Search results for: results validation

Authors: Yuji Fujino, Kazu Amimoto, Kazuhiro Fukata, Masahide Inoue, Hidetoshi Takahashi, Shigeru Makita

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Aim: Pusher behavior (PB) is a disorder in which stroke patients shift their body weight toward the affected side of the body (the hemiparetic side) and push away from the non-hemiparetic side. These patients often use further pushing to resist any attempts to correct their position to upright. It is known that the subcortical white matter lesion (SWML) usually correlates of gait or balance function in stroke patients. However, it is unclear whether the SWML influences PB. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the damage of SWML affects the severity of PB on acute stroke patients. Methods: Fourteen PB patients without thalamic or cortical lesions (mean age 73.4 years, 17.5 days from onset) participated in this study. Evaluation of PB was performed according to the Scale for Contraversive Pushing (SCP) for sitting and/or standing. We used modified criteria wherein the SCP subscale scores in each section of the scale were >0. As a clinical measurement, patients were evaluated by the Stroke Impairment Assessment Set (SIAS). For the depiction of SWML, we used T2-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery imaging. The degree of damage on SWML was assessed using the Fazekas scale. Patients were divided into two groups in the presence of SWML (SWML+ group; Fazekas scale grade 1-3, SWML- group; Fazekas scale grade 0). The independent t-test was used to compare the SCP and SIAS. This retrospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee. Results: In SWML+ group, the SCP was 3.7±1.0 points (mean±SD), the SIAS was 28.0 points (median). In SWML- group, the SCP was 2.0±0.2 points, and the SIAS was 31.5 points. The SCP was significantly higher in SWML+ group than in SWML- group (p<0.05). The SIAS was not significant in both groups (p>0.05). Discussion: It has been considered that the posterior thalamus is the neural structures that process the afferent sensory signals mediating graviceptive information about upright body orientation in humans. Therefore, many studies reported that PB was typically associated with unilateral lesions of the posterior thalamus. However, the result indicates that these extra-thalamic brain areas also contribute to the network controlling upright body posture. Therefore, SMWL might induce dysfunction through malperfusion in distant thalamic or other structurally intact neural structures. This study had a small sample size. Therefore, future studies should be performed with a large number of PB patients. Conclusion: The present study suggests that SWML can be definitely associated with PB. The patients with SWML may be severely incapacitating.

Keywords: pushing behavior, subcortical white matter lesion, acute phase, stroke

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Authors: Kanogkan Leerojanaprapa

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Textile and garment industry is used to a major exporting industry of Thailand. According to lacking of the nation's price-competitiveness by stopping the EU's GSP (Generalised Scheme of Preferences) and ‘Nationwide Minimum Wage Policy’ that Thailand’s employers must pay all employees at least 300 baht (about $10) a day, the supply chains of the Thai textile and garment industry is affected and need to be reformed. Therefore, either Thai textile or garment industry will be existed or not would be concerned. This is also challenged for the government to decide which industries should be promoted the future industries of Thailand. Recently Thai government launch The Cluster-based Special Economic Development Zones Policy for promoting business cluster (effect on September 16, 2015). They define a cluster as the concentration of interconnected businesses and related institutions that operate within the same geographic areas and textiles and garment is one of target industrial clusters and 9 provinces are targeted (Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Pathom, Ratchaburi, Samut Sakhon, Chonburi, Chachoengsao, Prachinburi, and Sa Kaeo). The cluster zone are defined to link west-east corridor connected to manufacturing source in Cambodia and Mynmar to Bangkok where are promoted to be design, sourcing, and trading hub. The Thai government will provide tax and non-tax incentives for targeted industries within the clusters and expects these businesses are scattered to where they can get the most benefit which will identify future industrial cluster. This research will show the difference between the current cluster and future cluster following the target provinces of the textile and garment. The current cluster is analysed from secondary data. The four characteristics of the numbers of plants in Spinning, weaving and finishing of textiles, Manufacture of made-up textile articles, except apparel, Manufacture of knitted and crocheted fabrics, and Manufacture of other textiles, not elsewhere classified in particular 77 provinces (in total) are clustered by K-means cluster analysis and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis. In addition, the cluster can be confirmed and showed which variables contribute the most to defined cluster solution with ANOVA test. The results of analysis can identify 22 provinces (which the textile or garment plants are located) into 3 clusters. Plants in cluster 1 tend to be large numbers of plants which is only Bangkok, Next plants in cluster 2 tend to be moderate numbers of plants which are Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon and Nakhon Pathom. Finally plants in cluster 3 tend to be little numbers of plants which are other 18 provinces. The same methodology can be implemented in other industries for future study.

Keywords: ANOVA, hierarchical cluster analysis, industrial clusters, K -means cluster analysis, textile and garment industry

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Authors: S. Pradhan, D. Pradhan, G. Tripathy

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Anti-estrogen treatment resistant is a noteworthy reason for disease relapse and mortality in estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)- positive breast cancers. Tamoxifen or estrogen withdrawal increases the dependance of breast malignancy cells on INT3 signaling. Here, we researched the contribution of Quercetin and INT3 signaling in endocrine resistant breast cancer cells. Methods: We utilized two models of endocrine therapies resistant (ETR-) breast cancer: tamoxifen-resistant (TamR) and long term estrogen-deprived (LTED) MCF7 cells. We assessed the migratory and invasive limit of these cells by Transwell assay. Expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) controllers and in addition INT3 receptors and targets were assessed by real-time PCR and western blot analysis. Besides, we tried in vitro anti-Quercetin monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and gamma secretase inhibitors (GSIs) as potential EMT reversal therapeutic agents. At last, we created stable Quercetin over expessing MCF7 cells and assessed their EMT features and response to tamoxifen. Results:We found that ETR cells acquired an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) phenotype and showed expanded levels of Quercetin and INT3 targets. Interestingly, we detected higher level of INT3 however lower levels of INT31 and INT32 proposing a switch to targeting through distinctive INT3 receptors after obtaining of resistance. Anti-Quercetin monoclonal antibodies and the GSI PF03084014 were effective in obstructing the Quercetin/INT3 axis and in part inhibiting the EMT process. As a consequence of this, cell migration and invasion were weakened and the stem cell like population was considerably decreased. Genetic hushing of Quercetin and INT3 prompted proportionate impacts. Finally, stable overexpression of Quercetin was adequate to make MCF7 lethargic to tamoxifen by INT3 activation. Conclusions: ETR cells express abnormal amounts of Quercetin and INT3, whose actuation eventually drives invasive conduct. Anti-Quercetin mAbs and GSI PF03084014 lessen expression of EMT molecules decreasing cellular invasiveness. Quercetin overexpression instigates tamoxifen resistance connected to obtaining of EMT phenotype. Our discovering propose that focusing on Quercetin and/or INT3 warrants further clinical assessment as substantial therapeutic methodologies in endocrine-resistant breast cancer.

