Search results for: final outcome

Authors: Antoine Vikkey Hinson, Menonli Adjobimey, Gemayel Ahmed Biokou, Rose Mikponhoue

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Introduction: Construction industry is a critical concern with regard to Health and Safety Service worldwide. World health Organization revealed that work-related disease and trauma were held responsible for the death of one million nine hundred thousand people in 2016. The aim of this study it was to determine the prevalence and factors associated with the occurrence of work accidents in a construction industry in Benin. Method: It was a descriptive cross-sectional and analytical study. Data analysis was performed with R software 4.1.1. In multivariate analysis, we performed a binary logistic regression. OR adjusted (ORa) association measures and their 95% confidence interval [CI95%] were presented for the explanatory variables used in the final model. The significance threshold for all tests selected was 5% (p < 0.05) Result: In this study, 472 workers were included, and, of these, 452 (95.7%) were men corresponding to a sex ratio of 22.6. The average age of the workers was 33 years ± 8.8 years. Workers were mostly laborers (84.7%), and had declared having inadequate personal protective equipment (50.6%, n=239). The prevalence of work accidents is 50.8%. Collision with a rolling stock (25.8%), cut (16.2%), and stumbling (16.2%) were the main types of work accidents on the construction site. Four factors were associated with contributing to work accidents. Fatigue or exhaustion (ORa : 1.53[1.03 ; 2.28]); The use of dangerous tools (ORa : 1.81 [1.22 ; 2.71]); The various laborers’ jobs (ORa : 4.78 [2.62 ; 9.21]); and seniority in the company ≥ 4 years (ORa : 2.00 [1.35 ; 2.96]). Conclusion: This study allowed us to identify the associated factors. It is imperative to implement a rigorous policy of occupational health and security mostly the continuing training for workers safe, the supply of appropriate work tools and protective

Keywords: prevalence, work accident, associated factors, construction, benin

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Authors: Seyed Salahedin Naghshbandi, Zahra Bozorgzadeh, Leila Zakizadeh, Siavash Hamidzadeh

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From the sport economy experts point of view, the existence of competitive balance among sport leagues and its numerous effects on league is an important and undeniable issue. In general, sport events fans are so eager to unpredictable results of competition in order to reach the top of excitement and necessary motivation for following competitions. The purpose of this research is to consider and compare the competitive balance among five provisional European football leagues (Spain, England, Italy, France and Germany) during 1966 - 2015 seasons. Research data are secondary and obtained from Premier League final tables of selected countries in 1966 - 2015 seasons. For analyzing data, C5 and C5ICB indicators used. whatever these indicators be less, more balance establishes in the league and vice-versa. The result showed that Le champion of France reached from 1,259 to 1,395; Italy Serie-A league from 1,316 to 1,432; England premier league from 1, 342 to 1,455; Germany Bundesliga from 1,238 to 1,465 and Spain La liga from 1,295 to 1,495. So by comparing C5ICB charts during 1966 - 2015 seasons, La liga of Spain moved more toward imbalance and enjoyed less balance with other European Leagues. Also, La champion of France during the mentioned season, enjoyed less imbalance and preserved its relative balance with monotonous process. It seems that football in France has been followed as stable during 1966 to 2015, and prediction of results was more difficult and competitions were so attractive for spectators, but in Italy, England, Germany, and Spain there were less balance, respectively.

Keywords: competitive balance, professional football league, competition, C5ICB

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Authors: Mila Radovanovic, Jovana Jestrovic, Ivana Mihic

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Deciding whether to have a child is a complex psychological process, and the child's birth is an everlasting change in the life of the family. Researchers from all over the world have been recognized the importance of the motivation for parenthood in latter family life, but there is no very clear picture of factors which make the difference in this motivation. One of these factors can be the method of conception and results of the earlier studies are different- some showed the differences, but the others did not. The aim of this study was to determine the type and intensity of motivation for parenting among women in Serbia and to examine whether there are differences in motivation depend on the method of conception. The total sample consisted of 94 women- 57 pregnant women who conceive naturally and the same number of women in the process of in vitro fertilization, who still haven’t known the final result of the process- are they pregnant or no. The Child Study Inventory, which estimates four types of motivation for parenthood- altruistic, instrumental, narcissistic and fatalistic-was used for this purpose. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to answer the main question of the study. The results indicate that there is no statistically significant difference between the two groups of women, while the most common is the altruistic motivation that emphasizes the psychological value of the child, and sees the motivation for parenting as a desire to give love to the child. The results are encouraging because altruistic motivation is intrinsic one and the protective factor for latter family relations and care about child and sensitivity of parents. Altruistic motivation is showed like a good predictor in developing stable emotional relationship between mother and her baby but also is correlated with the higher satisfaction with marriage.

Keywords: development of parental role, in vitro fertilization, motivation for parenthood, pregnancy

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Authors: Benyelles Zakaria, Yousfi Djaafar, Karoui Moussa Sofiane

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Agriculture is fundamental and remains an important objective in the Algerian economy, based on traditional techniques and structures, it generally has a purpose of consumption. Collection of agricultural statistics in Algeria is done using traditional methods, which consists of investigating the use of land through survey and field survey. These statistics suffer from problems such as poor data quality, the long delay between collection of their last final availability and high cost compared to their limited use. The objective of this work is to develop a processing chain for a reliable inventory of agricultural land by trying to develop and implement a new method of extracting information. Indeed, this methodology allowed us to combine data from remote sensing and field data to collect statistics on areas of different land. The contribution of remote sensing in the improvement of agricultural statistics, in terms of area, has been studied in the wilaya of Sidi Bel Abbes. It is in this context that we applied a method for extracting information from satellite images. This method is called the non-negative matrix factorization, which does not consider the pixel as a single entity, but will look for components the pixel itself. The results obtained by the application of the MNF were compared with field data and the results obtained by the method of maximum likelihood. We have seen a rapprochement between the most important results of the FMN and those of field data. We believe that this method of extracting information from satellite data leads to interesting results of different types of land uses.

