Identifying and Prioritizing Effective Factors on Classifying A Private Bank Customers by Delphi Technique and Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP)

Banking industry development and presence of different financial institutions cause to increase competition in customer and their capitals attraction so that there are about 28 banks and many credit and financial institutions from which 6 banks are public and 22 banks are private. Among them, public banks have a more appropriate situation than private banks with regard to governmental relations and support and due to geographical expansion and longer history. But due to lack of above conditions; private banks try to attract customers with regarding science areas to remedy this situation. Therefore, in this study we are decided to review banking customers from a different viewpoint. For this reason, we initially obtained ideal indications from banking viewpoint in two-story of uses and resources customers using experts and Delphi technique application which based on this, indicators such as account workflow, account average, lack of returned cheque, etc and in uses section, the amount of facility received, the amount of received warranties, etc, were determined. Then, using a Hierarchical Analysis (AHP) method and experts opinions through software Expert Choice11, priority of these criteria were determined and weight of each index was determined. It should be noted that statistical population of bank experts associated with this study were queue and staff. Also obtained results can be used as input for customer grouping in line with CRM techniques implementation

Cavernous sinus thrombosis complicated by carotid artery occlusion: A case report

Cavernous sinus thrombosis (CST) is a fatal phenomenon that requires clinical suspicion and emergent imaging for correct diagnosis. . However, only a few authors reported severe involvement of the internal carotid artery (ICA). Here we report an 11 year old girl diagnosed with Cavernous sinus thrombosis complicated by left internal carotid artery occlusion.

Floristic Composition, Life Form and Chorology of Plant Life at Al-Saoda, Asir Region, South-Western Saudi Arabia

Asir highlands constitute a major part of south-western Saudi Arabia, and have a temperate climate at elevations above 2500 m a.s.l. This area has a complicated topography. The variations in elevation and topography have resulted in distinctive vegetational zones.  Floristic composition, life form and chorology of plant life at Al-Saoda region south – western Saudi Arabia was studied. Three  major  wadis (sites) were investigated , every site was represented by three localities representing up-stream , mid-stream and down-stream portions of each site. Nine field trips were carried out during 18 months  .Vegetation of  three localities ( Wadi Tahlal , Wadi Al-Moght  and Beni Mazen ) was studied .  Results revealed that the region considers a hot-spot in the Kingdom in term of plant diversity and more diverse compared with other well studied regions in Saudi Arabia. A total of 103 plant species belonging to 40  families were recorded in study area. The major plant families that contributed in the formation of vegetation of the area in question were Asteraceae ( 22.3%) followed by Papilionaceae( 8.7%) ,poaceae,  ( 6.7%), Lamiaceae  ( 5%), Mimosoaceae ( 4%) while other families each was represented by two or one species. Therophytes exhibited the maximum number of species (35%), followed by chaemophytes (32%), hemicryptophytes (15%) and phanerophytes (9.8%), while the least frequent life form class was geophytes and epiphytes .Chorological characteristic of the recorded flora showed that Saharo-Arabian and Sudanian elements constitute % of  the total flora. Keywords: dsfloristic composition , vegetation , Asir region ,chorology , diversit

On the use of smartphone sensors for developing advanced driver assistance systems

Technological evolution impacts several industries, including automotive. The combination of software with advancements in sensory capabilities results in new Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS). The pervasiveness of smartphones and their sensory capabilities makes them an solid platform for the development of ADAS. Our work is motivated by concerns on the reliability of data acquired from such devices for developing ADAS. We performed a number of controlled experiments to understand which factors impact the collection of accelerometer data with smartphones. We conclude that the quality of data acquired is not significantly affected by using different smartphones, car mounts, rates of sampling, or vehicles for the purpose of developing ADAS. Our results indicate that smartphone sensors can be used to develop ADAS.Research sponsored by the Portugal Incentive System for Research and TechnologicalDevelopment. Project in co-promotion no. 002797/2015 (INNOVCAR 2015-2018)

