Search results for: diagnostic obesity notation model assessment index

Authors: Nabil Mekaoui, Nacer Jabour, Abdelhamid Allaoui, Abderahim Oulidi

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The reliability of several insurance indexes of the seismic risk is evaluated and compared for an efficient seismic risk coverage of buildings in Morocco, thus, reducing the basic risk. A large database of earthquake ground motions is established from recent seismic events in Morocco and synthetic ground motions compatible with the design spectrum in order to conduct nonlinear time history analyses on three building models representative of the building stock in Morocco. The uninhabitability index is evaluated based on the simulated damage index, then correlated with preselected insurance indexes. Interestingly, the commonly used peak ground acceleration index showed poor correlation when compared with other indexes, such as spectral accelerations at low periods. Recommendations on the choice of suitable insurance indexes are formulated for efficient seismic risk coverage in Morocco.

Keywords: catastrophe modeling, damage, earthquake, reinsurance, seismic hazard, trigger index, vulnerability

Procedia PDF Downloads 69

Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Salah Mostafa, Hamed Elkhayat, Kalled Hassan Sewidan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Manal Mouhamed Ali, Mones M. Abu Shady

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Pubertal growth is influenced by many factors including environmental and nutritional factors. Objective: To assess impact of nutritional status on pubertal staging, ovarian and uterine volumes among school girls. Method: Study was cross sectional and carried out on 1000 healthy school girls, aged 8-18 years selected randomly. They were categorized according to their ages into three groups: 8-12 years, 13-15 years and 16-18 years ±6 months, then according to their body mass index percentile to normal weight: (≥15-<85.), overweight (≥85-<95) and obese (≥95). All girls were subjected for physical, anthropometric (weight, height, body mass index), nutritional markers WAZ (weight/age Z score), HAZ (height/age Z score) and BMI-Z (body mass index Z score), pubertal assessment (Tanner stage) and pelvic transabdominal sonography (uterine and ovarian volumes). Results: Highly significant differences in ovarian and uterine volumes and nutritional markers (WAZ, HAZ and BMI-Z score) were detected among different grades of puberty in the two age groups (8-12 years, 13-15 years) coming in advance of obese girls (with increase of BMI); except HAZ in the second age group. Girls aged 16-18 years reached to final volume for the uterus and ovary with insignificant differences. Pubertal stage, ovarian and uterine sizes were highly significantly correlated with nutritional markers. Mean ages of onset: of puberty, menarche and complete puberty were, 11.65 + 1.84, 14.79 + 1.75 and 15.02 + 1.68 years respectively. Conclusion: Nutritional status has a crucial role in determining pubertal stage, ovarian and uterine volumes among Egyptian girls during the pubertal process.

Keywords: pubertal stage, nutritional markers, girls, ovarian and uterine volumes

Procedia PDF Downloads 462

Authors: Shih Yu Pan, Pao Chen Hung, Chuan Yao Lin, Charles C.-K. Chou, Yu Chi Lin, Kai Hsien Chi

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This study analyzed 16 atmospheric PAHs species which were controlled by USEPA and IARC. To measure the concentration of PAHs, four rural sampling sites and two urban sampling sites were selected in Central Taiwan during spring and summer. In central Taiwan, the rural sampling stations were located in the downstream of Da-An River, Da-Jang River, Wu River and Chuo-shui River. On the other hand, the urban sampling sites were located in Taichung district and close to the roadside. Ambient air samples of both vapor phase and particle phase of PAHs compounds were collected using high volume sampling trains (Analitica). The sampling media were polyurethane foam (PUF) with XAD2 and quartz fiber filters. Diagnostic ratio, Principal component analysis (PCA), Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) models were used to evaluate the apportionment of PAHs in the atmosphere and speculate the relative contribution of various emission sources. Because of the high temperature and low wind speed, high PAHs concentration in the atmosphere was observed. The total PAHs concentration, especially in vapor phase, had significant change during summer. During the sampling periods the total PAHs concentration of atmospheric at four rural and two urban sampling sites in spring and summer were 3.70±0.40 ng/m3,3.40±0.63 ng/m3,5.22±1.24 ng/m3,7.23±0.37 ng/m3,7.46±2.36 ng/m3,6.21±0.55 ng/m3　; 15.0± 0.14 ng/m3,18.8±8.05 ng/m3,20.2±8.58 ng/m3,16.1±3.75 ng/m3,29.8±10.4 ng/m3,35.3±11.8 ng/m3, respectively. In order to identify PAHs sources, we used diagnostic ratio to classify the emission sources. The potential sources were diesel combustion and gasoline combustion in spring and summer, respectively. According to the principal component analysis (PCA), the PC1 and PC2 had 23.8%, 20.4% variance and 21.3%, 17.1% variance in spring and summer, respectively. Especially high molecular weight PAHs (BaP, IND, BghiP, Flu, Phe, Flt, Pyr) were dominated in spring when low molecular weight PAHs (AcPy, Ant, Acp, Flu) because of the dominating high temperatures were dominated in the summer. Analysis by using PMF model found the sources of PAHs in spring were stationary sources (34%), vehicle emissions (24%), coal combustion (23%) and petrochemical fuel gas (19%), while in summer the emission sources were petrochemical fuel gas (34%), the natural environment of volatile organic compounds (29%), coal combustion (19%) and stationary sources (18%).

