Search results for: Fatima Saeed
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 521

Search results for: Fatima Saeed

401 A Novel Method For Non-Invasive Diagnosis Of Hepatitis C Virus Using Electromagnetic Signal Detection: A Multicenter International Study

Authors: Gamal Shiha, Waleed Samir, Zahid Azam, Premashis Kar, Saeed Hamid, Shiv Sarin

Abstract:

A simple, rapid and non-invasive electromagnetic sensor (C-FAST device) was- patented; for diagnosis of HCV RNA. Aim: To test the validity of the device compared to standard HCV PCR. Subjects and Methods: The first phase was done as pilot in Egypt on 79 participants; the second phase was done in five centers: one center from Egypt, two centers from Pakistan and two centers from India (800, 92 and 113 subjects respectively). The third phase was done nationally as multicenter study on (1600) participants for ensuring its representativeness. Results: When compared to PCR technique, C-FAST device revealed sensitivity 95% to 100%, specificity 95.5% to 100%, PPV 89.5% to 100%, NPV 95% to 100% and positive likelihood ratios 21.8% to 38.5%. Conclusion: It is practical evidence that HCV nucleotides emit electromagnetic signals that can be used for its identification. As compared to PCR, C-FAST is an accurate, valid and non-invasive device.

Keywords: C-FAST- a valid and reliable device, distant cellular interaction, electromagnetic signal detection, non-invasive diagnosis of HCV

Procedia PDF Downloads 409
400 IT and Security Experts' Innovation and Investment Front for IT-Entrepreneurship in Pakistan

Authors: Ahmed Mateen, Zhu Qingsheng, Muhammad Awais, Muhammad Yahya Saeed

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This paper targets the rising factor of entrepreneurship innovation, which lacks in Pakistan as compared to the other countries or the regions like China, India, and Malaysia, etc. This is an exploratory and explanatory study. Major aspects have identified as the direction for the policymakers while highlighting the issues in true spirit. IT needs to be considered not only as a technology but also as itself growing as a new community. IT management processes are complex and broad, so generally requires extensive attention to the collective aspects of human variables, capital and technology. In addition, projects tend to have a special set of critical success factors, and if these are processed and given attention, it will improve the chances of successful implementation. This is only possible with state of the art intelligent decision support systems and accumulating IT staff to some extent in decision processes. This paper explores this issue carefully and discusses six issues to observe the implemented strength and possible enhancement.

Keywords: security and defense forces, IT-incentives, big IT-players, IT-entrepreneurial-culture

Procedia PDF Downloads 191
399 Library Anxiety among Library and Information Science Students at Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak, Pakistan: A Bostick Approach

Authors: Saeed Ullah Jan, Shafaq, Sumbul

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Anxiety is one of the most common emotions and is a normal reaction to danger or a threat. It is a normal reaction to stress and can be beneficial in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. The prime aim of this study was to examine the level of anxiety of Library and Information Science students at the Department of Library and Information Science, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak. A survey method was used for the completion of this study. The response of male respondents was better than female LIS students at the Department of Library and Information Science, Khushal Khan Khattak University Karak. The librarians should have to focus on the information needs of the university students. Special training needs to be arranged for female students to improve their library usage and readership rate.

Keywords: library-anxiety, library anxiety-students, library anxiety -students-Pakistan, stress

Procedia PDF Downloads 159
398 Knowledge of the Doctors Regarding International Patient Safety Goal

