Search results for: economic loss score

Authors: Yanqing Yi, Maria Cristina Lavagnolo, Alessandro Manzardo

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Construction and demolition waste (C&DW) represents a pressing concern within the European Union, underscoring the urgent need for effective waste management strategies. The selection of these solutions constitutes a complex task, entailing the identification of efficient C&DW management strategies that balance appropriate practices, regulatory compliance, resource conservation, economic viability, and environmental considerations. Techniques for evaluating different types of criteria enable the application of multi-criteria analysis in life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is widely utilized to assess environmental impact, yet the economic aspect has not been adequately incorporated into the LCA process in the field of C&DW management. The life cycle costing (LCC) methodology has been tailored to assess economic performance in conjunction with LCA. The selection of an appropriate multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method is vital for the C&DW system. This study seeks to propose a model that employs MCDM to integrate the LCA and LCC results, thereby augmenting both environmental and economic sustainability. A widely used compensatory MCDM technique, TOPSIS, has been chosen to identify the most effective C&DW management scheme by comparing and ranking various scenarios. Our study introduces a framework for C&DW management by integrating LCA and LCC factors into MCDM, using AHP for weight determination, and applying TOPSIS for alternative ranking. Four waste management alternatives were examined in the Lombardy region of Italy, namely, (i) landfill; (ii) recycling for concrete production and road construction, incineration with energy recovery; (iii) recycling for road construction; (iv) recycling for concrete production and road construction. We determine that, with the implementation of various scenarios, the most suitable scenario emerges to be recycled for concrete production and road construction, with a score of 0.711/1; recycling for road construction, with a final score of 0.291/1, ranks second; recycling for concrete production and road construction, incineration with energy recovery scores 0.002/1, ranks third; and landfill (scores: 0/1) is the worst choice, signifying it has the highest environmental impacts and the least economic benefits. Lastly, recommendations were formulated to enhance the environmental performance of the system.

Keywords: life cycle assessment, construction and demolition waste, TOPSIS, multi-criteria decision making

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Authors: Gamze Uslu, Sebnem Baydere, Alper K. Demir

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In this study, data loss tolerance of Support Vector Machines (SVM) based activity recognition model and multi activity classification performance when data are received over a lossy wireless sensor network is examined. Initially, the classification algorithm we use is evaluated in terms of resilience to random data loss with 3D acceleration sensor data for sitting, lying, walking and standing actions. The results show that the proposed classification method can recognize these activities successfully despite high data loss. Secondly, the effect of differentiated quality of service performance on activity recognition success is measured with activity data acquired from a multi hop wireless sensor network, which introduces high data loss. The effect of number of nodes on the reliability and multi activity classification success is demonstrated in simulation environment. To the best of our knowledge, the effect of data loss in a wireless sensor network on activity detection success rate of an SVM based classification algorithm has not been studied before.

Keywords: activity recognition, support vector machines, acceleration sensor, wireless sensor networks, packet loss

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Authors: Ammar Ali Saleh Jaber, Amer Hayat Khan, Syed Azhar Syed Sulaiman

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Tuberculosis (TB) is considered as a major disease that affects daily activities and impairs health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The impact of TB on HRQoL can affect treatment outcome and may lead to treatment defaulting. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the HRQoL of TB treatment lost to follow-up during and after treatment in Yemen. For this aim, this prospective study enrolled a total of 399 TB lost to follow-up patients between January 2011 and December 2015. By applying HRQoL criteria, only 136 fill the survey during treatment. Moreover, 96 were traced and fill out the HRQoL survey. All eight HRQol domains were categorized into the physical component score (PCS) and mental component score (MCS), which were calculated using QM scoring software. Results show that all lost to follow-up TB patients reported a score less than 47 for all eight domains, except general health (67.3) during their treatment period. Low scores of 27.9 and 29.8 were reported for emotional role limitation (RE) and mental health (MH), respectively. Moreover, the mental component score (MCS) was found to be only 28.9. The trace lost follow-up shows a significant improvement in all eight domains and a mental component score of 43.1. The low scores of 27.9 and 29.8 for role emotion and mental health, respectively, in addition to the MCS score of 28.9, show that severe emotional condition and reflect the higher depression during treatment period that can result to lost to follow-up. The low MH, RE, and MCS can be used as a clue for predicting future TB treatment lost to follow-up.

Keywords: Yemen, tuberculosis, health-related quality of life, Khat

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Authors: S. J. Yune, S. Y. Lee, S. J. Im, B. S. Kam, S. Y. Baek

