Search results for: Urban-Rural Difference

Authors: I. Karagjozova, B. Dejanova, J. Pluncevic, S. Petrovska, V. Antevska, L. Todorovska

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Introduction: Medical checking assessment is important in sports medicine. To follow the health condition in subjects who perform sports, body composition parameters, such as intracellular water, extracellular water, protein and mineral content, muscle and fat mass might be useful. The aim of the study was to show available parameters and to compare them to manual assessment. Material and methods: A number of 20 subjects (14 male and 6 female) at age of 20±2 years were determined in the study, 5 performed recreational sports, while others were professional ones. The mean height was 175±7 cm, the mean weight was 72±9 cm, and the body mass index (BMI) was 23±2 kg/m2. The measured compartments were as following: intracellular water (IW), extracellular water (EW), protein component (PC), mineral component (MC), skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and body fat mass (BFM). Lean balance were examined for right and left arm (LA), trunk (T), right leg (RL) and left leg (LL). The comparison was made between the calculation derived by manual made measurements, using Matejka formula and parameters obtained by body composition analyzer (BCA) - Inbody 720 BCA Biospace. Used parameters for the comparison were muscle mass (SMM), body fat mass (BFM). Results: BCA obtained values were for: IW - 22.6±5L, EW - 13.5±2 L, PC - 9.8±0.9 kg, MC - 3.5±0.3, SMM - 27±3 kg, BFM - 13.8±4 kg. Lean balance showed following values for: RA - 2.45±0.2 kg, LA - 2.37±0.4, T - 20.9±5 kg, RL - 7.43±1 kg, and LL - 7.49 ±1.5 kg. SMM showed statistical difference between manual obtained value, 51±01% to BCA parameter 45.5±3% (p<0.001). Manual obtained values for BFM was lower (17±2%) than BCA obtained one, 19.5±5.9% (p<0.02). Discussion: The obtained results showed appropriate values for the examined age, regarding to all examined parameters which contribute to overview the body compartments, important for sport performing. Due to comparison between the manual and BCA assessment, we may conclude that manual measurements may differ from the certain ones, which is confirmed by statistical significance.

Keywords: athletes, body composition, bio electrical impedance, sports medicine

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Authors: Alexander B. Barker, Megan Parkin, Shreesh Sinha, Emma Wilson, Rachael L. Murray

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Objectives: Exposure to HFSS imagery is associated with consumption of foods high in fat, sugar, or salt (HFSS), and subsequently obesity, among young people. We report and compare the results of two content analyses, one of two popular terrestrial children’s television channels in the UK and the other of a selection of children’s programs available on video-on-demand (VOD) streaming sites. Design: Content analysis of three days’ worth of programs (including advertisements) on two popular children’s television channels broadcast on UK television (CBeebies and Milkshake) as well as a sample of 40 highest-rated children’s programs available on the VOD platforms, Netflix and Amazon Prime, using 1-minute interval coding. Setting: United Kingdom, Participants: None. Results: HFSS content was seen in 181 broadcasts (36%) and in 417 intervals (13%) on terrestrial television, ‘Milkshake’ had a significantly higher proportion of programs/adverts which contained HFSS content than ‘CBeebies’. In VOD platforms, HFSS content was seen in 82 episodes (72% of the total number of episodes), across 459 intervals (19% of the total number of intervals), with no significant difference in the proportion of programs containing HFSS content between Netflix and Amazon Prime. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that HFSS content is common in both popular UK children’s television channels and children's programs on VOD services. Since previous research has shown that HFSS content in the media has an effect on HFSS consumption, children’s television programs broadcast either on TV or VOD services are likely having an effect on HFSS consumption in children and legislative opportunities to prevent this exposure are being missed.

Keywords: public health, epidemiology, obesity, content analysis

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Authors: Widad Kouachi, Nacera Benmouhoub

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Background: Erector spinae plane block (ESP) and thoracic paravertebral block (PVB) are two widely used regional anesthesia techniques in breast cancer surgery. Both techniques aim to improve postoperative pain management and reduce opioid consumption. However, comparative data on their efficacy in oncologic breast surgery remains limited. Objectives: This study aims to compare the efficacy of ESP and PVB in postoperative pain control, patient satisfaction, and opioid consumption in breast cancer surgery. Methods: A randomized, double-blind trial was conducted involving 100 patients undergoing oncologic breast surgery. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups: 50 received ESP, and 50 received PVB. Postoperative pain scores (at rest and during movement), opioid consumption, patient satisfaction, and hospital length of stay were recorded and analyzed. Results: Both ESP and PVB provided effective postoperative analgesia. No significant difference in pain scores was observed between the two groups within the first 24 hours. However, ESP showed a notable advantage in managing chronic postoperative pain at the 6-month follow-up. Opioid consumption was lower in both groups compared to patients without a block. No significant differences in complication rates or hospital stay were noted between the groups. Conclusion: ESP and PVB offer comparable efficacy for immediate postoperative pain control in breast cancer surgery. Nevertheless, ESP may have a superior role in managing long-term pain. Further research is needed to explore the mechanisms behind the observed differences in chronic pain outcomes.

Keywords: pain assessment, brest surgery, bpv block, ESP block

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Authors: Pinqiao Wang

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Mindfulness, derived from Buddhism, has been developed to improve individuals' well-being, first in the West and then gaining growing popularity in Asia. Numerous research studies have proven the effectiveness of mindfulness among clinical groups and the public all over the world. However, as enthusiasm surges, reflections on mindfulness and its commodification and instrumentalization arise. Hong Kong was seen as the model of a free market by neoliberal economists. The relationships between its socioeconomic neoliberalism, Western-inspired democracy aspiration, and political harmonization with China Mainland have been fraught with tensions, which have been further exacerbated by socio-political changes since the 2010s. Under such circumstances, mental health problems have come into the spotlight in Hong Kong recently. Mindfulness has gained growing popularity in Hong Kong, with its influence reaching from primary schools to corporate settings. A more comprehensive socio-political analysis of mindfulness within the Hong Kong context warrants further exploration. Drawing on interview responses from mindfulness practitioners, we examine the connections between the ideologies underlying mindfulness and contemporary capitalist society. On the one hand, mindfulness focuses on the present moment and self-improvement, representing neoliberal capitalist spirituality and reinforcing existing power relations. On the other hand, mindfulness fosters the acceptance of difference, which is argued to demonstrate the potential for advancing democracy at both the individual and community levels. Academically, this research provides empirical evidence to advance the current discussions and debates surrounding the socio-political potential of mindfulness. Practically, it serves as a reflection on mindfulness practices to optimize their impact on individuals and society.