Keywords: blind source separation, hyper-spectral image, non-negative matrix factorization, remote sensing

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Authors: Leila Habibi, Hadi Hakimi, Maryam Jafari Mehrabadi, Hadi Sadeghian

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Nowadays, the importance of information technology and web- based information in tourism is very obvious. Increasing of sales and promotion of brands, the rise of information about tourist attractions and tourist areas, Entrepreneurship and making money, introducing of hotels and side information to tourists via web are some Examples of website effects on tourism. The hotels using web-based information can succeed in attracting tourists and improve the quality of services to the tourists so; the study of hotel websites has become one of the most important issues in tourism. Therefore, this research aims to analyze the status of hotel websites in Yazd City as one of the most tourist visited counties in Iran. The quality of hotel website in a city such as this city can be very vital for tourism. Hence, this research compares the status of hotel websites in Yazd City with standard indexes and items that extracted from Literature and theoretical framework. It is used content analysis for analyzing of hotel websites with indexes and items in methodology. In the other words, all of the items is compared with the content of hotel-websites in Yazd one by one. Finally, every hotel archived final score and it represents the position of the hotel among the others. All of scores and status of hotels is displayed in their own Figures. The result of this research shows that many hotels do not offer standard web -based services and information. So, the existing situation is not very suitable for the attraction of web users or improving the tourism. The result of this research may help the managers and authorities of tourism to offer and improve the web- based services and information.

Keywords: e-tourism, hotel websites, tourism, web-tourism

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Authors: Omid Khaiyat, David Hawkes

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Introduction: There remains a lack of information on sophisticated coordination patterns across shoulder girdle muscles. Considering the stability of the shoulder being heavily dependent on coordinated muscle activity during its wide-ranging movements, it is important that key intermuscular relationships are well-defined for a better understanding of underlying pathology. This study investigated shoulder intermuscular coordination during different planes of shoulder elevation. Materials and Methods: EMG was recorded from 14 shoulder muscles in 20 healthy participants during shoulder flexion, scapula plane elevation, abduction, and extension. Cross-correlation by means of Pearson Correlation Coefficient (PCC) was used to examine the coordination between different muscles and muscle groups. Results: Coordination between rotator cuff and deltoid muscle groups was significantly higher (p =0.020-0.035) during the initial (PCC) = 0.79) and final (PCC = 0.74) phases of elevation compared to the mid-range (PCC = 0.34). Furthermore, a high level of coordination (PCC = 0.89) was noted between the deltoid group and the adductor group (latissimus dorsi and teres major) during the initial stage of shoulder elevation. Conclusion: The destabilising force of the deltoid during the initial stage of shoulder elevation is balanced by coordinated activity of rotator cuff, latissimus dorsi, and teres major. This is also the case for the end-range of movement, where increased demand for stability again leads to higher coordination between the deltoid and rotator cuff muscle groups. Appreciation of the sophistication of normal shoulder function evidence-based rehabilitation strategies for conditions such as subacromial impingement syndrome or shoulder instability can be developed.

Keywords: shoulder, coordination, EMG, muscle activity, upper limb

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Authors: Ahmed Barakat, Nourhan Ahmed Saad, Mahmoud Hammad

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Tracking and monitoring agricultural products, cold chain activities, and transportation in real-time can effectively ensure both the quality and safety of agricultural products, as well as reduce overall logistics costs. Effective supply chain practices are one of the main requirements for enhancing agricultural business in Egypt. Cold chain is among the best practices for the storage and transportation of perishable goods and has potential within the agricultural sector in Egypt. This practice has the scope of reducing the wastage of food and increasing the profitability with a reduction in costs. Even though it has several implementation challenges for the farmers, traders, and people involved in the entire supply chain, it has highlighted better benefits for all and for the export of goods for the economic progression for Egypt. The aim of this paper is to explore cold supply chain practices for the agriculture sector in Egypt, to enhance the export performance of fresh goods. In this context, this study attempts to explore those aspects of the performance of cold supply chain practices that can enhance the functioning of the agriculture sector in Egypt from the perspective of export companies (traders) and farmers. Based on the empirical results obtained by data collection from the farmers and traders, the study argues that there is a significant association between cold supply chain practices and enhancement of the agriculture value chain. The paper thus highlights the contribution of the study with final conclusions and limitations with scope for future research.

Keywords: agriculture sector, cold chain management, export companies, non-traded goods, supply chain management

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Authors: Ashvamedh, Chandra Bhushan Singh, Anil Kumar Sarda

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Introduction: Ileal perforation is a common cause for peritonitis in developing countries. Surgery is the ideal treatment as it eliminates soilage of peritoneal cavity in an effort to lessen the toxaemia and enhance the recovery of the patient. However, there is no uniformity of standardized operative procedure that is most effective for management. Material and method: The study was conducted on 66 patients of perforation peritonitis from November 2013 to February 2015 in Lok Nayak Hospital. Data of each patient were recorded on a pre-determined proforma. The methods used for repair were Primary repair, Resection anastomosis (RA) and Ileostomy. Result: Male preponderance was noticed among the patients with majority in their third decade. Of all perforations 40.9% were tubercular and 34.8% were typhoid. Amongst operated cases 27.3% underwent primary repair, RA was performed in 45.5%, Ileostomy in 27.3%patients. The average time taken for RA and ileostomy was more than primary repair. The type of repair bear no significance to size or no of perforation but was significant statistically for distance from I/C valve(P=.005) and edema of bowel wall(p=.002) when analysed for post op complications. Wound infection, dehiscence, intra-abdominal collections were complications observed bearing no significance to type of repair. Ileostomy per se has its own complications peristomal skin excoriation seen in 83.3%, electrolyte imbalance in 33.3%, duration for closure averaged 188 days (median 150 days, range 85-400 days). Conclusion: Primary closure is preferable in patients with single, small perforations. RA is advocated in patients with multiple or large perforation, perforation proximal to stricture. Ileostomy should not be considered as primary definitive procedure and reserved only for moribund patients as a lifesaving procedure. It has more morbidity and requires a second surgery for closure increasing the cost of treatment as well.