Keywords: PAHs, source identification, diagnostic ratio, principal component analysis, positive matrix factorization

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Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Afonso R. Aquino, Veruska C. Dutra, Carlos H. C. Tolentino

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The quality of life index, despite elucidating many discussions, the conceptual subjectivity of the term does not show precision, and consequently, many researchers seek to develop methods aiming to measure this concept, bringing it to a more concrete approach. In this study, the quality of life index method was used to analyze the population of Mateiros, Tocantins, Brazil for quality of life. After data collection, it was compared the quality of life index between the population and the group of beneficiaries of the Brazilian government assistance program Bolsa Família (Family Allowance). Some of the people interviewed receive financial aid from the federal government program Bolsa Família (22%). Comparisons were made among the final score of the quality of life index of the Mateiros population and the following factors: Gender, age, education, those working or not with tourism and those who receive or do not receive the Bolsa Família. It was observed that only the factor, Bolsa Família (p-score 0.0138), shows an association with quality of life improvement, noticing that those who have financial aid had a higher quality of life improvement than the rest of the population. It was concluded that, government assistance has shown a decisive element on the enhancement of Mateiros population quality of life, indicating that similar actions should be maintained.

Keywords: quality of life index, government aid to families, sustainable tourism, Bolsa Familia

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Authors: Insiya Kapasi, Roshni Udyavar Yehuda

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Cluster Redevelopment is a new concept in the city of Mumbai. Its regulations were laid down by the government in 2009. The concept of cluster redevelopment encompasses a group of buildings defined by a boundary as specified by the municipal authority (in this case, Mumbai), which may be dilapidated or approved for redevelopment. The study analyses the effect of cluster redevelopment in the form of renewal of old group of buildings as compared to refurbishment or restoration - on energy consumption. The methodology includes methods of assessment to determine increase or decrease in energy consumption in cluster redevelopment based on different criteria such as carpet area of the units, building envelope and its architectural elements. Results show that as the area and number of units increase the Energy consumption increases and the EPI (energy performance index) decreases as compared to the base case. The energy consumption per unit area declines by 29% in the proposed cluster redevelopment as compared to the original settlement. It is recommended that although the development is spacious and provides more light and ventilation, aspects such as glass type, traditional architectural features and consumer behavior are critical in the reduction of energy consumption.

Keywords: Cluster Redevelopment, Energy Consumption, Energy Efficiency, Typologies

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Authors: Bin Mu, Site Li, Shijin Yuan

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Under the circumstance of environment deterioration, people are increasingly concerned about the quality of the environment, especially air quality. As a result, it is of great value to give accurate and timely forecast of AQI (air quality index). In order to simplify influencing factors of air quality in a city, and forecast the city’s AQI tomorrow, this study used MATLAB software and adopted the method of constructing a mathematic model of PCA-GABP to provide a solution. To be specific, this study firstly made principal component analysis (PCA) of influencing factors of AQI tomorrow including aspects of weather, industry waste gas and IAQI data today. Then, we used the back propagation neural network model (BP), which is optimized by genetic algorithm (GA), to give forecast of AQI tomorrow. In order to verify validity and accuracy of PCA-GABP model’s forecast capability. The study uses two statistical indices to evaluate AQI forecast results (normalized mean square error and fractional bias). Eventually, this study reduces mean square error by optimizing individual gene structure in genetic algorithm and adjusting the parameters of back propagation model. To conclude, the performance of the model to forecast AQI is comparatively convincing and the model is expected to take positive effect in AQI forecast in the future.

Keywords: AQI forecast, principal component analysis, genetic algorithm, back propagation neural network model

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Authors: Sruti Akula

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Assessment criteria are mostly used for assessing skills like writing and speaking. However, they could be used as a pedagogic tool to develop writing skills. A study was conducted with higher secondary learners (Class XII Kendriya Vidyalaya) to investigate the effectiveness of assessment criteria to develop argumentative essay writing. In order to raise awareness about the features of argumentative essay, assessment criteria were shared with the learners. Along with that, self-evaluation checklists were given to the learners to guide them through the writing process. During the study learners wrote multiple drafts with the help of assessment criteria, self-evaluation checklists and teacher feedback at different stages of their writing. It was observed that learners became more aware of the features of argumentative essay which in turn improved their argumentative essay writing. In addition the self evaluation checklists imporved their ability to reflect on their work there by increasing learner autonomy in the class. Hence, it can be claimed that both assessment criteria and self evaluation checklists are effective pedagogic tools to develop argumentative essay writing. Thus, teachers can be trained to create and use tools like assessment criteria and self-evaluation checklists to develop learners’ writing skills in an effective way. The presentation would discuss the approach adopted in the study to teach argumentative essay writing along with the rationale. The tools used in the study would be shared and the data collected in the form of written scripts, self-evaluation checklists and student interviews will be analyzed to validate the claims. Finally, the practical implication of the study like the ways of using assessment criteria and checklists to raise learner awareness and autonomy, using such tools to keep the learners informed about the task requirements and genre features, and the like will be put forward.