Keywords: neoliberal subjectivity, qualitative analysis, social construction, technologies of the self, therapeutic culture

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Authors: Eda Yakit Ak, Ergül Aslan

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The study was conducted using the quasi-experimental design to determine the influence of the nursing support program prepared according to the Health Belief Model on reproductive health behaviors of orthopedically disabled women in the physical therapy and rehabilitation clinic at a university hospital between August 2019-October, 2020. The research sample included 50 women (35 in the control group and 15 in the experimental group with orthopedic disability). A 3-week nursing support program was applied to the experimental group of women. To collect the data, Introductory Information Form and Scale for Determining the Protective Attitudes of Married Women towards Reproductive Health (SDPAMW) were applied. The evaluation was made with a follow-up form for four months. In the first evaluation, the total SDPAMW scores were 119.93±20.59 for the experimental group and 122.20±16.71 for the control group. In the final evaluation, the total SDPAMW scores were 144.27±11.95 for the experimental group and 118.00±16.43 for the control group. The difference between the groups regarding the first and final evaluations for the total SDPAMW scores was statistically significant (p<0.01). In the experimental group, between the first and final evaluations regarding the sub-dimensions of SDPAMW, an increase was found in the behavior of seeing the doctor on reproductive health issues, protection from reproductive organ and breast cancer, general health behaviors to protect reproductive health, and protection from genital tract infections (p<0.05). Consequently, the nursing support program based on the Health Belief Model applied to orthopedically disabled women positively affected reproductive health behaviors.

Keywords: orthopedically disabled, woman, reproductive health, nursing support program, health belief model

Procedia PDF Downloads 151

Authors: Jackqueline Uy, Hannah Miriam Verano, Crysler Luis Verbo, Irene Gueco

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Educational tours are part of the curriculum of the College of Tourism and Hospitality Management, De La Salle University-Dasmarinas. They are highly significant to the students, especially Tourism students. The purpose of this study was to determine how effective educational tours were as a learning tool using the Experiential Learning Theory by David Kolb. This study determined the demographic profile of the third year tourism students in terms of gender, section, educational tours joined, and monthly family income and lastly, this study determined if there is a significant difference between the demographic profile of the respondents and their assessment of educational tours as a learning tool. The researchers used a historical research design with the third-year students of the bachelor of science in tourism management as the population size and used a random sampling method. The researchers made a survey questionnaire and utilized statistical tools such as weighted mean, frequency distribution, percentage, standard deviation, T-test, and ANOVA. The result of the study answered the profile of the respondents such as the gender, section, educational tour/s joined, and family monthly income. The findings of the study showed that the 3rd year tourism management students strongly agree that educational tours are a highly effective learning tool in terms of active experimentation, concrete experience, reflective observation, and abstract conceptualisation based on the data gathered from the respondents.

Keywords: CTHM, educational tours, experiential learning theory, De La Salle University Dasmarinas, tourism

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Authors: Auswell Amfo-Antiri, Esther Eshun, Theresa A. Amu

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Cooking Bambara groundnut (Bambara beans) is time and energy-consuming. Over time, some substances have been used to help reduce cooking time and save energy. This experimental study was carried out to find ways of reducing the cooking time of Bambara groundnut using selected organic substances. Twenty grams (20g) each of fresh pawpaw leaves, guava leaves, ginger, onion, and palm kernel were cooked with five samples of 200g of the creamy variety of raw Bambara groundnut. A control was cooked without any organic substance added. All six samples were cooked with equal quantities of water (4L); the gas mark used for cooking the samples was marked 5, the highest for the largest burner, using the same cooking pot. Gas matter. The control sample used 192 minutes to cook thoroughly. The ginger-treated sample (AET02) had the shortest cooking time of 145 minutes, followed by the onion-treated sample (AET05), with a cooking time of 157 minutes. The sample cooked with Palm kernel (AET06) and Pawpaw (AET04) used 172 minutes and 174 minutes, respectively, while sample AET03, cooked with Guava, used 185 minutes for cooking. The difference in cooking time for the sample treated with ginger (AET02) and onion (AET05) was 47 minutes and 35 minutes, respectively, as compared with the control. The comparison between Control and Pawpaw produced [p=0.163>0.05]; Control and Ginger yielded [p=0.006<0.05]; Control and Kernel resulted in [p=0.128>0.05]; Control and Guava resulted in [p=0.560>0.05]. The study concluded that ginger and onions comparatively reduced the cooking time for Bambara ground nut appreciably. The study recommended that ginger and onions could be used to reduce the cooking time of Bambara groundnut.

