Search results for: climatic pattern
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 3249

Search results for: climatic pattern

969 Production of Kudzu Starch Gels With Superior Mechanical and Rheological Properties Through Submerged Ethanol Exposure and Implications for in Vitro Digestion

Authors: John-Nelson Ekumah, Xu Han, Qiufang Liang, Benxi Wei, Arif Rashid, Muhammad Safiullah, Abdul Qayum, Selorm Yao-Say Solomon Adade, Nana Adwoa Nkuma Johnson, Abdur Rehman, Xiaofeng Ren

Abstract:

Producing starch gels with superior mechanical attributes remains a challenging pursuit. This research sought to develop a simple method using ethanol exposure to produce robust starch gels. The gels’ mechanical properties, rheology, structural characteristics, and digestion were assessed through textural, rheological, structural, and in vitro digestion analyses. it investigation revealed an improvement in gel’s strength from 62.22 to178.82 g. The thermal transitions were accelerated when ethanol was elevated. The exposure to ethanol resulted in a reduction in syneresis from 11% to 9.5% over a period of 6 hours with noticeable change in size and color. Rheologically, the dominating storage modulus and tan delta (<0.55) emphasized the gel’s improved elasticity. X-ray analysis showed a stable B + V-type pattern after ethanol exposure, with increasing relative crystallinity to 7.9%. Digestibility revealed an ethanol induced resistance, through increased resistant starch from 1.87 to 8.73%. In general, the exposure to ethanol played a crucial role in enhancing the mechanical characteristics of kudzu starch gels, while simultaneously preserving higher levels of resistant starch fractions. These findings have wide-ranging implications in the fields of food and pharmaceuticals, underscoring the extensive academic and industrial importance of this study.

Keywords: kudzu starch gels, mechanical properties, rheological properties, submerged ethanol exposure, In vitro digestion

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968 The Inverse Problem in the Process of Heat and Moisture Transfer in Multilayer Walling

Authors: Bolatbek Rysbaiuly, Nazerke Rysbayeva, Aigerim Rysbayeva

Abstract:

Relevance: Energy saving elevated to public policy in almost all developed countries. One of the areas for energy efficiency is improving and tightening design standards. In the tie with the state standards, make high demands for thermal protection of buildings. Constructive arrangement of layers should ensure normal operation in which the humidity of materials of construction should not exceed a certain level. Elevated levels of moisture in the walls can be attributed to a defective condition, as moisture significantly reduces the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of materials. Absence at the design stage of modeling the processes occurring in the construction and predict the behavior of structures during their work in the real world leads to an increase in heat loss and premature aging structures. Method: To solve this problem, widely used method of mathematical modeling of heat and mass transfer in materials. The mathematical modeling of heat and mass transfer are taken into the equation interconnected layer [1]. In winter, the thermal and hydraulic conductivity characteristics of the materials are nonlinear and depends on the temperature and moisture in the material. In this case, the experimental method of determining the coefficient of the freezing or thawing of the material becomes much more difficult. Therefore, in this paper we propose an approximate method for calculating the thermal conductivity and moisture permeability characteristics of freezing or thawing material. Questions. Following the development of methods for solving the inverse problem of mathematical modeling allows us to answer questions that are closely related to the rational design of fences: Where the zone of condensation in the body of the multi-layer fencing; How and where to apply insulation rationally his place; Any constructive activities necessary to provide for the removal of moisture from the structure; What should be the temperature and humidity conditions for the normal operation of the premises enclosing structure; What is the longevity of the structure in terms of its components frost materials. Tasks: The proposed mathematical model to solve the following problems: To assess the condition of the thermo-physical designed structures at different operating conditions and select appropriate material layers; Calculate the temperature field in a structurally complex multilayer structures; When measuring temperature and moisture in the characteristic points to determine the thermal characteristics of the materials constituting the surveyed construction; Laboratory testing to significantly reduce test time, and eliminates the climatic chamber and expensive instrumentation experiments and research; Allows you to simulate real-life situations that arise in multilayer enclosing structures associated with freezing, thawing, drying and cooling of any layer of the building material.

Keywords: energy saving, inverse problem, heat transfer, multilayer walling

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967 Methodology for the Determination of Triterpenic Compounds in Apple Extracts

Authors: Mindaugas Liaudanskas, Darius Kviklys, Kristina Zymonė, Raimondas Raudonis, Jonas Viškelis, Norbertas Uselis, Pranas Viškelis, Valdimaras Janulis

Abstract:

Apples are among the most commonly consumed fruits in the world. Based on data from the year 2014, approximately 84.63 million tons of apples are grown per annum. Apples are widely used in food industry to produce various products and drinks (juice, wine, and cider); they are also used unprocessed. Apples in human diet are an important source of different groups of biological active compounds that can positively contribute to the prevention of various diseases. They are a source of various biologically active substances – especially vitamins, organic acids, micro- and macro-elements, pectins, and phenolic, triterpenic, and other compounds. Triterpenic compounds, which are characterized by versatile biological activity, are the biologically active compounds found in apples that are among the most promising and most significant for human health. A specific analytical procedure including sample preparation and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis was developed, optimized, and validated for the detection of triterpenic compounds in the samples of different apples, their peels, and flesh from widespread apple cultivars 'Aldas', 'Auksis', 'Connel Red', 'Ligol', 'Lodel', and 'Rajka' grown in Lithuanian climatic conditions. The conditions for triterpenic compound extraction were optimized: the solvent of the extraction was 100% (v/v) acetone, and the extraction was performed in an ultrasound bath for 10 min. Isocratic elution (the eluents ratio being 88% (solvent A) and 12% (solvent B)) for a rapid separation of triterpenic compounds was performed. The validation of the methodology was performed on the basis of the ICH recommendations. The following characteristics of validation were evaluated: the selectivity of the method (specificity), precision, the detection and quantitation limits of the analytes, and linearity. The obtained parameters values confirm suitability of methodology to perform analysis of triterpenic compounds. Using the optimised and validated HPLC technique, four triterpenic compounds were separated and identified, and their specificity was confirmed. These compounds were corosolic acid, betulinic acid, oleanolic acid, and ursolic acid. Ursolic acid was the dominant compound in all the tested apple samples. The detected amount of betulinic acid was the lowest of all the identified triterpenic compounds. The greatest amounts of triterpenic compounds were detected in whole apple and apple peel samples of the 'Lodel' cultivar, and thus apples and apple extracts of this cultivar are potentially valuable for use in medical practice, for the prevention of various diseases, for adjunct therapy, for the isolation of individual compounds with a specific biological effect, and for the development and production of dietary supplements and functional food enriched in biologically active compounds. Acknowledgements. This work was supported by a grant from the Research Council of Lithuania, project No. MIP-17-8.