Keywords: quercetin, INT3, mesenchymal transition, MCF7 breast cancer cells

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Authors: Rui Wang, Luodi Yu, Dan Huang, Hsuan-Chih Chen, Yang Zhang, Suiping Wang

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Enhanced discrimination of pure tones but diminished discrimination of speech pitch (i.e., lexical tone) were found in children with autism who speak a tonal language (Mandarin), suggesting a speech-specific impairment of pitch perception in these children. However, in tonal languages, both lexical tone and vowel are phonemic cues and integrally dependent on each other. Therefore, it is unclear whether the presence of phonemic vowel dimension contributes to the observed lexical tone deficits in Mandarin-speaking children with autism. The current study employed a multi-feature oddball paradigm to examine how vowel and tone dimensions contribute to the neural responses for syllable change detection and involuntary attentional orienting in school-age Mandarin-speaking children with autism. In the oddball sequence, syllable /da1/ served as the standard stimulus. There were three deviant stimulus conditions, representing tone-only change (TO, /da4/), vowel-only change (VO, /du1/), and change of tone and vowel simultaneously (TV, /du4/). EEG data were collected from 25 children with autism and 20 age-matched normal controls during passive listening to the stimulation. For each deviant condition, difference waveform measuring mismatch negativity (MMN) was derived from subtracting the ERP waveform to the standard sound from that to the deviant sound for each participant. Additionally, the linear summation of TO and VO difference waveforms was compared to the TV difference waveform, to examine whether neural sensitivity for TV change detection reflects simple summation or nonlinear integration of the two individual dimensions. The MMN results showed that the autism group had smaller amplitude compared with the control group in the TO and VO conditions, suggesting impaired discriminative sensitivity for both dimensions. In the control group, amplitude of the TV difference waveform approximated the linear summation of the TO and VO waveforms only in the early time window but not in the late window, suggesting a time course from dimensional summation to nonlinear integration. In the autism group, however, the nonlinear TV integration was already present in the early window. These findings suggest that speech perception atypicality in children with autism rests not only in the processing of single phonemic dimensions, but also in the dimensional integration process.

Keywords: autism, event-related potentials , mismatch negativity, speech perception

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Authors: Mekroud Amel

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Introduction The rate of use by the elderly of emergency departments, operating rooms and intensive care units has increased worldwide. Emergency surgery is a context where evaluation is often insufficient, with incomplete information gathering. The aim of this work is to shed light on the frequent use of emergency surgeries by the elderly and their characteristics, as well as on the lack of geriatric assessment scores in the emergency room. Material : Prospective, observational and descriptive, monocentric study. Patients aged 65 and over, admitted for emergency surgery in the operating room, were counted. Emergency operating room including visceral surgery, urology, traumatology and neurosurgery. Parameters studied: Patient characteristics, degree of autonomy, type of surgical pathology, operative management times, preoperative evaluation, postoperative outcome Results : 192 patients were identified over 12 months, from 09.01.2017 to 08.31.2018 Age from 65 to 101 years, 79.81 years +/- 8.38. With predominance of the age group between [65-75 years] 41.1% Female predominance, Sexratio = 0.81 Elderly subjects with total motor autonomy are in the majority at 57.8% Subjects without pathological ATCD represent 12.5% of cases Those who are on only one type of medication or without any treatment are at 36.9% Discussion : The emergency operative care of the elderly patient for a surgical or traumatological pathology is characterized by many specificities linked first to the emergency context, where the evaluation is often insufficient, besides the fact that the elderly patient has particularities requiring reception in centers with experience in the care of this category of patient, or, failing that, a center which uses the minimum of geriatric evaluation scores which are simplified for the emergency departments. In our hospital, we have not yet made this evaluation routine in the emergency room and this delay in the introduction of these scores can be directly attributed to the covid 19 pandemic. Besides the standard preoperative assessment, only 43.2% of patients were assessed in the preoperative period by an anesthesiologist. Traumatological emergencies come first 68.2% followed by visceral emergencies 19.2% (including proctological, urological emergencies), neurosurgical emergencies 7.8% and finally peripheral emergency surgery all acts combined 4.7%. Hospital stay at 9.6 +/- 16.8 days, average operability time of 4.5 +/- 3 days. Death rate at 7.29% Conclusion This work has demonstrated the major impact of emergency surgery, which remains curable for the most part, on the elderly patient despite total motor and cognitive autonomy preoperatively. The improvement of the preoperative evaluation, the reduction of the operating time and enhanced recovery after surgery, with personalized protocols, are the only guarantee for the resumption of preoperative autonomy in these patients.

Keywords: emergency surgery, elderly patients, preoperative geriatric scores, curable emergency surgical pathologies

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Authors: Saif Alomari

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The paper aims at giving physical and mathematical descriptions of how the structural parameters of a resonant tunnelling diode (RTD) affect its output characteristics. Specifically, the value of the peak voltage, peak current, peak to valley current ratio (PVCR), and the difference between peak and valley voltages and currents ΔV and ΔI. A simulation-based approach using the Non-Equilibrium Green Function (NEGF) formalism based on the Silvaco ATLAS simulator is employed to conduct a series of designed experiments. These experiments show how the doping concentration in the emitter and collector layers, their thicknesses, and the width of the barriers and the quantum well influence the above-mentioned output characteristics. Each of these parameters was systematically changed while holding others fixed in each set of experiments. Factorial experiments are outside the scope of this work and will be investigated in future. The physics involved in the operation of the device is thoroughly explained and mathematical models based on curve fitting and underlaying physical principles are deduced. The models can be used to design devices with predictable output characteristics. These models were found absent in the literature that the author acanned. Results show that the doping concentration in each region has an effect on the value of the peak voltage. It is found that increasing the carrier concentration in the collector region shifts the peak to lower values, whereas increasing it in the emitter shifts the peak to higher values. In the collector’s case, the shift is either controlled by the built-in potential resulting from the concentration gradient or the conductivity enhancement in the collector. The shift to higher voltages is found to be also related to the location of the Fermi-level. The thicknesses of these layers play a role in the location of the peak as well. It was found that increasing the thickness of each region shifts the peak to higher values until a specific characteristic length, afterwards the peak becomes independent of the thickness. Finally, it is shown that the thickness of the barriers can be optimized for a particular well width to produce the highest PVCR or the highest ΔV and ΔI. The location of the peak voltage is important in optoelectronic applications of RTDs where the operating point of the device is usually the peak voltage point. Furthermore, the PVCR, ΔV, and ΔI are of great importance for building RTD-based oscillators as they affect the frequency response and output power of the oscillator.

Keywords: peak to valley ratio, peak voltage shift, resonant tunneling diodes, structural parameters

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Authors: Luz Stella Cadavid-Rodriguez, Viviana E. Castro-Lopez

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Fish waste (FW) has a high content of potentially biodegradable components, so it is amenable to be digested anaerobically. In this line, anaerobic digestion (AD) of FW has been studied for biogas production. Nevertheless, intermediate products such as volatile fatty acids (VFA), generated during the acidogenic stage, have been scarce investigated, even though they have a high potential as a renewable source of carbon. In the literature, there are few studies about the Inoculum-Substrate (I/S) ratio on acidogenesis. On the other hand, it is well known that pH is a critical factor in the production of VFA. The optimum pH for the production of VFA seems to change depending on the substrate and can vary in a range between 5.25 and 11. Nonetheless, the literature about VFA production from protein-rich waste, such as FW, is scarce. In this context, it is necessary to deepen on the determination of the optimal operating conditions of acidogenic fermentation for VFA production from protein-rich waste. Therefore, the aim of this research was to optimize the volatile fatty acid production from artisanal fishing waste, studying the effect of pH and the I/S ratio on the acidogenic process. For this research, the inoculum used was a methanogenic sludge (MS) obtained from a UASB reactor treating wastewater of a slaughterhouse plant, and the FW was collected in the port of Tumaco (Colombia) from the local artisanal fishers. The acidogenic fermentation experiments were conducted in batch mode, in 500 mL glass bottles as anaerobic reactors, equipped with rubber stoppers provided with a valve to release biogas. The effective volume used was 300 mL. The experiments were carried out for 15 days at a mesophilic temperature of 37± 2 °C and constant agitation of 200 rpm. The effect of 3 pH levels: 5, 7, 9, coupled with five I/S ratios, corresponding to 0.20, 0.15, 0.10, 0.05, 0.00 was evaluated taking as a response variable the production of VFA. A complete randomized block design was selected for the experiments in a 5x3 factorial arrangement, with two repetitions per treatment. At the beginning and during the process, pH in the experimental reactors was adjusted to the corresponding values of 5, 7, and 9 using 1M NaOH or 1M H2SO4, as was appropriated. In addition, once the optimum I/S ratio was determined, the process was evaluated at this condition without pH control. The results indicated that pH is the main factor in the production of VFA, obtaining the highest concentration with neutral pH. By reducing the I/S ratio, as low as 0.05, it was possible to maximize VFA production. Thus, the optimum conditions found were natural pH (6.6-7.7) and I/S ratio of 0.05, with which it was possible to reach a maximum total VFA concentration of 70.3 g Ac/L, whose major components were acetic acid (35%) and butyric acid (32%). The findings showed that the acidogenic fermentation of FW is an efficient way of producing VFA and that the operating conditions can be simple and economical.

