Search results for: prevent obesity

Authors: Eshta Ranyal, Kamal Jain, Vikrant Ranyal

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Potholes are a severe threat to road safety and a major contributing factor towards road distress. In the Indian context, they are a major road hazard. Timely detection of potholes and subsequent repair can prevent the roads from deteriorating. To facilitate the roadway authorities in the timely detection and repair of potholes, we propose a pothole detection methodology using convolutional neural networks. The YOLOv3 model is used as it is fast and accurate in comparison to other state-of-the-art models. You only look once v3 (YOLOv3) is a state-of-the-art, real-time object detection system that features multi-scale detection. A mean average precision(mAP) of 73% was obtained on a training dataset of 200 images. The dataset was then increased to 500 images, resulting in an increase in mAP. We further calculated the depth of the potholes using stereoscopic vision by reconstruction of 3D potholes. This enables calculating pothole volume, its extent, which can then be used to evaluate the pothole severity as low, moderate, high.

Keywords: CNN, pothole detection, pothole severity, YOLO, stereovision

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Authors: Y. H. Hwang, J. Won, Y. S. Kang

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Supported ionic liquid membranes (SILMs) have attracted due to the negligible vapor pressure of ionic liquids (ILs) as well as the high gas selectivity for specific gases such as CO2 or olefin. 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide ([EMIM][TCM]), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide ([BMIM][TCM]), show high CO2 solubility, CO2 absorption, rapid CO2 absorption rate and negligible vapor pressure, SILMs using these ILs have been good candidates as CO2 separation membranes. However, SILM has to be operated at a low differential pressure to prevent the solvent from being expelled from the pores of supported membranes. In this paper, we improve the mechanical strength by forming ion gels which provide the stability while it retains the diffusion properties of the liquid stage which affects the gas separation properties. The ion gel was created by the addition of tri-block copolymer, poly(styrene-ethylene oxide-b-styrene) in RTIL. SILM using five different RTILs, are investigated with and without ion gels. The gas permeance were measured and the gas performance with and without the SEOS were investigated.

Keywords: ion gel, ionic liquid, membrane, nanostructure

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Authors: Chung-Yu Wu, Chia-Chi Chang, Wei-Ming Chen, Pu-Wei Wu, Shih-Fan Chen, Po-Chun Chen

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Electrostimulation medical devices for neural diseases require electroactive and biocompatible materials to transmit signals from electrodes to targeting tissues. Protection of surrounding tissues has become a great challenge for long-term implants. In this study, we designed back-end processes with compatible, efficient, and reliable advantages over the current state-of-the-art. We explored a hermetic packaging process with high quality of adhesion and uniformity as the biocompatible devices for long-term implantation. This approach is able to provide both excellent biocompatibility and protection to the biomedical electronic devices by performing conformal coating of biocompatible materials. We successfully developed a packaging process that is capable of exposing the stimulating electrode and cover all other faces of chip with high quality of protection to prevent leakage of devices and body fluid.

Keywords: biocompatible package, medical microelectronics, surface coating, long-term implantation

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Authors: Ali Asghar Saki, Sayed Ali Hosseini Siyar, Abbass Ashoori

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This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Echinacea purpurea on the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin-17F (IL-17F) in seven-day-old broiler chickens. Four groups were fed with concentration of 0 g/kg, 5 g/kg, 10 g/kg and 20 g/kg from the root of E. purpurea in the basal diet and two other groups were only fed with the basal diet for 21 days. At the 28^th day, lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2 mg/kg diet) was injected in four groups and the basal diet group was injected by saline as control. The chickens’ spleen RNA expression was measured for the COX-2 and IL-17F genes by Real-Time PCR. The results have shown that chickens which were fed E. purpurea had a lower COX-2 and IL-17F mRNA expression. The chickens who have received LPS only, lymphocyte was lower than other treatments. Vital organ weights were not significantly different, but body weight loss was recovered by dietary herbs inclusion. The results of this study have shown the positive effect of an anti-inflammatory herb to prevent the undesirable effect of inflammation.