Keywords: argumentative essay writing, assessment criteria, self evaluation checklists, pedagogic

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Authors: James Kinsella

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There is currently very little understanding of how the interaction between in- vestors, consumers, the firms (agents) affect a) the transmission of information, and b) the creation and transfer of value and wealth between these two groups. Employing scholarly ideas from multiple research areas (behavioural finance, emotional finance, econo-biology, and game theory) we develop a conceptual the- oretic model (the ‘bow-tie’ model) as a framework for considering this interaction. Our bow-tie model views information transfer, value and wealth creation, and transfer through the lens of “investor-consumer connection facilitated through the communicative medium of the ‘firm’ (agents)”. We confront our bow-tie model with theoretical and practical examples. Next, we utilise consumer and business confidence data alongside index data, to conduct quantitative analy- sis, to support our bow-tie concept, and to introduce the concept of “investor- consumer connection”. We highlight the importance of information persuasiveness, knowledge, and emotional categorization of characteristics in facilitating a communicative relationship between investors, consumers, and the firm (agents), forming academic and practical applications of the conceptual bow-tie model, alongside applications to wider instances, such as those seen within the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: behavioral finance, emotional finance, economy-biology, social mood

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Marcin Baranski

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This article presents a vibration diagnostic method designed for permanent magnets (PM) traction motors. Those machines are commonly used in traction drives of electrical vehicles. Specific structural properties of machines excited by permanent magnets are used in this method - electromotive force (EMF) generated due to vibrations. This work presents: field-circuit model, results of static tests, results of calculations and simulations.

Keywords: electrical vehicle, permanent magnet, traction drive, vibrations, electrical machine, eccentricity

Procedia PDF Downloads 628

Authors: JingWei Yu, Hong Yang Yu

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At present, the increasingly serious air pollution in various cities of China has made people pay more attention to the air quality index(hereinafter referred to as AQI) of their living areas. To face this situation, it is of great significance to predict air pollution in heavily polluted areas. In this paper, based on the time series model of LSTM, a spatiotemporal prediction model of PM2.5 concentration in Mianyang, Sichuan Province, is established. The model fully considers the temporal variability and spatial distribution characteristics of PM2.5 concentration. The spatial correlation of air quality at different locations is based on the Air quality status of other nearby monitoring stations, including AQI and meteorological data to predict the air quality of a monitoring station. The experimental results show that the method has good prediction accuracy that the fitting degree with the actual measured data reaches more than 0.7, which can be applied to the modeling and prediction of the spatial and temporal distribution of regional PM2.5 concentration.

Keywords: LSTM, PM2.5, neural networks, spatio-temporal prediction

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Authors: Anand Ankush, Wani Mohammed Farooq

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A procedure based on digraph and matrix method is developed for modelling and evaluation of sustainability of Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment.The sustainability parameters of a Mechanical System are identified and are called sustainability attributes. Consideration of attributes and their interrelations is rudiment in modeling and evaluation of sustainability index. Sustainability attributes of a Mechanical System are modelled in termsof sustainability digraph. The graph is represented by a one-to-one matrix for sustainability expression which is based on sustainability attributes. A variable sustainability relationship permanent matrix is defined to develop sustainability expression(VPF-t) which is also useful in comparing two systems in a concurrent environment. The sustainability index of Mechanical System is obtained from permanent of matrix by substituting the numerical values of attributes and their interrelations. A higher value of index implies better sustainability of system.The ideal value of index is obtained from matrix expression which is useful in assessing relative sustainability of a Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment. The procedure is not only useful for evaluation of sustainability of a Mechanical System at conceptual design stage but can also be used for design and development of systems at system design stage. A step-by-step procedure for evaluation of sustainability index is also suggested and is illustrated by means of an example.

Keywords: digraph, matrix method, mechanical system, sustainability

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Authors: Saeed Pourhassan, Nastaran Maghbouli

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1) Background It has been hypothesized that, in individuals with diabetes mellitus, the peripheral nerve is swollen due to sorbitol over-accumulation. Additionally growing evidence supported electro diagnostic study of diabetes induced neuropathy as a method having some challenges. 2) Objective To examine the performance of sonographic cross-sectional area (CSA) measurements in the diagnosis of diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN). 3) Data Sources Electronic databases, comprising PubMed and EMBASE and Google scholar, were searched for the appropriate studies before Jan 1, 2020. 4) Study Selection Eleven trials comparing different peripheral nerve CSA measurements between participants with and without DPN were included. 5) Data Extraction Study design, participants' demographic characteristics, diagnostic reference of DPN, and evaluated peripheral nerves and methods of CSA measurement. 6) Data Synthesis Among different peripheral nerves, Tibial nerve diagnostic odds ratios pooled from five studies (713 participants) were 4.46 (95% CI, 0.35–8.57) and the largest one with P<0.0001, I²:64%. Median nerve CSA at wrist and mid-arm took second and third place with ORs= 2.82 (1.50-4.15), 2.02(0.26-3.77) respectively. The sensitivities and specificities pooled from two studies for Sural nerve were 0.78 (95% CI, 0.68–0.89), and 0.68 (95% CI, 0.53–0.74). Included studies for other nerves were limited to one study. The largest sensitivity was for Sural nerve and the largest specificity was for Tibial nerve. 7) Conclusions The peripheral nerves CSA measured by ultrasound imaging is useful for the diagnosis of DPN and is most significantly different between patients and participants without DPN at the Tibial nerve. Because the Tibial nerve CSA in healthy participants, at various locations, rarely exceeds 24 mm2, this value can be considered as a cutoff point for diagnosing DPN.

Keywords: diabetes, diagnosis, polyneuropathy, ultrasound

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Kemka C. Ihemelandu, Chukwuemeka U. Ihemelandu

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The incidence of melanoma has been increasing rapidly over the past two decades, making melanoma a current public health crisis. Unfortunately, even as screening efforts continue to expand in an effort to ameliorate the death rate from melanoma, there is a need to improve diagnostic accuracy to decrease misdiagnosis. Artificial intelligence (AI) a new frontier in patient care has the ability to improve the accuracy of melanoma diagnosis. Convolutional neural network (CNN) a form of deep neural network, most commonly applied to analyze visual imagery, has been shown to outperform the human brain in pattern recognition. However, there are noted limitations with the accuracy of the CNN models. Our aim in this study was the optimization of convolutional neural network algorithms for the automated diagnosis of melanoma. We hypothesized that Optimal selection of the momentum and batch hyperparameter increases model accuracy. Our most successful model developed during this study, showed that optimal selection of momentum of 0.25, batch size of 2, led to a superior performance and a faster model training time, with an accuracy of ~ 83% after nine hours of training. We did notice a lack of diversity in the dataset used, with a noted class imbalance favoring lighter vs. darker skin tone. Training set image transformations did not result in a superior model performance in our study.

