Search results for: awareness of side effects

Authors: Dalal N. Hammod, Ekhlas K. Gbashi

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Today, cryptography is used in many applications to achieve high security in data transmission and in real-time communications. AES has long gained global acceptance and is used for securing sensitive data in various industries but has suffered from slow processing and take a large time to transfer data. This paper suggests a method to enhance Advance Encryption Standard (AES) Algorithm based on time and permutation. The suggested method (MAES) is based on modifying the SubByte and ShiftRrows in the encryption part and modification the InvSubByte and InvShiftRows in the decryption part. After the implementation of the proposal and testing the results, the Modified AES achieved good results in accomplishing the communication with high performance criteria in terms of randomness, encryption time, storage space, and avalanche effects. The proposed method has good randomness to ciphertext because this method passed NIST statistical tests against attacks; also, (MAES) reduced the encryption time by (10 %) than the time of the original AES; therefore, the modified AES is faster than the original AES. Also, the proposed method showed good results in memory utilization where the value is (54.36) for the MAES, but the value for the original AES is (66.23). Also, the avalanche effects used for calculating diffusion property are (52.08%) for the modified AES and (51.82%) percentage for the original AES.

Keywords: modified AES, randomness test, encryption time, avalanche effects

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Authors: Reynante E. Autida, Maria Ana T. Quimbo

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The chemistry education curriculum provides an excellent avenue where students learn the principles and concepts in chemistry and at the same time, as a central science, better understand related fields. However, the teaching approach used by teachers affects student learning. Cased-based teaching (CBT) is one of the various forms of inductive method. The teacher starts with specifics then proceeds to the general principles. The students’ role in inductive learning shifts from being passive in the traditional approach to being active in learning. In this paper, the effects of Small-Group Case-Based Teaching (SGCBT) on college chemistry students’ achievement, critical thinking, and attitude toward chemistry including the relationships between each of these variables were determined. A quasi-experimental counterbalanced design with pre-post control group was used to determine the effects of SGCBT on Engineering students of four intact classes (two treatment groups and two control groups) in one of the State Universities in Mindanao. The independent variables are the type of teaching approach (SGCBT versus pure lecture-discussion teaching or PLDT) while the dependent variables are chemistry achievement (exam scores) and scores in critical thinking and chemistry attitude. Both Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and t-tests (within and between groups and gain scores) were used to compare the effects of SGCBT versus PLDT on students’ chemistry achievement, critical thinking, and attitude toward chemistry, while Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated to determine the relationships between each of the variables. Results show that the use of SGCBT fosters positive attitude toward chemistry and provides some indications as well on improved chemistry achievement of students compared with PLDT. Meanwhile, the effects of PLDT and SGCBT on critical thinking are comparable. Furthermore, correlational analysis and focus group interviews indicate that the use of SGCBT not only supports development of positive attitude towards chemistry but also improves chemistry achievement of students. Implications are provided in view of the recent findings on SGCBT and topics for further research are presented as well.

Keywords: case-based teaching, small-group learning, chemistry cases, chemistry achievement, critical thinking, chemistry attitude

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Authors: Omar Ali, Adesh Ramsubhag, Jayaraj Jayaraman

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Seaweed extracts have been reported as plant biostimulants which could be a safer, organic alternative to harsh pesticides. The incentive to use seaweed-based biostimulants is becoming paramount in sustainable agriculture. The current study, therefore, screened a commercial extract of A. nodosum in tomatoes, cultivated in Trinidad to showcase the multiple beneficial effects. Foliar treatment with an A. nodosum commercial extract led to significant increases in fruit yield and a significant reduction of incidence of bacterial spots and early blight diseases under both greenhouse and field conditions. Investigations were carried out to reveal the possible mechanisms of action of this biostimulant through defense enzyme assays and transcriptome profiling via RNA sequencing of tomato. Studies into disease control mechanisms by A. nodosum showed that the extract stimulated the activity of enzymes such as peroxidase, phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, chitinase, polyphenol oxidase, and β-1,3-glucanase. Additionally, the transcriptome survey revealed the upregulation and enrichment of genes responsible for the biosynthesis of growth hormones, defense enzymes, PR proteins and defense-related secondary metabolites, as well as genes involved in the nutrient mobilization, photosynthesis and primary and secondary metabolic pathways. The results of the transcriptome study also demonstrated the cross-talks between growth and defense responses, confirming the bioelicitor and biostimulant value of seaweed extracts in plants. These effects could potentially implicate the benefits of seaweed extract and validate its usage in sustainable crop production.

Keywords: A. nodosum, biostimulants, elicitor, enzymes, growth responses, seaweeds, tomato, transcriptome analysis

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Authors: Mauludi Ariesto Pamungkas, Wafa Maftuhin

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Gallium with three outer electrons commonly are used as dopants of silicon to make it P type and N type semiconductor respectively. Silicene, one-atom-thick silicon layer is one of emerging two dimension materials after the success of graphene. The effects of Gallium doping on electronic structure of silicine are investigated by using first principle calculation based on Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculation and norm conserving pseudopotential method implemented in ABINIT code. Bandstructure of Pristine silicene is similar to that of graphene. Effect of Ga doping on bandstructure of silicene depend on the position of Ga adatom on silicene

Keywords: silicene, effects of Gallium doping, Density Functional Theory (DFT), graphene

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Authors: S. F. Kanaan, Fatima Al-Kadi, H. Khrais

