Search results for: plasma glucose level

Authors: Ilya Vladimirovich Konevtsev, Elena Anatolievna Rodionova

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This work is devoted to the study of the impact of the methodology of flexible management in IT companies on the level of organizational and professional stress of employees. It is assumed that the level of organizational and professional stress will decrease statistically significantly, provided that the company operates in accordance with the principles of flexible methodology, including Scrum or Kanban frameworks. The professional health of employees of various companies in the modern world is a stable interest for organizational psychology and many other related disciplines. The urgency of the problem is due to the fact that professional health is an extremely important factor that ensures the well-being, involvement, and interest of an employee in the activity, which directly affects his efficiency and work results. The use of modern methodologies for managing projects, teams, and entire companies, as practice shows, largely contributes to improving the efficiency and satisfaction of employees, but it is still not clear what factors contribute to this result. The purpose of this study is largely to clarify the question of how HR management methodologies affect the professional health of company employees. The study involved 44 employees of IT companies, of which 27 are men and 17 women, where Agile management methodology is used, and 41 employees of IT companies (33 men, 8 women) where Agile is not used. As a result, it was found out that the use of Agile methodology is interrelated with low indicators of organizational stress and professional stress; however, regression analysis showed that only the Kanban framework acts as a predictor of reducing professional stress, while the level of organizational stress is statistically significantly reduced when using Scrum and Kanban.

Keywords: professional stress, organizational stress, agile, scrum, Kanban

Procedia PDF Downloads 76

Authors: Ana Neves

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The European Union’s multi-level constitutionalism is grounded in an intricate network of vertical and horizontal legal relationships among different levels and types of public authorities. In a very significant way since the 2008 crisis, evolving institutional arrangements and institutional dynamics in the European Union have been progressively impacting Member States and the terms under which national public authorities are organised, interact and exercise their powers. This impact occurs in both macro and micro dimensions. Several examples are relevant here, such as the involvement of national Parliaments in the activities of the European Union, the enhanced integration of public administrations, the side effects of the Council framework decision on the European Arrest Warrant, the European Union Justice Scoreboard, the protection of whistle-blowers regulation, the enhanced cooperation on the establishment of the European Public Prosecutor’s Office, the regime for the protection of the Union budget and the European Rule of Law Mechanism. A common trend or denominator underlies the deepening of institutional interdependence and the increased interactions between the European Union, Member States, and public authorities at different levels. This seems to be conditionality as a general principle. The European multi-level constitutionalism must be considered in the light of this conditionality principle, which does not “imply a relationship of command and obedience”. Nevertheless, it might be more effective or be a very compelling principle. It is as if the extension of the shared rule is being accompanied by a contrapuntal dialogue. The different public authorities at various levels are being called to rethink and readjust themselves within a broader and more plural framework concerning understanding the limitation of power.

Keywords: european union -, multi-level hierarchy, conditionality, separation of powers

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Kazuma Okada, Tomoaki Hashimoto, Hirokazu Tahara

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Recently, the effectiveness of random dither quantization method for linear feedback control systems has been shown in several papers. However, the random dither quantization method has not yet been applied to nonlinear feedback control systems. The objective of this paper is to verify the effectiveness of random dither quantization method for nonlinear feedback control systems. For this purpose, we consider the attitude stabilization problem of satellites using discrete-level actuators. Namely, this paper provides a control method based on the random dither quantization method for stabilizing the attitude of satellites using discrete-level actuators.

Keywords: quantized control, nonlinear systems, random dither quantization

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Corina E. Niculaescu, Ivan Sangiorgi, Adrian R. Bell

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The COVID-19 pandemic has been life-changing in many aspects of people’s daily and social lives, but has it also changed attitudes towards investments? This paper explores the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail investors’ levels of investments in the U.S. during the first COVID-19 wave in summer 2020. This is an unprecedented health crisis, which could lead to changes in investment behavior, including irrational behavior in retail investors. As such, this study aims to inform policymakers of what happened to investment decisions during the COVID-19 pandemic so that they can protect retail investors during extreme events like a global health crisis. The study aims to answer two research questions. First, was the level of investments affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and if so, why? Second, how were investments affected by retail investors’ personal experience with COVID-19? The research analysis is based on primary survey data collected on the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform from a representative sample of U.S. respondents. Responses were collected between the 15th of July and 28th of August 2020 from 1,148 U.S. retail investors who hold mutual fund investments and a savings account. The research explores whether being affected by COVID-19, change in the level of savings, and risk capacity can explain the change in the level of investments by using regression analysis. The dependent variable is changed in investments measured as decrease, no change, and increase. For this reason, the methodology used is ordered probit regression models. The results show that retail investors in the U.S. increased their investments during the first wave of COVID-19, which is unexpected as investors are usually more cautious in crisis times. Moreover, the study finds that those who were affected personally by COVID-19 (e.g., tested positive) were more likely to increase their investments, which is irrational behavior and contradicts expectations. An increase in the level of savings and risk capacity was also associated with increased investments. Overall, the findings show that having personal experience with a health crisis can have an impact on one’s investment decisions as well. Those findings are important for both retail investors and policymakers, especially now that online trading platforms have made trading easily accessible to everyone. There are risks and potential irrational behaviors associated with investment decisions during times of crisis, and it is important that retail investors are aware of them before making financial decisions.

