Search results for: ductility reduction factors

Authors: Chao Hsing Yeh, Wei Chun Lin

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Background: Current management of aromatase inhibitor-induced arthralgia (AIA) in postmenopausal breast cancer survivors (PBCS) has limited effect. Method: In this prospective randomized clinical trial (RCT), a 4-week APA treatment was used to manage AIA. Twenty PBCS participated. After baseline data was collected, participants were waited for a month before they receive APA at a convenient time once a week for 4 weeks. Blood samples from participants in both groups were collected at baseline and after 4 weeks of treatment. The primary outcomes included: pain intensity, pain interference, stiffness, and physical function. Results: After the 4-week APA treatment, the pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines display a trend of mean percentage reduction (i.e., -22% in IL-1α, -4% in IL-1β, -1% in IL-2, -3% in IL-6, -19% in IL-12, -9% in Eotaxin, and -2% in MCP-1). The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and IL-13 (i.e., 5% in IL-10 and 29% in IL-13) increased from pre- to post-APA treatment. Significant positive correlation of percentage mean change was observed between symptom severity and eotaxin (ρ = 0.56; p < 0.01) & MCP-1 (ρ = 0.65; p < 0.01). Interference and chemokines (eotaxin & MIP-1) also shows positive correlation (ρ = 0.48; p < 0.01 & ρ = 0.39; p < 0.05). Another positive correlation was found between worst pain and chemokines (eotaxin, ρ = 0.48; p < 0.01 & MIP-1, ρ = 0.39; p < 0.05). Additionally, interference also shows positive correlation among IL-1α (ρ = 0.36; p < 0.05) and IL-β (ρ = 0.33; p < 0.05). Conclusion: These findings suggest that APA intervention may inhibit inflammation of AIA patients and chemokine could be one of the key factors of AIA symptom improvement.

Keywords: acupressure, cytokine, pain management, breast cancer survivors

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Authors: Wilson Handoko, Farshid Pahlevani, Isha Singla, Himanish Kumar, Veena Sahajwalla

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Aluminium bronze alloys are well known for their superior abrasion, tensile strength and non-magnetic properties, due to the co-presence of iron (Fe) and aluminium (Al) as alloying elements and have been commonly used in many industrial applications. However, continuous exposure to the marine environment will accelerate the risk of a tendency to Al bronze alloys parts failures. Although a higher level of corrosion resistance properties can be achieved by modifying its elemental composition, it will come at a price through the complex manufacturing process and increases the risk of reducing the ductility of Al bronze alloy. In this research, the use of ironmaking slag and waste plastic as the input source for surface modification of Al bronze alloy was implemented. Microstructural analysis conducted using polarised light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) that is equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). An electrochemical corrosion test was carried out through Tafel polarisation method and calculation of protection efficiency against the base-material was determined. Results have indicated that uniform modified surface which is as the result of selective diffusion process, has enhanced corrosion resistance properties up to 12.67%. This approach has opened a new opportunity to access various industrial utilisations in commercial scale through minimising the dependency on natural resources by transforming waste sources into the protective coating in environmentally friendly and cost-effective ways.

Keywords: aluminium bronze, waste-based surface modification, tafel polarisation, corrosion resistance

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Authors: Georgiana Onicescu, Yuqian Shen

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Due to the complex nature of geo-referenced data, multicollinearity of the risk factors in public health spatial studies is a commonly encountered issue, which leads to low parameter estimation accuracy because it inflates the variance in the regression analysis. To address this issue, we proposed a two-stage variable selection method by extending the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) to the Bayesian spatial setting, investigating the impact of risk factors to health outcomes. Specifically, in stage I, we performed the variable selection using Bayesian Lasso and several other variable selection approaches. Then, in stage II, we performed the model selection with only the selected variables from stage I and compared again the methods. To evaluate the performance of the two-stage variable selection methods, we conducted a simulation study with different distributions for the risk factors, using geo-referenced count data as the outcome and Michigan as the research region. We considered the cases when all candidate risk factors are independently normally distributed, or follow a multivariate normal distribution with different correlation levels. Two other Bayesian variable selection methods, Binary indicator, and the combination of Binary indicator and Lasso were considered and compared as alternative methods. The simulation results indicated that the proposed two-stage Bayesian Lasso variable selection method has the best performance for both independent and dependent cases considered. When compared with the one-stage approach, and the other two alternative methods, the two-stage Bayesian Lasso approach provides the highest estimation accuracy in all scenarios considered.

