Search results for: cervical snag half rotation

Authors: Carolina S. Monteiro, Eugénia Pinto, Miguel A. Faria, Sara C. Cunha

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About half of the world's population eats rice daily, making it the primary food source for billions of people. Besides its nutrition potential, rice can be a significant route of exposure to many contaminants. Mycotoxins are an example of such contaminants that can be present in rice. Among them, ochratoxin (OTA), citrinin (CIT), and zearalenone (ZEN) are frequently reported in rice. During digestion, only a fraction of mycotoxins from food can be absorbed (bioaccessible fraction), influencing their ability to cause toxic effects. Insufficient knowledge of the bioavailability of mycotoxins, alone and in combination, may hinder an accurate risk assessment of contaminants ingested by humans. In this context, two different rice (Oryza sativa) varieties, Carolino white and Carolino brown, both with and without turmeric, were boiled and individually spiked with OTA, CIT, and ZEN plus with its combination. Subsequently, samples were submitted to the INFOGEST harmonized in vitro digestion protocol to evaluate the bioaccessibility of mycotoxins. Afterward, the in vitro intestinal transport of the mycotoxins, both alone and in combination, was evaluated in digests of Carolino white rice with and without turmeric. Assays were performed with a monolayers of of Caco-2 and HT-29 cells. Bioaccessibility of OTA and ZEN, alone and in combination, were similar in Carolino white and brown rice with or without turmeric. For CIT, when Carolino white rice was used, the bioaccessibility was higher alone than in combination (62.00% vs. 25.00%, without turmeric; 87.56% vs. 53.87%, with turmeric); however, with Carolino brown rice was the opposite (66.38% vs. 75.20%, without turmeric; 43.89% vs. 59.44%, with turmeric). All the mycotoxins, isolated, reached the higher bioaccessibility in the Carolino white rice with turmeric (CIT: 87.56%; OTA: 59.24%; ZEN: 58.05%). When mycotoxins are co-present, the higher bioaccessibility of each one varies with the type of rice. In general, when turmeric is present, bioaccessibility increases, except for CIT, using Carolino brown rice. Concerning the intestinal absorption in vitro, after 3 hours of transport, all mycotoxins were detected in the basolateral compartment being thus transported through the cells monolayer. ZEN presented the highest fraction absorbed isolated and combined, followed by CIT and OTA. These findings highlight that the presence of other components in the complex dietary matrix, like turmeric, and the co-presence of mycotoxins can affect its final bioavailability with obvious implications for health risk. This work provides new insights to qualitatively and quantitatively describe mycotoxin in rice fate during human digestion and intestinal absorption and further contribute to better risk assessment.

Keywords: bioaccessibility, digestion, intestinal absorption, mycotoxins

Procedia PDF Downloads 50

Authors: Şenay Güngör, Emre Elbaşi, Beyda Sadikoğlu, Utku Eren Bağci, Ömer Uzunel

Abstract:

One of the first places that comes to mind when it comes to tourism in Turkey is the Cappadocia Region. Due to its rich geological and geomorphological heritage, Cappadocia is one of the most visited destinations in the world. In fact, in the first half of 2023, the number of international tourists visiting Cappadocia exceeded 2 million. Considering that the economy of the Cappadocia region is largely based on tourism, it is understood that the quality and technology integration levels of the touristic services offered in the region are of great importance. In this context; as a result of the observations made in Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys, where the important hiking routes of the Cappadocia Region are located, it has been observed that the digital level of the routes is insufficient. It has been observed that the telephone networks in the area are very low or have completely lost their signal strength. In addition, it was determined that the materials such as maps and brochures used by tourism agencies to introduce the valleys are simple and incomplete. It is thought that this situation negatively affects the tourists' orientation and touristic experience in the field. Eliminating these deficiencies identified in the field, improving the digital level of the above-mentioned hiking routes and increasing the added value in destinations are among the main objectives of our study. Within the scope of the study, a mobile application that can work both online and offline on hiking routes has been prepared. 3D modeling of Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys were made using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition, a website has been created to enable tourists to easily access all the above-mentioned information, visuals and technological applications related to the routes. As it is known, the effective use of information and communication technologies in touristic regions not only increases the satisfaction levels of tourists, but also positively affects the attraction of qualified tourists to the region. When the tangible and intangible outputs of this study are evaluated, it is thought that it will serve the social and economic development of the region and set an example for the digital transformation of other routes in the region.

Keywords: nevşehir, cappadocia, cappadocia valleys, trekking route

Procedia PDF Downloads 48

Authors: Jolanta Uszko, Tomasz Wloch, Aneta Pirowska, Roman Nowobilski

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Introduction: Phantom phenomena are often reported by subjects who have undergone limb amputation. Mostly, patients feel the amputated part of the limb as if it was still attached to the body. Two types of phantom phenomena: painless (phantom sensation) and painful (phantom pain) were described. Triggers of phantom sensations and phantom pain, as well as fully effective treatment, have not been clearly described yet. Purpose: To assess the influence of psychosocial factors and some clinical conditions on the occurrence of phantom phenomena in amputee athletes. Subjects: 21 men (age: 31 years, SD = 7.5 years) after lower or upper extremity amputation, who regularly performed high-intensity sports (Amp Football Team Players) were included to the study. Method and equipment: In the research, the following method and tools were used: Questionnaire [Pirowska] adapted for athletes with disabilities, Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) - for phantom pain assessment, McGill Pain Assessment Questionnaire (short version), Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI), State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI): X-1 and X-2, shortened version of The World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOLBREFF). Results: In the study group, the lower leg amputations with traumatic etiology were predominant. Phantom sensations were present in all subjects. Half of the respondents claimed to experience phantom sensations at least once a day, paroxysmally. There was a prevalence of phantom sensations characterized as incomplete, immobile limb. Phantom pain was reported by over 85% of respondents. The nature of phantom pain was frequently described as stabbing, squeezing, shooting, pulsing, tiring. There was a significant correlation between phantom pain intensity and anxiety, quality of life, depressive tendencies, perception of phantom pain as the obstacle in daily functioning and intensity of the limb pain before amputation. Conclusions: The etiology of phantom phenomena is complex. Psychological factors seem to have a significant influence on the intensity of the phantom pain. Particular attention should be paid to patients who complain about persistent limb pain before the amputation. These are patients with an increased risk of the phantom pain of relatively high intensity.

Keywords: amputation, phantom pain, phantom sensations, adaptive sports

Procedia PDF Downloads 147

Authors: Chijindu D. Mgbemere

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Mass killing also known as genocide is the systematic killing of people from national, ethnic, or religious group, or an attempt to do so. The act has been there before 1948, when it was officially recognized for what it is. From then, the world has continued to witness genocide in diverse forms- negating different measures by the United Nations and its agencies to curb it. So far, all the studies and documentations on this subject are biased in favor of radio and the print. This paper therefore extended the interrogation of genocide, drumming its devastating effects, using the film medium; and in doing so devised innovative and pragmatic approach to genocide scholarship. It further centered attention on the factors and impacts of genocide, with a view to determine how effective film can be in such a study. The study is anchored on Bateson’s Framing Theory. Four films- Hotel Rwanda, Half of a Yellow Sun, Attack on Darfur, and sarafina, were analyzed, based on background, factors/causes, impacts, and development of genocide, via Content Analysis. The study discovered that: as other continents strive towards peace, acts of genocide are on the increase in African. Bloodletting stereotypes give Africa negative image in the global society. Difficult political frameworks, the trauma of postcolonial state, aggravated by ethnic and religious intolerance, and limited access to resources are responsible for high cases of genocide in Africa. The media, international communities, and peace agencies often abet other than prevent genocide or mass killings in Africa. High human casualty and displacement, children soldering, looting, hunger, rape, sex-slavery and abuse, mental and psychosomatic stress disorders are some of the impacts of genocide. Genocidaires are either condemned or killed. Grievances can be vented using civil resistance, negotiation, adjudication, arbitration, and mediation. The cinema is an effective means of studying and documenting genocide. Africans must factor the image laundering of their continent into consideration. Punishment of genocidaires without an attempt to de-radicalize them is counterproductive.

