Search results for: Aldrich basic fitting block

Authors: Synthia A. Sari

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The transparent nomination and selection process is the first step to obtaining qualified members of board. It is believed as the representative (agent) of the owners, members of the board must consist of competent and professional people. However, the development of transparent and ideal nomination and selection process in Indonesian State-owned enterprises (SOEs) has been based on relatively little research. Considering the relative importance attached by boards to conduct their roles in their principal’s interest in a variety of governance tasks in state-owned enterprises, the primary aim of this paper is to shed light on the extent of nomination and selection process impact performance of the board in implementing good corporate governance in Indonesian SOEs. The exploratory nature of this study led to the adoption of a qualitative research methodology which uses semi-structured interviews and publically available documents to collect a range of data pertaining board nomination and selection and the work of boards. Interviews were conducted with four informants from three Indonesian SOEs and Ministry of SOEs. Findings in this study demonstrate unclear job description and expectations board members as a result of unclear functions of the board in Indonesian SOEs make transparent and accountable nomination and selection process hard to conduct. This situation is vulnerable to the influences from political interest and that even the process itself can degenerate into situations of political interference. In the end, it leads to choosing the wrong person for membership of the board. This study makes a significant contribution to several fields; the human resource management, corporate governance, and Southeast studies by addressing the basic research gaps of board selection process issues in Indonesian SOEs. The gap is addressed by providing a more coherent framework for effective nomination and selection system which reflects more clearly the real experiences of those actually involved at board level.

Keywords: board selection and nomination process, Indonesian stated-owned enterprises, good corporate governance, political influence

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Authors: Nour Eddine Nachouane, Aicha Knidiri

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The Hispano-Moorish art was born in 786 when Abd ar-Rahman built the first mosque in Cordoba. It is a still-living art in the trades of the big Moroccan cities. Everyone agrees that the different artistic forms of Arab-Muslim art find their full development in traditional Moroccan architecture, and this heritage allows artists and artisans to create magnificent masterpieces. Marrakech, by way of example, constitutes a symbolic city, which represents the reflection of a rich history of this art carried by a long artisanal tradition that is still living nowadays. Despite its ratification by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, and beyond official speeches, several of those craft trades are endangered, and with them the whole history of millennial savoir-faire. From the empirical study of the old historic center, 'the medina' of Marrakech, we explore in this article the opportunity offered by the tourism industry in order to protect these craft trades. We question artisans on the evolution of the sector and the challenges of the transmission of this heritage. We evoke the case of Spanish cities like Granada in a comparative reflection on the strategies and perceptions of the public administrations of a part, and, on the other hand, on the shared experience of artisans and tourists. In an interdisciplinary approach mixing anthropology, history, sociology, and even geography, we question the capacity of heritage processes to mobilize and involve a set of actors and activate a trajectory for the safeguarding of Andalusian arts and techniques. The basic assumption of this research is that the promotion of traditional craft trades through tourism and based on good scientific knowledge can present an original offer to cope with globalization and guarantee the transmission of that savoir-faire to new generations. Research in the field of Islamic arts does not constitute a retreat into the nationalist identity or a fixation on the past but an opening towards cultural diversity, free from any standardization.

Keywords: heritage, art andalusi, handcraft, tourism

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Authors: Juliana Chiarini Balbino Fernandes

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This article aims to investigate the Spanish didactic book, entitled ‘El Calculo y La Medida en El Primer Grado de La Escuela Decroly’, written by Dr. O. Decroly and A. Hamaide, published in Madrid, in the year 1934. In addition to analyzing how mathematical knowledge is present in the proposed Centers of Interest. The textbooks, in addition to pedagogical tools, reflect a certain moment in society and allow the analysis of the theoretical-methodological proposal that can be implemented by the teacher. The study proposed here will be carried out by the lens of Cultural History, supported by Roger Chartier (1991) and by the concepts on textbooks, based on Alain Choppin (2004). The textbook selected for this study exposes a program of ideas associated with the method of Centers of Interest and arithmetic is linked to these interests. In the first courses (six to eight years), most centers can be considered to correspond to occasional calls, as they take advantage of events that arise spontaneously to work with observation, measurement, association and expression exercises. The program of ideas associated with Centers of Interest addresses the biological and social aspects of children, as long as they can express their needs for activities and games, satisfying the natural curiosity. Still, the program of associated ideas offers occasions for problems whose data are taken in observation exercises and concrete expressions (manuals, drawings). In the method applied at the school of L'Ermitage, school created by Decroly in Belgium in 1907, observation, is the basis of each center of interest. It offers the chance to compare and measure. To observe is more than to perceive; it is also to establish relations between the graded aspects of the same object, to seek relations between different intensities; is to verify successions, special and temporary relationships; is to make comparisons, to notice differences and similarities in block or datable (analysis), is to establish a bridge between the world and the thought. To make the observation more precise, it is important to compare, measure, and resort to considered objects as natural units of measure. Measurement and calculation are, therefore, quite naturally subject to observation. Thus, it is possible to make the child enter into the interest in the calculation, linking it to the observation. It was observed that the Centers of Interest, according to Decroly, should respond to the concerns and attend to the motivations of the students and the teaching of arithmetical must obey a logical seriation, considering the interest and the experience of the children. The teaching of arithmetical should not be limited to the schedule, it should cover every quantitative aspect that arises in the other disciplines. The feeling of unity is established in observation, association and expression, which coordinate a whole program of cultural activities, concentrating it around a central idea.

Keywords: didactic book, centers of interest, mathematical knowledge, primary education

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Authors: Mohammad Alkhatatbeh, Nehad Ayoub, Nizar Mhaidat, Nesreen Saadeh, Lisa Lincz

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CD36 is involved in the development of atherosclerosis by enhancing macrophage endocytosis of oxidized-low density lipoproteins and foam cell formation. Soluble CD36 (sCD36) was found to be elevated in type 2 diabetic patients and was supposed to act as a marker of insulin resistance and atherosclerosis. In young subjects, sCD36 was associated with cardiovascular risk factors including obesity and hypertriglyceridemia. This study was conducted to further investigate the relationship between plasma sCD36 and cardiovascular risk factors among middle-aged patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and healthy controls. SCD36 concentrations were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) for 41 patients with MetS and 36 healthy controls. Data for other variables were obtained from patients' medical records. SCD36 concentrations were relatively low compared to most other studies and were not significantly different between the MetS group and controls (P-value=0.17). SCD36 was also not correlated with age, body mass index, glucose, lipid profile, serum electrolytes and blood counts. SCD36 was not significantly different between subjects with obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension or cardiovascular disease and those without these abnormalities (P-value > 0.05). The inconsistency between results reported in this study and other studies may be unique to the study population or be a result of the lack of a reliable standardized method for determining absolute sCD36 concentrations. However, further investigations are required to assess CD36 tissue expression in the study population and to assess the accuracy of various commercially available sCD36 ELISA kits. Thus, the availability of a standardized simple sCD36 ELISA that could be performed in any basic laboratory would be more favorable to the specialized flow cytometry methods that detect CD36+ microparticles if it was to be used as a biomarker.