Keywords: Lasso, Bayesian analysis, spatial analysis, variable selection

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Authors: Ramkumar Gunasekaran, John Cater, Vinod Suresh, Haribalan Kumar

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The main objective of this project is to develop a statistical shape model using principal component analysis that could be used for analyzing the shape of the human airway. The ultimate goal of this project is to identify geometric risk factors for diagnosis and management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA). Anonymous CBCT scans of 25 individuals were obtained from the Otago Radiology Group. The airways were segmented between the hard-palate and the aryepiglottic fold using snake active contour segmentation. The point data cloud of the segmented images was then fitted with a bi-cubic mesh, and pseudo landmarks were placed to perform PCA on the segmented airway to analyze the shape of the airway and to find the relationship between the shape and OSA risk factors. From the PCA results, the first four modes of variation were found to be significant. Mode 1 was interpreted to be the overall length of the airway, Mode 2 was related to the anterior-posterior width of the retroglossal region, Mode 3 was related to the lateral dimension of the oropharyngeal region and Mode 4 was related to the anterior-posterior width of the oropharyngeal region. All these regions are subjected to the risk factors of OSA.

Keywords: medical imaging, image processing, FEM/BEM, statistical modelling

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Authors: Kyung Suk Cho, Heung Youl Kim

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The analysis of the petrologic characteristics and thermal properties of crushed aggregates for concrete such as granite, gneiss, dolomite, shale and andesite found that rock-forming minerals decided the thermal properties of the aggregates. The thermal expansion coefficients of aggregates containing lots of quartz increased rapidly at 573 degrees due to quartz transition. The mass of aggregate containing carbonate minerals decreased rapidly at 750 degrees due to decarboxylation, while its specific heat capacity increased relatively. The mass of aggregates containing hydrated silicate minerals decreased more significantly, and their specific heat capacities were greater when compared with aggregates containing feldspar or quartz. It is deduced that the hydroxyl group (OH) in hydrated silicate dissolved as its bond became loose at high temperatures. Aggregates containing mafic minerals turned red at high temperatures due to oxidation response. Moreover, the comparison of cooling methods showed that rapid cooling using water resulted in more reduction in aggregate mass than slow cooling at room temperatures. In order to observe the fire resistance performance of concrete composed of the identical but coarse aggregate, mass loss and compressive strength reduction factor at 200, 400, 600 and 800 degrees were measured. It was found from the analysis of granite and gneiss that the difference in thermal expansion coefficients between cement paste and aggregates caused by quartz transit at 573 degrees resulted in thermal stress inside the concrete and thus triggered concrete cracking. The ferromagnesian hydrated silicate in andesite and shale caused greater reduction in both initial stiffness and mass compared with other aggregates. However, the thermal expansion coefficient of andesite and shale was similar to that of cement paste. Since they were low in thermal conductivity and high in specific heat capacity, concrete cracking was relatively less severe. Being slow in heat transfer, they were judged to be materials of high heat capacity.

Keywords: crush-aggregates, fire resistance, thermal expansion, heat transfer

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Authors: Mijoh A. Gbededo, Kapila Liyanage, Ilias Oraifige

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Decision making for sustainable manufacturing design and management requires critical considerations due to the complexity and partly conflicting issues of economic, social and environmental factors. Although there are tools capable of assessing the combination of one or two of the sustainability factors, the frameworks have not adequately integrated all the three factors. Case study and review of existing simulation applications also shows the approach lacks integration of the sustainability factors. In this paper we discussed the development of a simulation based framework for support of a holistic assessment of sustainable manufacturing design and management. To achieve this, a strategic approach is introduced to investigate the strengths and weaknesses of the existing decision supporting tools. Investigation reveals that Discrete Event Simulation (DES) can serve as a rock base for other Life Cycle Analysis frameworks. Simio-DES application optimizes systems for both economic and competitive advantage, Granta CES EduPack and SimaPro collate data for Material Flow Analysis and environmental Life Cycle Assessment, while social and stakeholders’ analysis is supported by Analytical Hierarchy Process, a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis method. Such a common and integrated framework creates a platform for companies to build a computer simulation model of a real system and assess the impact of alternative solutions before implementing a chosen solution.

Keywords: discrete event simulation, life cycle sustainability analysis, manufacturing, sustainability

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Authors: Aliaksandr Volchak, Мaryna Barushka

