Search results for: multi-objective optimization on the basis of ratio analysis

Authors: Eish Sharma

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Literature around Mathematics education suggests that democratic attitudes can be strengthened through teaching and learning Mathematics. Furthermore, connections between critical education and Mathematics education are observed in the light of critical pedagogy to locate Critical Mathematics Education (CME) as the theoretical framework. Critical pedagogy applied to Mathematics education is identified as one of the key themes subsumed under Critical Mathematics Education. Through the application of critical pedagogy in mathematics, unequal power relations and social injustice can be identified, analyzed, and challenged. The research question is: have educational policies in India viewed the role of critical pedagogy applied to mathematics education (i.e., critical mathematics education) to ensure social justice as an educational aim? The National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005 upholds education for democracy and the role of mathematics education in facilitating the same. More than this, NCF 2005 rests on Critical Pedagogy Framework and it recommends that critical pedagogy must be practiced in all dimensions of school education. NCF 2005 visualizes critical pedagogy for social sciences as well as sciences, stating that the science curriculum, including mathematics, must be used as an “instrument for achieving social change to reduce the divide based on economic class, gender, caste, religion, and the region”. Furthermore, the implementation of NCF 2005 led to a reform in the syllabus and textbooks in school mathematics at the national level, and critical pedagogy was applied to mathematics textbooks at the primary level. This intervention led to ethnomathematics and critical mathematics education in the school curriculum in India for the first time at the national level. In October 2022, the Ministry of Education launched the National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF-FS), developed in light of the National Education Policy, 2020, for children in the three to eight years age group. I want to find out whether critical pedagogy-based education and critical pedagogy-based mathematics education are carried forward in NCF 2022. To find this, an argument analysis of specific sections of the National Curriculum Framework 2022 document needs to be executed. Des Gasper suggests two tables: The first table contains four columns, namely, text component, comments on meanings, possible reformulation of the same text, and identified conclusions and assumptions (both stated and unstated). This table is for understanding the components and meanings of the text and is based on Scriven’s model for understanding the components and meanings of words in the text. The second table contains four columns i.e., claim identified, given data, warrant, and stated qualifier/rebuttal. This table is for describing the structure of the argument, how and how well the components fit together and is called ‘George Table diagram based on Toulmin-Bunn Model’.

Keywords: critical mathematics education, critical pedagogy, social justice, etnomathematics

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Authors: Riikka Elina Kallio

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“The walls have ears” phrase is defining the era of dictatorship in Portugal (1926–1974) and political unrest decades in Finland (1917–1948). The phrase is referring to the policing of the political, secret police, PIDE (Policia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado 1933–1969) in Portugal and VALPO (Valtiollinen Poliisi 1939–1948) in Finland. Free speech at any public space and even in private events could be fatal. The members of the PIDE/VALPO or informers/collaborators could be listening. Strict censorship under the Salazar´s regime was controlling media for example newspapers, music, and the film industry. Similarly, the politically affected censorship influenced the media in Finland in those unrest decades. This article examines the similarities and the differences in the images of the political police in Finland and Portugal, by analyzing Finnish and Portuguese films from the nineteen-thirties to nineteensixties. The text addresses two main research questions: what are the common and different features in the representations of the Finnish and Portuguese political police in films between the 1930s and 1960s, and how did the national censorship affect these representations? This study approach is interdisciplinary, and it combines film studies and criminology. Close reading is a practical qualitative method for analyzing films and in this study, close reading emphasizes the features of the police officer. Criminology provides the methodological tools for analysis of the police universal features and European common policies. The characterization of the police in this study is based on Robert Reiner´s 1980s and Timo Korander´s 2010s definitions of the police officer. The research material consisted of the Portuguese films from online film archives and Finnish films from Movie Making Finland -project´s metadata which offered suitable material by data mining the keywords such as poliisi, poliisipäällikkö and konstaapeli (police, police chief, police constable). The findings of this study suggest that even though there are common features of the images of the political police in Finland and Portugal, there are still national and cultural differences in the representations of the political police and policing.

Keywords: censorship, film studies, images, PIDE, political police, VALPO

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Authors: Mustafa Metin Donma

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Metabolic syndrome (MetS) components are noteworthy among children with obesity and morbid obesity because they point out the cases with MetS, which have the great tendency to severe health problems such as cardiovascular diseases both in childhood and adulthood. In clinical practice, considerable efforts are being observed to bring into the open the striking differences between morbid obese cases and those with MetS findings. The most privileged aspect is concerning cardiometabolic features. The aim of this study was to derive an index which behaves different in children with and without MetS from the cardiac point of view. For the purpose, aspartate transaminase (AST), a cardiac enzyme still being used independently to predict cardiac-related problems, was used. One hundred and twenty four children were recruited from the outpatient clinic of Department of Pediatrics in Tekirdag Namik Kemal University, Faculty of Medicine. Forty-three children with normal body mass index, forty-one and forty morbid obese (MO) children with MetS and without the characteristic features of MetS, respectively, were included in the study. Weight, height, waist circumference (WC), hip C (HC), head C (HdC), neck C (NC), systolic and diastolic blood pressure values were measured and recorded. Body mass index and anthropometric ratios were calculated. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), insulin (INS), triglycerides (TRG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) analyses were performed. The values for AST, alanin transaminase (ALT) and AST/ALT were obtained. Advanced Donma cardiac index (ADCI) values were calculated. The formula for the index was [(TRG/HDL-C) * (INS/FBG)] * [(WC+HC)/Height] * [(HdC+NC)/Height]. Statistical evaluations including correlation analysis were done by a statistical package program. The statistical significance degree was accepted as p<0.05. The index, ADCI, was developed from both anthropometric and biochemical parameters. All anthropometric measurements except weight were included in the equation. Besides all biochemical parameters concerning MetS components were also added. This index was tested in each of three groups. Its performance was compared with the performance of cardiometabolic index (CMI). It was also checked whether it was compatible with AST activity. The performance of ADCI was better than that of CMI. Instead of double increase, the increase of three times was observed in children with MetS compared to MO children. The index was correlated with AST in MO group and with AST/ALT in MetS group. In conclusion, this index was superior in discovering cardiac problems in MO and in diagnosing MetS in MetS groups. It was also arbiter to point out cardiovascular and MetS aspects among the groups.

Keywords: aspartate transaminase, cardiac, children, index, obesity

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Authors: Perpetual Onyejelem, Kenichi Matsui

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Solid waste management is one essential area for urban administration to achieve environmental sustainability. Proper solid waste management (SWM) improves the environment by reducing diseases and increasing public health. On the other way, improper SWM practices negatively impact public health and environmental sustainability. This article evaluates SWM in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, with the goal of determining the current solid waste management practices and their health implications. This study used secondary data, which relies on existing published literature and official documents. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement and its four-stage inclusion/exclusion criteria were utilized as part of a systematic literature review technique to locate the literature that concerns SWM practices and the implementation of solid waste management policies between 2014-2023 in PortHarcourt and its health effects from specific databases (Scopus and Google Scholar). The results found that despite the existence and implementation of the Rivers State Waste Management Policy and the formulation of the National Policy on Solid Waste Management in Port Harcourt, residents continued to dump waste in drainages. They were unaware of waste sorting and dumped waste haphazardly. This trend has persisted due to a lack of political commitment to the effective implementation and monitoring of policies and strategies and a lack of training provided to waste collectors regarding the SWM approach, which involves sorting and separating waste. In addition, inadequate remuneration for waste collectors, the absence of community participation in policy formulation, and insufficient awareness among residents regarding the 3R approach are also contributory factors. This caused the emergence of vector-borne diseases such as malaria, lassa fever, and cholera in Port Harcourt, increasing the expense of healthcare for locals, particularly low-income households. The study urges the government to prioritize protecting the health of its citizens by studying the methods other nations have taken to address the problem of solid waste management and adopting those that work best for their region. The bottom-up strategy should be used to include locals in developing solutions. However, citizens who are always the most impacted by this issue should launch initiatives to address it and put pressure on the government to assist them when they have limitations.