Keywords: ileal perforation, ileostomy, perforation peritonitis, typhoid perforation management

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Authors: Prachi Chavda

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The world, as of today, is smaller than it was for those who lived few decades ago. Internet, media and telecommunications have impacted the world like never before. Culture is the pillar upon which a society mushrooms. A culture develops with human creativity over the years and also by the exchange and intermixing of ideas and way of life across different civilizations and we can say that one of the influencing medium of exchange and intermixing of these ideas is cinema. Cinema has been the wonderful as well as important medium of communication since it has been emerged. Change is the thumb rule of life and so have been Indian cinema. As society has evolved from time to time so has the stories of Indian Cinema and its characters, hence it directly effects to the Indian culture as cinema has been very strong mediator for information exchange. The paper tries to discuss deeply how Indian cinema (reel life) and Indian culture (real life) has been influencing each other that results into a constant modification in both. Moreover, the research tries to deal with the issue with some examples that as a outcome how movies impact the Indian culture positively and negatively on culture. Therefore, it spreads the wave of change in cultural settings of society. The paper also tries to light the psychology of youth of India. Today, children and youth greatly admire the ostentatious materialistic display of outfits and style of the actors in the movies. Also, the movies bearing romanticism and showcasing disputatious issues like pre-marital sex, live-in relationship, homo-sexuality etc. though without highlighting them extensively have indeed inspired the commoners. Pros and cons always exist. Such revelation of issues certainly give a spark in the minds of those who are in their formative years and the effect of which is seen with the passage of time Thus, we can say that emergence of cinema as a strong tool of social change as well as culture as a triggering factor for transformation in cinema. As, a finding we can say that culture and cinema of India are influencing factors for each other. Cinema and culture are two sides of a coin, where both are responsible for evolution of each other.

Keywords: cinema, culture, influence, transformation

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Authors: Rodrigo A. Schiller, Rubens C. Da Silva, Kazuo Nishimoto, Claudio M. P. Sampaio

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The need to reduce fossil fuels consumption due to the current scenario of trying to restrain global warming effects and reduce air pollution is dictating a series of transformations in shipping. This study introduces, at first, the changes of the regulatory framework concerning gas emissions control and fuel consumption efficiency on merchant ships. Secondly, the main operational procedures with high potential reduction of fuel consumption are discussed, with focus on existing vessels, using ship speed reduction procedure. This procedure shows the positive impacts on both operating costs reduction and also on energy efficiency increase if correctly applied. Finally, a numerical analysis of the fuel consumption variation with the speed was carried out for a Suezmax class oil tanker, which has been adapted to oil offloading operations for FPSOs in Brazilian offshore oil production systems. In this analysis, the discussions about the variations of vessel energy efficiency from small speed rate reductions and the possible applications of this improvement, taking into account the typical operating profile of the vessel in such a way to have significant economic impacts on the operation. This analysis also evaluated the application of two different numerical methods: one based only on regression equations produced by existing data, semi-empirical method, and another using a CFD simulations for estimating the hull shape parameters that are most relevant for determining fuel consumption, analyzing inaccuracies and impact on the final results.

Keywords: energy efficiency, offloading operations, speed reduction, Suezmax oil tanker

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Authors: Salwa M. Almomen, Mona A. Almaghrabi, Saja M. Alhabardi, Adel A. Alrwisan

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Background: Hepatotoxicity is a major reason for medication withdrawal from the markets. Unfortunately, serious adverse hepatic effects can occur after marketing with limited indicators during clinical development. Therefore, finding possible predictors for hepatotoxicity might guide the monitoring program of various stakeholders. Methods: We examined the clinical review documents for drugs approved in the US from 2011 to 2016 to evaluate their hepatic safety profile. Predictors: we assessed whether these medications meet Hy’s Law with hepatotoxicity grade ≥ 3, labeled hepatic adverse effects at approval, or accelerated approval status. Outcome: post-marketing regulatory action related to hepatotoxicity, including product withdrawal or updates to warning, precaution, or adverse effects sections. Statistical analysis: drugs were included in the analysis from the time of approval until the end of 2019 or the first post-marketing regulatory action related to hepatotoxicity, whichever occurred first. The hazard ratio (HR) was estimated using Cox-regression analysis. Results: We included 192 medications in the study. We classified 48 drugs as having grade ≥ 3 hepatotoxicities, 43 had accelerated approval status, and 74 had labeled information about hepatotoxicity prior to marketing. The adjusted HRs for post-marketing regulatory action for products with grade ≥ 3 hepatotoxicity was 0.61 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17-2.23), 0.92 (95%CI, 0.29-2.93) for a drug approved via accelerated approval program, and was 0.91 (95%CI, 0.33-2.56) for drugs with labeled hepatotoxicity information at approval time. Conclusion: This study does not provide conclusive evidence on the association between post-marketing regulatory action and grade ≥ 3 hepatotoxicity, accelerated approval status, or availability of labeled information at approval due to sampling size and channeling bias.

