity ranking second after crude oil. Desirable sensory properties make coffee one of the most often consumed and most popular beverages in the world. The coffee preparation method has a significant effect on flavor and composition of coffee brews. Three different extraction methodologies namely decoction, infusion and pressure methods have been used for coffee brew preparation. Each of these methods is related to specific granulation (coffee grind) of coffee powder, water-coffee ratio temperature and brewing time. Coffee is a mixture of 1500 chemical compounds. Chemical composition of coffee highly depends on brewing methods, coffee bean species and roasting time-temperature. Coffee contains a wide number of very important bioactive compounds, such as diterpenes: cafestol and kahweol, alkaloids: caffeine, theobromine and trigonelline, melanoidins, phenolic compounds. The phenolic compounds of coffee include chlorogenic acids (quinyl esters of hidroxycinnamic acids), caffeic, ferulic, p-coumaric acid. In coffee caffeoylquinic acids, feruloylquinic acids and di-caffeoylquinic acids are three main groups of chlorogenic acids constitues 6% -10% of dry weight of coffee. The bioavailability of chlorogenic acids in coffee depends on the absorption and metabolization to biomarkers in individuals. Also, the interaction of coffee polyphenols with other compounds such as dietary proteins affects the biomarkers. Since bioactive composition of coffee depends on brewing methods effect of coffee brewing method on bioactive compounds of coffee will be discussed in this study.

Keywords: bioactive compounds of coffee, biomarkers, coffee brew, effect of brewing

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14595 Cantilever Secant Pile Constructed in Sand: Numerical Comparative Study and Design Aids – Part II

Authors: Khaled R. Khater

Abstract:

All civil engineering projects include excavation work and therefore need some retaining structures. Cantilever secant pile walls are an economical supporting system up to 5.0-m depths. The parameters controlling wall tip displacement are the focus of this paper. So, two analysis techniques have been investigated and arbitrated. They are the conventional method and finite element analysis. Accordingly, two computer programs have been used, Excel sheet and Plaxis-2D. Two soil models have been used throughout this study. They are Mohr-Coulomb soil model and Isotropic Hardening soil models. During this study, two soil densities have been considered, i.e. loose and dense sand. Ten wall rigidities have been analyzed covering ranges of perfectly flexible to completely rigid walls. Three excavation depths, i.e. 3.0-m, 4.0-m and 5.0-m were tested to cover the practical range of secant piles. This work submits beneficial hints about secant piles to assist designers and specification committees. Also, finite element analysis, isotropic hardening, is recommended to be the fair judge when two designs conflict. A rational procedure using empirical equations has been suggested to upgrade the conventional method to predict wall tip displacement ‘δ’. Also, a reasonable limitation of ‘δ’ as a function of excavation depth, ‘h’ has been suggested. Also, it has been found that, after a certain penetration depth any further increase of it does not positively affect the wall tip displacement, i.e. over design and uneconomic.

Keywords: design aids, numerical analysis, secant pile, Wall tip displacement

Procedia PDF Downloads 185
14594 A Framework for Chinese Domain-Specific Distant Supervised Named Entity Recognition

Authors: Qin Long, Li Xiaoge

Abstract:

The Knowledge Graphs have now become a new form of knowledge representation. However, there is no consensus in regard to a plausible and definition of entities and relationships in the domain-specific knowledge graph. Further, in conjunction with several limitations and deficiencies, various domain-specific entities and relationships recognition approaches are far from perfect. Specifically, named entity recognition in Chinese domain is a critical task for the natural language process applications. However, a bottleneck problem with Chinese named entity recognition in new domains is the lack of annotated data. To address this challenge, a domain distant supervised named entity recognition framework is proposed. The framework is divided into two stages: first, the distant supervised corpus is generated based on the entity linking model of graph attention neural network; secondly, the generated corpus is trained as the input of the distant supervised named entity recognition model to train to obtain named entities. The link model is verified in the ccks2019 entity link corpus, and the F1 value is 2% higher than that of the benchmark method. The re-pre-trained BERT language model is added to the benchmark method, and the results show that it is more suitable for distant supervised named entity recognition tasks. Finally, it is applied in the computer field, and the results show that this framework can obtain domain named entities.