Keywords: metabolic syndrome, CD36, cardiovascular risk, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus

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Authors: Shu-Lien Chou, Chung-Feng Liu

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Self-health management of chronic illnesses plays an important part in chronic illness treatments. However, various kinds of health information (health education materials) which government or healthcare institutions provide for patients may not achieve the expected outcome. One of the critical reasons affecting patients’ use intention could be patients’ perceived Information overload regarding the health information. This study proposed an extended model of Theory of Planned Behavior, which integrating perceived information overload as another construct to explore patients’ use intention of the health information for self-health management. The independent variables are attitude, subject norm, perceived behavior control and perceived information overload while the dependent variable is behavior intention to use the health information. The cross-sectional study used a structured questionnaire for data collection, focusing on the chronic patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), who are the potential users of the health information, in a medical center in Taiwan. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of the basic information distribution of the questionnaire respondents, and the Partial Least Squares (PLS) structural equation model to study the reliability and construct validity for testing our hypotheses. A total of 110 patients were enrolled in this study and 106 valid questionnaires were collected. The PLS analysis result indicates that the patients’ perceived information overload of health information contributes the most critical factor influencing the behavioral intention. Subjective norm and perceived behavioral control of TPB constructs had significant effects on patients’ intentions to use health information also, whereas the attitude construct did not. This study demonstrated a comprehensive framework, which extending perceived information overload into TPB model to predict patients’ behavioral intention of using heath information. We expect that the results of this study will provide useful insights for studying health information from the perspectives of academia, governments, and healthcare providers.

Keywords: chronic patients, health information, information overload, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: Adriana de Paula Lacerda Santos, Bruna Godke, Mauro Lacerda Santos Filho

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Several dams in the world have already collapsed, causing environmental, social and economic damage. The concern to avoid future disasters has stimulated the creation of a great number of laws and rules in many countries. In Brazil, Law 12.334/2010 was created, which establishes the National Policy on Dam Safety. Overall, this policy requires the dam owners to invest in the maintenance of their structures and to improve its monitoring systems in order to provide faster and straightforward responses in the case of an increase of risks. As monitoring tools, visual inspections has provides comprehensive assessment of the structures performance, while auscultation’s instrumentation has added specific information on operational or behavioral changes, providing an alarm when a performance indicator exceeds the acceptable limits. These limits can be set using statistical methods based on the relationship between instruments measures and other variables, such as reservoir level, time of the year or others instruments measuring. Besides the design parameters (uplift of the foundation, displacements, etc.) the dam instrumentation can also be used to monitor the behavior of defects and damage manifestations. Specifically in concrete gravity dams, one of the main causes for the appearance of cracks, are the concrete volumetric changes generated by the thermal origin phenomena, which are associated with the construction process of these structures. Based on this, the goal of this research is to propose a monitoring process of the thermal cracking behavior in concrete gravity dams, through the instrumentation data analysis and the establishment of control values. Therefore, as a case study was selected the Block B-11 of José Richa Governor Dam Power Plant, that presents a cracking process, which was identified even before filling the reservoir in August’ 1998, and where crack meters and surface thermometers were installed for its monitoring. Although these instruments were installed in May 2004, the research was restricted to study the last 4.5 years (June 2010 to November 2014), when all the instruments were calibrated and producing reliable data. The adopted method is based on simple linear correlations procedures to understand the interactions among the instruments time series, verifying the response times between them. The scatter plots were drafted from the best correlations, which supported the definition of the limit control values. Among the conclusions, it is shown that there is a strong or very strong correlation between ambient temperature and the crack meters and flowmeters measurements. Based on the results of the statistical analysis, it was possible to develop a tool for monitoring the behavior of the case study cracks. Thus it was fulfilled the goal of the research to develop a proposal for a monitoring process of the behavior of thermal cracking in concrete gravity dams.

Keywords: concrete gravity dam, dams safety, instrumentation, simple linear correlation

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Authors: Zia Ul Haq, Saleem Muhammad, Naeem Ullah, Abbas Shah, Abdullah Shah

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Pakistan being the developing country is facing double burden of communicable and non-communicable disease. The aspect of secondary prevention of ischemic heart disease in developing countries is the dire need for public health specialists, clinicians and policy makers. There is some evidence that psychotherapeutic measures, including psychotherapy, recreation, exercise and stress management training have positive impact on secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases but there are some contradictory findings as well. Cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) has not yet fully implemented in Pakistan. Psychological, physical and specific health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes needs assessment with respect to its practicality, effectiveness, and success. Objectives: To determine the effect of cardiac rehabilitation program (CRP) on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures of post MI patients compared to the usual care. Hypothesis: Post MI patients who receive the interventions (CRP) will have better HRQoL as compared to those who receive the usual cares. Methods: The randomized control trial was conducted at a Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit of Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Peshawar. LRH is the biggest hospital of the Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). A total 206 participants who had recent first myocardial infarction were inducted in the study. Participants were randomly allocated into two group i.e. usual care group (UCG) and cardiac rehabilitation group (CRG) by permuted-block randomization (PBR) method. CRP was conducted in CRG in two phases. Three HRQoL outcomes i.e. general health questionnaire (GHQ), self-rated health (SRH) and MacNew quality of life after myocardial infarction (MacNew QLMI) were assessed at baseline and follow-up visits among both groups. Data were entered and analyzed by appropriate statistical test in STATA version 12. Results: A total of 195 participants were assessed at the follow-up period due to lost-to-follow-up. The mean age of the participants was 53.66 + 8.3 years. Males were dominant in both groups i.e. 150 (76.92%). Regarding educational status, majority of the participants were illiterate in both groups i.e. 128 (65.64%). Surprisingly, there were 139 (71.28%) who were non-smoker on the whole. The comorbid status was positive in 120 (61.54%) among all the patients. The SRH at follow-up among UCG and CRG was 4.06 (95% CI: 3.93, 4.19) and 2.36 (95% CI: 2.2, 2.52) respectively (p<0.001). GHQ at the follow-up of UCG and CRG was 20.91 (95% CI: 18.83, 21.97) and 7.43 (95% CI: 6.59, 8.27) respectively (p<0.001). The MacNew QLMI at follow-up of UCG and CRG was 3.82 (95% CI: 3.7, 3.94) and 5.62 (95% CI: 5.5, 5.74) respectively (p<0.001). All the HRQoL measures showed strongly significant improvement in the CRG at follow-up period. Conclusion: HRQOL improved in post MI patients after comprehensive CRP. Education of the patients and their supervision is needed when they are involved in their rehabilitation activities. It is concluded that establishing CRP in cardiac units, recruiting post-discharged MI patients and offering them CRP does not impose high costs and can result in significant improvement in HRQoL measures. Trial registration no: ACTRN12617000832370

