Search results for: in-car air quality management

Authors: Rana Alkhamra

Abstract:

Background: Child's earliest experiences with books and stories during the first years of his life are strongly linked with the development of his early language and literacy skills. Interacting in routine learning activities, such as shared book reading, storytelling, and teaching about the letters of the alphabet make a critical foundation for early learning, language growth and emergent literacy. Aim: The current study explores family and preschool early interactive literacy practices in families and preschools (nursery and kindergarten) in Jordan. It highlights the importance of early interactive literacy activities on child language and literacy growth and development. Methods: This is a cross sectional study that surveyed 243 Jordanian families. The survey investigated literacy routine practices, largely shared books reading, at home and at preschool; child speech and language development; and family demographics. Results: Around 92.5% of the families read books and stories to their children, as frequently as 1-2 times weekly or monthly (75%). Only 19.6% read books on daily basis. Many families reported preferring story-telling (97%). Despite that families acknowledged the importance of early literacy activities, on language, reading and writing, cognitive, and academic development, 45% asked for education and training pertaining to specific ways and ideas to help their young children develop language and literacy skills. About 69% of the families reported reading books and stories to their children for 15 minutes a day, while 71.2% indicated having their children watch television for 3 to > 6 hours a day. At preschool, only 52.8% of the teachers were reported to read books and stories. Factors like parent education, monthly income, living inside (33.6%) or outside (66.4%) the capital city of Amman significantly (p < 0.05) affected child early literacy interactive activities whether at home or at preschool. Conclusion: Early language and literacy skills depend largely on the opportunities and experiences provided to children in the home and in preschool environment. Family literacy programs can play an important role in bridging the gap in early literacy experiences for families that need help. Also, speech therapists can work in collaboration with families and educators to ensure that young children have high quality and sufficient opportunities to participate in early literacy activities both at home and in preschool environments.

Keywords: literacy, interactive activities, language, practices, family, preschool, Jordan

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: Baluku Nathan

Abstract:

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a practical, evidence-based approach that prevents patients and emergency health workers from being harmed by avoidable infections as a result of antimicrobial resistance; all hospital infection control programs put together various practices which, when used appropriately, restrict the spread of infection. A breach in these control practices facilitates the transmission of infections from patients to health workers, other patients and attendants. It is, therefore, important for all EMTs and patients to adhere to them strictly. It is also imperative for administrators to ensure the implementation of the infection control program for their facilities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors of prevention practices against Infection exposure among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in the emergency department at Mbarara hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that employed a self-reported questionnaire that was filled out by 32 EMTs in the emergency department from 12th February to 3rd march 2022. The questionnaire consisted of items concerning the defensive environment and other Factors influencing Infection prevention and control practices in the accident and emergency department of Mbarara hospital. Results: From the findings, majority16(50%) always used protective gear when doing clinical work,14 (43.8%) didn’t use protective gear, citing they were only assisting those performing resuscitations, gumboots were the least used protective gear with only3(9.4%) usage. Regarding disposal techniques of specific products like blood and sharps, results showed 10 (31.3%) said blood is disposed of in red buckets, 5(15.6%) in yellow buckets and only5(15.6%) in black buckets and 12(37.5%) didn’t respond. However, 28(87.5%) said sharps were disposed of in a sharps container. The majority, 17(53.1%), were not aware of the infection control guidelines even though they were pinned on walls of the emergency rooms,15(46.9%) said they had never had quality assurance monitoring events,14(43.8%) said monitoring was continuous while15(46.9 %) said it was discrete. Conclusions: The infection control practices at the emergency department were inadequate in view of less than 100% of the EMTs observing the five principles of infection prevention, such as the use of personal protective equipment and proper waste disposal in appropriate color-coded bins. Dysfunctional infection prevention and control committees accompanied by inadequate supervision to ensure infection control remained a big challenge.

Keywords: infection prevention, influencing factors, emergency medical technician (EMT), emergency unit

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: Baluku Nathan

Abstract:

Infection prevention and control (IPC) is a practical, evidence-based approach that prevents patients and emergency health workers from being harmed by avoidable infections as a result of antimicrobial resistance; all hospital infection control programs put together various practices which, when used appropriately, restrict the spread of infection. A breach in these control practices facilitates the transmission of infections from patients to health workers, other patients, and attendants. It is, therefore important for all emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and patients to strictly adhere to them. It is also imperative for administrators to ensure the implementation of the infection control programme for their facilities. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influencing factors of prevention practices against infection exposure among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in the emergency department at Mbarara hospital. Methodology: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that employed a self-reported questionnaire that was filled out by 32 EMTs in the emergency department from 12th February to 3rd march 2022. The questionnaire consisted of items concerning the defensive environment and other factors influencing infection prevention and control practices in the accident and emergency department of Mbarara hospital. Results: From the findings, the majority 16 (50%) always used protective gear when doing clinical work, 14 (43.8%) didn’t use protective gear, citing they were only assisting those performing resuscitations, gumboots were the least used protective gear with only3(9.4%) usage. About disposal techniques of specific products like blood and sharps, results showed 10 (31.3%) said blood is disposed of in red buckets, 5 (15.6%) in yellow buckets, and only 5(15.6%) in black buckets, and 12(37.5%) didn’t respond, however, 28(87.5%) said sharps were disposed of in a sharps container. The majority, 17 (53.1%), were not aware of the infection control guidelines even though they were pinned on walls of the emergency rooms, 15(46.9%) said they have never had quality assurance monitoring events, 14(43.8%) said monitoring was continuous while 15(46.9 %) said it was discrete. Conclusions: The infection control practices at the emergency department were inadequate in view of less than 100% of the EMTs observing the five principles of infection prevention, such as the use of personal protective equipment and proper waste disposal in appropriate color-coded bins. Dysfunctional infection prevention and control committees accompanied by inadequate supervision to ensure infection control remained a big challenge.