Keywords: African film, genocide, framing theory, mass murder

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Şenay Güngör, Emre Elbaşi, Beyda Sadikğlu, Utku Eren Bağci, Ömer Uzunel

Abstract:

One of the first places that comes to mind when it comes to tourism in Turkey is the Cappadocia Region. Due to its rich geological and geomorphological heritage, Cappadocia is one of the most visited destinations in the world. In fact, in the first half of 2023, the number of international tourists visiting Cappadocia exceeded 2 million. Considering that the economy of the Cappadocia region is largely based on tourism, it is understood that the quality and technology integration levels of the touristic services offered in the region are of great importance. In this context; as a result of the observations made in Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys, where the important hiking routes of the Cappadocia Region are located, it has been observed that the digital level of the routes is insufficient. It has been observed that the telephone networks in the area are very low or have completely lost their signal strength. In addition, it was determined that the materials such as maps and brochures used by tourism agencies to introduce the valleys are simple and incomplete. It is thought that this situation negatively affects the tourists' orientation and touristic experience in the field. Eliminating these deficiencies identified in the field, improving the digital level of the above-mentioned hiking routes and increasing the added value in destinations are among the main objectives of our study. Within the scope of the study, a mobile application that can work both online and offline on hiking routes has been prepared. 3D modeling of Kızılçukur, Meskendir, Güllüdere 1 and Güllüdere 2 valleys were made using Geographical Information Systems (GIS). In addition, a website has been created to enable tourists to easily access all the above-mentioned information, visuals and technological applications related to the routes. As it is known, the effective use of information and communication technologies in touristic regions not only increases the satisfaction levels of tourists, but also positively affects the attraction of qualified tourists to the region. When the tangible and intangible outputs of this study are evaluated, it is thought that it will serve the social and economic development of the region and set an example for the digital transformation of other routes in the region.

Keywords: nevşehir, cappadocia, cappadocia valleys, tourism route

Procedia PDF Downloads 47

Authors: Afsha Shaikh, Mohammed Azizur Rahman, Ibrahim Hassan, Mayur Pal

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Student engagement in learning is instantly affected by the sources of learning methods available for them, such as videos showing the applications of the concept or showing a practical demonstration. Specific to the engineering discipline, there exist enormous challenging concepts that can be simplified when they are connected to real-world scenarios. For this study, the concept of heat exchangers was used as it is a part of multidisciplinary engineering fields. To make the learning experience enjoyable and impactful, 3-D printed heat exchanger models were created for students to use while working on in-class activities and assignments. Students were encouraged to use the 3-D printed heat exchanger models to enhance their understanding of theoretical concepts associated with its applications. To assess the effectiveness of the method, feedback was received by students pursuing undergraduate engineering via an anonymous electronic survey. To make the feedback more realistic, unbiased, and genuine, students spent nearly two to three weeks using the models in their in-class assignments. The impact of these tools on their learning was assessed through their performance in their ungraded assignments as well as their interactive discussions with peers. ‘Having to apply the theory learned in class whilst discussing with peers on a class assignment creates a relaxed and stress-free learning environment in classrooms’; this feedback was received by more than half the students who took the survey and found 3-D models of heat exchanger very easy to use. Amongst many ways to enhance learning and make students more engaged through interactive models, this study sheds light on the importance of physical tools that help create a lasting mental representation in the minds of students. Moreover, in this technologically enhanced era, the concept of augmented reality was considered in this research. E-drawings application was recommended to enhance the vision of engineering students so they can see multiple views of the detailed 3-D models and cut through its different sides and angles to visualize it properly. E-drawings could be the next tool to implement in classrooms to enhance students’ understanding of engineering concepts.

Keywords: student engagement, life-long-learning, visual demonstration, 3-D printed models, engineering education

Procedia PDF Downloads 103

Authors: Fernanda A. P. Peres, Thiago N. Peres, Flavio S. Fogliatto, Michel J. Anzanello

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Batch processes are widely used in food industry and have an important role in the production of high added value products, such as chocolate. Process performance is usually described by variables that are monitored as the batch progresses. Data arising from these processes are likely to display a strong correlation-autocorrelation structure, and are usually monitored using control charts based on multiway principal components analysis (MPCA). Process control of a new batch is carried out comparing the trajectories of its relevant process variables with those in a reference set of batches that yielded products within specifications; it is clear that proper determination of the reference set is key for the success of a correct signalization of non-conforming batches in such quality control schemes. In chocolate manufacturing, misclassifications of non-conforming batches in the conching phase may lead to significant financial losses. In such context, the accuracy of process control grows in relevance. In addition to that, the main assumption in MPCA-based monitoring strategies is that all batches are synchronized in duration, both the new batch being monitored and those in the reference set. Such assumption is often not satisfied in chocolate manufacturing process. As a consequence, traditional techniques as MPCA-based charts are not suitable for process control and monitoring. To address that issue, the objective of this work is to compare the performance of three dynamic time warping (DTW) methods in the alignment and synchronization of chocolate conching process variables’ trajectories, aimed at properly determining the reference distribution for multivariate statistical process control. The power of classification of batches in two categories (conforming and non-conforming) was evaluated using the k-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm. Real data from a milk chocolate conching process was collected and the following variables were monitored over time: frequency of soybean lecithin dosage, rotation speed of the shovels, current of the main motor of the conche, and chocolate temperature. A set of 62 batches with durations between 495 and 1,170 minutes was considered; 53% of the batches were known to be conforming based on lab test results and experts’ evaluations. Results showed that all three DTW methods tested were able to align and synchronize the conching dataset. However, synchronized datasets obtained from these methods performed differently when inputted in the KNN classification algorithm. Kassidas, MacGregor and Taylor’s (named KMT) method was deemed the best DTW method for aligning and synchronizing a milk chocolate conching dataset, presenting 93.7% accuracy, 97.2% sensitivity and 90.3% specificity in batch classification, being considered the best option to determine the reference set for the milk chocolate dataset. Such method was recommended due to the lowest number of iterations required to achieve convergence and highest average accuracy in the testing portion using the KNN classification technique.

