Search results for: large amplitude vibration

Authors: Jinhee Kang, Kwangman Park, Ruhee Song, Suhee Kim, Do-Hyeon Yu, Kyoungseong Choi, Jinho Park

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Statement of the Problem: Animal blood components maintain homeostasis when animals are healthy, and changes in chemical composition of the blood and body fluids can be observed if animals have a disease. In particular, newborn calves are susceptible to disease and therefore hematologic tests and serum chemistry tests could become an important guideline to the diagnosis and the treatment of diseases. Diarrhea in newborn calves is the most damaging to cattle ranch, whether dairy or cattle fattening, and is a large part of calf atrophy and death. However, since the study on calf electrophoresis was not carried out, a survey analysis was conducted on it. Methodology and Theoretical Orientation: The calves were divided into healthy calves and disease (diarrhea) calves, and calves were classified by 1-14d, 15-28d, and more than 28d, respectively. The fecal state was classified by solid (0-value), semi-solid (1-value), loose (2-value) and watery (3-value). In the solid (0-value) and semi-solid (1-value) feces valuable pathogen was not detected, but loose (2-value) and watery (3-value) feces were detected. Findings: ALB, α-1, α-2, α-SUM, β and γ (Gamma) were examined by electrophoresis analysis of healthy calves and diarrhea calves. Test results showed that there were age differences between healthy calves and diarrheic calves. When we look at the γ-globulin at 1-14 days of age, we can see that the average calf of healthy calves is 16.8% and the average of diarrheal calves is 7.7%, when we look at the figures for the α-2 at 1-14 days, we found that healthy calves average 5.2% and diarrheal calves 8.7% higher than healthy cows. On α-1, 15-28 days, and after 28 days, healthy calves average 10.4% and diarrheal calves average 7.5% diarrhea calves were 12.6% and 12.4% higher than healthy calves. In the α-SUM, the healthy calves were 21.6%, 16.8%, and 14.5%, respectively, after 1-14 days, 15-28 days and 28 days. diarrheal calves were 23.1%, 19.5%, and 19.8%. Conclusion and Significance: In this study, we examined the electrophoresis results of healthy calves and diseased (diarrhea) calves, gamma globulin at 1-14 days of age were lower than those of healthy calves (diarrhea), indicating that the calf was unable to consume colostrum from the mother when it was a new calf. α-1, α-2, α-SUM may be associated with an acute inflammatory response as a result of increased levels of calves with diarrhea (diarrhea). Further research is needed to investigate the effects of acute inflammatory responses on additional calf-forming proteins. Information on the results of the electrophoresis test will be provided where necessary according to the item.

Keywords: alpha, electrophoretogram, serum protein, γ, gamma

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Authors: L. K. Shitole

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Usually on the face of it, personality is regarded as the external appearance of an individual. In psychology, the personality is not viewed merely as self or external appears, but it adds much more. Human resources development encompasses the personality development of the students. The student’s development starts right from the childhood and gradually continues right up to the completion of education in professional courses. This paper attempts to find out the role of the educational institutions in shaping the personality of the students from the rural area. Schools and colleges have infrastructural limitations, obtaining good quality and devoted teaching staff poses problems and even outside the school environment there are no private classes which may take care of this deficiency. The researcher has used the standardized test namely “Vyaktitva Shodhika” developed by Gyan Prabodhini, Pune for the students in Daund Taluka. There are 68 objective types of questions in the said questionnaire. Totally a sample size of 4191 students was selected. The sample was quite representative. It is observed that by and large the response indicates that the educational institutions are taking sincere efforts in shaping the personality of the students. In the semi-urban area i.e. at educational institutions of all levels, the performance on this front is excellent and at rest of Daund Taluka there is scope for improvement. Educational institutions of all levels are showing excellent performance in ensuring availability of the requisite infrastructure conducive for the development of the personality of the students. In rest of Daund Taluka there is ample scope for improving the situation. As far as data relating to role of co-curricular activities and sports programs in mental and physical development at various educational institutions is concerned Daund educational institutions have repeated their performance in securing “A” category, while in the rural area of Daund Taluka, there is need to step up the efforts in this regard. In today’s world of knowledge industry, one cannot ignore the importance of education and thereby the personality growth of the students. Accordingly, the educational institutions should undertake consistent research and extension activities in the area of personality development.

Keywords: personality, attitude, infrastructure, quality of education, learning environment, teacher’s contribution, family and society’s role

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Authors: Tom Nakotte, Hongmei Luo

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Lead chalcogenide-based (PbS, PbSe, and PbTe) quantum dots (QDs) were synthesized for the purpose of implementing them in radiation detectors. Pb based materials have long been of interest for gamma and x-ray detection due to its high absorption cross section and Z number. The emphasis of the studies was on exploring how to control charge carrier transport within thin films containing the QDs. The properties of QDs itself can be altered by changing the size, shape, composition, and surface chemistry of the dots, while the properties of carrier transport within QD films are affected by post-deposition treatment of the films. The QDs were synthesized using colloidal synthesis methods and films were grown using multiple film coating techniques, such as spin coating and doctor blading. Current QD radiation detectors are based on the QD acting as fluorophores in a scintillation detector. Here the viability of using QDs in solid-state radiation detectors, for which the incident detectable radiation causes a direct electronic response within the QD film is explored. Achieving high sensitivity and accurate energy quantification in QD radiation detectors requires a large carrier mobility and diffusion lengths in the QD films. Pb chalcogenides-based QDs were synthesized with both traditional oleic acid ligands as well as more weakly binding oleylamine ligands, allowing for in-solution ligand exchange making the deposition of thick films in a single step possible. The PbS and PbSe QDs showed better air stability than PbTe. After precipitation the QDs passivated with the shorter ligand are dispersed in 2,6-difloupyridine resulting in colloidal solutions with concentrations anywhere from 10-100 mg/mL for film processing applications, More concentrated colloidal solutions produce thicker films during spin-coating, while an extremely concentrated solution (100 mg/mL) can be used to produce several micrometer thick films using doctor blading. Film thicknesses of micrometer or even millimeters are needed for radiation detector for high-energy gamma rays, which are of interest for astrophysics or nuclear security, in order to provide sufficient stopping power.