Keywords: apples, HPLC, triterpenic compounds, validation

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966 Self-Organizing Maps for Credit Card Fraud Detection

Authors: ChunYi Peng, Wei Hsuan CHeng, Shyh Kuang Ueng

Abstract:

This study focuses on the application of self-organizing maps (SOM) technology in analyzing credit card transaction data, aiming to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of fraud detection. Som, as an artificial neural network, is particularly suited for pattern recognition and data classification, making it highly effective for the complex and variable nature of credit card transaction data. By analyzing transaction characteristics with SOM, the research identifies abnormal transaction patterns that could indicate potentially fraudulent activities. Moreover, this study has developed a specialized visualization tool to intuitively present the relationships between SOM analysis outcomes and transaction data, aiding financial institution personnel in quickly identifying and responding to potential fraud, thereby reducing financial losses. Additionally, the research explores the integration of SOM technology with composite intelligent system technologies (including finite state machines, fuzzy logic, and decision trees) to further improve fraud detection accuracy. This multimodal approach provides a comprehensive perspective for identifying and understanding various types of fraud within credit card transactions. In summary, by integrating SOM technology with visualization tools and composite intelligent system technologies, this research offers a more effective method of fraud detection for the financial industry, not only enhancing detection accuracy but also deepening the overall understanding of fraudulent activities.

Keywords: self-organizing map technology, fraud detection, information visualization, data analysis, composite intelligent system technologies, decision support technologies

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965 Perceived Determinants of Obesity among Primary School Pupils in Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria

Authors: B. O. Diyaolu, E. A. Okebanjo

Abstract:

Children in today’s world need attention and care even with their physique as obesity is also at the increased. Several factors can be responsible for obesity in children and adequate attention is paramount in other not to accommodate it into adolescent period. This study investigated perceived determinants of obesity among primary school pupils in Eti Osa Local Government area of Lagos State. Descriptive survey research design was used and population was all obese pupils in Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. 92 pupils were selected from randomly picked 12 primary schools while purposive sampling technique was used to pick primary 4-6 pupils. With the aid of body mass index (BMI) and age percentile chart the obese pupils were selected. The instrument for the study was a self-developed and structured questionnaire on perceived determinant of obesity. The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.74 was obtained. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significant levels. The completed questionnaire was collated coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentage and inferential statistics of chi-square (X2). Findings of this study revealed that physical activities and parental influences were determinant of obesity. Physical activity is essential in reducing the rate of obesity in Eti Osa Local Government Area both at home and within the school environment. Primary schools need to create more playing ground for pupils to exercise themselves. Parents need to cater for their children diet ensuring not just the quantity but the quality as well.

Keywords: feeding pattern, obese pupils, parental influence, physical activities

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964 Determination of Alkali Treatment Conditions Effects That Influence the Variability of Kenaf Fiber Mean Cross-Sectional Area

Authors: Mohd Yussni Hashim, Mohd Nazrul Roslan, Shahruddin Mahzan Mohd Zin, Saparudin Ariffin

Abstract:

Fiber cross-sectional area value is a crucial factor in determining the strength properties of natural fiber. Furthermore, unlike synthetic fiber, a diameter and cross-sectional area of natural fiber has a large variation along and between the fibers. This study aims to determine the main and interaction effects of alkali treatment conditions that influence kenaf bast fiber mean cross-sectional area. Three alkali treatment conditions at two different levels were selected. The conditions setting were alkali concentrations at two and ten w/v %; fiber immersed temperature at room temperature and 1000C; and fiber immersed duration for 30 and 480 minute. Untreated kenaf fiber was used as a control unit. Kenaf bast fiber bundle mounting tab was prepared according to ASTM C1557-03. The cross-sectional area was measured using a Leica video analyzer. The study result showed that kenaf fiber bundle mean cross-sectional area was reduced 6.77% to 29.88% after alkali treatment. From the analysis of variance, it shows that the interaction of alkali concentration and immersed time has a higher magnitude at 0.1619 compared to alkali concentration and immersed temperature interaction that was 0.0896. For the main effect, alkali concentration factor contributes to the higher magnitude at 0.1372 which indicated the decrease pattern of variability when the level changed from lower to the higher level. Then, it was followed by immersed temperature at 0.1261 and immersed time at 0.0696 magnitudes.

Keywords: natural fiber, kenaf bast fiber bundles, alkali treatment, cross-sectional area

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963 Spatial Analysis of Flood Vulnerability in Highly Urbanized Area: A Case Study in Taipei City

Authors: Liang Weichien

Abstract:

Without adequate information and mitigation plan for natural disaster, the risk to urban populated areas will increase in the future as populations grow, especially in Taiwan. Taiwan is recognized as the world's high-risk areas, where an average of 5.7 times of floods occur per year should seek to strengthen coherence and consensus in how cities can plan for flood and climate change. Therefore, this study aims at understanding the vulnerability to flooding in Taipei city, Taiwan, by creating indicators and calculating the vulnerability of each study units. The indicators were grouped into sensitivity and adaptive capacity based on the definition of vulnerability of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The indicators were weighted by using Principal Component Analysis. However, current researches were based on the assumption that the composition and influence of the indicators were the same in different areas. This disregarded spatial correlation that might result in inaccurate explanation on local vulnerability. The study used Geographically Weighted Principal Component Analysis by adding geographic weighting matrix as weighting to get the different main flood impact characteristic in different areas. Cross Validation Method and Akaike Information Criterion were used to decide bandwidth and Gaussian Pattern as the bandwidth weight scheme. The ultimate outcome can be used for the reduction of damage potential by integrating the outputs into local mitigation plan and urban planning.