Keywords: broiler chickens, Echinacea purporea, gene expression, lipopolysaccharide

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Authors: Nia McRae, Robert Wright, Ghalib Bello

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Introduction: Postpartum depression is a prevalent mood disorder that is detrimental to the mental and physical health of mothers and their newborns. Lead (Pb) is a toxic metal that is associated with hormonal imbalance and mental impairments. The hormone changes that accompany pregnancy and childbirth may be exacerbated by Pb and increase new mothers’ susceptibility to postpartum depression. To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the only study that investigates the association between prenatal Pb exposure and postpartum depression. Identifying risk factors can contribute to improved prevention and treatment strategies for postpartum depression. Methods: Data was derived from the Programming Research in Obesity, Growth, Environment and Social Stress (PROGRESS) study which is an ongoing longitudinal birth cohort. Postpartum depression was identified by a score of 13 or above on the 10-Item Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) 6-months and 12-months postpartum. Pb was measured in the blood (BPb) in the second and third trimester and in the tibia and patella 1-month postpartum. Quantile regression models were used to assess the relationship between BPb and postpartum depression. Results: BPb in the second trimester was negatively associated with the 80th percentile of depression 6-months postpartum (β: -0.26; 95% CI: -0.51, -0.01). No significant association was found between BPb in the third trimester and depression 6-months postpartum. BPb in the third trimester exhibited an inverse relationship with the 60th percentile (β: -0.23; 95% CI: -0.41, -0.06), 70th percentile (β: -0.31; 95% CI: -0.52, -0.10), and 90th percentile of depression 12-months postpartum (β: -0.36; 95% CI: -0.69, -0.03). There was no significant association between BPb in the second trimester and depression 12-months postpartum. Bone Pb concentrations were not significantly associated with postpartum depression. Conclusion: The negative association between BPb and postpartum depression may support research which demonstrates lead is a nontherapeutic stimulant. Further research is needed to verify these results and identify effect modifiers.

Keywords: depression, lead, postpartum, prenatal

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Authors: Ashish Kumar, Kaptan Singh, Amit Saxena

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Today, it is believed that crimes have the greatest impact on a person's ability to progress financially and personally. Identifying places where individuals shouldn't go is crucial for preventing crimes and is one of the key considerations. As society and technologies have advanced significantly, so have crimes and the harm they wreak. When there is a concentration of people in one place and changes happen quickly, it is even harder to prevent. Because of this, many crime prevention strategies have been embraced as a component of the development of smart cities in numerous cities. However, crimes can occur anywhere; all that is required is to identify the pattern of their occurrences, which will help to lower the crime rate. In this paper, an analysis related to crime has been done; information related to crimes is collected from all over India that can be accessed from anywhere. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between several factors and India's crime rate. The review has covered information related to every state of India and their associated regions of the period going in between 2001- 2014. However various classes of violations have a marginally unique scope over the years.

Keywords: K-nearest neighbor, random forest, decision tree, pre-processing

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Authors: Akbar Salimi, Mehdi Moghimi

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Goal: Today, the cooperative and systemic work is of importance and guarantees higher efficiency. This research was done with the aim of understanding the guidelines for co-op between police and the national media in order to reduce the juvenile delinquency. Method: This research is applied in terms of goal and of a compound type, which was done through a descriptive-analytical methodology. The data were collected through field surveys and documents. The statistical population included the professors of a higher education center in the area of education affairs, where as many as 36 people were randomly selected. The data collection procedure was by way of interview and researcher made questionnaire. Findings and results: Problems caused by the national media in the area of adolescents are categorized in three levels of production, broadcasting and consumption and elimination and reduction of the problems entail a set of estimations and predictions and also some education which the police forces has the capability to operationalize them. Thus, three hypotheses were defined and by conducting t and Friedman tests, all three hypotheses were confirmed and their rating was identified.

Keywords: management, media, TV, adolscents, delinquency

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Authors: S. Bouharati, F. Allag, M. Belmahdi, M. Bounechada

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In terms of ecology forecast effects of desertification, the purpose of this study is to develop a predictive model of growth and adaptation of species in arid environment and bioclimatic conditions. The impact of climate change and the desertification phenomena is the result of combined effects in magnitude and frequency of these phenomena. Like the data involved in the phytopathogenic process and bacteria growth in arid soil occur in an uncertain environment because of their complexity, it becomes necessary to have a suitable methodology for the analysis of these variables. The basic principles of fuzzy logic those are perfectly suited to this process. As input variables, we consider the physical parameters, soil type, bacteria nature, and plant species concerned. The result output variable is the adaptability of the species expressed by the growth rate or extinction. As a conclusion, we prevent the possible strategies for adaptation, with or without shifting areas of plantation and nature adequate vegetation.

Keywords: climate changes, dry soil, phytopathogenicity, predictive model, fuzzy logic

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Authors: Muhammad Al Rizqi Dharma Fauzi, Dwi Yulian Fahruddin Shah, Andre Pratama, Ari Hasna Widyapuspa, Ganden Supriyanto

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Diabetes mellitus is still known as one of diseases which give a big amount of death in the world. From 2012 to 2014, diabetes is estimated to have resulted in 1.5 to 4.9 million deaths each year. In this paper, we present our research in the analysis and dose determination of Tenebrio molitor (Mealworm) extract as an anti-diabetic agent which is believed by Indonesian people as a traditional treatment to prevent and treat diabetes. We found that Tenebrio molitor extract has a potential as an anti-diabetic agent by in vitro test to Mus musculus which were divided into six group of treatment. Our dose determination analysis gave a conclusion that at 2,5 g/mL of concentration of the extract would give the optimal result in healing a wound given to Mus musculus which were induced by aloxane monohydrate. These results show that Tenebrio molitor extract is potential to be used as an Anti-Diabetic agent.

