Abstract:Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the effectiveness of short-term (6 weeks) and long-term (12 weeks) individual swallowing therapy program in geriatric individuals diagnosed with dysphagia through instrumental evaluation. Method: 127 participants with a mean age of 66.82�16.39 (min=66, max=83) were included in the study. At the beginning of the study, the recordings of the Videofluoroscopy Swallow Study / Modified barium swallow study were scanned and examined, and those with the same dysphagia severity finding who had problems in swallowing safety and efficiency were determined. Patients were randomly assigned to either a short-term intervention group (six weeks; n=62, 48.8%,) or a long-term intervention group (12 weeks; n=65, 51.2%). During Videofluoroscopy, patients were scored with the Penetration-Aspiration Scale by giving food in different consistencies (thin liquid, honey, nectar, pudding, solid consistency) according to the International Dysphagia Dietary Standardization Initiative protocol. Functional Oral Intake Scale and Turkish Eating Assessment Tool results were compared between the groups receiving long-term and short-term swallowing therapy. An exercise-based individual swallowing therapy program was applied to both groups. Results: Penetration aspiration score was higher in the short-term therapy group than in the long-term group. There was a significant difference between the post-therapy penetration aspiration scores of individuals who received long-term and short-term therapy (p<0.001). Pharyngeal phase abnormalities were detected in 81 patients (88.4%), and laryngeal penetration/aspiration status was found in 78 patients (85.3%). Both variables were found to be significantly higher in the short-term group (p:0.015; p:0.014). Turkish eating assessment tool scores were found to be 21.51�3.84 in the long-term group after therapy (p<0.05). Silent aspiration of thin liquid and nectar consistency was experienced in 69% of the patients before the therapy. Conclusion: Long-term swallowing therapy program was proved to be more effective than short-term in geriatric individuals with dysphagia.
Abstract:Environmental problems must be addressed properly, one of which is by producing and consuming organic products. Although it is currently impossible to meet the demand of organic products in the world, it can at least reduce environmental problems. Consumer knowledge of a sustainable environment is seen from the knowledge of green products, Green Finance, Green Living, Green Transportation, Green Producers, Green Consumers, Green Communication , Green Institutions and Green Creativity. The purpose of this study is to see the perception and consumer behavior of organic products in supporting a sustainable environment. The study was conducted in June – October 2022 with 183 respondents using simple random sampling. The consumer criteria are consumers who often buy from these three organic commodities in daily shopping patterns and the data is analyzed with Multidimensioan Scalling (MDS). The results showed that consumer perceptions of sustainable environmental trends say that organic vegetables and chickens have similarities, then rice and organic vegetables. While rice and organic chicken have no similarities. Consumer behavior that is oriented towards being environmentally friendly is revealed that consumers in buying organic rice consider many factors including green products, green producers, green communication, and green institutions. As for organic chicken factor green consumer, and green creativity. Furthermore, for organic vegetables, only green finance. Thus, consumers in buying organic rice consider many factors compared to buying organic chicken and vegetables. This indicates that knowledge of sustainable environment still needs to be conveyed to the community considering that rice is a staple food in Indonesia and also other countries in the world.
Abstract:Many linguistic speaking inputs require more confidence to communicate effectively in higher education. Focusing on the speaking discourse perspectives aiming to meet student satisfaction in committing to speaking EFL, we customized the adopted instruments as follows: (Asakereh & Dehghannezhad, 2015) and (Oxford, 1990). The research questions are RQ1. What language input challenges do Albanian students face in the university setting while speaking EFL? RQ2. Is the EFL speaking discourse affected positively by strategies utilized in FL speaking performances? For the academic year 2022/23, the current researcher obtained qualitative data output from two instruments N=250 online questionnaires. Using the second instrument (SILL), we tested the following hypotheses: H1=students achieve satisfaction with up-to-date language input in bringing knowledge to life through continuous effective instructional practices H2=the effectiveness of the strategies used by EFL teachers toward speaking commitment needs ongoing improvement. SPSS data output reported a significant correlation between the research hypotheses. It targets the perspectives of the instructional impact of Metacognitive Strategies and Affective Strategies for increased learner autonomy. The result of this research promotes Affective Strategies to maximize learner autonomy indicating significant practical implications in the classroom to accomplish speaking goals. Concerning improvement issues in EFL speaking at higher education, commitment marks the relevance of empowering teaching speaking content.