Keywords: melanoma, convolutional neural network, momentum, batch hyperparameter

Procedia PDF Downloads 101

Authors: Mohamed El-Bady

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The Northern Egyptian Lagoons are (from east to west) Bardawil Lagoon, Manzala Lagoon, Burullus Lagoon, Edku Lagoons and Mariute Lagoon. These lagoons have been received the bulk of drainage water from the lands of Delta and from the other coastal areas. Where, the heavy metals can occur in Lagoons environments through a variety of sources, including industries, wastewaters and domestic effluents. The potential ecological risk index (RI) calculation of the bottom sediments of the northern lagoons depends on contamination factor (CF), potential ecological risk factor and proposed toxic response factor (Tr). Each lagoon with special indices according to its conditions.

Keywords: Northern Lagoons, Nile Delta, ecological risk index, contamination factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 342

Authors: Azza M. Atya, Mahmoud M. Nasser

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Background/ /Significance: Peripheral neuropathy is one of the long term serious complications of diabetes, which may attribute to postural instability and alteration of planter pressure. Whole body vibration (WBV) is a somatosensory stimulation type of exercise that has been emerged in sport training and rehabilitation of neuromuscular disorders. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of whole Body Vibration on antroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) posture stability and planter foot pressure in patients with diabetic neuropathy. Subjects: forty diabetic patients with moderate peripheral neuropathy aged from 35 to 50 years, were randomly assigned to WBV group (n=20) and control group (n=20). Methods and Materials: the WBV intervention consisted of three session weekly for 8 weeks (frequency 20 Hz, peak-to peak displacement 4mm, acceleration 3.5 g). Biodex balance system was used for postural stability assessment and the foot scan plate was used to measure the mean peak pressure under the first and lesser metatarsals. The main Outcome measures were antroposterior stability index (APSI), mediolateral stability index (MLSI), overall stability index (OSI),and mean peak foot pressure. Analyses: Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software package (SPSS for Windows Release 18.0). T-test was used to compare between the pre- and post-treatment values between and within groups. Results: For the 40 study participants (18male and 22 females) there were no between-group differences at baseline. At the end of 8 weeks, Subjects in WBV group experienced significant increase in postural stability with a reduction of mean peak of planter foot pressure (P<0.05) compared with the control group. Conclusion: The result suggests that WBV is an effective therapeutic modality for increasing postural stability and reducing planter pressure in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

Keywords: whole body vibration, diabetic neuropathy, posture stability, foot pressure

Procedia PDF Downloads 383

Authors: K. Omkar, D. Nayan

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Rapid urbanization is one of the consequences of rapid population explosion, which has also led to massive increase in number of motorized vehicles essential for carrying out all activities needed for sustaining urban livelihood. With this increased use of motorized vehicles over the time there has also been an increase in number of accidents. Study of road network and geometric features are essential to tackle problems of road accidents in any district or town. The increase in road accidents is one of the burning issues in the present society. Records show that there is one death at every 3.7 minutes because of road accident. It has been found from the research that, accidents occur due to, mistakes of the driver (86%) followed by bad street condition (5%), mistake of pedestrian (4%), as well as technical and maintenance defects (1%). Here, case study of Ahmedabad, Gujarat is taken up where first road safety level is assessed considering various parameters. The study confined to accident characteristics of all types of vehicles. For deeper analysis, road safety index for various stretches in Ahmedabad was found out. Crash rate for same stretches was found out. Based on various parameters priority was decided so that which stretch should be look out first to minimize road accidents on that stretch and which stretch should look out last. The major findings of the study are that accident severity of Ahmedabad has increased, but accident fatality risk has decreased; thus there is need to undertake some traffic engineering measures or make some traffic rules that are strictly followed by traffic. From the above study and literature studied it is found that Ahmedabad is suffering from similar problem of accidents and injuries and deaths caused by them, after properly investigating the issue short-term and long-term solutions to minimize road accidents have been presented in this paper.

Keywords: accident severity index, accident fatality rate, accident fatality risk, accident risk, road safety index

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: Suman Som, Abhijit Maity, Sunil B. Daschakraborty, Sujit Chaudhuri, Manik Pradhan

