Search results for: risk banking technology

Authors: Paul Moses Ndegwa, Teresia Kabucho, Lucy Wanjiru, Esther Wanjiru, Brian Githaiga, Jecinta Wambui

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Health outcome has improved in the country since 2013 following the adoption of the new constitution in Kenya with devolved governance with administration and health planning functions transferred to county governments. 2018-2022 development agenda prioritized universal healthcare coverage, food security, and nutrition, however, the emergence of Covid-19 and the increase of non-communicable diseases pose a challenge and constrain in an already overwhelmed health system. A study was conducted July-November 2021 to establish key challenges in achieving universal healthcare coverage within the county and best practices for improved non-communicable disease control. 14 health workers ranging from nurses, doctors, public health officers, clinical officers, and pharmaceutical technologists were purposely engaged to provide critical information through questionnaires by a trained duo observing ethical procedures on confidentiality. Data analysis. Communicable diseases are major causes of morbidity and mortality. Non-communicable diseases contribute to approximately 39% of deaths. More than 45% of the population does not have access to safe drinking water. Study noted geographic inequality with respect to distribution and use of health resources including competing non-health priorities. 56% of health workers are nurses, 13% clinical officers, 7% doctors, 9%public health workers, 2% are pharmaceutical technologists. Poor-quality data limits the validity of disease-burdened estimates and research activities. Risk factors include unsafe water, sanitation, hand washing, unsafe sex, and malnutrition. Key challenge in achieving universal healthcare coverage is the rise in the relative contribution of non-communicable diseases. Improve targeted disease control with effective and equitable resource allocation. Develop high infectious disease control mechanisms. Improvement of quality data for decision making. Strengthen electronic data-capture systems. Increase investments in the health workforce to improve health service provision and achievement of universal health coverage. Create a favorable environment to retain health workers. Fill in staffing gaps resulting in shortages of doctors (7%). Develop a multi-sectional approach to health workforce planning and management. Need to invest in mechanisms that generate contextual evidence on current and future health workforce needs. Ensure retention of qualified, skilled, and motivated health workforce. Deliver integrated people-centered health services.

Keywords: multi-sectional approach, equity, people-centered, health workforce retention

Procedia PDF Downloads 107

Authors: Jiarong Zhang

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Digitizing intangible cultural heritage is a complex and comprehensive process from which sorts of intellectual property rights may be generated. Digitizing may be a repacking process of cultural heritage, which creates copyrights; recording folk songs and indigenous performances can create 'related rights'. At the same time, digitizing intangible cultural heritage may infringe the intellectual property rights of others unintentionally. Recording religious rituals of indigenous communities without authorization can violate the moral right of the ceremony participants of the community; making digital copies of rock paintings may infringe the right of reproduction. In addition, several parties are involved in the digitization process: indigenous peoples, museums, and archives can be holders of cultural heritage; companies and research institutions can be technology providers; internet platforms can be promoters and sellers; the public and groups above can be beneficiaries. When diverse intellectual property rights versus various parties, problems and disputes can arise easily. What are the types of intellectual property rights generated in the digitization process? What is the essence of these rights? Who should these rights belong to? How to use intellectual property to protect the digitalization of cultural heritage? How to avoid infringing on the intellectual property rights of others? While the digitization has been regarded as an effective approach to preserve intangible cultural heritage, related intellectual property issues have not received the attention and full discussion. Thus, parties involving in the digitization process may face intellectual property infringement lawsuits. The article will explore those problems from the intersection perspective of intellectual property law and cultural heritage. From a comparative approach, the paper will analysis related legal documents and cases, and shed some lights of those questions listed. The findings show, although there are no intellectual property laws targeting the cultural heritage in most countries, the involved stakeholders can seek protection from existing intellectual property rights following the suggestions of the article. The research will contribute to the digitization of intangible cultural heritage from a legal and policy aspect.

Keywords: copyright, digitization, intangible cultural heritage, intellectual property, Internet platforms

Procedia PDF Downloads 139

Authors: S. AlBustan, B. AlGhannam

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This oral presentation discusses a proposal for a study that evaluates the usability of an evidence based application named ProxTalker App. The significance of this study will inform administration and faculty staff at the Department of Communication Sciences Disorders (CDS), College of Life Sciences, Kuwait University whether the app is a suitable tool to use for CDS students. A case study will be used involving a sample of CDS students taking practicum and internship courses during the academic year 2018/2019. The study will follow a process used by previous study. The process of calculating SUS is well documented and will be followed. ProxTalker App is an alternative and augmentative tool that speech language pathologist (SLP) can use to customize boards for their clients. SLPs can customize different boards using this app for various activities. A board can be created by the SLP to improve and support receptive and expressive language. Using technology to support therapy can aid SLPs to integrate this ProxTalker App as part of their clients therapy. Supported tools, games and motivation are some advantages of incorporating apps during therapy sessions. A quantitative methodology will be used. It involves the utilization of a standard tool that was the was adapted to the Arabic language to accommodate native Arabic language users. The tool that will be utilized in this research is the Arabic Standard Usability Scale (A-SUS) questionnaire which is an adoption of System Usability Scale (SUS). Standard usability questionnaires are reliable, valid and their process is properly documented. This study builds upon the development of A-SUS, which is a psychometrically evaluated questionnaire that targets Arabic native speakers. Results of the usability will give preliminary indication of whether the ProxTalker App under investigation is appropriate to be integrated within the practicum and internship curriculum of CDS. The results of this study will inform the CDS department of this specific app is an appropriate tool to be used for our specific students within our environment because usability depends on the product, environment, and users.

Keywords: A-SUS, communication disorders practicum, evidence based app, Standard Usability Scale

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: Mona Almanasef, Angel Chater, Jane Portlock

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Introduction: A 'flipped classroom' uses technology to shift the traditional lecture outside the scheduled class time and uses the face-to-face time to engage students in interactive activities. Aim of the Study: Assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of using the 'flipped classroom' teaching format with MPharm students in two pharmacy schools in the UK: UCL School of Pharmacy and the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences at University of Portsmouth. Methods: An experimental mixed methods design was employed, with final year MPharm students in two phases; 1) a qualitative study using focus groups, 2) a quasi-experiment measuring knowledge acquisition and satisfaction by delivering a session on rheumatoid arthritis, in two teaching formats: the flipped classroom and the traditional lecture. Results: The flipped classroom approach was preferred over the traditional lecture for delivering a pharmacy practice topic, and it was comparable or better than the traditional lecture with respect to knowledge acquisition. In addition, this teaching approach was found to overcome the perceived challenges of the traditional lecture method such as fast pace instructions, student disengagement and boredom due to lack of activities and/or social anxiety. However, high workload and difficult or new concepts could be barriers to pre-class preparation, and therefore successful flipped classroom. The flipped classroom encouraged learning scaffolding where students could benefit from application of knowledge, and interaction with peers and the lecturer, which might, in turn, facilitate learning consolidation and deep understanding. This research indicated that the flipped classroom was beneficial for all learning styles. Conclusion: Implementing the flipped classroom at both pharmacy institutions was successful and well received by final year MPharm students. Given the attention now being put on the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF), understanding effective methods of teaching to enhance student achievement and satisfaction is now more valuable than ever.

