Search results for: attitude towards other brand and consumption barriers

Authors: Monika R. Bhoi, R. F. Sutar, Bhaumik B. Patel

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The objective of this research paper is to obtain the premium quality of cinnamon bark powder through cryogenic grinding technology. The effect of grinding temperature (0, -20, -40, -60, -80 and -100˚C), feed rate (8, 9 and 10 kg/h), and sieve size (0.8, 1.0 and 1.5 mm) were evaluated with respect to grinding time, volatile oil content, particle size, energy consumption, and liquid nitrogen consumption. Cryogenic grinding process parameters were optimized to obtain premium quality cinnamon bark powder was carried out using three factorial completely randomized design. The optimization revealed that grinding of cinnamon bark at -80⁰C temperature using 0.8 mm sieve size and 10 kg/h feed rate resulted in premium quality cinnamon bark powder containing volatile oil 3.01%. In addition, volatile oil retention in cryogenically ground powder was 88.23%, whereas control (ambient grinding) had 33.11%. Storage study of premium quality cryogenically ground powder was carried out under accelerated storage conditions (38˚C & 90% R.H). Accelerated storage of cryoground powder was found to be advantageous over the conventional ground for extended storage of the ground cinnamon powder with retention of its nutritional quality. Hence, grinding of spices at optimally low cryogenic temperature is a promising technology for the production of its premium quality powder economically.

Keywords: cinnamon bark, cryogenic grinding, feed rate, volatile oil

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Authors: Phrutsaya Piyanusorn

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This study aimed to study the artificial barriers and potential restrictions. Aspects of farming, marketing and cost oriented commercial farming earthworms with organic waste. To promote the use of waste recycling and reduce the amount of organic waste that must be disposed. And to create added value this research focuses on qualitative and quantitative research. By earthworm farms surveyed collected insights to analyse the strengths, weaknesses, including problems, conditions and limitations. To get more updates, which covers the cost of marketing and farm management.

Keywords: farmin earthworms, commercial, organic waste, marketing management

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Authors: Inje Cho

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The leading health risks threatening the world today are associated with a modern lifestyle characterized by sedentary behavior, stress, anxiety, and an obesogenic food environment. To counter this alarming trend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have proffered Physical Activity guidelines to bolster physical engagement. Concurrently, the burgeon of smartphones and mobile applications has witnessed a proliferation of fitness applications aimed at invigorating exercise adherence and real-time activity monitoring. Grounded in the Uses and gratification theory, this study delves into the technological affordances of mobile fitness applications, discerning the mediating influences of escapism and social outcome expectations on attitudes and exercise intention. The theory explains how individuals employ distinct communication mediums to satiate their exigencies and desires. Technological affordances manifest as attributes of emerging technologies that galvanize personal engagement in physical activities. Several features of mobile fitness applications include affordances for goal setting, virtual rewards, peer support, and exercise information. Escapism, denoting the inclination to disengage from normal routines, has emerged as a salient motivator for the consumption of new media. This study postulates that individual’s perceptions technological affordances within mobile fitness applications, can affect escapism and social outcome expectations, potentially influencing attitude, and behavior formation. Thus, the integrated model has been developed to empirically examine the interrelationships between technological affordances, escapism, social outcome expectations, and exercise intention. Structural Equation Modelling serves as the methodological tool, and a cohort of 400 Fitbit users shall be enlisted from the Prolific, data collection platform. A sequence of multivariate data analyses will scrutinize both the measurement and hypothesized structural models. By delving into the effects of mobile fitness applications, this study contributes to the growing of new media studies in sport management. Moreover, the novel integration of the uses and gratification theory, technological affordances, via the prism of escapism, illustrates the dynamics that underlies mobile fitness user’s attitudes and behavioral intentions. Therefore, the findings from this study contribute to theoretical understanding and provide pragmatic insights to developers and practitioners in optimizing the impact of mobile fitness applications.

Keywords: technological affordances, uses and gratification, mobile fitness apps, escapism, physical activity

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Authors: Alireza Barari, Ahmad Abdi

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Regular body trainings cause adaption in various system in body. One of the important effect of body training is its effect on immune system. It seems that cytokines usually release after long period exercises or some exercises which cause skeletal muscular damages. If some of the cytokines which cause responses such as inflammation of cells in skeletal muscles, with manipulating of training program, it can be avoided or limited from those exercises which induct cytokines release. Ginger plant is a kind of medicinal plants which is known as a anti inflammation plant. This plant is as most precedence medicinal plants in medicine science especially in inflammation cure. The aim of the present study was the effect of selected resistance training and consumption of ginger extract on IL-1α and TNFα untrained young women. The population includes young women interested in participating in the study with the average of 30±2 years old from Abbas Abad city among which 32 participants were chosen randomly and divided into 4 four groups, resistance training (R), resistance training and ginger consumption(RG), Ginger consumption(G)and Control group(C). The training groups performed circuit resistance training at the intensity of 65-75% one repeat maximum, 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Besides resistance training, subjects were given either ginseng (5 mg/kg per day) or placebo. Prior to and 48 hours after interventions body composition was measured and blood samples were taken in order to assess serum levels of IL-1α and TNFα. Plasma levels of cytokines were measured with commercially available ELISA Kits.IL-1α kit and TNFα kit were used in this research. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the independent variable and the comparison between groups, t-test and ANOVA were used. To determine differences between the groups, the Scheffe test was used that showed significant changes in any of the variables. we observed that circuit resistance training in R and RG groups can significant decreased in weight and body mass index in untrained females (p<0.05). The results showed a significant decreased in the mean level of IL-1α levels before and after the training period in G group (p=0.046) and RG group (p=0.022). Comparison between groups also showed there was significant difference between groups R-RG and RG-C. Intergroup comparison results showed that the mean levels of TNFα before and after the training in group G (p=0.044) and RG (p=0.037), significantly decreased. Comparison between groups also showed there was significant difference between groups R–RG , R-G ,RG-C and G-C. The research shows that circuit resistance training with reducing overload method results in systemic inflammation had significant effect on IL-1α levels and TNFα. Of course, Ginger can counteract the negative effects of resistance training exercise on immune function and stability of the mast cell membrane. Considerable evidence supported the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger for several constituents, especially gingerols, shogaols, paradols, and zingerones, through decreased cytokine gene TNF α and IL-1Α expression and inhibition of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2. These established biological actions suggest that ingested ginger could block the increase in IL-1α.