Keywords: acidogenesis, artisanal fishing waste, inoculum to substrate ratio, volatile fatty acids

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Authors: Naomi Sakamoto, Eisuke Fukuma, Mika Nashimoto, Yoshitomo Koshida

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Background: Selective localization of the metastatic lymph node with clip and removal of clipped nodes with sentinel lymph node (SLN), known as targeted axillary dissection (TAD), reduced false-negative rates (FNR) of SLN biopsy (SLNB) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). For the patients who achieved nodal pathologic complete response (pCR), accurate staging of axilla by TAD lead to omit axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), decreasing postoperative arm morbidity without a negative effect on overall survival. This study aimed to investigate the ultrasound (US) identification rate and success removal rate of two kinds of ultrasound-visible clips placed in metastatic lymph nodes during TAD procedure. Methods: This prospective study was conducted using patients with clinically T1-3, N1, 2, M0 breast cancer undergoing NAC followed by surgery. A US-visible clip was placed in the suspicious lymph node under US guidance before neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Before surgery, US examination was performed to evaluate the detection rate of clipped node. During the surgery, the clipped node was removed using several localization techniques, including hook-wire localization, dye-injection, or fluorescence technique, followed by a dual-technique SLNB and resection of palpable nodes if present. For the fluorescence technique, after injection of 0.1-0.2 mL of indocyanine green dye (ICG) into the clipped node, ICG fluorescent imaging was performed using the Photodynamic Eye infrared camera (Hamamatsu Photonics k. k., Shizuoka, Japan). For the dye injection method, 0.1-0.2 mL of pyoktanin blue dye was injected into the clipped node. Results: A total of 29 patients were enrolled. Hydromark™ breast biopsy site markers (Hydromark, T3 shape; Devicor Medical Japan, Tokyo, Japan) was used in 15patients, whereas a UltraCor™ Twirl™ breast marker (Twirl; C.R. Bard, Inc, NJ, USA) was placed in 14 patients. US identified the clipped node marked with the UltraCore Twirl in 100% (14/14) and with the Hydromark in 93.3% (14/15, p = ns). Success removal of clipped node marked with the UltraCore Twirl was achieved in 100% (14/14), whereas the node marked with the Hydromark was removed in 80% (12/15) (p = ns). Conclusions: The ultrasound identification rate differed between the two types of ultrasound-visible clips, which also affected the success removal rate of clipped nodes. Labelling the positive node with a US-highly-visible clip allowed successful TAD.

Keywords: breast cancer, neoadjuvant chemotherapy, targeted axillary dissection, breast tissue marker, clip

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Authors: Masilonyane Mokhele

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Across the world, different planning models of the so-called airport-led developments are becoming bandwagons hailed as key to the future of cities. However, in the existing knowledge, there is paucity of empirically informed description and explanation of the economic fundamentals driving the forces of attraction of airports. This void is arguably a result of the absence of an appropriate theoretical framework to guide the analyses. Given this paucity, the aim of the paper is to contribute towards a theoretical framework that could be used to describe and explain forces that drive the location and mix of airport-centric developments. Towards achieving this aim, the objectives of the paper are: one, to establish the type of economic activities that are located on and around O.R. Tambo International Airport (ORTIA), and analyse the reasons for locating there; two, to establish changes that have occurred over time in the form of the airport-centric development of ORTIA; three, to identify the propulsive economic qualities of ORTIA; four, to analyse the spatial, economic and structural linkages within the airport-centric development of ORTIA, between the airport-centric development and the airport, as well as the airport-centric development’s linkages with their metropolitan area and other regional, national and international airport-centric developments and locations. To address the objectives above, the study adopted a case study approach, centred on ORTIA in South Africa: Africa’s busiest airport in terms of passengers and airfreight handled. Using a lens of location theory, a survey was adopted as a main research method, wherein telephonic interviews were conducted with a representative number of firms on and around ORTIA. Other data collection methods encompassed in-depth qualitative interviews (to augment the information obtained through the survey) and analysis of secondary information, particularly as regards establishing changes that have occurred in the form of ORTIA and surrounds. From the empirical findings, ORTIA was discovered to have propulsive economic qualities that act as significant forces of attraction in the clustering of firms. Together with its airport-centric development, ORTIA was discovered to have growth pole properties because of the linkages that occur within the study area, and the linkages that exist between the airport-centric firms and the airport. It was noted that the transport-oriented firms (typified by couriers and freight carriers) act as anchors in some fellow airport-centric firms making use of elements of urbanisation economies, particularly as regards the use of the airport for airfreight services. The empirical findings presented in the paper (in conjunction with results from other airport-centric development case studies) could be used as contribution towards extending theory that describes and explains forces that drive the location and mix of airport-centric developments.

Keywords: airports, airport-centric development, O. R. Tambo international airport, South Africa

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Authors: María José Patiño-Ropero, Manuel Alcamí, Al Mokhtar Lamsabhi, José Luis Alonso-Prados, Pilar Sandín-España

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Tralkoxydim, commercialized under different trade names, among them Splendor® (25% active ingredient), is a cyclohexanedione herbicide used in wheat and barley fields for the post-emergence control of annual winter grass weeds. Due to their physicochemical properties, herbicides belonging to this family are known to be susceptible to reaching natural waters, where different degradation pathways can take place. Photolysis represents one of the main routes of abiotic degradation of these herbicides in water. This transformation pathway can lead to the formation of unknown by-products, which could be more toxic and/or persistent than the active substances themselves. Therefore, there is a growing need to understand the science behind such dissipation routes, which is key to estimating the persistence of these compounds and ensuring the accurate assessment of environmental behavior. However, to our best knowledge, any information regarding the photochemical behavior of tralkoxydim under natural conditions in an aqueous environment has not been available till now in the literature. This work has focused on investigating the photochemical behavior of tralkoxydim herbicide and its commercial formulation (Splendor®) in the ultrapure, river and spring water using simulated solar radiation. Besides, the evolution of detected degradation products formed in the samples has been studied. A reversed-phase HPLC-DAD (high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector) method was developed to evaluate the kinetic evolution and to obtain the half-lives. In both cases, the degradation rates of active ingredient tralkoxydim in natural waters were lower than in ultrapure water following the order; river water < spring water < ultrapure water, and with first-order half-life values of 5.1 h, 2.7 h and 1.1 h, respectively. These findings indicate that the photolytical behavior of active ingredients is largely affected by the water composition, and these components can exert an internal filter effect. In addition, tralkoxydim herbicide and its formulation showed the same half-lives for each one of the types of water studied, showing that the presence of adjuvants in the commercial formulation has not any effect on the degradation rates of the active ingredient. HPLC-MS (high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry) experiments were performed to study the by-products deriving from the photodegradation of tralkoxydim in water. Accordingly, three compounds were tentatively identified. These results provide a better understanding of the tralkoxydim herbicide behavior in natural waters and its fate in the environment.