Abstract:Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is one of the standard treatment modality for achalasia. This study was to evaluate the usefulness of timed barium esophagography (TBE) in the evaluation of treatment effect of POEM for achalasia. A total of 36 patients (M:F=22:14) underwent pre- and post-POEM TBE (3 groups according to lower esophageal sphincter (LES) caliber, A: < 5 mm, B: 5~8 mm, C: > 8 mm). On pre and post-POEM TBE, the rate of area changes of barium column and the changes of LES caliber were investigated. All data were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test or Mann-Whitney U test. The mean rate of area change of the barium column at 5 minutes between pre- and post-POEM TBE were -51.7%, -28.8% and -11.6% in group A (n=10), B (n=18), and C (n=8), respectively, statistically significant (p < 0.001). The rate difference of the barium column area changes between group A and group B only showed the statistical significance (p < 0.001). The mean increased caliber of LES after POEM was 5.5 mm, 2.9 mm, and 3.3 mm in group A, B, and C, respectively. Group A and bird’s beak type showed a statistically significant treatment effect (p < 0.001). In conclusion, TBE was useful in the evaluation of the treatment effect of POEM for achalasia and the narrowest LES group and bird’s beak esophageal type on TBE showed statistically significant treatment effects.
Abstract:Rice farming households with limited capital often employ various strategies to diversify their livelihoods for life sustenance. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of the household capital of rice farmers on livelihood diversification in Indramayu District. A survey method was utilized and data were obtained from 214 rice farming households, which were selected using the proportional simple random sampling technique. The data obtained in this study were analyzed using the partial least square method. The results showed that the household capital of rice farmers had a positive and significant effect on livelihood diversification. Based on the findings, government policy recommendations had been prioritized, focusing on physical capital through the provision of agricultural tools and machinery. The government must also prioritize natural, financial, social, and human capital by anticipating climate change, increasing support for capital sources, fostering social networks, and improving farming skills, respectively.
Abstract:Lime amendment enhances the geotechnical behaviour of the soil. Lime is one of the most preferred soil stabilizers and hence, a systematic investigation of lime treatment on a highly compressible clay soil is conducted and the change in its geotechnical behaviour is studied. Plasticity, compaction characteristics, stress-strain behaviour and strength were determined to understand the mechanism of improvement in the properties of highly compressible clay on lime treatment. Lime treatment decreases the plastic nature of the soil, rendering it less compressible and thereby improves its strength through the process of flocculation, aggregation and generation of cementitious products. It also renders the clay soil less sensitive to changes in the moisture content and decreases the dry unit weight, thereby making the soil a better workable material and lime treatment, a suitable improvement technique for improving the strength of the subgrade. It significantly improves the ultimate bearing capacity of the soil and controls settlement appreciably. The results of the study augment in deciding the optimum lime content that positively improve the strength of the clay soil. The results indicate that lime saturation point is 5 % for the soil investigated.
