Search results for: challenging professional bias

Authors: Irfan Abdulrahman Sheth, Sohil Pothiawala

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Dermatomyositis is an idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, traditionally characterized by a progressive, symmetrical proximal muscle weakness and pathognomonic or characteristic cutaneous manifestations. We report a case of a 60-year old Chinese female who was referred from polyclinic for allergic rash over the body after applying hair dye 3 weeks ago. It was associated with puffiness of face, shortness of breath and hoarse voice since last 2 weeks with decrease effort tolerance. She also complained of dysphagia/ myalgia with progressive weakness of proximal muscles and palpitations. She denied chest pain, loss of appetite, weight loss, orthopnea or fever. She had stable vital signs and appeared cushingoid. She was noted to have rash over the scalp/ face and ecchymosis over the right arm with puffiness of face and periorbital oedema. There was symmetrical muscle weakness and other neurological examination was normal. Initial impression was of allergic reaction and underlying nephrotic syndrome and Cushing’s syndrome from TCM use. Diagnostic tests showed high Creatinine kinase (CK) of 1463 u/l, CK–MB of 18.7 ug/l and Troponin –T of 0.09 ug/l. The Full blood count and renal panel was normal. EMG showed inflammatory myositis. Patient was managed by rheumatologist and discharged on oral prednisolone with methotrexate/ ergocalciferol capsule and calcium carb, vitamin D tablets and outpatient follow up. In some patients, cutaneous disease exists in the absence of objective evidence of muscle inflammation. Management of dermatomyositis begins with careful investigation for the presence of muscle disease or of additional systemic involvement, particularly of the pulmonary, cardiac or gastrointestinal systems, and for the possibility of an accompanying malignancy. Muscle disease and systemic involvement can be refractory and may require multiple sequential therapeutic interventions or, at times, combinations of therapies. Thus, we want to highlight to the physicians that the cutaneous disease of dermatomyositis should not be confused with allergic reaction. It can be particularly challenging to diagnose. Early recognition aids appropriate management of this group of patients.

Keywords: dermatomyositis, myopathy, allergy, cutaneous disease

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Authors: Raj Chandran, Saul Datwyler, Jaime Marino, Daniel West, Karla Grasso, Adam Buss, Hina Syed, Zina Al Sahouri, Jennifer Yen, Krista Caudle, Beth McQuiston

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The Alinity i TBI test is Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) registered and is a panel of in vitro diagnostic chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassays for the measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) in plasma and serum. The Alinity i TBI performance was evaluated in a multi-center pivotal study to demonstrate the capability to assist in determining the need for a CT scan of the head in adult subjects (age 18+) presenting with suspected mild TBI (traumatic brain injury) with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 to 15. TBI has been recognized as an important cause of death and disability and is a growing public health problem. An estimated 69 million people globally experience a TBI annually1. Blood-based biomarkers such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) have shown utility to predict acute traumatic intracranial injury on head CT scans after TBI. A pivotal study using prospectively collected archived (frozen) plasma specimens was conducted to establish the clinical performance of the TBI test on the Alinity i system. The specimens were originally collected in a prospective, multi-center clinical study. Testing of the specimens was performed at three clinical sites in the United States. Performance characteristics such as detection limits, imprecision, linearity, measuring interval, expected values, and interferences were established following Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidance. Of the 1899 mild TBI subjects, 120 had positive head CT scan results; 116 of the 120 specimens had a positive TBI interpretation (Sensitivity 96.7%; 95% CI: 91.7%, 98.7%). Of the 1779 subjects with negative CT scan results, 713 had a negative TBI interpretation (Specificity 40.1%; 95% CI: 37.8, 42.4). The negative predictive value (NPV) of the test was 99.4% (713/717, 95% CI: 98.6%, 99.8%). The analytical measuring interval (AMI) extends from the limit of quantitation (LoQ) to the upper LoQ and is determined by the range that demonstrates acceptable performance for linearity, imprecision, and bias. The AMI is 6.1 to 42,000 pg/mL for GFAP and 26.3 to 25,000 pg/mL for UCH-L1. Overall, within-laboratory imprecision (20 day) ranged from 3.7 to 5.9% CV for GFAP and 3.0 to 6.0% CV for UCH-L1, when including lot and instrument variances. The Alinity i TBI clinical performance results demonstrated high sensitivity and high NPV, supporting the utility to assist in determining the need for a head CT scan in subjects presenting to the emergency department with suspected mild TBI. The GFAP and UCH-L1 assays show robust analytical performance across a broad concentration range of GFAP and UCH-L1 and may serve as a valuable tool to help evaluate TBI patients across the spectrum of mild to severe injury.

Keywords: biomarker, diagnostic, neurology, TBI

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Authors: Mahdi Sepehrmanesh

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This essay explores Gerald Vizenor's innovative concepts of the tragedy of absence and the comedy of presence as frameworks for understanding and challenging dominant narratives about Native American identity and history. Vizenor's work critiques the notion of irrevocable cultural loss and rigid definitions of Indigenous identity based on blood quantum and stereotypical practices. Through subversive humor, trickster figures, and storytelling, Vizenor asserts the active presence and continuance of Native peoples, advocating for a dynamic, self-determined understanding of Native identity. The essay examines Vizenor's use of postmodern techniques, including his engagement with simulation and hyperreality, to disrupt colonial discourses and create new spaces for Indigenous expression. It explores the concept of "crossblood" identities as a means of resisting essentialist notions of Native authenticity and embracing the complexities of contemporary Indigenous experiences. Vizenor's ideas of survivance and transmotion are analyzed as strategies for cultural resilience and adaptation in the face of ongoing colonial pressures. The interplay between absence and presence in Vizenor's work is discussed, particularly through the lens of shadow survivance and the power of storytelling. The essay also delves into Vizenor's critique of terminal creed and his promotion of natural reason as an alternative epistemology to Western rationalism. While acknowledging the significant influence of Vizenor's work on Native American literature and theory, the essay also addresses critiques of his approach, including concerns about the accessibility of his writing and its political effectiveness. Despite these debates, the essay argues that Vizenor's concepts offer a powerful vision of Indigenous futurity that is rooted in tradition yet open to change, inspiring hope and agency in the face of oppression. By examining Vizenor's multifaceted approach to Native American identity and presence, this essay contributes to ongoing discussions about Indigenous representation, cultural continuity, and resistance to colonial narratives in literature and beyond.

