Search results for: the health belief model

Authors: Setareh Shayanfar

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Given the increasing importance of peer relationships during adolescence, the present study aimed to examine peer interactions that facilitate or hinder adolescents’ regulation of negative emotions. Using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique, 1-hour semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 junior high school adolescents. Participants were asked to recall situations when they experienced strong negative emotions during the past school year, indicate the peer interactions that helped or hindered their emotion regulation, and identify prospective interactions with the potential to help regulate their emotions. Data analysis extracted 182 critical incidents, including 109 helping incidents, 45 hindering incidents, and 28 wish list items, which generated 10 categories nested within four overarching themes: Positive Personal Support included (a) supportive presence, (b) expressing concern, (c) empathizing, and (d) encouraging and cheering up; while Strategy Transmission included (e) sharing perspective, and (f) giving advice; Activated Support included (g) taking action, and (h) distracting; while Negative Personal Interactions included (i) withdrawing and (j) punishing. Implications for mental health and service providers, as well as recommendations for future research, are presented.

Keywords: adolescence, emotion regulation, enhanced critical incident technique, peers

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Authors: M. Caruffo, P. Navarrete, C. G. Feijoo, L. Sáenz

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Disease prevention through the use of vaccines has been crucial to achieve the current level of production in the salmon industry. However, vaccines have been developed based largely on inactivated bacterial formulations, using the whole pathogen. These formulations have demonstrated excellent efficacy against extracellular bacterial pathogens. However diseases with the greatest economic impacts correspond to intracellular bacterial and viral pathogens, vaccines based on these types of agents have shown a discrete effectiveness. It is for these reasons that the development of subunit vaccines based on defined antigens offers a promising solution. The main problem is that subunit vaccines offer a low immunogenicity, since they lack immunostimulatory elements, so that the development of new adjuvants platforms becomes an important challenge for this type of formulations. We evaluate the effect of a formulation based on proteoliposomes of Vibrio anguillarum administered by immersion as a new adjuvant strategy, allowing efficient stimulation of the innate immune system. Proteoliposomes physicochemical properties were evaluated in its ability to produce an inflammatory process. Using zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae as a model species and the transgenic line (Tg(mpx: GFP)i114) allowed us to track the neutrophil migration in real time. Additionally we evaluated the gene expression of some molecular markers involved in the development of the innate immune response characterizing the adjuvant capacity of the formulation.

Keywords: adjuvants, vaccine development, zebrafish, innate immunity

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Authors: Mohammad Tipu Sultan, Farzana Sharmin, Ke Xue

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Social media create a better opportunity for travelers to search for travel information, select destination and share their personal experiences of the travel. This study proposes a framework which describes the relationships between social media, and positive or negative tourism experience sharing impact on destination choice. To find out new trends of travelers behavioral intention, we propose an extended theoretical model, the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA). We conducted a survey to analyze three external factors, subjective norms, and positive and negative experience influence on travel destination choice. Structural questionnaire analysis was employed to confirm the proposed research hypothesis within the relationship between consumer influences on the shared experience of social media. The results of the study confirm that sharing positive experiences influence the positive effect of destination choice, while negative experiences decrease the destination selection option. The results indicate that attitudes, subjective norms are passively influenced by shared experience. Moreover, we find that sharing live pictures of travel experiences through social media helps to reduce negative perceptions of the destination brand. This research contribution is useable to the research field as a new determination factor and the findings could be used by destination organization management (DMO) to enhancing their tourism promotion through social media.

Keywords: destination choice, tourism experience sharing, Theory of Reasoned Action, TRA, social media

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Authors: Mohamed Amine Aiche, Elkhansa Yahia, Leila Mallem, Mohamed Salah Boulakoud

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Exposure to endocrine disrupting (ED) during life may cause long-term health effects, the population is exposed to chemicals present in air, water, food and in a variety of consumer and personal care products. Previous research indicates that a wide range of pesticides may act as endocrine disrupters. The azole fungicides propiconazole and propineb have been shown to react through several endocrine disrupting mechanisms, and to induce various endocrine disrupting effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two fungicides; propiconazole and propineb tested separately and in combination, on liver function. The experimental was applied on male Wistar rats dosed orally with Propiconazole 60 mg/kg/day, Propineb 100 mg/kg/day and their mixture 30 mg Propiconazole/kg/day + 50 mg Propineb /kg/day for 4 weeks, for result, a significant increase in liver weights in both treated groups with propineb, propiconazole and their mixture by reference with controls group. Also, highly significant mean values of markers of liver function such as transaminases (ALT/AST) and the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in all treated groups. The antioxidant activity showed a significant decrease in the hepatic glutathione content (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in all treated groups.