Authors: Fatima Saeed, Abdullah Mudassar

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Introduction: Patient safety remains a global priority in the ever-evolving healthcare landscape. At the forefront of this endeavor are the International Patient Safety Goals (IPSGs), a standardized framework designed to mitigate risks and elevate the quality of care. Doctors, positioned as primary caregivers, wield a pivotal role in upholding and adhering to IPSGs, underscoring the critical significance of their knowledge and understanding of these goals. This research embarks on a comprehensive exploration into the depth of Doctors ' comprehension of IPSGs, aiming to unearth potential gaps and provide insights for targeted educational interventions. Established by influential healthcare bodies, including the World Health Organization (WHO), IPSGs represent a universally applicable set of objectives spanning crucial domains such as medication safety, infection control, surgical site safety, and patient identification. Adherence to these goals has exhibited substantial reductions in adverse events, fostering an overall enhancement in the quality of care. This study operates on the fundamental premise that an informed Doctors workforce is indispensable for effectively implementing IPSGs. A nuanced understanding of these goals empowers Doctors to identify potential risks, advocate for necessary changes, and actively contribute to a safety-centric culture within healthcare institutions. Despite the acknowledged importance of IPSGs, there is a growing concern that nurses may need more knowledge to integrate these goals into their practice seamlessly. Methodology: A Comprehensive research methodology covering study design, setting, duration, sample size determination, sampling technique, and data analysis. It introduces the philosophical framework guiding the research and details material, methods, and the analysis framework. The descriptive quantitative cross-sectional study in teaching care hospitals utilized convenient sampling over six months. Data collection involved written informed consent and questionnaires, analyzed with SPSS version 23, presenting results graphically and descriptively. The chapter ensures a clear understanding of the study's design, execution, and analytical processes. Result: The survey results reveal a substantial distribution across hospitals, with 34.52% in MTIKTH and 65.48% in HMC MTI. There is a notable prevalence of patient safety incidents, emphasizing the significance of adherence to IPSGs. Positive trends are observed, including 77.0% affirming the "time-out" procedure, 81.6% acknowledging effective healthcare provider communication, and high recognition (82.7%) of the purpose of IPSGs to improve patient safety. While the survey reflects a good understanding of IPSGs, areas for improvement are identified, suggesting opportunities for targeted interventions. Discussion: The study underscores the need for tailored care approaches and highlights the bio-socio-cultural context of 'contagion,' suggesting areas for further research amid antimicrobial resistance. Shifting the focus to patient safety practices, the survey chapter provides a detailed overview of results, emphasizing workplace distribution, patient safety incidents, and positive reflections on IPSGs. The findings indicate a positive trend in patient safety practices with areas for improvement, emphasizing the ongoing need for reinforcing safety protocols and cultivating a safety-centric culture in healthcare. Conclusion: In summary, the survey indicates a positive trend in patient safety practices with a good understanding of IPSGs among participants. However, identifying areas for potential improvement suggests opportunities for targeted interventions to enhance patient safety further. Ongoing efforts to reinforce adherence to safety protocols, address identified gaps, and foster a safety culture will contribute to continuous improvements in patient care and outcomes.

Keywords: infection control, international patient safety, patient safety practices, proper medication

Procedia PDF Downloads 26
397 Preference Aggregation and Mechanism Design in the Smart Grid

Authors: Zaid Jamal Saeed Almahmoud

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Smart Grid is the vision of the future power system that combines advanced monitoring and communication technologies to provide energy in a smart, efficient, and user-friendly manner. This proposal considers a demand response model in the Smart Grid based on utility maximization. Given a set of consumers with conflicting preferences in terms of consumption and a utility company that aims to minimize the peak demand and match demand to supply, we study the problem of aggregating these preferences while modelling the problem as a game. We also investigate whether an equilibrium can be reached to maximize the social benefit. Based on such equilibrium, we propose a dynamic pricing heuristic that computes the equilibrium and sets the prices accordingly. The developed approach was analysed theoretically and evaluated experimentally using real appliances data. The results show that our proposed approach achieves a substantial reduction in the overall energy consumption.

Keywords: heuristics, smart grid, aggregation, mechanism design, equilibrium

Procedia PDF Downloads 81
396 Sentence Variation in Academic Writing: A Contrastive Study of the Variation of Sentence Types between Male and Female ESL Writers

Authors: Fatima Muhammad Shitu

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This paper focuses on the variation of sentence types in English academic writing. The major focus is on whether variation in sentence types can be attributable to the linguistic and most of all the gender of the writers. The objective of this paper is to analyze the sentence types produced by Male and Female ESL writers and to determine whether writers vary the frequency and use of sentence types across the text depending on the rhetorical choices of the writers to construct identity. This study is hinged on the functionalist approach to analyzing academic writing in use. For the purpose of this study, a corpus of 20 academic papers was created and the use of sentences types was analyzed. The data for the study was collated using percentages. In this case, the number of occurrences of the different sentence types were analyzed, calculated and then converted to percentages for each group i.e., male and female ESL writers. The results from these analyses were compared and contrasted in order to determine whether Male and Female ESL writer vary their sentence types, and, or employed the same or different sentence types in their texts. The conclusion is that Male and Female ESL writers not only vary in their use of sentence types in academic writings but also differ.