Keywords: gerald vizenor, identity native american literature, survivance, trickster discourse, identity

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Authors: Julius M. Ndambuki, Gislar E. Kifanyi, Samuel N. Odai, Charles Gyamfi

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Conjunctive management of surface and groundwater resources is a challenging task due to the spatial and temporal variability nature of hydrology as well as hydrogeology of the water storage systems. Surface water-groundwater hydrogeology is highly uncertain; thus it is imperative that this uncertainty is explicitly accounted for, when managing water resources. Various methodologies have been developed and applied by researchers in an attempt to account for the uncertainty. For example, simulation-optimization models are often used for conjunctive water resources management. However, direct application of such an approach in which all realizations are considered at each iteration of the optimization process leads to a very expensive optimization in terms of computational time, particularly when the number of realizations is large. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to introduce and apply an efficient approach referred to as Retrospective Optimization Approximation (ROA) that can be used for optimizing conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater over a multiple hydrogeological model simulations. This work is based on stochastic simulation-optimization framework using a recently emerged technique of sample average approximation (SAA) which is a sampling based method implemented within the Retrospective Optimization Approximation (ROA) approach. The ROA approach solves and evaluates a sequence of generated optimization sub-problems in an increasing number of realizations (sample size). Response matrix technique was used for linking simulation model with optimization procedure. The k-means clustering sampling technique was used to map the realizations. The methodology is demonstrated through the application to a hypothetical example. In the example, the optimization sub-problems generated were solved and analysed using “Active-Set” core optimizer implemented under MATLAB 2014a environment. Through k-means clustering sampling technique, the ROA – Active Set procedure was able to arrive at a (nearly) converged maximum expected total optimal conjunctive water use withdrawal rate within a relatively few number of iterations (6 to 7 iterations). Results indicate that the ROA approach is a promising technique for optimizing conjunctive water use of surface water and groundwater withdrawal rates under hydrogeological uncertainty.

Keywords: conjunctive water management, retrospective optimization approximation approach, sample average approximation, uncertainty

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Authors: Angela Odero, Chrysoula Karathanasi, Michèle Baumann

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Integration of foreign communities has been a forefront issue in Luxembourg for some time now. The country’s continued progress depends largely on the successful integration of immigrants. The aim of our study was to analyze factors which intervene in the course of integration of Non-EU citizens through the discourse of Non-EU citizens residing in Luxembourg, who have signed the Welcome and Integration Contract (CAI). The two-year contract offers integration services to assist foreigners in getting settled in the country. Semi-structured focus group discussions with 50 volunteers were held in English, French, Spanish, Serbo-Croatian or Chinese. Participants were asked to talk about their integration experiences. Recorded then transcribed, the transcriptions were analyzed with the help of NVivo 10, a qualitative analysis software. A systematic and reiterative analysis of decomposing and reconstituting was realized through (1) the identification of predetermined categories (difficulties, challenges and integration needs) (2) initial coding – the grouping together of similar ideas (3) axial coding – the regrouping of items from the initial coding in new ways in order to create sub-categories and identify other core dimensions. Our results show that intervening factors include language acquisition, professional career and socio-cultural activities or events. Each of these factors constitutes different components whose weight shifts from person to person and from situation to situation. Connecting these three emergent factors are two elements essential to the success of the immigrant’s integration – the role of time and deliberate effort from the immigrants, the community, and the formal institutions charged with helping immigrants integrate. We propose a theoretical model where the factors described may be classified in terms of how they predispose, facilitate, and / or reinforce the process towards a successful integration. Measures currently in place propose one size fits all programs yet integrative measures which target the family unit and those customized to target groups based on their needs would work best.

Keywords: integration, integration services, non-eu citizens, qualitative analysis, third country nationals

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Authors: Sousan Arafeh

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Educational systems and schools worldwide are increasingly reliant on information and communication technology (ICT). Unfortunately, most educational leadership development programs do not offer formal curricular and/or field experiences that prepare students for managing ICT resources, personnel, and processes. The result is a steep learning curve for the leader and his/her staff and dissipated organizational energy that compromises desired outcomes. To address this gap in education leaders’ development, Arafeh’s Integrated Technology Leadership Model (AITLM) was created. It is a conceptual model and tool that educational leadership students can use to better understand the ICT ecology that exists within their schools. The AITL Model consists of six 'infrastructure types' where ICT activity takes place: technical infrastructure, communications infrastructure, core business infrastructure, context infrastructure, resources infrastructure, and human infrastructure. These six infrastructures are further divided into 16 key areas that need management attention. The AITL Model was created by critically analyzing existing technology/ICT leadership models and working to make something more authentic and comprehensive regarding school leaders’ purview and experience. The AITL Model then served as a tool when it was distributed to over 150 educational leadership students who were asked to review it and qualitatively share their reactions. Students said the model presented crucial areas of consideration that they had not been exposed to before and that the exercise of reviewing and discussing the AITL Model as a group was useful for identifying areas of growth that they could pursue in the leadership development program and in their professional settings. While development in all infrastructures and key areas was important for students’ understanding of ICT, they noted that they were least aware of the importance of the intangible area of the resources infrastructure. The AITL Model will be presented and session participants will have an opportunity to review and reflect on its impact and utility. Ultimately, the AITL Model is one that could have significant policy and practice implications. At the very least, it might help shape ICT content in educational leadership development programs through curricular and pedagogical updates.

Keywords: education leadership, information and communications technology, ICT, leadership capacity building, leadership development

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Authors: Helena Bolini, Erick Esmerino, Adriano Cruz, Juliana Paixao

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The currently concern for health has increased demand for low-calorie ingredients and functional foods as probiotics. Understand the reasons that infer on food choice, besides a challenging task, it is important step for development and/or reformulation of existing food products. The use of appropriate multivariate statistical techniques, such as External Preference Map (PrefMap), associated with regression by Partial Least Squares (PLS) can help in determining those factors. Thus, this study aimed to determine, through PLS regression analysis, the sensory attributes considered drivers of liking in probiotic petit suisse cheeses, strawberry flavor, sweetened with different sweeteners. Five samples in same equivalent sweetness: PROB1 (Sucralose 0.0243%), PROB2 (Stevia 0.1520%), PROB3 (Aspartame 0.0877%), PROB4 (Neotame 0.0025%) and PROB5 (Sucrose 15.2%) determined by just-about-right and magnitude estimation methods, and three commercial samples COM1, COM2 and COM3, were studied. Analysis was done over data coming from QDA, performed by 12 expert (highly trained assessors) on 20 descriptor terms, correlated with data from assessment of overall liking in acceptance test, carried out by 125 consumers, on all samples. Sequentially, results were submitted to PLS regression using XLSTAT software from Byossistemes. As shown in results, it was possible determine, that three sensory descriptor terms might be considered drivers of liking of probiotic petit suisse cheese samples added with sweeteners (p<0.05). The milk flavor was noticed as a sensory characteristic with positive impact on acceptance, while descriptors bitter taste and sweet aftertaste were perceived as descriptor terms with negative impact on acceptance of petit suisse probiotic cheeses. It was possible conclude that PLS regression analysis is a practical and useful tool in determining drivers of liking of probiotic petit suisse cheeses sweetened with artificial and natural sweeteners, allowing food industry to understand and improve their formulations maximizing the acceptability of their products.

