Search results for: plan for repair and preventive maintenance

Authors: Bhat Geetalaxmi Jairam, D. V. Ashoka

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Wireless Sensor Networks are used in many applications to collect sensed data from different sources. Sensed data has to be delivered through sensors wireless interface using multi-hop communication towards the sink. The data collection in wireless sensor networks consumes energy. Energy consumption is the major constraints in WSN .Reducing the energy consumption while increasing the amount of generated data is a great challenge. In this paper, we have implemented two data gathering protocols with multiple mobile sinks/elements to collect data from sensor nodes. First, is Energy-Efficient Data Gathering with Tour Length-Constrained Mobile Elements in Wireless Sensor Networks (EEDG), in which mobile sinks uses vehicle routing protocol to collect data. Second is An Intelligent Agent-based Routing Structure for Mobile Sinks in WSNs (IAR), in which mobile sinks uses prim’s algorithm to collect data. Authors have implemented concepts which are common to both protocols like deployment of mobile sinks, generating visiting schedule, collecting data from the cluster member. Authors have compared the performance of both protocols by taking statistics based on performance parameters like Delay, Packet Drop, Packet Delivery Ratio, Energy Available, Control Overhead. Authors have concluded this paper by proving EEDG is more efficient than IAR protocol but with few limitations which include unaddressed issues likes Redundancy removal, Idle listening, Mobile Sink’s pause/wait state at the node. In future work, we plan to concentrate more on these limitations to avail a new energy efficient protocol which will help in improving the life time of the WSN.

Keywords: aggregation, consumption, data gathering, efficiency

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Authors: Pascal Rey, Anaïs Weber

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Many mining projects are being developed in Africa the last decades. Due to the economic opportunities they offer, these projects result in a massive and rapid influx of migrants to the surrounding area. In areas where central government representation is low and local administration lack financial resources, urban development is often anarchical, beyond all public control. It leads to socio-spatial segregation, insecurity and the risk of social conflicts rising. Aware that their economic development is very correlated with local situation, mining companies get more and more involved in regional planning in setting up tools and Strategic Directions document. One of the commonly used tools in this regard is the “Influx Management Plan”. It consists in looking at the region’s absorption capacities in order to ensure its coherent development and by developing several urban centers than one macrocephalic city. It includes many other measures such as urban governance support, skills transfer, creation of strategic guidelines, financial support (local taxes, mining taxes, development funds etc.) local development projects. Through various examples of mining projects in Guinea, A country that is host to many large mining projects, we will look at the implications of regional and urban planning of which mining companies are key playor as well as public authorities. While their investment capacity offers advantages and accelerates development, their actions raise questions of the unilaterality of interests and local governance. By interfering in public affairs are mining companies not increasing the risk of central and local government shirking their responsibilities in terms of regional development, or even calling their legitimacy into question? Is such public-private collaboration really sustainable for the region as a whole and for all stakeholders?

Keywords: Africa, guinea, mine, urban planning

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Authors: Tamar Trop, Michal Roffeh

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One of the emerging trends in construction is installing an exterior “green wall” (GW). GW is an overarching and most common term for various techniques of incorporating greenery into buildings’ vertical elements, mainly facades. This green infrastructure yields numerous benefits for the urban environment, the public, and the buildings’ tenants and users, such as enhancing air quality and biodiversity, managing stormwater runoff, mitigating urban heat island and climate change, improving urban aesthetics and mental wellbeing, improving indoor comfort conditions, and saving energy. Yet, the penetration rate of GWs into the construction market, especially into the housing sector, is still very slow. Furthermore, the research regarding prospective homebuyers’ willingness to purchase and pay a price premium for GW apartments is scarce and does not refer to newly built buildings and specific GW types. This research aims to narrow these knowledge gaps by exploring the willingness of prospective homebuyers in Israel to purchase a newly built apartment with a hydroponic living wall, the size of the PP that they would be willing to pay for it, and the various factors ̶ knowledge-related, concern, economic, and personal ̶ that influence these motivations. A nationwide online survey was conducted among a sample of 514 adults using a structured questionnaire. Findings show that despite low familiarity with GWs and strong concerns about various kinds of nuisance, technical issues, and maintenance costs, potential homebuyers express a relatively high willingness to purchase and pay a significant price premium for such an apartment. The main motivations behind this willingness were found to be potential energy savings and governmental incentives. Study findings can contribute to a better understanding of the maturity of the housing market in Israel to adopt GWs and to better tailor intervention tools for increasing GWs’ uptake among potential homebuyers.

Keywords: green façade, green wall, living wall, willingness to pay

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Authors: Liu Yi Hui

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The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has globally affected all aspects of life, with social distancing and quarantine orders causing turmoil and learning in community colleges being temporarily paused. In fact, this is the first time that adult education has faced such a severe challenge. It forces researchers to reflect on the impact of pandemics on adult education and ways to respond. Distance learning appears to be one of the pedagogical tools capable of dealing with interpersonal isolation and social distancing caused by the pandemic. This research aims to examine whether the impact of social distancing during COVID-19 will lead to increased acceptance of technology and, subsequently, an increase in adults ’ willingness to participate in distance learning. The hypothesis that social distancing and the desire to participate in distance learning affects learners’ tendency to accept technology is investigated. Teachers ’ participation in distance education and acceptance of technology are used as adjustment variables with the relationship to “social distancing,” “participation in distance learning,” and “acceptance of technology” of learners. A questionnaire survey was conducted over a period of twelve months for teachers and learners at all community colleges in Taiwan who enrolled in a basic unit course. Community colleges were separated using multi-stage cluster sampling, with their locations being metropolitan, non-urban, south, and east as criteria. Using the G*power software, 660 samples were selected and analyzed. The results show that through appropriate pedagogical strategies or teachers ’ own acceptance of technology, adult learners’ willingness to participate in distance learning could be influenced. A diverse model of participation can be developed, improving adult education institutions’ ability to plan curricula to be flexible to avoid the risk associated with epidemic diseases.

