Search results for: linguistic information

Authors: Sumaira Hafeez, Saira Akram

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Albeit the populace in metropolitan regions on the planet develops each year, the urban communities battling to adapt to the expanded metropolitan movement grow at different rates. Land Surface Temperature and other atmospheric parameters of the area of not really settled using Landsat pictures more than 10 years isolated. The LULC types were moreover arranged using managed gathering techniques. Quick urbanization is changing the current examples of Land Use Land Cover (LULC) all around the world, which is thusly expanding the Land Surface Temperature (LST) other atmospheric parameters in numerous districts. Present review was centered around assessing the current and recreating the future LULC and Land Surface Temperature patterns in the elevated climate of lower Himalayan district of Pakistan. Past examples of LULC and Land Surface Temperature were distinguished through the multi-unearthly Landsat satellite pictures during the 1995–2019 information period. The future forecasts were made for the year 2030 to work out LULC and LST changes separately, utilizing their previous examples. The review presumes that the reliably extending encroachment of the city's as of late advanced provincial regions over the totally open have went with an overall warming of the district's typical. Meteorological parameters over the earlier ten years and that permitting the land to lie void for a significant long time resulting to clearing the country fields for future metropolitan improvement is a preparation that has lamentable natural effects.

Keywords: surface urban heat island, land surface temperature, urban climate change, spatial analysis of meterological and atmospheric science

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Authors: Marko Batic, Nikola Tomasevic, Sanja Vranes

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One of the strongholds in the ubiquitous efforts related to the energy conservation and energy efficiency improvement is represented by the retrofit of high energy consumers in buildings. In general, HVAC systems represent the highest energy consumers in buildings. However they usually suffer from mal-operation and/or malfunction, causing even higher energy consumption than necessary. Various Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) systems can be successfully employed for this purpose, especially when it comes to the application at a single device/unit level. In the case of more complex systems, where multiple devices are operating in the context of the same building, significant energy efficiency improvements can only be achieved through application of comprehensive FDD systems relying on additional higher level knowledge, such as their geographical location, served area, their intra- and inter- system dependencies etc. This paper presents a comprehensive FDD system that relies on the utilization of common knowledge repository that stores all critical information. The discussed system is deployed as a test-bed platform at the two at Fiumicino and Malpensa airports in Italy. This paper aims at presenting advantages of implementation of the knowledge base through the utilization of ontology and offers improved functionalities of such system through examples of typical queries and reasoning that enable derivation of high level energy conservation measures (ECM). Therefore, key SPARQL queries and SWRL rules, based on the two instantiated airport ontologies, are elaborated. The detection of high level irregularities in the operation of airport heating/cooling plants is discussed and estimation of energy savings is reported.

Keywords: airport ontology, knowledge management, ontology modeling, reasoning

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Authors: Rosy Chaudhary, Pushpa Parajuli

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Background and Objectives: Informational support to family members has a significant potential for reducing this distress related to hospitalization of their patient into the critical care unit, enabling them to cope better and support the patient. The objective of the study is to assess family members’ perception of informational support, anxiety, satisfaction with care and to reveal the association with selected socio-demographic variables and to investigate the correlation between informational support, anxiety and satisfaction with care. Materials and Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 39 family caregivers of patients admitted in critical care unit of BPKIHS(B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences). Consecutive sampling technique was used wherein data was collected over duration of one month using interview schedule. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 34.97 ± 10.64 and two third (66.70%) were male. Mean score for informational support was 25.72(SD = 5.66; theoretical range of 10 - 40). Mean anxiety was 10.41 (SD = 5.02; theoretical range of 7 - 21). Mean score for satisfaction with care was 40.77 (SD = 6.77; theoretical range of 14 - 64). A moderate positive correlation was found between informational support and satisfaction with care (r = 0.551, p < .001) and a moderate negative correlation was found between anxiety and satisfaction with care (r = -0.590; p = 0.000). No relationship was noted between informational support and anxiety. Conclusion: The informational support and satisfaction of the family caregivers with the care provided to their patients was satisfactory. More than three fourth of the family caregivers had anxiety; the factors associated being educational status of the caregivers, the family income and duration of visiting hours. There was positive correlation between informational support and satisfaction with care provided justifying the need for comprehensive information to the family caregivers by the health personnel. There was negative correlation between anxiety and satisfaction with care.

Keywords: anxiety, caregivers, critical care unit, informational support, family

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Authors: Misha Teimouri

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Our world has been transformed by the use of the internet and the constant flow of information. While this transmission has its benefits, it has also added significant challenges to family relations, primarily in the field of parenting and children's digital lives. Screens, speed, and connectedness are the words that characterize the lives of today's digital generation; it's as if the entire world is in their pockets at all times. Parents attempt to regulate and control their children's internet use in the hopes of maximizing the advantages and minimizing the disadvantages of their children's internet use; however, given that children spend more time online, particularly ever since the pandemic, children's cyber-aggression has become an issue for them. Children may externalize their behavior online, bully others, send anger/hatred/resist messages, share violent and bloody content, and engage in sexting. These types of online aggression make parenting more difficult, especially for digital immigrant parents compared to digital native parents. In response to these challenges, this study investigated the level of cyber aggression among children, as well as the effects of digi-parenting (active, monitoring, restrictive, and warm and supportive) on children's cyber-aggression (sexual, verbal, visual) as victims or aggressors. The study also determined whether there were any differences in parenting styles between digital natives (DN) and digital immigrants. In accordance with the study, boys and older children are more likely to engage in cyber aggression as aggressors, whereas girls and younger children are more likely to engage as victims. Warmth and supportive digiparenting have a greater impact on children's cyber-aggression (sexual, verbal, and visual) as victims or aggressors. This study also found that, when compared to DI parents, DN parents are more successful at digi-parenting and reducing their children's exposure to cyber-aggression.

