Search results for: industrial index
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 6575

Search results for: industrial index

6395 Municipal-Level Gender Norms: Measurement and Effects on Women in Politics

Authors: Luisa Carrer, Lorenzo De Masi

Abstract:

In this paper, we exploit the massive amount of information from Facebook to build a measure of gender attitudes in Italy at a previously impossible resolution—the municipal level. We construct our index via a machine learning method to replicate a benchmark region-level measure. Interestingly, we find that most of the variation in our Gender Norms Index (GNI) is across towns within narrowly defined geographical areas rather than across regions or provinces. In a second step, we show how this local variation in norms can be leveraged for identification purposes. In particular, we use our index to investigate whether these differences in norms carry over to the policy activity of politicians elected in the Italian Parliament. We document that females are more likely to sit in parliamentary committees focused on gender-sensitive matters, labor, and social issues, but not if they come from a relatively conservative town. These effects are robust to conditioning the legislative term and electoral district, suggesting the importance of social norms in shaping legislators’ policy activity.

Keywords: gender equality, gender norms index, Facebook, machine learning, politics

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6394 Unsupervised Text Mining Approach to Early Warning System

Authors: Ichihan Tai, Bill Olson, Paul Blessner

Abstract:

Traditional early warning systems that alarm against crisis are generally based on structured or numerical data; therefore, a system that can make predictions based on unstructured textual data, an uncorrelated data source, is a great complement to the traditional early warning systems. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX), commonly referred to as the fear index, measures the cost of insurance against market crash, and spikes in the event of crisis. In this study, news data is consumed for prediction of whether there will be a market-wide crisis by predicting the movement of the fear index, and the historical references to similar events are presented in an unsupervised manner. Topic modeling-based prediction and representation are made based on daily news data between 1990 and 2015 from The Wall Street Journal against VIX index data from CBOE.

Keywords: early warning system, knowledge management, market prediction, topic modeling.

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6393 Composite Materials from Epoxidized Linseed Oil and Lignin

Authors: R. S. Komartin, B. Balanuca, R. Stan

Abstract:

the last decades, studies about the use of polymeric materials of plant origin, considering environmental concerns, have captured the interest of researchers because these represent an alternative to petroleum-derived materials. Vegetable oils are one of the preferred alternatives for petroleum-based raw materials having long aliphatic chains similar to hydrocarbons which means that can be processed using conventional chemistry. Epoxidized vegetable oils (EVO) are among the most interesting products derived from oil both for their high reactivity (epoxy group) and for the potential to react with compounds from various classes. As in the case of epoxy resins starting from petrochemical raw materials, those obtained from EVO can be crosslinked with different agents to build polymeric networks and can also be reinforced with various additives to improve their thermal and mechanical performances. Among the multitude of known EVO, the most common in industrial practice are epoxidized linseed oils (ELO) and epoxidized soybean oils (ESO), the first with an iodine index over 180, the second having a lower iodine index but being cheaper. On the other hand, lignin (Ln) is the second natural organic material as a spread, whose use has long been hampered because of the high costs associated with its isolation and purification. In this context, our goal was to obtain new composite materials with satisfactory intermediate properties in terms of stiffness and elasticity using the characteristics of ELO and Ln and choosing the proper curing procedure. In the present study linseed oil (LO) epoxidation was performed using peracetic acid generated in situ. The obtained bio-based epoxy resin derived from linseed oil was used further to produce the new composites byloading Ln in various mass ratios. The resulted ELO-Ln blends were subjected to a dual-curing protocol, namely photochemical and thermal. The new ELO-Ln composites were investigated by FTIR spectrometry, thermal stability, water affinity, and morphology. The positive effect of lignin regarding the thermal stability of the composites could be proved. The results highlight again the still largely unexplored potential of lignin in industrial applications.

Keywords: composite materials, dual curing, epoxidized linseed oil, lignin

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6392 The Possibility to Assess the Industrial Enterprise Sustainability

Authors: G. Khasaev, S. Ashmarina , A. Zotova

Abstract:

The priority of Russian enterprises development has been given to the optimization process of industrial enterprise activity for their sustainable development in a long-term period. The assessment of sustainable development level as one of the most efficient instruments of sustainable development management at the industrial enterprise gives a complex view of its state. In order to perform accurate analysis of the current state of the industrial enterprise, it is necessary to perform the assessment of its sustainable development and using its results to elaborate the further tactic of enterprise functioning. The assessment of sustainable development level of the enterprise may help the effective management of strategy development only if the corresponding indicators system is created. The elaboration and usage the sustainable development indicators allows the enterprise to implement analysis of its activity results and monitoring of sustainable enterprise functioning. The authors’ methods are based on general aspects of the industrial enterprise functioning such as finance, customers, inner economic process, and staff system.

