Dance Analysis in General Education Settings : A Tool for Building Audiences, Fighting Prejudice and Improving Writing Skills

Suzan Moss 韓國舞踊敎育學會 2009 韓國舞踊敎育學會誌 Vol.20 No.2

Experimental and FE investigation of repairing deficient square CFST beams using FRP

Suzan A.A. Mustafa 국제구조공학회 2018 Steel and Composite Structures, An International J Vol.29 No.2

This paper handles the repairing of deficient square Concrete-Filled Steel-Tube (CFST) beams subject to bending through an experimental and numerical program. Eight square-CFST beams were tested. A 5-mm artificial notch was induced at mid-span of seven beams, four of them were repaired by using CFRP sheets and two were repaired by using GFRP sheets. The beam deflection, strain and ultimate moments were recorded. It was found that providing different cut-off points for the different layers of FRP sheets prohibited failure at termination points due to stress concentrations. Using different lengths of FRP sheets around the notch retarded crack propagation and prevented FRP rupture at the crack position. Finite element analysis was then conducted and the proposed FE model was verified against the recorded experimental data. The influence of various parameters as FRP sheet length, tensile modulus and the number of layers were studied. The moment capacity of damaged square-CFST beams was improved up to 77.6% when repaired by using four layers of CFRP, however, this caused a dramatic decrease in beam deflection. U-wrapping of notched-CFST beam with 0.75 of its length provided a comparable behaviour as wrapping the full length of the beam.

Study of the gut microbiome as a novel target for prevention of hospital associated infections in intensive care unit patients

Suzan Ahmed Elfiky,Shwikar Mahmoud Ahmed,Ahmed Mostafa Elmenshawy,Gehad Mahmoud Sultan,Sara Lotfy Asser 대한중환자의학회 2023 Acute and Critical Care Vol.38 No.1

Background Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are increasing due to the spread of multi-drug-resistant organisms. Gut dysbiosis in an intensive care unit (ICU) patients at admission showed an altered abundance of some bacterial genera associated with the occurrence of HAIs and mortality. In the present study, we investigated the pattern of the gut microbiome in ICU patients at admission to correlate it with the development of HAIs during ICU stay. Methods Twenty patients admitted to an ICU with a cross-matched control group of 30 healthy subjects of matched age and sex. Quantitative SYBR green real-time polymerase chain reaction was done for the identification and quantitation of selected bacteria. Results Out of those twenty patients, 35% developed ventilator-associated pneumonia during their ICU stay. Gut microbiome analysis showed a significant decrease in Firmicutes and Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio in ICU patients in comparison to the control and in patients who developed HAIs in comparison to the control group and patients who did not develop HAIs. There was a statistically significant increase in Bacteroides in comparison to the control group. There was a statistically significant decrease in Bifidobacterium and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and an increase in Lactobacilli in comparison to the control group with a negative correlation between Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score and Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes and Prevotella to Bacteroides ratios. Conclusions Gut dysbiosis of patients at the time of admission highlights the importance of identification of the microbiome of patients admitted at the ICU as a target for preventing of HAIs.

Retention of BioAggregate and MTA as coronal plugs after intracanal medication for regenerative endodontic procedures: an ex vivo study

Suzan Abdul Wanees Amin,Shaimaa Ismail Gawdat 대한치과보존학회 2018 Restorative Dentistry & Endodontics Vol.43 No.3

