Search results for: age related macular degeneration

Authors: Jutamas Wisansing, Thanakarn Vongvisitsin, Udom Hongchatikul

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Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) is a public organization, dedicating to sustainable tourism development in 6 designated areas in Thailand. This paper provides rich reflections from a decade of DASTA, formulating an advanced model to deepen our understanding of 2 key intertwining issues; 1) what are the new landscapes of actors for community based tourism and 2) who are the benefactors and beneficiaries of tourism development within the community? An action research approach was used, enabling the process and evidence-based cases to be better captured. The aim is to build theoretical foundation through 13 communities/cases, which have engaged in community based tourism pilot projects. Drawing from emic and qualitative research, specific and contextual phenomenon provides succinct patterns of ‘Community Benefitting through Tourism (CbtT)’ model. The re-definition of the 2 key issues helps shape the interlinking of actors; practicalities of inclusive tourism and inter-sectoral framework and its value chain will also be set forth. In tourism sector, community members could be active primarily on the supply side as employees, entrepreneurs and local heritage experts. CbtT when well defined stimulates the entire value chain of local economy while promoting social innovation through positive dialogue with wider actors. Collaboration with a new set of actors who are from the tourism-related businesses and non-tourism related businesses create better impacts on mutual benefits.

Keywords: community based tourism, community benefitting through tourism -CbtT DASTA model, sustainable tourism in thailand, value chain and inclusive business

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Authors: S. Niamkaeo, O. Robert, O. Chaowalit

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In this investigation, we focus on discovering spatial relationship of drug smuggling along the northern border of Thailand. Thailand is no longer a drug production site, but Thailand is still one of the major drug trafficking hubs due to its topographic characteristics facilitating drug smuggling from neighboring countries. Our study areas cover three districts (Mae-jan, Mae-fahluang, and Mae-sai) in Chiangrai city and four districts (Chiangdao, Mae-eye, Chaiprakarn, and Wienghang) in Chiangmai city where drug smuggling of methamphetamine crystal and amphetamine occurs mostly. The data on drug smuggling incidents from 2011 to 2017 was collected from several national and local published news. Geo-spatial drug smuggling database was prepared. Decision tree algorithm was applied in order to discover the spatial relationship of factors related to drug smuggling, which was converted into rules using rule-based system. The factors including land use type, smuggling route, season and distance within 500 meters from check points were found that they were related to drug smuggling in terms of rules-based relationship. It was illustrated that drug smuggling was occurred mostly in forest area in winter. Drug smuggling exhibited was discovered mainly along topographic road where check points were not reachable. This spatial relationship of drug smuggling could support the Thai Office of Narcotics Control Board in surveillance drug smuggling.

Keywords: decision tree, drug smuggling, Geographic Information System, GIS knowledge discovery, rule-based system

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Authors: M. Hadavi, Z. Hashemi

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Learning strategies play an important role in the development of language skills. Vocabulary learning strategies as the backbone of these strategies have become a major part of English language teaching. This study is a comparative analysis of Vocabulary Learning Strategies (VLS) use and preference among freshmen and senior EFL medical sciences students with different fields of study. 449 students (236 freshman and 213 seniors) participated in the study. 64.6% were female and 35.4% were male. The instrument utilized in this research was a questionnaire consisting of 41 items related to the students’ approach to vocabulary learning. The items were classified under eight sections as dictionary strategies, guessing strategies, study preferences, memory strategies, autonomy, note- taking strategies, selective attention, and social strategies. The participants were asked to answer each item with a 5-point Likert-style frequency scale as follows:1) I never or almost never do this, 2) I don’t usually do this, 3) I sometimes do this, 4) I usually do this, and 5)I always or almost always do this. The results indicated that freshmen students and particularly surgical technology students used more strategies compared to the seniors. Overall guessing and dictionary strategies were the most frequently used strategies among all the learners (p=0/000). The mean and standard deviation of using VLS in the students who had no previous history of participating in the private English language classes was less than the students who had attended these type of classes (p=0/000). Female students tended to use social and study preference strategies whereas male students used mostly guessing and dictionary strategies. It can be concluded that the senior students under instruction from the university have learned to rely on themselves and choose the autonomous strategies more, while freshmen students use more strategies that are related to the study preferences.

Keywords: vocabulary leaning strategies, medical sciences, students, linguistics

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Authors: Brandon Knopp, Matthew Harris

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Purpose: Tip-apex distance (TAD) has long been discussed as a metric for determining risk of failure in the fixation of peritrochanteric fractures. TAD measurements over 25 millimeters (mm) have been associated with higher rates of screw cut out and other complications in the first several months after surgery. However, there is limited evidence for the efficacy of this measurement in predicting the long-term risk of negative outcomes following hip fixation surgery. The purpose of our study was to investigate risk factors including TAD for hospital readmission, loss of pre-injury ambulation and development of complications within 1 year after hip fixation surgery. Methods: A retrospective review of proximal hip fractures treated with single screw intramedullary devices between 2016 and 2020 was performed at a 327-bed regional medical center. Patients included had a postoperative follow-up of at least 12 months or surgery-related complications developing within that time. Results: 44 of the 67 patients in this study met the inclusion criteria with adequate follow-up post-surgery. There was a total of 10 males (22.7%) and 34 females (77.3%) meeting inclusion criteria with a mean age of 82.1 (± 12.3) at the time of surgery. The average TAD in our study population was 19.57mm and the average 1-year readmission rate was 15.9%. 3 out of 6 patients (50%) with a TAD > 25mm were readmitted within one year due to surgery-related complications. In contrast, 3 out of 38 patients (7.9%) with a TAD < 25mm were readmitted within one year due to surgery-related complications (p=0.0254). Individual TAD measurements, averaging 22.05mm in patients readmitted within 1 year of surgery and 19.18mm in patients not readmitted within 1 year of surgery, were not significantly different between the two groups (p=0.2113). Conclusions: Our data indicate a significant improvement in hospital readmission rates up to one year after hip fixation surgery in patients with a TAD < 25mm with a decrease in readmissions of over 40% (50% vs 7.9%). This result builds upon past investigations by extending the follow-up time to 1 year after surgery and utilizing hospital readmissions as a metric for surgical success. With the well-documented physical and financial costs of hospital readmission after hip surgery, our study highlights a reduction of TAD < 25mm as an effective method of improving patient outcomes and reducing financial costs to patients and medical institutions. No relationship was found between TAD measurements and secondary outcomes, including loss of pre-injury ambulation and development of complications.