Keywords: accelerated approvals, hepatic adverse effects, drug-induced liver injury, hepatotoxicity predictors, post-marketing withdrawal

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Authors: Donludee Jaisut, Norihisa Kato, Thanutchaporn Kumrungsee, Kiyoshi Kawai, Somkiat Prachayawarakorn, Patchalee Tungtrakul

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Jasmine Rice is a principle food of Thai people. However, glycemic index of jasmine rice is in high level, risk of type II diabetes after consuming. Burdock root is a good source of non-starch polysaccharides such as inulin. Inulin acts as prebiotic and helps reduce blood-sugar level. The purpose of this research was to reduce digestion rate of jasmine rice by coating burdock root extract on rice surface, using top-spay fluidized bed coating technique. Coating experiments were performed by spraying burdock root solution onto Jasmine rice kernels (Khao Dawk Mali-105; KDML), which had an initial moisture content of 11.6% wet basis, suspended in the fluidized bed. The experimental conditions were: solution spray rates of 31.7 mL/min, atomization pressure of 1.5 bar, spray time of 10 min, time of drying after spraying of 30 s, superficial air velocity of 3.2 m/s and drying temperatures of 60°C. The coated rice quality was evaluated in terms of the moisture content, texture, whiteness and digestion rate. The results showed that initial and final moisture contents of samples were the same in concentration 8% (v/v) and 10% (v/v). The texture was insignificantly changed from that of uncoated sample. The whiteness values were varied on concentration of burdock root extract. Coated samples were slower digested.

Keywords: burdock root, digestion, drying, rice

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Authors: Tim Steinhaus, Christian Beidl

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Urban air quality and climate protection are two major challenges for future mobility systems. Despite the steady reduction of pollutant emissions from vehicles over past decades, local immission load within cities partially still reaches heights, which are considered hazardous to human health. Although traffic-related emissions account for a major part of the overall urban pollution, modeling the exact interaction remains challenging. In this paper, a novel approach for the determination of the emission-immission interaction on the basis of neural network modeling for traffic induced NO2-immission load within a near-traffic hot-spot scenario is presented. In a detailed sensitivity analysis, the significance of relevant influencing variables on the prevailing NO2 concentration is initially analyzed. Based on this, the generation process of the model is described, in which not only environmental influences but also the vehicle fleet composition including its associated segment- and certification-specific real driving emission factors are derived and used as input quantities. The validity of this approach, which has been presented in the past, is re-examined in this paper using updated data on vehicle emissions and recent immission measurement data. Within the framework of a final scenario analysis, the future development of the immission load is forecast for different developments in the vehicle fleet composition. It is shown that immission levels of less than half of today’s yearly average limit values are technically feasible in hot-spot situations.

Keywords: air quality, emission, emission-immission-interaction, immission, NO2, zero impact

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Authors: Rafael Santos Fischer, Aloísio Leoni Schmid, Amanda Dalla-Bonna

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The life cycle analysis and the energy life cycle analysis are useful design support tools when sustainability becomes imperative. The final phase of buildings life cycle is probably the least known, on which less knowledge is available. In the Brazilian building industry, the lifespan of a building design rarely is treated as a definite design parameter. There is rather a common sense attitude to take any building demands as permanent, and to take for granted that buildings solutions are durable and solid. Housing, being a permanent issue in any society, presents a real challenge to the choice of a design lifespan. In Brazilian history, there was a contrast of the native solutions of collective, non-durable houses built by several nomadic tribes, and the stone and masonry buildings introduced by the sedentary Portuguese conquerors. Durable buildings are commonly associated with welfare. However, social dynamics makes traditional families of both parents and children be just one of several possible arrangements. In addition, a more liberal attitude towards family leads to an increase in the number of people living in alternative arrangements. Japan is an example of country where houses have been made intentionally ephemeral since the half of 20th century. The present article presents the development of a flexible housing design solution on the basis of the Design Science Research approach. A comparison in terms of energy life cycle shows how flexibility and dematerialization may point at a feasible future for housing policies in Brazil.

Keywords: adaptability, adaptable building, embodied energy, life cyclce analysis, social housing

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Authors: Saja M. Nabat Al-Ajrash, Charles Browning, Rose Eckerle, Li Cao, Robyn L. Bradford, Donald Klosterman

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An additive manufacturing process and subsequent pyrolysis cycle were used to fabricate SiC matrix/carbon fiber hybrid composites. The matrix was fabricated using a mixture of preceramic polymer and acrylate monomers, while polyacrylonitrile (PAN) precursor was used to fabricate fibers via electrospinning. The precursor matrix and reinforcing fibers at 0, 2, 5, or 10 wt% were printed using digital light processing, and both were simultaneously pyrolyzed to yield the final ceramic matrix composite structure. After pyrolysis, XRD and SEAD analysis proved the existence of SiC nanocrystals and turbostratic carbon structure in the matrix, while the reinforcement phase was shown to have a turbostratic carbon structure similar to commercial carbon fibers. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) in the air up to 1400 °C was used to evaluate the oxidation resistance of this material. TGA results showed some weight loss due to oxidation of SiC and/or carbon up to about 900 °C, followed by weight gain to about 1200 °C due to the formation of a protective SiO2 layer. Although increasing carbon fiber content negatively impacted the total mass loss for the first heating cycle, exposure of the composite to second-run air revealed negligible weight chance. This is explained by SiO2 layer formation, which acts as a protective film that prevents oxygen diffusion. Oxidation of SiC and the formation of a glassy layer has been proven to protect the sample from further oxidation, as well as provide healing of surface cracks and defects, as revealed by SEM analysis.

Keywords: silicon carbide, carbon fibers, additive manufacturing, composite

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Authors: Zahra Khazaeipour, Ehsan Ahmadipour, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar, Fereshteh Ahmadipour

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Research Objectives: Chronic pain is one of the common problems associated with spinal cord injuries (SCI), which causes many complications. Therefore, this study intended to evaluate the relationship between pain and demographic, injury characteristics, socio-economic and social support in individuals with spinal cord Injury in Iran. Design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Setting: Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, between 2012 and 2013. Participants: The participants were 140 individuals with SCI, 101 (72%) men and 39 (28%) women, with mean age of 29.4 ±7.9 years. Main Outcome Measure: The Persian version of the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) was used to measure the pain, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) was used to measure social support. Results: About 50.7% complained about having pain, which 79.3% had bilateral pain. The most common locations of pain were lower limbs and back. The most quality of pain was described as aching (41.4%), and tingling (32.9%). Patients with a medium level of education had the least pain compared to high and low level of education. SCI individuals with good economic situation reported higher frequency of having pain. There was no significant relationship between pain and social support. There was positive correlation between pain and impairment of mood, normal work, relations with other people and lack of sleep (P < 0.001). Conclusion: These findings revealed the importance of socioeconomic factors such as economic situation and educational level in understanding chronic pain in people with SCI and provide further support for the bio-psychosocial model. Hence, multidisciplinary evaluations and treatment strategies are advocated, including biomedical, psychological, and psycho-social interventions.