Keywords: colloidal synthesis, lead chalcogenide, radiation detectors, quantum dots

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Authors: Mamoon Masud, Suleman Mazhar

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Indus river basin’s irrigation system in Pakistan is extremely complex, spanning over 50,000 km. Maintenance and monitoring of this demands enormous resources. This paper describes the development of a streamlined and low-cost autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for the monitoring of irrigation canals including water quality monitoring and water theft detection. The vehicle is a hovering-type AUV, designed mainly for monitoring irrigation canals, with fully documented design and open source code. It has a length of 17 inches, and a radius of 3.5 inches with a depth rating of 5m. Multiple sensors are present onboard the AUV for monitoring water quality parameters including pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids (TDS) and dissolved oxygen. A 9-DOF Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), GY-85, is used, which incorporates an Accelerometer (ADXL345), a Gyroscope (ITG-3200) and a Magnetometer (HMC5883L). The readings from these sensors are fused together using directional cosine matrix (DCM) algorithm, providing the AUV with the heading angle, while a pressure sensor gives the depth of the AUV. 2 sonar-based range sensors are used for obstacle detection, enabling the vehicle to align itself with the irrigation canals edges. 4 thrusters control the vehicle’s surge, heading and heave, providing 3 DOF. The thrusters are controlled using a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) feedback control system, with heading angle and depth being the controller’s input and the thruster motor speed as the output. A flow sensor has been incorporated to monitor canal water level to detect water-theft event in the irrigation system. In addition to water theft detection, the vehicle also provides information on water quality, providing us with the ability to identify the source(s) of water contamination. Detection of such events can provide useful policy inputs for improving irrigation efficiency and reducing water contamination. The AUV being low cost, small sized and suitable for autonomous maneuvering, water level and quality monitoring in the irrigation canals, can be used for irrigation network monitoring at a large scale.

Keywords: the autonomous underwater vehicle, irrigation canal monitoring, water quality monitoring, underwater line tracking

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Authors: Umamaheswari Shanmugam, Silvia Ronchi

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Software, artificial intelligence, and machine learning can improve healthcare through innovative and advanced technologies that can use the large amount and variety of data generated during healthcare services every day; one of the significant advantages of these new technologies is the ability to get experience and knowledge from real-world use and to improve their performance continuously. Healthcare systems and institutions can significantly benefit because the use of advanced technologies improves the efficiency and efficacy of healthcare. Software-defined as a medical device, is stand-alone software that is intended to be used for patients for one or more of these specific medical intended uses: - diagnosis, prevention, monitoring, prediction, prognosis, treatment or alleviation of a disease, any other health conditions, replacing or modifying any part of a physiological or pathological process–manage the received information from in vitro specimens derived from the human samples (body) and without principal main action of its principal intended use by pharmacological, immunological or metabolic definition. Software qualified as medical devices must comply with the general safety and performance requirements applicable to medical devices. These requirements are necessary to ensure high performance and quality and protect patients' safety. The evolution and the continuous improvement of software used in healthcare must consider the increase in regulatory requirements, which are becoming more complex in each market. The gap between these advanced technologies and the new regulations is the biggest challenge for medical device manufacturers. Regulatory requirements can be considered a market barrier, as they can delay or obstacle the device's approval. Still, they are necessary to ensure performance, quality, and safety. At the same time, they can be a business opportunity if the manufacturer can define the appropriate regulatory strategy in advance. The abstract will provide an overview of the current regulatory framework, the evolution of the international requirements, and the standards applicable to medical device software in the potential market all over the world.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, machine learning, SaMD, regulatory, clinical evaluation, classification, international requirements, MDR, 510k, PMA, IMDRF, cyber security, health care systems

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Authors: Shreya Poddar

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Legal drafting and revising are recognized as highly demanding tasks for legal professionals. This paper introduces an approach to automate and refine these processes through the use of advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI). The method employs Large Language Models (LLMs), with a specific focus on 'Chain of Thoughts' (CoT) and knowledge injection via prompt engineering. This approach differs from conventional methods that depend on comprehensive training or fine-tuning of models with extensive legal knowledge bases, which are often expensive and time-consuming. The proposed method incorporates knowledge injection directly into prompts, thereby enabling the AI to generate more accurate and contextually appropriate legal texts. This approach substantially decreases the necessity for thorough model training while preserving high accuracy and relevance in drafting. Additionally, the concept of guardrails is introduced. These are predefined parameters or rules established within the AI system to ensure that the generated content adheres to legal standards and ethical guidelines. The practical implications of this method for legal work are considerable. It has the potential to markedly lessen the time lawyers allocate to document drafting and revision, freeing them to concentrate on more intricate and strategic facets of legal work. Furthermore, this method makes high-quality legal drafting more accessible, possibly reducing costs and expanding the availability of legal services. This paper will elucidate the methodology, providing specific examples and case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness of 'Chain of Thoughts' and knowledge injection in legal drafting. The potential challenges and limitations of this approach will also be discussed, along with future prospects and enhancements that could further advance legal work. The impact of this research on the legal industry is substantial. The adoption of AI-driven methods by legal professionals can lead to enhanced efficiency, precision, and consistency in legal drafting, thereby altering the landscape of legal work. This research adds to the expanding field of AI in law, introducing a method that could significantly alter the nature of legal drafting and practice.

Keywords: AI-driven legal drafting, legal automation, futureoflegalwork, largelanguagemodels

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Authors: Delaram Ghodsi, Nasrin Omidvar, Hassan Eini-Zinab, Arash Rashidian, Hossein Raghfar

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Food supplementary programs are policy approaches that aim to reduce financial barriers to healthy diets and tackle food insecurity. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the supportive section of Multidisciplinary Supplementary Program for Improvement of Nutritional Status of Children (MuPINSC) on households’ food security status and nutritional status of mothers. MuPINSC is a national integrative program in Iran that distributes supplementary food basket to malnourished or growth retarded children living in low-income families in addition to providing health services, including sanitation, growth monitoring, and empowerment of families. This longitudinal study is part of a comprehensive evaluation of the program. The study participants included 359 mothers of children aged 6 to 72 month under coverage of the supportive section of the program in two provinces of Iran (Semnan and Qazvin). Demographic and economic characteristics of families were assessed by a questionnaire. Data on food security of family was collected by locally adapted Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) at the baseline of the study and six month thereafter. Weight and height of mothers were measured at the baseline and end of the study and mother’s BMI was calculated. Data were analysed, using paired t-test, GEE (Generalized Estimating Equation), and Chi-square tests. Based on the findings, at the baseline, only 4.7% of families were food-secure, while 13.1%, 38.7% and, 43.5% were categorized as mild, moderate and severe food insecure. After six months follow up, the distribution of different levels of food security changed significantly (P<0.001) to 7.9%, 11.6%, 42.6%, and 38%, respectively. At the end of the study, the chance of food insecurity was significantly 20% lower than the beginning (OR=0.796; 0.653-0.971). No significant difference was observed in maternal BMI based on food security (P>0.05). The findings show that the food supplementary program for children improved household food security status in the studied households. Further research is needed to assess other factors that affect the effectiveness of this large scale program on nutritional status and household’s food security.