Keywords: health effects, solid waste management practices, environmental pollution, Port-Harcourt

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Authors: Marcelo Sanhueza Cartes, Nelson Maureira Carsalade

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This research evaluates the effectiveness of a pallet isolation device for the protection of selective-type industrial storage racks. The device works only in the longitudinal direction of the aisle, and it is made up of a platform installed on the rack beams. At both ends, the platform is connected to the rack structure by means of a spring-damper system working in parallel. A system of wheels is arranged between the isolation platform and the rack beams in order to reduce friction, decoupling of the movement and improve the effectiveness of the device. The latter is evaluated by the reduction of the maximum dynamic responses of basal shear load and story drift in relation to those corresponding to the same rack with the traditional construction system. In the first stage, numerical simulations of industrial storage racks were carried out with and without the pallet isolation device. The numerical results allowed us to identify the archetypes in which it would be more appropriate to carry out experimental tests, thus limiting the number of trials. In the second stage, experimental tests were carried out on a shaking table to a select group of full-scale racks with and without the proposed device. The movement simulated by the shaking table was based on the Mw 8.8 magnitude earthquake of February 27, 2010, in Chile, registered at the San Pedro de la Paz station. The peak ground acceleration (PGA) was scaled in the frequency domain to fit its response spectrum with the design spectrum of NCh433. The experimental setup contemplates the installation of sensors to measure relative displacement and absolute acceleration. The movement of the shaking table with respect to the ground, the inter-story drift of the rack and the pallets with respect to the rack structure were recorded. Accelerometers redundantly measured all of the above in order to corroborate measurements and adequately capture low and high-frequency vibrations, whereas displacement and acceleration sensors are respectively more reliable. The numerical and experimental results allowed us to identify that the pallet isolation period is the variable with the greatest influence on the dynamic responses considered. It was also possible to identify that the proposed device significantly reduces both the basal cut and the maximum inter-story drift by up to one order of magnitude.

Keywords: pallet isolation system, industrial storage racks, basal shear load, interstory drift.

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Authors: Rostyslav Horbay, Nick Korolis, Vahid Anvari, Rostyslav Stoika

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Introduction: Giant cancer cells (GCC) are common in all types of cancer, especially after poor therapy. Some specific features of such cells include ~10-fold enlargement, drug resistance, and the ability to propagate similar daughter cells. We used murine NK/Ly lymphoma, an aggressive and fast growing lymphoma model that has already shown drastic changes in GCC comparing to parental cells (chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, tighter OXPHOS/cellular respiration coupling, multidrug resistance). Materials and methods: In this study, we compared morpho-functional changes of GCC that predominantly show either a cytostatic or a cytotoxic effect after treatment with drugs. We studied the effect of a combined cytostatic/cytotoxic drug treatment to determine the correlation of drug efficiency and GCC formation. Doses of G1/S-specific drug paclitaxel/PTX (G2/M-specific, 50 mg/mouse), vinblastine/VBL (50 mg/mouse), and DNA-targeting agents doxorubicin/DOX (125 ng/mouse) and cisplatin/CP (225 ng/mouse) on C57 black mice. Several tests were chosen to estimate morphological and physiological state (propidium iodide, Rhodamine-123, DAPI, JC-1, Janus Green, Giemsa staining and other), which included cell integrity, nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation, mitochondrial activity, and others. A single and double factor ANOVA analysis were performed to determine correlation between the criteria of applied drugs and cytomorphological changes. Results: In all cases of treatment, several morphological changes were observed (intracellular vacuolization, membrane blebbing, and interconnected mitochondrial network). A lower gain in ascites (49.97% comparing to control group) and longest lifespan (22+9 days) after tumor injection was obtained with single VBL and single DOX injections. Such ascites contained the highest number of GCC (83.7%+9.2%), lowest cell count number (72.7+31.0 mln/ml), and a strong correlation coefficient between increased mitochondrial activity and percentage of giant NK/Ly cells. A high number of viable GCC (82.1+9.2%) was observed compared to the parental forms (15.4+11.9%) indicating that GCC are more drug resistant than the parental cells. All this indicates that the giant cell formation and its ability to obtain drug resistance is an expanding field in cancer research.

Keywords: ANOVA, cisplatin, doxorubicin, drug resistance, giant cancer cells, NK/Ly lymphoma, paclitaxel, vinblastine

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Authors: Dina Moheb Rashid Michael

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A descriptive statistical analysis of the data showed that the most important factor evoking negative attitudes among teachers is student behavior. have been presented as useful models for understanding the risk factors and protective factors associated with the emergence of autistic traits. Although these "syndrome" forms of autism reach clinical thresholds, they appear to be distinctly different from the idiopathic or "non-syndrome" autism phenotype. Most teachers reported that kindergartens did not prepare them for the educational needs of children with autism, particularly in relation to non-verbal skills. The study is important and points the way for improving teacher inclusion education in Thailand. Inclusive education for students with autism is still in its infancy in Thailand. Although the number of autistic children in schools has increased significantly since the Thai government introduced the Education Regulations for Persons with Disabilities Act in 2008, there is a general lack of services for autistic students and their families. This quantitative study used the Teaching Skills and Readiness Scale for Students with Autism (APTSAS) to test the attitudes and readiness of 110 elementary school teachers when teaching students with autism in general education classrooms. To uncover the true nature of these co morbidities, it is necessary to expand the definition of autism to include the cognitive features of the disorder, and then apply this expanded conceptualization to examine patterns of autistic syndromes. This study used various established eye-tracking paradigms to assess the visual and attention performance of children with DS and FXS who meet the autism thresholds defined in the Social Communication Questionnaire. To study whether the autistic profiles of these children are associated with visual orientation difficulties ("sticky attention"), decreased social attention, and increased visual search performance, all of which are hallmarks of the idiopathic autistic child phenotype. Data will be collected from children with DS and FXS, aged 6 to 10 years, and two control groups matched for age and intellectual ability (i.e., children with idiopathic autism).In order to enable a comparison of visual attention profiles, cross-sectional analyzes of developmental trajectories are carried out. Significant differences in the visual-attentive processes underlying the presentation of autism in children with FXS and DS have been suggested, supporting the concept of syndrome specificity. The study provides insights into the complex heterogeneity associated with autism syndrome symptoms and autism itself, with clinical implications for the utility of autism intervention programs in DS and FXS populations.

