A hybrid evaluation approach and guidance for mHealth education applications

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018. Mobile health education applications (MHEAs) are used to support different users. However, although these applications are increasing in number, there is no effective evaluation framework to measure their usability and thus save effort and time for their many user groups. This paper outlines a useful framework for evaluating MHEAs, together with particular evaluation metrics: an efficient hybrid of selected heuristic evaluation (HE) and usability evaluation (UE) factors to enable the determination of the usefulness and usability of MHEAs. We also propose a guidance tool to help stakeholders choose the most suitable MHEA. The outcome of this framework is envisioned as meeting the requirements of different users, in addition to enhancing the development of MHEAs using software engineering approaches by creating new and more effective evaluation techniques. Finally, we present qualitative and quantitative results for the framework when used with MHEAs

A Novel Approach for Arabic Text Steganography Based on the "BloodGroup" Text Hiding Method

Steganography is the science of hiding certain messages (data) in groups of irrelevant data possibly of other form. The purpose of steganography is covert communication to hide the existence of a message from an intermediary. Text Steganography is the process of embedding secret message (text) in another text (cover text) so that the existence of secret message cannot be detected by a third party. This paper presents a novel approach for text steganography using the Blood Group (BG) method based on the behavior of blood group. Experimentally it is found that the proposed method got good results in capacity, hiding capacity, time complexity, robustness, visibility, and similarity which shows its superiority as compared to most several existing methods

Seed quality and germination in selected hybrids of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis, Jacq.)

Different indigenous oil palm hybrids were evaluated with an objective to assess their quality and to develop seed quality standards in commercial seed production centers. Majority of the indigenous hybrids had large proportion of small seeds and their percentage of distribution varied according to the hybrids. The different hybrid combinations recorded coefficient of variation of 11.70, 11.28 and 15.35 for seed weight, shell weight and kernel weight, respectively. Large seed group in all the crosses had high seed weight, shell weight, shell thickness and kernel weight. Though shell thickness had significant differences among crosses and size groups, the coefficient of variation recorded (6.38%) was low compared to other characteristics. Selected hybrids had low average kernel weight of 1.63, 1.05 and 0.74 g for large, medium and small seeds, respectively. In this study, high and low germination percentage was recorded in all the categories of seed groups irrespective of their sizes. All the seed physical parameters studied were positively correlated which are highly significant

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) seeds as unconventional nutritional source

The composition of roselle seed from oil, protein, ash, fiber, fatty acids and amino acids was determined and compared in three cultivars in order to use it as an unconventional nutritional source. Aswan cv. occupies the highest significant rank in protein (31.51), oil (23.70) and fiber (4.87%) contents. Aswan and Sewa cvs. had the highest significant unsaturated fatty acid composition, especially oleic and linoleic acids, with oleic acid having values of 36.22 and 33.34% and linoleic acid, 14.95 and 15.10% values. Protein of Aswan cv. had the highest significant values of seven essential amino acids and four non-essential amino acids, especially lysine and phenylalanine.Key words: Amino acids, fatty acids, nutrition, oil, protein, roselle, unconventional crops

Examining the influence of intermediaries in facilitating e-government adoption: an empirical investigation

YesThe adoption and diffusion of electronic government is often impeded by many social and individual factors relating to citizens. In this respect, intermediaries have emerged as a new model for delivering e-government services to overcome such obstacles. This study aims to examine the role of intermediaries in facilitating e-government adoption and diffusion using a survey based empirical study of 502 participants in Madinah City in Saudi Arabia. An extended UTAUT model is used as the theoretical basis utlising trust in the Internet and Intermediaries. The results of this study show that there are significant relationships among the factors that influence intention to use e-government, namely, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and trust of intermediary. In addition, the findings show that there is a significant relationship between facilitating conditions and usage behaviour proving that intermediaries can influence adoption of e-government services

Development, implementation, and analysis of adverse drug reaction monitoring system in a rural tertiary care teaching hospital in Narketpally, Telangana

Background: Adverse drug reactions (ADR) are the fourth leading cause of mortality and a great concern in therapeutics. Pharmacovigilance is more important in India as the health care system is inadequate with poor doctor-patient ratio, high incidence of self-medication, and presence of counterfeit drugs. The present study was conducted with the aim of analyzing the pattern of ADR occurring in a rural tertiary care hospital with a newly established pharmacovigilance center and to identify the most frequent ADRs, common drugs implicated and severity of reactions.Methods: A non-interventional observational prospective study was conducted over a year. The red boxes for dropping the filled yellow ADR forms were installed in all the wards and outpatient departments. Additional information and missing data were obtained personally by either consulting the physician or through case sheets.Results: The most common class of drugs implicated in the causation of ADRs was antimicrobials (52%), followed by drugs acting on the central nervous system. The most commonly observed ADRs were dermatological Type B reactions. The majority of the reactions belonged to possible or probable category, but no reaction was categorized as definite.Conclusion: Dermatological reactions are the most common ADR occurring in our hospital and antimicrobials are the most common causative drugs. The reporting rate was adequate, and there is still a need for increasing the awareness and knowledge about ADR reporting system and pharmacovigilance for promoting the safe use of drugs

Active Power Filter Design by a Novel Approach of Multi-Objective Optimization

This paper presents an innovative active power filter design method to simultaneously compensate the current harmonics and reactive power of a nonlinear load. The power filter integrates a passive power filter which is a RL low-pass filter placed in series with the load, and an active power filter which comprises an RL in series with an IGBT based voltage source converter. The filter is assumed to inject a current into the connection node of the load and grid to eliminate current harmonics and its reactive part. The voltage source converter is placed in a hysteresis feedback control loop to generate a harmonic current. The bandwidth and output amplitude of the hysteresis controller are optimized with the inductance of RL filters. Three objective functions are considered in the optimization problem, which include minimizing of current total harmonic distortion, maximizing of power factor, and minimizing of the IGBT bridge current. For solving the optimization problem, two well-known multi-objective evolutionary algorithms are applied, namely, non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) and Strength Pareto Evolutionary Algorithm 2 (SPEA2). Test results showed that the SPEA2 technique exhibited a better performance in comparison to NSGA-II relative to the objectives

Sustainability of Scientific Journals in the Developing World With Special Reference to Bangladesh

The study explores sustainability of scientific journal publication in Bangladesh. Forty-three journal editors were interviewed, and 66 current journals were physically examined for production quality, regularity of publication, and availability at concerned libraries. Findings revealed that 68% of the journals were published late, 30% had inconsistencies in typesetting, and 14% were indexed. Most journals were found either excellent or of good quality in terms of printing (85%), binding (77%), paper (92%), and graphic reproduction (76%). Most journals were not available in major libraries under study. Of the 43 editors, 28 (35%) reported a cost recovery of 1-45% from subscriptions, advertisements, and sales. About 74.4% of the editors did not consider their journals at risk. Although 86% of the editors were confident that their journals would be sustained in the long run, 37.3% could not give any convincing logic in support of their statement. Major problems include lack of skilled staff, finance, quality articles and institutional support, and lengthy peer review process. Only one journal editor was found to be a full-time editor having training in editing and publication. One-half (51%) of the editors reported have training in editing, while four had publication training. Most editors (79%) were interested in acquiring training in editing and publication. Institutional support and backup, enthusiasm and zeal of editors, unmet need for standard local journals, constant flow of funds and articles, and skilled manpower are instrumental for sustainability of science journals in Bangladesh