American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS)
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Formulation & Evaluation of Fluconazole Gel for Topical Drug Delivery System
Get PDFFluconazole is a recent triazole antifungal drug that is used in the treatment of superficial and systemic fungal infection. The oral use of fluconazole is not much recommended as it has many side effects. Thus this formulation is made for better patient compliance and to reduce the dose of the drug and to avoid the side effects like liver damage and kidney damage. This research was designed to formulate & evaluate different formulation of a topical gel containing fluconazole by using a polymer with different concentration as Carbopol 940 & NaCMC. Methanol was used as a penetration enhancer. The evaluation of formulated fluconazole topical gel was carried out for a physical appearance, pH-value, spreadability, homogeneity, drug content. The formulated gel showed good physical characteristics. The formulation F3 (101.18%) & F6 (105.4%) show good drug content as the polymer concentration in them was higher. The percentage yield of F4 (98.26%) was the highest. The spreadability of gel decreases with an increase in polymer concentration. The pH of the formulation was in the range of 5-8 which is considered acceptable to avoid the risk of irritation upon application to the skin
Hearing Impairment Caused by Noise at the Workplace
Get PDFObjectives: The aim of this article is to determine the prevalence of hearing impairment caused by noise among workers in two companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to correlate hearing loss with age and years of specific work experience, and to indicate the occurrence mechanisms for these impairments.
Methods: The study included 60 respondents who were divided into two groups: one group consisted of respondents with hearing impairment, and the second group respondents whose hearing was not impaired. Data were collected over a period of 5 years, by testing with sounds in frequency range 250-8000 Hz, which were graphically represented by audiograms. Statistical processing and comparison of the results of the control group and the group with hearing impairment were performed.
Results: The age of the respondents ranged from 31 to 65 years, and the length of service ranged from 1 to 37 years. Hearing impairment was found in 46 workers, while the rest of the respondents had normal hearing. The average value of the hearing threshold in respondents with hearing impairment at 1 kHz was 21 dB, and the average value of hearing impairment was 34.45 dB (mild hearing impairment). Majority of workers have a mild degree of impairment. The largest differences in the audibility threshold between the two groups of workers with and without impairment were noticed at 4 kHz in the age group 46 to 55 years, and in the group with work experience from 21 to 30 years.
Conclusion: Workplace noise effects are most clear in the 4 kHz frequency range. The age of the respondents and the years of work experience are significantly correlated with the hearing impairment: older workers and workers with longer work experience have greater hearing impairments
A Comprehensive Review of Deep Learning Architectures for Computer Vision Applications
Get PDFThe emergence of machine learning in the artificial intelligence field led the world of technology to make great strides. Today’s advanced systems with the ability of being designed just like human brain functions has given practitioners the ability to train systems so that they could process, analyze, classify, and predict different data classes. Therefore, the machine learning field has become a hot topic for scientists and researchers to introduce the best network with the highest performance for such mentioned purposes. In this article, computer vision science, image classification implementation, and deep neural networks are presented. This article discusses how models have been designed based on the concept of the human brain. The development of a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and its various architectures, which have shown great efficiency and evaluation in object detection, face recognition, image classification, and localization, are also introduced. Furthermore, the utilization and application of CNNs, including voice recognition, image processing, video processing, and text recognition, are examined closely. A literature review is conducted to illustrate the significance and the details of Convolutional Neural Networks in various applications
Clustering of Assets: An Alternative to Assist in Financial Decisions
Get PDFThe advent of the financial market is one of the most fascinating events of our time. over the years, researchers and investors have been interested in developing tools to assist in making decisions regarding capital allocation. this article proposes clustering as a metric to separate a set of assets, through a grouping method that maximizes the similarity inside groups with the purpose to reduce the risk of the portfolio. For the period analyzed - january 2019 to january 2020 – we have got 8 different assets clusters with a minimum of 1 (1.32% of total assets) and a maximum of 30 assets (42.86% of total assets)