Keywords: attitude, autism, teachers, sports activities, movement skills, motor skills

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Authors: Belhaj Mohamed, M. Saidi, N. Boucherab, N. Ouertani, I. Bouazizi, M. Ben Jrad

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Natural hydrocarbon seepage has helped petroleum exploration as a direct indicator of gas and/or oil subsurface accumulations. Surface macro-seeps are generally an indication of a fault in an active Petroleum Seepage System belonging to a Total Petroleum System. This paper describes a case study in which multiple analytical techniques were used to identify and characterize trace petroleum-related hydrocarbons and other volatile organic compounds in groundwater samples collected from Sousse aquifer (Central Tunisia). The analytical techniques used for analyses of water samples included gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), capillary GC with flame-ionization detection, Compund Specific Isotope Analysis, Rock Eval Pyrolysis. The objective of the study was to confirm the presence of gasoline and other petroleum products or other volatile organic pollutants in those samples in order to assess the respective implication of each of the potentially responsible parties to the contamination of the aquifer. In addition, the degree of contamination at different depths in the aquifer was also of interest. The oil and gas seeps have been investigated using biomarker and stable carbon isotope analyses to perform oil-oil and oil-source rock correlations. The seepage gases are characterized by high CH4 content, very low δ13CCH4 values (-71,9 ‰) and high C1/C1–5 ratios (0.95–1.0), light deuterium–hydrogen isotope ratios (-198 ‰) and light δ13CC2 and δ13CCO2 values (-23,8‰ and-23,8‰ respectively) indicating a thermogenic origin with the contribution of the biogenic gas. An organic geochemistry study was carried out on the more ten oil seep samples. This study includes light hydrocarbon and biomarkers analyses (hopanes, steranes, n-alkanes, acyclic isoprenoids, and aromatic steroids) using GC and GC-MS. The studied samples show at least two distinct families, suggesting two different types of crude oil origins: the first oil seeps appears to be highly mature, showing evidence of chemical and/or biological degradation and was derived from a clay-rich source rock deposited in suboxic conditions. It has been sourced mainly by the lower Fahdene (Albian) source rocks. The second oil seeps was derived from a carbonate-rich source rock deposited in anoxic conditions, well correlated with the Bahloul (Cenomanian-Turonian) source rock.

Keywords: biomarkers, oil and gas seeps, organic geochemistry, source rock

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Authors: Elizabeth Owusu Asiamah

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The Ghanaian news media play a crucial role in shaping people's thinking patterns through the nature of the coverage they give to issues, events and personalities. Since the media do not work in a vacuum but within a broader spectrum, which is society, whatever stories they cover and the nature of frames used to narrate such stories go a long way to influence how citizens perceive issues in the country. Consequently, the National Media Commission and the National Communications Authority were instituted to monitor and direct the activities of the media to ensure professionalism that prioritizes society's interest over commercial interest. As the two media regulators go about their routine task of monitoring the operations of the media, they receive coverage from various media outlets (newspapers, radio, television and online). Some people believe that the kind of approach the regulators adopt depends on the nature of coverage the media give them in their reportage. This situation demands an investigation into how the media, regulated by these regulatory bodies, are representing the regulators in the public's eye and the issues arising from such coverage. Extant literature indicates that studies on media framing have centered on politics, environmental issues, public health issues, conflict and wars, etc. However, there appear to be no studies on media framing of media regulators, especially in the Ghanaian context. Since online newspapers have assumed more mainstream positions in the Ghanaian media and have attracted more audiences in recent times, this study investigates the nature of coverage given to media regulators by four purposively sampled online newspapers in Ghana. 96 news articles are extracted from the websites of the Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, Daily Guide and Chronicle newspapers within a five-year period to identify the prominence given to stories about the two media regulators and the frames used to narrate stories about them. Data collected are thematically analyzed through the lens of agenda-setting and media-framing theories. The findings of the study revealed that the two regulators were not given much coverage by way of frequency; however, much prominence was given to them in terms of enhancements such as images. The study further disclosed that most of the news articles framed the regulators as weak and incompetent, which is likely to affect how the public also views the regulators. The study concludes that since frames around the supportive nature of the regulators to issues of the media were not hammered by the online newspapers, the public will not perceive the regulators as playing their roles effectively. Thus, a need for more positive frames to be used to narrate stories about the National Media Commission and the National Communication Authority to promote a cordial relationship between the two institutions and a good image to the public.

Keywords: agenda setting, media framing, media regulators, online newspapers

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Authors: M. R. Vijayakumar, K. Priyanka, Ramoji Kosuru, Lakshmi, Sanjay Singh

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Trans resveratrol (RES) is a non-flavonoid poly-phenolic compound proved for its therapeutic and preventive effect against various types of cancer. However, the practical application of RES in cancer treatment is limited because of its higher dose (up to 7.5 g/day in humans), low biological half life, rapid metabolism and faster elimination in mammals. PEGylated core-shell type lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles are the novel drug delivery systems for long circulation and improved anti cancer effect of its therapeutic payloads. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to extend the biological half life (long circulation) and improve the therapeutic efficacy of RES through core shell type of nanoparticles. D-α-tocopheryl polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate (vitamin E TPGS), a novel surfactant is applied for the preparation of PEGylated lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles. The prepared nanoparticles were evaluated by various state of the art techniques such as dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique for particle size and zeta potential, TEM for shape, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for interaction analysis and XRD for crystalline changes of drug. Entrapment efficiency and invitro drug release were determined by ultracentrifugation method and dialysis bag method, respectively. Cancer cell viability studies were performed by MTT assay, respectively. Pharmacokinetic studies after i.v administration were performed in sprague dawley rats. The prepared NPs were found to be spherical in shape with smooth surfaces. Particle size and zeta potential of prepared NPs were found to be in the range of 179.2±7.45 to 266.8±9.61 nm and -0.63 to -48.35 mV, respectively. DSC revealed absence of potential interaction. XRD study revealed presence of amorphous form in nanoparticles. Entrapment efficiency was found to be 83.7 % and drug release was found to be in controlled manner. MTT assay showed low MEC and pharmacokinetic studies showed higher AUC of nanoformulaition than its pristine drug. All these studies revealed that the RES loaded PEG modified core-shell type lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles can be an alternative tool for chemopreventive and therapeutic application of RES in cancer.

Keywords: trans resveratrol, cancer nanotechnology, long circulating nanoparticles, bioavailability enhancement, core shell nanoparticles, lipid polymer hybrid nanoparticles

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Authors: Maneesha Pahlani, Najmin Sultana

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A hospital is one of the most suitable places for acquiring an infection because it harbors a high population of virulent strains of microorganisms that may be resistant to antibiotics, especially the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections. The hospital-acquired infection has become a global challenge. In developed countries, healthcare-associated infections occur in 5-15% of hospitalized clients, affecting 9-37% of those admitted to intensive care units (ICU). A non-experimental descriptive study was conducted among 50 nursing officers working in a selected hospital in Bangalore to assess the nursing officers’ level of knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections and to associate the pre-test knowledge mean scores of nursing officers with selected socio-demographic variables. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic data and a structured questionnaire on knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections. The data was analyzed in terms of frequencies and percentages for the analysis of demographic variables and computing chi-square to determine the association between knowledge means scores and selected demographic variables. The study findings revealed that the nursing officer had an overall good level of knowledge (63.05%) regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections, and there is no significant association found between the level of knowledge mean scores for prevention and management of MRSA infection with the selected socio-demographic variables. However, the categorization of knowledge items showed that the nursing officer must thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance for effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infections. The conclusions drawn from the study findings showed that it is necessary that the nursing officer thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance to provide effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infection as they constantly care for the patient who can be at risk for multi-drug resistance organisms to reduce the risk of MRSA infection in hospital care settings as well community settings.