Keywords: COVID-19, financial decision-making, health crisis retail investors, survey

Procedia PDF Downloads 192

Authors: Orly Yona Drori, Shirley Ben Shlomo

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Objectives: The participants will be able to recognize the predictors of binge eating addiction among women who suffer from psychological abuse in their relationships and will recognize the role of woman's defense mechanisms in moderating the association between psychological abuse and binge eating addiction. Methods: A convenience sample of 380 Israeli women in relationships were located via the Internet, and after consenting to participate in the study, they completed a series of structured questionnaires (The Yale Food Addiction Scale; The Defense Style Questionnaire; psychological maltreatment of women by their male partners; level of differentiation of self; sociodemographic questionnaire). Results: The higher the level of differentiation and mature defense mechanisms, the less addictive a woman is. However, the level of addiction among women who experience psychological abuse within their intimate relations is higher than women who do not experience psychological abuse in their relationship. Among women who experienced psychological abuse in their relations, the defense mechanisms moderate the association between psychological abuse within intimate relations and the extent of the addiction to binge eating. Conclusions: The study contributes to the therapy of women with binge eating addictions, as it raises awareness of therapeutic-related content that could strengthen women and help them to cope with situations in their lives without the need to binge. One of the significant variables for therapeutic work is the level of differentiation of the self. In addition, identifying the types of defense mechanisms might help to match treatment to the woman's emotional needs. The current study found also that it is important to identify the environmental systems by which the addict is surrounded, such as whether woman is in an abusive relationship. Finally the study leads to the recognition that binge eating, which is usually treated with an emphasis on nutritional behavior change, is an addiction, and as such, it requires a combination of mental, nutritional and behavioral therapy. In view of this approach, it is recommended that treating a woman who is addicted to binge eating should involve a multi-disciplinary team comprised of physicians, clinical dietitians, and clinical psychotherapists.

Keywords: binge eating, defence mechanism, food addiction, psychological abuse

Procedia PDF Downloads 170

Authors: Amichai Ben ari, Daniella Margalit

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Medical procedures, such as surgery, may have traumatic significance for some children. This study examines the relationship between maltreatment in children and the development Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress (PMTS). To this end, differences in the level of distress of children after surgery were examined between two groups: children who were maltreated ("children at risk") and children from the control group ("children who are not at risk"). The study involved 230 parents of children who came to the hospital to undergo surgery. Parents filled out demographic questionnaires to measure socioeconomic variables and psychological questionnaires to measure the distress of the child and parent before surgery. After 6 months from the time of surgery, the parents again filled in the questionnaire measuring the child's distress. The results of the study showed that the level of distress experienced by children at risk after surgery was significantly higher relative to children who are not at risk. It was also found that the level of distress experienced by parents of children at risk in relation to their child’s surgery is significantly higher compared to parents of children who are not at risk. Finally, it was found that the variables: (1) pre-morbid psychological functioning of the child. (2) Parental and family functioning in daily life. (3) Exposure of the child to traumatic events. (4) Support factors for the family. Are variables that predict the development of PMTS in children after surgery, but only for children at risk and not for children who are not at risk. The significance of the findings in relation to the need to identify at-risk populations in the hospitals and the policies derived from them were discussed, and several directions were raised for further research.

Keywords: children at risk, pediatric medical traumatic stress (PMTS), PTSD, medical procedures

Procedia PDF Downloads 128

Authors: Mohamed Bendoukha, Mustapha Mosbah

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The Radiographic apparent assumed that the asymptomatic adjacent segment disease ASD is common after lumbar fusion, but this does not correlate with the functional outcomes while compensatory increased motion and stresses at the adjacent level of fusion is well-known to be associated to ASD. Newly developed, the hybrid stabilization are allocated to substituted for mostly the superior level of the fusion in an attempt to reduce the number of fusion levels and likelihood of degeneration process at the adjacent levels during the fusion with pedicle screws. Nevertheless, its biomechanical efficiencies still remain unknown and complications associated with failure of constructs such screw loosening and toggling should be elucidated In the current study, a finite element (FE) study was performed using a validated L2/S1 model subjected to a moment of 7.5 Nm and follower load of 400 N to assess the biomedical behavior of hybrid constructs based on dynamic topping off, semi rigid fusion. The residual range of motion (ROM), stress distribution at the fused and adjacent levels, stress distribution at the disc and the cage-endplate interface with respect to changes of bone quality were investigated. The hybrid instrumentation was associated with a reduction in compressive stresses compared to the fusion construct in the adjacent-level disc and showed high substantial axial force in the implant while fusion instrumentation increased the motion for both flexion and extension.