Keywords: acceptance, consumer, quantitative descriptive analysis, sweetener

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Authors: Anton V. Dolzhenko, Tahir Mehmood Khan

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An ability to make an evidence-based decision is a critically important skill required for practicing pharmacists. The development of this skill is incorporated into the pharmacy curriculum. We aimed in our study to estimate perception of pharmacy students regarding herbal medicines and their ability to assess information on herbal medicines professionally. The current Monash University curriculum in Pharmacy does not provide comprehensive study material on herbal medicines and students should find their way to find information, assess its quality and make a professional decision. In the Pharmacy course, students are trained how to apply this process to conventional medicines. In our survey of 93 undergraduate students from year 1-4 of Pharmacy course at Monash University Malaysia, we found that students’ view on herbal medicines is sometimes associated with common beliefs, which affect students’ ability to make evidence-based conclusions regarding the therapeutic potential of herbal medicines. The use of herbal medicines is widespread and 95.7% of the participated students have prior experience of using them. In the scale 1 to 10, students rated the importance of acquiring herbal medicine knowledge for them as 8.1±1.6. More than half (54.9%) agreed that herbal medicines have the same clinical significance as conventional medicines in treating diseases. Even more, students agreed that healthcare settings should give equal importance to both conventional and herbal medicine use (80.6%) and that herbal medicines should comply with strict quality control procedures as conventional medicines (84.9%). The latter statement also indicates that students consider safety issues associated with the use of herbal medicines seriously. It was further confirmed by 94.6% of students saying that the safety and toxicity information on herbs and spices are important to pharmacists and 95.7% of students admitting that drug-herb interactions may affect therapeutic outcome. Only 36.5% of students consider herbal medicines as s safer alternative to conventional medicines. The students use information on herbal medicines from various sources and media. Most of the students (81.7%) obtain information on herbal medicines from the Internet and only 20.4% mentioned lectures/workshop/seminars as a source of such information. Therefore, we can conclude that students attained the skills on the critical assessment of therapeutic properties of conventional medicines have a potential to use their skills for evidence-based decisions regarding herbal medicines.

Keywords: evidence-based decision, pharmacy education, student perception, traditional medicines

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Authors: Yifat Koren Carmi, Abed Agbarya, Hazem Khamaisi, Raymond Farah, Yelena Shechtman, Roman Korobochka, Jacob Gopas, Jamal Mahajna

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Ovarian cancer (OC), the second most common form of gynecological malignancy, has a poor prognosis and is frequently identified in its late stages. The recommended treatment for OC typically includes a platinum-based chemotherapy, like carboplatin. Nonetheless, OC treatment has proven challenging due to toxicity and development of acquired resistance to therapy. Chemoresistance is a significant obstacle to a long-lasting response in OC patients, believed to arise from alterations within the cancer cells as well as within the tumor microenvironments (TME). Malignant ascites is a presenting feature in more than one-third of OC patients. It serves as a reservoir for a complex mixture of soluble factors, metabolites, and cellular components, providing a pro-inflammatory and tumor-promoting microenvironment for the OC cells. Malignant ascites is also associated with metastasis and chemoresistance. In an attempt to elucidate the role of TME in chemoresistance of OC, we monitored the ability of soluble factors derived from ascites fluids to affect platinum sensitivity of OC cells. This research, compared ascites fluids from non-malignant cirrhotic patients to those from OC patients in terms of their ability to alter the platinum sensitivity of OC cells. Our findings indicated that exposure to OC ascites induces platinum chemoresistance on OC cells in 11 out of 13 cases (85%). In contrast, 75% of cirrhosis ascites (3 out of 4) failed to confer platinum chemoresistance to OC cells. Cytokine array analysis revealed that IL-6, and to a lesser extent HGF were enriched in OC ascites, whereas IL-22 was enriched in cirrhosis ascites. Pharmaceutical inhibitors that target the IL-6/JAK signaling pathway were mildly effective in overcoming the platinum chemoresistance induced by malignant ascites. In contrast, Crizotinib an HGF/c-MET inhibitor, and 2-hydroxyestradiol (2HE2) were effective in restoring platinum chemoresistance to OC. Our findings demonstrate the importance of OC ascites in supporting platinum chemoresistance as well as the potential of a combination therapy with Crizotinib and the estradiol metabolite 2HE2 to regain OC cells chemosensitivity.

Keywords: ovarian cancer, platinum chemoresistance, malignant ascites, tumor microenvironment, IL-6, 2-hydroxyestradiol, HGF, crizotinib

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Authors: Stephen Bahooshy

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Our understanding of gender inequality has advanced in recent years. Differences in pay and societal gendered behaviour expectations have been emphasized. It is acknowledged globally that gender shapes everyone’s experiences of health and social care, including access to care, use of services and products, and the interaction with care providers. NHS Digital in England collects data from local authorities on the number of carers and people with support needs and the services they access. This data does not provide a gender breakdown. Caring can have many positive and negative impacts on carers’ health and wellbeing. For example, caring can improve physical health, provide a sense of pride and purpose, and reduced stress levels for those who undertake a caring role by choice. Negatives of caring include financial concerns, social isolation, a reduction in earnings, and not being recognized as a carer or involved and consulted by health and social care professionals. Treating male and female carers differently is by definition unequitable and precludes one gender from receiving the benefits of caring whilst potentially overburdening the other with the negatives of caring. In order to explore the issue on a preliminary basis, five local authorities who provide statutory adult social care services in England were sent Freedom of Information requests in 2019. The authorities were selected to include county councils and London boroughs. The authorities were asked to provide data on the amount of money spent on care at home packages to people over 65 years, broken down by gender and carer gender for each financial year between 2013 and 2019. Results indicated that in each financial year, female carers supporting someone over 65 years received less financial support for care at home support packages than male carers. Over the six-year period, this difference equated to a £9.5k deficit in financial support received on average per female carer when compared to male carers. An example of a London borough with the highest disparity presented an average weekly spend on care at home for people over 65 with a carer of £261.35 for male carers and £165.46 for female carers. Consequently, female carers in this borough received on average £95.89 less per week in care at home support than male carers. This highlights a real and potentially detrimental disparity in the care support received to female carers in order to support them to continue to care in parts of England. More research should be undertaken in this area to better explore this issue and to understand if these findings are unique to these social care providers or part of a wider phenomenon. NHS Digital should request local authorities collect data on gender in the same way that large employers in the United Kingdom are required by law to provide data on staff salaries by gender. People who allocate social care packages of support should consider the impact of gender when allocating support packages to people with support needs and who have carers to reduce any potential impact of gender bias on their decision-making.

Keywords: caregivers, carers, gender equality, social care

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Authors: Patricia Portugal Marques de Carvalho Lourenco

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A three-phase methodological multi-lingual path was designed, constructed and carried out using the 2020 Chinese Internet Drama Series We Are All Alone as a case study. Phase one, the backbone of the research, comprised of secondary data analysis, providing the structure on which the next two phases would be built on. Phase one incorporated a Google Scholar and a Baidu Index analysis, Star Network Influence Index and Mydramalist.com top two drama reviews, along with an article written about the drama and scrutiny of Chinese related blogs and websites. Phase two was field research elaborated across Latin Europe, and phase three was social media focused, having into account that perceptions are going to be memory conditioned based on past ideas recall. Overall, research has shown the poor cultural expression of Chinese entertainment in Latin Europe and demonstrated the inexistence of Chinese content in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish Business to Consumer retailers; a reflection of their low significance in Latin European markets and the short-life cycle of entertainment products in general, bubble-gum, disposable goods without a mid to long-term effect in consumers lives. The process of conducting comprehensive international research was complex and time-consuming, with data not always available in Mandarin, the researcher’s linguistic deficiency, limited Chinese Cultural Knowledge and cultural equivalence. Despite steps being taken to minimize the international proposed research, theoretical limitations concurrent to Latin Europe and China still occurred. Data accuracy was disputable; sampling, data collection/analysis methods are heterogeneous; ascertaining data requirements and the method of analysis to achieve a construct equivalence was challenging and morose to operationalize. Secondary data was also not often readily available in Mandarin; yet, in spite of the array of limitations, research was done, and results were produced.