Keywords: endocrine disrupting, pesticide mixture, propineb, propiconazole, liver, oxidative stress

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Authors: Nitin Dwivedi, Jigna Shah

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Aim and objective of study: This article indicates a comparison among various generations of dendrimers, a dendrimer is a bioactive material has repetitively branched molecule and used for delivery of various therapeutic active agents. This debut report compares the effect various generations of PPI dendrimers for brain targeting and management of neurodegenerative disorders potential on single platform. This report involves the study of the various mechanism of synthesis ligand anchored various generations PPI dendrimers deliver the drug directly to the CNS, prove their effectiveness in the management of the various neurodegenerative disease. Material and Methods: The Memantine an anti-Alzheimer drug loaded in different generations (3.0G, 4.0G, and 5.0G) of PPI dendrimers which were synthesized were synthesized. The various studies investigate the effect of PPI dendrimers generation on different characteristic parameters i.e. synthesis procedure, drug loading, release behavior, hemolysis profile at different concentration, MRI study for determine the route drug from olfactory transfer, animal model study in vitro, as well as in vivo performance. The outcomes of the investigation indicate drug delivery benefit as well as superior biocompatibility of 4.0G PPI dendrimer over 3.0G and 5.0G dendrimer, respectively. Results and Conclusion: The above study indicate the superiority of in drug delivery system with maximum drug utilization and minimize the drug dose for neurodegenerative disorder over 5.0G PPI dendrimers. So, 4.0G PPI dendrimers are the safe formulations for the symptomatic treatment of the neurodegenerative disorder. The fifth-generation poly(propyleneimine) (PPI) dendrimers, inherent toxicity due to the presence of many peripheral cationic groups is the major issue that limits their applicability.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease, generation, memantine, PPI

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Authors: Po-Fang Hsu, Chiching Wei

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In this paper, we present a novel neural graph matching approach applied to document comparison. Document comparison is a common task in the legal and financial industries. In some cases, the most important differences may be the addition or omission of words, sentences, clauses, or paragraphs. However, it is a challenging task without recording or tracing the whole edited process. Under many temporal uncertainties, we explore the potentiality of our approach to proximate the accurate comparison to make sure which element blocks have a relation of edition with others. In the beginning, we apply a document layout analysis that combines traditional and modern technics to segment layouts in blocks of various types appropriately. Then we transform this issue into a problem of layout graph matching with textual awareness. Regarding graph matching, it is a long-studied problem with a broad range of applications. However, different from previous works focusing on visual images or structural layout, we also bring textual features into our model for adapting this domain. Specifically, based on the electronic document, we introduce an encoder to deal with the visual presentation decoding from PDF. Additionally, because the modifications can cause the inconsistency of document layout analysis between modified documents and the blocks can be merged and split, Sinkhorn divergence is adopted in our neural graph approach, which tries to overcome both these issues with many-to-many block matching. We demonstrate this on two categories of layouts, as follows., legal agreement and scientific articles, collected from our real-case datasets.

Keywords: document comparison, graph matching, graph neural network, modification similarity, multi-modal

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Authors: Nizaha Juhaida Mohamad, David Gray, Bettina Wolf

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Chocolate is a material composite with a high fraction of solid particles dispersed in a fat phase largely composed of cocoa butter. Viscosity properties of chocolate can be manipulated by the amount of fat - increased levels of fat lead to lower viscosity. However, a high content of cocoa butter can increase the cost of the chocolate and instead surfactants are used to manipulate viscosity behaviour. Most commonly, lecithin and polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) are used. Lecithin is a natural lipid emulsifier which is based on phospholipids while PGPR is a chemically produced emulsifier which based on the long continuous chain of ricinoleic acid. Lecithin and PGPR act to lower the viscosity and yield stress, respectively. Recently, natural lipid emulsifiers based on galactolipid as the functional ingredient have become of interest. Spinach lipid is found to have a high amount of galactolipid, specifically MGDG and DGDG. The aim of this research is to explore the influence of spinach lipid in comparison with PGPR and lecithin on the rheological properties of sugar/oil suspensions which serve as chocolate model system. For that purpose, icing sugar was dispersed from 40%, 45% and 50% (w/w) in oil which has spinach lipid at concentrations from 0.1 – 0.7% (w/w). Based on viscosity at 40 s-1 and yield value reported as shear stress measured at 5 s-1, it was found that spinach lipid shows viscosity reducing and yield stress lowering effects comparable to lecithin and PGPR, respectively. This characteristic of spinach lipid demonstrates great potential for it to act as single natural lipid emulsifier in chocolate.

Keywords: chocolate viscosity, lecithin, polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR), spinach lipid

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Authors: Gabi N. Nehme

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Below-knee amputees commonly experience asymmetrical gait patterns. It is generally believed that ischemia is related to the formation of pressure sores due to uneven distribution of forces. Micro-vascular responses can reveal local malnutrition. Changes in local skin blood supply under various external loading conditions have been studied for a number of years. Radionuclide clearance, photo-plethysmography, trans-cutaneous oxygen tension along with other studies showed that the blood supply would be influenced by the epidermal forces, and the rate and the amount of blood supply would decrease with increased epidermal loads being shear forces or normal forces. Several cases of socket designs were investigated using Finite Element Model (FEM) and Design of Experiment (DOE) to increase flexibility and minimize the pressure at the limb/socket interface using ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) and polyamide 6 (PA6) or Duraform. The pressure reliefs at designated areas where reducing thickness is involved are seen to be critical in determination of amputees’ comfort and are very important to clinical applications. Implementing a hole between the Patellar Tendon (PT) and Distal Tibia (DT) would decrease stiffness and increase prosthesis range of motion where flexibility is needed. In addition, displacement and prosthetic energy storage increased without compromising mechanical efficiency and prosthetic design integrity.

