Search results for: work/family enrichment

Authors: Panagiotis Kyratsis, Konstantinos Kakoulis

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Nowadays, the rapid development of CAD systems’ programming environments results in the creation of multiple downstream applications, which are developed and becoming increasingly available. CAD based manufacturing simulations is gradually following the same trend. Drilling is the most popular hole-making process used in a variety of industries. A specially built piece of software that deals with the drilling kinematics is presented. The cutting forces are calculated based on the tool geometry, the cutting conditions and the tool/work piece materials. The results are verified by experimental work. Finally, the response surface methodology (RSM) is applied and mathematical models of the total thrust force and the thrust force developed because of the main cutting edges are proposed.

Keywords: CAD, application programming interface, response surface methodology, drilling, RSM

Procedia PDF Downloads 459

Authors: Lazhar Zourgui

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Opuntia species are used as local medicinal interventions for chronic diseases and as food sources, mainly because they possess nutritional properties and biological activities. Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill, commonly known as prickly pear or nopal cactus, is the most economically valuable plant in the Cactaceae family worldwide. It is a tropical or subtropical plant native to tropical and subtropical America, which can grow in arid and semi-arid climates. It belongs to the family of angiosperms dicotyledons Cactaceae of which about 1500 species of cacti are known. The Opuntia plant is distributed throughout the world and has great economic potential. There are differences in the phytochemical composition of Opuntia species between wild and domesticated species and within the same species. It is an interesting source of plant bioactive compounds. Bioactive compounds are compounds with nutritional benefits and are generally classified into phenolic and non-phenolic compounds and pigments. Opuntia species are able to grow in almost all climates, for example, arid, temperate, and tropical climates, and their bioactive compound profiles change depending on the species, cultivar, and climatic conditions. Therefore, there is an opportunity for the discovery of new compounds from different Opuntia cultivars. Health benefits of prickly pear are widely demonstrated: There is ample evidence of the health benefits of consuming prickly pear due to its source of nutrients and vitamins and its antioxidant properties due to its content of bioactive compounds. In addition, prickly pear is used in the treatment of hyperglycemia and high cholesterol levels, and its consumption is linked to a lower incidence of coronary heart disease and certain types of cancer. It may be effective in insulin-independent type 2 diabetes mellitus. Opuntia ficus-Indica seed oil has shown potent antioxidant and prophylactic effects. Industrial applications of these bioactive compounds are increasing. In addition to their application in the pharmaceutical industries, bioactive compounds are used in the food industry for the production of nutraceuticals and new food formulations (juices, drinks, jams, sweeteners). In my lecture, I will review in a comprehensive way the phytochemical, nutritional, and bioactive compound composition of the different aerial and underground parts of Opuntia species. The biological activities and applications of Opuntia compounds are also discussed.

Keywords: medicinal plants, cactus, Opuntia, actives biomolecules, biological activities

Procedia PDF Downloads 88

Authors: Rade M. Ciric, Sasa Mandic

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Students of Higher Education Technical School of Professional Studies, in Novi Sad follow the subject Maintenance of electric power equipment at the Electrotechnical Department. This paper presents educational plan and program of the subject Maintenance of electric power equipment. The course deals with the problems of preventive and investing maintenance of transformer stations (TS), performing and maintenance of grounding of TS and pillars, as well as tracing and detection the location of the cables failure. There is a special elaborated subject concerning the safe work conditions for the electrician during network maintenance, as well as the basics of making and keeping technical documentation of the equipment.

Keywords: educational plan and program, electric power equipment, maintenance, technical documentation, safe work

Procedia PDF Downloads 452

Authors: Mohammed Eltayeb Salih Elamin

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This study discusses the concept of the artificial heart using engineering concepts, of the fluid mechanics and the characteristics of the non-Newtonian fluid. For the purpose to serve heart patients and improve aspects of their lives and since the Statistics review according to world health organization (WHO) says that heart disease and blood vessels are the first cause of death in the world. Statistics shows that 30% of the death cases in the world by the heart disease, so simply we can consider it as the number one leading cause of death in the entire world is heart failure. And since the heart implantation become a very difficult and not always available, the idea of the artificial heart become very essential. So it’s important that we participate in the developing this idea by searching and finding the weakness point in the earlier designs and hoping for improving it for the best of humanity. In this study a pump was designed in order to pump blood to the human body and taking into account all the factors that allows it to replace the human heart, in order to work at the same characteristics and the efficiency of the human heart. The pump was designed on the idea of the diaphragm pump. Three models of blood obtained from the blood real characteristics and all of these models were simulated in order to study the effect of the pumping work on the fluid. After that, we study the properties of this pump by using Ansys15 software to simulate blood flow inside the pump and the amount of stress that it will go under. The 3D geometries modeling was done using SOLID WORKS and the geometries then imported to Ansys design modeler which is used during the pre-processing procedure. The solver used throughout the study is Ansys FLUENT. This is a tool used to analysis the fluid flow troubles and the general well-known term used for this branch of science is known as Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). Basically, Design Modeler used during the pre-processing procedure which is a crucial step before the start of the fluid flow problem. Some of the key operations are the geometry creations which specify the domain of the fluid flow problem. Next is mesh generation which means discretization of the domain to solve governing equations at each cell and later, specify the boundary zones to apply boundary conditions for the problem. Finally, the pre–processed work will be saved at the Ansys workbench for future work continuation.