Keywords: social distancing, adult learning, community colleges, technology acceptance model

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Authors: Dinesh K. S., D. R. C. V. Jayadevan

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Autism is the most prevalent of a subset of the disorders organized under the umbrella of pervasive developmental disorders. After the publication of Andrew Wakefield's paper in lancet, many critiques deny this connection even without looking in to the matter. The British Medical Journal even put an editorial regarding this issue. BMJ 2010; 340:c1807. But ayurveda has ample of evidences to believe this connectivity. Dysbiosis, yeast growth of the gut, nutritional deficiencies, enzyme deficiencies, essential fatty acid deficiencies, Gastro esophageal reflux disease, indigestion, inflammatory bowel, chronic constipation & its cascade are few of them to note. The purpose of this paper is to present the observed changes in the behavioural symptoms of autistic babies after a gut management protocol which is a usual programme of our autism treatment plan especially after dysbiotic changes after antibiotic administration. Is there any correlation between changes (if significant) in gut symptoms and behavioral problems of autistic babies especially after a dysbiosis induced by antibiotics. Retrospective analysis of the case sheets of autistic patients admitted in Vaidyaratnam P.S.Varier Ayurveda College hospital, kottakkal,kerala, india from September 2010 are taken for the data processing. Autistic patients are used to come to this hospital as a part of their usual course of treatment. We investigated 40 cases diagnosed as autistic by clinical psychologists from different institutions who had dysbiosis induced by antibiotics. Significant change in gut symptoms before and after treatment p<0.05 in most of its components Significant change in behavioral symptoms before and after treatments p<0.05 in most of the components Correlation between gut symptoms change and behavioral symptoms changes after treatment is + 0.86. Conclusion : Selected Polyherbal Ayurveda treatment has significant role to play to make changes abnormal behaviors in autistic babies and has a positive correlation with changes in gut symptoms induced by dysbiosis of antibiotic intake.

Keywords: ayurveda, autism, dysbiosis, antibiotic

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Authors: Dan Wang, Qing Ma, Xiaodan Wang, Tianjiao Qi

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The sound of peddling in Beijing, also called “yo-heave-ho” or “cry of one's ware”, is a unique folk culture and usually found in Beijing hutong. For the civilians in Beijing, sound of peddling is part of their childhood. And for those who love the traditional culture of Beijing, it is an old song singing the local conditions and customs of the ancient city. For example, because of his great appreciation, the British poet Osbert Stewart once put sound of peddling which he had heard in Beijing as a street orchestra performance in the article named "Beijing's sound and color".This research aims to collect and integrate the voice/photo resources and historical materials of sound concerning peddling in Beijing by digital technology in order to protect the intangible cultural heritage and pass on the city memory. With the goal in mind, the next stage is to collect and record all the materials and resources based on the historical documents study and interviews with civilians or performers. Then set up a metadata scheme (which refers to the domestic and international standards such as "Audio Data Processing Standards in the National Library", DC, VRA, and CDWA, etc.) to describe, process and organize the sound of peddling into a database. In order to fully show the traditional culture of sound of peddling in Beijing, web design and GIS technology are utilized to establish a website and plan holding offline exhibitions and events for people to simulate and learn the sound of peddling by using VR/AR technology. All resources are opened to the public and civilians can share the digital memory through not only the offline experiential activities, but also the online interaction. With all the attempts, a multi-media narrative platform has been established to multi-dimensionally record the sound of peddling in old Beijing with text, images, audio, video and so on.

Keywords: sound of peddling, GIS, metadata scheme, VR/AR technology

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Authors: Predrag Kavaric, Vladimir L. Jubic, Maxim Cadenovic

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The patient was transferred from his dentist to our tertiary medical institution. In anamnesis, we got information that his dental intervention was two years ago when he got dental implants but because of the coronavirus pandemic event, he didn’t finish the whole procedure. After two years, he decided that he will continue his work at his dentist, then his dentist noticed that there is no earlier inserted implant in the upper jaw on the right side. They do Panoramic X-ray and find that the implant is all in the maxillary sinus cavity. The flour of the maxilla was intact without any fistula on the place where the implant was inserted in the maxilla bone, After that initial diagnostic they sent the patient to maxillofacial surgery and otorhinolaryngology. We asked for a CT scan of paranasal sinuses, which confirmed the foreign body in the right maxillary sinus. The plan was that in general anesthesia we do FESS and try to find a foreign body in the maxillary sinus or in case of failure to do Caldwel Luc on that side. After preoperative preparation in GA, we do FESS. In inspection, we find small polyps and chronically changed mucosa of osteomeatal complex and right maxillary sinus. After removing polyps we did uncinectomy and medial maxillectomy. With Heuweiser Antrum grasping forceps after several attempts we managed to extract a foreign body from the bottom of the right maxillary sinus. On the first postoperative day we did detamponade, and then we discharge the patient from hospital. The Covid pandemic has contributed to the postponement of a large number of planned operations, which has resulted in various complications in the treatment of a number of patients. In this case, it happened that the implant was most likely rejected by the bone but in the direction of the maxillary sinus, which is not a common cause. On the other hand, the success was that less traumatic intervention was able to remove the foreign body from the maxillary sinus in which it was located. Since the sinus floor is free of bone defects, it can be continued relatively quickly with dental procedures.

Keywords: x-ray, surgery, maxillar sinus, complication, fees

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Authors: Mehdi Boukri, Mohammed Naboussi Farsi, Mounir Naili, Omar Amellal, Mohamed Belazougui, Ahmed Mebarki, Nabila Guessoum, Brahim Mezazigh, Mounir Ait-Belkacem, Nacim Yousfi, Mohamed Bouaoud, Ikram Boukal, Aboubakr Fettar, Asma Souki

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The seismic risk to which the urban centres are more and more exposed became a world concern. A co-operation on an international scale is necessary for an exchange of information and experiments for the prevention and the installation of action plans in the countries prone to this phenomenon. For that, the 1990s was designated as 'International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)' by the United Nations, whose interest was to promote the capacity to resist the various natural, industrial and environmental disasters. Within this framework, it was launched in 1996, the RADIUS project (Risk Assessment Tools for Diagnosis of Urban Areas Against Seismic Disaster), whose the main objective is to mitigate seismic risk in developing countries, through the development of a simple and fast methodological and operational approach, allowing to evaluate the vulnerability as well as the socio-economic losses, by probable earthquake scenarios in the exposed urban areas. In this paper, we will present the adaptation and application of this methodology to the Algerian context for the seismic risk evaluation in urban areas potentially exposed to earthquakes. This application consists to perform an earthquake scenario in the urban centre of Constantine city, located at the North-East of Algeria, which will allow the building seismic damage estimation of this city. For that, an inventory of 30706 building units was carried out by the National Earthquake Engineering Research Centre (CGS). These buildings were digitized in a data base which comprises their technical information by using a Geographical Information system (GIS), and then they were classified according to the RADIUS methodology. The study area was subdivided into 228 meshes of 500m on side and Ten (10) sectors of which each one contains a group of meshes. The results of this earthquake scenario highlights that the ratio of likely damage is about 23%. This severe damage results from the high concentration of old buildings and unfavourable soil conditions. This simulation of the probable seismic damage of the building and the GIS damage maps generated provide a predictive evaluation of the damage which can occur by a potential earthquake near to Constantine city. These theoretical forecasts are important for decision makers in order to take the adequate preventive measures and to develop suitable strategies, prevention and emergency management plans to reduce these losses. They can also help to take the adequate emergency measures in the most impacted areas in the early hours and days after an earthquake occurrence.

