Search results for: banking products and services

Authors: Sajjad Farahani, Wilkistar Otieno, Xiaohang Yue

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This paper develops a model for the optimal disposition decision for product returns in a remanufacturing system with limited recoverable inventory capacity. In this model, a constant demand is satisfied by remanufacturing returned products which are up to the minimum required quality grade. The quality grade of returned products is uncertain and remanufacturing cost increases as the quality level decreases, and remanufacturer wishes to determine which returned product to accept to be remanufactured for reselling, and any unaccepted returns may be salvaged at a value that increases with their quality level. Accepted returns can be stocked for remanufacturing upon demand requests, but incur a holding cost. A Markov decision problem is formulated in order to evaluate various performance measures for this system and obtain the optimal remanufacturing policy. A detailed numerical study reveals that our approach to the disposition problem outperforms the current industrial practice ignoring quality grade of returned products. In addition, we identify conditions under which this improvement is the highest.

Keywords: green supply chain management, matrix geometric method, production recovery, reverse supply chains

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Authors: J. Carlos Kuri, Varun Vij, Raymond J. Turner, Orly Yadid-Pecht

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Celiac disease (CD) is an immune system disorder that is triggered by ingesting gluten. As a gluten-free (GF) diet has become a concern of many people for health reasons, a gold standard had to be nominated. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has taken the seat of this role. However, multiple limitations were discovered, and with that, the desire for an alternative method now exists. Nucleic acid-based aptamers have become of great interest due to their selectivity, specificity, simplicity, and rapid-testing advantages. However, fluorescence-based aptasensors have been tagged as unstable, but lifespan details are rarely stated. In this work, the lifespan stability of a fluorescence-based aptasensor is shown over an 8-week-long study displaying the accuracy of the sensor and false negatives. This study follows 22 different samples, including GF and gluten-rich (GR) and soy sauce products, off-the-shelf products, and reference material from laboratories, giving a total of 836 tests. The analysis shows an accuracy of correctly classifying GF and GR products of 96.30% and 100%, respectively when the protocol is augmented with molecular sieves. The overall accuracy remains around 94% within the first four weeks and then decays to 63%.

Keywords: aptasensor, PEG, rGO, FAM, RM, ELISA

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Authors: Hoda Dehghani, Zahra Dehghani

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Considering the obvious growth and variety of veterinary biological product and increase consumption and also the price, it is necessary to establish the rules and serious monitoring of this products which are less expensive than the original products. The scope of this research is the study of comparing the registration criteria and procedures of veterinary biological drugs in the world's leading agencies such as EMA, FDA, and WHO. For this, purpose the rules and regulations for registration of these drugs in prestigious organizations such as the FDA, EMA and WHO were examined and compared with the existing legislation in Iran. Studies show that EMA is the forefront of the compilation and registration of drugs in the world. China is a one of the greatest country in the development of drugs and establishes very closely guidelines with creditable global guidelines, and Now, is the first country to implement the rules codified in the Far East and followed by china, India and, South Korea and Taiwan have taken incorporate the industry's top ranking in Asia. At now, Asia by creating appropriate indicators not only as a powerful center in the field of drug delivery but also as a competitor to the United States is a major source of drug discovery and creation of innovation. the activities such as clinical trials and pharmaceutical investment is the speed of technology on the continent.

Keywords: veterinary biological product, regulation of registration, biological products, regularity authorities

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Authors: Victor Arokia Doss, Kuberapandian Dharaniyambigai, K. Julia Rose Mary

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Advanced Glycation End (AGE) products are the end products due to the reaction between excess reducing sugar present in diabetes and free amino group in protein lipids and nucleic acids. Thus, non-enzymic glycation of molecules such as hemoglobin, collagen, and other structurally and functionally important proteins add to the pathogenic complications such as diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, vascular changes, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic heart failure. The most common non-cross linking AGE, carboxymethyl lysine (CML) is formed by the oxidative breakdown of fructosyllysine, which is a product of glucose and lysine. CML is formed in a wide variety of tissues and is an index to assess the extent of glycoxidative damage. Thus we have constructed a mathematical and computational model that predicts the effect of temperature differences in vivo, on the formation of CML, which is now being considered as an important intracellular milieu. This hybrid model that had been tested for its parameter fitting and its sensitivity with available experimental data paves the way for designing novel laboratory experiments that would throw more light on the pathological formation of AGE adducts and in the pathophysiology of diabetic complications.