Keywords: diabetes, extraction, Tenebrio molitor, traditional medicine

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Authors: Reham K. El Sawah, N. S. M. El-Tayeb

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This study aims to produce a polymer matrix composite reinforced with Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in order to enhance the mechanical properties of PMMA. The composite was fabricated via Friction stir processing to ensure homogenous dispersion of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles in the polymer, and the processing was submerged to prevent the sputtering of nanoparticles. The surface quality, microstructure, impact energy and hardness of the prepared samples were investigated. Good surface quality and dispersion of nanoparticles were attained through employing sufficient processing conditions. The experimental results indicated that as the percentage of nanoparticles increased, the impact energy and hardness increased, reaching 2 kJ/m2 and 14.7 HV at a nanoparticle concentration of 25%, which means that the toughness and the hardness of the polymer-ceramic produced composite is higher than unprocessed PMMA by 66% and 33% respectively.

Keywords: friction stir processing, polymer matrix nanocomposite, mechanical properties, microstructure

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Authors: Anna Gramza-Michałowska, Dominik Kmiecik, Justyna Bilon, Joanna Skręty, Joanna Kobus-Cisowska, Józef Korczak, Andrzej Sidor

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Background: Hypertension is one of the civilization diseases with a global scope. Many research showed that every day diet influences significantly our health, helping with the prophylaxis and diseases treatment. The key factor here is the presence of plant origin natural bio active components. Aim: The following research describes snack health-oriented products for hypertension sufferers enriched with selected plant ingredients. Various analytical methods have been applied to determine product’s basic composition and their antioxidant activity. Methods: Snack products was formulated from a composition of different flours, oil, yeast, plant particles and extracts. Basic composition of a product was evaluated as content of protein, lipids, fiber, ash and caloricity. Antioxidant capacity of snacks was evaluated with use radical scavenging methods (DPPH, ABTS) and ORAC value. Proposed snacks as new product was also characterized with sensory analysis. Results and discussion: Results showed that addition of phyto nutrients allowed to improve nutritional and antioxidative value of examined products. Also the anti radical potential was significantly increased, with no loss of sensory value of a snacks. Conclusions: Designed snack is rich in polyphenolics, that express high antioxidant activity, helpful in hypertension and as low calories product obesity prophylaxis.

Keywords: antioxidant, well-being, hypertension, bioactive compounds

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Authors: Abdul Wajid Ali

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Supersonic flight promises speed, but the design of the air inlet faces an obstacle: shock waves. They prevent air flow in the mixed compression ports, which reduces engine performance. Our research investigates this using supersonic wind tunnels and schlieren imaging to reveal the complex dance between shock waves and airflow. The findings show clear patterns of shock wave formation influenced by internal/external pressure surfaces. We looked at the boundary layer, the slow-moving air near the inlet walls, and its interaction with shock waves. In addition, the study emphasizes the dependence of the shock wave behaviour on the Mach number, which highlights the need for adaptive models. This knowledge is key to optimizing the combined compression inputs, paving the way for more powerful and efficient supersonic vehicles. Future engineers can use this knowledge to improve existing designs and explore innovative configurations for next-generation ultrasonic applications.

Keywords: oblique shock formation, boundary layer interaction, schlieren images, double wedge surface

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Authors: Aljohara M. Alquaiz, Tawfik A. M. Khoja, Abdullah Alsharif, Ambreen Kazi, Ashry Gad Mohamed, Hamad Al Mane, Abdullah Aldiris, Shaffi Ahamed Shaikh