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The territory of Belarus is studied quite well in terms of hydrology but runoff fluctuations over time require more detailed research in order to forecast changes in rivers runoff in future. Generally, river runoff is shaped by natural climatic factors, but man-induced impact has become so big lately that it can be compared to natural processes in forming runoffs. In Belarus, a heavy man load on the environment was caused by large-scale land reclamation in the 1960s. Lands of southern Belarus were reclaimed most, which contributed to changes in runoff. Besides, global warming influences runoff. Today we observe increase in air temperature, decrease in precipitation, changes in wind velocity and direction. These result from cyclic climate fluctuations and, to some extent, the growth of concentration of greenhouse gases in the air. Climate change affects Belarus’s water resources in different ways: in hydropower industry, other water-consuming industries, water transportation, agriculture, risks of floods. In this research we have done an assessment of river runoff according to the scenarios of climate change and global climate forecast presented in the 4th and 5th Assessment Reports conducted by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and later specified and adjusted by experts from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University with the use of a regional climatic model. In order to forecast changes in climate and runoff, we analyzed their changes from 1962 up to now. This period is divided into two: from 1986 up to now in comparison with the changes observed from 1961 to 1985. Such a division is a common world-wide practice. The assessment has revealed that, on the average, changes in runoff are insignificant all over the country, even with its irrelevant increase by 0.5 – 4.0% in the catchments of the Western Dvina River and north-eastern part of the Dnieper River. However, changes in runoff have become more irregular both in terms of the catchment area and inter-annual distribution over seasons and river lengths. Rivers in southern Belarus (the Pripyat, the Western Bug, the Dnieper, the Neman) experience reduction of runoff all year round, except for winter, when their runoff increases. The Western Bug catchment is an exception because its runoff reduces all year round. Significant changes are observed in spring. Runoff of spring floods reduces but the flood comes much earlier. There are different trends in runoff changes in spring, summer, and autumn. Particularly in summer, we observe runoff reduction in the south and west of Belarus, with its growth in the north and north-east. Our forecast of runoff up to 2035 confirms the trend revealed in 1961 – 2015. According to it, in the future, there will be a strong difference between northern and southern Belarus, between small and big rivers. Although we predict irrelevant changes in runoff, it is quite possible that they will be uneven in terms of seasons or particular months. Especially, runoff can change in summer, but decrease in the rest seasons in the south of Belarus, whereas in the northern part the runoff is predicted to change insignificantly.

Keywords: assessment, climate fluctuation, forecast, river runoff

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Authors: M. Samsami, A. Hekmatdoost, N. Ebrahimi Daryani, P. Rezanejad Asl

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Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease in which immune and inflammatory factors are thought to be effective in this disease. Resveratrol is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound. This study determined the effects of resveratrol compound on inflammatory factors in patients with ulcerative colitis. This study was a double-blind randomized clinical trial conducted on 50 patients with UC. Subjects received one capsule daily for 6 wk of either resveratrol (500 mg) or a placebo. Inflammatory factors, anthropometric measures, and IBDQ-9 (Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire-9) scores were assessed at baseline and at the end of the study. STATA12 software was used for data analysis. No significant differences were found in the background variables between the two groups at baseline. The results indicated that resveratrol supplementation for 6 week significantly decreased plasma levels of TNF-a and hs-CRP and the activity of NF-κB over the placebo group (p<0.001). Significant differences remained after adjustment for vitamin C (p<0.0001). The IBDQ-9 scores increased significantly in the resveratrol group over the placebo group (p<0.001). The findings of this study showed that resveratrol supplementation can be useful in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Keywords: IBD, inflammation, resveratrol, ulcerative colitis

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Authors: Ibrahim Mahamid, A. Al-Ghonamy, M. Aichouni

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This study is conducted to identify causes of cost deviations in public construction projects in Saudi Arabia from contractors’ perspective. 41 factors that might affect cost estimating accuracy were identified through literature review and discussion with some construction experts. The factors were tabulated in a questionnaire form and a field survey included 51 contractors from the Northern Province of Saudi Arabia was performed. The results show that the top five important causes are: wrong estimation method, long period between design and time of implementation, cost of labor, cost of machinary and absence of construction-cost data.

Keywords: cost deviation, public construction, cost estimating, Saudi Arabia, contractors

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Authors: Nayera E. Hassan, Sahar A. El-Masry, Rokia A. El Banna, Mones M. Abu Shady, Muhammad Al-Tohamy, Manal Mouhamed Ali, Mehrevan M. Abd El-Moniem, Mona Anwar

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Association between vitamin D, adiponectin and obesity is a matter of debate, as they play important role in linking obesity with different cardiometabolic risk factors. Objectives: Evaluation of the association between metabolic risk factors with both adiponectin and vitamin D levels and that between adiponectin and vitamin D among obese Egyptian children. Subjects and Methods: This case-control cross-sectional study consisted of 65 obese and 30 healthy children, aged 8-11 years. 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH) D) level, serum adiponectin, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured. Results: The mean 25(OH) D levels in the obese and control groups were 29.9± 10.3 and 39.7 ± 12.7 ng/mL respectively (P < 0.001). The mean 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels in the obese were lower than that in the control group (P < 0.0001). 25(OH) D were inversely correlated with body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), while adiponectin level were inversely correlated with systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and positively correlated with HDL-C. However, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels among obese children and total sample. Conclusion: In spite of strong association between vitamin D and adiponectin levels with metabolic risk factors and obesity, there is no relation between 25(OH) D and adiponectin levels. In obese children, there are significant negative correlations between 25(OH) D with lipid profile, and between adiponectin levels with blood pressure. At certain adiponectin level, the relation between it and BMI disappears.