Keywords: flood vulnerability, geographically weighted principal components analysis, GWPCA, highly urbanized area, spatial correlation

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962 Evaluation of the Efficiency of Nanomaterials in Consolidation of Limestone

Authors: Mohamed Saad Gad Eloghby

Abstract:

Nanomaterials are widely used nowadays for the consolidation of degraded archaeological limestone. It’s one of the most predominant stones in monumental buildings and statuary works. Exposure to different weathering processes caused degradation and the presence of deterioration pattern as cracks, fissures, and granular disintegration. Nanomaterials have been applied to limestone consolidation. Among these nanomaterials are nanolimes, i.e., dispersions of lime nanoparticles in alcohols and nanosilica, i.e., dispersions of silica nanoparticles in water promising consolidating products for limestone. It was investigated and applied to overcome the disadvantages of traditional consolidation materials such as lime water, water glass and paraliod. So, researchers investigated and tested the effectiveness of nanomaterials as consolidation materials for limestone. The present study includes the evaluation of some nano materials in consolidation limestone stone in comparison with traditional consolidantes. These consolidation materials are nano calcium hydroxide nanolime and nanosilica. The latter is known commercially as Nano Estel and the former is known as Nanorestore compared to traditional consolidantes Wacker OH (ethyl silicate) and Paraloid B72 (a copolymer of ethyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate). The study evaluated the consolidation effectiveness of nanomaterials and traditional consolidantes by using followed methods, Characterization of physical properties of stone, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Mechanical properties. The study confirmed that nanomaterials were better in the distribution and encapsulation of calcite grains in limestone, and traditional materials were better in improving the physical properties of limestone. It demonstrated that good results can be achieved through mixtures of nanomaterials and traditional consolidants.

Keywords: nanomaterials, limestone, consolidation, evaluation, weathering, nanolime, nanosilica, scanning electron microscope

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961 Study of the Morpho-Sedimentary Evolution of Tidal Mouths on the Southern Fringe of the Gulf of Gabes, Southeast of Tunisia: Hydrodynamic Circulation and Associated Sedimentary Movements

Authors: Chadlia Ounissi, Maher Gzam, Tahani Hallek, Salah Mahmoudi, Mabrouk Montacer

Abstract:

This work consists of a morphological study of the coastal domain at the central fringe of the Gulf of Gabes, Southeast of Tunisia, belonging to the structural domain of the maritime Jeffara. The diachronic study of tidal mouths in the study area and the observation of morphological markers revealed the existence of hydro-sedimentary processes leading to sedimentary accumulation and filling of the estuarine system. This filling process is materialized by the genesis of a sandy cord and the lateral migration of the tidal mouth. Moreover, we have been able to affirm, by the use of satellite images, that the dominant and responsible current at this particular coastal morphology is directed to the North, having constituted a controversy on the occurrence of what is previously mentioned in the literature. The speed of the lateral displacement of the channel varies as a function of the hydrodynamic forcing. Wave-dominated sites recorded the fastest speed (18 m/year) in the image of the mouth of Wadi el Melah. Tidal dominated sites in the Wadi Zerkine satellite image recorded a very low lateral migration (2 m / year). This variation in speed indicates that the intensity of the coastal current is uneven along the coast. This general pattern of hydrodynamic circulation, to the north, of the central fringe of the Gulf of Gabes, is disturbed by hydro-sedimentary cells.

Keywords: tidal mouth, direction of current, filling, sediment transport, Gulf of Gabes

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960 Indian Emigration to Gulf Countries: Opportunities and Challenges

Authors: Sudhaveni Naresh

Abstract:

International migration is an important subject and gaining more significance andinterest among scholars in recent years. It is defined as crossing of the boundaries of political or administrative units for a certain minimum period for reasons such as education, employment, etc.International migration is not new for India because it has a long history with the Gulf region since ancient period. India is also one of the largest migrant-sending countries after China in the world. Migration towards the Gulf region became more prominent during early 1970s due to oil boom which led to rapid increase in the demand for foreign labour. Of 25 million Indian emigrants are living across the world, about six million Indian emigrants working in the Gulf. Most of these migrants were either unskilled or semi-skilled. Both the pull and push factors behind labour emigrate to Gulf countries. India is world’s leading receiver of remittances and the flow of remittances to India has been increasing steadily since the 1970s. In 2011-12, it was about 4 percent of GDP.Emigrants play a significant role in the economic development and growth of the country via the remittances and knowledge and skill transfer. Scholars see remittances as vital tool in the development for origin country. This paper examines the recent trend and pattern of migration from India to Gulf countries and explores impact of remittances on emigrants’ families at home country. It also highlights opportunities, challenges and the need for strengthening multilateral cooperation to transform migration into an efficient, orderly and humane process.The study propose to undertake a primary survey for this purpose. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods will be used to study the above issues.

Keywords: development, international migration, remittances, unskilled labour

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959 Genome-Wide Expression Profiling of Cicer arietinum Heavy Metal Toxicity

Authors: B. S. Yadav, A. Mani, S. Srivastava

Abstract:

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is an annual, self-pollinating, diploid (2n = 2x = 16) pulse crop that ranks second in world legume production after common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). ICC 4958 flowers approximately 39 days after sowing under peninsular Indian conditions and the crop matures in less than 90 days in rained environments. The estimated collective yield losses due to abiotic stresses (6.4 million t) have been significantly higher than for biotic stresses (4.8 million t). Most legumes are known to be salt sensitive, and therefore, it is becoming increasingly important to produce cultivars tolerant to high-salinity in addition to other abiotic and biotic stresses for sustainable chickpea production. Our aim was to identify the genes that are involved in the defence mechanism against heavy metal toxicity in chickpea and establish the biological network of heavy metal toxicity in chickpea. ICC4958 variety of chick pea was taken and grown in normal condition and 150µM concentration of different heavy metal salt like CdCl₂, K₂Cr2O₇, NaAsO₂. At 15th day leave samples were collected and stored in RNA Later solution microarray was performed for checking out differential gene expression pattern. Our studies revealed that 111 common genes that involved in defense mechanism were up regulated and 41 genes were commonly down regulated during treatment of 150µM concentration of CdCl₂, K₂Cr₂O₇, and NaAsO₂. Biological network study shows that the genes which are differentially expressed are highly connected and having high betweenness and centrality.

Keywords: abiotic stress, biological network, chickpea, microarray

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958 Biocellulose Template for 3D Mineral Scaffolds

Authors: C. Busuioc, G. Voicu, S. I. Jinga

Abstract:

The field of tissue engineering brings new challenges in terms of proposing original solutions for ongoing medical issues, improving the biological performances of existing clinical systems and speeding the healing process for a faster recovery and a more comfortable life as patient. In this context, we propose the obtaining of 3D porous scaffolds of mineral nature, dedicated to bone repairing and regeneration purposes or employed as bioactive filler for bone cements. Thus, bacterial cellulose - calcium phosphates composite materials have been synthesized by successive immersing of the polymeric membranes in the precursor solution containing Ca2+ and [PO4]3- ions. The mineral phase deposited on the surface of biocellulose fibers was varied as amount through the number of immersing cycles. The intermediary composites were subjected to thermal treatments at different temperatures in order to remove the organic part and provide the formation of a self-sustained 3D architecture. The resulting phase composition consists of common phosphates, while the morphology largely depends on the preparation parameters. Thus, the aspect of the 3D mineral scaffolds can be tuned from a loose microstructure composed of large grains connected via monocrystalline nanorods to a trabecular pattern crossed by parallel internal channels, just like the natural bone. The bioactivity and biocompatibility of the obtained materials have been also assessed, with encouraging results in the clinical use direction. In conclusion, the compositional, structural, morphological and biological characterizations sustain the suitability of the reported biostructures for integration in hard tissue engineering applications.