Keywords: intervertebral disc, lumbar spine, degenerative nuclesion, L4-L5, range of motion finite element model, hyperelasticy

Procedia PDF Downloads 186

Authors: Fazlul Hoque, Tahmina Akter Joya, Asma Akter, Supawat Rungsuriyawiboon

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Rice is the staple food in Bangladesh, and therefore, self-sufficiency in rice production remains a major concern. However, Bangladesh is experiencing insufficiency in rice production due to high production cost and low national average productivity of 2.848 ton/ha in comparison to other rice-growing countries in the world. This study aims to find out the profit efficiency and determinants of profit efficiency in Boro rice cultivation in Manikganj and Dhaka districts of Bangladesh. It also focuses on technology adoption and effect of technology adoption on profit efficiency of Boro rice cultivation in Bangladesh. The data were collected from 300 households growing Boro rice through face to face interviews by one set structured questionnaire; Frontier Version 4.1 and STATA 15 software were employed to analyze the data according to the purpose of the study. Maximum likelihood estimates of the specified profit model showed that profit efficiency of the farmer varied between 23% and 97% with a mean of 76% which implied as 24% of the profit is lost due to a combination of technical and allocative inefficiencies in Boro rice cultivation in the study area. The inefficiency model revealed that the education level of the farmer, farm size, variety of seed, and training and extension service influence the profit inefficiency significantly. The study also explained that the level of technology adoption index affects profit efficiency. The technology adoption in Boro rice cultivation is influenced by the education level of the farmer, farm size and farm capital.

Keywords: farmer, maximum likelihood estimation, profit efficiency, rice

Procedia PDF Downloads 136

Authors: Seyedtaghi Mirmohammadi, J. Yazdani, S. M. Asadi, M. Rokni, A. Toosi

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There are many indoor air quality studies with an emphasis on indoor particulate matters (PM2.5) monitoring. Whereas, there is a lake of data about indoor PM2.5 concentrations in rural area schools (especially in classrooms), since preliminary children are assumed to be more defenseless to health hazards and spend a large part of their time in classrooms. The objective of this study was indoor PM2.5 concentration quality assessment. Fifteen preliminary schools by time-series sampling were selected to evaluate the indoor air quality in the rural district of Sari city, Iran. Data on indoor air climate parameters (temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) were measured by a hygrometer and thermometer. Particulate matters (PM2.5) were collected and assessed by Real Time Dust Monitor, (MicroDust Pro, Casella, UK). The mean indoor PM2.5 concentration in the studied classrooms was 135µg/m3 in average. The multiple linear regression revealed that a correlation between PM2.5 concentration and relative humidity, distance from city center and classroom size. Classroom size yields reasonable negative relationship, the PM2.5 concentration was ranged from 65 to 540μg/m3 and statistically significant at 0.05 level and the relative humidity was ranged from 70 to 85% and dry bulb temperature ranged from 28 to 29°C were statistically significant at 0.035 and 0.05 level, respectively. A statistical predictive model was obtained from multiple regressions modeling for PM2.5 and indoor psychrometric parameters.

Keywords: particulate matters, classrooms, regression, concentration, humidity

Procedia PDF Downloads 312

Authors: Mariam Bibi, Rubab Mehboob, Mehreen Sirshar

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Satisfying the customer requirements is the ultimate goal of producing or developing any product. The quality of the product is decided on the bases of the level of customer satisfaction. There are different techniques which have been reported during the survey which enhance the quality of the product through software defect prediction and by locating the missing software requirements. Some mining techniques were proposed to assess the individual performance indicators in collaborative environment to reduce errors at individual level. The basic intention is to produce a product with zero or few defects thereby producing a best product quality wise. In the analysis of survey the techniques like Genetic algorithm, artificial neural network, classification and clustering techniques and decision tree are studied. After analysis it has been discovered that these techniques contributed much to the improvement and enhancement of the quality of the product.

Keywords: data mining, defect prediction, missing requirements, software quality

Procedia PDF Downloads 469

Authors: Yuanhong Zhao, Qingping Yang, Andrew Fox, Tao Zhang

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Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) is a systematic approach to assess the actual building performance after the building has been occupied for some time. In this paper, a structured POE assessment was conducted using the building use survey (BUS) methodology in two higher educational buildings in the United Kingdom. This study aims to help close the building performance gap, provide optimized building operation suggestions, and to improve occupants’ satisfaction level. In this research, the questionnaire survey investigated the influences of environmental factors on user satisfaction from the main aspects of building overall design, thermal comfort, perceived control, indoor environment quality for noise, lighting, ventilation, and other non-environmental factors, such as the background information about age, sex, time in buildings, workgroup size, and so on. The results indicate that the occupant satisfaction level with the main aspects of building overall design, indoor environment quality, and thermal comfort in summer and winter on both two buildings, which is lower than the benchmark data. The feedback of this POE assessment has been reported to the building management team to allow managers to develop high-performance building operation plans. Finally, this research provided improvement suggestions to the building operation system to narrow down the performance gap and improve the user work experience satisfaction and productivity level.