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Objective: To determine the prevalence and correlates of anemia in male and female adolescents in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Design: A cross-sectional community based study setting: Five primary health care centers in Riyadh. Subjects: We invited 203 male and 292 female adolescents aged 13-18 years for interview, anthropometric measurements and complete blood count. Blood hemoglobin was measured with coulter cellular analysis system using light scatter method. Results: Using the WHO cut-off of Hb < 12gms/dl, 16.7%(34) males and 34%(100) females were suffering from anemia. The mean Hb (±SD) in males and females was 13.5(±1.4) and 12.3(±1.2) mg/dl, respectively. Mean(±SD) MCV, MCH, MCHC and RDW in male and female adolescents were 77.8(±6.2) vs76.4(±10.3)fL, 26.1(±2.7) vs25.5(±2.6)pg, 32.7(±2.4) vs32.2(±2.6)g/dL, 13.9(±1.4) vs13.6(±1.3)%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that positive family history of iron deficiency anemia(IDA)(OR 4.7,95%CI 1.7–12.2), infrequent intake (OR 3.7,95%CI 1.3–10.0) and never intake of fresh juices(OR 3.5,95%CI 1.4–9.5), 13 to 14 years age (OR 3.1,95%CI 1.2–9.3) were significantly associated with anemia in male adolescents; whereas in females: family history of IDA (OR 3.4, 95%CI 1.5–7.6), being over-weight(OR 3.0,95%CI 1.4–6.1), no intake of fresh juice (OR 2.6,95%CI 1.4–5.1), living in an apartment (OR 2.0, 95%CI 1.1-3.8) or living in small house (OR 2.5, 95%CI 1.2-5.3) were significantly associated with anemia. Conclusion: Anemia is more prevalent among Saudi female adolescents as compared to males. Important factors like positive family history of IDA, overweight, lack of fresh juice intake and low socioeconomic status are significantly associated with anemia in adolescents.

Keywords: adolescents, anemia, correlates, obesity

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Authors: Abhijit Trailokya, Kamlesh Patel

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Background: Hypertension is a common disease seen in clinical practice and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Many patients require combination therapy for the management of hypertension. Objective: To evaluate co-morbidities, risk factors and management practices of hypertension in Indian population. Material and methods: A total of 1596 hypertensive adult patients received anti-hypertensive medications were studied in a cross-sectional, multi-centric, non-interventional, observational registry. Statistical analysis: Categories or nominal data was expressed as numbers with percentages. Continuous variables were analyzed by descriptive statistics using mean, SD, and range Chi square test was used for in between group comparison. Results: The study included 73.50% males and 26.50% females. Overweight (50.50%) and obesity (30.01%) was common in the hypertensive patients (n=903). A total of 54.76% patients had history of smoking. Alcohol use (33.08%), sedentary life style (32.96%) and history of tobacco chewing (17.92%) were the other lifestyle habits of hypertensive patients. Diabetes (36.03%) and dyslipidemia (39.79%) history was common in these patients. Family history of hypertension and diabetes was seen in 82.21% and 45.99% patients respectively. Most (89.16%) patients were treated with combination of antihypertensive agents. ARBs were the by far most commonly used agents (91.98%) followed by calcium channel blockers (68.23%) and diuretics (60.21%). ARB was the most (80.35%) preferred agent as monotherapy. ARB was also the most common agent as a component of dual therapy, four drug and five drug combinations. Conclusion: Most of the hypertensive patients need combination treatment with antihypertensive agents. ARBs are the most preferred agents as monotherapy for the management of hypertension. ARBs are also very commonly used as a component of combination therapy during hypertension management.

Keywords: antihypertensive, hypertension, management, ARB

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Authors: Sajjad Rezaei, Mahdieh Molanouri Shamsi, Azadeh Jamali

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Background and purpose: Surfactant protein D (SP-D) is a lung-specific protein that is detectable in human plasma. Effect of exercise training on SP-D levels as well as its relation to metabolic indices is not known. The present study then aimed to investigate the effects of 10 weeks of aerobic training on serum levels of SP-D and insulin resistance in women with type 2 diabetes. Materials and methods: Twenty-two overweight women with type 2 diabetes mellitus were recruited through deliberate sampling and randomly assigned to intervention and control groups (11 in each group). The intervention group underwent a progressive aerobic training program for 10 weeks, 3 days per week, 30-55 min/day at 50-75% heart rate reserve (HRR). Control group continued with its everyday routine. Blood samples were obtained before and after training for biochemical analysis. Within-group and between-group differences were analyzed with paired and independent t-tests in spss software, respectively, and the relation between variables was analyzed with Pearson’s correlation coefficient (all at P = 0.05). Results: Significant differences were observed between groups in leptin, glucose, waist circumference and VO2 max after training. SP-D was decreased and VO2 max was increased significantly in intervention group. However, no significant correlation was observed between SP-D and other variables. Conclusion: Since there was no corresponding decrease in insulin resistance with decreased levels of SP-D, it seems unlikely for SP-D to mediate the association between obesity and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics.

Keywords: exercise training, SP-D, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes

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Authors: Kaarthik K., Harshini S., Karthika M., Kripanandhini T.