Keywords: cooking time, organic substances, ginger, onions, pawpaw leaves, guava leaves, bambara groundnut

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Authors: Shannon O’Donnell, Matthew Driller, Gregory Jacobson, Steve Bird

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Stress hormone levels in a competition vs. training setting are yet to be evaluated in elite female athletes. The effect that these levels of stress have on subsequent sleep quality and quantity is also yet to be investigated. The aim of the current study was to evaluate different psychophysiological stress markers in competition and training environments and the subsequent effect on sleep indices in an elite female athlete population. The study involved 10 elite female netball athletes (mean ± SD; age = 23 ± 6 yrs) providing multiple salivary hormone measures and having their sleep monitored on two occasions; a match day, and a training day. The training and match were performed at the same time of day and were matched for intensity and duration. Saliva samples were collected immediately pre (5:00 pm) and post session (7:15 pm), and at 10:00 pm and were analysed for cortisol concentrations. Sleep monitoring was performed using wrist actigraphy to assess total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE%) and sleep latency (SL). Cortisol levels were significantly higher (p < 0.01) immediately post the match vs post training (mean ± SD; 0.925 ± 0.341 μg/dL and 0.239 ± 0.284 μg/dL, respectively) and at 10:00pm (0.143 ± 0.085 μg/dL and 0.072 ± 0.064 μg/dL, respectively, p < 0.01). The difference between trials was associated with a very large effect (ES: 2.23) immediately post (7:15 pm) and a large effect (ES: 1.02) at 10:00 pm. There was a significant reduction in TST (mean ± SD; -117.9 ± 111.9 minutes, p < 0.01, ES: -1.89) and SE% (-7.7 ± 8.5%, p < 0.02, ES: -0.79) on the night following the netball match compared to the training session. Although not significant (p > 0.05), there was an increase in SL following the netball match v the training session (67.0 ± 51.9 minutes and 38.5 ± 29.3 minutes, respectively), which was associated with a moderate effect (ES: 0.80). The current study reports that cortisol levels are significantly higher and subsequent sleep quantity and quality is significantly reduced in elite female athletes following a match compared to a training session.

Keywords: cortisol, netball, performance, recovery

Procedia PDF Downloads 258

Authors: Sangwoo Oh, Jaewoo Kim, Dongmin Seo, Jaewon Park, Yongha Hwang, Sungkyu Seo

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Plasmonics has been regarded one of the most powerful bio-sensing modalities to evaluate bio-molecular interactions in real-time. However, most of the plasmonic sensing methods are based on labeling metallic nanoparticles, e.g. gold or silver, as optical modulation markers, which are non-recyclable and expensive. This plasmonic modulation can be usually achieved through various nano structures, e.g., nano-hole arrays. Among those structures, plasmonic lens has been regarded as a unique plasmonic structure due to its light focusing characteristics. In this study, we introduce a custom designed plasmonic lens array for bio-sensing, which was simulated by finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) approach and fabricated by top-down approach. In our work, we performed the FDTD simulations of various plasmonic lens designs for bacteria sensor, i.e., Samonella and Hominis. We optimized the design parameters, i.e., radius, shape, and material, of the plasmonic lens. The simulation results showed the change in the peak intensity value with the introduction of each bacteria and antigen i.e., peak intensity 1.8711 a.u. with the introduction of antibody layer of thickness of 15nm. For Salmonella, the peak intensity changed from 1.8711 a.u. to 2.3654 a.u. and for Hominis, the peak intensity changed from 1.8711 a.u. to 3.2355 a.u. This significant shift in the intensity due to the interaction between bacteria and antigen showed a promising sensing capability of the plasmonic lens. With the batch processing and bulk production of this nano scale design, the cost of biological sensing can be significantly reduced, holding great promise in the fields of clinical diagnostics and bio-defense.

Keywords: plasmonic lens, FDTD, fabrication, bacteria sensor, salmonella, hominis

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Authors: Muhammad Imran, Faheem Khadija, Zahoor Hussain, Raheel Anwar, M. Nawaz Khan, M. Raza Salik

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Amongst citrus species, sweet orange (Citrus sinensis L. Osbeck) occupies a dominant position in the orange producing countries in the world. Sweet orange is widely consumed both as fresh fruit as well as juice and its global demand is attributed due to higher vitamin C and antioxidants. Fruit quality is most important for the external appearance and marketability of sweet orange fruit, especially for fresh consumption. There are so many factors affecting fruit quality, tree age is the most important one, but remains unexplored so far. The present study, we investigated the role of tree age on fruit quality of different cultivars of sweet oranges. The difference between fruit quality of 5-year young and 15-year old trees was discussed in the current study. In case of fruit weight, maximum fruit weight (238g) was recorded in 15-year old sweet orange cv. Sallustiana cultivar while minimum fruit weight (142g) was recorded in 5-year young tree of Succari sweet orange fruit. The results of the fruit diameter showed that the maximum fruit diameter (77.142mm) was recorded in 15-year old Sallustiana orange but the minimum fruit diameter (66.046mm) was observed in 5-year young tree of sweet orange cv. Succari. The minimum value of rind thickness (4.142mm) was noted in 15-year old tree of cv. Red blood. On the other hand maximum value of rind thickness was observed in 5-year young tree of cv. Sallustiana. The data regarding total soluble solids (TSS), acidity (TA), TSS/TA, juice content, rind, flavedo thickness, pH and fruit diameter have also been discussed.

Keywords: age, cultivars, fruit, quality, sweet orange (Citrus Sinensis L. Osbeck)

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Authors: Khalid Al Saleh, Najlaa AlSayed

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Background: Palliative care is changing from just ‘end of life care’ to care delivered earlier in the disease course. Metanalysis showed that Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) is associated with increased length of survival. The Palliative Care Center (PCC) in Kuwait is the only stand-alone center in Eastern Mediterranean Region with a capacity of 92 beds. We compared clinical characteristics between patients referred from the Specialized Cancer Center and general hospitals in Kuwait to PCC. Method: A cross Sectional survey was conducted since the opening of PCC in January 2011 to June 2013. Patients’ data on demographics, type of the cancer, PPS score and referring hospital were collected and analyzed. Results: Total number of the patients was 142. Mean age was 61.05±14.79 years, 66 patients (47.1%) were males and 74 (52.9%) were females. The most common cancers in males were lung (n=18, 27.3%) followed by head and neck cancers (n=8, 12.1%) and brain tumors (n=7, 10.6%) while in females, the most common cancers were breast cancer (n=12, 16.7%) followed by ovarian cancer (n=10, 13.9%) and Cancer Colon (n=8, 11.1%). Patients with PPS score 30% were 27.9% (n=39), 40% in 40.7% (n=57), and 50% in 17.1% (n=24) respectively. Patients referred from the Specialized Cancer Center had significantly higher portion of patients with PPS score > 30% (73.4%, n=94), compared to patients coming from general hospitals (33.3%, n=4), P value= 0.007. Conclusion: There is significant difference in PPS scores between patients referred from the Specialized Cancer Center compared to patients referred from general hospitals. We encourage that all cancer patients should be treated in Specialized Cancer Centers and earlier involvement of Palliative Care Centers to achieve better survival. Training workshops are needed for health care professionals working in general hospitals to raise awareness about earlier referral of patients to palliative care services.