Keywords: sentence variation, ESL, gender, academic writing

Procedia PDF Downloads 297
395 Total Quality Management and Competitive Advantage in Companies

Authors: Malki Fatima Zahra Nadia, Kellal Cheiimaa, Brahimi Houria

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Total Quality Management (TQM) is one of the most important modern management systems in marketing, that help organizations to survive and remain competitive in the dynamic market with frequent changes. It assists them in gaining a competitive advantage, growth, and excellence compared to their competitors. To understand the impact of TQM on competitive advantage in economic companies, a study was conducted in Ooredoo Telecommunications Company. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to OOredoo' 75 employees in each of the departments of leadership, quality assurance, quality control, research and development, production, customer service, Similarly, resulting in the retrieval of 72 questionnaires. To analyze the descriptive results of the study, the SPSS software version 25 was used. Additionally, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with the help of Smart Pls4 software was utilized to test the study's hypotheses. The study concluded that there is an impact between total quality management and competitive advantage in Ooredoo company to different degrees. On this basis, the study recommended the need to implement the total quality management system at the level of all organizations and in various fields.

Keywords: total quality management, ISO system, competitive advantage, competitive strategies

Procedia PDF Downloads 36
394 Analyses of Reference Evapotranspiration in West of Iran under Climate Change

Authors: Saeed Jahanbakhsh Asl, Yaghob Dinpazhoh, Masoumeh Foroughi

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Reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) is an important element in the water cycle that integrates atmospheric demands and surface conditions, and analysis of changes in ET₀ is of great significance for understanding climate change and its impacts on hydrology. As ET₀ is an integrated effect of climate variables, increases in air temperature should lead to increases in ET₀. ET₀ estimated by using the globally accepted Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Penman-Monteith (FAO-56 PM) method in 18 meteorological stations located in the West of Iran. The trends of ET₀ detected by using the Mann-Kendall (MK) test. The slopes of the trend lines were computed by using the Sen’s slope estimator. The results showed significant increasing as well as decreasing trends in the annual and monthly ET₀. However, ET₀ trends were increasing. In the monthly scale, the number of the increasing trends was more than the number of decreasing trends, in the majority of warm months of the year.

Keywords: climate change, Mann–Kendall, Penman-Monteith method (FAO-56 PM), reference crop evapotranspiration

Procedia PDF Downloads 259
393 Heat Recovery System from Air-Cooled Chillers in Iranian Hospitals

Authors: Saeed Vahidifar, Mohammad Nakhaee Sharif, Mohammad Ghaffari

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Few people would dispute the fact that one of the most common applications of energy is creating comfort in buildings, so it is probably true to say that management of energy consumption is required due to the environmental issues and increasing the efficiency of mechanical systems. From the geographical point of view, Iran is located in a warm and semi-arid region; therefore, air-cooled chillers are usually used for cooling residential buildings, commercial buildings, medical buildings, etc. In this study, a heat exchanger was designed for providing laundry hot water by utilizing condenser heat lost base on analytical results of a 540-bed hospital in the city of Mashhad in Iran. In this paper, by using the analytical method, energy consumption reduces about 13%, and coefficient of performance increases a bit. Results show that this method can help in the management of energy consumption a lot.

Keywords: air cooled chiller, energy management, environmental issues, heat exchanger, hospital laundry system

Procedia PDF Downloads 127
392 Changes in Some Biochemical Parameters and Body Weight of Chicken Exposed to Cadmium

Authors: Khaled Saeed Ali

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This study was conducted with 3 week old domestic chicken to determine the effect of supplementation of cadmium to dietary. 10 mg/kg Cadmium chloride added to maize- sesame cake meal diet for 4 weeks. The additional cadmium to the diet induced a decreasing body weight and changes in biochemical parameters of chicken. Chicken were divided into two groups. The first group was given a diet containing the concentration of 10 mg cadmium /kg daily for a period of 30 days and the second group was given diet without cadmium and used as a control group. The result revealed decrease in the body weight of treated chicken by 12.7 % compared to control group, whose body weight increased. The plasma glucose concentration, creatinine, aspartate aminotranseferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) were increased significantly (P<0.05) in Cd treated chicken in comparison to the control group. Cadmium accumulation was observed in the intestine, kidney, liver and bone. The accumulation of cadmium was markedly higher (3-4 times) in cadmium-treated animals compared to the control.