Objectives: This study compared the retention of BioAggregate (BA; Innovative BioCeramix) and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA; Angelus) as coronal plugs after applying different intracanal medications (ICMs) used in regenerative endodontic. Materials and Methods: One-hundred human maxillary central incisors were used. The canals were enlarged to a diameter of 1.7 mm. Specimens were divided into 5 groups (n = 20) according to the ICM used: calcium hydroxide (CH), 2% chlorhexidine (CHX), triple�antibiotic paste (TAP), double-antibiotic paste (DAP), and no ICM (control; CON). After 3 weeks of application, ICMs were removed and BA or MTA were placed as the plug material (n = 10). The push-out bond strength and the mode of failure were assessed. The data were analyzed using 2-way analysis of variance, the Tukey's test, and the χ2 test; p values < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results: The type of ICM and the type of plug material significantly affected bond strength (p < 0.01). Regardless of the type of ICM, BA showed a lower bond strength than MTA (p < 0.05). For MTA, CH showed a higher bond strength than CON, TAP and DAP; CHX showed a higher bond strength than DAP (p < 0.01). For BA, CH showed a higher bond strength than DAP (p < 0.05). The mode of failure was predominantly cohesive for BA (p < 0.05). Conclusions: MTA may show better retention than BA. The mode of bond failure with BA can be predominantly cohesive. BA retention may be less affected by ICM type than MTA retention.