Keywords: by-products, natural waters, photodegradation, tralkoxydim herbicide

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Authors: Gabriel Montague, Max Vilgalys, Catherine H. Crawford, Jorge Ortiz, Dava Newman

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There has never been so much publicly accessible atmospheric and environmental data. The possibilities of these data are exciting, but the sheer volume of available datasets represents a new challenge for researchers. The task of identifying and working with a new dataset has become more difficult with the amount and variety of available data. Datasets are often documented in ways that differ substantially from the common English used to describe the same topics. This presents a barrier not only for new scientists, but for researchers looking to find comparisons across multiple datasets or specialists from other disciplines hoping to collaborate. This paper proposes a method for addressing this obstacle: creating a knowledge graph to bridge the gap between everyday English language and the technical language surrounding these datasets. Knowledge graph generation is already a well-established field, although there are some unique challenges posed by working with Earth data. One is the sheer size of the databases – it would be infeasible to replicate or analyze all the data stored by an organization like The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) or the European Space Agency. Instead, this approach identifies topics from metadata available for datasets in NASA’s Earthdata database, which can then be used to directly request and access the raw data from NASA. By starting with a single metadata standard, this paper establishes an approach that can be generalized to different databases, but leaves the challenge of metadata harmonization for future work. Topics generated from the metadata are then linked to topics from a collection of English queries through a variety of standard and custom natural language processing (NLP) methods. The results from this method are then compared to a baseline of elastic search applied to the metadata. This comparison shows the benefits of the proposed knowledge graph system over existing methods, particularly in interpreting natural language queries and interpreting topics in metadata. For the research community, this work introduces an application of NLP to the ecological and environmental sciences, expanding the possibilities of how machine learning can be applied in this discipline. But perhaps more importantly, it establishes the foundation for a platform that can enable common English to access knowledge that previously required considerable effort and experience. By making this public data accessible to the full public, this work has the potential to transform environmental understanding, engagement, and action.

Keywords: earth metadata, knowledge graphs, natural language processing, question-answer systems

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Authors: Sandra Toledo

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There is an increasing tendency in governments for a more evidence-based policy-making and a stricter auditing of public spheres. Especially when budgets are tight, and taxpayers demand a bigger scrutiny over the use of the available resources, statistics and numbers appeared as an effective tool to produce data that supports investments done, as well as evaluating public policy performance. This pressure has not exempted the cultural and art fields. Finland like the rest of Nordic countries has kept its principles from the welfare state, whilst UK seems to be going towards the opposite direction, relaying more and more in private sectors and foundations, as the state folds back. The boom of the creative industries along with a managerial trend introduced by Tatcher in the UK brought, as a result, a commodification of arts within a market logic, where sponsorship and commercial viability were the keynotes. Finland on its part, in spite of following a more protectionist approach of arts, seems to be heading in a similar direction. Additionally, there is an international growing interest in the application of cultural participation studies and the comparability between countries in their results. Nonetheless, the standardization in the application of cultural surveys has not happened yet. Not only there are differences in the application of these type of surveys in terms of time and frequency, but also regarding those conducting them. Therefore, one hypothesis considered in this research is that behind the differences between countries in the application of cultural surveys, production and utilization of cultural statistics is the cultural policy model adopted by the government. In other words, the main goal of this research is to answer the following: What are the differences and similarities between Finland and the UK regarding the role cultural surveys have in cultural policy making? Along with other secondary questions such as: How does the cultural policy model followed by each country influence the role of cultural surveys in cultural policy making? and what are the differences at the local level? In order to answer these questions, strategic cultural policy documents and interviews with key informants will be used and analyzed as source data, using content analysis methods. Cultural statistics per se will not be compared, but instead their use as instruments of governing, and its relation to the cultural policy model. Aspects such as execution of cultural surveys, funding, periodicity, and use of statistics in formal reports and publications, will be studied in the written documents while in the interviews other elements such as perceptions from those involved in collecting cultural statistics or policy making, distribution of tasks and hierarchies among cultural and statistical institutions, and a general view will be the target. A limitation identified beforehand and that it is expected to encounter throughout the process is the language barrier in the case of Finland when it comes to official documents, which will be tackled by interviewing the authors of such papers and choosing key extract of them for translation.

Keywords: Finland, cultural statistics, cultural surveys, United Kingdom

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Authors: Hanouf A. S. Al Nuwaysir, Nadine Moubayed, Abir Ben Bacha, Islem Abid

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Consumption of waste water continues to cause significant problems for human health in both developed and developing countries. Many regulations have been implied by different world authorities controlling water quality for the presence of coliforms used as standard indicators of water quality deterioration and historically leading health protection concept. In this study, the European directive for the detection of Escherichia coli, ISO 9308-1, was applied to examine and monitor coliforms in water samples collected from Wadi Hanifa and neighboring wells, Riyadh governorate, kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is used for irrigation and industrial purposes. Samples were taken from different locations for 8 months consecutively, chlorine concentration ranging from 0.1- 0.4 mg/l, was determined using the DPD FREE CHLORINE HACH kit. Water samples were then analyzed following the ISO protocol which relies on the membrane filtration technique (0.45µm, pore size membrane filter) and a chromogenic medium TTC, a lactose based medium used for the detection and enumeration of total coliforms and E.coli. Data showed that the number of bacterial isolates ranged from 60 to 300 colonies/100ml for well and surface water samples respectively; where higher numbers were attributed to the surface samples. Organisms which apparently ferment lactose on TTC agar plates, appearing as orange colonies, were selected and additionally cultured on EMB and MacConkey agar for a further differentiation among E.coli and coliform bacteria. Two additional biochemical tests (Cytochrome oxidase and indole from tryptophan) were also investigated to detect and differentiate the presence of E.coli from other coliforms, E. coli was identified in an average of 5 to 7colonies among 25 selected colonies.On the other hand, a more rapid, specific and sensitive analytical molecular detection namely single colony PCR was also performed targeting hha gene to sensitively detect E.coli, giving more accurate and time consuming identification of colonies considered presumptively as E.coli. Comparative methodologies, such as ultrafiltration and direct DNA extraction from membrane filters (MoBio, Grermany) were also applied; however, results were not as accurate as the membrane filtration, making it a technique of choice for the detection and enumeration of water coliforms, followed by sufficiently specific enzymatic confirmatory stage.