Keywords: building performance assessment systems, higher educational buildings, post-occupancy evaluation, user satisfaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 155

Authors: Natalia Selezneva

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The level of crime depends on a number of factors, such as political and economic instability, social inequality and ineffective legislation. A special place in the overall level of crime takes juvenile delinquency. United Nations Standard Minimum developed rules for the administration of juvenile justice (The Beijing Rules), in order to ensure the rights of juvenile offenders under the various legal systems. Most countries support these recommendations, and Russia is no exception. Russia's criminal code establishes the minimum age of criminal liability; types of crimes for which the possible involvement of minors to justice; punishment; sentencing and execution of punishment for minors. However, these provisions cause heated debates in the scientific literature. The high level of juvenile crime indicates the ineffectiveness of legal regulation of criminal liability of minors. In order to ensure compliance with international standards require new and modern approaches to improve national legislation and practice of its application. Achieving this goal will be achieved through the following tasks: 1. Create sub-branches of law regulating the legal status of minors; 2. Improving the types of penalties; 3. The possibility of using alternative measures; 4. The introduction of the procedure of extrajudicial settlement of the conflict. The criminal law of each country depends on the historical, national and cultural characteristics. The development of the Russian legislation taking into account international experience is extremely essential and will be a new stage in the formation of a legal state, especially in the sphere of protection of the rights of juvenile offenders.

Keywords: criminal law, juvenile offender, punishment, the age of criminal responsibility

Procedia PDF Downloads 546

Authors: Ergün Şakalar, Şeyma Özçirak Ergün

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Pistachio nuts, the fruits of the pistachio tree (Pistacia vera), are edible tree nuts highly valued for their organoleptic properties. Pistachio nuts used in snack foods, chocolates, baklava, meat products, ice-cream industries and other gourmet products as ingredients. Undeclared pistachios may be present in food products as a consequence of fraudulent substitution. Control of food samples is very important for safety and fraud. Mix of pistachio, peanut (Arachis hypogaea), pea (Pisum sativum L.) used instead of pistachio in food products, because pistachio is a considerably expensive nut. To solve this problem, a sensitive polymerase chain reaction PCR has been developed. A real-time PCR assay for the detection of pea, peanut and pistachio in baklava was designed by using EvaGreen fluorescence dye. Primers were selected from powerful regions for identification of pea, peanut and pistachio. DNA from reference samples and industrial products were successfully extracted with the GIDAGEN® Multi-Fast DNA Isolation Kit. Genomes were identified based on their specific melting peaks (Mp) which are 77°C, 85.5°C and 82.5°C for pea, peanut and pistachio, respectively. Homogenized mixtures of raw pistachio, pea and peanut were prepared with the ratio of 0.01%, 0.1%, 1%, 10%, 40% and 70% of pistachio. Quantitative detection limit of assay was 0.1% for pistachio. Also, real-time PCR technique used in this study allowed the qualitative detection of as little as 0.001% level of peanut DNA, 0,000001% level of pistachio DNA and 0.000001% level of pea DNA in the experimental admixtures. This assay represents a potentially valuable diagnostic method for detection of nut species adulterated with pistachio as well as for highly specific and relatively rapid detection of small amounts of pistachio in food samples.

Keywords: pea, peanut, pistachio, real-time PCR

Procedia PDF Downloads 265

Authors: Azam Bayat, Aref Khalkhali, Ali Reza Mahjoub

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Healthy and viable herbal supplement were prepared from wheat by a green route. This organic biomaterial was named Nutrition Bio-shield Superfood (NBS). The NBS supplement had various vitamins, macro and micro molecules, and ingredients. In this study, 20 small Balb/C labile specimens were used in a weighing 30 ± 5 range. The samples were randomly divided into different groups, then the groups were divided into 5 groups. According to the results of this study, the mean number of white blood cells and neutrophil percentage in the experimental group receiving healthy and live dietary supplement showed a significant increase at the 5% probability level in all three groups received 50, 100 and 150 mg/ kg body weight of the mouse compared to the control group. In general, the dietary supplement increases the level of immunity.

Keywords: healthy and live herbal supplement, biomaterial, immune system, enhancement

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Comsun Thongchai, Vorapoj Promasatayaprot

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Background: Child development center is a day care center that gathers large numbers of children in the same areas. As a result, it provides high opportunity for infection, especially gastrointestinal and respiratory infections. Ubon Ratchathani has been a province with an increasing number of cases of Hand foot and mouth disease each year reported between 2014 and 2016. Accorded to a recent investigation reported, HFMD occurred in the Child Development Center and kindergartens, this was a place where HFMD spreads. This research was aimed to investigate the knowledge, attitude and behavior about hand foot and mouth disease preventing of child caregivers in child development centers, Ubon Ratchathani Province. Method: Descriptive study was conducted between April and July, 2017. The study instruments used questionnaires and in-depth interviews on their practices of prevention and environment management of HFMD. The samples of survey questionnaires were caregivers who are working in 160 child development centers of the 160 parishes in Ubon Ratchathani province. The data was analyzed by percentages, means and standard deviations and Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. Result: The results showed that the majority were female (96.3%), average age 41 years (68.3%), marital status were couples (85.7%) and studied in undergraduate (75.2%). with a period of performance as teachers in child development centers range from 10 to 14 years were percentage 58.7 and 71.8 percent of them had been trained by health worker about the control HFMD. The knowledge for preventive in hand foot mouth disease on child caregivers was at high level. The mean score was 2.76 (S.D. = 0.114). The attitude of child caregivers was at a moderate level. Its mean score was 2.28 (S.D. = 0.247). On the other hand, the level of environmental management to prevent HFMD was low. The mean score was 1.34 (S.D. = 0.215). The factor of personal characteristics as gender, age, educational level, duration at work, knowledge and attitude of preventive HFMD was associated with Preventive of Behaviors to a statistically significant level (p<0.05 respectively). Conclusion: These results should be concerned to develop knowledge and improving practice for preventive hand foot mouth disease of child caregivers in child development centers by training. Preparation of media education, Surveillance of hand foot mouth disease and health behaviors promotion with community participation need to be supported continuously.