Keywords: cadmium, biochemical parameters, body weight, chicken

Procedia PDF Downloads 441
391 New Heterogenous α-Diimine Nickel (II)/ MWCNT Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization

Authors: Sasan Talebnezhad, Saeed Pormahdian, Naghi Assali

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Homogeneous α-diimine nickel (II) catalyst complexes, with and without amino para-aryl position functionality, were synthesized. These complexes were immobilized on carboxyl, hydroxyl, and acyl chloride functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes to form five novel heterogeneous α-diiminonickel catalysts. Immobilization was performed by covalent or electrostatic bonding via methylaluminoxane (MAO) linker or amide linkage. Both the nature of α-diimine ligands and the kind of interaction between anchored catalyst complexes and multi-walled carbon nanotube surface influenced the catalytic performance, microstructure, and morphology of obtained polyethylenes. The catalyst prepared by amide bonding showed lowest relative weight loss in thermogravimetry analysis and highest activities up to 5863 gr PE mmol-1Ni.hr-1. This catalyst produced polyethylene with dense botryoidal morphology.

Keywords: α-diimine nickel (II) complexes, immobilization, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, ethylene polymerization

Procedia PDF Downloads 389
390 New Heterogenous α-Diimine Nickel (II)/MWCNT Catalysts for Ethylene Polymerization

Authors: Sasan Talebnezhad, Saeed Pourmahdian, Naghi Assali

Abstract:

Homogeneous α-diimine nickel (II) catalyst complexes, with and without amino para-aryl position functionality, were synthesized. These complexes were immobilized on carboxyl, hydroxyl and acyl chloride functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes to form five novel heterogeneous α diiminonickel catalysts. Immobilization was performed by covalent or electrostatic bonding via methylaluminoxane (MAO) linker or amide linkage. Both the nature of α-diimine ligands and the kind of interaction between anchored catalyst complexes and multi-walled carbon nanotube surface influenced the catalytic performance, microstructure, and morphology of obtained polyethylenes. The catalyst prepared by amide bonding showed lowest relative weight loss in thermogravimetry analysis and highest activities up to 5863 gr PE mmol-1Ni.hr-1. This catalyst produced polyethylene with dense botryoidal morphology.

Keywords: α-diimine nickel (II) complexes, immobilization, multi-walled carbon nanotubes, ethylene polymerization

Procedia PDF Downloads 479
389 Application of Refractometric Methodology for Simultaneous Determination of Alcohol and Residual Sugar Concentrations during Alcoholic Fermentation Bioprocess of Date Juice

Authors: Boukhiar Aissa, Halladj Fatima, Iguergaziz Nadia, Lamrani yasmina, Benamara Salem

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Determining the alcohol content in alcoholic fermentation bioprocess is of great importance. In fact, it is a key indicator for monitoring this bioprocess. Several methodologies (chemical, spectrophotometric, chromatographic) are used to the determination of this parameter. However, these techniques are very long and they require: rigorous preparations, sometimes dangerous chemical reagents and/or expensive equipment. In the present study, the date juice is used as the substrate of alcoholic fermentation. The extracted juice undergoes an alcoholic fermentation by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The study of the possible use of refractometry as a sole means for the in situ control of alcoholic fermentation revealed a good correlation (R2=0.98) between initial and final °Brix: °Brixf=0.377×°Brixi. In addition, the relationship between Δ°Brix and alcoholic content of the final product (A,%) has been determined: Δ°Brix/A=1.1. The obtained results allowed us to establish iso-responses abacus, which can be used for the determination of alcohol and residual sugar content, with a mean relative error (MRE) of 5.35%.

Keywords: alcoholic fermentation, date juice, refractometry, residual sugar

Procedia PDF Downloads 312
388 Inventory of Aromatic and Medicinal Plants Used in Natural Cosmetics in Western Algeria

Authors: Faiza Chaib, Yasmina-Nadia Bendahmane, Fatima Zohra Ghanemi

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In order to know the traditional use of aromatic and medicinal plants in natural cosmetics, we carried out an ethnobotanical study using an online quiz among the Algerian population residing mainly in western Algeria (Oran, Tlemcen, and Mostaganem). Our study identified 37 plant species used as cosmetic plants, divided into 9 botanical families. The families mainly used and the richest in species are the lamiaceae, the apiecea, and the rutaceae. Our study states that the 5 species with the highest frequency of use and highest citation value are lemon, chamomile, turmeric, garlic, and lavender. Lemon takes first place in the order of frequency. The plants listed have been listed in tables grouping the identification of plants by their scientific and vernacular names, frequency of use, parts used, parts of the body concerned, desired action, as well as the main traditional recipes. This study allowed us to highlight the importance of aromatic plants and to appreciate their traditional practices in natural cosmetics.

