Search results for: district health system
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 25919

Search results for: district health system

6809 Rising Prevalence of Diabetes among Elderly People in Kerala: Evidence from NSS Data

Authors: Narendra Kumar

Abstract:

In developing countries, the majority of people with diabetes are in the age range of 45-64 years and more women than men. As in many areas of the India, non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus has become major problems. Now it is spreading among the middle class and poor at an alarming stage in India and Kerala is turning to be the world capital of diabetes. This study uses two round NSS data from the ‘National Sample Survey Organization, India’ to investigate the predictors of diabetes in Kerala. The overall estimates for diabetes prevalence among elderly show that higher in men than women, but there are more women with diabetes than men. Education of respondent has been found a significant characteristics, further respondent working status, caste/tribe have substantial impact on diabetes in Kerala. The disease is more common for people who are mostly physically inactive. This whole picture is very much prominent in the urban areas compared with the rural ones. Not working elderly have significantly higher with diabetes than for those working in elderly. Socioeconomic status was inversely associated with diabetes prevalence. For men and women, the prevalence of diabetes and hypertension were significantly higher in the urban population while smoking, smokeless tobacco consumption was more prevalent in the rural population. High alcohol intake increases diabetes risk among elderly. Finally these findings specified that an increase improve health care services and changing life style of elderly which should in turn raise diabetes patient survival and should decrease comorbidities due to diabetes in Kerala.

Keywords: elderly, diabetes, prevalence, Kerala

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6808 COVID-19 Pandemic Influence on Toddlers and Preschoolers’ Screen Time

Authors: Juliana da Silva Cardoso, Cláudia Correia, Rita Gomes, Carolina Fraga, Inês Cascais, Sara Monteiro, Beatriz Teixeira, Sandra Ribeiro, Carolina Andrade, Cláudia Oliveira, Diana Gonzaga, Catarina Prior, Inês Vaz Matos

Abstract:

The average daily screen time (ST) has been increasing in children, even at young ages. This seems to be associated with a higher incidence of neurodevelopmental disorders, and as the time of exposure increases, the greater is the functional impact. This study aims to compare the daily ST of toddlers and preschoolers previously and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was applied by telephone to parents/caregivers of children between 1 and 5 years old, followed up at 4 primary care units belonging to the Group of Primary Health Care Centers of Western Porto, Portugal. 520 children were included: 52.9% male, mean age 39.4 ± 13.9 months. The mean age of first exposure to screens was 13.9 ± 8.0 months, and most of the children were exposed to more than one screen daily. Considering the WHO recommendations, before the COVID-19 pandemic, 385 (74.0%) and 408 (78.5%) children had excessive ST during the week and the weekend, respectively; during the lockdown, these values increased to 495 (95.2%) and 482 (92.7%). Maternal education and both the child's median age and the median age of first exposure to screens had a statistically significant association with excessive ST, with OR 0.2 (p = 0.03, CI 95% 0.07-0.86), OR 1.1 (p = 0.01, 95% CI 1.05-1.14) and OR 0.9 (p = 0.05, 95% CI 0. 87-0.98), respectively. Most children in this sample had a higher than recommended ST, which increased with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These results are worrisome and point to the need for urgent intervention.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, preschoolers, screen time, toddlers

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6807 Crop Classification using Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Images

Authors: Iqra Yaseen

Abstract:

One of the well-known areas of computer science and engineering, image processing in the context of computer vision has been essential to automation. In remote sensing, medical science, and many other fields, it has made it easier to uncover previously undiscovered facts. Grading of diverse items is now possible because of neural network algorithms, categorization, and digital image processing. Its use in the classification of agricultural products, particularly in the grading of seeds or grains and their cultivars, is widely recognized. A grading and sorting system enables the preservation of time, consistency, and uniformity. Global population growth has led to an increase in demand for food staples, biofuel, and other agricultural products. To meet this demand, available resources must be used and managed more effectively. Image processing is rapidly growing in the field of agriculture. Many applications have been developed using this approach for crop identification and classification, land and disease detection and for measuring other parameters of crop. Vegetation localization is the base of performing these task. Vegetation helps to identify the area where the crop is present. The productivity of the agriculture industry can be increased via image processing that is based upon Unmanned Aerial Vehicle photography and satellite. In this paper we use the machine learning techniques like Convolutional Neural Network, deep learning, image processing, classification, You Only Live Once to UAV imaging dataset to divide the crop into distinct groups and choose the best way to use it.

Keywords: image processing, UAV, YOLO, CNN, deep learning, classification

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6806 Exploring the Genetic Architecture of Chicken Resistance to Avian Influenza Virus

Authors: Haile Berihulay, Chenglong Luo

Abstract:

Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, is a highly contagious viral disease primarily affecting poultry and wild birds, with significant implications for both animal health and public safety. The influenza virus (IV) is notorious for its ability to mutate and infect multiple species, including humans, leading to severe consequences. Avian influenza poses considerable pandemic risks due to the potential evolution of low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) into highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which can cause rapid outbreaks in domestic flocks. While AVI viruses typically do not replicate well in humans, strains such as H5N1 and H7N9 have crossed the species barrier, raising alarm over human infections. The recent documentation of human transmission of the H5N8 strain from birds underscores the ongoing threat posed by avian influenza. This review necessitates a thorough discussion about the genetic foundation of viral pathogens, identifying key candidate genes linked to disease resilience, and discussing powerful tools. This review can help researchers to comprehensively overview the disease severity and combat related to AIV, which causes significant economic impact and set effective control strategies to mitigate the risks associated with avian influenza outbreaks.