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Background: Helicobacter pylori is a common and important human pathogen and the primary cause of peptic ulcer disease and gastric cancer. Currently H. pylori infection is detected by both invasive and non-invasive way but the diagnostic accuracy is not up to the mark. Aim: To set up an optimal diagnostic cut-off value of 13C-Urea Breath Test to detect H. pylori infection and evaluate a novel c-PDR methodology to overcome of inconclusive grey zone. Materials and Methods: All 83 subjects first underwent upper-gastrointestinal endoscopy followed by rapid urease test and histopathology and depending on these results; we classified 49 subjects as H. pylori positive and 34 negative. After an overnight, fast patients are taken 4 gm of citric acid in 200 ml water solution and 10 minute after ingestion of the test meal, a baseline exhaled breath sample was collected. Thereafter an oral dose of 75 mg 13C-Urea dissolved in 50 ml water was given and breath samples were collected upto 90 minute for 15 minute intervals and analysed by laser based high precisional cavity enhanced spectroscopy. Results: We studied the excretion kinetics of 13C isotope enrichment (expressed as δDOB13C ‰) of exhaled breath samples and found maximum enrichment around 30 minute of H. pylori positive patients, it is due to the acid mediated stimulated urease enzyme activity and maximum acidification happened within 30 minute but no such significant isotopic enrichment observed for H. pylori negative individuals. Using Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve an optimal diagnostic cut-off value, δDOB13C ‰ = 3.14 was determined at 30 minute exhibiting 89.16% accuracy. Now to overcome grey zone problem we explore percentage dose of 13C recovered per hour, i.e. 13C-PDR (%/hr) and cumulative percentage dose of 13C recovered, i.e. c-PDR (%) in exhaled breath samples for the present 13C-UBT. We further explored the diagnostic accuracy of 13C-UBT by constructing ROC curve using c-PDR (%) values and an optimal cut-off value was estimated to be c-PDR = 1.47 (%) at 60 minute, exhibiting 100 % diagnostic sensitivity , 100 % specificity and 100 % accuracy of 13C-UBT for detection of H. pylori infection. We also elucidate the gastric emptying process of present 13C-UBT for H. pylori positive patients. The maximal emptying rate found at 36 minute and half empting time of present 13C-UBT was found at 45 minute. Conclusions: The present study exhibiting the importance of c-PDR methodology to overcome of grey zone problem in 13C-UBT for accurate determination of infection without any risk of diagnostic errors and making it sufficiently robust and novel method for an accurate and fast non-invasive diagnosis of H. pylori infection for large scale screening purposes.

Keywords: 13C-Urea breath test, c-PDR methodology, grey zone, Helicobacter pylori

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Authors: Nurdan Yildirim, Arif Hepbasli

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Heating, cooling and lighting appliances in buildings account for more than one third of the world’s primary energy demand. Therefore, main components of the building heating systems play an essential role in terms of energy consumption. In this context, efficient energy and exergy utilization in HVAC-R systems has been very essential, especially in developing energy policies towards increasing efficiencies. The main objective of the present study is to assess the performance of a family house with a volume of 326.7 m3 and a net floor area of 121 m2, located in the city of Izmir, Turkey in terms of energetic, exergetic and sustainability aspects. The indoor and exterior air temperatures are taken as 20°C and 1°C, respectively. In the analysis and assessment, various metrics (indices or indicators) such as exergetic efficiency, exergy flexibility ratio and sustainability index are utilized. Two heating options (Case 1: condensing boiler and Case 2: air heat pump) are considered for comparison purposes. The total heat loss rate of the family house is determined to be 3770.72 W. The overall energy efficiencies of the studied cases are calculated to be 49.4% for Case 1 and 54.7% for Case 2. The overall exergy efficiencies, the flexibility factor and the sustainability index of Cases 1 and 2 are computed to be around 3.3%, 0.17 and 1.034, respectively.

Keywords: buildings, exergy, low exergy, sustainability, efficiency, heating, renewable energy

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Authors: Dib Imane, Chettah Wahid, Khedidja Abdelhamid

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The plain of Gadaïne - Ain Yaghout, located in the wilaya of Batna (Eastern Algeria), experiences intensive human activities, particularly in agricultural practices which are accompanied by an increasing use of chemical fertilizers and manure. These activities lead to a degradation of the quality of water resources. In order to protect the quality of groundwater in this plain and formulate effective strategies to mitigate or avoid any contamination of groundwater, a risk assessment using the European method known as “COSTE Action 620” was applied to the mio-. plio-quaternary aquifer of this plain. Risk assessment requires the identification of existing dangers and their potential impact on groundwater by using a system of evaluation and weighting. In addition, it also requires the integration of the hydrogeological factors that influence the movement of contaminants by means of the intrinsic vulnerability maps of groundwater, which were produced according to the modified DRASTIC method. The overall danger on the plain ranges from very low to high. Farms containing stables, houses detached from the public sewer system, and sometimes manure piles were assigned a weighting factor expressing the highest degree of harmfulness; this created a medium to high danger index. Large areas for agricultural practice and grazing are characterized, successively, by low to very low danger. Therefore, the risks present at the study site are classified according to a range from medium to very high-risk intensity. These classes successively represent 3%, 49%, and 0.2% of the surface of the plain. Cultivated land and farms present a high to very high level of risk successively. In addition, with the exception of the salt mine, which presents a very high level of risk, the gas stations and cemeteries, as well as the railway line, represent a high level of risk.

Keywords: semi-arid, quality of water resources, risk assessment, vulnerability, contaminants

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Authors: K. Petcharaporn, S. Kumchoo

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The acidity (citric acid) is one of the chemical contents that can refer to the internal quality and the maturity index of tomato. The titratable acidity (%TA) can be predicted by a non-destructive method prediction by using the transmittance short wavelength (SW-NIR). Spectroscopy in the wavelength range between 665-955 nm. The set of 167 tomato samples divided into groups of 117 tomatoes sample for training set and 50 tomatoes sample for test set were used to establish the calibration model to predict and measure %TA by partial least squares regression (PLSR) technique. The spectra were pretreated with MSC pretreatment and it gave the optimal result for calibration model as (R = 0.92, RMSEC = 0.03%) and this model obtained high accuracy result to use for %TA prediction in test set as (R = 0.81, RMSEP = 0.05%). From the result of prediction in test set shown that the transmittance SW-NIR spectroscopy technique can be used for a non-destructive method for %TA prediction of tomatoes.