Keywords: coliform, cytochrome oxidase, hha primer, membrane filtration, single colony PCR

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Authors: Evelyn Asante Yeboah, Kwabena O. Asubonteng, Justice Camillus Mensah, Christine Furst

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Smallholder-dominated mosaic landscapes in rural Africa are relevant for food production, biodiversity conservation, and climate regulation. Land-use transitions threaten the multifunctionality of such landscapes, especially the production capacity of arable lands resulting in food security challenges. Using land-cover maps derived from maximum likelihood classification of Landsat satellite images for the years 2002, 2015, and 2020, post-classification change detection, landscape metrics, and key informant interviews, the study assessed the implications of rubber plantation expansion and oil business development on the food production capacity of Ahanta West District, Ghana. The analysis reveals that settlement and rubber areas expanded by 5.82% and 10.33% of the landscape area, respectively, between 2002 and 2020. This increase translates into over twice their initial sizes (144% in settlement change and 101% in rubber change). Rubber plantation spread dominates the north and southwestern areas, whereas settlement is widespread in the eastern parts of the landscape. Rubber and settlement expanded at the expense of cropland, palm, and shrublands. Land-use transitions between cropland, palm, and shrubland were targeting each other, but the net loss in shrubland was higher (-17.27%). Isolation, subdivision, connectedness, and patch adjacency indices showed patch consolidation in the landscape configuration from 2002 to 2015 and patch fragmentation from 2015 to 2020. The study also found patches with consistent increasing connectivity in settlement areas indicating the influence of oil discovery developments and fragmentation tendencies in rubber, shrubland, cropland, and palm, indicating springing up of smaller rubber farms, the disappearance of shrubland, and splitting up of cropland and palm areas respectively. The results revealed a trend in land-use transitions in favor of smallholder rubber plantation expansion and oil discovery developments, which suggest serious implications on food production systems and poses a risk for food security and landscape multifunctional characteristics. To ensure sustainability in land uses, this paper recommends the enforcement of legislative instruments governing spatial planning and land use in Ghana as embedded in the 2016 land-use and spatial planning act.

Keywords: food production systems, food security, Ghana’s west coast, land-use transitions, multifunctional rural landscapes

Procedia PDF Downloads 148

Authors: B. M. M. D. Mendis, L. I. Rajapaksa, P. S. K. Gunathunga, R. C. Fernando, M. Jayalath

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Background / introduction: During the year 2011, 8511 males received services from the sexual health clinics island wide. At present there is only limited information on the risk behaviours of male attendees. Information on risk behaviours related to STI /HIV transmission is helpful in planning suitable prevention interventions. Aim(s)/objectives: The objectives were to determines the sexual partners (other than the marital partner and regular partners) responsible for transmitting STI( Sexually transmitted infections)/ HIV and to understand the practice of safer sex. Methods: Study was a clinic based prospective study conducted for a one year period using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Results: 983 attendees were interviewed. . Mean age was 34.02 years. 75% of the sample had completed GCE O/L (ordinary level examination). Skilled labourers, drivers and forces/police comprised 40% of the sample. 50% admitted sex with a casual female, 12% with a casual male, and 13% with CSW (commercial sex workers) while MSW (male sex workers) exposures were minimal. It was identified that younger males had more contacts with males, and regular female partners while more older males with CSW. Anal sex among males was reported by 11.5%. 20.5% used alcohol frequently and 5.9% used drugs and 1.4% injected. Common STI were genital herpes (7.9%), Non gonococcal urethritis (6.2%) and gonorrhoea (6.2%). Among those who had contacts with FSW 6.7% gonorrhoea (GC), 8.2% non gonococcal urethritis (NGU), 7.5% genital herpes and 0.7% HIV. Non regular partner exposures 3.7% had gonorrhoea, 8.3% NGU, 6.6% genital herpes and 0.8% HIV. Among MSM contacts 10.6% had GC, 4.5% NGU, 5.3% genital herpes, 5.3% secondary syphilis and 0.8% HIV. Only 9.0% used condoms correctly. Friends, doctors, newspapers, internet, and forces were important sources of information on condoms. Non use of condoms were due to worry about satisfaction (24.6%) and faith in the partner (25.6%). Discussion/conclusion: Casual partners for unsafe sex is a concern. MSM and CSW are remained as an important source of infection. Early Syphilis and gonorrhoea infections were mostly seen among MSM exposures. The findings indicate that the male population in the sample had satisfactory education. However, still the unsafe sexual contacts are common. . Newspapers, internet were more important sources of information on condoms. Low condom use remains another concern.. More males contracted STI through casual partners. Therefore strategies used for prevention need to be revisited also emphasizing on general population where casual partners represent. . Increasing awareness of men and women through mass media and primary health care teams may be important strategies that can be used to keep the HIV epidemic in a low level.

Keywords: STI, HIV, Males, safe sex practices

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Alexander Heckman, Rohan Goswami, Zachi Attia, Paul Friedman, Peter Noseworthy, Demilade Adedinsewo, Pablo Moreno-Franco, Rickey Carter, Tathagat Narula

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Background: Postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is associated with adverse health consequences, higher costs, and longer hospital stays. Utilizing existing predictive models that rely on clinical variables and circulating biomarkers, multiple societies have published recommendations on the treatment and prevention of POAF. Although reasonably practical, there is room for improvement and automation to help individualize treatment strategies and reduce associated complications. Methods and Results: In this retrospective cohort study of solid organ transplant recipients, we evaluated the diagnostic utility of a previously developed AI-based ECG prediction for silent AF on the development of POAF within 30 days of transplant. A total of 2261 non-cardiac transplant patients without a preexisting diagnosis of AF were found to have a 5.8% (133/2261) incidence of POAF. While there were no apparent sex differences in POAF incidence (5.8% males vs. 6.0% females, p=.80), there were differences by race and ethnicity (p<0.001 and 0.035, respectively). The incidence in white transplanted patients was 7.2% (117/1628), whereas the incidence in black patients was 1.4% (6/430). Lung transplant recipients had the highest incidence of postoperative AF (17.4%, 37/213), followed by liver (5.6%, 56/1002) and kidney (3.6%, 32/895) recipients. The AUROC in the sample was 0.62 (95% CI: 0.58-0.67). The relatively low discrimination may result from undiagnosed AF in the sample. In particular, 1,177 patients had at least 1 AI-ECG screen for AF pre-transplant above .10, a value slightly higher than the published threshold of 0.08. The incidence of POAF in the 1104 patients without an elevated prediction pre-transplant was lower (3.7% vs. 8.0%; p<0.001). While this supported the hypothesis that potentially undiagnosed AF may have contributed to the diagnosis of POAF, the utility of the existing AI-ECG screening algorithm remained modest. When the prediction for POAF was made using the first postoperative ECG in the sample without an elevated screen pre-transplant (n=1084 on account of n=20 missing postoperative ECG), the AUROC was 0.66 (95% CI: 0.57-0.75). While this discrimination is relatively low, at a threshold of 0.08, the AI-ECG algorithm had a 98% (95% CI: 97 – 99%) negative predictive value at a sensitivity of 66% (95% CI: 49-80%). Conclusions: This study's principal finding is that the incidence of POAF is rare, and a considerable fraction of the POAF cases may be latent and undiagnosed. The high negative predictive value of AI-ECG screening suggests utility for prioritizing monitoring and evaluation on transplant patients with a positive AI-ECG screening. Further development and refinement of a post-transplant-specific algorithm may be warranted further to enhance the diagnostic yield of the ECG-based screening.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, atrial fibrillation, cardiology, transplant, medicine, ECG, machine learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 137

Authors: Maria Barbano Acevedo-Gomez, Elena Sonsoles Rodriguez-Lopez, Sofia Olivia Calvo-Moreno, Angel Basas-Garcia, Cristophe Ramirez