Keywords: emergency medical technician, infection prevention, influencing factors, infection control

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Kseniia Zviagintseva, Brett Buttliere

Abstract:

Science is fundamentally a problem-solving enterprise, and scientists pay more attention to the negative things, that cause them dissonance and negative affective state of uncertainty or contradiction. While this is agreed upon by philosophers of science, there are few empirical demonstrations. Here we examine the keywords from those papers published by PLoS in 2014 and show with several sentiment analyzers that negative keywords are studied more than positive keywords. Our dataset is the 927,406 keywords of 32,870 scientific articles in all fields published in 2014 by the journal PLOS ONE (collected from Altmetric.com). Counting how often the 47,415 unique keywords are used, we can examine whether those negative topics are studied more than positive. In order to find the sentiment of the keywords, we utilized two sentiment analysis tools, Hu and Liu (2004) and SentiStrength (2014). The results below are for Hu and Liu as these are the less convincing results. The average keyword was utilized 19.56 times, with half of the keywords being utilized only 1 time and the maximum number of uses being 18,589 times. The keywords identified as negative were utilized 37.39 times, on average, with the positive keywords being utilized 14.72 times and the neutral keywords - 19.29, on average. This difference is only marginally significant, with an F value of 2.82, with a p of .05, but one must keep in mind that more than half of the keywords are utilized only 1 time, artificially increasing the variance and driving the effect size down. To examine more closely, we looked at those top 25 most utilized keywords that have a sentiment. Among the top 25, there are only two positive words, ‘care’ and ‘dynamics’, in position numbers 5 and 13 respectively, with all the rest being identified as negative. ‘Diseases’ is the most studied keyword with 8,790 uses, with ‘cancer’ and ‘infectious’ being the second and fourth most utilized sentiment-laden keywords. The sentiment analysis is not perfect though, as the words ‘diseases’ and ‘disease’ are split by taking 1st and 3rd positions. Combining them, they remain as the most common sentiment-laden keyword, being utilized 13,236 times. More than just splitting the words, the sentiment analyzer logs ‘regression’ and ‘rat’ as negative, and these should probably be considered false positives. Despite these potential problems, the effect is apparent, as even the positive keywords like ‘care’ could or should be considered negative, since this word is most commonly utilized as a part of ‘health care’, ‘critical care’ or ‘quality of care’ and generally associated with how to improve it. All in all, the results suggest that negative concepts are studied more, also providing support for the notion that science is most generally a problem-solving enterprise. The results also provide evidence that negativity and contradiction are related to greater productivity and positive outcomes.

Keywords: bibliometrics, keywords analysis, negativity bias, positive and negative words, scientific papers, scientometrics

Procedia PDF Downloads 189

Authors: Sabyasachi Behera, Shiv Kumar, Pramod Gautam, Anisur Rahman, Pawan Pathak, Rahul Bhadouria

Abstract:

Background: The increasing proportion of population especially urban poor and vulnerable groups or groups with specific needs, with health indicators worse than their rural counterparts in India face various issues related with availability and quality of health care. The reasons are myriad, starting from information and awareness of the community, especially, in a scenario wherein the needs and challenges of floating and migrant urban populations remain poorly understood. Weak linkages between health care facilities and slum dwellers and vulnerable populations hinder the improvement of health services for urban poor. Method: To address this issue, TCIHC program is helping health department of Indore city of Madhya Pradesh to establish a referral mechanism with a dual approach: at both community and facility level. The former is based on the premise of ‘building social capital’, i.e. norms and networks within a community facilitating collective action, helps improve the demand and supply of health services at appropriate levels of care (Minus 2: Accredited Social Health Activist and Community Health Groups; Minus 1: Urban Health Nutrition Days; Zero: Urban Primary Health Center; Plus 1: secondary facility with BEmONC services; Plus 2: secondary facilities with CEmONC services; Plus 3: tertiary level facility) for the urban poor. The latter focuses on encouraging the provision of all services at various levels of service delivery points and stakeholders to function in a coordinated manner to ensure better health service availability and coverage in underserved slum areas. Results: This initiative has enhanced the utilization of community based, primary and secondary level services through defined referral pathways that are clearly known to a community dweller. Conclusion: An ideal referral mechanism should begin with referral at the community level wherein services of a frontline health care provider are accessed by them at their door-step, causing no delay in both understanding and decision on the health issues faced by them.

Keywords: levels of care, linkages, referral mechanism, service delivery

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Joachim Monkelbaan, Marcia Hale

Abstract:

Now that global frameworks for sustainability governance (e.g. the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Climate Agreement and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction) are in place, the question is how these aspirations that represent major transitions can be put into practice. Water ‘infrasystems’ can play an especially significant role in strengthening regional sustainability. Infrasystems include both hard and soft infrastructure, such as pipes and technology for delivering water, as well as the institutions and governance models that direct its delivery. As such, an integrated infrasystems view is crucial for Integrative Water Management (IWM). Due to frequently contested ownership of and responsibility for water resources, these infrasystems can also play an important role in facilitating conflict and catalysing community empowerment, especially through participatory approaches to governance. In this paper, we analyze the water infrasystem of the Los Angeles region through the lens of global frameworks for sustainability governance. By complementing a solid overview of governance theories with empirical data from interviews with water actors in the LA metropolitan region (including NGOs, water managers, scientists and elected officials), this paper elucidates ways for this infrasystem to be better aligned with global sustainability frameworks. In addition, it opens up the opportunity to scrutinize the appropriateness of global frameworks when it comes to fostering sustainability action at the local level.