Keywords: blended learning, flipped classroom, inverted classroom, pharmacy education

Procedia PDF Downloads 130

Authors: Donia Fredj, Marie Parmentier, Florence Archet, Olivier Margeat, Sadok Ben Dkhil, Jorg Ackerman

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Transparent conductive electrodes (TCEs) or transparent electrodes (TEs) are a crucial part of many electronic and optoelectronic devices such as touch panels, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), solar cells, and transparent heaters. The indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode is the most widely utilized transparent electrode due to its excellent optoelectrical properties. However, the drawbacks of ITO, such as the high cost of this material, scarcity of indium, and the fragile nature, limit the application in large-scale flexible electronic devices. Importantly, flexibility is becoming more and more attractive since flexible electrodes have the potential to open new applications which require transparent electrodes to be flexible, cheap, and compatible with large-scale manufacturing methods. So far, several materials as alternatives to ITO have been developed, including metal nanowires, conjugated polymers, carbon nanotubes, graphene, etc., which have been extensively investigated for use as flexible and low-cost electrodes. Among them, silver nanowires (AgNW) are one of the promising alternatives to ITO thanks to their excellent properties, high electrical conductivity as well as desirable light transmittance. In recent years, inkjet printing became a promising technique for large-scale printed flexible and stretchable electronics. However, inkjet printing of AgNWs still presents many challenges. In this study, a synthesis of stable AgNW that could compete with ITO was developed. This material was printed by inkjet technology directly on a flexible substrate. Additionally, we analyzed the surface microstructure, optical and electrical properties of the printed AgNW layers. Our further research focused on the study of all inkjet-printed organic modules with high efficiency.

Keywords: transparent electrodes, silver nanowires, inkjet printing, formulation of stable inks

Procedia PDF Downloads 215

Authors: Hikari Ryu, Yuki Fukuda, Kento Oishi, Chiharu Igarashi, Shogo Kiryu

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Recently, wireless power transfer has been developed in various fields. Magnetic coupling is popular for feeding power at a relatively short distance and at a lower frequency. Electro-magnetic wave coupling at a high frequency is used for long-distance power transfer. The wireless power transfer has attracted attention in e-textile fields. Rigid batteries are required for many body-worn electric systems at the present time. The technology enables such batteries to be removed from the systems. Flexible coils have been studied for such applications. Coils with a high Q factor are required in the magnetic-coupling power transfer. Antennas with low return loss are needed for the electro-magnetic coupling. Litz wire is so flexible to fabricate coils and antennas sewn on fabric and has low resistivity. In this study, the electric characteristics of some coils and antennas fabricated with the Litz wire by using two sewing techniques are investigated. As examples, a coil and an antenna are described. Both were fabricated with 330/0.04 mm Litz wire. The coil was a planar coil with a square shape. The outer side was 150 mm, the number of turns was 15, and the pitch interval between each turn was 5 mm. The Litz wire of the coil was overstitched with a sewing machine. The coil was fabricated as a receiver coil for a magnetic coupled wireless power transfer. The Q factor was 200 at a frequency of 800 kHz. A wireless power system was constructed by using the coil. A power oscillator was used in the system. The resonant frequency of the circuit was set to 123 kHz, where the switching loss of power FETs was small. The power efficiencies were 0.44 – 0.99, depending on the distance between the transmitter and receiver coils. As an example of an antenna with a sewing technique, a fractal pattern antenna was stitched on a 500 mm x 500 mm fabric by using a needle punch method. The pattern was the 2nd-oder Vicsec fractal. The return loss of the antenna was -28 dB at a frequency of 144 MHz.

Keywords: e-textile, flexible coils and antennas, Litz wire, wireless power transfer

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Maiya Smith, Tyler Thorne

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Background: The Pacific faces multiple healthcare crises, including high rates of noncommunicable diseases, infectious disease outbreaks, and susceptibility to natural disasters. These issues are expected to worsen in the coming decades, increasing the burden on an already understaffed healthcare system. Telehealth is not new to the Pacific, but improvements in technology and accessibility have increased its utility and have already proven to reduce costs and increase access to care in remote areas. Telehealth includes distance learning; a form of education that can help alleviate many healthcare issues by providing continuing education to healthcare professionals and upskilling staff, while decreasing costs. This study examined distance learning programs at the Ministry of Health in the Pacific nation of Palau and identified key elements to their successful distance learning programs. Methods: Staff at the Belau National Hospital in Koror, Palau as well as private practitioners were interviewed to assess distance learning programs utilized. This included physicians, IT personnel, public health members, and department managers of allied health. In total, 36 people were interviewed. Standardized questions and surveys were conducted in person throughout the month of July 2019. Results: Two examples of successful distance learning programs were identified. Looking at the factors that made these programs successful, as well as consulting with staff who undertook other distance learning programs, four factors for success were determined: having a cohort, having a facilitator, dedicated study time off from work, and motivation. Discussion: In countries as geographically isolated as the Pacific, with poor access to specialists and resources, telehealth has the potential to radically change how healthcare is delivered. Palau shares similar resources and issues as other countries in the Pacific and the lessons learned from their successful programs can be adapted to help other Pacific nations develop their own distance learning programs.

Keywords: distance learning, Pacific, Palau, telehealth

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Xiping Guo, Fanglin Ge, Ping Guan

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Refractory high entropy alloys are alternative materials expected to be employed at high temperatures. The comprehensive changes of microstructure and properties of NbTiZrCrAl refractory high entropy alloys are systematically studied by adjusting Al content. Five kinds of button alloy ingots with different contents of Al in NbTiZrCrAlX (X=0, 0.2, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0) were prepared by vacuum non-consumable arc melting technology. The microstructure analysis results show that the five alloys are composed of BCC solid solution phase rich in Nb and Ti and Laves phase rich in Cr, Zr, and Al. The addition of Al changes the structure from hypoeutectic to hypereutectic, increases the proportion of Laves phase, and changes the structure from cubic C15 to hexagonal C14. The hardness and fracture toughness of the five alloys were tested at room temperature, and the compressive mechanical properties were tested at 1000℃. The results showed that the addition of Al increased the proportion of Laves phase and decreased the proportion of the BCC phase, thus increasing the hardness and decreasing the fracture toughness at room temperature. However, at 1000℃, the strength of 0.5Al and 0.75Al alloys whose composition is close to the eutectic point is the best, which indicates that the eutectic structure is of great significance for the improvement of high temperature strength of NbTiZrCrAl refractory high entropy alloys. The five alloys were oxidized for 1 h and 20 h in static air at 1000℃. The results show that only the oxide film of 0Al alloy falls off after oxidizing for 1 h at 1000℃. After 20h, the oxide film of all the alloys fell off, but the oxide film of alloys containing Al was more dense and complete. By producing protective oxide Al₂O₃, inhibiting the preferential oxidation of Zr, promoting the preferential oxidation of Ti, and combination of Cr₂O₃ and Nb₂O₅ to form CrNbO₄, Al significantly improves the high temperature oxidation resistance of NbTiZrCrAl refractory high entropy alloys.