Keywords: bacterial cellulose, bone reconstruction, calcium phosphates, mineral scaffolds

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957 Stress as Risk Factor for Onset of Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus in Visakhapatnam Tribal Community of Andhra Pradesh, India

Authors: Vijaya Nirmala Pangi, K. V. Subhramanyam, C. Vijay Lakshmi

Abstract:

Background: The prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus is increasing drastically at a vigorous rate all over the world population. Aim: The present study aims to determine the prevalence of type-2 diabetes mellitus in Paderu tribal area population of Visakhapatnam district, located in northeastern region of Andhra Pradesh. Methods: A random sampling method was followed in 1025 subjects including controls (n=25) and determined 75-g oral glucose tolerance test to assess the presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The effect of anthropometric factors like age, gender, literacy, socio economic status, and environmental risk factors such as body fat response, hypertension and psychophysical stress response were determined in the studied subjects. Results: 78 (7.8%) were diabetic. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus was found to be comparable between the two genders. Prevalence of diabetes was observed to be high in illiterate, low economic status subjects. Body fat response was comparable between control and diabetic subjects. However hypertension, stress associated enzymes showed significant (p < 0.05) decrease in diabetic subjects compared to controls in both the genders. Conclusion: It appears that there is a rising pattern in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in tribal area, Paderu, Andhra Pradesh, India compared to previous rural studies.

Keywords: anthropometric studies, hypertension, oral glucose tolerance test, stress enzymes, type-2 diabetes mellitus

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956 Self-Organizing Maps for Credit Card Fraud Detection and Visualization

Authors: Peng Chun-Yi, Chen Wei-Hsuan, Ueng Shyh-Kuang

Abstract:

This study focuses on the application of self-organizing maps (SOM) technology in analyzing credit card transaction data, aiming to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of fraud detection. Som, as an artificial neural network, is particularly suited for pattern recognition and data classification, making it highly effective for the complex and variable nature of credit card transaction data. By analyzing transaction characteristics with SOM, the research identifies abnormal transaction patterns that could indicate potentially fraudulent activities. Moreover, this study has developed a specialized visualization tool to intuitively present the relationships between SOM analysis outcomes and transaction data, aiding financial institution personnel in quickly identifying and responding to potential fraud, thereby reducing financial losses. Additionally, the research explores the integration of SOM technology with composite intelligent system technologies (including finite state machines, fuzzy logic, and decision trees) to further improve fraud detection accuracy. This multimodal approach provides a comprehensive perspective for identifying and understanding various types of fraud within credit card transactions. In summary, by integrating SOM technology with visualization tools and composite intelligent system technologies, this research offers a more effective method of fraud detection for the financial industry, not only enhancing detection accuracy but also deepening the overall understanding of fraudulent activities.

Keywords: self-organizing map technology, fraud detection, information visualization, data analysis, composite intelligent system technologies, decision support technologies

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955 The Prevalence of Postpartum Stress among Jordanian Women

Authors: Khitam Ibrahem Shlash Mohammad

Abstract:

Background: Postnatal depression is a focus of considerable research attention, but little is known about the pattern of stress across this period. Objective: to investigate the prevalence of stress after childbirth for Jordanian women and identify associated risk factors. Method: Design: A descriptive cross-sectional study. Participants were recruited six to eight weeks postpartum, provided personal, social and obstetric information, and completed the stress subscale of Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-S), the Maternity Social Support Scale (MSSS), and Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES). Setting: maternal and child health care clinics in four health care centres in Maan city in Southern Jordan. Participants: Arabic speaking women (n = 324) between the ages of 18 and 45 years, six to eight weeks postpartum, primiparous or multiparous at low risk for obstetric complications. Data collection took place between October 2015 and January 2016. Ethical clearance was obtained prior to data collection. Results: The prevalence of postpartum stress among Jordanian women was 39.8 %. A regression analysis revealed that occupation, low social support, financial problems, difficult marital relationships, difficult relationship with family-in-law, giving birth to a female baby, difficult childbirth, and low self-efficacy were associated with postpartum stress. Conclusions and implications for practice: Jordanian women need support during pregnancy, during and after childbirth. Postpartum emotional support and assessment of symptoms of stress need to be incorporated into routine practice. The opportunity for open discussion along with increased awareness and clarification of common misconceptions about postpartum stress is necessary.

Keywords: prevalence, postpartum, stress, Jordanian women

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954 Variants of Fat Mass Obesity Associated rs 9939609 Associated with Obesity and Eating Behavior in Adolescent of Minangkabau Ethnic

Authors: Susmiati, Ingrid S. Surono, Jamsari, Nur Indrawati Lipoeto

Abstract:

There are two contradicting opinions on the relationship between fat mass obesity associated (FTO) rs 9939609 variants and obesity on various ethnics and races. The first opinion agrees that there is an association between the two variables, yet another one disagree. Minangkabau ethnic had a different dietary pattern with other ethnics in Indonesia. They had higher fat and low fiber intakes compared to the other ethnics groups. There is little research in genetic factors that influence eating behavior (food preference or food selection). The objective of this study was to investigate the association between FTO rs 9939609 variants with obesity and eating behavior in adolescent girls of Minangkabau Ethnic. The research design was case control study. A total of 275 adolescent girls aged 12-15 years old (130 obese and 145 normal) were randomly chosen from four districts at West Sumatera (Padang, Padang Pariaman, Padang Panjang and Tanah Datar). Genetic variants of FTO rs 9939609 were analyzed with Tetra-primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System-Polimerase Chain Reaction (AMRS PCR), eating behavior were gathered using eating habits questionnaire, and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated according to BMI Z-score (WHO). The result showed that genetic variants of FTO rs 9939609 (TT, TA and AA genotype) had associated with obesity (p = 0,013), whereas subject with An Allele was significantly associated with obesity (odds ratio 1,62 [95% confidential interval, 1,00-2,60]). Subjects with An Allele carrier reported a higher consumption of fried food (p < 0.05) as compared to TT genotypes carriers. There is no association between genetic variants and meal frequency, fruit and fiber intakes p > 0.05. The genetic variants of FTO rs 9939609 are associated with obesity and eating behavior in adolescent of Minangkabau Ethics.