Keywords: assessment methods, indicators system, industrial enterprise, sustainable development

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6391 Quantifying the Second-Level Digital Divide on Sub-National Level with a Composite Index

Authors: Vladimir Korovkin, Albert Park, Evgeny Kaganer

Abstract:

The paper studies the second-level digital divide (the one defined by the way how digital technology is used in everyday life) between regions of the Russian Federation. The paper offers a systemic review of literature on the measurement of the digital divide; based upon this it suggests a composite Digital Life Index, that captures the complex multi-dimensional character of the phenomenon. The model of the index studies separately the digital supply and demand across seven independent dimensions providing for 14 subindices. The Index is based on Internet-borne data, a distinction from traditional research approaches that rely on official statistics or surveys. Regression analysis is used to determine the relative importance of factors like income, human capital, and policy in determining the digital divide. The result of the analysis suggests that the digital divide is driven more by the differences in demand (defined by consumer competencies) than in supply; the role of income is insignificant, and the quality of human capital is the key determinant of the divide. The paper advances the existing methodological literature on the issue and can also inform practical decision-making regarding the strategies of national and regional digital development.

Keywords: digital transformation, second-level digital divide, composite index, digital policy, regional development, Russia

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6390 Design of an Acoustic System for Small-Scale Power Plants

Authors: Mohammadreza Judaki, Hosein Mohammadnezhad Shourkaei

Abstract:

Usually, noise generated by industrial units, is a pollution and disturbs people and causes problems for human health and sometimes these units will be closed because they cannot eliminate this pollution. Small-scale power plants usually are built close to residential areas, and noise generated by these power plants is an important factor in choosing their location and their design. Materials used to reduce noise are studied by measuring their absorption and reflection index numerically and experimentally. We can use MIKI model (Yasushi Miki, 1990) to simulate absorption index by using software like Ansys or Soundflow and compare calculation results with experimental simulation data. We consider high frequency sounds of power plant engines octave band diagram because dB value of high frequency noise is more noticeable for human ears. To prove this, in this study we first will study calculating octave band of engines exhausts and then we will study acoustic behavior of materials that we will use in high frequencies and this will give us our optimum noise reduction plan.

Keywords: acoustic materials, eliminating engine noise, octave level diagram, power plant noise

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6389 Industrial Management of Highland Community: The Hmong Ethnic Group Hill Tribe, Phetchabun Province

Authors: Kusuma Palaprom

Abstract:

The aims of this research are: 1) to study Hmong ethnic group hill tribe’s way of life and community industrial management and 2) to bring the industrial management into the community. This is a Participatory Action Research (PAR) using qualitative and quantitative data. The findings are: 1) Way of living and learning from nature of Hmong ethnic group hill tribe bases on their cultural relic belief. Hmong‘s way of life or occupation is traditional agriculture which cannot be business because they cannot adopt the industrial management to the community economic innovation base on local wisdom. 2) Quality of life development using local wisdom cost is not worth. Hmong ethnic group hill tribe are lack of modern knowledge-managerial aspect and the application of local wisdom cost and 3) the government supports for Hmong’s developing of life quality are limited. Solving problem guidelines are: 1) to create awareness of ethnic group wisdom-industrial conservation. 2) Government policy need to give an opportunity and motivate ethnic group community to do the cultural-industrial conservation with industrial management process and local wisdom cost. In order to, improve the sustainability of quality of life.

Keywords: industrial management, highland community, community empowerment ethnic group

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6388 Assesment of Trapping Efficiency of Slow Released Formulations of Methyl Euginol with Carnauba Wax against Bactrocera zonata

Authors: Waleed Afzal Naveed, Muhammd Dildar Gogi, Muhammad Sufian, Muhammad Junaid Nisar, Mubashir Iqbal, Hafiz Muhammad Waqas Amjad, Muhammad Hamza Khaliq

Abstract:

Present study was carried out to evaluate the performance of Slow-Released Formulations (SRF) of methyl eugenol with Carnauba wax in orchard of University of Agriculture Faisalabad, Pakistan against fruit flies. Carnauba wax was mixed with methyl eugenol in nine ratios (10:90, 20:80, 30:70, 40:60, 50:50, 60:40, 70:30, 80:20 and 90:10). The results revealed that SRFCN-9 trapped 35.3 flies/day/trap, exhibited an attractancy index (AI) of 50.35%, proved strongly attractive SRFCN for B. zonata and was categorized as Class-III slow-released formulation (Attractive Index > 50%). The SRFCN-1, SRFCN-2, SRFCN-3, SRFCN-4, SRFCN-5, SRFCN-6, SRFCN-7 and SRFCN-8 trapped 2.0, 5.3, 3.3, 4.0, 5.7, 12.0, 9.7 and 14.3 flies/day/trap respectively exhibited an attractancy index (AI) of -70.73%, -37.25%, -55.55%, -48.93%, -34.61%, 1.40%, -9.37% and 10.25% Attractive Index respectively, proved little or non attractive slow-released formulation and was categorized as Class-I slow-released formulation for B. zonata (Attractive Index < 11%). Results revealed that the Slow-Released Formulation containing 10% Carnauba wax with 90% methyl eugenol trapped maximum number of flies of over 30 days.