Keywords: digi-parenting, cyber-aggression, digital natives, digital immigrants, children's cyber-aggression (sexual, verbal, visual)

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Authors: Kinga Topolska, Agnieszka Filipiak-Florkiewicz, Adam Florkiewicz, Daria Chechelska, Iwona Cieślik, Ewa Cieślik

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Food choice is a complex human behaviour, that is influenced by many interrelating factors. It is important to understand what consumers really want to eat. Nowadays, the growing popularity of frozen desserts is observed. Among them, sorbets are of the special interest. They are made primarily of fruit juice or fruit purée, water and sugar. A questionnaire study was done to evaluate the consumer preferences towards sorbets. A hundred respondents were included in the study. The respondents answered the questions concerning, inter alia, on the favourite taste of sorbets, additional ingredients (pieces of fruits, nuts etc.), the reason for choosing the product and also the opinion about potential purchasing or not the new product. Women, more frequently than men, indicated strawberry sorbet or the product on the basis of citrus fruits as a favourite one. In turn, 14% of men chose the apple taste. Pieces of chocolate were chosen by most of respondents. Men, more often than women, regarded raisins, alcohol and nuts as the most desirable additional ingredients of sorbets. The candied fruits and spices were indicated more frequently by women. Most of respondents indicated the taste as the major reason for sorbet buying. In turn, for 20% women the most important determinant was the care for their figure. It was observed that more than a half of women regarded sorbets as healthier than traditional ice creams. Answering the question: 'If you had the opportunity to try a new sorbet, containing the ingredient with proven healthy properties, would you buy it?', significantly more men than women answered 'yes, because I like novelty'. Meanwhile, for 14% respondents (independently of gender) it would be only a publicity stunt. Knowing what the consumers desire in selecting a product, is a very important information to design and offer them a new one. Sorbets could be an interesting alternative to ice creams.

Keywords: consumer, preferences, sorbets, questionnaire study

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Authors: Monika Kallubai, Shreya Dubey, Rajagopal Subramanyam

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Our study is all about the biological interactions of synthesized 5β-dihydrocortisol (Dhc) and 5β-dihydrocortisol acetate (DhcA) molecules with carrier protein Human Serum Albumin (HSA). The cytotoxic study was performed on breast cancer cell line (MCF-7) normal human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK293), the IC50 values for MCF-7 cells were 28 and 25 µM, respectively, whereas no toxicity in terms of cell viability was observed with HEK293 cell line. The further experiment proved that Dhc and DhcA induced 35.6% and 37.7% early apoptotic cells and 2.5%, 2.9% late apoptotic cells respectively. Morphological observation of cell death through TUNEL assay revealed that Dhc and DhcA induced apoptosis in MCF-7 cells. The complexes of HSA–Dhc and HSA–DhcA were observed as static quenching, and the binding constants (K) was 4.7±0.03×104 M-1 and 3.9±0.05×104 M-1, and their binding free energies were found to be -6.4 and -6.16 kcal/mol, respectively. The displacement studies confirmed that lidocaine 1.4±0.05×104 M-1 replaced Dhc, and phenylbutazone 1.5±0.05×104 M-1 replaced by DhcA, which explains domain I and domain II are the binding sites for Dhc and DhcA. Further, CD results revealed that the secondary structure of HSA was altered in the presence of Dhc and DhcA. Furthermore, the atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed that the dimensions like height and molecular sizes of the HSA–Dhc and HSA–DhcA complex were larger compared to HSA alone. Detailed analysis through molecular dynamics simulations also supported the greater stability of HSA–Dhc and HSA–DhcA complexes, and root-mean-square-fluctuation interpreted the binding site of Dhc as domain IB and domain IIA for DhcA. This information is valuable for the further development of steroid derivatives with improved pharmacological significance as novel anti-cancer drugs.

Keywords: apoptosis, dihydrocortisol, fluorescence quenching, protein conformations

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Authors: Natacha Fery, Guilherme L. Dalledonne, Xiangyang Zheng, Cheng Tang, Roberto Mayerle

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A Decision Support System (DSS) for supporting decision makers in the management of the Shandong Peninsula has been developed. Emphasis has been given to coastal protection, coastal cage aquaculture and harbors. The investigations were done in the framework of a joint research project funded by the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). In this paper, a description of the DSS, the development of its components, and results of its application are presented. The system integrates in-situ measurements, process-based models, and a database management system. Numerical models for the simulation of flow, waves, sediment transport and morphodynamics covering the entire Bohai Sea are set up based on the Delft3D modelling suite (Deltares). Calibration and validation of the models were realized based on the measurements of moored Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) and High Frequency (HF) radars. In order to enable cost-effective and scalable applications, a database management system was developed. It enhances information processing, data evaluation, and supports the generation of data products. Results of the application of the DSS to the management of coastal protection, coastal cage aquaculture and harbors are presented here. Model simulations covering the most severe storms observed during the last decades were carried out leading to an improved understanding of hydrodynamics and morphodynamics. Results helped in the identification of coastal stretches subjected to higher levels of energy and improved support for coastal protection measures.