Keywords: advanced glycation end-products, CML, mathematical model, computational model

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Authors: B. Sathyanarayana

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As per the report of World Health Organization, more than 80% of world population uses medicines made from herbal and natural materials. They have stood the test of time for their safety, efficacy, cultural acceptability and lesser side effects. Quality assurance and control measures, such as national quality specification and standards for herbal materials, good manufacturing practices (GMP) for herbal medicines, labelling, and licensing schemes for manufacturing, imports and marketing, should be in place in every country where herbal medicines are regulated. These measures are vital for ensuring the safety and efficacy of herbal medicines. In the case of herbal products challenge begins at the stage of designing itself except the classical products. Selection of herbal ingredients, officinal parts to be used, proportions are vital. Once the formulation is designed one should take utmost care to produce the standardized product of assured quality and safety. Quality control measures should cover the validation of quality and identity of raw materials, in process control (as per SOP and GMP norms) and at the level of final product. Quality testing, safety and efficacy studies of the final product are required to ensure the safe and effective use of the herbal products in human beings. Medicinal plants being the materials of natural resource are subjected to great variation making it really difficult to fix quality standards especially in the case of polyherbal preparations. Manufacturing also needs modification according to the type of ingredients present. Hence, it becomes essential to develop Standard operative Procedure for a specific herbal product. Present paper throws a light on the challenges that are encountered during the design and development of herbal products.

Keywords: herbal product, challenges, quality, safety, efficacy

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Authors: S. Bae, J. Shin, S. Lee

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As the development of smart devices such as Smart TV, Smartphone, Tablet PC, Laptop, the interest in N-Screen Services that can be cross-linked with heterogeneous devices is increasing. N-Screen means User-centric services that can share and constantly watch multimedia contents anytime and anywhere. However, the existing N-Screen system has the limitation that N-Screen system has to implement the application for each platform and device to provide multimedia service. To overcome this limitation, Multimedia N-Screen Service System is proposed through the web, and it is independent of different environments. The combination of Web and cloud computing technologies from this study results in increasing efficiency and reduction in costs.

Keywords: N-screen, web, cloud, multimedia

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Authors: Joseph Levodo, Ndimbarafine Young Tobin, E. Messina, P. Edouma

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Energy efficiency can contribute significantly towards increasing clean energy access to modern energy services. Many developing countries have largely focused on expanding energy access by increasing supply. This is due to the fact the links between energy efficiency and clean energy access are often unnoticed. Energy efficiency measures offer the promise of reducing energy use and saving money on electricity bills, as well as reducing negative environmental externalities associated with the production of electricity. This paper seeks to address the economic and effectiveness of reducing energy consumption by integrating energy efficiency as a priority to meet energy access examines the barriers to energy efficient in sub-Saharan African countries. The findings from this study reveal that an appropriate policy can promote the development of more energy-efficient buildings, products and strengthen incentives for consumers, businesses, and industrial customers to pursue cost-effective energy-efficiency measures and to make investments that will provide future energy-efficiency improvements.

Keywords: barriers, Sub-Saharan Africa, cost effective, energy savings, clean energy

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Authors: Suleiman Hassan Otuoze, Dexter Vernon Lloyd Hunt, Ian Jefferson

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Urbanization has continued to widen the gap between demand and resources available to provide resilient and sustainable transport services in many fast-growing developing countries' cities. Transport demand management is a decision-based optimization concept for both benchmarking and ensuring efficient use of transport resources. This study assesses the service quality of infrastructure and mobility services in the Nigerian cities of Kano and Lagos through five dimensions of quality (i.e., Tangibility, Reliability, Responsibility, Safety Assurance and Empathy). The methodology adopts a hybrid AHP-SERVQUAL model applied on questionnaire surveys to gauge the quality of satisfaction and the views of experts in the field. The AHP results prioritize tangibility, which defines the state of transportation infrastructure and services in terms of satisfaction qualities and intervention decision weights in the two cities. The results recorded ‘unsatisfactory’ indices of quality of performance and satisfaction rating values of 48% and 49% for Kano and Lagos, respectively. The satisfaction indices are identified as indicators of low performances of transportation demand management (TDM) measures and the necessity to re-order priorities and take proactive steps towards infrastructure. The findings pilot a framework for comparative assessment of recognizable standards in transport services, best ethics of management and a necessity of quality infrastructure to guarantee both resilient and sustainable urban mobility.

Keywords: transportation demand management, multi-criteria decision support, transport infrastructure, service quality, sustainable transport

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Authors: Sarah A. Tobin

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Social justice outcomes, derived from customer satisfaction, serve as a main pathway and conduit for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) because they prompt democratizing and socially-inclusive effects that are consistent with Islamic economic values. This paper argues that achieving higher levels of social justice and the SGDs is possible only through the realization of Islamic banking and finance customer satisfaction that aligns with Islamic values in the tradition of the Shari`a (or Islamic law). Through this key manifestation of Shari`a in the banks, social justice aims of achieving SDGs become possible. This paper utilizes a case study of a large-scale survey (N=127) comparing customer satisfaction between a conventional and an Islamic bank in Amman, Jordan. Based on a series of linear regressions, the statistically-significant findings suggest that when overall customer satisfaction is high, customers are more likely to become empowered citizens demanding inclusive, quality services and corruption-free management, as well as attribute their experiences to the Islamic nature of the financial endeavors. Social justice interests and expectations increase (and SDGs are more likely met) when a customer has high levels of satisfaction. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for Islamic financial institutions that enhance customer service experiences for better achieving the social justice aims of the Islamic economy and SDGs, including transparency in transactions, exemplary customer service and follow up, and attending to Islamic values in the aesthetics of bank.