Keywords: slow-released formulation, Bactrocera zonata, Carnauba wax, methyl euginol

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6387 Relationship between Chlorophyl Content and Calculated Index Values of Citrus Trees

Authors: Namik Kemal Sonmez

Abstract:

Based passive remote sensing technologies have been widely used in many plant species. However, use of these techniques in orange trees is limited. In this study, the relationships between chlorophyll content (Chl) and calculated red edge (RE) and vegetation index values of the citrus leave at different growth stages were formed the basis for the analysis. Canopy reflectance by hand-held spectroradiometer and total Chl analysis at the lab were measured simultaneously, from the random samples taken from four different parts of an orange orchard. Plant materials consisted of four different age groups of 15, 20, 25, and 30 years old orange trees. Reflectance measurements were conducted between 450 and 900 nanometer (nm) wavelength at four different bands (3 visible bands and 1 near-infrared band) at the four basic physiological periods (flowering, fruit setting, fruit maturity, and dormancy) of orange trees. According to the statistical analysis conducted, there was a strong relationship between the chlorophyll content and calculated indexes (p ≤ 0.01; R²= 0.925 at red edge and R²= 0.986 at vegetation index) at the fruit setting stage of 20 years old trees. Again at this stage, fruit setting, total Chl content values among all orange trees were significantly correlated at the RE and VI with the R² values of 0.672 and 0.635 at the 0.001 level, respectively. This indicated that the relationships between Chl content and index values were very strong at this stage, in comparison to the other stages.

Keywords: spectroradiometer, citrus, chlorophyll, reflectance, index

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6386 Correlation between Seismic Risk Insurance Indexes and Uninhabitability Indexes of Buildings in Morocco

Authors: Nabil Mekaoui, Nacer Jabour, Abdelhamid Allaoui, Abderahim Oulidi

Abstract:

The reliability of several insurance indexes of the seismic risk is evaluated and compared for an efficient seismic risk coverage of buildings in Morocco, thus, reducing the basic risk. A large database of earthquake ground motions is established from recent seismic events in Morocco and synthetic ground motions compatible with the design spectrum in order to conduct nonlinear time history analyses on three building models representative of the building stock in Morocco. The uninhabitability index is evaluated based on the simulated damage index, then correlated with preselected insurance indexes. Interestingly, the commonly used peak ground acceleration index showed poor correlation when compared with other indexes, such as spectral accelerations at low periods. Recommendations on the choice of suitable insurance indexes are formulated for efficient seismic risk coverage in Morocco.

Keywords: catastrophe modeling, damage, earthquake, reinsurance, seismic hazard, trigger index, vulnerability

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6385 Quality of Life of the Beneficiaries of the Government’s Bolsa Família Program: A Case Study in Mateiros/TO/Brazil

Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Afonso R. Aquino, Veruska C. Dutra, Carlos H. C. Tolentino

Abstract:

The quality of life index, despite elucidating many discussions, the conceptual subjectivity of the term does not show precision, and consequently, many researchers seek to develop methods aiming to measure this concept, bringing it to a more concrete approach. In this study, the quality of life index method was used to analyze the population of Mateiros, Tocantins, Brazil for quality of life. After data collection, it was compared the quality of life index between the population and the group of beneficiaries of the Brazilian government assistance program Bolsa Família (Family Allowance). Some of the people interviewed receive financial aid from the federal government program Bolsa Família (22%). Comparisons were made among the final score of the quality of life index of the Mateiros population and the following factors: Gender, age, education, those working or not with tourism and those who receive or do not receive the Bolsa Família. It was observed that only the factor, Bolsa Família (p-score 0.0138), shows an association with quality of life improvement, noticing that those who have financial aid had a higher quality of life improvement than the rest of the population. It was concluded that, government assistance has shown a decisive element on the enhancement of Mateiros population quality of life, indicating that similar actions should be maintained.

Keywords: quality of life index, government aid to families, sustainable tourism, Bolsa Familia

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6384 Analysis of Entrepreneurship in Industrial Cluster

Authors: Wen-Hsiang Lai

Abstract:

Except for the internal aspects of entrepreneurship (i.e. motivation, opportunity perspective and alertness), there are external aspects that affecting entrepreneurship (i.e. the industrial cluster). By comparing the machinery companies located inside and outside the industrial district, this study aims to explore the cluster effects on the entrepreneurship of companies in Taiwan machinery clusters (TMC). In this study, three factors affecting the entrepreneurship in TMC are conducted as “competition”, “embedded-ness” and “specialized knowledge”. The “competition” in the industrial cluster is defined as the competitive advantages that companies gain in form of demand effects and diversified strategies; the “embedded-ness” refers to the quality of company relations (relational embedded-ness) and ranges (structural embedded-ness) with the industry components (universities, customers and complementary) that affecting knowledge transfer and knowledge generations; the “specialized knowledge” shares the internal knowledge within industrial clusters. This study finds that when comparing to the companies which are outside the cluster, the industrial cluster has positive influence on the entrepreneurship. Additionally, the factor of “relational embedded-ness” has significant impact on the entrepreneurship and affects the adaptation ability of companies in TMC. Finally, the factor of “competition” reveals partial influence on the entrepreneurship.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, industrial cluster, industrial district, economies of agglomerations, Taiwan Machinery Cluster (TMC)