Keywords: resistance training, ginger, IL-1α , TNFα

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Authors: Christine K. Ormsbee, Jeremy S. Robinson

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Teacher quality is important for United States universities. It impacts student achievement, program and degree progress, and even retention. While course instructors are still the primary designers and deliverers of instruction in U.S. higher education classrooms, students have become better and more vocal consumers of instruction. They are capable of identifying what instructors do that facilitates their learning or, conversely, what instructors do that makes learning more difficult. Instructors can use students as resources as they design and implement their courses. Students have become more aware of their own learning preferences and processes and can articulate those. While it is not necessarily possible or likely that an instructor can address the widely varying differences in learning preferences represented by a large class of students, it is possible for them to employ general instructional supports that help students understand clearly the instructor's study expectations, identify critical content, efficiently commit content to memory, and develop new skills. Those learning supports include reading guides, test study guides, and other instructor-developed tasks that organize learning for students, hold them accountable for the content, and prepare them to use that material in simulated and real situations. When U.S. university teaching and learning support staff work with instructors to help them identify areas of their teaching to improve, a key part of that assistance includes talking to the instructor member's students. Students are asked to explain what the instructor does that helps them learn, what the instructor does that impedes their learning, and what they wish the instructor would do. Not surprisingly, students are very specific in what they see as helpful learning supports for them. Moreover, they also identify impediments to their success, viewing those as the instructor creating unnecessary barriers to learning. A qualitative survey was developed to provide undergraduate students the opportunity to identify instructor behaviors and/or practices that they thought helped students learn and those behaviors and practices that were perceived as hindrances to student success. That information is used to help instructors implement more student-focused learning supports that facilitate student achievement. In this session, data shared from the survey will focus on supportive instructor behaviors identified by undergraduate students in an institution located in the southwest United States and those behaviors that students perceive as creating unnecessary barriers to their academic success.

Keywords: effective teaching, pedagogy, student engagement, instructional design

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Authors: Victor Radich, Tania Basso, Regina Moraes

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Lead qualification is one of the main procedures in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) projects. Its main goal is to identify potential consumers who have the ideal characteristics to establish a profitable and long-term relationship with a certain organization. Social networks can be an important source of data for identifying and qualifying leads since interest in specific products or services can be identified from the users’ expressed feelings of (dis)satisfaction. In this context, this work proposes the use of machine learning techniques and sentiment analysis as an extra step in the lead qualification process in order to improve it. In addition to machine learning models, sentiment analysis or opinion mining can be used to understand the evaluation that the user makes of a particular service, product, or brand. The results obtained so far have shown that it is possible to extract data from social networks and combine the techniques for a more complete classification.

Keywords: lead qualification, sentiment analysis, opinion mining, machine learning, CRM, lead scoring

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Authors: Vinayambika S. Bhat, S. Shanmuga Priya, I. Thirunavukkarasu, Shreeranga Bhat

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An attempt has been made to design a decoupling controller for systems with more inputs more outputs with dead time in it. The de-coupler is designed for the chemical process industry 3×3 plant transfer function with dead time. The Quantitative Feedback Theory (QFT) based controller has also been designed here for the 2×2 distillation column transfer function. The developed control techniques were simulated using the MATLAB/Simulink. Also, the stability of the process was analyzed, together with the presence of various perturbations in it. Time domain specifications like setting time along with overshoot and oscillations were analyzed to prove the efficiency of the de-coupler method. The load disturbance rejection was tested along with its performance. The QFT control technique was synthesized based on the stability and performance specifications in the presence of uncertainty in time constant of the plant transfer function through sequential loop shaping technique. Further, the energy efficiency of the distillation column was improved by proper tuning of the controller. A distillation column consumes 3% of the total energy consumption of the world. A suitable control technique is very important from an economic point of view. The real time implementation of the process is under process in our laboratory.