Keywords: distant named entity recognition, entity linking, knowledge graph, graph attention neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 87
14593 Determination of Brominated Flame Retardants In Recycled Plastic Toys Using Thermal Desorption GC/MS

Authors: Athena Nguyen, Rojin Belganeh

Abstract:

In recycling plastics industries, waste plastics are converted into monomers and other useful molecules by chemical reactions. Thermal energy generated by incineration is recovered when waste plastics melt. During the process, Flame retardants containing products get in, and brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are often used to reduce the flammability of products. Some of the originally formulated brominated flame retardants additives are restricted by the RoHS Directive, such as PBDE and PBB. The determination of BFRs other than those restricted by the RoHS directive is required. Frontier Lab developed a pyrolyzer based on the vertical micro-furnace design. The multi-mode pyrolyzer with different modes of operations, including evolve gas analysis (EGA), flash pyrolysis, thermal desorption, heart cutting, allows users to choose among the techniques for their analysis purposes. The method requires very little sample preparation. The first step is to perform an EGA using temperature programs. This technique provides information about the thermal temperature behaviors of the sample. The EGA thermogram is then used to determine the next steps in the analysis process. In this presentation, with an Optimal thermal temperature zone identified based on EGA thermogram, thermal desorption GC/MS is a chosen technique for the determination of brominated flame retardants in recycled plastic toys. Five types of general-purpose brominated flame retardants other than those restricted by the RoHS Directive are determined by the standard addition method.

Keywords: gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, pyrolysis, pyrolyzer, thermal desorption-GC/MS

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14592 Effects of SNP in Semen Diluents on Motility, Viability and Lipid Peroxidation of Sperm of Bulls

Authors: Hamid Reza Khodaei, Behnaz Mahdavi, Alireza Banitaba

Abstract:

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in all sexual activities of animals. It is made in body from NO syntheses enzyme and L-arginin molecule. NO can make band with sulfur-iron complexes and due to production of steroid sexual hormones related to enzymes which have this complex, NO can change the activity of these enzymes. NO affects many cells including endothelial cells of veins, macrophages and mast cells. These cells are found in testis leydig cells and therefore are important source of NO in testis tissue. Minimizing damages to sperm at the time of sperm freezing and thawing is really important. The goal of this study was to determine the function of NO before freezing and its effects on quality and viability of sperms after thawing and incubation. 4 Holstein bulls were selected from the age of 4, and artificial insemination was done for 3 weeks (2 times a week). Treatments were 0, 10, 50 and 100 nm of sodium nitroprusside (SNP). Data analysis was performed by SAS98 program. Also, mean comparison was done using Duncan's multiple ranges test (P<0.05). Concentrations used were found to increase motility and viability of spermatozoa at 1, 2 and 3 hours after thawing significantly (P<0.05) but there was no significant difference at zero time. SNP levels reduced the amount of lipid peroxidation in sperm membrane, increased acrosome health and improved samples membranes especially in 50 and 100 nm treatments. According to results, adding SNP to semen diluents increases motility and viability of spermatozoa. Also, it reduces lipid peroxidation in sperm membrane and improves sperm function.