Keywords: aromatic plants, ethnobotanical survey, traditional use, natural cosmetics, questionnaire, western Algeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 82
387 A Diagnostic Challenge of Drug Resistant Childhood Tuberculosis in Developing World

Authors: Warda Fatima, Hasnain Javed

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The emerging trend of Drug resistance in childhood Tuberculosis is increasing worldwide and now becoming a priority challenge for National TB Control Programs of the world. Childhood TB accounts for 10-15% of total TB burden across the globe and same proportion is quantified in case of drug resistant TB. One third population suffering from MDR TB dies annually because of non-diagnosis and unavailability of appropriate treatment. However, true Childhood MDR TB cannot be estimated due to non-confirmation. Diagnosis of Pediatric TB by sputum Smear Microscopy and Culture inoculation are limited due to paucibacillary nature and difficulties in obtaining adequate sputum specimens. Diagnosis becomes more difficult when it comes to HIV infected child. New molecular advancements for early case detection of TB and MDR TB in adults have not been endorsed in children. Multi centered trials are needed to design better diagnostic approaches and efficient and safer treatments for DR TB in high burden countries. The aim of the present study is to sketch out the current situation of the childhood Drug resistant TB especially in the developing world and to highlight the classic and novel methods that are to be implemented in high-burden resource-limited locations.

Keywords: drug resistant TB, childhood, diagnosis, novel methods

Procedia PDF Downloads 374
386 A Blockchain-Based Privacy-Preserving Physical Delivery System

Authors: Shahin Zanbaghi, Saeed Samet

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The internet has transformed the way we shop. Previously, most of our purchases came in the form of shopping trips to a nearby store. Now, it’s as easy as clicking a mouse. But with great convenience comes great responsibility. We have to be constantly vigilant about our personal information. In this work, our proposed approach is to encrypt the information printed on the physical packages, which include personal information in plain text, using a symmetric encryption algorithm; then, we store that encrypted information into a Blockchain network rather than storing them in companies or corporations centralized databases. We present, implement and assess a blockchain-based system using Ethereum smart contracts. We present detailed algorithms that explain the details of our smart contract. We present the security, cost, and performance analysis of the proposed method. Our work indicates that the proposed solution is economically attainable and provides data integrity, security, transparency, and data traceability.

Keywords: blockchain, Ethereum, smart contract, commit-reveal scheme

Procedia PDF Downloads 123
385 Annoyance Caused by Air Pollution: A Comparative Study of Two Industrialized Regions

Authors: Milena M. Melo, Jane M. Santos, Severine Frere, Valderio A. Reisen, Neyval C. Reis Jr., Mariade Fátima S. Leite

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Although there had been a many studies that shows the impact of air pollution on physical health, comparatively less was known of human behavioral responses and annoyance impacts. Annoyance caused by air pollution is a public health problem because it can be an ambient stressor causing stress and disease and can affect quality of life. The objective of this work is to evaluate the annoyance caused by air pollution in two different industrialized urban areas, Dunkirk (France) and Vitoria (Brazil). The populations of these cities often report feeling annoyed by dust. Surveys were conducted, and the collected data were analyzed using statistical analyses. The results show that sociodemographic variables, importance of air quality, perceived industrial risk, perceived air pollution and occurrence of health problems play important roles in the perceived annoyance. These results show the existence of a common problem in geographically distant areas and allow stakeholders to develop prevention strategies.

Keywords: air pollution, annoyance, industrial risks, public health, perception of pollution, settled dust

Procedia PDF Downloads 665
384 Symmetry-Protected Dirac Semi-Metallic Phases in Transition Metal Dichalcogenides

Authors: Mohammad Saeed Bahramy

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Transition metal dichalcogenides have experienced a resurgence of interest in the past few years owing to their rich properties, ranging from metals and superconductors to strongly spin-orbit-coupled semiconductors and charge-density-wave systems. In all these cases, the transition metal d-electrons mainly determine the ground state properties. This presentation focuses on the chalcogen-derived states. Combining density-functional theory calculations with spin- and angle-resolved photoemission, it is shown that these states generically host a coexistence of type I and type II three-dimensional bulk Dirac fermions as well as ladders of topological surface states and surface resonances. It will be discussed how these naturally arise within a single p-orbital manifold as a general consequence of a trigonal crystal field, and as such can be expected across many compounds. Our finding opens a new route to design topological materials with advanced functionalities.