Keywords: coastal protection, decision support system, in-situ measurements, numerical modelling

Procedia PDF Downloads 195

Authors: Amine M. Benmehaia, Amine Oulmane

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The supply response of agricultural commodities to changes in price incentives is an important issue for the success of any policy reform in the agricultural sector. This study aims to quantify the responsiveness of producers of some livestock commodities to price incentives in Algerian context. Time series analysis is used on annual data for a period of 52 years (1966-2018). Both co-integration and vector error correction model (VECM) are used through the Nerlove model of partial adjustment. The study attempts to determine the long-run and short-run relationships along with the magnitudes of disequilibria in the selected commodities. Results show that the short-run price elasticities are low in cow and sheep meat sectors (8.7 and 8% respectively), while their respective long-run elasticities are 16.5 and 10.5, whereas eggs and milk have very high short-run price elasticities (82 and 90% respectively) with long-run elasticities of 40 and 46 respectively. The error correction coefficient, reflecting the speed of adjustment towards the long-run equilibrium, is statistically significant and have the expected negative sign. Its estimates are 12.7 for cow meat, 33.5 for sheep meat, 46.7 for eggs and 8.4 for milk. It seems that cow meat and milk producers have a weak feedback of about 12.7% and 8.4% respectively of the previous year's disequilibrium from the long-run price elasticity, whereas sheep meat and eggs producers adjust to correct long run disequilibrium with a high speed of adjustment (33.5% and 46.7 % respectively). The implication of this is that much more in-depth research is needed to identify those factors that affect agricultural supply and to describe the effect of factors that shift supply in response to price incentives. This could provide valuable information for government in the use of appropriate policy measures.

Keywords: Algeria, cointegration, livestock, supply response, vector error correction model

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Authors: Diane M. Bender

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In design education, professional education is delivered in a studio, where students learn and understand their discipline. This learning methodology culminates in a final review, where students present their work before instructors and invited reviewers, known as jurors. These jurors are recognized experts who add a wide diversity of opinions in their feedback to students. This feedback can be provided in multiple formats, mainly a verbal critique of the work. To better understand how these expert reviewers prepare for a studio review, a survey was distributed to reviewers at a multi-disciplinary design school within the United States. Five design disciplines are involved in this case study: architecture, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, and landscape architecture. Respondents (n=122) provided information about if and how they received training on how to critique and participate in a final review. Common forms of training included mentorship, modeled behavior from other designers/past professors, workshops on critique from the instructing faculty prior to the crit session, and by being a practicing design professional. Respondents also gave feedback about how much the instructor provided course materials prior to the review in order to better prepare for student interaction. Finally, respondents indicated if they had interaction, and in what format, with students prior to the final review. Typical responses included participation in studio desk crits, a midterm jury member, meetings with students, and email or social media correspondence. While the focus of this study is the studio review, the findings are equally applicable to other disciplines. Suggestions will be provided on how to improve the preparation of guests in the learning process and how their interaction can positively influence student engagement.

Keywords: critique, design, education, evaluation, juror

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Authors: Mai Alshareef

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The Saudi government considers the modernisation of the education system as a critical component of the national development plan, Saudi Vision 2030; however, this sudden reform creates tension amongst Saudis. This study examines first the reflection of the social and digital education reform on stakeholders and the general Saudi public, and second, the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the ethnoreligious conflict in Saudi Arabia. This study employs Cyberconflict theory to examine conflicts in the real world and cyberspace. The findings are based on a qualitative case study methodology that uses netnography, an analysis of 3,750 Twitter posts and semi-structural interviews with 30 individuals, including key actors in the Saudi education sector and Twitter activists during 2019\2020. The methods utilised are guided by thematic analysis to map an understanding of factors that influence societal conflicts in Saudi Arabia, which in this case include religious, national, and gender identity. Elements of Cyberconflict theory are used to better understand how conflicting groups build their identities in connection to their ethnic/religious/cultural differences and competing national identities. The findings correspond to the ethnoreligious components of the Cyberconflict theory. Twitter became a battleground for liberals, conservatives, the Saudi public and elites, and it is used in a novel way to influence public opinion and to challenge the media monopoly. Opposing groups relied heavily on a discourse of exclusion and inclusion and showed ethnic and religious affiliations, national identity, and chauvinism. The findings add to existing knowledge in the cyberconflict field of study, and they also reveal outcomes that are critical to the Saudi Arabian national context.

Keywords: education, cyberconflict, Twitter, national identity

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Authors: Tali Capua, Karin Hermon, Miguel Glatstein, Oren Tavor, Ayelet Rimon

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Background: Electric bicycles (E-bikes) are one of a wide range of light electric vehicles that provide convenient local transportation and attractive recreational opportunities. Along with their growing use worldwide, the E-bike related injury rate increases. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to specifically compare E-bike with classic bicycle related injuries in children. Methods: Data of all pediatric ( < 16 years of age) bicycle related injuries presenting to an urban level I trauma center between 2014 and 2015 were collected and analyzed. The recorded data included age, gender, details of the accident, as well severity of injury, medical diagnosis, and the outcome. Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS) were calculated for each patient. Data of E-bike related injuries and classic bicycle were then compared. Results: A total of 124 bicycle related injuries and 97 E-bike related injuries presented to the emergency department. Once pedestrians and bicycle passengers were removed, the groups of riders consisted of 111 bikers and 85 E-bikers. The mean age of bikers was 9.9 years (range 3-16 years) and of E-bikers was 13.7 years (range 7.5-16 years). Injuries to the head and the extremities were common in both groups. Compared to bikers, E-bikers had significantly more injuries to intra-abdominal organs (p = 0.04). Twenty patients (16%) with bicycle related injuries were admitted, and 13 (15%) patients with E-bike related injuries, of the latter group four underwent surgical intervention. ISS scores were low overall, but the injuries of higher severity (ISS > 9) were among the E-bikers. Conclusions: This study provides unique information which suggests that injuries in E-bikers tend to be more severe than in classic bikers. There is a need for regulation regarding the use of E-bikes to enhance the safety of both bikers and other road and pavement users.

