Search results for: Sample space

Authors: P. Thepnarintra, S. Nikorn

Abstract:

Agricultural machinery industry plays an important role in the industrial development especially the production industry of the country. There has been continuing development responding to the higher demand of the production. However, the problem in agricultural machinery production still exists. Thus, the purpose of this research is to investigate problems on fundamental factors of industry based on the entrepreneurs’ point of view. The focus was on the small and medium size industry receiving factory license type number 0660 from the Department of Industrial Works. The investigation was on the comparison between the management of the small and medium size agricultural industry in 3 provinces in the central region of Thailand. Population in this study consisted of 189 company managers or managing directors, of which 101 were from the small size and 88 were from the medium size industry. The data were analyzed to find percentage, arithmetic mean, and standard deviation with independent sample T-test at the statistical significance .05. The results showed that the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers in the central region of Thailand reported high problems in every aspect. When compared the problems on basic factors in running the business, it was found that there was no statistically difference at .05 in managing of the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers on the aspect of policy and services of the government. The problems reported by the small and medium size agricultural machinery manufacturers were the services on public tap water and the problem on politic and stability of the country.

Keywords: Agricultural machinery, manufacturers, problems, on running the business.

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Authors: Okafor UAC, Ibeabuchimn, Omidina JO, Igwesi-Chidobe CN, Akinbo SRA

Abstract:

Purpose: The fear of falling is a major concern among the elderly. Sixty-five percent of individuals older than 60 years of age experience loss of balance often on a daily basis. Therefore, balance assessment in the elderly deserves special attention due to its importance in functional mobility and safety. This study aimed at assessing balance performance and comparing some anthropometric parameters among a Nigerian non-institutionalized elderly population.

Methods: Sixty one elderly subjects (31 males and 30 females) participated in this study. Their ages ranged between 62 and 84 years. Ability to maintain balance was assessed using Functional Reach Test (FRT) and Sharpened Romberg Test (SRT). Anthropometric data including age, weight, height, arm length, leg length, bi-acromial breadth, foot length and trunk length were also collected. Analysis was done using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and Independent T-test, while level of significance was set as p<0.05.

Results: Age-related significant relationship was observed between balance performance and bi-acromial breadth among the elderly population. Gender and visual input also had a significant influence on balance performance. Other anthropometric variables (age, weight, height, arm length, leg length, foot length and trunk length) showed no significant relationship with balance performance among this elderly sample.

Conclusion: Only specific anthropometric variables may affect balance performances among the healthy elderly. The study further highlights the need for routine assessment of both static and dynamic balance to detect and appropriately manage aging-related diseases which could affect balance in the elderly.

Keywords: Balance Performance, Anthropometry, Non-institutionalized Elderly.

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Authors: Himanshu Shekhar Maharana, S. K .Dash

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Economic Load Dispatch (ELD) proves to be a vital optimization process in electric power system for allocating generation amongst various units to compute the cost of generation, the cost of emission involving global warming gases like sulphur dioxide, nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide etc. In this dissertation, we emphasize ramp rate constriction factor based particle swarm optimization (RRCPSO) for analyzing various performance objectives, namely cost of generation, cost of emission, and a dual objective function involving both these objectives through the experimental simulated results. A 6-unit 30 bus IEEE test case system has been utilized for simulating the results involving improved weight factor advanced ramp rate limit constraints for optimizing total cost of generation and emission. This method increases the tendency of particles to venture into the solution space to ameliorate their convergence rates. Earlier works through dispersed PSO (DPSO) and constriction factor based PSO (CPSO) give rise to comparatively higher computational time and less good optimal solution at par with current dissertation. This paper deals with ramp rate and constriction factor based well defined ramp rate PSO to compute various objectives namely cost, emission and total objective etc. and compares the result with DPSO and weight improved PSO (WIPSO) techniques illustrating lesser computational time and better optimal solution. 

Keywords: Economic load dispatch, constriction factor based particle swarm optimization, dispersed particle swarm optimization, weight improved particle swarm optimization, ramp rate and constriction factor based particle swarm optimization.

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Authors: Liga Priecina, Daina Karklina

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Antioxidants are became the most analyzed substances in last decades. Antioxidants act as in activator for free radicals. Spices and vegetables are one of major antioxidant sources. Most common antioxidants in vegetables and spices are vitamin C, E, phenolic compounds, carotenoids. Therefore, it is important to get some view about antioxidant changes in spices and vegetables during processing. In this article was analyzed nine fresh and dried spices and vegetables- celery (Apium graveolens), parsley (Petroselinum crispum), dill (Anethum graveolens), leek (Allium ampeloprasum L.), garlic (Allium sativum L.), onion (Allium cepa), celery root (Apium graveolens var. rapaceum), pumpkin (Curcubica maxima), carrot (Daucus carota)- grown in Latvia 2013. Total carotenoids and phenolic compounds and their antiradical scavenging activity were determined for all samples. Dry matter content was calculated from moisture content. After drying process carotenoid content significantly decreases in all analyzed samples, except one -carotenoid content increases in parsley. Phenolic composition was different and depends on sample – fresh or dried. Total phenolic, flavonoid and phenolic acid content increases in dried spices. Flavan-3-ol content is not detected in fresh spice samples. For dried vegetables- phenolic acid content decreases significantly, but increases flavan-3-ols content. The higher antiradical scavenging activity was observed in samples with higher flavonoid and phenolic acid content.

Keywords: Antiradical scavenging activity, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, spices, vegetables.

