Search results for: media usage
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 4691

Search results for: media usage

2291 Development of Trigger Tool to Identify Adverse Drug Events From Warfarin Administered to Patient Admitted in Medical Wards of Chumphae Hospital

Authors: Puntarikorn Rungrattanakasin

Abstract:

Objectives: To develop the trigger tool to warn about the risk of bleeding as an adverse event from warfarin drug usage during admission in Medical Wards of Chumphae Hospital. Methods: A retrospective study was performed by reviewing the medical records for the patients admitted between June 1st,2020- May 31st, 2021. ADEs were evaluated by Naranjo’s algorithm. The international normalized ratio (INR) and events of bleeding during admissions were collected. Statistical analyses, including Chi-square test and Reciever Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve for optimal INR threshold, were used for the study. Results: Among the 139 admissions, the INR range was found to vary between 0.86-14.91, there was a total of 15 bleeding events, out of which 9 were mild, and 6 were severe. The occurrence of bleeding started whenever the INR was greater than 2.5 and reached the statistical significance (p <0.05), which was in concordance with the ROC curve and yielded 100 % sensitivity and 60% specificity in the detection of a bleeding event. In this regard, the INR greater than 2.5 was considered to be an optimal threshold to alert promptly for bleeding tendency. Conclusions: The INR value of greater than 2.5 (>2.5) would be an appropriate trigger tool to warn of the risk of bleeding for patients taking warfarin in Chumphae Hospital.

Keywords: trigger tool, warfarin, risk of bleeding, medical wards

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2290 Political Islam: From Coinage to Hot Debate

Authors: Sajid Iqbal Sheikh

Abstract:

From almost last 100 years 'political islam' has diversity in its usage as terminology in the speculative works of both muslim and non-muslims theorists. 'Political islam' as a term was coined consciously as equal to the 'militant islam' and “Terrorist Islam” vs “Plain Islam” and “Modern Islam” etc. Many paradigm shifts tamed the term into one of the hottest debate of the day. This research paper aims to categorize historical linkage of its coinage, development phases and present status. Based on content analysis, Narrative approach has been utilized for the sake of dexterous conclusion. The paper treasures out that Western dominance on civilizational and political spheres of the holistic world considers 'political islam' a gigantic threat and plans to resist it in theoretic and practical fields simultaneously. Despite minor strategic variances, the ideological followers of Syed Qutab, Mulana Mudoodi and Hasan Al-Bana, are struggling hard for the achievement of their ultimate goal of Political change, specifically in the Muslim World in the prior phase. The paper concludes that Resistance to Islamic resurgence and its Political goals is being observed in most of the Muslim world, especially in the Turkey, Algeria, Egypt, Tsunia and Yeman etc, which is a basic cause of contrary reaction in the Muslim World.

Keywords: electoral process, islamic resurgence, islamic political theory, muslim response, resistance, western hegemony

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2289 The Solution of the Direct Problem of Electrical Prospecting with Direct Current Under Conditions of Ground Surface Relief

Authors: Balgaisha Mukanova, Tolkyn Mirgalikyzy

Abstract:

Theory of interpretation of electromagnetic fields studied in the electrical prospecting with direct current is mainly developed for the case of a horizontal surface observation. However in practice we often have to work in difficult terrain surface. Conducting interpretation without the influence of topography can cause non-existent anomalies on sections. This raises the problem of studying the impact of different shapes of ground surface relief on the results of electrical prospecting's research. This research examines the numerical solutions of the direct problem of electrical prospecting for two-dimensional and three-dimensional media, taking into account the terrain. The problem is solved using the method of integral equations. The density of secondary currents on the relief surface is obtained.

Keywords: ground surface relief, method of integral equations, numerical method, electromagnetic

Procedia PDF Downloads 361
2288 Potential Biosorption of Rhodococcus erythropolis, an Isolated Strain from Sossego Copper Mine, Brazil

Authors: Marcela dos P. G. Baltazar, Louise H. Gracioso, Luciana J. Gimenes, Bruno Karolski, Ingrid Avanzi, Elen A. Perpetuo

Abstract:

In this work, bacterial strains were isolated from environmental samples from a copper mine and three of them presented potential for bioremediation of copper. All the strains were identified by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-Biotyper) and grown in three diferent media supplemented with 100 ppm of copper chloride in flasks of 500mL and it was incubated at 28 °C and 180 rpm. Periodically, samples were taken and monitored for cellular growth and copper biosorption by spectrophotometer UV-Vis (600 nm) and Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES), respectively. At the end of exponential phase of cellular growth, the biomass was utilized to construct a correlation curve between absorbance and dry mass of the cells. Among the three isolates with potential for biorremediation, 1 strain exhibit capacity the most for bioremediation of effluents contaminated by copper being identified as Rhodococcus erythropolis.

