Search results

This study aims to develop a hierarchical model that uncovers the relationships between challenges confronting Africa's organ transplant supply chain systems.

Eleven challenges (variables) were identified after a comprehensive review of the existing literature. The contextual interactions among these variables were analysed from the perspectives of health-care stakeholders in two sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries (Nigeria and Uganda), using Delphi-interpretive structural modelling-cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to classification (MICMAC) techniques.

The findings reveal that weak regulatory frameworks, insufficient information systems and a lack of necessary skills make it challenging for critical actors to perform the tasks effectively. The interaction effects of these challenges weaken organ supply chains and make it less efficient, giving rise to negative externalities such as black markets for donated organs and organ tourism/trafficking.

This paper establishes a solid foundation for a critical topic that could significantly impact human health and life once the government or non-profit ecosystem matures. The MICMAC analysis in this paper provides a methodological approach for future studies wishing to further develop the organ supply chain structural models.

The study provides valuable insights for experts and policymakers on where to prioritise efforts in designing interventions to strengthen organ transplantation supply chains in developing countries.

This study is one of the first to empirically examine the challenges of organ transplant supply chains from an SSA perspective, including theoretically grounded explanations from data collected in two developing countries.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how agency conflicts between people and main government organs affect the combatting ability of white-collar money laundering in an emerging economy.

This paper uses a qualitative design under the philosophy of interpretivism. The case study research strategy is used inductively to investigate how structural limitations affect white-collar money laundering.

This study reveals that serious agency conflicts exist between public and main government organs which are detrimental to the rights of people to enjoy a crime-free society. First agency conflict of people and legislature intensifies as a result of limited understanding of the legislature and failure to take precautionary actions to develop an anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) regime with evolving global standards. This delay has resulted in identifying Sri Lanka as a deficient AML/CFT regime twice. The second conflicts arise between people and the executive which is a serious conflict due to misuse of statutory power and failure to perform duties. The independence and integrity of administrative authorities who perform executive functions were inherent problems of implementing a sound AML/CFT regime. Lack of monitoring, nonavailability of an independent audit and inappropriate reporting channels were other encouraging factors of administrative organs to misuse statutory power. The third conflict between people and the judiciary was not intensified because the function was not so exposed to create agency conflicts. After all, an adequate number of cases had not proceeded to the judiciary due to inherent limitations as a result of intensified first two agency conflicts. The agency conflicts have intensified over the years and AML/CFT regime has been ineffective as a result of limited influence and understanding of the principal, people. Therefore, the principal has to influence the agents to make reforms in the AML/CFT regime to make the country a white-collar crime-free country.

This study uses a case study strategy to assess the context of Sri Lanka as an emerging economy. It is recommended to take into consideration the contextual facts when the findings are applied to other jurisdictions.

This paper is an original work of the authors which discusses how agency conflicts arise between people and three main government organs in implementing a sound AML/CFT regime in Sri Lanka as an emerging economy.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the electric field and specific absorption rate (SAR) distribution within biological tissues in the vicinity of dental implants, exposed to the mobile phone radiation.

This research was performed for the frequency of 2.6 GHz, which corresponds to 4G mobile network. The adequate 3D realistic numerical models of the mobile phone user’s head, dental implants and actual smartphone model are created using packages based on the finite integral technique numerical method.

The obtained results yield to a conclusion that the presence of dental implants affects the increase in electric field intensity and SAR values within biological tissues in its vicinity.

The presented procedure is limited to the 4G mobile network frequency of 2.6 MHz. The study should be extended to other mobile network frequencies to be more general.

The criteria for selection of the materials used for dental implants production should be extended with the recommended material characteristics related to their influence on the electric field and SAR distribution, to keep their values in the limits prescribed by standards.

The obtained results provide the foundation for future research in mobile devices’ electromagnetic fields’ influence on human health.