Keywords: seismic risk, mitigation, RADIUS, urban areas, Algeria, earthquake scenario, Constantine

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Authors: Wenbo Du, Xiaomei Ma

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With the empowerment of Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA), various domains of language testing and assessment have been investigated to dig out more diagnostic information. What is noticeable is that most of the extant empirical CDA-based research puts much emphasis on individual-level diagnostic purpose with very few concerned about learners’ group-level performance. Even though the personalized diagnostic feedback is the unique feature that differentiates CDA from other assessment tools, group-level diagnostic information cannot be overlooked in that it might be more practical in classroom setting. Additionally, the group-level diagnostic information obtained via current CDA always results in a “flat pattern”, that is, the mastery/non-mastery of all tested skills accounts for the two highest proportion. In that case, the outcome does not bring too much benefits than the original total score. To address these issues, the present study attempts to apply cluster analysis for group classification and quantile regression analysis to pinpoint learners’ performance at different proficiency levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced) thus to enhance the interpretation of the CDA results extracted from a group of EFL learners’ reading performance on a diagnostic reading test designed by PELDiaG research team from a key university in China. The results show that EM method in cluster analysis yield more appropriate classification results than that of CDA, and quantile regression analysis does picture more insightful characteristics of learners with different reading proficiencies. The findings are helpful and practical for instructors to refine EFL reading curriculum and instructional plan tailored based on the group classification results and quantile regression analysis. Meanwhile, these innovative statistical methods could also make up the deficiencies of CDA and push forward the development of language testing and assessment in the future.

Keywords: cognitive diagnostic assessment, diagnostic feedback, EFL reading, quantile regression

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Authors: Wadsana Sarakarn, Pimonpan Charoensri, Baliya Chaiyara

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Objectives: To study the outcomes of the developed nursing model to prevent early postpartum hemorrhage (PPH). Materials and Methods: The analytical study was conducted in Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital during October 1st, 2015, until May 31st, 2017. After review the prevalence, risk factors, and outcomes of postpartum hemorrhage of the parturient who gave birth in Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital, the nursing model was developed under research regulation of Kemmis&McTaggart using 4 steps of operating procedures: 1) analyzing problem situation and gathering 2) creating the plan 3) noticing and performing 4) reflecting the result of the operation. The nursing model consisted of the screening tools for risk factors associated with PPH, the clinical nursing practice guideline (CNPG), and the collecting bag for measuring postpartum blood loss. Primary outcome was early postpartum hemorrhage. Secondary outcomes were postpartum hysterectomy, maternal mortality, personnel’s practice, knowledge, and satisfaction of the nursing model. The data were analyzed by using content analysis for qualitative data and descriptive statistics for quantitative data. Results: Before using the nursing model, the prevalence of early postpartum hemorrhage was under estimated (2.97%). There were 5 cases of postpartum hysterectomy and 2 cases of maternal death due to postpartum hemorrhage. During the study period, there was 22.7% prevalence of postpartum hemorrhage among 220 pregnant women who were vaginally delivered at Sunpasitthiprasong Hospital. No maternal death or postpartum hysterectomy was reported after using the nursing model. Among 16 registered nurses at the delivery room who evaluated using of the nursing model, they reported the high level of practice, knowledge, and satisfaction Conclusion: The nursing model for the prevention of early PPH is effective to decrease early PPH and other serious complications.

Keywords: the development of a nursing model, prevention of postpartum hemorrhage, pregnant women, postpartum hemorrhage

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Authors: Alex Gonzalez Caceres, Jan Karlshøj, Tor Arvid Vik

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Life cycle of residential buildings are expected to be several decades, 40% of European residential buildings have inefficient energy conservation measure. The existing building represents 20-40% of the energy use and the CO₂ emission. Since net zero energy buildings are a short-term goal, (should be achieved by EU countries after 2020), is necessary to plan the next logical step, which is to prepare the existing outdated stack of building to retrofit them into an energy efficiency buildings. In order to accomplish this, two specialize and widespread tool can be used Building Information Modelling (BIM) and life-cycle assessment (LCA). BIM and LCA are tools used by a variety of disciplines; both are able to represent and analyze the constructions in different stages. The combination of these technologies could improve greatly the retrofitting techniques. The incorporation of the carbon footprint, introducing a single database source for different material analysis. To this is added the possibility of considering different analysis approaches such as costs and energy saving. Is expected with these measures, enrich the decision-making. The methodology is based on two main activities; the first task involved the collection of data this is accomplished by literature review and interview with experts in the retrofitting field and BIM technologies. The results of this task are presented as an evaluation checklist of BIM ability to manage data and improve decision-making in retrofitting projects. The last activity involves an evaluation using the results of the previous tasks, to check how far the IFC format can support the requirements by each specialist, and its uses by third party software. The result indicates that BIM/LCA have a great potential to improve the retrofitting process in existing buildings, but some modification must be done in order to meet the requirements of the specialists for both, retrofitting and LCA evaluators.