Keywords: bioprocess, bioremediation, biosorption, copper

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2287 A Reactive Fast Inter-MAP Handover for Hierarchical Mobile IPv6

Authors: Pyung Soo Kim

Abstract:

This paper proposes an optimized reactive fast intermobility anchor point (MAP) handover scheme for Hierarchical Mobile IPv6, called the ORFH-HMIPv6, to minimize packet loss of the existing scheme. The key idea of the proposed ORFHHMIPv6 scheme is that the serving MAP buffers packets toward the mobile node (MN) as soon as the link layer between MN and serving base station is disconnected. To implement the proposed scheme, the MAP discovery message exchanged between MN and serving MAP is extended. In addition, the IEEE 802.21 Media Independent Handover Function (MIHF) event service message is defined newly. Through analytic performance evaluation, the proposed ORFH-HMIPv6 scheme can be shown to minimize packet loss much than the existing scheme.

Keywords: hierarchical mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6), fast handover, reactive behavior, packet loss

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2286 A Novel Image Steganography Method Based on Mandelbrot Fractal

Authors: Adnan H. M. Al-Helali, Hamza A. Ali

Abstract:

The growth of censorship and pervasive monitoring on the Internet, Steganography arises as a new means of achieving secret communication. Steganography is the art and science of embedding information within electronic media used by common applications and systems. Generally, hiding information of multimedia within images will change some of their properties that may introduce few degradation or unusual characteristics. This paper presents a new image steganography approach for hiding information of multimedia (images, text, and audio) using generated Mandelbrot Fractal image as a cover. The proposed technique has been extensively tested with different images. The results show that the method is a very secure means of hiding and retrieving steganographic information. Experimental results demonstrate that an effective improvement in the values of the Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), Mean Square Error (MSE), Normalized Cross Correlation (NCC), and Image Fidelity (IF) over the pervious techniques.

Keywords: fractal image, information hiding, Mandelbrot set fractal, steganography

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2285 Investigation on the Capacitive Deionization of Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes (F-CNTs) and Silver-Decorated F-CNTs for Water Softening

Authors: Khrizelle Angelique Sablan, Rizalinda De Leon, Jaeyoung Lee, Joey Ocon

Abstract:

The impending water shortage drives us to find alternative sources of water. One of the possible solutions is desalination of seawater. There are numerous processes by which it can be done and one if which is capacitive deionization. Capacitive deionization is a relatively new technique for water desalination. It utilizes the electric double layer for ion adsorption. Carbon-based materials are commonly used as electrodes for capacitive deionization. In this study, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were treated in a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acid. The silver addition was also facilitated to incorporate antimicrobial action. The acid-treated carbon nanotubes (f-CNTs) and silver-decorated f-CNTs (Ag@f-CNTs) were used as electrode materials for seawater deionization and compared with CNT and acid-treated CNT. The synthesized materials were characterized using TEM, EDS, XRD, XPS and BET. The electrochemical performance was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry, and the deionization performance was tested on a single cell with water containing 64mg/L NaCl. The results showed that the synthesized Ag@f-CNT-10 H could have better performance than CNT and a-CNT with a maximum ion removal efficiency of 50.22% and a corresponding adsorption capacity of 3.21 mg/g. It also showed antimicrobial activity against E. coli. However, the said material lacks stability as the efficiency decreases with repeated usage of the electrode.

Keywords: capacitive deionization, carbon nanotubes, desalination, acid functionalization, silver

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2284 Diffusion of “Not One Woman Less”: Argentina and Beyond

Authors: Adriana Piatti-Crocker

Abstract:

Drawing on archival documentation, digital platforms, academic journals, and reports, this research will explore the diffusion of a protest movement in Latin America. Starting in Argentina in 2015, this paper will explain how the hashtag #NiUnaMenos (“Not One Woman Less”), created to combat violence against women and girls, led to the spread of a regionwide movement. A year after its introduction, hundreds of thousands of activists mobilized on the streets of major cities in Latin America. Movements arose to protest against specific circumstances and contexts under the hashtag #NiUnaMenos, but the main goal of all of these protests was to fight against misogynist violence. Moreover, unlike previous social movements, the use of social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, and Twitter, changed the depth and scope of these protests and led to an unprecedented speed in helping transmit their messages, strategies, identities, and goals.