Impact of Self-Compassion on Existential Anxiety in Young Adults of Pakistan
Get PDFIt’s not much about the existential isolation but about our existential uniqueness, the feeling that no matter how deeply connected we are with someone, there is still an unbridgeable gap between every individual and all the elements of our perceived world which can’t be covered in any way possible. Young adulthood is an age where the self-creation process starts hence, the initiation of process of understanding life experiences, experimentation and exploration of meaning in life. All these processes comes with the consequences of overwhelming experiences of existential questioning, concern, and anxiety, leading to various other negative or positive psychological outcomes, depending upon the subjective experiences. Hence the current research was aimed to study the impact of self-compassion on existential anxiety in adolescents and young adults. The population consisted of both male and females (N=280). Current study is based on a quantitative correlation survey research design and the statistical analyses was done through SPSS (version 22). Neff’s Compassion Scale-Short Form (SCS-SF), and Existential anxiety questionnaire (EAQ) and Existential concern questionnaire (ECQ) scales were used. The statistical analysis involved Pearson product moment correlation, and Stepwise Regression. The finding of the study revealed that there was a significant weak negative relationship between Self-compassion and Existential Anxiety and a significant positive relationship between self-criticism and existential anxiety. Moreover, the isolation (subdomain of self-compassion) predicted 20.4% variance in level of Existential anxiety scale and 29.7% variance in Existential concern questionnaire. Following findings are significantly important regarding generating appropriate clinical interventions and provides beneficial insight into developing awareness programs on a community level
Differences in ASR Experiments Between the Short and Long Term Test Methods
Get PDFThe main objective of this study is to compare the effect of alkali-silica on concrete from a previous experiment by Stanton in the forties of the last century, which was the basis for researchers to investigate and study the extent of alkali-silica reaction against concrete, by various methods for testing the reaction of alkali-silica. From that point on, scientists have tried to develop testing techniques that can be used quicker to detect the effect of alkali-silica on concrete, and 16 alkali-silica testing methods have been highlighted in this study both in short and long-term terms. These methods have been chosen at random but the chronology and most of their details, how they have been performed, the materials used in this test, etc. have been determined. In the same way, the results of the test methods were explained and the available studies, research, and specifications were followed. Finally, the selected test methods have been compared and the parameters used to compare the test methods were as follows: duration, temperature, specimen size, mix type, used materials, admixtures, water/cement ratio, and expansion limit. The comparison took three forms, the first was a comparison between short-term methods alone and the second was a comparison between long-term methods alone, while the latter was between the two method types using standard concrete practices for civil work structures (EM 1110-2-2000)
Analysis Over the Accuracy of Dynamic Formulas for Predicting Ultimate Load Capacity in Deep Foundations
Get PDFIn Civil Engineering, particularly in Geotechnics, several empirical methods, commonly referred to as dynamic equations, have been proposed for prediction of ultimate load capacity of driven piles. However, these formulas are admitted inaccurate and, so, there is a need to evaluate the results obtained by them. In this work a comparative analysis of the values ??obtained by five dynamic equations (Janbu, Danish, Gates, FHWA-Gates and WSDOT) with actual ultimate load capacities (obtained through pile load tests at site) is made. Errors are measured using the root mean squared error and the correlation between the equation´s results and the measured values ??is verified. The results showed important differences between the ultimate capacities obtained from the analyzed models and the real values verified in field tests. It was also verified a superiority, in terms of lower error and greater correlation, of the WSDOT and Danish formulas. Attempts were made to improve the methods. For this, coefficients were determined that, when multiplied by the results of the formulas, promoted a reduction in error. Once again, WSDOT presented best perform in terms of correlation and error
Effects of Pulverized Compost Materials and Composting Durations on Early Growth of Savannah Mahogany Khaya senegalensis (Desr.) A. Juss in a Semi-Arid Ecosystem of Nigeria