PLAY-BASED HYDROCARBON EXPLORATION UNDER SPATIAL UNCERTAINTY USING EVIDENTIAL THEORY

Hydrocarbon exploration is a process based on the prediction of existing hydrocarbon in the underground formations which is associated with uncertainties. A number of studies have been undertaken on the extent of these uncertainties in the risk maps concerned with hydrocarbon exploration. This paper has addressed this issue using a novel approach. The differences of the proposed method are checked in a few cases. Firstly, the level of studying the hydrocarbon system is play which refers to an area with a potential for trapping hydrocarbon with a unique petroleum system. Second, the evidential theory was used to accurately examine the uncertainty in the maps of the hydrocarbon system. Finally, the model used to produce the final risk map is developed in a geospatial information system environment. The results of the research show that the functions proposed in the model are accurately estimated the uncertainty in the prediction of the existence of hydrocarbon systems in the study area. The CCRS map outlines approximately 25.9&thinsp;% of the study area which is highly promising for the hydrocarbon potential reservation. According to the obtained results, around 61.2&thinsp;% of the prospects have low risk of hydrocarbon potential in the area having high belief and about 43.7&thinsp;% of the prospects are available with high risk of hydrocarbon potential in the regions with high uncertainty.</p

Medicinal plants used for treatment of diabetes by the marakh sect of the Garo tribe living in Mymensingh district, Bangladesh

Diabetes mellitus is an endocrinological disorder arising from insulin deficiency or due to ineffectiveness of the insulin produced by the body. This results in high blood glucose and with time, to neurological, cardiovascular, retinal and renal complications. It is a debilitating disease and affects the population of every country of the world. Around 200 million people of the world suffer from this disease and this figure is projected to rise to 300 million in the coming years. The disease cannot becured with allopathic medicine as the drugs used do not restore normal glucose homeostasis and moreover have side-effects. On the other hand, traditional medicinal practitioners of various countries claim to cure diabetes or at least alleviate the major symptoms and progression of this disease through administration of medicinal plants. The Garos are an indigenous community of Bangladesh, who still follow their traditional medicinal practices. Their traditional medicinal formulations contain a number of plants, which they claim to be active antidiabetic agents. Since observation of indigenous practices have led to discovery of manymodern drugs, it was the objective of the present study to conduct a survey among the Marakh sect of the Garos residing in Mymensingh district of Bangladesh to find out the medicinal plants that they use for treatment of diabetes. It was found that the tribal practitioners of the Marakh sect of the Garos use twelve medicinal plants for treatment of diabetes. These plants were Lannea coromandelica, Alstonia scholaris, Catharanthus roseus, Enhydra fluctuans, Terminalia chebula, Coccinia grandis, Momordica charantia, Cuscuta reflexa, Phyllanthus emblica, Syzygium aqueum, Drynaria quercifolia, and Clerodendrum viscosum. A review of the scientific literature demonstrated that almost all the plants used by the Garo tribal practitioners have reported antidiabetic and/or antioxidant properties and have enormous potential for possible development of new and efficacious antidiabetic drugs

Tribal Formulations for Treatment of Pain: A Study of the Bede Community Traditional Medicinal Practitioners of Porabari Village in Dhaka District, Bangladesh