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Water is an essential part of living organisms. Major water pollution is caused due to contamination of industrial wastewater in the river. The most important step in bringing wastewater contaminants down to levels that are safe for nature is wastewater treatment. The contamination of river water harms both humans who consume it and the aquatic life that lives there. We introduce a new cloud-based industrial IoT paradigm in this work for real-time control and monitoring of wastewater. The proposed system prevents prohibited entry of industrial wastewater into the plant by monitoring temperature, hydrogen power (pH), CO₂ and turbidity factors from the wastewater input that the wastewater treatment facility will process. Real-time sensor values are collected and uploaded to the cloud by the system using an IoT Wi-Fi Module. By doing so, we can prevent the contamination of industrial wastewater entering the river earlier, and the necessary actions will be taken by the users. The proposed system's results are 90% efficient, preventing water pollution due to industry and protecting human lives.

Keywords: sensors, pH, CO₂, temperature, turbidity

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Authors: Uzu-Kuei Hsu, Keh-Chin Chang, Joo-Guan Hang, Chang-Hsien Tai

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Carbon Deposits are often occurred inside the industrial coke oven during the coking process. Accumulation of carbon deposits may cause a big issue, which seriously influences the coking operation. The carbon is burning off by injecting fresh air through pipes into coke oven which is an efficient way practically operated in industries. The burning off carbon deposition in coke oven performed by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) method has provided an evaluation of the feasibility study. A three-dimensional, transient, turbulent reacting flow simulation has performed with three different injecting air flow rate and another kind of injecting configuration. The result shows that injection higher air flow rate would effectively reduce the carbon deposits. In the meantime, the opened charging holes would suck extra oxygen from the atmosphere to participate in reactions. In term of coke oven operating limits, the wall temperatures are monitored to prevent over-heating of the adiabatic walls during the burn-off process.

Keywords: coke oven, burning off, carbon deposits, carbon combustion, CFD

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Authors: Boma Nellie S, Nambiar Ritu, K. Kanchanmala, T. Rashida, Israell Imelda, Moul Khusnud, Michael Marina

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Gestational diabetes (GDM) imparts an increased life long risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease in women. Once diagnosed with GDM women have up to 74% increased cumulative risk developing T2DM in 10-15 years. Identifying women at increased risk of developing T2DM and offering them pharmacological and lifestyle management interventions will delay or eliminate the development of diabetes in this population. While ADA recommends that all gestational diabetics be offered postnatal screening, worldwide the screening rates from 35-75% and Al Rahba Hospital with a robust universal antenatal screening program for GDM was at a dismal 9% in 2011. A multidisciplinary team was put together involving OB/Gyn Physicians, Midwives, Nurses (ward and OPD) Diabetic Educators, Dietitians, Medical Records, Laboratory & IT with the implementation of multiple strategies to increase the uptake of postpartum screening of the gestational diabetic.

Keywords: GDM, postnatal screening, preventing type 2 diabetes, lifestyle management

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Authors: M. J. Pourvaghar, M. E. Bahram, M. Sayyah, Sh. Khoshemehry

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Adiponectin is a cytokine secreted by the adipose tissue that functions as an anti-inflammatory, antiathrogenic and anti-diabetic substance. Its density is inversely correlated with body mass index. The purpose of this research was to examine the effect of 12 weeks of high intensity interval training (HIIT) with the level of serum adiponectin and some selected adiposity markers in overweight and fat college students. This was a clinical research in which 24 students with BMI between 25 kg/m² to 30 kg/m². The sample was purposefully selected and then randomly assigned into two groups of experimental (age =22.7±1.5 yr.; weight = 85.8±3.18 kg and height =178.7±3.29 cm) and control (age =23.1±1.1 yr.; weight = 79.1±2.4 kg and height =181.3±4.6 cm), respectively. The experimental group participated in an aerobic exercise program for 12 weeks, three sessions per weeks at a high intensity between 85% to 95% of maximum heart rate (considering the over load principle). Prior and after the termination of exercise protocol, the level of serum adiponectin, BMI, waist to hip ratio, and body fat percentages were calculated. The data were analyzed by using SPSS: PC 16.0 and statistical procedure such as ANCOVA, was used. The results indicated that 12 weeks of intensive interval training led to the increase of serum adiponectin level and decrease of body weight, body fat percent, body mass index and waist to hip ratio (P < 0.05). Based on the results of this research, it may be concluded that participation in intensive interval training for 12 weeks is a non-invasive treatment to increase the adiponectin level while decreasing some of the anthropometric indices associated with obesity or being overweight.

Keywords: adiponectin, cardiovascular, interval, overweight, training

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Authors: S. Vignesh, K. S. Rangasamy

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The paper deals with the device capable of detecting and disabling digital cameras. The system locates the camera and then neutralizes it. Every digital camera has an image sensor known as a CCD, which is retro-reflective and sends light back directly to its original source at the same angle. The device shines infrared LED light, which is invisible to the human eye, at a distance of about 20 feet. It then collects video of these reflections with a camcorder. Then the video of the reflections is transferred to a computer connected to the device, where it is sent through image processing algorithms that pick out infrared light bouncing back. Once the camera is detected, the device would project an invisible infrared laser into the camera's lens, thereby overexposing the photo and rendering it useless. Low levels of infrared laser neutralize digital cameras but are neither a health danger to humans nor a physical damage to cameras. We also discuss the simplified design of the above device that can used in theatres to prevent piracy. The domains being covered here are optics and image processing.

