Search results for: aging mechanisms
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 650

Search results for: aging mechanisms

440 Problems of Measuring Effectiveness of Innovation Performance

Authors: Aziza S. Zhuparova

Abstract:

The innovation performance of nations has been repeatedly measured in the literature. We argue that while the literature offers many suggestions, their theoretical foundation is often weak and the underlying assumptions are rarely discussed. In this paper, we systematize various mechanisms by which spatial units influence nation and firms' innovation activities. On the basis of this, common innovation performance measures and analyses are discussed and evaluated. It is concluded that there is no general best way of measuring the innovation performance of spatial units. In fact, the most interesting insights can be obtained using a multitude of different approaches at the same time.

Keywords: Innovation performance, firms effectiveness of innovation, national innovativeness, innovation effectiveness, national innovation activity's measurement

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439 Sexual and Gender Based Crimes in International Criminal Law: Moving Forwards or Backwards?

Authors: Khadija Ali

Abstract:

Prosecution of sexual violence in international criminal law requires not only an understanding of the mechanisms employed to prosecute sexual violence but also a critical analysis of the factors facilitating perpetuation of such crimes in armed conflicts. The extrapolations laid out in this essay delve into the jurisprudence of international criminal law pertaining to sexual and gender based violence followed by the core question of this essay – has the entrenchment of sexual violence as international crimes in the Rome Statute been successful to address such violence in armed conflicts?

Keywords: Conflict, Gender, International Criminal Law Sexual Violence.

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438 The Supplier Relationship Management Market Trends

Authors: Eulálio G. Campelo F., Wolffried Stucky

Abstract:

The paper introduces and discusses definitions and concepts from the supplier relationship management area. This review has the goal to provide readers with the basic conditions to understand the market mechanisms and the technological developments of the SRM market. Further on, the work gives a picture of the actual business environment in which the SRM vendors are in, and the main trends in the field, based on the main SRM functionalities i.e. e-Procurement, e-Sourcing and Supplier Enablement, which indicates users and software providers the future technological developments and practises that will take place in this area in the next couple of years.

Keywords: Supplier Relationship Management, e-Procurement, e-Sourcing, Supplier Enablement.

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437 Using the Technology Acceptance Model to Examine Seniors’ Attitudes toward Facebook

Authors: Chien-Jen Liu, Shu Ching Yang

Abstract:

Using the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study examined the external variables of technological complexity (TC) to acquire a better understanding of the factors that influence the acceptance of computer application courses by learners at Active Aging Universities. After the learners in this study had completed a 27-hour Facebook course, 44 learners responded to a modified TAM survey. Data were collected to examine the path relationships among the variables that influence the acceptance of Facebook-mediated community learning. The partial least squares (PLS) method was used to test the measurement and the structural model. The study results demonstrated that attitudes toward Facebook use directly influence behavioral intentions (BI) with respect to Facebook use, evincing a high prediction rate of 58.3%. In addition to the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU) measures that are proposed in the TAM, other external variables, such as TC, also indirectly influence BI. These four variables can explain 88% of the variance in BI and demonstrate a high level of predictive ability. Finally, limitations of this investigation and implications for further research are discussed.

Keywords: Technology acceptance model (TAM), technological complexity, partial least squares (PLS), perceived usefulness.

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436 Borderline Personality Organization and the Interpersonal Components of Perfectionism: A Review of Two Overlapping Personality Pathologies

Authors: Heather M. Roxborough, Paul L. Hewitt, Gordon L. Flett, Jasmin Abizadeh

Abstract:

This work represents the first review paper to explore the relationship between perfectionistic personality and borderline personality organization. The developmental origins, identity diffusion, interpersonal difficulties, and defense mechanisms that are common to both borderline personality and the interpersonal components of perfectionism are explored, and existing research on perfectionism and borderline personality is reviewed. The importance of the link between perfectionism and borderline features is discussed in terms of its contribution to the conceptual understanding of personality pathology as well as to applied clinical practices.

Keywords: Borderline personality organization, defenses, identity, interpersonal problems, perfectionism.