The Bedes form one of the largest tribal or indigenous communities in Bangladesh and are popularly known as the boat people or water gypsies because of their preference for living in boats. They travel almost throughout the whole year by boats on the numerous waterways of Bangladesh and earn their livelihood by selling sundry items, performing jugglery acts, catching snakes, and treating village people by the various riversides with their traditional medicinal formulations. Life is hard for the community, and both men and women toil day long. As a result of their strenuous lifestyle, they suffer from various types of pain, and have developed an assortment of formulations for treatment of pain in different parts of the body. Pain is the most common reason for physician consultation in all parts of the world including Bangladesh. Although a number of drugs are available to treat pain, including non-steroidal, steroidal, and narcotic drugs, such drugs usually have side-effects like causing bleeding in the stomach over prolonged use (as in the case of rheumatic pain), or can be addictive. Moreover, pain arising from causes like rheumatism has no proper treatment in allopathic medicine. It was the objective of the present study to document the formulations used by the Bede traditional practitioners for pain treatment, for they claim to have used these formulations over centuries with success. Surveys were conducted among a large Bede community, who reside in boats on the Bangshi River by Porabari village of Savar area in Dhaka district of Bangladesh. Interviews of 30 traditional practitioners were conducted with the help of a semi-structured questionnaire and the guided field-walk method. It was observed that the Bede practitioners used 53 formulations for treatment of various types of pain, the main ingredient of all formulations being medicinal plants. Out of the 53 formulations, 25 were for treatment of rheumatic pain, either exclusively, or along with other types of body pain. A total of 65 plants belonging to 39 families were used in the formulations. The Fabaceae family provided 7 plants followed by the Solanaceae family with 4 plants. 47 out of the 53 formulations were used topically, 5 formulations were orally administered, and 1 formulation had both topical and oral uses. 8 formulations for treatment of rheumatic pain contained Calotropis gigantea, suggesting that the plant has strong potential for further scientific studies leading to discovery of novel efficacious compounds for rheumatic pain treatment

Submicron aerosol composition in the world's most polluted megacity: the Delhi Aerosol Supersite study

Delhi, India, routinely experiences some of the world's highest urban particulate matter concentrations. We established the Delhi Aerosol Supersite study to provide long-term characterization of the ambient submicron aerosol composition in Delhi. Here we report on 1.25 years of highly time-resolved speciated submicron particulate matter (PM1) data, including black carbon (BC) and nonrefractory PM1 (NR-PM1), which we combine to develop a composition-based estimate of PM1 (“C-PM1”&thinsp;=&thinsp;BC&thinsp;+&thinsp;NR-PM1) concentrations. We observed marked seasonal and diurnal variability in the concentration and composition of PM1 owing to the interactions of sources and atmospheric processes. Winter was the most polluted period of the year, with average C-PM1 mass concentrations of ∼210&thinsp;µg&thinsp;m−3. The monsoon was hot and rainy, consequently making it the least polluted (C-PM1 ∼50&thinsp;µg&thinsp;m−3) period. Organics constituted more than half of the C-PM1 for all seasons and times of day. While ammonium, chloride, and nitrate each were ∼10&thinsp;% of the C-PM1 for the cooler months, BC and sulfate contributed ∼5&thinsp;% each. For the warmer periods, the fractional contribution of BC and sulfate to C-PM1 increased, and the chloride contribution decreased to less than 2&thinsp;%. The seasonal and diurnal variation in absolute mass loadings were generally consistent with changes in ventilation coefficients, with higher concentrations for periods with unfavorable meteorology – low planetary boundary layer height and low wind speeds. However, the variation in C-PM1 composition was influenced by temporally varying sources, photochemistry, and gas–particle partitioning. During cool periods when wind was from the northwest, episodic hourly averaged chloride concentrations reached 50–100&thinsp;µg&thinsp;m−3, ranking among the highest chloride concentrations reported anywhere in the world. We estimated the contribution of primary emissions and secondary processes to Delhi's submicron aerosol. Secondary species contributed almost 50&thinsp;%–70&thinsp;% of Delhi's C-PM1 mass for the winter and spring months and up to 60&thinsp;%–80&thinsp;% for the warmer summer and monsoon months. For the cooler months that had the highest C-PM1 concentrations, the nighttime sources were skewed towards primary sources, while the daytime C-PM1 was dominated by secondary species. Overall, these findings point to the important effects of both primary emissions and more regional atmospheric chemistry on influencing the extreme particle concentrations that impact the Delhi megacity region. Future air quality strategies considering Delhi's situation in both a regional and local context will be more effective than policies targeting only local, primary air pollutants.</p