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This study aimed to determine the reliability of clinical performance assessments, having been emphasized by ability-based education, and professors overall assessment methods. We addressed the following problems: First, we try to find out whether there is a difference in what we consider to be the main variables affecting the clinical performance test according to the evaluator’s working period and the number of evaluation experience. Second, we examined the relationship among the global rating score (G), analytic global rating score (Gc), and the sum of the analytical checklists (C). What are the main factors affecting clinical performance assessments in relation to the numbers of times the evaluator had administered evaluations and the length of their working period service? What is the relationship between overall assessment score and analytic checklist score? How does analytic global rating with 6 components in OSCE and 4 components in sub-domains (Gc) CPX: aseptic practice, precision, systemic approach, proficiency, successfulness, and attitude overall assessment score and task-specific analytic checklist score sum (C) affect the professor’s overall global rating assessment score (G)? We studied 75 professors who attended a 2016 Bugyeoung Consortium clinical skills performances test evaluating third and fourth year medical students at the Pusan National University Medical school in South Korea (39 prof. in OSCE, 36 prof. in CPX; all consented to participate in our study). Each evaluator used 3 forms; a task-specific analytic checklist, subsequent analytic global rating scale with sub-6 domains, and overall global scale. After the evaluation, the professors responded to the questionnaire on the important factors of clinical performance assessment. The data were analyzed by frequency analysis, correlation analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS 21.0. Their understanding of overall assessment was analyzed by dividing the subjects into groups based on experiences. As a result, they considered ‘precision’ most important in overall OSCE assessment, and ‘precise accuracy physical examination’, ‘systemic approaches to taking patient history’, and ‘diagnostic skill capability’ in overall CPX assessment. For OSCE, there was no clear difference of opinion about the main factors, but there was for CPX. Analytic global rating scale score, overall rating scale score, and analytic checklist score had meaningful mutual correlations. According to the regression analysis results, task-specific checklist score sum had the greatest effect on overall global rating. professors regarded task-specific analytic checklist total score sum as best reflecting overall OSCE test score, followed by aseptic practice, precision, systemic approach, proficiency, successfulness, and attitude on a subsequent analytic global rating scale. For CPX, subsequent analytic global rating scale score, overall global rating scale score, and task-specific checklist score had meaningful mutual correlations. These findings support explanations for validity of professors’ global rating in clinical performance assessment.

Keywords: global rating, clinical performance assessment, medical education, analytic checklist

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Authors: Katleho Daniel Makatjane, Diteboho Lawrence Xaba, Ntebogang Dinah Moroke

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The current study investigates the behaviour of time-varying parameters that are based on the score function of the predictive model density at time t. The mechanism to update the parameters over time is the scaled score of the likelihood function. The results revealed that there is high persistence of time-varying, as the location parameter is higher and the skewness parameter implied the departure of scale parameter from the normality with the unconditional parameter as 1.5. The results also revealed that there is a perseverance of the leptokurtic behaviour in stock returns which implies the returns are heavily tailed. Prior to model estimation, the White Neural Network test exposed that the stock price can be modelled by a GAS model. Finally, we proposed further researches specifically to model the existence of time-varying parameters with a more detailed model that encounters the heavy tail distribution of the series and computes the risk measure associated with the returns.

Keywords: generalized autoregressive score model, South Africa, stock returns, time-varying

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Authors: Susan P. Teru, Jerome Nyameh

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Many contemporary organizations are placing a greater emphasis on business enterprise systems as a means of generating higher levels of economic development. Many business research and literature has also concur that enterprise drive economic development, giving little or no credit to social enterprise, whose profit is reinvest to the community development compare to the business enterprise that share their profit to shareholders. Economic development includes economic policies that affect the beneficiaries of the economic entity. We suggest that producing social enterprise increments may be best achieved by orienting social enterprise entrepreneurs system to promote economic development. To this end, we describe a new approach to the social enterprise process that includes social entrepreneur and the key drivers of economic development at each stage. We present a model of social enterprise that incorporates the main ideas of the paper and suggests a new perspective for thinking about how to foster and manage social enterprise to achieve high levels of economic development.

Keywords: social enterprise, economic development, Nigeria, business and management

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Authors: Prejily Thomas John

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Flooding of urban areas often has an adverse impact on the dense population residing in cities. The vulnerable areas are the most affected due to flooding, which even results in loss of life. The increasing trend of urban floods is a universal phenomenon and leads to a vital loss in the physical, economic, social, and environmental dimensions. The shift from floods being natural disasters to man-made disasters due to unplanned urban growth is evident from national and international reports. Thiruvalla, bordered by the Manimala River in the Pathanamthitta district, is an important urban node and a drainage point of various estuaries. The city is often faced with flash floods and overflow from rivers since it is a low-lying land. The need for urban flood resilience for planned urban development is a necessity for livability in consideration of the topography. The paper focuses on developing an urban design framework in everyday urban spaces through the principles of resilient urbanism. The principles guide the creation of flood-resilient spaces and productive urban landscapes for the city to enable better and safer living conditions. A flood-resilient city not only prepares the city for disasters but also improves the ecological and economic conditions.

Keywords: everyday urban spaces, flood resilience, resilient urbanism, productive urban landscapes

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Authors: Mohamed Abo El Nasr, Mohamed Shoeib, Abdelhamid Abdelkhalik, Amro Serag