Keywords: food security, food supplementary program, household, malnourished children

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Authors: Sena Park

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Background: The concurrent presentation with colorectal cancer in the inguinal hernia has been extremely rare. Due to its rarity, its presentation may lead to diagnostic and therapeutic dilemmas. We aim to review all the reported cases on colorectal cancer incarcerated in the inguinal hernia in the last 20 years, and discuss the operative approaches. Methods: We identified all case reports on colorectal cancer within inguinal hernia using PUBMED (2002-2022) and MEDLINE (2002-2022). The search strategy included the following keywords: colorectal cancer (title/abstract) AND inguinal hernia (title/abstract) OR incarceration (title/abstract). The search did not include letters, book chapters, systemic reviews, meta-analysis and editorials. Results: In the last 20 years, a total of 19 cases on colorectal cancer within the inguinal hernia were identified. The age of the patients ranged between 48 and 89. Majority of the patients were male (95%). Most commonly involved part of the large intestine was sigmoid colon (79%). Of all the cases, 79 percent of patients received open procedure and 21 percent had laparoscopic procedure. Discussion: Inguinal hernias are common with an incidence of approximately 1.7 percent. Colorectal cancer is the one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide. However, their concurrent presentation has been extremely rare. In the last 20 years, 19 cases on concurrent presentation of colorectal cancer and inguinal hernia have been reported. Most patients who had open procedures had two incisions of groin incision and a midline laparotomy. There were 4 cases where the oncological resection was performed laparoscopically. The advantages of laparoscopic resection include reduced blood lost, reduced post-operative pain, reduced length of hospital stay and similar number of lymph nodes taken. From the review of the cases in the last 20 years, both open and laparoscopic approaches seemed to be safe and achieve adequate oncological resections. Conclusion: This is a brief overview of reported cases of colorectal cancer presenting with inguinal hernia concurrently. Due to its rarity, there are no current guidelines on operative approach in clinical practice. The experience in the last 20 years supports both open and laparoscopic approach.

Keywords: colorectal cancer, inguinal hernia, incarceration, operative approach

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Authors: Harika Atmaca, Emir Bozkurt, Latife Merve Oktay, Selim Uzunoglu, Ruchan Uslu, Burçak Karaca

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Microarrays have been developed for highly parallel enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) applications. The most common protein arrays are produced by using multiple monoclonal antibodies, since they are robust molecules which can be easily handled and immobilized by standard procedures without loss of activity. Protein expression profiling with protein array technology allows simultaneous analysis of the protein expression pattern of a large number of proteins. Trabectedin, a tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloid derived from a Caribbean tunicate, Ecteinascidia turbinata, has been shown to have antitumor effects. Here, we used a novel proteomic approach to explore the mechanism of action of trabectedin in prostate cancer cell line PC-3 by apoptosis antibody microarray. XTT cell proliferation kit and Cell Death Detection Elisa Plus Kit (Roche) was used for measuring cytotoxicity and apoptosis. Human Apoptosis Protein Array (R&D Systems) which consists of 35 apoptosis related proteins was used to assess the omic protein expression pattern. Trabectedin induced cytotoxicity and apoptosis in prostate cancer cells in a time and concentration-dependent manner. The expression levels of the death receptor pathway molecules, TRAIL-R1/DR4, TRAIL R2/DR5, TNF R1/TNFRSF1A, FADD were significantly increased by 4.0-, 21.0-, 4.20- and 11.5-fold by trabectedin treatment in PC-3 cells. Moreover, mitochondrial pathway related pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, Bad, Cytochrome c, and Cleaved Caspase-3 expressions were induced by 2.68-, 2.07-, 2.8-, and 4.5-fold and the expression levels of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-XL were reduced by 3.5- and 5.2-fold in PC-3 cells. Proteomic (antibody microarray) analysis suggests that the mechanism of action of trabectedin may be exerted via the induction of both intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways. The antibody microarray platform can be utilised to explore the molecular mechanism of action of novel anticancer agents.

Keywords: trabectedin, prostate cancer, omic protein expression profile, apoptosis

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Authors: Omar Amoudi, Latifa Al Brashdi

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Construction projects are always subject to risks and uncertainties due to its unique and dynamic nature, outdoor work environment, the wide range of skills employed, various parties involved in addition to situation of construction business environment at large. Altogether, these risks and uncertainties affect projects objectives and lead to cost overruns, delay, and poor quality. Construction projects in Oman often experience cost overruns and delay. Managing these risks and reducing their impacts on construction cost requires firstly identifying these risks, and then analyzing their severity on project cost to obtain deep understanding about these risks. This in turn will assist construction managers in managing and tacking these risks. This paper aims to investigate the main risk factors that affect construction projects cost in the Sultanate of Oman. In order to achieve the main aim, literature review was carried out to identify the main risk factors affecting construction cost. Thirty-three risk factors were identified from the literature. Then, a questionnaire survey was designed and distributed among construction professionals (i.e., client, contractor and consultant) to obtain their opinion toward the probability of occurrence for each risk factor and its possible impact on construction project cost. The collected data was analyzed based on qualitative aspects and in several ways. The severity of each risk factor was obtained by multiplying the probability occurrence of a risk factor with its impact. The findings of this study reveal that the most significant risk factors that have high severity impact on construction project cost are: Change of Oil Price, Delay of Materials and Equipment Delivery, Changes in Laws and Regulations, Improper Budgeting, and Contingencies, Lack of Skilled Workforce and Personnel, Delays Caused by Contractor, Delays of Owner Payments, Delays Caused by Client, and Funding Risk. The results can be used as a basis for construction managers to make informed decisions and produce risk response procedures and strategies to tackle these risks and reduce their negative impacts on construction project cost.

Keywords: construction cost, construction projects, Oman, risk factors, risk management

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Authors: Zhaojun Wang, Zongdi Sun, Qinqin Cui, Xingwan Ren

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Based on multivariate statistical analysis theory, this paper uses the principal component analysis method, Mahalanobis distance analysis method and fitting method to establish the photovoltaic health model to evaluate the health of photovoltaic panels. First of all, according to weather conditions, the photovoltaic panel variable data are classified into five categories: sunny, cloudy, rainy, foggy, overcast. The health of photovoltaic panels in these five types of weather is studied. Secondly, a scatterplot of the relationship between the amount of electricity produced by each kind of weather and other variables was plotted. It was found that the amount of electricity generated by photovoltaic panels has a significant nonlinear relationship with time. The fitting method was used to fit the relationship between the amount of weather generated and the time, and the nonlinear equation was obtained. Then, using the principal component analysis method to analyze the independent variables under five kinds of weather conditions, according to the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test, it was found that three types of weather such as overcast, foggy, and sunny meet the conditions for factor analysis, while cloudy and rainy weather do not satisfy the conditions for factor analysis. Therefore, through the principal component analysis method, the main components of overcast weather are temperature, AQI, and pm2.5. The main component of foggy weather is temperature, and the main components of sunny weather are temperature, AQI, and pm2.5. Cloudy and rainy weather require analysis of all of their variables, namely temperature, AQI, pm2.5, solar radiation intensity and time. Finally, taking the variable values in sunny weather as observed values, taking the main components of cloudy, foggy, overcast and rainy weather as sample data, the Mahalanobis distances between observed value and these sample values are obtained. A comparative analysis was carried out to compare the degree of deviation of the Mahalanobis distance to determine the health of the photovoltaic panels under different weather conditions. It was found that the weather conditions in which the Mahalanobis distance fluctuations ranged from small to large were: foggy, cloudy, overcast and rainy.