Keywords: palliative care, kuwait, performance scale differences, pps score, specialized hospitals

Procedia PDF Downloads 307

Authors: Okhee Woo

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Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate 2-year cumulative effective radiation dose and cumulative organ dose on regular follow-up computed tomography (CT) scans in patients with breast cancer and to establish personalized low-dose CT protocol. Methods and Materials: A retrospective study was performed on the patients with breast cancer who were diagnosed and managed consistently on the basis of routine breast cancer follow-up protocol between 2012-01 and 2016-06. Based on ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection) 103, the cumulative effective radiation doses of each patient for 2-year follow-up were analyzed using the commercial radiation management software (Radimetrics, Bayer healthcare). The personalized effective doses on each organ were analyzed in detail by the software-providing Monte Carlo simulation. Results: A total of 3822 CT scans on 490 patients was evaluated (age: 52.32±10.69). The mean scan number for each patient was 7.8±4.54. Each patient was exposed 95.54±63.24 mSv of radiation for 2 years. The cumulative CT radiation dose was significantly higher in patients with lymph node metastasis (p = 0.00). The HER-2 positive patients were more exposed to radiation compared to estrogen or progesterone receptor positive patient (p = 0.00). There was no difference in the cumulative effective radiation dose with different age groups. Conclusion: To acknowledge how much radiation exposed to a patient is a starting point of management of radiation exposure for patients with long-term CT follow-up. The precise and personalized protocol, as well as iterative reconstruction, may reduce hazard from unnecessary radiation exposure.

Keywords: computed tomography, breast cancer, effective radiation dose, cumulative organ dose

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Authors: Sheheryar Khan, Weidong Li, Fanqian Meng

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The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is one of the foremost problems out of other ecological and socioeconomic issues in urbanization. Due to this phenomenon that human-made urban areas have replaced the rural landscape with the surface that increases thermal conductivity and urban warmth; as a result, the temperature in the city is higher than in the surrounding rural areas. To affect the evidence of this phenomenon in the Zhengzhou city area, an observation of the temperature variations in the urban area is done through a scientific method that has been followed. Landsat 8 satellite images were taken from 2013 to 2015 to calculate the effect of Urban Heat Island (UHI) along with the NPP-VRRIS night-time remote sensing data to analyze the result for a better understanding of the center of the built-up area. To further support the evidence, the correlation between land surface temperatures and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was calculated using the Red band 4 and Near-infrared band 5 of the Landsat 8 data. Mono-window algorithm was applied to retrieve the land surface temperature (LST) distribution from the Landsat 8 data using Band 10 and 11 accordingly to convert the top-of-atmosphere radiance (TOA) and to convert the satellite brightness temperature. Along with Landsat 8 data, NPP-VIIRS night-light data is preprocessed to get the research area data. The analysis between Landsat 8 data and NPP night-light data was taken to compare the output center of the Built-up area of Zhengzhou city.

Keywords: built-up area, land surface temperature, mono-window algorithm, NDVI, remote sensing, threshold method, Zhengzhou

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Authors: Randhir Singh Ranta

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The attempt to achieve and maintain an optimum state of health has always drilled the human mind and consequently, a number of healing systems have evolved around the world. Communities have contrived procedures to alleviate the wearisome condition arising out of ailments, using their own system, which differ from one community to another. Each culture has evolved a viewpoint regarding the cause of disease and the same is embedded in their belief systems. In India, the elementary proposition of mental health is within the community. From the theoretical perspective, the individual obeying and adhering to the institution of village deity represents the two changeovers i.e. from biological to psychological and from psychological to spiritual. In order to understand the cultural notion of mental health and role of local deities, a study was conducted in North-western Himalaya with a purpose to study the belief system of people in context of institution of village deity and establish a relationship between religiosity and general well-being among the believers. An effort was made to compare the mental health status of people facing psychosomatic disorders with the normal. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used for the purpose. Case studies were made to have an understanding of nature of mental and behavioural disorders and the role of institutions of local deities in managing the same. The results revealed that mountain communities have firm beliefs in local deities. A significant difference was found on the scores of belief and wellbeing, and a positive correlation was found between the belief assessment and general wellbeing.

Keywords: culture notion, mental health, healing system, deities

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Authors: Ronit Reuven Even Zahav

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Context: Mother-daughter relationships are crucial in shaping women's identities, yet research on these relationships during cross-cultural transitions is limited. Research aim: To explore and compare adult mother-daughter relationships among Ethiopian, Russian, and Israeli groups, focusing on gender and ethnicity. Methodology: Qualitative study with 87 participants, included 37 mother-daughter dyads, and 13 mothers, using semi-structured interviews on various themes related to the relationships. Findings: Revealed three relationship patterns among the groups, highlighting differences in sharing, expectations, and stress, with Ethiopian mothers showing distinct characteristics. Theoretical importance: Highlights the impact of intercultural transitions and societal status on mother-daughter relationships, contributing to understanding the gender dialectic. Data collection: Through semi-structured interviews that were thematically coded and analyzed for similarities and differences, providing insights into the relationships. Question addressed: Explored how mother-daughter relationships are influenced by gender, ethnicity, and cross-cultural transitions. Conclusion: Stresses the significance of comprehending the effects of intercultural transitions and social exclusion on mother-daughter relationships, emphasizing the gender dialectic and women's societal status. Cultural aspects of mother-daughter relationships such as sharing and closeness in context of gender expectations of similarity and difference in relationships emphasize the need for a gender-informed tool and contribute to the development of a gender-informed tool that can help comprehend and address inequalities and promote empowerment in mother-daughter relationships within diverse cultural groups.