LUXURY RETAILING

Suzane Strehlau 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

The Brazilian luxury market has been rising since 2006, between 2010 and 2011 the growth rate was 33%. The stabilization of the currency, opening to imports and improving the population's purchasing power has given impetus to the growing demand for luxury brands that has grown steadily over the past 10 years with a rate of 10% per year. This growth is important indicator of the future of this market still represents only 0.7% of the demand for luxury items. (Brazil, 2010) Major luxury brands belonging to multinational corporations have already opened their own stores in Brazil. Some Brazilian luxury brands like H. Stern (jewelry) have operations in another countries. Other luxury companies are Fasano (hotel and food service), Osklen (fashion), Francesca Romana (jewelry) and Carmen Steffens (fashion). The company Trousseau focuses on homeware and differentiates the uniqueness of their products, enhancing the quality of fabrics and finishes. It has 21 stores and is present in S?o Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia and Salvador, and the virtual store (www.trousseau.com.br). The chocolate company Chocolat du Jour exists since 1987 underscores the high quality raw material and care in the preparation (http://www.chocolatdujour.com.br/) The “Les Lis Blanc” is a very expressive brand in this market, which has started with women wear and currently is a corporate group with the brands “Noir” (male wear), “Les Lis Blanc Beaut?”, “John John” (casual wear), “Bobo” (fashion). Until the 1990s, some traditional luxury brands were operating in Brazil with a limited number of product lines and only through representatives. The decision to change the mode of operation in Brazil coincided with some factors of the national and global context. Locally, there was the opening of importation and stabilization of the economy, which until then had high inflation rates: between 1990 and 1994 the average rate of inflation was 764% a year (http://www.brasil.gov.br/sobre/ economic / financial market / inflation). In addition, there was an increase in the purchasing power of the population. In the external environment, the low rates of growth in the European market and the terrorist attacks that have diminished the flow of tourists in Europe and negatively affected the market at the beginning of the XXI century. The first flagship stores of international luxury brands in Brazil came to the city of S?o Paulo in the neighborhood of Jardins. The first street to get luxury brands was the Oscar Freire road (in S?o Paulo) and surroundings where these stores were concentrated in the first time. Even today, this region has a large number of stores of luxury brands. However, there was a migration of them to the shopping malls or malls - businesses closed as high street stores are considered less safe for the majority of the population. Nowadays the concentration of new luxury stores is in malls of the main capitals. In the state of S?o Paulo there is the “Shopping Iguatemi”, “Cidade Jardim”, “JK Iguatemi”. In Rio de Janeiro luxury points of sale are at “Fashion Mall”, “Shopping Leblon”, “Village Mall”. In Bras?lia (the capital) most important ones are “Iguatemi” and “Magrella”. The first Mall in Brazil was opened in 1966: Iguatemi in S?o Paulo. It was soon seen as the natural successor of the specialized street and the first to receive international luxury brands. It is part of a large business group called Jereissati, which one area of activity is called Premium malls, facing socioeconomic classes A and B. In 2012 the group released another shopping mall called JK Iguatemi (related to its location on Juscelino Kubitschek Avenue) although it calls itself Premium several luxury brands are present: Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Carolina Herrera, Christian Louboutin, Chanel, Goyard, Longchamp, Miu Mil, Prada, Rimowa, Tod's, Tory Burch. Also in Sao Paulo in May 2008 another mall was opened “Shopping Cidade Jardim”, positioned as an upscale mall it is part of the venture group JHSF. The origin of the company is in construction sector and has other shopping centers in Brazil, but not using luxury concepts. The interior and exterior architecture can be seen in the design presenting natural lighting and gardens. The stores mix combines brands Louis Vuitton, Valentino, Red Valentino, Cartier, La Martina, Canali, Prada, Gucci the biggest of Latin America, Tag Heuer, Dior and Miu Miu, Fendi, Tod's and Repetto. These malls play an important role in the luxury market in Brazil. They are poles of attraction for international brands by offering an atmosphere consistent with their image and also pulling a large flow of consumers looking for a safer environment, greater convenience and glamour for their shopping. Before the emergence of these poles of luxury, the distribution of luxury goods in Brazil relied mostly on multi-brand stores, amongst which was the pioneer Daslu. Currently been supplanted by other projects of the same type as the Magrella Brasilia and NKStore. NK store is a clothing store that also has multi own brands (Talienk, Nk and Nkfitness) located in the Jardins neighborhood of S?o Paulo. Founded in 1997 by Natalie Klein daughter of a great Brazilian business, the shop features international brands: Stella Mccartney, Marc Jacobs, Marc By Marc Jacobs, Lanvin, Balmain, Givenchy, Issa, Ala?a, Catherine Malandrino, Malandrino, Blumarine, Celine, Pucci , Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, Isabel Marant, Maison Michael, Aur?lie Bidermann, Fiona Paxton and Moncler. Lim, Alexander Wang, Isabel Marant, Maison Michael, Aur?lie Bidermann, Fiona Paxton e Moncler. There is one Brazilian Association of Luxury (ABRAEL), recently created. The aim is to gather participants operating in Brazil and to support the development of activities related luxury. (http://www.abrael.org.br/abrael.php). Audi, A | X Armani Exchange, Breitling, Cartier, Chanel, Estee Lauder, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Salvatore Ferragamo, Tiffany & Co. and Swarovski are associated and also Brazilian brands are present in the premium segments of fashion, homeware and services. Not all luxury brands are part of the Brazilian Association. Challenges Luxury companies established in Brazil have many challenges. The major challenge is to deal with the fluctuation of the exchange rate, the dollar trade is strongly linked to the situation in the Eurozone. (Cenarios FGV, 2013). Euros and Dollars can be freely purchased in exchange offices, banks or from individuals, the price depends on the market. Upper classes use to travel and make price and product comparisons, aware of product characteristics and prices levels outside the country these consumers need to fell advantages when purchasing in Brazil. Another challenge to be faced is the inefficiency of the infrastructure. The transport of cargo is mainly done by road transport. With dimension of 8,515,767.049 km ² (IBGE, Nov/2012) Brazil has only 96,353 km of paved roads (Portal Brazil, 2013). Ocean Ports are one bottleneck in international trade and the delivery of imported goods is undermined. Imported products must present legal wording on the packaging as the registration number of the legal entity (one number per company), and depending on their nature should get a registered number with the Ministry of Health or Agriculture. The complex taxation system is based on triggering events, such as the physical entry of a product in Brazil. There are taxes that belong to the federal government, others to the State or County. The Free-on-bord price (FOB) of the product might increase between 30 and 150% depending on the category and, moreover, the taxes overlap each other in what is called cascading effect. On average, there is a charge of 20% above FOB prices called Import Tax (II), 12% on the movement of goods and services (ICMS), 7% Tax industrialization of products, and other fees with lower tax rates, called by the acronyms COFINS PIS, PASEP. Besides the heavy tax structure and insufficient infrastructure, businessmen from luxury companies in Brazil complain about the difficulty in hiring skilled employees, especially to work in retail outlets. There is a lack of sellers with good training and general culture. Brazilian brands have an extra disadvantage comparing to foreign brands because Brazilian consumers tend to put more value on imported brands. This is rooted in the colonialist period, immigration and the prohibition of imports during the dictatorship. Luxury business in Brazil should continue to grow in coming years. The Brazilian consumer would increase his knowledge about luxury brands concepts and become more demanding and comparative in their consumption choices. Luxury retailing is expanding from the original points of sale which might affect the luxury perception of some brands.