Get PDFThe study was carried out in the Nursery of the Department of Forestry and Wildlife, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria, to assess the effects of pulverized compost materials (PCM) and composting durations on the early growth of Khaya senegalensis in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Leaves of Azadirachta indica, Gmelina arborea, Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Arachis hypogea were collected within the premises of University of Maiduguri. The leaves were sundried and pulverized before buried for 30, 60, and 90 days at the depth of 45cm and grouped into (M1-M5). Viable seeds sown at 3cm depth. Eighteen polythene pots arranged randomly in three replications were used for the experiment. Data were taken four weeks after sowing on stem diameter, stem height and number of leaves on weekly basis for the period of eight weeks, while root length and biomass were determined at the end of the experiment. The data collected were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using Statistix (8.0) DMRT was applied for mean separation. The result obtained from the analysis of variance revealed that PCM5 (pulverized leaves of G arborea, E camaldulensis and A hypogea) at eight WAS produced the highest value (2.54mm) while PCM1 (pulverized leaves of A indica, G arborea, E camaldulensis and A Hypogea) at five WAS had the least stem diameter value (0.88mm). T3 (90 days composting) had the highest stem value (2.14mm) which was significantly different (P=0.05) from T1 (30 days composting) and T2 (60 days composting). The result obtained for stem height showed that PCM5 (pulverized leaves of G arborea, E camaldulensis and A hypogea) at 12 WAS had the highest value (13.94cm) while PCM1 (pulverized leaves of A indica, G arborea, E camaldulensis and A hypogea) at five WAS had the least stem height value (3.99cm). It was also observed from the result obtained on composting durations for stem height that T3 at 12 WAS had the highest value (12.18cm) while T2 at five WAS had the least value (4.21cm). The result obtained for number of leaves showed that PCM5 at 12 WAS had the highest value (9.67) while PCM1 at five WAS had the least value (2.22). It was evident from the result obtained for number of leaves that T3 at 12 WAS had the highest value (8.50) while T1 and T2 at five WAS had the least value (2.50). The result obtained for root length analysis showed that PCM5 produced the highest root length value (9.28cm) while control had the least value (5.27cm). The result obtained for biomass showed that PCM2 pulverized leaves of A indica, G arborea and E camaldulensis) produced highest weight value (0.56g) while PCM3 pulverized leaves of A indica, G arborea and A hypogea) had the least value (0.28g). T1 had the highest value which was not significantly different (P=0.05) from T2 and T3. Based on these findings, it was concluded that PCM5 at 12 WAS showed effectiveness on stem diameter, stem height, number of leaves, root length and biomass which indicates its potentials as a good source of nutrients (compost) for seedling growth and development
Struggling with Intellectual Inertia: Reflection on Participation in Higher Education Fellow Programme
Get PDFThis paper analyses issues related to my professional journey of becoming a teacher. The key highlight of this paper is that teacher’s engagement in a dialogical self-regulated inquiry (individually and collaboratively) is essential and provides a unique ongoing mode of teacher development. The study was conducted over a period of six months during my participation in a certificate course on enhancing academic practices at the higher education level. The data and analysis include extracts from the portfolio developed during the course. The findings indicate that continuous examination of my teaching and learning experiences pushed me to re-establish and escalate my journey towards becoming an effective teacher. My analysis suggests that, to promote self-inquiry approach; relationship between work culture, teaching and professional development support needs to be strengthened in terms of its conduct, quality, purpose and use
Strategies and Competitive Advantages through the use of the Organization\u27s Internal Resources: A Case Study using the VRIO Tool
Get PDFIn an already unfavorable scenario for Brazilian companies, a virus emerges that is capable of destabilizing the economy worldwide. Covid-19 brought with it fear and insecurity for companies and citizens alike. Even facing so many obstacles, there are companies that stand out and reinvent themselves to remain firm in the market. This is the case of the "Alfa" company, which has been in the fitness clothing business for thirty years. This was the reason that generated interest for the present study, which aimed to identify the organization\u27s strategies and competitive advantages using the VRIO as a tool for decision making. The methods used were applied, qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research, in a single case study, with semi-structured interviews with four employees of the company. As a result, it was possible to identify in the company four resources that generate sustainable competitive advantage: the brand, quality, the relationship with resellers, and after-sales assistance. It was also found that the company is concerned about its customers, since they are fundamental and boost the brand\u27s success