Keywords: customer satisfaction, Islamic economy, social justice, sustainable development goals

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Authors: Ali Zein Aalabiden Tlais, Alessio Da Ros, Pasquale Filannino, Olimpia Vincentini, Marco Gobbetti, Raffaella Di Cagno

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This study is an example of apple by-products (AP) recycling through a designed fermentation by selected autochthonous Lactobacillus plantarum AFI5 and Lactobacillus fabifermentans ALI6 used singly or as binary cultures with the selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae AYI7. Compared to Raw-, Unstarted- and Chemically Acidified-AP, Fermented-AP promoted the highest levels of total and insoluble dietary fibers, antioxidant activity, and free phenolics. The binary culture of L. plantarum AFI5 and S. cerevisiae AYI7 had the best effect on the bioavailability phenolic compounds as resulted by the Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry validated method. The accumulation of phenolic acid derivatives highlighted microbial metabolism during AP fermentation. Bio-converted phenolic compounds were likely responsible for the increased antioxidant activity. The potential health-promoting effects of Fermented-AP were highlighted using Caco-2 cells. With variations among single and binary cultures, fermented-AP counteracted the inflammatory processes and the effects of oxidative stress in Caco-2 cells and preserved the integrity of tight junctions. An alternative and suitable model for food by-products recycling to manufacture a dietary supplement fortified with biogenic compounds was proposed. Highlighting the microbial metabolism of several phenolic compounds, undoubted additional value to such downstream wastes was created.

Keywords: apple by-products, antioxidant, fermentation, phenolic compounds

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Authors: Hamid Reza Nikkhah, Abbas Toloei Eshlaghi, Hossein Ali Momeni

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One of the most important services of Knowledge Management Systems (KMS) is collaboration service which plays a decisive role in organization efficiency. Cloud computing as one of the latest IT technologies has brought a new paradigm in delivering services and communications. In this research, we evaluate the impact of cloud computing on the collaboration service of KMS and for doing so, four variables of cloud computing and three variables of the collaboration service were detected to be assessed.It was found that cloud computing has a far-fetching direct impact on the collaboration service.

Keywords: cloud computing, collaboration service, knowledge management systems, cloud computing

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Authors: Javed Younas

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Fiscal challenges pervade the electricity sector in many developing countries. Low bill payment and high theft mean utility customers have little incentive to conserve. It also means electricity distribution companies have less to invest in infrastructure maintenance, modernization, and technical upgrades. The low-quality electricity services can result impair the economic benefits from connections to the electrical grid. We study the impacts of two interventions implemented in Karachi, Pakistan, with the goal of reducing distribution losses and increasing revenue recovery: infrastructure improvements that made illegal connections physically more difficult and institutional innovations designed to increase communities’ trust in and cooperation with the utility. Using differences in implementation timing across space, we estimate the interventions’ impacts before the COVID-19 pandemic and their role in mitigating the pandemic’s effects on electricity services. Results indicate that the infrastructure improvements reduced losses, as well as the electricity delivered to the distribution system, a proxy for a generation. The institutional innovations significantly impacted revenue recovery, but not losses in their initial months; however, the efforts mitigated the pandemic’s negative effect on the utility finances.

Keywords: electricity, infrastructure, losses, revenue recovery

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Authors: Olga Długosz, Jolanta Pulit-Prociak, Marcin Banach

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The paper presents a process to obtain glutathione-modified titanium oxide nanoparticles. The processes were carried out in a microwave radiation field. The influence of the molar ratio of glutathione to titanium oxide and the effect of the fold of NaOH vs. stoichiometric amount on the size of the formed TiO₂ nanoparticles was determined. The physicochemical properties of the obtained products were evaluated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscope- energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDS), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption method (BET), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) microscopy methods. The size of TiO₂ nanoparticles was characterized from 30 to 336 nm. The release of titanium ions from the prepared products was evaluated. These studies were carried out using different media in which the powders were incubated for a specific time. These were water, SBF and Ringer's solution. The release of titanium ions from modified products is weaker compared to unmodified titanium oxide nanoparticles. The reduced release of titanium ions may allow the use of such modified materials as substances in drug delivery systems.