Keywords: 25-hydroxy vitamin D, adiponectin, lipid profile, blood pressure, children

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Authors: Huang Hao, Li Weiwen

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Global biodiversity continues to decline as a result of global climate change and various human activities, such as habitat destruction, pollution, introduction of alien species and overfishing. Although there are connections between global marine organisms more or less, it is better to have clear geographical boundaries in order to facilitate the assessment and management of different biogeographical zones. And so area based management tools (ABMT) are considered as the most effective means for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity. On a large scale, the geographical gap (or barrier) is the main factor to influence the connectivity, diffusion, ecological and evolutionary process of marine organisms, which results in different distribution patterns. On a small scale, these factors include geographical location, geology, and geomorphology, water depth, current, temperature, salinity, etc. Therefore, the analysis on geographic and environmental factors is of great significance in the study of biodiversity characteristics. This paper summarizes the marine spatial classification and ABMTs used in coastal area, open oceans and deep sea. And analysis principles and methods of marine spatial classification based on biogeographic related factors, and take China Near Sea (CNS) area as case study, and select key biogeographic related factors, carry out marine spatial classification at biological region scale, ecological regionals scale and biogeographical scale. The research shows that CNS is divided into 5 biological regions by climate and geographical differences, the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Sea, the East China Sea, the Taiwan Straits, and the South China Sea. And the bioregions are then divided into 12 ecological regions according to the typical ecological and administrative factors, and finally the eco-regions are divided into 98 biogeographical units according to the benthic substrate types, depth, coastal types, water temperature, and salinity, given the integrity of biological and ecological process, the area of the biogeographical units is not less than 1,000 km². This research is of great use to the coastal management and biodiversity conservation for local and central government, and provide important scientific support for future spatial planning and management of coastal waters and sustainable use of marine biodiversity.

Keywords: spatial classification, marine biodiversity, bio-geographical, conservation

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Authors: Kamaludeen Samaila, Khashyaullah Abdulfattah, Fahimi Ahmad Bin Amir

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The study was conducted to examine the relationship between selected factors (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating condition) and students’ intention to use the learning management system (LMS), as well as investigating the factors predicting students’ intention to use the LMS. The study was specifically conducted at the Faculty of Educational Study of University Putra Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed to 277 respondents using a random sampling technique. SPSS Version 22 was employed in analyzing the data; the findings of this study indicated that performance expectancy (r = .69, p < .01), effort expectancy (r=.60, p < .01), social influence (r = .61, p < .01), and facilitating condition (r=.42, p < .01), were significantly related to students’ intention to use the LMS. In addition, the result also revealed that performance expectancy (β = .436, p < .05), social influence (β=.232, p < .05), and effort expectancy (β = .193, p < .05) were strong predictors of students’ intention to use the LMS. The analysis further indicated that (R2) is 0.054 which means that 54% of variation in the dependent variable is explained by the entire predictor variables entered into the regression model. Understanding the factors that affect students’ intention to use the LMS could help the lecturers, LMS managers and university management to develop the policies that may attract students to use the LMS.

Keywords: LMS, postgraduate students, PutraBlas, students’ intention, UPM, UTAUT model

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Authors: Steffen Happel

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Non-standard isotopes such as Sc-44/47, Zr-89, and Sn-117mare finding interest is increasing in radiopharmaceutical applications. Methods for the separation of these elements from typical target materials were developed. The methods used in this paper are based on the use of extraction chromatographic resins such as UTEVA, TBP, and DGA resin. Information on the selectivity of the resins (Dw values of selected elements in HCl and HNO3 of varying concentration) will be presented as well as results of the method development such as elution studies, chemical recoveries, and decontamination factors. Developed methods are based on the use of vacuum supported separation allowing for fast and selective separation.

