• Advances in concrete construction
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• v.6 no.5
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• pp.545-560
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• 2018

The ever-increasing cost of natural sand and the environmental impacts of extracting manufactured sand (quarry sand) calls for exploring the potential to use alternative materials as fine aggregates in concrete. Copper slag and ferrous slag are industrial by products obtained from the smelting process of copper and iron respectively. A large quantity of copper slag and ferrous slag end up being disposed as waste in landfills and this poses a serious threat to the environment. Copper slag and ferrous slag have similar physical and chemical properties as natural sand and also exhibit pozzolanic activity. This paper studies the technical feasibility of industrial by-products such as copper slag and ferrous slag to replace the fine aggregate in concrete by evaluating the workability, strength and durability characteristics of concrete. The test results indicate that the strength properties are not affected by 40% or 100% replacement of quarry sand with iron slag or copper slag. However, 40% replacement of quarry sand with iron slag or copper slag in concrete is recommended considering the durability aspects of concrete.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.457-460
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• 2020

The Pacific tapeworm Adenocephalus pacifcus (syn. Diphyllobothrium pacificum) is a causative agent of diphyllobothriosis occurred in Pacific coast of South America, mainly in Peru. Source of infections are traditional meal from raw or undercooked marine fish such as "cebiche". We confirmed 3 new cases, one including scolex and the other two headless. A strobila 46 cm long without scolex was discharged from an 8-year-old boy before treatment. Specimens were confirmed morphologically by presence of tegumental protuberances on proglottids and small sized eggs. Partial sequence of cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene was congruent with A. pacificus sequences.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.12
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• pp.31-38
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• 2021

This study contributes to the existing literature and tries to analyze the validity of the Fisher hypothesis in the Philippines. Using monthly data from January 1995 to December 2020, the empirical analysis used the Engle-Granger and Johansen cointegration testing technique. The correlation coefficient suggests a strong positive association. All things being equal, a rise in inflation leads to a rise in the nominal interest rate. The unit-root tests show that inflation and the nominal interest rate are both stationary. Based on both Engle-Granger and cointegrating regression Durbin-Watson tests, the nominal interest rate and inflation are cointegrated. Likewise, the results from Johansen cointegration indicate that there exists a long-run relationship between the variables. However, we rejected a one-to-one relationship between nominal interest rate and inflation. The error correction term coefficient (ECM) shows that it is statistically significant suggesting that the nominal interest rate adjusts to the inflation rate with a lag. The Pair-wise Granger Causality test reported a bi-directional causal relationship between nominal interest rate and inflation. Inflation targeting has been the monetary policy framework of choice for most central banks. In essence, the conclusions of this study are useful to central banks because they help them better comprehend the long-run equilibrium relationship between the nominal interest rate and inflation.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.8 no.10
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• pp.239-247
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• 2021

Central Bank authorities should carefully manage inflation rate uncertainties to achieve economic growth and development not only in the short-run but also in the long-run. Since inflation is a key macroeconomic variable, an increased understanding about its behavior is undoubtedly important. Thus, paper employs unit root with breakpoints to examine the mean reverting behavior of inflation rate in the Philippines using monthly data from 2002 to 2020. Empirically, the unit root breakpoint innovational and additive outlier tests favor the stationarity or mean reverting behavior of inflation in the Philippines. Also, results of standard unit root tests, ADF, PP, GLS-Dickey-Fuller, KPSS and NP, provide strong evidence of mean reverting processes. The mean reverting behavior of inflation rate reveals that the monetary policy using inflation targeting framework has succeeded in reducing chronic inflation persistence in the Philippines. Thus, this research supports inflation targeting policy that aims to maintain general price level stability for the Philippine economy's long-term growth and development prospects. The findings of this research remain important for the central bankers for not only providing them better understanding about the behavior of inflation rate, but also helping them formulate and implement policy reforms related to money, credit and banking.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.561-571
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• 2019

In this paper, we analyze the effect of the representative spectral indices, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), normalized difference water index (NDWI) and normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) on classification accuracies of Landsat-8 OLI image.After creating these spectral index images, we propose five methods to select the spectral index images as classification features together with Landsat-8 OLI bands from 1 to 7. From the experiments we observed that when the spectral index image of NDVI or NDWI is used as one of the classification features together with the Landsat-8 OLI bands from 1 to 7, we can obtain higher overall accuracy and kappa coefficient than the method using only Landsat-8 OLI 7 bands. In contrast, the classification method, which selected only NDBI as classification feature together with Landsat-8 OLI 7 bands did not show the improvement in classification accuracies.