Keywords: batch process monitoring, chocolate conching, dynamic time warping, reference set distribution, variable duration

Procedia PDF Downloads 157

Authors: Adesola Odole, Nse Odunaiya, Samuel Adewale

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Chronic Mechanical Low Back Pain (CMLBP) is prevalent in the aging population; some studies have documented the association among pain intensity, functional disability and physical activity in the general population but very few studies in the elderly. This study was designed to investigate the association among pain intensity, functional disability and physical activity of elderly individuals with CMLBP in the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Nigeria and also to determine the difference in physical activity, pain intensity and functional disability between males and females. A total of 96 participants diagnosed with CMLBP participated in this cross-sectional survey. They were conveniently sampled from selected units in the UCH, Ibadan, Nigeria. Data on sex, marital status, occupation and duration of onset of pain of participants were obtained from the participants. The Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly, Visual Analogue Scale and Oswestry Disability Questionnaire were used to measure the physical activity, pain intensity and functional disability of the participants respectively. Data was analysed using Spearman correlation, independent t-test; and α was set at 0.05. Participants (25 males, 71 females) were aged 69.64±7.43 years. The majority (76.0%) of the participants were married, and over half (55.2%) were retirees. Participants’ mean pain intensity score was 5.21±2.03 and mean duration of onset of low back pain was 63.63 ± 90.01 months. The majority (67.6%) of the participants reported severe to crippled functional disability. Their mean functional disability was 46.91 ± 13.99. Participants’ mean physical activity score was 97.47 ± 82.55. There was significant association between physical activity and pain intensity (r = -0.21, p = 0.04). There was significant association between physical activity and functional disability (r = -0.47, p = 0.00). Male (87.26 ± 79.94) and female (101.07 ± 83.71) participants did not differ significantly in physical activity (t = 0.00, p = 0.48). In addition, male (5.48 ± 2.06) and female (5.11 ± 2.02) participants’ pain intensity were comparable (t = 0.26, p = 0.44). There was also no significant difference in functional disability (t = 0.05, p = 0.07) between male (42.56 ±13.85) and female (48.45 ± 13.81) participants. It can be concluded from this study that majority of the elderly individuals with chronic mechanical low back pain had a severe to crippled functional disability. Those who reported increased physical activity had reduced pain intensity and functional disability. Male and female elderly individuals with chronic mechanical low back pain are comparable in their pain intensity, functional disability, and physical activity. Elderly individuals with CMLBP should be educated on the importance of participating in physical activity which could reduce their pain symptoms and improve functional disability.

Keywords: elderly, functional disability, mechanical low back pain, pain intensity, physical activity

Procedia PDF Downloads 304

Authors: Jae-Yong Park, Yeo-Kyeong Lee, Hee-Sun Kim

Abstract:

Purpose: This study aims at investigating the mechanical behaviors of mastication, according to various teeth movement. There are three masticatory cases which are general case and 2 cases of teeth movement. General case includes the common arrange of all teeth and 2 cases of teeth movement are that one is the half movement location case of molar teeth in no. 14 tooth seat after extraction of no. 14 tooth and the other is no. 14 tooth seat location case of molar teeth after extraction in the same case before. Materials and Methods: In order to analyze these cases, 3 dimensional finite element (FE) model of the skull were generated based on computed tomography images, 964 dicom files of 38 year old male having normal occlusion status. An FE model in general occlusal case was used to develop CAE procedure. This procedure was applied to FE models in other occlusal cases. The displacement controls according to loading condition were applied effectively to simulate occlusal behaviors in all cases. From the FE analyses, von Mises stress distribution of skull and teeth was observed. The von Mises stress, effective stress, had been widely used to determine the absolute stress value, regardless of stress direction and yield characteristics of materials. Results: High stress was distributed over the periodontal area of mandible under molar teeth when the mandible was transmitted to the coronal-apical direction in the general occlusal case. According to the stress propagation from teeth to cranium, stress distribution decreased as the distribution propagated from molar teeth to infratemporal crest of the greater wing of the sphenoid bone and lateral pterygoid plate in general case. In 2 cases of teeth movement, there were observed that high stresses were distributed over the periodontal area of mandible under teeth where they are located under the moved molar teeth in cranium. Conclusion: The predictions of the mechanical behaviors of general case and 2 cases of teeth movement during the masticatory process were investigated including qualitative validation. The displacement controls as the loading condition were applied effectively to simulate occlusal behaviors in 2 cases of teeth movement of molar teeth.

Keywords: cranium, finite element analysis, mandible, masticatory action, occlusal force

Procedia PDF Downloads 381

Authors: Md, MCS, MPH Munyangi Wa Nkola Jerome

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The pandemic of COVID-19, a recently discovered contagious respiratory disease called SARS-CoV-2 (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 Majority of people infected with SARS-CoV-2: Asymptomatic or mildly ill 14% of patients will develop severe illness requiring hospitalization and oxygen support, and 5% of these will be transferred to an intensive care unit, Urgent need for new treatments that can be used quickly to avoid transfer of patients to intensive care and death. Objective: To evaluate the clinical activity (efficacy) of ArtiCovid Hypothesis: Administration of 3 times a teaspoon per day by COVID patients (symptomatic, mild, or moderate forms) results in the disappearance of symptoms and improvement of biological parameters (including viral suppression). Clinical efficacy: the disappearance of clinical signs after seven days of treatment; reduction in the rate of patients transferred to intensive care units for mechanical ventilation and a decrease in mortality related to this infection Paraclinical efficacy: improvement of biological parameters (mainly d-dimer, CRP) Virological efficacy: suppression of the viral load after seven days of treatment (control test on the seventh day is negative) Pilot study using a standardized solution based on Artemisia annua (ARTICOVID) Obtaining authorization from the health authorities of the province of Central Kongo Recruitment of volunteer patients, mainly in the Kinkanda HospitalCarrying out tests before and after treatment as well as analyses before and after treatment. The protocol obtained the approval of the ethics committee 50 patients who completed the treatment were aged between 2 and 70 years, with an average age of 36 yearsMore half were male (56%). One in four patients was a health professional (25%) Of the 12 health professionals, 4 were physicians. For those who reported the date of onset of the disease, the average duration between the appearance of the first symptoms and the medical consultation was 5 days. The 50 patients put on ARTICOVID were discharged alive with CRP levels substantially normalizedAfter seven to eight days, the control test came back negative. This pilot study suggests that ARTICOVID may be effective against COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: artiCovid, DRC, Covid-19, SARS_COV_2

Procedia PDF Downloads 109

Authors: Jae Ni Jang, Young Uk Kim

Abstract:

Background: Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer-3 (ChatGPT; San Francisco, California, Open Artificial Intelligence) is an artificial intelligence chatbot based on a large language model designed to generate human-like text. As the usage of ChatGPT is increasing among less knowledgeable patients, medical students, and anesthesia and pain medicine residents or trainees, we aimed to evaluate the accuracy of ChatGPT-3 responses to questions about the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification based on patients’ underlying diseases and assess the quality of the generated responses. Methods: A total of 47 questions were submitted to ChatGPT using textual prompts. The questions were designed for ChatGPT-3 to provide answers regarding ASA classification in response to common underlying diseases frequently observed in adult patients. In addition, we created 18 questions regarding the ASA classification for pediatric patients and pregnant women. The accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses was evaluated by cross-referencing with Miller’s Anesthesia, Morgan & Mikhail’s Clinical Anesthesiology, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ASA Physical Status Classification System (2020). Results: Out of the 47 questions pertaining to adults, ChatGPT -3 provided correct answers for only 23, resulting in an accuracy rate of 48.9%. Furthermore, the responses provided by ChatGPT-3 regarding children and pregnant women were mostly inaccurate, as indicated by a 28% accuracy rate (5 out of 18). Conclusions: ChatGPT provided correct responses to questions relevant to the daily clinical routine of anesthesiologists in approximately half of the cases, while the remaining responses contained errors. Therefore, caution is advised when using ChatGPT to retrieve anesthesia-related information. Although ChatGPT may not yet be suitable for clinical settings, we anticipate significant improvements in ChatGPT and other large language models in the near future. Regular assessments of ChatGPT's ASA classification accuracy are essential due to the evolving nature of ChatGPT as an artificial intelligence entity. This is especially important because ChatGPT has a clinically unacceptable rate of error and hallucination, particularly in pediatric patients and pregnant women. The methodology established in this study may be used to continue evaluating ChatGPT.