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Authors: Rekha Kandwal, Kamal K.Bharadwaj

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Knowledge is indispensable but voluminous knowledge becomes a bottleneck for efficient processing. A great challenge for data mining activity is the generation of large number of potential rules as a result of mining process. In fact sometimes result size is comparable to the original data. Traditional data mining pruning activities such as support do not sufficiently reduce the huge rule space. Moreover, many practical applications are characterized by continual change of data and knowledge, thereby making knowledge voluminous with each change. The most predominant representation of the discovered knowledge is the standard Production Rules (PRs) in the form If P Then D. Michalski & Winston proposed Censored Production Rules (CPRs), as an extension of production rules, that exhibit variable precision and supports an efficient mechanism for handling exceptions. A CPR is an augmented production rule of the form: If P Then D Unless C, where C (Censor) is an exception to the rule. Such rules are employed in situations in which the conditional statement 'If P Then D' holds frequently and the assertion C holds rarely. By using a rule of this type we are free to ignore the exception conditions, when the resources needed to establish its presence, are tight or there is simply no information available as to whether it holds or not. Thus the 'If P Then D' part of the CPR expresses important information while the Unless C part acts only as a switch changes the polarity of D to ~D. In this paper a scheme based on Dempster-Shafer Theory (DST) interpretation of a CPR is suggested for discovering CPRs from the discovered flat PRs. The discovery of CPRs from flat rules would result in considerable reduction of the already discovered rules. The proposed scheme incrementally incorporates new knowledge and also reduces the size of knowledge base considerably with each episode. Examples are given to demonstrate the behaviour of the proposed scheme. The suggested cumulative learning scheme would be useful in mining data streams.

Keywords: Censored production rules, cumulative learning, data mining, machine learning.

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Authors: T. H. Rodrigues, Maria J. Reis Lima, R. P. F. Guiné, E. Teixeira de Lemos

Abstract:

Portuguese diet has been gradually diverging from the basic principles of healthy eating, leading to an unbalanced dietary pattern which, associated with increasing sedentary lifestyle, has a negative impact on public health. The main objective of this work was to characterize the dietary habits of university students in Viseu, Portugal. The study consisted of a sample of 80 university students, aged between 18 and 28 years. Anthropometric data (weight (kg) and height (m)) were collected and Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated. The dietary habits were assessed through a three-day food record and the software Medpoint was used to convert food into energy and nutrients. The results showed that students present a normal body mass index. Female university students made a higher number of daily meals than male students, and these last skipped breakfast more frequently. The values of average daily intake of energy, macronutrients and calcium were higher in males. The food pattern was characterized by a predominant consumption of meat, cereal, fats and sugar. Dietary intake of dairy products, fruits, vegetables and legumes does not meet the recommendations, revealing inadequate food habits such as hypoglycemic, hyperprotein and hyperlipidemic diet. Our findings suggest that preventive interventions should be focus in promoting healthy eating habits and physical activity in adulthood.

Keywords: Food habits, BMI, fortified foods, nutritional deficiencies, university students.

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Authors: S. J. Matlan, M. Mukhlisin, M. R. Taha

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Characterization of the engineering behavior of unsaturated soil is dependent on the soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), a graphical representation of the relationship between water content or degree of saturation and soil suction. A reasonable description of the SWCC is thus important for the accurate prediction of unsaturated soil parameters. The measurement procedures for determining the SWCC, however, are difficult, expensive, and timeconsuming. During the past few decades, researchers have laid a major focus on developing empirical equations for predicting the SWCC, with a large number of empirical models suggested. One of the most crucial questions is how precisely existing equations can represent the SWCC. As different models have different ranges of capability, it is essential to evaluate the precision of the SWCC models used for each particular soil type for better SWCC estimation. It is expected that better estimation of SWCC would be achieved via a thorough statistical analysis of its distribution within a particular soil class. With this in view, a statistical analysis was conducted in order to evaluate the reliability of the SWCC prediction models against laboratory measurement. Optimization techniques were used to obtain the best-fit of the model parameters in four forms of SWCC equation, using laboratory data for relatively coarse-textured (i.e., sandy) soil. The four most prominent SWCCs were evaluated and computed for each sample. The result shows that the Brooks and Corey model is the most consistent in describing the SWCC for sand soil type. The Brooks and Corey model prediction also exhibit compatibility with samples ranging from low to high soil water content in which subjected to the samples that evaluated in this study.

Keywords: Soil-water characteristic curve (SWCC), statistical analysis, unsaturated soil.

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Authors: F. Rahnamay Roodposhti, M. Falah Shams, H. Kordlouie

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The aim of the article is extending and developing econometrics and network structure based methods which are able to distinguish price manipulation in Tehran stock exchange. The principal goal of the present study is to offer model for approximating price manipulation in Tehran stock exchange. In order to do so by applying separation method a sample consisting of 397 companies accepted at Tehran stock exchange were selected and information related to their price and volume of trades during years 2001 until 2009 were collected and then through performing runs test, skewness test and duration correlative test the selected companies were divided into 2 sets of manipulated and non manipulated companies. In the next stage by investigating cumulative return process and volume of trades in manipulated companies, the date of starting price manipulation was specified and in this way the logit model, artificial neural network, multiple discriminant analysis and by using information related to size of company, clarity of information, ratio of P/E and liquidity of stock one year prior price manipulation; a model for forecasting price manipulation of stocks of companies present in Tehran stock exchange were designed. At the end the power of forecasting models were studied by using data of test set. Whereas the power of forecasting logit model for test set was 92.1%, for artificial neural network was 94.1% and multi audit analysis model was 90.2%; therefore all of the 3 aforesaid models has high power to forecast price manipulation and there is no considerable difference among forecasting power of these 3 models.

