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Dysphagia refers to the term of having difficulty in swallowing or moving foods and liquids from the mouth to the stomach, which will lead to dehydration and malnutrition. Texture modified food is one of common method used in dysphagia management, by altering the rate of food travelling down the pharynx. In this study, texture modified chicken rendang was developed to comply Texture C (fine puree with lump free) as outline by Australian dysphagia standard. Rendang, one of popular traditional dish in Malaysia was selected; aim to introduce high protein diet in patient with dysphagia problem. Texture modification was carried out by adding commercial thickener, and later was compared to formulation with addition of tapioca and sago starch as the thickener. Effect of using different types of food thickener, together with different level of starch addition and serving temperature on the rheological properties of developed food were investigated. Results showed that all thickened samples demonstrated a shear thinning effect throughout the temperature studied, contributed by starch integrity loss due to heating. Both storage modulus (G') and loss modulus (G") values of samples containing starch decreases as temperature increases, indicating a weak gel like properties associated with each sample. The addition of 5% of starch was found to be optimal for the sample to remain stable even at 85°C. Tapioca starch could potentially use as cheaper thickener alternative due to its stable structure upon oscillation frequency and temperature increment during rheological analysis, when to compared to sago starch. Introduction of chicken rendang puree, thickened with starch potentially help to provide safer food for patients with dysphagia. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes in the existing literature of texture modified food for patients with dysphagia. This study investigates the possibility of using tapioca and sago starch as the source of food thickener, to replace the use of commercial thickener, which normally marketed at a higher price.
Structural properties of gum Arabic are one of the most important factors affecting the competitive prices in the domestic and overseas markets. Using laboratory standard methods, a number of methods were used to characterize the main alterations of the components of Acacia Senegal var. Senegal gum Arabic induced by inoculation with some species of fungi and yeast. Results revealed that, depending on the inoculated microbial species, the pH, viscosity, nitrogen and protein were decreased to various levels. The sugars content has noticeably been affected viz. galactose was entirely consumed by Saccharomyces cerevisiaeand Penicilliumnotatum while .rhamanose was drastically decreased by all microbial species under study. Likewise, the number average molecular weight was decreased by all species. Therefore, it may be concluded that the factors encouraging microbial growth must be given due consideration under gum Arabic storage conditions. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to the existing literature by drawing the attention to the environmentally safe storage of gum Arabic by using new detection and analytical procedures that are logically acceptable by gum Arabic researchers, producers and retailers. Moreover, this study contributes significantly to the current body of knowledge pertaining to gum Arabic handling after harvest.
The role of forest in sustaining the lives of man generally cannot be over-emphasised. Generally, forest provides opportunities for food, shelter, trado-medical services, ecological services and income. The objective of this study is to evaluate the role of forest resources in the provision of food for the people of Etung in Cross River State. Six communities were chosen for the study. They include, Abia, Agbokim, Ajassor, Abijang, Etomi and Nsofang. One thousand, nine hundred copies of questionnaires were distributed to household heads in the study area. The student ‘t’ test was used to test for the seasonal variation in the number of persons involved in the exploitation and utilization of forest resources. The result of the study indicated that forest is a major source of food as it provides mushrooms, seed and spices, fruits, vegetables and a great variety of animals for the people of Etung. Also income generated in the area ranged from N10,000 to over N100,000 during the dry and rainy seasons. The student ‘t’ test analysis for the variation in the level of involvement of the people in the exploitation and utilization of forest resources revealed that there was significant seasonal variation in the level of involvement of the people of Etung in only two forest resources – medicinal plants, (t(1938) = 3.416, P<.05) and leafy vegetables, -(1938) =3.335, P<0.05). On the other hand the number of people involved in the exploitation of the other nine forest resources was not significant. Contribution/ Originality
This Study documents the role of forest resources as a source of food for livelihood sustainability in the rural communities of Ejagham in Etung Local Government Area of Cross River State. This study also examined the level of involvement of the people of Etung in forest resource exploitation and utilization. Finally, this paper examined the seasonal variation in the level of involvement of the people in the study area in forest resource exploitation.