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435 Preparation of Nanosized Iron Oxide and their Photocatalytic Properties for Congo Red

Authors: Akram Hosseinian, Hourieh Rezaei, Ali Reza Mahjoub

Abstract:

Nanostructured Iron Oxide with different morphologies of rod-like and granular have been suc-cessfully prepared via a solid-state reaction in the presence of NaCl, NaBr, NaI and NaN3, respectively. The added salts not only prevent a drastic increase in the size of the products but also provide suitable conditions for the oriented growth of primary nanoparticles. The formation mechanisms of these materials by solid-state reaction at ambient temperature are proposed. The photocatalytic experiments for congo red (CR) have demonstrated that the mixture of α-Fe2O3 and Fe3O4 nanostructures were more efficient than α-Fe2O3 nanostructures.

Keywords: Nano, Iron Oxide, Solid-State, Halide salts, Congored

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434 Linguistic Phenomena in Men and Women - TOT, FOK, Verbal Fluency

Authors: Ewa Szepietowska, Barbara Gawda, Agnieszka Gawda

Abstract:

The aim of this study is to describe the differences between women and men in the phenomena of feeling of knowing/know (FOK), tip of the tongue (TOT), and verbal fluency. Two studies are presented. The first included a group of 60 participants and focused on the analysis of FOK and TOT in men and women. The second study described the performance of 302 participants in verbal fluency tasks. Both studies showed that sex is not a significant predictor of linguistic abilities. Rather, the main factors influencing one’s linguistic ability were Vocabulary and education. This study enriches the knowledge on mechanisms of memory and verbal production.

Keywords: Feeling of knowing, Tip of the tongue, Verbal fluency, Sex differences.

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433 African Traditional Method of Social Control Mechanism: A Sociological Review of Native Charms in Farm Security in Ayetoro Community, Ogun State, Nigeria

Authors: Adebisi A. Sunday, Babajide Adeokin

Abstract:

The persistent rise in farm theft in rural region of Nigeria is attributed to the lack of adequate and effective policing in the regions; thus, this brought about the inevitable introduction of native charms on farmlands as a means of fortification of harvests against theft in Ayetoro community. The use of charm by farmers as security on farmlands is a traditional crime control mechanism that is largely based on unwritten laws which greatly influenced the lives of people, and their attitudes toward the society. This research presents a qualitative sociological study on how native charms are deployed by farmers for protection against theft. The study investigated the various types of charms that are employed as security measures among farmers in Ayetoro community and the rationale behind the use of these mechanisms as farm security. The study utilized qualitative method to gather data in the research process. Under the qualitative method, in-depth interview method was adopted to generate a robust and detailed data from the respondents. Also the data generated were analysed qualitatively using thematic content analysis and simple description which was preceded by transcription of data from the recorder. It was revealed that amidst numerous charms known, two major charms are used on farmlands as a measure of social control in Ayetoro community, Ogun state South West Nigeria. Furthermore, the result of this study showed that, the desire for safekeeping of harvest from pilferers and the heavy punishments dispense on offenders by native charms are the reasons why farmers deploy charms on their farms. In addition, findings revealed that the adoption of these charms for protection has improved yields among farmers in the community because the safety of harvest has been made possible by virtue of the presence of various charms in the farm lands. Therefore, based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that such measures should be recognized in mainstream social control mechanisms in the fight against crime in Nigeria and the rest of the world. Lastly, native charms could be installed in all social and cooperate organisation and position of authority to prevent theft of valuables and things hold with utmost importance.

Keywords: Farm theft, native charms, mechanism, Ayetoro, pilferer.

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432 A Comparative Study of Main Memory Databases and Disk-Resident Databases

Authors: F. Raja, M.Rahgozar, N. Razavi, M. Siadaty

Abstract:

Main Memory Database systems (MMDB) store their data in main physical memory and provide very high-speed access. Conventional database systems are optimized for the particular characteristics of disk storage mechanisms. Memory resident systems, on the other hand, use different optimizations to structure and organize data, as well as to make it reliable. This paper provides a brief overview on MMDBs and one of the memory resident systems named FastDB and compares the processing time of this system with a typical disc resident database based on the results of the implementation of TPC benchmarks environment on both.