Keywords: American Society of Anesthesiologists, artificial intelligence, Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer-3, ChatGPT

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Authors: Vera Lucia Teixeira da Silva, Sandra Regina Buttros Gattolin de Paula

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The present study focuses on academic literacy and addresses the impact of semantic-discursive resources on the constitution of genres that are produced in such context. The research considers the development of writing in the academic context in Portuguese. Researches that address academic literacy and the characteristics of the texts produced in this context are rare, mainly with focus on the development of writing, considering three variables: the constitution of the writer, the perception of the reader/interlocutor and the organization of the informational text flow. The research aims to map the semantic-discursive resources of the written register in texts of several genres and produced by students in the first semester of the undergraduate course in Letters. The hypothesis raised is that writing in the academic environment is not a recurrent literacy practice for these learners and can be explained by the ontogenetic and phylogenetic nature of language development. Qualitative in nature, the present research has as empirical data texts produced in a half-yearly course of Reading and Textual Production; these data result from the proposition of four different writing proposals, in a total of 600 texts. The corpus is analyzed based on semantic-discursive resources, seeking to contemplate relevant aspects of language (grammar, discourse and social context) that reveal the choices made in the reader/writer interrelationship and the organizational flow of the Text. Among the semantic-discursive resources, the analysis includes three resources, including (a) appraisal and negotiation to understand the attitudes negotiated (roles of the participants of the discourse and their relationship with the other); (b) ideation to explain the construction of the experience (activities performed and participants); and (c) periodicity to outline the flow of information in the organization of the text according to the genre it instantiates. The results indicate the organizational difficulties of the flow of the text information. Cartography contributes to the understanding of the way writers use language in an effort to present themselves, evaluate someone else’s work, and communicate with readers.

Keywords: academic writing, Portuguese mother tongue, semantic-discursive resources, academic context

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Iyd Eqqab Maree, Moouyad Ibrahim Abbood

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The purpose behind this study is to predict damping effect for steel cantilever beam by using two methods of passive viscoelastic constrained layer damping. First method is Matlab Program, this method depend on the Ross, Kerwin and Unger (RKU) model for passive viscoelastic damping. Second method is experimental lab (frequency domain method), in this method used the half-power bandwidth method and can be used to determine the system loss factors for damped steel cantilever beam. The RKU method has been applied to a cantilever beam because beam is a major part of a structure and this prediction may further leads to utilize for different kinds of structural application according to design requirements in many industries. In this method of damping a simple cantilever beam is treated by making sandwich structure to make the beam damp, and this is usually done by using viscoelastic material as a core to ensure the damping effect. The use of viscoelastic layers constrained between elastic layers is known to be effective for damping of flexural vibrations of structures over a wide range of frequencies. The energy dissipated in these arrangements is due to shear deformation in the viscoelastic layers, which occurs due to flexural vibration of the structures. The theory of dynamic stability of elastic systems deals with the study of vibrations induced by pulsating loads that are parametric with respect to certain forms of deformation. There is a very good agreement of the experimental results with the theoretical findings. The main ideas of this thesis are to find the transition region for damped steel cantilever beam (4mm and 8mm thickness) from experimental lab and theoretical prediction (Matlab R2011a). Experimentally and theoretically proved that the transition region for two specimens occurs at modal frequency between mode 1 and mode 2, which give the best damping, maximum loss factor and maximum damping ratio, thus this type of viscoelastic material core (3M468) is very appropriate to use in automotive industry and in any mechanical application has modal frequency eventuate between mode 1 and mode 2.

Keywords: 3M-468 material core, loss factor and frequency, domain method, bioinformatics, biomedicine, MATLAB

Procedia PDF Downloads 259

Authors: Taha Anjamrooz, Sareh Rajabi, Hasan Mahmmud, Ghassan Abulebdeh

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Water availability, as well as water demand, are not uniformly distributed in time and space. Numerous extra-large water diversion projects are launched in Amazon to alleviate water scarcities. This research utilizes statistical analysis to examine the temporal and spatial features of 40 extra-large water diversion projects in Amazon. Using a network analysis method, the correlation between seven major basins is measured, while the impact analysis method is employed to explore the associated economic, environmental, and social impacts. The study unearths that the development of water diversion in Amazon has witnessed four stages, from a preliminary or initial period to a phase of rapid development. It is observed that the length of water diversion channels and the quantity of water transferred have amplified significantly in the past five decades. As of 2015, in Amazon, more than 75 billion m³ of water was transferred amidst 12,000 km long channels. These projects extend over half of the Amazon Area. The River Basin E is currently the most significant source of transferred water. Through inter-basin water diversions, Amazon gains the opportunity to enhance the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 5%. Nevertheless, the construction costs exceed 70 billion US dollars, which is higher than any other country. The average cost of transferred water per unit has amplified with time and scale but reduced from western to eastern Amazon. Additionally, annual total energy consumption for pumping exceeded 40 billion kilowatt-hours, while the associated greenhouse gas emissions are assessed to be 35 million tons. Noteworthy to comprehend that ecological problems initiated by water diversion influence the River Basin B and River Basin D. Due to water diversion, more than 350 thousand individuals have been relocated, away from their homes. In order to enhance water diversion sustainability, four categories of innovative measures are provided for decision-makers: development of water tradeoff projects strategies, improvement of integrated water resource management, the formation of water-saving inducements, and pricing approach, and application of ex-post assessment.

Keywords: sustainability, water trade-off projects, environment, Amazon

Procedia PDF Downloads 124

Authors: A. Gilewska, J. Masternak, K. Kazimierczuk, L. Turlej, J. Wietrzyk, B. Barszcz

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Platinum-based drugs are now widely used as chemotherapeutic agents. However the platinum complexes show the toxic side-effects: i) the development of platinum resistance; ii) the occurrence of severe side effects, such as nephro-, neuro- and ototoxicity; iii) the high toxicity towards human fibroblast. Therefore the development of new anticancer drugs containing different transition-metal ions, for example, ruthenium, rhodium, iridium is a valid strategy in cancer treatment. In this paper, we reported the synthesis, spectroscopic, structural and biological properties of complexes of ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium containing N,N-chelating ligand (2,2’-bisimidazole). These complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, UV-Vis and IR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis. These complexes exhibit a typical pseudotetrahedral three-legged piano-stool geometry, in which the aromatic arene ring forms the seat of the piano-stool, while the bidentate 2,2’-bisimidazole (ligand) and the one chlorido ligand form the three legs of the stool. The spectroscopy data (IR, UV-Vis) and elemental analysis correlate very well with molecular structures. Moreover, the cytotoxic activity of the complexes was carried out on human cancer cell lines: LoVo (colorectal adenoma), MV-4-11 (myelomonocytic leukaemia), MCF-7 (breast adenocarcinoma) and normal healthy mouse fibroblast BALB/3T3 cell lines. To predict a binding mode, a potential interaction of metal complexes with calf thymus DNA (CT-DNA) and protein (BSA) has been explored using UV absorption and circular dichroism (CD). It is interesting to note that the investigated complexes show no cytotoxic effect towards the normal BALB/3T3 cell line, compared to cisplatin, which IC₅₀ values was determined as 2.20 µM. Importantly, Ru(II) displayed the highest activity against HL-60 (IC₅₀ 4.35 µM). The biological studies (UV-Vis and circular dichroism) suggest that arene-complexes could interact with calf thymus DNA probably via an outside binding mode and interact with protein (BSA).

