Search results for: drug target

Authors: Rufai Yakubu And Suleiman Kabiru

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Triterpenoids are a diverse class of secondary metabolites with potential antimicrobial properties. In this study, the crude extracts from ethyl acetate was obtained with ultrasonic extraction method. Using a combined chromatographic separation method to isolate squalene (1) stigmasterol (2), stigmasta-5,22-diene-3-ol acetate (3), γ-sitosterol (4), lupeol (5), taraxasterol (6), and betulinic acid (7) from ethyl acetate extracts. Ethyl acetate crude extracts and isolated compounds were both screened for antimicrobial activity and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). For ethyl acetate crude extracts with concentrations of (1.5, 0.75, 0.35, & 0.168 mg/mL) indicated marginal antibacterial activity with a range of 17, 20 and 14 mm zone of inhibition for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans and lower minimum inhibitory concentrations ranges from 18.75 µg/ml to 150 µg/mL. Butulinic acid showed the highest activity against E. coli and C. albicans at 15 mm and 15 mm followed by Lupeol against S. aureus, E. coli and C. albicans at 13, 12, 12 mm. Moreso, no antimicrobial activity for both S. aureus and C. albicans with squalene except for E. coli which showed activity at 11 mm with 300 µg/mL (MIC). Thus, abundant triterpenoids in Deinbollia pinnata will be another centered area for antimicrobial drug discovery.

Keywords: triterpenoid, antimicrobial potentials, deinbollia pinnata, aerial parts

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Authors: Jaomai Tungsiripat, Patompong Satapornpong

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Allopurinol have been used to treat diseases that relating with the reduction of uric acid and be a treatment preventing the severity of, including gout, chronic kidney disease, chronic heart failure, and diabetes mellitus (type 2). However, allopurinol metabolites can cause a severe cutaneous adverse reaction (SCARs) consist of Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) and Stevens-Johnson Syndrome(SJS)/Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN). Previous studies, we found only HLA-B*58:01 allele has a strongly association with allopurinol-induced SCARs in many populations: Han Chinese [P value = 4.7 x 10−24], European [P value <10−6], and Thai [P value <0.001].However, there was no update the frequency of HLA-B alleles and pharmacogenetics markers distribution in healthy Thais and support for screening before the initiation of treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of HLA-B*58:01 allele associated with allopurinol-induced SCARs in healthy Thai population. A retrospective study of 260 individual healthy subjects who living in Thailand. HLA-B were genotyped using sequence-specific oligonucleotides (PCR-SSOs).In this study, we identified the prevalence of HLA-B alleles consist ofHLA-B*46:01 (12.69%), HLA-B*15:02 (8.85%), HLA-B*13:01 (6.35%), HLA-B*40:01 (6.35%), HLA-B*38:02 (5.00%), HLA-B*51:01 (5.00%), HLA-B*58:01 (4.81%), HLA-B*44:03 (4.62%), HLA-B*18:01 (3.85%) and HLA-B*15:25 (3.08%). Therefore, the distribution of HLA-B*58:01 will support the clinical implementation and screening usage of allopurinol in Thai population.

Keywords: allopurinol, HLA-B*58: 01, Thai population, SCARs

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Authors: Milad Vahidi, Mahmod R. Sahebi, Mehrnoosh Omati, Reza Mohammadi

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Forest management organizations need information to perform their work effectively. Remote sensing is an effective method to acquire information from the Earth. Two datasets of remote sensing images were used to classify forested regions. Firstly, all of extractable features from hyperspectral and PolSAR images were extracted. The optical features were spectral indexes related to the chemical, water contents, structural indexes, effective bands and absorption features. Also, PolSAR features were the original data, target decomposition components, and SAR discriminators features. Secondly, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) and the genetic algorithms (GA) were applied to select optimization features. Furthermore, the support vector machine (SVM) classifier was used to classify the image. The results showed that the combination of PSO and SVM had higher overall accuracy than the other cases. This combination provided overall accuracy about 90.56%. The effective features were the spectral index, the bands in shortwave infrared (SWIR) and the visible ranges and certain PolSAR features.

Keywords: hyperspectral, PolSAR, feature selection, SVM

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Authors: Ibrahim Cicek, Melike Nikbay

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Electrically propelled vehicles, either road or aerial vehicles are studied on contemporarily for their robust maneuvers and cost-efficient transport operations. The main power generating systems of such vehicles electrified by selecting proper components and assembled as e-powertrain. Generally, e-powertrain components selected considering the target performance requirements. Since the main component of propulsion is the drive unit, e-motor control system is subjected to achieve the performance targets. In this paper, the optimization of e-motor control parameters studied by Integral Squared Method (ISE). The overall aim is to minimize power consumption of such vehicles depending on mission profile and maintaining smooth maneuvers for passenger comfort. The sought-after values of control parameters are computed using the Optimal Control Theory. The system is modeled as a closed-loop linear control system with calibratable parameters.