Keywords: sperm motility, nitric oxide, lipid peroxidation, spermatozoa

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14591 The Influence of Class and Gender on the Capitalist Patriarchal Society in Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby”: A Marxist Feminist Perspective

Authors: Atousa Mirzapour Kouhdasht

Abstract:

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 novel set in the Jazz Age on Long Island by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. The novel depicts interactions between the first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, and his mysterious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby, and his obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. During World War II, the Council on Books in Wartime sent free copies to American soldiers, so the novel experienced an unanticipated wave in popularity. This newfound popularity brought up critical literary re-examination. The work soon became a part of most American high school curricula and, as a result, a part of American popular culture. Multiple adaptations, on stage and screen, followed in the succeeding decades. The novel's treatment of social class, old money versus those who do not have familial wealth, gender, race, and its cynical attitude towards the American Dream is now a matter of discussion. The old money does not allow the new money to present itself due to its fear of changes. Although Gatsby is now a wealthy man who throws many parties, he is not considered equal to Thomas Buchanan, Daisy's husband, a millionaire who lives in East Egg. Even Gatsby feels shame when it comes to the history of his family, who was not actually from the bourgeoisie. Furthermore, the patriarchal system restrains women's behavior in society and puts them in the second position after men to follow what men ask them to do. The female characters are not able to make decisions for themselves. So the researcher uses The Great Gatsby, patriarchal theory, and Marxist feminist perspective to investigate the influence of gender and social status on women's position in a patriarchal society.

Keywords: Marxist, feminist, class status, gender, the American dream, The Great Gatsby, Fitzgerald

Procedia PDF Downloads 118
14590 The Effect of Excess Workload on Lecturers in Higher Institution and Its Relation with Instructional Technology a Case Study of North-West Nigeria

Authors: Shitu Sani

Abstract:

The paper is advanced on the historical background of the effects of excess work load on lecturers in higher institutions of learning which will assess the socio-economic and psychological disposition of lecturers in the realm of quality production. The paper further discusses the significant roles played by excess work load in general transformation of higher education, which will give the management and stake holders input for successful development of higher education. Even though all forms of work and organizational procedures are potential source of stress and stressors. In higher institution of leaning, lecturers perform many responsibilities such as lecturing, carrying out research and engaging in community services. If these multiple roles could not be handle property it would have result in stress which may have negative impact on job performance, and it’s relation with instructional technology. A sample 191 lecturers were randomly selected from the higher institutions in the northern west zone in Nigerian using two instruments i.e. work load stress management question and job performance Approval, data were collected on lecturers of socio-economic and physiological stress and job performances. Findings of the study shows that lecture experienced excess work load in academic activities. Lecturer’s job performance was negatively influences by socio-economic and psychological work stress. Among the recommendation made were the need for organizing regular induction courses for lecturers on stress, and enhance interpersonal relations among the lecturers as well as provision of electronic public address system to reduce the stress.

Keywords: effect, excess, lecturers, workload

Procedia PDF Downloads 350
14589 Biophilic Design Strategies: Four Case-Studies from Northern Europe

Authors: Carmen García Sánchez

Abstract:

The UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals – specifically the nº 3 and nº 11- urgently call for new architectural design solutions at different design scales to increase human contact with nature in the health and wellbeing promotion of primarily urban communities. The discipline of Interior Design offers an important alternative to large-scale nature-inclusive actions which are not always possible due to space limitations. These circumstances provide an immense opportunity to integrate biophilic design, a complex emerging and under-developed approach that pursues sustainable design strategies for increasing the human-nature connection through the experience of the built environment. Biophilic design explores the diverse ways humans are inherently inclined to affiliate with nature, attach meaning to and derive benefit from the natural world. It represents a biological understanding of architecture which categorization is still in progress. The internationally renowned Danish domestic architecture built in the 1950´s and early 1960´s - a golden age of Danish modern architecture - left a leading legacy that has greatly influenced the domestic sphere and has further led the world in terms of good design and welfare. This study examines how four existing post-war domestic buildings establish a dialogue with nature and her variations over time. The case-studies unveil both memorable and unique biophilic resources through sophisticated and original design expressions, where transformative processes connect the users to the natural setting and reflect fundamental ways in which they attach meaning to the place. In addition, fascinating analogies in terms of this nature interaction with particular traditional Japanese architecture inform the research. They embody prevailing lessons for our time today. The research methodology is based on a thorough literature review combined with a phenomenological analysis into how these case-studies contribute to the connection between humans and nature, after conducting fieldwork throughout varying seasons to document understanding in nature transformations multi-sensory perception (via sight, touch, sound, smell, time and movement) as a core research strategy. The cases´ most outstanding features have been studied attending the following key parameters: 1. Space: 1.1. Relationships (itineraries); 1.2. Measures/scale; 2. Context: Context: Landscape reading in different weather/seasonal conditions; 3. Tectonic: 3.1. Constructive joints, elements assembly; 3.2. Structural order; 4. Materiality: 4.1. Finishes, 4.2. Colors; 4.3. Tactile qualities; 5. Daylight interplay. Departing from an artistic-scientific exploration this groundbreaking study provides sustainable practical design strategies, perspectives, and inspiration to boost humans´ contact with nature through the experience of the interior built environment. Some strategies are associated with access to outdoor space or require ample space, while others can thrive in a dense urban context without direct access to the natural environment. The objective is not only to produce knowledge, but to phase in biophilic design in the built environment, expanding its theory and practice into a new dimension. Its long-term vision is to efficiently enhance the health and well-being of urban communities through daily interaction with Nature.