Keywords: gender dialectic, diversity, mother-daughter relationships, gender informed perspectives

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Authors: W. J. Wang, D. F. Lin, L. Y. Chen, K. Y. Liu

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In this study, the ladle furnace slag was used as a mineral filler in asphalt concrete with electric arc furnace slag (EAF asphalt concrete) to investigate the effect on the engineering and thermal properties of asphalt cement mastics and EAF asphalt concrete, the lime was used as a comparison for mineral filler, and the usage percentage of mineral filler was set at 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%. First of all, the engineering properties of the ladle furnace slag and lime were compared, and then the mineral filler was mixed with bitumen to form the asphalt cement mastics in order to analyze the influence of the ladle furnace slag on the properties of asphalt cement mastics, and lastly, the mineral filler was used in the EAF asphalt concrete to analyze its feasibility of using ladle furnace slag as a mineral filler. The study result shows that the ladle furnace slag and the lime have no obvious difference in their physical properties, and from the energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS) test results, we know that the lime and the ladle furnace slag have similar elemental composition, but the Ca found in the ladle furnace slag belongs to CaO, and the lime belongs to CaCO3, therefore the ladle furnace slag has the property of expansion. According to the test results, the viscosity of asphalt cement mastics will increase with the increase in the use of mineral filler. Since the ladle furnace slag has more CaO content, the viscosity of the asphalt cement mastics with ladle furnace slag will increase more than using lime as mineral filler in the asphalt cement mastics, and the use of ladle furnace slag only needs to be 2% in order to achieve the effect of anti-peeling which is 6% for lime. From the related test results of EAF asphalt concrete, it is known that the maximum stability value can be obtained when the use of mineral filler is about 5%. When the ladle furnace slag is used as the mineral filler, it can improve the stiffness, indirect tension strength, spalling resistance, and thermal insulation of EAF asphalt concrete, which also indicates that using the ladle furnace slag as the mineral filler of bitumen can help to improve the durability of the asphalt pavement.

Keywords: ladle furnace slag, mineral filler, asphalt cement mastics, EAF asphalt concrete

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Authors: Mehmet Demir Kaya, Engin Gökhan Kulan, Onur İleri, Süleyman Avcı

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Due to variation in seed size, shape and oil content of safflower cultivars, germination and emergence performance have been severely influenced by seed characteristics. This study aimed to determine genotypic variation among safflower genotypes for one thousand seed weight, oil content, germination and seed vigor using electrical conductivity (EC) and cold test. In the study, safflower lines ES37-5, ES38-4, ES43-11, ES55-14 and ES58-11 which were developed by single seed selection method, and Dinçer and Remzibey-05 were used as standard varieties. The genotypes were grown under rainfed conditions in Eskişehir, Turkey with four replications. The seeds of each genotype were subjected to standard germination and emergence test at 25°C for 10 days with four replications and 50 seeds per replicate. Electrical conductivity test was performed at 25°C for 24 h to assess the seed vigor. Also, cold test were applied to each safflower genotype at 10°C for 4 days and 25°C for 6 days. Results showed that oil content of the safflower genotypes were different. The highest oil content was determined in ES43-11 with 36.6% while the lowest was 25.9% in ES38-4. Higher germination and emergence rate were obtained from ES55-14 with 96.5% and 73.0%, respectively. There was no significant difference among the safflower genotypes for EC values. Cold test showed that ES43-11 and ES55-14 gave the maximum germination percentages. It was concluded that genotypic factors except for soil and climatic conditions play an important role for determining seed vigor because safflower genotypes grown at the same condition produced various seed vigor values.

Keywords: Carthamus tinctorius L., germination, emergence, cold test, electrical conductivity

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Authors: Pranjal Johri, Misbah Ul-Islam

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Power Transformers are one of the most critical and failure prone entities in an electrical power system. It is an established practice that each design of a power transformer has to undergo numerous type tests for design validation and routine tests are performed on each and every power transformer before dispatch from manufacturer’s works. Different countries follow different standards for testing the transformers. Most common and widely followed standard for Power Transformers is IEC 60076 series. Though these standards put up a strict testing requirements for power transformers, however, few aspects of transformer characteristics and guaranteed parameters can be ensured by some additional tests. Based on certain observations during routine test of a transformer and analyzing the data of a large fleet of transformers, three propositions have been discussed and put forward to be included in test schedules and standards. The observations in the routine test raised questions on design flux density of transformer. In order to ensure that flux density in any part of the core & yoke does not exceed 1.9 tesla at 1.1 pu as well, following propositions need to be followed during testing:  From the data studied, it was evident that generally NLC at 1.1 pu is apporx. 3 times of No Load Current at 1 pu voltage.  During testing the power factor at 1.1 pu excitation, it must be comparable to calculated values from the Cold Rolled Grain Oriented steel material curves, including building factor.  A limit of 3 % to be extended for higher than rated voltages on difference in Vavg and Vrms, during no load testing.  Extended over excitation test to be done in case above propositions are observed to be violated during testing.

Keywords: power transfoemrs, no load current, DGA, power factor

Procedia PDF Downloads 106

Authors: Hadri Hussain, M.Nasir Ibrahim, Chee-Ming Ting, Mariani Idroas, Fuad Numan, Alias Mohd Noor

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A biometric security system has become an important application in client identification and verification system. A conventional biometric system is normally based on unimodal biometric that depends on either behavioural or physiological information for authentication purposes. The behavioural biometric depends on human body biometric signal (such as speech) and biosignal biometric (such as electrocardiogram (ECG) and phonocardiogram or heart sound (HS)). The speech signal is commonly used in a recognition system in biometric, while the ECG and the HS have been used to identify a person’s diseases uniquely related to its cluster. However, the conventional biometric system is liable to spoof attack that will affect the performance of the system. Therefore, a multimodal biometric security system is developed, which is based on biometric signal of ECG, HS, and speech. The biosignal data involved in the biometric system is initially segmented, with each segment Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) method is exploited for extracting the feature. The Hidden Markov Model (HMM) is used to model the client and to classify the unknown input with respect to the modal. The recognition system involved training and testing session that is known as client identification (CID). In this project, twenty clients are tested with the developed system. The best overall performance at 44 kHz was 93.92% for ECG and the worst overall performance was ECG at 88.47%. The results were compared to the best overall performance at 44 kHz for (20clients) to increment of clients, which was 90.00% for HS and the worst overall performance falls at ECG at 79.91%. It can be concluded that the difference multimodal biometric has a substantial effect on performance of the biometric system and with the increment of data, even with higher frequency sampling, the performance still decreased slightly as predicted.