Keywords: elution, extraction chromatography, radiopharmacy, decontamination factors

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Authors: Davyd Urbanas, Pranas Baltrenas

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It is well-known that, despite the constant increase of alternative energy sources usage, today combustible fuels are still widely used in power engineering. As a result of fuel combustion, significant amounts of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO is a product of incomplete combustion) are supplied to the atmosphere. Also, these pollutants are formed in industry (chemical production, refining, and metal production). In this work, the investigation of nitrogen oxides CO-selective catalytic reduction using new grain load-type catalysts was carried out. The catalysts containing the substrate and a thin active coating made of transition metal (Mn, Cu, and Nb) oxides were prepared with the use of electroless chemical deposition method. Chemical composition, chemical state, and morphology of the formed active coating were investigated using ICP-OES, EDX, SEM, and XPS techniques. The obtained results revealed that the prepared catalysts (Cu-Mn-oxide and Cu-Mn-Nb-oxide) have rough and developed surface and can be successfully used for the flue gas catalytic purification. The significant advantage of prepared catalysts is their suitability from technological application point of view, which differs this work from others dedicated to gas purification by SCR.

Keywords: flue gas, nitrogen oxides, selective catalytic reduction, transition metal oxides

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Authors: Fares Khalfallah, Zakaria Boumerzoug, Selvarajan Rajakumar, Elhadj Raouache

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The ceramic-aluminum bond is strongly present in industrial tools, due to the need to combine the properties of metals, such as ductility, thermal and electrical conductivity, with ceramic properties like high hardness, corrosion and wear resistance. In recent years, some joining techniques have been developed to achieve a good bonding between these materials such as brazing, diffusion bonding, ultrasonic joining and friction welding. In this work, AA1100 aluminum alloy rods were welded with Alumina 99.9 wt% ceramic rods, by friction welding. The effect of friction pressure on mechanical and structural properties of welded joints was studied. The welding was performed by direct friction welding machine. The welding samples were rotated at a constant rotational speed of 900 rpm, friction time of 4 sec, forging strength of 18 MPa, and forging time of 3 sec. Three different friction pressures were applied to 20, 34 and 45 MPa. The three-point bending test and Vickers microhardness measurements were used to evaluate the strength of the joints and investigate the mechanical properties of the welding area. The microstructure of joints was examined by optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The results show that bending strength increased, and then decreased after reaching a maximum value, with increasing friction pressure. The SEM observation shows that the increase in friction pressure led to the appearance of cracks in the microstructure of the interface area, which is decreasing the bending strength of joints.

Keywords: welding of ceramic to aluminum, friction welding, alumina, AA1100 aluminum alloy

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Authors: Parvaneh Hajeb, Shahram Shakibazadeh, Md. Zaidul Islam Sarker

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High-quality fish oil for human consumption requires low levels of toxic elements. The aim of this study was to develop a method to extract oil from fish wastes with the least toxic elements contamination. Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) was applied to detoxify fish oils from toxic elements. The SFE unit used consisted of an intelligent HPLC pump equipped with a cooling jacket to deliver CO2. The freeze-dried fish waste sample was extracted by heating in a column oven. Under supercritical conditions, the oil dissolved in CO2 was separated from the supercritical phase using pressure reduction. The SFE parameters (pressure, temperature, CO2 flow rate, and extraction time) were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) to extract the highest levels of toxic elements. The results showed that toxic elements in fish oil can be reduced using supercritical CO2 at optimum pressure 40 MPa, temperature 61 ºC, CO2 flow rate 3.8 MPa, and extraction time 4.25 hr. There were significant reductions in the mercury (98.2%), cadmium (98.9%), arsenic (96%), and lead contents (99.2%) of the fish oil. The fish oil extracted using this method contained elements at levels that were much lower than the accepted limits of 0.1 μg/g. The reduction of toxic elements using the SFE method was more efficient than that of the conventional methods due to the high selectivity of supercritical CO2 for non-polar compounds.

Keywords: food safety, toxic elements, fish oil, supercritical carbon dioxide

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Authors: Terada Pinyo

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This study is a survey research designed to evaluate the quality of graduate students and factors influencing their quality. The sample group consists of 240 students. The data are collected from stratified sampling and are analyzed and calculated by instant computer program. Statistics used are percentage, mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation coefficient, Cramer’s V and logistic regression analysis. It is found that the graduate students’ opinions regarding their characteristics according to the Thai Qualifications Framework for Higher Education (TQF) are at high score range both overall and specific category. The top categories that received the top score are interpersonal skills and responsibility, ethics and morals, knowledge, cognitive skills, numerical analysis with communication and information technology skills, respectively. On the other hand, factors affecting the quality of graduate students are cognitive skills, numerical analysis with communication and information technology, knowledge, interpersonal skills and responsibility, ethics and morals, and career regarding sales/business, respectively.