PRESTIGE DEGREE AMONG LUXURY BRANDS

Suzane Strehlau,Evandro L. Lopes 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.5

The luxury market has expanded out of its traditional niche of elite and hit the middle-class consumer; this is part of the brand extension strategies. The goal of the research is to examine whether consumers perceive different degrees of "luxuriousness" among luxury brands using different brand name extension strategies. Kowalczyk (2010) proposed that a downward vertical extension is related to the dilution of the mother luxury brand. Corroborating this idea Kim, Lavacke and Smith (2001) indicate that the introduction of any vertical brand extension, whether up or down, has a negative impact on consumer evaluation of the parent brand. The results of Hennigs et al (2013) are not clear about the effects of downward extension. This exploratory study presents a quantitative approach; a survey was conducted with consumers who had purchased one luxury goods in the last 12 months (judgement sample). The hypothesis are: H1- The consumer perceives different levels of prestige among luxury brands; H2 - consumers evaluate differently a brand using different brand name strategies in brand extension. Results reveal that consumers perceived different degrees of prestige among brands (F = 19.260, sig.000). The results showed that the Chanel is the brand with a higher degree of prestige with an average of 8.01, the second luxurious brand was the Giorgio Armani (7.40), followed by Emporio Armani (6.28), Diesel (6.13), Armani Jeans (5.77), Calvin Klein (5.43) and finally the less prestigious degree was the Armani Exchange (5.22).Although these are data cannot be extrapolated to the whole population there is evidence that Brazilian consumers evaluate luxury brands inside a range of perceived luxuriousness. Further studies should use a conclusive method to verify the impact of brand extension on the degree of perceived luxury. Chanel (mean = 8.0111, Sd = 2.60393) and Giorgio Armani (mean = 7.4028, Sd= 2.59494) brand are identified as possessing the highest degree of luxury. So this exploratory study can raise the hypothesis to be tested in the future that the strategy of the name being used does not impact on the degree of perceived luxury brand mother. The trademark dilution may occur in the group of lowest degree of luxury (such as Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange.

LUXURY RETAILING

Suzane Strehlau 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.10

PRESTIGE DEGREE AMONG LUXURY BRANDS

Suzane Strehlau,Evandro L. Lopes 글로벌지식마케팅경영학회 2014 Global Marketing Conference Vol.2014 No.7

The luxury market has expanded out of its traditional niche of elite and hit the middle-class consumer; this is part of the brand extension strategies. The goal of the research is to examine whether consumers perceive different degrees of luxuriousness among luxury brands using different brand name extension strategies. Kowalczyk (2010) proposed that a downward vertical extension is related to the dilution of the mother luxury brand. Corroborating this idea Kim, Lavacke and Smith (2001) indicate that the introduction of any vertical brand extension, whether up or down, has a negative impact on consumer evaluation of the parent brand. The results of Hennigs et al (2013) are not clear about the effects of downward extension. This exploratory study presents a quantitative approach; a survey was conducted with consumers who had purchased one luxury goods in the last 12 months (judgement sample). The hypothesis are: H1- The consumer perceives different levels of prestige among luxury brands; H2 – consumers evaluate differently a brand using different brand name strategies in brand extension. Results reveal that consumers perceived different degrees of prestige among brands (F = 19.260, sig.000). The results showed that the Chanel is the brand with a higher degree of prestige with an average of 8.01, the second luxurious brand was the Giorgio Armani (7.40), followed by Emporio Armani (6.28), Diesel (6.13), Armani Jeans (5.77), Calvin Klein (5.43) and finally the less prestigious degree was the Armani Exchange (5.22).Although these are data cannot be extrapolated to the whole population there is evidence that Brazilian consumers evaluate luxury brands inside a range of perceived luxuriousness. Further studies should use a conclusive method to verify the impact of brand extension on the degree of perceived luxury. Chanel (mean = 8.0111, Sd = 2.60393) and Giorgio Armani (mean = 7.4028, Sd= 2.59494) brand are identified as possessing the highest degree of luxury. So this exploratory study can raise the hypothesis to be tested in the future that the strategy of the name being used does not impact on the degree of perceived luxury brand mother. The trademark dilution may occur in the group of lowest degree of luxury (such as Armani Jeans, Armani Exchange.