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Background: Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition that is characterized by chronic pain that limits physical and functional activities. To our best knowledge, there is currently no key physiotherapy approach recommended to reduce pain and improve function. In addition, there are scarce studies that investigated the effect of manual therapy in the management of Fibromyalgia, and no study investigated the efficacy of Mulligan´s mobilization with movement (MWM) in particular. Methods: A 51-year-old female diagnosed with Fibromyalgia for more than a year. The patient was complaining of generalized pain including neck, lower back, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees. In addition, the patient reported severe limitation in activities and inability to complete her work as a lawyer. The Intervention provided for the patient consisted of 4 sessions (in two weeks) of MWM for neck, lower back, shoulders, elbows, sacroiliac joint, hips, and knees. The Visual Analogue Scale of pain (VAS), Range of Motion (ROM), 10-minute walk test, Roland Morris Low Back Pain and Disability Questionnaire (RMQ), Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Score (DASH) were collected at the baseline and at the end of treatment. Results: Average improvement of ROM in the neck, lower back, shoulder, elbows, hips, and knees was 45%. VAS scale changed from pre-treatment to post-treatment as the following: neck pain (9 to 0), lower back pain (8 to 1), shoulders pain (8 to 2), elbows pain (7 to 1), and knees pain (9 to 0). The patient demonstrated improvement in all functional scale from pre-intervention to post-intervention: 10-meter walk test (9.8 to 4.5 seconds), RMQ (21 to 11/24), and DASH (88.7% to 40.5%). The patient did not report any side effect of using this approach. Conclusion: Fibromyalgia can cause joint 'faulty position' leading to pain and dysfunction, which can be reversed by using MWM. MWM showed to have clinically significant improvement in ROM, pain, and ability to walk and a clinically significant reduction in disability in only 4 sessions. This work can be expanded in a larger sample.

Keywords: mobilization, fibromyalgia, dysfunction, manual therapy

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Authors: Hitesh Kshayap, Shantanu Arya, Ajay Basod, Sachin Sakhuja

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This study was undertaken to measure the overall noise levels in different locations/zones and to estimate the prevalence of Noise induced hearing loss in Hawkers & Shopkeepers in Mumbai, India. The Hearing Test developed by American Academy Of Otolaryngology, translated from English to Hindi, and validated is used as a screening tool for hearing sensitivity was employed. The tool is having 14 items. Each item is scored on a scale 0, 1, 2 and 3. The score 6 and above indicated some difficulty or definite difficulty in hearing in daily activities and low score indicated lesser difficulty or normal hearing. The subjects who scored 6 or above or having tinnitus were made to undergo hearing evaluation by Pure tone audiometer. Further, the environmental noise levels were measured from Morning to Evening at road side at different Location/Hawking zones in Mumbai city using SLM9 Agronic 8928B & K type Digital Sound Level Meter) in dB (A). The maximum noise level of 100.0 dB (A) was recorded during evening hours from Chattrapati Shivaji Terminal to Colaba with overall noise level of 79.0 dB (A). However, the minimum noise level in this area was 72.6 dB (A) at any given point of time. Further, 54.6 dB (A) was recorded as minimum noise level during 8-9 am at Sion Circle. Further, commencement of flyovers with 2-tier traffic, sky walks, increasing number of vehicular traffic at road, high rise buildings and other commercial & urbanization activities in the Mumbai city most probably have resulted in increasing the overall environmental noise levels. Trees which acted as noise absorbers have been cut owing to rapid construction. The study involved 100 participants in the age range of 18 to 40 years of age, with the mean age of 29 years (S.D. =6.49). 46 participants having tinnitus or have obtained the score of 6 were made to undergo Pure Tone Audiometry and it was found that the prevalence rate of hearing loss in hawkers & shopkeepers is 19% (10% Hawkers and 9 % Shopkeepers). The results found indicates that 29 (42.6%) out of 64 Hawkers and 17 (47.2%) out of 36 Shopkeepers who underwent PTA had no significant difference in percentage of Noise Induced Hearing loss. The study results also reveal that participants who exhibited tinnitus 19 (41.30%) out of 46 were having mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss between 3000Hz to 6000Hz. The Pure tone Audiogram pattern revealed Hearing loss at 4000 Hz and 6000 Hz while hearing at adjacent frequencies were nearly normal. 7 hawkers and 8 shopkeepers had mild notch while 3 hawkers and 1 shopkeeper had a moderate degree of notch. It is thus inferred that tinnitus is a strong indicator for presence of hearing loss and 4/6 KHz notch is a strong marker for road/traffic/ environmental noise as an occupational hazard for hawkers and shopkeepers. Mass awareness about these occupational hazards, regular hearing check up, early intervention along with sustainable development juxtaposed with social and urban forestry can help in this regard.