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Background: Early assessment of severity of chest trauma, either blunt or penetrating is of critical importance in prediction of patient outcome. Different trauma scoring systems are widely available and are based on anatomical or physiological parameters to expect patient morbidity or mortality. Up till now, there is no ideal, universally accepted trauma score that could be applied in all trauma centers and is suitable for assessment of severity of chest trauma patients. Aim: Our aim was to compare various trauma scoring systems regarding their predictability of morbidity and mortality in chest trauma patients. Patients and Methods: This study was a prospective study including 400 patients with chest trauma who were managed at Tanta University Emergency Hospital, Egypt during a period of 2 years (March 2014 until March 2016). The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the mode of trauma: blunt or penetrating. The collected data included age, sex, hemodynamic status on admission, intrathoracic injuries, and associated extra-thoracic injuries. The patients outcome including mortality, need of thoracotomy, need for ICU admission, need for mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay and the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome were also recorded. The relevant data were used to calculate the following trauma scores: 1. Anatomical scores including abbreviated injury scale (AIS), Injury severity score (ISS), New injury severity score (NISS) and Chest wall injury scale (CWIS). 2. Physiological scores including revised trauma score (RTS), Acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score. 3. Combined score including Trauma and injury severity score (TRISS ) and 4. Chest-Specific score Thoracic trauma severity score (TTSS). All these scores were analyzed statistically to detect their sensitivity, specificity and compared regarding their predictive power of mortality and morbidity in blunt and penetrating chest trauma patients. Results: The incidence of mortality was 3.75% (15/400). Eleven patients (11/230) died in blunt chest trauma group, while (4/170) patients died in penetrating trauma group. The mortality rate increased more than three folds to reach 13% (13/100) in patients with severe chest trauma (ISS of >16). The physiological scores APACHE II and RTS had the highest predictive value for mortality in both blunt and penetrating chest injuries. The physiological score APACHE II followed by the combined score TRISS were more predictive for intensive care admission in penetrating injuries while RTS was more predictive in blunt trauma. Also, RTS had a higher predictive value for expectation of need for mechanical ventilation followed by the combined score TRISS. APACHE II score was more predictive for the need of thoracotomy in penetrating injuries and the Chest-Specific score TTSS was higher in blunt injuries. The anatomical score ISS and TTSS score were more predictive for prolonged hospital stay in penetrating and blunt injuries respectively. Conclusion: Trauma scores including physiological parameters have a higher predictive power for mortality in both blunt and penetrating chest trauma. They are more suitable for assessment of injury severity and prediction of patients outcome.

Keywords: chest trauma, trauma scores, blunt injuries, penetrating injuries

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Authors: Marinko Skare, Malgorzata Porada Rochon

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This paper study the link between energy justice and economic growth. The link between energy justice and growth has not been extensively studied. Here we study the impact and importance of energy justice, as a part of the energy transition process, on economic growth. Our study shows energy justice growth is an important determinant of economic growth and development that should be addressed at the industry and economic levels. We use panel data modeling and causality testing to research the empirical link between energy justice and economic growth. Industry and economy-level policies designed to support energy justice initiatives are beneficial to economic growth. Energy justice is a necessary condition for green growth and sustainability targets.

Keywords: energy justice, economic growth, panel data, energy transition

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Authors: Mengdan Guo, Zongmin Wang, Haibo Yang

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Drought is one of the most complex and destructive natural disasters, with a huge impact on both nature and society. In recent years, adverse climate conditions and uncontrolled human activities have exacerbated the occurrence of global droughts, among which socio-economic droughts are closely related to human survival. The study of socio-economic drought risk assessment is crucial for sustainable social development. Therefore, this study comprehensively considered the risk of disaster causing factors, the exposure level of the disaster-prone environment, and the vulnerability of the disaster bearing body to construct a socio-economic drought risk assessment model for Chuxiong Prefecture in Yunnan Province. Firstly, a threedimensional frequency analysis of intensity area duration drought was conducted, followed by a statistical analysis of the drought risk of the socio-economic system. Secondly, a grid analysis model was constructed to assess the exposure levels of different agents and study the effects of drought on regional crop growth, industrial economic growth, and human consumption thresholds. Thirdly, an agricultural vulnerability model for different irrigation levels was established by using the DSSAT crop model. Industrial economic vulnerability and domestic water vulnerability under the impact of drought were investigated by constructing a standardized socio-economic drought index and coupling water loss. Finally, the socio-economic drought risk was assessed by combining hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. The results show that the frequency of drought occurrence in Chuxiong Prefecture, Yunnan Province is relatively high, with high population and economic exposure concentrated in urban areas of various counties and districts, and high agricultural exposure concentrated in mountainous and rural areas. Irrigation can effectively reduce agricultural vulnerability in Chuxiong, and the yield loss rate under the 20mm winter irrigation scenario decreased by 10.7% compared to the rain fed scenario. From the perspective of comprehensive risk, the distribution of long-term socio-economic drought risk in Chuxiong Prefecture is relatively consistent, with the more severe areas mainly concentrated in Chuxiong City and Lufeng County, followed by counties such as Yao'an, Mouding and Yuanmou. Shuangbai County has the lowest socio-economic drought risk, which is basically consistent with the economic distribution trend of Chuxiong Prefecture. And in June, July, and August, the drought risk in Chuxiong Prefecture is generally high. These results can provide constructive suggestions for the allocation of water resources and the construction of water conservancy facilities in Chuxiong Prefecture, and provide scientific basis for more effective drought prevention and control. Future research is in the areas of data quality and availability, climate change impacts, human activity impacts, and countermeasures for a more comprehensive understanding and effective response to drought risk in Chuxiong Prefecture.