Keywords: bicycle, electric bicycle, injury, pediatric, trauma

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Sehrish Ather

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Introduction: To improve organizational achievements through the production of new knowledge, health policy and system research is the basic requirement. An aging population is always the source of the increased burden of chronic diseases, disabilities, mental illnesses, and other co-morbidities; therefore the provision of quality health care services to every group of the population should be achieved by making strong policy and system research for the betterment of health care system. Unfortunately, the whole world is lacking policies and system research for providing health care to their elderly population. Materials and Methods: A literature review of published studies on aging diseases was done, ranging from the year 2011-2018. Geriatric, population, health policy, system, and research were the key terms used for the search. Databases searched were Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Ovid, and Research Gate. Grey literature was searched from various websites, including IHME, Library of the University of Lahore, World Health Organization (Ageing and Life Course), and Personal communication with Neuro-physicians. After careful reviewing published and un-published information, it was decided to carry on with commentary. Results and discussion: Most of the published studies have highlighted the need to advocate the funders of health policy and stakeholders of healthcare system research, and it was detected as a major issue, research on policy and healthcare system to provide health care to 'geriatric population' was found as highly neglected area. Conclusion: It is concluded that physicians are more involved with the policy and system research regarding any type of diseases, but scientists and researchers of basic and social science are less likely to be involved in methods used for health policy and system research due to lack of funding and resources. Therefore ageing diseases should be considered as a priority, and comprehensive policy and system research should be initiated for diseases of the geriatric population.

Keywords: geriatric population, health care system, health policy, system research

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Authors: Lucile Soudani, Hervé Illy, Rémi Bouchié

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Mould growth in living environments has been widely reported for decades all throughout the world. A higher level of moisture in housings can lead to building degradation, chemical component emissions from construction materials as well as enhancing mould growth within the envelope elements or on the internal surfaces. Moreover, a significant number of studies have highlighted the link between mould presence and the prevalence of respiratory diseases. In recent years, the proportion of biobased materials used in construction has been increasing, as seen as an effective lever to reduce the environmental impact of the building sector. Besides, bio-based materials are also hygroscopic materials: when in contact with the wet air of a surrounding environment, their porous structures enable a better capture of water molecules, thus providing a more suitable background for mould growth. Many studies have been conducted to develop reliable models to be able to predict mould appearance, growth, and decay over many building materials and external exposures. Some of them require information about temperature and/or relative humidity, exposure times, material sensitivities, etc. Nevertheless, several studies have highlighted a large disparity between predictions and actual mould growth in experimental settings as well as in occupied buildings. The difficulty of considering the influence of all parameters appears to be the most challenging issue. As many complex phenomena take place simultaneously, a preliminary study has been carried out to evaluate the feasibility to sadopt a reliability approach rather than a deterministic approach. Both epistemic and random uncertainties were identified specifically for the prediction of mould appearance and growth. Several studies published in the literature were selected and analysed, from the agri-food or automotive sectors, as the deployed methodology appeared promising.

Keywords: bio-based materials, mould growth, numerical prediction, reliability approach

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Authors: Patrick Andrew McCoy

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The intense fascination with ancient Egypt has persisted for thousands of years and across cultures globally, known popularly as Egyptomania,’ ‘Tutmania,’ ‘Mummymania,’ and ‘Orientalism. A review of the literature indicates psychological themes for its behavior are curiosity, escapism, existentialism, religiosity and spirituality, and cultural, racial, and ethnic identity. A mixed-methods study is initiated with established tools to explore these themes and discover additional motivators. Objectives: The purpose of the study is to explore the themes underlying the intense fascination of ancient Egypt. The abstract themes of the fascination of ancient Egypt are cross-cultural phenomena that motivate people in their interactions with other cultures. These interactions have both been beneficial and combative. Methodology: A mixed methods research study is designed where quantitative (QUAN) survey of participants’ strong fascination with ancient Egypt, within psychological themes derived from a review of the literature. The qualitative (QUAL) survey consists of open-ended questions to explore participants’ exposure to ancient Egypt that may have influenced their fascination and their behaviors resulting from the phenomenon. The themes are explored in QUAN data and QUAL data to discover what themes are established and inferred the psychological motivations of the phenomenon. Main Contributions: This study will provide more information on several scientific disciplines, including psychology, anthropology, Egyptology, and tourism. This study seeks to benefit the tourism industry for not only in Egypt but hopefully with generalizability of cultural tourist industries in other countries.

Keywords: cross-cultural psychology, international psychology, mixed-methods, identity, ancient Egypt, phenomenology, escapism, curiosity, existentialism, religiosity, spirituality

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Authors: Dhanuja S. Patil, Sanjay B. Waykar

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Event detection is a standout amongst the most key parts for distinctive sorts of area applications of video data framework. Recently, it has picked up an extensive interest of experts and in scholastics from different zones. While detecting video event has been the subject of broad study efforts recently, impressively less existing methodology has considered multi-model data and issues related efficiency. Start of soccer matches different doubtful circumstances rise that can't be effectively judged by the referee committee. A framework that checks objectively image arrangements would prevent not right interpretations because of some errors, or high velocity of the events. Bayesian networks give a structure for dealing with this vulnerability using an essential graphical structure likewise the probability analytics. We propose an efficient structure for analysing and summarization of soccer videos utilizing object-based features. The proposed work utilizes the t-cherry junction tree, an exceptionally recent advancement in probabilistic graphical models, to create a compact representation and great approximation intractable model for client’s relationships in an interpersonal organization. There are various advantages in this approach firstly; the t-cherry gives best approximation by means of junction trees class. Secondly, to construct a t-cherry junction tree can be to a great extent parallelized; and at last inference can be performed utilizing distributed computation. Examination results demonstrates the effectiveness, adequacy, and the strength of the proposed work which is shown over a far reaching information set, comprising more soccer feature, caught at better places.