Keywords: preventive behavior, child development center, hand foot mouth disease, Thailand

Procedia PDF Downloads 198

Authors: David Dean Hampton, William Morrison, Mary Rizza, Jan Osborn

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This evaluation examined the effects of a supplemental reading intervThis evaluation examined the effects of a supplemental reading intervention for students with specific learning disabilities in reading who were presented with below grade level on fall benchmark scores on DIBELS 6th ed. Revised. Participants consisted of a condition group, those who received supplemental reading instruction in addition to core + special education services and a comparison group of students who were at grade level in their fall benchmark scores. The students in the condition group received 26 weeks of Project MORE instruction delivered multiple times each week from trained volunteer tutors. Using a regression-discontinuity design, condition and comparison groups were compared on reading development growth using DIBELS ORF. Significant findings were reported for grade 2, 3, and 4. ntion for students with specific learning disabilities in reading who presented with below grade level on fall benchmark scores on DIBELS 6th ed. Revised. Participants consisted of a condition group, those who received supplemental reading instruction in addition to core + special education services and a comparison group of students who were at grade level in their fall benchmark scores. The students in the condition group received 26 weeks of Project MORE instruction delivered multiple times each week from trained volunteer tutors. Using a regression-discontinuity design, condition and comparison groups were compared on reading development growth using DIBELS ORF. Significant findings were reported for grade 2, 3, and 4.

Keywords: special education, evidence-based practices, curriculum, tutoring

Procedia PDF Downloads 68

Authors: Su Yi Ming, Hou Ying, Zou Guang Ping

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Metal-net rubber is a new dry friction damping material, compared with the traditional metal rubber, which has high mechanization degree, and the mechanical performance of metal-net rubber is more stable. Through the sine sweep experiment and random vibration experiment of metal-net rubber vibration isolator, the influence of several important factors such as the lines slope, relative density and wire diameter on the transfer rate, natural frequency and root-mean-square response acceleration of metal-net rubber vibration isolation system, were studied through the method of control variables. Also, several relevant change curves under different vibration levels were derived, and the effects of vibration level on the natural frequency and root-mean-square response acceleration were analyzed through the curves.

Keywords: metal-net rubber vibration isolator, relative density, vibration level, wire diameter

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: David Karasek, Veronika Kubickova, Ondrej Krystynik, Dominika Goldmannova, Lubica Cibickova, Jan Schovanek

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Introduction: Adiponectin, adipocyte-fatty acid-binding protein (A-FABP), and Wnt1 inducible signaling pathway protein-1 (WISP-1) are adipokines particularly associated with insulin resistance. The aim of the study was to compare their levels in women with gestational diabetes (GDM), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and healthy controls and determine their relation with metabolic parameters. Methods: Fifty women with GDM, 50 women with T2DM, and 35 healthy women were included in the study. In addition to adipokines, anthropometric, lipid parameters, and markers, insulin resistance, and glucose control were assessed in all participants. Results: Compared to healthy controls only significantly lower levels of adiponectin were detected in women with GDM, whereas lower levels of adiponectin, higher levels of A-FABP and of WISP-1 were present in women with T2DM. Women with T2DM had also lower levels of adiponectin and higher levels of A-FABP compared to women with GDM. In women with GDM or T2DM adiponectin correlated negatively with body mass index (BMI), triglycerides (TG), C-peptide and positively with HDL-cholesterol; A-FABP positively correlated with BMI, TG, waist, and C-peptide. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between WISP-1 and C-peptide in women with T2DM. Conclusion: Adverse adipokines production detecting dysfunctional fat tissue is in women with GDM less presented than in women with T2DM, but more expressed compared to healthy women. Acknowledgment: Supported by AZV NV18-01-00139 and MH CZ DRO (FNOl, 00098892).