Keywords: electrocardiogram, phonocardiogram, hidden markov model, mel frequency cepstral coeffiecients, client identification

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Authors: Eman M. Morgan, Hayam M. Lotfy, Yasmin M. Fayez, Mohamed Abdelkawy, Engy Shokry

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Two simple, selective, economic, safe, accurate, precise and environmentally friendly methods were developed and validated for the quantitative determination of valaciclovir (VAL) in the presence of its related substances R1 (acyclovir), R2 (guanine) in bulk powder and in the commercial pharmaceutical product containing the drug. Method A is a colorimetric method where VAL selectively reacts with ferric hydroxamate and the developed color was measured at 490 nm over a concentration range of 0.4-2 mg/mL with percentage recovery 100.05 ± 0.58 and correlation coefficient 0.9999. Method B is a reversed phase ultra performance liquid chromatographic technique (UPLC) which is considered superior in technology to the high-performance liquid chromatography with respect to speed, resolution, solvent consumption, time, and cost of analysis. Efficient separation was achieved on Agilent Zorbax CN column using ammonium acetate (0.1%) and acetonitrile as a mobile phase in a linear gradient program. Elution time for the separation was less than 5 min and ultraviolet detection was carried out at 256 nm over a concentration range of 2-50 μg/mL with mean percentage recovery 100.11±0.55 and correlation coefficient 0.9999. The proposed methods were fully validated as per International Conference on Harmonization specifications and effectively applied for the analysis of valaciclovir in pure form and tablets dosage form. Statistical comparison of the results obtained by the proposed and official or reported methods revealed no significant difference in the performance of these methods regarding the accuracy and precision respectively.

Keywords: hydroxamic acid, related substances, UPLC, valaciclovir

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Authors: Irakli Manvelidze, Genadi Iashvili, Giga Phartenadze, Giorgi Katamadze

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Establishment of electronic governance in the region is facing serious problems. Organizational, technical, social and methodological problems have been identified after the research. These problems currently create serious barriers and prevent the development of effective e-governance. Lack of human resources, difference in program targets of the centre and the region, lack of citizens’ awareness about the project of electronic governance are other issues that should be mentioned. In spite of positive changes the overall situation concerning development of modern information-communication technologies in Adjara is not satisfactory. The information systems in the region can be described as transforming in a democratic way which needs serious reforms. Current situation shows that unsystematic, uncoordinated actions were made which overall represents more chaotic rather than coordinated systematic process. Therefore, a strategic document ‘Adjarian Electronic Government’ should be created which will ensure systematic development of electronic governance in the region. The implementation of the strategy of ‘Adjarian Electronic Government’ should be based on not only conceptual and instrumental but also legal basics. A legal normative basis should be created which will include formation of electronic government’s instrumental basis as well as creation of united regional system of electronic document management. Meanwhile types of documents which would be used in inter institutional relations should be defined under a legal norm. Creation of regional united system of e-filing will regulate regional public institutions, relations between local self-government and public organizations as well as it will ensure coordinated work of all regional public institutions.

Keywords: e-government, information society, public administration, reforming state governance, public institutions

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Authors: Ahmed A. M. Shoaib, Heba A. Esaily, Mahmoud M. Emara, Eman A. E. Badr, Amany S. Khalifa, Mayada M. M., Abdel-Raizk

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Background: DM is associated with metabolic bone diseases, osteoporosis, low-impact fractures and falls in geriatrics. Fetuin-A, which is a serum protein produced by the liver and promotes bone mineralization, is an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Aim: Evaluation of fetuin-A level and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Egyptian female patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and their correlation with each other & with other metabolic parameters. Patients and methods: Seventy postmenopausal female patients with type II diabetes and thirty postmenopausal female as control were included in this study. Measurement of Fetuin-A together with metabolic parameters and DXA in wrist, hip and spine, ALP, CBC, FBS, PP2H and HBA1c was done in all participants. Results: - Fetuin-A level was found to be highly significant (p< 0.001) between diabetic and nondiabetic groups and negatively correlated with BMD in spine. No difference in BMD was found between patients and control groups while significant negative correlation was found between FBS and hip BMD (<0.05) and between 2hpp and HBA1c with spine BMD in the diabetic group (<0.05). Osteoporosis represented 12.9% in spine area and 7.2% in hip and wrist areas in diabetic patients, while osteopenia were found in 58.5%, 57.1%, and 37.1% in diabetic patients in spine, wrist, and hip respectively. Conclusion: - type II diabetes cannot be considered as a risk factor for osteoporosis; while glycemic parameters (FBS, 2hpp & HBA1c) and serum Fetuin-A levels were correlated with BMD in diabetics. Good glycemic control can be protective against osteoporosis in diabetic elderly.

Keywords: fetuin-A, BMD, postmenopausal, DM type II

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Authors: Kazushi Murata, Fabian Watermann, O. B. Herve Gonroudobou, Le Thuy Hang, Toshiro Yamanaka, M. Larry Lopez C.