Keywords: hip fractures, hip reductions, readmission rates, open reduction internal fixation

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Authors: Mehdi Mirzaei Alavijeh, Farzad Jalilian

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Background: Marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug worldwide, especially among adolescents and young adults, which can cause numerous complications. The aim of this study was to determine the pattern, motivation use, and factors related to marijuana use among Iranian youths based on the integrative model of behavioral prediction Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 174 youths marijuana user in Kermanshah County and Isfahan County, during summer 2014 which was selected with the convenience sampling for participation in this study. A self-reporting questionnaire was applied for collecting data. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 21 using bivariate correlations and linear regression statistical tests. Results: The mean marijuana use of respondents was 4.60 times at during week [95% CI: 4.06, 5.15]. Linear regression statistical showed, the structures of integrative model of behavioral prediction accounted for 36% of the variation in the outcome measure of the marijuana use at during week (R2 = 36% & P < 0.001); and among them attitude, marijuana refuse, and subjective norms were a stronger predictors. Conclusion: Comprehensive health education and prevention programs need to emphasize on cognitive factors that predict youth’s health-related behaviors. Based on our findings it seems, designing educational and behavioral intervention for reducing positive belief about marijuana, marijuana self-efficacy refuse promotion and reduce subjective norms encourage marijuana use has an effective potential to protect youths marijuana use.

Keywords: marijuana, youth, integrative model of behavioral prediction, Iran

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Authors: Agbortoko Manyigbe Ayuk Nkem, Eno Cynthia Osuh

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This paper sets to examine the relationship between climate change and urban livelihood through a vulnerability assessment of the urban poor in Douala. Urban development in Douala places priority towards industrial and city-centre development with little focus on the urban poor in terms of housing units and areas of sustenance. With the high rate of urbanisation and increased land prices, the urban poor are forced to occupy marginal lands which are mainly wetlands, wastelands and along abandoned neighbourhoods prone to natural hazards. Due to climate change and its effects, these wetlands are constantly flooded thereby destroying homes, properties, and crops. Also, most of these urban dwellers have found solace in urban agriculture as a means for survival. However, since agriculture in tropical regions like Cameroon depends largely on seasonal rainfall, the changes in rainfall pattern has led to misplaced periods for crop planting and a huge wastage of resources as rainfall becomes very unreliable with increased temperature levels. Data for the study was obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Secondary sources included published materials related to climate change and vulnerability. Primary data was obtained through focus-group discussions with some urban farmers while a stratified sampling of residents within marginal lands was done. Each stratum was randomly sampled to obtain information on different stressors related to climate change and their effect on livelihood. Findings proved that the high rate of rural-urban migration into Douala has led to increased prevalence of the urban poor and their vulnerability to climate change as evident in their constant fight against flood from unexpected sea level rise and irregular rainfall pattern for urban agriculture. The study also proved that women were most vulnerable as they depended solely on urban agriculture and its related activities like retailing agricultural products in different urban markets which to them serves as a main source of income in the attainment of basic needs for the family. Adaptation measures include the constant use of sand bags, raised makeshifts as well as cultivation along streams, planting after evidence of constant rainfall has become paramount for sustainability.

Keywords: adaptation, Douala, Cameroon, climate change, development, livelihood, vulnerability

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Authors: Chiharu Miyata, Hidenori Arai

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Background: The quality of care in geriatric intermediate facilities (GIFs) in Japan is not in a satisfied level. To improve it, it is crucial to reconsider nurses’ professionalism. Our goal is to create an organizational system that allows nurses to succeed professionally. To do this, we must first discuss the relationship between nurses’ characteristics and the organization. Objectives: The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which demographic and work-related factors are related to organizational commitment among nurses in GIFs. Method: A quantitative, cross-sectional method was adopted, using a self-completion questionnaire survey. The questionnaires consisted of 49 items for job satisfaction, the three-dimensional commitment model of organizational commitment and the background information of respondents. Results: A total of 1,189 nurses participated. Of those, 91% (n=1084) were women, and mean age was 48.2 years. Most participants were staff nurses (n=791; 66%). Significant differences in 'affective commitment' (AC) scores were found for age (p < .001), overall work experience (p < .001), and work status (p < .001). For work experience in the current facility, significant differences were found in all organizational commitment scores (p < .001). The group with high job satisfaction scored significantly higher in all types of organizational commitment (p < 0.001). Conclusions: These results led to a conclusion that understanding the expectations of nurses at the workplace to adapt with the organization, and creating a work environment that clarifies contents of tasks, especially allowing for nurses to feel significance and achievement with tasks, would increase AC.

Keywords: geriatric intermediate care facilities, geriatric nursing, job satisfaction, organizational commitment

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Authors: Medya Fathi

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Moving toward sustainable development is among today’s critical issues worldwide that make all industries, particularly construction, pay increasing attention to a healthy environment and a society with a prosperous economy. One of the solutions is to improve buildings’ energy performance by cutting energy consumption and related carbon emissions, eventually improving the quality of life. Unfortunately, the energy demand for buildings is rising. For instance, in Europe, the building sector accounts for 19% of the global energy-related greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions, the main contributor to global warming in the last 50 years, and 36% of the total CO2 emissions, according to European Commission 2019. The crisis of energy use demands expanding knowledge and understanding of the potential benefits of energy-efficient buildings. In this regard, the present paper aims to critically review the existing body of knowledge on improving energy efficiency in buildings and detail the significant research contributions. Peer-reviewed journal articles published in the last decade in reputed journals were reviewed using the database Scopus and keywords of Sustainability, Sustainable Development, Energy Performance, Energy Consumption, Energy Efficiency, and Buildings. All contributions will be classified by journal type, publication time, country/region, building occupancy type, applied strategies, and findings. This study will provide an essential basis for researchers working on missing areas and filling the existing gaps in the body of knowledge.