Keywords: NbTiZrCrAl, refractory high entropy alloy, al content, microstructural evolution, room temperature mechanical properties, high temperature compressive strength, oxidation resistance

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Authors: Mohammad Afkhami, Saeid Reza Ameli Ranani

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Since the bitcoin invention in 2008, blockchain technology surpassed so many innovations that the pioneer networks such as Ethereum are adaptable to host a decentral bunch of information containing pictures, audio, video, domains, etc., or even a metaverse versatile avatar. Transformation of tangible goods into virtual assets, known as AR-utility of luxury products, and the intermixture of reality and virtuality organized a worldwide, semi-regulated, and decentralized marketplace for digital goods. Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are doing a great help to artists worldwide, sharing diverse cultural outlooks by setting up a remote cross-cultural corporation potential and, at the same time, metamorphosizing the middleman role and ceasing the necessity of having a SWIFT-connected bank account. Under critical sanctions, a group of artists in Tehran did not take for granted such an opportunity to show off their artworks undisturbed, offering an introspective attitude, exerting Iranian motifs while intermingling westernized symbols. The cryptocurrency market has already acquired allocation, and interest in the global domain, paving the way for a flourishing enthusiasm among entrepreneurs who have been preoccupied with high-tech start-ups before. In a project found by Iranian female artists, we decipher the ups and downs of the new cyberculture and the environment it provides to fairly promote the artwork and obstacles it put forward in the way of interested entrepreneurs as we get through the details of starting up an NFT collection. An in-depth interview and empirical encounters with diverse Social Network Sites (SNS) and the strategies that other successful projects deploy to sell their artworks in an international and, at the same time, an anonymous market is the main focus, which shapes the paper fieldwork perspective. In conclusion, we discuss strategies for promoting an NFT project.

Keywords: NFT, metaverse, intercultural, art, illustration, start-up, entrepreneurship

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Anita Singh, Richa Naula, Manoj Raghav

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India is a leading producer and consumer of fenugreek for its culinary uses and medicinal application. In India, most of the people are of vegetarian class. In such a situation, a leafy vegetable, such as fenugreek is of chief concern due to its high nutritional property, medicinal values and industrial uses. One of the most important factors restricting their large scale production and development of superior varieties is that very scanty knowledge about their genetic diversity, inter and intraspecific variability and genetic relationship among the species. Improvement of the crop depends upon the magnitude of genetic variability for economic characters. Therefore, the present research work was carried out to analyse the variability parameters for growth and yield character in twenty-eight fenugreek genotypes along with two standard checks Pant Ragini and Pusa Early Bunching. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replication during rabi season 2015-2016 at Pantnagar Centre for Plant Genetic Resources, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among all the genotypes for all traits. High genotypic and phenotypic coefficient variation were observed for characters, namely the number of primary branches per plant, number of leaves at 30, 45 and 60 DAS, green leaf yield per plant, green leaf yield q/ha . The genetic advance recorded highest in green leaf yield q/ha (33.93) followed by green leaf yield per plant (21.20g). Highest percent of heritability were shown by 1000 seed weight (99.12%) followed by the number of primary branches per plant (97.18%). Green leaf yield q/ha showed high heritability and high genetic advance. These superior genotypes can be further used in crop improvement programs of fenugreek.

Keywords: genetic advance, genotypic coefficient variation, heritability, phenotypic coefficient variation

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Authors: Sali Chinsathit, Haruthai Kaenla

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Organic agriculture has become a major policy theme for agricultural development in Thailand since October 2005. Organic farming is enlisted as an important national agenda, to promote safe food and national export, and many government authorities have initiated projects and activities centered on organic farming promotion. Currently, Thailand has the market share of about 32 million US$ a year by exporting organic products of rice, vegetables, tea, fruits and a few medicinal herbs. There is high potential in organic crop production as there is the tropical environment promoting crop growth and leader farmer in organic farming. However, organic sector is relatively small (0.2%) comparing with conventional agricultural area, since there are many factors affecting farmers’ adoption and success in organic farming. The objective of this project was to get the organic production technology for at least 3 organic crops. The treatment and method were complied with Thai Organic Standard, and were mainly concerned on increase plant biodiversity and soil improvement by using organic fertilizer and bio-extract from fish, egg, plant and fruits. The bio-logical control, plant-extracts, and cultural practices were used to control insect pests and diseases of 3 crops including mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.), longkong (Aglaia dookoo Griff.) and banana (Musa (AA group)). The experiments were carried out at research centers of Department of Agriculture and farmers’ farms in Rayong and Chanthaburi provinces from 2009 to 2013. We found that both locations, plant biodiversity by intercropping mangosteen or longkong with banana and soil improvement with composts and bio-extract from fish could increased yield and farmers’ income by 6,835 US$/ha/year. Farmers got knowledge from these technologies to produce organic crops. The organic products were sold both in domestic and international countries. The organic production technologies were also environmental friendly and could be used as an alternative way for farmers in Thailand.

Keywords: banana, longkong, mangosteen, organic farming

Procedia PDF Downloads 356

Authors: Murad Al-Rajab, Sherin Hazboun, Azhar Al-Hamamreh, Nirmeen Odeh, Siham Halaseh

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Tourism is considered an important sector for most countries, while maintaining good tourism attractions can promote national economic development. The State of Palestine is historically considered a wealthy country full of many archaeological places. In the city of Bethlehem, for example, the Church of the Nativity is the most important touristic site, but it does not have enough technology development to attract tourists. In this paper, we propose a smart mobile application named “Pal-STAR” (Palestine Smart Tourist Augmented Reality) as an innovative solution which targets tourists and assists them to make a visit inside the Church of the Nativity. The application will use augmented reality and feature a virtual tourist guide showing views of the church while providing historical information in a smart, easy, effective and user-friendly way. The proposed application is compatible with multiple mobile platforms and is considered user friendly. The findings show that this application will improve the practice of the tourism sector in the Holy Land, it will also increase the number of tourists visiting the Church of the Nativity and it will facilitate access to historical data that have been difficult to obtain using traditional tourism guidance. The value that tourism adds to a country cannot be denied, and the more technological advances are incorporated in this sector, the better the country’s tourism sector can be served. Palestine’s economy is heavily dependent on tourism in many of its main cities, despite several limitations, and technological development is needed to enable this sector to flourish. The proposed mobile application would definitely have a good impact on the development of the tourism sector by creating an Augmented Reality environment for tourists inside the church, helping them to navigate and learn about holy places in a non-traditional way, using a virtual tourist guide.