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, cardiac rehabilitation, health-related quality of life, HRQoL, myocardial infarction, quality of life, QoL, rehabilitation, randomized control trial

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Authors: Barham J. Nareeman, Ilham I. Mohammed

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Excavations in urban developed area are generally supported by deep excavation walls such as; diaphragm wall, bored piles, soldier piles and sheet piles. In some cases, these walls may be braced by internal braces or tie back anchors. Tie back anchors are by far the predominant method for wall support, the large working space inside the excavation provided by a tieback anchor system has a significant construction advantage. This paper aims to analyze a deep excavation bracing system of contiguous pile wall braced by pre-stressed tie back anchors, which is a part of a huge residential building project, located in Turkey/Gaziantep province. The contiguous pile wall will be constructed with a length of 270 m that consists of 285 piles, each having a diameter of 80 cm, and a center to center spacing of 95 cm. The deformation analysis was carried out by a finite element analysis tool using PLAXIS. In the analysis, beam element method together with an elastic perfect plastic soil model and Soil Hardening Model was used to design the contiguous pile wall, the tieback anchor system, and the soil. The two soil clusters which are limestone and a filled soil were modelled with both Hardening soil and Mohr Coulomb models. According to the basic design, both soil clusters are modelled as drained condition. The simulation results show that the maximum horizontal movement of the walls and the maximum settlement of the ground are convenient with 300 individual case histories which are ranging between 1.2mm and 2.3mm for walls, and 15mm and 6.5mm for the settlements. It was concluded that tied-back contiguous pile wall can be satisfactorily modelled using Hardening soil model.

Keywords: deep excavation, finite element, pre-stressed tie back anchors, contiguous pile wall, PLAXIS, horizontal deflection, ground settlement

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Authors: Sohal Latif

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Solar power is in the form of photovoltaic, also known as PV, which is a form of renewable energy that applies solar panels in producing electricity from the sun. It has a vital role in fulfilling the present need for clean and renewable energy to get rid of conventional and non-renewable energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases. Solar energy is embraced because of its availability, easy accessibility, and effectiveness in the provision of power, chiefly in country areas. In solar charging, device charge entails a change of light power into electricity using photovoltaic or PV panels, which supply direct current electric power or DC. Here, the solar charge controller has a very crucial role to play regarding the voltages and the currents coming from the solar panels to take up the changing needs of a battery without overcharging the same. Certain devices, such as inverters, are required to transform the DC power produced by the solar panels into an AC to serve the normal electrical appliances and the current power network. This project was initiated for a project of a solar charge controller and power converter with the MULTISIM. The formation of this project begins with a literature survey to obtain basic knowledge about power converters, charge controllers, and photovoltaic systems. Fundamentals of the operation of solar panels include the process by which light is converted into electricity and a comparison of PWM and MPPT chargers with controllers. Knowledge of rectifiers is built to help achieve AC-to-DC and DC-AC change. Choosing a resistor, capacitance, MOSFET, and OP-AMP is done by the need of the system. The circuit diagrams of converters and charge controllers are designed using the Multisim program. Pulse width modulation, Bubba oscillator circuit, and inverter circuits are modeled and simulated. In the subsequent steps, the analysis of the simulation outcomes indicates the efficiency of the intended converter systems. The various outputs from the different configurations, with the transformer incorporated as well as without it, are then monitored for effective power conversion as well as power regulation.

Keywords: solar charge controller, MULTISIM, converter, inverter

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Authors: Sunday Nathaniel Obasi, Chiamak Chinasa Obasi

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Soil characterization and classification provide the basic information necessary to create a functional evaluation and soil classification schemes. Fertility capability classification (FCC) on the other hand is a technical system that groups the soils according to kinds of problems they present for management of soil physical and chemical properties. This research was carried out in Ebonyi state, southeastern Nigeria, which is an agrarian state and a leading rice producing part of southeastern Nigeria. In order to maximize the soil and enhance the productivity of rice in Ebonyi soils, soil classification, and fertility classification information need to be supplied. The state was grouped into three locations according to their agricultural zones namely; Ebonyi north, Ebonyi central and Ebonyi south representing Abakaliki, Ikwo and Ivo locations respectively. Major rice growing areas of the soils were located and two profile pits were sunk in each of the studied zones from which soils were characterized, classified and fertility capability classification (FCC) developed. Soil classification was done using United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Taxonomy and correlated with World Reference Base for soil resources. Results obtained classified Abakaliki 1 and Abakaliki 2 as Typic Fluvaquents (Ochric Fluvisols). Ikwo 1 was classified as Vertic Eutrudepts (Eutric Vertisols) while Ikwo 2 was classified as Typic Eutrudepts (Eutric Cambisols). Ivo 1 and Ivo 2 were both classified as Aquic Eutrudepts (Gleyic Leptosols). Fertility capability classification (FCC) revealed that all studied soils had mostly loamy topsoils and subsoils except Ikwo 1 with clayey topsoil. Limitations encountered in the studied soils include; dryness (d), low ECEC (e), low nutrient capital reserve (k) and water logging/ anaerobic condition (gley). Thus, FCC classifications were Ldek for Abakaliki 1 and 2, Ckv for Ikwo 1, LCk for Ikwo 2 while Ivo 1 and 2 were Legk and Lgk respectively.

Keywords: soil classification, soil fertility, limitations, modifiers, Southeastern Nigeria

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Authors: U.-B. Schaer, M. Wehr, R. Hodler

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Background: Most nursing students require more training time for necessary nursing skills than defined by nursing schools curriculum to acquire basic nursing skills. Given skills training lessons are too brief to enable effective student learning, meaning in-depth skills practice and repetition various learning steps. This increases stress levels and the pressure to succeed for a nursing student with slower learning capabilities. Another possible consequence is that nursing students are less prepared in the required skills for future clinical practice. Intervention: The Bern College of Higher Education of Nursing, Switzerland, started the independent peer practice learning program in 2012. A concept was developed which defines specific aims and content as well as student’s rights and obligations. Students enlist beforehand and order the required materials. They organize themselves and train in small groups in allocated training location in the area of Learning Training and Transfer (LTT). During the peer practice, skills and knowledge can be repeatedly trained and reflected in the peer groups without the presence of a tutor. All invasive skills are practiced only on teaching dummies. This allows students to use all their potential. The students may access learning materials as literature and their own student notes. This allows nursing students to practice their skills and to deepen their knowledge on corresponding with their own learning rate. Results: Peer group discussions during the independent peer practice learning support the students in gaining certainty and confidence in their knowledge and skills. This may improve patient safety in future daily care practice. Descriptive statics show that the number of students who take advantage of the independent peer practice learning increased continuously (2012-2018). It has to be mentioned that in 2012, solely students of the first semester attended the independent peer practice learning program, while in 2018 over one-third of the participating students were in their fifth semester and final study year. It is clearly visible that the demand for independent peer practice learning is increasing. This has to be considered in the development of future teaching curricula.