Keywords: social protests, #NiUnaMenos ( Not one woman less), diffusion of social protests, protests and mysoginist violence

Procedia PDF Downloads 90
2283 Composition and Catalytic Behaviour of Biogenic Iron Containing Materials Obtained by Leptothrix Bacteria Cultivation in Different Growth Media

Authors: M. Shopska, D. Paneva, G. Kadinov, Z. Cherkezova-Zheleva, I. Mitov

Abstract:

The iron containing materials are used as catalysts in different processes. The chemical methods of their synthesis use toxic and expensive chemicals; sophisticated devices; energy consumption processes that raise their cost. Besides, dangerous waste products are formed. At present time such syntheses are out of date and wasteless technologies are indispensable. The bioinspired technologies are consistent with the ecological requirements. Different microorganisms participate in the biomineralization of the iron and some phytochemicals are involved, too. The methods for biogenic production of iron containing materials are clean, simple, nontoxic, realized at ambient temperature and pressure, cheaper. The biogenic iron materials embrace different iron compounds. Due to their origin these substances are nanosized, amorphous or poorly crystalline, porous and have number of useful properties like SPM, high magnetism, low toxicity, biocompatibility, absorption of microwaves, high surface area/volume ratio, active sites on the surface with unusual coordination that distinguish them from the bulk materials. The biogenic iron materials are applied in the heterogeneous catalysis in different roles - precursor, active component, support, immobilizer. The application of biogenic iron oxide materials gives rise to increased catalytic activity in comparison with those of abiotic origin. In our study we investigated the catalytic behavior of biomasses obtained by cultivation of Leptothrix bacteria in three nutrition media – Adler, Fedorov, and Lieske. The biomass composition was studied by Moessbauer spectroscopy and transmission IRS. Catalytic experiments on CO oxidation were carried out using in situ DRIFTS. Our results showed that: i) the used biomasses contain α-FeOOH, γ-FeOOH, γ-Fe2O3 in different ratios; ii) the biomass formed in Adler medium contains γ-FeOOH as main phase. The CO conversion was about 50% as evaluated by decreased integrated band intensity in the gas mixture spectra during the reaction. The main phase in the spent sample is γ-Fe2O3; iii) the biomass formed in Lieske medium contains α-FeOOH. The CO conversion was about 20%. The main phase in the spent sample is α-Fe2O3; iv) the biomass formed in Fedorov medium contains γ-Fe2O3 as main phase. CO conversion in the test reaction was about 19%. The results showed that the catalytic activity up to 200°C resulted predominantly from α-FeOOH and γ-FeOOH. The catalytic activity at temperatures higher than 200°C was due to the formation of γ-Fe2O3. The oxyhydroxides, which are the principal compounds in the biomass, have low catalytic activity in the used reaction; the maghemite has relatively good catalytic activity; the hematite has activity commensurate with that of the oxyhydroxides. Moreover it can be affirmed that catalytic activity is inherent in maghemite, which is obtained by transformation of the biogenic lepidocrocite, i.e. it has biogenic precursor.

Keywords: nanosized biogenic iron compounds, catalytic behavior in reaction of CO oxidation, in situ DRIFTS, Moessbauer spectroscopy

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2282 In-Vitro Assessment of Saponin’s Level and Hemolytic Activity of Five Medicinal Plants from Eritrea

Authors: Leah Ghebreberhan, Liya Abraham, John Issac, Atul Kaushik

Abstract:

Medicinal plants are used for various indications in Eritrea according to traditional systems of medicine. Safety concerns, however, are dubious since some medicinal plants have toxic effects indeed. The medicinal plants under study (Commicarpus pedunculosis, Steganotaenia araliaceae, Boscia angustifolia, Solanum incanum, and Calpurnia aurea) are used in the treatment of various diseases. Thus, safety studies must be performed prior to usage since they are rich in phytoconstituents like saponins. Saponns are natural glycosides with several pharmacologic activities including hemolysis. The study was done to assess the level of saponin and toxic effects (hemolysis) of medicinal plants used in folk medicine. The plant extracts were subject to phytochemical analysis, foam test, and hemolytic assay. Regarding the Fh value, Solanam incanum consisted highest Fh value (20mm), whereas Boscia angustifolia showed the lowest Fh value (10mm). The level of hemolysis of all the plant extracts ranged between 9.0 to 20.2 %. All the plant extracts were suitable for treatment with respect to saponin level since they exhibited minimal hemolytic effect against erythrocytes.

Keywords: Boscia angustifolia, Calpurnia aurea, Commicarpus pedunculosis, hemolysis, saponin, Solanum incanum, Steganotaenia araliaceae

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2281 Communicative and Artistic Machines: A Survey of Models and Experiments on Artificial Agents

Authors: Artur Matuck, Guilherme F. Nobre

Abstract:

Machines can be either tool, media, or social agents. Advances in technology have been delivering machines capable of autonomous expression, both through communication and art. This paper deals with models (theoretical approach) and experiments (applied approach) related to artificial agents. On one hand it traces how social sciences' scholars have worked with topics such as text automatization, man-machine writing cooperation, and communication. On the other hand it covers how computer sciences' scholars have built communicative and artistic machines, including the programming of creativity. The aim is to present a brief survey on artificially intelligent communicators and artificially creative writers, and provide the basis to understand the meta-authorship and also to new and further man-machine co-authorship.