Keywords: governance, transitions, global frameworks, infrasystems

Procedia PDF Downloads 247

Authors: Imed Mezghani, Yousra Ben Salah, Mohamed Chaieb

Abstract:

Tricholaena teneriffae L. is a xerophytic perennial herb that belongs to the Poaceae family likely to be used for ecological restoration programs. It's a dominant and economically important species widely distributed in the Bou-Hedma National Park, Tunisia. Reintroduction and expansion of T. teneriffae depend solely on sexual reproduction. This makes the understanding of its germination requirements vital for conservation and management. To provide basic information for its conservation and reintroduction, we studied the influence of environmental factors on seed germination patterns. The germination responses of seeds were determined over a wide range of constant temperatures (15–35°C), polyethylene glycol solutions of different osmotic potentials (0 to −2 MPa) and salt solution (0 to 150 mM of NaCl). Results indicated that the optimum temperature germination was attained at 25°C which corresponds to temperatures prevailing during mid spring season in the Mediterranean area. Seeds germinated in Polyethylene Glycol solutions exhibited significantly lower germination than control especially when water potential fell below -0.6 MPa. Germination percentage and rate decreased with an increase NaCl concentration. Seeds germination was substantially delayed and reduced with an increase in NaCl to levels above 50 mM. T. teneriffae is moderately salt tolerant at germination stage.

Keywords: germination, temperature, Tricholaena teneriffae L., salt stress, water stress, rehabilitation

Procedia PDF Downloads 298

Authors: Abdulrazaq O. Raji, Abba Mohammed, Ibrahim D. Mohammed

Abstract:

This study was conducted to investigate foetal loss among slaughtered livestock species at the Maiduguri abattoir from 2009 to 2013. Record of animals slaughtered monthly and fetuses recovered were collected from the management of the Maiduguri abattoir. Data was subjected to Analysis of Variance using the General Linear Model of SPSS 13.0 with Season, Species and their interaction as fixed factors. Average yearly slaughter at the Maiduguri abattoir was 63,225 animals with cattle, camel, goat and sheep accounting for 19737, 7374, 19281 and 17540 of the total. The corresponding number of those pregnant were 3117, 839, 2281 and 2432 out of a total of 8522 animals. Thus, cattle, camel, goat and sheep accounted for 30.87, 11.53, 30.16 and 27.44%, respectively of the animals slaughtered at the Abattoir and 35.96, 9.68, 26.31 and 28.05% of the foetal loss. The effect of season and species on foetal loss was significant (P < 0.05). The number of pregnant animals slaughtered and foetal loss were higher during wet than dry season. Similarly, foetal loss at the abattoir was higher in the month of May in respect of camel, goat and sheep, and August for cattle. Camel was the least slaughtered animal and had the least number of pregnant females. Foetal loss (%) was higher (P < 0.05) for cattle compared to other species. The interaction showed that camel was the least slaughtered species in both seasons and cattle in the wet season had the highest foetal loss.

Keywords: abattoir, foetal loss, season, species

Procedia PDF Downloads 536

Authors: Eulalia Torras, Andreu Bellot

Abstract:

To know whether students’ achievements are the result of online interaction and not just a consequence of individual differences themselves, it seems essential to link the teaching presence and social presence to the types of knowledge built. The research aim is to analyze the social presence in relation to two types of knowledge, declarative and procedural. Qualitative methodology has been used. The analysis of the contents was based on an observation protocol that included community of enquiry indicators and procedural and declarative knowledge indicators. The research has been conducted in three phases that focused on an observational protocol and indicators, results and conclusions. Results show that the teaching-learning processes have been characterized by the patterns of presence and types of knowledge. Results also show the importance of social presence support provided by the teacher and the students, not only in regard to the nature of the instructional support but also concerning how it is presented to the student and the importance that is attributed to it in the teaching-learning process, that is, what it is that assistance is offered on. In this study, we find that the presence based on procedural guidelines and declarative reflection, the management of shared meaning on the basis of the skills and the evidence of these skills entail patterns of learning. Nevertheless, the importance that the teacher attributes to each support aspect has a bearing on the extent to which the students reflect more on the given task.

Keywords: education, online, teaching and learning processes, knowledge

Procedia PDF Downloads 219

Authors: Maria Consuelo Doble

Abstract:

For decades, basic public education in the Philippines has been beleaguered by a governance scenario of multi-layered decision-making and the lack of collaboration between sectors in addressing issues on poor access to schools, high dropout rates, low survival rates, and poor student performance. These chronic problems persisted despite multiple efforts making it appear that the education system is incapable of reforming itself. In the mountainous rural towns of La Trinidad and Tuba, in the province of Benguet in Northern Philippines, collaborative education governance was catalyzed by the intervention of Synergeia Foundation, a coalition made up of individuals, institutions and organizations that aim to improve the quality of education in the Philippines. Its major thrust is to empower the major stakeholders at the community level to make education work by building the capacities of School Governing Councils (SGCs). Although mandated by the Department of Education in 2006, the SGCs in Philippine public elementary schools remained dysfunctional. After one year of capacity-building by Synergeia Foundation, some SGCs are already exhibiting active community-based multi-sectoral collaboration, while there are many that are not. With the myriad of factors hindering collaboration, Synergeia Foundation is now confronted with the pressing question: What are the factors that promote collaborative governance in the SGCs so that they can address the education-related issues that they are facing? Using Emerson’s (2011) framework on collaborative governance, this study analyzes the application of collaborative governance by highly-functioning SGCs in the public elementary schools of Tuba and La Trinidad. Findings of this action research indicate how the dynamics of collaboration composed of three interactive and iterative components – principled engagement, shared motivation and capacity for joint action – have resulted in meaningful short-term impact such as stakeholder engagement and decreased a number of dropouts. The change in the behavior of stakeholders is indicative of adaptation to a more collaborative approach in governing education in Benguet highland settings such as Tuba and La Trinidad.