Retention of BioAggregate and MTA as coronal plugs after intracanal medication for regenerative endodontic procedures: an ex vivo study

Amin, Suzan Abdul Wanees,Gawdat, Shaimaa Ismail The Korean Academy of Conservative Dentistry 2018 Restorative Dentistry & Endodontics Vol.43 No.3

Objectives: This study compared the retention of BioAggregate (BA; Innovative BioCeramix) and mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA; Angelus) as coronal plugs after applying different intracanal medications (ICMs) used in regenerative endodontic. Materials and Methods: One-hundred human maxillary central incisors were used. The canals were enlarged to a diameter of 1.7 mm. Specimens were divided into 5 groups (n = 20) according to the ICM used: calcium hydroxide (CH), 2% chlorhexidine (CHX), triple-antibiotic paste (TAP), double-antibiotic paste (DAP), and no ICM (control; CON). After 3 weeks of application, ICMs were removed and BA or MTA were placed as the plug material (n = 10). The push-out bond strength and the mode of failure were assessed. The data were analyzed using 2-way analysis of variance, the Tukey's test, and the ${\chi}^2$ test; p values < 0.05 indicated statistical significance. Results: The type of ICM and the type of plug material significantly affected bond strength (p < 0.01). Regardless of the type of ICM, BA showed a lower bond strength than MTA (p < 0.05). For MTA, CH showed a higher bond strength than CON, TAP and DAP; CHX showed a higher bond strength than DAP (p < 0.01). For BA, CH showed a higher bond strength than DAP (p < 0.05). The mode of failure was predominantly cohesive for BA (p < 0.05). Conclusions: MTA may show better retention than BA. The mode of bond failure with BA can be predominantly cohesive. BA retention may be less affected by ICM type than MTA retention.

Effectiveness of the Microlux/DLTM Chemiluminescence Device in Screening of Potentially Malignant and Malignant Oral Lesions

Ibrahim, Suzan Seif,Al-Attas, Safia Ali,Darwish, Zeinab Elsayed,Amer, Hala Abbas,Hassan, Mona Hassan Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.15

Background: To evaluate the effectiveness of Microlux/DL with and without toluidine blue in screening of potentially malignant and malignant oral lesions. Materials and Methods: In this diagnostic clinical trial clinical examination was carried out by two teams: 1) two oral medicine consultants, and 2) two general dentists. Participants were randomly and blindly allocated for each examining team. A total of 599 tobacco users were assessed through conventional oral examination (COE); the examination was then repeated using Microlux/DL device and toluidine blue. Biopsy of suspicious lesions was performed. Also clinicians opinions regarding the two tools were obtained. Results: The sensitivity and, specificity and positive predictive value (PVP) of Microlux/DL for visualization of suspicious premalignant lesions considering COE as a gold standard (i.e screening device) were 94.3%, 99.6% and 96.2% respectively, while they were 100%, 32.4% and 17.9% when considering biopsy as a gold standard. Moreover, Microlux/DL enhanced detection of the lesion and uncovered new lesions compared to COE, whereas it did not alter the provisional clinical diagnosis, or alter the biopsy site. On the other hand, adding toluidine blue dye did not improve the effectiveness of the Microlux/DL system. Conclusions: The Microlux/DL seems to be a promising adjunctive screening device.