Keywords: FTO rs9939609, obesity, eating behavior, adolescents

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953 Digital Subsistence of Cultural Heritage: Digital Media as a New Dimension of Cultural Ecology

Authors: Dan Luo

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With the climate change can exacerbate exposure of cultural heritage to climatic stressors, scholars pin their hope on digital technology can help the site avoid surprises. Virtual museum has been regarded as a highly effective technology that enables people to gain enjoyable visiting experience and immersive information about cultural heritage. The technology clearly reproduces the images of the tangible cultural heritage, and the aesthetic experience created by new media helps consumers escape from the realistic environment full of uncertainty. The new cultural anchor has appeared outside the cultural sites. This article synthesizes the international literature on the virtual museum by developing diagrams of Citespace focusing on the tangible cultural heritage and the alarmingly situation has emerged in the process of resolving climate change: (1) Digital collections are the different cultural assets for public. (2) The media ecology change people ways of thinking and meeting style of cultural heritage. (3) Cultural heritage may live forever in the digital world. This article provides a typical practice information to manage cultural heritage in a changing climate—the Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes in the far northwest of China, which is a worldwide cultural heritage site famous for its remarkable and sumptuous murals. This monument is a typical synthesis of art containing 735 Buddhist temples, which was listed by UNESCO as one of the World Cultural Heritage sites. The caves contain some extraordinary examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years - the architectural form, the sculptures in the caves, and the murals on the walls, all together constitute a wonderful aesthetic experience. Unfortunately, this magnificent treasure cave has been threatened by increasingly frequent dust storms and precipitation. The Dunhuang Academy has been using digital technology since the last century to preserve these immovable cultural heritages, especially the murals in the caves. And then, Dunhuang culture has become a new media culture after introduce the art to the world audience through exhibitions, VR, video, etc. The paper chooses qualitative research method that used Nvivo software to encode the collected material to answer this question. The author paid close attention to the survey in Dunhuang City, including participated in 10 exhibition and 20 salons that are Dunhuang-themed on network. What’s more, 308 visitors were interviewed who are fans of the art and have experienced Dunhuang culture online(6-75 years).These interviewees have been exposed to Dunhuang culture through different media, and they are acutely aware of the threat to this cultural heritage. The conclusion is that the unique halo of the cultural heritage was always emphasized, and digital media breeds twin brothers of cultural heritage. In addition, the digital media make it possible for cultural heritage to reintegrate into the daily life of the masses. Visitors gain the opportunity to imitate the mural figures through enlarged or emphasized images but also lose the perspective of understanding the whole cultural life. New media construct a new life aesthetics apart from the Authorized heritage discourse.

Keywords: cultural ecology, digital twins, life aesthetics, media

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952 Effect of Ginger Diets on in vitro Fermentation Characteristics, Enteric Methane Production and Performance of West African Dwarf Sheep

Authors: Dupe Olufunke Ogunbosoye, Thaofik Badmos Mustapha, Lanre Shaffihy Adeaga, R. O. Imam

Abstract:

Efforts have been made to reduce ruminants' methane emissions while improving animal productivity. Hence, an experiment was conducted to investigate the in vitro fermentation pattern, methane production, and performance of West African dwarf (WAD) rams-fed diets at graded levels of ginger. Sixteen (16) rams were randomly allocated into four dietary treatments with four animals per treatment in a completely randomized design for 84 days. Ginger powder was added at 0.00%, 0.25%, 0.50% and 0.75% as T1, T2, T3 and T4 respectively. The results indicated that at the 24-hour diet incubation, gas production, methane, metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD), and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) concentrations decreased with the increasing level of ginger. Conversely, the sheep-fed T4 recorded the highest daily weight gain (47.61g/day), while the least daily weight gain (17.86g/day) was recorded in ram-fed T1. The daily weight gain of the rams fed T3 and T4 was similar but significantly different from the daily weight gain in T1 (17.86g/day) and T2 (29.76g/day). Daily feed intake was not significantly different across the treatments. T4 recorded the best response regarding feed conversion ratio (18.59) compared with other treatments. Based on the results obtained, rams fed T4 perform best in terms of growth and methane production. It is therefore concluded that the addition of ginger powder into the diet of sheep up to 0.75% enhances the growth rate of WAD sheep and reduces enteric methane production to create a smart nutrition system in ruminant animal production.

Keywords: enteric methane, growth, in vitro, sheep, nutrition system

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951 Association of Temperature Factors with Seropositive Results against Selected Pathogens in Dairy Cow Herds from Central and Northern Greece

Authors: Marina Sofia, Alexios Giannakopoulos, Antonia Touloudi, Dimitris C Chatzopoulos, Zoi Athanasakopoulou, Vassiliki Spyrou, Charalambos Billinis

Abstract:

Fertility of dairy cattle can be affected by heat stress when the ambient temperature increases above 30°C and the relative humidity ranges from 35% to 50%. The present study was conducted on dairy cattle farms during summer months in Greece and aimed to identify the serological profile against pathogens that could affect fertility and to associate the positive serological results at herd level with temperature factors. A total of 323 serum samples were collected from clinically healthy dairy cows of 8 herds, located in Central and Northern Greece. ELISA tests were performed to detect antibodies against selected pathogens that affect fertility, namely Chlamydophila abortus, Coxiella burnetii, Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii and Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis Virus (IBRV). Eleven climatic variables were derived from the WorldClim version 1.4. and ArcGIS V.10.1 software was used for analysis of the spatial information. Five different MaxEnt models were applied to associate the temperature variables with the locations of seropositive Chl. abortus, C. burnetii, N. caninum, T. gondii and IBRV herds (one for each pathogen). The logistic outputs were used for the interpretation of the results. ROC analyses were performed to evaluate the goodness of fit of the models’ predictions. Jackknife tests were used to identify the variables with a substantial contribution to each model. The seropositivity rates of pathogens varied among the 8 herds (0.85-4.76% for Chl. abortus, 4.76-62.71% for N. caninum, 3.8-43.47% for C. burnetii, 4.76-39.28% for T. gondii and 47.83-78.57% for IBRV). The variables of annual temperature range, mean diurnal range and maximum temperature of the warmest month gave a contribution to all five models. The regularized training gains, the training AUCs and the unregularized training gains were estimated. The mean diurnal range gave the highest gain when used in isolation and decreased the gain the most when it was omitted in the two models for seropositive Chl.abortus and IBRV herds. The annual temperature range increased the gain when used alone and decreased the gain the most when it was omitted in the models for seropositive C. burnetii, N. caninum and T. gondii herds. In conclusion, antibodies against Chl. abortus, C. burnetii, N. caninum, T. gondii and IBRV were detected in most herds suggesting circulation of pathogens that could cause infertility. The results of the spatial analyses demonstrated that the annual temperature range, mean diurnal range and maximum temperature of the warmest month could affect positively the possible pathogens’ presence. Acknowledgment: This research has been co‐financed by the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union and Greek national funds through the Operational Program Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, under the call RESEARCH–CREATE–INNOVATE (project code: T1EDK-01078).