Keywords: artificial communication, artificial creativity, artificial writers, meta-authorship, robotic art

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2280 Projection of Health Issues in Contemporary Indian Cinema: A Study on Selected Bollywood Movies

Authors: Sananda Mukherjee, Nandini Lakshmikantha

Abstract:

Films are considered as the most influential form of mass media. To attract audience films are made on various themes and issues which are assumed to have an impact on the behavioural pattern of the society. Among the various issues that have been bothering Indian society, health is primary. Thus it is important and interesting to study how health is being projected in Bollywood which is largely considered by the world as Indian cinema. This study tries to focus its attention on some select popular movies made in the recent decade and will try to analyse its content and significance of the same with the contemporary Indian society. It is evident that some of the movies made projecting health issues have earned good box office revenues, but have they been successful in making the public understand the significance of health issues they have been trying to project, is an interesting area to understand.

Keywords: box office, health issues, Indian cinema, social awareness

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2279 The Relation between Vitamin C and Oral Health

Authors: Mai Ashraf Talaat

Abstract:

Background: Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential nutrient for the development and repair of all body tissues. It can be obtained from a healthy diet or through supplementation. Due to its importance, vitamin C has become a mainstay in the treatment and prevention of many diseases and in maintaining immune, skin, bone and overall health. This review article aims to discuss the studies and case reports conducted to evaluate the effect of Vitamin C on oral health and the recent advances in oral medicine that involve the use of vitamin C. Data/Sources: The review was conducted for clinical studies, case reports and published literature in the English language that addresses this topic. An extensive search in the electronic databases of PubMed, PubMed Central, Web of Science, National Library of Medicine and ResearchGate was performed. Conclusion: Vitamin C is thought to treat periodontal diseases and gingival enlargement. It also affects biofilm formation and therefore, it helps in reducing caries incidence. Recently, vitamin C mesotherapy has been used to treat inflamed gingiva, bleeding gums and gingival hyperpigmentation. More research and randomized controlled trials are needed on this specific topic for more accurate judgment. Clinical significance: A minimally invasive approach - the usage of vitamin C in dental care could drastically reduce the need for surgical intervention.

Keywords: oral health, periodontology, vitamin C, Gingivitis

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2278 An Analysis Study of a Participatory Design Workshop from the Perspectives of Communication Strategies and Tools

Authors: Meng-Yu Wun, Jiunde Lee

Abstract:

Participatory design transfers the role of design team becoming the facilitator who manages to work collaboratively with the 'partners of innovation': users. This facilitator role not just concerns the users’ behaviors or insights under the common practice of user-centered design, it emphasizes the importance of communication experience conducted by various strategies and tools in a workshop session which could profoundly impact the quality of the co-creation process. To investigate the communication experience in the participatory design, this study proposed a qualitative research to analyze communication strategies and tools. A participatory design workshop and following in-depth interviews were carried out to explore how participants (facilitators, users) might apply different strategies and tools to enhance the communication process. The major study findings are as follows: (a) roles had influence on communication experience; facilitators’ principles and methods influenced the usage of facilitation strategies in various situations, while users put more emphasis on communication activities and goals aimed to complete the design tasks, (b) communication tools should be both fixed and changeable: participants had fixed cognition on different forms of communication tools; with the fundamental cognition, they could choose and make use of tools according to their needs, (c) the management of workshop communication should be flexible: controlling the schedule, stimulating innovations, and creating the space for conversation are crucial to facilitate in a participatory workshop.

Keywords: communication experience, facilitation, participatory design, workshop

Procedia PDF Downloads 154
2277 Oil Reservoirs Bifurcation Analysis in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Fractal Characterization Approach of Makelekese MS-25 Field

Authors: Leonard Mike McNelly Longwa, Divine Kusosa Musiku, D. Nahum Kabeya

Abstract:

In this paper the bifurcation analysis of oilfield in Democratic Republic of Congo is presented in order to enhance petroleum production in an intense tectonic evolution characterized by distinct compressive and extensive phases and the digenetic transformation in the reservoirs during burial geological configuration. The use of porous media in Makelekese MS-25 field has been established to simulate the boundaries within 3 sedimentary basins open to exploration including the coastal basin with an area of 5992 km2, a central basin with an area of 800,000 km2, the western branch of the East African Rift in which there are 50,000 km2. The fractal characterization of complex hydro-dynamic fractures in oilfield is developed to facilitate oil production process based on reservoirs bifurcation model.