Designed and organized structures show increased resistance compared to organic and compressed ones when facing natural dangers. Based on Islamic indices of the Department of roads and city construction regarding old constructs, the main organic weaves of cities are included in this definition. So, near one eighth of the city population of Iran resides in such structures. This matter has made attention to renovation and strengthening of this immense volume of city structure more necessary. In this planning, attention should be devoted to special design of spaces for safe evacuation, design of public passageways in accord with prevention of blockage at the time of earthquake, and dangerous city facilities such as gas provision networks and the building material of the ground. Only with strengthening of these structures, people can to some extent in case of occurrence of an earthquake have peace of mind and live without fear. In this paper which has been formulated based on an applied and descriptive-analytic method, it has been endeavored concurrently with analysis of past actions to introduce new executive strategies for the purpose of decreasing riskiness in these structures. Contribution/ Originality
This study based on the approved urban development plans was conducted to document the dangers of earthquakes and its influence on the damaged area with regard to the specific circumstances of the tissues. Also, this study by analyzing the vulnerability factors provides executive solutions in this field.
As per WHO report, Tuberculosis remains one of the world's deadliest communicable diseases. In 2013, an estimated 9.0 million developed TB and 1.5 million died from the disease, 360,000 of which whom were HIV positive. Tuberculosis is still a major problem in advanced countries due to specific socioeconomic factors. From a global perspective, many laboratories use the same methods today that were in use long time ago for the detection of tuberculosis, because most of innovative current technologies for the detection of tuberculosis incurs high cost and cannot be afforded for all the countries. The detection of tuberculosis remains a challenge from the point of diagnosis and confirmation and there is a growing need of accurate diagnosis process. In this research, an ontology based classification of tuberculosis laboratory tests, environmental factors and other vital signs are studied along with support vector machine for the diagnosis of the tuberculosis disease. Through this method, we are able to measure of the weightage of the disease, the future onset of the disease and produce, an alert. Ontology based classification is widely used for knowledge based information grouping and structuring while SVM is used for accurate and fast machine learning algorithm. By combining Ontology and the training data based on various characteristic of the tuberculosis are passed onto linear SVM. The results we are able to achieve with this method are helpful for diagnosis support and future onset. Contribution/ Originality
The role of journalists, and journalism has progressed into a more digitalized journalism. Social Networking Sites (SNSs) allow people to take part in online activities and remove the barrier for online users to publish and share information at any place at any time. Among various social media, this review limits its review scope to SNSs, which have been considered to be the most pertinent social medium used in the field of communication management. This paper intends to show that credibility of social media is the key factor that enhances public engagement and communication effectiveness in the digital/social media. This paper is intended to elicit the factors that could affect the credibility of news from SNSs. Specifically, this article reviews on the needs to study journalist perspectives and attitudes on the credibility of news published on SNSs sites, and found few variables that could affect the credibility of the media and the news, which is linked to journalistic work. These include: the interactive media, technology acceptance, quality of news’ source, and the exposure of the media. The review of the literature suggests the dire research needs to focus on journalists’ perspectives and attitudes towards the new media to ensure credibility of news and journalism is continuously sustained and improved. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to the existing literature that social networking sites contribute to the communication between people and institutions more effectively than other media. This study examines the urgent need to study the views of journalists about the credibility of social networking sites as a new source of news.
The paper presents an analysis of the trends in the national economies of Bulgaria and Ukraine based on general macroeconomic indicators. An emphasis is put on the foreign trade between the two countries in the context of the global economic crisis and the crisis related to Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The analysis of the foreign trade between Bulgaria and Ukraine covers the main commodity groups in terms of their importance for the two economies. Contribution/ Originality
The paper's core contribution is the study of the changes in the trade flows between Bulgaria and Ukraine within the context of the ongoing economic and geopolitical changes. The focus of the study is the impact of the various crises on trade flows and the basic macro-economic indicators of the investigated countries.
The study was carried out in Benue state, Nigeria to analyze climate change effects among rice farmers. Questionnaire/interview schedule was used to collect data from a sample of 90 respondents in the study area. Data were analyzed using frequency distribution, percentage, mean score and standard deviation. Findings of the study revealed that majority (82.2%) of the respondents were males; married (96.7%) with a mean age of about 44 years. Major perceived causes of climate change were use of generators which produce fumes (M=2.16), continuous cropping (M=2.11), human activities (tillage) (M=1.94), use of inorganic manure (M=1.92), burning of fire wood (M=1.94), bush burning (M=1.82), deforestation (M=1.80), increase in population which leads to loose of farmland (M=1.80), land degradation due to soil erosion (M=1.60), over grazing of farmland by livestock (M=1.66), and burning of fossil fuel by industries and automobile (M=1.50), among others. Results also indicate that unemployment (M=1.74), desertification (M=1.68), loss of farmland to flood and erosion (M=1.64), increase vulnerability to soil erosion (M=1.56), increase in pests and diseases infestation in rice farms (M=1.52), increase in growth of weeds (M=1.56), easy loss of water from the soil (M=1.48), reduces soil fertility (M=1.42), causes stunted growth in rice crops (M=1.42), among others were perceived effects of climate change in rice production. Human activities such as deforestation, overgrazing of farmland by livestock, use of inorganic manure, etc. should be discouraged in order to cushion the effects of climate change as well as increasing productivity among rice farmers. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes in the existing literature by indicating effects of climate change which has been a source of concern that poses serious environmental threat to mankind. Climate change has been a major challenge for stakeholders in agricultural production resulting in poor yields of crops and loss of revenue for farmers.