Keywords: NIHL, noise, sound level meter, tinnitus

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Authors: Claire Far, Sara Wilkinson, Deborah Ascher Barnstone

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Energy issues have been a growing concern in current decades. Limited energy resources and increasing energy consumption from one side and environmental pollution and waste of resources from the other side have substantially affected the future of human life. Around 40 percent of total energy consumption of Australian buildings goes to heating and cooling due to the low thermal performance of the buildings. Thermal performance of buildings determines the amount of energy used for heating and cooling of the buildings which profoundly influences energy efficiency. Therefore, employing sustainable design principles and effective use of construction materials for building envelope can play crucial role in the improvement of energy efficiency of existing dwellings and enhancement of thermal comfort of the occupants. The energy consumption for heating and cooling normally is determined by the quality of the building envelope. Building envelope is the part of building which separates the habitable areas from exterior environment. Building envelope consists of external walls, external doors, windows, roof, ground and the internal walls that separate conditioned spaces from non-condition spaces. The energy loss from the building envelope is the key factor. Heat loss through conduction, convection and radiation from building envelope. Thermal performance of the building envelope can be improved by using different methods of retrofitting depending on the climate conditions and construction materials. Based on the available studies, the importance of employing sustainable design principles has been highlighted among the Australian building professionals. However, the residential building sector still suffers from a lack of having the best practice examples and experience for effective use of construction materials for building envelope. As a result, this study investigates the effectiveness of different energy retrofitting techniques and examines the impact of employing those methods on energy consumption of existing dwellings in Sydney, the most populated city in Australia. Based on the research findings, the best thermal retrofitting methods for increasing thermal comfort and energy efficiency of existing residential dwellings as well as reducing their environmental impact and footprint have been identified and proposed.

Keywords: thermal comfort, energy consumption, residential dwellings, sustainable design principles, thermal retrofit

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Authors: Chia-Chen Hsieh, Fei-Hsiu Hsiao

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Objective: To examine the effects of supportive care interventions on depressive symptoms in patients with lung cancer. Methods: The databases of Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Ovid EMBASE, PubMed, and Chinese Electronic Periodical Services (CEPS) were searched from their inception until September 2015. We included the studies with randomized controlled trial design that compared standard care with supportive care interventions using psychotherapeutic or exercises approach. The standardized mean differences (SMD) (Cohen’s d) were calculated to estimate the treatment effects. The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool was used for quality assessment and subgroup analysis was conducted to identify possible sources of heterogeneity. Results: A total of 1472 patients with lung cancer were identified. Compared with standard care, the overall effects of all supportive care interventions significantly reduced depressive symptoms (SMD = -0.74 with 95% CI = -1.07 to -0.41), and the effect was maintained at the 4th, 8th, and 12th weeks of follow-up. Either psychotherapy combined with psychoeducation or exercise alone produced significant improvements in depressive symptoms, while psychoeducation alone did not. The greater improvements in depressive symptoms occurred in lung cancer patients with severe depressive symptoms at baseline, total duration of interventions of less than ten weeks, and intervention provided through face-to-face delivery. Conclusions: Psychotherapy combined with psychoeducation can help patients manage the causes of depressive symptoms, including both symptom distress and psychological trauma due to lung cancer. Exercise can target the impaired respiratory function that is a cause of depressive symptoms in lung cancer patients.

Keywords: supportive care intervention, depressive symptoms, lung cancer, meta-analysis

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Authors: Ryan Stevens, Wayne L. Bryden

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This study focused on the effects of ginger and a zeolite (toxin binder) in reducing the toxic effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in broiler chickens 7 to 49 days of age. The chicks were maintained normally until experimental diets were introduced on day 7 post-hatching. Nine hundred and thirty six, 7-d-old broiler chickens were randomly assigned to 18 treatment groups; each group had four replicates, each with 13 chickens. The experimental groups or diets had factorial combinations of the following; AFB1 0, 1 and 2 mg/kg diet, ginger 0 and 5g/kg diet, and zeolite 0, 15 and 30 g/kg diet. Diets were based on corn and soybean meal and a starter diet was fed from 1 to 14 days, a grower diet from15 to 28 days and a finisher diet was provided from day 29 until the end of the experiment. Both dietary levels of AFB1 decreased (P<0.05) body weight and feed conversion, and increased relative liver weights. Independent dietary inclusion of ginger or zeolite restored chick performance when diets contained 1mg/kg but not at 2mg/kg. Supplementation of zeolite together with ginger improved performance of birds fed contaminated diets. Interestingly, adding ginger to the control diet that was not contaminated with AFB1 improved (P<0.05) performance. Our results suggest that toxin binders and ginger can provide protection against the negative effects of AFB1 on performance of broiler chicks.

Keywords: aflatoxin, broiler, ginger, zeolite

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Authors: Ejaz Ashraf, Raheel Babar, Muhammad Yaseen, Hafiz Khurram Shurjeel, Nosheen Fatima

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Main purpose of this study was to assess adoption level of farmers for quinoa cultivation after they had been taught through training and visit extension approach. At this time of the 21^st century, population structure, climate change, food requirements and eating habits of people are changing rapidly. In this scenario, farmers must play their key role in sustainable crop development and production through adoption of new crops that may also be helpful to overcome the issue of food insecurity as well as reducing poverty in rural areas. Its cultivation in Pakistan is at the early stages and there is a need to raise awareness among farmers to grow quinoa crops. In the middle of the 2015, a training and visit extension approach was used to raise awareness and convince farmers to grow quinoa in the area. During training and visit extension program, 80 farmers were randomly selected for the training of quinoa cultivation. Later on, these farmers trained 60 more farmers living into their neighborhood. After six months, a survey was conducted with all 140 farmers to assess the impact of the training and visit program on adoption level of respondents for the quinoa crop. The survey instrument was developed with the help of literature review and other experts of the crop. Validity and reliability of the instrument were checked before complete data collection. The data were analyzed by using SPSS. Multiple regression analysis was used for interpretation of the results from the survey, which indicated that factors like information/ training, change in agronomic and plant protection practices play a key role in the adoption of quinoa cultivation by respondents. In addition, the model explains more than 50% of variation in the adoption level of respondents. It is concluded that farmers need timely information for improved knowledge of agronomic and plant protection practices to adopt cultivation of the quinoa crop in the area.