Keywords: reservoir bifurcation, fractal characterisation, permeability, conductivity, skin effect

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2276 Developing a Secure Iris Recognition System by Using Advance Convolutional Neural Network

Authors: Kamyar Fakhr, Roozbeh Salmani

Abstract:

Alphonse Bertillon developed the first biometric security system in the 1800s. Today, many governments and giant companies are considering or have procured biometrically enabled security schemes. Iris is a kaleidoscope of patterns and colors. Each individual holds a set of irises more unique than their thumbprint. Every single day, giant companies like Google and Apple are experimenting with reliable biometric systems. Now, after almost 200 years of improvements, face ID does not work with masks, it gives access to fake 3D images, and there is no global usage of biometric recognition systems as national identity (ID) card. The goal of this paper is to demonstrate the advantages of iris recognition overall biometric recognition systems. It make two extensions: first, we illustrate how a very large amount of internet fraud and cyber abuse is happening due to bugs in face recognition systems and in a very large dataset of 3.4M people; second, we discuss how establishing a secure global network of iris recognition devices connected to authoritative convolutional neural networks could be the safest solution to this dilemma. Another aim of this study is to provide a system that will prevent system infiltration caused by cyber-attacks and will block all wireframes to the data until the main user ceases the procedure.

Keywords: biometric system, convolutional neural network, cyber-attack, secure

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2275 Microbial Evaluation of Geophagic and Cosmetic Clays from Southern and Western Nigeria: Potential Natural Nanomaterials

Authors: Bisi-Johnson, Mary A., Hamzart A. Oyelade, Kehinde A. Adediran, Saheed A. Akinola

Abstract:

Geophagic and cosmetic clays are among potential nano-material which occur naturally and are of various forms. The use of these nano-clays is a common practice in both rural and urban areas mostly due to tradition and medicinal reasons. These naturally occurring materials can be valuable sources of nano-material by serving as nano-composites. The need to ascertain the safety of these materials is the motivation for this research. Physical Characterization based on the hue value and microbiological qualities of the nano-clays were carried out. The Microbial analysis of the clay samples showed considerable contamination with both bacteria and fungi with fungal contaminants taking the lead. This observation may not be unlikely due to the ability of fungi species to survive harsher growth conditions than bacteria. 'Atike pupa' showed no bacterial growth. The clay with the largest bacterial count was Calabash chalk (Igbanke), while that with the highest fungal count was 'Eko grey'. The most commonly isolated bacteria in this study were Clostridium spp. and Corynebacterium spp. while fungi included Aspergillus spp. These results are an indication of the need to subject these clay materials to treatments such as heating before consumption or topical usage thereby ascertaining their safety.

Keywords: nano-material, clay, microorganism, quality

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2274 Delineation of Soil Physical Properties Using Electrical Conductivity, Case Study: Volcanic Soil Simulation Model

Authors: Twin Aji Kusumagiani, Eleonora Agustine, Dini Fitriani

Abstract:

The value changes of soil physical properties in the agricultural area are giving impacts on soil fertility. This can be caused by excessive usage of inorganic fertilizers and imbalances on organic fertilization. Soil physical parameters that can be measured include soil electrical conductivity, water content volume, soil porosity, dielectric permittivity, etc. This study used the electrical conductivity and volume water content as the measured physical parameters. The study was conducted on volcanic soil obtained from agricultural land conditioned with NPK fertilizer and salt in a certain amount. The dimension of the conditioned soil being used is 1 x 1 x 0.5 meters. By using this method, we can delineate the soil electrical conductivity value of land due to changes in the provision of inorganic NPK fertilizer and the salinity in the soil. Zone with the additional 1 kg of salt has the dimension of 60 cm in width, 20 cm in depth and 1 cm in thickness while zone with the additional of 10 kg NPK fertilizer has the dimensions of 70 cm in width, 20 cm in depth and 3 cm in thickness. This salt addition resulted in EC values changes from the original condition. Changes of the EC value tend to occur at a depth of 20 to 40 cm on the line 1B at 9:45 dS/cm and line 1C of 9.35 dS/cm and tend to have the direction to the Northeast.

Keywords: EC, electrical conductivity, VWC, volume water content, NPK fertilizer, salt, volcanic soil

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2273 Lower Risk of Ischemic Stroke in Hormone Therapy Users with Use of Chinese Herbal Medicine

Authors: Shu-Hui Wen, Wei-Chuan Chang, Hsien-Chang Wu

Abstract:

Background: Little is known about the benefits and risks of use of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in conditions related to hormone therapy (HT) use on the risk of ischemic stroke (IS). The aim of this study is to explore the risk of IS in menopausal women treated with HT and CHM. Materials and methods: A total of 32,441 menopausal women without surgical menopause aged 40- 65 years were selected from 2003 to 2010 using the 2-million random samples of the National Health Insurance Research Database in Taiwan. According to the medication usage of HT and CHM, we divided the current and recent users into two groups: an HT use-only group (n = 4,989) and an HT/CHM group (n = 9,265). Propensity-score matching samples (4,079 pairs) were further created to deal with confounding by indication. The adjusted hazard ratios (HR) of IS during HT or CHM treatment were estimated by the robust Cox proportional hazards model. Results: The incidence rate of IS in the HT/CHM group was significantly lower than in the HT group (4.5 vs. 12.8 per 1000 person-year, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis results indicated that additional CHM use was significant with a lower risk of IS (HR = 0.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.21-0.43). Further subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses had similar findings. Conclusion: We found that combined use of HT and CHM was associated with a lower risk for IS than HT use only. Further study is needed to examine possible mechanism underlying this association.

