• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.251-258
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• 2023

Objective: The practice of breathing exercises involves altering the depth and frequency of respiration. Strengthening respiratory muscles plays a crucial role in maintaining overall health and well-being. The efficiency of the respiratory system affects not only physical activity but also various physiological processes including cardiovascular health, lung function, and cognitive abilities. The study evaluated the reliability of the developed device for inspiratory/expiratory training using pressure sensors and Bluetooth connectivity with a smartphone application. Design: Design & development research Methods: The research methodology involved connecting a custom-made respiratory sensor to an IMT-PEP BIC Breath device. Various pressure conditions were measured, and statistical analyses were performed to assess reliability and consistency. Results showed high Intraclass Coefficient Correlation (ICC) values for both inspiratory and expiratory pressures, indicating strong test-retest reliability. The device was designed for ease of use and wireless monitoring through a smartphone app. Results: This study conducted at expiratory pressure confirmed the proper operation of the IMT/PEP breathing trainer at the specified pressure setting in the product. The pressure sensor demonstrated high test-retest reliability with an ICC value of 0.999 for both expiratory and inspiratory pressure measurements. Conclusions: The developed respiratory training device measured and monitored inspiratory and expiratory pressures, demonstrating its reliability for respiratory training. The system could be utilized to record training frequency and intensity, providing potential benefits for patients requiring respiratory interventions. Further research is needed to assess the full potential of the device in diverse populations and applications.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.19-27
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• 2015

Purpose: A system to measure the visibility of agricultural tractor operators was designed and evaluated according to ISO standards, and a blind area diagram around the tested tractor was created based on the manual method recommended by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Methods: A visibility measurement system was designed and evaluated based on the ISO 5006 and ISO 5721-1 standards. Two bulbs used to simulate the operator's eyes were mounted on a bar with a supporting frame. A wooden frame was used to determine the seat index point position. The 12-m visibility test circle was divided into six sectors of vision, and the test tractor was placed at the center of the circle. Artificial light was supplied in the darkened environment, and shadow or masking effects were measured manually around the 12-m circle. Results: When the bulbs were placed at the operator's eye level, front visibility was good; no masking was found in the "A" vision sector, but larger masking widths were found in the "B" and "C" vision sectors. Since the masking width exceeded 700 mm, additional tests, such as movement of the light sources to both sides of the operator's eye level, were performed. Less than six masking effects were found in the semi-circle of vision to the front, and more than one masking was found in the "B" and "C" visual fields. The minimum distance between the centers of two masking effects exceeded 2500 mm when measured as a chord on the semi-circle of vision. A blind area diagram was created to define the exact nature of the blind spots and mirror visibility. Conclusions: Visibility evaluation is an effective way to enable proper and safe operation for agricultural tractor operators. Inclusion of this visibility evaluation test in the general testing process might aid tractor manufacturers.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.183-194
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• 2024

D3 tools steel and 440C stainless steel (SS) are normally being employed for application such as knife blade and cutting tools. These steels are iron alloys which have high carbon and high chromium content. In this study, lab work focused on the microstructural and corrosion behavior of D3 tools steel and 440C SS after went through heat treatment processes. Heat treatments for both steels were started with normalizing at 1020 ℃, continue with hardening at 1000 ℃followed by oil quenching. Cryogenic treatment was carried out in liquid nitrogen for 24 hours. The addition of cryogenic heat treatment is believed to increase the hardness and corrosion resistance for steels. Both samples were then tempered at two different tempering temperatures, 160 ℃ and 426 ℃. For corrosion test, the samples were immersed in NaCl solution for 30 days to study the corrosion behavior of D3 tool steel and 440C SS after heat treatment. The mechanical properties of these steels have been investigated using Rockwell hardness machine before heat treatment, after heat treatment (before corrosion) and after corrosion test. Microstructure observation of samples was carried out by scanning electron microscopy. The corrosion rate of these steels was calculated after the corrosion test completed. From the results, the highest hardness is observed for D3 tool steel which tempered at 160 ℃(54.1 HRC). In terms of microstructural analysis, primary carbide and pearlite in the as-received samples transform to tempered martensite and cementite after heat treatment process. From this research, for corrosion test, heat treated 440C SS sample tempered with 426 ℃possessed the excellent corrosion resistance with corrosion rate 0.2808 mm/year.