Keywords: dairy cows, seropositivity, spatial analysis, temperature factors

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950 The Impact of Artesunate-Amodiaquine on Schistosoma mansoni Infection among Children Infected by Plasmodium in Rural Area of Lemfu, Kongo Central, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Authors: Mbanzulu Kennedy, Zanga Josue, Wumba Roger

Abstract:

Malaria and schistosomiasis remain life-threatening public health problems in sub-Saharan Africa. The infection pattern related to age indicates that preschool and school-age children are at the highest risk of malaria and schistosomiasis. Both parasitic infections, separately or combined, may have negative impacts on the haemoglobin concentration levels. The existing data revealed that artemisinin derivatives commonly used to cure malaria present also in antischistosomal activities. The current study investigated the impact of Artesunate-Amodiaquine (AS-AQ) on schistosomiasis when administered to treat malaria in rural area of Lemfu, DRC. A prospective longitudinal study including 171 coinfected children screened for anaemia, Schistosoma mansoni, and Plasmodium falciparum infections. The egg reduction rate and haemoglobin concentration were assessed four weeks after the treatment with AS-AQ, of all coinfected children of this series. One hundred and twenty-five (74.4%) out of 168 coinfected children treated and present during the assessment were found stool negative for S. mansoni eggs. Out of 43 (25.6%) children who remained positives, 37 (22%) showed a partial reduction of eggs amount, and no reduction was noted in 3.6% of coinfected. The mean of haemoglobin concentration and the prevalence of anaemia were, respectively, 10.74±1.5g/dl , 11.2±1.3g/dl, and 64.8%, 51.8%, respectively, before and after treatment, p<0.001. The AS-AQ commonly used against Plasmodium allowed curing S. mansoni in coinfected children and increasing the Hb level. For the future, the randomized and multicentric clinical trials are needed for a better understanding of the effectiveness of AS-AQ against Schistosoma spp. The trial registration number was 3487183.

Keywords: paludisme, schistosomiase, as-aq, enfants lemfu

Procedia PDF Downloads 101
949 Prevalence of Life Style Diseases and Physical Activities among Older in India

Authors: Vaishali Chaurasia

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Ageing is the universal phenomenon that is associated with deteriorating health status. As the human becomes old, certain changes take place in an organism leading to morbidities, disabilities, and event death. Furthermore, older people are more vulnerable for the various kinds of diseases and health problem. Due to the some unhealthy conventions like smoking, drinking and unhealthy foods is the genesis of the lifestyle diseases. These diseases associated with the way a person or group of people lives. The main purpose of the study is to determine the prevalence of lifestyle diseases and its association with physical activity as well as the risk factors associated with it among the adult population in India. Longitudinal Aging Study in India and Study on Global Aging and Adult Health in India were used in the study. We will take population aged 50 and older, began in 1935, and regularly refreshed at younger ages with new birth cohorts. Life style diseases are more prominent in 65+ age group. The study finds an association between prevalence of life style diseases and life style risk factors. The lifestyle disease prevalence is more among higher age group people, female, richest quintile, and doing lesser physical activity. A higher prevalence of lifestyle diseases associated with the multiple risk factors. The occurrence of three and four risk factors was more prevalent in India. The frequency of different type of life style disease is higher among those who hardly or never do any physical activity as compare to those who do physical activity every day. The pattern remains the same in Moderate as well as vigorous physical activity. Those who are regularly doing physical activities have lesser percentage of having any disease and those who hardly ever or never do any physical activities and equally involve with some risk factors have higher percentage of having all type of diseases.

Keywords: lifestyle disease, morbidity, disability, physical activity

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948 Investigating Sub-daily Responses of Water Flow of Trees in Tropical Successional Forests in Thailand

Authors: Pantana Tor-Ngern

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In the global water cycle, tree water use (Tr) largely contributes to evapotranspiration which is the total amount of water evaporated from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere, regulating climates. Tree water use responds to environmental factors, including atmospheric humidity and sunlight (represented by vapor pressure deficit or VPD and photosynthetically active radiation or PAR, respectively) and soil moisture. In forests, Tr responses to such factors depend on species and their spatial and temporal variations. Tropical forests in Southeast Asia (SEA) have experienced land-use conversion from abandoned agricultural practices, resulting in patches of forests at different stages including old-growth and secondary forests. Because the inherent structures, such as canopy height and tree density, significantly vary among forests at different stages and can strongly affect their respective microclimate, Tr and its responses to changing environmental conditions in successional forests may differ. Daily and seasonal variations in the environmental factors may exert significant impacts on the respective Tr patterns. Extrapolating Tr data from short periods of days to longer periods of seasons or years can be complex and is important for estimating long-term ecosystem water use which often includes normal and abnormal climatic conditions. Thus, this study aims to investigate the diurnal variation of Tr, using measured sap flux density (JS) data, with changes in VPD in eight evergreen tree species in an old-growth forest (hereafter OF; >200 years old) and a young forest (hereafter YF, <10 years old) in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand. The studied species included Sysygium syzygoides, Aquilaria crassna, Cinnamomum subavenium, Nephelium melliferum, Altingia excelsa in OF, and Syzygium nervosum and Adinandra integerrima in YF. Only Sysygium antisepticum was found in both forest stages. Specifically, hysteresis, which indicates the asymmetrical changes of JS in response to changing VPD across daily timescale, was examined in these species. Results showed no hysteresis in all species in OF, except Altingia excelsa which exhibited a 3-hour delayed JS response to VPD. In contrast, JS of all species in YF displayed one-hour delayed responses to VPD. The OF species that showed no hysteresis indicated their well-coupling of their canopies with the atmosphere, facilitating the gas exchange which is essential for tree growth. The delayed responses in Altingia excelsa in OF and all species in YF were associated with higher JS in the morning than that in the afternoon. This implies that these species were sensitive to drying air, closing stomata relatively rapidly compared to the decreasing atmospheric humidity (VPD). Such behavior is often observed in trees growing in dry environments. This study suggests that detailed investigation of JS at sub-daily timescales is imperative for better understanding of mechanistic responses of trees to the changing climate, which will benefit the improvement of earth system models.