The phosphors of CaAl2O4: Eu2+, Nd3+, Dy3+ with varying concentrations of Dy3+ ion were synthesized by the combustion method. The phase structure of CaAl2O4 was investigated by X-ray diffraction. The emission spectra of phosphors have a broad band with maximum at 444 nm due to electron transition from the 4f65d1 to the 4f7 of Eu2+ ion; and a small peak of 575 nm due to 4F9/2 6H13/2 transition of Dy3+ ions. The excitation spectra and the decay time of phosphors were investigated also. The phosphors of CaAl2O4: Eu2+, Nd3+, Dy3+ have a long persistent luminescence. In these phosphors, Eu2+ ions play the role activators. Dy3+ ions generate the hole traps that lead to the long persistent phosphorescence and act as the activators in the phosphors simultaneously. The concentration of Dy3+ ions co-doped has a strong influence on the luminescence of phosphor. Contribution/ Originality
This study evaluates the role of Dy3+ ion in the luminescence of CaAl2O4: Eu, Nd, Dy phosphors by the investigated results. In this material, the Dy3+ ions play the role of luminescence centers and hole traps also; this is the new contribution of the paper.
This study investigated the effects of magnetic field, thermal radiation and wall slip on a Newtonian, incompressible, viscous fluid flowing through a saturated porous medium. Boundary conditions for slip at the wall hold in the fluid. The governing equations are formulated, simplified and non-dimensionalised. The dimensionless equations were solved with the help of Crank Nicolson’s finite difference method. This method converges faster and it is unconditionally stable. Numerical results are presented with the aid of graph to account for the fluid parameters affecting the flow on velocity and temperature profiles. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes in the existing literature of Newtonian fluids. Series of practical problems involves either Newtonian or non-Newtonian fluids. This study uses new estimation methodology of analyzing the heat transfer properties of Newtonian fluids. This study originates new formula for solving non-linear partial differential equations using Crank Nicolson finite difference method. This study is one of very few studies which have investigated the heat transfer in a Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium. The paper's primary contribution is finding the effects of various thermo physical parameters affecting the flow. This study documents a less well-known Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium by finding the effects of magnetic field, thermal radiation and wall slip on a Newtonian fluid in the presence of viscous dissipation.
Aim of this paper is to find out answers to the questions; if culture has an effect on security, and the way of relations between personal and national security after 9/11. Hofstede’s cultural perspective is used for the research and individualism-collectivism dimension is applied. Results show that there is a strong relation between culture and security and also there is a transformation in security perception after 9/11, pointing out a direction from personal security to national security. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of very few studies which have investigated culture - security relations from Hofstede’s cultural perspective and effect of 9/11 attacks on security paradigms. By using Hofstede’s individualism-collectivism dimension to search for the relations between culture and security, paper makes an important contribution to literature.