Keywords: Disk-Resident Database, FastDB, Main MemoryDatabase.

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431 Social and Economic Effects of Mining Industry Restructuring in Romania -Case Studies

Authors: Andra Costache, Gica Pehoiu

Abstract:

As in other countries from Central and Eastern Europe, the economic restructuring occurred in the last decade of the twentieth century affected the mining industry in Romania, an oversize and heavily subsidized sector before 1989. After more than a decade since the beginning of mining restructuring, an evaluation of current social implications of the process it is required, together with an efficiency analysis of the adaptation mechanisms developed at governmental level. This article aims to provide an insight into these issues through case studies conducted in the most important coal basin of Romania, Petroşani Depression.

Keywords: case studies, government programs, miningrestructuring, social effects.

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430 Access Policy Specification for SCADA Networks

Authors: Rodrigo Chandia, Mauricio Papa

Abstract:

Efforts to secure supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems must be supported under the guidance of sound security policies and mechanisms to enforce them. Critical elements of the policy must be systematically translated into a format that can be used by policy enforcement components. Ideally, the goal is to ensure that the enforced policy is a close reflection of the specified policy. However, security controls commonly used to enforce policies in the IT environment were not designed to satisfy the specific needs of the SCADA environment. This paper presents a language, based on the well-known XACML framework, for the expression of authorization policies for SCADA systems.

Keywords: Access policy specification, process control systems, network security.

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429 Towards a Computational Model of Consciousness: Global Abstraction Workspace

Authors: Halim Djerroud, Arab Ali Cherif

Abstract:

We assume that conscious functions are implemented automatically. In other words that consciousness as well as the non-consciousness aspect of human thought, planning and perception, are produced by biologically adaptive algorithms. We propose that the mechanisms of consciousness can be produced using similar adaptive algorithms to those executed by the mechanism. In this paper, we present a computational model of consciousness, the ”Global Abstraction Workspace” which is an internal environmental modelling perceived as a multi-agent system. This system is able to evolve and generate new data and processes as well as actions in the environment.

Keywords: Artificial consciousness, cognitive architecture, global abstraction workspace, mutli-agents system.

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428 Correlation between Capacitance and Dissipation Factor used for Assessment of Stator Insulation

Authors: José Luis Oslinger, Luis Carlos Castro

Abstract:

Measurements of capacitance C and dissipation factor tand of the stator insulation system provide useful information about internal defects within the insulation. The index k is defined as the proportionality constant between the changes at high voltage of capacitance DC and of the dissipation factor Dtand . DC and Dtand values were highly correlated when small flat defects were within the insulation and that correlation was lost in the presence of large narrow defects like electrical treeing. The discrimination between small and large defects is made resorting to partial discharge PD phase angle analysis. For the validation of the results, C and tand measurements were carried out in a 15MVA 4160V steam turbine turbogenerator placed in a sugar mill. In addition, laboratory test results obtained by other authors were analyzed jointly. In such laboratory tests, model coil bars subjected to thermal cycling resulted highly degraded and DC and Dtand values were not correlated. Thus, the index k could not be calculated.

Keywords: Aging, capacitance, dissipation factor, electrical treeing, insulation condition, partial discharge.

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427 Neuroplasticity: A Fresh Beginning for Life

Authors: Leila Maleki, Ezatollah Ahmadi

Abstract:

Neuroplasticity or the flexibility of the neural system is the ability of the brain to adapt to the lack or deterioration of sense and the capability of the neural system to modify itself through changing shape and function. Not only have studies revealed that neuroplasticity does not end in childhood, but also they have proven that it continues till the end of life and is not limited to the neural system and covers the cognitive system as well. In the field of cognition, neuroplasticity is defined as the ability to change old thoughts according to new conditions and the individuals' differences in using various styles of cognitive regulation inducing several social, emotional and cognitive outcomes. This paper attempts to discuss and define major theories and principles of neuroplasticity and elaborate on nature or nurture.