Keywords: farmers, quinoa, adoption, contact, training and visit

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Authors: M. S. Agha, A. M. Eshahiry, S. A. Aldabbar, Z. M. Alshahri

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The propagation of microwave is affected by rain and dust particles by way of signal attenuation and de-polarization. Computations of these effects require knowledge of the propagation characteristics of microwave and millimeter wave energy in the climate conditions of the studied region. This paper presents the effect of wind and humidity on wireless communication such as microwave links in the west north region of Libya (Al-Khoms), experimental procedure to study the effects mentioned above. The experimental procedure is done on three selected antennae towers (Nagaza stations, Al-Khoms center stations, Al-Khoms gateway stations) to determining of the attenuation loss per unit length and cross-polarization discrimination (XPD) change which coverage in the studied region, it is required to collect the dust particles carried out by the wind, measure the particles size distribution (PSD), calculate the concentration, and carry chemical analysis of the contents, then the dielectric constant can be calculated. The result showed that effect of the humidity and dust, the antenna height, the visibility, on the complex permittivity effects both attenuation and phase shift, there is some consideration that has to be taken into account in the communication power budget.

Keywords: attenuation, de-polarization, scattering, transmission loss

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Authors: Chueh Chang, Chia-jung Hsieh, Fu-yu Yu, Yu-Hwa Lin

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Background:The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer undergo treatment involving surgery and radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or both. With these major advances in breast cancer management, many patients still have to deal with short or long-term side effects and psychological distress related to the disease and treatment, which have a substantial impact on their quality of life. The Laughing Qigong Program (LQP) is an interactive laughter program that combines the physical and physiological benefits of laughter with the mental benefits of Chinese qigong. Purpose: In order to improve the quality of life for breast cancer women in the community as well as echoing the WHO 2004 “Promoting Mental Health” for every one. This study focused on how to promote the positive mental health for women of breast cancer through the “laughter program” in Taiwan. During the presentation, how to practice Laughing Qigong will be demonstrated. Method: Using nonequivalent pretest-posttest design, ix-one breast cancer patients were volunteered to enroll in this study from the Taiwan Breast Cancer Alliance (TBCA). Thirty patients were assigned to the experimental group and the other 31 patients were assigned to the control group. The women who were assigned to the experimental group received laughter program one hour per session, once a week, totally 12 sessions. All subjects were tested before and after the intervention on the following: Self-Esteem scale (RSE), Face Scale (FS), Anxiety and pain experience were measured as psychological markers; saliva cortisol (CS) as an immunological marker; blood pressure (BP), heart rate (HR),and heart rate variability (HRV) as physiological markers of the body’s response to stress. Results: After comparing the experimental and control groups, the results revealed that those breast cancer women with “laughing program” their sense of humor were improved, less uncomfortable on self report physical conditions, more positive attitudes toward stress management by using laughter, and had emotional improvement according to the face scale.

Keywords: mental health promotion, breast cancer, laughing Qigong, women

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Authors: Shabnam Abdi, Behzad Toosi

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Background: Melanoma is the most lethal type of malignant skin cancer in humans and dogs since it spreads rapidly throughout the body. Despite significant advances in treatment, cancer at an advanced stage has a poor prognosis. Hence, more effective treatments are needed to enhance outcomes with fewer side effects. Erythropoietin-producing hepatocellular receptors are the largest family of receptor tyrosine kinases and are divided into two subfamilies, EphA and EphB, both of which play a significant role in disease, especially cancer. Due to their association with proliferation and invasion in many aggressive types of cancer, Eph receptor tyrosine kinases (Eph RTKs) are promising cancer therapy molecules. Because these receptors have not been studied in canine melanoma, we investigated how EphA2 influences survival and tumorigenicity of melanoma cells. Methods: Expression of EphA2 protein in canine melanoma cell lines and human melanoma cell line was evaluated by Western blot. Melanoma cells were transduced with lentiviral particles encoding Eph-targeting shRNAs or non-silencing shRNAs (control) for silencing the expression of EphA2 receptor, and silencing was confirmed by Western blotting and immunofluorescence. The effect of siRNA treatment on cellular proliferation, colony formation, tumorsphere assay, invasion was analyzed by Resazurin assay Matrigel invasion assay, respectively. Results: Expression of EphA2 was detected in canine and human melanoma cell lines. Moreover, stably silencing EphA2 by specific shRNAs significantly and consistently decreased the expression of EphA2 protein in both human and canine melanoma cells. Proliferation, colony formation, tumorsphere and invasion of melanoma cells were significantly decreased in EphA2 siRNA-treated cells compared to control. Conclusion: Our data provide the first functional evidence that the EphA2 receptor plays a critical role in the malignant cellular behavior of melanoma in both human and dogs.

Keywords: ephA2, targeting, melanoma, human, canine

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Authors: Sujoy Anirudha Das, Albert Thomas

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Building sector is a major consumer of energy globally, and it has corresponding effects to the environment with respect to the carbon emissions. Given the fact that India is expected to add 40-billion square meter of new buildings till 2050, we need frameworks that help in reducing the overall energy consumption in the building sector. Even though several simulation-based frameworks that help in analyzing the building energy consumption are developed globally, in the Indian context, to the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of a comprehensive, yet user-friendly framework to simulate and optimize the effects of various energy influencing factors, specifically for Indian buildings. Therefore, this study is aimed at developing a simulation-based optimization framework to model the energy interactions in different types of Indian buildings by considering the dynamic nature of various energy influencing factors. This comprehensive framework can be used by various building stakeholders to test the energy effects of different factors such as, but not limited to, the various building materials, the orientation, the weather fluctuations, occupancy changes and the type of the building (e.g., office, residential). The results from the case study involving several building types would help us in gaining insights to build new energy-efficient buildings as well as retrofit the existing structures in a more convenient way to consume less energy, exclusively for an Indian scenario.