Keywords: summarization, detection, Bayesian network, t-cherry tree

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Authors: Alireza Yavar, Sukiman Sarmani, Kok Siong Khoo

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Trace element analysis of human hair has the potential to disclose retroactive information about an individual’s nutritional status and exposure. The residents of villages in Kandal province of Cambodia, due to dietary habits, lifestyle and ecological conditions, are unprotected from toxic elements particularly arsenic (As). The purpose of this research was to valuation levels of toxic and vital elements in scalp human hair. Scalp hair samples of 12-17 school children from three villages of Anglong Romiot (AR), Svay Romiot (SR) and Kampong Kong (KK) in the Kandal province of Cambodia were evaluated using k0- instrumental neutron activation method (k0-INAA). The samples were irradiated 6 hours in a Malaysian nuclear agency (MNA) research reactor and afterward, an HPGe detector was utilized to obtain gamma peaks of radionuclides in samples. We achieved profiles of 31 elements in human hair in our studied area, namely, As, Au, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Dy, Eu152m, Hg197, Hg203, Ho, Ir, K, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Pa, Pt195m, Pt197, Sb, Sc46, Sc47, Sm, Sn117m, W181, W187, Yb169, Yb175, Zn and Zn69m. The precision of the method was assessed by evaluating ERM-DB001-human hair as certified reference materials (CRMs), and which experimental result of ERM-DB001 was consistent with certified values. Whereas Arsenic (As) pollution is major contamination in our studied area, correlation between the concentration of As and other elements were determined by Pearson’s correlation test that it may be useful as a database source for toxic and essential elements in the hair of teenage individuals in our studied area

Keywords: scalp human hair, toxic and essential elements, Kandal province of Cambodia, k₀- instrumental neutron activation method

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Authors: Tebogo Sethibe, Jabulile Mabuza

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The COVID-19 pandemic has been commonly referred to as a ‘black swan event’; it has changed the world, from how people live, learn, work and socialise. It is believed that the pandemic has fast-tracked the adoption of technology in many organisations to ensure business continuity and business sustainability; broadly said, the pandemic has fast-tracked digital transformation (DT) in different organisations. This paper aims to study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on DT in organisations in South Africa by focusing on the changes in IT capabilities in the DT framework. The research design is qualitative. The data collection was through semi-structured interviews with information communication technology (ICT) leaders representing different organisations in South Africa. The data were analysed using the thematic analysis process. The results from the study show that, in terms of ICT in the organisation, the pandemic had a direct and positive impact on ICT strategy and ICT operations. In terms of IT capability transformation, the pandemic resulted in the optimisation and expansion of existing IT capabilities in the organisation and the building of new IT capabilities to meet emerging business needs. In terms of the focus of activities during the pandemic, there seems to be a split in organisations between the primary focus being on ‘digital IT’ or ‘traditional IT’. Overall, the findings of the study show that the pandemic had a positive and significant impact on DT in organisations. However, a definitive conclusion on this would require expanding the scope of the research to all the components of a comprehensive DT framework. This study is significant because it is one of the first studies to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on organisations, on ICT in the organisation, on IT capability transformation and, to a greater extent, DT. The findings from the study show that in response to the pandemic, there is a need for: (i) agility in organisations; (ii) organisations to execute on their existing strategy; (iii) the future-proofing of IT capabilities; (iv) the adoption of a hybrid working model; and for (v) organisations to take risks and embrace new ideas.

Keywords: digital transformation, COVID-19, bimodal-IT, digital transformation framework

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Authors: Moses A. Guto Maobe, Leonard Gitu, Erastus Gatebe

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The plants Carissa spinarum and Toddalia asiatica have historically been used as herbal medicines in Kisii and Nyamira Counties region, Kenya. But, there is limited study about heavy metal contents in their different plant parts. Such information is necessary for proper use of the two plant species as herbal medicines. So, precise determination of heavy metal contents in different part of these herbs is required for quality, efficacy and safety use in the treatment of ailments. The main aim of this study was to standardize the two herbs of interest. The objective of this study was to evaluate the levels of heavy metal contents in the root of Carissa spinarum and Toddalia asiatica. A wet digestion method with concentrated nitric-hydrochloric acid was used for the dissolution of each herb part prior to elemental analysis. Standard solutions of various concentrations of each pure metal of analytical grade arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) were prepared and used. The analysis of As, Cd and Hg in each of two herbs was conducted by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) Shimadzu model No. 6200. Data obtained from root of Carissa spinarum indicated concentration (mgkg⁻¹) of Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd) and Mercury (Hg) were 0.87 x 10⁻³, 7.02 x 10⁻⁶ and 0.66 x 10⁻³ respectively. Results obtained from root of Toddalia asiatica showed concentration (mgkg⁻¹) of Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd) and Mercury (Hg) were 1.33 x 10⁻³, 7.32 x 10⁻⁶ and 1.13 x 10⁻³, respectively. The permissible limits set by WHO for As, Cd and Hg in herbs are (mgkg⁻¹) < 1 - 5, < 0.3 – 1 and < 0.1- 0.5 respectively. The concentrations of As, Cd, and Hg determined were relatively higher in the root of Toddalia asiatica than the root of Carissa spinarum. It was concluded that levels of heavy metal contents of As, Cd, and Hg in the root of Carissa spinarum and Toddalia asiatica were within permissible limits set by WHO/FAO.

Keywords: heavy metals, Carissa spinarum, Toddalia asiatica, wet digestion, pollutants, AAS

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Authors: Vladimir A. Vinnikov

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The paper proposes a model of an inhomogeneous rock mass with initially random distribution of microcracks on mineral grain boundaries. It describes the behavior of cracks in a medium under the effect of thermal field, the medium heated instantaneously to a predetermined temperature. Crack growth occurs according to the concept of fracture mechanics provided that the stress intensity factor K exceeds the critical value of Kc. The modeling of thermally induced acoustic emission memory effects is based on the assumption that every event of crack nucleation or crack growth caused by heating is accompanied by a single acoustic emission event. Parameters of the thermally induced acoustic emission memory effect produced by cyclic heating and cooling (with the temperature amplitude increasing from cycle to cycle) were calculated for several rock texture types (massive, banded, and disseminated). The study substantiates the adaptation of the proposed model to humidity interference with the thermally induced acoustic emission memory effect. The influence of humidity on the thermally induced acoustic emission memory effect in quasi-homogeneous and banded rocks is estimated. It is shown that such modeling allows the structure and texture of rocks to be taken into account and the influence of interference factors on the distinctness of the thermally induced acoustic emission memory effect to be estimated. The numerical modeling can be used to obtain information about the thermal impacts on rocks in the past and determine the degree of rock disturbance by means of non-destructive testing.