Keywords: retrofitting, BIM, LCA, energy efficiency

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Authors: Bumjo Kim, Hyun Jin Kim, Joon Ha Kim

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The separate sewer system is that collects the wastewater as a sewer pipe and rainfall as a stormwater pipe separately, and then sewage is treated in the wastewater treatment plant, the stormwater is discharged to rivers or lakes through stormwater drainage pipes. Unfortunately, even for separate sewer systems, it is not possible to prevent Rainfall Driven Inflow/Infiltration(RDII) completely to the sewer pipe. Even if the sewerage line is renovated, there is an ineluctable RDII due to the combined sewer system in the house or the difficulty of sewage maintenance in private areas. The basic statistical analysis was performed using environmental data including rainfall, sewage, water qualities and groundwater level in the strict of Gwangju in ​South Korea. During rainfall in the target area, RDII showed an increased rate of 13.4 ~ 53.0% compared to that of a clear day and showed a rapid hydrograph response of 0.3 ~ 3.0 hr. As a result of water quality analysis, BOD5 concentration decreased by 17.3 % and salinity concentration decreased by 8.8 % at the representative spot in the project area compared to the sunny day during rainfall. In contrast to the seasonal fluctuation range of 0.38 m ~ 0.55 m in groundwater in Gwangju area and 0.58 m ~ 0.78 m in monthly fluctuation range, while the difference between groundwater level and the depth of sewer pipe laying was 2.70 m on average, which is larger than the range of fluctuation. Comprehensively, it can be concluded that the increasing of flowrate at sewer line is due to not infiltration water caused by groundwater level rise, construction failure, cracking due to joint failure or conduit deterioration, rainfall was directly inflowed into the sewer line rapidly. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the 'Climate Technology Development and Application' research project (#K07731) through a grant provided by GIST in 2017.

Keywords: ground water, rainfall, rainfall driven inflow/infiltration, separate sewer system

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Authors: Ghalia Shamlan, M. Denise Robertson, Adam Collins

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Appetite control (i.e. control of energy intake) is important for weight maintenance. Exercise contributes to the most variable component of energy expenditure (EE) but its impact is beyond the energy cost of exercise including physiological, behavioural, and appetite effects. Exercise is known to acutely influence effect appetite but evidence as to the independent effect of intensity is lacking. This study investigated the role of exercise intensity on appetite, energy intake (EI), appetite related hormone, fat utilisation and subjective measures of appetite. One hour after a standardised breakfast, 10 sedentary overweight volunteers. Subjects undertook either 8 repeated 60 second bouts of cycling at 95% VO2max (high intensity) or 30 minutes of continuous cycling, at a fixed cadence, equivalent to 50% of the participant’s VO2max (low intensity) in a randomised crossover design. Glucose, NEFA, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) were measured fasted, postprandial, and pre and post-exercise. Satiety was assessed subjectively throughout the study using visual analogue scales (VAS). Ad libitum intake of a pasta meal was measured at the end (3-h post-breakfast). Interestingly, there was not significant difference in EE fat oxidation between HI and LI post-exercise. Also, no significant effect of high intensity (HI) was observed on the ad libitum meal, 24h and 48h EI post-exercise. However the mean 24h EI was 3000 KJ lower following HI than low intensity (LI). Despite, no significant differences in hunger score, glucose, NEFA and GLP-1 between both intensities were observed. However, NEFA and GLP-1 plasma level were higher until 30 min post LI. In conclusion, the similarity of EE and oxidation outcomes could give overweight individuals an option to choose between intensities. However, HI could help to reduce EI. There are mechanisms and consequences of exercise in short and long-term appetite control; however, these mechanisms warrant further explanation. These results support the need for future research in to the role of in regulation energy balance, especially for obese people.

Keywords: appetite, exercise, food intake, energy expenditure

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Authors: Al-Nouri Doha Mostfa, Al-Khalifa Abdulrahman Salih

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The effects of long-term supplementation with different dietary omega-6/omega-3 (ω-6/ω-3) polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs) ratios on the bone marrow fatty acids level, plasma biomarkers of bone metabolism, and minerals content in bone were evaluated in rabbits. Weanling male and female New Zealand white rabbits were randomly assigned to five groups and fed ad libitum for 100 days on diets containing 70 g/kg different dietary oils which providing the following ω-6/ω-3 ratios: soy bean oil (SBO control, 8.68), sesame oil (SO, 21.75), fish oil (FO, 0.39), DHA algae oil (DHA, 0.63), and DHA and ARA algae oils (DHA/ARA, 0.68). The bone marrow arachidonic (ARA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) fatty acid levels were significantly influenced by and reflected the dietary ω-6/ω-3 ratios fed to rabbits. Rabbits fed on the FO diet maintained a lower ω-6/ω-3 ratio and a higher EPA and DHA levels, those fed on the DHA/ARA diet maintained a lower ω-6/ω-3 ratio and a higher ARA level, while those fed on the SO diet maintained a higher ω-6/ω-3 ratio and a lower ARA level. Plasma alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was significantly higher in male and female rabbits fed the DHA/ARA diet compared with those fed the control, SO, FO, or DHA diets. There was a significant main effect of dietary treatment on femur calcium (Ca), phosphorous (P), magnesium (Mg), and zinc (Zn) contents in both genders. This study confirmed that different dietary oil sources with varying ω-6/ω-3 ratios significantly altered the fatty acids level of bone marrow. In addition, the significant elevation in minerals content and the maintenance of optimal Ca/P ratio in bone of DHA/ARA and DHA fed groups beside the significant elevation in ALP activity in the DHA/ARA fed group proved that marine algae oils may be promising dietary sources for promoting bone mineralization and formation, thus improving bone mass during the growth stage.

Keywords: arachidonic (ARA), docosahexaenoic (DHA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), growing rabbits

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Authors: Ahmad Rasyadan Arshad, A. Rahman A. Jamal, N. Mohamed Ibrahim, Nor Azian Abdul Murad

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Introduction: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a complex and asymptomatic disease where patients are usually diagnosed at late stage where about 70% of the dopaminergic neurons are lost. Therefore, identification of molecular biomarkers is crucial for early diagnosis of PD. MicroRNA (miRNA) is a short nucleotide non-coding small RNA which regulates the gene expression in post-translational process. The involvement of these miRNAs in neurodegenerative diseases includes maintenance of neuronal development, necrosis, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Thus, miRNA could be a potential biomarkers for diagnosis of PD. Objective: This study aim to identify the miRNA involved in Late Onset PD (LOPD) and Early Onset PD (EOPD) compared to the controls. Methods: This is a case-control study involved PD patients in the Chancellor Tunku Muhriz Hospital at the UKM Medical Centre. miRNA samples were extracted using miRNeasy serum/plasma kit from Qiagen. The quality of miRNA extracted was determined using Agilent RNA 6000 Nano kit in the Bioanalyzer. miRNA expression was performed using GeneChip miRNA 4.0 chip from Affymetrix. Microarray was performed in EOPD (n= 7), LOPD (n=9) and healthy control (n=11). Expression Console and Transcriptomic Analyses Console were used to analyze the microarray data. Result: miR-129-5p was significantly downregulated in EOPD compared to LOPD with -4.2 fold change (p = <0.050. miR-301a-3p was upregulated in EOPD compared to healthy control (fold = 10.3, p = <0.05). In LOPD versus healthy control, miR-486-3p (fold = 15.28, p = <0.05), miR-29c-3p (fold = 12.21, p = <0.05) and miR-301a-3p (fold = 10.01, p =< 0.05) were upregulated. Conclusion: Several miRNA have been identified to be differentially expressed in EOPD compared to LOPD and PD versus control. These miRNAs could serve as the potential biomarkers for early diagnosis of PD. However, these miRNAs need to be validated in a larger sample size.