Keywords: learning program, nursing students, peer learning, skill training

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Authors: Hammache Nadir

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The scientific study of human learning and memory is now more than 125 years old. Psychologists have conducted thousands of experiments, correlational analyses, and field studies during this time, in addition to other research conducted by those from neighboring fields. A huge knowledge base has been carefully built up over the decades. Given this backdrop, we may ask ourselves: What great changes in education have resulted from this huge research base? How has the scientific study of learning and memory changed practices in education from those of, say, a century ago? Have we succeeded in building a translational educational science to rival medical science (in which biological knowledge is translated into medical practice) or types of engineering (in which, e.g., basic knowledge in chemistry is translated into products through chemical engineering)? The answer, I am afraid, is rather mixed. Psychologists and psychological research have influenced educational practice, but in fits and starts. After all, some of the great founders of American psychology—William James, Edward L. Thorndike, John Dewey, and others—are also revered as important figures in the history of education. And some psychological research and ideas have made their way into education—for instance, computer-based cognitive tutors for some specific topics have been developed in recent years—and in years past, such practices as teaching machines, programmed learning, and, in higher education, the Keller Plan were all important. These older practices have not been sustained. Was that because they failed or because of a lack of systematic research showing they were effective? At any rate, in 2012, we cannot point to a well-developed translational educational science in which research about learning and memory, thinking and reasoning, and related topics is moved from the lab into controlled field trials (like clinical trials in medicine) and the tested techniques, if they succeed, are introduced into broad educational practice. We are just not there yet, and one question that arises is how we could achieve a translational educational science.

Keywords: affective, education, cognition, pshychology

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Authors: T. Radu, R. Sreenivas, H. Albuflasa, A. Mustafa Khan, W. Aloqab

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The Kingdom of Bahrain, a small island country in the Gulf region, is experiencing fast economic growth resulting in a sharp increase in population and greater than ever amounts of waste being produced. However, waste management in the country is still very basic, with landfilling being the most popular option. Recycling is still a scarce practice, with small recycling businesses and initiatives emerging in recent years. This scenario is typical for other countries in the region, with similar amounts of per capita waste being produced. In this paper, we are reviewing current waste management practices in Bahrain by collecting data published by the Government and various authors, and by visiting the country’s only landfill site, Askar. In addition, we have performed a survey of the residents to learn more about the awareness and attitudes towards sustainable waste management strategies. A review of the available data on waste management indicates that the Askar landfill site is nearing its capacity. The site uses open tipping as the method of disposal. The highest percentage of disposed waste comes from the building sector (38.4%), followed by domestic (27.5%) and commercial waste (17.9%). Disposal monitoring and recording are often based on estimates of weight and without proper characterization/classification of received waste. Besides, there is a need for assessment of the environmental impact of the site with systematic monitoring of pollutants in the area and their potential spreading to the surrounding land, groundwater, and air. The results of the survey indicate low awareness of what happens with the collected waste in the country. However, the respondents have shown support for future waste reduction and recycling initiatives. This implies that the education of local communities would be very beneficial for such governmental initiatives, securing greater participation. Raising awareness of issues surrounding recycling and waste management and systematic effort to divert waste from landfills are the first steps towards securing sustainable waste management in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

Keywords: landfill, municipal solid waste, survey, waste management

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Authors: Dlir Abdullah Ahmed

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Overall aims of this study are to investigate the effects of differences of opinions among Shari’ah supervisory bodies on standardization and internationalization of Islamic banking products and services. The study has used semi-structured in-depth interview where five respondents from both the Middle East and Malaysia Shari’ah advisors participated in the interview sessions. The data were analyzed by both manual and software techniques. The findings reveal that indeed there are differences of opinions among Shari’ah advisors in different jurisdictions. These differences are due to differences in educational background, schools of thoughts, environment in which they operate, and legal requirements. Moreover, the findings also reveal that these differences in opinions among Shari’ah bodies create confusions among public and bankers, and negatively affect standardization of Islamic banking transactions. In addition, the study has explored the possibility to develop Islamic-based products. However, the finding shows that it is difficult for the industry to have Islamic-based products due to high competition from conventional counterpart, legal constraints and moral hazard. Furthermore, the findings indicate that lack of political will and unity, lack of technology are the main constraints to internationalization of Islamic banking products. Last but not least, the study found that there are possibility of convergence of opinions, standardization of Islamic banking products and services if there are unified international Shari’ah h advisory council, international basic requirements for Islamic Shari’ah h advisors, and increase training and educations of Islamic bankers. This study has several implications to the bankers, policymakers and researchers. The policymakers should be able to resolve their political differences and set up unified international advisory council and international research and development center. The bankers should increase training and educations of the workforce as well improve on their banking infrastructure to facility cross-border transactions.

Keywords: Shari’ah h views, Islamic banking, products & services, standardization.

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Authors: Mohammad Hassanzadeh

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As far as incidental vocabulary learning is concerned, the basic contention of the Involvement Load Hypothesis (ILH) is that retention of unfamiliar words is, generally, conditional upon the degree of involvement in processing them. This study examined input modality and incidental vocabulary uptake in a task-induced setting whereby three variously loaded task types (marginal glosses, fill-in-task, and sentence-writing) were alternately assigned to one group of students at Allameh Tabataba’i University (n=2l) during six classroom sessions. While one round of exposure was comprised of the audiovisual medium (TV talk shows), the second round consisted of textual materials with approximately similar subject matter (reading texts). In both conditions, however, the tasks were equivalent to one another. Taken together, the study pursued the dual objectives of establishing a litmus test for the ILH and its proposed values of ‘need’, ‘search’ and ‘evaluation’ in the first place. Secondly, it sought to bring to light the superiority issue of exposure to audiovisual input versus the written input as far as the incorporation of tasks is concerned. At the end of each treatment session, a vocabulary active recall test was administered to measure their incidental gains. Running a one-way analysis of variance revealed that the audiovisual intervention yielded higher gains than the written version even when differing tasks were included. Meanwhile, task 'three' (sentence-writing) turned out the most efficient in tapping learners' active recall of the target vocabulary items. In addition to shedding light on the superiority of audiovisual input over the written input when circumstances are relatively held constant, this study for the most part, did support the underlying tenets of ILH.

Keywords: Keywords— Evaluation, incidental vocabulary learning, input mode, Involvement Load Hypothesis, need, search.