Keywords: ruthenium(II) complex, rhodium(III) complex, iridium(III) complex, biological activity

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Authors: D. Courault, L. Hossard, V. Demarez, E. Ndikumana, D. Ho Tong Minh, N. Baghdadi, F. Ruget

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In the global change context, efficient management of the available resources has become one of the most important topics, particularly for sustainable crop development. Timely assessment with high precision is crucial for water resource and pest management. Rice cultivated in Southern France in the Camargue region must face a challenge, reduction of the soil salinity by flooding and at the same time reduce the number of herbicides impacting negatively the environment. This context has lead farmers to diversify crop rotation and their agricultural practices. The objective of this study was to evaluate this crop diversity both in crop systems and in agricultural practices applied to rice paddy in order to quantify the impact on the environment and on the crop production. The proposed method is based on the combined use of crop models and multispectral data acquired from the recent Sentinel 2 satellite sensors launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) within the homework of the Copernicus program. More than 40 images at fine spatial resolution (10m in the optical range) were processed for 2016 and 2017 (with a revisit time of 5 days) to map crop types using random forest method and to estimate biophysical variables (LAI) retrieved by inversion of the PROSAIL canopy radiative transfer model. Thanks to the high revisit time of Sentinel 2 data, it was possible to monitor the soil labor before flooding and the second sowing made by some farmers to better control weeds. The temporal trajectories of remote sensing data were analyzed for various rice cultivars for defining the main parameters describing the phenological stages useful to calibrate two crop models (STICS and SAFY). Results were compared to surveys conducted with 10 farms. A large variability of LAI has been observed at farm scale (up to 2-3m²/m²) which induced a significant variability in the yields simulated (up to 2 ton/ha). Observations on more than 300 fields have also been collected on land use. Various maps were elaborated, land use, LAI, flooding and sowing, and harvest dates. All these maps allow proposing a new typology to classify these paddy crop systems. Key phenological dates can be estimated from inverse procedures and were validated against ground surveys. The proposed approach allowed to compare the years and to detect anomalies. The methods proposed here can be applied at different crops in various contexts and confirm the potential of remote sensing acquired at fine resolution such as the Sentinel2 system for agriculture applications and environment monitoring. This study was supported by the French national center of spatial studies (CNES, funded by the TOSCA).

Keywords: agricultural practices, remote sensing, rice, yield

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Authors: Misty Attwood, Helgi Schioth

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Transmembrane proteins are important components in many essential cell processes such as signal transduction, cell-cell signalling, transport of solutes, structural adhesion activities, and protein trafficking. Due to their involvement in diverse critical activities, transmembrane proteins are implicated in different disease pathways and hence are the focus of intense interest in understanding functional activities, their pathogenesis in disease, and their potential as pharmaceutical targets. Further, as the structure and function of proteins are correlated, investigating a group of proteins with the same tertiary structure, i.e., the same number of transmembrane regions, may give understanding about their functional roles and potential as therapeutic targets. In this in silico bioinformatics analysis, we identify and comprehensively characterize the previously unstudied group of proteins with five transmembrane-spanning regions (5TM). We classify nearly 60 5TM proteins in which 31 are members of ten families that contain two or more family members and all members are predicted to contain the 5TM architecture. Furthermore, nine singlet proteins that contain the 5TM architecture without paralogues detected in humans were also identifying, indicating the evolution of single unique proteins with the 5TM structure. Interestingly, more than half of these proteins function in localization activities through movement or tethering of cell components and more than one-third are involved in transport activities, particularly in the mitochondria. Surprisingly, no receptor activity was identified within this family in sharp contrast with other TM families. Three major 5TM families were identified and include the Tweety family, which are pore-forming subunits of the swelling-dependent volume regulated anion channel in astrocytes; the sidoreflexin family that acts as mitochondrial amino acid transporters; and the Yip1 domain family engaged in vesicle budding and intra-Golgi transport. About 30% of the proteins have enhanced expression in the brain, liver, or testis. Importantly, 60% of these proteins are identified as cancer prognostic markers, where they are associated with clinical outcomes of various tumour types, indicating further investigation into the function and expression of these proteins is important. This study provides the first comprehensive analysis of proteins with 5TM regions and provides details of the unique characteristics and application in pharmaceutical development.

Keywords: 5TM, cancer prognostic marker, drug targets, transmembrane protein

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Authors: Lim Pey Huan

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In the second half of the 19th century, Vietnam has long been influenced by Han culture, so there are many similarities in religion and folk beliefs. Even after the acceptance process of the Catholic Church introduced from Europe is quite similar. Therefore, in the spiritual life of Vietnamese civil society, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and folk beliefs can be said to be the main trend, but in the twentieth century, two indigenous new religions were born: Caodai and He Hao Jiao, both of which are produced and developed in the south, each of which has millions of believers and become important Vietnamese religions. Their political participation has a major impact on the development of the Republic of Vietnam, and their fate is also in the north and south. Significant changes have taken place after reunification. Caodai was later approved by the colonial authorities and became the third largest religion in Vietnam. The teachings of Caodai teach the ideas of the major religions of the world. The classics used in the teachings also contain important theories of various religions, with particular emphasis on the comprehensiveness of the three sects of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The obvious manifestation lies in the interpretation of the important proposition of 'opening the three religions and returning to the five branches.' The full name of Caodaism is 'Da Dao San Qi Pu Du Gao Tai Jiao'. This name coincides with the 'Longhua Club' and the 'San Qi Mo Jie' idea and the consistent central idea. The emerging road of Caodai advocates to lead the sentient beings back to their original missions; the sentient beings will be centered on people, and the nature of the talks is nothing more than the original mission and standard. There are many opinions about the introduction of Caodaism into southern Vietnam. Caodai believers believe that Caodaism is an emerging new religion in Vietnam. If we further explore the teachings and religious rituals of Caodai, it is not difficult to find that many Chinese sects have been introduced to Vietnam. Some of the colors can be discussed from the spread and influence of Congenital Road in Vietnam. This article will present the author's analysis of the actual process of tutoring in Vietnam's Caodai, and then compare it with the consistent religious experience, trying to explore the Yi-Kuan-Tao and consistent Yi-Kuan-Tao rituals, religious organization, religious teachings, religious life care, and Funeral rituals and other comparative studies.

Keywords: Vietnam, Caodaism, Yi-Kuan-Tao, religious rituals

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Authors: Masami Usui

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Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day (1989) underlines another holocaust, an imprisonment of human life, dignity, and self in the globalizing sphere of the twentieth century. The Remains of the Day delineates the invisible and cruel space of “lost and found” in the postcolonial and post-imperial discourse of this century, that is, the Holocaust. The context of the concentration camp or wartime imprisonment such as Auschwitz is transplanted into the public sphere of modern England, Darlington Hall. The voice is retrieved and expressed by the young journalist and heir of Darlington Hall, Mr. David Cardinal. The new media of journalism is an intruder at Darlington Hall and plays a role in revealing the wrongly-input ideology. “Lost and Found” consists of the private and public retrieved voices. Stevens’ journey in 1956 is a return to the past, especially the period between 1935 and 1936. Lost time is retrieved on his journey; yet lost life cannot be revived entirely in his remains of life. The supreme days of Darlington Hall are the terrifying days caused by the Nazis. Fascism, terrorism, and militarism destroyed the wholesomeness of the globe. Into blind Stevens, both Miss Kenton and Mr. Cardinal bring out the common issue, that is, the political conflicts caused by Nazis. Miss Kenton expresses her own ideas against anti-Semitism regarding the Jewish maids in the crucial time when Sir Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts organization attacked the Anglo Jews between 1935 and 1936. Miss Kenton’s half-muted statement is reinforced and assured by Cardinal in his mention of the 1934 Olympic Rally threatened by Mosley’s Blackshirts. Cardinal’s invasion of Darlington Hall embodies the increasing tension of international politics related to World War II. Darlington Hall accommodates the crucial political issue that definitely influences the fate of the house, its residents, and the nation itself and that is retrieved in the newly progressive and established media.