The accurate determination of the electric field and SAR values within different biological tissues and organs in the vicinity of dental implants exposed to mobile phone electromagnetic radiation, demands highly realistic model of observed biological structures. For purposes of the current study, the procedure for modeling of highly nonhomogeneous structure with finite number of homogenous domains having known electromagnetic parameters is described in the paper. As a result, the 3D complex users’ head model formed of 16 homogeneous domains of different electromagnetic parameters is created.

The main objective of this paper is to illustrate an analytical view of different methods of 3D bioprinting, variations, formulations and characteristics of biomaterials. This review also aims to discover all the areas of applications and scopes of further improvement of 3D bioprinters in this era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

This paper reviewed a number of papers that carried evaluations of different 3D bioprinting methods with different biomaterials, using different pumps to print 3D scaffolds, living cells, tissue and organs. All the papers and articles are collected from different journals and conference papers from 2014 to 2022.

This paper briefly explains how the concept of a 3D bioprinter was developed from a 3D printer and how it affects the biomedical field and helps to recover the lack of organ donors. It also gives a clear explanation of three basic processes and different strategies of these processes and the criteria of biomaterial selection. This paper gives insights into how 3D bioprinters can be assisted with machine learning to increase their scope of application.

The chosen research approach may limit the generalizability of the research findings. As a result, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed hypotheses further.

This paper includes implications for developing 3D bioprinters, developing biomaterials and increasing the printability of 3D bioprinters.

This paper addresses an identified need by investigating how to enable 3D bioprinting performance.

This paper aims to explore the factors leading to the phenomenon of child trafficking in Egypt, how deeply it runs through the Egyptian society and evaluate the state’s efforts to combat it.

This research paper uses a case study method applied to the phenomenon of child trafficking in the Arab Republic of Egypt, and how the State is fighting it. The general policy approach is also used to clarify the State’s plans, programs and legislation in addressing the phenomenon of child trafficking, evaluate those policies and analyze the international documents.

The research paper concluded that child trafficking in Egypt represents a serious phenomenon, which stems from social, economic and cultural reasons. Even though the Egyptian Government exerts relentless efforts to fight this crime, all attempts have proven insufficient due to the lack of coordination between the concerned parties and low funds, in addition to the feeble services offered to the victims.

This study sheds light on a very perilous phenomenon in the Egyptian society; an international one with intricate magnitudes, upon which the State must concentrate more and eradicate it.

The study contributes to drawing the attention of decision makers in Egypt to the dangers of this phenomenon, and to the points of strength and weaknesses of the government’s efforts against it.

The presence of heavy metals in milk causes many acute and chronic physiological dysfunctions in human organs. The present study aims to investigate the heavy metals in cow's and buffalo's milk of two major cities, Karachi and Gujranwala, Pakistan to estimate metal intake by humans from this source.

In total, 48 milk samples from 2 cities were drawn from animals' udder to avoid contamination. Each sample was digested with nitric acid at 105 ^oC (degree Celsius) on a pre-heated electric hot plate to investigate the metals by atomic absorption spectroscopy (flame type). Air-acetylene technique analyzed chromium, cadmium and lead, and the hydride method analyzed arsenic in the milk samples.

The results revealed the highest mean lead concentration (19.65 ± 43.86 ppb) in the milk samples, followed by chromium (2.10 ± 2.33 ppb) and arsenic (0.48 ± 0.73 ppb). Cadmium was not detected in any sample, assuming cadmium's occurrence was below the detection level. The concentrations of all the metals in the samples of the two cities do not differ statistically. Lead concentrations in the buffalo's milk were higher than in cow's milk (p < 0.05). However, the concentrations of arsenic and chromium between buffalo's and cow's milk do not differ statistically. The present study reveals a lower level of metals in the milk than those conducted elsewhere. The mean concentrations of all the metals met the World Health Organization's (WHO) safety guidelines (1993).

Although cadmium causes toxicity in the human body, cadmium could not be measured because cadmium's concentration was below the detection level, which is 1 ppb.