Keywords: Avian, candidate genes, chicken, molecular, pathogen, virus

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6805 Effects of a Bacteria-Based Probiotic on Subpopulations of Peripheral Leukocytes and Their Interleukin mRNA Expression in Calves

Authors: Abdul Qadir Qadis, Satoru Goya, Minoru Yatsu, Yu-uki Yoshida, Toshihiro Ichijo, Shigeru Sato

Abstract:

Bacterial probiotics are known to modulate the gut-associated lymphoid and epithelial tissue response to enhance the activities of intestinal and systemic immune system in human and animals. In cattle, the immune-stimulatory effects of probiotics have been evaluated during intestinal disorders. To investigate the effects of probiotic on the function of peripheral blood mononuclear cells, eight healthy Holstein calves (10 ± 3 weeks) were assigned to a 4 × 2 experimental design. The probiotic, consisting of Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium and Clostridium butyricum, was administered orally at 3.0 g/100 kg body weight to calves once daily for 5 consecutive days. Calves given no probiotic served as the control. In the treatment group, increases in numbers of CD282+ monocytes, CD3+ T-cells and CD4+, CD8+ and WC1+ γδ T- cell subsets were noted on day 7 post-placement compared to pre-dose day and the control group. Expression of interleukin-6, interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha was elevated in peripheral leukocytes on days 7 and 14. These results suggest that peripheral blood leukocytes in healthy calves may be stimulated via the gastrointestinal microbiota, which was increased by the oral probiotic treatment. The 5-day repeated administration of a bacterial probiotic may enhance cellular immune function in weaned calves.

Keywords: bacterial-probiotic, calf, interleukin, leukocyte

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6804 Analysis of Spectral Radiative Entropy Generation in a Non-Gray Participating Medium with Heat Source (Furnaces)

Authors: Asadollah Bahrami

Abstract:

In the present study, spectral radiative entropy generation is analyzed in a furnace filled with a mixture of H₂O, CO₂ and soot at radiative equilibrium. For the angular and spatial discretization of the radiative transfer equation and radiative entropy generation equations, the discrete ordinates method and the finite volume method are used, respectively. Spectral radiative properties are obtained using the correlated-k (CK) non-gray model with updated parameters based on the HITEMP2010 high-resolution database. In order to evaluate the effects of the location of the heat source, boundary condition and wall emissivity on radiative entropy generation, five cases are considered with different conditions. The spectral and total radiative entropy generation in the system are calculated for all cases and the effects of mentioned parameters on radiative entropy generation are attentively analyzed and finally, the optimum condition is especially presented. The most important results can be stated as follows: Results demonstrate that the wall emissivity has a considerable effect on the radiative entropy generation. Also, irreversible radiative transfer at the wall with lower temperatures is the main source of radiative entropy generation in the furnaces. In addition, the effect of the location of the heat source on total radiative entropy generation is less than other factors. Eventually, it can be said that characterizing the effective parameters of radiative entropy generation provides an approach to minimizing the radiative entropy generation and enhancing the furnace's performance practicality.

Keywords: spectral radiative entropy generation, non-gray medium, correlated k(CK) model, heat source

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6803 An Improved Parallel Algorithm of Decision Tree

Authors: Jiameng Wang, Yunfei Yin, Xiyu Deng

Abstract:

Parallel optimization is one of the important research topics of data mining at this stage. Taking Classification and Regression Tree (CART) parallelization as an example, this paper proposes a parallel data mining algorithm based on SSP-OGini-PCCP. Aiming at the problem of choosing the best CART segmentation point, this paper designs an S-SP model without data association; and in order to calculate the Gini index efficiently, a parallel OGini calculation method is designed. In addition, in order to improve the efficiency of the pruning algorithm, a synchronous PCCP pruning strategy is proposed in this paper. In this paper, the optimal segmentation calculation, Gini index calculation, and pruning algorithm are studied in depth. These are important components of parallel data mining. By constructing a distributed cluster simulation system based on SPARK, data mining methods based on SSP-OGini-PCCP are tested. Experimental results show that this method can increase the search efficiency of the best segmentation point by an average of 89%, increase the search efficiency of the Gini segmentation index by 3853%, and increase the pruning efficiency by 146% on average; and as the size of the data set increases, the performance of the algorithm remains stable, which meets the requirements of contemporary massive data processing.