Keywords: optimization, e-powertrain, optimal control, electric vehicles

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Authors: Taru Singh, Shukla Das, V. G. Ramachandran

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Objectives: To develop SYBR green based real-time PCR assay to detect carbapenemases (NDM, IMP) genes in E. coli. Methods: A total of 40 E. coli from stool samples were tested. Six were previously characterized as resistant to carbapenems and documented by PCR. The remaining 34 isolates previously tested susceptible to carbapenems and were negative for these genes. Bacterial RNA was extracted using manual method. The real-time PCR was performed using the Light Cycler III 480 instrument (Roche) and specific primers for each carbapenemase target were used. Results: Each one of the two carbapenemase gene tested presented a different melting curve after PCR amplification. The melting temperature (Tm) analysis of the amplicons identified was as follows: blaIMP type (Tm 82.18°C), blaNDM-1 (Tm 78.8°C). No amplification was detected among the negative samples. The results showed 100% concordance with the genotypes previously identified. Conclusions: The new assay was able to detect the presence of two different carbapenemase gene type by real-time PCR.

Keywords: resistance, b-lactamases, E. coli, real-time PCR

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Authors: Valerie Habbel, Magdalena Orth, Johanna Richter, Steffen Schimko

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Cooperation between development actors and the private sector is becoming increasingly important, as it is expected to mobilize additional resources to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), among other things. However, whether the goals of cooperation are achieved has so far only been explored in evaluations and studies of individual projects and instruments. The evaluation synthesis attempts to close this gap by systematically analyzing existing evidence (evaluations and academic studies) from national and international development cooperation on private sector engagement. Overall, the evaluations and studies considered report mainly positive effects on investors and donors, intermediaries, partner countries, and target groups. However, various analyses, including on the quality of the evaluations, point to a positive bias in the results. The evaluation synthesis makes recommendations on the definition of indicators, the measurement and evaluation of impacts and additionality, knowledge management, and the consideration of transaction costs in cooperation with private actors.

Keywords: evaluation synthesis, private sector engagement, international development, sustainable development

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Authors: Faezeh Aghazadeh, Mohammad Javad Sharifi

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The application of neural networks to model a full-scale industrial acetylene hydrogenation in olefin plant has been studied. The operating variables studied are the, input-temperature of the reactor, output-temperature of the reactor, hydrogen ratio of the reactor, [C₂H₂]input, and [C₂H₆]input. The studied operating variables were used as the input to the constructed neural network to predict the [C₂H₆]output at any time as the output or the target. The constructed neural network was found to be highly precise in predicting the quantity of [C₂H₆]output for the new input data, which are kept unaware of the trained neural network showing its applicability to determine the [C₂H₆]output for any operating conditions. The enhancement of [C₂H₆]output as compared with [C₂H₆]input was a consequence of low selective acetylene hydrogenation to ethylene.

Keywords: acetylene hydrogenation, Pd-Ag/Al₂O₃, artificial neural network, modeling, optimal design

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Authors: T. A. Ajiboye

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This study examines the effects of health education programme on knowledge and prevention of cerebrovascular disease among hypertensive patients in University College Hospital, Ibadan. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the study. 100 hypertensive patients were conveniently selected from general outpatient department in UCH. Data generated were analyzed using ANOVA at 0.05 alpha levels. The findings of the study revealed that health education programme significantly influenced both the knowledge of hypertensive patients (F=22.70; DF=1/99; p < .05) and their attitude (F=10.377; DF=1/99; p < .05) on cerebrovascular disease. Findings also discovered that health education programme significantly reduce the complication of hypertension to cerebrovascular disease (F= 16.41; DF=7/286; p < 0.05) among the hypertensive patients at UCH. Based on the findings, it is recommended that hypertensive patients should relieve themselves from stress, engage themselves on regular exercises, compliance with drug and diet regimes coupled with keeping up of regular appointment. Government should design health information that will center on hypertension and cerebrovascular disease so as to keep health and community development problems to the barest minimum. Finally, there should be provision of social amenities and recreational centers, as this will prevents hypertension problems.

Keywords: cerebrovascular disease, effectiveness, health education, hypertension, knowledge, prevention

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Authors: Daniel C. Bonzo

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Practical considerations lead to the use of unit of analysis within subjects, e.g., bleeding episodes or treatment-related adverse events, in rare disease settings. This is coupled with data augmentation techniques such as extrapolation to enlarge the subject base. In general, one can think about extrapolation of data as extending information and conclusions from one estimand to another estimand. This approach induces hierarchichal clustered data with varying cluster sizes. Extrapolation of clinical trial data is being accepted increasingly by regulatory agencies as a means of generating data in diverse situations during drug development process. Under certain circumstances, data can be extrapolated to a different population, a different but related indication, and different but similar product. We consider here the problem of estimation (point and interval) using a mixed-models approach under an extrapolation. It is proposed that estimators (point and interval) be constructed using weighting schemes for the clusters, e.g., equally weighted and with weights proportional to cluster size. Simulated data generated under varying scenarios are then used to evaluate the performance of this approach. In conclusion, the evaluation result showed that the approach is a useful means for improving statistical inference in rare disease settings and thus aids not only signal detection but risk-benefit evaluation as well.