Keywords: fitting, principal component analysis, Mahalanobis distance, SPSS, MATLAB

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Authors: Monica Gonzalez Machorro

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Dementia is hard to diagnose because of the lack of early physical symptoms. Early dementia recognition is key to improving the living condition of patients. Speech technology is considered a valuable biomarker for this challenge. Recent works have utilized conventional acoustic features and machine learning methods to detect dementia in speech. BERT-like classifiers have reported the most promising performance. One constraint, nonetheless, is that these studies are either based on human transcripts or on transcripts produced by automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. This research contribution is to explore a method that does not require transcriptions to detect early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This is achieved by fine-tuning a pre-trained ASR model for the downstream early AD and MCI tasks. To do so, a subset of the thoroughly studied Pitt Corpus is customized. The subset is balanced for class, age, and gender. Data processing also involves cropping the samples into 10-second segments. For comparison purposes, a baseline model is defined by training and testing a Random Forest with 20 extracted acoustic features using the librosa library implemented in Python. These are: zero-crossing rate, MFCCs, spectral bandwidth, spectral centroid, root mean square, and short-time Fourier transform. The baseline model achieved a 58% accuracy. To fine-tune HuBERT as a classifier, an average pooling strategy is employed to merge the 3D representations from audio into 2D representations, and a linear layer is added. The pre-trained model used is ‘hubert-large-ls960-ft’. Empirically, the number of epochs selected is 5, and the batch size defined is 1. Experiments show that our proposed method reaches a 69% balanced accuracy. This suggests that the linguistic and speech information encoded in the self-supervised ASR-based model is able to learn acoustic cues of AD and MCI.

Keywords: automatic speech recognition, early Alzheimer’s recognition, mild cognitive impairment, speech impairment

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Authors: Clifford Lewis

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This paper aims to advance the conversation of an alternative view of leadership, namely ‘leadership as the management of meaning’. Here, leadership is considered as a social process of the management of meaning within an employment context, as opposed to a psychological trait, set of behaviours or relational consequence as seen in mainstream leadership research. Specifically, this study explores the relationship between intersectional identities and the management of meaning. Design: Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews were conducted with women and men of colour working in the South African private sector organisations in various leadership positions. Employing an intersectional approach using gender and race, participants were selected by using purposive and snowball sampling concurrently. Thematic and Axial coding was used to identify dominant themes. Findings: Findings suggest that, both gender and race shape how leaders manage meaning. Findings also confirm that intersectionality is an appropriate approach when studying the leadership experiences of those groups who are underrepresented in organisational leadership structures. The findings points to the need for further research into the differential effects of intersecting identities on organisational leadership experiences and that ‘leadership as the management of meaning’ is an appropriate approach for addressing this knowledge gap. Theoretical Contribution: There is a large body of literature on the complex challenges faced by women and people of colour in leadership but there is relatively little empirical work on how identity influences the management of meaning. This study contributes to the leadership literature by providing insight into how intersectional identities influence the management of meaning at work and how this impacts the leadership experiences of largely marginalised groups. Practical Implications: Understanding the leadership experiences of underrepresented groups is important because of both legal mandates and for building diverse talent for organisations and societies. Such an understanding assists practitioners in being sensitive to simplistic notions of challenges individuals might face in accessing and practicing leadership in organisations. Advancing the conversation on leadership as the management of meaning allows for a better understanding of complex challenges faced by women and people of colour and an opportunity for organisations to systematically remove unfair structural obstacles and develop their diverse leadership capacity.

Keywords: intersectionality, diversity, leadership, sensemaking

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Authors: A. Priyanka, Sunil Kumar Kainoor, Parinitha Nayaka

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Introduction: Ever since the ancient times, rape and other sexual offences are considered to be heinous crimes. Rape is not just another word in the dictionary, but it is the most barbaric act of violence committed with sex being the weapon. Rape is among the highest forms of crime experienced by women and children in all sectors of the society. In recent years, there has been an alarming rise in ratio of rape in India. The burden of such crimes on the society is very huge. The venereal diseases are the worst consequence along with unwanted pregnancies. Aims and Objectives: To determine the socio-demographic profile of the survivors of sexual offences reported to Dept. of Forensic Medicine of a South Indian medical college. Material methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the Department of Forensic Medicine of Raichur Institute of Medical Sciences, Raichur, Karnataka, India. Only survivors of sexual offences cases were included in the study group. Examination of all survivors was carried out by doctors of the said Department. Study period is one year six months, January 2015 to June 2016. Results/ case history: In total 140 cases of sexual offences were examined during study period of which the total survivors accounted to 62.85% i.e. 88 cases. Of the 88 survivors, 61 (69.31%) were registered under POCSO Act. The most affected age group of victims was 10-18 years in 59 (67%) cases. 61% were in acquaintance with the assailants, 18% were classmates/ friends, 13% of accused were Family members/ Relatives, 8% were strangers. 85% of the survivors were hailing from rural setup, while 15% were from urban. 60.65% of the survivors were students, 37.7% were doing Coolie/ Agricultural works. Conclusion: Delay in reporting of cases resulted in loss of vital physical evidences as no concrete report could be generated from the forensic lab after examination of specimens thus there should be coordination among doctors, forensic experts and investigating agency. It is worth mentioning that though a large number of cases of sexual offences are reported as rape many among them are consented acts and hence definite evidence of forceful sexual intercourse is lagging.

Keywords: consensual sex, India, POCSO Act- 2012, India, pregnancy, rape, sexual offence

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Authors: Marcelo Araujo da Nóbrega, Ariel Moura Vilas Boas

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This study aims to characterize the physicochemical aspects of the soils of southeastern Chapada Diamantina - Bahia related to the phytophysiognomies of this area, rupestrian field, small savanna (savanna fields), small dense savanna (savanna fields), savanna (Cerrado), dry thorny forest (Caatinga), dry thorny forest/savanna, scrub (Carrasco - ecotone), forest island (seasonal semi-deciduous forest - Capão) and seasonal semi-deciduous forest. To achieve the research objective, soil samples were collected in each plant formation and analyzed in the soil laboratory of ESALQ - USP in order to identify soil fertility through the determination of pH, organic matter, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, potential acidity, sum of bases, cation exchange capacity and base saturation. The composition of soil particles was also checked; that is, the texture, step made in the terrestrial ecosystems laboratory of the Department of Ecology of USP and in the soil laboratory of ESALQ. Another important factor also studied was to show the variations in the vegetation cover in the region as a function of soil moisture in the different existing physiographic environments. Another study carried out was a comparison between the average soil moisture data with precipitation data from three locations with very different phytophysiognomies. The soils found in this part of Bahia can be classified into 5 classes, with a predominance of oxisols. All of these classes have a great diversity of physical and chemical properties, as can be seen in photographs and in particle size and fertility analyzes. The deepest soils are located in the Central Pediplano of Chapada Diamantina where the dirty field, the clean field, the executioner and the semideciduous seasonal forest (Capão) are located, and the shallower soils were found in the rupestrian field, dry thorny forest, and savanna fields, the latter located on a hillside. As for the variations in water in the region's soil, the data indicate that there were large spatial variations in humidity in both the rainy and dry periods.