Keywords: research methodologies, international research, primary data, secondary data, research limitations, online dramas, china, latin europe

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Authors: Ian Campbell, Gillian Mitchell, Paul James, Na Li, Ella Thompson

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The genetic cause of the majority of multiple-case breast cancer families remains unresolved. Next generation sequencing has emerged as an efficient strategy for identifying predisposing mutations in individuals with inherited cancer. We are conducting whole exome sequence analysis of germ line DNA from multiple affected relatives from breast cancer families, with the aim of identifying rare protein truncating and non-synonymous variants that are likely to include novel cancer predisposing mutations. Data from more than 200 exomes show that on average each individual carries 30-50 protein truncating mutations and 300-400 rare non-synonymous variants. Heterogeneity among our exome data strongly suggest that numerous moderate penetrance genes remain to be discovered, with each gene individually accounting for only a small fraction of families (~0.5%). This scenario marks validation of candidate breast cancer predisposing genes in large case-control studies as the rate-limiting step in resolving the missing heritability of breast cancer. The aim of this study is to screen genes that are recurrently mutated among our exome data in a larger cohort of cases and controls to assess the prevalence of inactivating mutations that may be associated with breast cancer risk. We are using the Agilent HaloPlex Target Enrichment System to screen the coding regions of 168 genes in 1,000 BRCA1/2 mutation-negative familial breast cancer cases and 1,000 cancer-naive controls. To date, our interim analysis has identified 21 genes which carry an excess of truncating mutations in multiple breast cancer families versus controls. Established breast cancer susceptibility gene PALB2 is the most frequently mutated gene (13/998 cases versus 0/1009 controls), but other interesting candidates include NPSR1, GSN, POLD2, and TOX3. These and other genes are being validated in a second cohort of 1,000 cases and controls. Our experience demonstrates that beyond PALB2, the prevalence of mutations in the remaining breast cancer predisposition genes is likely to be very low making definitive validation exceptionally challenging.

Keywords: predisposition, familial, exome sequencing, breast cancer

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Authors: Douglas MacCutcheon, Florian Pausch, Robert Ljung, Lorna Halliday, Stuart Rosen

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Contemporary classrooms are increasingly inclusive of children with mild to moderate disabilities and children from different language backgrounds (bilinguals, multilinguals), but classroom environments and standards have not yet been adapted adequately to meet these challenges brought about by this inclusivity. Additionally, classrooms are becoming noisier as a learner-centered as opposed to teacher-centered teaching paradigm is adopted, which prioritizes group work and peer-to-peer learning. Challenging listening conditions with distracting sound sources and background noise are known to have potentially negative effects on children, particularly those that are prone to struggle with speech perception in noise. Therefore, this research investigates two groups vulnerable to these environmental effects, namely children with a mild to moderate hearing loss (MMHLs) and sequential bilinguals learning in their second language. In the MMHL study, this group was assessed on speech-in-noise perception, and a number of receptive language and cognitive measures (auditory working memory, auditory attention) and correlations were evaluated. Speech reception thresholds were found to be predictive of language and cognitive ability, and the nature of correlations is discussed. In the bilinguals study, sequential bilingual children’s listening comprehension, speech-in-noise perception, listening effort and release from masking was evaluated under a number of different ecologically valid acoustic scenarios in order to pinpoint the extent of the ‘native language benefit’ for Swedish children learning in English, their second language. Scene manipulations included target-to-distractor ratios and introducing spatially separated noise. This research will contribute to the body of findings from which educational institutions can draw when designing or adapting educational environments in inclusive schools.

Keywords: sequential bilinguals, classroom acoustics, mild to moderate hearing loss, speech-in-noise, release from masking

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Authors: László Schmidt

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Technological and digital innovation is constantly and dynamically evolving, which poses an enormous challenge to both lawmaking and law enforcement. To legislation because artificial intelligence permeates many areas of people’s daily lives that the legislator must regulate. it can see how challenging it is to regulate e.g. self-driving cars/taxis/camions etc. Not to mention cryptocurrencies and Chat GPT, the use of which also requires legislative intervention. Artificial intelligence also poses an extraordinary challenge to law enforcement. In criminal cases, police and prosecutors can make great use of AI in investigations, e.g. in forensics, DNA samples, reconstruction, identification, etc. But it can also be of great help in the detection of crimes committed in cyberspace. In the case of cybercrime, on the one hand, it can be viewed as a new type of crime that can only be committed with the help of information systems, and that has a specific protected legal object, such as an information system or data. On the other hand, it also includes traditional crimes that are much easier to commit with the help of new tools. According to Hungarian Criminal Code section 375 (1), any person who, for unlawful financial gain, introduces data into an information system, or alters or deletes data processed therein, or renders data inaccessible, or otherwise interferes with the functioning of the information system, and thereby causes damage, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years. The Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic has had a significant impact on our lives and our daily lives. It was no different in the world of crime. With people staying at home for months, schools, restaurants, theatres, cinemas closed, and no travel, criminals have had to change their ways. Criminals were committing crimes online in even greater numbers than before. These crimes were very diverse, ranging from false fundraising, the collection and misuse of personal data, extortion to fraud on various online marketplaces. The most vulnerable age groups (minors and elderly) could be made more aware and prevented from becoming victims of this type of crime through targeted programmes. The aim of the study is to show the Hungarian judicial practice in relation to cybercrime and possible preventive solutions.

Keywords: cybercrime, COVID-19, Hungary, criminal law

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Authors: Yunjia Yang, Yakun Yan, Peng Li, Gordon Xu, Timothy Mahony, Neena Mitter, Karishma Mody

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Sheep flystrike is one of the most economically important diseases affecting the Australian sheep and wool industry (>356M/annually). Currently, control of Lucillia cuprina relies almost exclusively on chemicals controls and the parasite has developed resistance to nearly all control chemicals used in the past. It is therefore critical to develop an alternative solution for the sustainable control and management of flystrike. RNA interference (RNAi) technologies have been successfully explored in multiple animal industries for developing parasites controls. This research project aims to develop a RNAi based biological control for sheep blowfly. Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has already proven successful against viruses, fungi and insects. However, the environmental instability of dsRNA is a major bottleneck with a protection window only lasting 5-7 days. Bentonite polymer (BenPol) technology can overcome this problem, as it can be tuned for controlled release of the dsRNA in the gut challenging pH environment of the blowfly larvae, prolonging its exposure time to and uptake by target cells. We have investigated four different BenPol carriers for their dsRNA loading capabilities of which three of them were able to afford dsRNA stability under multiple temperatures (4°C, 22°C, 40°C, 55°C) in the sheep serum. Based on stability results, we further tested dsRNA from potential targeted genes loaded with BenPol carrier in larvae feeding assay, and get three knockdowns. Our results, establish that the dsRNA when loaded on BenPol particles is stable unlike naked dsRNA which is rapidly degraded in the sheep serum. A stable nanoparticles delivery system that can protect and increase the inherent stability of the dsRNA molecules at higher temperatures in a complex biological fluid like serum, offers a great deal of promise for the future use of this approach for enhancing animal protection.