Keywords: modern English literature, culture studies, communication, history

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Authors: Julia V. F. Cortes, Maria E. V. Amarante, Carolina L. Cerdeira, Roberta B. V. Silva

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Nonmelanoma skin cancer is more commonly diagnosed than all other malignancies combined. In that group, cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma stands out for having the highest probability of metastasis and recurrence after treatment, in addition to being the second most prevalent form of skin cancer. Its main risk factors include exposure to carcinogens, such as ultraviolet radiation related to sunlight exposure, smoking, alcohol consumption, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. Considering the increased risk of skin cancer in the Brazilian population, caused by the high incidence of solar radiation, and the importance of identifying risk phenotypes for the accomplishment of public health actions, an epidemiological study was conducted in a city with a tropical climate located in southeastern Brazil, aiming to identify the target population and assist in primary and secondary prevention. This study describes the profile of patients with cutaneous squamous cell cancer, correlating the variables, sex, age, and differentiation. The study used as primary data source the results of anatomopathological exams delivered from January 2015 to December 2019 for patients registered at one pathology service, which analyzes the results of biopsies, Thus, 66 patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma were analyzed. The most affected age group was 60 years or older (78.79%), emphasizing that moderately differentiated (79.49%) and well-differentiated forms (66.67%) are prevalent in this age group, resulting in a difference of 12.82 percentage points between them. In addition, the predominant sex was male (58%), and it was found that half of the women and 65.79% of men had a moderately differentiated type, whereas the well-differentiated type was slightly more frequent in women. It is worth noting that the moderately differentiated subtype has a 59.20% prevalence among all cases. Thus, it was concluded that the most affected age group was 60 years or older and that men were more affected. As for the subtype, the moderately differentiated one, which is recognized for presenting the second-highest risk for metastasis, was prevalent in this study, affecting 6.6% more men and predominating in the elderly.

Keywords: cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, epidemiology, skin cancer, spinal cell cancer

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Authors: Endris Yibru Hanurry, Wei-Hsin Hsu, Hsieh-Chih Tsai

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In recent years, the discovery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) has got great attention for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. However, the therapeutic efficacy of siRNAs has been faced with many drawbacks because of short half-life in blood circulation, poor membrane penetration, weak endosomal escape and inadequate release into the cytosol. To overcome these drawbacks, we designed a non-viral vector by conjugating polyamidoamine generation 4.5 dendrimer (PDG4.5) with diethylenetriamine (DETA)- and tetraethylenepentamine (TEPA) followed by binding with siRNA to form polyplexes through electrostatic interaction. The result of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR, correlation spectroscopy, heteronuclear single–quantum correlation spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy confirmed the successful conjugation of DETA and TEPA with PDG4.5. Then, the size, surface charge, morphology, binding ability, stability, release assay, toxicity and cellular internalization were analyzed to explore the physicochemical and biological properties of PDG4.5-DETA and PDG4.5-TEPA polyplexes at specific N/P ratios. The polyplexes (N/P = 8) exhibited spherical nanosized (125 and 85 nm) particles with optimum surface charge (13 and 26 mV), showed strong siRNA binding ability, protected the siRNA against enzyme digestion and accepted biocompatibility to the HeLa cells. Qualitatively, the fluorescence microscopy image revealed the delocalization (Manders’ coefficient 0.63 and 0.53 for PDG4.5-DETA and PDG4.5-TEPA, respectively) of polyplexes and the translocation of the siRNA throughout the cytosol to show a decent cellular internalization and intracellular biodistribution of polyplexes in HeLa cells. Quantitatively, the flow cytometry result indicated that a significant (P < 0.05) amount of siRNA was internalized by cells treated with PDG4.5-DETA (68.5%) and PDG4.5-TEPA (73%) polyplexes. Generally, PDG4.5-DETA and PDG4.5-TEPA were ideal nanocarriers of siRNA in vitro and might be used as promising candidates for in vivo study and future pharmaceutical applications.

Keywords: non-viral carrier, oligoalkylamine, poly(amidoamine) dendrimer, polyplexes, siRNA

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Authors: Mark P. Mayala, Henry Mayala, Khuzeima Khanbhai

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Background: Heart failure has been a rising concern in Tanzania. New drugs have been introduced, including the group of drugs called Angiotensin receptor Neprilysin Inhibitor (ARNI), but due to their high cost, angiotensin-converting enzymes inhibitors (ACEIs) and Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have been mostly used in Tanzania. However, according to our knowledge, the efficacy comparison of the two groups is yet to be studied in Tanzania. The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of ACEIs and ARBs among patients with heart failure. Methodology: This was a hospital-based prospective cohort study done at Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institution (JKCI), Tanzania, from June to December 2020. Consecutive enrollment was done until fulfilling the inclusion criteria. Clinical details were measured at baseline. We assessed the relationship between ARBs and ACEIs users with N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT pro-BNP) levels at admission and at 1-month follow-up using a chi-square test. A Kaplan-Meier curve was used to estimate the survival time of the two groups. Results: 155 HF patients were enrolled, with a mean age of 48 years, whereby 52.3% were male, and their mean left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was 37.3%. 52 (33.5%) heart failure patients were on ACEIs, 57 (36.8%) on ARBs, and 46 (29.7%) were neither using ACEIs nor ARBs. At least half of the patients did not receive a guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), with only 82 (52.9%) receiving a GDMT. A drop in NT pro-BNP levels was observed during admission and at 1-month follow-up on both groups, from 6389.2 pg/ml to 4000.1 pg/ml for ARB users and 5877.7 pg/ml to 1328.2 pg/ml for the ACEIs users. There was no statistical difference between the two groups when estimated by the Kaplan-Meier curve, though more deaths were observed in those who were neither on ACEIs nor ARBs, with a calculated P value of 0.01. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that ACEIs have more efficacy and overall better clinical outcome than ARBs, but this should be taken under the patient-based case, considering the side effects of ACEIs and patients’ adherence.

Keywords: angiotensin converting enzymes inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, guideline direct medical therapy, N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide

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Authors: Duncan Fraser

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A 3-Dimensional (3D) conceptual site model was developed using the Leapfrog Works® platform utilising a comprehensive historical dataset for a large former Gasworks site in Fitzroy, Melbourne. The gasworks had been constructed across two fractured geological units with varying hydraulic conductivities. A Newer Volcanic (basaltic) outcrop covered approximately half of the site and was overlying a fractured Melbourne formation (Siltstone) bedrock outcropping over the remaining portion. During the investigative phase of works, a dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) plume (coal tar) was identified within both geological units in the subsurface originating from multiple sources, including gasholders, tar wells, condensers, and leaking pipework. The first stage of model development was undertaken to determine the horizontal and vertical extents of the coal tar in the subsurface and assess the potential causality between potential sources, plume location, and site geology. Concentrations of key contaminants of interest (COIs) were also interpolated within Leapfrog to refine the distribution of contaminated soils. The model was subsequently used to develop a robust soil remediation strategy and achieve endorsement from an Environmental Auditor. A change in project scope, following the removal and validation of the three former gasholders, necessitated the additional excavation of a significant volume of residual contaminated rock to allow for the future construction of two-story underground basements. To assess financial liabilities associated with the offsite disposal or thermal treatment of material, the 3D model was updated with three years of additional analytical data from the active remediation phase of works. Chemical concentrations and the residual tar plume within the rock fractures were modelled to pre-classify the in-situ material and enhance separation strategies to prevent the unnecessary treatment of material and reduce costs.