Keywords: sustainability, energy performance, energy efficiency, buildings, review

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Authors: Jean-Francois Rajotte, Martin Sotir, Frank Gouineau

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The installation and management of traffic monitoring devices can be costly from both a financial and resource point of view. It is therefore important to take advantage of in-place infrastructures to extract the most information. Here we show how low-quality urban road traffic images from cameras already available in many cities (such as Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto) can be used to estimate traffic flow. To this end, we use a pre-trained neural network, developed for object detection, to count vehicles within images. We then compare the results with human annotations gathered through crowdsourcing campaigns. We use this comparison to assess performance and calibrate the neural network annotations. As a use case, we consider six months of continuous monitoring over hundreds of cameras installed in the city of Montreal. We compare the results with city-provided manual traffic counting performed in similar conditions at the same location. The good performance of our system allows us to consider applications which can monitor the traffic conditions in near real-time, making the counting usable for traffic-related services. Furthermore, the resulting annotations pave the way for building a historical vehicle counting dataset to be used for analysing the impact of road traffic on many city-related issues, such as urban planning, security, and pollution.

Keywords: traffic monitoring, deep learning, image annotation, vehicles, roads, artificial intelligence, real-time systems

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Authors: Hoda Ghorbani

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Today, many markets are matured and faced by a congested competition and amount of supply that is quite greater than demand. With respect to such modifications, organizations shall make themselves more equipped beforehand and ready to tackle with their rivals. In this regard, Relationship Marketing tries to lower the cost for attracting new customers by establishment and maintenance long run relations with the current customers and by which they try to increase corporative profitability. Consequently, identifying of relationship marketing and its effective factors is an essential element for maintenance of market and improvement of corporative competition potential. The present study deals with identifying the effective factors on marketing relationship in National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) from managers’ point of view. Methodology of this study is of descriptive- survey type. In addition to an extensive review on secondary sources and interview with experienced members in NIDC, researcher identified the related factors and distributed a questionnaire, including 31 questions, among 144 participants from corporative managers and first-rank principals. After gathering information, the related data have been analyzed by using binomial test as well as Binomial Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) of pair-wise comparisons. Study results showed that some variable like communication, commitment, Conflict Management and trust have affected on relationship marketing based on their order preference.

Keywords: marketing relationship, trust, commitment, communication, conflict management

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Authors: Diego S. Caetano, Doreen E. Kalz, Louise L. B. Lomardo, Luiz P. Rosa

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The energy consumption in non-residential buildings in Brazil has a great impact on the national infrastructure. The growth of the energy consumption has a special role over the building cooling systems, supported by the increased people's requirements on hygrothermal comfort. This paper presents how the occupants of office buildings notice and evaluate the hygrothermic comfort regarding temperature, humidity, and air movement, considering the cooling systems presented at the buildings studied, analyzed by real occupants in areas of hot and humid climate. The paper presents results collected over a long time from 3 office buildings in the cities of Rio de Janeiro and Niteroi (Brazil) in 2015 and 2016, from daily questionnaires with eight questions answered by 114 people between 3 to 5 weeks per building, twice a day (10 a.m. and 3 p.m.). The paper analyses 6 out of 8 questions, emphasizing on the perception of temperature, humidity, and air movement. Statistics analyses were made crossing participant answers and humidity and temperature data related to time high time resolution time. Analyses were made from regressions comparing: internal and external temperature, and then compared with the answers of the participants. The results were put in graphics combining statistic graphics related to temperature and air humidity with the answers of the real occupants. Analysis related to the perception of the participants to humidity and air movements were also analyzed. The hygrothermal comfort statistic model of the European standard DIN EN 15251 and that from the Brazilian standard NBR 16401 were compared taking into account the perceptions of the hygrothermal comfort of the participants, with emphasis on air humidity, taking basis on prior studies published on this same research. The studies point out a relative tolerance for higher temperatures than the ones determined by the standards, besides a variation on the participants' perception concerning air humidity. The paper presents a group of detailed information that permits to improve the quality of the buildings based on the perception of occupants of the office buildings, contributing to the energy reduction without health damages and demands of necessary hygrothermal comfort, reducing the consumption of electricity on cooling.

Keywords: thermal comfort, energy consumption, energy standards, comfort models

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Authors: Laila Akbarali

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In the small scale study, an attempt is made to explore the structure and administrative relationships adopted by Multi Campus Universities [MCU] in UK and Pakistan and how these universities deal with some selected issues with respect to student related functions. For this study, literature on multi-site, divisionalized and other complex organizations related to business and Industry was consulted and an attempt was made to empirically test the normative models in the literature with respect to centralized , deconcentrated and decentralized structures. A questionnaire was used to gather data for this study. Purposive sampling was used. The findings of this study are somewhat different for UK and Pakistan. Contrary to a substantial body of organization theory, the results show that deconcentrated and decentralized universities in the UK are prone to delays in decision making and tend not to sensitive to local needs. In Pakistan on the other hand, deconcentrated and decentralized universities are more sensitive to local needs and there are less delays in decision making. The findings suggest that distance and reporting relationships could perhaps be responsible for the contradiction. The results also suggest that there is better coordination when the subsidiary campus sub-registrar reports to the registrar. The findings also highlight, that in both contexts, leadership at the campus level remains an issue. The results suggest that there may be factors other than structure that allow universities to keep their identity intact. The study highlights that MCU are inclined to use Information Technology and develop broad policies within which they allow their campuses to operate.