Keywords: building energy consumption, building energy simulations, energy efficient buildings, optimization framework

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Authors: A. M. Tahsini

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Computational study of two dimensional supersonic reacting hydrogen-air flows is performed to investigate the nitrogen effects on ignition delay time for premixed and diffusion flames. Chemical reaction is treated using detail kinetics and the advection upstream splitting method is used to calculate the numerical inviscid fluxes. The results show that only in the stoichiometric condition for both premixed and diffusion flames, there is monotone dependency of the ignition delay time to the nitrogen addition. In other situations, the optimal condition from ignition viewpoint should be found using numerical investigations.

Keywords: diffusion flame, ignition delay time, mixing layer, numerical simulation, premixed flame, supersonic flow

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Authors: T. Theodosiou, P. Polychronidou, A. G. Karasavvoglou

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The latest years the number of immigrants at Greece has increased dramatically. Their impact on the National Health System (NHS) has not been yet thoroughly investigated. This paper analyses the cost of immigrants to the NHS hospitals of the region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace. The data are collected from 2005 to 2011 from five different hospitals and are analysed using linear mixed effects models in order to investigate the effects of nationality and year on the cost of hospitalization and treatment. The results show that generally the Greek nationality patients have a higher mean cost of hospitalization compared to the immigrants and that there is an increasing trend for the cost except for the year 2010.

Keywords: cost, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, immigrants, national health system

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Authors: Tomokazu Nagata, Jawid Ahmad Baktash

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The goal of this paper is to explore the use of formal methods for Electronic Identity Card System. Nowadays, one of the core research directions in a constantly growing distributed environment is the improvement of the communication process. The responsibility for proper verification becomes crucial. Formal methods can play an essential role in the development and testing of systems. The thesis presents two different methodologies for assessing correctness. Our first approach employs abstract interpretation techniques for creating a trace based model for Electronic Identity Card System. The model was used for building a semi decidable procedure for verifying the system model. We also developed the code for the eID System and can cover three parts login to system sending of Acknowledgment from user side, receiving of all information from server side and log out from system. The new concepts of impasse and spawned sessions that we introduced led our research to original statements about the intruder’s knowledge and eID system coding with respect to secrecy. Furthermore, we demonstrated that there is a bound on the number of sessions needed for the analysis of System.Electronic identity (eID) cards promise to supply a universal, nation-wide mechanism for user authentication. Most European countries have started to deploy eID for government and private sector applications. Are government-issued electronic ID cards the proper way to authenticate users of online services? We use the eID project as a showcase to discuss eID from an application perspective. The new eID card has interesting design features, it is contact-less, it aims to protect people’s privacy to the extent possible, and it supports cryptographically strong mutual authentication between users and services. Privacy features include support for pseudonymous authentication and per service controlled access to individual data items. The article discusses key concepts, the eID infrastructure, observed and expected problems, and open questions. The core technology seems ready for prime time and government projects deploy it to the masses. But application issues may hamper eID adoption for online applications.

Keywords: eID, event-B, Pro-B, formal method, message passing

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Authors: H. El-Kamchouchi, Heba Gaber, Fatma Ahmed, Dalia H. El-Kamchouchi

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Fault tolerance and data security are two important issues in modern communication systems. In this paper, we propose a secure and efficient digital signature scheme with fault tolerance based on the improved RSA system. The proposed scheme for the RSA cryptosystem contains three prime numbers and overcome several attacks possible on RSA. By using the Chinese Reminder Theorem (CRT) the proposed scheme has a speed improvement on the RSA decryption side and it provides high security also.

Keywords: digital signature, fault tolerance, RSA, security analysis

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Authors: Shanza Akram, Samir Salah, Imran Saleem, Ashraf Alzaabi, Jassim Abdou

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Introduction: 300 million people worldwide are affected by asthma .In UAE, prevalence is around 10% (900,000 people).Patients with persistent symptoms despite using high dose ICS plus a second controller +/- OCS are considered to have severe asthma. Omalizumab (Xolaire) an IgE monoclonal antibody is approved as add on therapy for severe allergic asthma. Objective: To determine the efficacy of omalizumab based on clinical outcomes in our cohort of patient pre and post 52 weeks of treatment to assess safety and tolerability of treatment. Methods: Medical records of patients receiving omalizumab therapy for asthma at ZMH ,Abu Dhabi were retrospectively analyzed.Patients fulfilling the criteria of severe allergic asthma as per GINA guidelines were included. Asthma control over 12 months prior to and 12 months after commencement of omalizumab therapy was analysed by taking into account the number of exacerbations and hospitalizations in addition to maintenance of medication dosages, need for rescue reliever therapy and pulmonary function testing. Results: Total cohort of 21 patient (5 females), average age 41 years and av length of therapy 22 months were included. Seven patients (total 11/52%) managed to stop steroids on treatment while four were able to decrease the dosage. Mean exacerbation rate decreased from five/ year pre treatment to 1.36 while on treatment. Number of hospitalizations decreased from mean of two per year to 0.9 per year. Rescue reliever inhaler usage decreased from mean of 40 puffs to 15 puffs per week. 2 patients discontinued therapy, 1 due to lack of benefit (2 doses) and 2nd due to severe persistent side effects including local irritation, severe limb and joint pains after 6 months. Conclusion: Treatment with omalizumab showed effect in terms of reduced number of exacerbations, maintenance therapy and reliever medications. However, no improvement was seen in PFTs.There is room for improved documentation in terms of symptom recording and use of rescue medicationas as well as for better patient education and counselling in order to improve compliance.