Keywords: early onset PD, late onset PD, microRNA (miRNA), microarray

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Authors: Shadi Fathi, Moura Mehravar, Mujib Rahman

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The railwaytransportation network in the UK is over 100 years old and is known as one of the oldest mass transit systems in the world. This aged track network requires frequent closure for maintenance. One of the main reasons for closure is inadequate drainage due to the leakage in the buried drainage pipes. The leaking water can cause localised subgrade weakness, which subsequently can lead to major ground/substructure failure.Different condition assessment methods are available to assess the railway substructure. However, the existing condition assessment methods are not able to detect any local ground weakness/damageand provide details of the damage (e.g. size and location). To tackle this issue, a hybrid back-analysis technique based on artificial neural network (ANN) and genetic algorithm (GA) has been developed to predict the substructurelayers’ moduli and identify any soil weaknesses. At first, afinite element (FE) model of a railway track section under Falling Weight Deflection (FWD) testing was developed and validated against field trial. Then a drainage pipe and various scenarios of the local defect/ soil weakness around the buried pipe with various geometriesand physical properties were modelled. The impact of the soil local weaknesson the track surface deflection wasalso studied. The FE simulations results were used to generate a database for ANN training, and then a GA wasemployed as an optimisation tool to optimise and back-calculate layers’ moduli and soil weakness moduli (ANN’s input). The hybrid ANN-GA back-analysis technique is a computationally efficient method with no dependency on seed modulus values. The modelcan estimate substructures’ layer moduli and the presence of any localised foundation weakness.

Keywords: finite element (FE) model, drainage defect, falling weight deflectometer (FWD), hybrid ANN-GA

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Authors: Anna Słupik, Krzysztof Jaworski, Anna Mosiołek, Dariusz Białoszewski

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Background: Maintaining the correct body balance is essential in the prevention of falls in the elderly, which is especially important for women because of postmenopausal osteoporosis and the serious consequences of falls. One of the exercise methods which is very popular among adults, and which may affect body balance in a positive way is the pilates method. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of regular pilates exercises on the ability to maintain body balance in static conditions in adult healthy women. Material and methods: The study group consisted of 20 healthy women attending pilates twice a week for at least 1 year. The control group consisted of 20 healthy women physically inactive. Women in the age range from 35 to 50 years old without pain in musculoskeletal system or other pain were only qualified to the groups. Body balance was assessed using MatScan VersaTek platform with Sway Analysis Module based on Matscan Clinical 6.7 software. The balance was evaluated under the following conditions: standing on both feet with eyes open, standing on both feet with eyes closed, one-leg standing (separately on the right and left foot) with eyes open. Each test lasted 30 seconds. The following parameters were calculated: estimated size of the ellipse of 95% confidence, the distance covered by the Center of Gravity (COG), the size of the maximum shift in the sagittal and frontal planes and load distribution between the left and right foot, as well as between rear- and forefoot. Results: It was found that there is significant difference between the groups in favor of the study group in the size of the confidence ellipse and maximum shifts of COG in the sagittal plane during standing on both feet, both with the eyes open and closed (p < 0.05). While standing on one leg both on the right and left leg, with eyes opened there was a significant difference in favor of the study group, in terms of the size of confidence ellipse, the size of the maximum shifts in the sagittal and in the frontal plane (p < 0.05). There were no differences between the distribution of load between the right and left foot (standing with both feet), nor between fore- and rear foot (in standing with both feet or one-leg). Conclusions: 1. Static balance in women exercising regularly by pilates method is better than in inactive women, which may in the future prevent falls and their consequences. 2. The observed differences in maintaining balance in frontal plane in one-leg standing may indicate a positive impact of pilates exercises on the ability to maintain global balance in terms of the reduced support surface. 3. Pilates method can be used as a form preventive therapy for all people who are expected to have problems with body balance in the future, for example in chronic neurological disorders or vestibular problems. 4. The results have shown that further prospective randomized research on a larger and more representative group is needed.

Keywords: balance exercises, body balance, pilates, pressure distribution, women

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Authors: Patel Parul, Harsh Ganvit

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The construction industry is the second highest industry after agriculture provides employment in India. In developing countries like India, many construction projects are coming up to meet the demand. On the one hand, construction projects are increasing; on the other hand still, construction companies are struggling with many problems. One of the major problems is to ensure safe working conditions at the construction site. Due to a lack of safety awareness and ignorance of safety aspects, many fatal accidents are very common at the construction site in India. One of the key success factors for construction projects is “Accident-Free Construction Projects”. The construction projects can be divided into various categories like Infrastructure projects, industrial construction and real estate construction. Real estate projects are mainly comprised of commercial and residential projects. In the construction industry, private sectors play a huge role in urban and rural development and also contribute significantly to the growth of the nation. Infrastructure and Industrial projects are mainly executed by well-qualified construction contractors. For such projects, ensuring safety at construction projects is inevitable and probably one of the major clauses of contract documents as well. These projects are monitored from time to time by national agencies and researchers, too. However, Real estate projects are rarely monitored for safety aspects. No systematic contract system is followed for these projects. Safety is the most neglected aspect of these projects. In the current research projects, an attempt is made to carry out safety auditing for about 75 real estate projects. The objective of this work is to collect the activity-based safety survey of real estate projects in western India. The analysis of activity-based safety implementation for real estate projects is discussed in the present work. The activities are divided into three categories based on the data collected. The findings of this work will help local monitoring authorities to implement a safety management plan for real estate projects.