Keywords: Price Manipulation, Liquidity, Size of Company, Floating Stock, Information Clarity

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Authors: Arash Taheri, Meysam Mohammadi-Amin, Seyed Hossein Moosavy

Abstract:

Medical applications are among the most impactful areas of microrobotics. The ultimate goal of medical microrobots is to reach currently inaccessible areas of the human body and carry out a host of complex operations such as minimally invasive surgery (MIS), highly localized drug delivery, and screening for diseases at their very early stages. Miniature, safe and efficient propulsion systems hold the key to maturing this technology but they pose significant challenges. A new type of propulsion developed recently, uses multi-flagella architecture inspired by the motility mechanism of prokaryotic microorganisms. There is a lack of efficient methods for designing this type of propulsion system. The goal of this paper is to overcome the lack and this way, a numerical strategy is proposed to design multi-flagella propulsion systems. The strategy is based on the implementation of the regularized stokeslet and rotlet theory, RFT theory and new approach of “local corrected velocity". The effects of shape parameters and angular velocities of each flagellum on overall flow field and on the robot net forces and moments are considered. Then a multi-layer perceptron artificial neural network is designed and employed to adjust the angular velocities of the motors for propulsion control. The proposed method applied successfully on a sample configuration and useful demonstrative results is obtained.

Keywords: Artificial Neural Network, Biomimetic Microrobots, Flagellar Propulsion, Swimming Robots.

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Authors: Rakesh Kumar, Fatima Electricwala

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One of the major thrusts of the Bus Rapid Transit System is to reduce the commuter’s dependency on private vehicles and increase the shares of public transport to make urban transportation system environmentally sustainable. In this study, commuter mode choice analysis is performed that examines behavioral responses to the proposed Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) in Surat, with estimation of the probable shift from private mode to public mode. Further, evaluation of the BRTS scenarios, using Surat’s transportation ecological footprint was done. A multi-modal simulation model was developed in Biogeme environment to explicitly consider private users behaviors and non-linear environmental impact. The data of the different factors (variables) and its impact that might cause modal shift of private mode users to proposed BRTS were collected through home-interview survey using revealed and stated preference approach. A multi modal logit model of mode-choice was then calibrated using the collected data and validated using proposed sample. From this study, a set of perception factors, with reliable and predictable data base, to explain the variation in modal shift behaviour and their impact on Surat’s ecological environment has been identified. A case study of the proposed BRTS connecting the Surat Industrial Hub to the coastal area is provided to illustrate the approach.

Keywords: BRTS, Private Modes, Mode choice models, Ecological footprint.

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Authors: Bernat-Carles Serdà Ferrer, Arantza Del Valle Gómez

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The Quality of Life (QoL) paradigm is multidimensional, dynamic and modular and its definition differs across the cancer continuum. The challenge in the interpretation of QoL data in clinical research is that QoL is influenced by psychological phenomena such as adaptation to illness. This research aims to obtain a valid and sensitive assessment of QoL change over the continuum disease, and to evaluate a rehabilitation programme aimed at inverting the observed decrease in QoL when patients return to daily living activities. The sample comprised 66 men. Patients were first assessed to establish a baseline (P1-diagnosis). This was followed by a post-test (P2-discharge) and a then-test measurement (P3-retrospective evaluation) and after returning home patients were randomized in experimental and control groups. The experimental group attended a rehabilitation programme over 24 weeks (P4). Results show that from baseline to post-test, QoL decreased significantly. The recalibration then-test confirmed a low QoL in all periods evaluated. Significant differences between the experimental and control groups prove the positive effect of the Exercise Rehabilitation Programme (ERP) on QoL. Understanding the real dynamic of QoL over time would help to adapt rehabilitation programmes by improving sensitivity and efficacy and provide professionals with a more accurate perception of the impact of treatment and side effects on patients’ QoL. Our results underline the importance of changing the approach adopted by health professionals towards one of watchful waiting on patients’ QoL until their complete recovery in daily life.

Keywords: Prostate cancer, quality of life, rehabilitation programme, response shift.

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Authors: Haji M Shoaib Khan, Naveed Akhtar, Fatima Rasool, Barkat Ali Khan, Tariq Mahmood, Muhammad Shuaib Khan

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Antioxidants contribute to endogenous photoprotection and are important for the maintenance of skin health. The study was carried out to compare the skin hydration and transepidermal water loss (TEWL) effects of a stable cosmetic preparation containing flavonoids, following two applications a day over a period of tenth week. The skin trans-epidermal water loss and skin hydration effect was measured at the beginning and up to the end of study period of ten weeks. Any effect produced was measured by Corneometer and TEWA meter (Non-invasive probe). Two formulations were developed for this study design. Formulation one the control formulation in which no apple juice extract( Flavonoids) was incorporated while second one was the active formulation in which the apple juice extract (3%) containing flavonoids was incorporated into water in oil emulsion using Abil EM 90 as an emulsifier. Stable formulations (control and Active) were applied on human cheeks (n = 12) for a study period of 10 weeks. Result of each volunteer of skin hydration and TEWL was measured by corneometer and TEWA meter. By using ANOVA and Paired sample t test as a statistical evaluation, result of both base and formulation were compared. Statistical significant results (p≤0.05) were observed regarding skin hydration and TEWL when two creams, control and Formulation were compared. It showed that desired formulation (Active) may have interesting application as an active moisturizing cream on healthy skin.