Keywords: tomato, quality, prediction, transmittance, titratable acidity, citric acid

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Authors: Mohammad H. Yarmohammadian, Fatemeh Rezaei

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Introduction: Improving patient safety in health systems is one of the main priorities in healthcare systems, so clinical risk management in organizations has become increasingly significant. Although several tools have been developed for clinical risk management, each has its own limitations. Aims: This study aims to develop a comprehensive tool that can complete the limitations of each risk assessment and management tools with the advantage of other tools. Methods: Procedure was determined in two main stages included development of an initial model during meetings with the professors and literature review, then implementation and verification of final model. Subjects and Methods: This study is a quantitative − qualitative research. In terms of qualitative dimension, method of focus groups with inductive approach is used. To evaluate the results of the qualitative study, quantitative assessment of the two parts of the fourth phase and seven phases of the research was conducted. Purposive and stratification sampling of various responsible teams for the selected process was conducted in the operating room. Final model verified in eight phases through application of activity breakdown structure, failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA), healthcare risk priority number (RPN), root cause analysis (RCA), FT, and Eindhoven Classification model (ECM) tools. This model has been conducted typically on patients admitted in a day-clinic ward of a public hospital for surgery in October 2012 to June. Statistical Analysis Used: Qualitative data analysis was done through content analysis and quantitative analysis done through checklist and edited RPN tables. Results: After verification the final model in eight-step, patient's admission process for surgery was developed by focus discussion group (FDG) members in five main phases. Then with adopted methodology of FMEA, 85 failure modes along with its causes, effects, and preventive capabilities was set in the tables. Developed tables to calculate RPN index contain three criteria for severity, two criteria for probability, and two criteria for preventability. Tree failure modes were above determined significant risk limitation (RPN > 250). After a 3-month period, patient's misidentification incidents were the most frequent reported events. Each RPN criterion of misidentification events compared and found that various RPN number for tree misidentification reported events could be determine against predicted score in previous phase. Identified root causes through fault tree categorized with ECM. Wrong side surgery event was selected by focus discussion group to purpose improvement action. The most important causes were lack of planning for number and priority of surgical procedures. After prioritization of the suggested interventions, computerized registration system in health information system (HIS) was adopted to prepare the action plan in the final phase. Conclusion: Complexity of health care industry requires risk managers to have a multifaceted vision. Therefore, applying only one of retrospective or prospective tools for risk management does not work and each organization must provide conditions for potential application of these methods in its organization. The results of this study showed that the integrated clinical risk management model can be used in hospitals as an efficient tool in order to improve clinical governance.

Keywords: failure modes and effective analysis, risk management, root cause analysis, model

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Authors: Shir Daphna-Tekoah, Nurit Eitan-Gutman, Uri Balla

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Background: Systemic documentation is essential in social work practice. Collaboration between an institution of higher education and social work health care services enabled adaptation of the medical documentation model of SOAP in the field of social work, by creating the ISOAPS model (Introduction, Subjective, Objective, Assessment, Plan, Summary) model. Aims: The article describes the ISOAPS model and its implementation in the field of social work, as a tool for standardization of documentation and the enhancement of multidisciplinary collaboration. Methods: We examined the changes in standardization using a mixed methods study, both before and after implementation of the model. A review of social workers’ documentation was carried out by medical staff and social workers in the Clalit Healthcare Services, the largest provider of public and semi-private health services in Israel. After implementation of the model, semi-structured qualitative interviews were undertaken. Main findings: The percentage of reviewers who evaluated their documentation as correct increased from 46%, prior to implementation, to 61% after implementation. After implementation, 81% of the social workers noted that their documentation had become standardized. The training process prepared them for the change in documentation and most of them (83%) started using the model on a regular basis. The qualitative data indicate that the use of the ISOAPS model creates uniform documentation, improves standards and is important to teach social work students. Conclusions: The ISOAPS model standardizes documentation and promotes communication between social workers and medical staffs. Implications for practice: In the intricate realm of healthcare, efficient documentation systems are pivotal to ensuring coherent interdisciplinary communication and patient care. The ISOAPS model emerges as a quintessential instrument, meticulously tailored to the nuances of social work documentation. While it extends its utility across the broad spectrum of social work, its specificity is most pronounced in the medical domain. This model not only exemplifies rigorous academic and professional standards but also serves as a testament to the potential of contextualized documentation systems in elevating the overall stature of social work within healthcare. Such a strategic documentation tool can not only streamline the intricate processes inherent in medical social work but also underscore the indispensable role that social workers play in the broader healthcare ecosystem.

Keywords: ISOAPS, professional documentation, medial social-work, social work

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Authors: Amin Ebrahimi Ghadi, Morteza Moalagh

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This research is carried out to find how a perfect combination of IoT architecture (Internet of Things) and ERP system can strengthen environmental accounting to incorporate both economic and environmental information. IoT (e.g., sensors, software, and other technologies) can be used in the company’s value chain from raw material extraction through materials processing, manufacturing products, distribution, use, repair, maintenance, and disposal or recycling products (Cradle to Grave model). The desired ERP software then will have the capability to track both midpoint and endpoint environmental impacts on a green supply chain system for the whole life cycle of a product. All these enable environmental accounting to calculate, and real-time analyze the operation environmental impacts, control costs, prepare for environmental legislation and enhance the decision-making process. In this study, we have developed a model on how to use IoT devices in life cycle assessment (LCA) to gather emissions, energy consumption, hazards, and wastes information to be processed in different modules of ERP systems in an integrated way for using in environmental accounting to achieve sustainability.