Keywords: topology, electronic structure, Dirac semimetals, transition metal dichalcogenides

Procedia PDF Downloads 132
383 Impact of Moderating Role of e-Administration on Training, Perfromance Appraisal and Organizational Performance

Authors: Ejaz Ali, Muhammad Younas, Tahir Saeed

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In this age of information technology, organizations are revisiting their approach in great deal. E-administration is the most popular area to proceed with. Organizations in order to excel over their competitors are spending a substantial chunk of its resources on E-Administration as it is the most effective, transparent and efficient way to achieve their short term as well as long term organizational goals. E-administration being a tool of ICT plays a significant role towards effective management of HR practices resulting into optimal performance of an organization. The present research was carried out to analyze the impact of moderating role of e-administration in the relationships training and performance appraisal aligned with perceived organizational performance. The study is based on RBV and AMO theories, advocating that use of latest technology in execution of human resource (HR) functions enables an organization to achieve and sustain competitive advantage which leads to optimal firm performance.

Keywords: e-administration, human resource management, ict, performance appraisal, training

Procedia PDF Downloads 236
382 Predicting Shortage of Hospital Beds during COVID-19 Pandemic in United States

Authors: Saba Ebrahimi, Saeed Ahmadian, Hedie Ashrafi

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World-wide spread of coronavirus grows the concern about planning for the excess demand of hospital services in response to COVID-19 pandemic. The surge in the hospital services demand beyond the current capacity leads to shortage of ICU beds and ventilators in some parts of US. In this study, we forecast the required number of hospital beds and possible shortage of beds in US during COVID-19 pandemic to be used in the planning and hospitalization of new cases. In this paper, we used a data on COVID-19 deaths and patients’ hospitalization besides the data on hospital capacities and utilization in US from publicly available sources and national government websites. we used a novel ensemble modelling of deep learning networks, based on stacking different linear and non-linear layers to predict the shortage in hospital beds. The results showed that our proposed approach can predict the excess hospital beds demand very well and this can be helpful in developing strategies and plans to mitigate this gap.

Keywords: COVID-19, deep learning, ensembled models, hospital capacity planning

Procedia PDF Downloads 132
381 Selection of Appropriate Classification Technique for Lithological Mapping of Gali Jagir Area, Pakistan

Authors: Khunsa Fatima, Umar K. Khattak, Allah Bakhsh Kausar

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Satellite images interpretation and analysis assist geologists by providing valuable information about geology and minerals of an area to be surveyed. A test site in Fatejang of district Attock has been studied using Landsat ETM+ and ASTER satellite images for lithological mapping. Five different supervised image classification techniques namely maximum likelihood, parallelepiped, minimum distance to mean, mahalanobis distance and spectral angle mapper have been performed on both satellite data images to find out the suitable classification technique for lithological mapping in the study area. Results of these five image classification techniques were compared with the geological map produced by Geological Survey of Pakistan. The result of maximum likelihood classification technique applied on ASTER satellite image has the highest correlation of 0.66 with the geological map. Field observations and XRD spectra of field samples also verified the results. A lithological map was then prepared based on the maximum likelihood classification of ASTER satellite image.

Keywords: ASTER, Landsat-ETM+, satellite, image classification

Procedia PDF Downloads 365
380 Poultry Manure-Inhabiting Mite Fauna from Punjab Province, Pakistan

Authors: Muhammad Asif Qayyoum, Bilal Saeed Khan

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Household poultry, including chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, are affected by parasitic lice and mites. The dermanyssid mites (Acari: Dermanyssidae) are the most important parasites of poultry because they act as vectors of many pathogens of poultry and workers. Mesostigmatic mite fauna was poorly identified from Pakistan, only one species was reported before in 1971. Surveys were conducted in 2014 - 2015 to investigate the mite fauna from poultry cages in seven locations in Punjab Province, Turkey. A total of seventy-one samples were collected on cardboard and by direct litter collection. Mites were collected directly from the cardboard and 100 g samples of the litter were processed through a Berlese funnel. The collected mites were prepared for identification by using Hoyer’s medium. A total of twenty-two species belonging to the Dermanyssidae, Parasitidae, Cheyletidae, Laelapidae, Macrochelidae and Uropodidae were identified with two new species.