Abstract:Udhagamandalam is a renowned hill station in southern India. It is one of India\'s biodiversity hot spots regions of Western Ghats, with unique biomes and features. The fragile mountainous terrain has faced climate change in recent years to rapid urban development. Urban development and subsequent climate changes will directly impact temperatures and rainfall patterns. The research focused on time-series analyses of Land Use (LU) and Land Cover (LC) variations rinsing Udhagamandalam between 1998 - 2020. The LU and LC mapping was carried out using high-resolution data. In this study, an attempt has been made to comprehend the impact of LULC modifications on the local climate. The result indicated that cropland decreased from 14.95 to 7.27 km2 and settlement increased from 5.10 to 10.20 km2 from 1998 to 2020. Population growth analysis shows a 24.95% increase in the next two decades. The average rainfall has increased by 10 mm, and the runoff has risen twice in the hilly terrain. The average temperature was raised by 0.71o C. The standard humidity has increased in the daytime and fell at night due to population growth and increased tourist and land-use changes
Abstract:This paper investigates collaboration among actors in the West Java horticultural agricultural entrepreneurship ecosystem. The descriptive-qualitative research method was used in this paper, emphasizing the quadruple helix between farming actors, government, universities, and the agricultural industry, analyzing the knowledge transfer process carried out among the actors involved in developing rural entrepreneurship. According to the study, the essential aspect of creating a competitive and productive agricultural entrepreneurship ecosystem is strengthening human resources and agricultural institutions. These programs have aided farmers in developing their farms on-farm and farm management. However, program implementation in the field remains limited and unsustainable. To overcome this, the involved actors must work together synergistically (government, universities, industry, and farming). Intense openness of information and communication can aid the synergy process, allowing the actors involved to strengthen each other and achieve the desired outcomes, creating a conducive, productive, and competitive agricultural entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Abstract:Die politische Bipolarität der Gesellschaft hat dazu beigetragen, dass das ideologische Konkurrenzdenken sich auch in Literatur reflektiert, die wiederum die gesellschaftlichen Prozesse beeinflusst. Diese Gegensätze haben oft zu Katastrophen (Weltkriege) geführt, die die Autonomität des denkenden Subjekts: während die Moderne sich als Krönung der geistigen Evolution sieht und die Rolle der endgültigen Lösung für sich beansprucht, stellt die Postmoderne all das in Frage und lehnt Dichotomien der Moderne ab. Dagegen charakterisiert sich die Postmoderne mit Anonymität und Identitätslosigkeit, der postmoderne Mensch ist fähig alle Erfahrungen und Informationen des Alltags zu bearbeiten, sein Dasein ist endlich, seine Präsenz vergänglich, seine Möglichkeiten begrenzt. Diese Realität impliziert neue Bedingungen des Alltagslebens, des Arbeits- und Lebensprozesse, in dem das Individuum in einer Diskrepanz mit der wahrnehmbaren Welt existiert und den provisorischen Wahrheiten zum Opfer fällt. Die Degradierung des Individuums in einem passiven Wesen ohne Profil, bringt dazu bei, dass aufgrund diffuser Erfahrungen seinerseits die Wirklichkeit als Unechtheit, als Schein, wahrgenommen wird. Die Evolution der Postmoderne, so Lyotard, kann nur durch das Sprachspiel der Gesellschaft legitimiert werden, wohl gemerkt: das kann nur durch eine Konkurrenz der Machtspiele der Mitglieder zustande kommen.
Abstract:Vehicle refinement recognition related technology research is widely used in the field of mine monitoring and management systems, road traffic command and control, etc. As researchers develop and implement the target recognition technology system based on deep learning algorithms, designing a target recognition algorithm with excellent performance is a research priority within the field of vehicle monitoring. In this paper, we propose an Efficient Net algorithm based recognition method for vehicle front-end and vehicle rear-end recognition to address the shortcomings of the current methods used for vehicle front-end and vehicle rear-end recognition, and verify the reliability of the algorithm using experiments. Algorithm systematically investigates model scaling, the backbone network makes extensive use of the MBConv structure to extract the feature maps, which cuts short the time required for model training, and the structure introduces the SE module to perform global averaging pooling operations in the channel dimension direction to enhance model performance, so that the network has the dual advantages of network model size and recognition accuracy at the same time. Based on the above findings, we improve the inverse residual module of the backbone feature extraction network EfficientNet by introducing the coordinate attention mechanism (CA) to average the spatial feature information in X-axis and Y-axis dimensions respectively, with the feature layer size and number of channels unchanged, and change the residual edge to shorten the input and output of high-dimensional channels to improve the accuracy of model feature extraction. Meanwhile, this paper introduces a depth-separable convolutional neural network and agent-normalized activation in the mobile flip-flop convolutional module to offset the two different dimensions of X-axis and Y-axis between each convolutional layer but the two main sources of non-normalization, so as to achieve the improvement of the target detection rate and accuracy.