Keywords: DSSAT model, risk assessment, socio-economic drought, standardized socio-economic drought index

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Authors: Patrick Innocenti, Elias Montini, Silvia Menato, Marzio Sorlini

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Documented experiences of industrial symbiosis are always triggered and driven only by economic goals: environmental and (even rarely) social results are sometimes assessed and declared as effects of virtuous behaviours, but are merely casual and un-pursued side externalities. Even worse: all the symbiotic project candidates entailing economic loss for just one of the (also dozen) partners are simply stopped without considering the overall benefit for the whole partnership. The here-presented approach aims at providing methodologies and tools to effectively manage these situations and fostering the implementation of virtuous symbiotic investments in manufacturing aggregations for a more sustainable production.

Keywords: business model, industrial symbiosis, industrial agglomerations, sustainability

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Authors: Huai-Cong Liu, Tae Chul Jeong, Ju Lee

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The aim of this study was to develop an electric circuit method (ECM) to ascertain the core loss influence on a Synchronous Reluctance Motor (SynRM) in the condition of the maximum torque per ampere (MTPA). SynRM for fan usually operates on the constant torque region, at synchronous speed the MTPA control is adopted due to current vector. However, finite element analysis (FEA) program is not sufficient exactly to reflect how the core loss influenced on the current vector. This paper proposed a method to calculate the current vector with consideration of core loss. The precision of current vector by ECM is useful for MTPA control. The result shows that ECM analysis is closer to the actual motor’s characteristics by testing with a 7.5kW SynRM drive System.

Keywords: core loss, SynRM, current vector, magnetic saturation, maximum torque per ampere (MTPA)

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Authors: Anusha Konduru, Zhiyong Shan, Preethi Santhanam, Vinod Namboodiri, Rajiv Bagai

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Mobile applications are increasing in a significant amount, each to address the requirements of many users. However, the quick developments and enhancements are resulting in many underlying defects. Android apps create and handle a large variety of 'instance' data that has to persist across runs, such as the current navigation route, workout results, antivirus settings, or game state. Due to the nature of Android, an app can be paused, sent into the background, or killed at any time. If the instance data is not saved and restored between runs, in addition to data loss, partially-saved or corrupted data can crash the app upon resume or restart. However, it is difficult for the programmer to manually test this issue for all the activities. This results in the issue of data loss that the data entered by the user are not saved when there is any interruption. This issue can degrade user experience because the user needs to reenter the information each time there is an interruption. Automated testing to detect such data loss is important to improve the user experience. This research proposes a tool, DroidDL, a data loss detector for Android, which detects the instance data loss from a given android application. We have tested 395 applications and found 12 applications with the issue of data loss. This approach is proved highly accurate and reliable to find the apps with this defect, which can be used by android developers to avoid such errors.

Keywords: Android, automated testing, activity, data loss

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Authors: Isabella Lobo Sasaoka, Felipe Q. da Luz, Zubeyir Salis, Phillipa Hay, Tamiris Gaeta, Paula Costa Teixeira, Táki Cordás, Amanda Sainsbury

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Background: A significant number of people with obesity that seek weight loss treatments experience binge eating episodes. Nonetheless, it is unknown whether binge eating episodes can hinder weight loss outcomes. Objective: To compare weight change in people with or without binge eating submitted to bariatric surgery, pharmacotherapy, nutritional orientation, and/or psychological therapies. Method: We conducted a systematic review with meta-analyses by searching studies in PubMed, American Psychological Association (APA), and Embase. Results: Thirty-four studies were included in our systematic review, and 17 studies were included in the meta-analyses. Overall, we found no significant difference in weight loss between people with or without binge eating submitted to any type of weight loss treatment. Additionally, we found no statistically significant differences in body weight between people with or without binge eating at short and long follow-up assessments following any type of weight loss treatment. We also examined changes in body weight in people with or without binge eating in three additional meta-analyses categorized by the type of weight loss treatment (i.e., behavioural and/or nutritional interventions; bariatric surgery; pharmacotherapy isolated or combined with behavior interventions) and found no difference in weight loss. Eleven out of the 17 studies that were assessed qualitatively (i.e., not included in meta-analyses) did not show differences in weight loss in people with or without binge eating submitted to any type of weight loss treatment. Conclusion: This systematic review with meta-analyses showed no difference in weight loss in people with or without binge eating submitted to a variety of weight loss treatments. Nonetheless, specialized therapies can be required to address eating disorder psychopathology and recurrent binge eating in people with obesity that seek weight loss.

Keywords: obesity, binge eating, weight loss, systematic review, meta-analysis

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Authors: Ayo Osisanya, Promise Ebuka Okonkwo

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Reduced hearing sensitivity among the elderly has been attributed to some risk factors and influence of age-related degenerative conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar disorder, and hypertension. Hearing loss; especially the age-related type (presbycusis), has been reported as one of the global burden affecting the general well-being and quality of life of the elderly with hypertension. Thus, hearing loss has been observed to be associated with hypertension and functional decline in elderly, as this condition makes them experience poor communication, fatigue, reduced social functions, mood-swing, and withdrawal syndrome. Emerging research outcomes indicate a strong relationship between hypertension and reduced auditory performance among the elderly. Therefore, this study determined the prevalence, types, and patterns of hearing loss associated with hypertension, with a bid to suggesting comprehensive management strategies and a model of creating awareness towards promoting good healthy living among the elderly in Nigeria. One hundred and seventy-two elderly, aged 65–85 with hypertension were purposively selected from patients undergoing treatment for hypertension in some tertiary hospitals in southwest Nigeria for the study. Participants were suggested to Pure-Tone Audiometry (PTA) through the use of Maico 53 Diagnostic Audiometer to determine the degree, types ad patterns of hearing loss among the elderly with hypertension. Results showed that 148 (86.05%) elderly with hypertension presented with different degrees, types, and patterns of hearing loss. Out of this number, 123 (83.11%) presented with bilateral hearing loss, while 25 (16.89%) had unilateral hearing loss. Degree of hearing loss, 74 moderate hearing loss, 118 moderately severe and 50 severe hearing loss. 36% of the hearing loss appeared as flat audiometric configuration, 24% were slopping, 19% were rising, while 21% were tough-shaped audiometric configurations. The findings showed high prevalence of hearing loss among the elderly with hypertension in Southwest, Nigeria. Based on the findings, management of elderly with hypertension should include regular audiological rehabilitation and total adherence to hearing conservation principles, otological management, regulation of blood pressure and adequate counselling / follow-up services.