Keywords: Neuroplasticity, Cognitive plasticity, Plasticity theories, Plasticity mechanisms.

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426 Social Assistive Robots, Reframing the Human Robotics Interaction Benchmark of Social Success

Authors: Antonio Espingardeiro

Abstract:

It is likely that robots will cross the boundaries of industry into households over the next decades. With demographic challenges worldwide, the future ageing populations will require the introduction of assistive technologies capable of providing, care, human dignity and quality of life through the aging process. Robotics technology has a high potential for being used in the areas of social and healthcare by promoting a wide range of activities such as entertainment, companionship, supervision or cognitive and physical assistance. However such close Human Robotics Interaction (HRI) encompass a rich set of ethical scenarios that need to be addressed before Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) reach the global markets. Such interactions with robots may seem a worthy goal for many technical/financial reasons but inevitably require close attention to the ethical dimensions of such interactions. This article investigates the current HRI benchmark of social success. It revises it according to the ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence and justice aligned with social care ethos. An extension of such benchmark is proposed based on an empirical study of HRIs conducted with elderly groups.

Keywords: HRI, SARs, Social Success, Benchmark, Elderly care.

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425 A Review on Geomembrane Characteristics and Application in Geotechnical Engineering

Authors: Sandra Ghavam Shirazi, Komeil Valipourian, Mohammad Reza Golhashem

Abstract:

This paper represents the basic idea and mechanisms associated with the durability of geomembranes and discusses the factors influencing the service life and temperature of geomembrane liners. Geomembrane durability is stated as field performance and laboratory test outcomes under various conditions. Due to the high demand of geomembranes as landfill barriers and their crucial role in sensitive projects, sufficient service life of geomembranes is very important, therefore in this paper, the durability, the effect of temperature on geomembrane and the role of this type of reinforcement in different types of soil will be discussed. Also, the role of geomembrane in the earthquake will be considered in the last part of the paper.

Keywords: Geomembrane, durability temperature soil mechanic.

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424 The Preservation of Cultural Heritage: Continuity and Memory

Authors: Andrey R. Khazbulatov, Moldir Nurpeiis

Abstract:

Contemporary science and technologies largely widen the gap between the spiritual and rational of the society. Industrial and technological breakthroughs might radically affect most processes in the society, thus losing the cultural heritage. The thinkers recognized the dangers of the decadence in the first place. In the present article the ways of preserving cultural heritage have been investigated. Memory has always been a necessary condition for selfidentification, - continuity is based on this. The authors have supported the hypothesis that continuity and ethnic memory are the very mechanisms that preserve cultural heritage. Such problemformulating will facilitate another, new look at the material, spiritual and arts spheres of the cultural heritage of numerous ethnic groups. The fundamental works by major European and Kazakh scientists have been taken as a basis for the research done.

Keywords: Continuity, cultural heritage, ethnic memory

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423 Effect of Ionic Strength on Mercury Adsorption on Contaminated Soil

Authors: G. Petruzzelli, F. Pedron, I. Rosellini, E. Tassi, F. Gorini, B. Pezzarossa, M. Barbafieri

Abstract:

Mercury adsorption on soil was investigated at different ionic strengths using Ca(NO3)2 as a background electrolyte. Results fitted the Langmuir equation and the adsorption isotherms reached a plateau at higher equilibrium concentrations. Increasing ionic strength decreased the sorption of mercury, due to the competition of Ca ions for the sorption sites in the soils. The influence of ionic strength was related to the mechanisms of heavy metal sorption by the soil. These results can be of practical importance both in the agriculture and contaminated soils since the solubility of mercury in soils are strictly dependent on the adsorption and release process.

Keywords: Heavy metals, bioavailability, remediation, competitive sorption.