Keywords: patellar tendon, distal tibia, prosthetic socket relief areas, hole implementation

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Authors: Sandip Tambare, Revati Ghadge

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Alcohol withdrawal syndrome continue to be concerning health issue worldwide in alcoholics. Many current option for treating alcohol withdrawal signs are habit forming causing dependency of sedatives. The divine science of Ayurveda recommends Nasya for improvement of alcohol withdrawal signs. As per the latest reports 1/3 of the Indian population is using alcohol in an unhealthy manner, the complication being wide and varied among which, the Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome is the dominant one. The presentation varies from mild sleep loss or anxiety to delirium. Ayurveda has given utmost in the context of Madatyaya(Alcoholism). Various protocols based on the identification of the status of tridoshas are explained which includes sodhana, samana and satwavachaya chikitsa. Various medications are being used, with appreciated effects in the clinical practice. As per reports, the panchakarma procedure nasya seems highly effective, in managing of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome. Nasya with Ksheerabala Taila is given for 7 days in the condition of Alcohol Withdrawal syndrome and it was the non Randomized trial with 30 subjects satisfying the DSM V criteria for alcohol withdrawl and the assessment was done using the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol Scale revised (CIWA-Ar). Conclusion: Among the symptoms which were studied after the interventions, it was found that there was high significant response in almost all the symptoms in the given subjects. The eternal science of Ayurveda is able to answer the existing problem of alcohol and its abuse in the society.

Keywords: nasya, alcohol withdrawal, madatyaya, ksheerabala taila

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Authors: Taleb Odeh, Nizar Abu-Jaber, Nour Khries

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The southern part of Wadi Al Yarmouk catchment area covers north of Jordan. It locates within latitudes 32° 20’ to 32° 45’N and longitudes 35° 42’ to 36° 23’ E and has an area of about 1426 km2. However, it has high relief topography where the elevation varies between 50 to 1100 meter above sea level. The variations in the topography causes different units of landforms, climatic zones, land covers and plant species. As a results of these different landscapes units exists in that region. Spatial planning is a major challenge in such a vital area for Jordan which could not be achieved without determining landscape units. However, an integrated approach of remote sensing and geographic information Systems (GIS) is an optimized tool to investigate and map landscape units of such a complicated area. Remote sensing has the capability to collect different land surface data, of large landscape areas, accurately and in different time periods. GIS has the ability of storage these land surface data, analyzing them spatially and present them in form of professional maps. We generated a geo-land surface data that include land cover, rock units, soil units, plant species and digital elevation model using ASTER image and Google Earth while analyzing geo-data spatially were done by ArcGIS 10.2 software. We found that there are twenty two different landscape units in the study area which they have to be considered for any spatial planning in order to avoid and environmental problems.

Keywords: landscape, spatial planning, GIS, spatial analysis, remote sensing

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Authors: Nkechi V. Enwuru, Bullum Nkeki, Elizabeth A. Adekoya, Olumide A. Adebesin, Rebecca F. Peters, Victoria A. Aikhomu, Mendie E. U.

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Background: Probiotics are live microbial feed supplement beneficial for host. Probiotics and their postbiotic products have been used to prevent or treat various health conditions. However, the products cell viability is often low due to harsh conditions subjected during processing, handling, storage, and gastrointestinal transit. These strongly influence probiotics’ benefits; thus, viability is essential for probiotics to produce health benefits for the host. Microencapsulation is a promising technique with considerable effects on probiotic survival. The study is aimed to formulate a microencapsulated probiotic and evaluate its viability, antimicrobial efficacy, and cytotoxic activity of its postbiotic on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Method: Human and animal raw milk were sampled for lactic acid bacteria. The isolated bacteria were identified using conventional and VITEK 2 systems. The identified lactic acid bacterium was encapsulated using spray-dried and extrusion methods. The free, encapsulated, and chitosan-coated encapsulated probiotics were tested for viability in simulated-gastric intestinal (SGI) fluid and different storage conditions at refrigerated (4oC) and room (25oC) temperatures. The disintegration time and weight uniformity of the spray-dried hard gelatin capsules were tested. The antimicrobial property of free and encapsulated probiotics was tested against enteric pathogenic isolates from antiretroviral therapy (ART) treated HIV-positive patients. The postbiotic of the free cells was extracted, and its cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was tested through an MTT assay. Result: The Lactobacillus plantarum was isolated from animal raw milk. Zero-size hard gelatin L. plantarum capsules with granules within a size range of 0.71–1.00 mm diameter was formulated. The disintegration time ranges from 2.14±0.045 to 2.91±0.293 minutes, while the average weight is 502.1mg. Simulated gastric solution significantly affected viability of both free and microcapsules. However, the encapsulated cells were more protected and viable due to impermeability in the microcapsules. Furthermore, the viability of free cells stored at 4oC and 25oC were less than 4 log CFU/g and 6 log CFU/g respectively after 12 weeks. However, the microcapsules stored at 4oC achieved the highest viability among the free and microcapsules stored at 25oC and the free cells stored at 4oC. Encapsulated cells were released in the simulated gastric fluid, viable and effective against the enteric pathogens tested. However, chitosan-coated calcium alginate encapsulated probiotics significantly inhibited Shigella flexneri, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli. The Postbiotic Metabolites (PM) of L. plantarum produced a cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. The postbiotic showed significant cytotoxic activity similar to 5FU, a standard antineoplastic agent. The inhibition concentration of 50% growth (IC50) of postbiotic metabolite K3 is low and consistent with the IC50 of the positive control (Cisplatin). Conclusions: Lactobacillus plantarum postbiotic exhibited a cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and could be used as combined adjuvant therapy in breast cancer management. The microencapsulation technique protects the probiotics, improving their viability and delivery to the gastrointestinal tract. Chitosan enhances antibacterial efficacy; thus, chitosan-coated microencapsulated L. plantarum probiotics could be more effective and used as a combined therapy in HIV management of opportunistic enteric infection.