Keywords: administrative relationships, Multi-Campus, organization structure, registrar

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Authors: Xia Huo

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Children are more vulnerable to environmental toxicants compared to adults, and their developing immune system is among the most sensitive targets regarding toxicity of environmental toxicants. Studies have found that exposure to environmental toxicants is associated with impaired immune function in children, but only a few studies have focused on the relationship between environmental toxicant exposure and vaccine antibody potency and immunoglobulin (Ig) levels in children. These studies investigated the associations of exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Hg) and PM2.5 with the serum-specific antibody concentrations and Ig levels against different vaccines, such as anti-Hib, tetanus, diphtheria toxoid, and analyze the possible mechanisms underlying exposure-related alterations of antibody titers and Ig levels against different vaccines. Results suggest that exposure to these toxicants is generally associated with decreased potency of antibodies produced from childhood immunizations and an overall deficiency in the protection the vaccines provide. Toxicant exposure is associated with vaccination failure and decreased antibody titers, and increased risk of immune-related diseases in children by altering specific immunoglobulin levels. Age, sex, nutritional status, and co-exposure may influence the effects of toxicants on the immune function in children. Epidemiological evidence suggests that exposure-induced changes to humoral immunerelated tissue/cells/molecules response to vaccines may have predominant roles in the inverse associations between antibody responsiveness to vaccines and environmental toxicants. These results help us to conduct better immunization policies for children under environmental toxicant burden.

Keywords: environmental toxicants, immunotoxicity, vaccination, antibodies, children's health

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Authors: Emad Hafez, Mahmoud Seleiman

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Two field experiments were carried out in order to investigate the effect of chemical inducers [benzothiadiazole 0.9 mM L-1, oxalic acid 1.0 mM L-1, salicylic acid 0.2 mM L-1] on physiological and technological traits as well as on yields and antioxidant enzyme activities of barley grown under abiotic stress (i.e. water surplus and deficit conditions). Results showed that relative water content, leaf area, chlorophyll and yield as well as technological properties of barley were improved with chemical inducers application under water surplus and water-stress conditions. Antioxidant enzymes activity (i.e. catalase and peroxidase) were significantly increased in barley grown under water-stress and treated with chemical inducers. Yield and related parameters of barley presented also significant decrease under water-stress treatment, while chemical inducers application enhanced the yield-related traits. Starch and protein contents were higher in plants treated with salicylic acid than in untreated plants when water-stress was applied. In conclusion, results show that chemical inducers application have a positive interaction and synergetic influence and should be suggested to improve plant growth, yield and technological properties of water stressed barley. Salicylic acid application was better than oxalic acid and benzothiadiazole in terms of plant growth and yield improvement.

Keywords: antioxidant enzymes, drought stress, Hordeum vulgare L., quality, yield

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Authors: Somsakhool Neelasmith, Darunee Jongudomkarn, Rutja Phuphaibul

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Adolescent pregnancy is a major global concern including Thailand, which has long adopted policies and solutions to prevent such problem. Family is one of the key strategies to drive policy achievement whereas the various families and regional differences will be challenges. This article reports a preliminary study finding using qualitative case study methods, aiming to explore the situation of families living with adolescent mother in the North Eastern of Thailand or ISAN. Data were collected by in-depth interview with six key informants; five adolescent mothers age 14- 19 years and one mother in law of adolescent mother during November to December of 2017. The preliminary suggests that firstly, the adolescent pregnancy was found to be one of the significant issues among most of the families and that adolescent mothers and their family perceived other families were also faced with this problem with despite different conditions. Secondly, the parents assumed simultaneous roles as both parents and grandparents when one of their adolescent girls became an adolescent mother. Lastly, when perceiving that their adolescent daughter became pregnant, families addressed this issue by compromise with the related parties to maintain family and social relationship. This situation can be a potential intractable problem to adolescents and their families. Families may suffer from adolescent pregnancy with respect to health, economy and other family burdens. Moreover, the national development may be affected or delayed since this group of people is considered promising human resource. It is therefore required to further conduct in-depth research to cope with this issue particularly about the policies related to adolescent pregnancy.

Keywords: adolescent mother, adolescent pregnancy, consequential effect, family living with adolescent mother

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Authors: Somayeh Akrami, Habib Onsori, Elham Tahmassebian

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Species of Anemone narcissiflora is belonged to Anemone genus of Ranunculaceae family. This species has two subspecies named narcissiflora and willdenowii which the latest is recorded in Iran in 2010. Some samples of A. narcissiflora is gathered from kuhkamar-zonouz region of East -Azerbaijan province, Iran to study the genetic diversity of the species by using RAPD molecular markers, and estimation of genetic diversity were evaluated with the using 10mer RAPD primers by PCR-RAPD method. 39 polymorphic bands were produced from the six primers used in this technique that the maximum band is related to the RP1 primer, the lowest band is related to the RP7 and the average band for all primers were 6.5 polymorphic bands. Cluster analysis of samples in done by UPGMA method in NTSYSpc 2.02 software. Dendrogram resulting from migrating bands showed that the studied samples can be divided into two groups. The first group includes samples with 1-2 flowers and the second group consists of two sub-groups which the first subgroup consists of samples with 3-5 flowers, and the second subgroup consists of samples with 6-7 flowers. The results of the comparison and analysis of the data obtained from RAPD technique and similarity matrix represents the genetic variation between collected samples. This study shows that RAPD markers can determine the polymorphisms between different genotypes of A. narcissiflora and their hybrids. So RAPD technique can serve as a suitable molecular method to determine the genetic diversity of samples.

Keywords: Anemone narcissiflora, genetic diversity, RAPD-PCR

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Authors: Sasan Chalaki, Seyed Ali Mirgholange, Touba Nadri, Saman Chalaki

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In the current world, proper poultry nutrition has garnered special attention as one of the fundamental factors for enhancing their health and performance. Concerns related to the excessive use of antibiotics in the poultry industry and their role in antibiotic resistance have transformed this issue into a global challenge in public health and the environment. On the other hand, poultry farming plays a vital role as a primary source of meat and eggs in human nutrition, and improving their health and performance is crucial. One effective approach to enhance poultry nutrition is the utilization of the antibiotic properties of plant-based ingredients. The use of plant-based alternatives as natural antibiotics in poultry nutrition not only aids in improving poultry health and performance but also plays a significant role in reducing the consumption of synthetic antibiotics and preventing antibiotic resistance-related issues. Plants contain various antibacterial compounds, such as flavonoids, tannins, and essential oils. These compounds are recognized as active agents in combating bacteria. Plant-based antibiotics are compounds extracted from plants with antibacterial properties. They are acknowledged as effective substitutes for chemical antibiotics in poultry diets. The advantages of plant-based antibiotics include reducing the risk of resistance to chemical antibiotics, increasing poultry growth performance, and lowering the risk of disease transmission.