Keywords: auditory performance, elderly, hearing loss, hypertension

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Authors: Shalini Bahel, Maalti Puri, Sukhleen Bindra Narang

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Ceramic samples of (Pb0.55Ca0.45) (Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 and (Pb0.45Ca0.55)(Fe0.5Nb0.5)O3 were synthesized by columbite precursor method and characterized for structural and dielectric properties. Both the synthesized samples have perovskite structure with tetragonal symmetry. The variations in relative permittivity and loss tangent were measured as a function of frequency at room temperature. Both the relative permittivity and loss tangent decreased with increase in frequency. A reasonably high value of relative permittivity of 63.46, loss tangent of 0.0067 at 15 MHz and temperature coefficient of relative permittivity of -82 ppm/˚C was obtained for (Pb0.45Ca0.55) (Fe0.5Nb0.5) O3.

Keywords: loss tangent, perovskite, relative permittivity, X-ray diffraction

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Authors: Fedili Benamar, Belloulou Mohamed Lamine, Ouahes Hassane, Ghattas Samir

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Introduction: Perioperative blood loss is a frequent cause of complications in total hip replacement (THR). The present prospective study assessed the efficacy of tranexamic acid (Exacyl(®)) in reducing blood loss in primary THR. Hypothesis: Tranexamic acid reduces blood loss in THR. Material and method: -This is a prospective randomized study on the effectiveness of Exacyl (tranexamic acid) in total hip replacement surgery performed on a standardized technique between 2019 and September 2022. -It involved 154 patients, of which 84 received a single injection of Exacyl (group 1) at a dosage of 10 mg/kg over 20 minutes during the perioperative period. -All patients received postoperative thromboprophylaxis with enoxaparin 0.4 ml subcutaneously. -All patients were admitted to the post-interventional intensive care unit for a duration of 24 hours for monitoring and pain management as per the service protocol. Results: 154 patients, of which 84 received a single injection of Exacyl (group 1) and 70 patients patients who did not receive Exacyl perioperatively : (Group 2 ) The average age is 57 +/- 15 years The distribution by gender was nearly equal with 56% male and 44% female; "The distribution according to the ASA score was as follows: 20.2% ASA1, 82.3% ASA2, and 17.5% ASA3. "There was a significant difference in the average volume of intraoperative and postoperative bleeding during the 48 hours." The average bleeding volume for group 1 (received Exacyl) was 614 ml +/- 228, while the average bleeding volume for group 2 was 729 +/- 300, with a chi-square test of 6.35 and a p-value < 0.01, which is highly significant. The ANOVA test showed an F-statistic of 7.11 and a p-value of 0.008. A Bartlett test revealed a chi-square of 6.35 and a p-value < 0.01." "In Group 1 (patients who received Exacyl), 73% had bleeding less than 750 ml (Group A), and 26% had bleeding exceeding 750 ml (Group B). In Group 2 (patients who did not receive Exacyl perioperatively), 52% had bleeding less than 750 ml (Group A), and 47% had bleeding exceeding 750 ml (Group B). "Thus, the use of Exacyl reduced perioperative bleeding and specifically decreased the risk of severe bleeding exceeding 750 ml by 43% with a relative risk (RR) of 1.37 and a p-value < 0.01. The transfusion rate was 1.19% in the population of Group 1 (Exacyl), whereas it was 10% in the population of Group 2 (no Exacyl). It can be stated that the use of Exacyl resulted in a reduction in perioperative blood transfusion with an RR of 0.1 and a p-value of 0.02. Conclusions: The use of Exacyl significantly reduced perioperative bleeding in this type of surgery.

Keywords: acid tranexamic, blood loss, anesthesia, total hip replacement, surgery

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Authors: Armand Okende, Benjamin Beaumont