Keywords: degree of rock disturbance, non-destructive testing, thermally induced acoustic emission memory effects, structure and texture of rocks

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Authors: Guadalupe Pérez, Jorge Islas, Mirna Guevara, Raúl Suárez

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Jatropha curcas is a perennial oleaginous plant that is currently considered an energy crop with high potential as an environmentally sustainable biofuel. During the last decades, research in biofuels has grown in tropical and subtropical regions in Latin America. However, as far we know, there are no reports on the growth and yield patterns of Jatropha curcas under the specific agro climatic scenarios of the State of Morelos, Mexico. This study presents the results of 52 months monitoring of 10 toxic and non-toxic ecotypes of Jatropha curcas (E1M, E2M, E3M, E4M, E5M, E6O, E7O, E8O, E9C, E10C) in an experimental plantation with minimum watering and fertilization resources. The main objective is to identify the ecotypes with the highest potential as biodiesel raw material in the select region, by developing experimental information. Specifically, we monitored biophysical and growth parameters, including plant survival and seed production (at the end of month 52), to study the performance of each ecotype and to establish differences among the variables of morphological growth, net seed oil content, and toxicity. To analyze the morphological growth, a statistical approach to the biophysical parameters was used; the net seed oil content -80 to 192 kg/ha- was estimated with the first harvest; and the toxicity was evaluated by examining the phorbol ester concentration (µg/L) in the oil extracted from the seeds. The comparison and selection of ecotypes was performed through a methodology developed based on the normalization of results. We identified four outstanding ecotypes (E1M, E2M, E3M, and E4M) that can be used to establish Jatropha curcas as energy crops in the state of Morelos for feasible agro-industrial production of biodiesel and other products related to the use of biomass.

Keywords: biodiesel production, Jatropha curcas, seed oil content, toxic and non-toxic ecotypes

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Authors: Hannah S. Waldron

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Background: The government has proposed sugar reduction targets in an effort to tackle childhood obesity, focussing on those of low socioeconomic status (SES). Supermarkets are a key location for reducing the amount of sugar purchased, but success so far in this environment has been limited. Building on previous research, this study will assess the impact of restricting the availability of higher sugar biscuits as a strategy to encourage lower sugar biscuit purchasing, and whether the effects vary by customer SES. Method: 14 supermarket convenience stores were divided between control (n=7) and intervention (n=7) groups. In the intervention stores, biscuits with sugar above the government’s target (26.2g/100g) were removed from sale and replaced with lower sugar ( < 26.2g sugar/100g) alternatives. Sales and customer demographic information were collected using loyalty card data and point-of-sale transaction data for 8-weeks pre and post the intervention for lower sugar biscuits, total biscuits, alternative higher sugar products, and all products. Results were analysed using three-way and two-way mixed ANOVAs. Results: The intervention resulted in a significant increase in lower sugar biscuit purchasing (p < 0.001) and a significant decline in overall biscuit sales (p < 0.001) between the time periods compared to control stores. Sales of higher sugar products and all products increased significantly between the two time periods in both the intervention and control stores (p < 0.05). SES showed no significant effect on any of the reported outcomes (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Restricting the availability of higher sugar products may be a successful strategy for encouraging lower sugar purchasing across all SES groups. However, larger-scale interventions are required in additional categories to assess the long term implications for both consumers and retailers.

Keywords: biscuits, nudging, sugar, supermarket

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Authors: Nazli Darkhal

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The use of gems and ornaments has been common in Iran since the beginning of history. The prosperity of the country, the wealth, and the interest of the people of this land in luxurious and glorious life, combined with beauty, have always attracted the attention of the gems and ornaments of the Iranian people. Iranians are famous in the world for having a long history of collecting and recognizing precious stones. In this case, we can use the unique treasure of national jewelry. Raman spectroscopy method is one of the oscillating spectroscopy methods that is classified in the group of nondestructive study methods, and like other methods, in addition to several advantages, it also has disadvantages and problems. Micro Raman spectroscopy is one of the different types of Raman spectroscopy in which an optical microscope is combined with a Raman device to provide more capabilities and advantages than its original method. In this way, with the help of Raman spectroscopy and a light microscope, while observing more details from different parts of the historical sample, natural or artificial pigments can be identified in a small part of it. The EDX electron microscope also functions as the basis for the interaction of the electron beam with the matter. The beams emitted from this interaction can be used to examine samples. In this article, in addition to introducing the micro Raman spectroscopy method, studies have been conducted on the structure of three samples of existing stones in the historic citadel of Bam. Using this method of study on precious and semi-precious stones, in addition to requiring a short time, can provide us with complete information about the structure and theme of these samples. The results of experiments and gemology of the stones showed that the selected beads are agate and jasper, and they can be placed in the chalcedony group.