Keywords: probiotics, encapsulation, gastrointestinal conditions, antimicrobial effect, postbiotic, cytotoxicity effect

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Authors: Musa M. Umar, S. G. Ado

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The paper examines the activities of the National Programme for food security (NPFS) for averting food insecurity in Nigeria and beyond. The components of the NPFS include site development, outreach, community development and management support. On each site, core activities comprise crop productivity, production diversification and agro-processing. The outreach activities consist of inputs and commodity marketing, rural finance, strengthening research-extension-farmers-inputs linkages, health and nutrition and expansion of site activities. The community development activities include small-scale rural infrastructure, micro-earth dams and community forestry. The overall benefits include food security, improved productivity, marketing and processing, enhanced land and water use, increased animal production and fish catches, improved nutrition, reduction in post-harvest losses and value addition, improved rural infrastructure and diversification of production leading to improved livelihood. The NPFS would poster sustained development of small-holder agricultural and income generation.

Keywords: food-security, community development, post-harvest, production

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Authors: Soma Gholamveisy, Vahid Mirghavameddin

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Aquaculture activities face wide environmental, social, and economic problems today. To deal with these problems, the aquaculture business, which is already a highly significant agricultural activity, is influenced by sustainability, which can assure the rural community's safety and food health with minimal environmental damage. The objective of this study's systematic review of the literature (SLR) is to look into the use of global perspective Promotion of Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture. SLR aims to identify the goals of a promotional system, also one of its main components. This research seeks to empower, increase economic productivity, facilitate, pay more attention to the sustainability of the environment and inform the audience in this regard. A method used to assess hypotheses, condense the results of past studies or verify the consistency of studies. It presents a succinct analysis of original research using an unambiguous and verifiable approach. A thorough repository with a vast array of papers and effective exploration methods are frequently utilized in a systematic literature review, enabling the application of advanced logical statements. A comprehensive literature review was carried out to ensure that the most relevant studies were included. This type of review clarifies publication selection criteria and allows evaluation of the studies conducted and their repetition or extension.

Keywords: systematic review, sustainable, fisheries, aquaculture

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Authors: K. Paradkar, S. N. Mudliar, A. Sharma, A. B. Pandit, R. A. Pandey

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The study explores the hybrid combination of Hydrodynamic Cavitation (HC) and Subcritical Wet Air Oxidation-based pretreatment of complex industrial effluent to enhance the biodegradability selectively (without major COD destruction) to facilitate subsequent enhanced downstream processing via anaerobic or aerobic biological treatment. Advanced oxidation based techniques can be less efficient as standalone options and a hybrid approach by combining Hydrodynamic Cavitation (HC), and Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) can lead to a synergistic effect since both the options are based on common free radical mechanism. The HC can be used for initial turbulence and generation of hotspots which can begin the free radical attack and this agitating mixture then can be subjected to less intense WAO since initial heat (to raise the activation energy) can be taken care by HC alone. Lab-scale venturi-based hydrodynamic cavitation and wet air oxidation reactor with biomethanated distillery wastewater (BMDWW) as a model effluent was examined for establishing the proof-of-concept. The results indicated that for a desirable biodegradability index (BOD: COD - BI) enhancement (up to 0.4), the Cavitation (standalone) pretreatment condition was: 5 bar and 88 min reaction time with a COD reduction of 36 % and BI enhancement of up to 0.27 (initial BI - 0.17). The optimum WAO condition (standalone) was: 150oC, 6 bar and 30 minutes with 31% COD reduction and 0.33 BI. The hybrid pretreatment (combined Cavitation + WAO) worked out to be 23.18 min HC (at 5 bar) followed by 30 min WAO at 150oC, 6 bar, at which around 50% COD was retained yielding a BI of 0.55. FTIR & NMR analysis of pretreated effluent indicated dissociation and/or reorientation of complex organic compounds in untreated effluent to simpler organic compounds post-pretreatment.