Keywords: adiponectin, adipocyte-fatty acid binding protein, wnt1 inducible signaling pathway protein-1, gestational diabetes, type 2 diabetes mellitus

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Bilel Chalghaf, Mathieu Varin

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Forest characterization in Quebec, Canada, is usually assessed based on photo-interpretation at the stand level. For species identification, this often results in a lack of precision. Very high spatial resolution imagery, such as DigitalGlobe, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), have the potential to overcome the limitations of aerial imagery. To date, few studies have used that data to map a large number of species at the tree level using machine learning techniques. The main objective of this study is to map 11 individual high tree species ( > 17m) at the tree level using an object-based approach in the broadleaf forest of Kenauk Nature, Quebec. For the individual tree crown segmentation, three canopy-height models (CHMs) from LiDAR data were assessed: 1) the original, 2) a filtered, and 3) a corrected model. The corrected CHM gave the best accuracy and was then coupled with imagery to refine tree species crown identification. When compared with photo-interpretation, 90% of the objects represented a single species. For modeling, 313 variables were derived from 16-band WorldView-3 imagery and LiDAR data, using radiance, reflectance, pixel, and object-based calculation techniques. Variable selection procedures were employed to reduce their number from 313 to 16, using only 11 bands to aid reproducibility. For classification, a global approach using all 11 species was compared to a semi-hierarchical hybrid classification approach at two levels: (1) tree type (broadleaf/conifer) and (2) individual broadleaf (five) and conifer (six) species. Five different model techniques were used: (1) support vector machine (SVM), (2) classification and regression tree (CART), (3) random forest (RF), (4) k-nearest neighbors (k-NN), and (5) linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Each model was tuned separately for all approaches and levels. For the global approach, the best model was the SVM using eight variables (overall accuracy (OA): 80%, Kappa: 0.77). With the semi-hierarchical hybrid approach, at the tree type level, the best model was the k-NN using six variables (OA: 100% and Kappa: 1.00). At the level of identifying broadleaf and conifer species, the best model was the SVM, with OA of 80% and 97% and Kappa values of 0.74 and 0.97, respectively, using seven variables for both models. This paper demonstrates that a hybrid classification approach gives better results and that using 16-band WorldView-3 with LiDAR data leads to more precise predictions for tree segmentation and classification, especially when the number of tree species is large.

Keywords: tree species, object-based, classification, multispectral, machine learning, WorldView-3, LiDAR

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Eun Jung Sohn, Hwan Tae Park

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Autophagy is a cellular response to stress or environment on cell survival. Here, we investigated the role of ectopic expression of miR 200c-3p in autophagy. Ectopic expression of miR 200c-3p increased the expression of IRE1alpha, ATF6 and CHOP by western blot and RT-qPCR. Furthermore, the level of microRNA 200c-3p was enhanced by treatment of TG or overexpression of GRP 78. Also, ectopic expression of miR200c-3p increased the LC3 II expression by western blot and RT-qPCR. Also, we found that western blot assay showed that miR200c-3p inhibitor was blocked the starvation–induced LC3II levels. Furthermore, starvation stress increased the level of miR200c-3p in different kinetics. Ectopic expression of miR200c-3p attenuated LC3II expression in IRE1 siRNA transfected PC3 cells. Here, we first demonstrate that miR200c-3p regulates autophagy via ER stress pathway.

Keywords: Autophagy, ER stress, LC3II, miR200c-3p

Procedia PDF Downloads 287

Authors: Natasa Todorovic, Jovana Nikolov

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Guard detector efficiency, cosmic background, and its variation were determinate using ultra low-level liquid scintillation spectrometer Quantulus 1220, equipped with an anti-Compton guard detector, in the surface laboratory at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, Atmospheric pressure variation has an observable effect on the anti-Compton guard detector count rate. and the cosmic muon flux is lower during a high-pressure period. Also, the guard detector Compton continuum provides a good view of the level of gamma radiation in the laboratory environment. The efficiency of the guard detector in the channel interval from 750 to 1024 was assessed to 93.45%; efficiency in the entire window (channels 1 to 1024) was 75.23%, which is in good agreement with literature data.

Keywords: cosmic radiation, background reduction, liquid scintillation counting, guard detector efficiency

Procedia PDF Downloads 159

Authors: Yun Ma, Jiajun Lu

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President Xi Jinping has clearly stated the need to more effectively advance the process of urbanization centered on people, striving to shape cities into spaces that are healthier, safer, and more livable. However, during the development and construction of mountainous cities, numerous uncertain disruptive factors have emerged, one after another, posing severe challenges to the city's overall development. Therefore, building resilient cities and creating high-quality urban ecosystems and safety systems have become the core and crux of achieving sustainable urban development. This paper takes the central urban area of Chongqing as the research object and establishes an urban resilience assessment indicator system from four dimensions: society, economy, ecology, and infrastructure. It employs the entropy weight method and TOPSIS model to assess the urban resilience level of the central urban area of Chongqing from 2019 to 2022. The results indicate that i. the resilience level of the central urban area of Chongqing is unevenly distributed, showing a spatial pattern of "high in the middle and low around"; it also demonstrates differentiation across different dimensions; ii. due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall resilience level of the central urban area of Chongqing has declined significantly, with low recovery capacity and slow improvement in urban resilience. Finally, based on the four selected dimensions, this paper proposes optimization strategies for urban resilience in mountainous cities, providing a basis for Chongqing to build a safe and livable new city.