Keywords: distillation, energy, MIMO process, time delay, robust stability

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Authors: Mihretu Erjabo

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Halaba special district is characterized by drought, soil erosion, high population pressure, poor livestock production, lack of feed for livestock, very deep water table, very low productivity of crops and food insufficiency. In order to address these problems, the woreda agricultural development office along with other management practices such as soil physical conservation measures agroforestry was introduced decades ago as a means to alleviate the problem. However, the level of agroforestry adoption remains low. Objective of this study was to identify the factors that influence adoption of agroforestry technologies by farmers in the district. Random sampling was employed to select two kebele administrations and respondents. Data collection was conducted by rural household questionnaire survey, participatory rural appraisal, questionnaires for local and woreda extension staff, secondary data resources and field observation. A sample of 12 key informants, 6 extension staffs, and 182 households, were used in the data collection. Chi square test used to determine significant relationships between adoption of agroforestry and 15 selected variables. Out of which eleven were found to be significant to affect farmers’ adoptiveness. These were frequency of visits of farmers (13.39%), participation in training (11.49%), farmers’ attitude towards agroforestry practices (10.61%), frequency of visits of extensionists (10.38%), participation in extension meeting (10.34%), participation in field day (10.28%), land holding size (9.29%), level of literacy (8.78%), awareness about the importance of agroforestry technology packages (7.06%), time taken from their residence to nearest extension (5.04%) and gender of respondents (3.34%). This study also identified various factors that result in low adoption rates of agroforestry including fear of competition, seedling, rainfall and labour shortage, free grazing, financial problem, expecting trees as soil degrader and long span of trees and lack of need ranking. To improve farmers’ adoption, the factors identified should be well addressed by launching a series and recurrent outreach extension program appropriate and suitable to farmers need.

Keywords: farmers attitude, farmers participation, soil degradation, technology packages

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Authors: Juliana A. B. Silva, Caio H. T. L. Albuquerque, Leonardo L. dos Santos, Cristiane K. Oliveira, Ivani Malvestiti, Fernando Hallwass, Ricardo L. Longo

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Complexes with lanthanide ions have been extensively studied due to their applications as luminescent, magnetic and catalytic materials as molecular or extended crystals, thin films, glasses, polymeric matrices, ionic liquids, and in solution. NMR chemical shift data in solution have been reported and suggest fluxional structures in a wide range of coordination compounds with rare earth ions. However, the fluxional mechanisms for these compounds are still not established. This structural fluxionality may affect the photophysical, catalytic and magnetic properties in solution. Thus, understanding the structural interconversion mechanisms may aid the design of coordination compounds with, for instance, improved (electro)luminescence, catalytic and magnetic behaviors. The [Eu(btfa)₃bipy] complex, where btfa= 4,4,4-trifluoro-1-phenyl-1,3-butanedionate and bipy= 2,2’-bipiridyl, has a well-defined X-ray crystallographic structure and preliminary 1H NMR data suggested a structural fluxionality. Thus, we have investigated a series of coordination compounds with lanthanide ions [Ln(btfa)₃L], where Ln = La, Eu, Gd or Yb and L= bipy or phen (phen=1,10-phenanthroline) using a combined theoretical-experimental approach. These complexes were synthesized and fully characterized, and detailed NMR measurements were obtained. They were also studied by quantum chemical computational methods (DFT-PBE0). The aim was to determine the relevant factors in the structure of these compounds that favor or not the fluxional behavior. Measurements of the 1H NMR signals at variable temperature in CD₂Cl₂ of the [Eu(btfa)₃L] complexes suggest that these compounds have a fluxional structure, because the crystal structure has non-equivalent btfa ligands that should lead to non-equivalent hydrogen atoms and thus to more signals in the NMR spectra than those obtained at room temperature, where all hydrogen atoms of the btfa ligands are equivalent, and phen ligand has an effective vertical symmetry plane. For the [Eu(btfa)₃bipy] complex, the broadening of the signals at –70°C provides a lower bound for the coalescence temperature, which indicates the energy barriers involved in the structural interconversion mechanisms are quite small. These barriers and, consequently, the coalescence temperature are dependent upon the radii of the lanthanide ion as well as to their paramagnetic effects. The PBE0 calculated structures are in very good agreement with the crystallographic data and, for the [Eu(btfa)₃bipy] complex, this method provided several distinct structures with almost the same energy. However, the energy barrier for structural interconversion via dissociative pathways were found to be quite high and could not explain the experimental observations. Whereas the pseudo-rotation pathways, involving the btfa and bipy ligands, have very small activation barriers, in excellent agreement with the NMR data. The results also showed an increase in the activation barrier along the lanthanide series due to the decrease of the ionic radii and consequent increase of the steric effects. TD-DFT calculations showed a dependence of the ligand donor state energy with different structures of the complex [Eu(btfa)₃phen], which can affect the energy transfer rates and the luminescence. The energy required to promote the structural fluxionality may also enhance the luminescence quenching in solution. These results can aid in the design of more luminescent compounds and more efficient devices.

Keywords: computational chemistry, lanthanide-based compounds, NMR, structural fluxionality

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Authors: Merieleen Engtipi

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India's total share of global population is nearly 18%; however, its per capita energy consumption is only one-third of global average. The demand and supply of electricity are uneven in the country; around 240 million of the population have no access to electricity. However, with India's trajectory for modernisation and economic growth, the demand for energy is only expected to increase. India is at a crossroad, on the one hand facing the increasing demand for energy and on the other hand meeting the Paris climate policy commitments, and further the struggle to provide efficient energy. This paper analyses the policies to meet India’s need for energy, as the per capita energy consumption is likely to be double in 6-7 years period. Simultaneously, India's Paris commitment requires curbing of carbon emission from fossil fuels. There is an increasing need for renewables to be cheaply and efficiently available in the market and for clean technology to extract fossil fuels to meet climate policy goals. Fossil fuels are the most significant generator of energy in India; with the Paris agreement, the demand for clean energy technology is increasing. Finally, the U.S. decided to withdraw from the Paris Agreement; however, the two countries plan to continue engaging bilaterally on energy issues. The U.S. energy cooperation under Trump administration is significantly vital for greater energy security, transfer of technology and efficiency in energy supply and demand.