Keywords: hybrid, hydrodynamic cavitation, wet air oxidation, biodegradability index

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Authors: Irsanti Hasyim, Christian Wibisono, Angela Teressia

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Social enterprises, as one of the way of doing business are on the rise and emerging from the innovations of decades of social initiatives. In simple way, social enterprises use the business platform to achieve social and/or environmental objectives whilst simultaneously seeking a financial return. In Indonesia, the number of social enterprises rapidly grows and most of them were using social media as their business platform. Social Media are perceived as tools for creating online communities of users who share interests, activities, and objectives. Many companies view the use of online communities in social media as a profitable marketing tool from which they can derive several benefits. Through social media, consumers share experiences with and suggest ideas to others while developing new relationships within their communities. Therefore, this study intends to identify the benefits that participants in online communities seek and examine the relationships between members’ levels of participation, brand trust, and brand commitment. Using convenience sampling method, 236 fully answered questioner was collected and used as a sample of this research. The sample of this research consisted of member or follower in several social media from selected social enterprise in Indonesia. Data collected in this research were process by using Partial Least Square and came up with the result that functional benefit and monetary benefit, are only two from five benefits that proposed were the only variable that has significant result even though from APC, ARS and AARS outcomes show that the model can be claimed to be significant.

Keywords: brand trust, brand commitment, social enterprise, social media

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Authors: Wafa Tourab, Abdessalem Babouri, Mohamed Nemamcha

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This work presents an experimental and theoretical characterization of electromagnetic environment in the vicinity of EL-HADJAR high voltage substation located in the eastern Algerian within a very high populated zone. There have been analyses on the effects of electromagnetic fields emanating from coupled multi-lines power systems on the health of the workers and people living in proximity of substations. An experimental investigation has been conducted around a circuit of two 220Kv lines running in parallel. The experimental results are validated by a flexible code of calculus developed in the environment Matlab. The implications of the results are discussed and are in very good agreement with the ICNIRP reference levels for occupational and non-occupational exposures. In a case of study, the separation between the two structures “S” is varied to demonstrate its influence on the electric and magnetic charges quantities generated by the circuit of lines proposed. It is found that increasing S decreases the electric and magnetic fields which occur at the center of the structure then reduces the coupling between lines. We concluded that the evaluation of the spacing between the phase conductors is of paramount interest in the preparation of the line’s implantation inside the electrical posts to reduce them radiations in the environment.

Keywords: low frequency, electromagnetic fields, electromagnetic coupling, high voltage power lines

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Authors: Coulibaly Fatoumata, Seme Kpassi, Aboly Nicolas, Ccoulibaly Zonzereke

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Introduction and Objective: Microbial resistance is nowadays a major public health problem. In the perspective of a better understanding of the resistance of ticks against acaricides, a study was conducted in the Department of Korhogo. The general objective was to verify the knowledge and skills of breeders on the use of acaricides and contribute to reducing the impact of ticks on livestock productivity. Methodology: To carry out the work, a cross-sectional survey was conducted using elaborate questionnaires, followed by specific interviews with livestock stakeholders in the Korhogo sub-prefecture. Results: The results showed that in the study area, cattle breeders, the majority of whom (58.06%) are Ivorians, use anti-ticks without strict compliance with recommendations of the instructions and standards for use. 68% of them performed under-dosed treatments, and 32% an over-dosed treatment. The most common method for treating cattle against ticks was spraying. Conclusion: Despite the use of tick repellents by these breeders, tick-borne diseases still persist. This could be explained by the misuse of the products (under dosage and overdose), which can cause harmful effects or even resistance of certain ticks. It is, therefore important to respect the normal dosage of the products used as well as the methods of use (bath, spray, pour-on, etc.). In order to minimize the problems of resistance, awareness is necessary among breeders for the proper use of acaricidal products as well as all other drugs.

Keywords: ticks, resistance, anti-tick, cattle, korhogo

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Authors: Michael Dolgin, Oz Hamtzani, Talma Kushnir

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A literature review has shown that while parents of children with cancer experience increased levels of psychological distress associated with their child's medical condition, considerable variability in parental adjustment is evident. Of the factors that may account for this variability, little attention has been devoted to the simultaneous interaction of three coping constructs and their role in parental adjustment: (1) Coping techniques employed, (2) Repertoire of coping techniques, and (3) Flexibility in applying coping techniques. While these constructs have been studied individually in relation to adjustment in general, studies to date have not included them together within a single conceptual model and research design and evaluated them in a clinical population. The objective of the current study was to determine how these three coping technique constructs interact to impact parental adjustment to pediatric cancer. A cross-sectional sample of 145 parents of children in active cancer treatment completed standardized measures of coping techniques, repertoire, flexibility, and parental distress. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis demonstrated that 37% of the variance in parental distress was predicted by the use of avoidance-focused coping techniques [F(1,118)=69.843, p<.001], with an additional 3% predicted by coping repertoire [F(2,117)=7.63, p=.00] for a total of 40% variance explained. Coping flexibility was found to mediate the relationship between coping repertoire and parental distress. These findings suggest that coping techniques employed by parents (problem/emotion-focused vs. avoidance-focused), as well as coping repertoire, significantly impact parental adjustment. Flexibility in applying coping techniques within one’s coping repertoire further contributes to parental adjustment. Implications for further study and clinical intervention will be presented.