Keywords: pain, social support, socio-economic indicators, spinal cord injury

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Authors: Hui-Chi Huang, Su-Ju Yang, Ching-Wei Lin, Jui-Yao Tsai, Liang-Yiang

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Background: Evidence exists that pneumonia is a frequently encountered complication after stroke which is associated with a higher rate of mortality and increased long-term disability Purpose: To determine the predictors associated with the risk of one-year disability in acute stroke. Methods: Data for this longitudinal follow-up study were extracted from a tertiary referral medical center’s stroke registry database in Northern Taipei. Eligible patients with acute stroke admitted to the hospital and completed a one-year follow up were recruited for analysis. Favorable outcome was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score ≤ 2. SAS version 9.2 was used for the multivariable regression analyses to examine the factors correlated with the one-year disability in stroke patients. Results: From January 2012 to December 2013, a total of 1373 (mean age: 70.49±15.4 years, 913(66.5%) males) consecutively administered acute stroke patients were recruited. Overall, the rate of one-year disability was 37.20%(404/1086) in those without post-stroke pneumonia. It increased to 82.93 %(238/287) in patients developed post-stroke pneumonia. Factors associated with increased risk of disability were age ≧ 75(OR= 4.845, p<.0001), female /gender (OR=1.568, p =.0062), previous stroke (OR= 1.868, p = <. 0001) ,dementia (OR= 2.872, p =.0047), ventilator use (OR= 4.653, p <. 0001),age ≧ 75 /pneumonia (OR=1.236, p <. 0001) , ICU admission (OR=3.314, p <.0001) , nasogastric tube insertion (OR= 4.28, p <.0001), speech therapy (OR= 1.79, p =.0142), urinary tract infection (OR= 1.865, p =.0018), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR > 60 )(OR= 0.525, p= .0029), Admission NIHSS >11 (OR= 2.101, p = .0099), Length of hospitalization > 30(d) (OR= 5.182, p <.0001). Conclusion: Older age, severe neurological deficit, complications, rehabilitation intervention, length of hospitalization >30(d), and cognitive impairment were significantly associated with Post-stroke functional impairment, especially those with post-stroke pneumonia. These findings could open new avenues in the management of stroke patients.

Keywords: stroke, risk, pneumonia, disability

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Authors: Piyarat Parklug, Busaba Supawattanaobodee, Penpat Pinyowattanasilp

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The radioactive iodine thyroid uptake (RAIU) has been widely used to differentiate the cause of thyrotoxicosis and treatment. Twenty-four hours RAIU is routinely used to calculate the dose of radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy; however, 2 days protocol is required. This study aims to evaluate the modification of Penpat Pinyowattanasilp equation application by the exclusion of outlier data, 3 hours RAIU less than 20% and more than 80%, to improve prediction of 24-hour uptake. The equation is predicted 24 hours RAIU (P24RAIU) = 32.5+0.702 (3 hours RAIU). Then calculating separation first and second therapeutic doses in Graves’ disease patients. Methods; This study was a retrospective study at Faculty of Medicine Vajira Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. Inclusion were Graves’ disease patients who visited RAI clinic between January 2014-March 2019. We divided subjects into 2 groups according to first and second therapeutic doses. Results; Our study had a total of 151 patients. The study was done in 115 patients with first RAI dose and 36 patients with second RAI dose. The P24RAIU are highly correlated with actual 24-hour RAIU in first and second therapeutic doses (r = 0.913, 95% CI = 0.876 to 0.939 and r = 0.806, 95% CI = 0.649 to 0.897). Bland-Altman plot shows that mean differences between predictive and actual 24 hours RAI in the first dose and second dose were 2.14% (95%CI 0.83-3.46) and 1.37% (95%CI -1.41-4.14). The mean first actual and predictive therapeutic doses are 8.33 ± 4.93 and 7.38 ± 3.43 milliCuries (mCi) respectively. The mean second actual and predictive therapeutic doses are 6.51 ± 3.96 and 6.01 ± 3.11 mCi respectively. The predictive therapeutic doses are highly correlated with the actual dose in first and second therapeutic doses (r = 0.907, 95% CI = 0.868 to 0.935 and r = 0.953, 95% CI = 0.909 to 0.976). Bland-Altman plot shows that mean difference between predictive and actual P24RAIU in the first dose and second dose were less than 1 mCi (-0.94 and -0.5 mCi). This modification equation application is simply used in clinical practice especially patient with 3 hours RAIU in range of 20-80% in a Thai population. Before use, this equation for other population should be tested for the correlation.

Keywords: equation, Graves’disease, prediction, 24-hour uptake

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Authors: Ramin Mirzada, Takuya Maruyama

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Kabul is the heart of political, commercial, cultural, educational and social life in Afghanistan and the fifth fastest growing city in the world. Minimum income inclined most of Kabul residents to use public transport, especially buses, although there is no proper bus system, beside that there is no proper fare exist in Kabul city Due to wars. From 1992 to 2001 during civil wars, Kabul suffered damage and destruction of its transportation facilities including pavements, sidewalks, traffic circles, drainage systems, traffic signs and signals, trolleybuses and almost all of the public transport system (e.g. Millie bus). This research is mainly focused on Kabul city’s transportation system. In this research, the data used have been gathered by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in 2008 and this data will be used to find demand and fare structure, additionally a survey was done in 2016 to find satisfaction level of Kabul residents for fare structure. Aim of this research is to observe the demand for Large Buses, compare to the actual supply from the government, analyze the current fare structure and compare it with the proposed fare (distance based fare) structure which has already been analyzed. Outcome of this research shows that the demand of Kabul city residents for the public transport (Large Buses) exceeds from the current supply, so that current public transportation (Large Buses) is not sufficient to serve public transport in Kabul city, worth to be mentioned, that in order to overcome this problem, there is no need to build new roads or exclusive way for buses. This research proposes government to change the fare from fixed fare to distance based fare, invest on public transportation and increase the number of large buses so that the current demand for public transport is met.