Keywords: mountainous urban areas, central urban area of chongqing, entropy weight method, TOPSIS model, ArcGIS

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Authors: Durata Haciu, Elif Sena Tekin, Gokce Ozturk, Patricia Ramey Balcı

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Coastal zones are under increasing threat due to anthropogenic activities that introduce considerable pollutants such as heavy metals into marine ecosystems. As part of a larger experimental study examining species responses to contaminated marine sediments, surface sediments (top 5cm) were analysed for major trace elements at three locations in Istanbul Straight. Samples were randomly collected by divers (May 2018) using hand-corers from Istinye (n=4), Garipce (n=10) and Poyrazköy (n=6), at water depths of 4-8m. Twelve metals were examined: As, arsenic; Pb, lead; Cd, cadmium; Cr, chromium; Cu, Copper; Fe, Iron; Ni, Nickel; Zn, Zinc; V, vanadium; Mn, Manganese; Ba, Barium; and Ag, silver by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF) and Inductively Coupled Plasma/Mass Spectroscopy (ICP/MS). Preliminary results indicate that the average concentrations of metals (mg kg⁻¹) varied considerably among locations. In general, concentrations were relatively lower at Garipce compared to either Istinye or Poyrazköy. For most metals mean concentrations were highest at Poyrazköy and Ag and Cd were below detection limits (exception= Ag in a few samples). While Cd and As were undetected in all stations, the concentrations of Fe and Ni fall in the criteria of moderately polluted range and the rest of the metals in the range of low polluted range as compared to Effects Range Low (ERL) and Effects Range median (ERM) values determined by US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Keywords: effect-range classification, ICP/MS, marine sediments, XRF

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Authors: Pradeep Jawale, Sharad Supare, Sachin Kumar Jain, Nagesh Walke

Abstract:

One can witness the constant development and redevelopment of cities throughout the world. Construction equipment vehicles (CEVs) are commonly used on the construction site. However, noise pollution from construction sites due to the use of CEV has become a major problem for many cities. The construction equipment employed, which includes excavators and bulldozers, is one of the main causes of these elevated noise levels. The construction workers possibly will face a potential risk to their auditory health and well-being due to the noise levels they are exposed to. Different countries have imposed exterior and operator noise limits for construction equipment vehicles, enabling them to control noise pollution from CEVs. In this study, the operator ear level noise of the identified vehicle is higher than the benchmark vehicle by 8 dB(A). It was a tough time for the NVH engineer to beat the interior noise level of the benchmark vehicle. Initially, the noise source identification technique was used to identify the dominant sources for increasing the interior noise of the test vehicle. It was observed that the transfer of structure-borne and air-borne noise to the cabin was the major issue with the vehicle. It was foremost required to address the issue without compromising the overall performance of the vehicle. Surprisingly, the steering pump and radiator fan were identified as the major dominant sources than typical conventional sources like powertrain, intake, and exhaust. Individual sources of noise were analyzed in detail, and optimizations were made to minimize the noise at the source. As a result, the significant noise reduction achieved inside the vehicle and the overall in-cab noise level for the vehicle became a new benchmark in the market.

Keywords: interior noise, noise reduction, CEV, noise source identification

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Authors: Thachamon Sinsoongsud, Noppawan Piaseu

Abstract:

This predictive study was aimed to 1) describe self efficacy for risk reduction and preventive behavior for osteoporosis, and 2) examine factors predicting preventive behavior for osteoporosis in nursing students. Through purposive sampling, the sample included 746 nursing students in a public university in Bangkok, Thailand. Data were collected by a self-reported questionnaire on self efficacy and preventive behavior for osteoporosis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis with stepwise method. Results revealed that majority of the students were female (98.3%) with mean age of 19.86 + 1.26 years. The students had self efficacy and preventive behavior for osteoporosis at moderate level. Self efficacy and level of education could together predicted 35.2% variance of preventive behavior for osteoporosis (p< .001). Results suggest approaches for promoting preventive behavior for osteoporosis through enhancing self efficacy among nursing students in a public university in Bangkok, Thailand.

Keywords: osteoporosis, self-efficacy, preventive behavior, nursing students

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Authors: Eid Abo Hamza, Ahmed Helal

Abstract:

Purpose: The objective is to measure the capacity of the working memory, ie. the maximum number of elements that can be retrieved and processed, by measuring the basic functions of working memory (inhibition/transfer/update), and also to investigate its relationship to life stress and depressive thoughts. Methods: The study sample consisted of 50 students from Egypt. A cognitive task was designed to measure the working memory capacity based on the determinants found in previous research, which showed that cognitive tasks are the best measurements of the functions and capacity of working memory. Results: The results indicated that there were statistically significant differences in the level of life stress events (high/low) on the task of measuring the working memory capacity. The results also showed that there were no statistically significant differences between males and females or between academic major on the task of measuring the working memory capacity. Furthermore, the results reported that there was no statistically significant effect of the interaction of the level of life stress (high/low) and gender (male/female) on the task of measuring working memory capacity. Finally, the results showed that there were significant differences in the level of depressive thoughts (high/low) on the task of measuring working memory. Conclusions: The current research concludes that neither the interaction of stressful life events, gender, and academic major, nor the interaction of depressive thoughts, gender, and academic major, influence on working memory capacity.