Keywords: poultry, antibiotics, essential oils, plant-based

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Authors: Soumia Hammadi, Imane Nouacer, Lamine Hamida, Younes A. Hammadi, Rachid Chaibi

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Aims and objective: In the present work, we investigate the impact of both acute and chronic diabetes mellitus induced by streptozotocin (STZ) on the hypothalamus of the small gerbil (Gerbillus gerbillus). In this purpose, we aimed to study the histologic structure of the gerbil’s hypothalamic supraoptic (NSO) and paraventricular nucleus (NPV) at two distinct time points: two days and 30 days after diabetes onset. Methods: We conducted our investigation using 19 adult male gerbils weighing 25 to 28 g, divided into three groups as follow: Group I: Control gerbils (n=6) received an intraperitoneal injection of citrate buffer. Group II: STZ-diabetic gerbils (n=8) received a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ at a dose of 165 mg/kg of body weight. Diabetes onset (D0) is considered with the first hyperglycemia level exceeding 2,5 g/L. This group was further divided into two subgroups: Group II-1: Experimental Gerbils, at acute state of diabetes (n=8) sacrificed after 02 days of diabetes onset, Group II-2: Experimental Gerbils at chronic state of diabetes (n=7) sacrificed after 30 days of diabetes onset. Two and 30 days after diabetes onset, gerbils had blood drawn from the retro-orbital sinus into EDTA tubes. After centrifugation at -4°C, plasma was frozen at -80°C for later measurement of Cortisol, ACTH, and insulin. Afterward, animals were decapitated; their brain was removed, weighed, fixed in aqueous bouin, and processed and stained with Toluidine Bleu stain for histo-stereological analysis. A comparison was done with control gerbils treated with citrate buffer. Results: Compared to control gerbils, at 02 Days post diabetes onset, the neuronal somata of the paraventricular (NPV) and supraoptic nuclei (NSO) expressed numerous vacuoles of various sizes, we distinct also a neuronal juxtaposition and several unidentifiable vacuolated profiles were also seen in the neuropile. At the same time, we revealed the presence of à shrunken and condensed nuclei, which seem to touch the parvocellular neurons ( NPV); this leads us to suggest the presence of an apoptotic process in the early stage of diabetes. At 30 days of diabetes mellitus, the NPV manifests a few neurons with a distant appearance, in addition the magnocellular neurons in both NPV and NSO were hypertrophied with a rich euchromatin nucleus, a well-defined nucleolus, and a granular cytoplasm. Despite the neuronal degeneration at this stage, unexpectedly, ACTH registers a continuous significant high level compared to the early stage of diabetes mellitus and to control gerbils. Conclusion: The results suggest that the induction of diabetes mellitus using STZ in the small gerbils lead to alterations in the structure and morphology of the hypothalamus and hyper-secretion of ACTH and cortisol, possibly indicating hyperactivity of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) during both the early and later stages of the disease. The subsequent quantitative evaluation of CRH, immunehistochemical evaluation of apoptosis, and oxidative stress assessment could corroborate our results.

Keywords: diabetes type 1., streptozotocin., small gerbil., hypothalamus., paraventricular nucleus., supraoptic nucleus.

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Authors: Soumya Bhattacharjya, Avinandan Sahoo, Gaurav Datta

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Wind fragility analysis of chimney is often carried out disregarding temperature effect. However, the combined effect of wind and temperature is the most critical limit state for chimney design. Hence, in the present paper, an efficient fragility analysis for concrete chimney is explored under combined wind and temperature effect. Wind time histories are generated by Davenports Power Spectral Density Function and using Weighed Amplitude Wave Superposition Technique. Fragility analysis is often carried out in full Monte Carlo Simulation framework, which requires extensive computational time. Thus, in the present paper, an efficient adaptive metamodelling technique is adopted to judiciously approximate limit state function, which will be subsequently used in the simulation framework. This will save substantial computational time and make the approach computationally efficient. Uncertainty in wind speed, wind load related parameters, and resistance-related parameters is considered. The results by the full simulation approach, conventional metamodelling approach and proposed adaptive metamodelling approach will be compared. Effect of disregarding temperature in wind fragility analysis will be highlighted.

Keywords: adaptive metamodelling technique, concrete chimney, fragility analysis, stochastic extreme wind load, temperature effect

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Authors: Chrysoula Karathanasi, Senad Karavdic, Angela Odero, Michèle Baumann

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It is not only the economic determinants that impact on life conditions, but maintaining a good level of life satisfaction (LS) may also be an important challenge currently. In Luxembourg, university students receive financial aid from the government. They are then registered at the Centre for Documentation and Information on Higher Education (CEDIES). Luxembourg is built on migration with almost half its population consisting of foreigners. It is upon this basis that our research aims to analyze the associations with mental health factors (health satisfaction, psychological quality of life, worry), perceived financial situation, career attitudes (adaptability, optimism, knowledge, planning) and LS, for non-Luxembourgish and native postgraduate students. Between 2012 and 2013, postgraduates registered at CEDIES were contacted by post and asked to participate in an online survey with either the option of English or French. The study population comprised of 644 respondents. Our statistical analysis excluded: those born abroad who had Luxembourgish citizenship, or those born in Luxembourg who did not have citizenship. Two groups were formed one consisting 147 non-Luxembourgish and the other 284 natives. A single item measured LS (1=not at all satisfied to 10=very satisfied). Bivariate tests, correlations and multiple linear regression models were used in which only significant relationships (p<0.05) were integrated. Among the two groups no differences were found between LS indicators (7.8/10 non-Luxembourgish; 8.0/10 natives) as both were higher than the European indicator of 7.2/10 (for 25-34 years). In the case of non-Luxembourgish students, they were older than natives (29.3 years vs. 26.3 years) perceived their financial situation as more difficult, and a higher percentage of their parents had an education level higher than a Bachelor's degree (father 59.2% vs 44.6% for natives; mother 51.4% vs 33.7% for natives). In addition, the father’s education was related to the LS of postgraduates and the higher was the score, the greater was the contribution to LS. Whereas for native students, when their scores of health satisfaction and career optimism were higher, their LS’ score was higher. For both groups their LS was linked to mental health-related factors, perception of their financial situation, career optimism, adaptability and planning. The higher the psychological quality of life score was, the greater the LS of postgraduates’ was. Good health and positive attitudes related to the job market enhanced their LS indicator.