Keywords: MRSA, nursing officers, knowledge, preventive and management

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Authors: Eszter Kulcsar, Agnes Takacs, Gabriella B. Kiss, Peter Prakfalvi

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The Karancs Mountain is part of the Miocene Inner Carpathian Volcanic Belt and is located in N-NE Hungary, along the Hungarian-Slovakian border. The 14 Ma old andesitic-dacitic units are surrounded by Oligocene sedimentary units (sandstone, siltstone). The host rocks of the mineralisation are siliceous and/or argillaceous volcanic units, quartz veins, hydrothermal breccia, and strongly silicified vuggy rocks, found in the various altered volcanic units. The hydrothermal breccia consists of highly silicified vuggy quartz clasts in quartz matrix. The hydrothermal alteration of the host units shows structural control at the deeper levels. The main ore minerals are galena, pyrite, marcasite, sphalerite, hematite, magnetite, arsenopyrite, anglesite and argentite The mineralisation was first mentioned in 1944 and the first exploration took place between 1961 and 1962 in the area. The first ore geological studies were performed between 1984-1985. The exploration programme was limited only to surface sampling; no drilling programme was performed. Petrographical and preliminary fluid inclusion studies were performed on calcite samples from a galena-bearing vein. Despite the early discovery of the mineralisation, no detailed description is available, thus its size, characteristics, and origin have remained unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the mineralisation, describe the characteristics in detail and to test the possible gold content of the various quartz veins and breccias. Finally, we also investigate the potential relation of the hydrothermal mineralisation to the surrounding similar mineralisations with similar ages (e.g. W-Mátra Mountains in Hungary, Banska Bystrica, Banska Stiavnica in Slovakia) in order to place the mineralisation within the volcanic-hydrothermal evolution of the Miocene Inner Carpathian Belt. As first steps, the study includes field mapping, traditional petrological and ore microscopy; X-ray diffraction analysis; SEM-EDS and EMPA studies on ore minerals, to obtain mineral chemical information. Fluid inclusion petrography and microthermometry and micro-Raman-spectroscopy studies are also planned on quartz-hosted inclusions to investigate the physical and chemical properties of the ore-forming fluid.

Keywords: epithermal, Karancs Mountain, Hungary, Miocene Inner Carpathian volcanic belt, polimetallic ore deposit

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Authors: Manal Anis, Bin Bakhti Sayeed

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With the encroachment of automobile upon our communities for decades and the concomitant urban sprawl resulting in a loss of public place, it was only a matter of time before people, realizing the role of streets in stimulating urban prosperity, would start reclaiming them to rebuild their communities. In order for this restoration of communities to take effect it is imperative that streets be freed from the dominance of motor vehicles. A holistic approach to pedestrian-friendly street environment can help build communities that embody the cities in which they are found. While the developed countries are finding more and more innovative ways to integrate walkable streets to foster communal living, the developing countries still have a long way to go. Since Dhaka is still struggling to balance the growing needs of accommodating automobiles for increased population with the loss of urban community life that comes with it, it is high time that alternate approaches are looked into. This study aims to understand streets as a living corridor through which one discovers and identifies with the city. The research area is chosen to be Manik Mia Avenue, overlooking the South Plaza of the National Parliament Building in Dhaka city. Being the site of supreme power, it is precisely this symbolic importance that the National Parliament Building has in the psyche of Bangladeshis, which has given Manik Mia Avenue a significant place in the country’s history. Above all, being an avenue it is essentially a neutral territory, universally accessible, inclusive and pluralist. The needs of the Avenue’s frequent users are analyzed with the help of a multi-method approach to survey consisting of an empirical study, a questionnaire survey and interview with relevant users. The research then tries to understand the concept of walkability by exploring the different ways in which the built environment influences walking. For this analysis, the six dimensions of Matthew Carmona are taken as a guideline for a holistic approach toward the different interacting facets of an urban public space. Based on the studies, a set of criteria is proposed to evaluate, plan and design streets that are more contextual in nature. The study concludes with how the existing street patterns of Dhaka city can be rethought and redesigned to cater to peoples’ need for a public place. The proposal is meant to be an inspiration for further studies in this respect in the context of Bangladesh.

Keywords: public space, six dimensions, street, urban, walkability

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Authors: Oksana Domkina

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According to the modern economic theory, human capital became one of the main production factors and the most promising direction of investment, as such investment provides opportunity of obtaining high and long-term economic and social effects. Informational technology (IT) sector is the representative of this new economy which is most dependent on human capital as the main competitive factor. So the question for this sector is not whether investment in development of personal should be made, but what are the most effective ways of executing it and who has to pay for the education: Worker, company or government. In this paper we examine the IT sector, describe the labor market of IT workers and its development, and analyze the risks that IT companies may face if they invest in the development of their workers and what factors influence it. The main problem and difficulty of quantitative estimation of risk of investment in human capital of a company and its forecasting is human factor. Human behavior is often unpredictable and complex, so it requires specific approaches and methods of assessment. To build a comprehensive method of estimation of the risk of investment in human capital of a company considering human factor, we decided to use the method of analytic hierarchy process (AHP), that initially was created and developed. We separated three main group of factors: Risks related to the worker, related to the company, and external factors. To receive data for our research, we conducted a survey among the HR departments of Ukrainian IT companies used them as experts for the AHP method. Received results showed that IT companies mostly invest in the development of their workers, although several hire only already qualified personnel. According to the results, the most significant risks are the risk of ineffective training and the risk of non-investment that are both related to the firm. The analysis of risk factors related to the employee showed that, the factors of personal reasons, motivation, and work performance have almost the same weights of importance. Regarding internal factors of the company, there is a high role of the factor of compensation and benefits, factors of interesting projects, team, and career opportunities. As for the external environment, one of the most dangerous factor of risk is competitor activities, meanwhile the political and economical situation factor also has a relatively high weight, which is easy to explain by the influence of severe crisis in Ukraine during 2014-2015. The presented method allows to take into consideration all main factors that affect the risk of investment in human capital of a company. This gives a base for further research in this field and allows for a creation of a practical framework for making decisions regarding the personnel development strategy and specific employees' development plans for the HR departments.

Keywords: risks, personnel development, investment in development, factors of risk, risk of investment in development, IT, analytic hierarchy process, AHP

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Authors: Mokgadi Julia Ngoepe-Ntsoane

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The article aims to make a case for a legislative framework for the fire sector in South Africa. Robust legislative framework is essential for empowering those with obligatory mandate within the sector. This article contributes to the body of knowledge in the field of policy reviews particularly with regards to the legal framework. It has been observed overtime that the scholarly contributions in this field are limited. Document analysis was the methodology selected for the investigation of the various legal frameworks existing in the country. It has been established that indeed the national legislation on the fire industry does not exist in South Africa. From the documents analysed, it was revealed that the sector is dominated by cartels who are exploiting the new entrants to the market particularly SMEs. It is evident that these cartels are monopolising the system as they have long been operating in the system turning it into self- owned entities. Commitment to addressing the challenges faced by fire services and creating a framework for the evolving role that fire brigade services are expected to execute in building safer and sustainable communities is vital. Legislation for the fire sector ought to be concluded with immediate effect. The outdated national fire legislation has necessitated the monopolisation and manipulation of the system by dominating organisations which cause a painful discrimination and exploitation of smaller service providers to enter the market for trading in that occupation. The barrier to entry bears long term negative effects on national priority areas such as employment creation, poverty, and others. This monopolisation and marginalisation practices by cartels in the sector calls for urgent attention by government because if left attended, it will leave a lot of people particularly women and youth being disadvantaged and frustrated. The downcast syndrome exercised within the fire sector has wreaked havoc and is devastating. This is caused by cartels that have been within the sector for some time, who know the strengths and weaknesses of processes, shortcuts, advantages and consequences of various actions. These people take advantage of new entrants to the sector who in turn find it difficult to manoeuvre, find the market dissonant and end up giving up their good ideas and intentions. There are many pieces of legislation which are industry specific such as housing, forestry, agriculture, health, security, environmental which are used to regulate systems within the institutions involved. Other regulations exist as bi-laws for guiding the management within the municipalities.