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6383 Critical Factors in the Formation, Development and Survival of an Eco-Industrial Park: A Systemic Understanding of Industrial Symbiosis

Authors: Iván González, Pablo Andrés Maya, Sebastián Jaén

Abstract:

Eco-industrial parks (EIPs) work as networks for the exchange of by-products, such as materials, water, or energy. This research identifies the relevant factors in the formation of EIPs in different industrial environments around the world. Then an aggregation of these factors is carried out to reduce them from 50 to 17 and classify them according to 5 fundamental axes. Subsequently, the Vester Sensitivity Model (VSM) systemic methodology is used to determine the influence of the 17 factors on an EIP system and the interrelationship between them. The results show that the sequence of effects between factors: Trust and Cooperation → Business Association → Flows → Additional Income represents the “backbone” of the system, being the most significant chain of influences. In addition, the Organizational Culture represents the turning point of the Industrial Symbiosis on which it must act correctly to avoid falling into unsustainable economic development. Finally, the flow of Information should not be lost since it is what feeds trust between the parties, and the latter strengthens the system in the face of individual or global imbalances. This systemic understanding will enable the formulation of pertinent policies by the actors that interact in the formation and permanence of the EIP. In this way, it seeks to promote large-scale sustainable industrial development, integrating various community actors, which in turn will give greater awareness and appropriation of the current importance of sustainability in industrial production.

Keywords: critical factors, eco-industrial park, industrial symbiosis, system methodology

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6382 Characterization of 3D-MRP for Analyzing of Brain Balancing Index (BBI) Pattern

Authors: N. Fuad, M. N. Taib, R. Jailani, M. E. Marwan

Abstract:

This paper discusses on power spectral density (PSD) characteristics which are extracted from three-dimensional (3D) electroencephalogram (EEG) models. The EEG signal recording was conducted on 150 healthy subjects. Development of 3D EEG models involves pre-processing of raw EEG signals and construction of spectrogram images. Then, the values of maximum PSD were extracted as features from the model. These features are analysed using mean relative power (MRP) and different mean relative power (DMRP) technique to observe the pattern among different brain balancing indexes. The results showed that by implementing these techniques, the pattern of brain balancing indexes can be clearly observed. Some patterns are indicates between index 1 to index 5 for left frontal (LF) and right frontal (RF).

Keywords: power spectral density, 3D EEG model, brain balancing, mean relative power, different mean relative power

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6381 Ultrafast Transistor Laser Containing Graded Index Separate Confinement Heterostructure

Authors: Mohammad Hosseini

Abstract:

Ultrafast transistor laser investigated here has the graded index separate confinement heterostructure (GRIN-SCH) in its base region. Resonance-free optical frequency response with -3dB bandwidth of more than 26 GHz has been achieved for a single quantum well transistor laser by using graded index layers of AlξGa1-ξAs (ξ: 0.1→0) on the left side of the quantum well and AlξGa1-ξAs (ξ: 0.05→0) in the right side of quantum well. All required parameters, including quantum well and base transit time, optical confinement factor and spontaneous recombination lifetime, have been calculated using a self-consistent charge control model.

Keywords: transistor laser, ultrafast, GRIN-SCH, -3db optical bandwidth, AlξGa1-ξAs

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6380 Sustainability Modelling and Sustainability Evaluation of a Mechanical System in a Concurrent Engineering Environment: A Digraph and Matrix Approach

Authors: Anand Ankush, Wani Mohammed Farooq

Abstract:

A procedure based on digraph and matrix method is developed for modelling and evaluation of sustainability of Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment.The sustainability parameters of a Mechanical System are identified and are called sustainability attributes. Consideration of attributes and their interrelations is rudiment in modeling and evaluation of sustainability index. Sustainability attributes of a Mechanical System are modelled in termsof sustainability digraph. The graph is represented by a one-to-one matrix for sustainability expression which is based on sustainability attributes. A variable sustainability relationship permanent matrix is defined to develop sustainability expression(VPF-t) which is also useful in comparing two systems in a concurrent environment. The sustainability index of Mechanical System is obtained from permanent of matrix by substituting the numerical values of attributes and their interrelations. A higher value of index implies better sustainability of system.The ideal value of index is obtained from matrix expression which is useful in assessing relative sustainability of a Mechanical System in a concurrent engineering environment. The procedure is not only useful for evaluation of sustainability of a Mechanical System at conceptual design stage but can also be used for design and development of systems at system design stage. A step-by-step procedure for evaluation of sustainability index is also suggested and is illustrated by means of an example.