Keywords: working memory, depression, stress, life event

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Norhan Anwar Elshikh

Abstract:

The study aimed to identify the extent of rural women’s awareness of gender issues and discrimination against women. The study also investigated the relationship between the extent of that awareness and the social and economic characteristics of the surveyed women. The study aimed to find both the related factors and the affecting factors of the surveyed women's awareness of gender issues and the discrimination against them. The study then proposed some recommendations that can raise rural women's ability to understand gender issues and discrimination against women. To achieve the study goals, a field study was conducted in the Al-Buhaira governorate. Abu Homs township was chosen as one of the traditional rural areas closest in its characteristics to most rural areas in Egypt, and the Abu Homs township consists of one town and seven rural local units. The local unit of Baraka Ghattas was chosen, as it is considered on average level in human development. Baraka Ghattas local unit includes five villages. Alherfah village and Barakat Ghatas village were chosen to conduct the study as they represent the high and the low levels of human development, respectively. The study included households of women who were in their fertile period in the sample’s villages. The volume of the sample was divided among the two villages according to the number of families in each village, so that each village is represented in the sample space by the same percentage of its presence in the original community. The size of the sample was determined, which is 385 women, According to the Crijsey and Morgen equation. To execute the study, a questionnaire was designed and collected through personal interviews. The results showed that the independent variables most influencing the dependent variable are, from high to low, the economic level of the respondent's family, the number of children of the respondent, the level of formal education of the husband, then leadership ability and the level of ambition, respectively. These variables are responsible for explaining 52% of the change in the extent of rural women's awareness of gender issues and discrimination against women. The study was concluded by providing suggestions and recommendations to improve rural women's awareness of gender issues and discrimination against women.

Keywords: gender, rural women, discrimination, discrimination against women

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Authors: Mark A. Spooner

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The growth of technological advances in the digital communications industry has dictated the way forensic examination laboratories receive, analyze, and report on digital evidence. This study looks at the trends in a medium sized digital forensics lab that examines small communications devices (i.e., cellular telephones, tablets, thumb drives, etc.) over the past five years. As law enforcement and homeland security organizations budgets shrink, many agencies are being asked to perform more examinations with less resources available. Using multi-level statistical analysis using five years of examination data, this research shows the increasing technological demand trend. The research then extrapolates the current data into the model created and finds a continued exponential growth curve of said demands is well within the parameters defined earlier on in the research.

Keywords: digital forensics, forensic examination, small device, trends

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Authors: Chanya Inprasit, Yi-Wen Lin

Abstract:

Inflammation causes changes of peripheral and central nervous system properties, affecting both neuronal and non-neuronal cells, resulting in inflammatory pain. Acupoint injection (AI) was developed in the 1950s and has been widely used for relieving pain. It is an acupoint-stimulating technique that utilizes anatomically based meridians derived from Chinese medicine theory. AI has been accepted as an effective treatment and is thought to display superior results when compared to traditional acupuncture methods. However, the mechanism of AI needs to be ratified by more scientific evidence in order to support the theory and its therapeutic development. In this study, we explored the effect of AI on the comorbidity of chronic pain and depression. Mice hindpaw was injected by complete Freund’s adjuvant (CFA) to induce the condition of chronic pain. Measurements of mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia and depression-like behavior were analyzed. The results indicated a positive tendency to AI treatment. The comorbidity of chronic pain and depression was investigated with relation to transient receptor potential V1 (TRPV1) mechanism through the use of TRPV1 gene deletion. The expression of nociceptors such as voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) or TRPV1, was significantly down-regulated by AI. The expression of inflammation-activated molecules: astrocytic marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), the microglial marker Iba-1, S100B, and related kinases, were reversed by AI in both the peripheral and central nervous system. Taken together, these data provided a detailed molecular mechanism of AI-induced analgesia and anti-inflammatory properties. This finding may be utilized for clinical practice to treat chronic pain and depression comorbidity.

Keywords: inflammatory pain, acupoint injection, TRPV1, GFAP, S100B

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Authors: K. Ilicic, D. Smoljan

Abstract:

The purpose of the paper is to present and verify a methodology of decreasing water losses by introducing and managing District Metered Areas (DMA) and Pressure Management Areas (PMA) by analyzing the results of the application of the methodology to the water supply system of the city of Zagreb. Since it is a relatively large system that has been expanding rapidly, approach to addressing water losses was possible only by splitting the system to smaller flow and pressure zones. Besides, the geographical and technical limitations had imposed the necessity of high pressure in the system that needed to be reduced to the technically optimal level. Results of activities were monitored on a general and local level by establishing, monitoring, and controlling indicators that had been established by the International Water Association (IWA), among which the most recognizable were non-revenue water, water losses and real losses as presented in the paper.

Keywords: district metered area, pressure metered area, active leakage control, water losses

Procedia PDF Downloads 185