Keywords: Artificial heart, computational fluid dynamic heart chamber, design, pump

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Authors: H. M. El-Rafie, A. H. Abou Zeid, R. S. Mohammed, A. A. Sleem

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Acrocarpus is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae which considered as a large and economically important family. This study aimed to investigate the phytoconstituents of the petroleum ether extract (PEE) of Acrocarpus fraxinofolius bark by Gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis of its fractions (fatty acid and unsaponifiable matter). Concerning this, identification of 52 compounds constituting 97.03 % of the total composition of the unsaponifiable matter fraction. Cycloeucalenol was found to be the major compound representing 32.52% followed by 4a, 14a-dimethyl-A8~24(28)-ergostadien (26.50%) and ß-sitosterol(13.74%), furthermore Gas liquid chromatography (GLC) analysis of the sterol fraction revealed the identification of cholesterol (7.22 %), campesterol (13.30 %), stigmasterol (10.00 %) and β - sitosterol (69.48 %). Meanwhile, the identification of 33 fatty acids representing 90.71% of the total fatty acid constituents. Methyl-9,12-octadecadienoate (40.39%) followed by methyl hexadecanoate (23.64%) were found to be the major compounds. On the other hand, column chromatography and Thin layer chromatography (TLC) fractionation of PEE separate the triterpenoid: 21β-hydroxylup-20(29)-en-3-one and β- amyrin which were structurally identified by spectroscopic analysis (NMR, MS and IR). PEE has been biologically evaluated for 1: management of diabetes in alloxan induced diabetic rats 2: cytotoxic activity against four human tumor cell lines (Cervix carcinoma cell line[HELA], Breast carcinoma cell line [MCF7], Liver carcinoma cell line[HEPG2] and Colon carcinoma cell line[HCT-116] 3: hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-induced hepatotoxicity in rats and the activity was studied by assaying the serum marker enzymes like AST, ALT, and ALP. Concerning this, the anti-diabetic activity exhibited by 100mg of PEE extract was 74.38% relative to metformin (100% potency). It also showed a significant anti-proliferative activity against MCF-7 (IC50= 2.35µg), Hela(IC50=3.85µg) and HEPG-2 (IC50= 9.54µg) compared with Doxorubicin as reference drug. The hepatoprotective activity was evidenced by significant decrease in liver function enzymes, i.e. AST, ALT and ALP by (29.18%, 28.26%, and 34.11%, respectively using silymarin as the reference drug, compared to their concentration levels in an untreated group with liver damage induced by CCl₄. This study was performed for the first time on the bark of this species.

Keywords: Acrocarpus fraxinofolius, antidiabetic, cytotoxic, hepatoprotective

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Khosro Ghazvinian, Touba Khodaiean

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Anaplasma organisms are obligatory intracellular bacteria belonging to the order Rickettsiales, family Anaplasmataceae. This disease is distributed around the globe and infected ticks are the most important vectors in anaplasmosis transmission. There is a little information about anaplasmosis in camels. This research investigated the blood films of 35 (20 male, 15 female) camels randomly selected from a flock of 150 camels. Samples were stained with Giemsa and Anaplasma sp. organisms were observed in six out of 35 (17.14 %) blood films. There were also some changes in Diff-Quick and morphology of leukocytes. No significant difference between male and female camels was observed (P>0.05). According to the results anaplasmosis is presented among camels in Iran.

Keywords: anaplasma, anaplasmosis, camel, Iran

Procedia PDF Downloads 239

Authors: Oussedik Lydia, Zaouani-Denoux Souâd

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Given the evolution of professions, training is becoming a solution to meet the current requirements of the labor market. Notably, the amount of money invested in training activities is considerable and continuously increasing globally. The justification of this investment becomes an obligation for those responsible for training. Therefore, the impact of training can be measured by the degree to which the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired through training are transferred to the workplace. Further, knowledge transfer is fundamental because the objective of any training is to be close to a professional environment in order to improve the productivity of participants. Hence, the need to better understand the knowledge transfer process in order to determine the factors that may influence it. The objective of this research is to understand the process of knowledge transfer that can occur between two contexts: professional training and the workplace, which will provide further insight to identify the environmental factors that can hinder or promote it. By examining participants' perceptions of the training and work contexts, this qualitative approach seeks to understand the knowledge transfer process that occurs between the two contexts. It also aims to identify the factors that influence it. The results will help managers identify environmental factors in the training and work context that may impact knowledge transfer. These results can be used to promote the knowledge transfer process and the performance of the trainees.