Keywords: bam citadel, precious and semi-precious stones, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope

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Authors: Amare Nigatu, Mågne Bratveit, Bente E. Moen

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Background: Pesticide exposure is an important public health concern in Ethiopia, but there is limited information on pesticide intoxications. Residents may have an increased risk of pesticide exposure through proximity of their homes to farms using pesticides. Also the pesticide exposure might be related to employment at these farms. This study investigated the prevalence of acute pesticide intoxications (API) by residence proximity to a nearby flower farm and assessed if intoxications are related to working there or not. Methods: A cross-sectional survey involving 516 persons was conducted. Participants were grouped according to their residence proximity from a large flower farm; living within 5 kilometers and 5-12 kilometers away, respectively. In a structured interview, participants were asked if they had health symptoms within 48 hours of pesticide exposure in the past year. Those, who had experienced this and reported two or more typical pesticide intoxication symptoms, were considered as having had API. Chi-square and independent t-tests were used to compare categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Confounding variables were adjusted by using binomial regression model. Results: The prevalence of API in the past year among the residents in the study area was 26%, and it was higher in the population living close to the flower farm (42%) compared to those living far away (11%), prevalence ratio (PR) = 3.2, 95% CI: 2.2-4.8, adjusted for age, gender & education. A subgroup living close to the farm & working there had significantly more API (56%) than those living close & did not work there (16%), adjusted PR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.8-4.9. Flower farm workers reported more API (56%) than those not working there (13%,), adjusted PR = 4.0, 95% CI: 2.9-5.6. Conclusion: The residents living closer than 5 kilometers to the flower farm reported significantly higher prevalence of API than those living 5-12 kilometers away. This increased risk of API was associated with work at the flower farm.

Keywords: acute pesticide intoxications, self-reported symptoms, flower farm workers, living proximity

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Authors: Md Rabiul Islam, Ben Wadham

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This paper describes how indigenous students face challenges with various school activities due to inadequate equity and diversity principles in mainstream primary schools in Bangladesh. This study focuses on indigenous students’ interactions with mainstream class teachers and students through teaching-learning activities at public primary schools. Ethnographic research methods guided data collection under a case study methodology in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) region where maximum indigenous peoples’ inhabitants. The participants (class teachers) shared information through in-depth interviews about their experiences in the four selecting schools. The authors also observed the effects of school activities by use of equity and diversity lens for indigenous students’ situations in those schools. The authors argue that the socio-economic situations of indigenous families are not supportive of the educational development of their children. Similarly, the Bangladesh government does not have enough initiative programs based on equity and diversity principles for fundamental education of indigenous children at rural schools level. Besides this, the conventional teaching system cannot improve the diversification among the students in classrooms. The principles of equity and diversity are not well embedded in professional development of teachers, and using teaching materials in classrooms. The findings suggest that implementing equitable education; there are needed to arrange teachers’ education with equitable knowledge and introducing diversified teaching materials, and implementing teaching through students centered activities that promote the diversification among the multicultural students.

Keywords: case study research, chittagong hill tracts, equity and diversity, Indigenous children

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Authors: Kumar Kanudkuri, A. Sandhya

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Typically, in a MRI clinical setting, there are several protocols run, each indicated for a specific anatomy and disease condition. However, these protocols or parameters within them can change over time due to changes to the recommendations by the physician groups or updates in the software or by the availability of new technologies. Most of the time, the changes are performed by the MRI technologist to account for either time, coverage, physiological, or Specific Absorbtion Rate (SAR ) reasons. However, giving properly guidelines to MRI technologist is important so that they do not change the parameters that negatively impact the image quality. Typically a standard American College of Radiology (ACR) MRI phantom is used for Quality Control (QC) in order to guarantee that the primary objectives of MRI are met. The visual evaluation of quality depends on the operator/reviewer and might change amongst operators as well as for the same operator at various times. Therefore, overcoming these constraints is essential for a more impartial evaluation of quality. This makes quantitative estimation of image quality (IQ) metrics for MRI quality control is very important. So in order to solve this problem, we proposed that there is a need for a robust, open-source, and automated MRI image control tool. The Designed and developed an automatic analysis tool for measuring MRI image quality (IQ) metrics like Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), Signal to Noise Ratio Uniformity (SNRU), Visual Information Fidelity (VIF), Feature Similarity (FSIM), Gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM), slice thickness accuracy, slice position accuracy, High contrast spatial resolution) provided good accuracy assessment. A standardized quality report has generated that incorporates metrics that impact diagnostic quality.

Keywords: ACR MRI phantom, MRI image quality metrics, SNRU, VIF, FSIM, GLCM, slice thickness accuracy, slice position accuracy

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Authors: Pravin Mishra, Ajeet K. Jha, Pankaj K. Jha

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This technical note is aimed at providing a brief information on goat breeds, its breeding seasonality and different methods of oestrous synchronization for Nepalese goat farmers. It was observed that, these goats are seasonal breeder and showed oestrous during mainly two season; December- February and March-May. This leads to an irregular supply of goat to market and a wide variations in market price. Oestrus synchronization is only an alternative reproductive tool to overcome this scarcity by enhancing production and productivity. This technique enables goat producers breed their animals within a short pre-determined period and permits breeding round the year. The principle of oestrus synchronisation is based on controlling of the luteal phase of the oestrous cycle. There are two basic mechanisms; one by shortening the luteal life (premature luteolysis) using prostaglandins or its analogues and the other by prolonging the luteal life (simulating the activity of natural progesterone produced by the corpus luteum) using exogenous progesterone source. The former is easy to apply and only effective during breeding season, whereas the latter is advantageous when the reproductive status of the goat flock is unknown. The common hormonal products easily available in Nepal includes; prostaglandins or its analogues (Oviprost® Dinoprost® Lutalyse® and Estrumate®), exogenous progesterone (Fluorogestone acetate® and Controlled Internal Drug Release®, CIDR) devices). However, before practicing the oestrous synchronization protocol, it needs to be validated for oestrous response rate, time to onset of oestrous, duration of oestrous and pregnancy rates at farmer’s field. In conclusion, application of oestrus synchronisation practice enhanced goat production and surplus the goat meat demand in Nepal.