The aim of the present study is to determine attitudes of university students attending preschool teaching department towards PE school subject and difference between these attitudes based on their individual characteristics. Study group is composed of 119 students (77 females, 42 males) attending at PE and Play Teaching lecture in 2014 – 2015 fall term at A?r? ?brahim Çeçen University, Education Faculty, Preschool Teaching Department. A 25 – item Attitude Scale for PE (Öncü and Cihan, 2012) was used as a tool to collect data. The scale is in the type of 5 – point ranged Likert Scale. It was found according to the results of the study that relationship between attitudes of university students towards PE and their utilisation levels of sport facilities and performing sports activities are statistically significant while not significant when considered their gender and living areas. It was concluded in the study based on the related results that when university students use sport facilities and perform sportive exercises, their view of PE and sports is affected positively. It may be stated in the light of these results that university students should utilise sportive facilities and perform sportive activities more frequently. Contribution/ Originality
The present study is carried out on the green oak forest of Jbel Aoua South, in the Central Middle Atlas. The objective of this work is to estimate the dry biomass of these stands while characterizing this zone in terms of soil and floristic potential. According to the results obtained, the estimated biomass production is 42,70t/ha, based on 30 sample trees using the dimensional analysis method, or an energy equivalent of 192.15106 kcal/ha, which represents a potential income of 3260 to 3586 DH/ha/year. The forage value of the green oak in the forest of Jbel Aoua South is 372 FU/ha. The soil studied is of the para-rendzine carbonate type with a sandy loamy texture, rich in potassium and moderately low in phosphorus. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of the very few studies which have investigated the matter of estimating the forest biomass of green oak forests in Morocco. This reality is leading to a growing interest in carbon sequestration projects based on woody species that store it in their biomass. Agricultural Sciences » Journal of Forests » Month: 03-2018 Issue: 1
Development of Mobile Voice Picking and Cargo Tracing Systems with Internet of Things in Third-Party Logistics Warehouse Operations
Research Article
Author(s):
Eugene Y.C. Wong
Journal: International Journal of Management and Sustainability
Market competition, customer expectation and increasing warehouse operations cost have motivated third-party logistics practitioners in the continuous improvement on warehouse operations. Cargo tracing in order picking process is time-consuming for warehouse operators when handling enormous flow of goods through the warehouse each day. Internet of Things (IoT) with mobile cargo tracing apps and database management systems are developed in this research to reduce cargo tracing time in the order picking process of a third-party logistics firm. An operations review was carried out with identified opportunities for improvement, including inaccurate inventory record in warehouse management system, excessive tracing time with stored products, and product misdelivery. The facility layout was improved by modifying the designated locations of various types of products. The relationships among pick and pack processing time, cargo tracing time, delivery accuracy, inventory turnover, and inventory count operation time in the warehouse are evaluated. The correlation of the factors affecting the overall cycle time is analysed. A mobile app is developed with the use of MIT App Inventor and Access management database to facilitate cargo tracking anytime, anywhere. The information flow framework from warehouse database system to cloud computing document sharing, and further to the mobile app device is developed. The improved performance of cargo tracing in the order processing cycle of warehouse operators is evaluated. The developed mobile voice picking and tracking systems have brought significant benefits to the third-party logistics firm, including eliminating unnecessary cargo tracing time in order picking process and reducing warehouse operators overtime cost. A mobile tracking device is planned to enhance the picking time and cycle count of warehouse operators with voice picking system in the developed mobile apps. Contribution/ Originality
This paper contributes the cargo tracing and voice picking in third-party logistics warehouse through the development of Internet of Things (IoT) with warehouse management system, cloud-based database and mobile apps, after conducting the operations review, facility layout re-design and statistical analysis in the warehouse.
Helical piles including central shaft and helices performance depends on soil properties, soil-pile interaction and the pile geometry. Failure due to helical piles axial loading can occur either in individual helix vicinity or cylindrical shear surface. So, the failure type can affect on piles behavior and also their capacity. Static analysis, in-situ testing records and also static or dynamic tests can be used for calculating of helical piles capacity. In this study we focused on an experimental method that carried out by frustum confining vessel (FCV) to investigate geotechnical behavior of helical piles. The FCV has been used because of its special geometry that makes a linear distribution of vertical and lateral stresses along its vertical line. Thus, it can simulate field conditions as well. Accordingly, several tests performed on small scale helical piles are made of 4 mm thick steel plate with 750 mm length, 32 mm shaft diameter and 64 to 89 mm helices diameter. According to the achievements, helical piles behavior essentially depends on pile geometric characteristics and in addition test results demonstrated the bearing capacity of helical model piles depends on spacing ratio, S/D, and helices diameter. Results also, indicated helical model piles can bear axial uplift loads about equal of usual steel model piles that have the helices diameter and in compression their bearing capacity is too sufficient to act as a medium pile. Contribution/ Originality
This study aims to examine the integration of Damascus Securities Exchange (DSE) with some Arab and international financial markets, which are (Jordan, Iraq, Germany, and France). The study used monthly data of each stock market index during the period 2010-2015. To achieve the objectives of the study, five tests are used. Namely, Unit Root Test, Johansen Cointegration Test, Vector Error Model, Vector Autoregressive Models (Impulse Response Function and Variance Decomposition) and finally Granger Causality. The findings show a long-run relationship between DSE and other studied markets. Consequently, markets move together in a long-term. No evidence is found about short-term relationship. In addition, DSE seems to respond slowly to changes in the other markets; as a result, shocks on these markets do not explain the variation on DSE index. Finally, Granger Causality test reveals absence of causality among these markets. Thus, investors can benefit from diversifying their portfolios in short-term, but not in the long-term. Contribution/ Originality
This paper is the first research examines the integration of Damascus Securities Exchange with the Arab and international markets during the period 2010-2015. In addition, it is considering the impact of the Syrian crisis on the relationship between Damascus market and other markets
Three methods are used to predict the results for two years of the Men’s NCAA Division1 March Madness Basketball Tournament. These methods include using the machine-learning method of the support vector machine, the data mining method of the random forest, and a newly developed Bayesian model using the property of probability self-consistency as an extension of Shen et al. (2015). The random forest method and the support vector machine method are found to possibly do slightly better than the Bayes model, although the results vary. Possible ideas as to how to extend the Bayes model are given. Contribution/ Originality
This study develops a Bayesian model using the property of self-consistency and compares this model with two other modeling techniques in predicting the results of March Madness.