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Introduction: Urinary incontinence (UI) is defined as the involuntary leakage of urine. In persons who practice sport, its prevalence is 36.1% (95% CI 26.5%-46.8%) and varies as it seems to depend on the intensity of exercise, movements, and impact on the ground. Such high impact sports are likely to generate higher intra-abdominal pressures and leading to pelvic floor muscle weakness. Even though the emphasis of this research is on female athletes, all women should perform pelvic floor muscle exercises as a part of their general physical exercise. Pelvic floor exercises are generally considered the first treatment against urinary incontinence. Objective: The main objective of the present study was to determine the knowledge of the pelvic floor and of the UI in elite athletes and know if they incorporate pelvic floor strengthening in their training. Methods: This was an observational study conducted on 754 elite athletes. After collecting questions about the pelvic floor, UI, and sport-related data, participants completed the questionnaire International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-UI Short-Form (ICIQ-SF). Results: 57.3% of the athletes reflect not having knowledge of their pelvic floor, 48.3% do not know what strengthening exercises are, and around 90% have never practiced them. 78.1% (n=589) of all elite athletes do not include pelvic floor exercises in their training. Of the elite athletes surveyed, 33% had UI according to ICIQ-SF (mean age 23.75 ± 7.74 years). In response to the question 'Do you think you have or have had UI?', Only 9% of the 754 elite athletes admitted they presently had UI, and 13.3% indicated they had had UI at some time. However, 22.7% (n=171) reported they had experienced urine leakage while training. Of the athletes who indicated they did not have UI in the ICIQ-SF, 25.7% stated they did experience urine leakage during training (χ² [1] = 265.56; p < 0.001). Further, 12.3% of the athletes who considered they did not have UI and 60% of those who admitted they had had UI on some occasion stated they had suffered some urine leakage in the past 3 months (χ² [1] = 287.59; p < 0.001). Conclusions: There is a lack of knowledge about UI in sport. Through the use of validated questionnaires, we observed a UI prevalence of 33%, and 22.7% reported they experienced urine leakage while training. These figures contrast with only 9% of athletes who reported they had or had in the past had UI. This discrepancy could reflect the great lack of knowledge about UI in sports and that sometimes an athlete may consider that urine leakage is normal and a consequence of the demands of training. These data support the idea that coaches, physiotherapists, and other professionals involved in maximizing the performance of athletes should include pelvic floor muscle exercises in their training programs. Measures such as this could help to prevent UI during training and could be a starting point for future studies designed to develop adequate prevention and treatment strategies for this embarrassing problem affecting young athletes, both male and female.

Keywords: athletes, pelvic floor, performance, prevalence, sport, training, urinary incontinence

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Authors: Silvia Lucciarini, Antonio Corasaniti

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The issue of democracy in capitalist countries has once again become the focus of debate in recent years. A number of socio-economic and political tensions have triggered discussion of this topic from various perspectives and disciplines. Political developments, the rise of both right-wing parties and populism and the constant growth of inequalities in a context of welfare downsizing, have led scholars to question if European capitalist countries are really capable of creating and redistributing resources and look for elements that might make democratic capital in European countries more dense. The aim of the work is to shed light on the trajectories, intensity and convergence or divergence between political and associative participation, on one hand, and organization, on the other, as these constitute two of the main points of connection between the norms, values and actions that bind citizens to the state. Using the European Social Survey database, some studies have sought to analyse degrees of unionization by investigating the relationship between systems of industrial relations and vulnerable groups (in terms of value-oriented practices or political participation). This paper instead aims to investigate the relationship between union participation and civil/political participation, comparing union members and non-members and then distinguishing between employees and self-employed professionals to better understand participatory behaviors among different workers. The first component of the research will employ a multilinear logistic model to examine a sample of 10 countries selected according to a grid that combines the industrial relations models identified by Visser (2006) and the Welfare State systems identified by Esping-Andersen (1990). On the basis of this sample, we propose to compare the choices made by workers and their propensity to join trade unions, together with their level of social and political participation, from 2002 to 2016. In the second component, we aim to verify whether workers within the same system of industrial relations and welfare show a similar propensity to engage in civil participation through political bodies and associations, or if instead these tendencies take on more specific and varied forms. The results will allow us to see: (1) if political participation is higher among unionized workers than it is among the non-unionized. (2) what are the differences in unionisation and civil/political participation between self-employed, temporary and full-time employees and (3) whether the trajectories within industrial relations and welfare models display greater inclusiveness and participation, thereby confirming or disproving the patterns that have been documented among the different European countries.

Keywords: union membership, participation, democracy, industrial relations, welfare systems

Procedia PDF Downloads 143

Authors: Taba Tath

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Arunachal Pradesh, located in the easternmost part of India, is known for its natural beauty and diverse tribal lifestyles. The state has the highest species richness and biological diversity among Northeast states in terms of flora, fauna, and tribal traditions and culture. The protection of nature and culture is a practice that is widely used by governments or nongovernmental organizations seeking to preserve the scenic beauty of landscapes and their natural resources in spaces that stand out for their natural and cultural value and have not been heavily impacted by human activity. The whole of Arunachal Pradesh comes under the purview of special permits such as the Inner Line Permit (ILP) and Protected Area Permit (PAP) for domestic and foreign travellers, respectively. Due to politically vibrant areas and naturally fragile in nature, the state needs to be protected, but at the same time, the demand for tourism activities is increasing gradually due to its unique blend of nature and socio-cultural richness. There are 13 protected areas in the state which is unexplored, and there are no tourism activities in these protected areas except for Namdapha National Park. Out of 13 protected areas, the Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the well-managed protected areas located near the Assam-Arunachal border, approximately 40km away from Tezpur town, Assam. The state has great potential for wildlife and nature-based tourism development, which can also indirectly support wildlife and nature-based livelihood options for the local inhabitants living in the peripheral of the sanctuary area due to its high richness in terms of flora and fauna. To promote the richness of the state, boost tourism, and the economic, social and environmental development of the area and local communities, a proper tourism management practice and framework are very much required. The research paper has made an attempt to study the role of stakeholders in preserving and promoting the Protected Areas for tourism development in a sustainable way. This is both a primary and secondary study conducted with field visits, interaction, questionnaire and observation with the various stakeholders and also conducted with the Government reports, magazines and other published sources available. Furthermore, this study will be relevant to all stakeholders for having knowledge and processes for promoting tourism in Protected Areas in a sustainable way. The results will provide relevant information and process for the management and promotion of the protected Areas and to strengthen the sustainable tourism activities in these areas.

Keywords: protected area, inner line permit, protected area permit, management, government, nongovernmental organization, stakeholders, sustainable, natural resources

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Authors: Ayat-Allah Bouramdane

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Solar Photovoltaic (PV) and Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) do not burn fossil fuels and, therefore, could meet the world's needs for low-carbon power generation as they do not release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere as they generate electricity. The power output of the solar PV module and CSP collector is proportional to the temperature and the amount of solar radiation received by their surface. Hence, the determination of the most convenient locations of PV and CSP systems is crucial to maximizing their output power. This study aims to provide a hands-on and plausible approach to the multi-criteria evaluation of site suitability of PV and CSP plants using a combination of Geographic Referenced Information (GRI) and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Applying the GRI-based AHP approach is meant to specify the criteria and sub-criteria, to identify the unsuitable areas, the low-, moderate-, high- and very high suitable areas for each layer of GRI, to perform the pairwise comparison matrix at each level of the hierarchy structure based on experts' knowledge, and calculate the weights using AHP to create the final map of solar PV and CSP plants suitability in Morocco with a particular focus on the Dakhla city. The results recognize that solar irradiation is the main decision factor for the integration of these technologies on energy policy goals of Morocco but explicitly account for other factors that cannot only limit the potential of certain locations but can even exclude the Dakhla city classified as unsuitable area. We discuss the sensitivity of the PV and CSP site suitability to different aspects, such as the methodology, the climate conditions, and the technology used in each source, and provide the final recommendations to the Moroccan energy strategy by analyzing if actual Morocco's PV and CSP installations are located within areas deemed suitable and by discussing several cases to provide mutual benefits across the Food-Energy-Water nexus. The adapted methodology and conducted suitability map could be used by researchers or engineers to provide helpful information for decision-makers in terms of sites selection, design, and planning of future solar plants, especially in areas suffering from energy shortages, such as the Dakhla city, which is now one of Africa's most promising investment hubs and it is especially attractive to investors looking to root their operations in Africa and import to European markets.