Keywords: Bahia, Brazil, chapada diamantina, phytophysiognomies, soils

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Authors: Hanna Gulema, Meaza Demissie, Alemayehu Worku, Tesfaye Assebe Yadeta, Yemane Berhane

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Background: In patriarchal societies, female caregivers decide on food allocation within a family based on prevailing gender and age norms, which may lead to inequality that does not favor young adolescent girls. This study evaluated the effect of a community-based social norm intervention involving female caregivers in West Hararghe, Ethiopia. The intervention was engaging female caregivers along with other adult influential community members to deliberate and act on food allocation social norms in a process referred to as Social Analysis and Action (SAA). Method: We used data from a large quasi-experimental study to compare family eating practices between those who participated in the Social Analyses and Action intervention and those who did not. The respondents were female caregivers in households with young adolescent girls (ages 13 and 14 years). The study’s outcome was the practice of family eating together from the same dish. The difference in difference (DID) analysis with the Mixed effect logistic regression model was used to examine the effect of the intervention. Result: The results showed improved family eating practices in both groups, but the improvement was greater in the intervention group. The DID analysis showed an 11.99 percentage points greater improvement in the intervention arm than in the control arm. The mixed-effect regression produced an adjusted odds ratio of 2.08 (95% CI [1.06–4.09]) after controlling selected covariates, p-value 0.033. Conclusions: The involvement of influential adult community members significantly improves the family practice of eating together in households where adolescent girls are present in our study. The intervention has great potential to minimize household food allocation inequalities and thus improve the nutritional status of young adolescents. Further studies are necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in different social norm contexts to formulate policy and guidelines for scale-up.

Keywords: family eating practice, social norm intervention, adolescence girls, caregiver

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Authors: A. Durgadevi, S. Pushpavanam

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For the past several decades, CO2 levels have been dramatically increasing in the atmosphere due to the man-made emissions such as fossil fuel-fired power plants. With the increase in CO2 emissions, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has increased resulting in global warming. This shows the need to study different ways to capture the emitted CO2 directly from the exhausts of power plants or atmosphere. There are several ways to remove CO2, such as absorption into a liquid solvent, adsorption into a solid, cryogenic separation, permeation through membranes and photochemical conversion. In most industries, the absorption of CO2 in chemical solvents (in absorption towers) is used for CO2 capture. In these towers, the mass transfer along with chemical reactions take place between the gas and liquid phase. This helps in the separation of CO2 from other gases. It is important to understand these processes in detail. These flow patterns are difficult to maintain in large scale industrial absorbers. So to get accurate information controlled gas-liquid absorption experiments are carried out in milli-channels in this work under controlled atmosphere. The absorption experiments of CO2 in varying concentrations of sodium hydroxide solution are carried out in T-junction glass milli-channels with a circular cross section (inner diameter of 2mm). The gas and liquid flow rates are controlled by a mass flow controller (MFC) and a Harvard syringe pump respectively. The slug flow in the channel is recorded using a camera and the videos are analysed. The gas slug of pure CO2 is found to decrease in size along the length of the channel due to absorption of gas in the liquid. This is also captured with the model developed and the mass transfer characteristics are studied. The pressure drop across the channel is determined by sum of the pressure drops from the gas slugs and the liquid plugs. A dimensionless correlation for the mass transfer coefficient is developed in terms of Sherwood number and compared with the existing correlations in the literature. They are found to be in close agreement with each other. In this case, due to the presence of chemical reaction, the enhancement of mass transfer is obtained. This is quantified with the help of an enhancement factor.

Keywords: absorption, enhancement factor, mass transfer coefficient, Sherwood number

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Authors: C. D’Urso, L. Frusteri, M. Samperi, G. Leonardi

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Solid metal halides are used as active cathode ingredients in the case of Na-NiCl2 batteries that require a fused secondary electrolyte, sodium tetrachloraluminate (NaAlCl4), to facilitate the movement of the Na+ ion into the cathode. The sodium-nickel chloride (Na - NiCl2) battery has been extensively investigated as a promising system for large-scale energy storage applications. The growth of Ni and NaCl particles in the cathodes is one of the most important factors that degrade the performance of the Na-NiCl2 battery. The larger the particles of active ingredients contained in the cathode, the smaller the active surface available for the electrochemical reaction. Therefore, the growth of Ni and NaCl particles can lead to an increase in cell polarization resulting from the reduced active area. A higher current density, a higher state of charge (SOC) at the end of the charge (EOC) and a lower Ni / NaCl ratio are the main parameters that result in the rapid growth of Ni particles. In light of these problems, cathode and chemistry Nano-materials with recognized and well-documented electrochemical functions have been studied and manufactured to simultaneously improve battery performance and develop less expensive and more performing, sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. Starting from the well-known cathodic material (Na-NiCl2), the new electrolytic materials have been prepared on the replacement of nickel with iron (10-90%substitution of Nichel with Iron), to obtain a new material with potential advantages compared to current battery technologies; for example,, (1) lower cost of cathode material compared to state of the art as well as (2) choices of cheaper materials (stainless steels could be used for cell components, including cathode current collectors and cell housings). The study on the particle size of the cathode and the physicochemical characterization of the cathode was carried out in the test cell using, where possible, the GITT method (galvanostatic technique of intermittent titration). Furthermore, the impact of temperature on the different cathode compositions of the positive electrode was studied. Especially the optimum operating temperature is an important parameter of the active material.

Keywords: critical raw materials, energy storage, sodium metal halide, battery

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Authors: Lienjang Zeite

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Over the past few years, Turkish and Indian series have been distributed worldwide to countless households and have found ardent followers across different age group. The series have captured numerous hearts. Turkish and Indian series have become not only one of the best means of entertainment and relaxation but also a platform to learn and appreciate shared emotions and social messages. The popularity of the series has created a kind of interest in representing human emotions and stories like never before. The demands for such series have totally shifted the entertainment industry at a new level. The interest and vibe created by the series have had impacts on various departments spanning from technology to the fashion industry and it has also become the bridge to connect viewers across the globe. The series have amassed avid admirers who find solace in the beautiful visual representations of human relationships whether it is of lovers, family or friendship. The influence of Turkish and Indian series in many parts of the world has created a cultural phenomenon that has taken viewers beyond cultural and language differences. From China to Latin America, Arab countries and the Caucasus region, the series have been accepted and loved by millions of viewers. It has captivated audiences ranging from grandmothers to teenagers. Issues like language barrier are easily solved by means of translation or dubbing making it easier to understand and enjoy the series. Turkey and India are two different countries with their own unique culture and traditions. Both the countries are exporters of series in large scale. The series function as a platform to reveal the plots and shed lights on characters of all kinds. Both the countries produce series that are more or less similar in nature. However, there are also certain issues that are shown in different ways and light. The paper will discuss how emotions are represented in Turkish and Indian series. It will also discuss the ways the series have impacted the art of representing emotions and characters in the digital era. The representation of culture through Turkish and Indian series will be explored as well. The paper will also locate the issue of gender roles and how relationships are forged or abandoned in the series. The issue of character formation and importance of moral factors will be discussed. It will also examine the formula and ingredients of turning human emotions and characters into a much loved series.