Keywords: energy demand, energy cooperation, fossil fuels, technology transfer

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Authors: T. S. Beerenahally, S. Amruthavalli, C. M. Munegowda, Leelavathi, Nagarathna

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Introduction: In majority of urban India, the health system is split between different authorities being responsible for the health care of urban population. We believe that, apart from poor awareness and financial barriers to care, there are other health system barriers which affect quality and access to care for people with diabetes. In this paper, we attempted to identify health system complexity that determines access to public health system for diabetes care in KG Halli, a poor urban neighborhood in Bengaluru. The KG Halli has been a locus of a health systems research from 2009 to 2015. Methodology: The source of data is from the observational field-notes written by research team as part of urban health action research project (UHARP). Field notes included data from the community and the public primary care center. The data was generated by the community health assistants and the other research team members during regular home visits and interaction with individuals who self-reported to be diabetic over four years as part of UHARP. Results: It emerged during data analysis that the patients were not keen on utilizing primary public health center for many reasons. Patient has felt that the service provided at the center was not integrated. There was lack of availability of medicines, with a regular stock out of medicines in a year and laboratory service for investigation was limited. Many of them said that the time given by the providers was not sufficient and there was also a feeling of providers not listening to them attentively. The power dynamics played a huge role in communication. Only the consultation was available for free of cost at the public primary care center. The patient had to spend for the investigations and the major portion for medicine. Conclusion: Diabetes is a chronic disease that poses an important emerging public health concern. Most of the financial burden is borne by the family as the public facilities have failed to provide free care in India. Our study indicated various factors including individual beliefs, stigma and financial constraints affecting compliance to diabetes care.

Keywords: diabetes care, disintegrated health system, quality of care, urban health

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Authors: A. Karasek

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Rapid growth of Information Technologies (IT) has had huge influence on enterprises, and it has contributed to its promotion and increasingly extensive use in enterprises. Information Technologies have to a large extent determined the processes taking place in a enterprise; what is more, IT development has brought the need to adopt a brand new approach to human resources management in an enterprise. The use of IT in Human Resource Management (HRM) is of high importance due to the growing role of information and information technologies. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of information technologies in human resources management in enterprises. These practices will be presented in the following areas: Recruitment and selection, development and training, employee assessment, motivation, talent management, personnel service. Results of conducted survey show diversity of solutions applied in particular areas of human resource management. In the future, further development in this area should be expected, as well as integration of individual HRM areas, growing mobile-enabled HR processes and their transfer into the cloud. Presented IT solutions applied in HRM are highly innovative, which is of great significance due to their possible implementation in other enterprises.

Keywords: e-HR, human resources management, HRM practices, HRMS, information technologies

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Authors: Yolanda Ramirez, Angel Tejada, Agustin Baidez

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This paper shows the general perceptions of Spanish university stakeholders in relation to the university’s annual reports and the adequacy and potential of intellectual capital reporting. To this end, a questionnaire was designed and sent to every member of the Social Councils of Spanish public universities. It was thought that these participants would provide a good example of the attitude of university stakeholders since they represent the different social groups connected with universities. From the results of this study we are in the position of confirming the need for universities to offer information on intellectual capital in their accounting information model.

Keywords: intellectual capital, disclosure, stakeholders, universities, annual report

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Authors: Mario Pérez-Won, Anais Palma-Acevedo, Luis González-Cavieres, Roberto Lemus-Mondaca, Gipsy Tabilo-Munizaga

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The Chilean abalone (Concholepas Concholepas) is a gastropod mollusk; it has a high commercial value due to the qualities of its meat, especially hardness, as a critical acceptance parameter. However, its main problem is its short shelf-life which is usually extended using traditional technologies with high energy consumption. Therefore, applying different technologies for the pre-treatment and drying process is necessary. In this research, pulsed electric field (PEF) was used as a pre-treatment for vacuum microwave drying (VMD), freeze-drying (FD), and hot-air drying (HAD). Drying conditions and characteristics were set according to previous experiments. The Drying samples were analyzed in terms of physical quality (color, texture, microstructure, and rehydration capacity), protein quality (degree of hydrolysis and computer protein efficiency ratio), and energy parameters. Regarding quality, the treatment that obtained lower harness was PEF+FD (195 N ± 10), the lowest change of color was for treatment PEF+VMD (ΔE: 17 ± 1.5), and the best rehydration capacity was for treatment PEF+VMD (1.2 h for equilibrium). For protein quality, the highest Computer-Protein Efficiency Ratio was the sample 2.0 kV/ cm of PEF (index of 4.18 ± 0.26 at the end of the digestion). Moreover, about energetic consumption, results show that VMD decreases the drying process by 97% whether PEF was used or not. Consequently, it is possible to conclude that using PEF as a pre-treatment for VMD and FD treatments has advantages that must be used following the consumer’s needs or preferences.