Keywords: RNA interference, Lucillia cuprina, polymer carriers, polymer stability

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Authors: Balazs Patczai, Katalin Gocze, Gabriella Kiss, Dorottya Szabo, Tibor Mintal

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Introduction: Running has become increasingly popular on a global scale in the past decades. Amateur athletes are taking their sport to a new level in an attempt to surpass their performance goals. The aim of our study was to assess the musculoskeletal condition of amateur runners and the prevalence of injuries with a special focus on stress fracture risk. Methods: The cross sectional analysis included ankle mobility, hamstring and lower back flexibility, the use of Renne’s test for iliotibial band syndrome, functional tests for trunk and rotary stability, and measurements of bone density. Data was collected at 2 major half-marathon events in Hungary. Results: Participants (n=134) mean age was 41.76±8.57 years (males: 40.67±8.83, females: 42.08±8.56). Measures of hamstring and lower back flexibility fell into the category of good for both genders (males: 7.13±6.83cm, females: 10.17±6.67cm). No side asymmetry nor gender differences were characteristic in the case of ankle mobility. Trunk stability was significantly better for males than in females (p=0.004). Markers of bone health were in the low normal range for females and were significantly better for males (T-score: p=0.003, T-ratio: p=0.014, Z-score: p=0.034, Z-ratio: p=0.011). 5.2% of females had a previous stress fracture and 24.1% experienced irregular menstrual cycles during the past year. As for the knowledge on the possible association of energy deficiency, menstrual disturbances and their effect on bone health, Only 8.6% of females have heard of the female athlete triad either during their studies or from a health professional. Discussion: The overall musculoskeletal state was satisfactory for both genders both physically and functionally. More attention and effort should be placed on primary and secondary prevention of amateur runners. Very few active women are well informed about the effects of low energy availability and menstrual dysfunction and the negative impact these have on bone health.

Keywords: bone health, flexibility, running, stress fracture

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Authors: Sara Rejeb, Catherine Duveau, Tabea Rebafka

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To monitor the production process of turbofan aircraft engines, multiple measurements of various geometrical parameters are systematically recorded on manufactured parts. Engine parts are subject to extremely high standards as they can impact the performance of the engine. Therefore, it is essential to analyze these databases to better understand the influence of the different parameters on the engine's performance. Self-organizing maps are unsupervised neural networks which achieve two tasks simultaneously: they visualize high-dimensional data by projection onto a 2-dimensional map and provide clustering of the data. This technique has become very popular for data exploration since it provides easily interpretable results and a meaningful global view of the data. As such, self-organizing maps are usually applied to aircraft engine condition monitoring. As databases in this field are huge and complex, they naturally contain multiple missing entries for various reasons. The classical Kohonen algorithm to compute self-organizing maps is conceived for complete data only. A naive approach to deal with partially observed data consists in deleting items or variables with missing entries. However, this requires a sufficient number of complete individuals to be fairly representative of the population; otherwise, deletion leads to a considerable loss of information. Moreover, deletion can also induce bias in the analysis results. Alternatively, one can first apply a common imputation method to create a complete dataset and then apply the Kohonen algorithm. However, the choice of the imputation method may have a strong impact on the resulting self-organizing map. Our approach is to address simultaneously the two problems of computing a self-organizing map and imputing missing values, as these tasks are not independent. In this work, we propose an extension of self-organizing maps for partially observed data, referred to as missSOM. First, we introduce a criterion to be optimized, that aims at defining simultaneously the best self-organizing map and the best imputations for the missing entries. As such, missSOM is also an imputation method for missing values. To minimize the criterion, we propose an iterative algorithm that alternates the learning of a self-organizing map and the imputation of missing values. Moreover, we develop an accelerated version of the algorithm by entwining the iterations of the Kohonen algorithm with the updates of the imputed values. This method is efficiently implemented in R and will soon be released on CRAN. Compared to the standard Kohonen algorithm, it does not come with any additional cost in terms of computing time. Numerical experiments illustrate that missSOM performs well in terms of both clustering and imputation compared to the state of the art. In particular, it turns out that missSOM is robust to the missingness mechanism, which is in contrast to many imputation methods that are appropriate for only a single mechanism. This is an important property of missSOM as, in practice, the missingness mechanism is often unknown. An application to measurements on one type of part is also provided and shows the practical interest of missSOM.

Keywords: imputation method of missing data, partially observed data, robustness to missingness mechanism, self-organizing maps

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Authors: Constance Singo, Choja Oduaran

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Child mental disorders are strongly associated with different forms of challenges, including behavioural problems. The burden of care for children with a mental disorder is high and put primary caregivers, parents in particular, at risk of poor mental wellbeing. Understanding the experience of parents of children with mental disorders is crucial to developing a relevant intervention to assist them to attain optimal mental wellbeing. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of parents of children with conduct disorder by focussing on the psychological and social stress experience of the parents in raising and caring for their children with conduct disorder. A qualitative research approach, using in-depth interview was utilized in this study. Purposive and snowballing sampling techniques were used to select 9 parents of children with conduct disorder in Thulamela Municipality, Limpopo Province of South Africa. Participants comprising of 2 males and 7 females aged between 30 years and 49 years were interviewed individually at scheduled appointment in-home setting. Interviews were conducted in both English and Setswana language. Data collected in Setswana language were translated to English by 'expert in language translation'. Ethical approval was obtained from appropriate authority before data collection. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the collected data. The findings identified anger, fear, depressive symptoms, denial, and suicidal ideation as predominant psychological experiences of the parents. Furthermore, deteriorated interpersonal relationships with family and community members, financial stress, and stigma emerged as social problems being the experience of the parents. It was concluded that parents of children with conduct disorder are highly traumatized by the challenges of caring for their children. We recommend professional engagement in terms of counselling service to support the parents. There is also a need for massive enlightenment programmes for members of the community in order to support the parents of children with child mental disorders.