Keywords: titanium dioxide, nanoparticles, drug carrier, glutathione

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Authors: Olga Długosz, Jolanta Pulit-Prociak, Marcin Banach

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The paper presents a process to obtain glutathione-modified titanium oxide nanoparticles. The processes were carried out in a microwave radiation field. The influence of the molar ratio of glutathione to titanium oxide and the effect of the fold of NaOH vs. stoichiometric amount on the size of the formed TiO₂ nanoparticles was determined. The physicochemical properties of the obtained products were evaluated using dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscope- energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDS), low-temperature nitrogen adsorption method (BET), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) microscopy methods. The size of TiO₂ nanoparticles was characterized from 30 to 336 nm. The release of titanium ions from the prepared products was evaluated. These studies were carried out using different media in which the powders were incubated for a specific time. These were: water, SBF, and Ringer's solution. The release of titanium ions from modified products is weaker compared to unmodified titanium oxide nanoparticles. The reduced release of titanium ions may allow the use of such modified materials as substances in drug delivery systems.

Keywords: titanium dioxide, nanoparticles, drug carrier, glutathione

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Authors: Wan Jen Chang

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Back ground: Taiwan's current adult lifelong learning services have expanded from vocational training to universal lifelong learning. However, both the professional knowledge training of learning guidance and consulting services and the provision of adult online learning consulting service systems still need to be established. Purpose: The purposes of this study are as follows: 1. Analyze the professional training mechanism for cultivating adult lifelong learning consultation and coaching; 2. Explore the feasibility of constructing a system that uses network technology to provide adult learning consultation services. Research design: This study conducts a literature analysis of counseling and coaching policy reports on lifelong learning in European countries and the United States. There are two focus discussions were conducted with 15 lifelong learning scholars, experts and practitioners as research subjects. The following two topics were discussed and suggested: 1. The current situation, needs and professional ability training mechanism of "Adult Lifelong Learning Consulting and Services"; 2. Strategies for establishing an "Adult Lifelong Learning Consulting and Service internet System". Conclusion: 1.Based on adult lifelong learning consulting and service needs, plan a professional knowledge training and certification system.2.Adult lifelong learning consulting and service professional knowledge and skills training should include the use of network technology to provide consulting service skills.3.To establish an adult lifelong learning consultation and service system, the Ministry of Education should promulgate policies and measures at the central level and entrust local governments or private organizations to implement them.4.The adult lifelong learning consulting and service system can combine the national qualifications framework, private sector and NPO to expand learning consulting service partners.

Keywords: adult lifelong learning, profesional knowledge, consulting and service, network system

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Authors: Annika Skansberg

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Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) use vapor to deliver nicotine, have recently become popular, especially amongst adolescents. Because of this, the FDA has decided to regulate e-cigarettes, and therefore would like to determine the abuse liability of the products compared to traditional nicotine products. This will allow them to determine the impact of regulating them on public health and shape the decisions they make when creating new laws. This study assessed the abuse liability of Aroma E-juice Dark Honey Tobacco compared to nicotine using an animal model. This e-liquid contains minor alkaloids that may increase abuse liability compared to nicotine alone. The abuse liability of nicotine alone and e-juice liquid were compared in rats using intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) thresholds. E-liquid had less aversive effects at high nicotine doses in the ICSS model, suggesting that the minor alkaloids in the e-liquid allow users to use higher doses without experiencing the negative effects felt when using high doses of nicotine alone. This finding could mean that e-cigarettes have a higher abuse liability than nicotine alone, but more research is needed before this can be concluded. These findings are useful in observing the abuse liability of e-cigarettes and will help inform the FDA while regulating these products.

Keywords: electronic cigarettes, intra-cranial self stimulation, abuse liability, anhedonia

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Authors: Pichamon Chansuchai

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This paper studied the expanding market opportunity palm oil ASEAN community: case study of Choomporn Palm Oil Cooperative as qualitative research. The purpose is to study and analyze expanding and linking the liberalization of trade in palm oil products under the terms of cooperation and ASEAN countries. Collection data were collected using participatory observation, in-depth interviews, focus groups, government officials, palm oil cooperative, entrepreneurs and farmers to exchange opinions. The study found that of major competitors is Indonesia and Malaysia which as ASEAM members countries has the potential to produce over Thailand. Thailand government must have a policy to increase the competitiveness of the palm oil Thailand. Using grants from the Free Trade Area fund should add value to agricultural products, palm oil and the development of standard products to meet the needs of the member countries. And creating a learning center of the palm oil sector can transfer knowledge, development of palm species, solution process from planting to harvest care privatization process. And the development of palm oil in order to expand market opportunities for Thailand's palm oil has the potential to be competitive in the neighboring countries and the region.