Keywords: Apple juice extract, TEWL, Corneometer, flavonoids.

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Authors: Ahmed Amin Mousa, Huda Mazeed, Eman Saad

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The study aims to identify the extent of effectiveness of the artistic formation program using some types of pastes to reduce the hyperactivity of the kindergarten children with learning difficulties. The researchers have discussed the aforesaid topic, where the research sample included 120 children of ages between 5 to 6 years, from five schools for special needs, learning disability section, Cairo Governorate. The study used the quasi-empirical method, which depends on designing one group using the pre& post application measurements for the group to validate both, hypothesis and effectiveness of the program. The variables of the study were specified as follows; artistic formation program using Paper Mache as an independent variable, and its effect on the skills of kindergarten child with learning disabilities, as a dependent variable. The researchers utilized the application of an artistic formation program consisting of artistic and musical skills for kindergarten children with learning disabilities. The tools of the study, designed by the researchers, included: observation card used for recording the culling paper using pulp molding skills for kindergarten children with learning difficulties during practicing the artistic formation activity. Additionally, there was a program utilizing Artistic and Musical Activities for kindergarten children with learning disabilities to acquire educational concepts. The study was composed of 20 lessons for fine art activities and 20 lessons for musical activities, with obligation of giving the musical lesson with art lesson in one session to cast on the kindergarten child some educational concepts.

Keywords: musical activities, developing skills, early childhood, educational concepts, learning difficulties

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Authors: Perumal Siddhuraju, Arumugam Abirami, Gunasekaran Nagarani, Marimuthu Sangeethapriya

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Aqueous ethanol and aqueous acetone extracts of Moringa oleifera (outer pericarp of immature fruit and flower) and Sesbania grandiflora white variety (flower and leaf) were examined for radical scavenging capacities and antioxidant activities. Ethanol extract of S. grandiflora (flower and leaf) and acetone extract of M. oleifera (outer pericarp of immature fruit and flower) contained relatively higher levels of total dietary phenolics than the other extracts. The antioxidant potential of the extracts were assessed by employing different in vitro assays such as reducing power assay, DPPH˙, ABTS˙+ and ˙OH radical scavenging capacities, antihemolytic assay by hydrogen peroxide induced method and metal chelating ability. Though all the extracts exhibited dose dependent reducing power activity, acetone extract of all the samples were found to have more hydrogen donating ability in DPPH˙ (2.3% - 65.03%) and hydroxyl radical scavenging systems (21.6% - 77.4%) than the ethanol extracts. The potential of multiple antioxidant activity was evident as it possessed antihemolytic activity (43.2 % to 68.0 %) and metal ion chelating potency (45.16 - 104.26 mg EDTA/g sample). The result indicate that acetone extract of M. oleifera (OPIF and flower) and S. grandiflora (flower and leaf) endowed with polyphenols, could be utilized as natural antioxidants/nutraceuticals.

Keywords: Antioxidant activity, Moringa oleifera, Polyphenolics, Sesbania grandiflora, Underutilized vegetables.

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Authors: Anca E. Gurzau, Alexandru Coman, Eugen S. Gurzau, Marinela Penes, Daniela Dumitrescu, DorinMarchean, Ioan Chera

Abstract:

The environment pollution with pesticides and heavy metals is a recognized problem nowadays, with extension to the global scale the tendency of amplification. Even with all the progress in the environmental field, both in the emphasize of the effect of the pollutants upon health, the linked studies environment-health are insufficient, not only in Romania but all over the world also. We aim to describe the particular situation in Romania regarding the uncontrolled use of pesticides, to identify and evaluate the risk zones for health and the environment in Romania, with the final goal of designing adequate programs for reduction and control of the risk sources. An exploratory study was conducted to determine the magnitude of the pesticide use problem in a population living in Saliste, a rural setting in Transylvania, Romania. The significant stakeholders in Saliste region were interviewed and a sample from the population living in Saliste area was selected to fill in a designed questionnaire. All the selected participants declared that they used pesticides in their activities for more than one purpose. They declared they annually applied pesticides for a period of time between 11 and 30 years, from 5 to 9 days per year on average, mainly on crops situated at some distance from the houses but high risk behavior was identified as the volunteers declared the use of pesticides in the backyard gardens, near their homes, where children were playing. The pesticide applicators did not have the necessary knowledge about safety and exposure. The health data must be correlated with exposure biomarkers in attempt to identify the possible health effects of the pesticides exposure. Future plans include educational campaigns to raise the awareness of the population on the danger of uncontrolled use of pesticides.

Keywords: Pesticides, health effects, Romania, Saliste.

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Authors: Victor Krebss

Abstract:

Task of object localization is one of the major challenges in creating intelligent transportation. Unfortunately, in densely built-up urban areas, localization based on GPS only produces a large error, or simply becomes impossible. New opportunities arise for the localization due to the rapidly emerging concept of a wireless ad-hoc network. Such network, allows estimating potential distance between these objects measuring received signal level and construct a graph of distances in which nodes are the localization objects, and edges - estimates of the distances between pairs of nodes. Due to the known coordinates of individual nodes (anchors), it is possible to determine the location of all (or part) of the remaining nodes of the graph. Moreover, road map, available in digital format can provide localization routines with valuable additional information to narrow node location search. However, despite abundance of well-known algorithms for solving the problem of localization and significant research efforts, there are still many issues that currently are addressed only partially. In this paper, we propose localization approach based on the graph mapped distances on the digital road map data basis. In fact, problem is reduced to distance graph embedding into the graph representing area geo location data. It makes possible to localize objects, in some cases even if only one reference point is available. We propose simple embedding algorithm and sample implementation as spatial queries over sensor network data stored in spatial database, allowing employing effectively spatial indexing, optimized spatial search routines and geometry functions.