Keywords: sap flow, tropical forest, forest succession, thermal dissipcation probe

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947 Laser Corneoplastique™: A Refractive Surgery for Corneal Scars

Authors: Arun C. Gulani, Aaishwariya A. Gulani, Amanda Southall

Abstract:

Background: Laser Corneoplastique™ as a least interventional, visually promising technique for patients with vision disability from corneal scars of varied causes has been retrospectively reviewed and proves to cause a paradigm shift in mindset and approach towards corneal scars as a Refractive surgery aiming for emmetropic, unaided vision of 20;/20 in most cases. Three decades of work on this technique has been compiled in this 15-year study. Subject and Methods: The objective of this study was to determine the success of Laser Corneoplastique™ surgery as a treatment of corneal scar cases. A survey of corneal scar cases caused by various medical histories that had undergone Laser Corneoplastique™ surgery over the past twenty years by a single surgeon Arun C. Gulani, M.D. were retrospectively reviewed. The details of each of the cases were retrieved from their medical records and analyzed. Each patient had been examined thoroughly at their preoperative appointments for stability of refraction and vision, depth of scar, pachymetry, topography, pattern of the scar and uncorrected and best corrected vision potential, which were all taken into account in the patients' treatment plans. Results: 64 eyes of 53 patients were investigated for scar etiology, keratometry, visual acuity, and complications. There were 25 different etiologies seen, with the most common being a Herpetic scar. The average visual acuity post-op was, on average, 20/23.55 (±7.05). Laser parameters used were depth and pulses. Overall, the mean Laser ablation depth was 30.67 (±19.05), ranging from 2 to 73 µm. Number of Laser pulses averaged 191.85 (±112.02). Conclusion: Refractive Laser Corneoplastique™ surgery, when practiced as an art, can address all levels of ametropia while reversing complex corneas and scars from refractive surgery complications back to 20/20 vision.

Keywords: corneal scar, refractive surgery, corneal transplant, laser corneoplastique

Procedia PDF Downloads 187
946 A Relative Entropy Regularization Approach for Fuzzy C-Means Clustering Problem

Authors: Ouafa Amira, Jiangshe Zhang

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Clustering is an unsupervised machine learning technique; its aim is to extract the data structures, in which similar data objects are grouped in the same cluster, whereas dissimilar objects are grouped in different clusters. Clustering methods are widely utilized in different fields, such as: image processing, computer vision , and pattern recognition, etc. Fuzzy c-means clustering (fcm) is one of the most well known fuzzy clustering methods. It is based on solving an optimization problem, in which a minimization of a given cost function has been studied. This minimization aims to decrease the dissimilarity inside clusters, where the dissimilarity here is measured by the distances between data objects and cluster centers. The degree of belonging of a data point in a cluster is measured by a membership function which is included in the interval [0, 1]. In fcm clustering, the membership degree is constrained with the condition that the sum of a data object’s memberships in all clusters must be equal to one. This constraint can cause several problems, specially when our data objects are included in a noisy space. Regularization approach took a part in fuzzy c-means clustering technique. This process introduces an additional information in order to solve an ill-posed optimization problem. In this study, we focus on regularization by relative entropy approach, where in our optimization problem we aim to minimize the dissimilarity inside clusters. Finding an appropriate membership degree to each data object is our objective, because an appropriate membership degree leads to an accurate clustering result. Our clustering results in synthetic data sets, gaussian based data sets, and real world data sets show that our proposed model achieves a good accuracy.

Keywords: clustering, fuzzy c-means, regularization, relative entropy

Procedia PDF Downloads 258
945 Deprivation of Visual Information Affects Differently the Gait Cycle in Children with Different Level of Motor Competence

Authors: Miriam Palomo-Nieto, Adrian Agricola, Rudolf Psotta, Reza Abdollahipour, Ludvik Valtr

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The importance of vision and the visual control of movement have been labeled in the literature related to motor control and many studies have demonstrated that children with low motor competence may rely more heavily on vision to perform movements than their typically developing peers. The aim of the study was to highlight the effects of different visual conditions on motor performance during walking in children with different levels of motor coordination. Participants (n = 32, mean age = 8.5 years sd. ± 0.5) were divided into two groups: typical development (TD) and low motor coordination (LMC) based on the scores of the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2). They were asked to walk along a 10 meters walkway where the Optojump-Next instrument was installed in a portable laboratory (15 x 3 m), which allows that all participants had the same visual information. They walked in self-selected speed under four visual conditions: full vision (FV), limited vision 100 ms (LV-100), limited vision 150 ms (LV-150) and non-vision (NV). For visual occlusion participants were equipped with Plato Goggles that shut for 100 and 150 ms, respectively, within each 2 sec. Data were analyzed in a two-way mixed-effect ANOVA including 2 (TD vs. LMC) x 4 (FV, LV-100, LV-150 & NV) with repeated-measures on the last factor (p ≤.05). Results indicated that TD children walked faster and with longer normalized steps length and strides than LMC children. For TD children the percentage of the single support and swing time were higher than for low motor competence children. However, the percentage of load response and pre swing was higher in the low motor competence children rather than the TD children. These findings indicated that through walking we could be able to identify different levels of motor coordination in children. Likewise, LMC children showed shorter percentages in those parameters regarding only one leg support, supporting the idea of balance problems.

Keywords: visual information, motor performance, walking pattern, optojump

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944 Development of Mobile Application for Internship Program Management Using the Concept of Model View Controller (MVC) Pattern

Authors: Shutchapol Chopvitayakun

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Nowadays, especially for the last 5 years, mobile devices, mobile applications and mobile users, through the deployment of wireless communication and mobile phone cellular network, all these components are growing significantly bigger and stronger. They are being integrated into each other to create multiple purposes and pervasive deployments into every business and non-business sector such as education, medicine, traveling, finance, real estate and many more. Objective of this study was to develop a mobile application for seniors or last-year students who enroll the internship program at each tertiary school (undergraduate school) and do onsite practice at real field sties, real organizations and real workspaces. During the internship session, all students as the interns are required to exercise, drilling and training onsite with specific locations and specific tasks or may be some assignments from their supervisor. Their work spaces are both private and government corporates and enterprises. This mobile application is developed under schema of a transactional processing system that enables users to keep daily work or practice log, monitor true working locations and ability to follow daily tasks of each trainee. Moreover, it provides useful guidance from each intern’s advisor, in case of emergency. Finally, it can summarize all transactional data then calculate each internship cumulated hours from the field practice session for each individual intern.