Keywords: construction safety, safety assessment, activity-based safety, real estate projects

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Authors: Karin Megheșan, Alexandra Popescu, Teodora Dobre

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In the past few years, the Russian Federation has become a central point on the security agenda of the most important international actors, due to its reloaded aggressiveness of foreign policy. Vladimir Putin, the actual president of the Russian Federation, has proven that Russia can and has the willingness to become the powerful actor that used to be during the Cold War. Russia’s new behavior on the international scene showed that Russia has not only expansionist (where expansionist is not only in terms of territory but also of ideology) intentions, but also the necessary resources, to build an empire that may have the power to counterbalance the influence of the United States and stop the expansion of the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization in an equation understood of multipolar Russian view. But in order to do this, there is necessary to follow a well-established plan or policy. Thus, the aim of the paper is to discuss how has the foreign policy of the Russian Federation evolved under the influence of the military and security strategies of the Russian nation, to briefly examine some of the factors that sculpture Russian foreign policy and behavior, in order to reshape a Russian (Soviet) profile so far considered antiquated. Our approach is an argument in favor of the analyses of the recent evolutions embedded in the course of history. In this context, the paper will include analytical thoughts about the Russian foreign policy and the latest strategic documents (security strategy and military doctrine) adopted by the Putin administration, with the purpose to highlight the main direction of action followed by all these documents together. The paper concludes that the military component is to be found in all these strategic documents, as well as at the core of Russian national interest, aspect that proves that Russia is still the adept of the traditional realist paradigm, reshaped in a Russian theory of the multipolar world.

Keywords: hybrid warfare, military component, military doctrine, Russian foreign policy, security strategy

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Authors: Adam J. Carinci

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Background: The opioid epidemic is the most pressing healthcare crisis of our time. There is increasing recognition that opioids have limited long-term efficacy and are associated with hyperalgesia, addiction, and increased morbidity and mortality. Therefore, alternative strategies to combat chronic pain are paramount. We initiated a multicenter retrospective case series to review the efficacy of DRG stimulation in facilitating opioid tapering, opioid discontinuation and as a viable alternative to chronic opioid therapy. Purpose: The dorsal root ganglion (DRG) plays a key role in the development and maintenance of pain. Recent innovations in neuromodulation, specifically, dorsal root ganglion stimulation, offers an effective alternative to opioids in the treatment of chronic pain. This retrospective case series demonstrates preliminary evidence that DRG stimulation facilitates opioid tapering, opioid discontinuation and presents a viable alternative to chronic opioid therapy. Procedure: This small multicenter retrospective case series provides preliminary evidence that DRG stimulation facilitates opioid weaning, opioid tapering and is a viable option to opioid therapy in the treatment of chronic pain. A retrospective analysis was completed. Visual analog scale pain scores and pain medication usage were collected at the baseline visit and after four weeks, 3 months and 6 months of treatment. Ten consecutive patients across two study centers were included. The pain was rated 7.38 at baseline and decreased to 1.50 at the 4-week follow-up, a reduction of 79.5%. All patients significantly decreased their opioid pain medication use with an average > 30% reduction in morphine equivalents and four were able to discontinue their medications entirely. Conclusion: This Retrospective case series demonstrates preliminary evidence that DRG stimulation facilitates opioid tapering, opioid discontinuation and presents a viable alternative to chronic opioid therapy.

Keywords: dorsal root ganglion, neuromodulation, opioid sparing, stimulation

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Authors: S. Subramaniam, J. S. A. Rao, P. Ramdas, K. R. Selvaduray, N. M. Han, M. K. Kutty, A. K. Radhakrishnan

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Immune system is a complex system where the immune cells have the capability to respond against a wide range of immune challenges including cancer progression. However, in the event of cancer development, tumour cells trigger immunosuppressive environment via activation of myeloid-derived suppressor cells and T regulatory (Treg) cells. The Treg cells are subset of CD4+ T lymphocytes, known to have crucial roles in regulating immune homeostasis and promoting the establishment and maintenance of peripheral tolerance. Dysregulation of these mechanisms could lead to cancer progression and immune suppression. Recently, there are many studies reporting on the effects of natural bioactive compounds on immune responses against cancer. It was known that tocotrienol-rich-fraction consisting 70% tocotrienols and 30% α-tocopherol is able to exhibit immunomodulatory as well as anti-cancer properties. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of gamma-tocotrienol (G-T3) supplementation on T-reg cells in a syngeneic mouse model of breast cancer. In this study, female BALB/c mice were divided into two groups and fed with either soy oil (vehicle) or gamma-tocotrienol (G-T3) for two weeks followed by inoculation with tumour cells. All the mice continued to receive the same supplementation until day 49. The results showed a significant reduction in tumour volume and weight in G-T3 fed mice compared to vehicle-fed mice. Lung and liver histology showed reduced evidence of metastasis in tumour-bearing G-T3 fed mice. Besides that, flow cytometry analysis revealed T-helper cell population was increased, and T-regulatory cell population was suppressed following G-T3 supplementation. Moreover, immunohistochemistry analysis showed that there was a marked decrease in the expression of FOXP3 in the G-T3 fed tumour bearing mice. In conclusion, the G-T3 supplementation showed good prognosis towards breast cancer by enhancing the immune response in tumour-bearing mice. Therefore, gamma-T3 can be used as immunotherapy agent for the treatment of breast cancer.

Keywords: breast cancer, gamma tocotrienol, immune suppression, supplement

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Authors: Nigar Sultanova

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Facial morphology is a constant topic of concern for clinicians. When anthropometric methods were introduced into clinical practice to quantify changes in the craniofacial framework, features distinguishing various ethnic group were discovered. Normative data of facial measurements are indispensable to precise determination of the degree of deviations from normal. Establish the reference range of facial proportions in Azerbaijan population by anthropometric measurements of craniofacial complex. The study group consisted of 350 healthy young subjects, 175 males and 175 females, 18 to 25 years of age, from 7 different regions of Azerbaijan. The anthropometric examination was performed according to L.Farkas's method with our modification. In order to determine the morphologic characteristics of seven regions of the craniofacial complex 42 anthropometric measurements were selected. The anthropometric examination. Included the usage of 33 anthropometric landmarks. The 80 indices of the facial proportions, suggested by Farkas and Munro, were calculated: head -10, face - 23, nose - 23, lips - 9, orbits - 11, ears - 4. The date base of the North American white population was used as a reference group. Anthropometric measurements of facial proportions in Azerbaijan population revealed a significant difference between mеn and womеn, according to sexual dimorphism. In comparison with North American whites, considerable differences of facial proportions were observed in the head, face, orbits, labio-oral, nose and ear region. However, in women of the Azerbaijani population, 29 out of 80 proportion indices were similar to the proportions of NAW women. In the men of the Azerbaijani population, 27 out of 80 proportion indices did not reveal a statistically significant difference from the proportions of NAW men. Estimation of the reference range of facial proportions in Azerbaijan population migth be helpful to formulate surgical plan in treatment of congenital or post-traumatic facial deformities successfully.