Keywords: poultry cages, Acari, mesostigmatic mites, Pakistan

Procedia PDF Downloads 438
379 Assessment of Cadmium Levels in Soil and Vegetables Grown Along Kubanni Stream Channels, Zaria, Kaduna State

Authors: M. D. Saeed, S. O. Oladeji

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Quantitative determination of cadmium levels in soil and vegetables grown along Kubanni stream channels were seasonally analyzed for a period of two years using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Results revealed cadmium concentrations ranging from 1.00 – 3.50 mg/Kg for the year 2013 and 1.31 – 7.15 mg/Kg in 2014 for the soil samples while the vegetables (carrot, lettuce, onion, spinach, cabbage, tomato and okro) had concentrations in the range of 0.20 – 6.10 mg/Kg in 2013 and 0.60 – 5.60 mg/Kg in 2014 respectively. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in cadmium levels across the locations and seasons for soil and vegetable analyzed. Pearson correlation results for cadmium concentrations between the year 2013 and 2014 revealed negligible (r = 0.002) relationship for soils while low (r = 0.395) relationship was obtained for vegetable and these were attributed to heavy application of fertilizers and nature of wastewater use for irrigation. Cadmium levels for both soil and vegetable exceeded the maximum allowable limit set by Standard Organization such as FAO and WHO.

Keywords: cadmium, level, soil, vegetables

Procedia PDF Downloads 495
378 Critical Discourse Analysis of President Mamnoon Hussain Speech in the Joint Session of Parliament.

Authors: Saeed Qaisrani

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This article briefly reviews the rise of Critical Discourse Analysis about the Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain speech which delivered in the joint session of Parliament and teases out a detailed analysis of the various critiques that have been levelled at CDA and its practitioners over the last twenty years, both by scholars working within the “critical” paradigm and by other critics. A range of criticisms are discussed which target the underlying premises, the analytical methodology and the disputed areas of reader response and the integration of contextual factors. Controversial issues such as the predominantly negative focus of much CDA scholarship, and the status of CDA as an emergent “intellectual orthodoxy”, are also reviewed. The conclusions offer a summary of the principal criticisms that emerge from this overview, and suggest some ways in which these problems could be attenuated. It also focused on the different views about president speech and how it is presented in the Pakistani print and electronic media.

Keywords: Critical Discourse Analysis, Analytical methodology, Corpus linguistics, Reader response theory, Critical paradigm, Contextualization.

Procedia PDF Downloads 455
377 Students’ Perceptions of Communication Design in Media: Case Study of Portuguese and Spanish Communication Students

Authors: Fátima Gonçalves, Joaquim Brigas, Jorge Gonçalves

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The proliferation of mobile devices in society enables the media to disseminate information and knowledge more rapidly. Higher education students access these contents and share them with each other, in the most diverse platforms, allowing the ubiquity in access to information. This article presents the results and respective quantitative analysis of a survey applied to communication students of two higher education institutions: one in Portugal and another in Spain. The results show that, in this sample, higher education students regularly access news content believing traditional news sources to be more credible. Regarding online sources, it was verified that the access was mostly to free news contents. This study intends to promote the knowledge about the changes that occur in the relationship of higher education students with the media, characterizing how news consumption is processed by these students, considering the resulting effects of the digital media evolution. It is intended to present not only the news sources they use, but also to know some of their habits and relationship with the news media.

Keywords: students' perceptions, communication design, mass media, higher education, digital media

Procedia PDF Downloads 218
376 Observatory of Sustainability of the Algarve Region for Tourism: Proposal for Environmental and Sociocultural Indicators

Authors: Miguel José Oliveira, Fátima Farinha, Elisa M. J. da Silva, Rui Lança, Manuel Duarte Pinheiro, Cátia Miguel

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The Observatory of Sustainability of the Algarve Region for Tourism (OBSERVE) will be a valuable tool to assess the sustainability of this region. The OBSERVE tool is designed to provide data and maintain an up-to-date, consistent set of indicators defined to describe the region on the environmental, sociocultural, economic and institutional domains. This ongoing two-year project has the active participation of the Algarve’s stakeholders, since they were consulted and asked to participate in the discussion for the indicators proposal. The environmental and sociocultural indicators chosen must indicate the characteristics of the region and should be in alignment with other global systems used to monitor the sustainability. This paper presents a review of sustainability indicators systems that support the first proposal for the environmental and sociocultural indicators. Others constraints are discussed, namely the existing data and the data available in digital platforms in a format suitable for automatic importation to the platform of OBSERVE. It is intended that OBSERVE will be a valuable tool to assess the sustainability of the region of Algarve.