Keywords: ERP, environmental accounting, green supply chain, IOT, life cycle assessment, sustainability

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Authors: Marziehossadat Moezzi

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In this paper, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is investigated in a cylindrical quantum dot (QD) with a parabolic confinement potential. We study the effect of control lasers polarization on absorption coefficient, refractive index and also on the generation of the double transparency windows in this system. Considering an effective mass method, the time-independent Schrödinger equation is solved to obtain the energy structure of the QD. Also, we study the effect of structural characteristics of the QD on refraction and absorption of the QD in the presence of EIT.

Keywords: electromagnetically induced transparency, cylindrical quantum dot, absorption coefficient, refractive index

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Authors: Thea Werkhoven, Wayne Cotton

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Adult and childhood rates of obesity in Australia are health concerns of high national priority, retaining epidemic status in the populations affected. Attempts to prevent further increases in prevalence of childhood obesity in the population aged below eighteen years have had varied success. A multidisciplinary approach has been used, employing strategies in schools, through established health care system usage and public health campaigns. Over the last decade a plateau in prevalence has been reached in the youth population afflicted by obesity and interest has peaked in school based strategies to prevent and treat overweight and obesity. Of interest to this study is the importance of the tertiary training of future health educators or health professionals destined to be involved in obesity prevention and treatment strategies. Health educators and health professionals are considered instrumental to the success of prevention and treatment strategies, required to possess sufficient and accurate knowledge in order to be effective in their positions. A common influence on the success of school based health promoting activities are the weight based attitudes possessed by health educators, known to be negative and biased towards overweight or obese children during training and practice. Whilst the tertiary training of future health professionals includes minimal nutrition education, there is no mandatory training in health education or nutrition for pre-service health educators in Australian tertiary institutions. This study aimed to assess the impact of a pedagogical intervention on pre-service health educators and health professionals enrolled in a health and wellbeing elective. The intervention aimed to increase nutrition knowledge and decrease weight bias and was embedded in the twelve week elective. Participants (n=98) were tertiary students at a major Australian University who were enrolled in health (47%) and non-health related degrees (53%). A quantitative survey using four valid and reliable instruments was conducted to measured nutrition knowledge, antifat attitudes and weight stereotyping attitudes at baseline and post-intervention. Scores on each instrument were compared between time points to check if they had significantly changed and to determine the effect of the intervention on attitudes and knowledge. Antifat attitudes at baseline were considered low and decreased further over the course of the intervention. Scores representing weight bias did decrease but the change was not significant. Fat stereotyping attitudes became stronger over the course of the intervention and this change was significant. Nutrition knowledge significantly improved from baseline to post-intervention. The design of the nutrition knowledge and attitude amelioration content of the intervention was semi-successful in achieving its outcomes. While the level of nutrition knowledge was improved over the course of the intervention, an unintentional increase was observed in weight based prejudice which is known to occur in interventions that employ stigma reduction methodologies. Further research is required into a structured methodology that increases level of nutrition knowledge and ameliorates weight bias at the tertiary level. In this way training provided would help prepare future health educators with the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to be effective and bias free in their practice.

Keywords: education, intervention, nutrition, obesity

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Authors: Oloruntegbe Kunle Oke, Alake Ese Monica, Odutuyi Olubu Musili

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This research explores the differing effectiveness of cascade and cluster models in professional development programs for educators in Ondo State, Nigeria. The cascade model emphasizes a top-down approach, where training is cascaded from expert trainers to lower levels of teachers. In contrast, the cluster model, a bottom-up approach, fosters collaborative learning among teachers within specific clusters. Through a review of the literature and empirical studies of the implementations of the former in two academic sessions followed by the cluster model in another two, the study examined their effectiveness on teacher development, productivity and students’ achievements. The study also drew a comparative analysis of the strengths and weaknesses associated with each model, considering factors such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, adaptability in various contexts, and sustainability. 2500 teachers from Ondo State Primary Schools participated in the cascade with intensive training in five zones for a week each in two academic sessions. On the other hand, 1,980 and 1,663 teachers in 52 and 34 clusters, respectively, were in the first and the following session. The programs were designed for one week of rigorous training of teachers by facilitators in the former while the latter was made up of four components: sit-in-observation, need-based assessment workshop, pre-cluster and the actual cluster meetings in addition to sensitization, and took place one day a week for ten weeks. Validated Cluster Impact Survey Instruments, CISI and Teacher’s Assessment Questionnaire (TAQ) were administered to ascertain the effectiveness of the models during and after implementation. The findings from the literature detailed specific effectiveness, strengths and limitations of each approach, especially the potential for inconsistencies and resistance to change. Findings from the data collected revealed the superiority of the cluster model. Response to TAQ equally showed content knowledge and skill update in both but were more sustained in the cluster model. Overall, the study contributes to the ongoing discourse on effective strategies for improving teacher training and enhancing student outcomes, offering practical recommendations for the development and implementation of future professional development projects.