Keywords: sustainable job creation, growth and development, transformation, risk management

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Authors: Mohamad Molavi Nojumi, Xiaodong Wang

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In this research fracture behaviour of linear elastic isotropic functionally graded materials (FGMs) are investigated using modified finite element method (FEM). FGMs are advantageous because they enhance the bonding strength of two incompatible materials, and reduce the residual stress and thermal stress. Ceramic/metals are a main type of FGMs. Ceramic materials are brittle. So, there is high possibility of crack existence during fabrication or in-service loading. In addition, damage analysis is necessary for a safe and efficient design. FEM is a strong numerical tool for analyzing complicated problems. Thus, FEM is used to investigate the fracture behaviour of FGMs. Here an accurate 9-node biquadratic quadrilateral graded element is proposed in which the influence of the variation of material properties is considered at the element level. The stiffness matrix of graded elements is obtained using the principle of minimum potential energy. The implementation of graded elements prevents the forced sudden jump of material properties in traditional finite elements for modelling FGMs. Numerical results are verified with existing solutions. Different numerical simulations are carried out to model stationary crack problems in nonhomogeneous plates. In these simulations, material variation is supposed to happen in directions perpendicular and parallel to the crack line. Two special linear and exponential functions have been utilized to model the material gradient as they are mostly discussed in literature. Also, various sizes of the crack length are considered. A major difference in the fracture behaviour of FGMs and homogeneous materials is related to the break of material symmetry. For example, when the material gradation direction is normal to the crack line, even under applying the mode I loading there exists coupled modes I and II of fracture which originates from the induced shear in the model. Therefore, the necessity of the proper modelling of the material variation should be considered in capturing the fracture behaviour of FGMs specially, when the material gradient index is high. Fracture properties such as mode I and mode II stress intensity factors (SIFs), energy release rates, and field variables near the crack tip are investigated and compared with results obtained using conventional homogeneous elements. It is revealed that graded elements provide higher accuracy with less effort in comparison with conventional homogeneous elements.

Keywords: finite element, fracture mechanics, functionally graded materials, graded element

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Authors: Jessica Scher Lisa, Eric Shyman

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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder that is characterized by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction (i.e. deficits in social-emotional reciprocity, nonverbal communicative behaviors, and establishing/maintaining social relationships), as well as by the presence of repetitive behaviors and perseverative areas of interest (i.e. stereotyped or receptive motor movements, use of objects, or speech, rigidity, restricted interests, and hypo or hyperactivity to sensory input or unusual interest in sensory aspects of the environment). Additionally, diagnoses of ASD require the presentation of symptoms in the early developmental period, marked impairments in adaptive functioning, and a lack of explanation by general intellectual impairment or global developmental delay (although these conditions may be co-occurring). Over the past several decades, many theories have been developed in an effort to explain the root cause of ASD in terms of atypical central cognitive processes. The field of neuroscience is increasingly finding structural and functional differences between autistic and neurotypical individuals using neuro-imaging technology. One main area this research has focused upon is in visuospatial processing, with specific attention to the notion of ‘weak central coherence’ (WCC). This paper offers an analysis of findings from selected studies in order to explore research that challenges the ‘deficit’ characterization of a weak central coherence theory as opposed to a ‘superiority’ characterization of strong local coherence. The weak central coherence theory has long been both supported and refuted in the ASD literature and has most recently been increasingly challenged by advances in neuroscience. The selected studies lend evidence to the notion of amplified localized perception rather than deficient global perception. In other words, WCC may represent superiority in ‘local processing’ rather than a deficit in global processing. Additionally, the right hemisphere and the specific area of the extrastriate appear to be key in both the visual and lexicosemantic process. Overactivity in the striate region seems to suggest inaccuracy in semantic language, which lends itself to support for the link between the striate region and the atypical organization of the lexicosemantic system in ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, neurology, visual processing, weak coherence

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Authors: Priscila A. Bernardes, Marcos E. Buzanskas, Luciana C. A. Regitano, Ricardo V. Ventura, Danisio P. Munari

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Genotype imputation has been used to reduce genomic selections costs. In order to increase haplotype detection accuracy in methods that considers the linkage disequilibrium, another approach could be used, such as combined genotype data from different panels. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the linkage disequilibrium and haplotype blocks in two high-density panels before and after the imputation to a combined panel in Nelore beef cattle. A total of 814 animals were genotyped with the Illumina BovineHD BeadChip (IHD), wherein 93 animals (23 bulls and 70 progenies) were also genotyped with the Affymetrix Axion Genome-Wide BOS 1 Array Plate (AHD). After the quality control, 809 IHD animals (509,107 SNPs) and 93 AHD (427,875 SNPs) remained for analyses. The combined genotype panel (CP) was constructed by merging both panels after quality control, resulting in 880,336 SNPs. Imputation analysis was conducted using software FImpute v.2.2b. The reference (CP) and target (IHD) populations consisted of 23 bulls and 786 animals, respectively. The linkage disequilibrium and haplotype blocks studies were carried out for IHD, AHD, and imputed CP. Two linkage disequilibrium measures were considered; the correlation coefficient between alleles from two loci (r²) and the |D’|. Both measures were calculated using the software PLINK. The haplotypes' blocks were estimated using the software Haploview. The r² measurement presented different decay when compared to |D’|, wherein AHD and IHD had almost the same decay. For r², even with possible overestimation by the sample size for AHD (93 animals), the IHD presented higher values when compared to AHD for shorter distances, but with the increase of distance, both panels presented similar values. The r² measurement is influenced by the minor allele frequency of the pair of SNPs, which can cause the observed difference comparing the r² decay and |D’| decay. As a sum of the combinations between Illumina and Affymetrix panels, the CP presented a decay equivalent to a mean of these combinations. The estimated haplotype blocks detected for IHD, AHD, and CP were 84,529, 63,967, and 140,336, respectively. The IHD were composed by haplotype blocks with mean of 137.70 ± 219.05kb, the AHD with mean of 102.10kb ± 155.47, and the CP with mean of 107.10kb ± 169.14. The majority of the haplotype blocks of these three panels were composed by less than 10 SNPs, with only 3,882 (IHD), 193 (AHD) and 8,462 (CP) haplotype blocks composed by 10 SNPs or more. There was an increase in the number of chromosomes covered with long haplotypes when CP was used as well as an increase in haplotype coverage for short chromosomes (23-29), which can contribute for studies that explore haplotype blocks. In general, using CP could be an alternative to increase density and number of haplotype blocks, increasing the probability to obtain a marker close to a quantitative trait loci of interest.

Keywords: Bos taurus indicus, decay, genotype imputation, single nucleotide polymorphism

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Authors: Orsolya Horvath, Laszlo Deres, Krisztian Eros, Katalin Ordog, Tamas Habon, Balazs Sumegi, Kalman Toth, Robert Halmosi

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Introduction: Oxidative stress induces an imbalance in mitochondrial fusion and fission processes, finally leading to cell death. The two antioxidant molecules, BGP-15 and L2286 have beneficial effects on mitochondrial functions and on cellular oxidative stress response. In this work, we studied the effects of these compounds on the processes of mitochondrial quality control. Methods: We used H9c2 cardiomyoblast and isolated neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCM) for the experiments. The concentration of stressors and antioxidants was beforehand determined with MTT test. We applied 1-Methyl-3-nitro-1-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) in 125 µM, 400 µM and 800 µM concentrations for 4 and 8 hours on H9c2 cells. H₂O₂ was applied in 150 µM and 300 µM concentration for 0.5 and 4 hours on both models. L2286 was administered in 10 µM, while BGP-15 in 50 µM doses. Cellular levels of the key proteins playing role in mitochondrial dynamics were measured in Western blot samples. For the analysis of mitochondrial network dynamics, we applied electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry. Results: Due to MNNG treatment the level of fusion proteins (OPA1, MFN2) decreased, while the level of fission protein DRP1 elevated markedly. The levels of fusion proteins OPA1 and MNF2 increased in the L2286 and BGP-15 treated groups. During the 8 hour treatment period, the level of DRP1 also increased in the treated cells (p < 0.05). In the H₂O₂ stressed cells, administration of L2286 increased the level of OPA1 in both H9c2 and NRCM models. MFN2 levels in isolated neonatal rat cardiomyocytes raised considerably due to BGP-15 treatment (p < 0.05). L2286 administration decreased the DRP1 level in H9c2 cells (p < 0.05). We observed that the H₂O₂-induced mitochondrial fragmentation could be decreased by L2286 treatment. Conclusion: Our results indicated that the PARP-inhibitor L2286 has beneficial effect on mitochondrial dynamics during oxidative stress scenario, and also in the case of directly induced DNA damage. We could make the similar conclusions in case of BGP-15 administration, which, via reducing ROS accumulation, propagates fusion processes, this way aids preserving cellular viability. Funding: GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00049; GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00048; GINOP-2.3.3-15-2016-00025; EFOP-3.6.1-16-2016-00004; ÚNKP-17-4-I-PTE-209