Keywords: sustainability, biophilic design, architectural design, interior design, nature, Danish architecture, Japanese architecture

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14588 Entomopathogenic Bacteria as Biological Control Agents: Review Paper

Authors: Tadesse Kebede Dabsu

Abstract:

Insect pest is one the major limiting factor for sustainable food production. To overtake insect pest problem, since Second World War, producers have used excessive insecticide for insect pest management. However, in the era of 21st Century, the excessive use of insecticide caused insect resistant, insecticide bioaccumulation, insecticide hazard to environment, human health problem, and the like. Due to these problems, research efforts have been focused on the development of environmental free sustainable insect pest management method. To minimize all above mentioned risk utilizing of biological control such as entomopathogenicmicroorganism include bacteria, virus, fungus, and their productsare the best option for suppress insect population below certain density level. The objective of this review was to review the updated available studies and recent developments on the entomopathogenic bacteria (EPB) as biological control of insect pest and challenge of using them for control of insect pest. EPB’s mechanisms of insecticidal activities, type, taxonomy, and history are included in this paper body. EPB has been successfully used for the suppression of populations of insect pests. Controlling of harmful insect by entomopathogenic bacteria is an effective, low bioaccumulation in environment and food, very specific, reduce resistance risk in insect pest, economically and sustainable method of major insect pest management method. Identified and reported as potential major common type of entomopathogenic bacteria include Bacillus thuringiensis, Photorhabdus sp., Xenorhabdus spp.Walbachiaspp, Actinomycetesspp.etc. These bacteria being enter into insect body through natural opening or by vector release toxin protein inside of insect and disrupt the cell’s content cause natural mortality under natural condition. As per reported by different scientists, insect orders like Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Dipterahave been successful controlled by entomopathogenic bacteria. As per coming across in different scientific research journals, much of the work was emphasised on Bacillus thuringiensisbsp. Therefore, for commercial production like Bacillus thuringiensi, detail research should be done on other bacteria species. The efficacy and practical application of EPB are restricted to some crops and greenhouse area, but their field application at farmers’ level very less. So still much work needs to be done to the practical application of the EPB at widely application. Their efficacy, pathogenicity, and host range test should be tested under environmental condition.

Keywords: insect pest, entomopathogenic bacteria, biological control, agent

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14587 Retrospective Analysis of Facial Skin Cancer Patients Treated in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Kiel

Authors: Abdullah Saeidi, Aydin Gülses, Christan Flörke

Abstract:

Skin cancer of the face region is the most common type of malignancy and surgical excision is the preferred approach. However, the clinical long term results reported in the literature are still controversial. Objectives: To describe; 1. Demographical characteristics 2. Affected site, distribution and TNM classification regarding tumor type 3. Surgical aspects • Surgical removal: excision principles, safety margins, the need for secondary resection, primary reconstruction/ defect closure, anesthesia protocol, duration of hospital stay (if any) • Secondary intervention for defect closure/reconstruction: Flap technique, anesthesia protocol, duration of hospital stay (if any), postoperative wound management etc. 4. Tumor recurrences 5. Clinical outcomes 6. Studying the possible therapy approach throw Biostatistical relation and correlation between multiple Histological, diagnostics and clinical Faktors. following surgical ablation of the skin cancer of the head and neck region. Methods: Selection and statistical analysis of medical records of patients who had admitted to the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Universitätsklinikum Schleswig Holstein, Campus Kiel during the period of 2015-2019 will be retrospectively evaluated. Data will be collected via ORBIS Information-Management-System (ORBIS AG, Saarbrücken, Germany).

Keywords: non melanoma skin cancer, face skin cancer, skin reconstruction, non melanoma skin cancer recurrence, non melanoma skin cancer metastases

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14586 On the Influence of Thermal Radiation Upon Heat Transfer Characteristics of a Porous Media Under Local Thermal Non-Equilibrium Condition

Authors: Yasser Mahmoudi, Nader Karimi

Abstract:

The present work investigates numerically the effect of thermal radiation from the solid phase on the rate of heat transfer inside a porous medium. Forced convection heat transfer process within a pipe filled with a porous media is considered. The Darcy-Brinkman-Forchheimer model is utilized to represent the fluid transport within the porous medium. A local thermal non-equilibrium (LTNE), two-equation model is used to represent the energy transport for the solid and fluid phases. The radiative heat transfer equation is solved by discrete ordinate method (DOM) to compute the radiative heat flux in the porous medium. Two primary approaches (models A and B) are used to represent the boundary conditions for constant wall heat flux. The effects of radiative heat transfer on the Nusselt numbers of the two phases are examined by comparing the results obtained by the application of models A and B. The fluid Nusselt numbers calculated by the application of models A and B show that the Nusselt number obtained by model A for the radiative case is higher than those predicted for the non-radiative case. However, for model B the fluid Nusselt numbers obtained for the radiative and non-radiative cases are similar.

Keywords: porous media, local thermal non-equilibrium, forced convection heat transfer, thermal radiation, Discrete Ordinate Method (DOM)

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14585 Efficient Sources and Methods of Extracting Water for Irrigation

Authors: Anthony Iyenjamu, Josiah Adeyemo

Abstract:

Due to the increasing water scarcity in South Africa, the prime focus of irrigation in South Africa shifts to creating feasible water sources and the efficient use of these sources. These irrigation systems in South Africa are implemented because of low and erratic rainfall and high evaporative demand. Irrigation contributes significantly to crop production in South Africa, as the mean annual precipitation for the country is usually less than 500mm. This is considered to be the minimum required for rain fed cropping. Even though the rainfall is low, a lot of the water in various areas in South Africa is lost due to runoff into storm water systems that run to the rivers and eventually into the sea. This study reviews the irrigation systems in South Africa which can be vastly improved by creating irrigation dams. A method of which may seem costly at first but rewarding with time. The study investigates the process of creating dam capacity capable of sustaining a suitable area size of land to be irrigated and thus diverting all runoff into these dams. This type of infrastructure method vastly improves various sectors in our irrigation systems. Extensive research is carried out in the surrounding area in which the dam should be constructed. Rainfall patterns and rainfall data is used for calculations of which period the dam will be at its optimum using rainfall. The size of the area irrigated was used to calculate the size of the irrigation dam to be constructed. The location of the dam must be situated as close to the river as possible to minimize the excessive use of pipelines to the dam. This study also investigated all existing resources to alleviate the cost. It was found that irrigation dams could solve the erratic distribution of rainfall in South Africa for irrigation purposes.