Keywords: transportation, planning, public transport, large buses, Kabul, Afghanistan

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Authors: Azza M. Atya, Mahmoud M. Nasser

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Background/ /Significance: Peripheral neuropathy is one of the long term serious complications of diabetes, which may attribute to postural instability and alteration of planter pressure. Whole body vibration (WBV) is a somatosensory stimulation type of exercise that has been emerged in sport training and rehabilitation of neuromuscular disorders. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of whole Body Vibration on antroposterior (AP), mediolateral (ML) posture stability and planter foot pressure in patients with diabetic neuropathy. Subjects: forty diabetic patients with moderate peripheral neuropathy aged from 35 to 50 years, were randomly assigned to WBV group (n=20) and control group (n=20). Methods and Materials: the WBV intervention consisted of three session weekly for 8 weeks (frequency 20 Hz, peak-to peak displacement 4mm, acceleration 3.5 g). Biodex balance system was used for postural stability assessment and the foot scan plate was used to measure the mean peak pressure under the first and lesser metatarsals. The main Outcome measures were antroposterior stability index (APSI), mediolateral stability index (MLSI), overall stability index (OSI),and mean peak foot pressure. Analyses: Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software package (SPSS for Windows Release 18.0). T-test was used to compare between the pre- and post-treatment values between and within groups. Results: For the 40 study participants (18male and 22 females) there were no between-group differences at baseline. At the end of 8 weeks, Subjects in WBV group experienced significant increase in postural stability with a reduction of mean peak of planter foot pressure (P<0.05) compared with the control group. Conclusion: The result suggests that WBV is an effective therapeutic modality for increasing postural stability and reducing planter pressure in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

Keywords: whole body vibration, diabetic neuropathy, posture stability, foot pressure

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Authors: Henry Schwartz, Bogdan Iancu, Magnus Gustafsson, Johan Lilius

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The shipping sector generates significant amounts of carbon emissions on annual basis. The excess amount of carbon dioxide is harmful for both the environment and the society, and partly for that reason, there is acute interest to decrease the volume of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in shipping. The usage of the existing cargo carrying capacity can be maximized, and the share of time used in actual transportation operations could be increased if the whole transportation and logistics chain was optimized with the aid of information sharing done through a centralized marketplace and an information-sharing platform. The outcome of this change would be decreased carbon dioxide emission volumes produced per each metric ton of cargo transported by a vessel. Cargo coordination is a platform under development that matches the need for waterborne transportation services with the ships that operate at a given moment in time. In this research, the transition towards adopting cargo coordination is modelled with system dynamics. The model encompasses the complex supply-demand relationships of ship operators and cargo owners. The built scenarios predict the pace at which different stakeholders start using the digitalized platform and by doing so reduce the amount of annual CO2 emissions generated. To improve the reliability of the results, various sensitivity analyses considering the pace of transition as well as the overall impact on the environment (carbon dioxide emissions per amount of cargo transported) are conducted. The results of the study can be used to support investors and politicians in decision making towards more environmentally sustainable solutions. In addition, the model provides concepts and ideas for a wider discussion considering the paths towards carbon neutral transportation.

Keywords: carbon dioxide emissions, energy efficiency, sustainable transportation, system dynamics

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Authors: Mohamed A. Almoghalis, Osman M. Hegazy, Ibrahim F. Imam, Ali H. Elbastawessy

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This paper presents a new hyperspectral image segmentation scheme with respect to both spatial and spectral contexts. The scheme uses the 8-pixels spatial pattern to build a weight structure that holds the number of outlier bands for each pixel among its neighborhood windows in different directions. The number of outlier bands for a pixel is obtained using bands quartile box plots profile among spatial 8-pixels pattern windows. The quartile box plot weight structure represents the spatial-spectral context in the image. Instead of starting segmentation process by single pixels, the proposed methodology starts by pixels groups that proved to share the same spectral features with respect to their spatial context. As a result, the segmentation scheme starts with Jigsaw pieces that build a mosaic image. The following step builds a model for each Jigsaw piece in the mosaic image. Each Jigsaw piece will be merged with another Jigsaw piece using KNN applied to their bands' quartile box plots profiles. The scheme iterates till required number of segments reached. Experiments use two data sets obtained from Earth Observer 1 (EO-1) sensor for Egypt and France. Initial results qualitative analysis showed encouraging results compared with ground truth. Quantitative analysis for the results will be included in the final paper.

Keywords: hyperspectral image segmentation, image processing, remote sensing, box plot

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Authors: Mohammed Ahmed Alghamdi

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Field experiment were carried out to investigate the effect of the plant growth regulator on vegetative growth and yield components of reduced height isogenic lines of the wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar Mercia. The Field experiment compared the growth regulator response of seven isogenic lines of Mercia. Growth regulators reduced plant height significantly in all lines. Growth regulator decreased total dry matter and grain yield with greatest reduction generally for the control and Rht8 lines. Rht1 was the least affected. There were few significant effects of growth regulator on gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence but the trend was for greater values with growth regulator. In this field experiment, a rate of 2.0 l ha-1 applied just before the third node detectable stage under non water stressed and water stressed conditions gave slight increases in yield of up to 14% except for line Rht10 which increased significantly in non-stressed conditions. In the second glasshouse experiment, a rate of 2.5 l ha-1 applied at the start of stem elongation under 30% FC and 100% FC gave reductions in yield up to 16% for the growth regulator and 55% under water stress. In the field experiment, rates of 2.5 and 3.0 l ha-1 applied at the start of stem elongation gave reductions in yield up to 20% mainly through individual seed weight. In the final glasshouse experiment, rates of 2.5 and 3.0 l ha-1 applied at 6 leaves unfolded and 1st node detectable both reduced grain yield.