Keywords: digraph, matrix method, mechanical system, sustainability

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6379 Potential Ecological Risk Index of the Northern Egyptian Lagoons, South of Mediterranean Sea, Egypt

Authors: Mohamed El-Bady

Abstract:

The Northern Egyptian Lagoons are (from east to west) Bardawil Lagoon, Manzala Lagoon, Burullus Lagoon, Edku Lagoons and Mariute Lagoon. These lagoons have been received the bulk of drainage water from the lands of Delta and from the other coastal areas. Where, the heavy metals can occur in Lagoons environments through a variety of sources, including industries, wastewaters and domestic effluents. The potential ecological risk index (RI) calculation of the bottom sediments of the northern lagoons depends on contamination factor (CF), potential ecological risk factor and proposed toxic response factor (Tr). Each lagoon with special indices according to its conditions.

Keywords: Northern Lagoons, Nile Delta, ecological risk index, contamination factor

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6378 Effect of Control Lasers Polarization on Absorption Coefficient and Refractive Index of a W-Type 4- Level Cylindrical Quantum Dot in the Presence Of Electromagnetically Induced Transparency (ETI)

Authors: Marziehossadat Moezzi

Abstract:

In this paper, electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) is investigated in a cylindrical quantum dot (QD) with a parabolic confinement potential. We study the effect of control lasers polarization on absorption coefficient, refractive index and also on the generation of the double transparency windows in this system. Considering an effective mass method, the time-independent Schrödinger equation is solved to obtain the energy structure of the QD. Also, we study the effect of structural characteristics of the QD on refraction and absorption of the QD in the presence of EIT.

Keywords: electromagnetically induced transparency, cylindrical quantum dot, absorption coefficient, refractive index

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6377 The Evaluation of a Novel Cardiac Index derived from Anthropometric and Biochemical Parameters in Pediatric Morbid Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Mustafa Metin Donma

Abstract:

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) components are noteworthy among children with obesity and morbid obesity because they point out the cases with MetS, which have the great tendency to severe health problems such as cardiovascular diseases both in childhood and adulthood. In clinical practice, considerable efforts are being observed to bring into the open the striking differences between morbid obese cases and those with MetS findings. The most privileged aspect is concerning cardiometabolic features. The aim of this study was to derive an index which behaves different in children with and without MetS from the cardiac point of view. For the purpose, aspartate transaminase (AST), a cardiac enzyme still being used independently to predict cardiac-related problems, was used. One hundred and twenty four children were recruited from the outpatient clinic of Department of Pediatrics in Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine. Forty-three children with normal body mass index, forty-one and forty morbid obese (MO) children with MetS and without the characteristic features of MetS, respectively, were included in the study. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip C (HC), head C (HdC), neck C (NC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were measured and recorded. Body mass index and anthropometric ratios were calculated. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin (INS), triglycerides (TRG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) analyses were performed. The values for AST, alanin transaminase (ALT) and AST/ALT were obtained. Advanced Donma cardiac index (ADCI) values were calculated. The formula for the index was [(TRG/HDL-C) * (INS/FBG)] * [(WC+HC)/Height] * [(HdC+NC)/Height]. Statistical evaluations including correlation analysis were done by a statistical package program. The statistical significance degree was accepted as p<0.05. The index, ADCI, was developed from both anthropometric and biochemical parameters. All anthropometric measurements except weight were included in the equation. Besides all biochemical parameters concerning MetS components were also added. This index was tested in each of three groups. Its performance was compared with the performance of cardiometabolic index (CMI). It was also checked whether it was compatible with AST activity. The performance of ADCI was better than that of CMI. Instead of double increase, the increase of three times was observed in children with MetS compared to MO children. The index was correlated with AST in MO group and with AST/ALT in MetS group. In conclusion, this index was superior in discovering cardiac problems in MO and in diagnosing MetS in MetS groups. It was also arbiter to point out cardiovascular and MetS aspects among the groups.

Keywords: aspartate transaminase, cardiac, children, index, obesity

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6376 The Relationship between Anthropometric Obesity Indices and Insulin in Children with Metabolic Syndrome

Authors: Mustafa M. Donma, Orkide Donma

Abstract:

The number of indices developed for the evaluation of obesity both in adults and pediatric population is ever increasing. These indices are also used in cases with metabolic syndrome (MetS), mostly the ultimate form of morbid obesity. Aside from anthropometric measurements, formulas constituted using these parameters also find clinical use. These formulas can be listed as two groups; being weight-dependent and –independent. Some are extremely sophisticated equations and their clinical utility is questionable in routine clinical practice. The aim of this study is to compare presently available obesity indices and find the most practical one. Their associations with MetS components were also investigated to determine their capacities in differential diagnosis of morbid obesity with and without MetS. Children with normal body mass index (N-BMI) and morbid obesity were recruited for this study. Three groups were constituted. Age- and sex- dependent BMI percentiles for morbid obese (MO) children were above 99 according to World Health Organization tables. Of them, those with MetS findings were evaluated as MetS group. Children, whose values were between 85 and 15 were included in N-BMI group. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institution. Parents filled out informed consent forms to participate in the study. Anthropometric measurements and blood pressure values were recorded. Body mass index, hip index (HI), conicity index (CI), triponderal mass index (TPMI), body adiposity index (BAI), body shape index (ABSI), body roundness index (BRI), abdominal volume index (AVI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and waist circumference+hip circumference/2 ((WC+HC)/2) were the formulas examined within the scope of this study. Routine biochemical tests including fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin (INS), triglycerides (TRG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were performed. Statistical package program SPSS was used for the evaluation of study data. p<0.05 was accepted as the statistical significance degree. Hip index did not differ among the groups. A statistically significant difference was noted between N-BMI and MetS groups in terms of ABSI. All the other indices were capable of making discrimination between N-BMI-MO, N-BMI- MetS and MO-MetS groups. No correlation was found between FBG and any obesity indices in any groups. The same was true for INS in N-BMI group. Insulin was correlated with BAI, TPMI, CI, BRI, AVI and (WC+HC)/2 in MO group without MetS findings. In MetS group, the only index, which was correlated with INS was (WC+HC)/2. These findings have pointed out that complicated formulas may not be required for the evaluation of the alterations among N-BMI and various obesity groups including MetS. The simple easily computable weight-independent index, (WC+HC)/2, was unique, because it was the only index, which exhibits a valuable association with INS in MetS group. It did not exhibit any correlation with other obesity indices showing associations with INS in MO group. It was concluded that (WC+HC)/2 was pretty valuable practicable index for the discrimination of MO children with and without MetS findings.

Keywords: children, insulin, metabolic syndrome, obesity indices

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6375 Improving Energy Efficiency through Industrial Symbiosis: A Conceptual Framework of Energy Management in Energy-Intensive Industries

Authors: Yuanjun Chen, Yongjiang Shi

Abstract:

Rising energy prices have drawn a focus to global energy issues, and the severe pollution that has resulted from energy-intensive industrial sectors has yet to be addressed. By combining Energy Efficiency with Industrial Symbiosis, the practices of efficient energy utilization and improvement can be not only enriched at the factory level but also upgraded into “within and/or between firm level”. The academic contribution of this paper provides a conceptual framework of energy management through IS. The management of waste energy within/between firms can contribute to the reduction of energy consumption and provides a solution to the environmental issues.

Keywords: energy efficiency, energy management, industrial symbiosis, energy-intensive industry

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6374 Urban Road Network Connectivity and Accessibility Analysis Using RS and GIS: A Case Study of Chandannagar City

Authors: Joy Ghosh, Debasmita Biswas

Abstract:

The road network of any area is the most important indicator of regional planning. For proper utilization of urban road networks, the structural parameters such as connectivity and accessibility should be analyzed and evaluated. This paper aims to explain the application of GIS on urban road network connectivity and accessibility analysis with a case study of Chandannagar City. This paper has been made to analyze the road network connectivity through various connectivity measurements like the total number of nodes and links, Cyclomatic Number, Alpha Index, Beta Index, Gamma index, Eta index, Pi index, Theta Index, and Aggregated Transport Score, Road Density based on existing road network in Chandannagar city in India. Accessibility is measured through the shortest Path Matrix, associate Number, and Shimbel Index. Various urban services, such as schools, banks, Hospitals, petrol pumps, ATMs, police stations, theatres, parks, etc., are considered for the accessibility analysis for each ward. This paper also highlights the relationship between urban land use/ land cover (LULC) and urban road network and population density using various spatial and statistical measurements. The datasets were collected through a field survey of 33 wards of the Chandannagar Municipal Corporation area, and the secondary data were collected through an open street map and satellite image of LANDSAT8 OLI & TIRS from USGS. Chandannagar was actually once a French colony, and at that time, various sort of planning was applied, but now Chandannagar city continues to grow haphazardly because that city is facing some problems; the knowledge gained from this paper helps to create a more efficient and accessible road network. Therefore, it would be suggested that some wards need to improve their connectivity and accessibility for the future growth and development of Chandannagar.