Keywords: facial morphology, anthropometry, indices of proportion, measurement

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Authors: Ridhish Kumar, Sudeep Nadukkandy, Anirban Roy

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The development of reverse osmosis happened in 1960. Along the years this technique has been widely accepted all over the world for varied applications ranging from seawater desalination to municipal water treatment. Forward osmosis (FO) is one of the foremost technologies for low energy consuming solutions for water purification. In this study, we have carried out a detailed analysis on selection, design, and pricing for a prototype of potable water system for purifying water in emergency situations. The portable and light purification system is envisaged to be driven by FO. This pouch will help to serve as an emergency water filtration device. The current effort employs a model to understand the interplay of permeability and area on the rate of purification of water from any impure source/brackish water. The draw solution for the FO pouch is considered to be a combination of salt and sugar such that dilution of the same would result in an oral rehydration solution (ORS) which is a boon for dehydrated patients. However, the effort takes an extra step to actually estimate the cost and pricing of designing such a prototype. While the mathematical model yields the best membrane (compositions are taken from literature) combination in terms of permeability and area, the pricing takes into account the feasibility of such a solution to be made available as a retail item. The product is envisaged to be a market competitor for packaged drinking water and ORS combination (costing around $0.5 combined) and thus, to be feasible has to be priced around the same range with greater margins in order to have a better distribution. Thus a proper business plan and production of the same has been formulated in order to be a feasible solution for unprecedented calamities and emergency situations.

Keywords: forward osmosis, water treatment, oral rehydration solution, prototype

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Authors: Hadjer Chellia

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the present study reports on second language use among Algerian international students in the UK. In Algeria, French has an important status among the Algerian verbal repertoires due to colonial reasons. This has triggered many language conflicts and many debates among policy makers in Algeria. In higher education, Algerian English students’ sociolinguistic profile is characterised by the use of French as a sign of prestige. What may leave room for debate is the effect of crossing borders towards the UK as a result of international mobility programmes, a transition which could add more complexity since French, is not so significant as a language in the UK context. In this respect, the micro-objective is to explore the fate of French use among Ph.D. students in the UK as a newly established group vis-à-vis English. To fulfill the purpose of the present inquiry, the research employs multiple approaches in which semi-structured interview is a primary source of data to know participants’ attitudes about French use, targeting both their pre-migratory experience and current one. Web-based questionnaires are set up to access larger population. Focus group sessions are further procedures of scrutiny in this piece of work to explore the actual linguistic behaviours. Preliminary findings from both interviews and questionnaires reveal that students’ current experience, particularly living in the UK, affects their pre-migratory attitudes towards French language and its use. The overall findings are expected to bring manifold contributions to the field of research among which is setting factors that influence language use among newly established émigrés communities. The research is also relevant to international students’ experience of study abroad in terms of language use in the guise of internationalization of higher education, mobility and exchange programmes. It could contribute to the sociolinguistics of the Algerian diaspora: the dispersed residence of non-native communities - not to mention its significance on the Algerian research field abroad.

Keywords: Algerian diaspora, French language, language maintenance, language shift, mobility

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Authors: Jenney Perez Bacalla

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The study was conducted to assess the five (5) identified school administrators of the identified secondary schools in terms of professional characteristics, management skills and values patterns in the Division of Leyte Area IV for a proposed enhancement model for school administrators. The study utilized the qualitative method. There were two (2) groups of respondents: the teachers and the school administrators. The teachers perceived the management skills of the school administrators in their technical and conceptual skills and values in planning and organizing work, allocating and using of funds, submitting reports, decision-making, leading people, public relations and community involvement and other value development. It was found out in the study that most of the school administrators’ management skills were very well manifested. Their value patterns were also very well manifested. Most of them had earned master’s degree and with a unit in doctoral and five (5) years and above in service as a school administrator. Most administrators were performing and successfully execute the planning, organizing and utilizing funds and they were able to lead their subordinates. In planning, it shows that administrators studied the future and arrange the plan. Administrators also were able to manage, maintained the good environment wherein individual work together. School administrators were creating an environment conducive to learning. The school administrator is manifesting the desirable practices in school management. In terms of their educational qualifications, they were all qualified. Academic preparation, trainings and maturation were their attributes to the development of managerial skills of the school administrators. They showed competence in the areas of management skills that they were able to carry their functions with utmost responsibility and capability. School administrators in terms of seminars and trainings on administration and supervision were already equipped. It is concluded that the school administrators possessed the necessary skills and work values in administering the school.

Keywords: management skills and values, public secondary schools, qualitative, school administrators

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Authors: Orapan Thosingha, Tassana Boontong, Prapa Yuttatri, Vilaivan Thongcharoen, Soparn Potaya, Mattika Chaichan, Chanin Chakkrapopyodhin, Khwanthida Phimphakarn, Taddao Nabnean

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This research aimed to explore symptom experiences among Thai adults with chronic illnesses living in an urban community area of Bangkok. The sample was 670 adults with ages ranging from 20-59 years. The majority of them (65.2%) had more than one disease. Hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes were the first three diseases among them. About 58% were female, and 51.1 % stayed with their couples. The studied sample had relatively low socioeconomic status; 33.7% were wage workers, 15.2% were street vendors, and 10.4% were unemployed. About 54 % had family incomes less than 10,000 baht (300 US Dollars) per month, and 41.6% addressed that their incomes were not adequate for daily living. Although the majority of them (63.7%) did not have to pay for hospital visits, they still had to pay for public transportation and could not earn a wage or any income on the hospital visit day. The first three physical symptoms they experienced were knee pain (60.5%) due to being overweight, headache (47.0%), and insomnia (44.6%). About 45% stated that their incomes decreased after having chronic illnesses and 37.2% expressed that having lower incomes affected their living, 34.5% perceived being a burden, and 34.3% regret about depending on others. It can be concluded that adults with low socioeconomic status who experienced chronic illnesses and resided in an urban community area had complex needs. While caring for them, nurses should pay attention not only to a disease-related domain but also to a social-related domain. Reached-out clinics led by professional nurses who are well-prepared for primary medical care and home visit are strongly recommended. National Health Security Office should adopt this policy and develop an action plan to serve the needs of chronically ill adults with low socioeconomic status.