• Journal of Korean Ophthalmic Optics Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.67-71
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• 2010

Purpose: The effect of two different levels of illumination and the effect of three letter chart types on subjective refraction findings were investigated. Methods: This study involved thirty Malay university students aged between 19 to 23 years old (7 males, 23 females), with their spherical refractive error ranged between plano to -7.75D astigmatism ranged from plano to -1.75D, anisometropia less than 1D and with no history of ocular injury and pathology. Monocular subjective refraction was measured under two levels of illumination (with and without room light) and with three different letter charts (Snellen letter chart, wall mounted letter chart and projected letter chart). Subjective refraction finding was calculated in spherical equivalent in unit diopter (D). Results: There was no significant effect in the subjective refraction findings with Snellen letter chart (t-test=0.15, p-value=0.88), projected letter chart (t-test=-0.19, p-value=0.85) as well as wall mounted letter chart (t-test=0.12, p-value=0.94). One Way ANOVA also revealed when the subjective refractive measures were compared under two different level of room illumination (with and without room light), no significant effect of letter chart types on subjective refraction readings with room light ($F_{2.185}$=0.11, p-value=0.89) and without room light ($F_{2.185}$=0.02, p-value=0.98). Conclusions: Subjective refraction findings were not affected whether the room light was on or off. They were also not affected by the types of letter chart used.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.89-94
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• 2015

Objective: To test the null hypothesis that SmartClip self-ligating brackets are more effective than conventional brackets for initial mandibular alignment and identify influential factors. Methods: Fifty patients were randomly allocated to two equal treatment groups by using an online randomization program: self-ligating group (SmartClip brackets) and conventional group (Gemini brackets). The archwire sequence was standardized. Changes in anterior irregularity index, intercanine width, and intermolar width were assessed on plaster models at 8th and 16th weeks. Changes in incisor position and inclination were assessed on lateral cephalometric radiographs at 16 weeks. Intragroup and intergroup comparisons were performed with paired t-test and Student's t-test, respectively. Multiple linear regression was performed to identify variables affecting improvement in anterior ambiguity. Results: Data of 46 patients were analyzed; those missing an appointment (n = 2) or showing bracket breakage (n = 2) were excluded. Incisor inclination (p < 0.05), intercanine width (p < 0.05), and intermolar width (p > 0.05) increased at 8 and 16 weeks in both the groups; no significant intergroup differences were noted (p > 0.05). Initial anterior irregularity index and intercanine width change were significantly associated with improvement in anterior irregularity (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The null hypothesis was rejected. Bracket type has little effect on improvement in anterior ambiguity during initial mandibular alignment.

• Mycobiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.178-183
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• 2017

Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder which affects millions of population worldwide. Global estimates published in 2010 reported the world diabetic prevalence as 6.4%, affecting 285 million adults. Foot ulceration and wound infection are major forms of disabilities arising from diabetic diseases. This study was aimed to develop a natural antimicrobial finishing on medical grade textile that meets American Association of Textiles Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) standard. The textile samples were finished with the ethanolic extract of Penicillium amestolkiae elv609, an endophytic fungus isolated from Orthosiphon stamineus Benth (common name: cat's whiskers). Endophyte is defined as microorganism that reside in the living plant tissue, without causing apparent disease symptom to the host. The antimicrobial efficacy of the ethanolic extract of P. minioluteum was tested on clinical pathogens isolated from diabetic wound. The extract exhibited significant inhibitory activity against 4 bacteria and 1 yeast with the minimal inhibitory concentration ranged from 6.25 to 12.5 mg/mL. The results indicate different susceptibility levels of the test microorganism to the ethanolic extract. However, the killing activity of the extract was concentration-dependent. The finished medical textile showed excellent antimicrobial efficacy on AATCC test assays. All the microbial cultures treated with the textile sample displayed a growth reduction of 99.9% on Hoheinstein Challenge Test. The wash durability of the finished textile was found good even after 50 washes with commercial detergent. Besides, the gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis showed that 6-octadecenoic acid and diethyl phthalate were the main bioactive constituents of the extract. In conclusion, the developed medical textile showed good antimicrobial efficacy on laboratory tests. This work can be extended to in vivo trials for developing healthcare textile products for antimicrobial applications.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.23-31
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find out the impact of financial leverage on firm's profitability in the listed textile sector of Bangladesh. Research design, data and methodology: A sample of 22 DSE listed textile firms has been used to conduct the study. In this study, firm profitability is measured by Return on Equity (ROE) and both short term debt and long term debt are used as the as proxies of financial leverage. Pooled Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), Fixed Effect (FE), and Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) models have been used to test the relationship between financial leverage and profitability of firms. Result: This study finds a significant negative relationship between leverage and firm's profitability using the Pooled OLS method. The result is also consistent with the fixed effect and GMM method. This result implies that firm's profitability is negatively affected by the firm's capital structure. Conclusion: The study concludes that maximum textile firms use external debt as a source of finance as they don't have sufficient internally generated funds. This study recommends that firm should give more emphasize on generating fund internally to meet up their financing needs.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.7
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• pp.199-208
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• 2020