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Aims: Black pine coastal forests play an important role as a windbreak and as a natural barrier to sand and salt spray inland in Japan. The recent invasion of N₂-fxing black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) trees in these forests is expected to have a nutritional contribution to black pine trees growth. Thus, the effect of this new source of N on black pine trees' N assimilation needs to be assessed. Methods: In order to evaluate this contribution, tree-ring isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) and nitrogen content (%N) of black pine (Pinus thunbergii) trees in a pure stand (BPP) and a mixed stand (BPM) with black locust (BL) trees were measured for the period 2000–2019 for BPP and BL and 1990–2019 for BPM. The same measurements were conducted in plant tissues and in soil samples. Results: The tree ring δ15N values showed that for the last 30 years, BPM trees gradually switched from BPP to BL-derived soil N starting in the 1990s, becoming the dominant N source from 2000 as no significant diference was found between BPM and BL tree ring δ¹⁵N values from 2000 to 2019. No difference in root and sapwood BPM and BL δ¹⁵N values were found, but BPM foliage (−2.1‰) was different to BPP (−4.4‰) and BL (−0.3‰), which is related to the different N assimilation pathways between BP and BL. Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, the assimilation of BL-derived N inferred from the BPM tissues' δ¹⁵N values is the result of an increase in soil bioavailable N with a higher δ¹⁵N value.

Keywords: nitrogen-15, N₂-fxing species, mixed stand, soil, tree rings

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Authors: Onuoha Gideon

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The preliminary studies on the potentials of Bambara nut and pigeon pea as imitation milk were investigated. Bambara nut and Pigeon pea milk were produced from two separate unit operations; Bambara nut seed was cooked, dehulled, milled and strained to milk (BCM) and another batch was toasted at moderate temperature, dehulled, milled and strained to milk (BTM). Pigeon pea seed was cooked, dehulled, milled and strained to milk (PCM) and another batch was toasted at moderate temperature, dehulled, milled and strained to milk (PTM). The result of the proximate analysis on the milk samples on wet basis showed that the protein content ranged from 28.56 – 26.77, the crude fibre ranged from 6.28 – 1.85, the ash content ranged from 5.22 – 1.17, the fat content ranged from 2.71 – 1.12, the moisture content ranged from 95.93 – 93.83, the carbohydrate content ranged from 67.62 – 58.83. The functional analysis on the milk samples showed that emulsification capacity ranged from 43.21 – 38.66, emulsion stability ranged from 34.10 – 25.00, the specific gravity ranged from 997.50 – 945.00, the foaming capacity ranged from 3,500 to 2,250, the measurement of viscosity ranged from 0.017 – 0.007, the pH range from 5.55 – 5.25, the measurement of dispersibility range from 11.00 – 7.00, the total soluble solid ranged from 4.00 to 1.75, the total titratable acidity ranged from 0.314 – 0.328. The sensory evaluation report showed that in terms of flavor, sample BCM and PCM value were significantly different from sample BTM and PTM. In terms of colour, sample BCM showed a significant difference from samples BTM, PCM and PTM. In term of texture, sample BCM was significantly different from samples BTM, PCM and PTM. The general acceptability shows that sample BCM was significantly different from other the samples and was the most accepted. The microbial analysis indicated that the microbial load increases with time. Bacterial count ranged from 1.3 x 105 – 1.20 x 106 to 1.6 x 105 – 1.06 x 106, fungal count ranged from 4.0 x 105 – 8.0 x 105 to 4.0 x 105 – 7.0 x 105. The studies showed that BCM was the most preferred.

Keywords: imitation milk, Bambara nut, Pigeon pea, proximate composition

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Authors: O. O. Onafowokan, K. Anderson, M. R. Norton, R. G. Middleton

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Revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) is known to be a challenging procedure with potential for poor outcomes. Due to its lack of metaphyseal encroachment, hip resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) is classified as a bone conserving procedure. Although the literature postulates that this is an advantage at time of revision surgery, there is no evidence to either support or refute this claim. We identified 129 hips that had undergone HRA and 129 controls undergoing first revision THA. We recorded the clinical assessment and survivorship of implants in a multi-surgeon, single centre, retrospective case control series for both arms. These were matched for age and sex. Data collected included demographics, indications for surgery, Oxford Hip Score (OHS), length of surgery, length of hospital stay, blood transfusion, implant complexity and further surgical procedures. Significance was taken as p < 0.05. Mean follow up was 7.5 years (1 to 15). There was a significant 6 point difference in postoperative OHS in favour of the revision resurfacing group (p=0.0001). The revision HRA group recorded 48 minutes less length of surgery (p<0.0001), 2 days less in length of hospital stay (p=0.018), a reduced need for blood transfusion (p=0.0001), a need for less complexity in revision implants (p=0.001) and a reduced probability of further surgery being required (P=0.003). Whilst we acknowledge the limitations of this study our results suggest that, in contrast to THA, the bone conservation element of HRA may make for a less traumatic revision procedure with better functional outcomes. Use of HRA has seen a dramatic decline as a result of concerns regarding metallosis. However, this information remains of relevance when counselling young active patients about their arthroplasty options and may become pertinent in the future if the promise of ceramic hip resurfacing is ever realized.

Keywords: hip resurfacing, metallosis, revision surgery, total hip arthroplasty

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Authors: Zhou Shangcheng, Yi Sicen

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Objective: To understand the mortality patterns of Zhangwan District in 2010 and provide the basis for the development of scientific and rational health policy. Methods: Data are collected from the Sixth Census of Zhangwan District and disease surveillance system. The statistical analysis include death difference between age, gender, region and time and the related factors. Methods developed for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study by the World Bank and World Health Organization (WHO) were adapted and applied to Zhangwan District population health data. DALY rate per 1,000 was calculated for varied causes of death. SPSS 16 is used by statistic analysis. Results: From the data of death population of Zhangwan District we know the crude mortality rate was 6.03 ‰. There are significant differences of mortality rate in male and female population which was respectively 7.37 ‰ and 4.68 ‰. 0 age group population life expectancy in Zhangwan District in 2010 was 78.40 years old(Male 75.93, Female 81.03). The five leading causes of YLL in descending order were: cardiovascular diseases(42.63DALY/1000), malignant neoplasm (23.73DALY/1000), unintentional injuries (5.84DALY/1000), Respiratory diseases(5.43 DALY/1000), Respiratory infections (2.44DALY/1000). In addition, there are strong relation between the marital status , educational level and mortality in some to a certain extend. Conclusion Zhangwan District, as city level, is at lower mortality levels. The mortality of the total population of Zhangwan District has a downward trend and life expectancy is rising.