• Journal of Dental Anesthesia and Pain Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.15-27
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• 2021

This systematic review aimed to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of cryotherapy in the reduction of postendodontic pain. The review question was, "What will be the success rate of cryotherapy technique among human patients with postendodontic pain?". The review protocol was framed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist. Six studies were included in the review, and quantification of five studies was performed through a meta-analysis. In the forest plot representation of the studies comparing the control and cryotherapy groups in terms of the success rate in the management of postendodontic pain, the combined risk ratio (RR) was 0.80 (95% CI: 0.56 to 1.13) with a P value of 0.20. Based on the quantitative analysis, it can be suggested that intracanal cryotherapy does not play a significant role in reducing postendodontic pain.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.54 no.5
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• pp.1652-1656
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• 2022

Fire tests were conducted on cables using fire-retardant paint employed in nuclear power plants that transmit electrical power, control and instrument signals. The failure criteria of various power and control cables coated with fire retardant coating at three different coating thicknesses (~0.5 mm, 1.0 mm & 1.5 mm) were studied under direct flame test using Container Fire Test Facility (CFTF) based on standard tests for bare cables. A direct flame fire test was conducted for 10 min with an LPG ribbon burner rated at ten by fixing the cable samples in a vertical cable track. Inner sheath temperature was measured until ambient conditions were achieved by natural convection. The cables are visually evaluated for damage and the mass loss percentage. Cable functionality is ascertained by checking for electrical continuity for each sample. The thickness of cable coating on fire exposure is also studied by comparing the transient variation of inner sheath temperature along the Cable length. This study also evaluated the adequacy of fire-retardant coating on cables used for safety-critical equipment in nuclear power plants.

• Journal of Smart Tourism
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.21-31
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• 2022

This review paper aims at providing a systematic analysis of articles published in various journals and related to the uses and business applications of big data. The goal is to provide a holistic picture of the place of big data in the tourism industry. The reviewed articles have been selected for the period 2013-2020 and have been classified into 8 broad categories namely business strategy and firm performance; banking and finance; healthcare; hospitality; networks and telecommunications; urbanism and infrastructures; law and legal regulations; and government. While the categories are reflective of components of tourism industries and infrastructures, the meta-analysis is organized around 3 broad themes: preferred research contexts, conceptual developments, and methods used to research big data business applications. Main findings revealed that firm performance and healthcare remain popular contexts of research in the big data realm, but also demonstrated a prominence of qualitative methods over mixed and quantitative methods for the period 2013-2020. Scholars have also investigated topics involving the notions of competitive advantage, supply chain management, smart cities, but also ethics and privacy issues as related to the use of big data.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.3619-3623
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• 2013

Background: The scientific evidence relating to the burden of oral diseases attributable to tobacco use has been reviewed and the need for a well-structured dental teaching program concentrating on oral cancer education and tobacco cessation interventions has been emphasized. The aim of our study was to evaluate the awareness of oral cancer and perception of tobacco use cessation counseling among dental students at all study levels in India, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. Materials and Methods: A structured, pre-tested, self-administered 15-item questionnaire was used to conduct a cross-sectional survey. Data analyses including percentages, frequency distributions and tests of chi-square were generated. Results: A total of 621 (97.6%) Indian, 493 (96.5%) Saudi, 194 (96.5%) Yemeni and 187 (98.4%) United Arab Emirates respondents recognized the association between oral cancer and cigarette smoking. Although more than 96% of the students surveyed recognized the association between oral cancer and cigarette smoking and about 55% reported cigarette smoking as one of the etiological factors of oral cancer, more than 66% of students who reported cigarette smoking as an etiological factor of oral cancer disagreed/strongly disagreed with all the statements concerning tobacco use cessation. Conclusions: A higher level of oral cancer awareness did not have a positive impact on the perception of tobacco use cessation counseling among the sample surveyed.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.63-73
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• 2017

Purpose: Data on operable gastric cancer from India is sparse. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical details, histopathological demographics, and 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) associated with operable, non-metastatic gastric cancer in a dedicated upper gastrointestinal (GI) surgical unit in India. Materials and Methods: Data for patients diagnosed with operable gastric cancer between January 2006 and December 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. Data were collected from electronic hospital records in addition to mail and telephonic interviews when possible. Results: A total of 427 patients were included. The tumor was located in the pyloro-antral region in 263 patients (61.7%). Subtotal gastrectomy was performed in 291 patients and total gastrectomy in 136 patients. Tumor stage classification revealed 43 patients (10.0%) with stage I, 40 patients (9.4%) with stage IIA, 59 patients (13.9%) with stage IIB, 76 patients (17.8%) with stage IIIA, 96 patients (22.5%) with stage IIIB, and 113 patients (26.4%) with stage IIIC disease. Follow-up data were available for 71.6% of the patients with a mean duration of 32.4 months. Five-year DFS and OS were 39% and 59%, respectively. Conclusions: Despite presenting at an advanced stage, the 5-year DFS and OS of patients with operable gastric cancer treated at a dedicated upper GI unit of a tertiary care center in India was good.