Keywords: H9c2, mitochondrial dynamics, neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, oxidative stress

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Authors: Mohkammad Nur Cahyadi, Hepi Hapsari Handayani, Agus Budi Raharjo, Ronny Mardianto, Daud Wahyu Imani, Arizal Bawazir, Luki Adi Triawan

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PDAM (local water company) determines customer charges by considering the customer's building or house. Charges determination significantly affects PDAM income and customer costs because the PDAM applies a subsidy policy for customers classified as small households. Periodic updates are needed so that pricing is in line with the target. A thorough customer survey in Surabaya is needed to update customer building data. However, the survey that has been carried out so far has been by deploying officers to conduct one-by-one surveys for each PDAM customer. Surveys with this method require a lot of effort and cost. For this reason, this research offers a technology called moblie mapping, a mapping method that is more efficient in terms of time and cost. The use of this tool is also quite simple, where the device will be installed in the car so that it can record the surrounding buildings while the car is running. Mobile mapping technology generally uses lidar sensors equipped with GNSS, but this technology requires high costs. In overcoming this problem, this research develops low-cost mobile mapping technology using a webcam camera sensor added to the GNSS and IMU sensors. The camera used has specifications of 3MP with a resolution of 720 and a diagonal field of view of 78⁰. The principle of this invention is to integrate four camera sensors, a GNSS webcam, and GPS to acquire photo data, which is equipped with location data (latitude, longitude) and IMU (roll, pitch, yaw). This device is also equipped with a tripod and a vacuum cleaner to attach to the car's roof so it doesn't fall off while running. The output data from this technology will be analyzed with artificial intelligence to reduce similar data (Cosine Similarity) and then classify building types. Data reduction is used to eliminate similar data and maintain the image that displays the complete house so that it can be processed for later classification of buildings. The AI method used is transfer learning by utilizing a trained model named VGG-16. From the analysis of similarity data, it was found that the data reduction reached 50%. Then georeferencing is done using the Google Maps API to get address information according to the coordinates in the data. After that, geographic join is done to link survey data with customer data already owned by PDAM Surya Sembada Surabaya.

Keywords: mobile mapping, GNSS, IMU, similarity, classification

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Authors: Geminne Manzano, Porfirio Aliño, Clairecynth Yu, Lilibeth Salvador-Reyes, Viviene Santiago

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Many marine benthic organisms produce secondary metabolites that serve as ecological roles to different biological and environmental factors. The secondary metabolites found in these organisms like algae, sponges, tunicates and worms exhibit variation at different scales. Understanding the chemical variation can be essential in deriving the evolutionary and ecological function of the secondary metabolites that may explain their patterns. Ecological surveys were performed on two collection sites representing from two Philippine marine biogeographic regions – in Oriental Mindoro located on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) and in Zamboanga del Sur located at Celebes Sea (CS), where a total of 39 Xestospongia sp. sponges were collected using SCUBA. The sponge samples were transported to the laboratory for taxonomic identification and chemical analysis. Biological and environmental factors were investigated to determine their relation to the abundance and distribution patterns and its spatial variability of their secondary metabolite production. Extracts were subjected to thin-layer chromatography and anti-proliferative assays to confirm the presence of Renieramycin-M and to test its cytotoxicity. The blue sponges were found to be more abundant on the WPS than in CS. Both the benthic community and the fish community in Oriental Mindoro, WPS and Zamboanga del Sur, CS sites are characterized by high species diversity and abundance and a very high biomass category. Environmental factors like depth and monsoonal exposure were also compared showing that wave exposure and depth are associated with the abundance and distribution of the sponges. Renieramycin-M presence using the TLC profiles between the sponge extracts from WPS and from CS showed differences in the Reniermycin-M presence and the presence of other functional groups were observed between the two sites. In terms of bioactivity, different responses were also exhibited by the sponge extracts coming from the different region. Different responses were also noted on its bioactivity depending on the cell lines tested. Exploring the influence of ecological parameters on the chemical variation can provide deeper chemical ecological insights in the knowledge and their potential varied applications at different scales. The results of this study provide further impetus in pursuing studies into patterns and processes of the chemical diversity of the Philippine blue sponge, Xestospongia sp. and the chemical ecological significance of the coral triangle.

Keywords: chemical ecology, porifera, renieramycin-m, spatial variability, Xestospongia sp.

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Authors: J. Knight, E. Barberà

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Language learning strategies have been defined as thoughts and actions, consciously chosen and operationalized by language learners, to help them in carrying out a multiplicity of tasks from the very outset of learning to the most advanced levels of target language performance. While research in the field of Second Language Acquisition has focused on ‘good’ language learners, the effectiveness of strategy-use and orchestration by effective learners in face-to-face classrooms much less research has attended to learner strategies in online contexts, particular strategies in relation to technological tool use which can be part of a task design. In addition, much research on learner strategies and strategy use has been explored focusing on cognitive, attitudinal and metacognitive behaviour with less research focusing on the social aspect of strategies. This study focuses on how learners mediate with a technological tool designed to support synchronous spoken interaction and how this shape their spoken interaction in the opening of their talk. A case study approach is used incorporating notions from communities of practice theory to analyse and understand learner strategies of dyads carrying out a role play task. The study employs analysis of transcripts of spoken interaction in the openings of the talk along with log files of tool use. The study draws on results of previous studies pertaining to the same tool as a form of triangulation. Findings show how learners gain pre-task planning time through technological tool control. The strategies involving learners’ choices to enter and exit the tool shape their spoken interaction qualitatively, with some cases demonstrating long silences whilst others appearing to start the pedagogical task immediately. Who/what learners orientate to in the openings of the talk: an audience (i.e. the teacher), each other and/or screen-based signifiers in the opening moments of the talk also becomes a focus. The study highlights how tool use as a social practice should be considered a learning strategy in online contexts whereby different usages may be understood in the light of the more usual asynchronous social practices of the online community. The teachers’ role in the community is also problematised as the evaluator of the practices of that community. Results are pertinent for task design for synchronous speaking tasks. The use of community of practice theory supports an understanding of strategy use that involves both metacognition alongside social context revealing how tool-use strategies may need to be orally (socially) negotiated by learners and may also differ from an online language community.