Keywords: Intelligent Transportation System, Sensor Network, Localization, Spatial Query, GIS, Graph Embedding.

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Authors: B. Muhammadani

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Health workforce is a fundamental component of health system and plays a significant role in delivering effective health care services. However, there is a crucial shortage of skilled personnel which make them prone to work in stressful conditions. In spite of excessively high workload and burnout among the staff, little attention is given to their job satisfaction level which has serious implications on the productivity and effective performance of staff to achieve organizational goals. Therefore, this study aims to explore the job satisfaction of midwives working in the labor ward of the Lady Dufferin Hospital, Karachi. A cross-sectional survey was conducted. The short version of Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire was administered on a convenient sample group of 22 midwives to gather information on their job satisfaction. The results demonstrated that midwives were overall satisfied with their job. The level of job satisfaction was however found different in various positions within midwifery cadre. The head of midwives was highly satisfied as compared to midwifery staff who works under the supervision of head. The level of satisfaction of team leaders fall between the head and staff of midwifery. Similar trends were observed for both intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction. Such evidences on these issues are essential and useful as it helps explore the attitudes of individuals towards work which has direct implications on access to quality care services. Strategic interventions are required at organizational level to provide motivators and satisfiers to health workers for their work related satisfaction and enhanced motivation.

Keywords: Health workforce, job satisfaction, motivation, workload, burnout, midwives, health system.

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Authors: J. Chakwizira, P. Bikam, T. A. Adeboyejo

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This paper seeks to illustrate the impact of rapid urbanization (in terms of both increase in people and vehicles) in the Gauteng region (which includes Johannesburg, Pretoria and Ekurhuleni). The impact that existing transport systems and options place on the capacity of residents from low income areas to travel and conduct various socio-economic activities is discussed. The findings are drawn from a 2013 analysis of a random transport household survey of 1550 households carried out in Gauteng province. 91.4% of the study respondents had access to public transport, while 8.6% had no access to public transport. Of the 91.4% who used public transport, the main reason used to explain this state of affairs was that it was affordable (54.3%), convenient (15.9%), Accessible (11.9%), lack of alternatives (6.4%) and reliable at 4.1%. Recommendations advanced revolve around the need to reverse land use and transportation effects of apartheid planning, growing and developing a sustainable critical mass of public transport interventions supported by appropriate transport systems that are environmentally sustainable through proper governance. 38.5% of the respondents indicated that developing compact, smart and integrated urban land spaces was key to reducing travel challenges in the study area. 23.4% indicated that the introduction and upgrading of BRT buses to cover all areas in the study area was a step in the right direction because it has great potential in shifting travel patterns to favor public modes of transport. 15.1% indicated that all open spaces should be developed so that fragmentation of land uses can be addressed. This would help to fight disconnected and fragmented space and trip making challenges in Gauteng. 13.4% indicated that improving the metro rail services was critical since this is a mass mover of commuters. 9.6% of the respondents highlighted that the bus subsidy policy has to be retained in the short to medium term since the spatial mismatches and challenges created by apartheid are yet to be fully reversed.

Keywords: Urbanisation, population, public, transport systems, Gauteng.

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Authors: Charawee Butbumrung

Abstract:

This paper aimed to study the factors that relate to working behavior of employees at Pakkred Municipality, Nonthaburi Province. A questionnaire was utilized as the tool in collecting information. Descriptive statistics included frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. Independent- sample t- test, analysis of variance and Pearson Correlation were also used. The findings of this research revealed that the majority of the respondents were female, between 25- 35 years old, married, with a Bachelor degree. The average monthly salary of respondents was between 8,001- 12,000 Baht, and having about 4-7 years of working experience. Regarding the overall working motivation factors, the findings showed that interrelationship, respect, and acceptance were ranked as highly important factors, whereas motivation, remunerations & welfare, career growth, and working conditions were ranked as moderately important factors. Also, overall working behavior was ranked as high. The hypotheses testing revealed that different genders had a different working behavior and had a different way of working as a team, which was significant at the 0.05 confidence level, Moreover, there was a difference among employees with different monthly salary in working behavior, problem- solving and decision making, which all were significant at the 0.05 confidence level. Employees with different years of working experience were found to have work working behavior both individual and as a team at the statistical significance level of 0.01 and 0.05. The result of testing the relationship between motivation in overall working revealed that interrelationship, respect and acceptance from others, career growth, and working conditions related to working behavior at a moderate level, while motivation in performing duties and remunerations and welfares related to working behavior towards the same direction at a low level, with a statistical significance of 0.01.

Keywords: Employees of Pakkred Municipality, Factors, Nonthaburi Province, Working Behavior.

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Authors: T. Miková

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This paper analyzes the effect of a single uniform accounting rule on reporting quality by investigating the influence of IFRS on earnings management. This paper examines whether earnings management is reduced after IFRS adoption through the use of “loss avoidance thresholds”, a method that has been verified in earlier studies. This paper concentrates on two European countries: one that represents the continental code law tradition with weak protection of investors (France) and one that represents the Anglo-American common law tradition, which typically implies a strong enforcement system (the United Kingdom).