Keywords: CCD, optics, image processing, D3CIP

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Authors: Martha Salinas, Valkyria Bernal

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Creativity is a possible response to the profound social, economic, and global changes society is living and education is the source to develop this kind of capacity. However, institutional pressures often prevent teachers from engaging in creative teaching practices and make innovation not the main curricular focus when building learning scenarios and experiences. This study proposes and validates the use of a prototype of Educative Video – Capsules from the perspective of teacher training, presenting the different stages of design, the content plan, as well as the influences of its components and characteristics from the perspective of creativity. The paper presents literature findings of the factors that influence the innovative behavior of teachers, the beliefs of teachers about creativity and its nature, as well as the creative pedagogies that have generated better results. The results show that the disposition of teachers towards creative pedagogies improves significantly with the use of a tool that is based on the principles of microlearning and is developed in a non-academic, autonomous, and non-imposed family environment as traditional teacher training processes usually occur.

Keywords: educational innovation, resistance to innovation, creativity, creative pedagogy

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Authors: Sanaz Kavianpour, Zuraini Ismail, Bharanidharan Shanmugam

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Social Network Sites (SNSs) can be served as an invaluable platform to transfer the information across a large number of individuals. A substantial component of communicating and managing information is to identify which individual will influence others in propagating information and also whether dissemination of information in the absence of social signals about that information will be occurred or not. Classifying the final audience of social data is difficult as controlling the social contexts which transfers among individuals are not completely possible. Hence, undesirable information diffusion to an unauthorized individual on SNSs can threaten individuals’ privacy. This paper highlights the information diffusion in SNSs and moreover it emphasizes the most significant privacy issues to individuals of SNSs. The goal of this paper is to propose a privacy-preserving model that has urgent regards with individuals’ data in order to control availability of data and improve privacy by providing access to the data for an appropriate third parties without compromising the advantages of information sharing through SNSs.

Keywords: anonymization algorithm, classification algorithm, information diffusion, privacy, social network sites

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Authors: Emmanuel S. Adeyanju

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This study assessed the effects of continuous training on anthropometric characteristics of adolescents in Kano, Nigeria. The anthropometric measures of per cent body fat (%BF), body mass index (BMI), conicity index (CI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were selected because of their roles in increased adiposity and favourable cardiovascular disease (CVD) factor profiles in children and adolescence. The international standards and procedures were followed in all the measurements. A total of thirty (30) subjects (M=15; F=15), selected at random, were divided into two groups; one training (M=10; F=10) and the other control (M=5; F=5). Both groups were tested before training, at six (6) and 12 weeks in all the listed variables. The training group had 12 weeks continuous training which involved running round the standard 400 m track of the college following standard procedures; while the control group did not. The findings revealed significant sex-specific reductions in %BF (F=610.482 ˂ 0.05), BMI (F=73.860 ˂ 0.05), WHR (F=49.756 ˂ 0.05); however, no significant training effect on CI (F=1.855 ˃ 0.05) and WHR (F=1.956 ˃ 0.05) was found. Greater modifications found in females than in males (except in CI and WHR) due to training were probably related to their initial level of fitness and enzymatic modifications at subcellular level during training. The result also revealed significant relationship between the modifications in %BF, BMI and WHR but failed to establish any between CI and other adiposity measures. Thus, to avert the consequences of obesity and overweight, the declining fitness level of adolescents should be checked by ensuring they engaged in regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) programmes. Such a childhood habit of exercise developed early in life will have a carry-over value into adult life and improve the quality of adult population.

Keywords: adiposity, anthropometry, conicity, continuous training

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Authors: Ya-Ju Ju, Li-Chen Yang, Yi-Chun Du, Rong-Ju Cherng

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Introduction: It is estimated that 5-6% of school-aged children may be diagnosed to have developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Children with DCD are characterized with motor skill difficulty which cannot be explained by any medical or intellectual reasons. Such motor difficulties limit children’s participation to sports activity, further affect their physical fitness, cardiopulmonary function and balance, and may lead to obesity. The purpose of the project was to develop an exergaming system for children with DCD aiming to improve their physical fitness, cardiopulmonary function and balance ability. Methods: This study took five steps to build up the system: system planning, tasks selection, tasks programming, system integration and usability test. The system basically adopted virtual reality technique to integrate self-developed training programs. The training programs were developed to brainstorm among team members and after literature review. The selected tasks for training in the system were a combination of fundamental movement tor skill. Results and Discussion: Based on the theory of motor development, we design the training task from easy ones to hard ones, from single tasks to dual tasks. The tasks included walking, sit to stand, jumping, kicking, weight shifting, side jumping and their combination. Preliminary study showed that the tasks presented an order of development. Further study is needed to examine its effect on motor skill and cardiovascular fitness in children with DCD.