Keywords: knowledge transfer, professional training, professional training in agriculture, training context, professional context

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Authors: Olha Yarova

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This study is a collaborative project between the American University of Central Asia and parent association of children with Down syndrome ‘Sunterra’ that took place in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The purpose of the study was to explore whether principles and techniques of applied behavior analysis (ABA) could be used to teach children with Down syndrome socially significant behaviors. ABA is considered to be one of the most effective treatment for children with autism, but little research is done on the particularity of using ABA to children with Down syndrome. The data for the study was received during clinical observations; work with children with Down syndrome and interviews with their mothers. The results show that many ABA principles make the work with children with Down syndrome more effective. Although such children very rarely demonstrate aggressive behavior, they show a lot of escape-driven and attention seeking behaviors that are reinforced by their parents and educators. Thus functional assessment can be done to assess the function of problem behavior and to determine appropriate treatment. Prompting and prompting fading should be used to develop receptive and expressive language skills, and enhance motor development. Even though many children with Down syndrome work for praise, it is still relevant to use tangible reinforcement and to know how to remove them. Based on the results of the study, the training for parents of children with Down syndrome will be developed in Kyrgyzstan, country, where children with Down syndrome are not accepted to regular kindergartens and where doctors in maternity hospitals tell parents that their child will never talk, walk and recognize them

Keywords: down syndrome, applied behavior analysis, functional assessment, problem behavior, reinforcement

Procedia PDF Downloads 264

Authors: Malika Yaici, Soraya Aloui, Sara Semchaoui

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Recognition of human activities from sensor data is an active research area, and the main objective is to obtain a high recognition rate. In this work, we propose a recognition system based on expert systems. The proposed system makes the recognition based on the objects, object states, and gestures, taking into account the context (the location of the objects and of the person performing the activity, the duration of the elementary actions, and the activity). This work focuses on complex activities which are decomposed into simple easy to recognize activities. The proposed method can be applied to any type of activity. The simulation results show the robustness of our system and its speed of decision.

Keywords: human activity recognition, ubiquitous computing, context-awareness, expert system

Procedia PDF Downloads 127

Authors: Zhenyu Du, Ed Collings, James Meredith

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The high cost of composite materials versus conventional materials remains a major barrier to uptake in the transport sector. This is exacerbated by a shortage of skilled labour which makes the labour content of a hand laid composite component (~40 % of total cost) an obvious target for reduction. Automation is a method to remove labour cost and improve quality. This work focuses on the challenges and benefits to automating the manufacturing process from raw fibre to trimmed component. It will detail the experimental work required to complete an automation cell, the control strategy used to integrate all machines and the final benefits in terms of throughput and cost.

Keywords: automation, low cost technologies, processing and manufacturing technologies, resin transfer moulding

Procedia PDF Downloads 282

Authors: Ivy Chumo, Sheillah Simiyu, Hellen Gitau, Isaac Kisiangani, Caroline Kabaria Kanyiva Muindi, Blessing Mberu

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The global sanitation workforce bridges the gap between sanitation infrastructure and the provision of sanitation services through essential public service work. Manual pit emptiers often perform the work at the cost of their dignity, safety, and health as their work requires repeated heavy physical activities such as lifting, carrying, pulling, and pushing. This exposes them to occupational and environmental health hazards and risking illness, injury, and death. The study will extend the studies by presenting occupational health risks and suggestions for improvement in informal settlements of Nairobi, Kenya. This is a qualitative study conducted among sanitation stakeholders in Korogocho, Mukuru and Kibera informal settlements in Nairobi. Data were captured using digital voice recorders, transcribed and thematically analysed. The discussion notes were further supported by observational notes made during the interviews. These formed the basis for a robust picture of occupational health of manual pit emptiers; a lack or inappropriate use of protective clothing, and prolonged duration of working hours were described to contribute to the occupational health hazard. To continue working, manual pit emptiers had devised coping strategies which include working in groups, improvised protective clothing, sharing the available protective clothing, working at night and consuming alcohol drinks while at work. Many of these strategies are detrimental to their health. Occupational health hazards among pit emptiers are key for effective working and is as a result of a lack of collaboration amongst stakeholders linked to health, safety and lack of PPE of pit emptiers. Collaborations amongst sanitation stakeholders is paramount for health, safety, and in ensuring the provision and use of personal protective devices.

Keywords: sanitation, occupational health, manual emptiers, informal settlements

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Hussain Adnan Alsalman, Khalid Alhajri, Humoud Alrashidi, Abdulkareem Almakrami, Badie Alguwaisem, Said Alshahrani, Abdullah Alrowaished

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Most of the cost of installing a new fiber optic cable is attributed to civil work-trenching-cost. In many cases, information technology departments receive project proposals in their eReview system, but not all projects are visible to everyone. Additionally, if there was no IT scope in the proposed project, it is not likely to be visible to IT. Sometimes it is too late to add IT scope after project budgets have been finalized. Finally, the eReview system is a repository of PDF files for each project, which commits the reviewer to manual work and limits automation potential. This paper details a solution to address the late notification of the eReview system by integrating IT Sites GIS data-sites locations-with land use permit (LUP) data-civil work activity, which is the first step before securing the required land usage authorizations and means no detailed designs for any relevant project before an approved LUP request. To address the manual nature of eReview system, both the LUP System and IT data are using ArcGIS Desktop, which enables the creation of a geoprocessing tool with either Python or Model Builder to automate finding and evaluating potentially usable LUP requests to reduce trenching between two sites in need of a new FOC. To achieve this, a weekly dump was taken from LUP system production data and loaded manually onto ArcMap Desktop. Then a custom tool was developed in model builder, which consisted of a table of two columns containing all the pairs of sites in need of new fiber connectivity. The tool then iterates all rows of this table, taking the sites’ pair one at a time and finding potential LUPs between them, which satisfies the provided search radius. If a group of LUPs was found, an iterator would go through each LUP to find the required civil work between the two sites and the LUP Polyline feature and the distance through the line, which would be counted as cost avoidance if an IT scope had been added. Finally, the tool will export an Excel file named with sites pair, and it will contain as many rows as the number of LUPs, which met the search radius containing trenching and pulling information and cost. As a result, multiple projects have been identified – historical, missed opportunity, and proposed projects. For the proposed project, the savings were about 75% ($750,000) to install a new fiber with the Euclidean distance between Abqaiq GOSP2 and GOSP3 DCOs. In conclusion, the current tool setup identifies opportunities to bundle civil work on single projects at a time and between two sites. More work is needed to allow the bundling of multiple projects between two sites to achieve even more cost avoidance in both capital cost and carbon footprint.