Keywords: conduct disorder, parents, psychosocial experiences, South Africa

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Authors: S. Junaid S. Qazi, Denice C. Bay, Raymond Chew, Raymond J. Turner

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EmrE, a member of the small multidrug resistance protein family in bacteria is considered to be the archetypical member of its family. It confers host resistance to a wide variety of quaternary cation compounds (QCCs) driven by proton motive force. Generally, purification yield is a challenge in all membrane proteins because of the difficulties in their expression, isolation and solubilization. EmrE is extremely hydrophobic which make the purification yield challenging. We have purified EmrE protein using two different approaches: organic solvent membrane extraction and hexahistidine (his6) tagged Ni-affinity chromatographic methods. We have characterized changes present between ligand affinity of untagged and his6-tagged EmrE proteins in similar membrane mimetic environments using biophysical experimental techniques. Purified proteins were solubilized in a buffer containing n-dodecyl-β-D-maltopyranoside (DDM) and the conformations in the proteins were explored in the presence of four QCCs, methyl viologen (MV), ethidium bromide (EB), cetylpyridinium chloride (CTP) and tetraphenyl phosphonium (TPP). SDS-Tricine PAGE and dynamic light scattering (DLS) analysis revealed that the addition of QCCs did not induce higher multimeric forms of either proteins at all QCC:EmrE molar ratios examined under the solubilization conditions applied. QCC binding curves obtained from the Trp fluorescence quenching spectra, gave the values of dissociation constant (Kd) and maximum specific one-site binding (Bmax). Lower Bmax values to QCCs for his6-tagged EmrE shows that the binding sites remained unoccupied. This lower saturation suggests that the his6-tagged versions provide a conformation that prevents saturated binding. Our data demonstrate that tagging an integral membrane protein can significantly influence the protein.

Keywords: small multidrug resistance (SMR) protein, EmrE, integral membrane protein folding, quaternary ammonium compounds (QAC), quaternary cation compounds (QCC), nickel affinity chromatography, hexahistidine (His6) tag

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Authors: Nivatha Elangovan, Lakshman Neelakantan, Murugaiyan Amirthalingam

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Magnesium and its alloys are widely used for various lightweight engineering and biomedical applications as they render high strength to low weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance. These alloys possess good bio-compatibility and similar mechanical properties to natural bone. However, manufacturing magnesium alloy components by conventional formative and subtractive methods is challenging due to their poor castability, oxidation potential, and machinability. Therefore, efforts are made to produce complex-design containing magnesium alloy components by additive manufacturing (AM). Arc-wire directed energy deposition (AW-DED), also known as wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM), is more attractive to produce large volume components with increased productivity than any other AM technique. In this research work, efforts were made to optimise the deposition parameters to build thick-walled (about 10 mm) AZ31 magnesium alloy components by a gas metal arc (GMA) based AW-DED process. By using controlled dip short-circuiting metal transfer in a GMA process, depositions were carried out without defects and spatter formation. Current and voltage waveforms were suitably modified to achieve stable metal transfer. Moreover, the droplet transfer behaviour was analysed using high-speed image analysis and correlated with arc energy. Optical and scanning electron microscopy analyses were carried out to correlate the influence of deposition parameters with the microstructural evolution during deposition. The investigation reveals that by carefully controlling the current-voltage waveform and droplet transfer behaviour, it is possible to stabilise equiaxed grain microstructures in the deposited AZ31 components. The printed component exhibited an improved mechanical property as equiaxed grains improve the ductility and enhance the toughness. The equiaxed grains in the component improved the corrosion-resistant behaviour of other conventionally manufactured components.

Keywords: arc wire directed energy deposition, AZ31 magnesium alloy, equiaxed grain, corrosion

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Authors: Randa Alharbi, Vladislav Vyshemirsky

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Systems biology is an important field in science which focuses on studying behaviour of biological systems. Modelling is required to produce detailed description of the elements of a biological system, their function, and their interactions. A well-designed model requires selecting a suitable mechanism which can capture the main features of the system, define the essential components of the system and represent an appropriate law that can define the interactions between its components. Complex biological systems exhibit stochastic behaviour. Thus, using probabilistic models are suitable to describe and analyse biological systems. Continuous-Time Markov Chain (CTMC) is one of the probabilistic models that describe the system as a set of discrete states with continuous time transitions between them. The system is then characterised by a set of probability distributions that describe the transition from one state to another at a given time. The evolution of these probabilities through time can be obtained by chemical master equation which is analytically intractable but it can be simulated. Uncertain parameters of such a model can be inferred using methods of Bayesian inference. Yet, inference in such a complex system is challenging as it requires the evaluation of the likelihood which is intractable in most cases. There are different statistical methods that allow simulating from the model despite intractability of the likelihood. Approximate Bayesian computation is a common approach for tackling inference which relies on simulation of the model to approximate the intractable likelihood. Particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC) is another approach which is based on using sequential Monte Carlo to estimate intractable likelihood. However, both methods are computationally expensive. In this paper we discuss the efficiency and possible practical issues for each method, taking into account the computational time for these methods. We demonstrate likelihood-free inference by performing analysing a model of the Repressilator using both methods. Detailed investigation is performed to quantify the difference between these methods in terms of efficiency and computational cost.

Keywords: Approximate Bayesian computation(ABC), Continuous-Time Markov Chains, Sequential Monte Carlo, Particle Markov chain Monte Carlo (PMCMC)

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Authors: Pratik Dhabal Deo, Manoj P.

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With the increasing number of social media users, the amount of video content available has also significantly increased. Currently, the number of smartphone users is at its peak, and many are increasingly using their smartphones as their main photography and recording devices. There have been a lot of developments in the field of Video Quality Assessment (VQA) and metrics like VMAF, SSIM etc. are said to be some of the best performing metrics, but the evaluation of these metrics is dominantly done on professionally taken video contents using professional tools, lighting conditions etc. No study particularly pinpointing the performance of the metrics on the contents taken by users on very commonly available devices has been done. Datasets that contain a huge number of videos from different high-end devices make it difficult to analyze the performance of the metrics on the content from most used devices even if they contain contents taken in poor lighting conditions using lower-end devices. These devices face a lot of distortions due to various factors since the spectrum of contents recorded on these devices is huge. In this paper, we have presented an analysis of the objective VQA metrics on contents taken only from most used devices and their performance on them, focusing on full-reference metrics. To carry out this research, we created a custom dataset containing a total of 90 videos that have been taken from three most commonly used devices, and android smartphone, an IOS smartphone and a DSLR. On the videos taken on each of these devices, the six most common types of distortions that users face have been applied on addition to already existing H.264 compression based on four reference videos. These six applied distortions have three levels of degradation each. A total of the five most popular VQA metrics have been evaluated on this dataset and the highest values and the lowest values of each of the metrics on the distortions have been recorded. Finally, it is found that blur is the artifact on which most of the metrics didn’t perform well. Thus, in order to understand the results better the amount of blur in the data set has been calculated and an additional evaluation of the metrics was done using HEVC codec, which is the next version of H.264 compression, on the camera that proved to be the sharpest among the devices. The results have shown that as the resolution increases, the performance of the metrics tends to become more accurate and the best performing metric among them is VQM with very few inconsistencies and inaccurate results when the compression applied is H.264, but when the compression is applied is HEVC, SSIM and VMAF have performed significantly better.