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Introduction: Deforestation is a change in the structure and composition of flora and fauna, which leads to a loss of biodiversity, production of goods and services and an increase in fires. It concerns vast territories in tropical zones particularly; this is the case of the territory of Bolobo in the current province of Maï- Ndombe in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Indeed, through this study between 2001 and 2018, we believe that it was important to show and analyze quantitatively the important forests changes and analyze quantitatively. It’s the overall objective of this study because, in this area, we are witnessing significant deforestation. Methodology: Mapping and quantification are the methodological approaches that we have put forward to assess the deforestation or forest changes through satellite images or raster layers. These satellites data from Global Forest Watch are integrated into the GIS software (GRASS GIS and Quantum GIS) to represent the loss of forest cover that has occurred and the various changes recorded (e.g., forest gain) in the territory of Bolobo. Results: The results obtained show, in terms of quantifying deforestation for the periods 2001-2006, 2007-2012 and 2013-2018, the loss of forest area in hectares each year. The different change maps produced during different study periods mentioned above show that the loss of forest areas is gradually increasing. Conclusion: With this study, knowledge of forest management and protection is a challenge to ensure good management of forest resources. To do this, it is wise to carry out more studies that would optimize the monitoring of forests to guarantee the ecological and economic functions they provide in the Congo Basin, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition, the cartographic approach, coupled with the geographic information system and remote sensing proposed by Global Forest Watch using raster layers, provides interesting information to explain the loss of forest areas.

Keywords: deforestation, loss year, forest change, remote sensing, drivers of deforestation

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Authors: Nicolas Koslover, Tamara Levene

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Aims: Tonsilitis is one of the most common presentations to the A+E department. We aimed to assess whether patients presenting with tonsilitis are being managed in-line with current guidance. We then set out to educate A+E staff about tonsilitis management and then assessed for improvement in management. Methods: All patients presenting to A+E in one fortnight with a documented diagnosis of tonsilitis were included. We reviewed the notes to assess the choice of treatment in each case and whether a clinical score (CENTOR or FEVERPain score) was used to guide choice of treatment (in accordance with NICE guideline [NG84]). We designed and delivered an educational intervention for A+E staff covering tonsilitis guidelines. The audit was repeated two weeks later. Results: Over the study period, 49 patients were included; only 35% (n=17) had either a clinical score documented or had all components of a score recorded. In total, 39% (n=19) were treated with antibiotics. Of these, 63% (n=12) should not have been prescribed an antibiotic and 37% (n=7) were prescribed an inappropriate antibiotic. At re-audit, (n=50 cases), 58% (n=29) had a clinical score documented and 28% (n=14) were treated with antibiotics. Of these, 29% (n=4) should not have been prescribed antibiotics and 21% (n=3) were prescribed an inappropriate antibiotic. Thus, after this teaching session, there was a significant improvement in antibiotic prescribing practices (63% vs. 29%, p=0.026). Conclusions: A+E assessment and management of tonsilitis frequently deviated from guidelines, but a single teaching session vastly improved clinical scoring and antibiotic prescribing practices.

Keywords: tonsilitis, education, emergency medicine, ENT

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Authors: Phang Moon Leng

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Automated Early Warning Scores is a newly developed clinical decision tool that is used to streamline and improve the process of obtaining a patient’s vital signs so a clinical decision can be made at an earlier stage to prevent the patient from further deterioration. This technology provides immediate update on the score and clinical decision to be taken based on the outcome. This paper aims to study the use of an automated early warning score system on whether the technology has assisted the hospital in early detection and escalation of clinical condition and improve patient outcome. The hospital adopted the Modified Early Warning Scores (MEWS) Scoring System and MEWS Clinical Response into Philips IntelliVue Guardian Automated Early Warning Score equipment and studied whether the process has been leaned, whether the use of technology improved the usage & experience of the nurses, and whether the technology has improved patient care and outcome. It was found the steps required to obtain vital signs has been significantly reduced and is used more frequently to obtain patient vital signs. The number of deaths, and length of stay has significantly decreased as clinical decisions can be made and escalated more quickly with the Automated EWS. The automated early warning score equipment has helped improve work efficiency by removing the need for documenting into patient’s EMR. The technology streamlines clinical decision-making and allows faster care and intervention to be carried out and improves overall patient outcome which translates to better care for patient.

Keywords: automated early warning score, clinical quality and safety, patient safety, medical technology

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Authors: Ugur Karakaya, Hasan Bulent Kantarcı

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In this study, firstly democratic thoughts which directly or indirectly affect economic development and/or the interaction between authoritarian regimes and the economic development and the direction and channels of this interaction were studied and then the study tried to determine how democracy affects economic development. It was concluded that the positive contributions of democracy to economic development were more determinant than the effects that were either negative or restrictive in terms of development. When compared to autocracy, since democracy is more successful in managing social conflicts, ensuring political stability and preventing social disasters such as famine, it contributes more to economic development. Democracy also facilitates delegation of authority, provides a stable investment environment and accelerates mobilization of resources in accordance with economic growth/development. Democracy leads to an increase in human capital accumulation and increases the growth rate through reducing income inequality. It can be said that democratic regimes are the most appropriate ones in terms of increasing economic performance and supporting economic development through their strong institutional structures and the assurance they will ensure in property rights.

Keywords: democracy, economic growth, economic freedom, autocratic regime

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Authors: Mausumi Chetia

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One of the main causes of impoverishment of the rural areas of Assam has been the recurrent floods and riverbank erosion. One of the life-changing consequences is displacement. This results not only in a loss of livelihoods but also has wide-reaching socio-economic and cultural effects. Thus, due to such disasters, not only families but communities too are being displaced at large. This compels them to find temporary shelter and begin life from scratch. The role of the state has been highly negligible, with a displacement not being perceived as an ‘issue’ to be addressed. A more holistic approach is thus needed to take socio-economic, cultural, political as well as ecological considerations into account.