Keywords: GIS, fiber optic cable installation optimization, eliminate redundant civil work, reduce carbon footprint for fiber optic cable installation

Procedia PDF Downloads 211

Authors: Soumita Mitra, Santosh Kumar Sarkar

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Hooghly river estuary (HRE), situated at the north eastern part of Bay of Bengal has global significance due to its holiness. It is of immense importance to the local population as it gives perpetual water supply for various activities such as transportation, fishing, boating, bathing etc. to the local people who settled on both the banks of this estuary. This study was done to assess the dissolved and particulate trace metal in the estuary covering a stretch of about 175 Km. The water samples were collected from the surface (0-5 cm) along the salinity gradient and metal concentration were studied both in dissolved and particulate phase using Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (GF-AAS) along some physical characteristics such as water temperature, salinity, pH, turbidity and total dissolved solids. Although much significant spatial variation was noticed but little enrichment was found along the downstream of the estuary. The mean concentration of the metals in the dissolved and particulate phase followed the same trend and as follows: Fe>Mn>Cr>Zn>Cu>Ni>Pb. The concentration of the metals in the particulate phase were much greater than that in dissolved phase which was also depicted from the values of the partition coefficient (Kd)(ml mg-1). The Kdvalues ranged from 1.5x105 (in case of Pb) to 4.29x106 (in case of Cr). The high value of Kd for Cr denoted that the metal Cr is mostly bounded with the suspended particulate matter while the least value for Pb signified it presence more in dissolved phase. Moreover, the concentrations of all the studied metals in the dissolved phase were many folds higher than their respective permissible limits assested by WHO 2008, 2009 and 2011. On the other hand, according to Sediment Quality Guidelines (SQGs), Zn, Cu and Ni in the particulate phase lied between ERL and ERM values but Cr exceeded ERM values at all the stations confirming that the estuary is mostly contaminated with the particulate Cr and it might cause frequent adverse effects on the aquatic life. Multivariate statistics Cluster analysis was also performed which separated the stations according to the level of contamination from several point and nonpoint sources. Thus, it is found that the estuarine system is much polluted by the toxic metals and further investigation, toxicological studies should be implemented for full risk assessment of this system, better management and restoration of the water quality of this globally significant aquatic system.

Keywords: dissolved and particulate phase, Hooghly river estuary, partition coefficient, surface water, toxic metals

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Marios Loucas, Rafael Loucas, Oliver Muensterer

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Aim of the Study: Over the last two years, there has been a substantial rise of refugees entering Germany, of which approximately one-third are underage. Little is known about the general state of health such as nutrition, dental status and post-traumatic stress disorder among underage refugees. Our study assesses the general health status of underage refugees based on a large sample cohort. Methods: After ethics board approval, we used a structured questionnaire to collect demographic information and health-related elements in 3 large refugee accommodation centers, focusing on nutritional and dental status, as well as symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder. Main results: A total of 461 minor refugees were included. The majority were boys (54.5%), average age was 8 years. Out of the 8 recorded countries of origin, most children came from Syria (33.6%), followed by Afghanistan (23.2%). Of the participants, 50.3% reported DSM-5 criteria of Posttraumatic stress disorder and presented mental health-related problems. The most frequently reported mental abnormalities were concentration disturbances (15.2%), sleep disorders (6.9%), unclear headaches (5.4%). The majority of the participants showed an unfavorable nutritional and dental status. According to the family, the majority of the children rarely eat healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables and fish. However, the majority of these children (over 90%) consume a large quantity of sugary foods and sweetened drinks such as soft drinks and confectionery at least daily. Caries was found in 63% of the minor children included in the study. A large proportion (47%) reported never brushing their teeth. According to the family, 78.3% of refugee children have never been evaluated by a dentist in Germany. The remainder visited a dentist mainly because of unbearable toothache. Conclusions: Minor refugees have specific psychological, nutritional and dental problems that must be considered in order to ensure appropriate medical care. Posttraumatic stress disorder is mainly caused by physical and emotional trauma suffered either during the flight or in the refugee camp in Germany. These data call for widespread screening of psychological, dental and nutritional problems in underage refugees. Dental care of this cohort is completely inadequate. Nutritional programs should focus on educating the families and providing the means to obtain healthy foods for these children.