Keywords: asthma, omalizumab, severe allergic asthma, UAE

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Authors: Wai Ho Darrell Kwok

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Building entities are valuable assets of a society, however, all of them are suffered from the ravages of weather and time. Facilitating onerous maintenance activities is the only way to either maintain or enhance the value and contemporary standard of the premises. By the way, maintenance budget is always bounded by the corresponding threshold limit. In order to optimize the limited resources allocation in carrying out maintenance, there is a substantial need to prioritize maintenance work. This paper reveals the application of Fuzzy AHP in a Facilities Management Company determining the maintenance priorities on the basis of predetermined criteria, viz., Building Status (BS), Effects on Fabrics (EF), Effects on Sustainability (ES), Effects on Users (EU), Importance of Usage (IU) and Physical Condition (PC) in dealing with categorized 8 predominant building components maintenance aspects for building premises. From the case study, it is found that ‘building exterior repainting or re-tiling’, ‘spalling concrete repair works among exterior area’ and ‘lobby renovation’ are the top three maintenance priorities from facilities manager and maintenance expertise personnel. Through the application of the Fuzzy AHP for maintenance priorities decision algorithm, a more systemic and easier comparing scalar linearity factors being explored even in considering other multiple criteria decision scenarios of building maintenance issue.

Keywords: building maintenance, fuzzy AHP, maintenance priority, multi-criteria decision making

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Authors: Eylem Güzel, Soner Güler, Mustafa Gülen

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Masonry is the oldest building materials since ancient times. Adobe, stone, brick are the most widespread materials used in the construction of masonry buildings. Masonry buildings compose of a large part of building stock especially in rural areas and underdeveloped regions of Turkey. The seismic performance of adobe masonry buildings is vulnerable against earthquake effects. In this study, after 2011 Van earthquake with magnitude 7.2 Mw, damages occurred in existing adobe masonry buildings in Van city is investigated. The observed damages and reasons of adobe masonry buildings in design and construction phase are specified and evaluated.

Keywords: adobe masonry buildings, earthquake effects, damages, seismic performance

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Authors: Shaikah Alsubayae, Gianluigi Casse, Carlos Chavez, Jon Taylor, Alan Taylor, Mohammad Alsulimane

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Achieving precise radiotherapy through carbon therapy necessitates the accurate monitoring of radiation dose distribution within the patient's body. This process is pivotal for targeted tumor treatment, minimizing harm to healthy tissues, and enhancing overall treatment effectiveness while reducing the risk of side effects. In our investigation, we adopted a methodological approach to monitor secondary proton doses in carbon therapy using Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. Initially, Geant4 simulations were employed to extract the initial positions of secondary particles generated during interactions between carbon ions and water, including protons, gamma rays, alpha particles, neutrons, and tritons. Subsequently, we explored the relationship between the carbon ion beam and these secondary particles. Interaction vertex imaging (IVI) proves valuable for monitoring dose distribution during carbon therapy, providing information about secondary particle locations and abundances, particularly protons. The IVI method relies on charged particles produced during ion fragmentation to gather range information by reconstructing particle trajectories back to their point of origin, known as the vertex. In the context of carbon ion therapy, our simulation results indicated a strong correlation between some secondary particles and the range of carbon ions. However, challenges arose due to the unique elongated geometry of the target, hindering the straightforward transmission of forward-generated protons. Consequently, the limited protons that did emerge predominantly originated from points close to the target entrance. Fragment (protons) trajectories were approximated as straight lines, and a beam back-projection algorithm, utilizing interaction positions recorded in Si detectors, was developed to reconstruct vertices. The analysis revealed a correlation between the reconstructed and actual positions.

Keywords: radiotherapy, carbon therapy, monitor secondary proton doses, interaction vertex imaging

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Authors: Maria Medrano, Cristina Cadenas-Sanchez, Maddi Oses, Lide Arenaza, Maria Amasene, Idoia Labayen

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The COVID-19 outbreak began in December 2019 in China and was rapidly expanded globally. Emergency measures, such as social distance or home confinement, were adopted by many country governments to prevent its transmission. In Spain, one of the most affected countries, the schools were closed, and one of the most severe mandatory home confinement was established for children from 14th March to 26th April 2020. The hypothesis of this study was that the measures adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic may have negatively affected physical activity and screen time of children. However, few studies have examined the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyle behaviours. Thus, the aim of the current work was to analyse the effects of the COVID-19 confinement on physical activity and screen time in Spanish children. For the current purpose, a total of 113 children and adolescents (12.0 ± 2.6 yr., 51.3% boys, 24.0% with overweight/obesity according to the World Obesity Federation) of the MUGI project were included in the analyses. Physical activity and screen time were longitudinally assessed by 'The Youth Activity Profile' questionnaire (YAP). Differences in physical activity and screen time before and during the confinement were assessed by dependent t-test. Before the confinement, 60% did not meet physical activity recommendations ( ≥ 60/min/day of moderate to vigorous physical activity), and 61% used screens ≥ 2 h/day. During the COVID-19 confinement, children decreased their physical activity levels (-91 ± 55 min/day, p < 0.001) and increased screen time ( ± 2.6 h/day, p < 0.001). The prevalence of children that worsened physical activity and screen time during the COVID-19 confinement were 95.2% and 69.8%, respectively. The current study evidence the negative effects of the COVID-19 confinement on physical activity and screen time in Spanish children. These findings should be taken into account to develop and implement future public health strategies for preserving children's lifestyle behaviours and health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19, lifestyle changes, paediatric, physical activity, screen time