Keywords: chilean abalone, freeze-drying, proteins, pulsed electric fields

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Authors: Sharmistha Chowdhury, Shuva Chowdhury

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Buying-selling new as well as second-hand goods like tools, furniture, household, electronics, clothing, baby stuff, vehicles, and hobbies through the Facebook marketplace has become a new paradigm for c2c sellers. This phenomenon encourages and empowers decentralised home-oriented sellers. This study adopts Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) to explain consumer behaviour on Facebook Marketplace (FM). ELM suggests that consumers process information through the central and peripheral routes, which eventually shape their attitudes towards posts. The central route focuses on information quality, and the peripheral route focuses on cues. Sellers’ FM posts usually include product features, prices, conditions, pictures, and pick-up location. This study uses information relevance and accuracy as central route factors. The post’s attractiveness represents cues and creates positive or negative associations with the product. A post with remarkable pictures increases the attractiveness of the post. So, post aesthetics is used as a peripheral route factor. People influenced via the central or peripheral route forms an attitude that includes multiple processes – response and purchase intention. People respond to FM posts through save, share and chat. Purchase intention reflects a positive image of the product and higher purchase intention. This study proposes trust on sellers as a moderator to test the strength of its influence on consumer attitudes and behaviour. Trust on sellers is assessed whether sellers have badges or not. A sample questionnaire will be developed and distributed among a group of random FM sellers who are selling vehicles on this platform to conduct the study. The chosen product of this study is the vehicle, a high-value purchase item. High-value purchase requires consumers to consider forming their attitude without any sign of impulsiveness seriously. Hence, vehicles are the perfect choice to test the strength of consumers attitudes and behaviour. The findings of the study add to the elaboration likelihood model and online second-hand marketplace literature.

Keywords: consumer behaviour, elaboration likelihood model, facebook marketplace, c2c marketing

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Authors: Kimuli Ismail, Michael Lubwama, John Baptist Kirabira, Adam Sebbit

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This study develops 4 energy scenarios for Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area (GKMA). GKMA is Uganda’s capital with a population of 4.1million and a GDP growth rate of 5.8 with a nonsustainable energy management system. The study uses TIMES-VEDA to examine the energy impacts of business as usual (BAU), Kabejja, Carbon-Tax, and Lutta scenarios in commercial, industrial, transportation, residential, agricultural, and electricity generation activities. BAU is the baseline scenario with limited CO2 emissions restrictions against which Kabejja with 20% CO2 emissions restriction, a carbon tax of $100/ton imposed in 2050 for Carbon-Tax scenario, and Lutta with 95% CO2 emissions restriction is made. The analysis suggests that if the current policy trends continue as BAU, consumption would increase from 139.6PJ to 497.42PJ and CO2 emissions will increase from 4.6mtns to 7mtns. However, consumption would decrease by 2.3% in Kabejja, 3.4% in Carbon-Tax, and 3.3 % in Lutta compared to BAU. The CO2 emissions would decrease by 8.57% in Kabejja, 55.14% in Carbon-Tax, and 60% in Lutta compared to BAU. Sustainability is achievable when low-carbon electricity is increased by 53.68% in the EMS, and setting up an electrified Kampala metro. The study recommends Lutta as the sustainable pathway to a lowcarbon 2050.

Keywords: Sustainability, Scenario Plannnig, Times-Veda Modelling, Energy Policy Development

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Authors: John Ayoade

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Cloud computing is a model that enables the delivery of on-demand computing resources such as networks, servers, storage, applications and services over the internet. Cloud Computing is a relatively growing concept that presents a good number of benefits for its users; however, it also raises some security challenges which may slow down its use. In this paper, we identify some of those security issues that can serve as barriers to realizing the full benefits that cloud computing can bring. One of the key security problems is security trust. A security trust model is proposed that can enhance the confidence that users need to fully trust the use of public and mobile cloud computing and maximize the potential benefits that they offer.

Keywords: cloud computing, trust, security, certificate authority, PKI

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Authors: Alireza Barari

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Physical activity and diet are factors that influence the body's structure. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of four weeks of resistance training, and glutamine supplement consumption on growth hormone (GH), and Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) Axis. 40 amateur male bodybuilders, participated in this study. They were randomly divided into four equal groups, Resistance (R), Glutamine (G), Resistance with Glutamine (RG), and Control (C). The R group was assigned to a four week resistance training program, three times/week, three sets of 10 exercises with 6-10 repetitions, at the 80-95% 1RM (One Repetition Maximum), with 120 seconds rest between sets), G group is consuming l-glutamine (0.1 g/kg^-1/day^-1), RG group resistance training with consuming L-glutamine, and C group continued their normal lifestyle without exercise training. GH, IGF1, IGFBP-III plasma levels were measured before and after the protocol. One-way ANOVA indicated significant change in GH, IGF, and IGFBP-III between the four groups, and the Tukey test demonstrated significant increase in GH, IGF1, IGFBP-III plasma levels in R, and RG group. Based upon these findings, we concluded that resistance training at 80-95% 1RM intensity, and resistance training along with oral glutamine shows significantly increase secretion of GH, IGF-1, and IGFBP-III in amateur males, but the addition of oral glutamine to the exercise program did not show significant difference in GH, IGF-1, and IGFBP-III.