Keywords: basic public education, Benguet highlands, collaborative governance, School Governing Council

Procedia PDF Downloads 294

Authors: Lormaine Anne Branzuela, Elysa Largo, Julie Marisol Pagalilauan, Neil Concibido, Monet Concepcion Detras

Abstract:

Energy is a necessity both for the people and the country. The demand for energy is continually increasing, but the supply is not doing the same. The reopening of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) in the Philippines has been circulating in the media for the current time. The general public has been hesitant in accepting the inclusion of nuclear energy in the Philippine energy mix due to perceived unsafe conditions of the plant. This study evaluated the possible operations of a nuclear power plant, which is of the same type as the BNPP, considering the safety of the workers, the public, and the environment using a Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) method. What-If Technique was utilized to identify the hazards and consequences on the operations of the plant, together with the level of risk it entails. Through the brainstorming sessions of the PHA team, it was found that the most critical system on the plant is the primary system. Possible leakages on pipes and equipment due to weakened seals and welds and blockages on coolant path due to fouling were the most common scenarios identified, which further caused the most critical scenario – radioactive leak through sump contamination, nuclear meltdown, and equipment damage and explosion which could result to multiple injuries and fatalities, and environmental impacts.

Keywords: process safety management, process hazard analysis, what-If technique, nuclear power plant

Procedia PDF Downloads 231

Authors: Kayne Uriel K. Rodrigo, Jerriane Hillary Heart S. Marcial, Samuel C. Brillo

Abstract:

Rice leaf diseases significantly impact yield production in rice-dependent countries, affecting their agricultural sectors. As part of precision agriculture, early and accurate detection of these diseases is crucial for effective mitigation practices and minimizing crop losses. Hence, this study proposes an enhancement to the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), a widely-used method for Rice Leaf Disease Image Classification, by incorporating MobileViTV2—a recently advanced architecture that combines CNN and Vision Transformer models while maintaining fewer parameters, making it suitable for broader deployment on edge devices. Our methodology utilizes a publicly available rice disease image dataset from Kaggle, which was validated by a university structural biologist following the guidelines provided by the Philippine Rice Institute (PhilRice). Modifications to the dataset include renaming certain disease categories and augmenting the rice leaf image data through rotation, scaling, and flipping. The enhanced dataset was then used to train the MobileViTV2 model using the Timm library. The results of our approach are as follows: the model achieved notable performance, with 98% accuracy in both training and validation, 6% training and validation loss, and a Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve ranging from 95% to 100% for each label. Additionally, the F1 score was 97%. These metrics demonstrate a significant improvement compared to a conventional CNN-based approach, which, in a previous 2022 study, achieved only 78% accuracy after using 5 convolutional layers and 2 dense layers. Thus, it can be concluded that MobileViTV2, with its fewer parameters, outperforms traditional CNN models, particularly when applied to Rice Leaf Disease Image Identification. For future work, we recommend extending this model to include datasets validated by international rice experts and broadening the scope to accommodate biotic factors such as rice pest classification, as well as abiotic stressors such as climate, soil quality, and geographic information, which could improve the accuracy of disease prediction.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, MobileViTV2, rice leaf disease, precision agriculture, image classification, vision transformer

Procedia PDF Downloads 35

Authors: Stela Papa, Klementina Puto, Migena Pllaha

Abstract:

HCV is a hepatotropic RNA virus, transmitted primarily via the blood route, which causes progressive disease such as chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, or hepatocellular carcinoma. HCV nowadays is a global healthcare problem. A variety of immunoassays including old and new technologies are being applied to detect HCV in our country. These methods include Immunochromatography assays (ICA), Fluorescence immunoassay (FIA), Enzyme linked fluorescent assay (ELFA), and Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect HCV antibodies in blood serum, which lately is being slowly replaced by more sensitive methods such as rapid automated analyzer chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA). The aim of this study is to estimate HCV infection in carriers and chronic acute patients and to evaluate the use of new diagnostic methods. This study was realized from September 2016 to May 2018. During this study period, 2913 patients were analyzed for the presence of HCV by taking samples from their blood serum. The immunoassays performed were ICA, FIA, ELFA, ELISA, and CLIA assays. Concluding, 82% of patients taken in this study, resulted infected with HCV. Diagnostic methods in clinical laboratories are crucial in the early stages of infection, in the management of chronic hepatitis and in the treatment of patients during their disease.

Keywords: CLIA, ELISA, Hepatitis C virus, immunoassay

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Suppawan Lertpongpakpoom, Anongnat Boonrat, Kunya BoontummoSuppawan

Abstract:

This descriptive cost analysis aimed to analyze the unit cost of patients in medical intensive care unit. Purposive sampling was used to select 20 nurses, 6 practical nurses, 5 nurses aid and select samples 30 patients. Data were collected from both primary source (activity and average time of nursing care) and secondary source Z bill of payment and patient record). Instruments were cost recording form, activity observation form, and service recording form. Content validity of all instruments were evaluated by three experts (CVI = 0.87). Descriptive statistics was employed for data analysis. The results of the Activity-Based Costing Analysis showed that total activity cost of 4 service types for the patients was 14,776.92 Bath. The highest cost was nursing record was 5,674.78 Bath, followed direct nursing activity was 5,176.18 Bath, medical treatment was 1,976.6 Bath. The lowest cost was management activity was 1,003.64 Bath per visit. The result suggested that Activity-Base Costing Analysis could be applied to give better understanding of cost structure, enabling better consideration wasted expense and non-value-added activity, and improvement of effective utilization.