Keywords: smartphones, tourism, tourists guide, augmented reality, Palestine

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Samuel Sii, David Homewood, Brendan Dittmer, Tony Nzembela, Jonathan O’Brien, Niall Corcoran, Dinesh Agarwal

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Introduction: Innovation is key to the advancement of medicine and improvement in patient care. This is particularly true in surgery, where pioneering techniques have transformed operative management from a historically highly risky peri-morbid and disfiguring to the contemporary low-risk, sterile and minimally invasive treatment modality. There is a delicate balance between enabling innovation and minimizing patient harm. Publication and discussion of novel surgical techniques allow for independent expert review. Recent journals have increasingly stringent requirements for publications and often require larger case volumes for novel techniques to be published. This potentially impairs the initial publication of novel techniques and slows innovation. The historical perspective provides a better understanding of how requirements for the publication of new techniques have evolved over time. This is essential in overcoming challenges in developing novel techniques. Aims and Objectives: We explore how novel techniques in Urology have been published over the past 200 years. Our objective is to describe the trend and publication requirements of novel urological techniques, both historical and present. Methods: We assessed all major urological operations using multipronged historical analysis. An initial literature search was carried out through PubMed and Google Scholar for original literature descriptions, followed by reference tracing. The first publication of each pioneering urological procedure was recorded. Data collected includes the year of publication, description of the procedure, number of cases and outcomes. Results: 65 papers describing pioneering techniques in Urology were identified. These comprised of 2 experimental studies, 17 case reports and 46 case series. These papers described various pioneering urological techniques in urological oncology, reconstructive urology and endourology. We found that, historically, techniques were published with smaller case numbers. Often, the surgical technique itself was a greater focus of the publication than patient outcome data. These techniques were often adopted prior to larger publications. In contrast, the risks and benefits of recent novel techniques are often well-defined prior to adoption. This historical perspective is important as recent journals have requirements for larger case series and data outcomes. This potentially impairs the initial publication of novel techniques and slows innovation. Conclusion: A better understanding of historical publications and their effect on the adoption of urological techniques into common practice could assist the current generation of Urologists in formulating a safe, efficacious process in promoting surgical innovation and the development of novel surgical techniques. We propose the reassessment of requirements for the publication of novel operative techniques by splitting technical perspectives and data-orientated case series. Existing frameworks such as IDEAL and ASERNIP-S should be integrated into current processes when investigating and developing new surgical techniques to ensure efficacious and safe innovation within surgery is encouraged.

Keywords: urology, surgical innovation, novel surgical techniques, publications

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Authors: Hubert Feiglstorfer

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The technique of making terrazzo has been known since ancient times. During the Roman Empire, known as opus signinum, at the time of the Renaissance, known as composto terrazzo marmorino or at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the use of terrazzo experienced a common use in Europe. In Asia, especially in the Himalayas and the Tibetan highlands, a particular floor and roof manufacturing technique is commonly used for about 1500 years, known as arga. The research question in this contribution asks for technical and cultural-historical synergies of these floor-making techniques. The making process of an arga floor shows constructive parallels to the European terrazzo. Surface processing by grinding, burnishing and sealing, in particular, reveals technological similarities. The floor structure itself, on the other hand, shows differences, for example in the use of hydraulic aggregate in the terrazzo, while the arga floor is used without hydraulic material, but the result of both techniques is a tight, water-repellent and shiny surface. As part of this comparative study, the materials, processing techniques and quality features of the two techniques are compared and parallels and differences are analysed. In addition to text and archive research, the methods used are results of material analyses and ethnographic research such as participant observation. Major findings of the study are the investigation of the mineralogical composition of arga floors and its comparison with terrazzo floors. The study of the cultural-historical context in which both techniques are embedded will give insight into technical developments in Europe and Asia, parallels and differences. Synergies from this comparison let possible technological developments in the production, conservation and renovation of European terrazzo floors appear in a new light. By making arga floors without cement-based aggregates, the renovation of historical floors from purely natural products and without using energy by means of a burning process can be considered.

Keywords: European and Asian crafts, material culture, floor making technology, terrazzo, arga, Tibetan building traditions

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Nicola Milani, Carla Bellissimo, Davide Pogliana, Davide Panzin, Luca Garlaschelli, Giulia Facchinetti, Claudia Casson, Luca Marazzina, Andrea Sartori, Simone Rivaroli, Jeff Konin

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The patient is a 26 year-old male amateur football player from Milan, Italy; (81kg; 185cm; BMI 23.6 kg/m²). He sustained a non-contact anterior cruciate ligament tear to his right knee in June 2021. In September 2021, his right knee ligament was reconstructed using a semitendinosus graft. The injury occurred during a football match on natural grass with typical shoes on a warm day (32 degrees celsius). Playing as a defender he sustained the injury during a change of direction, where the foot was fixated on the grass. He felt pain and was unable to continue playing the match. The surgeon approved his rehabilitation to begin two weeks post-operative. The initial physiotherapist assessment determined performing two training sessions per day within the first three months. In the first three weeks, the pain was 4/10 on Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), no swelling, a range of motion was 0-110°, with difficulty fully extending his knee and minimal quadriceps activation. Crutches were discontinued at four weeks with improved walking. Active exercise, electrostimulator, physical therapy, massages, osteopathy, and passive motion were initiated. At week 6, he completed his first functional movement screen; the score was 16/21 with no pain and no swelling. At week 8, the isokinetic test showed a 23% differential deficit between the two legs in maximum strength (at 90°/s). At week 10, he improved to 15% of injury-induced deficit which suggested he was ready to start running. At week 12, the athlete sustained his first threshold test. At week 16, he performed his first return to sports movement assessment, which revealed a 10% stronger difference between the legs. At week 16, he had his second threshold test. At week 17, his first on-field test revealed a 5% differential deficit between the two legs in the hop test. At week 18, isokinetic test demonstrates that the uninjured leg was 7% stronger than the recovering leg in maximum strength (at 90°/s). At week 20, his second on-field test revealed a 2% difference in hop test; at week 21, his third isokinetic test demonstrated a difference of 5% in maximum strength (at 90°/s). At week 21, he performed his second return to sports movement assessment which revealed a 2% difference between the limbs. Since it was the end of the championship, the team asked him to partake in the playoffs; moreover the player was very motivated to participate in the playoffs also because he was the captain of the team. Together with the player and the team, we decided to let him play even though we were aware of a heightened risk of injury than what is reported in the literature because of two factors: biological recovery times and the results of the tests we performed. In the decision making process about the athlete’s recovery time, it is important to balance the information available from the literature with the desires of the patient to avoid frustration.