Keywords: strength, glutamine, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor 1

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Authors: Byung Wook Yang, Jong Dae Park, Wang Soo Shin, Ji-Hyeon Song, Seo-Yun Choi, Boo-Yong Lee, Young Tae Hahm

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Korean ginseng (Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) is frequently taken orally as a traditional herbal medicine with ginsenosides as the main pharmacological component in Asian countries, and its use is increasing worldwide. Recently, the increase in global temperature has been reported to cause various kinds of biological disorders induced by heat stress in human. The standardized black ginseng extract (SBGE; KGR-BG1) was developed in our biological screening experiment on the thermo-regulation, whose chemical characteristics were evaluated as ginsenoside Rg1, Rb1, Rg3(S), as well as Re, Rf, Rg2(S), Rh1(S), Rh2(S), and Rg5+Rk1. Heat stress responses such as body weight, food intake, water consumption have been measured when treated with Standardized Black Ginseng Extract (SBGE) in the animal experiment and also, biomarkers. SBGE treated group has been found to inhibit a decrease in body weight, a decrease in food intake and an increase in the water consumption when compared with non-treated group against environmental heat stress. These results suggest that SBGE might have a protective effect against environmental heat stress. And also, the several factors of stress response on the immune system need to be done for further studies and its evaluation is in progress.

Keywords: ginseng, ginsenoside, standardization, heat stress, immunomodulatory effect

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Authors: Marcin Dębowski, Mirosław Krzemieniewski, Marcin Zieliński

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This publication presents a device designed to depolymerise and structurally change organic substrate, for use in agricultural biogas plants or sewage treatment plants. The presented device consists of a heated tank equipped with an inlet valve for the crude substrate and an outlet valve for the treated substrate. The system also includes a gas conduit, which is at its tip equipped with a high-pressure solenoid valve and a vacuum relief solenoid valve. A conduit behind the high-pressure solenoid valve connects to the vacuum tank equipped with the outlet valve. The substrate introduced into the device is exposed to agents such as high temperature and cavitation produced by abrupt, short-term reduction of pressure within the heated tank. The combined effect of these processes is substrate destruction rate increase of about 20% when compared to using high temperature alone, and about 30% when compared to utilizing only cavitation. Energy consumption is greatly reduced, as the pressure increase is generated by heating the substrate. Thus, there is a 18% reduction of energy consumption when compared to a device designed to destroy substrate through high temperature alone, and a 35% reduction if compared to using cavitation as the only means of destruction.

Keywords: thermal depolymerisation, organic substrate, biogas, pre-treatment

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Authors: Rubina Jahan, Mohammad Zayeed Bin Alam, Razia Sultana, Md Faroque Miah

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Mental health remains a significant global public health challenge, profoundly affecting millions worldwide. In Bangladesh, the situation is dire, with the National Mental Health Survey 2018-19 indicating that 19% of adults suffer from any kind of mental disorders, including severe mental disorder of around 2%. Despite these high prevalence rates, there is a substantial treatment gap in low- and middle-income countries, including Bangladesh, where up to 92% of individuals with mental illnesses do not receive adequate care. This gap is exacerbated by social barriers such as stigma, discrimination, social exclusion, poverty, homelessness, and human rights violations. To address these challenges, the SAJIDA Foundation launched the Proshanti in November 2022. Proshanti is a community based supportive housing intervention designed to provide cost-effective, sustainable, long-term care for individuals with chronic mental illnesses. It aims to rehabilitate participants by improving their mental health, quality of life, and equipping them with skills necessary for independent living and social mobility. Currently, Proshanti operates seven houses in Manikganj and Habiganj districts of Bangladesh, accommodating up to 40 individuals. Over a two-year period, individuals have received personalized support from trained personal assistants and care coordinators, regular health checkups, and opportunities for vocational training and community engagement. In this presentation, we will present the outcome of such intervention on individual’s functionality, quality of life and psychological health generated from 24 months of journey. Additionally, a qualitative approach will be employed to understand the facilitators and barriers of program implementation. The Proshanti program represents a promising model for addressing the significant mental health treatment gap in Bangladesh at the community level. Our findings will provide crucial insights into the program's feasibility, effectiveness, and the factors influencing its implementation, potentially guiding future mental health interventions in similar contexts.

Keywords: mental health, community based supportive housing, treatment gap, bangladesh

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Authors: Monika Lipska

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Drinking water is water with a very high quality, and as such represents only 2.5% of the total quantity of all water in the world. For many years we have observed continuous increase in its consumption as a result of many factors such as: Growing world population (7 billion in 2011r.), increase of human lives comfort and – above all – the economic growth. Due to the rocketing consumption and growing costs of production of water with such high-quality parameters, we experience accelerating interest in alternative sources of obtaining potable water. One of the ways of saving this valuable material is using rainwater in the Urban Building. With an exponentially growing demand, the acquisition of additional sources of water is necessary to maintain the proper balance of all ecosystems. The first part of the paper describes what rainwater is and what are its potential sources and means of use, while the main part of the article focuses on the description of the methods of obtaining water from rain on the example of new urban building in Poland. It describes the method and installations of rainwater in the new urban building (“MBJ2030”). The paper addresses also the issue of monitoring of the whole recycling systems as well as the particular quality indicators important because of identification of the potential risks to human health. The third part describes the legal arrangements concerning the recycling of rainwater existing in different European Union countries with particular reference to Poland on example the new urban building in Warsaw.

Keywords: rainwater, potable water, non-potable water, Poland

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Authors: Mehtab Alam, Mudiarasan Kuppusamy

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Image branding is the prominent and well-guided phenomena of managing tourism destinations. It examines the image of cities forming as brand identity. Transformation of cities into tourist destinations is obligatory for the current management practices to be used for foreign policy. The research considers the features of perception, destination accommodation, destination quality, traveler revisit, destination information system, and behavioral image for tourism destination management. Using the quantitative and qualitative research methodology, the objective is to examine and investigate the opportunities for destination branding. It investigates the features and management of tourism destinations in Abbottabad city of Pakistan through SPSS and NVivo 12 software. The prospective outlook of the results and coding reflects the significant contribution of integrated destination management for image branding, where Abbottabad has the potential to become a destination city. The positive impact of branding integrates tourism management as it is fulfilling travelers’ requirements to influence the choice of destination for innovative foreign policy.