Keywords: cascade model, cluster model, teachers’ development, productivity, students’ achievement

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Authors: Daehyun Baek, Seungmin Lee, Minju Kim Jangik Park, Hyeong-Soon Moon

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SPM (Single Point Mooring) is one of the mooring buoy facilities installed on a coast near oil and gas terminal which is not able to berth FPSO or large oil tankers under the condition of high draft due to geometrical limitation. Loading and unloading of crude oil and gas through a subsea pipeline can be carried out between the mooring buoy, ships and onshore facilities. SPM is an offshore-standalone system which has to withstand the harsh marine environment with harsh conditions such as high wind, current and so on. Therefore, SPM is required to have high stability, reliability and durability. Also, SPM is comprised to be integrated systems which consist of power management, high pressure valve control, sophisticated hardware/software and a long distance communication system. In order to secure required functions of SPM system, a simulation model for the integrated system of SPM using MATLAB Simulink and State flow tool has been developed. The developed model consists of configuration of hydraulic system for opening and closing of PLEM (Pipeline End Manifold) valves and control system logic. To verify functions of the model, an integrated simulation model for overall systems of SPM was also developed by considering handshaking variables between individual systems. In addition to the dynamic model, a self-diagnostic function to determine failure of the system was configured, which enables the SPM system itself to alert users about the failure once a failure signal comes to arise. Controlling and monitoring the SPM system is able to be done by a HMI system which is capable of managing the SPM system remotely, which was carried out by building a communication environment between the SPM system and the HMI system.

Keywords: HMI system, mooring buoy, simulink simulation model, single point mooring, stateflow

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Authors: Deden Misbahudin Muayyad, Lavlimatria Esya

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Up to the month of June 2015, Indonesia has 12 Islamic Commercial Banks, 22 Islamic Business Unit, 327 offices in 33 provinces. The initial purpose of the establishment of Islamic financial institutions is to achieve and the welfare of the people in this world and in the hereafter. To realize these goals, the Islamic financial institutions in every kind of aspect of product development and in terms of operations should be based on maqashid sharia, namely keeping the faith, keep the soul, keep the sense, maintain the property, keeping the offspring. To see whether Islamic banking grounded in maqasid sharia, the Islamic banking performance measurements based on the principles of maqasid sharia. Banking performance measurement is not only focusing on profit and other financial measures, but put other values of banks reflects the size of the benefit of non-profit in accordance with the bank's objectives. The measurement using the measurement of financial performance called maqasid sharia index. Maqasid syariah index is a model of Islamic banking performance measurement in accordance with the objectives and characteristics of Islamic banking. Maqasid syariah index was developed based on three main factors, namely the education of individuals, the creation of justice, the achievement of well-being, where the three factors were in accordance with the common goal of maqasid sharia is achieving prosperity and avoid evil. Maqasid syariah index shows that maqasid sharia approach can be a strategic alternative approach to describe how good the performance of the banking system and it can be implemented in the comprehensive policy strategy. This study uses a model of performance measurement framework based on maqasid syariah, in addition to financial performance measures that already exist. Methods to develop the idea of a performance measurement framework of Islamic banking by maqasid sharia is the Sekaran method. Operationally, the methods have now able to describe the elements that will be measured by this study. This is done by observing the behavior of the dimensions illustrated through a concept that has been set. These dimensions translate into derivative elements that can be observed and more scalable, so it can establish measurement indices. This research is descriptive quantitative. Techniques are being made to collect data in this paper is by using purposive sampling method, with 12 Islamic Commercial Banks that qualify as research samples. The financial data taken at 12 banks was sourced from the annual financial statements the period 2008 to 2012 with consideration of the database and ease of access to data. The ratio measured in this study only 7 ratio used in determining the performance of Islamic banking, namely: four ratio refers to the sharia objectives related to education. three ratio while again referring to sharia objectives related to the achievement of welfare. While other ratios associated with justice can not be used in this study because of the limited data used. Total overall calculation of performance indicators and performance ratios on each goal for each bank describes the maqasid syariah index.

Keywords: Islamic banking, Maslahah, maqashid syariah, maqashid syariah index

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Authors: Joy Ghosh, Debasmita Biswas

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The road network of any area is the most important indicator of regional planning. For proper utilization of urban road networks, the structural parameters such as connectivity and accessibility should be analyzed and evaluated. This paper aims to explain the application of GIS on urban road network connectivity and accessibility analysis with a case study of Chandannagar City. This paper has been made to analyze the road network connectivity through various connectivity measurements like the total number of nodes and links, Cyclomatic Number, Alpha Index, Beta Index, Gamma index, Eta index, Pi index, Theta Index, and Aggregated Transport Score, Road Density based on existing road network in Chandannagar city in India. Accessibility is measured through the shortest Path Matrix, associate Number, and Shimbel Index. Various urban services, such as schools, banks, Hospitals, petrol pumps, ATMs, police stations, theatres, parks, etc., are considered for the accessibility analysis for each ward. This paper also highlights the relationship between urban land use/ land cover (LULC) and urban road network and population density using various spatial and statistical measurements. The datasets were collected through a field survey of 33 wards of the Chandannagar Municipal Corporation area, and the secondary data were collected through an open street map and satellite image of LANDSAT8 OLI & TIRS from USGS. Chandannagar was actually once a French colony, and at that time, various sort of planning was applied, but now Chandannagar city continues to grow haphazardly because that city is facing some problems; the knowledge gained from this paper helps to create a more efficient and accessible road network. Therefore, it would be suggested that some wards need to improve their connectivity and accessibility for the future growth and development of Chandannagar.

Keywords: accessibility, connectivity, transport, road network

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Authors: Bozena Dohnalkova, Jakub Hodul, Rostislav Drochytka, Jana Kosikova

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This paper deals with a proposal of a new methodology for durability assessment of solidification product for its safe further use. The new methodology is based on a review of the current state of assessment of treated waste in Czech Republic and abroad. The aim of the paper is to propose an optimal evaluation methodology for verifying properties of solidification product to ensure its safe further use in building industry.

Keywords: solidification, stabilization, durability, waste

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