Keywords: goat, Nepal, oestrous, synchronization

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Authors: J. Prathap Kumar, G. Vaitheeswaran

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The present study investigates the role of ammonium and potassium ion in the electronic, bonding and optical properties of dinitramide salts due to their stability and non-toxic nature. A detailed analysis of bonding between NH₄ and K with dinitramide, optical transitions from the valence band to the conduction band, absorption spectra, refractive indices, reflectivity, loss function are reported. These materials are well known as oxidizers in solid rocket propellants. In the present work, we use full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method which is implemented in the Wien2k package within the framework of density functional theory. The standard DFT functional local density approximation (LDA) and generalized gradient approximation (GGA) always underestimate the band gap by 30-40% due to the lack of derivative discontinuities of the exchange-correlation potential with respect to an occupation number. In order to get reliable results, one must use hybrid functional (HSE-PBE), GW calculations and Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson (TB-mBJ) potential. It is very well known that hybrid functionals GW calculations are very expensive, the later methods are computationally cheap. The new developed TB-mBJ functionals use information kinetic energy density along with the charge density employed in DFT. The TB-mBJ functionals cannot be used for total energy calculations but instead yield very much improved band gap. The obtained electronic band gap at gamma point for both the ammonium dinitramide and potassium dinitramide are found to be 2.78 eV and 3.014 eV with GGA functional, respectively. After the inclusion of TB-mBJ, the band gap improved by 4.162 eV for potassium dinitramide and 4.378 eV for ammonium dinitramide. The nature of the band gap is direct in ADN and indirect in KDN. The optical constants such as dielectric constant, absorption, and refractive indices, birefringence values are presented. Overall as there are no experimental studies we present the improved band gap with TB-mBJ functional following with optical properties.

Keywords: ammonium dinitramide, potassium dinitramide, DFT, propellants

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Authors: Irfan Ahmad Afip

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This main research objective is to accurately identify the possibility for a Leptospirosis outbreak severity of a certain area based on its input features into a multivariate regression model. The research question is the possibility of an outbreak in a specific area being influenced by this feature, such as social demographics and hydrometeorological extremes. If the occurrence of an outbreak is being subjected to these features, then the epidemic severity for an area will be different depending on its environmental setting because the features will influence the possibility and severity of an outbreak. Specifically, this research objective was three-fold, namely: (a) to identify the relevant multivariate features and visualize the patterns data, (b) to develop a multivariate regression model based from the selected features and determine the possibility for Leptospirosis outbreak in an area, and (c) to compare the predictive ability of multivariate regression model and machine learning algorithms. Several secondary data features were collected locations in the state of Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, based on the possibility it would be relevant to determine the outbreak severity in the area. The relevant features then will become an input in a multivariate regression model; a linear regression model is a simple and quick solution for creating prognostic capabilities. A multivariate regression model has proven more precise prognostic capabilities than univariate models. The expected outcome from this research is to establish a correlation between the features of social demographic and hydrometeorological with Leptospirosis bacteria; it will also become a contributor for understanding the underlying relationship between the pathogen and the ecosystem. The relationship established can be beneficial for the health department or urban planner to inspect and prepare for future outcomes in event detection and system health monitoring.

Keywords: geographical information system, hydrometeorological, leptospirosis, multivariate regression

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Authors: Barsharani Maharana

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India is the country that shelters the largest number of poor. One of the major areas of concern in India is the unsatisfactory situation of the poor in social developmental and health parameters, not only in rural areas which are partly devoid of the facilities but also in the urban areas where the facilities are insufficient to provide services of a satisfactory quality. Objectives: 1) to examine the association between the environmental condition and health condition among poor women in urban areas. 2) to find out the significance of the effect of environment on the child health among the poor children. 3) to present the scenario of poor among highly urbanized and less urbanized states with respect to the health and environment. Data: data from National Family Health survey-3 and census are used to fulfill the objectives. Methodology: In this study, the standard of living condition of people living in urban areas is computed by taking some household characteristics and assets. People possessing low standard of living are considered as poor. Bivariate and multivariate analysis are employed to examine the effect of environment on poor women and children. A geographical information system is used to present the health and environmental condition of poor in highly and less urbanized states. Results: The findings reveal that the poor women who are not accessed to improved source of water, and sanitation facility are facing more health problems. Children who are living in a dirty environment and are not accessed to improved source of drinking water, among them prevalence of diarrhea and fever is found to be high. As well, the health condition of poor in highly urbanized states is dreadful. Policy implications: Government should emphasize on the implementation of programs regarding the improvement in the infrastructural facilities and health care treatment of urban poor.

Keywords: environment, urban poor, health, sanitation

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Authors: R. Oleko, A. Saraceni

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The aim of this research is to provide a rigorous evaluation of the existing academic productivity in relation to value proposition and creation in networked environments. Bibliometrics is a vigorous approach used to structure existing literature in an objective and reliable manner. To that aim, a thorough bibliometric analysis was performed in order to assess the large volume of the information encountered in a structured and reliable manner. A clear distinction between networks and service networks was considered indispensable in order to capture the effects of each network’s type properties on value creation processes. Via the use of bibliometric parameters, this review was able to capture the state-of-the-art in both value proposition and value creation consecutively. The results provide a rigorous assessment of the annual scientific production, the most influential journals, and the leading corresponding author countries. By means of citation analysis, the most frequently cited manuscripts and countries for each network type were identified. Moreover, by means of co-citation analysis, existing collaborative patterns were detected through the creation of reference co-citation networks and country collaboration networks. Co-word analysis was also performed in order to provide an overview of the conceptual structure in both networks and service networks. The acquired results provide a rigorous and systematic assessment of the existing scientific output in networked settings. As such, they positively contribute to a better understanding of the distinct impact of service networks on value proposition and value creation when compared to regular networks. The implications derived can serve as a guide for informed decision-making by practitioners during network formation and provide a structured evaluation that can stand as a basis for future research in the field.

Keywords: bibliometrics, co-citation analysis, networks, service networks, value creation, value proposition

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