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422 Aged Society: A Pitfall

Authors: Siti Norfazlina Yusoff, Noorlailahusna Mohd Yusof

Abstract:

The aging of the workforce is occurring globally and has significant impact on organizations. The Malaysian population is ageing. Although, not as quickly as the populations of a number of Asian nations, or of parts of Europe; the rate is sufficient to cause a concern. The life expectancy of Malaysians has increased in year 2012 with an average of 73.8 years or equal to 71.1 years for males and 76.7 years for females. The birth and death rates are 26.05 births/1,000 population and 5.29 deaths/1,000 population respectively. These figures have placed a greater liability on the government’s shoulder, and have become a push factor for the country to revise a new retirement age for the public servants. The ‘aged population’ impinged on the new challenges faced by the Malaysian government, which had to deal with an unproductive aged workforce. A new retirement age from 58 to 60 years old has been introduced and this could have a positive effect on this cohort, in maintaining financial security. However, keeping older employees might affect organizations’ performance and productivity. The organizations need to pay more attention on them, since they are less effective and might be affected by numerous health problems. An innovative culture should be introduced and this could be a good indicator for organizations that deal with these ‘expensive’ workers.

Keywords: Aged workforce, financial relief, innovative culture retirement policy.

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421 Analysis of the Shielding Effectiveness of Several Magnetic Shields

Authors: Diako Azizi, Hosein Heydari, Ahmad Gholami

Abstract:

Today with the rapid growth of telecommunications equipment, electronic and developing more and more networks of power, influence of electromagnetic waves on one another has become hot topic discussions. So in this article, this issue and appropriate mechanisms for EMC operations have been presented. First, a source of alternating current (50 Hz) and a clear victim in a certain distance from the source is placed. With this simple model, the effects of electromagnetic radiation from the source to the victim will be investigated and several methods to reduce these effects have been presented. Therefore passive and active shields have been used. In some steps, shielding effectiveness of proposed shields will be compared. . It should be noted that simulations have been done by the finite element method (FEM).

Keywords: Electrical field, field distribution, finite element method, shielding effectiveness

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420 Study of the Behavior of an Organic Coating Applied on Algerian Oil Tanker in Seawater

Authors: N. Hammouda, K. Belmokre

Abstract:

Paints are the most widely used methods of protection against atmospheric corrosion of metals. The aim of this work was to determine the protective performance of epoxy coating against sea water before and after damage. Investigations are conducted using stationary and non-stationary electrochemical tools such as electrochemical impedance spectroscopy has allowed us to characterize the protective qualities of these films. The application of the EIS on our damaged in-situ painting shows the existence of several capacitive loops which is an indicator of the failure of our tested paint. Microscopic analysis (micrograph) helped bring essential elements in understanding the degradation of our paint condition and immersion training corrosion products.

Keywords: Epoxy Paints, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy, Corrosion Mechanisms, sea water.

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419 Classification of State Transition by Using a Microwave Doppler Sensor for Wandering Detection

Authors: K. Shiba, T. Kaburagi, Y. Kurihara

Abstract:

With global aging, people who require care, such as people with dementia (PwD), are increasing within many developed countries. And PwDs may wander and unconsciously set foot outdoors, it may lead serious accidents, such as, traffic accidents. Here, round-the-clock monitoring by caregivers is necessary, which can be a burden for the caregivers. Therefore, an automatic wandering detection system is required when an elderly person wanders outdoors, in which case the detection system transmits a ‘moving’ followed by an ‘absence’ state. In this paper, we focus on the transition from the ‘resting’ to the ‘absence’ state, via the ‘moving’ state as one of the wandering transitions. To capture the transition of the three states, our method based on the hidden Markov model (HMM) is built. Using our method, the restraint where the ‘resting’ state and ‘absence’ state cannot be transmitted to each other is applied. To validate our method, we conducted the experiment with 10 subjects. Our results show that the method can classify three states with 0.92 accuracy.

Keywords: Wander, microwave Doppler sensor, respiratory frequency band, the state transition, hidden Markov model.