Keywords: accessibility, connectivity, transport, road network

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6373 Urban Renewal from the Perspective of Industrial Heritage Protection: Taking the Qiaokou District of Wuhan as an Example

Authors: Yue Sun, Yuan Wang

Abstract:

Most of the earliest national industries in Wuhan are located along the Hanjiang River, and Qiaokou is considered to be a gathering place for Dahankou old industrial base. Zongguan Waterworks, Pacific Soap Factory, Fuxin Flour Factory, Nanyang Tobacco Factory and other hundred-year-old factories are located along Hanjiang River in Qiaokou District, especially the Gutian Industrial Zone, which was listed as one of 156 national restoration projects at the beginning of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. After decades of development, Qiaokou has become the gathering place of the chemical industry and secondary industry, causing damage to the city and serious pollution, becoming a marginalized area forgotten by the central city. In recent years, with the accelerated pace of urban renewal, Qiaokou has been constantly reforming and innovating, and has begun drastic changes in the transformation of old cities and the development of new districts. These factories have been listed as key reconstruction projects, and a large number of industrial heritage with historical value and full urban memory have been relocated, demolished and reformed, with only a few factory buildings preserved. Through the methods of industrial archaeology, image analysis, typology and field investigation, this paper analyzes and summarizes the spatial characteristics of industrial heritage in Qiaokou District, explores urban renewal from the perspective of industrial heritage protection, and provides design strategies for the regeneration of urban industrial sites and industrial heritage.

Keywords: industrial heritage, urban renewal, protection, urban memory

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6372 Lee-Carter Mortality Forecasting Method with Dynamic Normal Inverse Gaussian Mortality Index

Authors: Funda Kul, İsmail Gür

Abstract:

Pension scheme providers have to price mortality risk by accurate mortality forecasting method. There are many mortality-forecasting methods constructed and used in literature. The Lee-Carter model is the first model to consider stochastic improvement trends in life expectancy. It is still precisely used. Mortality forecasting is done by mortality index in the Lee-Carter model. It is assumed that mortality index fits ARIMA time series model. In this paper, we propose and use dynamic normal inverse gaussian distribution to modeling mortality indes in the Lee-Carter model. Using population mortality data for Italy, France, and Turkey, the model is forecasting capability is investigated, and a comparative analysis with other models is ensured by some well-known benchmarking criterions.

Keywords: mortality, forecasting, lee-carter model, normal inverse gaussian distribution

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6371 A Multi-Level Approach to Improve Sustainability Performances of Industrial Agglomerations

Authors: Patrick Innocenti, Elias Montini, Silvia Menato, Marzio Sorlini

Abstract:

Documented experiences of industrial symbiosis are always triggered and driven only by economic goals: environmental and (even rarely) social results are sometimes assessed and declared as effects of virtuous behaviours, but are merely casual and un-pursued side externalities. Even worse: all the symbiotic project candidates entailing economic loss for just one of the (also dozen) partners are simply stopped without considering the overall benefit for the whole partnership. The here-presented approach aims at providing methodologies and tools to effectively manage these situations and fostering the implementation of virtuous symbiotic investments in manufacturing aggregations for a more sustainable production.

Keywords: business model, industrial symbiosis, industrial agglomerations, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 277
6370 Assessment of Water Quality of Euphrates River at Babylon Governorate, for Drinking, Irrigation and general, Using Water Quality Index (Canadian Version) (CCMEWQI)

Authors: Amer Obaid Saud

Abstract:

Water quality index (WQI) is considered as an effective tool in categorization of water resources for its quality and suitability for different uses. The Canadian version of water quality index (CCME WQI) which based on the comparison of the water quality parameters to regulatory standards and give a single value to the water quality of a source was applied in this study to assess the water quality of Euphrates river in Iraq at Babylon Governorate north of Baghdad and determine its suitability for aquatic environment (GWQI), drinking water (PWSI) and irrigation(IWQI). Five stations were selected on the river in Babylon (Euphrates River/AL-Musiab, Hindia barrage, two stations at Hilla city and the fifth station at Al-Hshmeya north of Hilla. Fifteen water samples were collected every month during August 2013 to July 2014 at the study sites and analyzed for the physico-chemical parameters like (Temperature, pH, Electrical Conductivity, Total Dissolved Solids(TDS), Total Suspended Solids(TSS), Total Alkalinity, Total Hardness, Calcium and Magnesium Concentration, some of nutrient like Nitrite, Nitrate, Phosphate also the study of concentration of some heavy metals (Fe, Pb, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Cd) in water and comparison of measures to benchmarks such as guidelines and objectives to assess change in water quality. The result of Canadian version of(CCME .WQI) to assess the irrigation water quality (IWQI) of Euphrates river was (83-good) at site one during second seasonal period while the lowest was (66-Fair) in the second station during the fourth seasonal period, the values of potable water supply index (PWSI)that the highest value was (68-Fair) in the fifth site during the second period while the lowest value (42 -Poor) in the second site during the first seasonal period,the highest value for general water quality (GWQI) was (74-Fair) in site five during the second seasonal period, the lowest value (48-Marginal) in the second site during the first seasonal period. It was observed that the main cause of deterioration in water quality was due to the lack of, unprotected river sites ,high anthropogenic activities and direct discharge of industrial effluent.