Keywords: displacement, policy-framework, human-induced disasters, marginalised communities, India, Assam

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Authors: Smrity Dwivedi

Abstract:

The present paper has revealed the effect of double substrates over a bandwidth performance for planar antennas. The used material has its own importance to get minimum return loss and improved directivity. The author has taken double substrates to enhance the efficiency in terms of gain of antenna. Metamaterial based antenna has its own specific structure which increased the performance of antenna. Improved return loss is -20 dB, and the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) is 1.2, which is better than single substrate having return loss of -15 dB and VSWR of 1.4. Complete results are obtained using commercial software CST microwave studio.

Keywords: CST microwave studio, metamaterial, return loss, VSWR

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Authors: Maria Klitgaard Christensen, Carmen Lim, Sukanta Saha, Danielle Cannon, Finley Prentis, Oleguer Plana-Ripoll, Natalie Momen, Kim Moesgaard Iburg, John J. McGrath

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Introduction: About a third of the world’s population will develop a mental disorder over their lifetime. Having a mental disorder is a huge burden in health loss and cost for the individual, but also for society because of treatment cost, production loss and caregivers’ cost. The objective of this study is to synthesize the international published literature on the economic burden of mental disorders. Methods: Systematic literature searches were conducted in the databases PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, EconLit, NHS York Database and PsychInfo using key terms for cost and mental disorders. Searches were restricted to 1980 until May 2019. The inclusion criteria were: (1) cost-of-illness studies or cost-analyses, (2) diagnosis of at least one mental disorder, (3) samples based on the general population, and (4) outcome in monetary units. 13,640 publications were screened by their title/abstract and 439 articles were full-text screened by at least two independent reviewers. 112 articles were included from the systematic searches and 31 articles from snowball searching, giving a total of 143 included articles. Results: Information about diagnosis, diagnostic criteria, sample size, age, sex, data sources, study perspective, study period, costing approach, cost categories, discount rate and production loss method and cost unit was extracted. The vast majority of the included studies were from Western countries and only a few from Africa and South America. The disorder group most often investigated was mood disorders, followed by schizophrenia and neurotic disorders. The disorder group least examined was intellectual disabilities, followed by eating disorders. The preliminary results show a substantial variety in the used perspective, methodology, costs components and outcomes in the included studies. An online tool is under development enabling the reader to explore the published information on costs by type of mental disorder, subgroups, country, methodology, and study quality. Discussion: This is the first systematic review synthesizing the economic cost of mental disorders worldwide. The paper will provide an important and comprehensive overview over the economic burden of mental disorders, and the output from this review will inform policymaking.

Keywords: cost-of-illness, health economics, mental disorders, systematic review

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Authors: Masica Jordan Alston, Angela N. Bullock, Angela S. Henderson, Stephanie Strianse, Sade Dunn, Joseph Hackett, Alaysia Black Hackett, Marcus Mason

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The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief was created in 2018. The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief utilizes historic models of grief stage theories. The innovative model is additionally unique due to its focus on cultural responsiveness. The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief helps to train practitioners who work with clients dealing with grief and loss. This paper assists in introducing the world to this innovative model and exploring how this model positively impacted a convenience sample of 140 practitioners and individuals experiencing grief and loss. Respondents participated in Webinars provided by the National Grief and Loss Center of America (NGLCA). Participants in this cross-sectional research design study completed one of three Grief and Loss Surveys created by the Grief and Loss Centers of America. Data analysis for this study was conducted via SPSS and Survey Hero to examine survey results for respondents. Results indicate that the Energy Model of Cumulative Grief was an effective resource for participants in addressing grief and loss. The majority of participants found the Webinars to be helpful and a conduit to providing them with higher levels of hope. The findings suggest that using The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief is effective in providing culturally responsive grief and loss resources to practitioners and clients. There are far reaching implications with the use of technology to provide hope to those suffering from grief and loss worldwide through The Energy Model of Cumulative Grief.

Keywords: grief, loss, grief energy, grieving brain

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Authors: S. Olyaee, M. Seifouri, A. Nikoosohbat, M. Shams Esfand Abadi

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Photonic Crystal Fibers (PCFs) can be used in optical communications as transmission lines. For this reason, the PCFs with low confinement loss, low chromatic dispersion, and low nonlinear effects are highly suitable transmission media. In this paper, we introduce a new design of index-guiding photonic crystal fiber (IG-PCF) with ultra-low chromatic dispersion, low nonlinearity effects, and low confinement loss. Relatively low dispersion is achieved in the wavelength range of 1200 to 1600 nm using the proposed design. According to the new structure of IG-PCF presented in this study, the chromatic dispersion slope is -30(ps/km.nm) and the confinement loss reaches below 10-7 dB/km. While in the wavelength range mentioned above at the same time an effective area of more than 50.2μm2 is obtained.