Keywords: coping techniques, repertoire, flexibility, adjustment

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Authors: Annunziata D’Orazio, Arash Karimipour, Iman Moradi

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The size and arrangement of the obstacles in the porous media has an influential effect on the fluid flow and heat transfer, even in the same porosity. Regarding to this, in the present study, several different amounts of obstacles, in both regular and stagger arrangements, in the analogous porosity have been simulated through a channel. In order to compare the effect of stagger and regular arrangements, as well as different quantity of obstacles in the same porosity, on fluid flow and heat transfer. In the present study, the Single Relaxation Time Lattice Boltzmann Method, with Bhatnagar-Gross-Ktook (BGK) approximation and D2Q9 model, is implemented for the numerical simulation. Also, the temperature field is modeled through a Double Distribution Function (DDF) approach. Results are presented in terms of velocity and temperature fields, streamlines, percentage of pressure drop and Nusselt number of the obstacles walls. Also, the correlation between tortuosity and Nusselt number of the obstacles walls, for both regular and staggered arrangements, has been proposed. On the other hand, the results illustrated that by increasing the amount of obstacles, as well as changing their arrangement from regular to staggered, in the same porosity, the rate of tortuosity and Nusselt number of the obstacles walls increased.

Keywords: lattice boltzmann method, heat transfer, porous media, pore-scale, porosity, tortuosity

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Authors: Laila Yasir Al-Harthy, Ali H. Al-Badi

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As an emerging business model, cloud computing has been initiated to satisfy the need of organizations and to push Information Technology as a utility. The shift to the cloud has changed the way Information Technology departments are managed traditionally and has raised many concerns for both, public and private sectors. The purpose of this study is to investigate the possibility of cloud computing services replacing services provided traditionally by IT departments. Therefore, it aims to 1) explore whether organizations in Oman are ready to move to the cloud; 2) identify the deciding factors leading to the adoption or rejection of cloud computing services in Oman; and 3) provide two case studies, one for a successful Cloud provider and another for a successful adopter. This paper is based on multiple research methods including conducting a set of interviews with cloud service providers and current cloud users in Oman; and collecting data using questionnaires from experts in the field and potential users of cloud services. Despite the limitation of bandwidth capacity and Internet coverage offered in Oman that create a challenge in adopting the cloud, it was found that many information technology professionals are encouraged to move to the cloud while few are resistant to change. The recent launch of a new Omani cloud service provider and the entrance of other international cloud service providers in the Omani market make this research extremely valuable as it aims to provide real-life experience as well as two case studies on the successful provision of cloud services and the successful adoption of these services.

Keywords: cloud computing, cloud deployment models, cloud service models, deciding factors

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Authors: Zeeshan Ahmed, Ajinkya Sarode, Pratik Basarkar, Atul Bhargav, Debjyoti Banerjee

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The use of CO₂ in oil recovery and in CO₂ capture and storage is gaining traction in recent years. These applications involve heat transfer between CO₂ and the base fluid, and hence, there arises a need to improve the thermal conductivity of CO₂ to increase the process efficiency and reduce cost. One way to improve the thermal conductivity is through nanoparticle addition in the base fluid. The nanofluid model in this study consisted of copper (Cu) nanoparticles in varying concentrations with CO₂ as a base fluid. No experimental data are available on thermal conductivity of CO₂ based nanofluid. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are an increasingly adopted tool to perform preliminary assessments of nanoparticle (NP) fluid interactions. In this study, the effect of the formation of a nanolayer (or molecular layering) at the gas-solid interface on thermal conductivity is investigated using equilibrium MD simulations by varying NP diameter and keeping the volume fraction (1.413%) of nanofluid constant to check the diameter effect of NP on the nanolayer and thermal conductivity. A dense semi-solid fluid layer was seen to be formed at the NP-gas interface, and the thickness increases with increase in particle diameter, which also moves with the NP Brownian motion. Density distribution has been done to see the effect of nanolayer, and its thickness around the NP. These findings are extremely beneficial, especially to industries employed in oil recovery as increased thermal conductivity of CO₂ will lead to enhanced oil recovery and thermal energy storage.

Keywords: copper-CO2 nanofluid, molecular dynamics simulation, molecular interfacial layer, thermal conductivity

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Authors: Ajit Kumar Sah, Rajesh Kumar Jha, Phoolgen Sah, Dev Kumar Shah

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Older individuals often suffer from multiple systemic diseases and are particularly more vulnerable to potentially inappropriate medicine prescribing. Inappropriate medication can cause serious medical problem for the elderly. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of potentially inappropriate medicine (PIM) prescribing in older Nepalese patients in a medicine outpatient department. Beers’ criteria are the most widely used tools to assess PIM to elderly patients. Prospective observational analysis of drugs prescribed in medicine out-patient department (OPD) of a hospital of Bharatpur, Chitwan, Nepal during November 2011 to October 2012 to 869 older adults aged 65 years and above. The use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIM) in elderly patients was analyzed using Beers Criteria updated to 2013. In the 869 patients included the average number of drugs prescribed per prescription was 5.56. The most commonly used drugs were atenolol (24.3%), amlodipine (23.16%), paracetamol (17.6%), salbutamol (15.72%) and vitamin B complex (13.26%). The total number of medications prescribed was 4833. At least one instance of PIM was experienced by approximately 26.3% of patients when evaluated using the Beers criteria. Potentially inappropriate medications are highly prevalent among older patients attending medical OPD and are associated with a number of medications prescribed. Further research is warranted to study the impact of PIMs towards health-related outcomes in these elderly.