Keywords: classification, Gini index, parallel data mining, pruning ahead

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6802 Employee Well-being in the Age of AI: Perceptions, Concerns, Behaviors, and Outcomes

Authors: Soheila Sadeghi

Abstract:

— The growing integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into Human Resources (HR) processes has transformed the way organizations manage recruitment, performance evaluation, and employee engagement. While AI offers numerous advantages—such as improved efficiency, reduced bias, and hyper-personalization—it raises significant concerns about employee well-being, job security, fairness, and transparency. The study examines how AI shapes employee perceptions, job satisfaction, mental health, and retention. Key findings reveal that: (a) while AI can enhance efficiency and reduce bias, it also raises concerns about job security, fairness, and privacy; (b) transparency in AI systems emerges as a critical factor in fostering trust and positive employee attitudes; and (c) AI systems can both support and undermine employee well-being, depending on how they are implemented and perceived. The research introduces an AI-employee well-being Interaction Framework, illustrating how AI influences employee perceptions, behaviors, and outcomes. Organizational strategies, such as (a) clear communication, (b) upskilling programs, and (c) employee involvement in AI implementation, are identified as crucial for mitigating negative impacts and enhancing positive outcomes. The study concludes that the successful integration of AI in HR requires a balanced approach that (a) prioritizes employee well-being, (b) facilitates human-AI collaboration, and (c) ensures ethical and transparent AI practices alongside technological advancement.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, human resources, employee well-being, job satisfaction, organizational support, transparency in AI

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6801 Arabic Scholar’s Governance Advocacy and Nigeria’s National Security in Nigeria: Perspective of Al-Shaykh Usman Bin Fodio

Authors: Mohammad Jamiu Abdullahi, Shykh Ahmed Abdussalam

Abstract:

The emergence of Arabic on the shore of West Africa heralded the practise of Islam and advocation for a just and egalitarian society. Islam, it was argued, has been perverted and subverted by the Hausa leadership. This necessitated the call for reforming Islam. Al-Shaykh Usman Bin Fodio grabbed the opportunity and fought the perverts to restore the glory of Islam and establish shari'ah way of life. This was the practice, especially in the northern part of Nigeria until the incursion of colonialism. The conquest of the colonial master halted the rule of jihadi leaderships and subjected them to colonialism under which only some aspects of Islamic system considered potentially beneficial to the British interest were retained. The current socio-political and economic crises in Nigeria has necessitated the need to look inwardly to the bulk of works, in Arabic, left behind by the Muslim scholars to help to salvage the country from its present political crisis, economic paralysis and legal decadence. This paper, therefore, examines the relevance of Arabic literary works that housed political/legal theories to salvaging the country from its present political crises, economic paralysis and legal decadence.

Keywords: Arabic Fodio Nigeria security, advocacy governance scholar Usman, British colonial perspective shaykh, leadership Islam jihad politics

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6800 Contribution of Remote Sensing and GIS to the Study of the Impact of the Salinity of Sebkhas on the Quality of Groundwater: Case of Sebkhet Halk El Menjel (Sousse)

Authors: Gannouni Sonia, Hammami Asma, Saidi Salwa, Rebai Noamen

Abstract:

Water resources in Tunisia have experienced quantitative and qualitative degradation, especially when talking about wetlands and Sbekhas. Indeed, the objective of this work is to study the spatio-temporal evolution of salinity for 29 years (from 1987 to 2016). A study of the connection between surface water and groundwater is necessary to know the degree of influence of the Sebkha brines on the water table. The evolution of surface salinity is determined by remote sensing based on Landsat TM and OLI/TIRS satellite images of the years 1987, 2007, 2010, and 2016. The processing of these images allowed us to determine the NDVI(Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), the salinity index, and the surface temperature around Sebkha. In addition, through a geographic information system(GIS), we could establish a map of the distribution of salinity in the subsurface of the water table of Chott Mariem and Hergla/SidiBouAli/Kondar. The results of image processing and the calculation of the index and surface temperature show an increase in salinity downstream of in addition to the sebkha and the development of vegetation cover upstream and the western part of the sebkha. This richness may be due both to contamination by seawater infiltration from the barrier beach of Hergla as well as the passage of groundwater to the sebkha.

Keywords: spatio-temporal monitoring, salinity, satellite images, NDVI, sebkha

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6799 Pilot Study of Overweight and Obesity among 8-9 Year Old Schoolchildren in the Republic of Kazakhstan

Authors: Z. E. Battakova , G. Z. Tokmurziyeva, S. Z. Abdrakhmanova, A. A. Akimbaeva, A. A. Adaeva

Abstract:

Introduction: In the Republic of Kazakhstan few studies have quantified overweight rates among children. Assessment of overweight and obesity in school children based on measured inter country comparable data has not been implemented. In this regard, in a pilot region, Aktobe oblast, prevalence of obesity among school children was studied based on the protocol of the World Health Organization (WHO) European Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative. Methods: The study was conducted on sample of 800 children of 2-3 grades in September 2014. The anthropometric variables were measured by standardized equipment to calculate body mass index. Prevalence of overweight and obesity was determined for 8 and 9 year old children by gender using WHO growth reference 2007. Results: 21,4% of children aged 8 years old were overweight, and 8,7% were obese. Among 8 year old boys the prevalence of overweight and obesity was 23,7% and 10,6% respectively, among girls 18,9% and 6,7% respectively. The prevalence of overweight was 25,7% and obesity was 10,8% for 9 year old children. 29,6% boys of 9 years of age were overweight and 8,6% were obese respectively.20,9% of 9 year old girls were overweight and 13,4% were obese. Conclusion: Thus, 22,6% of children 8-9 years of age at the study population were overweight and 9,3% obese. The results of the survey demonstrate the need for further study of indicators at the national level for internationally comparable data and actions to tackle childhood obesity epidemic as well as the need for monitoring trends of overweight and obesity among children.