Keywords: activity-based costing, medical intensive care, nursing care, cost analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 407

Authors: Hassan Barau Singhry

Abstract:

Purpose: Leadership or the absence of it is an important behaviour affecting employees’ job satisfaction. Although, there are many models of leadership, one that stands out in a period of change is the transformational behaviour. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of an organizational justice on the relationship between transformational leadership and employee job satisfaction. The study is based on the assumption that change begins with leaders and leaders should be fair and just. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey through structured questionnaire was employed to collect the data of this study. The population is selected the three tiers of government such as the local, state, and federal governments in Nigeria. The sampling method used in this research is stratified random sampling. 418 middle managers of public organizations respondents to the questionnaire. Multiple regression aided by structural equation modeling was employed to test 4 hypothesized relationships. Finding: The regression results support for the mediating role of organizational justice such as distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational justice in the link between transformational leadership and job satisfaction. Originality/value: This study adds to the literature of human resource management by empirically validating and integrating transformational leadership behaviour with the four dimensions of organizational justice theory. The study is expected to be beneficial to the top and middle-level administrators as well as theory building and testing.

Keywords: distributive justice, job satisfaction, organizational justice, procedural justice, transformational leadership

Procedia PDF Downloads 180

Authors: Panisa Panyalert

Abstract:

This research presents the tourism industry at Nakhon Sawan province in an aspect of developing points of attractions and destinations. The author attempts to empirically analyze the tourist destination, Nakhon Sawan, by using components of the tourism inventory include: attraction, accessibility, accommodation and amenity. An understanding of existing tourism product is very important in order to find out strength and weakness by comparing with the nearby well-known tourist destination, Phitsanulok province. Moreover, the hypothetical evolution of a tourist area will be utilized as a framework for indicating stages of the destination in relation to number of tourists. The study uses secondary data of number of tourist arrivals in Nakhon Sawan from 2008 to 2013 receiving from National Statistical Office and Nakhon Sawan Provincial Administration Organization (NPAO) in order to find the stage of destination development, and an in-depth interview with several open-ended questions would be preferred in order to get deep details of necessary data by video recording with ten respondents. The findings are concentrated on potential places and sites, existing tourism product, strength and weakness, and positioning to assist the province to be the destination of tourists’ mind.

Keywords: destination development, destination management, tourism inventory, tourism product

Procedia PDF Downloads 364

Authors: Ehsan A. Yahia, Ayman E. El-Sharkawey, Magda M. Bayoumi

Abstract:

Background: Wound dressings perform a crucial role in cutaneous wound management due to their ability to protect wounds and promote dermal and epidermal tissue regeneration. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of using hydrogel/nano silver-based dressing vs. traditional dressing on diabetic foot wound healing. Methods: Sixty patients with type-2 diabetes hospitalized for diabetic foot wound treatment were recruited from selected Surgical departments. A prospective randomized control study was carried. Results: The results showed that the percentage of a reduction rate of the ulcer by the third week of the treatment in the hydrogel/nano silver-based dressing group was higher (15.11%) than in the traditional wound dressing group (33.44%). Moreover, the mean ulcer size "sq mm" in the hydrogel/nano silver-based dressing group recognized a faster healing rate (15.11±7.89) and considerably lesser in comparison to the traditional in the third week (21.65±8.4). Conclusion: The hydrogel/nanosilver-based dressing showed better results than traditional dressing in managing diabetic ulcer foot.

Keywords: diabetes, wound care, diabetic foot, wound dressing, hydrogel nanosilver

Procedia PDF Downloads 118

Authors: Nadia Adnan, Muhammad Mohsin Raza, Latha Ravindran

Abstract:

Based on the principles above, the study presents an economic model of food waste for consumers, intermediaries, and producers. We discriminate between purchasing and selling, purchases versus customers consumption, and gross output versus sales for each intermediary. To compensate for waste at each level of the supply chain, agents must charge higher sales prices. The research model can produce more accurate predictions about how actions (public regulations or private efforts) to reduce food waste impact markets, including indirect (cascading) effects. With a formal model, researchers demonstrate the uniqueness of these interaction effects and simulate an empirical model calibrated to market characteristics and waste rates in Saudi Arabia. Researchers demonstrate that the effects of waste reduction differ per commodity, depending on supply and demand elasticities, degree of openness to international commerce, and the beginning rates of food loss and waste at each level of the value chain. Because of the consequential effects related to the supply chain, initiatives to minimize food waste will be strengthened in some circumstances and partially countered in others.

Keywords: food loss, food waste, supply chain management, Saudi Arabia, food supply

Procedia PDF Downloads 112

Authors: Masaumi Nakahara, Sou Watanabe, Hiromichi Ogi, Atsuhiro Shibata, Kazunori Nomura

Abstract:

In the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, three types of experimental research, advanced reactor fuel reprocessing, radioactive waste disposal, and nuclear fuel cycle technology, have been carried out at the Chemical Processing Facility. The facility has generated high level radioactive liquid and solid wastes in hot cells. The high level radioactive solid waste is divided into three main categories, a flammable waste, a non-flammable waste, and a solid reagent waste. A plastic product is categorized into the flammable waste and molten with a heating mantle. The non-flammable waste is cut with a band saw machine for reducing the volume. Among the solid reagent waste, a used adsorbent after the experiments is heated, and an extractant is decomposed for its stabilization. All high level radioactive solid wastes in the hot cells are packed in a high level radioactive solid waste can. The high level radioactive solid waste can is transported to the 2nd High Active Solid Waste Storage in the Tokai Reprocessing Plant in the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.