Keywords: distortion, metrics, performance, resolution, video quality assessment

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Authors: Gudakesh Yadav

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Utter Pradesh, which is one of the largest states of India with unequal distribution of resources and different socioeconomic and cultural characteristics, level of different new born health care indicators varies a lot from one district to another district. State shared more than 21 percent of total live births of India; whereas, it accounts for 28 percent of total infant deaths of the country, with the 53 per thousand infant mortality rate. The present paper attempts to examine tempo-spatial changes in new born care practices during NFHS-1 to NFHS-3 and DLHS-2 to DLHS-3 in Uttar Pradesh and different regions. Descriptive statistics, rate-ratios, concentration index, multivariate and decomposition analysis has been used for the study. Findings of the study reveal that new born care practices have improved over the time in the state and across all the regions because of giving more emphasis on venerable groups like poor, rural, less educated mothers and scheduled caste & tribes but still it did not achieve the desired successes. Regional analysis of third rounds of DLHS shows that, coverage of intuitional delivery was the lowest in the central region. Performance of the southern region was the lowest in terms of initiation of breastfeeding, keeping baby warm and dry after the birth. The study calls for proper follow up of new born children to accelerate new born and child health care service and prioritises increasing antenatal check-ups and institutional delivery, which helps to improve level of other new born care services. At the policy level there is need to reach venerable groups like scheduled caste and tribes, poor and uneducated, and new mother especially in rural areas. High focused district should be allocated for better implementation of new born care promotion programme in low performing districts. Partnership with the private sector health professional is necessary to reach the every part of population.

Keywords: decomposition, inequality, initiation of breastfeeding, institutional delivery

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Authors: Muhammet Şahal, Oğuz Köklü

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As statistical thinking and problem-solving processes have become increasingly important, teachers need to be more rigorously prepared with statistical knowledge to teach their students effectively. This study examined preservice mathematics teachers' development of statistical investigation projects using data and exploratory data analysis tools, following a design-based research perspective and statistical investigation cycle. A total of 26 pre-service senior mathematics teachers from a public university in Turkiye participated in the study. They formed groups of 3-4 members voluntarily and worked on their statistical investigation projects for six weeks. The data sources were audio recordings of pre-service teachers' group discussions while working on their projects in class, whole-class video recordings, and each group’s weekly and final reports. As part of the study, we reviewed weekly reports, provided timely feedback specific to each group, and revised the following week's class work based on the groups’ needs and development in their project. We used content analysis to analyze groups’ audio and classroom video recordings. The participants encountered several difficulties, which included formulating a meaningful statistical question in the early phase of the investigation, securing the most suitable data collection strategy, and deciding on the data analysis method appropriate for their statistical questions. The data collection and organization processes were challenging for some groups and revealed the importance of comprehensive planning. Overall, preservice senior mathematics teachers were able to work on a statistical project that contained the formulation of a statistical question, planning, data collection, analysis, and reaching a conclusion holistically, even though they faced challenges because of their lack of experience. The study suggests that preservice senior mathematics teachers have the potential to apply statistical knowledge and techniques in a real-world context, and they could proceed with the project with the support of the researchers. We provided implications for the statistical education of teachers and future research.

Keywords: design-based study, pre-service mathematics teachers, statistical investigation projects, statistical model

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Authors: Jean Patrick Mve

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The increasing quest for efficiency, accountability, and transparency has led to the implementation of massive governance reforms among higher education systems worldwide. This is causing many changes in the governance of higher education institutions. Governments over the world are trying to adopt business-like organizational strategies to enhance the performance of higher education institutions. This study explores the changes that have taken place in the Cameroonian higher education sector. It also attempts to draw a picture of the likely future of higher education governance and the actions to be taken for the promotion of institutional effectiveness among higher education institutions. The “governance equalizer” is used as an analytical tool to this end. It covers the five dimensions of the New Public Management (NPM), namely: state regulation, stakeholder guidance, academic self-governance, managerial self-governance, and competition. Qualitative data are used, including semi-structured interviews with key informants at the organizational level and other academic stakeholders, documents and archival data from the university and from the ministry of higher education. It has been found that state regulation among higher education institutions in Cameroon is excessively high, causing the institutional autonomy to be very low, especially at the level of financial management, staffing and promotion, and other internal administrative affairs; at the level of stakeholder guidance there is a higher degree of stakeholders consideration in the academic and research activities among universities, though the government’s interest to keep its hands in most management activities is still high; academic self-governance is also very weak as the assignment of academics is done more on the basis of political considerations than competence; there is no real managerial self-governance among higher education institutions due to the lack of institutional capacity and insufficient autonomy at the level of decision making; there is a plan to promote competition among universities but a real competitive environment is not yet put into place. The study concludes that the government’s policy should make state control more relaxed and concentrate on steering and supervision. As well, real institutional autonomy, professional competence building for top management and stakeholder participation should be considered to guarantee competition and institutional effectiveness.

Keywords: Cameroon higher education, effective institutional governance, governance equalizer, institutional autonomy, institutional effectiveness

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Authors: Klara Strecker

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During times of globalization, socioeconomic systems have become connected across the world through global supply chains. As a result, consumption and production locations have increasingly become spatially decoupled. This decoupling leads to complex entanglements of systems and sustainability challenges across distances -entanglements which can be conceptualized as telecouplings. Through telecouplings, people and environments across the world have become closely connected, bringing challenges as well as opportunities. Some argue that telecoupling dynamics started taking shape during times of colonization when resources were first traded across the world. An example of such a telecoupling is that of the rose. Every third rose sold in Europe is grown in Kenya and enters the European market through the Dutch flower auction system. Many Kenyan farms are Dutch-owned, closely entangling Kenya and the Netherlands through the trade of roses. Furthermore, the globalization of the flower industry and the resulting shift of production away from the Netherlands and towards Kenya has led to significant changes in the Dutch horticulture sector. However, the sustainability effects of this rose telecoupling is limited neither to the horticulture sector nor to the Netherlands and Kenya. Alongside the flow of roses between these countries come complex financial, knowledge-based, and regulatory flows. The rose telecoupling also creates spillover effects to other countries, such as Ethiopia, and other industries, such as Kenyan tourism. Therefore, telecoupling dynamics create complex entanglements that cut across sectors, environments, communities, and countries, which makes effectively governing and managing telecouplings and their sustainability implications challenging. Indeed, sustainability can no longer be studied in spatial and temporal isolation. This paper aims to map the rose telecoupling’s complex environmental and social interactions to identify points of tension guiding sustainability-targeted interventions. Mapping these interactions will provide a more holistic understanding of the sustainability challenges involved in the Dutch-Kenyan rose trade. This interdisciplinary telecoupling approach reframes and integrates interdisciplinary knowledge about the rose trade between the Netherlands, Kenya, and beyond.