Keywords: image branding, destination management, tourism, foreign policy, innovative

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Authors: Nihan Gurel Ulusan

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It is obvious that electrical energy, which is an inseparable part of modern day’s human and also the most important power source of our age, should be generated on a level that will suffice the nation’s requirements. The electrical energy used for a sustainable architectural design should be reduced as much as possible. Designing the buildings as energy efficient systems which aim at reducing the artificial illumination loads has been a current subject of our times as a result of concepts gaining importance like conscious consumption of energy sources, environment-friendly designs and sustainability. Reducing the consumption of electrical energy regarding the artificial lighting carries great significance, especially in the volumes which are used all day long like the educational buildings. Starting out with such an aim in this paper, the educational buildings are explored in terms of energy efficient lighting. Firstly, illumination techniques, illumination systems, light sources, luminaries, illumination controls and 'efficient energy' usage in lighting are mentioned. In addition, natural and artificial lighting systems used in educational buildings and also the spaces building up these kind buildings are examined in terms of energy efficient lighting. Lastly, the illumination properties of the school sample chosen for this study, Kağıthane Anadolu Lisesi, a typical high school in Istanbul, is observed. Suggestions are made in order to improve the system by evaluating the illumination properties of the classes with the survey carried out with the users.

Keywords: educational buildings, energy efficient, illumination techniques, lighting

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Authors: Bethany Wood

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The world pandemic led to a change in the way social media was used by audiences, with young people spending more hours on the platform due to lockdown. Reports by Ofcom have demonstrated that the internet is the second most popular platform for accessing news after television in the UK with social media and the internet ranked as the most popular platform to access news for those aged between 16-24. These statistics are unsurprising considering that at the time of writing, 98 percent of Generation Z (Gen Z) owned a smartphone and the subsequent ease and accessibility of social media. Technology is constantly developing and with this, its importance is becoming more prevalent with each generation: the Baby Boomers (1946-1964) consider it something useful whereas millennials (1981-1997) believe it a necessity for day to day living. Gen Z, otherwise known as the digital native, have grown up with this technology at their fingertips and social media is a norm. It helps form their identity, their affiliations and opens gateways for them to engage with news in a new way. It is a common misconception that Gen Z do not consume news, they are simply doing so in a different way to their predecessors. Using a sample of 800 18-20 year olds whilst utilising Generational theory, Actor Network Theory and the Social Shaping of Technology, this research provides a critical analyse regarding how Gen Z’s news consumption and engagement habits are developing along with technology to sculpture the future format of news and its distribution. From that perspective, allied with the empirical approach, it is possible to provide research orientated advice for the industry and even help to redefine traditional concepts of journalism.

Keywords: journalism, generation z, digital, social media

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Authors: Raheel Shakoor Siddiqui, Shahbaz Malik, Manikandar Srinivas Cheruvu, Sanjay Narayana Murthy, Livio DiMascio

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Background: elderly traumatic hip fracture patients frequently present to trauma services globally. Rising low energy falls amongst an osteoporotic aging population is the commonest cause for injury. Hip fractures in this population are a major cause for severe pain, morbidity and mortality. The term hip fracture is interchangeable with neck of femur fracture, fractured neck of femur or proximal femur fracture. Hip fracture pain management protocols and guidelines suggest conventional analgesia, nerve block and opioid based treatment as rescue analgesia. There is a current global opioid crisis with overuse, abuse and dependence. Adverse opioid related complications in vulnerable elderly patients further adds to morbidity and mortality. Systematic reviews in literature have evidenced superiority of multimodal analgesia in osteoarthritic primary joint replacements compared to opioids however, this has not yet been conducted for elderly traumatic hip fracture patients. Aims: The primary aim of this systematic review is to provide standardised evidence following Cochrane and PRISMA guidance in determining advantages of perioperative multimodal analgesia over conventional opioid based treatments in elderly traumatic hip fractures. Methods: 5 databases were searched from January 2000-2023 which identified 8 randomised controlled trials and 446 total participants. These trials met defined PICOS eligibility criteria of patient mean age ≥ 65 years presenting with a unilateral traumatic fractured neck of femur for operative intervention. Analgesic intervention with perioperative multimodal analgesia has been compared to conventional opioid based analgesia. Outcomes of interest include, primarily, the change in postoperative opioid consumption within a 0-30 postoperative period and secondarily, the change in postoperative adverse events and complications. A qualitative synthesis has been performed due to clinical heterogenicity and variance amongst trials. Results: GRADE evidence of moderate quality supports perioperative multimodal analgesia leads to a reduction in postoperative opioid consumption however, low quality evidence supports a reduction of adverse effects and complications. Conclusion: Perioperative multimodal analgesia whether used preoperative, intraoperative and/or postoperative leads to a reduction in postoperative opioid consumption for elderly traumatic hip fracture patients. This review recommends the use of perioperative multimodal analgesia as part of hip fracture pain protocols however, caution and clinical judgement should be used as the risk of adverse effects may not be lower.