Keywords: 8-9 year old school children, obesity, overweight, body mass index

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6798 How to Improve the Environmental Performance in a HEI in Mexico, an EEA Adaptation

Authors: Stephanie Aguirre Moreno, Jesús Everardo Olguín Tiznado, Claudia Camargo Wilson, Juan Andrés López Barreras

Abstract:

This research work presents a proposal to evaluate the environmental performance of a Higher Education Institution (HEI) in Mexico in order to minimize their environmental impact. Given that public education has limited financial resources, it is necessary to conduct studies that support priorities in decision-making situations and thus obtain the best cost-benefit ratio of continuous improvement programs as part of the environmental management system implemented. The methodology employed, adapted from the Environmental Effect Analysis (EEA), weighs the environmental aspects identified in the environmental diagnosis by two characteristics. Number one, environmental priority through the perception of the stakeholders, compliance of legal requirements, and environmental impact of operations. Number two, the possibility of improvement, which depends of factors such as the exchange rate that will be made, the level of investment and the return time of it. The highest environmental priorities, or hot spots, identified in this evaluation were: electricity consumption, water consumption and recycling, and disposal of municipal solid waste. However, the possibility of improvement for the disposal of municipal solid waste is higher, followed by water consumption and recycling, in spite of having an equal possibility of improvement to the energy consumption, time of return and cost-benefit is much greater.

Keywords: environmental performance, environmental priority, possibility of improvement, continuous improvement programs

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6797 An Approach to Control Electric Automotive Water Pumps Deploying Artificial Neural Networks

Authors: Gabriel S. Adesina, Ruixue Cheng, Geetika Aggarwal, Michael Short

Abstract:

With the global shift towards sustainability and technological advancements, electric Hybrid vehicles (EHVs) are increasingly being seen as viable alternatives to traditional internal combustion (IC) engine vehicles, which also require efficient cooling systems. The electric Automotive Water Pump (AWP) has been introduced as an alternative to IC engine belt-driven pump systems. However, current control methods for AWPs typically employ fixed gain settings, which are not ideal for the varying conditions of dynamic vehicle environments, potentially leading to overheating issues. To overcome the limitations of fixed gain control, this paper proposes implementing an artificial neural network (ANN) for managing the AWP in EHVs. The proposed ANN provides an intelligent, adaptive control strategy that enhances the AWP's performance, supported through MATLAB simulation work illustrated in this paper. Comparative analysis demonstrates that the ANN-based controller surpasses conventional PID and fuzzy logic-based controllers (FLC), exhibiting no overshoot, 0.1secs rapid response, and 0.0696 IAE performance. Consequently, the findings suggest that ANNs can be effectively utilized in EHVs.

Keywords: automotive water pump, cooling system, electric hybrid vehicles, artificial neural networks, PID control, fuzzy logic control, IAE, MATLAB

Procedia PDF Downloads 47
6796 A Novel Approach to Design and Implement Context Aware Mobile Phone

Authors: G. S. Thyagaraju, U. P. Kulkarni

Abstract:

Context-aware computing refers to a general class of computing systems that can sense their physical environment, and adapt their behaviour accordingly. Context aware computing makes systems aware of situations of interest, enhances services to users, automates systems and personalizes applications. Context-aware services have been introduced into mobile devices, such as PDA and mobile phones. In this paper we are presenting a novel approaches used to realize the context aware mobile. The context aware mobile phone (CAMP) proposed in this paper senses the users situation automatically and provides user context required services. The proposed system is developed by using artificial intelligence techniques like Bayesian Network, fuzzy logic and rough sets theory based decision table. Bayesian Network to classify the incoming call (high priority call, low priority call and unknown calls), fuzzy linguistic variables and membership degrees to define the context situations, the decision table based rules for service recommendation. To exemplify and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods, the context aware mobile phone is tested for college campus scenario including different locations like library, class room, meeting room, administrative building and college canteen.

Keywords: context aware mobile, fuzzy logic, decision table, Bayesian probability

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6795 The Effect of Public Debt on the Economic Growth and Development in Nigeria

Authors: Uzoma Emmanuel Igboji

Abstract:

This paper examines the influence of public debts (external and internal) on economic growth and development in Nigeria from (1980-2015). The study uses aggregate GDP as a proxy for economic growth, per capital income as a proxy for standard of living and Government expenditure on health as a proxy for human capital development, while Foreign Direct Investment, Unemployment rate, and Oil revenue were used as control variables. The study made use of ex-post facto research design with the data extracted from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Statistical Bulletin and the World Bank database. It adopted a multiple regression analysis of the ordinary least square (OLS) method with the help of E-View version 3.0. The results revealed that external debt has a negative and insignificant effect on GDP, per capital income and human capital development. The study concluded that external debts were being channeled to meet the recurrent expenditures of the nation’s economy at the expense of productive investment that could stimulate growth and poverty alleviation. It, however, recommended that government should ensure that the bulk of the total borrowings are mostly sourced from within the domestic economy so that the repayment of the principal and interest will serve as a crowd in-effect rather that crowd out-effect which in turn further accelerates the country’s economic growth and development.