Keywords: Chinese herbal medicine, hormone therapy, ischemic stroke, menopause

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2272 The Perspective of Smart Thermoregulation in Personal Protective Equipment

Authors: Alireza Saidi

Abstract:

Aside from injuries due to direct contact with hot or cold substances or objects, exposure to extreme temperatures in the workplace involves physical hazards to workers. On the other hand, a poorly acclimatized worker may have reduced performance and alertness and may, therefore, be more vulnerable to the risk of accidents and injuries. Due to the incompatibility of the standards put in place with certain workplaces and the lack of thermoregulation in many protective equipments, thermal strains remain among the physical risks most present in many work sectors. However, many of these problems can be overcome thanks to the potential of intelligent textile technologies allowing intelligent thermoregulation in protective equipment. Nowadays, technologies such as heating elements, cooling elements are applied in products intended for sport and leisure, and research work has been carried out in the integration of temperature sensors and thermal stress detectors in personal protective equipment. However, the usage of all of these technologies in personal protective equipment remains very marginal. This article presents a portrait of the current state of intelligent thermoregulation systems by carrying out a synthesis of technical developments, which is accompanied by a gap analysis of current developments. Thus, the research work necessary for the adaptation and integration of intelligent thermoregulation systems with personal protective equipment is discussed in order to offer a perspective of future developments.

Keywords: personal protective equipment, smart textiles, thermoregulation, thermal strain

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2271 Attribute Analysis of Quick Response Code Payment Users Using Discriminant Non-negative Matrix Factorization

Authors: Hironori Karachi, Haruka Yamashita

Abstract:

Recently, the system of quick response (QR) code is getting popular. Many companies introduce new QR code payment services and the services are competing with each other to increase the number of users. For increasing the number of users, we should grasp the difference of feature of the demographic information, usage information, and value of users between services. In this study, we conduct an analysis of real-world data provided by Nomura Research Institute including the demographic data of users and information of users’ usages of two services; LINE Pay, and PayPay. For analyzing such data and interpret the feature of them, Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) is widely used; however, in case of the target data, there is a problem of the missing data. EM-algorithm NMF (EMNMF) to complete unknown values for understanding the feature of the given data presented by matrix shape. Moreover, for comparing the result of the NMF analysis of two matrices, there is Discriminant NMF (DNMF) shows the difference of users features between two matrices. In this study, we combine EMNMF and DNMF and also analyze the target data. As the interpretation, we show the difference of the features of users between LINE Pay and Paypay.

Keywords: data science, non-negative matrix factorization, missing data, quality of services

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2270 An Analysis of the Strategies Employed to Curate, Conserve and Digitize the Timbuktu Manuscripts

Authors: F. Saptouw

Abstract:

This paper briefly reviews the range of curatorial interventions made to preserve and display the Timbuktu Manuscripts. The government of South Africa and Mali collaborated to preserve the manuscripts, and brief notes will be presented about the value of archives in those specific spaces. The research initiatives of the Tombouctou Manuscripts Project, based at the University of Cape Town, feature prominently in the text. A brief overview of the history of the archive will be presented and its preservation as a key turning point in curating the intellectual history of the continent. ­­­The strategies of preservation, curation, publication and digitization are presented as complimentary interventions. Each materialization of the manuscripts contributes something significant; the complexity of the contribution is dependent primarily on the format of presentation. This integrated reading of the manuscripts is presented as a means to gain a more nuanced understanding of the past, which greatly surpasses how much information would be gleaned from relying on a single media format.

Keywords: archive, curatorship, cultural heritage, museum practice, Timbuktu manuscripts

Procedia PDF Downloads 108
2269 Qualitative Narrative Framework as Tool for Reduction of Stigma and Prejudice

Authors: Anastasia Schnitzer, Oliver Rehren

Abstract:

Mental health has become an increasingly important topic in society in recent years, not least due to the challenges posed by the corona pandemic. Along with this, the public has become more and more aware that a lack of enlightenment and proper coping mechanisms may result in a notable risk to develop mental disorders. Yet, there are still many biases against those affected, which are further connected to issues of stigmatization and societal exclusion. One of the main strategies to combat these forms of prejudice and stigma is to induce intergroup contact. More specifically, the Intergroup Contact Theory states engaging in certain types of contact with members of marginalized groups may be an effective way to improve attitudes towards these groups. However, due to the persistent prejudice and stigmatization, affected individuals often do not dare to speak openly about their mental disorders, so that intergroup contact often goes unnoticed. As a result, many people only experience conscious contact with individuals with a mental disorder through media. As an analogy to the Intergroup Contact Theory, the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis proposes that repeatedly being exposed to positive media representations of outgroup members can lead to a reduction of negative prejudices and attitudes towards this outgroup. While there is a growing body of research on the merit of this mechanism, measurements often only consist of 'positive' or 'negative' parasocial contact conditions (or examine the valence or quality of the previous contact with the outgroup); meanwhile, more specific conditions are often neglected. The current study aims to tackle this shortcoming. By scrutinizing the potential of contemporary series as a narrative framework of high quality, we strive to elucidate more detailed aspects of beneficial parasocial contact -for the sake of reducing prejudice and stigma towards individuals with mental disorders. Thus, a two-factorial between-subject online panel study with three measurement points was conducted (N = 95). Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups, having to watch episodes of either a series with a narrative framework of high (Quality-TV) or low quality (Continental-TV), with one-week interval in-between the episodes. Suitable series were determined with the help of a pretest. Prejudice and stigma towards people with mental disorders were measured at the beginning of the study, before and after each episode, and in a final follow-up one week after the last two episodes. Additionally, parasocial interaction (PSI), quality of contact (QoC), and transportation were measured several times. Based on these data, multivariate multilevel analyses were performed in R using the lavaan package. Latent growth models showed moderate to high increases in QoC and PSI as well as small to moderate decreases in stigma and prejudice over time. Multilevel path analysis with individual and group levels further revealed that a qualitative narrative framework leads to a higher quality of contact experience, which then leads to lower prejudice and stigma, with effects ranging from moderate to high.

Keywords: prejudice, quality of contact, parasocial contact, narrative framework

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2268 Effect of Non-Ionic Surfactants on in vitro Release of Ketorolactromethamine

Authors: Ajay Aggarwal, Kamal Saroha, Sanju Nanda

Abstract:

Niosomes or non-ionic surfactant vesicles are microscopic lamellar structures formed on admixture of non-ionic surfactant of the alkyl or dialkyl polyglycerol ether class and cholesterol with subsequent hydration in aqueous media. They are vesicular systems similar to liposomes that can be used as carriers of amphiphilic and lipophilic drugs. Entrapment efficiency was found to be higher in case of niosome prepared with span60 than niosome prepared with tween. The amount of release was found to be in order of Span20>Tween60>Tween20>Span60. As the concentration of surfactant is increased in vitro release was increased due to high entrapment. The stability study of optimized batch revealed that particle size was increased after 3months on increasing the temperature. On the other hand entrapment efficiency was decreased on increasing the temperature.

Keywords: niosomes, vesicles, span, tween, in vitro release

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2267 Analysis of Brain Signals Using Neural Networks Optimized by Co-Evolution Algorithms

Authors: Zahra Abdolkarimi, Naser Zourikalatehsamad,

Abstract:

Up to 40 years ago, after recognition of epilepsy, it was generally believed that these attacks occurred randomly and suddenly. However, thanks to the advance of mathematics and engineering, such attacks can be predicted within a few minutes or hours. In this way, various algorithms for long-term prediction of the time and frequency of the first attack are presented. In this paper, by considering the nonlinear nature of brain signals and dynamic recorded brain signals, ANFIS model is presented to predict the brain signals, since according to physiologic structure of the onset of attacks, more complex neural structures can better model the signal during attacks. Contribution of this work is the co-evolution algorithm for optimization of ANFIS network parameters. Our objective is to predict brain signals based on time series obtained from brain signals of the people suffering from epilepsy using ANFIS. Results reveal that compared to other methods, this method has less sensitivity to uncertainties such as presence of noise and interruption in recorded signals of the brain as well as more accuracy. Long-term prediction capacity of the model illustrates the usage of planted systems for warning medication and preventing brain signals.

Keywords: co-evolution algorithms, brain signals, time series, neural networks, ANFIS model, physiologic structure, time prediction, epilepsy suffering, illustrates model

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2266 State of Play of Mobile Government Apps on Google Play Store

Authors: Abdelbaset Rabaiah

Abstract:

e-Government mobile applications provide an extension for effective e-government services in today’s omniconnected world. They constitute part of m-government platforms. This study explores the usefulness, availability, discoverability and maturity of such applications. While this study impacts theory by addressing a relatively lacking area, it impacts practice more. The outcomes of this study suggest valuable recommendations for practitioners-developers of e-government applications. The methodology followed is to examine a large number of e-government smartphone applications. The focus is on applications available at the Google Play Store. Moreover, the study investigates applications published on government portals of a number of countries. A sample of 15 countries is researched. The results show a diversity in the level of discoverability, development, maturity, and usage of smartphone apps dedicated for use of e-government services. It was found that there are major issues in discovering e-government applications on both the Google Play Store and as-well-as on local government portals. The study found that only a fraction of mobile government applications was published on the Play Store. Only 19% of apps were multilingual, and 43% were developed by third parties including private individuals. Further analysis was made, and important recommendations are suggested in this paper for a better utilization of e-government smartphone applications. These recommendations will result in better discoverability, maturity, and usefulness of e-government applications.