Keywords: high level radioactive solid waste, advanced reactor fuel reprocessing, radioactive waste disposal, nuclear fuel cycle technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Libing Zhu, Waichung Chen, Kwaicing Lo, Lei Li

Abstract:

Background: Tian Jiu Therapy (a medicinal vesiculation therapy according to traditional Chinese medicine theory) in San Fu Days (the three hottest days in a year is calculated by the Chinese ancient calendar) is widely used by patients with chronic asthma in China although from modern medicine perspective there is insufficient evidence of its effectiveness and safety issues. We investigated the efficacy and safety of Tian Jiu Therapy compared with placebo in patients with chronic asthma. Methods: Patients with chronic asthma were randomly assigned to Tian Jiu treatment group (n=165), placebo control group (n=158). Registered Chinese Medicine practitioners, in Orthopedics-Traumatology, Acupuncture, and Tui-na Clinical Centre for Teaching and Research, School of Chinese Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, administered Tian Jiu Therapy and placebo treatment in 3 times over 2 months. Patients completed questionnaires and lung function test before treatment and after treatment, 3, 6, 9, and 11 months, respectively. The primary outcome was the no of asthma-related sub-healthy symptoms and the percentage of patients with twenty-three symptoms. Results: 451 patients were recruited totally, 111 patients refused or did not participate according the appointment time and 17 did not meet the inclusion criteria. Consequently, 323 of eligible patients were enrolled. There was nothing difference between Tian Jiu Therapy group and placebo control group at the end of all treatments neither primary nor secondary outcomes. While Tian Jiu Therapy as compared with placebo significantly reduced the percentage of participants who are susceptible waken up by asthma symptoms from 27% to 14% at 2nd follow-up (P < 0.05). Similarly, Tian Jiu Therapy significantly reduced the proportion of participants who had the symptom of running nose and sneezing before onset from 18% to 8% at 2nd follow-up (P < 0.05). Additionally, Tian Jiu Therapy significantly reduced the level of asthma, the proportion of participants who don’t need to processed during asthma attack increased from 6% to 15% at 1st follow-up and 0% to 7% at 3rd follow-up (P < 0.05). Improvements also occurred with Tian Jiu Therapy group, it reduced the proportion of participants who were spontaneously sweating at 3rd follow up and diarrhea after intake of oily food at 4th follow-up (P < 0.05). Conclusion: When added to a regimen of foundational therapy for chronic asthma participants, Tian Jiu Therapy further reduced the need for medications to control asthma, improved the quality of participants’ life, and significantly reduced the level of asthma. What is more, this benefit seems to have an accumulative effect over time was in accordance with the TCM theory of 'winter disease is being cured in summer'.

Keywords: asthma, Tian Jiu Therapy, San Fu Days, triaditional Chinese medicine, clinical trial

Procedia PDF Downloads 317

Authors: Zhiwen Pan, Jesus Pacheco, Salim Hariri, Yiqiang Chen, Bozhi Liu

Abstract:

The Internet of Things (IoT) will lead to the development of advanced Smart Home services that are pervasive, cost-effective, and can be accessed by home occupants from anywhere and at any time. However, advanced smart home applications will introduce grand security challenges due to the increase in the attack surface. Current approaches do not handle cybersecurity from a holistic point of view; hence, a systematic cybersecurity mechanism needs to be adopted when designing smart home applications. In this paper, we present a generic intrusion detection methodology to detect and mitigate the anomaly behaviors happened in Smart Home Systems (SHS). By utilizing our Smart Home Context Data Structure, the heterogeneous information and services acquired from SHS are mapped in context attributes which can describe the context of smart home operation precisely and accurately. Runtime models for describing usage patterns of home assets are developed based on characterization functions. A threat-aware action management methodology, used to efficiently mitigate anomaly behaviors, is proposed at the end. Our preliminary experimental results show that our methodology can be used to detect and mitigate known and unknown threats, as well as to protect SHS premises and services.

Keywords: Internet of Things, network security, context awareness, intrusion detection

Procedia PDF Downloads 200

Authors: Danica Terese Valda, Segundo Villa III, Michiko Yasuda, Jomel Tagaro

Abstract:

This study conducts a thorough literature review of logistics optimization techniques that aimed at improving the efficiency of supply chain operations. Logistics optimization encompasses key areas such as transportation management, inventory control, and distribution network design, each of which plays a critical role in streamlining supply chain performance. The review identifies mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) as a dominant method, widely used for its flexibility in handling complex logistics problems. Other methods like heuristic algorithms and combinatorial optimization also prove effective in solving large-scale logistics challenges. Furthermore, real-time data integration and advancements in simulation techniques are transforming the decision-making processes within supply chains, leading to more dynamic and responsive operations. The inclusion of sustainability goals, particularly in minimizing carbon emissions, has emerged as a growing trend in logistics optimization. This research highlights the need for integrated, holistic approaches that consider the interconnectedness of logistical components. The findings provide valuable insights to guide future research and practical applications, fostering more resilient and efficient supply chains.