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Authors: Jae-Hyuk Hyun, Dong-Sung Bae, Jea-Sun Lee

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The COVID-19 pandemic emphasized the benefits of natural green space on mental health in pandemic situations. The effects of greenspace on reducing mental health disorder are detected, but limitations impede highlighting the overall effectiveness of greenspace on mental health to be valid and significant. Therefore, this study aims to comprehensively and quantitatively analyze the effectiveness and significance of greenspace in reducing mental disorders after the COVID-19 outbreak. This study adopted a systematic review to select adequate, necessary studies with significant associations between greenspace and mental health after COVID-19. Meta-analysis is performed using the selected studies for calculating and analyzing the combined effect size of greenspace on reducing mental disorder, difference of effect size in various factors of greenspace or mental health, and variables’ effects on greenspace or mental health. Also, a correlation test using MQRS and effect size is performed to determine significant correlations of factors in greenspace and mental health. The analysis confirmed the combined effect size of the association between greenspace and mental health to be interpreted as large enough (medium effect size, 0.565). Various factors consisting of greenspace or mental health had considerable effect sizes, with heterogeneity existing between studies of different greenspace and mental health aspects (subgroups). A significant correlation between factors in greenspace and mental health was identified, with correlations satisfying both reliability and effectiveness used for suggesting necessary greenspace policies with mental health benefits during the pandemic situation. Different variables of the study period, female proportion, and mean age significantly affected certain factors of greenspace or mental health, while the increase in effects of greenspace on mental health was detected as the COVID-19 period continued. Also, the regional heterogeneity of effects on the association between greenspace and mental health is recognized in all factors consisting of greenspace and mental health except for the visitation of greenspace. In conclusion, valid and significant effects were detected in various associations between greenspace and mental health. Based on the results of this study, conducting elaborate research and establishing adequate and necessary greenspace policies and strategies are recommended to effectively benefit the mental health of citizens in future pandemic situations.

Keywords: greenspace, natural environment, mental health, mental disorder, COVID-19, pandemic, systematic review, meta-analysis

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Nuruddin Mohammod Zahangir, Syed Tanvir Ahmady, Firoz Ahmed, Mainul Kabir, Tamjid Mohammad Najmus Sakib Khan, Nazmul Hossain, Niaz Ahmed, Madhava Janardhan Naik

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The management of combined Coronary Artery Disease and Peripheral Vascular Disease is a challenge and brings with it numerous clinical dilemmas.The 56 year old gentleman presented to our department with significant triple vessel disease with occluded lower end of aorta just before bifurcation and bilateral superficial femoral arteries. Operation was done on 11.03.14. The The Left Internal Mammary Artery (LIMA) and the Right Internal Mammary Artery (RIMA) were harvested in skeletonized manner. The free RIMA was then anastomosed with LIMA to make LIMA-RIMA Y. Cardio Pulmonary Bypass was then established and coronary artery bypass grafts performed. LIMA was anastomosed to the Left Anterior Descending artery. RIMA was anastomosed to Posterior Descending Artery, 1st and 2nd Obtuse Marginal arteries in a sequential manner. Abdomen was opened by midline incision. The infrarenal aorta exposed and was found to be severely diseased. A Vascular Clamp was applied infrarenally, aortotomy done and limited endarterectomy performed. An end-to-side anastomosis was done with upper end of PTFE synthetic Y-graft (14/7 mm) to the infarenal Aorta and the Clamp released. Good flow noted in both limbs of the graft. Patient was then slowly weaned off from Cardio Pulmonary Bypass without difficulty. The distal two limbs of the Y graft were passed to the groin through retroperitoneal tunnels and anastomosed end-to-side with the common femoral arteries. Saphenous vein was interposed between common femoral and popliteal arteries bilaterally through subfascial tunnels in both thigh. On 12th postoperative day he was discharged from hospital in good general condition. Follow up after 3 months of operation the patient is doing good and free of chest pain and claudication pain.

Keywords: total arterial, coronary revascularization, aorto-bifemoral bypass, bifemoro-bipopliteal bypass

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Authors: Handan Ucun Özel, Halil Barış Özel

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The toxic effects of copper and cadmium on seed germination, seedling, root, shoot length, and seedling dry biomass of oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) was evaluated under laboratory conditions compared to control values. Copper and cadmium treatments at 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/l affect seed germination and seedling growth of oriental beech as compared to control. Copper treatments at 50, 100, 150, and 200 mg/l concentrations produced significant (p < 0.01) effects on seed germination and seedling length of oriental beech while copper treatment at 150 mg/l significantly affected root growth and seedling dry biomass as compared to control. Similarly, cadmium treatments from 50 to 200 mg/l affected the seed germination, root, shoot length, and seedling dry biomass of oriental beech as compared to control. Cadmium treatments showed an adverse effect on seedlings of oriental beech as compared to copper, copper and cadmium treatments at 200mg/l exhibited the lowest percentage of tolerance in seedlings of oriental beech as compared to control.