Phase 1 study of cardiac safety of TAS-102 in patients with advanced solid tumors

PURPOSE: TAS-102 is a novel oral agent combining the antineoplastic thymidine-based nucleoside analogue, trifluridine, and the thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor, tipiracil (molar ratio 1:0.5). TAS-102 has shown good activity in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer with acceptable safety. No QT prolongation was seen in clinical studies. This study aimed to investigate TAS-102 cardiac safety for regulatory requirements. METHODS: This was a phase 1, non-randomized study in adults with advanced solid tumors. Intensive QT assessments were conducted at baseline, placebo, and following single and multiple doses of TAS-102 during a 28-day cycle. RESULTS: Following single- and multiple-dose administration (N = 30), the upper bounds of the one-sided 95 % confidence intervals for the difference between TAS-102 and placebo in time-matched baseline-subtracted 12-lead Holter QT intervals did not exceed 20 ms at any prespecified time point. One patient had a change from baseline in QTcI interval ≥60 ms, and one patient had a QTcI interval >500 ms following multiple-dose TAS-102 administration. No patient had an uncorrected QT, QTcF, or QTcB interval >500 ms. Based on the exposure-response analysis between TAS-102 plasma concentrations and the placebo-adjusted QTc intervals, none of the upper bounds of the one-sided 95 % prediction intervals exceeded 20 ms. There were no significant morphological changes for T or U waves. No cardiovascular AEs were reported in cycle 1. Across all cycles, no patient experienced an AE of ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, syncope, or seizure. CONCLUSIONS: There was no clinically relevant relationship between TAS-102 plasma concentrations and QTc interval; TAS-102 had no clinically relevant effects on cardiac repolarization

Vitamin D serum level predicts stroke clinical severity, functional independence, and disability—A retrospective cohort study

BackgroundStroke is a leading cause of mortality and disability and one of the most common neurological conditions globally. Many studies focused on vitamin D as a stroke risk factor, but only a few focused on its serum level as a predictor of stroke initial clinical severity and recovery with inconsistent results. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and stroke clinical severity at admission and functional independence and disability at discharge in Saudi Arabia.MethodologyA retrospective cohort study of adult ischemic stroke patients who had their vitamin D tested and admitted within 7 days of exhibiting stroke symptoms at King Abdulaziz Medical City (KAMC) Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Based on vitamin D level, the patients were categorized into normal [25(OH)D serum level ≥ 75 nmol/L], insufficient [25(OH)D serum level is 50–75 nmol/L], and deficient [25(OH)D serum level ≤ 50 nmol/L]. The primary outcome was to assess the vitamin D serum level of ischemic stroke patients’ clinical severity at admission and functional independence at discharge. The National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) was used to assess the clinical severity, whereas the modified Rankin scale (mRS) was used to assess functional independence and disability.ResultsThe study included 294 stroke patients, out of 774, who were selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The mean age of the participants was 68.2 ± 13.4 years, and 49.3% were male. The patients’ distribution among the three groups based on their vitamin D levels is: normal (n = 35, 11.9%), insufficient (n = 66, 22.5%), and deficient (n = 196, 65.6%). After adjusting for potential covariates, regression analysis found a significant inverse relationship of NIHSS based on 25(OH)D serum level (beta coefficient: −0.04, SE: 0.01, p = 0.003). Patients with deficient serum vitamin D level also had significantly higher odds of worse functional independence in mRS score [OR: 2.41, 95%CI: (1.13–5.16), p = 0.023] when compared to participants with normal vitamin D level.ConclusionLow vitamin D levels were associated with higher severity of stroke at admission and poor functional independence and disability at discharge in patients with acute ischemic stroke. Further randomized clinical and interventional studies are required to confirm our findings