Keywords: clustered data, estimand, extrapolation, mixed model

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Authors: Pyung Soo Kim, Eung Hyuk Lee, Mun Suck Jang

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In the current paper, an indoor positioning system is proposed with consideration of measurement delay. Firstly, an estimation filter with a measurement delay is designed for the indoor positioning mechanism under a weighted least square criterion, which utilizes only finite measurements on the most recent window. The proposed estimation filtering based scheme gives the filtered estimates for position, velocity and acceleration of moving target in real-time, while removing undesired noisy effects and preserving desired moving positions. Secondly, the proposed scheme is shown to have good inherent properties such as unbiasedness, efficiency, time-invariance, deadbeat, and robustness due to the finite memory structure. Finally, computer simulations shows that the performance of the proposed estimation filtering based scheme can outperform to the existing infinite memory filtering based mechanism.

Keywords: indoor positioning system, wireless sensor networks, measurement delay

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Authors: Rajasekar Elangopandian, Anand Shanmugam

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Now-a-days for surveillances unmanned aerial vehicle plays a vital role. Not only for surveillances, aerial photography disaster management and the notice of earth behavior UAV1s envisages meticulously. To reduce the maintenance and fuel nuclear powered Vehicles are greater support. The design consideration is much important for the UAV manufacturing industry and Research and development agency. Eventually design is looking like a pentagon shaped fuselage and black rubber coated paint in order to escape from the enemy radar and other targets. The pentagon shape fuselage has large space to keep the mini nuclear reactor inside and the material is carbon – carbon fiber specially designed by the software called cosmol and hyper mesh 14.2. So the weight consideration will produce the positive result for productivity. The walls of the fuselage are coated with lead and protective shield. A double layer of W/Bi sheet is proposed for radiation protection at the energy range of 70 Kev to 90 Kev. The designed W/bi sheet, only 0.14 mm thick and is 36% light. The properties of the fillers were determined from zeta potential and particle size measurements. The Exposes of the radiation can be attenuated by 3 ways such as minimizing exposure time, Maximizing distance from the radiation source and shielding the whole vehicle. The inside reactor will be switched ON when the UAV starts its cruise. The moderators and the control rods can be inserted by automation technique by newly developed software. The heat generated by the reactor will be used to run the turbine which is fixed inside the UAV called mini turbine with natural rubber composite Shaft radiation shield. Cooling system will be in two mode such as liquid and air cooled. Liquid coolant for the heat regeneration is ordinary water, liquid sodium, helium and the walls are made up of regenerative and radiation protective material. The other components like camera and arms bay will be located at the bottom of the UAV high are specially made products in order to escape from the radiation. They are coated with lead Pb and natural rubber composite material. This technique provides the long rang and endurance for eternal flight mission until we need any changeability of parts or product. This UAV has the special advantage of ` land on String` means it`ll land at electric line to charge the automated electronics. Then the fuel is enriched uranium (< 5% U - 235) contains hundreds of fuel pins. This technique provides eternal duty for surveillances and aerial photography. The landing of the vehicle is ease of operation likewise the takeoff is also easier than any other mechanism which present in nowadays. This UAV gives great immense and immaculate technology for surveillance and target detecting and smashing the target.

Keywords: mini turbine, liquid coolant for the heat regeneration, in order to escape from the radiation, eternal flight mission, it`ll land at electric line

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Authors: Sudha Summarwar, Jyotsana Pandey, Deepali Lall

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The Malathion compound has the great tendency to be accumulated in the organs of the fishes both if it is present in traces or in higher amount in the aquatic environment. It has the tendency to be accumulated more in quantity in the organs directly exposed to it. The accumulation was found to be time and concentration dependent. The accumulation of malathion was maximum in gills and is the minimum in the brain. Effect of different sub-lethal concentrations (l/5th, l/l0th, l/15th, l/20th, and 1/25th fractions of 96 hr. LC50) of malathion compound on acid phosphatase (AcPase), alkaline phosphatase (AlPase), serum glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (SGOT) and Serum Glucose-6-Phosphatase (S-G-6-Pase), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) in blood of Labeo rohita exposed for the period of 15. 30, 45, and 60 days, have been studied in present investigations. In general the alterations were concentrations and duration dependent.

Keywords: AcPase, AlPase, Labeo rohita, malathion, S-G-6-Pase, SGOT, SGPT

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Authors: Syed Talib Abbas Raza, Tahseen Ahmed Jilani, Saleem Abdullah

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This paper presents interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy soft sets based TOPSIS method for group decision making. The interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy soft set is a mutation of an interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy set and soft set. In group decision making problems IVIFSS makes the process much more algebraically elegant. We have used weighted arithmetic averaging operator for aggregating the information and define a new Hybrid Score Function as metric tool for comparison between interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy values. In an illustrative example we have applied the developed method to a criminological problem. We have developed a group decision making model for integrating the imprecise and hesitant evaluations of multiple law enforcement agencies working on target killing cases in the country.