Keywords: 3D model, contaminated land, Leapfrog, remediation

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Authors: Harsh Agarwal, Pratikkumar Patel, Maharshi Pathak

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Recently the low prices of Crude oil and increase in strict environmental regulations limit limits the use of diesel based muds as these muds are relatively costlier and toxic, as a result disposal of cuttings into the eco-system is a major issue faced by the drilling industries. To overcome these issues faced by the Oil Industry, an attempt has been made to develop oil-in-water emulsion mud system using nettlespurge oil. Nettlespurge oil could be easily available and its cost is around ₹30/litre which is about half the price of diesel in India. Oil-based mud (OBM) was formulated with Nettlespurge oil extracted from Nettlespurge seeds using the Soxhlet extraction method. The formulated nettlespurge oil mud properties were analysed with diesel oil mud properties. The compared properties were rheological properties, yield point and gel strength, and mud density and filtration loss properties, fluid loss and filter cake. The mud density measurement showed that nettlespurge OBM was slightly higher than diesel OBM with mud density values of 9.175 lb/gal and 8.5 lb/gal, respectively, at barite content of 70 g. Thus it has a higher lubricating property. Additionally, the filtration loss test results showed that nettlespurge mud fluid loss volumes, oil was 11 ml, compared to diesel oil mud volume of 15 ml. The filtration loss test indicated that the nettlespurge oil mud with filter cake thickness of 2.2 mm had a cake characteristic of thin and squashy while the diesel oil mud resulted in filter cake thickness of 2.7 mm with cake characteristic of tenacious, rubbery and resilient. The filtration loss test results showed that nettlespurge oil mud fluid loss volumes was much less than the diesel based oil mud. The filtration loss test indicated that the nettlespurge oil mud filter cake thickness less than the diesel oil mud filter cake thickness. So Low formation damage and the emulsion stability effect was analysed with this experiment. The nettlespurge oil-in-water mud system had lower coefficient of friction than the diesel oil based mud system. All the rheological properties have shown better results relative to the diesel based oil mud. Therefore, with all the above mentioned factors and with the data of the conducted experiment we could conclude that the Nettlespurge oil based mud is economically and well as eco-logically much more feasible than the worn out and shabby diesel-based oil mud in the Drilling Industry.

Keywords: economical feasible, ecological feasible, emulsion stability, nettle spurge oil, rheological properties, soxhlet extraction method

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Authors: Sonika Raj, Amarjeet Singh, Vijay Lakshmi Sharma

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Introduction: In 21st century, due to revolution in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), there has been phenomenal development in quality and quantity of knowledge in the field of medical science. So, the access to relevant information to physicians is critical to the delivery of effective healthcare services to patients. The study was conducted to assess the information needs and attitudes of the medical professionals; to determine the sources and channels of information used by them; to ascertain the current usage of ICTs and the barriers faced by them in utilization of ICTs in health information access. Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried in 2015 on hundred medical professionals working in public and private sectors of Chandigarh. The study used both quantitative and qualitative method for data collection. A semi structured questionnaire and interview schedule was used to collect data on information seeking needs, access to ICTs and barriers to healthcare information access. Five Data analysis was done using SPSS-16 and qualitative data was analyzed using thematic approach. Results: The most preferred sources to access healthcare information were internet (85%), trainings (61%) and communication with colleagues (57%). They wanted information on new drug therapy and latest developments in respective fields. All had access to computer with but almost half assessed their computer knowledge as average and only 3% had received training regarding usage. Educational status (p=0.004), place of work (p=0.004), number of years in job (p=0.004) and sector of job (p=0.04) of doctors were found to be significantly associated with their active search for information. The major themes that emerged from in-views were need; types and sources of healthcare information; exchange of information among different levels of healthcare providers; usage of ICTs to obtain and share information; barriers to access of healthcare information and quality of health information materials and involvement in their development process Conclusion and Recommendations: The medical professionals need information in their in their due course of work. However, information needs of medical professionals were not being adequately met. There should be training of professional regarding internet skills and the course on bioinformatics should be incorporated in the curricula of medical students. The policy framework must be formulated that will encourage and promote the use of ICTs as tools for health information access and dissemination.

Keywords: health information, ICTs, medical professionals, qualitative

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Authors: Goldie Lynn Diaz, Ma. Teresa Tricia G. Bautista, Elisabeth Engeljakob, Mary Glaze Rosal

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Introduction: Residents are expected to convey unfavorable news, discuss prognoses, and relieve suffering, and address do-not-resuscitate orders, yet some report a lack of competence in providing this type of care. Recognizing this need, Family Medicine residency programs are incorporating end-of-life care from symptom and pain control, counseling, and humanistic qualities as core proficiencies in training. Objective: This study determined the competency of Family Medicine Residents from various institutions in Metro Manila on rendering care for the dying. Materials and Methods: Trainees completed a Palliative Care Evaluation tool to assess their degree of confidence in patient and family interactions, patient management, and attitudes towards hospice care. Results: Remarkably, only a small fraction of participants were confident in performing independent management of terminal delirium and dyspnea. Fewer than 30% of residents can do the following without supervision: discuss medication effects and patient wishes after death, coping with pain, vomiting and constipation, and reacting to limited patient decision-making capacity. Half of the respondents had confidence in supporting the patient or family member when they become upset. Majority expressed confidence in many end-of-life care skills if supervision, coaching and consultation will be provided. Most trainees believed that pain medication should be given as needed to terminally ill patients. There was also uncertainty as to the most appropriate person to make end-of-life decisions. These attitudes may be influenced by personal beliefs rooted in cultural upbringing as well as by personal experiences with death in the family, which may also affect their participation and confidence in caring for the dying. Conclusion: Enhancing the quality and quantity of end-of-life care experiences during residency with sufficient supervision and role modeling may lead to knowledge and skill improvement to ensure quality of care. Fostering bedside learning opportunities during residency is an appropriate venue for teaching interventions in end-of-life care education.

Keywords: end of life care, geriatrics, palliative care, residency training skill

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Authors: Muhammad Asim

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Background: Less than half of women in South Asia (SA) use any modern contraceptive method which leads to a huge burden of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, maternal deaths, and socioeconomic loss. Women empowerment plays a pivotal role in improving various health seeking behaviours, including contraceptive use. The objective of this study to explore the association between women's empowerment and modern contraceptive, among rich and poor segment of population in SA. Methods: We used the most recent, large-scale, demographic health survey data of five South Asian countries, namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. The outcome variable was the current use of modern contraceptive methods. The main exposure variable was a combination (interaction) of socio-economic status (SES) and women’s level of empowerment (low, medium, and high), where SES was bifurcated into poor and rich; and women empowerment was divided into three categories: decision making, attitude to violence and social independence. Moreover, overall women empowerment indicator was also created by using three dimensions of women empowerment. We applied both descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression techniques for data analyses. Results: Most of the women possessed ‘medium’ level of empowerment across South Asian Countries. The lowest attitude to violence empowerment was found in Afghanistan, and the lowest social independence empowerment was observed in Bangladesh across SA. However, Pakistani women have the lowest decision-making empowerment in the region. The lowest modern contraceptive use (22.1%) was found in Afghanistan and the highest (53.2%) in Bangladesh. The multivariate results depict that the overall measure of women empowerment does not affect modern contraceptive use among poor and rich women in most of South Asian countries. However, the decision-making empowerment plays a significant role among both poor and rich women to use modern contraceptive methods across South Asian countries. Conclusions: The effect of women’s empowerment on modern contraceptive use is not consistent across countries, and among poor and rich segment of population. Of the three dimensions of women’s empowerment, the autonomy of decision making in household affairs emerged as a stronger determinant of mCPR as compared with social independence and attitude towards violence against women.