Keywords: economic growth, external debt, internal debt, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 254
6794 Framework for Aligning Supply Chain Strategies and Organizational Strategies in an SOE Environment

Authors: R. Setino, I. M. Ambe, J. A Badenhorst-Weiss

Abstract:

The South African government supply chain management system is not adequately implemented in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). There are weaknesses in the SOEs SCM enablers, strategies and policies. In addition, top management of SOEs still do not see SCM as strategic enough to deserve their attention, and therefore, there is very little support from top management, thus making it even difficult for SCM practitioners to execute their day to day functions, let alone delivering the letter and spirit of the relevant legislations. Supply chain strategies lack buy in from the top, and as a result senior SCM practitioners has not been involved in the corporate strategy. This has resulted in supply chain and corporate strategies being misaligned. Due to service delivery backlog, high level of corruption and continuous strikes across the country for better services it is inevitable that government leaders be more strategic about how South Africa can use SCM as a tool to improve service delivery. Consequently, there is a need to close the gap between the strategic level dealt by top management and the application of operational SCM concepts: the use of SCM concepts and, therefore, supply chain strategies – should be aligned with the corporate and business strategies in order to ensure the achievement of top level business objectives. This paper aims to explore supply chain practices in State Owned Enterprises (SOEs). The paper based on a conceptual review provides the status, trends and development and suggests a framework for aligning supply chain strategies and organizational strategies in an SOE environment.

Keywords: alignment, strategies, state owned enterprises, supply chain management, South Africa

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6793 Experimental Modeling and Simulation of Zero-Surface Temperature of Controlled Water Jet Impingement Cooling System for Hot-Rolled Steel Plates

Authors: Thomas Okechukwu Onah, Onyekachi Marcel Egwuagu

Abstract:

Zero-surface temperature, which controlled the cooling profile, was modeled and used to investigate the effect of process parameters on the hot-rolled steel plates. The parameters include impingement gaps of 40mm to 70mm; pipe diameters of 20mm to 45mm feeding jet nozzle with 30 holes of 8mm diameters each; and flow rates within 2.896x10-⁶m³/s and 3.13x10-⁵m³/s. The developed simulation model of the Zero-Surface Temperature, upon validation, showed 99% prediction accuracy with dimensional homogeneity established. The evaluated Zero-Surface temperature of Controlled Water Jet Impingement Steel plates showed a high cooling rate of 36.31 Celsius degree/sec at an optimal cooling nozzle diameter of 20mm, impingement gap of 70mm and a flow rate of 1.77x10-⁵m³/s resulting in Reynold's number 2758.586, in the turbulent regime was obtained. It was also deduced that as the nozzle diameter was increasing, the impingement gap was reducing. This achieved a faster rate of cooling to an optimum temperature of 300oC irrespective of the starting surface cooling temperature. The results additionally showed that with a tested-plate initial temperature of 550oC, a controlled cooling temperature of about 160oC produced a film and nucleated boiling heat extraction that was particularly beneficial at the end of controlled cooling and influenced the microstructural properties of the test plates.

Keywords: temperature, mechanistic-model, plates, impingements, dimensionless-numbers

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6792 Barriers to Job Localization Policy in Private Sector: Case Study from Oman

Authors: Yahya Al Nahdi

Abstract:

Even though efforts to increase the participation of nationals in the workforce have been in place for more than a decade in the Sultanate of Oman, the results are not impressive. Citizens’ workforce participation – it is argued in the literature – is hindered by institutional, as well as attitudinal concerns. The purpose of this study was to determine barriers to Omanization (employment of Omani nationals) in the private sector as perceived by the senior managers in government and private sector. Data were collected predominantly through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with managers who directly deal with Omanization policies from both the public and private sector. Results from the data analysis have shown that the majority of participants acknowledged a work preference in the movement (public sector). The private sector employees' compensation and benefits package was perceived to be less attractive than that offered in the government (public sector). The negative perceptions (stereotypes) shared by expatriates regarding work attitudes and competencies of citizens in the local labour market was also overwhelmingly perceived as a major hindrance. Furthermore, institutional issues such as, ineffectiveness of rules and regulation regarding Omanization, inappropriate quota system and lack of public awareness towards private sector’s jobs, are also perceived problematic to successful Omanization. Finally, results from the data analysis were used in recommending strategies for potential consideration in the pursuit of a successful Omanization programme.