Keywords: optical communication systems, index-guiding, dispersion, confinement loss, photonic crystal fiber

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Authors: Pedro M. Abreu, Bruno R. Mendes

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The management of pharmacotherapy and the process of dispensing medicines is becoming critical in clinical pharmacy due to the increase of incidence and prevalence of chronic diseases, the complexity and customization of therapeutic regimens, the introduction of innovative and more expensive medicines, the unbalanced relation between expenditure and revenue as well as due to the lack of rationalization associated with medication use. For these reasons, co-payments emerged in Europe in the 70s and have been applied over the past few years in healthcare. Co-payments lead to a rationing and rationalization of user’s access under healthcare services and products, and simultaneously, to a qualification and improvement of the services and products for the end-user. This analysis, under hospital practices particularly and co-payment strategies in general, was carried out on all the European regions and identified four reference countries, that apply repeatedly this tool and with different approaches. The structure, content and adaptation of European co-payments were analyzed through 7 qualitative attributes and 19 performance indicators, and the results expressed in a scorecard, allowing to conclude that the German models (total score of 68,2% and 63,6% in both elected co-payments) can collect more compliance and effectiveness, the English models (total score of 50%) can be more accessible, and the French models (total score of 50%) can be more adequate to the socio-economic and legal framework. Other European models did not show the same quality and/or performance, so were not taken as a standard in the future design of co-payments strategies. In this sense, we can see in the co-payments a strategy not only to moderate the consumption of healthcare products and services, but especially to improve them, as well as a strategy to increment the value that the end-user assigns to these services and products, such as medicines.

Keywords: clinical pharmacy, co-payments, healthcare, medicines

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Authors: Carolina Nunes, Sónia Ribeiro, Hélio Faustinho, Hélia Sales, Rita Pontes, João Nunes

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Pine resin activity in Portugal was one of the most important and major non-wood forestry, representing a strategic natural resource for Portuguese Bioeconomy and an important social activity for rural regions. Pine forests representing a stock of atmospheric carbon, contributing to greenhouse effect mitigation and social and environmental important services returns. They are important sources of numerous useful products, including not only wood and cellulose but also nonwood products used by the chemical, food, and pharmaceutical industries, as well as for biorefineries. Portuguese pine forest area decreases from 1 million hectares to 400 mil hectares in the last 20 years. Portugal, in 80´s decade, was one of the world´s TOP 3 producers, with a middle annual production of 140 mil tones.year-1. With the pressure of the social desertification, forest fires, phytosanitary problems (e.g. nematode of the pine wood) and the decrease of economic value and competitivity of the Portuguese forest, the actual middle annual production is less than 10 mil tones.year-1 (lesser 92%). This significant decrease representing an annual economic loss of approximately 130-140 million Euros. year⁻¹ for forest primary sector in Portugal. The Biopinus project design new forestry approach and strategic biotechnologies knowledge to increase the economic value of Pine resin in Portugal, with an impact on the growth of the economic value of Pine resin from 1,1 to 1,5 Euros/kg.

Keywords: pine resin, bioeconomy, economic value, biotecnology

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Authors: Mana Goodarzi

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This study focuses on the analysis of immigration through the lens of Sigmund Freud's conceptual framework on mourning and melancholia. The immigration process, being complicated, involves numerous losses and carries significant psychological consequences. By delving into specific loss experiences within immigration, this work aims to unravel the intricacies of grief in the context of immigration and shed light on why such experiences often tend to manifest as melancholic. The discussion introduces losses in immigration, including unrecognized departure from a love object, identity loss, racial and cultural melancholy, language loss, regressive positioning, and loss of an ideal object. Following this, it explores manic defense mechanisms in immigration, concluding with a mention of successful immigration processes.

Keywords: immigration, melancholia, melancholic immigration, mourn

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Authors: Tingting Song

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Wetlands are significant ecosystems that provide a variety of ecosystem services for humans, such as, providing water and food resources, purifying water quality, regulating climate, protecting biodiversity, and providing cultural, recreational, and educational resources. Wetlands also provide benefits, such as reduction of flood, storm damage, and soil erosion. The flood protection ecosystem services of wetlands are often ignored. Due to climate change, the flood caused by extreme weather in recent years occur frequently. Flood has a great impact on people's production and life with more and more economic losses. This study area is in the Tone river basin in the Kanto area, Japan. It is the second-longest river with the largest basin area in Japan, and it is still suffering heavy economic losses from floods. Tone river basin is one of the rivers that provide water for Tokyo and has an important impact on economic activities in Japan. The purpose of this study was to investigate land-use changes of wetlands in the Tone River Basin, and whether there are spatial differences in the value of wetland functions in mitigating economic losses caused by floods. This study analyzed the land-use change of wetland in Tone River, based on the Landsat data from 1980 to 2020. Combined with flood economic loss, wetland area, GDP, population density, and other social-economic data, a geospatial weighted regression model was constructed to analyze the spatial difference of wetland ecosystem service value. Now, flood protection mainly relies on such a hard project of dam and reservoir, but excessive dependence on hard engineering will cause the government huge financial pressure and have a big impact on the ecological environment. However, natural wetlands can also play a role in flood management, at the same time they can also provide diverse ecosystem services. Moreover, the construction and maintenance cost of natural wetlands is lower than that of hard engineering. Although it is not easy to say which is more effective in terms of flood management. When the marginal value of a wetland is greater than the economic loss caused by flood per unit area, it may be considered to rely on the flood storage capacity of the wetland to reduce the impact of the flood. It can promote the sustainable development of wetlands ecosystem. On the other hand, spatial analysis of wetland values can provide a more effective strategy for flood management in the Tone river basin.

Keywords: wetland, geospatial weighted regression, ecosystem services, environment valuation

Procedia PDF Downloads 74