Keywords: student quality evaluation, Thai qualifications framework for higher education, graduate school, cognitive skills

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Authors: Ali Ashraf Hamedi Oghul Beyk

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This research is aimed in order to demonstrate the factors affecting on effectiveness of animal artificial insemination training courses in Zanjan province. The research method is descriptive and correlation. Research tools a questionnaire and research sample are 104 persons who participated in animal artificial insemination training courses. The data resulted from this procedure was analysed by using SPSS software under windows system.independent variables include :individual, sociological, technical, and organizational, dependent variable is: affecting factors on effectiveness of animal artificial insemination training courses the finding of this study indicates that there is a significant correlation(99/0) between individual variables such as motivation and interest and experiment and effectiveness of animal artificial insemination training courses. There is significant correlation (95/0) between sociological variables such as job and education and effectiveness of animal artificial insemination training course. There is significant correlation (99/0) between techn ical variables such as training quality media and instructional materials. Moreover, effectiveness of animal artificial insemination training course there is significant correlation(0/95) between organizational variables such as trainers combination,place conditions.

Keywords: animal artificial insemination, effect, effectiveness, training courses, Zanjan

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Authors: Liwen Hou

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The booming mobile business has been penetrating the taxi industry worldwide with P2P (peer to peer) taxi services, as an emerging business model, transforming the industry. Parallel with other mobile businesses, member recommendations and online reviews are believed to be very effective with regard to acquiring new users for P2P taxi services. Based on an empirical dataset of the taxi industry in China, this study aims to reveal which factors influence users’ recommendations and review-writing behaviors. Differing from the existing literature, this paper takes the taxi driver’s perspective into consideration and hence selects a group of variables related to the drivers. We built two models to reflect the factors that influence the number of recommendations and reviews posted on the platform (i.e., the app). Our models show that all factors, except the driver’s score, significantly influence the recommendation behavior. Likewise, only one factor, passengers’ bad reviews, is insignificant in generating more drivers’ reviews. In the conclusion, we summarize the findings and limitations of the research.

Keywords: online recommendation, P2P taxi service, review-writing, word of mouth

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Authors: Mohammad Naeem Lakanwall

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Background:The thyroid gland, located just below the vocal cord on each side of and anterior to the trachea, is one of the main endocrine glands. Its normal weight is 15 to 20 grams in adults. The thyroid secretes two most important hormones, thyroxine and triiodothyronine, usually called T4 and T3, respectively. These hormones greatly increase the metabolic rate of the body. In addition to T3 and T4, the thyroid gland secrets calcitonin as well which is a significant hormone for calcium metabolism. Objective: The aim of this study is to estimate the proportion of and to identify factors associated with thyroid dysfunction among individuals coming to a tertiary care facility in Kabul, Afghanistan. Material and Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study design was conducted from July to Sep 2018. Blood samples were obtained, serum TSH levels were measured, and the patients were divided into three diagnostic categories according to their serum TSH concentrations. 1) Hypothyroidism 2) Hyperthyroidism 3) Normal thyroid Results: A total of 127 individuals were part of the sample for the final analysis. The majority of study participants (77%) were females. A large number of the participants (92%) did not have a family history of thyroid dysfunction and the majority of the female participants, (85%) were not pregnant in the last two years. Furthermore, 98% of participants, were non-smokers. Conclusion: The findings of the current study showed a high prevalence of thyroid dysfunctions in individuals coming to FMIC for thyroid functions tests. The findings also indicated that aging and smoking are the factors associated with thyroid dysfunctions. Further studies are needed to find out the prevalence of and factors associated with thyroid dysfunctions.

Keywords: Afghanistan, Kabul, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, triiodothyronine, thyroxine

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Authors: Phutthiwat Waiyawuththanapoom, Pimploi Tirastittam, Manop Tirastittam

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Thailand is the agriculture country which mainly exports the agriculture product to the other countries in so many ways which are fresh vegetable, chilled vegetable or frozen vegetable. The gross export for Thailand’s vegetable is 30-40 billion baht per year, and the growth rate is about 15-20 percent per year. Ginger is one of the main vegetable product that Thailand export to Japan because Thailand’s Ginger has a good quality and be able to supply Japan’s demand with a reasonable price. This research paper is aimed to study the factors which affect the efficiency of the supply chain process of Thailand’s ginger to Japan. There are 5 factors which related to the exporting Thailand’s ginger to Japan which are quality, price, equipment and supply standard, custom process and distribution pattern. The result of the research showed that the factor which reached the 'very good' significant level is quality of Thailand’s ginger with the score of 4.86. The other 5 factors are in the 'good' significant level. So the most important factor for Thai ginger farmer to concern is the quality of the product.