Keywords: localization, job security, labour force structure, Omanization, private sector, public sector

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6791 Iterative Estimator-Based Nonlinear Backstepping Control of a Robotic Exoskeleton

Authors: Brahmi Brahim, Mohammad Habibur Rahman, Maarouf Saad, Cristóbal Ochoa Luna

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A repetitive training movement is an efficient method to improve the ability and movement performance of stroke survivors and help them to recover their lost motor function and acquire new skills. The ETS-MARSE is seven degrees of freedom (DOF) exoskeleton robot developed to be worn on the lateral side of the right upper-extremity to assist and rehabilitate the patients with upper-extremity dysfunction resulting from stroke. Practically, rehabilitation activities are repetitive tasks, which make the assistive/robotic systems to suffer from repetitive/periodic uncertainties and external perturbations induced by the high-order dynamic model (seven DOF) and interaction with human muscle which impact on the tracking performance and even on the stability of the exoskeleton. To ensure the robustness and the stability of the robot, a new nonlinear backstepping control was implemented with designed tests performed by healthy subjects. In order to limit and to reject the periodic/repetitive disturbances, an iterative estimator was integrated into the control of the system. The estimator does not need the precise dynamic model of the exoskeleton. Experimental results confirm the robustness and accuracy of the controller performance to deal with the external perturbation, and the effectiveness of the iterative estimator to reject the repetitive/periodic disturbances.

Keywords: backstepping control, iterative control, Rehabilitation, ETS-MARSE

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6790 China and the Middle East in the 21st Century: From Political Mediation to Economic Expansionism

Authors: Ali Asghar Sotoudeh

Abstract:

Mediation Diplomacy has emerged as one of the main pillars of China's foreign policy goals and practices, and Beijing has established itself as a peacekeeping force in regional conflicts and crises such as Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, and the Arab-Israeli peace process. China is deepening and intensifying its diplomatic interventions in the Middle East and trying to shape the security and political developments in the Middle East. On the other hand, economically, China has become one of the most important trading partners with Middle Eastern governments. China is also seeking to expand its foreign policy and economic interests in the Middle East through the New Silk Road initiative and has signed cooperation agreements with 17 Arab countries. In this regard, due to the importance of the subject, this research focuses on answering this question; what is the basis of China's political mediation and economic expansionism in the Middle East? In parallel with this question, this study follows the hypothesis that the mediating role of peace is a legitimate way for China to intervene in Middle East political crises, Without causing China to deviate from its traditional guiding principles based on non-interference in the internal affairs of other actors in the international system. This policy also promotes the security of economic interests and increases the country's political influence in the Middle East. The research method is descriptive-analytical based on the qualitative method, and the data collection method is library and internet resources.

Keywords: China, middle east, political mediation, economic expansionism

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6789 MLProxy: SLA-Aware Reverse Proxy for Machine Learning Inference Serving on Serverless Computing Platforms

Authors: Nima Mahmoudi, Hamzeh Khazaei

Abstract:

Serving machine learning inference workloads on the cloud is still a challenging task at the production level. The optimal configuration of the inference workload to meet SLA requirements while optimizing the infrastructure costs is highly complicated due to the complex interaction between batch configuration, resource configurations, and variable arrival process. Serverless computing has emerged in recent years to automate most infrastructure management tasks. Workload batching has revealed the potential to improve the response time and cost-effectiveness of machine learning serving workloads. However, it has not yet been supported out of the box by serverless computing platforms. Our experiments have shown that for various machine learning workloads, batching can hugely improve the system’s efficiency by reducing the processing overhead per request. In this work, we present MLProxy, an adaptive reverse proxy to support efficient machine learning serving workloads on serverless computing systems. MLProxy supports adaptive batching to ensure SLA compliance while optimizing serverless costs. We performed rigorous experiments on Knative to demonstrate the effectiveness of MLProxy. We showed that MLProxy could reduce the cost of serverless deployment by up to 92% while reducing SLA violations by up to 99% that can be generalized across state-of-the-art model serving frameworks.

Keywords: serverless computing, machine learning, inference serving, Knative, google cloud run, optimization

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6788 Death Anxiety and Life Expectancy among Older Adults in Iran

Authors: Vahid Rashedi, Banafsheh Ebrahimi, Mahtab Sharif Mohseni, Mohammadali Hosseini

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Introduction: One of the metrics used to evaluate health status is life expectancy. This index alters as people age as a result of several events, illnesses, stress, and anxiety. One of the issues that might develop into a lethal phobia is death anxiety. This study looked at older persons in Tehran, Iran, to see if there was any correlation between life expectancy and fear of dying. Methods: Cluster random sampling was used to select 208 older persons (age 60) who had been sent to adult daycare facilities in Tehran for this correlational descriptive study. A demographic questionnaire, Temper's death anxiety scale, and Snyder's life expectancy scale were used to gather the data. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences softwear version 22 was used to conduct the data analysis. Results: The average age of the senior citizens was 66.60 (6.58) years. With a mean life expectancy of 24.94, it was discovered that the average death anxiety was 12.21. Additionally, Pearson's correlation coefficient demonstrated a bad correlation between fear of dying and life expectancy. Age, residential status, and death fear were the three primary predictors of a decline in life expectancy, according to multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: The findings suggest that there is a link between death fear and a lower life expectancy, which calls for the use of appropriate strategies to increase older individuals' life expectancies as well as the teaching of anxiety coping mechanisms.