Keywords: group decision making, interval-valued intuitionistic fuzzy soft set, TOPSIS, score function, criminology

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Authors: Naime Boudemagh, Zoheir Hammoudi

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The parameters estimation of the K-distribution is an essential part in radar detection. In fact, presence of interfering targets in reference cells causes a decrease in detection performances. In such situation, the estimate of the shape and the scale parameters are far from the actual values. In the order to avoid interfering targets, we propose an Automatic Censoring (AC) algorithm of radar interfering targets in K-distribution. The censoring technique used in this work offers a good discrimination between homogeneous and non-homogeneous environments. The homogeneous population is then used to estimate the unknown parameters by the classical Method of Moment (MOM). The AC algorithm does not need any prior information about the clutter parameters nor does it require both the number and the position of interfering targets. The accuracy of the estimation parameters obtained by this algorithm are validated and compared to various actual values of the shape parameter, using Monte Carlo simulations, this latter show that the probability of censing in multiple target situations are in good agreement.

Keywords: parameters estimation, method of moments, automatic censoring, K distribution

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Authors: Hae Dun Kim, Joo Hyun Jang, Geu Rim Seo, Kyung Soo Ra, Hyung Joo Suh

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Lactuca sativa (lettuce) has been known for its medical property to relieve anxiety and nervous. This study was implemented to investigate sleep-promoting effects of the lettuce alcohol extract (LAE). Caffeine is widely used psychoactive substance known to induced wakefulness and insomnia to its consumers. In the present study, the sedative-hypnotic activity of the LAE was studied using the method of pentobarbital-induced sleep in the mouse model. The LAE was administrated to mice 30 min before the pentobarbital injection. The LAE prolonged the pentobarbital-induced sleep duration and decreased sleep latency. The effects of LAE were comparable to those of induced by diazepam. Another study was performed to examine whether LAE ameliorates caffeine-induced sleep disturbance in mice. Additionally, caffeine (10 mg/kg, p.o) delayed sleep onset and reduced sleep duration of mice. Conversely, LAE treatment (80 or 160 mg/kg, p.o), especially at 160 mg/kg, normalized the sleep disturbance induced by caffeine. LAE supplementation can counter the sleep disturbance induced by caffeine. These results suggest that LAE possess significant sedative-hypnotic activity, which supports the popular use of lettuce for treatment of insomnia and provide the basis for new drug discovery. Furthermore, these results demonstrate that the lettuce extract may be preferable for the treatment of insomnia.

Keywords: caffeine, Lactuca sativa, sleep duration, sleep latency

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Authors: Kitty Kioskli, Nineta Polemi

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Evaluating the levels of cyber-security risks within an enterprise is most important in protecting its information system, services and all its digital assets against security incidents (e.g. accidents, malicious acts, massive cyber-attacks). The existing risk assessment methodologies (e.g. eBIOS, OCTAVE, CRAMM, NIST-800) adopt a technical approach considering as attack factors only the capability, intention and target of the attacker, and not paying attention to the attacker’s psychological profile and personality traits. In this paper, a socio-technical approach is proposed in cyber risk assessment, in order to achieve more realistic risk estimates by considering the personality traits of the attackers. In particular, based upon principles from investigative psychology and behavioural science, a multi-dimensional, extended, quantifiable model for an attacker’s profile is developed, which becomes an additional factor in the cyber risk level calculation.

Keywords: attacker, behavioural models, cyber risk assessment, cybersecurity, human factors, investigative psychology, ISO27001, ISO27005

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Authors: M. Krishna

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The study was intended to identify if scalp cooling therapy is effective on preventing chemotherapy-induced hair loss among cancer patients. Critical literature of non-randomized controlled trials was used to investigate whether scalp cooling therapy is effective on preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia. The review identified that scalp cooling therapy is effective on preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia. Most of the patients receiving chemotherapy experience alopecia. It is also perceived as the worst effect of chemotherapy. This may be severe and lead the patients to withdraw the chemo treatment. The image disturbance caused by alopecia will make the patient depressed and will lead to declined immunity. With the knowledge on effectiveness of scalp cooling therapy on preventing chemotherapy-induced alopecia, patient undergoing chemotherapy will not be hesitant to undergo the treatment. Patients are recommended to go through scalp cooling therapy every chemo cycle and the proper therapy duration is 30 minutes before, during chemo. The suggested duration of the scalp cooling therapy is 45-90 minutes for an effective and positive outcome. This finding is excluding other factors of alopecia such as menopause, therapeutic drugs, poor hair density, liver function problems, and drug regimes.