Keywords: growth regulator, irrigation, isogenic lines, yield, winter wheat

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Authors: Che Hsiu Chen, Kuo Wei Tseng, Zih Jian Huang, Hon Wen Cheng

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A typical warm-up contains both stretching exercises and jogging. The static stretching prior to training or competition may cause detrimental effects to athletic performance. However, it is unclear whether different types of dynamic stretching exercises had different acute effects on knee flexors stiffness, flexibility, and strength. The purpose of this study was to analyze the knee flexors stiffness, flexibility, and strength gains after dynamic straight leg raise (DSLR) and dynamic modified toe-touch (MTT) stretching. Sixteen healthy university active men (height 176.27 ± 4.03 cm; weight 72.27 ± 8.90 kg; age 22.09 ± 2.31 years). After 5 minutes (8km/h) of running subjects performed 2 randomly ordered stretching protocols: DSLR and MTT stretching protocols. There were a total of six, 30 seconds bouts of dynamic stretching (15 repetitions) with 30seconds rest between bouts. The outcome measures were maximal voluntary isokinetic concentric hamstring strength (60°/s), muscle flexibility test by passive straight leg raise (PSLR), active straight leg raise (ASLR), and muscle stiffness using ultrasound Acoustic Radiation Forced Impulse (ARFI) elastography before and immediately after stretching. The muscle stiffness and concentric strength decreased significantly (p < .05), the flexibility no significant change after DSLR protocol (p > .05). The concentric strength decreased significantly (p < .05), the flexibility and muscle stiffness no significant change after MTT protocol (p > .05), whereas no significant differences were found for the DSLR and MTT. Our findings suggest that dynamic stretching (30s x 6 bouts) resulted in change in muscle stiffness or may be induced slack in the musculotendinous unit thereby, reducing force production. Therefore, 30s x 6 bouts of dynamic stretching adversely affects efforts of hamstring muscle maximal concentric strength.

Keywords: sport injury, ultrasound, eccentric exercise, performance

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Authors: Hanifeh Imanian, Morteza Kolahdoozan

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The purpose of this study is to present a mathematical phrase for calculating the dispersion rate of spilled oil in water column under non-breaking waves. In this regard, a multiphase numerical model is applied for which waves and oil phase were computed concurrently, and accuracy of its hydraulic calculations have been proven. More than 200 various scenarios of oil spilling in wave waters were simulated using the multiphase numerical model and its outcome were collected in a database. The recorded results were investigated to identify the major parameters affected vertical oil dispersion and finally 6 parameters were identified as main independent factors. Furthermore, some statistical tests were conducted to identify any relationship between the dependent variable (dispersed oil mass in the water column) and independent variables (water wave specifications containing height, length and wave period and spilled oil characteristics including density, viscosity and spilled oil mass). Finally, a mathematical-statistical relationship is proposed to predict dispersed oil in marine waters. To verify the proposed relationship, a laboratory example available in the literature was selected. Oil mass rate penetrated in water body computed by statistical regression was in accordance with experimental data was predicted. On this occasion, it was necessary to verify the proposed mathematical phrase. In a selected laboratory case available in the literature, mass oil rate penetrated in water body computed by suggested regression. Results showed good agreement with experimental data. The validated mathematical-statistical phrase is a useful tool for oil dispersion prediction in oil spill events in marine areas.

Keywords: dispersion, marine environment, mathematical-statistical relationship, oil spill

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Authors: Fatemeh Babaeian, Nemai Chandra Karmakar

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Chipless RFID system is a wireless system for tracking and identification which use passive tags for encoding data. The advantage of using chipless RFID tag is having a planar tag which is printable on different low-cost materials like paper and plastic. The printed tag can be attached to different items in the labelling level. Since the price of chipless RFID tag can be as low as a fraction of a cent, this technology has the potential to compete with the conventional optical barcode labels. However, due to the passive structure of the tag, data processing of the reflection signal is a crucial challenge. The captured reflected signal from a tag attached to an item consists of different components which are the reflection from the reader antenna, the reflection from the item, the tag structural mode RCS component and the antenna mode RCS of the tag. All these components are summed up in both time and frequency domains. The effect of reflection from the item and the structural mode RCS component can distort/saturate the frequency domain signal and cause difficulties in extracting the desired component which is the antenna mode RCS. Therefore, it is required to study the reflection of the tag in both time and frequency domains to have a better understanding of the nature of the captured chipless RFID signal. The other benefits of this study can be to find an optimised encoding technique in tag design level and to find the best processing algorithm the chipless RFID signal in decoding level. In this paper, the reflection from a typical backscattered chipless RFID tag with six resonances is analysed, and different components of the signal are separated in both time and frequency domains. Moreover, the time domain signal corresponding to each resonator of the tag is studied. The data for this processing was captured from simulation in CST Microwave Studio 2017. The outcome of this study is understanding different components of a measured signal in a chipless RFID system and a discovering a research gap which is a need to find an optimum detection algorithm for tag ID extraction.