Keywords: children, nutrition, posttraumatic stress disorder, refugee

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Xinrong Zong, Tao Zhang

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Macau is known as the Oriental Monte Carlo and its economy depends on gambling heavily. The dealer is the key position of the gambling industry, at the end of the fourth quarter of 2015, there were over 24,000 dealers among the 56,000 full-time employees in gambling industry. More than half of dealers were female. The dealer is also called 'Croupier', the main responsibilities of them are shuffling, dealing, processing chips, rolling dice game and inspecting play. Due to the limited land and small population of Macao, the government has not allowed hiring foreign domestic dealers since Macao developed temporary gambling industry. Therefore, local dealers enjoy special advantages but also bear the high stresses from work. From the middle of last year, with the reduced income of gambling, and the decline of mainland gamblers as well as VIP lounges, the working time of dealers increased greatly. Thus, many problems occurred in this condition, such as the rise of working pressures, psychological pressures and family-responsibility pressures, which may affect job satisfaction as well. Because of the less research of dealer satisfaction, and a lack of standing on feminine perspective to analyze female dealers, this study will focus on investigating the relationship between working pressure and job satisfaction from feminine view. Several issues will be discussed specifically: firstly, to understand current situation of the working pressures and job satisfactions of female dealers in different ages; secondly, to research if there is any relevance between working pressures and job satisfactions of female dealers in different ages; thirdly, to find out the relationship between dealers' working pressures and job satisfactions in different ages. This paper combined qualitative approach with quantitative approach selected samples by convenient sampling. The research showed the female dealers from diverse ages have different kinds of working pressures; second, job satisfactions of the female dealers in different ages are dissimilar; moreover, there is negative correlation between working pressure and job satisfaction of female dealer in different ages' groups; last but not the least, working pressure has a significant negative impact on job satisfaction. The research result will provide a reference value for the Macau gambling business. It is a pattern to improve dealers' working environment, to increase employees' job satisfaction, as well as to offer tourists a better service, which can help to attract more and more visitors from a good image of Macau gaming and tourism.

Keywords: female dealers, job satisfaction, working pressure, Macau

Procedia PDF Downloads 292

Authors: Sasitorn Chetanont

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The objectives of this study are to study Chinese tourist’s Behaviors towards travel and shopping in Bangkok. The research methodology was a quantitative research. The sample of this research was 400 Chinese tourists in Bangkok chosen by the accidental sampling and the purposive sampling. Inferential Statistics Analysis by using the Chi-square statistics. As for the results of this study the researcher found that differences between personal, social and cultural information, i.e., gender, age, place of residence, educational level, occupation, income, family, and main objectives of tourism with behaviors of Chinese tourists in Bangkok towards travel and shopping in Bangkok.

Keywords: tourists’ behavior, Chinese tourists, travelling, expenses in travels

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Authors: Naima Fatehi

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The paper reports on 107 medicinal plants, traditionally used in the South-West of Algeria (Bechar region). The information has been documented by interviewing traditional herbalists, various elderly men and women following different ethnobotanical methods. Ethnobotanical data was arranged alphabetically by botanical name, followed by family name, vernacular name, and part used. The present paper represents significant ethnobotanical information on medical plants used extensively in Bechar region for treating various diseases and provides baseline data for future pharmacological and phytochemical studies.

Keywords: medicinal plants, ethnobotanical survey, South-West Algeria, Bechar region

Procedia PDF Downloads 511

Authors: Varsha Pandurang Nagargoje, K. S. James

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Background: Social participation is considered as one of the central components of successful and healthy aging. This study aimed to examine the moderating role of marital status and living arrangement in the relationship between social participation and life satisfaction and other potential factors associated with life satisfaction of Indian older adults. Method: For analyses, the nationally representative study sample of 31,464 adults aged ≥60 years old was extracted from the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) wave 1, 2017-18. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analysis have been performed to determine the proportion of life satisfaction. The first set of multivariable linear regression analyses examined Diener’s Satisfaction with Life Scale and its association with various predictor variables, including social participation, marital status, living arrangements, socio-demographic, economic, and health-related variables. Further, the second and third sets of regression investigated the moderating role of marital status and living arrangements respectively in the association of social participation and level of life satisfaction among Indian older adults. Results: Overall, the proportion of life satisfaction among older men was relatively higher than women counterparts in most background characteristics. Regression results stressed the importance of older adults’ involvement in social participation [β = 0.39, p < 0.05], being in marital union [β = 0.68, p < 0.001] and co-residential living arrangements either only with spouse [β = 1.73, p < 0.001] or with other family members [β = 2.18, p < 0.001] for the improvement of life satisfaction. Results also showed that some factors were significant for life satisfaction: in particular, increased age, having a higher level of educational status, MPCE quintile, and caste category. Higher risk of life dissatisfaction found among Indian older adults who were exposed to vulnerabilities like consuming tobacco, poor self-rated health, having difficulty in performing ADL and IADL were of major concern. The interaction effect of social participation with marital status or with living arrangements explained that currently married older individuals, and those older adults who were either co-residing with their spouse only or with other family members irrespective of their involvement in social participation remained an important modifiable factor for life satisfaction. Conclusion: It would be crucial for policymakers and practitioners to advocate social policy programs and service delivery oriented towards meaningful social connections, especially for those Indian older adults who were staying alone or currently not in the marital union to enhance their overall life satisfaction.