The research investigates a sample of 526 companies (6822 firm-year observations) during the years 2000 – 2013. The results are different for the two jurisdictions. This study demonstrates that a single set of accounting standards contributes to better reporting quality and reduces the pervasiveness of earnings management in France. In contrast, there is no evidence that a reduction in earnings management followed the implementation of IFRS in the United Kingdom. Due to the fact that IFRS benefit France but not the United Kingdom, other political and economic factors, such legal system or capital market strength, must play a significant role in influencing the comparability and transparency cross-border companies’ financial statements. Overall, the result suggests that IFRS moderately contribute to the accounting quality of reported financial statements and bring benefit for stakeholders, though the role played by other economic factors cannot be discounted.

Keywords: Accounting Standards, Earnings Management, International Financial Reporting Standards, Loss Avoidance, Reporting Quality.

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Authors: Vladyslav Povoroznyuk, Larysa Martynyuk, Iryna Syzonenko, Liliya Martynyuk

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Osteoporosis is one of the important problems in postmenopausal women due to an increased risk of sudden and unexpected fractures. This study is aimed to determine the connection between bone mineral density (BMD) and trabecular bone score (TBS) in Ukrainian women suffering from metabolic syndrome. Participating in the study, 566 menopausal women aged 50-79 year-old were examined and divided into two groups: Group A included 336 women with no obesity (BMI ≤ 29.9 kg/m²), and Group B – 230 women with metabolic syndrome (diagnosis according to IDF criteria, 2005). Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry was used for measuring of lumbar spine (L1-L4), femoral neck, total body and forearm BMD and bone quality indexes (last according to Med-Imaps installation). Data were analyzed using Statistical Package 6.0. A significant increase of lumbar spine (L1-L4), femoral neck, total body and ultradistal radius BMD was found in women with metabolic syndrome compared to those without obesity (p < 0.001) both in their totality and in groups of 50-59 years, 60-69 years, and 70-79 years. TBS was significantly higher in non-obese women compared to metabolic syndrome patients of 50-59 years and in the general sample (p < 0.05). Analysis showed significant positive correlation between body mass index (BMI) and BMD at all levels. Significant negative correlation between BMI and TBS (L1-L4) was established. Despite the fact that BMD indexes were significantly higher in women with metabolic syndrome, the frequency of vertebral and non-vertebral fractures did not differ significantly in the groups of patients.

Keywords: Bone mineral density, trabecular bone score, metabolic syndrome, fracture.

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Authors: Taposh Roy, Anna Paradowska, Ralph Abrahams, Quan Lai, Michael Law, Peter Mutton, Mehdi Soodi, Wenyi Yan

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In this investigation, a laser cladding process with a powder feeding was used to deposit stainless steel 410L (high strength, excellent resistance to abrasion and corrosion, and great laser compatibility) onto railhead (higher strength, heat treated hypereutectoid rail grade manufactured in accordance with the requirements of European standard EN 13674 Part 1 for R400HT grade), to investigate the development and controllability of process-induced residual stress in the cladding, heat-affected zone (HAZ) and substrate and to analyse their correlation with hardness profile during two different laser cladding directions (across and along the track). Residual stresses were analysed by neutron diffraction at OPAL reactor, ANSTO. Neutron diffraction was carried out on the samples in longitudinal (parallel to the rail), transverse (perpendicular to the rail) and normal (through thickness) directions with high spatial resolution through the thickness. Due to the thick rail and thin cladding, 4 mm thick reference samples were prepared from every specimen by Electric Discharge Machining (EDM). Metallography across the laser claded sample revealed four distinct zones: The clad zone, the dilution zone, HAZ and the substrate. Compressive residual stresses were found in the clad zone and tensile residual stress in the dilution zone and HAZ. Laser cladding in longitudinally cladding induced higher tensile stress in the HAZ, whereas transversely cladding rail showed lower tensile behavior.

Keywords: Laser cladding, residual stress, neutron diffraction, HAZ.

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Authors: Akim Borbuev, Francisco de León

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Economic and population growth in densely-populated urban areas introduce major challenges to distribution system operators, planers, and designers. To supply added loads, utilities are frequently forced to invest in new distribution feeders. However, this is becoming increasingly more challenging due to space limitations and rising installation costs in urban settings. This paper proposes the conversion of critical alternating current (ac) distribution feeders into direct current (dc) feeders to increase the power transfer capacity by a factor as high as four. Current trends suggest that the return of dc transmission, distribution, and utilization are inevitable. Since a total system-level transformation to dc operation is not possible in a short period of time due to the needed huge investments and utility unreadiness, this paper recommends that feeders that are expected to exceed their limits in near future are converted to dc. The increase in power transfer capacity is achieved through several key differences between ac and dc power transmission systems. First, it is shown that underground cables can be operated at higher dc voltage than the ac voltage for the same dielectric stress in the insulation. Second, cable sheath losses, due to induced voltages yielding circulation currents, that can be as high as phase conductor losses under ac operation, are not present under dc. Finally, skin and proximity effects in conductors and sheaths do not exist in dc cables. The paper demonstrates that in addition to the increased power transfer capacity utilities substituting ac feeders by dc feeders could benefit from significant lower costs and reduced losses. Installing dc feeders is less expensive than installing new ac feeders even when new trenches are not needed. Case studies using the IEEE 342-Node Low Voltage Networked Test System quantify the technical and economic benefits of dc feeders.