Keywords: learner strategy, tool use, community of practice, speaking task

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Authors: Sakshi Gupta, Anupam Agrawal, Ekta Singla

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An exoskeleton design for rehabilitation purpose encounters many challenges, including ergonomically acceptable wearing technology, architectural design human-motion compatibility, actuation type, human-robot interaction, etc. In this paper, a passive architecture for upper limb exoskeleton is proposed for assisting in rehabilitation tasks. Kinematic modelling is detailed for task-based kinematic synthesis of the wearable exoskeleton for self-feeding tasks. The exoskeleton architecture possesses expansion and torsional springs which are able to store and redistribute energy over the human arm joints. The elastic characteristics of the springs have been optimized to minimize the mechanical work of the human arm joints. The concept of hybrid combination of a 4-bar parallelogram linkage and a serial linkage were chosen, where the 4-bar parallelogram linkage with expansion spring acts as a rigid structure which is used to provide the rotational degree-of-freedom (DOF) required for lowering and raising of the arm. The single linkage with torsional spring allows for the rotational DOF required for elbow movement. The focus of the paper is kinematic modelling, analysis and task-based synthesis framework for the proposed architecture, keeping in considerations the essential tasks of self-feeding and self-exercising during rehabilitation of partially healthy person. Rehabilitation of primary functional movements (activities of daily life, i.e., ADL) is routine activities that people tend to every day such as cleaning, dressing, feeding. We are focusing on the feeding process to make people independent in respect of the feeding tasks. The tasks are focused to post-surgery patients under rehabilitation with less than 40% weakness. The challenges addressed in work are ensuring to emulate the natural movement of the human arm. Human motion data is extracted through motion-sensors for targeted tasks of feeding and specific exercises. Task-based synthesis procedure framework will be discussed for the proposed architecture. The results include the simulation of the architectural concept for tracking the human-arm movements while displaying the kinematic and static study parameters for standard human weight. D-H parameters are used for kinematic modelling of the hybrid-mechanism, and the model is used while performing task-based optimal synthesis utilizing evolutionary algorithm.

Keywords: passive mechanism, task-based synthesis, emulating human-motion, exoskeleton

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Authors: Najmin Sultana, Maneesha Pahlani

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A hospital is one of the most suitable places for acquiring an infection because it harbors a high population of virulent strains of microorganisms that may be resistant to antibiotics, especially the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infections. The hospital-acquired infection has become a global challenge. In developed countries, healthcare-associated infections occur in 5-15% of hospitalized clients, affecting 9-37% of those admitted to intensive care units (ICU). A non-experimental descriptive study was conducted among 50 nursing officers working in a selected hospital in bengaluru to assess the nursing officers’ level of knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections and to associate the pre-test knowledge mean scores of nursing officers with selected socio-demographic variables. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic data and a structured questionnaire on knowledge regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections. The data was analyzed in terms of frequencies and percentages for the analysis of demographic variables and computing chi-square to determine the association between knowledge means scores and selected demographic variables. The study findings revealed that the nursing officer had an overall good level of knowledge (63.05%) regarding the prevention and management of MRSA infections, and there is no significant association found between the level of knowledge mean scores for prevention and management of MRSA infection with the selected socio-demographic variables. However, the categorization of knowledge items showed that the nursing officer must thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance for effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infections. The conclusions drawn from the study findings showed that it is necessary that the nursing officer thoroughly receive education on correct guidance and information regarding MRSA infection control policy, including measures and practices on hygiene precautions and information regarding antibiotic resistance to provide effective nursing care to patients with MRSA infection as they constantly care for the patient who can be at risk for multi-drug resistance organisms to reduce the risk of MRSA infection in hospital care settings as well community settings.

Keywords: MRSA, knowledge, nursing officers', prevention and management

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Authors: Sa'ad Ali

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This study explores wasta as an example of a social network and how it impacts business practice in the Arab Middle East, drawing links with social network impact in different regions of the world. In doing so, particular attention will be paid to the socio-economic and cultural influences on business practice. In exploring relationships in business, concepts such as social network analysis, social capital and group identity are used to explore the different forms of social networks and how they influence business decisions and practices in the regions and countries where they prevail. The use of social networks to achieve objectives is known as guanxi in China, wasta in the Arab Middle East and blat in ex-Soviet countries. Wasta can be defined as favouritism based on tribal and family affiliation and is a widespread practice that has a substantial impact on political, social and business interactions in the Arab Middle East. Within the business context, it is used in several ways, such as to secure a job or promotion or to cut through bureaucracy in government interactions. The little research available is fragmented, and most studies reveal a negative attitude towards its usage in business. Paradoxically, while wasta is widely practised, people from the Arab Middle East often deny its influence. Moreover, despite the regular exhibition of a negative opinion on the practice of wasta, it can also be a source of great pride. This paper addresses this paradox by conducting a positional literature review, exploring the current literature on wasta and identifying how the identified paradox can be explained. The findings highlight how wasta, to a large extent, has been treated as an umbrella concept, whilst it is a highly complex practice which has evolved from intermediary wasta to intercessory wasta and therefore from bonding social capital relationships to more bridging social capital relationships. In addition, the research found that Islam, as the predominant religion in the region and the main source of ethical guidance for the majority of people from the region, plays a substantial role in this paradox. Specifically, it is submitted that wasta can be viewed positively in Islam when it is practised to aid others without breaking Islamic ethical guidelines, whilst it can be viewed negatively when it is used in contradiction with the teachings of Islam. As such, the unique contribution to knowledge of this study is that it ties together the fragmented literature on wasta, highlighting and helping us understand its complexity. In addition, it sheds light on the role of Islam in wasta practices, aiding our understanding of the paradoxical nature of the practice.

Keywords: Islamic ethics, social capital, social networks, Wasta

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Authors: Mariam Atef Zakaria Faltas

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A descriptive statistical analysis of the data showed that the most important factor evoking negative attitudes among teachers is student behavior. have been presented as useful models for understanding the risk factors and protective factors associated with the emergence of autistic traits. Although these "syndrome" forms of autism reach clinical thresholds, they appear to be distinctly different from the idiopathic or "non-syndrome" autism phenotype. Most teachers reported that kindergartens did not prepare them for the educational needs of children with autism, particularly in relation to non-verbal skills. The study is important and points the way for improving teacher inclusion education in Thailand. Inclusive education for students with autism is still in its infancy in Thailand. Although the number of autistic children in schools has increased significantly since the Thai government introduced the Education Regulations for Persons with Disabilities Act in 2008, there is a general lack of services for autistic students and their families. This quantitative study used the Teaching Skills and Readiness Scale for Students with Autism (APTSAS) to test the attitudes and readiness of 110 elementary school teachers when teaching students with autism in general education classrooms. To uncover the true nature of these co morbidities, it is necessary to expand the definition of autism to include the cognitive features of the disorder, and then apply this expanded conceptualization to examine patterns of autistic syndromes. This study used various established eye-tracking paradigms to assess the visual and attention performance of children with DS and FXS who meet the autism thresholds defined in the Social Communication Questionnaire. To study whether the autistic profiles of these children are associated with visual orientation difficulties ("sticky attention"), decreased social attention, and increased visual search performance, all of which are hallmarks of the idiopathic autistic child phenotype. Data will be collected from children with DS and FXS, aged 6 to 10 years, and two control groups matched for age and intellectual ability (i.e., children with idiopathic autism).In order to enable a comparison of visual attention profiles, cross-sectional analyzes of developmental trajectories are carried out. Significant differences in the visual-attentive processes underlying the presentation of autism in children with FXS and DS have been suggested, supporting the concept of syndrome specificity. The study provides insights into the complex heterogeneity associated with autism syndrome symptoms and autism itself, with clinical implications for the utility of autism intervention programs in DS and FXS populations.