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Authors: Makhosi Buthelezi

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Mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene analyses linked the South African groundnut leaf miner (GLM) to the Australian soya bean moth Aproaerema simplexella (Walker) and Indian Aproaerema modicella (Deventer). Thus, the genetic relatedness of GLM, A. simplexela, and A. modicella was examined by performing mitochondrial and nuclear (COI, cytochrome oxidase subunit II (COII), mitochondrial cytochrome b (CYTB), nuclear ribosomal 28S (28S) and intergenic spacer elongation factor-1 alpha ( EF-1 ALPHA) on 44 specimens collected from South Africa, four from Mozambique, and three each from single locations in India and Australia. Phylogenetic analyses were conducted using the Maximum Parsimony (MP) and Neighbour-Joining (NJ) methods. All of the datasets of the five DNA gene regions that were sequenced were also analyzed using the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) to find the closest matches for inclusion in the phylogenetic trees as outgroups and for purposes of information. In the phylogenetic trees for COI, COII, cytb and EF-1 ALPHA, a similar pattern was observed in the way that the sequences assembled into different groups; i.e., some sequences of A. simplexella from Australia were grouped separately from the others, but some Australian sequences grouped with those of the GLM from South Africa, India, and Mozambique. In the phylogenetic tree for 28S, all sequences from South Africa, Australia, India, and Mozambique grouped together and formed one group. For COI, genetic pairwise distance ranged from 0.97 to 3.60 %, for COII it ranged from 0.19% to 2.32%, for cytb it ranged from 0.25 to 9.77% and for EF-1 ALPHA it ranged 0.48 to 6.99%. Results of this study indicate that these populations are genetically related and presumably constitute a single species. Thus, further molecular and morphological studies need to be undertaken in order to resolve this apparent conundrum on the taxonomy of these populations.

Keywords: aproaerema modicella, aproaerema simplexella, mitochondrial DNA, nuclear DNA

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Authors: Muhammad Naveed

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In this paper, flood issues in Gujranwala and Rawalpindi divisions are discussed as a primary importance as these zones are affected continuously from flooding in recent years, provincial variability of the issue, introduce status of the continuous administration measures, their adequacy and future needs in flood administration are secured. Flood issues in these zones are exhibited by Chenab River Basin, Jhelum Rivers Basin. Some unique problems, related to floods in these divisions is lack of major dams on Chenab and Jhelum rivers and also mismanagement of rivers and canal water like dam break stream, and water signing in Tal zones, are additionally mentioned. There are major Nalaas in these regions like Nalaa Lai of Rawalpindi and Nalaa Daik, Nalaa Palkhu, Nalaa Aik of Gujranwala are major cause of floods in these regions other than rivers. Proper management of these Nalaas and moving of nearby population well in time could reduce impacts from flood in these regions. Progress of different flood administration measures, both auxiliary and non-basic, are discussed. Likewise, future needs to accomplish proficient and fruitful flood management measures in Pakistan are additionally brought up. In this paper, we describe different hard and soft engineering techniques to overcome flood situations in these zones as these zones are more vulnerable due to lack of management in canal and river water. Effective management and use of hard and soft techniques are need of time in coming future for controlling greater flooding in flood risk zones to overcome or minimize people’s death as well as agricultural and financial resources as flood and other natural disasters are a major drawback in the economic prosperity of the country.

Keywords: flood management, rivers, major dams, agricultural and financial loss, future management and control

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Authors: Saba Farheen, Uday Shankar

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Background- Attaining equality among all humans and eliminating all forms of discrimination against them are fundamental human rights. These rights are based on the belief that all human beings are born free with equal dignity, esteem, and honour. In India, more than 30 percent politicians are having criminal background. They are also illiterate, which obstacle them in governing the system. They do not know the basic human rights. Because of this, they cannot decide what to do for the sake of the nation. Bihar is the third largest populated state of India and is characterized by corrupt politicians and poor literacy rate. If the politicians can aware about the human rights, then they will show positive attitude towards these. Aim- The main goal of the present research was to study the subjects’ knowledge or awareness towards their human rights. It was an attempt to identify social-psychological conditions that inhibit or facilitate awareness among public representatives towards their human rights in the special context of Bihar, India. Thus the main variable awareness towards human rights has been treated as the main dependent variable. The other two variables-socio economic status and Educational status, have been treated as independent variables. Method- The subjects were 400 public representatives in the age group of 35 to 50 years. They were from High socio economic status (N=150), Middle socio economic status (N=150), and Low socio economic status (N=100). The subjects were either educated (N=200) or Uneducated (N=200). The subjects were selected randomly from the different districts of Bihar, India. “Human Rights Awareness Scale” by Dr. Iftekhar Hossain, Dr. Saba Farheen, and Dr. Uday Shankar was applied in this study. Results- Results have shown that the public representatives have very low level of awareness towards the human rights. Also, the subjects from Middle SES have highest awareness in comparison with subjects of High and Low SES. Uneducated public representatives have less awareness than the educated one about human rights. Conclusion- Conclusively, it can be stated that human rights awareness among the public representatives of India is very low, and it is being affected by their Socio economic status and literacy level.

Keywords: human rights, awareness, public representatives, bihar, India

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Authors: Jayanthi Rajendran

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Experience is what makes a man perfect. Though we tend to learn many a different things in life through practice still we need to go an extra mile to gain experience which would be profitable only when it is integrated with regular practice. A clear phenomenal idea is that every teacher is a learner. The centralized idea of this paper would focus on the integrated practices carried out among the students of Jizan University which enhances learning through experiences. Integrated practices like student-directed activities, balanced curriculum, phonological based activities and use of consistent language would enlarge the vision and mission of students to earn experience through learning. Students who receive explicit instruction and guidance could practice the skills and strategies through student-directed activities such as peer tutoring and cooperative learning. The second effective practice is to use consistent language. Consistent language provides students a model for talking about the new concepts which also enables them to communicate without hindrances. Phonological awareness is an important early reading skill for all students. Students generally have phonemic awareness in their home language can often transfer that knowledge to a second language. And also a balanced curriculum requires instruction in all the elements of reading. Reading is the most effective skill when both basic and higher-order skills are included on a daily basis. Computer based reading and listening skills will empower students to understand a language in a better way. English language learners can benefit from sound reading instruction even before they are fully proficient in English as long as the instruction is comprehensible. Thus, if students have to be well equipped in learning they should foreground themselves in various integrated practices through multifarious experience for which teachers are moderators and trainers. This type of learning prepares the students for a constantly changing society which helps them to meet the competitive world around them for better employability fulfilling the vision and mission of the institution.

Keywords: consistent language, employability, phonological awareness, balanced curriculum

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Authors: Omneya Messallam

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Technology has been developed dramatically in most of the educational disciplines. For instance, digital rendering subject, which is being taught in both Interior and Architecture fields, is witnessing almost annually updated software versions. A lot of students and educators argued that there will be no need for manual rendering techniques to be learned. Therefore, the Interior Design Visual Presentation 1 course (ID133) has been chosen from the first level of the Interior Design (ID) undergraduate program, as it has been taught for six years continually. This time frame will facilitate sound observation and critical analysis of the use of appropriate teaching methodologies. Furthermore, the researcher believes in the high value of the manual rendering techniques. The course objectives are: to define the basic visual rendering principles, to recall theories and uses of various types of colours and hatches, to raise the learners’ awareness of the value of studying manual render techniques, and to prepare them to present their work professionally. The students are female Arab learners aged between 17 and 20. At the outset of the course, the majority of them demonstrated negative attitude, lacking both motivation and confidence in manual rendering skills. This paper is a reflective appraisal of deploying two student-centred teaching pedagogies which are: Project-based learning (PBL) and Outcome-based education (OBE) on ID133 students. This research aims of developing some teaching strategies to enhance the quality of teaching in this given course over an academic semester. The outcome of this research emphasized the positive influence of applying such educational methods on improving the quality of students’ manual rendering skills in terms of: materials, textiles, textures, lighting, and shade and shadow. Furthermore, it greatly motivated the students and raised the awareness of the importance of learning the manual rendering techniques.