This study investigates the direct and indirect effects, mediated by audit committee quality, of managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and profitability on intellectual capital (IC) disclosure. The object observed of this study is companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) in the 2014-2018 period that are classified as high intellectual capital-intensive industries. Based on the sampling method, purposive sampling, 51 companies were selected as samples. This study used path analysis techniques with IBM SPSS version 25 to study the direct and indirect influences of managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and profitability toward IC disclosure. The results of this study show that managerial ownership, profitability and audit committee quality have a significant positive effect on IC disclosure whereas institutional ownership has significant negative effect on IC disclosure. This study also provides empirical evidence, supported by the sobel test, that the audit committee quality is able to mediate the effect of institutional ownership and profitability on IC disclosure. However, the audit committee quality is not able to mediate the effect of managerial ownership on IC disclosure. These findings develop and strengthen the results of prior studies related to the implementation of signaling theory and agency theory in devoting more understanding about IC disclosure.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.7 no.10
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• pp.219-230
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• 2020

With the largest number of Islamic financial institutions across the world, the demand for a qualified Sharia accountant in Indonesia is indeed inevitable. This study aims to examine the determinant factors of the intention for accounting students to become Certified Sharia Accountant. This study used quantitative method with primary data through questionnaire from 248 selected samples. The data is then analyzed by Partial Least Square Structural Equation Model. This research has used Theory of Planned Behavior combined with Islamic religiosity to explain 67.80% of the intention of accounting students to become Certified Sharia accountants. The test results indicate perceptions of greater job opportunities, good ethical reputation, Islamic religiosity, technical skills, and subjective norm that affects the intention to become Certified Sharia Accountants. The findings of this study contribute to the literature regarding career selection in the field of accounting in general and Certified Sharia Accountants in particular. The results of this study also have a practical impact on the academic world, including the recommendation for curriculum revision and redesign of the learning system. It also has a practical impact on the management of Islamic financial institutions to present them as a promising industry for accounting graduates to work in.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.5
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• pp.333-344
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• 2020

Advances in industrial development and waste management over several decades have reduced many of the impacts that previously affected ecosystems, however, there are still processes which discharge hazardous materials into environments. Among industries that produce industrial wastewaters, textile manufacturing processes play a noticeable role. This study was conducted to test a novel continuous combined commercial membrane treatment using polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), ultrafiltration (UF), and polyamide (PA) nanofiltration (NF) membranes for textile wastewater treatment. The synthetic textile wastewater used in this study contained sodium silicate, wax, and five various reactive dyes. The results indicate that the removal efficiency for physical particles (wax and resin) was 95% through the UF membrane under optimum conditions. Applying UF and NF hybrid treatment resulted in total effective removal of dye from all synthetic samples. The efficiency of sodium silicate removal was measured to be between 2.5 to 4.5% and 13 to 16% for UF and NF, respectively. The chemical oxygen demand in all samples was reduced by more than 85% after treatment by NF.