Keywords: Dc power systems, distribution feeders, distribution networks, energy efficiency, power transfer capacity.

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Authors: Yanru Wu, Qing Sun

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Sightseeing glass bridges located in steep valley area are being built on a large scale owing to the development of tourism. Consequently, their aerostatic stability is seriously affected by the wind field characteristics created by strong wind and special terrain, such as wind speed and wind attack angle. For instance, a cable-stayed pedestrian bridge without backstays comprised of a 60-m cantilever girder and the glass bridge deck is located in an abrupt valley, acting as a viewing platform. The bridge’s nonlinear aerostatic stability was analyzed by the segmental model test and numerical simulation in this paper. Based on aerostatic coefficients of the main girder measured in wind tunnel tests, nonlinear influences caused by the structure and aerostatic load, inhomogeneous distribution of torsion angle along the bridge axis, and the influence of initial attack angle were analyzed by using the incremental double iteration method. The results show that the aerostatic response varying with speed shows an obvious nonlinearity, and the aerostatic instability mode is of the characteristic of space deformation of bending-twisting coupling mode. The vertical and torsional deformation of the main girder is larger than its lateral deformation, with the wind speed approaching the critical wind speed. The flow of negative attack angle will reduce the bridges’ critical stability wind speed, but the influence of the negative attack angle on the aerostatic stability is more significant than that of the positive attack angle. The critical wind speeds of torsional divergence and lateral buckling are both larger than 200 m/s; namely, the bridge will not occur aerostatic instability under the action of various wind attack angles.

Keywords: Aerostatic nonlinearity, cable-stayed pedestrian bridge, numerical simulation, nonlinear aerostatic stability.

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Authors: Akrem Sellami, Imed Riadh Farah

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Hyperspectral imagery (HSI) typically provides a wealth of information captured in a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum for each pixel in the image. Hence, a pixel in HSI is a high-dimensional vector of intensities with a large spectral range and a high spectral resolution. Therefore, the semantic interpretation is a challenging task of HSI analysis. We focused in this paper on object classification as HSI semantic interpretation. However, HSI classification still faces some issues, among which are the following: The spatial variability of spectral signatures, the high number of spectral bands, and the high cost of true sample labeling. Therefore, the high number of spectral bands and the low number of training samples pose the problem of the curse of dimensionality. In order to resolve this problem, we propose to introduce the process of dimensionality reduction trying to improve the classification of HSI. The presented approach is a semi-supervised band selection method based on spatial hypergraph embedding model to represent higher order relationships with different weights of the spatial neighbors corresponding to the centroid of pixel. This semi-supervised band selection has been developed to select useful bands for object classification. The presented approach is evaluated on AVIRIS and ROSIS HSIs and compared to other dimensionality reduction methods. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of our approach compared to many existing dimensionality reduction methods for HSI classification.

Keywords: Hyperspectral image, spatial hypergraph, dimensionality reduction, semantic interpretation, band selection, feature extraction.

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Authors: M. A. Abou Donia, A. A. K. Abou-Arab, Nevin E. Sharaf, A. K. Enab, Sherif R. Mohamed

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Lead (Pb) poisoning is one of the most common and preventable environmental health problems. There are different sources of environmental pollution with lead as lead alkyl additives in petrol and manufacturing processes. Pb in the atmosphere can be deposited in urban soils, and may then be re-suspended to re-enter the atmosphere. This could increase human exposure to Pb and cause long-term health effects. Thus, monitoring Pb pollution is considered one of the major tasks in controlling pollution. Scalp hair can be utilized for the determination of lead (Pb) concentration. It provides a lasting record of metal intakes of weeks or even months, and for most metals, their accumulation in hair reflects their accumulation in the whole body. This work was conducted to investigate the concentration of lead in male scalp hair of Cairo (residential-traffic and residential-industrial) and rural residents after twenty years of phasing out of leaded gasoline. Results indicated that the mean concentration of lead in hair of residential-traffic (9.7552 μg/g ±0.71) and residential-industrial (12.3288 μg/g ±1.13) was significantly higher than that in rural residents (4.7327 μg/g ±0.67). The mean concentration of lead in hair of resident’s industrial areas was the highest among Cairo residents and not the traffic areas as it was before phasing out of leaded gasoline. Twenty years of phasing out of leaded gasoline in Cairo has greatly improved the lead pollution among residents of traffic areas, but industrial areas residents were still suffering from lead pollution, which needs more efforts to control the sources of lead pollution.

Keywords: Heavy metals, lead, hair, biological sample, urban pollution, rural pollution.

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Authors: Fei Peng, Jun Yuan, Chen Fan, Fan Jiang, Qian Sun, Yudi Liu