Keywords: project-based learning, outcome-based education, visual presentation, manual render, personal competences

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Authors: M. Sirhan, S. Bekhor, A. Sidess

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In-service pavements deteriorate with time due to traffic wheel loads, environment, and climate conditions. Pavement deterioration leads to a reduction in their serviceability and structural behavior. Consequently, proper maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) are necessary actions to keep the in-service pavement network at the desired level of serviceability. Due to resource and financial constraints, the pavement management system (PMS) prioritizes roads most in need of maintenance and rehabilitation action. It recommends a suitable action for each pavement based on the performance and surface condition of each road in the network. The pavement performance and condition are usually quantified and evaluated by different types of roughness-based and stress-based indices. Examples of such indices are Pavement Serviceability Index (PSI), Pavement Serviceability Ratio (PSR), Mean Panel Rating (MPR), Pavement Condition Rating (PCR), Ride Number (RN), Profile Index (PI), International Roughness Index (IRI), and Pavement Condition Index (PCI). PCI is commonly used in PMS as an indicator of the extent of the distresses on the pavement surface. PCI values range between 0 and 100; where 0 and 100 represent a highly deteriorated pavement and a newly constructed pavement, respectively. The PCI value is a function of distress type, severity, and density (measured as a percentage of the total pavement area). PCI is usually calculated iteratively using the 'Paver' program developed by the US Army Corps. The use of soft computing techniques, especially Artificial Neural Network (ANN), has become increasingly popular in the modeling of engineering problems. ANN techniques have successfully modeled the performance of the in-service pavements, due to its efficiency in predicting and solving non-linear relationships and dealing with an uncertain large amount of data. Typical regression models, which require a pre-defined relationship, can be replaced by ANN, which was found to be an appropriate tool for predicting the different pavement performance indices versus different factors as well. Subsequently, the objective of the presented study is to develop and train an ANN model that predicts the PCI values. The model’s input consists of percentage areas of 11 different damage types; alligator cracking, swelling, rutting, block cracking, longitudinal/transverse cracking, edge cracking, shoving, raveling, potholes, patching, and lane drop off, at three severity levels (low, medium, high) for each. The developed model was trained using 536,000 samples and tested on 134,000 samples. The samples were collected and prepared by The National Transport Infrastructure Company. The predicted results yielded satisfactory compliance with field measurements. The proposed model predicted PCI values with relatively low standard deviations, suggesting that it could be incorporated into the PMS for PCI determination. It is worth mentioning that the most influencing variables for PCI prediction are damages related to alligator cracking, swelling, rutting, and potholes.

Keywords: artificial neural networks, computer programming, pavement condition index, pavement management, performance prediction

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Authors: Rachmat Mauludin, Nurmazidah

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Background and purpose: Famotidine is an H2 receptor blocker. Absorption orally is rapid enough, but famotidine can be degraded by stomach acid causing dose reduction until 35.8% after 50 minutes. This drug also undergoes first-pass metabolism which reduced its bio availability only until 40-50%. To overcome these problems, Solid Lipid Nano particles (SLNs) as alternative delivery systems can be formulated. SLNs is a lipid-based drug delivery technology with 50-1000 nm particle size, where the drug incorporated into the bio compatible lipids and the lipid particles are stabilized using appropriate stabilizers. When the particle size is 200 nm or below, lipid containing famotidine can be absorbed through the lymphatic vessels to the subclavian vein, so first-pass metabolism can be avoided. Method: Famotidine SLNs with various compositions of stabilizer was prepared using a high-speed homogenization and sonication method. Then, the particle size distribution, zeta potential, entrapment efficiency, particle morphology and in vitro release profiles were evaluated. Optimization of sonication time also carried out. Result: Particle size of SLN by Particle Size Analyzer was in range 114.6 up to 455.267 nm. Ultrasonicated SLNs within 5 minutes generated smaller particle size than SLNs which was ultrasonicated for 10 and 15 minutes. Entrapment efficiency of SLNs were 74.17 up to 79.45%. Particle morphology of the SLNs was spherical and distributed individually. Release study of Famotidine revealed that in acid medium, 28.89 up to 80.55% of famotidine could be released after 2 hours. Nevertheless in basic medium, famotidine was released 40.5 up to 86.88% in the same period. Conclusion: The best formula was SLNs which stabilized by 4% Poloxamer 188 and 1 % Span 20, that had particle size 114.6 nm in diameter, 77.14% famotidine entrapped, and the particle morphology was spherical and distributed individually. SLNs with the best drug release profile was SLNs which stabilized by 4% Eudragit L 100-55 and 1% Tween 80 which had released 36.34 % in pH 1.2 solution, and 74.13% in pH 7.4 solution after 2 hours. The optimum sonication time was 5 minutes.

Keywords: famotodine, SLN, high speed homogenization, particle size, release study

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Authors: Mahdi PourAsghar, Abbas Mas'udzadeh, Abdulhakim Tirgari, Saeed Dabiri Roushan, Hooman Rashidi, Fariba Salehi

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Objective: One of the major objectives in sports areas is to achieve maximum athletic performance. Physical and psychological preparations are the basic factors for achieving maximum performance in athletes. Unfortunately, in the field of physical preparation, we can see maximum attention and planning of trainers and sports officials. But despite the importance of psychological preparation of athletes and its serious and profound effect on athletic performance, the results of sports competitions show that less attention is paid to this topic, and it is less under the control of counselors and psychologists in different areas of our sport. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the attitude of athletes and coaches to sport psychology. Materials and methods: A descriptive study with a sample size of 234 elite athletes and 216 skilled coaches was conducted in different areas of sports, in Sari, Mazandaran in 2015.The instrument was a questionnaire consisting of two parts of demographic data and Martin questionnaire, assessing the attitude to sport psychology. The data from this study were analyzed using Spss version 18, descriptive statistics tests, and Chi-square test. Results: In this study, positive attitudes of participants in need and confidence towards sport psychology consultation in athletes and coaches group were 55/1 and 56/5 percent, respectively. The positive attitude of female athletes in belief to psychology consultation was more than male athletes. Athletes with higher education had more positive attitude towards the presence of psychologists and psychiatrists in fields of sports. Conclusion: According to the findings based on the need to the psychology consultation in different areas of sports, it is recommended that through training of specialists in the field of sport psychology and review of sports programs in different fields of sports, the presence of these counselors to maintain the psychological preparation of athletes to achieve maximum athletic performance and reduce anxiety and stress be used.