Keywords: aged, frailty, death, anxiety, life

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6787 Production of Amorphous Boron Powder via Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

Authors: Meltem Bolluk, Ismail Duman

Abstract:

Boron exhibits the properties of high melting temperature (2273K to 2573 K), high hardness (Mohs: 9,5), low density (2,340 g/cm3), high chemical resistance, high strength, and semiconductivity (band gap:1,6-2,1 eV). These superior properties enable to use it in several high-tech areas from electronics to nuclear industry and especially in high temperature metallurgy. Amorphous boron and crystalline boron have different application areas. Amorphous boron powder (directly amorphous and/or α-rhombohedral) is preferred in rocket firing, airbag inflating and in fabrication of superconducting MgB2 wires. The conventional ways to produce elemental boron with a purity of 85 pct to 95 prc are metallothermic reduction, fused salt electrolysis and mechanochemical synthesis; but the only way to produce high-purity boron powders is Chemical Vapour Deposition (Hot Surface CVD). In this study; amorphous boron powders with a minimum purity of 99,9 prc were synthesized in quartz tubes using BCl3-H2 gas mixture by CVD. Process conditions based on temperature and gas flow rate were determined. Thermodynamical interpretation of BCl3-H2 system for different temperatures and molar rates were performed using Fact Sage software. The characterization of powders was examined by using Xray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), Stereo Microscope (SM), Helium gas pycnometer analysis. The purities of final products were determined by titration after lime fusion.

Keywords: amorphous boron, CVD, powder production, powder characterization

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6786 Mothers' Perspective on Services for Children with Autism in Indonesia

Authors: Wike Wike

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to investigate the experience of mothers of autistic children in Indonesia in raising the children and obtaining services for them through the adequate of information. The study seeks to contribute to the knowledge emerging from the women as a mother of children with autism on health and disability area. There is silence in the Indonesian literature on this perspective, especially about the parents and/or mothers of autistic children that is the focus of this analysis. Therefore, in order to capture the points of view emerging from the mothers, a qualitative study design has been applied. The main data for this qualitative study was collected from interviews (semi-structured interview and focus group discussion) with the mothers of children with autism who are member of parenting group in autistic schools and rehabilitation centers in one of Indonesian regional cities. This study reveals that the mothers’ experience in raising a child who is diagnosed with autism is rooted in limited knowledge on autism, limited knowledge on availability of services and limited knowledge on service options. Compounding this is limited availability and accessibility of the services that are important to their child's development. An important contribution of this study is to show how tapping into the experience of mothers can provide much needed information to policy making and service planners and implementers that can improve the services for children with autism and their families.

Keywords: mothers, children with autism, disability services and policy, services

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6785 The Role of Sustainable Development in the Design and Planning of Smart Cities Using GIS Techniques: Models of Arab Cities

Authors: Ahmed M. Jihad

Abstract:

The paper presents the concept of sustainable development, and the role of geographic techniques in the design, planning and presentation of maps of smart cities with geographical vision, and the identification of programs and tools, and models of maps of Arab cities, is the problem of research in how to apply, process and experience these programs? What is the role of geographic techniques in planning and mapping the optimal place for these cities? The paper proposes an addition to the designs of Iraqi cities, as it can be developed in the future to serve as a model for interactive smart cities by developing its services. The importance of this paper stems from the concept of sustainable development dynamic which has become a method of development imposed by the present era in rapid development to achieve social balance and specialized programs in draw paper argues that ensuring sustainable development is achieved through the use of information technology. The paper will follow the theoretical presentation of the importance of the concept of development, design tools and programs. The paper follows the method of analysis of modern systems (System Analysis Approach) through the latest programs will provide results can be said that the new Iraqi cities can be developed with smart technologies, like some of the Arab and European cities that were newly created through the introduction of international investment, and therefore Plans can be made to select the best programs in manufacturing and producing maps and smart cities in the future.

Keywords: geographic techniques, planning the cities, smart cities, sustainable development

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6784 Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) Developed Clinical Pathway: Suggested Protocol

Authors: Maha Salah, Hanaa Hashem, Mahmoud M. Alsagheir, Mohammed Salah

Abstract:

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) represents a complex clinical syndrome and carries a high risk for mortality. The severity of the clinical course, the uncertainty of the outcome, and the reliance on the full spectrum of critical care resources for treatment mean that the entire health care team is challenged. Researchers and clinicians have investigated the nature of the pathological process and explored treatment options with the goal of improving outcome. Through this application of research to practice, we know that some previous strategies have been ineffective, and innovations in mechanical ventilation, sedation, nutrition, and pharmacological intervention remain important research initiatives. Developed Clinical pathway is multidisciplinary plans of best clinical practice for this specified groups of patients that aid in the coordination and delivery of high quality care. They are a documented sequence of clinical interventions that help a patient to move, progressively through a clinical experience to a desired outcome. Although there is a lot of heterogeneity in patients with ARDS, this suggested developed clinical pathway with alternatives was built depended on a lot of researches and evidence based medicine and nursing practices which may be helping these patients to improve outcomes, quality of life and decrease mortality.