Keywords: Indian, older adults, social participation, life satisfaction, marital status, living arrangement

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Authors: Karin Johansson, Ola Johansson

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Recycling is an important aspect of a sustainable society and depends to a large extent on consumers’ willingness to provide the voluntary work needed to take the first critical step in many return logistics systems. Based on a systematic review of articles on recycling behavior, this paper presents and discusses the findings in relation to Fogg’s Behavioral Model (FBM). Through the analysis of a corpus of 72 articles, the most important research contributions on recycling behavior are summarized and discussed. The choice of using FBM as a framework provides a new way of viewing previous research findings, and aids in identifying knowledge gaps. Based on the review, this work identifies and discusses four areas of potential interest for future research.

Keywords: recycling, reverse logistics, solid waste management, sustainability

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: M. Bazrafshan, M. B. de Rooij, D. J. Schipper

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Frictional hysteresis is the phenomenon in which mechanical contacts are subject to small (compared to contact area) oscillating tangential displacements. In the presence of adhesion at the interface, the contact repulsive force increases leading to a higher static friction force and pre-sliding displacement. This paper proposes a boundary element model (BEM) for the adhesive frictional hysteresis contact at the interface of two contacting bodies of arbitrary geometries. In this model, adhesion is represented by means of a Dugdale approximation of the total work of adhesion at local areas with a very small gap between the two bodies. The frictional contact is divided into sticking and slipping regions in order to take into account the transition from stick to slip (pre-sliding regime). In the pre-sliding regime, the stick and slip regions are defined based on the local values of shear stress and normal pressure. In the studied cases, a fixed normal force is applied to the interface and the friction force varies in such a way to start gross sliding in one direction reciprocally. For the first case, the problem is solved at the smooth interface between a ball and a flat for different values of work of adhesion. It is shown that as the work of adhesion increases, both static friction and pre-sliding distance increase due to the increase in the contact repulsive force. For the second case, the rough interface between a glass ball against a silicon wafer and a DLC (Diamond-Like Carbon) coating is considered. The work of adhesion is assumed to be identical for both interfaces. As adhesion depends on the interface roughness, the corresponding contact repulsive force is different for these interfaces. For the smoother interface, a larger contact repulsive force and consequently, a larger static friction force and pre-sliding distance are observed.

Keywords: boundary element model, frictional hysteresis, adhesion, roughness, pre-sliding

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: R. Domínguez, A. Castro, N. Fernandez, F. Hidalgo, F. Ortiz

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Aims: Study musculoskeletal disorders produced by excess physical exertion in marines Introduction: Musculoskeletal injuries during military training are an important medical problem faced by military organizations throughout the world. Military occupations are physically demanding, which represents a high risk of injury "and subsequent disability, these injuries represent important risk factors for hospitalization, disability, and discharge Methodology: This is a causal correlational study in which data were collected in order to find a cause-effect relationship between the physical effort in marines during their career in the Chilean Navy and the musculoskeletal disorders that occur in some from them. Results:100% had experienced musculoskeletal pain in some part of the body and 73.52% of the respondents had experienced limitations in the ability to work, as a consequence forced to change jobs due to musculoskeletal pain. The neck, shoulders and the lumbar dorsal region were the regions with the highest prevalence of pain, as well as pain that limit the ability to work. Conclusion: Musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses related to injuries are common in marines, both in those who operate in campus Charles, as in another operational unit due to the nature of the work. Many of these injuries occur during physical training and sports and various studies have dealt with the descriptive epidemiology of musculoskeletal injuries in military personnel.

Keywords: physical effort, marines, musculoskeletal disorders produced (MSD), training

Procedia PDF Downloads 172

Authors: Samul Sahile Kebede

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Back ground: -Immune hemolytic anemia commonly affects human immune deficiency, infected individuals. Among anemic HIV patients in Africa, the burden of IHA due to autoantibody was ranged from 2.34 to 3.06 due to the drug was 43.4%. IHA due to autoimmune is potentially a fatal complication of HIV, which accompanies the greatest percent from acquired hemolytic anemia. Objective: -The main aim of this study was to determine the magnitude and associated factors of immune hemolytic anemia among human immuno deficiency virus infected adults at the university of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital north west Ethiopia from March to April 2021. Methods: - An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 358 human immunodeficiency virus-infected adults selected by systematic random sampling at the University of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital from March to April 2021. Data for socio-demography, dietary and clinical data were collected by structured pretested questionnaire. Five ml of venous blood was drawn from each participant and analyzed by Unicel DHX 800 hematology analyzer, blood film examination, and antihuman globulin test were performed to the diagnosis of immune hemolytic anemia. Data was entered into Epidata version 4.6 and analyzed by STATA version 14. Descriptive statistics were computed and firth penalized logistic regression was used to identify predictors. P value less than 0.005 interpreted as significant. Result; - The overall prevalence of immune hemolytic anemia was 2.8 % (10 of 358 participants). Of these, 5 were males, and 7 were in the 31 to 50 year age group. Among individuals with immune hemolytic anemia, 40 % mild and 60 % moderate anemia. The factors that showed association were family history of anemia (AOR 8.30 at 95% CI 1.56, 44.12), not eating meat (AOR 7.39 at 95% CI 1.25, 45.0), and high viral load 6.94 at 95% CI (1.13, 42.6). Conclusion and recommendation; Immune hemolytic anemia is less frequent condition in human immunodeficiency virus infected adults, and moderate anemia was common in this population. The prevalence was increased with a high viral load, a family history of anemia, and not eating meat. In these patients, early detection and treatment of immune hemolytic anemia is necessary.