Keywords: Keywords: Athletes, Eliteathletes, Coaches, Attitude, Sport psychology.

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Authors: Jieh-Jiuh Wang

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Disasters happen frequently due to the global climate changes today. The cultural heritage conservation should be considered from the perspectives of surrounding environments and large-scale disasters. Most current thoughts about the disaster prevention of cultural heritages in Taiwan are single-point thoughts emphasizing firefighting, decay prevention, and construction reinforcement and ignoring the whole concept of the environment. The traditional conservation cannot defend against more and more tremendous and frequent natural disasters caused by climate changes. More and more cultural heritages are confronting the high risk of disasters. This study adopts the perspective of risk identification and takes flood as the main disaster category. It analyzes the amount and categories of cultural heritages that might suffer from disasters with the geographic information system integrating the latest flooding potential data from National Fire Agency and Water Resources Agency and the basic data of cultural heritages. It examines the actual risk of cultural heritages confronting floods and serves as the accordance for future considerations of risk measures and preparation for reducing disasters. The result of the study finds the positive relationship between the disaster affected situation of national cultural heritages and the rainfall intensity. The order of impacted level by floods is historical buildings, historical sites indicated by municipalities and counties, and national historical sites and relics. However, traditional settlements and cultural landscapes are not impacted. It might be related to the taboo space in the traditional culture of site selection (concepts of disaster avoidance). As for the regional distribution on the other hand, cultural heritages in central and northern Taiwan suffer from more shocking floods, while the heritages in northern and eastern Taiwan suffer from more serious flooding depth.

Keywords: cultural heritage, flood, preventive conservation, risk management

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Authors: T. Nishimura, K. Doi, H. Fujimoto, Y. Hoshikawa, T. Wada

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In Japan, it is expected that reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities will progress further. In particular, there is an urgent need to enhance information support for visually impaired persons who have difficulty accessing information. Recently, tactile symbols have been attached to various surfaces, such as the content labels of containers and packaging of various everyday products. The advantage of tactile symbols is that they are useful for visually impaired persons who cannot read Braille. The method of displaying tactile symbols is prescribed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). However, the quantitative data on the shapes and dimensions of tactile symbols is insufficient. In this study, through an evaluation experiments, we examine the easy-to-distinguish shapes and dimensions of tactile symbols used for various applications, including the content labels on containers and packaging. Visually impaired persons participated in the experiments. They used tactile symbols on a daily basis. The details and processes of the experiments were orally explained to the participants prior to the experiments, and the informed consent of the participants was obtained. They were instructed to touch the test pieces of tactile symbols freely with both hands. These tactile symbols were selected because they were likely to be easily distinguishable symbols on the content labels of top surfaces of containers and packaging based on a hearing survey that involved employees of an organization of visually impaired and a social welfare corporation, as well as academic experts of support technology for visually impaired. The participants then answered questions related to ease of distinguishing of tactile symbols on a scale of 5 (where 1 corresponded to ‘difficult to distinguish’ and 5 corresponded to ‘easy to distinguish’). Hearing surveys were also performed in an oral free answer manner with the participants after the experiments. This study revealed the shapes and dimensions regarding easily distinguishable tactile symbols attached to containers and packaging. We expect that this knowledge contributes to improvement of the quality of life of visually impaired persons.

Keywords: visual impairment, accessible design, tactile symbol, containers and packaging

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Authors: Gordana Branković, Vesna Dragičević, Dejan Dodig, Desimir Knežević, Srbislav Denčić, Gordana Šurlan-Momirović

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Phytic acid is a major pool in the flux of phosphorus through agroecosystems and represents a sum equivalent to > 50% of all phosphorus fertilizer used annually. Nutrition rich in phytic acid can substantially decrease micronutrients apsorption as calcium, zink, iron, manganese, copper due to phytate salts excretion by human and non-ruminant animals as poultry, swine and fish, having in common very scarce phytase activity, and consequently the ability to digest and utilize phytic acid, thus phytic acid derived phosphorus in animal waste contributes to water pollution. The tested accessions consisted of 15 genotypes of bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L. ssp. vulgare) and of 15 genotypes of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). The trials were sown at the three test sites in Serbia: Rimski Šančevi (RS) (45º19´51´´N; 19º50´59´´E), Zemun Polje (ZP) (44º52´N; 20º19´E) and Padinska Skela (PS) (44º57´N 20º26´E) during two vegetation seasons 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The experimental design was randomized complete block design with four replications. The elementary plot consisted of 3 internal rows of 0.6 m2 area (3 × 0.2 m × 1 m). Grains were grinded with Laboratory Mill 120 Perten (“Perten”, Sweden) (particles size < 500 μm) and flour was used for the analysis. Phytic acid grain content was determined spectrophotometrically with the Shimadzu UV-1601 spectrophotometer (Shimadzu Corporation, Japan). Objectives of this study were to determine: i) variability and stability of the phytic acid content among selected genotypes of bread and durum wheat, ii) predominant source of variation regarding genotype (G), environment (E) and genotype × environment interaction (GEI) from the multi-environment trial, iii) influence of climatic variables on the GEI for the phytic acid content. Based on the analysis of variance it had been determined that the variation of phytic acid content was predominantly influenced by environment in durum wheat, while the GEI prevailed for the variation of the phytic acid content in bread wheat. Phytic acid content expressed on the dry mass basis was in the range 14.21-17.86 mg g-1 with the average of 16.05 mg g-1 for bread wheat and 14.63-16.78 mg g-1 with the average of 15.91 mg g-1 for durum wheat. Average-environment coordination view of the genotype by environment (GGE) biplot was used for the selection of the most desirable genotypes for breeding for low phytic acid content in the sense of good stability and lower level of phytic acid content. The most desirable genotypes of bread and durum wheat for breeding for phytic acid were Apache and 37EDUYT /07 No. 7849. Models of climatic factors in the highest percentage (> 91%) were useful in interpreting GEI for phytic acid content, and included relative humidity in June, sunshine hours in April, mean temperature in April and winter moisture reserves for genotypes of bread wheat, as well as precipitation in June and April, maximum temperature in April and mean temperature in June for genotypes of durum wheat.