Keywords: career attributes, father's education level, life satisfaction, mental health

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Authors: Nükhet Konuk, N. Gamze Turan, Yüksel Ardalı

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Solid waste management is the most environmental problem in Turkey as a result of the rapid increase in solid waste generation caused by the rapid population growth, urbanization, rapid industrialization and economic development. The large quantity of waste generated necessitates system of collection, transportation and disposal. The landfill method for the ultimate disposal of solid waste continues to be widely accepted and used due to its economic advantages. In Turkey, most of the disposal sites open dump areas. Open dump sites may result in serious urban, sanitary and environmental problems such as an unpleasant odor and the risk of explosion as well as groundwater contamination because of leachate percolation. Unsuitable management practices also result in the loss of resources and energy, which could be recycled and produced from a large part of the solid waste. Therefore, over the past few decades, particular attention has been drawn to the sustainable solid waste management as a response to the increase in environmental problems related to the disposal of waste. The objective of this paper is to assess the situation of landfilling practices in Turkey as a developing country and to identify any gaps in the system as currently applied. The results show that approximately 25 million tons of MSW are generated annually in Turkey. The percentage of MSW disposed to sanitary landfill is only 45% whereas more than 50% of MSW is disposed without any control.

Keywords: developing countries, open dumping, solid waste management, sustainable landfilling, sustainable solid waste management

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Authors: Diane H. Dotson, Shari L. Rodriguez

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Habitat for predators is on the decline worldwide, which often brings humans and predators into conflict over remaining shared space and common resources. While the direct impacts of human predator conflict on humans (i.e., attacks on livestock or humans resulting in injury or death) are well documented, the indirect impacts of conflict on humans (i.e., downstream effects such as fear, stress, opportunity costs, PTSD) have not been addressed. We interviewed 437 people living in 54 villages on the periphery of Kanha National Park, India, to assess the amount and severity of direct and indirect impacts of predator conflict. ​While 58% of livestock owners believed that predator attacks on livestock guards occurred frequently and 62% of those who collect forest products believed that predator attacks on those collecting occurred frequently, less than 20% of all participants knew of someone who had experienced an attack. Data related to indirect impacts suggest that such impacts are common; 76% of participants indicated they were afraid a predator will physically injure them. Livestock owners reported that livestock guarding took time away from their primary job (61%) and getting enough sleep (73%), and believed that it increased their vulnerability to illnesses (80%). These results suggest that the perceptions of risk of predator attack are likely inflated, yet the costs of human predator impacts may be substantially higher than previously estimated, particularly related to human well-being, making the implementation of appropriate and effective conservation and conflict mitigation strategies and policies increasingly urgent.

Keywords: direct impacts, indirect impacts, human-predator conflict, India

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Authors: Jonathan Magala

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Context: Adolescents in Uganda face significant challenges related to sexual health due to inadequate sexual information. This lack of information puts young people at risk of early pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and poverty. Therefore, it is essential to understand the sources, content, and challenges of acquiring sexual information among secondary school-going adolescents in Uganda. Research Aim: The aim of this study was to establish the sources, content, and challenges of acquiring sexual information among secondary school-going adolescents in Luwero Town Council, Uganda. Methodology: This study used a cross-sectional approach with both qualitative and quantitative methods. Questionnaires and in-depth interviews were conducted with 384 school-going adolescents aged between 13-19 years in Luwero Town Council, Uganda. Findings: The results of the study revealed that adolescents receive sexual information from various sources, with schools being the most common source, followed by parents and religious institutions being the least utilized. Adolescents received information on various topics related to sexuality, including puberty and sexual changes, pregnancy and reproduction, STD information, abstinence, and family planning. However, the content of sexual information was inadequate in addressing the challenges facing adolescents, and there were generation gaps, lack of role models, peer influence, and government policies. The male character from all the sources was the least in offering sexual information to adolescents. Theoretical Importance: The study's findings highlight the need for policy implementation to strengthen sexual education in school curriculum, as the sources of sexual information and the content are inadequate. The various topics should be addressed in schools to provide comprehensive education on sexual health for adolescents. Data Collection and Analysis Procedures: Data collection involved questionnaires and in-depth interviews with school-going adolescents. The data gathered were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Questions Addressed: The study aimed to answer questions about the sources of sexual information among school-going adolescents, the content of sexual information provided, the challenges faced in accessing the information, and the importance of sex education policy implementation. Conclusion: The study concludes that schools are a popular source of sexual information among school-going adolescents in Uganda. However, the content of the information provided is inadequate in addressing the challenges that adolescents face regarding their sexual health. Therefore, policy implementation is essential in strengthening sexual education in the school curriculum and addressing various topics related to sexual health.