Keywords: women empowerment, contraceptive use, South Asia, women autonomy

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Authors: Muhammad Asim

Abstract:

Background: Less than half of women in South Asia (SA) use any modern contraceptive method which leads to a huge burden of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, maternal deaths, and socioeconomic loss. Women empowerment plays a pivotal role in improving various health seeking behaviours, including contraceptive use. The objective of this study to explore the association between women's empowerment and modern contraceptive, among rich and poor segment of population in SA. Methods: We used the most recent, large-scale, demographic health survey data of five South Asian countries, namely Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. The outcome variable was the current use of modern contraceptive methods. The main exposure variable was a combination (interaction) of socio-economic status (SES) and women’s level of empowerment (low, medium, and high), where SES was bifurcated into poor and rich; and women empowerment was divided into three categories: decision making, attitude to violence and social independence. Moreover, overall women empowerment indicator was also created by using three dimensions of women empowerment. We applied both descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression techniques for data analyses. Results: Most of the women possessed ‘medium’ level of empowerment across South Asian Countries. The lowest attitude to violence empowerment was found in Afghanistan, and the lowest social independence empowerment was observed in Bangladesh across SA. However, Pakistani women have the lowest decision-making empowerment in the region. The lowest modern contraceptive use (22.1%) was found in Afghanistan and the highest (53.2%) in Bangladesh. The multivariate results depict that the overall measure of women empowerment does not affect modern contraceptive use among poor and rich women in most of South Asian countries. However, the decision-making empowerment plays a significant role among both poor and rich women to use modern contraceptive methods across South Asian countries. Conclusions: The effect of women’s empowerment on modern contraceptive use is not consistent across countries, and among poor and rich segment of population. Of the three dimensions of women’s empowerment, the autonomy of decision making in household affairs emerged as a stronger determinant of mCPR as compared with social independence and attitude towards violence against women.

Keywords: women empowerment, modern contraceptive use, South Asia, women autonomy

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Authors: T. Al-Alawi, N. Shorbaji, E. Rashaidi, M.Alidrisi

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Purpose/Objective(s): The main purpose of this study is to analyze the planning of SBRT treatments for localized prostate cancer with 6FFF and 10FFF energies to see if there is a dosimetric difference between the two energies and how we can increase the plan efficiency and reduce its complexity. Also, to introduce a planning method in our department to treat prostate cancer by utilizing high energy photons without increasing patient toxicity and fulfilled all dosimetric constraints for OAR (an organ at risk). Then toevaluate the target 95% coverage PTV95, V5%, V2%, V1%, low dose volume for OAR (V1Gy, V2Gy, V5Gy), monitor unit (beam-on time), and estimate the values of homogeneity index HI, conformity index CI a Gradient index GI for each treatment plan.Materials/Methods: Two treatment plans were generated for15 patients with localized prostate cancer retrospectively using the CT planning image acquired for radiotherapy purposes. Each plan contains two/three complete arcs with two/three different collimator angle sets. The maximum dose rate available is 1400MU/min for the energy 6FFF and 2400MU/min for 10FFF. So in case, we need to avoid changing the gantry speed during the rotation, we tend to use the third arc in the plan with 6FFF to accommodate the high dose per fraction. The clinical target volume (CTV) consists of the entire prostate for organ-confined disease. The planning target volume (PTV) involves a margin of 5 mm. A 3-mm margin is favored posteriorly. Organs at risk identified and contoured include the rectum, bladder, penile bulb, femoral heads, and small bowel. The prescription dose is to deliver 35Gyin five fractions to the PTV and apply constraints for organ at risk (OAR) derived from those reported in references. Results: In terms of CI=0.99, HI=0.7, and GI= 4.1, it was observed that they are all thesame for both energies 6FFF and 10FFF with no differences, but the total delivered MUs are much less for the 10FFF plans (2907 for 6FFF vs.2468 for 10FFF) and the total delivery time is 124Sc for 6FFF vs. 61Sc for 10FFF beams. There were no dosimetric differences between 6FFF and 10FFF in terms of PTV coverage and mean doses; the mean doses for the bladder, rectum, femoral heads, penile bulb, and small bowel were collected, and they were in favor of the 10FFF. Also, we got lower V1Gy, V2Gy, and V5Gy doses for all OAR with 10FFF plans. Integral dosesID in (Gy. L) were recorded for all OAR, and they were lower with the 10FFF plans. Conclusion: High energy 10FFF has lower treatment time and lower delivered MUs; also, 10FFF showed lower integral and meant doses to organs at risk. In this study, we suggest usinga 10FFF beam for SBRTprostate treatment, which has the advantage of lowering the treatment time and that lead to lessplan complexity with respect to 6FFF beams.

Keywords: FFF beam, SBRT prostate, VMAT, prostate cancer

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Authors: Phalla Miech, William Leung, Ty Chhay, Sina Vor, Arata Hidano

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Smallholder pig farms (SPFs) are prevalent in Cambodia but are vulnerable to disease impacts, as evidenced by the recent incursion of African swine fever into the region. As part of the ‘PigFluCam+’ project, we sought to provide an updated picture of pig husbandry and biosecurity practices among SPFs in south-central Cambodia. A multi-stage sampling design was adopted to select study districts and villages within four provinces: Phnom Penh, Kandal, Takeo, and Kampong Speu. Structured interviews were conductedbetween October 2020 - May 2021 among all consenting households keeping pigs in 16 target villages. Recruited SPFs (n=176) kept 6.8 pigs on average (s.d.=7.7), with most (88%) keeping cross-bred varieties of sows (77%), growers/finishers (39%), piglets/weaners (22%), and few keeping boars (5%). Chickens (83%) and waterfowl (56%) were commonly raised and could usually contact pigs directly (79%). Pigs were the primary source of household income for 28% of participants. While pigs tended to be housed individually (40%) or in groups (33%), 13% kept pigs free-ranging/tethered. Pigs were commonly fed agricultural by-products (80%), commercial feed (60%), and, notably, household waste (59%). Under half of SPFs vaccinated their pigs (e.g., against classical swine fever, Aujesky’s, and pasteurellosis, although the target disease was often unknown). Among 20 SPFs who experienced pig morbidities/mortalities within the past 6 months, only 3 (15%) reported to animal health workers, and disease etiology was rarely known. Common biosecurity measures included nets covering pig pens (62%) and restricting access to the site/pens (46%). Boot dips (0.6%) and PPE (1.2%) were rarely used. Pig smallholdings remain an important contributor to rural livelihoods. Current practices and biosecurity challenges increase risk pathways for a range of disease threats of both local and global concern. Ethnographic studies are needed to better understand local determinants and develop context-appropriate strategies.

Keywords: smallholder production, swine, biosecurity practices, Cambodia, African swine fever

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