Keywords: ACL, football, rehabilitation, return to play

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Authors: Bangkit Adhi Nugraha, Bambang Suripto

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On September 2016 Bank Indonesia (BI) release regulation no.18/18/PBI/2016 that permit bank clients for using the FX option call spread USD/IDR. Basically, this product is a combination between clients buy FX call option (pay premium) and sell FX call option (receive premium) to protect against currency depreciation while also capping the potential upside with cheap premium cost. BI classifies this product as a structured product. The structured product is combination at least two financial instruments, either derivative or non-derivative instruments. The call spread is the first structured product against IDR permitted by BI since 2009 as response the demand increase from Indonesia firms on FX hedging through derivative for protecting market risk their foreign currency asset or liability. The composition of hedging products on Indonesian FX market increase from 35% on 2015 to 40% on 2016, the majority on swap product (FX forward, FX swap, cross currency swap). Swap is formulated by interest rate difference of the two currency pairs. The cost of swap product is 7% for USD/IDR with one year USD/IDR volatility 13%. That cost level makes swap products seem expensive for hedging buyers. Because call spread cost (around 1.5-3%) cheaper than swap, the most Indonesian firms are using NDF FX call spread USD/IDR on offshore with outstanding amount around 10 billion USD. The cheaper cost of call spread is the main advantage for hedging buyers. The problem arises because BI regulation requires the call spread buyer doing the dynamic hedging. That means, if call spread buyer choose strike price 1 and strike price 2 and volatility USD/IDR exchange rate surpass strike price 2, then the call spread buyer must buy another call spread with strike price 1’ (strike price 1’ = strike price 2) and strike price 2’ (strike price 2’ > strike price 1‘). It could make the premium cost of call spread doubled or even more and dismiss the purpose of hedging buyer to find the cheapest hedging cost. It is very crucial for the buyer to choose best optimum strike price before entering into the transaction. To help hedging buyer find the optimum strike price and avoid expensive multiple premium cost, we observe ten years 2005-2015 historical data of USD/IDR volatility to be compared with the price movement of the call spread USD/IDR using Garman–Kohlhagen Model (as a common formula on FX option pricing). We use statistical tools to analysis data correlation, understand nature of call spread price movement over ten years, and determine factors affecting price movement. We select some range of strike price and tenor and calculate the probability of dynamic hedging to occur and how much it’s cost. We found USD/IDR currency pairs is too uncertain and make dynamic hedging riskier and more expensive. We validated this result using one year data and shown small RMS. The study result could be used to understand nature of FX call spread and determine optimum strike price for hedging plan.

Keywords: FX call spread USD/IDR, USD/IDR volatility statistical analysis, Garman–Kohlhagen Model on FX Option USD/IDR, Bank Indonesia Regulation no.18/18/PBI/2016

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Authors: Kyle Yatich Terik, Collins Oduor

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The current healthcare system has made healthcare more accessible and efficient by the use of information technology through the implementation of computer algorithms that generate menus based on the diagnosis. While many systems just like these have been created over the years, their main objective is to help healthy individuals calculate their calorie intake and assist them by providing food selections based on a pre-specified calorie. That application has been proven to be useful in some ways, and they are not suitable for monitoring, planning, and managing hospital patients, especially that critical condition their dietary needs. The system also addresses a number of objectives, such as; the main objective is to be able to design, develop and implement an efficient, user-friendly as well as and interactive dietary management system. The specific design development objectives include developing a system that will facilitate a monitoring feature for users using graphs, developing a system that will provide system-generated reports to the users, dietitians, and system admins, design a system that allows users to measure their BMI (Body Mass Index), the system will also provide food template feature that will guide the user on a balanced diet plan. In order to develop the system, further research was carried out in Kenya, Nairobi County, using online questionnaires being the preferred research design approach. From the 44 respondents, one could create discussions such as the major challenges encountered from the manual dietary system, which include no easily accessible information of the calorie intake for food products, expensive to physically visit a dietitian to create a tailored diet plan. Conclusively, the system has the potential of improving the quality of life of people as a whole by providing a standard for healthy living and allowing individuals to have readily available knowledge through food templates that will guide people and allow users to create their own diet plans that consist of a balanced diet.

Keywords: DMS, dietitian, patient, administrator

Procedia PDF Downloads 156

Authors: Tina Naser Torabi

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Prevalence of allergy is affected by different factors according to its base and seasonal weather changes, and it also needs various treatments.Although reasons of allergy existence are not clear but generally, allergens cause reaction between antigen and antibody because of their antigenic traits. In this state, allergens cause immune system to make mistake and identify safe material as threat, therefore function of immune system impaired because of histamine secretion. There are different reasons for allergy, but herbal reasons are on top of the list, although animal causes cannot be ignored. Important point is that allergenic compounds, cause making dedicated antibody, so in general every kind of allergy is different from the other one. Therefore, most of the plants in herbal allergenic category can cause various allergies for human beings, such as respiratory allergies, nutritional allergies, injection allergies, infection allergies, touch allergies, that each of them show different symptoms based on the reason of allergy and also each of them requires different prevention and treatment. Geographical condition is another effective factor in allergy. Seasonal changes, weather condition, herbal coverage variety play important roles in different allergies. It goes without saying that humid climate and herbal coverage variety in different seasons especially spring cause most allergies in human beings in Iran and India that are discussed in this article. These two countries are good choices for allergy prevalence because of their condition, various herbal coverage, human and animal factors. Hay fever is one of the allergies, although the reasons of its prevalence are unknown yet. It is one of the most popular allergies in Iran and India because of geographical, human, animal and herbal factors. Hay fever is on top of the list in these two countries. Significant point about these two countries is that herbal factor is the most important factor in prevalence of hay fever. Variety of herbal coverage especially in spring during herbal pollination is the main reason of hay fever prevalence in these two countries. Based on the research result of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry, pollination of some plants in spring is major reason of hay fever prevalence in these countries. If airborne pollens in pollination season enter the human body through air, they will cause allergic reactions in eyes, nasal mucosa, lungs, and respiratory system, and if these particles enter the body of potential person through food, they will cause allergic reactions in mouth, stomach, and other digestive systems. Occasionally, chemical materials produced by human body such as Histamine cause problems like: developing of nasal polyps, nasal blockage, sleep disturbance, risk of asthma developing, blood vasodilation, sneezing, eye tears, itching and swelling of eyes and nasal mucosa, Urticaria, decrease in blood pressure, and rarely trauma, anesthesia, anaphylaxis and finally death. This article is going to study the reasons of hay fever prevalence in Iran and India and presents prevention and treatment Method from Phytochemistry and Pharmocognocy point of view by using local natural products in these two countries.

Keywords: hay fever, India, Iran, natural treatment, phytochemistry

Procedia PDF Downloads 163

Authors: Hossein Ghaedamini, Salman Farahbakhsh, Alireza Amirbeigi, Zahra Saghafi, Salman Daneshi, Alireza Ghaedamini

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Background: Assessing the challenges of clinical education of medical students is one of the most important and sensitive parts of medical education. The aim of this study was to investigate the views and experiences of Kerman medical students on the factors that facilitate and inhibit the quality of clinical education. Materials and Methods: This research was qualitative and used a phenomenological approach. The study population included medical interns of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 1400. The method of data collection was in-depth interviews with participants. Data were encoded and analyzed by Claizey stepwise model. Results: First, about 540 primary codes were extracted in the form of two main themes (facilitators and inhibitors) and 10 sub-themes including providing motivational models and creating interest in interns, high scientific level of professors and the appropriate quality of their teaching, the use of technology in the clinical education process, delegating authority and freedom of action and more responsibilities to interns, inappropriate treatment of some officials, professors, assistants and department staff with their interns, inadequate educational programming, lack of necessary cooperation and providing inappropriate treatment by clinical training experts for interns, inadequate evaluation method in clinical training for interns, poor quality mornings, the unefficiency of grand rounds, the inappropriate way of evaluating clinical training for interns, the lack of suitable facilities and conditions with the position of a medical intern, and the hardwork of some departments were categorized. Conclusion: Clinical education is always mixed with special principles and subtleties, and special attention to facilitators and inhibitors in this process has an important role in improving its quality.