Keywords: palm oil, market, cooperative, ASEAN

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Authors: Wardoyo, Humairoh

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In global competition nowadays, the world economy heavily depends upon high technology and capital intensive industries that are mainly owned by well-established economic and developed countries, such as United States of America, United Kingdom, Japan, and South Korea. Indonesia as a developing country is building its economic activities towards industrial country as well, although a slightly different approach was implemented. For example, similar to the concept of one village one product (OVOP) implemented in Japan, Indonesia also adopted this concept by promoting local traditional products to improve incomes of village people and to enhance local economic activities. Analysis on how OVOP program increase local people’s income and influence customer satisfaction were the objective of this paper. Behavioral intention to purchase and re-purchase, customer satisfaction and promotion are key factors for local products to play significant roles in improving local income and economy of the region. The concepts of OVOP and key factors that influence economic activities of local people and the region will be described and explained in the paper. Results of research, in a case study based on 300 respondents, customers of a local restaurant at Tangerang City, Banten Province of Indonesia, indicated that local product, service quality and behavioral intention individually have significant influence to customer satisfaction; whereas simultaneous tests to the variables indicated positive and significant influence to the behavioral intention through customer satisfaction as the intervening variable.

Keywords: behavioral intention, customer satisfaction, local products, one village one product (OVOP)

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Authors: Dang Hanh Nguyen, Nassim Sebaibi, Mohamed Boutouil, Lydia Leleyter, Fabienne Baraud

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Pervious concrete is a green alternative to conventional pavements with minimal fine aggregate and a high void content. Pervious concrete allows water to infiltrate through the pavement, thereby reducing the runoff and the requirement for stormwater management systems. Seashell By-Products (SBP) are produced in an important quantity in France and are considered as waste. This work investigated to use SBP in pervious concrete and produce an even more environmentally friendly product, Pervious Concrete Pavers. The research methodology involved substituting the coarse aggregate in the previous concrete mix design with 20%, 40% and 60% SBP. The testing showed that pervious concrete containing less than 40% SBP had strengths, permeability and void content which are comparable to the pervious concrete containing with only natural aggregate. The samples that contained 40% SBP or higher had a significant loss in strength and an increase in permeability and a void content from the control mix pervious concrete. On the basis of the results in this research, it was found that the natural aggregate can be substituted by SBP without affecting the delicate balance of a pervious concrete mix. Additional, it is recommended that the optimum replacement percentage for SBP in pervious concrete is 40 % direct replacement of natural coarse aggregate while maintaining the structural performance and drainage capabilities of the pervious concrete.

Keywords: seashell by-products, pervious concrete pavers, permeability, mechanical strength

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Authors: Jana Vermaas, Carien Denner

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Waste has become a global issue and the management regarding it a priority. Some of the main problems in South Africa (SA) include: (1) the lack of information and education, (2) waste collection services, (3) reusing and recycling is not encouraged, (4) illegal dumping, and the biggest problem of all (5) the lack of waste related regulations and enforcement by the government and municipalities. In SA, there are provinces such as Gauteng and the Western Cape that have some recycling programs in place, but nothing yet in the central part of the country. By identifying the barriers preventing these businesses from recycling, the local municipalities and recycling services could create a solution. Owners or employees of eateries and bars completed a self-administered questionnaire. Information were obtained on knowledge of recycling, participation in recycling and to which extent, barriers that prevent them from recycling and motives that would encourage recycling. The data obtained from the questionnaire indicated that most (98%) participants knew only the basics, that recycling is a process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. Further knowledge questions indicated that individuals were not educated about recycling as almost half (49%) of the participants believe that they can’t reuse plastic bottles. They do not understand which items of their waste could be re-used or recycled. They had limited knowledge about the recycling opportunities or practices in the area. Only a small number (34%) were involved in recycling or sustainable practices. Many did not even know of any collection services or buy-back centres in their vicinity. Most of the participants (94%) indicated that they would be willing to recycle if it would have a financial benefit. Many also stated that they would be more willing to recycle if the recyclable waste will be collected from their establishment, on a regular basis. The enforcement of recycling by municipalities or government by awarding fines for waste offenders was indicated as a significant motive. It could be concluded that the most significant barrier is knowledge and lack of information. These businesses do not comprehend the impact that they can have with their recycling contributions, not only on the environment, but also on the consumers that they serve. Another barrier is the lack of collection services. There are currently no government or municipal services for the collection of recyclable waste. All waste are taken to landfills. Many of the larger recycling initiatives and companies do not reach as far as central SA. Therefore, the buy-back component of recycling is not present.