Keywords: logistics, techniques, supply chain, land transportation

Procedia PDF Downloads 24

Authors: Wisit Wichitkosoom

Abstract:

Objectives: To find out the more effect of early cardiologist consultation using a simple technology on the diagnosis and early proper management of patients with Non-STEMI at emergency department of district hospitals without cardiologist on site before transferred. Methods: A cohort study was performed in Udonthani general hospital at Udonthani province. From 1 October 2012–30 September 2013 with 892 patients diagnosed with Non-STEMI. All patients mean aged 46.8 years of age who had been transferred because of Non-STEMI diagnosed, over a 12 week period of studied. Patients whose transferred, in addition to receiving proper care, were offered a cardiologist consultation with average time to Udonthani hospital 1.5 hour. The main outcome measure was length of hospital stay, mortality at 3 months, inpatient investigation, and transfer rate to the higher facilitated hospital were also studied. Results: Hospital stay was significantly shorter for those didn’t consult cardiologist (hazard ratio 1.19; approximate 95% CI 1.001 to 1.251; p = 0.039). The 136 cases were transferred to higher facilitated hospital. No statistically significant in overall mortality between the groups (p=0.068). Conclusions: Early cardiologist consultant can reduce length of hospital stay for patients with cardiovascular conditions outside of cardiac center. The new basic technology can apply for the safety patient.

Keywords: critical, telemedicine, safety, non STEMI

Procedia PDF Downloads 422

Authors: S. Damapong, C. Kingkeow, W. Kongnoo, P. Pattapokin, S. Pruenglamphu

Abstract:

As the presence of Thai children double burden malnutrition, we conducted a project to promote holistic age-appropriate nutrition for Thai children. Researchers developed P1-P7 computer software for managing and analyzing diverse types of collected data. The study objectives were: i) to use software to manage and analyze the collected data, ii) to evaluate the children nutritional status and their caretakers’ nutrition practice to create regulations for improving nutrition. Data were collected by means of questionnaires, called P1-P7. P1, P2 and P5 were for children and caretakers, and others were for institutions. The children nutritional status, height-for-age, weight-for-age, and weight-for-height standards were calculated using Thai child z-score references. Institution evaluations consisted of various standard regulations including the use of our software. The results showed that the software was used in 44 out of 118 communities (37.3%), 57 out of 240 child development centers and nurseries (23.8%), and 105 out of 152 schools (69.1%). No major problems have been reported with the software, although user efficiency can be increased further through additional training. As the result, the P1-P7 software was used to manage and analyze nutritional status, nutrition behavior, and environmental conditions, in order to conduct Thai Child Evaluation (TCE). The software was most widely used in schools. Some aspects of P1-P7’s questionnaires could be modified to increase ease of use and efficiency.

Keywords: P1-P7 software, Thai child evaluation, nutritional status, malnutrition

Procedia PDF Downloads 359

Authors: Seyedeh Zahra Seyed Sharifi, M. R. M. Tabatabaei

Abstract:

Due to increase of population and healthy food demand, management and conservation of water resources have become one of the main concerns of governments, scientists and economists. In recent years, Iran has exposed to water scarcity as a result of which its rivers, lakes and wetlands have dried up or are in the drying process. Therefore, water crisis has become the most important environmental issue in the country. Under these circumstances, increasing public awareness by promoting their culture as well as public collaboration to protect water resources could only be possible by making courses to reflect water importance. This could be approached by school and high-school students to learn optimum use of water resources. This study initially focuses on the current position of water courses in levels of school and high-school educations in Iran and Turkey and then deals with the challenges to be faced for the promotion of the system. The course titles and number of pages related to water in all primary and secondary textbooks of the education system of Iran and Turkey were determined using content analysis method and the results were presented. The results indicate that primary and secondary textbooks in both countries must focus on water shortage and water protection and teach children the optimum use of water in order to promote water protection.

Keywords: educational system, environmental awareness, Iran, Turkey, water crisis

Procedia PDF Downloads 311

Authors: Yongsheng Guo, Mengyu Lu

Abstract:

This study investigates how Chinese SMEs manage financial risks in financing from customers from the perspectives of ethics and national culture. A grounded theory approach is adopted to identify the causal conditions, actions/interactions, and consequences. 32 interviews were conducted, and systematic coding methods were used to identify themes and categories. This study found that Chinese ethical principles, including integrity, friendship, and reciprocity, and cultural traits, including collectivism, acquaintance society, and long-term orientation, provide conditions for financing from customers. The SMEs establish trust-based relationships with customers through personal communications and social networks and reduce financial risk through diversification, frequent operations, and enterprise reputations. Both customers and SMEs can get benefits like financial resources and customer experiences. This study creates a theoretical framework that connects the causal conditions, processes, and outcomes, providing a deeper understanding of financing from customers. A resource and process capability theory of SMEs and a customer capital and customer value model are proposed to connect accounting and finance concepts. Suggestions are proposed for the authorities as more guidance and regulations are needed for this informal finance.

Keywords: CRM, culture, ethics, SME, risk management

Procedia PDF Downloads 49

Authors: Abdulaziz Alkathiry

Abstract:

Concussion is a common brain injury that affect physical and cognitive performance. While several studies indicated that adolescents are more likely to develop concussion, in the last decade concussion has been mainly explored in adults. Migraine has been identified as a common symptom reported after concussion and was tied with worse prognoses. Hence, we aimed to investigate the effect of migraine on functional performance and self-reported symptoms in children with concussion. This cross-sectional study involved 35 symptomatic children aged 9 – 17 years recruited within 1 year from their concussion injury at a tertiary balance center. Participants’ symptoms and functional performance were assessed using the post-concussion symptoms scale (PCSS) and the functional gait assessment (FGA) respectively. Concussed children with migraine showed significantly worse symptoms including fatigue, sleeping impairment, difficulty concentrating, and visual problems (P < 0.05). Functional performance didn’t show differences between concussed children with and without migraine. Although concussed children with and without migraine didn’t show any differences on functional performance, worse cognitive symptoms were found in concussed children with migraine. A customized treatment approach is indicated in the presence of migraine for the management of children with concussion. Keywords: Concussion; Migraine; Balance; Post-Concussion Symptoms Scale; Functional Gait Assessment

Keywords: concussion, migraine, post-concussion symptoms scale, functional gait assessment, balance