Keywords: irrigation, rainfed, rain harvesting, reservoir

Procedia PDF Downloads 278
14584 Approach for Updating a Digital Factory Model by Photogrammetry

Authors: R. Hellmuth, F. Wehner

Abstract:

Factory planning has the task of designing products, plants, processes, organization, areas, and the construction of a factory. The requirements for factory planning and the building of a factory have changed in recent years. Regular restructuring is becoming more important in order to maintain the competitiveness of a factory. Restrictions in new areas, shorter life cycles of product and production technology as well as a VUCA world (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity & Ambiguity) lead to more frequent restructuring measures within a factory. A digital factory model is the planning basis for rebuilding measures and becomes an indispensable tool. Short-term rescheduling can no longer be handled by on-site inspections and manual measurements. The tight time schedules require up-to-date planning models. Due to the high adaptation rate of factories described above, a methodology for rescheduling factories on the basis of a modern digital factory twin is conceived and designed for practical application in factory restructuring projects. The focus is on rebuild processes. The aim is to keep the planning basis (digital factory model) for conversions within a factory up to date. This requires the application of a methodology that reduces the deficits of existing approaches. The aim is to show how a digital factory model can be kept up to date during ongoing factory operation. A method based on photogrammetry technology is presented. The focus is on developing a simple and cost-effective solution to track the many changes that occur in a factory building during operation. The method is preceded by a hardware and software comparison to identify the most economical and fastest variant. 

Keywords: digital factory model, photogrammetry, factory planning, restructuring

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14583 Development of an Instrument Assessing Participants’ Motivation on Assigning Monetary Value to Quality of Life

Authors: Afentoula Mavrodi, Andreas Georgiou, Georgios Tsiotras, Vassilis Aletras

Abstract:

Placing a monetary value on a quality-adjusted-life-year (QALY) is of utmost importance in economic evaluation. Identifying the population’s preferences is critical in order to understand some of the reasons driving variations in the assigned monetary value. Yet, evidence of the motives behind value assignment to a QALY by the general public is limited. Developing an instrument that would capture the population’s motives could be proven valuable to policy-makers, to guide them in allocating different values to a QALY based on users’ motivations. The aim of this study was to identify the most relevant motives and develop an appropriate instrument to assess them. To design the instrument, we employed: a) the EQ-5D-3L tool to assess participants’ current health status, and b) the Willingness-to-Pay (WTP) approach, within the Contingent Valuation (CV) Method framework, to elicit the monetary value. Advancing the open-ended approach adopted to assess solely protest bidders’ motives; a variety of follow-up item-specific statements were designed (deductive approach), aiming to evaluate motives of both protest bidders and participants willing to pay for the hypothetical treatment under consideration. The initial design of the survey instrument was the outcome of an extensive literature review. This instrument was revised based on 15 semi-structured interviews that took place in September 2018 and a pilot study held during two months (October-November) in 2018. Individuals with different educational, occupational and economical backgrounds and adequate verbal skills were recruited to complete the semi-structured interviews. The follow-up motivation statements of both protest bidders and those willing to pay were revised and rephrased after the semi-structured interviews. In total 4 statements for protest bidders and 3 statements for those willing to pay for the treatment were chosen to be included in the survey tool. Using the CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview) method, a randomly selected sample of 97 persons living in Thessaloniki, Greece, completed the questionnaire on two occasions over a period of 4 weeks. Based on pilot study results, a test-retest reliability assessment was performed using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). All statements formulated for protest bidders showed acceptable reliability (ICC values of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.67, 0.92) and above). Similarly, all statements for those willing to pay for the treatment showed high reliability (ICC values of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.91) and above). Overall, the instrument designed in this study was reliable with regards to the item-specific statements assessing participants’ motivation. Validation of the instrument will take place in a future study. For a holistic WTP per QALY instrument, participants’ motivation must be addressed broadly. The instrument developed in this study captured a variety of motives and provided insight with regards to the method through which the latter are evaluated. Last but not least, it extended motive assessment to all study participants and not only protest bidders.

Keywords: contingent valuation method, instrument, motives, quality-adjusted life-year, willingness-to-pay

Procedia PDF Downloads 134