This study will help reduce the toxic metals in our environment, and the sources of heavy metals, particularly from the industrial sector could be identified. The feed and water consumed by the milking animals could be carefully used for feeding them.

This study will help reduce the diseases and malfunction of human organs and organ systems since these heavy metals cause toxicity and carcinogenicity in humans. Arsenic and chromium cause cancer while lead causes encephalopathy (a brain disease).

The study reports heavy metal concentrations in the two attributes of four independent variables of raw milk samples that were scarcely reported from Pakistan.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an new online path planning method for porcine belly cutting. With the proliferation in demand for the automatic systems of pork production, the development of efficient and robust meat cutting algorithms are hot issues. The uncertain and dynamic nature of the online porcine belly cutting imposes a challenge for the robot to identify and cut efficiently and accurately. Based on the above challenges, an online porcine belly cutting method using 3D laser point cloud is proposed.

The robotic cutting system is composed of an industrial robotic manipulator, customized tools, a laser sensor and a PC.

Analysis of experimental results shows that by comparing with machine vision, laser sensor-based robot cutting has more advantages, and it can handle different carcass sizes.

An image pyramid method is used for dimensionality reduction of the 3D laser point cloud. From a detailed analysis of the outward and inward cutting errors, the outward cutting error is the limiting condition for reducing the segments by segmentation algorithm.

This paper aims to prompt ideas amongst readers (especially librarians) about how they can become active partners in knowledge dissemination amongst concerned user groups by implementing 3D printing technology under the “Makerspace.”

The paper provides a brief account of various tools and techniques used by veterinary and animal sciences institutions for information dissemination amongst the stakeholders and associated challenges with a focus on the use of 3D printing technology to overcome the bottlenecks. An overview of the 3D printing technology has been provided following the instances of use of this novel technology in veterinary and animal sciences. An initiative of the University Library, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, to harness the potential of this technology in disseminating information amongst livestock stakeholders has been discussed.

3D printing has the potential to enhance learning in veterinary and animal sciences by providing hands-on exposure to various anatomical structures, such as bones, organs and blood vessels, without the need for a cadaver. This approach enhances students’ spatial understanding and helps them better understand anatomical concepts. Libraries can enhance their visibility and can contribute actively to knowledge dissemination beyond traditional library services.

The ideas about how to harness the potential of 3D printing in knowledge dissemination amongst livestock sector stakeholders have been elaborated. This promotes creativity amongst librarians enabling them to think how they can engage in knowledge dissemination thinking out of the box.

The alternative medical practices of both Ottoman and Andalusian heritages could be shown through bloodletting and cupping therapies that have been utilized in various ancient civilizations. The current study endeavors to explore the historical implementation of bloodletting as a sustainable medical heritage by Muslim physicians in the Andalusian and Ottoman empires as a part of their surgical heritage that is documented in their manuscripts and miniatures.

The primary research materials utilized in this case study are the copy of the manuscript Al-Tasrif li-man ‘Ajiza ‘an al-Taʾlif in Berlin library and the copy of the manuscript Cerrahiye-I Ilhaniye of the National Library in Paris. The study applies an analytical comparative approach to examine the practice of bloodletting by two Muslim physicians as a part of reviving heritage usage.

The present study investigates the heritage in both periods throughout implementation of cupping therapy by Al-Zahrawi and Sabuncuoglu, while also examining the resemblances and divergences in the techniques of bloodletting as a heritage medical treatment employed by these Muslim physicians and still used in Muslim culture and could be used in medical tourism purposes.

The current study aims to investigate the understanding and implementation of heritage bloodletting and cupping therapy as a sustainable tool in surgical purposes, through an exploration of treatment methods detailed in both manuscripts. Additionally, it examines the contributions made by the two surgeons toward the development of new cups and the refinement of processes involved in bloodletting and cupping therapy. Furthermore, the study highlights the locations where cupping can be performed and differentiates between dry and wet cupping techniques, as depicted in the painted instruments documented in both manuscripts.