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Although Earth Station in Motion (ESIM) services are widely used and there is a huge market demand around the world, International Telecommunication Union (ITU) does not have unified conclusion for the use of ESIM yet. ESIM are Mobile Satellite Services (MSS) due to its mobile-based attributes, while multiple administrations want to use ESIM in Fixed Satellite Service (FSS). However, Radio Regulations (RR) have strict distinction between MSS and FSS. In this case, ITU has been very controversial because this kind of application will violate the RR Article and the conflict will bring risks to the global deployment. Thus, this paper illustrates the development of rules, regulations, standards concerning ESIM and the radio spectrum usage of ESIM in different regions around the world. Firstly, the basic rules, standard and definition of ITU’s Radiocommunication Sector (ITU-R) is introduced. Secondly, the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) agenda item on radio spectrum allocation for ESIM, e.g. in C/Ku/Ka band, is introduced and multi-view on the radio spectrum allocation is elaborated, especially on 19.7-20.2 GHz & 29.5-30.0 GHz. Then, some ITU-R Recommendations and Reports are analyzed on the specific technique to enable these ESIM to communicate with Geostationary Earth Orbit Satellite (GSO) space stations in the FSS without causing interference at levels in excess of that caused by conventional FSS earth stations. Meanwhile, the opposite opinion on not allocating EISM service in FSS frequency band is also elaborated. Finally, based on the ESIM’s future application, the ITU-R standards development trend is forecasted. In conclusion, using radio spectrum resource in an equitable, rational and efficient manner is the basic guideline of ITU. Although it is not a good approach to obstruct the revise of RR when there is a large demand for radio spectrum resource in satellite industry, still the propulsion and global demand of the whole industry may face difficulties on the unclear application in modify rules of RR.

Keywords: Earth Station in motion, ITU standards, radio regulations, radio spectrum, satellite communication.

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Authors: Nareelux Suwannobol, JintanaTapin, Khuanchanok Narachan

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The objective of this study was to determine the accuracy to estimation fetal weight by Johnson-s method and compares it with actual birth weight. The sample group was 126 infants delivered in Dan KhunThot hospital from January March 2012. Fetal weight was estimated by measuring fundal height according to Johnson-s method. The information was collected by studying historical delivery records and then analyzed by using the statistics of frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Finally, the difference was analyzed by a paired t-test.The results showed had an average birth weight was 3093.57 ± 391.03 g (mean ± SD) and 3,455 ± 454.55 g average estimated fetal weight by Johnson-s method higher than average actual birth weight was 384.09 grams. When classifying the infants according to birth weight found that low birth weight (<2500 g) and the appropriate birth weight (2500-3999g) actual birth weight less than estimate fetal weight . But the high birth weight (> 4000 g) actual birth weight was more than estimated fetal weight. The difference was found between actual birth weight and estimation fetal weight of the minimum weight in high birth weight ( > 4000 g) , the appropriate birth weight (2500-3999g) and low birth weight (<2500 g) respectively. The rate of estimates fetal weight within 10% of actual birth weight was 35.7%. Actual birth weight were compared with the found that the difference is statistically significant (p <.000). Employing Johnson-s method to estimate fetal weight can estimate initial fetal weight before passing to special examinations, which may require excessive high cost. A variety of methods should be employed to estimate fetal weight more precisely, which will help plan care for mother-s and infant-s safety.

Keywords: Johnson's method, Fetal weight estimate, Delivery Room, Student nurse.

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Authors: A. Abdullah, N. Faghih Mirzaei, S. Hany Haron

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Neighbourhood environment walkability on reported physical activity (PA) levels of students of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Malaysia. Compared with previous generations, today’s young people spend less time playing outdoors and have lower participation rates in PA. Research suggests that negative perceptions of neighbourhood walkability may be a potential barrier to adolescents’ PA. The sample consisted of 200 USM students (to 24 years old) who live outside of the main campus and engage in PA in sport halls and sport fields of USM. The data were analysed using the t-test, binary logistic regression, and discriminant analysis techniques. The present study found that youth PA was affected by neighbourhood environment walkability factors, including neighbourhood infrastructures, neighbourhood safety (crime), and recreation facilities, as well as street characteristics and neighbourhood design variables such as facades of sidewalks, roadside trees, green spaces, and aesthetics. The finding also illustrated that active students were influenced by street connectivity, neighbourhood infrastructures, recreation facilities, facades of sidewalks, and aesthetics, whereas students in the less active group were affected by access to destinations, neighbourhood safety (crime), and roadside trees and green spaces for their PAs. These results report which factors of built environments have more effect on youth PA and they message to the public to create more awareness about the benefits of PA on youth health.

Keywords: Fear of crime, neighbourhood built environment, physical activities, street characteristics design.

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Authors: E. J. Cilliers, Z. Goosen

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The impact that urban green spaces have on sustainability and quality of life is phenomenal. This is also true for the local South African environment. However, in reality green spaces in urban environments are decreasing due to growing populations, increasing urbanization and development pressure. This further impacts on the provision of child-friendly spaces, a concept that is already limited in local context. Child-friendly spaces are described as environments in which people (children) feel intimately connected to, influencing the physical, social, emotional, and ecological health of individuals and communities. The benefits of providing such spaces for the youth are well documented in literature. This research therefore aimed to investigate the concept of child-friendly spaces and its applicability to the South African planning context, in order to guide the planning of such spaces for future communities and use. Child-friendly spaces in the urban environment of the city of Durban, was used as local case study, along with two international case studies namely Mullerpier public playground in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and Kadidjiny Park in Melville, Australia. The aim was to determine how these spaces were planned and developed and to identify tools that were used to accomplish the goal of providing successful child-friendly green spaces within urban areas. The need and significance of planning for such spaces was portrayed within the international case studies. It is confirmed that minimal provision is made for green space planning within the South African context, when there is reflected on the international examples. As a result international examples and disciples of providing child-friendly green spaces should direct planning guidelines within local context. The research concluded that child-friendly green spaces have a positive impact on the urban environment and assist in a child’s development and interaction with the natural environment. Regrettably, the planning of these child-friendly spaces is not given priority within current spatial plans, despite the proven benefits of such.

Keywords: Built environment, child-friendly spaces, green spaces. public places, urban area.

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