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418 Body Mass Index for Australian Athletes Participating in Rugby Union, Soccer and Touch Football at the World Masters Games

Authors: Walsh Joe, Climstein Mike, Heazlewood Ian Timothy, Burke Stephen, Kettunen Jyrki, Adams Kent, DeBeliso Mark

Abstract:

Whilst there is growing evidence that activity across the lifespan is beneficial for improved health, there are also many changes involved with the aging process and subsequently the potential for reduced indices of health. Data gathered on a subsample of 535 football code athletes, aged 31-72 yrs ( = 47.4, s = ±7.1), competing at the Sydney World Masters Games (2009) demonstrated a significantly (p < 0.001), reduced classification of obesity using Body Mass Index (BMI) when compared to the general Australian population. This evidence of improved classification in one index of health (BMI < 30) for master athletes (when compared to the general population) implies there are either improved levels of this index of health due to adherence to sport or possibly the reduced BMI is advantageous and contributes to this cohort adhering (or being attracted) to masters sport. Demonstration of this proportionately under-investigated World Masters Games population having improved health over the general population is of particular interest.

Keywords: BMI, masters athlete, rugby union, soccer, touch football.

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417 A Study of Mode Choice Model Improvement Considering Age Grouping

Authors: Young-Hyun Seo, Hyunwoo Park, Dong-Kyu Kim, Seung-Young Kho

Abstract:

The purpose of this study is providing an improved mode choice model considering parameters including age grouping of prime-aged and old age. In this study, 2010 Household Travel Survey data were used and improper samples were removed through the analysis. Chosen alternative, date of birth, mode, origin code, destination code, departure time, and arrival time are considered from Household Travel Survey. By preprocessing data, travel time, travel cost, mode, and ratio of people aged 45 to 55 years, 55 to 65 years and over 65 years were calculated. After the manipulation, the mode choice model was constructed using LIMDEP by maximum likelihood estimation. A significance test was conducted for nine parameters, three age groups for three modes. Then the test was conducted again for the mode choice model with significant parameters, travel cost variable and travel time variable. As a result of the model estimation, as the age increases, the preference for the car decreases and the preference for the bus increases. This study is meaningful in that the individual and households characteristics are applied to the aggregate model.

Keywords: Age grouping, aging, mode choice model, multinomial logit model.

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416 Collaboration in Palliative Care Networks in Urban and Rural Regions of Switzerland

Authors: R. Schweighoffer, N. Nagy, E. Reeves, B. Liebig

Abstract:

Due to aging populations, the need for seamless palliative care provision is of central interest for western societies. An essential aspect of palliative care delivery is the quality of collaboration amongst palliative care providers. Therefore, the current research is based on Bainbridge’s conceptual framework, which provides an outline for the evaluation of palliative care provision. This study is the first one to investigate the predictive validity of spatial distribution on the quantity of interaction amongst various palliative care providers. Furthermore, based on the familiarity principle, we examine whether the extent of collaboration influences the perceived quality of collaboration among palliative care providers in urban versus rural areas of Switzerland. Based on a population-representative survey of Swiss palliative care providers, the results of the current study show that professionals in densely populated areas report higher absolute numbers of interactions and are more satisfied with their collaborative practice. This indicates that palliative care providers who work in urban areas are better embedded into networks than their counterparts in more rural areas. The findings are especially important, considering that efficient collaboration is a prerequisite to achieve satisfactory patient outcomes. Conclusively, measures should be taken to foster collaboration in weakly interconnected palliative care networks.

Keywords: Collaboration, healthcare networks, palliative care, Switzerland.

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415 Security Management System of Cellular Communication: Case Study

Authors: Othman O. Khalifa, Abdulrazzag Aburas, A. Al Bagul, Meftah Hrairi, Muhammad Shahril bin Shahbuddin, Harman bin Mat Kasa

Abstract:

Cellular communication is being widely used by all over the world. The users of handsets are increasing due to the request from marketing sector. The important aspect that has to be touch in this paper is about the security system of cellular communication. It is important to provide users with a secure channel for communication. A brief description of the new GSM cellular network architecture will be provided. Limitations of cellular networks, their security issues and the different types of attacks will be discussed. The paper will go over some new security mechanisms that have been proposed by researchers. Overall, this paper clarifies the security system or services of cellular communication using GSM. Three Malaysian Communication Companies were taken as Case study in this paper.