Keywords: copper, cadmium, toxicity, oriental beech

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Authors: David Guillermo Piedrahita Marquez, Hector Suarez Mahecha, Jairo Humberto Lopez

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The propolis are substances obtained from the beehive have an action against pathogens, prooxidant substances and free radicals because of its polyphenols content, this has motivated the use of these compounds in the food and pharmaceutical industries. However, due to their organoleptic properties and their ability to react with other compounds, their application has been limited; therefore, the objective of this research was to propose a mechanism to protect propolis and mitigate side effects granted by its components. To achieve the stated purpose ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) from three samples from Santander were obtained and their antioxidant and antimicrobial activity were evaluated in order to choose the extract with the biggest potential. Subsequently mixtures of the extract with maltodextrin were prepared by spray drying varying concentration and temperature, finally the yield, the physicochemical, and antioxidant properties of the products were measured. It was concluded that Socorro propolis was the best for the production of microencapsulated due to their activity against pathogenic strains, for its large percentage of DPPH radical inactivation and for its high phenolic content. In spray drying, the concentration of bioactive had a greater impact than temperature and the conditions set allowed a good performance and the production of particles with high antioxidant potential and little chance of proliferation of microorganisms. Also, it was concluded that the best conditions that allowed us to obtain the best particles were obtained after drying a mixture 1:2 ( EEP: Maltodextrin), besides the concentration is the most important variable in the spray drying process, at the end we obtained particles of different sizes and shape and the uniformity of the surface depend on the temperature. After watching the previously mentioned microparticles by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) it was concluded that most of the particles produced during the spray dry process had a spherical shape and presented agglomerations due to the moisture content of the ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP), the morphology of the microparticles contributed to the stability of the final product and reduce the loss of total phenolic content.

Keywords: spray drying, propolis, maltodextrin, encapsulation, scanning electron microscopy

Procedia PDF Downloads 285

Authors: Yichen Lin, Hsiao-Han Chen, Chi-Chen Jan

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Since 1990, the research area of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has been presented from a different perspective. With advances in information technology and the rise of consumer consciousness, businesses are in a competitive environment. There is an urgent need to adopt more profitable and effective integrated marketing strategies to increase core competitiveness. The goal of the company's sustainable management is to increase consumers' willingness to purchase and to maximize profits. This research uses six aspects of IMC, which includes awareness integration, unified image, database integration, customer-based integration, stakeholders-based integration, and evaluation integration to examine the role of marketing strategies in the strengths and weaknesses of the six components of integrated marketing communications, their effectiveness, the most important components and the most important components that need improvement. At the same time, social media such as FaceBook, Instagram, Youtube, Line, or even TikTok have become marketing tools which firms adopt them more and more frequently in the marketing strategy. In the end of 2019, the outbreak of COVID-19 did really affect the global industries. Lockdown policies also accelerated closure of brick-mentor stores worldwide. Online purchases rose dramatically. Hence, the effectiveness of online marketing will be essential to maintain the business. This study uses multiple-case studies to extend the effects of social media and IMC. Moreover, the study would also explore the differences of social media and IMC during COVID-19. Through literature review and multiple-case studies, it is found that using social media combined with IMC did really help companies expand their business and make good connections with stakeholders. One of previous studies also used system theory to explore the interrelationship among Integrated Marketing Communication, collaborative marketing, and global brand building. Even during pandemic, firms could still maintain the operation and connect with their customers more tightly.

Keywords: integration marketing communications, multiple-case studies, social media, system theory

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Authors: Ali W. Alattabi, Khalid S. Hashim, Hassnen M. Jafer, Ali Alzeyadi

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This study was performed to optimise the react time (RT) and study its effects on the removal rates of nitrogen compounds in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating synthetic industrial wastewater. The results showed that increasing the RT from 4 h to 10, 16 and 22 h significantly improved the nitrogen compounds’ removal efficiency, it was increased from 69.5% to 95%, 75.7 to 97% and from 54.2 to 80.1% for NH₃-N, NO₃-N and NO₂-N respectively. The results obtained from this study showed that the RT of 22 h was the optimum for nitrogen compounds removal efficiency.

Keywords: ammonia-nitrogen, retention time, nitrate, nitrite, sequencing batch reactor, sludge characteristics

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Authors: Lucy Novianti

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The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of corporate governance, ownership structure, and cash holdings on firm value, either direct or indirect through profitability as an intervening variable for non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange during 2006 to 2014. Samples of 176 firms are chosen based on purposive sampling method. The results of this study conclude that profitability, the size of Audit Committee, audit quality, and cash flow have positive effects on firm value. This study also shows that the meeting frequency of the Board of Directors and free cash flow have negative effects on firm value. In addition, this study finds that the size of the Board of Directors, Independent Commissioner, and ownership structure do not have significant effects on firm value. In this study, the function of profitability as an intervening variable can only be done on the impact of the meeting frequency of the Board of Directors and cash flow on firm value. This study provides a reference for management in decision making concerning the application of corporate governance, cash holdings, and financial performance. Moreover, it can be used as additional information for investors in assessing the feasibility of an investment. Finally, it provides a suggestion for the government regarding the regulation of corporate governance.

Keywords: cash holdings, corporate governance, firm value, ownership structure, profitability

Procedia PDF Downloads 259