Keywords: clinical education, medical students, qualitative study, education

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Authors: Samantha Jade Sadural, Kathleen Gay Figueroa, Noel Nicanor Sison II, Francis Miguel Quilab, Samuel Edric Solis, Kiel Gonzales, Alain Andrew Boquiren, Janelle Tan, Mario Carreon

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Of the 185 languages in the Philippines, 28 are endangered, 11 are dying off, and 4 are extinct. Language documentation, as a prerequisite to language education, can be one of the ways languages can be preserved. Project Marayum is envisioned to be a collaboratively built, mobile phone-based, online dictionary platform for Philippine languages. Although there are many online language dictionaries available on the Internet, Project Marayum aims to give a sense of ownership to the language community's dictionary as it is built and maintained by the community for the community. From a seed dictionary, members of a language community can suggest changes, add new entries, and provide language examples. Going beyond word definitions, the platform can be used to gather sample sentences and even audio samples of word usage. These changes are reviewed by language experts of the community, sourced from the local state universities or local government units. Approved changes are then added to the dictionary and can be viewed instantly through the Marayum website. A companion mobile phone application allows users to browse the dictionary in remote areas where Internet connectivity is nonexistent. The dictionary will automatically be updated once the user regains Internet access. Project Marayum is still a work in progress. At the time of this abstract's writing, the Project has just entered its second year. Prototypes are currently being tested with the Asi language of Romblon island as its initial language testbed. In October 2020, Project Marayum will have both a webpage and mobile application with Asi, Ilocano, and Cebuano language dictionaries available for use online or for download. In addition, the Marayum platform would be then easily expandable for use of the more endangered language communities. Project Marayum is funded by the Philippines Department of Science and Technology.

Keywords: collaborative language dictionary, community-centered lexicography, content management system, software engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Ozen Asut, Gulifeiya Abuduxike, Imge Begendi, Mustafa O. Canatan, Merve Colak, Gizem Ozturk, Lara Tasan, Ahmed Waraiet, Songul A. Vaizoglu, Sanda Cali

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Obesity among children and adolescents is one of the critical public health problems worldwide. Internet addiction is one of the sedentary behaviors that cause obesity due to the excessive screen time and reduced physical activities. We aimed to examine the relationships between the screen time, internet addiction and other lifestyle behaviors with obesity among high school students in the Near East College in Nicosia, Northern Cyprus. A cross-sectional study conducted among 469 secondary school students, mean age 11.95 (SD, 0.81) years. A self-administrated questionnaire was applied to assess the screen time and lifestyle behaviors. The Turkish adopted version of short-form of internet addiction test was used to assess internet addiction problems. Height and weight were measured to calculate BMI and classified based on the BMI percentiles for sex and age. Descriptive analysis, Chi-Square test, and multivariate regression analysis were done. Of all, 17.2% of the participants were overweight and obese, and 18.1% had internet addictions, while 40.7% of them reported having screen time more than two hours. After adjusting the analysis for age and sex, eating snacks while watching television (OR, 3.04; 95% CI, 1.28-7.21), self- perceived body weight (OR, 24.9; 95% CI, 9.64-64.25) and having a play station in the room (OR, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.85 - 11.42) were significantly associated with obesity. Screen time (OR, 4.68; 95% CI, 2.61-8.38; p=0.000) and having a computer in bedroom (OR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.01- 2.87; p=0.046) were significantly associated with internet addiction, whereas parent’s compliant regarding the lengthy technology use (OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.11-0.46; p=0.000) was found to be a protective factor against internet addiction. Prolonged screen time, internet addiction, sedentary lifestyles, and reduced physical and social activities are interrelated, multi-dimensional factors that lead to obesity among children and adolescents. A family - school-based integrated approach should be implemented to tackle obesity problems.

Keywords: adolescents, internet addiction, lifestyle, Northern Cyprus, obesity, screen time

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Authors: Jie Xu, Zengshan Tian, Ze Li

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Previous indoor ranging or localization systems achieving high accuracy time of flight (ToF) estimation relied on two key points. One is to do strict time and frequency synchronization between the transmitter and receiver to eliminate equipment asynchronous errors such as carrier frequency offset (CFO), but this is difficult to achieve in a practical communication system. The other one is to extend the total bandwidth of the communication because the accuracy of ToF estimation is proportional to the bandwidth, and the larger the total bandwidth, the higher the accuracy of ToF estimation obtained. For example, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology is implemented based on this theory, but high precision ToF estimation is difficult to achieve in common WiFi or Bluetooth systems with lower bandwidth compared to UWB. Therefore, it is meaningful to study how to achieve high-precision ranging with lower bandwidth when the transmitter and receiver are asynchronous. To tackle the above problems, we propose a two-way channel error elimination theory and a frequency hopping-based carrier phase ranging algorithm to achieve high accuracy ranging under asynchronous conditions. The two-way channel error elimination theory uses the symmetry property of the two-way channel to solve the asynchronous phase error caused by the asynchronous transmitter and receiver, and we also study the effect of the two-way channel generation time difference on the phase according to the characteristics of different hardware devices. The frequency hopping-based carrier phase ranging algorithm uses frequency hopping to extend the equivalent bandwidth and incorporates a carrier phase ranging algorithm with multipath resolution to achieve a ranging accuracy comparable to that of UWB at 400 MHz bandwidth in the typical 80 MHz bandwidth of commercial WiFi. Finally, to verify the validity of the algorithm, we implement this theory using a software radio platform, and the actual experimental results show that the method proposed in this paper has a median ranging error of 5.4 cm in the 5 m range, 7 cm in the 10 m range, and 10.8 cm in the 20 m range for a total bandwidth of 80 MHz.