Keywords: adolescents, sexual information, schools, reproductive health

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Authors: I Dewa Gede Arya Putra

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Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a mathematical procedure that uses orthogonal transformation techniques to change a set of data with components that may be related become components that are not related to each other. This can have an impact on clustering wind speed characteristics in Indonesia. This study uses data daily wind speed observations of the Site Meteorological Station network for 30 years. Multicollinearity tests were also performed on all of these data before doing clustering with PCA. The results show that the four main components have a total diversity of above 80% which will be used for clusters. Division of clusters using Ward's method obtained 3 types of clusters. Cluster 1 covers the central part of Sumatra Island, northern Kalimantan, northern Sulawesi, and northern Maluku with the climatological pattern of wind speed that does not have an annual cycle and a weak speed throughout the year with a low-speed ranging from 0 to 1,5 m/s². Cluster 2 covers the northern part of Sumatra Island, South Sulawesi, Bali, northern Papua with the climatological pattern conditions of wind speed that have annual cycle variations with low speeds ranging from 1 to 3 m/s². Cluster 3 covers the eastern part of Java Island, the Southeast Nusa Islands, and the southern Maluku Islands with the climatological pattern of wind speed conditions that have annual cycle variations with high speeds ranging from 1 to 4.5 m/s².

Keywords: PCA, cluster, Ward's method, wind speed

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Authors: Arzu K. Harmanci Seren, Burcu Alacam, Serap Altuntas, Ulku Baykal

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Organizational justice has been evaluated as a concept related to rules developed with regards to distributing gains and making decisions of distribution such as duty, goods, service, reward, punishment, fee, organizational position, opportunity or role among those working in that organization, and to social norms on which these rules are based. Studies of organizational justice are crucial for analyzing the organizational life. It is considered that organization justice will be positively influential upon organizational behaviours such as employees’ level of work satisfaction, their performance, and behaviours of organization citizenship, management by values perception, tendency towards cooperation, and towards quitting their jobs. However, when the literature related to health and nurse management is examined, authors could not reach enough findings related to the influence of nurses’ perception of organizational justice upon the perception of management and the intention of quitting in accordance with the values. For that reason, this study has been carried out with the purpose of determining the influence of nurses’ perception of organizational justice upon the perception of management and the intention of quitting in accordance with the values. The study has been carried out with 176 nurses working in a university hospital in Istanbul and a private hospital who accepted to take part in the study, and it is definitive and relation-seeking. Before the data has been collected, ethics committee approval and institutional permissions have been taken, Organizational Justice Scale, Management by Values, Intention to Leave Scale with a questionnaire including 8 questions that aims at defining the personal and professional characteristics of the nurses have been used as a means of data collection. The data collected between 1 May and 20 June 2016 have been evaluated by the researchers in a computer via definitive, relation-seeking and psychometric statistic. As a result of the study, it has been determined that most of the nurses are working in a university hospital (70.5%), that they are 30 and over (49.4%), women (91.5%), single (52.8%) and have a Bachelor’s Degree (48.3%), working in a surgery unit (17.6), have 5 year or less institutional experience (44.9%), 11 year or more professional experience. Cronbach alpha values of the scales used in this study are .94, .95 and .56. Nurses’ average scores of Organizational Justice Scale is M= 3.35±.96, Management by Values Scale is M=3.30±.74, Intention to Leave Scale is M=8.36±3.14. As a result of the analysis carried out in order to determine the influence of nurses’ perception of organizational justice upon the perception of management and the intention of quitting in accordance with the values, it has been pointed out that the Perception of Organizational Justice influenced the perception of Management by Values positively, Intention to Leave negatively.

Keywords: intention to leave, management by values, nursing, organizational justice

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Authors: Mokhtari Karchegani Amir, Maboudi Samad, Azadi Reza, Dastanian Raoof

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Marun's petrochemical cracking furnaces have a very comprehensive operating control system for combustion and related equipment, utilizing advanced instrument circuits. However, after several years of operation, numerous problems arose in the pyrolysis furnaces. A team of experts conducted an audit, revealing that the furnaces were over-designed, leading to excessive consumption of air and fuel. This issue was related to the burners' shutter settings, which had not been configured properly. The operations department had responded by increasing the induced draft fan speed and forcing the instrument switches to counteract the wind effect in the combustion chamber. Using Fluent and Gambit software, the furnaces were analyzed. The findings indicated that this situation elevated the convection part's temperature, causing uneven heat distribution inside the furnace. Consequently, this led to overheating in the convection section and excessive cracking within the coils in the radiation section. The increased convection temperature damaged convection parts and resulted in equipment blockages downstream of the furnaces due to the production of more coke and tar in the process. To address these issues, corrective actions were implemented. The excess air for burners and combustion chambers was properly set, resulting in improved efficiency, reduced emissions of environmentally harmful gases, prevention of creep in coils, decreased fuel consumption, and lower maintenance costs.

Keywords: furnace, coke, CFD analysis, over cracking

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Authors: Richard S. Jatau, Kankanala Venkateswarlu, Bulus Kpame

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The purpose of this critical review is to find out what is known and what is unknown about the effects of aging on endurance performance, especially on ultra- triathlon performance. It has been shown that among master’s athlete’s peak levels of performance decreased by 50% by age 50 it has also been clearly revealed that age associated atrophy, weakness and fatigability cannot be halted, although year round athletic training can slow down this age associated decline. Studies have further revealed that 30% to 50% decrease in skeletal muscle mass between ages 40 and 80 years, which is accompanied by an equal or even greater decline in strength and power and an increase in muscle weakness and fatigability. Studies on ultra- triathlon athletes revealed that 30 to 39 year old showed fastest time, with athletes in younger and older age groups were slower. It appears that the length of the endurance performance appears to influence age related endurance performance decline in short distance triathlons. A significant decline seems to start at the age of 40 to 50 years, whereas in long distance triathlons this decline seems to start after the age of 65 years. However, it is not clear whether this decline is related in any way to the training methods used, the duration of training, or the frequency of training. It’s also not clear whether the triathlon athletes experience more injuries due to long hours of training. It’s also not clear whether these athletes used performance enhancing drugs to enhance their performance. It’s not also clear whiles there has been tremendous increase in the number of athletes specializing in triathlon. On the basis of our experience and available research evidence we have provided answers to some of these questions. We concluded that aging associated decline in ultra–endurance performance is inevitable although it can be slowed down.