Keywords: virtual reality, virtual reality system, developmental coordination disorder, children

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Authors: Preeti Khanna, Bani T. Aeri

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Background: Recent studies have indicated challenges that hamper health and wellbeing of a vast majority of adolescents in developing countries. Many modifiable factors like behavior and temperament related to food intake among adolescents have not been adequately explored. The aim of the proposed research is to study the impact of behavior and temperament on food intake and diet quality of adolescents. Objectives: In the present study data on dietary behavior and anthropometry of adolescent boys & girls (aged 13-16 years) studying in public schools of Delhi will be gathered to ascertain the quality of diet among adolescent boys and girls and to study the effect of behavior and temperament on diet quality of adolescents. Methods: In total, 400 adolescents will participate in this cross-sectional study. Weight and height of adolescents will be measured and BMI will be calculated. Information will be obtained on their socio-demographic profile and various factors influencing their Food Choices and diet quality such as body image perception, Behavior, temperament, locus of control and parental influence. Expected results: Several direct effects of adolescent traits and behavior on food intake will be observed. Maturational patterns and gender differences in behavior traits will be assessed. By profiling of the behavior and temperament traits, we will have a better understanding of impact of these factors on weight and eating behaviors in overweight/obese or even underweight adolescents. Conclusions: The proposed study will highlight the association of behavioral factors with nutritional status of adolescents. It will also serve as a strategic approach for the obesity prevention and health management policies designed for adolescents.

Keywords: behaviour, temperament, food intake, adolescents

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Authors: Oluwaseun Adeleke, Samuel Ikan, Anthony Nwala, Mopelola Raji, Fidelis Edet

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Background: The risks associated with each pregnancy is carried almost entirely by a woman; however, the decision about whether and when to get pregnant is a subject that several others contend with her to make. The self-care concept offers women of reproductive age the opportunity to take control of their health and its determinants with or without the influence of a healthcare provider, family, and friends. DMPA-SC Self-injection (SI) is becoming the cornerstone of contraceptive self-care and has the potential to expand access and create opportunities for women to take control of their reproductive health. Methodology: To obtain insight into the influences that interfere with a woman’s capacity to make contraceptive choices independently, the Delivering Innovations in Selfcare (DISC) project conducted two intensive rounds of qualitative data collection and triangulation that included provider, client, and community mobilizer interviews, facility observations, and routine program data collection. Respondents were sampled according to a convenience sampling approach and data collected analyzed using a codebook and Atlas-TI. The research team members came together for participatory analysis workshop to explore and interpret emergent themes. Findings: Insights indicate that women are increasingly finding their voice and independently seek services to prevent a deterioration of their economic situation and achieve personal ambitions. Women who hold independent decision-making power still prefer to share decision making power with their male partners. Male partners’ influence on women’s use of family planning and self-inject was most dominant. There were examples of men’s support for women’s use of contraception to prevent unintended pregnancy, as well as men withholding support. Other men outrightly deny their partners from obtaining contraceptive services and their partners cede this sexual and reproductive health right without objection. A woman’s decision to initiate family planning is affected by myths and misconceptions, many of which have cultural and religious origins. Some tribes are known for their reluctance to use contraception and often associate stigma with the pursuit of family planning (FP) services. Information given by the provider is accepted, and, in many cases, clients cede power to providers to shape their SI user journey. A provider’s influence on a client’s decision to self-inject is reinforced by their biases and concerns. Clients are inhibited by the presence of peers during group education at the health facility. Others are motivated to seek FP services by the interest expressed by peers. There is also a growing trend in the influence of social media on FP uptake, particularly Facebook fora. Conclusion: The convenience of self-administration at home is a benefit for those that contend with various forms of social influences as well as covert users. Beyond increasing choice and reducing barriers to accessing Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services, it can initiate the process of self-discovery and agency in the contraceptive user journey.