Keywords: frequency hopping, phase error elimination, carrier phase, ranging

Procedia PDF Downloads 116

Authors: Jennifer Zelmer

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The debate regarding the morality, and therefore legality, of abortion has many social, political, and medical ramifications worldwide. In a developing country like Bolivia, carrying a pregnancy to delivery is incredibly risky. Given the very high maternal mortality rate in Bolivia, greater consideration has been given to the (de)criminalization of abortion – a contributing cause of maternal death. In the spring of 2017, the Bolivian government proposed to loosen restrictions on women’s access to receiving a safe abortion, which was met with harsh criticism from 'pro-vida' (pro-life) factions. Although the current Bolivian government Movimiento al Socialismo (Movement Toward Socialism) portrays an agenda of decolonization, or to seek a 'traditionally-modern' society, nevertheless, Bolivia still has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the Americas, because of centuries of colonial and patriarchal order. Applying a feminist critique and using the abortion debate as the central point, this paper argues that the 'traditionally-modern' society Bolivia strives towards is a paradox, and in fact only contributes to the reciprocal process of the death of 'mother tongues' and the unnecessary death of women. This claim is supported by a critical analysis of historical texts about Spanish Colonialism in Bolivia; the linguistic reality of reproductive educational strategies, and the philosophical framework which the Bolivian government and its citizens implement. This analysis is demonstrated in the current state of women’s access to reproductive healthcare in Cochabamba, Bolivia based on recent fieldwork which included audits of clinics and hospitals, interviews, and participant observation. This paper has two major findings: 1) the language used by opponents of abortion in Bolivia is not consistent with the claim of being 'pro-life' but more accurately with being 'pro-potential'; 2) when the topic of reproductive health appears in Cochabamba, Bolivia, it is often found written in the Spanish language, and does not cater to the many indigenous communities that inhabit or visit this city. Finally, this paper considers the crucial role of public health documentation to better inform the abortion debate, as well as the necessity of expanding reproductive health information to more than text-based materials in Cochabamba. This may include more culturally appropriate messages and mediums that cater to the oral tradition of the indigenous communities, who historically and currently have some of the highest fertility rates. If the objective of one who opposes abortion is to save human lives, then preventing the death of women should equally be of paramount importance. But rather, the 'pro-life' movement in Bolivia is willing to risk the lives of to-be mothers, by judicial punishment or death, for the chance of a potential baby. Until abortion is fully legal, safe, and accessible, there will always be the vestiges of colonial and patriarchal order in Bolivia which only perpetuates the needless death of women.

Keywords: abortion, feminist theory, Quechua, reproductive health education

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Authors: Kunio Yoshikawa, Ding Lu

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Small-scale, distributed and low-cost biomass power generation technologies are highly required in the modern society. There are big needs for these technologies in the disaster areas of developed countries and un-electrified rural areas of developing countries. This work aims to present a technical feasibility of the portable ultra-small power generation system based on the gasification of carbonized wood pellets/briquettes. Our project is designed for enabling independent energy production from various kinds of biomass resources in the open-field. The whole process mainly consists of two processes: biomass and waste pretreatment; gasification and power generation. The first process includes carbonization, densification (briquetting or pelletization), and the second includes updraft fixed bed gasification of carbonized pellets/briquettes, syngas purification, and power generation employing an internal combustion gas engine. A combined pretreatment processes including carbonization without external energy and densification were adopted to deal with various biomass. Carbonized pellets showed a better gasification performance than carbonized briquettes and their mixture. The 100-hour continuous operation results indicated that pelletization/briquetting of carbonized fuel realized the stable operation of an updraft gasifier if there were no blocking issues caused by the accumulation of tar. The cold gas efficiency and the carbon conversion during carbonized wood pellets gasification was about 49.2% and 70.5% with the air equivalence ratio value of around 0.32, and the corresponding overall efficiency of the gas engine was 20.3% during the stable stage. Moreover, the maximum output power was 21 kW at the air flow rate of 40 Nm³·h⁻¹. Therefore, the comprehensive system covering biomass carbonization, densification, gasification, syngas purification, and engine system is feasible for portable, ultra-small power generation. This work has been supported by Innovative Science and Technology Initiative for Security (Ministry of Defence, Japan).

Keywords: biomass carbonization, densification, distributed power generation, gasification

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: A. Barratt, M. H. Granat, S. Buttress, B. Roy

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Introduction: Physiotherapy is an essential part of the treatment of patients with shoulder problems. The focus of treatment is usually centred on addressing specific physiotherapy goals, ultimately resulting in the improvement in pain and function. This study investigates if computerised physiotherapy using gamification principles are as effective as standard physiotherapy. Methods: Physiotherapy exergames were created using a combination of commercially available hardware, the Microsoft Kinect, and bespoke software. The exergames used were validated by mapping physiotherapy goals of physiotherapy which included; strength, range of movement, control, speed, and activation of the kinetic chain. A multicenter, randomised prospective controlled trial investigated the use of exergames on patients with Shoulder Impingement Syndrome who had undergone Arthroscopic Subacromial Decompression surgery. The intervention group was provided with the automated sensor-based technology, allowing them to perform exergames and track their rehabilitation progress. The control group was treated with standard physiotherapy protocols. Outcomes from different domains were used to compare the groups. An important metric was the assessment of shoulder range of movement pre- and post-operatively. The range of movement data included abduction, forward flexion and external rotation which were measured by the software, pre-operatively, 6 weeks and 12 weeks post-operatively. Results: Both groups show significant improvement from pre-operative to 12 weeks in elevation in forward flexion and abduction planes. Results for abduction showed an improvement for the interventional group (p < 0.015) as well as the test group (p < 0.003). Forward flexion improvement was interventional group (p < 0.0201) with the control group (p < 0.004). There was however no significant difference between the groups at 12 weeks for abduction (p < 0.118067) , forward flexion (p < 0.189755) or external rotation (p < 0.346967). Conclusion: Exergames may be used as an alternative to standard physiotherapy regimes; however, further analysis is required focusing on patient engagement.

Keywords: shoulder, physiotherapy, exergames, gamification

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: D. Zhigulskaya, V. Anisimov, A. Pikunov, K. Babanova, S. Zuev, A. Latyshkova, K. Сhernozatonskiy, A. Revazov

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Electrophysiology of information processing in reading is certainly a popular research topic. Natural reading, however, has been relatively poorly studied, despite having broad potential applications for learning and education. In the current study, we explore the relationship between text categories and spontaneous electroencephalogram (EEG) while reading. Thirty healthy volunteers (mean age 26,68 ± 1,84) participated in this study. 15 Russian-language texts were used as stimuli. The first text was used for practice and was excluded from the final analysis. The remaining 14 were opposite pairs of texts in one of 7 categories, the most important of which were: interesting/boring, fiction/non-fiction, free reading/reading with an instruction, reading a text/reading a pseudo text (consisting of strings of letters that formed meaningless words). Participants had to read the texts sequentially on an Apple iPad Pro. EEG was recorded from 12 electrodes simultaneously with eye movement data via ARKit Technology by Apple. EEG spectral amplitude was analyzed in Fz for theta-band (4-8 Hz) and in C3, C4, P3, and P4 for alpha-band (8-14 Hz) using the Friedman test. We found that reading an interesting text was accompanied by an increase in theta spectral amplitude in Fz compared to reading a boring text (3,87 µV ± 0,12 and 3,67 µV ± 0,11, respectively). When instructions are given for reading, we see less alpha activity than during free reading of the same text (3,34 µV ± 0,20 and 3,73 µV ± 0,28, respectively, for C4 as the most representative channel). The non-fiction text elicited less activity in the alpha band (C4: 3,60 µV ± 0,25) than the fiction text (C4: 3,66 µV ± 0,26). A significant difference in alpha spectral amplitude was also observed between the regular text (C4: 3,64 µV ± 0,29) and the pseudo text (C4: 3,38 µV ± 0,22). These results suggest that some brain activity we see on EEG is sensitive to particular features of the text. We propose that changes in theta and alpha bands during reading may serve as electrophysiological tools for assessing the reader’s cognitive state as well as his or her attitude to the text and the perceived information. These physiological markers have prospective practical value for developing technological solutions and biofeedback systems for reading in particular and for education in general.