Keywords: internship, mobile application, Android OS, smart phone devices, mobile transactional processing system, guidance and monitoring, tertiary education, senior students, model view controller (MVC)

Procedia PDF Downloads 313
943 Measuring the Influence of Functional Proximity on Environmental Urban Performance via IMM: Four Study Cases in Milan

Authors: Massimo Tadi, M. Hadi Mohammad Zadeh, Ozge Ogut

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Although how cities’ forms are structured is studied, more efforts are needed on systemic comprehensions and evaluations of the urban morphology through quantitative metrics that are able to describe the performance of a city in relation to its formal properties. More research is required in this direction in order to better describe the urban form characteristics and their impact on the environmental performance of cities and to increase their sustainability stewardship. With the aim of developing a better understanding of the built environment’s systemic structure, the intention of this paper is to present a holistic methodology for studying the behavior of the built environment and investigate the methods for measuring the effect of urban structure to the environmental performance. This goal will be pursued through an inquiry into the morphological components of the urban systems and the complex relationships between them. Particularly, this paper focuses on proximity, referring to the proximity of different land-uses, is a concept with which Integrated Modification Methodology (IMM) explains how land-use allocation might affect the choice of mobility in neighborhoods, and especially, encourage or discourage non-motived mobility. This paper uses proximity to demonstrate that the structure attributes can quantifiably relate to the performing behavior in the city. The target is to devise a mathematical pattern from the structural elements and correlate it directly with urban performance indicators concerned with environmental sustainability. The paper presents some results of this rigorous investigation of urban proximity and its correlation with performance indicators in four different areas in the city of Milan, each of them characterized by different morphological features.

Keywords: built environment, ecology, sustainable indicators, sustainability, urban morphology

Procedia PDF Downloads 166
942 Cirrhosis Mortality Prediction as Classification using Frequent Subgraph Mining

Authors: Abdolghani Ebrahimi, Diego Klabjan, Chenxi Ge, Daniela Ladner, Parker Stride

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In this work, we use machine learning and novel data analysis techniques to predict the one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients. Data from 2,322 patients with liver cirrhosis are collected at a single medical center. Different machine learning models are applied to predict one-year mortality. A comprehensive feature space including demographic information, comorbidity, clinical procedure and laboratory tests is being analyzed. A temporal pattern mining technic called Frequent Subgraph Mining (FSM) is being used. Model for End-stage liver disease (MELD) prediction of mortality is used as a comparator. All of our models statistically significantly outperform the MELD-score model and show an average 10% improvement of the area under the curve (AUC). The FSM technic itself does not improve the model significantly, but FSM, together with a machine learning technique called an ensemble, further improves the model performance. With the abundance of data available in healthcare through electronic health records (EHR), existing predictive models can be refined to identify and treat patients at risk for higher mortality. However, due to the sparsity of the temporal information needed by FSM, the FSM model does not yield significant improvements. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to apply modern machine learning algorithms and data analysis methods on predicting one-year mortality of cirrhotic patients and builds a model that predicts one-year mortality significantly more accurate than the MELD score. We have also tested the potential of FSM and provided a new perspective of the importance of clinical features.

Keywords: machine learning, liver cirrhosis, subgraph mining, supervised learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 132
941 Design of Microwave Building Block by Using Numerical Search Algorithm

Authors: Haifeng Zhou, Tsungyang Liow, Xiaoguang Tu, Eujin Lim, Chao Li, Junfeng Song, Xianshu Luo, Ying Huang, Lianxi Jia, Lianwee Luo, Qing Fang, Mingbin Yu, Guoqiang Lo

Abstract:

With the development of technology, countries gradually allocated more and more frequency spectrums for civilization and commercial usage, especially those high radio frequency bands indicating high information capacity. The field effect becomes more and more prominent in microwave components as frequency increases, which invalidates the transmission line theory and complicate the design of microwave components. Here a modeling approach based on numerical search algorithm is proposed to design various building blocks for microwave circuits to avoid complicated impedance matching and equivalent electrical circuit approximation. Concretely, a microwave component is discretized to a set of segments along the microwave propagation path. Each of the segment is initialized with random dimensions, which constructs a multiple-dimension parameter space. Then numerical searching algorithms (e.g. Pattern search algorithm) are used to find out the ideal geometrical parameters. The optimal parameter set is achieved by evaluating the fitness of S parameters after a number of iterations. We had adopted this approach in our current projects and designed many microwave components including sharp bends, T-branches, Y-branches, microstrip-to-stripline converters and etc. For example, a stripline 90° bend was designed in 2.54 mm x 2.54 mm space for dual-band operation (Ka band and Ku band) with < 0.18 dB insertion loss and < -55 dB reflection. We expect that this approach can enrich the tool kits for microwave designers.

Keywords: microwave component, microstrip and stripline, bend, power division, the numerical search algorithm.

Procedia PDF Downloads 379
940 Shared Heart with a Common Atrial Complex and Persistent Right Dorsal Aorta in Conjoined Twins

Authors: L. C. Prasanna, Antony Sylvan D’Souza, Kumar M. R. Bhat

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Although life as a conjoined twin would seem intolerable, there has recently been an increased interest in this subject because of the increasing number of cases where attempts have been made to separate them surgically. We have reviewed articles on cardiovascular anomalies in conjoined twins and presenting rarest anomaly in dicephalus parapagus fetus having two heads attached to one body from the neck or upper chest downwards, with a pair of limbs and a set of reproductive organs. Both the twins shared a common thoracic cavity with a single sternum. When the thoracic cavity was opened, a common anterior mediastinum was found. On opening the pericardium, two separate, closely apposed hearts were exposed. The two cardia are placed side by side. The left heart was slightly larger than the right and were joined at the atrial levels. Four atrial appendages were present, two for each twin. The atrial complex was a common chamber posterior to the ventricles. A single large tributary which could be taken as inferior vena cava drains into the common atrial chamber. In this case, the heart could not be assigned to either twin and therefore, it is referred to as the shared heart within a common pericardial sac. The right and left descending thoracic aorta have joined with each other just above the diaphragm to form a common descending thoracic aorta which has an opening in the diaphragm to be continued as common abdominal aorta which has a normal branching pattern. Upon an interior dissection, it is observed that the two atria have a wide communication which could be a wide patent foramen ovale and this common atrial cavity has a communication with a remnant of a possible common sinus venosus.

Keywords: atrium, congenital anomaly, conjoined twin, sinus venosus

Procedia PDF Downloads 392