Keywords: sixth census, Zhangwan district, death level differences, influencing factors, cause of death

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Authors: Thanakorn Thanawat, Nomjit Nualnetr

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Background and Purpose: In Thailand, rice farmers have the most prevalence of low back pain when compared with other manual workers. Exercises have been suggested to be a principal part of treatment programs for low back pain. However, the programs should be tailored to an individual’s readiness to change categorized by a behavioral approach. This study aimed to evaluate a difference between the responses of rice farmers with chronic low back pain who received an exercise program integrated with the transtheoretical model of behavior change (TTM) and those of the comparison group regarding severity of pain and trunk muscle endurance. Materials and Methods: An 8-week exercise program was conducted to rice farmers with chronic low back pain who were randomized to either the TTM (n=62, 52 woman and 10 men, mean age ± SD 45.0±5.4 years) or non-TTM (n=64, 53 woman and 11 men, mean age ± SD 44.7±5.4 years) groups. All participants were tested for their severity of pain and trunk (abdominal and back) muscle endurance at baseline (week 0) and immediately after termination of the program (week 8). Data were analysed by using descriptive statistics and student’s t-tests. The results revealed that both TTM and non-TTM groups could decrease their severity of pain and improve trunk muscle endurance after participating in the 8-week exercise program. When compared with the non-TTM group, however, the TTM showed a significantly greater increase in abdominal muscle endurance than did the non-TTM (P=0.004, 95% CI -12.4 to -2.3). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: An exercise program integrated with the TTM could provide benefits to rice farmers with chronic low back pain. Future studies with a longitudinal design and more outcome measures such as physical performance and quality of life are suggested to reveal further benefits of the program.

Keywords: chronic low back pain, transtheoretical model, rice farmers, exercise program

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Authors: Mahboubeh Varmaziar

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Depression is a significant public health concern affecting people of all ages and genders. Physical activity has been shown to have a positive effect on mental health, particularly in alleviating symptoms of depression. This study aims to explore the impact of continuous exercise on depression levels among young female athletes in Hamadan Province, Iran. In this randomized controlled trial, 72 women aged 20 to 35 years attending sports centers in Hamadan Province were selected through convenient sampling and randomly assigned to either the control or experimental group. The experimental group participated in a continuous exercise program consisting of 20 sessions over six weeks, with each session lasting 30 minutes. In contrast, the control group maintained their usual daily activities at the sports center. Both groups completed demographic and Beck Depression Inventory questionnaires. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including two-way ANOVA. The results of the two-way ANOVA, after controlling for the pre-test effect, revealed a significant difference in the mean depression scores between the control and experimental groups (p < 0.001). This suggests that the continuous exercise program significantly reduced depression levels in the young female athletes. The findings suggest that continuous exercise is an effective non-pharmacological intervention for reducing depression in young female athletes. Incorporating regular physical activity into treatment plans may serve as a complementary therapy alongside conventional treatments, offering a low-risk and beneficial approach to managing depression.

Keywords: depression, exercise, female athletes, yong women

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Authors: Min Jindong, Wang Mingxia

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With the widespread use of artificial intelligence in life, computer vision, especially deep convolutional neural network models, has developed rapidly. With the increase of the complexity of the real visual target detection task and the improvement of the recognition accuracy, the target detection network model is also very large. The huge deep neural network model is not conducive to deployment on edge devices with limited resources, and the timeliness of network model inference is poor. In this paper, knowledge distillation is used to compress the huge and complex deep neural network model, and the knowledge contained in the complex network model is comprehensively transferred to another lightweight network model. Different from traditional knowledge distillation methods, we propose a novel knowledge distillation that incorporates multi-faceted features, called M-KD. In this paper, when training and optimizing the deep neural network model for target detection, the knowledge of the soft target output of the teacher network in knowledge distillation, the relationship between the layers of the teacher network and the feature attention map of the hidden layer of the teacher network are transferred to the student network as all knowledge. in the model. At the same time, we also introduce an intermediate transition layer, that is, an intermediate guidance layer, between the teacher network and the student network to make up for the huge difference between the teacher network and the student network. Finally, this paper adds an exploration module to the traditional knowledge distillation teacher-student network model. The student network model not only inherits the knowledge of the teacher network but also explores some new knowledge and characteristics. Comprehensive experiments in this paper using different distillation parameter configurations across multiple datasets and convolutional neural network models demonstrate that our proposed new network model achieves substantial improvements in speed and accuracy performance.

Keywords: object detection, knowledge distillation, convolutional network, model compression

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Authors: Mahmoud Nabilu

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The present study explored the effect of using Mobile listening applications on developing listening skills by Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Fifty male intermediate English learners whose age range was between 15 and 20, participated in the study. The participants were placed in two groups on the basis of their scores on a placement test. Therefore, the participants of the study were homogenized in terms of general proficiency, and groups were assigned as one experimental group and one control group. The experimental group was instructed by the treatment which was using mobile applications to develop their listening skills while the control group received traditional methods. The research data were obtained from the 40-item multiple-choice tests as a pre-test and a post-test. The results of the t-test clearly revealed that the learners in the experimental group performed better in the post-test than the pre-test. This implies that using a mobile application for developing listening skills as a treatment was effective in helping the language learners perform better on post-test. However, a statistically significant difference was found between the post-tests scores of the two groups. The mean of the experimental group was greater compared to the control group. The participants were Iranian and from an Iranian Language Institute, so care should be taken while generalizing the results to the learners of other nationalities. However, in the researcher's view, the findings of this study have valuable implications for teachers and learners, methodologists and syllabus designers, linguists and MALL/CALL (mobile/computer-assisted language learning) experts. Using the result of the present paper is an aim of raising the consciousness of a better technique of developing listening skills in order to make language learning more efficient for the learners.

Keywords: Mobile listening applications, intermediate EFL learners, MALL, CALL

Procedia PDF Downloads 196