Keywords: characters, cultural phenomenon, emotions, Turkish and Indian series

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Authors: Zuhal Mohammed, Khalid Siddig, Harald Grethe

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Vocational training (VT) has been identified as a potential engine for achieving economic and social development, particularly in developing countries, while during the last two decades it is deemed as an essential determinant of human capital accumulation. Furthermore, it has a crucial role in reducing inequality, wage gaps and unemployment and in promoting skill decomposition. Government plays an important role in the human capital formulation by providing finance for education. In some countries, a large portion of the public educational investment is devoted to academic education (primary, secondary and tertiary). This is reflected in disproportionately increasing investment in various education sectors other than vocational education and VT. Nevertheless, the finance of VT system is not likely to increase or even remain at its existing level. This paper conducts an in-depth analysis to quantify the impacts of various options for expanding the public expenditure on education as well as vocational training in the Sudan. The study uses a recursive dynamic CGE modelling framework that accommodates VT and allows depicting the impact of various policies targeting the vocational training system with special focus on the agricultural sector. This allows for depicting the potential effects of various resource allocation policies not only among education versus non-education sectors, but also between the various types of education and training. Moreover, the study assesses the role of VT system in the economy through its influence on workers’ skill improvement and their movement across sectors. The results show that an increase in the public educational investment will lead to decrease the supply of low and high educated workers as results of increasing the school participation of the students in the short run. While in the medium to long run, this measure guides to increase the productivity of the labour and thus the growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP). Therefore, the findings of the study provide Sudanese policymakers with needed information to help to adopt measures to reduce unemployment, enhance workers’ skill and ultimately improve livelihoods.

Keywords: vocational training, recursive dynamic CGE, skill level, labour market, economic growth, Sudan

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Authors: Ilze Dimanta, Zane Rutkovska, Vizma Nikolajeva, Janis Kleperis, Indrikis Muiznieks

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Majority of word’s steadily increasing energy consumption is provided by non-renewable fossil resources. Need to find an alternative energy resource is essential for further socio-economic development. Hydrogen is renewable, clean energy carrier with high energy density (142 MJ/kg, accordingly – oil has 42 MJ/kg). Biological hydrogen production is an alternative way to produce hydrogen from renewable resources, e.g. using organic waste material resource fermentation that facilitate recycling of sewage and are environmentally benign. Hydrogen gas is produced during the fermentation process of bacteria in anaerobic conditions. Bacteria are producing hydrogen in the liquid phase and when thermodynamic equilibrium is reached, hydrogen is diffusing from liquid to gaseous phase. Because of large quantities of available crude glycerol and the highly reduced nature of carbon in glycerol per se, microbial conversion of it seems to be economically and environmentally viable possibility. Such industrial organic waste product as crude glycerol is perspective for usage in feedstock for hydrogen producing bacteria. The process of biodiesel production results in 41% (w/w) of crude glycerol. The developed lab-scale test system (experimental bioreactor) with hydrogen micro-electrode (Unisense, Denmark) was used to determine hydrogen production yield and rate in the liquid phase. For hydrogen analysis in the gas phase the RGAPro-100 mass-spectrometer connected to the experimental test-system was used. Fermentative bacteria strains were tested for hydrogen gas production rates. The presence of hydrogen in gaseous phase was measured using mass spectrometer but registered concentrations were comparatively small. To decrease the hydrogen partial pressure in liquid phase reactor with a system for continuous bubbling with inert gas was developed. H2 production rate for the best producer in liquid phase reached 0,40 mmol H2/l, in gaseous phase - 1,32 mmol H2/l. Hydrogen production rate is time dependent – higher rate of hydrogen production is at the fermentation process beginning when concentration increases, but after three hours of fermentation, it decreases.

Keywords: bio-hydrogen, fermentation, experimental bioreactor, crude glycerol

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Authors: Jonghyuk Yoon, Jongil Yoon, Seong-Gyo Chung

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In many kinds of industries which usually need a large amount of power, an axial piston pump has been widely used as a main power source of a hydraulic system. The axial piston pump is a type of positive displacement pump that has several pistons in a circular array within a cylinder block. As the cylinder block and pistons start to rotate, since the exposed ends of the pistons are constrained to follow the surface of the swashed plate, the pistons are driven to reciprocate axially and then a hydraulic power is produced. In the present study, a numerical simulation which has three dimensional full model of the axial piston pump was carried out using a commercial CFD code (Ansys CFX 14.5). In order to take into consideration motion of compression and extension by the reciprocating pistons, the moving boundary conditions were applied as a function of the rotation angle to that region. In addition, this pump using hydraulic oil as working fluid is intentionally designed as a small amount of oil leaks out in order to lubricate moving parts. Since leakage could directly affect the pump efficiency, evaluation of effect of oil-leakage is very important. In order to predict the effect of the oil leakage on the pump efficiency, we considered the leakage between piston-shoe and swash-plate by modeling cylindrical shaped-feature at the end of the cylinder. In order to validate the numerical method used in this study, the numerical results of the flow rate at the discharge port are compared with the experimental data, and good agreement between them was shown. Using the validated numerical method, the effect of the discharge pressure was also investigated. The result of the present study can be useful information of small axial piston pump used in many different manufacturing industries. Acknowledgement: This research was financially supported by the “Next-generation construction machinery component specialization complex development program” through the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT).

Keywords: axial piston pump, CFD, discharge pressure, hydraulic system, moving boundary condition, oil leaks

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Authors: Joel Bonales, Venecia Solorzano, Carlos Garcia

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A great percentage of the wastewater generated in developing countries don’t receive any treatment, which leads to numerous environmental impacts. In response to this, a paradigm change in the current wastewater treatment model based on large scale plants towards a small and medium scale based model has been proposed. Nevertheless, small scale wastewater treatment (SS-WTTP) with novel technologies such as anaerobic digesters, as well as the utilization of derivative co-products such as biogas, still presents diverse environmental impacts which must be assessed. This study consisted in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) performed to a SS-WWTP which treats wastewater from a small commercial block in the city of Morelia, Mexico. The treatment performed in the SS-WWTP consists in anaerobic and aerobic digesters with a daily capacity of 5,040 L. Two different scenarios were analyzed: the current plant conditions and a hypothetical energy use of biogas obtained in situ. Furthermore, two different allocation criteria were applied: full impact allocation to the system’s main product (treated water) and substitution credits for replacing Mexican grid electricity (biogas) and clean water pumping (treated water). The results showed that the analyzed plant had bigger impacts than what has been reported in the bibliography in the basis of wastewater volume treated, which may imply that this plant is currently operating inefficiently. The evaluated impacts appeared to be focused in the aerobic digestion and electric generation phases due to the plant’s particular configuration. Additional findings prove that the allocation criteria applied is crucial for the interpretation of impacts and that that the energy use of the biogas obtained in this plant can help mitigate associated climate change impacts. It is concluded that SS-WTTP is a environmentally sound alternative for wastewater treatment from a systemic perspective. However, this type of studies must be careful in the selection of the allocation criteria and replaced products, since these factors have a great influence in the results of the assessment.