Keywords: selfcare, self-empowerment, agency, DMPA-SC, contraception, family planning, influences

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Authors: Shubeska Stratrova S., Muca A., Panovska S. Clinic of endocrinology, diabetes, metabolic disorders, Medical Faculty, Skopje, N. Macedonia

Abstract:

Rationale: Obese subjects have a high energy density diet, low physical activity levels, a sedentary lifestyle, as well as eating disorders, which are considered important risk factors for the development of obesity. Methods: In order to discover the imbalance of energy intake and energy expenditure in obese women (W), two groups of examinees answered questionnaires regarding nutrition and physical activity: 1st group of women with normal body mass index (BMI <25 kg/m²) and 2nd group of obese women with BMI >30 kg/m². Results: 61.11% of obese W from the 2nd group reported good appetite, which was higher than the 1st group (45%). In 55.56% W, frustrations were a provocation for over nutrition. In the 2nd group, 38.89% W ate too much compared to 9.09% W from the 1st group. In the ²ⁿᵈ group, 35.29% W reported consuming food rarely and too much, while 29.41% W reported consuming food often and too much. All examinees from the ²ⁿᵈ group had consumed food in less than 5 hours, compared to only 8.33% W from the ¹ⁿᵈ group and had consumed hyper-caloric food. Consumption of fruits and vegetables was lower in the 2nd group compared to the 1st group. Half of the subjects in the 2nd group were physically inactive, compared to only 8% in the 1st group. All of the examinees in the 2nd group walked for less than 3 hours a day, compared to 54% in the 1st group. In the 2nd group, 67% W reported watching TV very often, 39% reported watching TV longer than 3 hours, which is significantly higher than 8.33% W in the 1st group. Overall, 81.25% of examinees from the 2nd group reported sitting for more than 3 hours a day, which is significantly more compared to the 1st group (45.45%). Conclusions: Obese women are less physically active, have a sedentary lifestyle, good appetite, and consume too much hyper-caloric food very often.

Keywords: (W) obese women, BMI(Body mass Index), nutrition, hyper-caloric food

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Authors: Ali Dehgan Moroozeh, B. Farhadi Bansouleh

Abstract:

Evapotranspiration is one of the most important components of the hydrological cycle. Evapotranspiration (ETo) is an important variable in water and energy balances on the earth’s surface, and knowledge of the distribution of ET is a key factor in hydrology, climatology, agronomy and ecology studies. Many researchers have a valid relationship, which is a function of climate factors, to estimate the potential evapotranspiration presented to the plant water stress or water loss, prevent. The FAO-Penman method (PM) had been recommended as a standard method. This method requires many data and these data are not available in every area of world. So, other methods should be evaluated for these conditions. When sufficient or reliable data to solve the PM equation are not available then Hargreaves equation can be used. The Hargreaves equation (HG) requires only daily mean, maximum and minimum air temperature extraterrestrial radiation .In this study, Hargreaves method (HG) were evaluated in 12 stations in the North West region of Iran. Results of HG and M.HG methods were compared with results of PM method. Statistical analysis of this comparison showed that calibration process has had significant effect on efficiency of Hargreaves method.

Keywords: evapotranspiration, hargreaves, equation, FAO-Penman method

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Cheuk Wing Lee, Kit Lun Yick, Sun Pui Ng, Joanne Yip

Abstract:

Daily activities and exercise may result in large displacements of the breasts, which lead to breast pain and discomfort. Therefore, a proper bra design and fit can help to control excessive breast motion to prevent the over-stretching of the connective tissues. Nevertheless, bra fit problems, such as excessively high tension of the shoulder straps and a tight underband could have substantially negative effects on the wear comfort and health of the wearer. The purpose of this study is to, therefore, examine the effects of bra band tension on breast displacement. Usually, human wear trials are carried out, but there are inconsistencies during testing. Therefore, a soft manikin torso is used to examine breast displacement at walking speeds of 2.30 km/h and 4.08 km/h. The breast displacement itself is determined by using a VICON motion capture system. The 3D geometric changes of the underwire bra band tension and the corresponding control of breast movement are also analyzed by using a 3D handheld scanner along with Rapidform software. The results indicate that an appropriate bra band tension can help to reduce breast displacement and provide a comfortable angle for the underwire. The findings can be used by designers and bra engineers as a reference source to advance bra design and development.

Keywords: bra band, bra features, breast displacement, underwire angle

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Authors: Leidy M. Aldana, Jorge E. Camargo

Abstract:

Adversarial Machine Learning has gained importance in recent years as Cybersecurity has gained too, especially malware, it has affected different entities and people in recent years. This paper shows a literature review about defense methods created to prevent adversarial machine learning attacks, firstable it shows an introduction about the context and the description of some terms, in the results section some of the attacks are described, focusing on detecting adversarial examples before coming to the machine learning algorithm and showing other categories that exist in defense. A method with five steps is proposed in the method section in order to define a way to make the literature review; in addition, this paper summarizes the contributions in this research field in the last seven years to identify research directions in this area. About the findings, the category with least quantity of challenges in defense is the Detection of adversarial examples being this one a viable research route with the adaptive approach in attack and defense.

Keywords: Malware, adversarial, machine learning, defense, attack

Procedia PDF Downloads 57