Keywords: anemia, hemolytic, immune, auto immune, HIV/AIDS

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Authors: Dong-Ho Kim, Su-Sang Lim, Sang-Won Han, Chang-Taek Hyun

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In the construction site, the cost and schedules are the most important management elements. Despite efforts to integrated management the cost and schedule, WBS classification is struggling to differ from each other. The cost and schedule can be integrated and can be managed due to the characteristic of the detail system in the case of Korea around the axis of pressure and official fixture system. In this research, the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) integrating the cost and schedules around in government office construction, WBS which can be used in common was presented in order to analyze the detail system of the public institution construction and improve. As to this method, the efficient administration of not only the link application of the cost and schedule but also construction project is expected.

Keywords: WBS, EVMS, integrated cost and schedule, Korea case

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Authors: Maria Vueba, Tchilissila A. Simoes

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Angola has a deficient health system characterized by reduced human and material resources. Nurses are the main actors combating different types of diseases simultaneously dealing with a lack of essentials tools and means. In this study, we aimed to assess the organizational commitment and job satisfaction of 51 health professionals from a maternity ward in Lubango, Angola. Participants completed the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire and the Job Satisfaction Scale and demonstrated a strong commitment towards the maternal facility, despite the majority of them were not satisfied with their work. Moreover, the gender and years of service seemed to not influence the level of commitment and satisfaction among the professionals. These results show the need for organizational restructuration (i.e., wages, career progression, supervision) to increase job satisfaction in this institution.

Keywords: Africa, health professionals, organizational commitment, work satisfaction

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Authors: Mukhammad Fatkhullah, Ayla Karina Budita, Cut Rizka Al Usrah, Kanita Khoirun Nisa, Muhammad Alhada Fuadilah Habib, Siti Muslihatul Mukaromah

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Batik industry has become one of the leading industries in the economy of Indonesia. Since the recognition of batik as one of cultural wealth and national identity of Indonesia by UNESCO, batik production keeps increasing as a result of increasing demands for batik, whether from domestically or abroad. One of the rapid development batik industries in Indonesia is batik industry in Lawean Village, Solo, Central Java, Indonesia. This batik industry generally uses putting-out system where batik workers work in their own houses. With the implementation of this system, therefore employers don’t have to prepare Environmental Impact Analysis (EIA), social security for workers, overtime payment, space for working, and equipment for working. The implementation of putting-out system causes many problems, starting from environmental pollution, the loss of social rights of workers, and even exploitation of workers by batik entrepreneurs. The data used to describe this reality is the primary data from qualitative research with in-depth interview data collection technique. Informants were determined purposively. The theory used to perform data interpretation is the phenomenology of Alfred Schutz. Both qualitative and phenomenology are used in this study to describe batik workers exploitation in terms of the implementation of putting-out system on home batik industry in Lawean. The research result showed that workers in batik industry sector in Lawean were exploited with the implementation of putting-out system. The workers were strictly employed by the entrepreneurs, so that their job cannot be called 'part-time' job anymore. In terms of labor and time, the workers often work more than 12 hours per day and they often work overtime without receiving any overtime payment. In terms of work safety, the workers often have contact with chemical substances contained in batik making materials without using any protection, such as clothes work, which is worsened by the lack of standard or procedure in work that can cause physical damage, such as burnt and peeled off skin. Moreover, exposure and contamination of chemical materials make the workers and their families vulnerable to various diseases. Meanwhile, batik entrepreneurs did not give any social security (including health cost aid). Besides that, the researchers found that batik industry in home industry sector is not environmentally friendly, even damaging ecosystem because industrial waste disposed without EIA.

Keywords: exploitation, home batik industry, occupational health and safety, putting-out system

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Authors: Saber Noie

Abstract:

This research follows some objectives to consider the mystic terms as one of the main issues in translation of poems. Firstly, it is an attempt to find out what strategies have been used to find equivalents for source text mystic. Second, it is hoped that this study of the translations of the mystic terms in Attar’s poems will further address and explore the problems in translating mystic texts, proposed by other Persian poets and suggest instructional points from Davis work for translation education. In order to deal with such a breadth of work, a new conceptual tool was developed, as explained by Van Doorslaer (2007). This study shows that according to Van Doorslaer’s map, the mystic terms can be transferred to the target language (TL) with their exact content of the source language (SL) if the translator has a good choice for any term.

Keywords: metaphor, mystic, mysticism, source language (SL), target language (TL)

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Authors: Senol Dogan, Gunay Karli

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Identification of relevant publications based on a Medline query is time-consuming and error-prone. An all based process has the potential to solve this problem without any manual work. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to investigate the ability of machine learning to identify relevant articles accurately. 5 different machine learning algorithms were tested using 23 predictors based on several metadata fields attached to publications. We find that the Boosted model is the best-performing algorithm and its overall accuracy is 96%. In addition, specificity and sensitivity of the algorithm is 97 and 93%, respectively. As a result of the work, we understood that we can apply the same procedure to understand cancer gene expression big data.