Keywords: analytic hierarchy process, concentrated solar power, dakhla, geographic referenced information, Morocco, multi-criteria decision-making, photovoltaic, site suitability

Procedia PDF Downloads 181

Authors: Amin Akbari, Dongcai Wang, Huiru Li, Xiaoping Du, Jie Chen

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The effect of vibrational force (VF) on accelerating orthodontic tooth movement depends on the level of delivered stimulation to the tooth in terms of peak load (PL), which requires contacts between the tooth and the VF device. A personalized device ensures the contacts, but the resulting PL distribution on the teeth is unknown. Furthermore, it is unclear whether the PL on particular teeth can be adjusted to the prescribed values. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of apersonalized VF device in controlling the level of stimulation on two teeth, the mandibular canines and 2nd molars. A 3-D finite element (FE) model of human dentition, including teeth, PDL, and alveolar bone, was created from the cone beam computed tomography images of an anonymous subject. The VF was applied to the teeth through a VFdevice consisting of a mouthpiece with engraved tooth profile of the subject and a VF source that applied 0.3 N force with the frequency of 30 Hz. The dentition and mouthpiece were meshed using 10-node tetrahedral elements. Interface elements were created at the interfaces between the teeth and the mouthpiece. The upper and lower teeth bite on the mouthpiece to receive the vibration. The depth of engraved individual tooth profile could be adjusted, which was accomplished by adding a layer of material as an interference or removing a layer of material as a clearance to change the PL on the tooth. The interference increases the PL while the clearance decreases it. Fivemouthpiece design cases were simulated, which included a mouthpiece without interference/clearance; the mouthpieces with bilateral interferences on both mandibular canines and 2nd molars with magnitudes of 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2-mm, respectively; and mouthpiece with bilateral 0.3-mm clearances on the four teeth. Then, the force distributions on the entire dentition were compared corresponding to these adjustments. The PL distribution on the teeth is uneven when there is no interference or clearance. Among all teeth, the anterior segment receives the highest level of PL. Adding 0.1, 0.15, and 0.2-mm interferences to the canines and 2nd molars bilaterally leads to increase of the PL on the canines by 10, 62, and 73 percent and on the 2nd molar by 14, 55, and 87 percent, respectively. Adding clearances to the canines and 2nd molars by removing the contactsbetween these teeth and the mouthpiece results in zero PL on them. Moreover, introducing interference to mandibular canines and 2nd molarsredistributes the PL on the entireteeth. The share of the PL on the anterior teeth are reduced. The use of the personalized mouthpiece ensures contactsof the teeth to the mouthpiece so that all teeth can be stimulated. However, the PL distribution is uneven. Adding interference between a tooth and the mouthpiece increases the PL while introducing clearance decreases the PL. As a result, the PL is redistributed. This study confirms that the level of VF stimulation on the individual tooth can be adjusted to a prescribed value.

Keywords: finite element method, orthodontic treatment, stress analysis, tooth movement, vibrational force

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Authors: Vaikunthan Rajaratnam

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Maintaining continuous professional development among clinicians has been a challenge. Hand surgery is a unique speciality with the coming together of orthopaedics, plastics and trauma surgeons. The requirements for a team-based approach to care with the inclusion of other experts such as occupational, physiotherapist and orthotic and prosthetist provide the impetus for the creation of communities of practice. This study analysed the community of practice in hand surgery that was created through a social networking website for professionals. The main objectives were to discover the usefulness of this community of practice created in the platform of the group function of LinkedIn. The second objective was to determine the usability of this platform for the purposes of continuing professional development among members of this community of practice. The methodology used was one of mixed methods which included a quantitative analysis on the usefulness of the social network website as a community of practice, using the analytics provided by the LinkedIn platform. Further qualitative analysis was performed on the various postings that were generated by the community of practice within the social network website. This was augmented by a respondent driven survey conducted online to assess the usefulness of the platform for continuous professional development. A total of 31 respondents were involved in this study. This study has shown that it is possible to create an engaging and interactive community of practice among hand surgeons using the group function of this professional social networking website LinkedIn. Over three years the group has grown significantly with members from multiple regions and has produced engaging and interactive conversations online. From the results of the respondents’ survey, it can be concluded that there was satisfaction of the functionality and that it was an excellent platform for discussions and collaboration in the community of practice with a 69 % of satisfaction. Case-based discussions were the most useful functions of the community of practice. This platform usability was graded as excellent using the validated usability tool. This study has shown that the social networking site LinkedIn’s group function can be easily used as a community of practice effectively and provides convenience to professionals and has made an impact on their practice and better care for patients. It has also shown that this platform was easy to use and has a high level of usability for the average healthcare professional. This platform provided the improved connectivity among professionals involved in hand surgery care which allowed for the community to grow and with proper support and contribution of relevant material by members allowed for a safe environment for the exchange of knowledge and sharing of experience that is the foundation of a community practice.

Keywords: community of practice, online community, hand surgery, lifelong learning, LinkedIn, social media, continuing professional development

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Authors: Vladimir Messerle, Alexandr Ustimenko, Oleg Lavrichshev

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To enhance the efficiency of solid fuels’ use, to decrease the fuel oil rate in the thermal power plants fuel balance and to minimize harmful emissions, a plasma technology of coal ignition, gasification and incineration is successfully applied. This technology is plasma thermochemical preparation of fuel for burning (PTCPF). In the framework of this concept, some portion of pulverized solid fuel (PF) is separated from the main PF flow and undergone the activation by arc plasma in a specific chamber with plasma torch – PFS. The air plasma flame is a source of heat and additional oxidation, it provides a high-temperature medium enriched with radicals, where the fuel mixture is heated, volatile components of coal are extracted, and carbon is partially gasified. This active blended fuel can ignite the main PF flow supplied into the furnace. This technology provides the boiler start-up and stabilization of PF flame and eliminates the necessity for addition of highly reactive fuel. In the report, a model of PTCPF, implemented as a program PlasmaKinTherm for the PFS calculation is described. The model combines thermodynamic and kinetic methods for describing the process of PTCPF in PFS. The numerical investigation of operational parameters of PFS depending on the electric power of the plasma generator and steam coal ash content revealed the temperature and velocity of gas and coal particles, and concentrations of PTCPF products dependences on the PFS length. Main mechanisms of PTCPF were disclosed. It was found that in the range of electric power of plasma generator from 40 to 100 kW high ash bituminous coal, having consumption 1667 kg/h is ignited stably. High level of temperature (1740 K) and concentration of combustible components (44%) at the PFS exit is a confirmation of it. Augmentation in power of plasma generator results displacement maxima temperatures and speeds of PTCPF products upstream (in the direction of the plasma source). The maximum temperature and velocity vary in a narrow range of values and practically do not depend on the power of the plasma torch. The numerical study of indicators of the process of PTCPF depending on the ash content in the range of its values 20-70% demonstrated that at the exit of PFS concentration of combustible components decreases with an increase in coal ash, the temperature of the gaseous products is increasing, and coal carbon conversion rate is increased to a maximum value when the ash content of 60%, dramatically decreasing with further increase in the ash content.