Keywords: eateries, recycling, sustainable practices, waste

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Authors: Rasha Shoumar

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Background: Since the onset of the Syria crisis in 2011, Jordan has hosted many Syrian refugees, many of which are residing in urban and rural areas. Vulnerability of refugees has increased due to the COVID-19 pandemic, adding to their already existing challenge in access to medical services, rendering them vulnerable to the complications of untreated medical conditions and amplifying their risk for severe COVID-19 disease. To improve health outcomes and access to health care services in a COVID-19 context, IOM (The International Organization for Migration) provided health services including awareness raising, direct primary health care through mobile teams and referrals to secondary services were extended to the vulnerable populations of refugees. Method: 6 community health volunteers were trained and deployed to different governorates to provide COVID-19 and non-communicable disease awareness and collect data rated to non-communicable disease and access to medical health services. Primary health care services were extended to 7 governorates through a mobile medical team, providing medical management. The collected Data was reviewed and analyzed. Results: 2150 refugees in rural areas were reached out by community health volunteers, out of which 78 received their medications through the Ministry of Health, 121 received their medications through different non-governmental organizations, 665 patients couldn’t afford buying any medications, 1286 patients were occasionally buying their medications when they were able to afford it. 853 patients received medications and follow up through IOM mobile clinics, the most common conditions were hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, anemia, heart disease, thyroid disease, asthma, seizures, and psychiatric conditions. 709 of these patients had more than 3 of the comorbidities. Multiple cases were referred for secondary and tertiary lifesaving interventions. Conclusion: Non communicable diseases are highly prevalent among refugee population in Jordan, access to medical services have proven to be a challenge in rural areas especially during the COVID-19 era, many of the patients have multiple uncontrolled medical conditions placing them at risk for complications and risk for severe COVID-19 disease. Deployment of mobile clinics to rural areas plays an essential role in managing such medical conditions, thus improving the continuum of health care approach, physical and mental wellbeing of refugees and reducing the risk for severe COVID-19 disease among this group, taking us one step forward toward universal health access.

Keywords: COVID-19, refugees, mobile clinics, primary health care

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Authors: Christine Eickhoff, Alyssa Adams, Alaine Duncan

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The Washington, DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center (DC VAMC) offers complementary and integrative health (CIH) services such as acupuncture, yoga, meditation, and nutrition education through a coordinated outpatient clinic. The primary population utilizing CIH services are veterans with chronic pain. Acupuncture is one of the most popular of the CIH services available at the DC VAMC. As interest and availability grows, it is important to measure health outcomes associated with CIH service utilization. The purpose of this study was to investigate pain and mental health outcomes for veterans with chronic pain enrolled in individual acupuncture services in the DC VAMC. Veterans at the DC VAMC with self-identified chronic pain and no prior acupuncture experience were recruited for the study (n=70). Veterans were referred for services by a medical provider and completed baseline assessments at the program orientation prior to participating in any CIH services. Veterans received four individual, full-body acupuncture appointments within four weeks of study enrollment. After the first month, participants were scheduled for six appointments that occurred every two weeks and then eight more sessions that were scheduled one month apart. Follow-up assessments were administered at 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 months. The findings reported will include completed time points at two and four months. Measures include a demographics survey, the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile-2 (MYMOP-2), The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the Defense Veterans Pain Rating Scale (DVPRS), and the Pain Disability Questionnaire (PDQ). In this sample, 67% identified a pain condition as their primary health concern. Between baseline and two-month follow-up, there were significant improvements in participants’ primary health concern (MYMOP-2 p=0.010), general wellbeing (MYMOP-2 p=0.011), and a significant decrease in the use of medication (MYMOP-2 p<0.000). Between 2 and 4-month follow-up, pain disability (PDQ p=0.035), pain rating (DVPRS p=0.027), and depression (BDI-II p=0.003) significantly improved. Preliminary findings indicate that individual acupuncture therapy can be effective at improving health outcomes, well-being, and decreasing medication use in U.S. military veterans with chronic pain. Findings also suggest that individual acupuncture therapy can improve pain ratings, pain disability, and depression in veterans with chronic pain.

Keywords: acupuncture, chronic pain, depression, integrative health, medication use, military, pain, veterans, wellbeing

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Authors: Irina Canco, Amela Malaj

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It is evident that there exists a relationship between supply chain management and business performance. Surveys have showed that in many cases the manager's beliefs and expectations on supply chain management do not match the reality of the business. In this context, the study of supply chain issues is of particular importance and interest considering specifically the current period. The economic problems of this period, are present in Albania as well. The complexity of the supply chain focuses on order fulfilment. Therefore, in this paper, attention will be paid to the impact of supply chain management on business performance. The objective of the paper is to find a relationship between the good supply chain management and business performance. This research is based on the results of surveys referring to the experience of successful businesses on issues related to sustainable supply chain management and its synchronization with the provision of products and services required by the final customers. This study clearly evidenced the impact of the speed of meeting customer requirements on AMAZONA performance. This was also confirmed mathematically through one of the decision criteria in conditions of uncertainty—Laplace criterion.