Keywords: trauma, orthopaedics, hip, fracture, neck of femur fracture, analgesia, multimodal analgesia, opioid

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Authors: Mathias B. Michael, Esther T. Akinlabi, Tien-Chien Jen

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Thermal energy consumption in palm oil production plant comprises mainly of steam, hot water and hot air. In most efficient plants, hot water and air are generated from the steam supply system. Research has shown that thermal energy utilize in palm oil production plants is about 70 percent of the total energy consumption of the plant. In order to manage the plants’ energy efficiently, the energy systems are modelled and optimized. This paper aimed to present the model of steam supply systems of a typical palm oil production plant in Ghana. The models include exergy and energy models of steam boiler, steam turbine and the palm oil mill. The paper further simulates the virtual plant model to obtain the thermal energy performance of the plant under study. The simulation results show that, under normal operating condition, the boiler energy performance is considerably below the expected level as a result of several factors including intermittent biomass fuel supply, significant moisture content of the biomass fuel and significant heat losses. The total thermal energy performance of the virtual plant is set as a baseline. The study finally recommends number of energy efficiency measures to improve the plant’s energy performance.

Keywords: palm biomass, steam supply, exergy and energy models, energy performance benchmark

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Authors: O. Y. Yurieva, O. V. Yurieva, O. V. Kiselkina, A. V. Kamaseva

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Since the early 2000s, there are some innovative changes in the civil service in Russia due to administrative reform. Perspectives of the reform of the civil service include a fundamental change in the personnel component, increasing the level of professionalism of officials, increasing their capacity for self-organization and self-regulation. In order to achieve this, the civil service must be able to continuously change. Organizational changes have long become the subject of scientific understanding; problems of research in the field of organizational change is presented by topics focused on the study of the methodological aspects of the implementation of the changes, the specifics of changes in different types of organizations (business, government, and so on), design changes in the organization, including based on the change in organizational culture. In this case, the organizational changes in the civil service are the least studied areas; research of problems of its transformation is carried out in fragments. According to the theory of resistance of Herbert Simon, the root of the opposition and rejection of change is in the person who will resist any change, if it threatens to undermine the degree of satisfaction as a member of the organization (regardless of the reasons for this change). Thus, the condition for successful adaptation to changes in the organization is the ability of its staff to perceive innovation. As part of the problem, the study sought to identify the innovation civil servants, to determine readiness for the development of proposals for the implementation of organizational change in the public service. To identify the relationship to organizational changes case study carried out by the method of "Attitudes to organizational change" of I. Motovilina, which allowed predicting the type of resistance to changes, to reveal the contradictions and hidden results. The advantage of the method of I. Motovilina is its brevity, simplicity, the analysis of the responses to each question, the use of "overlapping" issues potentially conflicting factors. Based on the study made by the authors, it was found that respondents have a positive attitude to change more local than those that take place in reality, such as "increase opportunities for professional growth", "increase the requirements for the level of professionalism of", "the emergence of possible manifestations initiatives from below". Implemented by the authors diagnostics related to organizational changes in the public service showed the presence of specific problem areas, with roots in the lack of understanding of the importance of innovation personnel in the process of bureaucratization of innovation in public service organizations.

Keywords: innovative changes, self-organization, self-regulation, civil service

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Authors: Sabrina Yulianti

Abstract:

This study aims to explain the identity struggles of local religious communities in Indonesia. Local religion in Indonesia is not recognized by the government and is not incorporated into the official religion in Indonesia. This makes the local religions in Indonesia experienced the challenges and obstacles in fulfilling their rights as citizens of Indonesia. Challenges and barriers they experience such as: difficulty in making of the birth certificate and marriage. It is as experienced by one of the local religions namely Parmalim which located in North Sumatra. Not only difficulty in taking care of the bureaucracy as a citizen, but the local religion is seen as a minority and sometimes regarded as follower of deviate religion.

Keywords: local religion, faith, struggles, civilization, discrimination

Procedia PDF Downloads 395

Authors: Yo-Sheng Lin, Run-Chi Liu, Chien-Chu Ji, Chih-Chung Chen, Chien-Chin Wang

Abstract:

A W-band double-balanced mixer for direct up-conversion using standard 90 nm CMOS technology is reported. The mixer comprises an enhanced double-balanced Gilbert cell with PMOS negative resistance compensation for conversion gain (CG) enhancement and current injection for power consumption reduction and linearity improvement, a Marchand balun for converting the single LO input signal to differential signal, another Marchand balun for converting the differential RF output signal to single signal, and an output buffer amplifier for loading effect suppression, power consumption reduction and CG enhancement. The mixer consumes low power of 6.9 mW and achieves LO-port input reflection coefficient of -17.8~ -38.7 dB and RF-port input reflection coefficient of -16.8~ -27.9 dB for frequencies of 90~100 GHz. The mixer achieves maximum CG of 3.6 dB at 95 GHz, and CG of 2.1±1.5 dB for frequencies of 91.9~99.4 GHz. That is, the corresponding 3 dB CG bandwidth is 7.5 GHz. In addition, the mixer achieves LO-RF isolation of 36.8 dB at 94 GHz. To the authors’ knowledge, the CG, LO-RF isolation and power dissipation results are the best data ever reported for a 94 GHz CMOS/BiCMOS up-conversion mixer.

Keywords: CMOS, W-band, up-conversion mixer, conversion gain, negative resistance compensation, output buffer amplifier

Procedia PDF Downloads 525