Keywords: EEG, natural reading, reader's cognitive state, theta-rhythm, alpha-rhythm

Procedia PDF Downloads 73

Authors: Se-Mi Lim, Won-Jae Jung, Jin-Sup Kim, Jun-Seok Park, Hyung-Il Chae

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This paper presents a current-mode vertical hall device (VHD) structure using metal layers in a CMOS process. The proposed metal layer based vertical hall device (MLVHD) utilizes vertical connection among metal layers (from M1 to the top metal) to facilitate hall effect. The vertical metal structure unit flows a bias current Ibias from top to bottom, and an external magnetic field changes the current distribution by Lorentz force. The asymmetric current distribution can be detected by two differential-mode current outputs on each side at the bottom (M1), and each output sinks Ibias/2 ± Ihall. A single vertical metal structure generates only a small amount of hall effect of Ihall due to the short length from M1 to the top metal as well as the low conductivity of the metal, and a series connection between thousands of vertical structure units can solve the problem by providing NxIhall. The series connection between two units is another vertical metal structure flowing current in the opposite direction, and generates negative hall effect. To mitigate the negative hall effect from the series connection, the differential current outputs at the bottom (M1) from one unit merges on the top metal level of the other unit. The proposed MLVHD is simulated in a 3-dimensional model simulator in COMSOL Multiphysics, with 0.35 μm CMOS process parameters. The simulated MLVHD unit size is (W) 10 μm × (L) 6 μm × (D) 10 μm. In this paper, we use an MLVHD with 10 units; the overall hall device size is (W) 10 μm × (L)78 μm × (D) 10 μm. The COMSOL simulation result is as following: the maximum hall current is approximately 2 μA with a 12 μA bias current and 100mT magnetic field; This work was supported by Institute for Information & communications Technology Promotion(IITP) grant funded by the Korea government(MSIP) (No.R7117-16-0165, Development of Hall Effect Semiconductor for Smart Car and Device).

Keywords: CMOS, vertical hall device, current mode, COMSOL

Procedia PDF Downloads 297

Authors: M. A. Ojo, O. A. Ojo, A. I. Odine, A. Ogaji

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The study examined marginal productivity analysis of small scale yam and cassava farmers in Kogi State, Nigeria. Data used for the study were obtained from primary source using a multi-stage sampling technique with structured questionnaires administered to 150 randomly selected yam and cassava farmers from three Local Government Areas of the State. Description statistics, data envelopment analysis and Cobb-Douglas production function were used to analyze the data. The DEA result on the overall technical efficiency of the farmers showed that 40% of the sampled yam and cassava farmers in the study area were operating at frontier and optimum level of production with mean technical efficiency of 1.00. This implies that 60% of the yam and cassava farmers in the study area can still improve their level of efficiency through better utilization of available resources, given the current state of technology. The results of the Cobb-Douglas analysis of factors affecting the output of yam and cassava farmers showed that labour, planting materials, fertilizer and capital inputs positively and significantly affected the output of the yam and cassava farmers in the study area. The study further revealed that yam and cassava farms in the study area operated under increasing returns to scale. This result of marginal productivity analysis further showed that relatively efficient farms were more marginally productive in resource utilization This study also shows that estimating production functions without separating the farms to efficient and inefficient farms bias the parameter values obtained from such production function. It is therefore recommended that yam and cassava farmers in the study area should form cooperative societies so as to enable them have access to productive inputs that will enable them expand. Also, since using a single equation model for production function produces a bias parameter estimates as confirmed above, farms should, therefore, be decomposed into efficient and inefficient ones before production function estimation is done.

Keywords: marginal productivity, DEA, production function, Kogi state

Procedia PDF Downloads 477

Authors: Nancy Samuel Reyad Farhan

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even though international crook law has grown considerably inside the ultimate decades, it still remains fragmented and lacks doctrinal cohesiveness. Its idea is defined within the doctrine as pretty disputable. there is no concrete definition of the term. in the home doctrine, the hassle of crook law troubles that rise up within the worldwide setting, and international troubles that get up in the national crook regulation, is underdeveloped each theoretically and nearly. To the exceptional of writer’s know-how, there aren't any studies describing worldwide elements of crook law in a complete way, taking a more expansive view of the difficulty. This paper provides consequences of a part of the doctoral studies, assignment a theoretical framework of the worldwide crook law. It ambitions at checking out the present terminology on international components of criminal law. It demonstrates differences among the notions of global crook regulation, criminal regulation international and law worldwide crook. It confronts the belief of crook regulation with associated disciplines and indicates their interplay. It specifies the scope of international criminal regulation. It diagnoses the contemporary criminal framework of global components of criminal regulation, referring to each crook law issues that rise up inside the international setting, and international problems that rise up within the context of national criminal law. ultimately, de lege lata postulates had been formulated and route of modifications in global criminal law turned into proposed. The followed studies hypothesis assumed that the belief of international criminal regulation became inconsistent, not understood uniformly, and there has been no conformity as to its location inside the system of regulation, objective and subjective scopes, while the domestic doctrine did not correspond with international requirements and differed from the global doctrine. applied research strategies covered inter alia a dogmatic and legal technique, an analytical technique, a comparative approach, in addition to desk studies.

Keywords: social networks privacy issues, social networks security issues, social networks privacy precautions measures, social networks security precautions measures

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Authors: Leandros A. Maglaras, Jianmin Jiang

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The protection of the national infrastructures from cyberattacks is one of the main issues for national and international security. The funded European Framework-7 (FP7) research project CockpitCI introduces intelligent intrusion detection, analysis and protection techniques for Critical Infrastructures (CI). The paradox is that CIs massively rely on the newest interconnected and vulnerable Information and Communication Technology (ICT), whilst the control equipment, legacy software/hardware, is typically old. Such a combination of factors may lead to very dangerous situations, exposing systems to a wide variety of attacks. To overcome such threats, the CockpitCI project combines machine learning techniques with ICT technologies to produce advanced intrusion detection, analysis and reaction tools to provide intelligence to field equipment. This will allow the field equipment to perform local decisions in order to self-identify and self-react to abnormal situations introduced by cyberattacks. In this paper, an intrusion detection module capable of detecting malicious network traffic in a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system is presented. Malicious data in a SCADA system disrupt its correct functioning and tamper with its normal operation. OCSVM is an intrusion detection mechanism that does not need any labeled data for training or any information about the kind of anomaly is expecting for the detection process. This feature makes it ideal for processing SCADA environment data and automates SCADA performance monitoring. The OCSVM module developed is trained by network traces off line and detects anomalies in the system real time. The module is part of an IDS (intrusion detection system) developed under CockpitCI project and communicates with the other parts of the system by the exchange of IDMEF messages that carry information about the source of the incident, the time and a classification of the alarm.

Keywords: cyber-security, SCADA systems, OCSVM, intrusion detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 544