Keywords: biogas, life cycle assessment, small scale treatment, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Bendes Ákos

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Digital evidence will be the most widely used type of evidence in the future. With the development of the modern world, more and more new types of crimes have evolved and transformed. For this reason, it is extremely important to examine these types of crimes in order to get a comprehensive picture of them, with which we can help the authorities work. In 1865, with early technologies, people were able to forge a picture of a quality that is not even recognized today. With the help of today's technology, authorities receive a lot of false evidence. Officials are not able to process such a large amount of data, nor do they have the necessary technical knowledge to get a real picture of the authenticity of the given evidence. The digital world has many dangers. Unfortunately, we live in an age where we must protect everything digitally: our phones, our computers, our cars, and all the smart devices that are present in our personal lives and this is not only a burden on us, since companies, state and public utilities institutions are also forced to do so. The training of specialists and experts is essential so that the authorities can manage the incoming digital evidence at some level. When analyzing evidence, it is important to be able to examine it from the moment it is created. Establishing authenticity is a very important issue during official procedures. After the proper acquisition of the evidence, it is essential to store it safely and use it professionally. After the proper acquisition of the evidence, it is essential to store it safely and use it professionally. Otherwise, they will not have sufficient probative value and in case of doubt, the court will always decide in favor of the defendant. One of the most common problems in the world of digital data and evidence is doubt, which is why it is extremely important to examine the above-mentioned problems. The most effective way to avoid digital crimes is to prevent them, for which proper education and knowledge are essential. The aim is to present the dangers inherent in the digital world and the new types of digital crimes. After the comparison of the Hungarian investigative techniques with international practice, modernizing proposals will be given. A sufficiently stable yet flexible legislation is needed that can monitor the rapid changes in the world and not regulate afterward but rather provide an appropriate framework. It is also important to be able to distinguish between digital and digitalized evidence, as the degree of probative force differs greatly. The aim of the research is to promote effective international cooperation and uniform legal regulation in the world of digital crimes.

Keywords: digital crime, digital law, cyber crime, international cooperation, new crimes, skepticism

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Authors: M. Zareh, H. Mohammadi, B. Naser

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Atherosclerotic plaque rupture is the main trigger of heart attack and brain stroke which are the leading cause of death in developed countries. Better understanding of rupture-prone plaque can help clinicians detect vulnerable plaques- rupture prone or instable plaques- and apply immediate medical treatment to prevent these life-threatening cardiovascular events. Therefore, there are plenty of studies addressing disclosure of vulnerable plaques properties. Necrotic core and fibrous tissue are two major tissues constituting atherosclerotic plaque; using histopathological and numerical approaches, many studies have demonstrated that plaque rupture is strongly associated with a large necrotic core and a thin fibrous cap, two morphological characteristic which can be acquired by two-dimensional imaging of atherosclerotic plaque present in coronary and carotid arteries. Plaque rupture is widely considered as a mechanical failure inside plaque tissue; this failure occurs when the stress within plaque excesses the strength of tissue material; hence, finite element method, a strong numerical approach, has been extensively applied to estimate stress distribution within plaques with different compositions which is then used for assessment of various vulnerability characteristics including plaque morphology, material properties and blood pressure. This study aims to evaluate significance of three-dimensional morphology on vulnerability degree of atherosclerotic plaque. To reach this end, different two-dimensional geometrical models of atherosclerotic plaques are considered based on available data and named Main 2D Models (M2M). Then, for each of these M2Ms, two three-dimensional idealistic models are created. These two 3D models represent two possible three-dimensional morphologies which might exist for a plaque with similar 2D morphology to one of M2Ms. Finite element method is employed to estimate stress, von-Mises stress, within each 3D models. Results indicate that for each M2Ms stress can significantly varies due to possible 3D morphological changes in that plaque. Also, our results show that an atherosclerotic plaque with thick cap may experience rupture if it has a critical 3D morphology. This study highlights the effect of 3D geometry of plaque on its instability degree and suggests that 3D morphology of plaque might be necessary to more effectively and accurately assess atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability.

Keywords: atherosclerotic plaque, plaque rupture, finite element method, 3D model

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Authors: Lydia Booney Jyrwa, Rabindra Nath Bhuyan

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Chocolate Mahseer (Neolissochilus hexagonolepis) is one of the Mahseer species inhabiting the North-eastern region of India and is a native species to the state of Meghalaya since it can adapt and grow well under the agro climatic conditions of the region. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The fish is considered as one of the endangered species of the Mahseer group, which is having tremendous scope for culture, sports and tourism. But non-availability of quality seed is a hindrance for the culture of this fish. Thus induced breeding of the fish by hormonal administration with pituitary gland and synthetic hormones is the only reliable method to procure the pure seed of the fish. Chocolate Mahseer was successfully bred at the Hatchery Complex, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, Meghalaya by using pituitary extract and synthetic hormone viz. ovaprim, ovatide and gonopro-FH. The dose standardized is @ 4mg/kg body weight to both male and female as 1st dose and @ 7.9 mg/kg body weight only to female as 2nd dose for pituitary extract and single dose @ 0.8 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of both ovaprim and ovatide, while a single dose @ 0.9 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of gonopro-FH. The doses are standardized after a series of trial and error experiment performed. The fecundity of the fish was 3500 eggs/ kg body weight. The final hatching percentage achieved was 60%. The survival rate of hatchling was 50% up to fry stage. The use of synthetic hormone and positive response of the fish to the hormone will go in long way for production of quality seed of the fish which in turn help in culture of the species as the fish can be a very good candidate species for the culture in the state. This study will also help in the ranching of the fish in the natural habitat leading to conservation of the species. However, the study should be continued further for the large scale production of seeds.