Keywords: supply chain management, AMAZONA, business performance, Laplace criteria

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Authors: Amal Abdou, Yasser ElSayed, Nora Selim

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Public urban spaces are an essential component in any urban settlement. They are quite important in enhancing the quality of urban life while offering social, health, environmental and economic benefits to a city and its residents. Place-making assessment of public urban spaces has been one of the major guiding principles for urban planning and policymaking, of which the definition and evaluation have become the crucial research topic. It is increasingly being essential to mitigate the undesirable impacts of urbanization in cities while improving public urban space’s resilience to environmental, social, and economic changes. Globally, several place-making assessment tools (PATs) have been developed to make such informed decision-making. They act as a catalyst to increase market demand for sustainable products and services by providing a mechanism for recognizing excellence. Assessing how placemaking can positively contribute to urban environments is critical to inform both the continued development of the place and the way placemaking is done as a practice. Therefore, this study aims to review different themes for assessing urban placemaking in public urban spaces.

Keywords: urban placemaking, public urban spaces, placemaking assessment, literature review

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Authors: Milenko Košutić, Jelena Filipović, Zvonko Nježić

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Extrusion technology is thermal processing that is applied to improve the nutritional, hygienic, and physical-chemical characteristics of the raw material. Overall, the extrusion process is an efficient method for the production of a wide range of food products. It combines heat, pressure, and shear to transform raw materials into finished goods with desired textures, shapes, and nutritional profiles. The extruded products’ quality is remarkably dependent upon feed material composition, barrel temperature profile, feed moisture content, screw speed, and other extrusion system parameters. Given consumer expectations for snack foods, a high expansion index and low bulk density, in addition to crunchy texture and uniform microstructure, are desired. This paper investigates the effects of simultaneous different types of corn (white corn, yellow corn, red corn, and black corn) addition and different screw speed (350, 500, 650 rpm) on the physical, technological, and functional properties of flakes products. Black corn flour and screw speed at 350 rpm positively influenced physical, technological characteristics, mineral composition, and antioxidant properties of flake products with the best total score analysis of 0,59. Overall, the combination of Tukey's HSD test and PCA enables a comprehensive analysis of the observed corn products, allowing researchers to identify them. This research aims to analyze the influence of different types of corn flour (white corn, yellow corn, red corn, and black corn) on the nutritive and sensory properties of the product (quality, texture, and color), as well as the acceptance of the new product by consumers on the territory of Novi Sad. The presented data point that investigated corn flakes from black corn flour at 350 rpm is a product with good physical-technological and functional properties due to a higher level of antioxidant activity.

Keywords: corn types, flakes product, nutritive quality, acceptability

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Authors: Milind Bharambe, Chander Shekhar

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India is a vast country with its 1.21 billion population at the dawn of new decade, which accounts for one sixth of the global human capital in the world today. It is well known that health expenditure in India is dominated by private spending. This is an unfortunate consequence of India’s development because of large positive externality associated with health spending, which make health a merit good. This paper has used data from NSSO and Indian Government’s spending on health as reported by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Understanding of the dynamism of age-structure of the population would greatly optimize the expenditure on health care services. A country with good public health indicators is bound to possess good human capital which is an asset to the economic growth and indicator of development status of country. The paper tries to present the linkages between the health expenditure incurred by different states at various levels of demographic transition levels and the efficiency in utilization of health expenditure. It also looks into the way in which allocative efficiency health services can be improved. Paper tries to explore the per capita spending on health and how the demographic transition taking place in different states of India affect the required quantity and quality of health services.

Keywords: age structure, demographic transition, health expenditure, morbidity

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Authors: Houria Hamitouche, Abdellah Khelifa

Abstract:

Quaternary ammonium salts (QACs) are the most common cationic surfactants of natural or synthetic origin usually. They possess one or more hydrophobic hydrocarbon chains and hydrophilic cationic group. In fact, the hydrophobic groups are derived from three main sources: petrochemicals, vegetable oils, and animal fats. These QACs have attracted the attention of chemists for a long time, due to their general simple synthesis and their broad application in several fields. They are important as ingredients of cosmetic products and are also used as corrosion inhibitors, in emulsion polymerization and textile processing. Within biological applications, QACs show a good antimicrobial activity and can be used as medicines, gene delivery agents or in DNA extraction methods. The 2004 worldwide annual consumption of QACs was reported as 500,000 tons. The petroleum product is considered a true reservoir of a variety of chemical species, which can be used in the synthesis of quaternary ammonium salts. The purpose of the present contribution is to synthesize the quaternary ammonium salts by Menschutkin reaction, via chloromethylation/quaternization sequences, from Algerian petroleum products namely: reformate, light naphtha and kerosene and characterize.