Keywords: acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), clinical pathway, clinical syndrome

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6783 Assessment of Intra-City Road Infrastructure in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria

Authors: Aruna Kemisola Kehinde, Oyinloye Michael Ajide, Aboluje Oluwafemi Bolarinwa

Abstract:

The development of the nation's overall growth is directly impacted by the vital substructure of the transportation system. The majority of developing countries experience issues with road transportation, including limited and low-quality infrastructure. The study assessed intra-city road infrastructure in Ado-Ekiti with a view to identifying its adequacy and functionality for efficient transport in the town. To this end, the study examined the locations of the road infrastructure, characteristics of the road infrastructure, and condition of the road infrastructure. A systematic random sampling method was adopted to select respondents for the study. Data were sourced from both primary and secondary sources. A 2.5% of 20,160 households, amounting to 503 households, was used as the sample size. Data analysis was based on responses from 500 questionnaires retrieved, and the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The results of this study showed that based on the locations of road infrastructure, disparity exists in the distribution of infrastructure amongst the major roads. Inferences from the results gathered also demonstrated that the infrastructure that is available is very much less than the non-available infrastructure. About 50% of the respondents are satisfied that the condition of road infrastructure in Ado-Ekiti is fair. The study's recommendations for the Ekiti state government include quantifying the number of existing road infrastructure, establishing a state maintenance board to expedite their renovation, and diversifying its goals for providing road infrastructure through public-private partnership (PPP) agreements with the private sector.

Keywords: road transportation, infrastructure, availability, intra-city

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6782 Damage to Strawberries Caused by Simulated Transport

Authors: G. La Scalia, M. Enea, R. Micale, O. Corona, L. Settanni

Abstract:

The quality and condition of perishable products delivered to the market and their subsequent selling prices are directly affected by the care taken during harvesting and handling. Mechanical injury, in fact, occurs at all stages, from pre-harvest operations through post-harvest handling, packing and transport to the market. The main implications of this damage are the reduction of the product’s quality and economical losses related to the shelf life diminution. For most perishable products, the shelf life is relatively short and it is typically dictated by microbial growth related to the application of dynamic and static loads during transportation. This paper presents the correlation between vibration levels and microbiological growth on strawberries and woodland strawberries and detects the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOC) in order to develop an intelligent logistic unit capable of monitoring VOCs using a specific sensor system. Fresh fruits were exposed to vibrations by means of a vibrating table in a temperature-controlled environment. Microbiological analyses were conducted on samples, taken at different positions along the column of the crates. The values obtained were compared with control samples not exposed to vibrations and the results show that different positions along the column influence the development of bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi.

Keywords: microbiological analysis, shelf life, transport damage, volatile organic compounds

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6781 Evaluation of Reproductive Toxicity of Diazinon Pesticide in Male Wistar Rats

Authors: Mohammad Alfaifi, Mohammed Alshehri

Abstract:

Organophosphates are among the most widely used synthetic insect pesticides. The widespread use of organophosphates has stimulated research into the possible existence of effects related with their reproductive toxic activity. The present study aimed to assess the effects of diazinon (DIZ) on male reproductive system. DIZ at the dose levels of 1.5, 3.0 and 9.0 mg/kg b. wt./day was administered orally to male rats of Wistar strain for 30 days to evaluate the toxic alterations in testicular histology, biochemistry, sperm dynamics and testosterone levels. The body weight of animals did not show any significant changes; however, a significant reduction was observed in testes weight. DIZ also brought about a marked reduction in epididymal and testicular sperm counts in exposed males and a decrease in serum testosterone concentration. Histopathological examination of testes showed mild to severe degenerative changes in seminiferous tubules at various dose levels. Fertility test showed 79% negative results. All these toxic effects are moderate at low doses and become severe at higher dose levels. From the results of the present study, it is concluded that DIZ induces severe testicular damage and results in a reduction in sperm count and thus affect fertility. Small changes in sperm counts are known to have adverse effects on human fertility. Therefore, application of such insecticide should be limited to a designed programme.

Keywords: organophosphates, reproductive toxicity, diazinon, fertility

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6780 Use of Nutritional Screening Tools in Cancer-Associated Malnutrition

Authors: Meryem Saban Guler, Saniye Bilici

Abstract:

Malnutrition is a problem that significantly affects patients with cancer throughout the course of their illness, and it may be present from the moment of diagnosis until the end of treatment. We searched electronic databases using key terms such as ‘malnutrition in cancer patients’ or ‘nutritional status in cancer’ or ‘nutritional screening tools’ etc. Decline in nutritional status and continuing weight loss are associated with an increase in number and severity of complications, impaired quality of life and decreased survival rate. Nutrition is an important factor in the treatment and progression of cancer. Cancer patients are particularly susceptible to nutritional depletion due to the combined effects of the malignant disease and its treatment. With increasing incidence of cancer, identification and management of nutritional deficiencies are needed. Early identification of malnutrition, is substantial to minimize or prevent undesirable outcomes throughout clinical course. In determining the nutritional status; food consumption status, anthropometric methods, laboratory tests, clinical symptoms, psychosocial data are used. First-line strategies must include routine screening and identification of inpatients or outpatients at nutritional risk with the use of a simple and standardized screening tool. There is agreement among international nutrition organizations and accredited health care organizations that routine nutritional screening should be a standard procedure for every patient admitted to a hospital. There are f management of all cancer patients therefore routine nutritional screening with validated tools can identify cancer patients at risk.

Keywords: cancer, malnutrition, nutrition, nutritional screening

Procedia PDF Downloads 207