Keywords: Beers criteria, elderly, polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medicines

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Authors: Abu Zafor Sadek

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Pharmaceuticals were one of the least impacted business sectors during the corona pandemic as they are the center point of Covid-19 fight. Emergency use authorization, unproven indication of some commonly used drugs, self-medication, research and production capacity of an individual country, capacity of producing vaccine by many countries, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) related uncertainty, information gap among manufacturer, practitioners and user, export restriction, duration of lock-down, lack of harmony in transportation, disruption in the regulatory approval process, sudden increased demand of hospital items and protective equipment, panic buying, difficulties in in-person product promotion, e-prescription, geo-politics and associated issues added a new dimension to this industry. Although the industry maintains a reasonable growth throughout Covid-19 days; however, it has been characterized by both long- and short-term effects. Short-term effects have already been visible to so many countries, especially those who are import-dependent and have limited research capacity. On the other hand, it will take a few more time to see the long-term effects. Nevertheless, supply chain disruption, changes in strategic planning, new communication model, squeezing of job opportunity, rapid digitalization are the major short-term effects, whereas long-term effects include a shift towards self-sufficiency, growth pattern changes of certain products, special attention towards clinical studies, automation in operations, the increased arena of ethical issues etc. Therefore, this qualitative and exploratory study identifies the post-covid-19 landscape of the global pharmaceutical industry.

Keywords: covid-19, pharmaceutical, businees, landscape

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Authors: Cheng-Chi Yu, Chi-Shiun Chiou

Abstract:

This study developed a plug-in hybrid powertrain system which consisted of two continuous variable transmissions. By matching between the engine, motor, generator, and dual continuous variable transmissions, this integrated power system can take advantages of the components. The hybrid vehicle can be driven by the internal combustion engine, or electric motor alone, or by these two power sources together when the vehicle is driven in hard acceleration or high load. The energy management of this integrated hybrid system controls the power systems based on rule-based control strategy to achieve better fuel economy. When the vehicle driving power demand is low, the internal combustion engine is operating in the low efficiency region, so the internal combustion engine is shut down, and the vehicle is driven by motor only. When the vehicle driving power demand is high, internal combustion engine would operate in the high efficiency region; then the vehicle could be driven by internal combustion engine. This strategy would operate internal combustion engine only in optimal efficiency region to improve the fuel economy. In this research, the vehicle simulation model was built in MATLAB/ Simulink environment. The analysis results showed that the power coupled efficiency of the hybrid powertrain system with dual continuous variable transmissions was better than that of the Honda hybrid system on the market.

Keywords: plug-in hybrid power system, fuel economy, performance, continuously variable transmission

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Authors: Madhu Aneja, Sapna Sharma

Abstract:

Thermal conductivity of ordinary heat transfer fluids is not adequate to meet today’s cooling rate requirements. Nanoparticles have been shown to increase the thermal conductivity and convective heat transfer to the base fluids. One of the possible mechanisms for anomalous increase in the thermal conductivity of nanofluids is the Brownian motions of the nanoparticles in the basefluid. In this paper, the natural convection of incompressible nanofluid over a nonlinear stretching sheet in the presence of magnetic field is studied. The flow and heat transfer induced by stretching sheets is important in the study of extrusion processes and is a subject of considerable interest in the contemporary literature. Appropriate similarity variables are used to transform the governing nonlinear partial differential equations to a system of nonlinear ordinary (similarity) differential equations. For computational purpose, Finite Element Method is used. The effective thermal conductivity and viscosity of nanofluid are calculated by KKL (Koo – Klienstreuer – Li) correlation. In this model effect of Brownian motion on thermal conductivity is considered. The effect of important parameter i.e. nonlinear parameter, volume fraction, Hartmann number, heat source parameter is studied on velocity and temperature. Skin friction and heat transfer coefficients are also calculated for concerned parameters.

Keywords: Brownian motion, convection, finite element method, magnetic field, nanofluid, stretching sheet

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Authors: Arum Perwitasari

Abstract:

Learning L2 sounds is influenced by the first language (L1) sound system. This current study seeks to examine how the listeners with a different L1 vowel system perceive L2 sounds. The fact that English has a bigger number of vowel inventory than Javanese and Sundanese L1 might cause problems for Javanese and Sundanese English language learners perceiving English sounds. To reveal the L2 sound perception over time, we measured the mouse trajectories related to the hand movements made by Javanese and Sundanese language learners, two of Indonesian local languages. Do the Javanese and Sundanese listeners show higher velocity than the English listeners when they perceive English vowels which are similar and new to their L1 system? The study aims to map the patterns of real-time processing through compatible hand movements to reveal any uncertainties when making selections. The results showed that the Javanese listeners exhibited significantly slower velocity values than the English listeners for similar vowels /I, ɛ, ʊ/ in the 826-1200ms post stimulus. Unlike the Javanese, the Sundanese listeners showed slow velocity values except for similar vowel /ʊ/. For the perception of new vowels /i:, æ, ɜ:, ʌ, ɑː, u:, ɔ:/, the Javanese listeners showed slower velocity in making the lexical decision. In contrast, the Sundanese listeners showed slow velocity only for vowels /ɜ:, ɔ:, æ, I/ indicating that these vowels are hard to perceive. Our results fit well with the second language model representing how the L1 vowel system influences the L2 sound perception.