Keywords: Babylon governorate, Canadian version, water quality, Euphrates river

Procedia PDF Downloads 389
6369 Research on Characteristics and Inventory Planning Counter-Measure of Mature Industrial Zones in the Background of China's New Normal

Authors: Dong Chen, Han Song, Tingting Wei

Abstract:

Industrial zones have made significant contributions to the economic development of Chinese urban areas for decades. In the background of China's New Normal, numbers of mature industrial zones are stepping into a new stage of inventory development instead of increment development. The aim of this study is to discover new characteristics and problems and corresponding inventory planning guidance of mature industrial zones. A case of Yangzhou Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone is reported in this study. Based on a historical analysis and data analysis of land-use, it is found that land-use of the zone is near saturation and signs of land updating have begun to appear. It is observed that the zone is facing problems including disorder of land development, low economic productivity and single function. Through the data of economic output, tax contribution, industrial category, industry life cycle and environmental influence, a comprehensive assessment based on two dimensions, economic benefits and industrial matchup, is made upon every parcel in the zone. According to the assessment, the zone is divided into spatial units of the update with specific planning guidance. It comes to a conclusion as four directions of inventory planning guidance in mature industrial zones: moving industries with poor economic benefit and negative environmental influence, adding urban function and new industrial function to the zone, optimizing the function of important space, and restricting the mass layout of the real estate industry to provide space for industrial upgrading.

Keywords: China's new normal, mature industrial zones, land-use, inventory planning

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6368 A Multicriteria Analysis of Energy Poverty Index: A Case Study of Non-interconnected Zones in Colombia

Authors: Angelica Gonzalez O, Leonardo Rivera Cadavid, Diego Fernando Manotas

Abstract:

Energy poverty considers a population that does not have access to modern energy service. In particular, an area of a country that is not connected to the national electricity grid is known as a Non-Interconnected Zone (NIZ). Access to electricity has a significant impact on the welfare and development opportunities of the population. Different studies have shown that most health problems have an empirical cause and effect relationship with multidimensional energy poverty. Likewise, research has been carried out to review the consequences of not having access to electricity, and its results have concluded a statistically significant relationship between energy poverty and sources of drinking water, access to clean water, risks of mosquito bites, obesity, sterilization, marital status, occupation, and residence. Therefore, extensive research has been conducted in the construction of an energy poverty measure based on an index. Some of these studies introduce a Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI), Compose Energy Poverty Index (CEPI), Low Income High Costs indicator (LIHC), among others. For this purpose, this study analyzes the energy poverty index using a multicriteria analysis determining the set of feasible alternatives - for which Colombia's ZNI will be used as a case study - to be considered in the problem and the set of relevant criteria in the characterization of the ZNI, from which the prioritization is obtained to determine the level of adjustment of each alternative with respect to the performance in each criterion. Additionally, this study considers the installation of Micro-Grids (MG). This is considered a straightforward solution to this problem because an MG is a local electrical grid, able to operate in grid-connected and island mode. Drawing on those insights, this study compares an energy poverty index considering an MG installation and calculates the impacts of different criterias in an energy poverty index in NIZ.

Keywords: multicirteria, energy poverty, rural, microgrids, non-interconnect zones

Procedia PDF Downloads 101
6367 Toward an Appropriate Index for Corporate Governance

Authors: Bita Mashayekhi, Farzaneh Jalali, Alemeh Yazdanian

Abstract:

This study contributes to identifying the corporate governance indices in previous researches by using content analysis on relevant papers published in 20 top accounting journals according to Google Scholar ranking, dated from 1990 to 2016. For this purpose, 65 papers are scrutinized deeply, and the concepts of corporate governance are coded and categorized. Then extracted indices are clustered into 10 and 51 categories and subcategories, respectively; and their frequencies are determined. Results show that the board of directors’ characteristics is employed more frequently in reviewed papers, and the board of directors’ independency is the most frequent index within the 97 percent of our sample. Duality, board size, and ownership structure have more frequencies in comparison with other extracted corporate governance indices.

Keywords: corporate governance, content analysis, corporate governance index, top accounting journals

Procedia PDF Downloads 337
6366 Exploring Entrepreneurship Intension Aptitude along Gender Lines among Business Decision Students in Nigeria

Authors: Paul O. Udofot, Emem B. Inyang

Abstract:

The study investigated the variability in aptitude amidst interactive effects of several social and environmental factors that could influence individual tendencies to engage in entrepreneurship in Nigeria. Consequently, the study targeted a population having similar backgrounds in type and level of higher education that are tailored toward enterprise management and development in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. A two-stage sampling procedure was used to select 67 respondents. Primarily, the study assessed the salient pattern of entrepreneurship aptitude of respondents, and estimated and analyzed the index against their personal characteristics. Male respondents belonged to two extremes of aptitude index ranges (poor and high). Though female respondents did not exhibit a poor entrepreneurship aptitude index, the incidence percentage of the high index range of entrepreneurship aptitude among male trainees was more than the combined incidence percentage of their female counterparts. Respondents’ backgrounds outside gender presented a serious influence on entrepreneurship uptake likelihood if all situations were normal.

Keywords: aptitude, entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial orientation, gender divide, intention, trainee

Procedia PDF Downloads 274