Keywords: antenna mode RCS, chipless RFID tag, resonance, structural mode RCS

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Authors: Nico Rosamilia

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The study evaluates the importance of non-financial disclosure practices for regulators, investors, businesses, and markets. It aims to create a sector-specific set of indicators for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performances alternative to the ratings of the agencies. The existing literature extensively studies the implementation of ESG rating systems. Conversely, this study has a twofold outcome. Firstly, it should generalize incentive systems and governance policies for ESG and sustainable principles. Therefore, it should contribute to the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. Secondly, it concerns the market and the investors by highlighting successful sustainable investing. Indeed, the study contemplates the effect of ESG adoption practices on corporate value. The research explores the asset pricing angle in order to shed light on the fragmented argument on the finance of ESG. Investors may be misguided about the positive or negative effects of ESG on performances. The paper proposes a different method to evaluate ESG performances. By comparing the results of a traditional econometric approach (Lasso) with a machine learning algorithm (Random Forest), the study establishes a set of indicators for ESG performance. Therefore, the research also empirically contributes to the theoretical strands of literature regarding model selection and variable importance in a finance framework. The algorithms will spit out sector-specific indicators. This set of indicators defines an alternative to the compounded scores of ESG rating agencies and avoids the possible offsetting effect of scores. With this approach, the paper defines a sector-specific set of indicators to standardize ESG disclosure. Additionally, it tries to shed light on the absence of a clear understanding of the direction of the ESG effect on corporate value (the problem of endogeneity).

Keywords: ESG ratings, non-financial information, value of firms, sustainable finance

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Authors: Natascha C. D'Amico, Enzo Grossi, Giovanni Valbusa, Ala Malasevschi, Gianpiero Cardone, Sergio Papa

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Purpose: To characterize, through a radiomic approach, the nature of areas classified PI-RADS (Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System) 3/5, recognized in multiparametric prostate magnetic resonance with T2-weighted (T2w), diffusion and perfusion sequences with paramagnetic contrast. Methods and Materials: 24 cases undergoing multiparametric prostate MR and biopsy were admitted to this pilot study. Clinical outcome of the PI-RADS 3/5 was found through biopsy, finding 8 malignant tumours. The analysed images were acquired with a Philips achieva 1.5T machine with a CE- T2-weighted sequence in the axial plane. Semi-automatic tumour segmentation was carried out on MR images using 3DSlicer image analysis software. 45 shape-based, intensity-based and texture-based features were extracted and represented the input for preprocessing. An evolutionary algorithm (a TWIST system based on KNN algorithm) was used to subdivide the dataset into training and testing set and select features yielding the maximal amount of information. After this pre-processing 20 input variables were selected and different machine learning systems were used to develop a predictive model based on a training testing crossover procedure. Results: The best machine learning system (three-layers feed-forward neural network) obtained a global accuracy of 90% ( 80 % sensitivity and 100% specificity ) with a ROC of 0.82. Conclusion: Machine learning systems coupled with radiomics show a promising potential in distinguishing benign from malign tumours in PI-RADS 3/5 areas.

Keywords: machine learning, MR prostate, PI-Rads 3, radiomics

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Esra Danaci, Tugba Kavalali Erdogan, Sevil Masat, Selin Keskin Kiziltepe, Tugba Cinarli, Zeliha Koc

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This study was conducted in a descriptive and cross-sectional manner to determine that factors that influence the self-efficacy and self-sufficiency levels among oncology patients. The research was conducted between January 24, 2017 and September 24, 2017 in the oncology and hematology departments of a university hospital in Turkey with 179 voluntary inpatients. The data were collected through the Self-Sufficiency/Self-Efficacy Scale and a 29-question survey, which was prepared in order to determine the sociodemographic and clinical properties of the patients. The Self-Sufficiency/Self-Efficacy Scale is a Likert-type scale with 23 articles. The scale scores range between 23 and 115. A high final score indicates a good self-sufficiency/self-efficacy perception for the individual. The data were analyzed using percentage analysis, one-way ANOVA, Mann Whitney U-test, Kruskal Wallis test and Tukey test. The demographic data of the subjects were as follows: 57.5% were male and 42.5% were female, 82.7% were married, 46.4% were primary school graduate, 36.3% were housewives, 19% were employed, 93.3% had social security, 52.5% had matching expenses and incomes, 49.2% lived in the center of the city. The mean age was 57.1±14.6. It was determined that 22.3% of the patients had lung cancer, 19.6% had leukemia, and 43.6% had a good overall condition. The mean self-sufficiency/self-efficacy score was 83,00 (41-115). It was determined that the patients' self-sufficiency/self-efficacy scores were influenced by some of their socio-demographic and clinical properties. This study has found that the patients had high self-sufficiency/self-efficacy scores. It is recommended that the nursing care plans should be developed to improve their self-sufficiency/self-efficacy levels in the light of the patients' sociodemographic and clinical properties.

Keywords: oncology, patient, self-efficacy, self-sufficiency

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Authors: Nehal Adel Khalil, Amel Foad Ketat, Fairouz Elsayed Mohamed Ali, Nahla Abdelmoneim Hamid, Hazem Farag Manaa

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Background: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) represents 15% of adult leukemias. Imatinib Mesylate (IM) is the gold standard treatment for new cases of CML. Treatment with IM results in improvement of the majority of cases. However, about 25% of cases may develop resistance. Sensitive and specific early predictors of IM resistance in CML patients have not been established to date. Aim: To investigate the value of miR-451 in CML as an early predictor for IM resistance in Egyptian CML patients. Methods: The study employed Real time Polymerase Reaction (qPCR) technique to investigate the leucocytic expression of miR-451 in fifteen newly diagnosed CML patients (group I), fifteen IM responder CML patients (group II), fifteen IM resistant CML patients (group III) and fifteen healthy subjects of matched age and sex as a control group (group IV). The response to IM was defined as < 10% BCR-ABL transcript level after 3 months of therapy. The following parameters were assessed in subjects of all the studied groups: 1- Complete blood count (CBC). 2- Measurement of plasma level of miRNA 451 using real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR). 3- Detection of BCR-ABL gene mutation in CML using qPCR. Results: The present study revealed that miR-451 was significantly down-regulated in leucocytes of newly diagnosed CML patients as compared to healthy subjects. IM responder CML patients showed an up-regulation of miR- 451 compared with IM resistant CML patients. Conclusion: According to the data from the present study, it can be concluded that leucocytic miR- 451 expression is a useful additional follow-up marker for the response to IM and a promising prognostic biomarker for CML.

Keywords: chronic myeloid leukemia, imatinib resistance, microRNA 451, Polymerase Chain Reaction

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