Procedia PDF Downloads 348

Authors: Khaled Asfour

Abstract:

Going for LEED certification is the latest concern in Egyptian practice that only materialized during the last 4 years. Egyptian Consultant Group (ECG) together with Credit Agricole had the vision to design a headquarters (Cairo) that delivers a serious sustainable design. The bank is a strong advocator of “green banking” and supports renewable energy and energy saving projects. Their HQ in Cairo has passed all the hurdles to become the first platinum LEED certificate holder in Egypt. With this design Egyptian practice has finally re-engaged in a serious way with its long-standing traditions in sustainable architecture. Perhaps the closest to our memory is the medieval houses of Cairo. Few centuries later these qualities disappeared with the advent of Modern Movement that focused more on standard modernist image making than real localized quality of living environments. The first person to note this disappearance was Hassan Fathy half a century ago. Despite international applaud for his efforts he had no effect on prevailing local practice that continued senselessly adopting recycled modernist templates. The Egyptian society was not ready to accept any reference to historic architecture. Disciples of Hassan Fathy, few decades later sought, of tackling the lack of interest in green architecture in a different way. Mohamed Awad introduced in his design sustainable ideals inspired from traditional architecture rather than recycling directly historic forms and images. Despite success, this approach did not go far enough to influence the prevailing practice. Since year 2000 Egyptian economy was ebbing and flowing dramatically. This staggering fluctuation coupled by energy crisis has disillusioned architects and clients on the issue of modern image making. No more shining architecture under the sun with high running cost of fossil fuel. They sought of adopting contemporary green measures that offer pleasant living while saving on energy. A revival is on its way but is very slow and timid. The paper will present this problem of reviving sustainable architecture. How this process can be accelerated in order to give stronger impact on current practice will be addressed through the works of Mario Cucinella and Norman Foster.

Keywords: LEED certification, Hasan Fathy, Medieval architecture, Mario Cucinella, Norman Foster

Procedia PDF Downloads 495

Authors: Wing Chi Wong

Abstract:

Globally, studying parents caring for children with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is valuable in order to design measures in supporting those parents by health care providers and government. Such parents in Hong Kong seem to encounter detrimental stress and enormous difficulties which are exacerbated by the traditional Chinese culture, exclusion from social members and fiercely competitive educational system. However, seldom studies scrutinize this issue in Hong Kong. This article aims to review the literature regarding parents caring offsprings with ADHD in Hong Kong. Criteria were set for searching among published studies listed in various databases, including MEDLINE, CINCAHL, PsycINFO, ProQuest, Embase, Cochrane Library and Springer Link. Articles with words 'Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder', 'parenting', 'parent', 'family', 'father', 'mother', 'care' in titles and abstracts were identified. Articles with all types of research designs and methods, regardless in English or Chinese, were included. They were limited to years between January 2008 and September 2018. Four relevant studies have resulted. Of them, two were exploratory studies, one was a qualitative study, and one was a survey. Samples were recruited from child psychiatric clinic, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Unit, or multiple family group therapy centres. Authors proclaimed that quality of life of those parents was usually low; particularly mothers perceived a higher stress than fathers; parenting barriers existed; conflicts were commonly raised in parent-child relationship resulting in probable maltreatment to children. Previous studies generally suggested the potential negative outcomes of parents caring children with ADHD. The types and effectiveness of interventions to those parents on relieving their tortures under Hong Kong context had not been explored and systematically evaluated. The scanty studies and existing understanding could not give a promising conclusion pertaining to the appropriate family intervention to parents living with children with ADHD. A stringent research design is necessary to establish evidence on the effectiveness of interventions for those families.

Keywords: attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, Hong Kong, parents, interventions

Procedia PDF Downloads 165

Authors: Heping Dang, Raymond Yu Wang

Abstract:

The Langcang-Mekong River is the most important international watercourse in mainland Southeast Asia. In recent years, the six riparian states, China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, have confronted increasing disputes over the use of the trans-boundary water. To settle these disputes and protect the fundamental right to water, quite a few inter-state mechanisms have been established, such as the Mekong River Commission, the economic cooperation program of the Greater Mekong Subregion, the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ and the ‘Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Mechanism’ and the ‘Lower Mekong Initiative’. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have also been an important and constructive institutional entrepreneur in trans-boundary water governance. Although the status and extent of the right to water are yet to be clearly defined, this paper aims to 1) unpack how the right to water is interpreted and exercised in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin Dispute; and 2) to evaluate the roles of the right to water in settling international water disputes. To achieve these objectives, Secondary data such as archival documents of international law and relevant stakeholders will be compiled for analysis. First-hand information about the organizational structure, accountability, values and strategies of the international mechanisms and NGOs in question will also be collected through fieldwork in the Mekong river basin. Semi-structural interviews, group discussions and participatory observation will be conducted to collect data. The authors have access to the fieldwork because they have abundant experience of collaborating with Mekong-based international NGOs in previous research projects. This research will display how the concepts and principles of international law and the UN guidelines are interpreted in practice. These principles include the definition and extent of the right to water, the practical use of ‘vital human need’, the indicators of ‘adequacy of water’ including ‘availability, quality and accessibility’, and how the right to water is related to the progressive realization of the right to life. This down-to earth research will enrich the theoretical discussion of international law, particularly international human rights law, within the UN framework. Moreover, the outcomes of this research will provide new insights into the roles that the right to water might play in consensus-building and dispute settlement in a rapidly changing context, where water is pivotal for poverty alleviation, biodiversity conservation and the promotion of sustainable livelihoods.

Keywords: international water dispute, Lancang-Mekong River, right to water, state and non-state actors

Procedia PDF Downloads 288