Keywords: mobile applications, e-government, m-government, Google Play Store

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2265 A Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process Approach for the Decision of Maintenance Priorities of Building Entities: A Case Study in a Facilities Management Company

Authors: Wai Ho Darrell Kwok

Abstract:

Building entities are valuable assets of a society, however, all of them are suffered from the ravages of weather and time. Facilitating onerous maintenance activities is the only way to either maintain or enhance the value and contemporary standard of the premises. By the way, maintenance budget is always bounded by the corresponding threshold limit. In order to optimize the limited resources allocation in carrying out maintenance, there is a substantial need to prioritize maintenance work. This paper reveals the application of Fuzzy AHP in a Facilities Management Company determining the maintenance priorities on the basis of predetermined criteria, viz., Building Status (BS), Effects on Fabrics (EF), Effects on Sustainability (ES), Effects on Users (EU), Importance of Usage (IU) and Physical Condition (PC) in dealing with categorized 8 predominant building components maintenance aspects for building premises. From the case study, it is found that ‘building exterior repainting or re-tiling’, ‘spalling concrete repair works among exterior area’ and ‘lobby renovation’ are the top three maintenance priorities from facilities manager and maintenance expertise personnel. Through the application of the Fuzzy AHP for maintenance priorities decision algorithm, a more systemic and easier comparing scalar linearity factors being explored even in considering other multiple criteria decision scenarios of building maintenance issue.

Keywords: building maintenance, fuzzy AHP, maintenance priority, multi-criteria decision making

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2264 Production of Biosurfactant by Pseudomonas luteola on a Reject from the Production of Anti-scorpion Serum

Authors: Radia Chemlal, Youcef Hamidi, Nabil Mameri

Abstract:

This study deals with the production of biosurfactant by the Pseudomonas luteola strain on three different culture media (semi-synthetic medium M1, whey, and pharmaceutical reject) in the presence of gasoil. The monitoring of bacterial growth by measuring the optical density at 600 nm by spectrophotometer and the surface tension clearly showed the ability of Pseudomonas luteola to produce biosurfactants at various conditions of the culture medium. The biosurfactant produced in the pharmaceutical reject medium generated a decrease in the surface tension with a percentage of 19.4% greater than the percentage obtained when using whey which is 7.0%. The pharmaceutical rejection is diluted at various percentages ranging from 5% to 100% in order to study the effect of the concentration on the biosurfactant production. The best result inducing the great reduction of the surface tension value is obtained at the dilution of 30% with the pharmaceutical reject.

Keywords: biosurfactant, pseudomonas luteola, whey, antiscorpionic serum, gas oil

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2263 Double Diffusive Natural Convection in Horizontal Elliptical Annulus Containing a Fluid-Saturated Porous Medium: Effects of Lewis Number

Authors: Hichem Boulechfar, Mahfoud Djezzar

Abstract:

Two-dimensional double diffusive natural convection in an annular elliptical space filled with fluid-saturated porous medium, is analyzed by solving numerically the mass balance, momentum, energy and concentration equations, using Darcy's law and Boussinesq approximation. Both walls delimiting the annular space are maintained at two uniform different temperatures and concentrations. The external parameter considered is the Lewis number. For the present work, the heat and mass transfer for natural convection is studied for the case of aiding buoyancies, where the flow is generated in a cooperative mode by both temperature and solutal gradients. The local Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are presented in term of the external parameter.

Keywords: double diffusive, natural convection, porous media, elliptical annulus

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2262 Experimental Study of Flow Effects of Solid Particles’ Size in Porous Media

Authors: S. Akridiss, E. El Tabach, K. Chetehouna, N. Gascoin, M. S. Kadiri

Abstract:

Transpiration cooling combined to regenerative cooling is a technique that could be used to cool the porous walls of the future ramjet combustion chambers; it consists of using fuel that will flow through the pores of the porous material consisting of the chamber walls, as coolant. However, at high temperature, the fuel is pyrolysed and generates solid coke particles inside the porous materials. This phenomenon can lead to a significant decrease of the material permeability and can affect the efficiency of the cooling system. In order to better understand this phenomenon, an experimental laboratory study was undertaken to determine the transport and deposition of particles in a sintered porous material subjected to steady state flow. The test bench composed of a high-pressure autoclave is used to study the transport of different particle size (35

Keywords: experimental study, permeability, porous material, suspended particles

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