Keywords: Algarve, development, environmental indicators, observatory, sociocultural indicators, sustainability, tourism

Procedia PDF Downloads 143
375 Assessing Role of Newspapers in Creating Awareness of HIV/AIDS in Pakistan

Authors: Fatima Kiran

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This study investigates the HIV/AIDS coverage in the selected newspapers. The premises of the study depend upon the fact that informing public about any social issue that effects people’s life is among one of the fundamental functions of media, such as HIV/AIDS is one of prime importance. In this study two most prime newspapers of Pakistan Daily Jang and Daily Dawn were analyzed. This paper adopted two approaches for investigation one is content analysis and another is discourse analysis. The content analysis was used to determine the frequency of HIV/AIDS content coverage. Discourse analysis was used to determine consciousness of these newspapers on covering HIV/AIDS stories with correct language and terminologies according to the given media guideline of UNICEF. Total 368 editions from 1st July 2017 to 31st December 2017 were sampled for the study. The result of the study indicates that newspapers have severely underestimated the severity of HIV/AIDS. The coverage given by newspapers is dissatisfactory. Selected newspapers used inappropriate terminologies and language in the stories which shows negligence of newspapers regarding HIV/AIDS issue.

Keywords: Pakistani newspapers, HIV/AIDS, coverage, public awareness, content analysis, discourse analysis, press consciousness

Procedia PDF Downloads 110
374 Arc Flash Analysis: Technique to Mitigate Fire Incidents in Substations

Authors: M. H. Saeed, M. Rasool, M. A. Jawed

Abstract:

Arc Flash Analysis has been a subject of great interest since the electrical fire incidents have been reduced to a great extent after the implementation of arc flash study at different sites. An Arc flash in substations is caused by short circuits over the air or other melted conductors and small shrapnel. Arc flash incidents result in the majority of deaths in substations worldwide. Engro Fertilizers Limited (EFERT) site having a mix of vintage non-internal arc rated and modern arc rated switchgears, carried out an arc flash study of the whole site in accordance with NFPA70E standard. The results not only included optimizing site protection coordination settings but also included marking of Shock and Arc flash protection boundaries in all switchgear rooms. Work permit procedures upgradation is also done in accordance with this study to ensure proper arc rated PPEs and arc flash boundaries protocols are fully observed and followed. With the new safety, protocols working on electrical equipment will be much safer than ever before.

Keywords: Arc flash, non-internal arc rated, protection coordination, shock boundary

Procedia PDF Downloads 153
373 Analytical Terahertz Characterization of In0.53Ga0.47As Transistors and Homogenous Diodes

Authors: Abdelmadjid Mammeri, Fatima Zohra Mahi, Luca Varani, H. Marinchoi

Abstract:

We propose an analytical model for the admittance and the noise calculations of the InGaAs transistor and diode. The development of the small-signal admittance takes into account the longitudinal and transverse electric fields through a pseudo two-dimensional approximation of the Poisson equation. The frequency-dependent of the small-signal admittance response is determined by the total currents and the potentials matrix relation between the gate and the drain terminals. The noise is evaluated by using the real part of the transistor/diode admittance under a small-signal perturbation. The analytical results show that the admittance spectrum exhibits a series of resonant peaks corresponding to the excitation of plasma waves. The appearance of the resonance is discussed and analyzed as functions of the channel length and the temperature. The model can be used, on one hand; to control the appearance of the plasma resonances, and on other hand; can give significant information about the noise frequency dependence in the InGaAs transistor and diode.

Keywords: InGaAs transistors, InGaAs diode, admittance, resonant peaks, plasma waves, analytical model

Procedia PDF Downloads 283
372 Numerical Investigation of Fluid Flow and Temperature Distribution on Power Transformer Windings Using Open Foam

Authors: Saeed Khandan Siar, Stefan Tenbohlen, Christian Breuer, Raphael Lebreton

Abstract:

The goal of this article is to investigate the detailed temperature distribution and the fluid flow of an oil cooled winding of a power transformer by means of computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The experimental setup consists of three passes of a zig-zag cooled disc type winding, in which losses are modeled by heating cartridges in each winding segment. A precise temperature sensor measures the temperature of each turn. The laboratory setup allows the exact control of the boundary conditions, e.g. the oil flow rate and the inlet temperature. Furthermore, a simulation model is solved using the open source computational fluid dynamics solver OpenFOAM and validated with the experimental results. The model utilizes the laminar and turbulent flow for the different mass flow rate of the oil. The good agreement of the simulation results with experimental measurements validates the model.

Keywords: CFD, conjugated heat transfer, power transformers, temperature distribution

Procedia PDF Downloads 392