Keywords: aging, triathlon, atrophy, endurance

Procedia PDF Downloads 371

Authors: Nattawadee Sinpattanawong

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Oral presentation has been used mostly in business communication. The business presentation is carrying out through an audio and visual presentation material such as statistical documents, projectors, etc. Common examples of business presentation are intra-organization and sales presentations. The study aims at investigating functions, strategies and contents of assessors’ verbal feedback on presenters’ oral presentations and exploring presenters’ learning process and specific views and expectations concerning assessors’ verbal feedback related to the delivery of the oral presentation. This study is designed as a descriptive qualitative research; four master students and one teacher in English for Business and Industry Presentation Techniques class of public university will be selected. The researcher hopes that any understanding how assessors’ verbal feedback on oral presentations and learning process may illuminate issues for other people. The data from this research may help to expand and facilitate the readers’ understanding of assessors’ verbal feedback on oral presentations and learning process in their own situations. The research instruments include an audio recorder, video recorder and an interview. The students will be interviewing in order to ask for their views and expectations concerning assessors’ verbal feedback related to the delivery of the oral presentation. After finishing data collection, the data will be analyzed and transcribed. The findings of this study are significant because it can provide presenters knowledge to enhance their learning process and provide teachers knowledge about providing verbal feedback on student’s oral presentations on a business context.

Keywords: business context, learning process, oral presentation, verbal feedback

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Alberto Fina, Samuele Colonna, Maria del Mar Bernal, Orietta Monticelli, Mauro Tortello, Renato Gonnelli, Julio Gomez, Chiara Novara, Guido Saracco

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Thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites are of high interest for several applications including low-temperature heat recovery, heat exchangers in a corrosive environment and heat management in electronics and flexible electronics. In this paper, the preparation of thermally conductive nanocomposites exploiting graphene-related materials is addressed, along with their thermal characterization. In particular, correlations between 1- chemical and physical features of the nanoflakes and 2- processing conditions with the heat conduction properties of nanocomposites is studied. Polymers are heat insulators; therefore, the inclusion of conductive particles is the typical solution to obtain a sufficient thermal conductivity. In addition to traditional microparticles such as graphite and ceramics, several nanoparticles have been proposed, including carbon nanotubes and graphene, for the use in polymer nanocomposites. Indeed, thermal conductivities for both carbon nanotubes and graphenes were reported in the wide range of about 1500 to 6000 W/mK, despite such property may decrease dramatically as a function of the size, number of layers, the density of topological defects, re-hybridization defects as well as on the presence of impurities. Different synthetic techniques have been developed, including mechanical cleavage of graphite, epitaxial growth on SiC, chemical vapor deposition, and liquid phase exfoliation. However, the industrial scale-up of graphene, defined as an individual, single-atom-thick sheet of hexagonally arranged sp2-bonded carbons still remains very challenging. For large scale bulk applications in polymer nanocomposites, some graphene-related materials such as multilayer graphenes (MLG), reduced graphene oxide (rGO) or graphite nanoplatelets (GNP) are currently the most interesting graphene-based materials. In this paper, different types of graphene-related materials were characterized for their chemical/physical as well as for thermal properties of individual flakes. Two selected rGOs were annealed at 1700°C in vacuum for 1 h to reduce defectiveness of the carbon structure. Thermal conductivity increase of individual GNP with annealing was assessed via scanning thermal microscopy. Graphene nano papers were prepared from both conventional RGO and annealed RGO flakes. Characterization of the nanopapers evidenced a five-fold increase in the thermal diffusivity on the nano paper plane for annealed nanoflakes, compared to pristine ones, demonstrating the importance of structural defectiveness reduction to maximize the heat dissipation performance. Both pristine and annealed RGO were used to prepare polymer nanocomposites, by melt reactive extrusion. Thermal conductivity showed two- to three-fold increase in the thermal conductivity of the nanocomposite was observed for high temperature treated RGO compared to untreated RGO, evidencing the importance of using low defectivity nanoflakes. Furthermore, the study of different processing paremeters (time, temperature, shear rate) during the preparation of poly (butylene terephthalate) nanocomposites evidenced a clear correlation with the dispersion and fragmentation of the GNP nanoflakes; which in turn affected the thermal conductivity performance. Thermal conductivity of about 1.7 W/mK, i.e. one order of magnitude higher than for pristine polymer, was obtained with 10%wt of annealed GNPs, which is in line with state of the art nanocomposites prepared by more complex and less upscalable in situ polymerization processes.

Keywords: graphene, graphene-related materials, scanning thermal microscopy, thermally conductive polymer nanocomposites

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Authors: Chen-Yu Tsai, Wen-Te Liu, Chen-Chen Lo, Kang Lo, Yin-Tzu Lin

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Background: Driving drowsiness related to insufficient or disordered sleep accounts for a major percentage of vehicular accidents. Sleep deprivation is the primary reason related to low sleep efficiency. Nevertheless, the mechanism of sleep deprivation induces driving fatigue to remain unclear. Objective: The objective of this study is to associate the relationship between insufficient sleep efficiency and driving fatigue. Methodologies: The physical condition while driving was obtained from the questionnaires to classify the state of driving fatigue. Sleep efficiency was quantified as the polysomnography (PSG), and the sleep stages were sentenced by the reregistered Technologist during examination in a hospital in New Taipei City (Taiwan). The independent T-test was used to investigate the correlation between sleep efficiency, sleep stages ratio, and driving drowsiness. Results: There were 880 subjects recruited in this study, who had been done polysomnography for evaluating severity for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) as well as completed the driver condition questionnaire. Four-hundred-eighty-four subjects (55%) were classified as fatigue group, and 396 subjects (45%) were served as the control group. The ratio of stage three sleep (N3) (0.032 ± 0.056) in fatigue group were significantly lower than the control group (p < 0.01). The significantly higher value of snoring index (242.14 ± 205.51 /hours) was observed in the fatigue group (p < 0.01). Conclusion: We observe the considerable correlation between deep sleep reduce and driving drowsiness. To avoid drowsy driving, the sleep deprivation, and the snoring events during the sleeping time should be monitored and alleviated.

Keywords: driving drowsiness, sleep deprivation, stage three sleep, snoring index

Procedia PDF Downloads 141