Keywords: GSM, Security systems, SIM CARD, IMSI, Authentication.

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414 Disinfection of Water by Adsorption with Electrochemical Regeneration

Authors: S. N. Hussain, H. M. A. Asghar, E. P. L. Roberts, N. W. Brown

Abstract:

Arvia®, a spin-out company of University of Manchester, UK is commercialising a water treatment technology for the removal of low concentrations of organics from water. This technology is based on the adsorption of organics onto graphite based adsorbents coupled with their electrochemical regeneration in a simple electrochemical cell. In this paper, the potential of the process to adsorb microorganisms and electrochemically disinfect them present in water has been demonstrated. Bench scale experiments have indicated that the process of adsorption using graphite adsorbents with electrochemical regeneration can be used for water disinfection effectively. The most likely mechanisms of disinfection of water through this process include direct electrochemical oxidation and electrochemical chlorination.

Keywords: Arvia, Adsorption, Electrochemical Regeneration, Nyex

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413 Comparison of Ageing Deterioration of Silicone Rubber Outdoor Polymer Insulator under Salt Water Dip Wheel Test

Authors: J. Grasaesom, S. Thong-om, W. Payakcho, A. Oonsivilai, B. Marungsri

Abstract:

This paper presents the experimental results on ageing deterioration of silicone rubber outdoor polymer insulator under salt water dip wheel test based on IEC 62217. In order to comparison effect of chemical contents, silicone rubber outdoor polymer insulators having same configuration and leakage distant from two manufactures were tested together continuously 30,000 test cycles. Many discharge activities were observed in during the test. After 30,000 test cycles, in spite of same configuration, differences in degree of surface aging were observed. Physical analysis such as decreasing in hydrophobicity and increasing in hardness measurement were measured on two-type tested specimen surface in order to confirm degree of surface ageing. Furthermore, chemical analysis by ATR-FTIR to diagnose the chemical change of tested specimen surface was conducted to confirm the physical analysis results.

Keywords: ageing of silicone rubber, salt water dip wheel test, silicone rubber polymer insulator

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412 Evaluation of Antioxidant Activities of Cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.)

Authors: Rutanachai Thaipratum

Abstract:

At present, it is widely-known that free radicals are the causes of illness such as cancers, coronary heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and aging. One method of protection from free radical is the consumption of antioxidant-containing foods or herbs. Several analytical methods have been used for qualitative and quantitative determination of antioxidants. This project aimed to evaluate antioxidant activity of ethanolic and aqueous extracts from cabbage (Brassicca oleracea L. var. capitata L.) measured by DPPH and Hydroxyl radical scavenging method. The results show that averaged antioxidant activity measured in ethanolic extract (µmol Ascorbic acid equivalent/g fresh mass) were 7.316 ± 0.715 and 4.66 ± 1.029 as determined by DPPH and Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity assays respectively. Averaged antioxidant activity measured in aqueous extract (µmol Ascorbic acid equivalent/g fresh mass) were 15.141 ± 2.092 and 4.955 ± 1.975 as determined by DPPH and Hydroxyl radical scavenging activity assays respectively.

Keywords: Free radical, antioxidant, cabbage, Brassicca oleracea L. var. capitata L.

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411 Iterative Clustering Algorithm for Analyzing Temporal Patterns of Gene Expression

Authors: Seo Young Kim, Jae Won Lee, Jong Sung Bae

Abstract:

Microarray experiments are information rich; however, extensive data mining is required to identify the patterns that characterize the underlying mechanisms of action. For biologists, a key aim when analyzing microarray data is to group genes based on the temporal patterns of their expression levels. In this paper, we used an iterative clustering method to find temporal patterns of gene expression. We evaluated the performance of this method by applying it to real sporulation data and simulated data. The patterns obtained using the iterative clustering were found to be superior to those obtained using existing clustering algorithms.

Keywords: Clustering, microarray experiment, temporal pattern of gene expression data.

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