Keywords: critical success factor, export, ginger, supply chain

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Authors: Ziraguen O. Williams, Shield B. Lin, Fouad N. Matari, Leslie J. Quiocho

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Simulation for seated row exercise was a continued task to assist NASA in analyzing a one-dimensional vibration isolation and stabilization system for astronaut’s exercise platform. Feedback delay and signal noise were added to the model as previously done in simulation for squat exercise. Simulation runs for this study were conducted in two software simulation tools, Trick and MBDyn, software simulation environments developed at the NASA Johnson Space Center. The exciter force in the simulation was calculated from the motion capture of an exerciser during a seated row exercise. The simulation runs include passive control, active control using a Proportional, Integral, Derivative (PID) controller, and active control using a Piecewise Linear Integral Derivative (PWLID) controller. Output parameters include displacements of the exercise platform, the exerciser, and the counterweight; transmitted force to the wall of spacecraft; and actuator force to the platform. The simulation results showed excellent force reduction in the actively controlled system compared to the passive controlled system, which showed less force reduction.

Keywords: control, counterweight, isolation, vibration.

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Authors: Maria Brás

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The main purpose of the presentation is to identify the impacts and appropriate measures to prevent potential attacks, or minimize the risk of an attack in tourist destination. Terrorism has been growing in the shadow of unpredictability, however, is possible to minimize the danger of a terrorist attack by doing the: (1) recognition; (2); evaluation; (3) avoidance; (4) threat reduction. The vulnerability of tourism industry to terrorism is an undeniable fact, and terrorists know it. They use this advantage attacking tourists for very specific reasons, such as the: (1) international coverage by the media, “if it bleeds it leads” ; (2) chances of getting different nationalities at the same place and time; (3) possibility of destroyed the economy of a destination, or destinations (“terrorism contamination effect”), through the reduction of tourist demand; (4) psychological, and social disruption based on fear of negative consequences. Security incidents, such as terrorism, include different preventive measures that can be conducted in partnership with: tourism industry (hotels, airports, tourist attractions, among others); central government; public and/or private sector; local community; and media. The recovery strategies must be based on the dissemination of positive information to the media; in creating new marketing strategies that emphasize the social and cultural values of the destination; encourage domestic tourism; get government, or state, financial support.

Keywords: terrorism, tourism, safety, security, impacts, prevention, recovery

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Authors: Nadia Adnan, Muhammad Mohsin Raza, Latha Ravindran

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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 91

Authors: Isaac Kwaku Adu, Jacob Doku Tetteh, John Joseph Puthenkalam, Kwabena Effah Antwi

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The continuous increase in population implies increase in food demand. There is, therefore, the need to increase agricultural production and other forest products to ensure food security and economic development. This paper employs the three-level intensity analysis to assess the total change of land-use in two-time intervals (1986-2002 and 2002-2017), the net change and swap as well as gross gains and losses in the two intervals. The results revealed that the overall change in the 31-year period was greater in the second period (2002-2017). Agriculture and forest categories lost in the first period while the other land class gained. However, in the second period agriculture and built-up increased greatly while forest, water bodies and thick bushes/shrubland experienced loss. An assessment revealed a reduction of forest in both periods but was greater in the second period and expansion of agricultural land was recorded as population increases. The pixels gaining built-up targeted agricultural land in both intervals, it also targeted thick bushes/shrubland and waterbody in the second period only. Built-up avoided forest in both intervals as well as waterbody and thick bushes/shrubland. To help in developing the best land-use strategies/policies, a further validation of the social factors is necessary.

Keywords: agricultural land, forest, Ghana, land-use, intensity analysis, remote sensing

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Vaibhavi Birle

Abstract:

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome is a rare clinic-radiological syndrome associated with acute changes in blood pressure during pregnancy. It is characterized symptomatically by headache, seizures, altered mental status, and visual blurring with radiological changes of white matter (vasogenic oedema) affecting the posterior occipital and parietal lobes of the brain. It is being increasingly recognized due to increased institutional deliveries and advances in imaging particularly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In spite of the increasing diagnosis the prediction of PRES and patient factors affecting susceptibility is still not clear. Hence, we conducted the retrospective study to analyse the factors associated with PRES at our tertiary centre.

Keywords: pres syndrome, eclampsia, maternal outcome, fetal outcome

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Awad Elkhadir, Rajab M. Ben Yousef

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Introduction: The production of high-quality medical images by radiology technologists is useful in diagnosing and treating various injuries and diseases. However, the factors affecting the role of radiology technologists in image interpretation in Sudan have not been investigated widely. Methods: Cross-sectional study has been employed by recruiting ten radiology college deans in Sudan. The questionnaire was distributed online, and obtained data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel and IBM-SPSS version 16.0 to generate descriptive statistics. Results: The study results have shown that half of the deans were doubtful about the readiness of Sudan to implement the role of radiology technologist specialist in image interpretation. The majority of them (60%) believed that this issue had been most strongly pushed by researchers over the past decade. The factors affecting the implementation of the radiology technologist specialist role in image interpretation included; education/training (100%), recognition (30%), technical issues (30%), people-related issues (20%), management changes (30%), government role (30%), costs (10%), and timings (20%). Conclusion: The study concluded that there is a need for a change in image interpretation by radiology technologists in Sudan.