Keywords: velocity profiles, EFL learners, speech perception, experimental linguistics

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Authors: Libena Cernohorska

Abstract:

The goal of this paper is to specify factors influencing the profitability of selected banks. Next, a model will be created to help establish variables that have a demonstrable influence on the development of the selected banks' profitability ratios. Czech banks and their international parent companies were selected for analyzing profitability. Banks categorized as large banks (according to the Czech National Bank's system, which ranks banks according to balance sheet total) were selected to represent the Czech banks. Two ratios, the return on assets ratio (ROA) and the return on equity ratio (ROE) are used to assess bank profitability. Six endogenous and four external indicators were selected from among other factors that influence bank profitability. The data analyzed were for the years 2001 – 2013. First, correlation analysis, which was supposed to eliminate correlated values, was conducted. A large number of correlated values were established on the basis of this analysis. The strongly correlated values were omitted. Despite this, the subsequent regression analysis of profitability for the individual banks that were selected did not confirm that the selected variables influenced their profitability. The studied factors' influence on bank profitability was demonstrated only for Československá Obchodní Banka and Société Générale using regression analysis. For Československá Obchodní Banka, it was demonstrated that inflation level and the amount of the central bank's interest rate influenced the return on assets ratio and that capital adequacy and market concentration influenced the return on equity ratio for Société Générale.

Keywords: banks, profitability, regression analysis, ROA, ROE

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Authors: C. Bala Prashanth Reddy, B. Abhinay, C. Sreekar, D. V. Shobhana Priscilla

Abstract:

The project aims in designing an emergency pacemaker which is capable of giving shocks to a human heart which has stopped working suddenly. A pacemaker is a machine commonly used by cardiologists. This machine is used in order to shock a human’s heart back into usage. The way the heart works is that there are small cells called pacemakers sending electrical pulses to cardiac muscles that tell the heart when to pump blood. When these electrical pulses stop, the heart stops beating. When this happens, a pacemaker is used to shock the heart muscles and the pacemakers back into action. The way this is achieved is by rubbing the two panels of the pacemaker together to create an adequate electrical current, and then the heart gets back to the normal state. The project aims in designing a system which is capable of continuously displaying the heart beat and blood pressure of a person on LCD. The concerned doctor gets the heart beat and also the blood pressure details continuously through the GSM Modem in the form of SMS alerts. In case of abnormal condition, the doctor sends message format regarding the amount of electric shock needed. Automatically the microcontroller gives the input to the pacemaker which in turn gives the shock to the patient. Heart beat monitor and display system is a portable and a best replacement for the old model stethoscope which is less efficient. The heart beat rate is calculated manually using stethoscope where the probability of error is high because the heart beat rate lies in the range of 70 to 90 per minute whose occurrence is less than 1 sec, so this device can be considered as a very good alternative instead of a stethoscope.

Keywords: missing R wave, PWM, demand pacemaker, heart

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Authors: Mohita Singh, Sunil Sachdev, Amrita Singh

Abstract:

Background and Aim: Physical aerobic exercises promote positive changes in one’s mental health, intelligence, and ability to cope with stressful encounters. The present study was designed to explore the correlation between intelligence and stress parameters and to assess the correlation between the same parameters after the practice of one month of moderate-intensity physical exercise. Method: The study was conducted on thirty-five healthy male volunteer students to assess the correlation between stress parameters in subjects with varying level of general intelligence (GI) and emotional intelligence (EI). Correlation studies were again conducted after one month between the same parameters to evaluate the effect of moderate-intensity physical exercise (MIPE). Baseline values were recorded using standard scales. Result: IQ and EQ correlated negatively with both acute and chronic stress parameters and positively with each other. A positive correlation was found between acute and chronic stress. With the practice of one month of moderate-intensity physical exercise, there was significant increment between the parameters under study and hence improved results. Conclusion: MIPE improved correlation between GI, EI, stress parameters, and thus reduced stress and improved intelligence.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, general intelligence, moderate intensity physical exercise, stress response

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Authors: Sandra Sasikumar, Noorjahan AI, Aurine Anthony

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The background of this article is the frequently unacknowledged effects of corporal punishment in a child's life as they change into adulthood, how it may permutate into various dynamics and combinations and manifest in major areas like fear of intimacy and reactive and ineffective defending styles, which may eventually lead to much more interpersonal problems and in extreme cases psychopathology. Even though such studies require a longitudinal research design, there is a wealth of information on corporal punishment in the literature. Defense styles, or the coping mechanisms that individuals use to deal with stress and difficult emotions, can also be affected by corporal punishment. Individuals who have experienced corporal punishment may develop maladaptive defense styles, such as repression or denial, that can make it difficult for them to process and cope with their emotions. The fear of intimacy, or the fear of getting close to others, is another potential effect of corporal punishment. Individuals who have experienced physical discipline may develop a fear of physical touch, making it difficult for them to form close relationships. This fear can also lead to other mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression. It is important to note that not everyone who experiences corporal punishment will develop these issues, and other factors can contribute to the development of these problems. However, corporal punishment can have a significant impact on an individual's mental and emotional well-being.

Keywords: corporal punishment, fear of intimacy, defense styles, attachment

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