Keywords: alopecia, cancer, chemotherapy, scalp cooling therapy

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Authors: Osiris Terry, Kenneth Hopkinson, Laura Humphrey

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Systematic resampling is the most popularly used resampling method in particle filters. This paper seeks to further the understanding of systematic resampling by defining a formula made up of variables from the sampling equation and the particle weights. The formula is then verified via SPARK, a software verification language. The verified systematic resampling formula states that the minimum/maximum number of possible samples taken of a particle is equal to the floor/ceiling value of particle weight divided by the sampling interval, respectively. This allows for the creation of a randomness spectrum that each resampling method can fall within. Methods on the lower end, e.g., systematic resampling, have less randomness and, thus, are quicker to reach an estimate. Although lower randomness allows for error by having a larger bias towards the size of the weight, having this bias creates vulnerabilities to the noise in the environment, e.g., jamming. Conclusively, this is the first step in characterizing each resampling method. This will allow target-tracking engineers to pick the best resampling method for their environment instead of choosing the most popularly used one.

Keywords: SPARK, software verification, resampling, systematic resampling, particle filter, tracking

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Authors: Kartina Sury Kariman

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Brand-to-customer (B2C) engagement has been well established through the traditional platform such as direct sales, advertising, customer service center, customer hotline as well as brand usage experiences. Increasingly, interest to B2C has evolved to include customer-to-customer (C2C) interaction analysis aligned with the vast growth of web 2.0. Hence, discussion on C2C interaction and brand strategy have captured social media as it enables brands and C2C interaction to be connected in various ways, providing opportunities for marketers to shape their brand engagement strategy while reaching C2C as the targeted outcomes. The objective here is to provide a preliminary review of C2C interaction consisting the antecedents and consequences while highlighting areas of research interest within the context from marketers perspective and the business outcomes. This paper discusses how C2C interaction defines marketers’ brand and communication strategy and how social media trend shapes the strategy when promoting the awareness of life insurance industry and educating the target market.

Keywords: social media, brand engagement, customer interaction, customer engagement, brand strategy, life insurance

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Authors: Pranav Vaidya

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The recent upheaval of a ballot initiative taken place in California & Los Angeles‘s newspapers shows how the concept of giving Death Penalty obliterates the very soul basis of community and society which rests upon the tripod of values, ethics, and morality. This paper goes on with examining how, by giving death penalties we are, on one hand trying to wipe out those heinous offenders committing such unspeakable crimes against the public; while on the other hand it comes with a devastating effect of corroding and eluding the existence of ethics and morality which is in the very nature of “protecting the life of humankind”. As it can be stated that, by giving capital punishment, we are trying to legitimize an irreversible act of violence by the authority of state and target innocent victims because as long as the human justice is fallible, the risk of executing an innocent can never be eliminated. However, scholars in the legalization of Capital Punishment have argued that the courts should impose punishment befitting the crime so that they could reflect public abhorrence of the crime, create deterrent or rehabilitating effects & deliver the truest form of justice.

Keywords: ethics, heinous offenders, morality, unspeakable crimes

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Authors: Samrat Paul, Satyajit Pahari, Krishnendu Basak, Amitava Roy

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Fishing is one of the pivotal livelihood activities, especially in developing countries. Today it is considered an important occupation for human society from the era of human settlement began. In simple terms, non-target catches of any species during fishing can be considered as ‘bycatch,’ and fishing bycatch is neither a new fishery management issue nor a new problem. Sundarban is one of the world’s largest mangrove land expanding up to 10,200 sq. km in India and Bangladesh. This largest mangrove biome resource is used by the local inhabitants commercially to run their livelihood, especially by forest fringe villagers (FFVs). In Sundarban, over-fishing, especially post larvae collection of wild Penaeus monodon, is one of the major concerns, as during the collection of P. monodon, different aquatic species are destroyed as a result of bycatch mortality which changes in productivity and may negatively impact entire biodiversity, of the ecosystem. Wild prawn seed collection gear like a small mesh sized net poses a serious threat to aquatic stocks, where the collection isn’t only limited to prawn seed larvae. As prawn seed collection processes are inexpensive, require less monetary investment, and are lucrative; people are easily engaged here as their source of income. Wildlife Trust of India’s (WTI) intervention in selected forest fringe villages of Sundarban Tiger Reserve (STR) was to estimate and reduce the mortality of aquatic bycatches by involving local communities in newly developed release method and their time engagement in prawn seed collection (PSC) by involving them in Alternate Income Generation (AIG). The study was conducted for their taxonomic identification during the period of March to October 2019. Collected samples were preserved in 70% ethyl alcohol for identification, and all the preserved bycatch samples were identified morphologically by the expertise of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Kolkata. Around 74 different aquatic species, where 11 different species are molluscs, 41 fish species, out of which 31 species were identified, and 22 species of crustacean collected, out of which 18 species were identified. Around 13 different species belong to a different order, and families were unable to identify them morphologically as they were collected in the juvenile stage. The study reveals that for collecting one single prawn seed, eight individual life of associated faunas are being lost. Zero bycatch mortality is not practical; rather, collectors should focus on bycatch reduction by avoiding capturing, allowing escaping, and mortality reduction, and must make changes in their fishing method by increasing net mesh size, which will avoid non-target captures. But as the prawns are small in size (generally 1-1.5 inches in length), thus increase net size making economically less or no profit for collectors if they do so. In this case, returning bycatches is considered one of the best ways to a reduction in bycatch mortality which is a more sustainable practice.