Keywords: Dutch-Kenyan rose trade, globalization, socio-ecological system, sustainability, telecoupling

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Authors: Eduardo Jorge Cabral dos Santos Fernandes

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Over the last sixty-seven years, Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza Vieira designed several interventions for the Leça da Palmeira waterfront. With this paper, we aim to analyze the history of this set of projects in a chronological approach, seeking to understand the connections that can be established between them. Born in Matosinhos, a fishing and industrial village located near Porto, Álvaro Siza built a remarkable relationship with Leça da Palmeira (a neighboring village located to the north) from a personal and professional point of view throughout his life: it was there that he got married (in the small chapel located next to the Boa Nova lighthouse) and it was there that he designed his first works of great impact, the Boa Nova Tea House and the Ocean Swimming Pool, today classified as national monuments. These two works were the subject of several projects spaced over time, including recent restoration interventions designed by the same author. However, the marks of Siza's intervention in this territory are not limited to these two cases; there were other projects designed for this territory, which we also intend to analyze: the monument to the poet António Nobre (1967-80), the unbuilt project for a restaurant next to Piscina das Marés (presented in 1966 and redesigned in 1993), the reorganization of the Avenida da Liberdade (with a first project, not carried out, in 1965-74, and a reformulation carried out between 1998 and 2006) and, finally, the project for the new APDL facilities, which completes Avenida da Liberdade to the south (1995). Altogether, these interventions are so striking in this territory, from a landscape, formal, functional, and tectonic point of view, that it is difficult to imagine this waterfront without their presence. In all cases, the relationship with the site explains many of the design options. Time after time, the conditions of the pre-existing territory (also affected by the previous interventions of Siza) were considered, so each project created a new circumstance, conditioning the following interventions. This paper is part of a more comprehensive project, which aims to analyze the work of Álvaro Siza in its fundamental relationship with the site.

Keywords: Álvaro Siza, contextualism, Leça da Palmeira, landscape

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Authors: Lubna M. A. Hassan, Nasir Brema, Abdallah Mamy, Insaf Yahya, Tanzil A. G., Ahmed M. M. Hasoba, Omer A. Suliman

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The Nubian ibex species has been categorized as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to a lack of population data in specific regions within their habitat. This species faces numerous challenges, including habitat loss caused by agricultural practices, livestock rearing, mining activity, and infrastructure development. Additionally, competition with non-native species and hunting pose significant threats to their survival. Unfortunately, studies on the distribution, conservation status, ecology, and health of the ibex are limited and primarily descriptive in nature. In order to bridge this knowledge gap, recent surveys were conducted in the Red Sea State of Sudan during specific periods in 2015, 2016, 2019, and 2021. These surveys have provided valuable insights into the distribution, habitats, and conservation status of the Nubian ibex in the Red Sea State. The findings indicate that the Capra nubiana ibex can be found across more than 17 mountains in the Red Sea State. However, the total population estimate from recent years suggests that there are fewer than 250 individuals remaining. The study has also identified the highest altitude at which the Nubian ibex habitats existed in Sudan's Red Sea State, measuring 1675 m. This area harbors a diverse array of Nubian ibex habitats, encompassing a total of 21 wild plant species from 10 distinct families. The region experiences an average annual temperature ranging from 20.64°C in January to 33.30°C in August. Precipitation occurs in November and December, although it is characterized by unreliability and erratic patterns. It is important to note that these population estimates were obtained through surveys conducted in collaboration with rangers and local communities, and adjustments to survey methods are necessary to accommodate the challenging mountainous terrain, such as utilizing aerial surveys. To effectively address these threats, it is imperative to establish comprehensive long-term monitoring programs.

Keywords: Nubian ibex, distribution, population, habitats

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Authors: Afsha Shaikh, Mohammed Azizur Rahman, Ibrahim Hassan, Mayur Pal

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Student engagement in learning is instantly affected by the sources of learning methods available for them, such as videos showing the applications of the concept or showing a practical demonstration. Specific to the engineering discipline, there exist enormous challenging concepts that can be simplified when they are connected to real-world scenarios. For this study, the concept of heat exchangers was used as it is a part of multidisciplinary engineering fields. To make the learning experience enjoyable and impactful, 3-D printed heat exchanger models were created for students to use while working on in-class activities and assignments. Students were encouraged to use the 3-D printed heat exchanger models to enhance their understanding of theoretical concepts associated with its applications. To assess the effectiveness of the method, feedback was received by students pursuing undergraduate engineering via an anonymous electronic survey. To make the feedback more realistic, unbiased, and genuine, students spent nearly two to three weeks using the models in their in-class assignments. The impact of these tools on their learning was assessed through their performance in their ungraded assignments as well as their interactive discussions with peers. ‘Having to apply the theory learned in class whilst discussing with peers on a class assignment creates a relaxed and stress-free learning environment in classrooms’; this feedback was received by more than half the students who took the survey and found 3-D models of heat exchanger very easy to use. Amongst many ways to enhance learning and make students more engaged through interactive models, this study sheds light on the importance of physical tools that help create a lasting mental representation in the minds of students. Moreover, in this technologically enhanced era, the concept of augmented reality was considered in this research. E-drawings application was recommended to enhance the vision of engineering students so they can see multiple views of the detailed 3-D models and cut through its different sides and angles to visualize it properly. E-drawings could be the next tool to implement in classrooms to enhance students’ understanding of engineering concepts.

Keywords: student engagement, life-long-learning, visual demonstration, 3-D printed models, engineering education

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Authors: Yasir Memon

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The complexity and challenges in the offshore industry are increasing more than the past. The oil and gas industry is expanding every day by accomplishing these challenges. More challenging wells such as longer and deeper are being drilled in today’s environment. Blowout prevention phenomena hold a worthy importance in oil and gas biosphere. In recent, so many past years when the oil and gas industry was growing drilling operation were extremely dangerous. There was none technology to determine the pressure of reservoir and drilling hence was blind operation. A blowout arises when an uncontrolled reservoir pressure enters in wellbore. A potential of blowout in the oil industry is the danger for the both environment and the human life. Environmental damage, state/country regulators, and the capital investment causes in loss. There are many cases of blowout in the oil the gas industry caused damage to both human and the environment. A huge capital investment is being in used to stop happening of blowout through all over the biosphere to bring damage at the lowest level. The objective of this study is to promote safety and good resources to assure safety and environmental integrity in all operations during drilling. This study shows that human errors and management failure is the main cause of blowout therefore proper management with the wise use of precautions, prevention methods or controlling techniques can reduce the probability of blowout to a minimum level. It also discusses basic procedures, concepts and equipment involved in well control methods and various steps using at various conditions. Furthermore, another aim of this study work is to highlight management role in oil gas operations. Moreover, this study analyze the causes of Blowout of Macondo well occurred in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010, and deliver the recommendations and analysis of various aspect of well control methods and also provides the list of mistakes and compromises that British Petroleum and its partner were making during drilling and well completion methods and also the Macondo well disaster happened due to various safety and development rules violation. This case study concludes that Macondo well blowout disaster could be avoided with proper management of their personnel’s and communication between them and by following safety rules/laws it could be brought to minimum environmental damage.

Keywords: energy, environment, oil and gas industry, Macondo well accident

Procedia PDF Downloads 181