Keywords: chronic illnesses, urban community, socioeconomic status, symptom experiences, low incomes

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Authors: Abraham Addo-Bediako, Sophy Nukeri, Tebatso Mmako

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Many freshwater ecosystems have been subjected to prolonged and cumulative pollution as a result of human activities such as mining, agricultural, industrial and human settlements in their catchments. The objective of this study was to investigate spatial variability of heavy metal pollution of sediments and possible sources of pollutants in two streams of the Olifants River System, South Africa. Stream sediments were collected and analysed for Arsenic (As), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Nickel (Ni) and Zinc (Zn) concentrations using inductively coupled plasma-mass mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In both rivers, As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn fell within the concentration ranges recommended by CCME and ANZECC, while the concentrations of Cr and Ni exceeded the standards; the results indicated that Cr and Ni in the sediments originated from human activities and not from natural geological background. The index of geo-accumulation (Igeo) was used to assess the degree of pollution. The results of the geo-accumulation index evaluation showed that Cr and Ni were present in the sediments of the rivers at moderately to extremely polluted levels, while As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn existed at unpolluted to moderately polluted levels. Generally, heavy metal concentrations increased along the gradient in the rivers. The high concentrations of Cr and Ni in both rivers are of great concern, as previously these two rivers were classified to be supplying the Olifants River with water of good quality. There is a critical need, therefore to monitor heavy metal concentrations and distributions, as well as a comprehensive plan to prevent health risks, especially those communities still reliant on untreated water from the rivers, as sediment pollution may pose a risk of secondary water pollution under sediment disturbance and/or changes in the geo-chemistry of sediments.

Keywords: geo-accumulation index, heavy metals, sediment pollution, water quality

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Authors: Ahmadreza Ebadati, Asaad Y. Shamseldin, Amin Ghadirian

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Seawall geometry plays a crucial role in mitigating wave impacts, though detailed exploration of its manipulation is limited. This study delves into the effects of varying cross-shore seawall geometry on the dynamics of wave impacts, with a particular focus on vertical seawalls. Inspired by foundational insights linking seawall shape to hydraulic efficiency, this investigation centres on how alterations in seawall geometry can influence wave energy dissipation and subsequent wave impacts. The study investigates the 2D interaction of regular waves with a period of 2.1s with a vertical seawall and berm featuring small-scale cross-shore protrusions and recesses. Utilising OpenFOAM® simulations and a k-ω SST turbulence model, this investigation compares results to a base case simulation, which is partially calibrated with experimental data from a flume study. The analysis evaluates various geometric modifications, specifically interchanged protrusions and recesses at different heights and orientations along the seawall. Findings suggest that specific configurations, such as interchanged protrusions and recesses, can mitigate initial impact forces, while certain arrangements may intensify subsequent impacts. Key insights include the identification of geometry configurations that can effectively reduce the force impulse of slamming waves on coastal structures and potentially decrease the frequency and cost of seawall maintenance. This research contributes to the field by advancing the understanding of how seawall geometry influences wave forces and by providing actionable insights for the design of more resilient seawall structures. Further exploration of seawall geometry variation is recommended, advocating additional case studies to optimise designs tailored to specific coastal environments.

Keywords: seawall geometry, wave impact loads, numerical simulation, coastal engineering, wave-structure interaction

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Authors: Priya Varma, Denis John McKeown

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Psychological time, unlike physical time, is believed to be ‘compressive’ in the sense that the mental representations of a series of events may be internally arranged with ever decreasing inter-event spacing (looking back from the most recently encoded event). If this is true, the record within immediate memory of recent events is severely temporally distorted. Although this notion of temporal distortion of the memory record is captured within some theoretical accounts of human forgetting, notably temporal distinctiveness accounts, the way in which the fundamental nature of the distortion underpins memory and forgetting broadly is barely recognised or at least directly investigated. Our intention here was to manipulate the spacing of items for recall in order to ‘reverse’ this supposed natural compression within the encoding of the items. In Experiment 1 three schedules of presentation (expanding, contracting and fixed irregular temporal spacing) were created using logarithmic spacing of the words for both free and serial recall conditions. The results of recall of lists of 7 words showed statistically significant benefits of temporal isolation, and more excitingly the contracting word series (which we may think of as reversing the natural compression within the mental representation of the word list) showed best performance. Experiment 2 tested for effects of active verbal rehearsal in the recall task; this reduced but did not remove the benefits of our temporal scheduling manipulation. Finally, a third experiment used the same design but with Chinese characters as memoranda, in a further attempt to subvert possible verbal maintenance of items. One change to the design here was to introduce a probe item following the sequence of items and record response times to this probe. Together the outcomes of the experiments broadly support the notion of temporal compression within immediate memory.

Keywords: memory, serial position curves, temporal isolation, temporal schedules

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Authors: Georgiana Ciobotaru

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The experience of exile is a defining one for the mittleeuropean writers, which is also the generator of an identity discourse manifested in the plan of fiction. In exile, the authors often build their marginality in opposition to that deserted mundi center. The Polish Gombrowicz carried out his existence, for more than twenty-three years, in a geographical exile, distancing himself from his country, and, from a cultural point of view, the writing meant a possibility of escape, of plunge into a literary exile that often constituted a way of conditioning the practice of writers. He opted for one of the attitudes that a writer in exile may have, namely he preferred to continue speaking Polish, although he was far from his homeland, turning to the public in his homeland, his entire literary creation in exile being promoted through Kulturia, the Paris-based immigration magazine. The problem of exile must be constantly related to three essential aspects, namely: territory, identity and language. The exile, both the writer and his characters, displays a characteristic attitude towards the abandoned land, but also towards the adoptive, towards the mother tongue, but also towards the idiom encountered, thus proving an original manner in terms of how it asserts, de-builds or re-builds its identity. In these texts written after leaving Poland, a series of open works by Trans-Atlantic, Gombrowicz assumes and internalizes the inadequacy between his self and the reality outside to make it the principle of his perception of the world. The expression of marginality that characterized the texts developed when the writer was still in Poland seems to acquire a certain coherence against the background of a logic imposed on the new experience, namely that of exile. Texts created during his exile in Argentina appear in a different context, in other words, in a situation of inadequacy towards the world: ignorance of the language, poverty, isolation that characterizes especially the first years spent there. This study aims to highlight how the Polish author de-builds and reconstructs his Mittel-European identity profile through language.

Keywords: discourse, exile, identity, immigration

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