Keywords: bycatch mortality, biodiversity, mangrove biome resource, sustainable practice, Alternate Income Generation (AIG)

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Authors: Watchawin Ekphinitphithaya, Patompong Satapornpong

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Introduction: Carbamazepine (CBZ) is one of the most prescribed antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) by neurologists and non-neurologist worldwide. CBZ is usually prescribed along with other drugs, leading to the possibility of severe cutaneous adverse drug reactions (SCARs). The HLA-B*15:02 is strongly associated with CBZ-induced Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS–TEN) in the Han Chinese and other Asian populations but not in European populations, while HLA-A*31:01 allele has been reported to be associated with CBZ-induced SCARs in European population and Japanese. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of pharmacogenetics HLA-A*31:01 marker in a healthy Thai population associated with Carbamazepine-induced SCARs. Materials and Methods: Prospective study, 350 unrelated healthy Thais were recruited in this study. Human leukocyte antigen-A alleles were genotyped using PCR-sequence specific oligonucleotides (PCR-SSOs). Results: The frequency of HLA-A alleles were HLA-A*11:01 (190 alleles, 27.14%), HLA-A*24:02 (82 alleles, 11.71%), HLA-A*02:03 (80 alleles, 11.43%), HLA-A*33:03 (76 alleles, 10.86%), HLA-A*02:07 (58 alleles, 8.29%), HLA-A*02:01 (35 alleles, 5.00%), HLA-A*24:07 (29 alleles, 4.14%), HLA-A*02:06 – HLA-A*30:01 (15 alleles, 2.14%), and HLA-A*01:01 (14 alleles, 2.00%). Particularly, the number of HLA-A*31:01 alleles was 6 of 700 (0.86%) in the healthy Thai population. Many research presented varying distributions of HLA-A*31:01 in Asians, including 2% of Han Chinese, 9% of Japanese and 5% of Koreans. In addition, this allele was found approximately 2-5% in the Caucasian population. Conclusions: Thus, the pharmacogenetics database is vital to support in many populations, especially in Thais, for screening HLA-A*31:01 allele to avoid CBZ-induced SCARs before initiating treatments in each population.

Keywords: Carbamazepine, HLA-A*31:01, Thai population, pharmacogenetics

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Authors: Nurdan Tumbek Tekeoglu

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With rising importance in all over the world, crowdfunding has become a new financing and marketing method for film industry. Crowdfunding is a new practice in film industry for funding a film project by raising monetary contributions from a large group of people. By crowdfunding an estimate fund of 20 billion USD has been raised in 2015. Through the crowdfunding platforms not only the film makers, but also the entrepreneurs and nongovernmental organizations finance and market their projects. Among the prominent crowdfunding platforms in Turkey, we can list Crowdfon, Fonlabeni, Kickstarter, Indiego, Bi Ayda, and Fongogo platforms. In 2014 the Turkish film industry celebrated its 100th anniversary and reached its peak producing around 150-200 films a year reminding the brilliant years of Yesilcam period. In general feature films apply for crowdfunding. Until April 2015 more than 190 films applied for crowdfunding platforms. Crowdfunding has a promising future in Turkey, since donation traditions has an important place in Turkish culture traditionally. This paper is exploring the marketing of the crowdfunding platforms established in Turkey in order for the films meet their target groups during the pre-production period.

Keywords: crowdfunding, marketing of films, Turkey, Turkish film industry

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Authors: Mochammad Indra Permana, Andhiani Sharfina Arnellya, Dika Pramita Destiani, Budhi Prihartanto

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Cardiovascular disease is the cause of the highest mortality rates in the world. The number of cardiovascular disease patients is increasing every year. Data obtained from World Health Organization (WHO) that 17,5 million people died from this disease. The condition of cardiovascular diseases such as atrial fibrillation, myocardial infarction, venous thromboembolism, and several other conditions need anticoagulant therapy. Results of the anticoagulant therapy are measured not only by the effectiveness of International Normalized Ratio (INR) value but also by the quality of life of the patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of life of patients on oral anticoagulant therapy in outpatient cardiac department Dr. Hasan Sadikin central general hospital, Bandung, Indonesia. This is a cross-sectional study with collecting data from the quality of life questionnaire and medical record of the patients. The results of this study showed that 28 patients (46,7%) had a good quality of life, 30 patients (50%) had a moderate quality of life, and 2 patients (3,3%) had a poor quality of life with no significant differences in quality of life based on age, gender, diagnosis, and duration of drug use.