Keywords: prediction of publications, machine learning, algorithms, bariatric surgery, comparison of algorithms, boosted, tree, logistic regression, ANN model

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Authors: P. W. G. D. P. Samarasekara, S. M. K. S. Seneviratne, D. Munidasa, S. S. Williams

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Sustaining a spinal cord injury (SCI) causes severe disruption of all aspects of a person’s life, resulting in the difficult process of coping with the distressing effects of paralysis affecting their ability to lead a meaningful life. These persons are hospitalized in the acute stage of injury and subsequently for rehabilitation and the treatment of complications. The purpose of this study was to explore coping strategies used by persons with SCI during their rehabilitation period. A qualitative study was conducted among persons with SCI, undergoing rehabilitation at the Rheumatology and Rehabilitation Hospitals, Ragama and Digana Sri Lanka. Twelve participants were selected purposively to represent both males and females, with cervical, thoracic or lumbar levels of injuries due to traumatic and non-traumatic causes as well as from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Informed consent was taken from the participants. In-depth interviews were conducted using an interview guide to collect data. Probes were used to get more information and to encourage participants. Interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative content analysis was conducted. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya. Five themes were identified in the content analysis: social support, religious beliefs, determination, acceptance and making comparisons. Participants indicated that the support from their family members had been an essential factor in coping, after sustaining an SCI and they expressed the importance of emotional support from family members during their rehabilitation. Many participants had a strong belief towards the God, who had a personal interest in their lives, played an important role in their ability to cope with the injury. They believed that what happens to them in this life results from their actions in previous lives. They expressed that determination was essential as a factor that helps them cope with their injury. They indicated their focus on the positive aspects of the life and accepted the disability. They made comparisons to other persons who were worse off than them to help lift them out of unpleasant experience. Even some of the most severely injured and disabled participants presented evidence of using this coping strategy. Identification of coping strategies used by persons with SCI will help nurses and other health-care professionals in reinforcing the most effective coping strategies among persons with SCI. The findings recommend that engagement coping positively influences psychosocial adaptation.

Keywords: content analysis, coping strategies, rehabilitation, spinal cord injury

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Authors: Hassan Karimi, Fred Piercy, Ruoxi Chen, Ana L. Jaramillo-Sierra, Wei-Ning Chang, Manjushree Palit, Catherine Martosudarmo, Angelito Antonio

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Background: The two psychotherapy camps, the randomized clinical trials (RCTs) and the common factors model, have competitively claimed specific explanations for therapy effectiveness. Recently, scholars called for empirical evidence to show the role of common factors in therapeutic outcome in marriage and family therapy. Purpose: This cross-national study aims to explore how clinicians, across different nations and theoretical orientations, attribute the contribution of common factors to therapy outcome. Method: A brief common factors questionnaire (CFQ-with a Cronbach’s Alpha, 0.77) was developed and administered in seven nations. A series of statistical analyses (paired-samples t-test, independent sample t-test, ANOVA) were conducted: to compare clinicians perceived contribution of total common factors versus model-specific factors, to compare each pair of common factors’ categories, and to compare clinicians from collectivistic nations versus clinicians from individualistic nation. Results: Clinicians across seven nations attributed 86% to common factors versus 14% to model-specific factors. Clinicians attributed 34% of therapeutic change to client’s factors, 26% to therapist’s factors, 26% to relationship factors, and 14% to model-specific techniques. The ANOVA test indicated each of the three categories of common factors (client 34%, therapist 26%, relationship 26%) showed higher contribution in therapeutic outcome than the category of model specific factors (techniques 14%). Clinicians with psychology degree attributed more contribution to model-specific factors than clinicians with MFT and counseling degrees who attributed more contribution to client factors. Clinicians from collectivistic nations attributed larger contributions to therapist’s factors (M=28.96, SD=12.75) than the US clinicians (M=23.22, SD=7.73). The US clinicians attributed a larger contribution to client’s factors (M=39.02, SD=1504) than clinicians from the collectivistic nations (M=28.71, SD=15.74). Conclusion: The findings indicate clinicians across the globe attributed more than two thirds of therapeutic change to CFs, which emphasize the training of the common factors model in the field. CFs, like model-specific factors, vary in their contribution to therapy outcome in relation to specific client, therapist, problem, treatment model, and sociocultural context. Sociocultural expectations and norms should be considered as a context in which both CFs and model-specific factors function toward therapeutic goals. Clinicians need to foster a cultural competency specifically regarding the divergent ways that CFs can be activated due to specific sociocultural values.

Keywords: common factors, model-specific factors, cross-national survey, therapist cultural competency, enhancing therapist efficacy

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Authors: V. Barbakadze, L. Gogilashvili, L. Amiranashvili, M. Merlani, K. Mulkijanyan

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The high-molecular water-soluble preparations from several species of two genera (Symphytum and Anchusa) of Boraginaceae family Symphytum asperum, S. caucasicum, S.officinale and Anchusa italica were isolated. According to IR, 13C and 1H NMR, APT, 1D NOE, 2D heteronuclear 1H/13C HSQC and 2D DOSY experiments, the main chemical constit¬uent of these preparations was found to be caffeic acid-derived polyether, namely poly[3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)glyceric acid] (PDPGA) or poly[oxy-1-carboxy-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylene]. Most carboxylic groups of this caffeic acid-derived polymer of A. italica are methylated.

Keywords: Anchusa, poly[3-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl)glyceric acid], poly[oxy-1-carboxy-2-(3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethylene], Symphytum

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