Keywords: genotype × environment interaction, phytic acid, stability, variability

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Authors: S. N. C. M. Dias, Niels Schuetze, Franz Lennartz

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The current focus in irrigated agriculture will move from maximizing crop production per unit area towards maximizing the crop production per unit amount of water (water productivity) used. At the same time, inadequate water supply or deficit irrigation will be the only solution to cope with water scarcity in the near future. Soil matric potential based irrigation plays an important role in such deficit irrigated agriculture to grow any crop including rice. Rice as the staple food for more than half of the world population, grows mainly under flooded conditions. It requires more water compared to other upland cereals. A major amount of this water is used in the land preparation and is lost at field level due to evaporation, deep percolation, and seepage. A field experimental study was conducted in the experimental premises of rice research and development institute of Sri Lanka in Kurunegala district to estimate the water productivity of rice under deficit irrigation. This paper presents the feasibility of improving current irrigation management in rice cultivation under water scarce conditions. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with four different irrigation treatments with three replicates. Irrigation treatments were based on soil matric potential threshold values. Treatment W0 was maintained between 60-80mbars. W1 was maintained between 80-100mbars. Other two dry treatments W2 and W3 were maintained at 100-120 mbar and 120 -140 mbar respectively. The sprinkler system was used to irrigate each plot individually upon reaching the maximum threshold value in respective treatment. Treatments were imposed two weeks after seed establishment and continued until two weeks before physiological maturity. Fertilizer applications, weed management, and other management practices were carried out per the local recommendations. Weekly plant growth measurements, daily climate parameters, soil parameters, soil tension values, and water content were measured throughout the growing period. Highest plant growth and grain yield (5.61t/ha) were observed in treatment W2 followed by W0, W1, and W3 in comparison to the reference yield (5.23t/ha) of flooded rice grown in the study area. Water productivity was highest in W3. Concerning the irrigation water savings, grain yield, and water productivity together, W2 showed the better performance. Rice grown under unsaturated conditions (W2) shows better performance compared to the continuously saturated conditions(W0). In conclusion, soil matric potential based irrigation is a promising practice in irrigation management in rice. Higher irrigation water savings can be achieved in this method. This strategy can be applied to a wide range of locations under different climates and soils. In future studies, higher soil matric potential values can be applied to evaluate the maximum possible values for rice to get higher water savings at minimum yield losses.

Keywords: irrigation, matric potential, rice, water scarcity

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Authors: Giulio Nisoli, Jonas Brüngger, Karin Hostettler, Nicole Stoller, Katrin Fischer

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Technical operators in the railway domain are experts responsible for the supervisory control of the railway power grid as well as of the railway tunnels. The technical systems used to master these demanding tasks are constantly increasing in their degree of automation. It becomes therefore difficult for technical operators to maintain the control over the technical systems and the processes of their job. In particular, the operators must have the necessary experience and knowledge in dealing with a malfunction situation or unexpected event. For this reason, it is of growing importance that the skills relevant for the execution of the job are maintained and further developed beyond the basic training they receive, where they are educated in respect of technical knowledge and the work with guidelines. Training methods aimed at improving the cognitive skills needed by technical operators are still missing and must be developed. Goals of the present study were to identify which are the relevant cognitive skills of technical operators in the railway domain and to define which topics should be addressed by the training of these skills. Observational interviews were conducted in order to identify the main tasks and the organization of the work of technical operators as well as the technical systems used for the execution of their job. Based on this analysis, the most demanding tasks of technical operators could be identified and described. The cognitive skills involved in the execution of these tasks are those, which need to be trained. In order to identify and analyze these cognitive skills a cognitive task analysis (CTA) was developed. CTA specifically aims at identifying the cognitive skills that employees implement when performing their own tasks. The identified cognitive skills of technical operators were summarized and grouped in training topics. For every training topic, specific goals were defined. The goals regard the three main categories; knowledge, skills and attitude to be trained in every training topic. Based on the results of this study, it is possible to develop specific training methods to train the relevant cognitive skills of the technical operators.

Keywords: cognitive skills, cognitive task analysis, technical operators in the railway domain, training topics

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Authors: Asrat M.Belachew, Tiago Pereira, Institute of Mathematics, Computer Sciences, Avenida Trabalhador São Carlense, 400, São Carlos, 13566-590, Brazil

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Infectious diseases are among the most prominent threats to human beings. They cause morbidity and mortality to an individual and collapse the social, economic, and political systems of the whole world collectively. Mathematical models are fundamental tools and provide a comprehensive understanding of how infectious diseases spread and designing the control strategy to mitigate infectious diseases from the host population. Modeling the spread of infectious diseases using a compartmental model of inhomogeneous populations is good in terms of complexity. However, in the real world, there is a situation that accounts for heterogeneity, such as ages, locations, and contact patterns of the population which are ignored in a homogeneous setting. In this work, we study how classical an SEIR infectious disease spreading of the compartmental model can be extended by incorporating the mobility of population between heterogeneous cities during an outbreak of infectious disease. We have formulated an SEIR multi-cities epidemic spreading model using a system of 4k ordinary differential equations to describe the disease transmission dynamics in k-cities during the day and night. We have shownthat the model is epidemiologically (i.e., variables have biological interpretation) and mathematically (i.e., a unique bounded solution exists all the time) well-posed. We constructed the next-generation matrix (NGM) for the model and calculated the basic reproduction number R0for SEIR-epidemic spreading model with cities mobility. R0of the disease depends on the spectral radius mobility operator, and it is a threshold between asymptotic stability of the disease-free equilibrium and disease persistence. Using the eigenvalue perturbation theorem, we showed that sending a fraction of the population between cities decreases the reproduction number of diseases in interconnected cities. As a result, disease transmissiondecreases in the population.

Keywords: SEIR-model, mathematical model, city mobility, epidemic spreading

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Authors: Zhi-Wei Zheng, Zhong-Qi Liu, Jia-Ling Qiu, Shan-Qing Guo, Zhong-Wei Jia, Chun Hao

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Objectives: The purpose of this study was to understand and examine the association between diurnal mood variation and sexual/health-related status among men who have sex with men (MSM) using data from MSM Chinese Twitter messages. The study consists of 843,745 postings of 377,610 MSM users located in Guangdong that were culled from the MSM Chinese Twitter App. Positive affect, negative affect, sexual related behaviors, and health-related status were measured using the Simplified Chinese Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count. Emotions, including joy, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust were measured using the Weibo Basic Mood Lexicon. A positive sentiment score and a positive emotions score were also calculated. Linear regression models based on a permutation test were used to assess associations between affective states and sexual/health-related status. In the results, 5,871 active MSM users and their 477,374 postings were finally selected. MSM expressed positive affect and joy at 8 a.m. and expressed negative affect and negative emotions between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. In addition, 25.1% of negative postings were directly related to health and 13.4% reported seeking social support during that sensitive period. MSM who were senior, educated, overweight or obese, self-identified as performing a versatile sex role, and with less followers, more followers, and less chat groups mainly expressed more negative affect and negative emotions. MSM who talked more about sexual-related behaviors had a higher positive sentiment score (β=0.29, p < 0.001) and a higher positive emotions score (β = 0.16, p < 0.001). MSM who reported more on their health status had a lower positive sentiment score (β = -0.83, p < 0.001) and a lower positive emotions score (β = -0.37, p < 0.001). The study concluded that psychological intervention based on an app for MSM should be conducted, as it may improve mental health.

Keywords: affect, men who have sex with men, sexual related behavior, health-related status, social media

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