Keywords: anticoagulant, cardiovascular diseases, INR, quality of life

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Authors: Hannah Edwards, Femke T. A. Buisman-Pijlman, Adrian Esterman, Craig Phillips, Sandra Orgeig, Andrea Gordon

Abstract:

Mother-infant bonding is a term which refers to the early emotional connectedness between a mother and her infant. Strong mother-infant bonding promotes higher quality mother and infant interactions including prolonged breastfeeding, secure attachment and increased sensitive parenting and maternal responsiveness. Strengthening of all such interactions leads to improved social behavior, and emotional and cognitive development throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood. The positive outcomes observed following strong mother-infant bonding emphasize the need to screen new mothers for disrupted mother-infant bonding, and in turn the need for a robust, valid tool to assess mother-infant bonding. A recent scoping review conducted by the research team identified four tools to assess mother-infant bonding, all of which employed self-rating scales. Thus, whilst these tools demonstrated both adequate validity and reliability, they rely on self-reported information from the mother. As such this may reflect a mother’s perception of bonding with their infant, rather than their actual behavior. Therefore, a new tool to assess mother-infant bonding has been developed. The Recorded Interaction Task (RIT) addresses shortcomings of previous tools by employing observational methods to assess bonding. The RIT focusses on the common interaction between mother and infant of changing a nappy, at the target age of 2-6 months, which is visually recorded and then later assessed. Thirteen maternal and seven infant behaviors are scored on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet, and a final combined score of mother-infant bonding is determined. The aim of the current study was to assess the content validity and inter-rater reliability of the RIT. A panel of six experts with specialized expertise in bonding and infant behavior were consulted. Experts were provided with the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet, a visual recording of a nappy change interaction, and a feedback form. Experts scored the mother and infant interaction on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet and completed the feedback form which collected their opinions on the validity of each item on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet and the RIT as a whole. Twelve of the 20 items on the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet were scored ‘Valid’ by all (n=6) or most (n=5) experts. Two items received a ‘Not valid’ score from one expert. The remainder of the items received a mixture of ‘Valid’ and ‘Potentially Valid’ scores. Few changes were made to the RIT Observation Scoring Sheet following expert feedback, including rewording of items for clarity and the exclusion of an item focusing on behavior deemed not relevant for the target infant age. The overall ICC for single rater absolute agreement was 0.48 (95% CI 0.28 – 0.71). Experts (n=6) ratings were less consistent for infant behavior (ICC 0.27 (-0.01 – 0.82)) compared to mother behavior (ICC 0.55 (0.28 – 0.80)). Whilst previous tools employ self-report methods to assess mother-infant bonding, the RIT utilizes observational methods. The current study highlights adequate content validity and moderate inter-rater reliability of the RIT, supporting its use in future research. A convergent validity study comparing the RIT against an existing tool is currently being undertaken to confirm these results.

Keywords: content validity, inter-rater reliability, mother-infant bonding, observational tool, recorded interaction task

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Authors: Samah Lakehal, A. Meliani, F. Z. Benrebiha, C. Chaouia

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In the last few years, due to the misuse of antibiotics and an increasing incidence of immunodeficiency-related diseases, the development of microbial drug resistance has become more and more of a pressing problem. Recently, natural products from medicinal plants represent a fertile ground for the development of novel antibacterial agents. Plants essential oils have come more into the focus of phytomedicine. The present study describes antimicrobial activity of Rosmarinus officinalis L. essential oil known medicinally for its powerful antibacterial properties. The essential oil of rosemary obtained by hydrodistillation (using Clevenger type apparatus) growing in Algeria (Djelfa city of south Algeria) was investigated by GC-MS. The essential oil yield of the study was 1.4 %. The major components were found to be camphor, camphene, 1,8-cineole. The essential oil has been tested for antimicrobial activity against eight bacteria (Gram-negative and Gram-positive), and three fungi including Candida albicans. Inhibition of growth was tested by the agar diffusion method based on the determination of the diameter of inhibition. The oil was found to have significant antibacterial activity and therefore can be used as a natural antimicrobial agent for the treatment of several infectious diseases caused by those germs, which have developed resistance to antibiotics.

Keywords: antimicrobial activity, Rosmarinus officinalis L., essential oils, GC/MS, camphor

Procedia PDF Downloads 391

Authors: Claire Williams

Abstract:

Randomised controlled Trials (RCTs) of efficacy are still perceived as the gold standard for the generation of evidence, and whilst advances in data collection methods are well developed, this progress has not been matched for the reporting of adverse events (AEs). Assessment and reporting of AEs in clinical trials are fraught with human error and inefficiency and are extremely time and resource intensive. Recent research conducted into the quality of reporting of AEs during clinical trials concluded it is substandard and reporting is inconsistent. Investigators commonly send reports to sponsors who are incorrectly categorised and lacking in critical information, which can complicate the detection of valid safety signals. In our presentation, we will describe an electronic data capture system, which has been designed to support clinical trial processes by reducing the resource burden on investigators, improving overall trial efficiencies, and making trials safer for patients. This proprietary technology was developed using expertise proven in the delivery of the world’s first prospective, phase 3b real-world trial, ‘The Salford Lung Study, ’ which enabled robust safety monitoring and reporting processes to be accomplished by the remote monitoring of patients’ EHRs. This technology enables safety alerts that are pre-defined by the protocol to be detected from the data extracted directly from the patients EHR. Based on study-specific criteria, which are created from the standard definition of a serious adverse event (SAE) and the safety profile of the medicinal product, the system alerts the investigator or study team to the safety alert. Each safety alert will require a clinical review by the investigator or delegate; examples of the types of alerts include hospital admission, death, hepatotoxicity, neutropenia, and acute renal failure. This is achieved in near real-time; safety alerts can be reviewed along with any additional information available to determine whether they meet the protocol-defined criteria for reporting or withdrawal. This active surveillance technology helps reduce the resource burden of the more traditional methods of AE detection for the investigators and study teams and can help eliminate reporting bias. Integration of multiple healthcare data sources enables much more complete and accurate safety data to be collected as part of a trial and can also provide an opportunity to evaluate a drug’s safety profile long-term, in post-trial follow-up. By utilising this robust and proven method for safety monitoring and reporting, a much higher risk of patient cohorts can be enrolled into trials, thus promoting inclusivity and diversity. Broadening eligibility criteria and adopting more inclusive recruitment practices in the later stages of drug development will increase the ability to understand the medicinal products risk-benefit profile across the patient population that is likely to use the product in clinical practice. Furthermore, this ground-breaking approach to AE detection not only provides sponsors with better-quality safety data for their products, but it reduces the resource burden on the investigator and study teams. With the data taken directly from the source, trial costs are reduced, with minimal data validation required and near real-time reporting enables safety concerns and signals to be detected more quickly than in a traditional RCT.

Keywords: more comprehensive and accurate safety data, near real-time safety alerts, reduced resource burden, safer trials

Procedia PDF Downloads 84

Authors: Yonghun Ro, Joo-Wan Cha, Sanghee Chae, Areum Ko, Woonseon Jung, Jong-Chul Ha

Abstract:

National Institute of Meteorological Science (NIMS) in South Korea has performed the cloud seeding to support the field of cloud physics. This is to determine the precipitation occurrence analyzing the changes in the microphysical schemes of clouds. NIMS conducted 12 times of cloud seeding in the lower height of the troposphere at Kangwon and Kyunggi provinces throughout 2018. The change in the reflectivity of the weather radar was analyzed to verify the enhancement of precipitation according to the cloud seeding in this study. First, the natural system in the near of the target area was separated to clear the seeding effect. The radar reflectivity in the point of ground gauge station was extracted in every 10 minutes and the increased values during the reaction time of cloud particles and seeding materials were estimated as a seeding effect considering the cloud temperature, wind speed and direction, and seeding line that the aircraft had passed by. The radar reflectivity affected by seeding materials was showed an increment of 5 to 10 dBZ, and enhanced precipitation cloud was also detected in the 11 cases of cloud seeding experiments.

Keywords: cloud seeding, reflectivity, weather radar, seeding effect

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Yuqing Sun

Abstract:

Nowadays, English has been taught in many countries as a second language. One of the major ways to learn this language is through the class teaching. As in the field of second language acquisition, there are many factors to affect its acquisition processes, such as the target language itself, a learner’s personality, cognitive factor, language transfer, and the outward factors (teaching method, classroom, environmental factor, teaching policy, social environment and so on). Flipped Classroom as a newly developed classroom model has been widely used in language teaching classroom, which was, to some extent, accepted by teachers and students for its effect. It distinguishes itself from the traditional classroom for its focus on the learner and its great importance attaching to the personal learning process and the application of technology. The class becomes discussion-targeted, and the class order is somewhat inverted since the teaching process is carried out outside the class, while the class is only for knowledge-internalization. This paper will concentrate on the influences of the flipped classroom, as a classroom affecting factor, on the the process of English acquisition by the way of case studies (English teaching class in China), and the analysis of the mechanism of the flipped classroom itself to propose some feasible advice of promoting the the effectiveness of English acquisition.

Keywords: second language acquisition, English, flipped classroom, case

Procedia PDF Downloads 400

Authors: Rung-Shiang Cheng, Wei-Jun Hong, Jheng-Syun Wang, Kawuu W. Lin

Abstract:

Users rely increasingly on Location-Based Services (LBS) and automated navigation/guidance systems nowadays. However, while such services are easily implemented in outdoor environments using Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, a requirement still exists for accurate localization and guidance schemes in indoor settings. Accordingly, the present study presents a methodology based on GPS, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons, and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Through establishing graphic information and the design of algorithm, this study develops a guidance system for indoor and outdoor on smartphones, with aim to provide users a smart life through this system. The presented system is implemented on a smartphone and evaluated on a student campus environment. The experimental results confirm the ability of the presented app to switch automatically from an outdoor mode to an indoor mode and to guide the user to the requested target destination via the shortest possible route.

Keywords: beacon, indoor, BLE, Dijkstra algorithm

Procedia PDF Downloads 302