Keywords: attitude, autism, teachers, sports activities, movement skills, motor skills

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Authors: Heather Fulford, Melanie Liddell

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The recruitment and retention of high quality employees can prove to be challenging for social enterprises, particularly in some of the core business support functions such as marketing, communications, IT and finance. This holds true for social enterprises in urban contexts, where roles with more attractive remuneration in these business functions can often be found quite readily in the private sector. For social enterprises situated in rural locations, the challenges of staff recruitment and retention are even more acute. Such challenges can lead to a skills deficit in rural social enterprises, which can, at best, hinder their growth potential, and worse, jeopardise their chances of survival. This in turn, can have a negative impact on the sustainability and resilience of the surrounding rural community in which the social enterprise is located. The purpose of this paper is to report on aspects of a collaborative initiative established to stimulate innovation and business growth in remote rural businesses in Scotland. Launched in 2010, this initiative was designed to attract young students and graduates from the region to stay in the region upon completion of their studies, and to attract others from outside the region to re-locate there post-university. To facilitate this, SMEs in the region were offered wage subsidies to encourage them to recruit a student or graduate on a work placement for up to one year to participate in an innovation or business growth-oriented project. A number of the employers offering work placements were social enterprises. Through analysis of the placement project and role specifications devised by the participating social enterprises, an overview is provided of their business development needs and the skills they require to stimulate innovation and growth. Scrutiny of the reflective accounts compiled by the students and graduates at the close of their work placements highlights the benefits they derived from being able to put their academic knowledge and skills into action within a social enterprise. Examination of interviews conducted with a sample of placement employers reveals the contribution the students and graduates made during the business development projects with the social enterprises. The challenges of hosting such placements are also discussed. The paper concludes with indications of the lessons learned and an outline of the wider implications for other remote rural locations in which social enterprises play an important role in the local economy and life of the community.

Keywords: resilience, rural development, regeneration, regional development, recruitment, resource management, retention, remuneration

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Authors: Teresa Wills, Geraldine Mccarthy, Nicola Cornally

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Background: Obesity is an emerging healthcare epidemic affecting virtually all age and socio-economic groups and is one of the most serious and prevalent diseases of the 21st century. It is a public health challenge because of its prevalence, associated costs and health effects. The increasing prevalence of obesity has created a social perception that overweight body sizes are healthy and normal. This normalization of obesity within our society and the acceptance of higher body weights have led to individuals being unaware of the reality of their weight status and gravity of this situation thus impeding recognition of obesity. Given the escalating global health problem of obesity and its co-morbidities, the need to re-appraise its management is more compelling than ever. It is widely accepted that the causes of obesity are complex and multi-factorial. Engagement of individuals in weight management programmes is difficult if they do not perceive they have a problem with their weight. Recognition of the problem is a key component of obesity management and identifying the main predictors of behaviour is key to designing health behaviour interventions. Aim: The aim of the research was to determine factors relating to motivation to change behaviours in individuals who perceive themselves to be overweight. Method: The research design was quantitative, correlational and cross-sectional. The design was guided by the Health Belief Model. Data were collected online using a multi-section and multi-item questionnaire, developed from a review of the theoretical and empirical research. A sample of 202 men and women who perceived themselves to be overweight participated in the research. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were employed to describe relationships between variables. Findings: Following multivariate regression analysis, perceived barriers to weight loss and perceived benefits of weight loss were significant predictors of motivation to change behaviour. The perceived barriers to weight loss which were significant were psychological barriers to weight loss (p = < 0.019) and environmental barriers to physical activity (p= < 0.032).The greatest predictor of motivation to change behaviour was the perceived benefits of weight loss (p < 0.001). Perceived susceptibility to obesity and perceived severity of obesity did not emerge as significant predictors in this model. Total variance explained by the model was 33.5%. Conclusion: Perceived barriers to weight loss and perceived benefits of weight loss are important determinants of motivation to change behaviour. These findings have important implications for health professionals to help inform their practice and for the development of intervention programmes to prevent and control obesity.

Keywords: motivation to change behaviours, obesity, predictors of behavior, interventions, overweight

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Authors: G. Natuhwera, M. Rabwoni, P. Ellis, A. Merriman

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Aims: Health workers are likely to document patients’ care inaccurately, especially when using new and revised case tools, and this could negatively impact patient care. This study set out to; (1) assess nurses’ and clinicians’ documentation practices when using a new patients’ continuation case sheet (PCCS) and (2) explore nurses’ and clinicians’ experiences regarding documentation of patients’ information in the new PCCS. The purpose of introducing the PCCS was to improve continuity of care for patients attending clinics at which they were unlikely to see the same clinician or nurse consistently. Methods: This was a mixed methods study. The cross-sectional inquiry retrospectively reviewed 100 case notes of active patients on hospice and palliative care program. Data was collected using a structured questionnaire with constructs formulated from the new PCCS under study. The qualitative element was face-to-face audio-recorded, open-ended interviews with a purposive sample of one palliative care clinician, and four palliative care nurse specialists. Thematic analysis was used. Results: Missing patients’ biogeographic information was prevalent at 5-10%. Spiritual and psychosocial issues were not documented in 42.6%, and vital signs in 49.2%. Poorest documentation practices were observed in past medical history part of the PCCS at 40-63%. Four themes emerged from interviews with clinicians and nurses-; (1) what remains unclear and challenges, (2) comparing the past with the present, (3) experiential thoughts, and (4) transition and adapting to change. Conclusions: The PCCS seems to be a comprehensive and simple tool to be used to document patients’ information at subsequent visits. The comprehensiveness and utility of the PCCS does paper to be limited by the failure to train staff in its use prior to introducing. The authors find the PCCS comprehensive and suitable to capture patients’ information and recommend it can be adopted and used in other palliative and hospice care settings, if suitable introductory training accompanies its introduction. Otherwise, the reliability and validity of patients’ information collected by this PCCS can be significantly reduced if some sections therein are unclear to the clinicians/nurses. The study identified clinicians- and nurses-related pitfalls in documentation of patients’ care. Clinicians and nurses need to prioritize accurate and complete documentation of patient care in the PCCS for quality care provision. This study should be extended to other sites using similar tools to ensure representative and generalizable findings.

Keywords: documentation, information case sheet, palliative care, quality improvement

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Authors: Amira Mabrouk

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This paper deals with the acceptability of urban toll in Tunisia. The price-based regulation, i.e. urban toll, is the outcome of a political process hampered by three-fold objectives: effectiveness, equity and social acceptability. This produces both economic interest groups and functions that are of incongruent preferences. The plausibility of this speculation goes hand in hand with the fact that these economic interest groups are also taxpayers who undeniably perceive urban toll as an additional charge. This wariness is coupled with an inquiry about the conditions of usage, the redistribution of the collected tax revenue and the idea of the leviathan state completes the picture. In a nutshell, if researches related to road congestion proliferate, no de facto legitimacy can be pleaded. Nonetheless, the theory on urban tolls engenders economists’ questioning of ways to reduce negative external effects linked to it. Only then does the urban toll appear to bear an answer to these issues. Undeniably, the urban toll suggests inherent conflicts due to the apparent no-payment principal of a public asset as well as to the social perception of the new measure as a mere additional charge. However, when the main concern is effectiveness is its broad sense and the social well-being, the main factors that determine the acceptability of such a tariff measure along with the type of incentives should be the object of a thorough, in-depth analysis. Before adopting this economic role, one has to recognize the factors that intervene in the acceptability of a congestion toll which brought about a copious number of articles and reports that lacked mostly solid theoretical content. It is noticeable that nowadays uncertainties float over the exact nature of the acceptability process. Accepting a congestion tariff could differ from one era to another, from one region to another and from one population to another, etc. Notably, this article, within a convenient time frame, attempts at bringing into focus a link between the social acceptability of the urban congestion toll and the value of time through a survey method barely employed in Tunisia, that of stated preference method. How can the urban toll, as a tax, be defined, justified and made acceptable? How can an equitable and effective tariff of congestion toll be reached? How can the costs of this urban toll be covered? In what way can we make the redistribution of the urban toll revenue visible and economically equitable? How can the redistribution of the revenue of urban toll compensate the disadvantaged while introducing such a tariff measure? This paper will offer answers to these research questions and it follows the line of contribution of JULES DUPUIT in 1844.

Keywords: congestion charge, social perception, acceptability, stated preferences

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