Samples of road races are taken for various distances, including 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon. Age/gender adjusted times are calculated for each runner of every road race included in the samples. Hypothesis tests are conducted comparing the average age/gender adjusted running time for men with the age-gender adjusted time for women for each race in the sample and then using meta-analysis techniques to collectively compare the mean adjusted times for each of the various distances. Hypothesis tests are also conducted comparing the variances of the age/gender adjusted running times for women with the variance of the age/gender adjusted running times for men, as well as the proportions of men and women who have age/gender adjusted running times greater than the 60th percentile, and then less than the 40th percentile. Overall, the average age/gender adjusted running times for women are less than those of men for each of the distances. It is found that a significantly higher proportion of men perform at or above the 60th percentile compared to the proportion of women for each of the race distances. It is found, however, that the variances of the age/gender adjusted running times for men are larger. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to the literature by comparing the proportions of male and female runners who finish at or above their 60th percentiles of age/gender adjusted running times and who finish at or below their 40th percentiles of age/gender adjusted running times for each of the major road race distances.
This study examined the relationship between market share and profitability of the banking sector in Nigeria. The study involved ten banks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Secondary data was collected from the NSE covering a period of nine years from 2003 to 2011. The multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The dependent variable in the regression model is profitability represented by profit after tax (PAT), while the independent variables are two components of market share for banks: deposit customers (DC) and loan customers (LC). The results of the study revealed that market share represented here by deposit customers (DC) and loan customers (LC) have positive relationship with profitability (PAT) of the banking sector in Nigeria. The researchers recommended that management of banks in Nigeria should entreat quality of management as an important part of market share effect because superior management causes banks to operate at a higher level of effectiveness and efficiency in managing the deposit portfolio and loan volume which in turn will boost profitability. Contribution/ Originality
This study is one of very few studies which have investigated the causality relationship between deposit volume, risk asset portfolio and profitability. Thus, this study highlighted the importance of identifying high-net-worth customers with integrity and good credit rating whose patronage contributes to the growth of banks and a developing economy.
Two questions guide this research on the influence of strategy implementation to the performance of the micro enterprises in the Ruiru Sub County, Kiambu County, Kenya. The first is whether micro enterprises in Ruiru Sub County carry out strategic planning including strategy implementation. The second is whether strategy implementation has any competitive influence on their performance. Most literature and research on strategic planning is on big firms (Pearce and Robinson, 2007). In Kenya strategic planning is relatively new and less common in small enterprises. Micro enterprises ranking at the bottom of the pyramid of businesses in Kenya are more likely to ignore it. Although they contribute heavily to service delivery and job creation many of them are handicapped in growth and expansion. Data was collected on a sample drawn from 737 micro enterprises from 3 different industries in Ruiru Sub County using descriptive research design. Stratified random sampling was used with a 20% sample size which was 147 elements. Data was collected from the micro enterprises’ owner-managers by use of self-administered or interview administered questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with computer software. The findings conclude that micro entrepreneurs in Ruiru Sub County make business strategies and implement them and strategy implementation significantly influences the performance of these micro enterprises. For the micro entrepreneurs who engaged in strategy implementation the average rate of success on the three performance variables of profits, business turnover and market positioning was 75% while those who did not implement strategy was 25%. Contribution/ Originality
This study contributes to the importance of strategy implementation and its contribution to the performance of micro enterprises. The empirical evidence provided shows that where strategy implementation is carried out, there is a strong positive relationship between it and performance variables of profits, business turnover and market positioning.
Abstract