Keywords: development, image interpretation, implementation, radiology technologist specialist, Sudan

Procedia PDF Downloads 79

Authors: Vergeena Varghese, G. Gajalakshmi, Jayarajini Vasanth

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The present study deals with the indication of prevalence of dry eye and evaluates environmental risk factors attributed to dry eye in different occupational sectors. 240 subjects above 20 years and below 45 years of age were screened for dry eye. Mcmonnies dry eye questionnaire based history and Schirmer’s test were used to diagnose dry eye. For Schirmer’s test Whatman strip and paracaine drop used as an anesthetic. Subject’s demographics include age, sex, smoking, alcoholism, occupation history and working environment. Out of a total of 240 subjects, 52 subjects were positive for dry eye syndrome (21.7%). The highest prevalence of dry eye syndrome in software sector was 14subjects (26.9%) out of a total of 40 subjects. In the construction sector, the prevalence of dry eye syndrome had 12 subjects (23.1%) out of 40 subjects and 9 subjects (17.3%) out of 40 subjects in agriculture sector. 7 subjects (13.5%) who had dry eye out of 40 subjects in the transport sector and in industrial 6 subjects (11.5%). In a normal sector, this was taken as control group had dry eye in 4 subjects (7.7%) out of 40 subjects. We also found the prevalence of dry eye in OS was higher than OD. Dry eye is a most common ocular condition. The highest prevalence of dry eye syndrome in software sector was 14 members than other sector. There was a significant correlation between environmental and occupational factors to cause dry eye. Excessive exposure to sunlight, wind, high temperature, and air pollution, electromagnetic radiation are the factors affect the tear film and ocular surface causing the dry eye syndrome.

Keywords: DES – dry eye syndrome, Mcmonnies dry eye questionnaire, schirmer’s test, whatman vstrip

Procedia PDF Downloads 449

Authors: Chia-Hao Chang, Geng-Gui Wang, Jee-Cheng Wu

Abstract:

The prediction of a landslide is a difficult task because it requires a detailed study of past activities using a complete range of investigative methods to determine the changing condition. In this research, first step, LiDAR 1-meter by 1-meter resolution of digital elevation model (DEM) was used to generate six environmental factors of landslide. Then, back-propagation neural networks (BPNN) was adopted to identify scarp, landslide areas and non-landslide areas. The BPNN uses 6 environmental factors in input layer and 1 output layer. Moreover, 6 landslide areas are used as training areas and 4 landslide areas as test areas in the BPNN. The hidden layer is set to be 1 and 2; the hidden layer neurons are set to be 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8; the learning rates are set to be 0.01, 0.1 and 0.5. When using 1 hidden layer with 7 neurons and the learning rate sets to be 0.5, the result of Network training root mean square error is 0.001388. Finally, evaluation of BPNN classification accuracy by the confusion matrix shows that the overall accuracy can reach 94.4%, and the Kappa value is 0.7464.

Keywords: digital elevation model, DEM, environmental factors, back-propagation neural network, BPNN, LiDAR

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Mahnaz Sanjari, Sedigheh Salemi, Mohammad Mirzabeigi

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Nowadays, the world is facing a crisis of workforce and one of the most striking examples is the shortage of nurses. Nursing workforce productivity is related by various factors such as absenteeism, professional effectiveness and quality care. This cross-sectional study was conducted in 700 nurses who work in government hospitals from 35 hospitals of 9 provinces in Iran. The study was approved by the Nursing Council and was carried out with the authorization of the Research Ethics Committee. The questionnaire included 33 questions and 4 sub categories such as human resource, education and management. The reliability was evaluated by Cronbach's alpha (α=0/85). Statistical analyzes were performed, using SPSS version 16. The result showed that nurses emphasized on "respect to nurse-to-bed ratio" and less importance item was "using less experienced nurse". In addition, another important factor in clinical productivity is "Proper physical structure and amenities","good communication with colleagues" and "having good facilities". Also, "human resources at all levels of standard", "promoting on merit" and "well defined relationship in health system" are another important factors in productivity from nurse` view. The main managerial factor is "justice between employees" and the main educational component of productivity is “updating nursing knowledge”. The results show that more than half of the participants emphasized on the management and educational factors. Productivity as one of the main part of the health care quality leads to appropriate use of human and organizational resources, reduce cost services, and organizational development.

Keywords: productivity, nursing services, workforce, cost services

Procedia PDF Downloads 335