Keywords: chocolate mahseer, induced breeding, pituitary extract, synthetic hormone

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Authors: Kunkanit Sutamchai, Kate E. Rowlands

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Recent public ethical scandals in many organizations around the world have raised concern about organizational ethics, which have, in turn, made ethical behaviors and conducts on the part of leaders become more critical topics in organizational studies. However, current research on the benefits of mindfulness within the workplace contexts has predominantly focused on stress reduction and work performance enhancement, while the aspects of ethical behavior development have been far less investigated in mindfulness research in the organizational and management fields. Only recently has there been an emerging call for organizational researchers and practitioners to study mindfulness concepts and practices from the original Buddhist perspectives given that ethics is regarded as a foundation for Buddhist mindfulness. Yet little, if any, empirical research on the contributions of mindfulness practices to ethical leadership has been done in Eastern Buddhist contexts. Therefore, this study aims to explore the extent to which and how Buddhist-based mindfulness practices can influence organizational leaders’ ethical values and practices. On this basis, Thailand was selected as a context of study due to a predominantly Buddhist society and culture. Qualitative data were gathered through in-depth semi-structured interviews with twenty executive leaders from various private organizations in Thailand, who practice Buddhist-based mindfulness meditation regularly. The findings from this study shed light on the role Buddhist-based mindfulness practices can play in promoting ethical behavior among executive leaders in Thailand. The results also suggest that ethical values and practices influenced by Buddhist-based mindfulness practices are well aligned with the elements appeared in the inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural ethical leadership framework, namely: humane, justice, sustainability and responsibility, and moderation. This study concludes that the integration of ethical dimensions to mindfulness practices may provide promising opportunities for ethical leadership development, particularly in the context of Thailand. This could contribute significantly to the future development of both organizations and society at large. The study also suggests that mindfulness interventions in organizational contexts should place more explicit emphasis on ethics. This may be done by relating the ethical principles underlying Buddhist-based mindfulness to other ethical systems in different contexts and cultures where they can be aligned.

Keywords: Buddhism, ethical leadership, leadership development, mindfulness, Thailand, training

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Authors: Kuo-Wei Hsu, Wei-Chin Lo

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In these years, urban agriculture development has been wide spreading all over the world. The development of urban agriculture is an evolution process of highly urbanization, as well as an agricultural phenomenon closely related to the development of economy, society and culture in urban areas. It provides densely populated areas with multi-functional uses of land, impacting strategic development of both large and small towns in the area. In addition, the participation of social enterprises keeps industrial competitiveness and makes gains when facing rapid transformation of industrial structures and new patterns of lifestyles in urban areas. They create better living conditions as well as protect the environment with innovative business beliefs, which give new ways for development of urban agriculture. Also, through building up the value chain, these social enterprises are capable of creating value for urban agriculture. Most of research regarding to social enterprises currently explore the relationship between corporate responsibilities and its role play, operational mode and performance and organizational patterns. Merely some of them discuss the function of social entrepreneurship in the development of urban agriculture. Moreover, none of them have explored the value creation for development of urban agriculture processed by social enterprises, as well as how social enterprises operate to increase competitive advantages, which make it possible to achieve industrial innovation, increase corporate value and even provide services with value creation. Therefore, this research mainly reviews current business patterns and operational conditions of social enterprises. This research endowed social responsibilities, and discusses current development process of urban agriculture. This research adopts Value Chain perspective to discuss key factors for value creation with respect to the development of urban agriculture processed by social enterprises. Thereby after organization and integration this research develops the prospect of value creation referring to urban agriculture processed by social enterprises and builds the value chain for urban agriculture. In conclusion, this research explored the relationship between value chain and value creation, which relates to values of customer, enterprise, society and economy referring to the development of urban agriculture uniquely, in consideration of the participation of social enterprises, and hence built the connection between value chain and value creation in the development of urban agriculture by social enterprises. The research found, social enterprises help to enhance the connection between the enterprise value and society value, mold corporate image with social responsibility and create brand value, and therefore impact the increase of economic value.

Keywords: urban agriculture development, value chain, social enterprise, urban systems

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Authors: Fouad Chebib, Marie Hogan, Ziad El-Zoghby, Maria Irazabal, Sarah Senum, Christina Heyer, Charles Madsen, Emilie Cornec-Le Gall, Atta Behfar, Barbara Ehrlich, Peter Harris, Vicente Torres

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Background: Mutations in PKD1 and PKD2, the genes encoding the proteins polycystin-1 (PC1) and polycystin-2 (PC2) cause autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). ADPKD is a systemic disease associated with several extrarenal manifestations. Animal models have suggested an important role for the polycystins in cardiovascular function. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the association of various cardiomyopathies in a large cohort of patients with ADPKD. Methods: Clinical data was retrieved from medical records for all patients with ADPKD and cardiomyopathies (n=159). Genetic analysis was performed on available DNA by direct sequencing. Results: Among the 58 patients included in this case series, 39 patients had idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM), 17 had hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM), and 2 had left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC). The mean age at cardiomyopathy diagnosis was 53.3, 59.9 and 53.5 years in IDCM, HOCM and LVNC patients respectively. The median left ventricular ejection fraction at initial diagnosis of IDCM was 25%. Average basal septal thickness was 19.9 mm in patients with HOCM. Genetic data was available in 19, 8 and 2 cases of IDCM, HOCM, and LVNC respectively. PKD1 mutations were detected in 47.4%, 62.5% and 100% of IDCM, HOCM and LVNC cases. PKD2 mutations were detected only in IDCM cases and were overrepresented (36.8%) relative to the expected frequency in ADPKD (~15%). The prevalence of IDCM, HOCM, and LVNC in our ADPKD clinical cohort was 1:17, 1:39 and 1:333 respectively. When compared to the general population, IDCM and HOCM was approximately 10-fold more prevalent in patients with ADPKD. Conclusions: In summary, we suggest that PKD1 or PKD2 mutations may predispose to idiopathic dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. There is a trend for patients with PKD2 mutations to develop the former and for patients with PKD1 mutations to develop the latter. Predisposition to various cardiomyopathies may be another extrarenal manifestation of ADPKD.

Keywords: autosomal dominant polycystic kidney (ADPKD), polycystic kidney disease, cardiovascular, cardiomyopathy, idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, left ventricular noncompaction

Procedia PDF Downloads 278

Authors: Hanen Khanchel, Karim Ben Kahla

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Pharmaceutical companies are facing competition. Indeed, the price differences between competing products can be such that it becomes difficult to compensate them by differences in value added. The conditions of competition are no longer homogeneous for the players involved. The price of a product is a given that puts a company and its customer face to face. However, price fixing obliges the company to consider internal factors relating to production costs and external factors such as customer attitudes, the existence of regulations and the structure of the market on which the firm evolved. In setting the selling price, the company must first take into account internal factors relating to its costs: costs of production fall into two categories, fixed costs and variable costs that depend on the quantities produced. The company cannot consider selling below what it costs the product. It, therefore, calculates the unit cost of production to which it adds the unit cost of distribution, enabling it to know the unit cost of production of the product. The company adds its margin and thus determines its selling price. The margin is used to remunerate the capital providers and to finance the activity of the company and its investments. Production costs are related to the quantities produced: large-scale production generally reduces the unit cost of production, which is an asset for companies with mass production markets. This shows that small and medium-sized companies with limited market segments need to make greater efforts to ensure their profit margins. As a result, and faced with high and low market prices for raw materials and increasing staff costs, the company must seek to optimize its production time in order to reduce loads and eliminate waste. Then, the customer pays only value added. Thus, and based on this principle we decided to create a project that deals with the problem of waste in our company, and having as objectives the reduction of production costs and improvement of performance indicators. This paper presents the implementation of the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) project in a pharmaceutical company. It is structured as follows: 1) determination of the family of products, 2) drawing of the current state, 3) drawing of the future state, 4) action plan and implementation.

Keywords: VSM, waste, production time, kaizen, cartography, improvement

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