Keywords: quaternary ammonium salts, reformate, light naphtha, kerosene

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Authors: Hanadi Al-Mubaraki, Michael Busler

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Both in the developed and developing countries as well as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) proven to be main drivers of jobs creation and tools to accelerate economic development and economic diversification. This paper seeks to investigate and identify the strengths and weakness of SME as a veritable tool in economic development. A survey method was used to gather data from 171 SME from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The research methodology uses a quantitative approach (survey) while data were collected with a structured questionnaire and analyzed with several descriptive statistics. The results of the study, therefore, will present sets of the strengths of SME in GCC such as 1) government supported local products (59%), 2) promoting SME local products rather than international products (47%), 3) reduce the legal and administrative procedures of SME establishment (46%) and weakness of SME in GCC such as: 1) lack of funding during the initial phase of the project (46%), 2) lack of liquidity during project continuity (39%), and 3) strong competition in the domestic and global market (38%). The study findings will be guidelines for academia and practitioners such as governments, policymakers, funded organizations, universities and strategic institutions for successful implementation.

Keywords: SME, economic development, GCC, strengths and weaknesses

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Authors: Mernoosh Abouzari, Shahrokh Sahraei

Abstract:

Electronic government is a way for governments to use new technology that provides people with the necessary facilities for proper access to government information and services, improving the quality of services and providing broad opportunities to participate in democratic processes and institutions. That leads to providing the possibility of easy use of information technology in order to distribute government services to the customer without holidays, which increases people's satisfaction and participation in political and economic activities. The expansion of e-government services and its movement towards intelligentization has the ability to re-establish the relationship between the government and citizens and the elements and components of the government. Electronic government is the result of the use of information and communication technology (ICT), which by implementing it at the government level, in terms of the efficiency and effectiveness of government systems and the way of providing services, tremendous commercial changes are created, which brings people's satisfaction at the wide level will follow. The main level of electronic government services has become objectified today with the presence of artificial intelligence systems, which recent advances in artificial intelligence represent a revolution in the use of machines to support predictive decision-making and Classification of data. With the use of deep learning tools, artificial intelligence can mean a significant improvement in the delivery of services to citizens and uplift the work of public service professionals while also inspiring a new generation of technocrats to enter government. This smart revolution may put aside some functions of the government, change its components, and concepts such as governance, policymaking or democracy will change in front of artificial intelligence technology, and the top-down position in governance may face serious changes, and If governments delay in using artificial intelligence, the balance of power will change and private companies will monopolize everything with their pioneering in this field, and the world order will also depend on rich multinational companies and in fact, Algorithmic systems will become the ruling systems of the world. It can be said that currently, the revolution in information technology and biotechnology has been started by engineers, large economic companies, and scientists who are rarely aware of the political complexities of their decisions and certainly do not represent anyone. Therefore, it seems that if liberalism, nationalism, or any other religion wants to organize the world of 2050, it should not only rationalize the concept of artificial intelligence and complex data algorithm but also mix them in a new and meaningful narrative. Therefore, the changes caused by artificial intelligence in the political and economic order will lead to a major change in the way all countries deal with the phenomenon of digital globalization. In this paper, while debating the role and performance of e-government, we will discuss the efficiency and application of artificial intelligence in e-government, and we will consider the developments resulting from it in the new world and the concepts of governance.

Keywords: electronic government, artificial intelligence, information and communication technology., system

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Authors: Ramalingam Venugopal, Kalaiselvi Arumugam

Abstract:

Environmental exposure to heavy metals is associated with a wide range of toxic effects. It is evident that heavy metals released in the environment affect the reproductive processes and fertility of animals. Toxic metals affect the male and female reproductive system directly or indirectly. Considering the toxic nature of aluminium and also the major role of secretory products and lipids in sperm maturation, the present study was planned to investigate the effect of aluminium chloride on secretory products like glyceryl phosphoryl choline (GPC), sialic acid, carnitine and acetyl carnitine content and also lipid profiles in the epididymis and spermatozoa of adult rats. Aluminium chloride, 50 mg/kg body weight was administered orally daily for 60 days. 24 hours after the last dose the rats were sacrificed and immediately epididymis was dissected out and spermatozoa was isolated. The weight of the epididymis decreased significantly. GPC and sialic acid content was significantly reduced in the epididymis and not much altered in spermatozoa. Carnitine and acetyl carnitine contents were markedly decreased in the spermatozoa as well as in the epididymis. Aluminium chloride administration caused a marked reduction in total lipid, cholesterol, phospholipids and cholesterol content in epididymis and no significant changes in spermatozoa. Several changes take place in the spermatozoa as they pass through the epididymis. These changes are directly related to the acquisition of fertilizing ability of spermatozoa. From the results, it is evident that aluminium chloride has definite influence on secretory products and lipid profiles in the epididymis. This may eventually have an adverse impact on the fertility of the animal.

Keywords: aluminium chloride, rat, carnitine, GPC, sialic acid, epididymis, spermatozoa

Procedia PDF Downloads 372