Keywords: coal, efficiency, ignition, numerical modeling, plasma generator, plasma-fuel system

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Authors: K. Graniczkowska, N. Beloglazova, S. De Saeger

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The threat of synthetic drugs is one of the most significant current drug problems worldwide. The use of drugs of abuse has increased dramatically during the past three decades. Among others, Amphetamine-Type Stimulants (ATS) are globally the second most widely used drugs after cannabis, exceeding the use of cocaine and heroin. ATS are potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulants, capable of inducing euphoric static similar to cocaine. Recreational use of ATS is widespread, even though warnings of irreversible damage of the CNS were reported. ATS pose a big problem and their production contributes to the pollution of the environment by discharging big volumes of liquid waste to sewage system. Therefore, there is a demand to develop robust and sensitive sensors that can detect ATS and their intermediates in environmental water samples. A rapid and simple test is required. Analysis of environmental water samples (which sometimes can be a harsh environment) using antibody-based tests cannot be applied. Therefore, molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs), which are known as synthetic antibodies, have been chosen for that approach. MIPs are characterized with a high mechanical and thermal stability, show chemical resistance in a broad pH range and various organic or aqueous solvents. These properties make them the preferred type of receptors for application in the harsh conditions imposed by environmental samples. To the best of our knowledge, there are no existing MIPs-based sensors toward amphetamine and its intermediates. Also not many commercial MIPs for this application are available. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare different techniques to obtain MIPs with high specificity towards ATS and characterize them for following use in a sensing unit. MIPs against amphetamine and its intermediates were synthesized using a few different techniques, such as electro-, thermo- and UV-initiated polymerization. Different monomers, cross linkers and initiators, in various ratios, were tested to obtain the best sensitivity and polymers properties. Subsequently, specificity and selectivity were compared with commercially available MIPs against amphetamine. Different linkers, such as lipoic acid, 3-mercaptopioponic acid and tyramine were examined, in combination with several immobilization techniques, to select the best procedure for attaching particles on sensor surface. Performed experiments allowed choosing an optimal method for the intended sensor application. Stability of MIPs in extreme conditions, such as highly acidic or basic was determined. Obtained results led to the conclusion about MIPs based sensor applicability in sewage system testing.

Keywords: amphetamine type stimulants, environment, molecular imprinted polymers, MIPs, sensor

Procedia PDF Downloads 252

Authors: Peter Clutterbuck, Terry Rowlands, Owen Seamons

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In this paper we describe one critical research program within a complex, ongoing multi-year project (2010 to 2014 inclusive) with the overall goal to improve the learning outcomes for first year undergraduate commerce/business students within an Information Systems (IS) subject with very large enrolment. The single research program described in this paper is the analysis of student attitudes and decision making in relation to the availability of formative assessment feedback via Web-based real time conferencing and document exchange software (Adobe Connect). The formative assessment feedback between teaching staff and students is in respect of an authentic problem-based, team-completed assignment. The analysis of student attitudes and decision making is investigated via both qualitative (firstly) and quantitative (secondly) application of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with a two statistically-significant and separate trial samples of the enrolled students. The initial qualitative TPB investigation revealed that perceived self-efficacy, improved time-management, and lecturer-student relationship building were the major factors in shaping an overall favorable student attitude to online feedback, whilst some students expressed valid concerns with perceived control limitations identified within the online feedback protocols. The subsequent quantitative TPB investigation then confirmed that attitude towards usage, subjective norms surrounding usage, and perceived behavioral control of usage were all significant in shaping student intention to use the online feedback protocol, with these three variables explaining 63 percent of the variance in the behavioral intention to use the online feedback protocol. The identification in this research of perceived behavioral control as a significant determinant in student usage of a specific technology component within a virtual learning environment (VLE) suggests that VLEs could now be viewed not as a single, atomic entity, but as a spectrum of technology offerings ranging from the mature and simple (e.g., email, Web downloads) to the cutting-edge and challenging (e.g., Web conferencing and real-time document exchange). That is, that all VLEs should not be considered the same. The results of this research suggest that tertiary students have the technological sophistication to assess a VLE in this more selective manner.

Keywords: formative assessment feedback, virtual learning environment, theory of planned behavior, perceived behavioral control

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Authors: Rinat Gabbay-Benziv, Merav Ben-Natan, Ariel Roguin, Benyamine Abbou, Anna Ofir, Adi Klein, Dikla Dahan-Shriki, Mordechai Hallak, Boris Kessel, Mickey Dudkiewicz

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Introduction: Over recent decades, technology has become integral to healthcare, with electronic health records and advanced medical equipment now standard. However, this reliance has made healthcare systems increasingly vulnerable to ransomware attacks. On October 13, 2021, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center experienced a severe ransomware attack that disrupted all IT systems, including electronic health records, laboratory services, and staff communications. The attack, carried out by the group DeepBlueMagic, utilized advanced encryption to lock the hospital's systems and demanded a ransom. This incident caused significant operational and patient care challenges, particularly impacting the obstetrics department. Objective: The objective is to describe the challenges facing the obstetric division following a cyberattack and discuss ways of preparing for and overcoming another one. Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted in a mid-sized medical center. Division activities, including the number of deliveries, cesarean sections, emergency room visits, admissions, maternal-fetal medicine department occupancy, and ambulatory encounters, from 2 weeks before the attack to 8 weeks following it (a total of 11 weeks), were compared with the retrospective period in 2019 (pre-COVID-19). In addition, we present the challenges and adaptation measures taken at the division and hospital levels leading up to the resumption of full division activity. Results: On the day of the cyberattack, critical decisions were made. The media announced the event, calling on patients not to come to our hospital. Also, all elective activities other than cesarean deliveries were stopped. The number of deliveries, admissions, and both emergency room and ambulatory clinic visits decreased by 5%–10% overall for 11 weeks, reflecting the decrease in division activity. Nevertheless, in all stations, there were sufficient activities and adaptation measures to ensure patient safety, decision-making, and workflow of patients were accounted for. Conclusions: The risk of ransomware cyberattacks is growing. Healthcare systems at all levels should recognize this threat and have protocols for dealing with them once they occur.

Keywords: ransomware attack, healthcare cybersecurity, obstetrics challenges, IT system disruption

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Authors: Sarah Atalla, Shubham Gupta, Kim Alipio, Tanya Maric

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Background: Chelsea and Westminster Hospital have introduced the Birmingham Symptom Specific Obstetric Triage System (BSOTS) for patients who present acutely to the Maternity Assessment Suite (MAS) to prioritise care by urgency. The primary objective was to evaluate whether BSOTS was used appropriately to assess patients (defined as a 90% threshold). The secondary objective was to assess whether patients were seen within their designated triaged timeframe (defined as a 90% threshold). Methodology: MAS records were retrospectively reviewed for a randomly selected one-week period of data from 2020 (21/09/2020 - 27/09/2020). 189 patients presented to MAS during this time. Data were collected on the presenting complaint, time of attendance (divided into four time categories), and triage colour code for the urgency of a review by a doctor (red: immediately, orange: within 15 minutes, yellow: within 1 hour, green: within 4 hours). The number of triage waiting times that were breached and the outcome of the attendance was noted. Results: 49% of patients presenting to MAS during this time period were triaged, which therefore did not meet the 90% target. 67% of patients who were triaged were seen within their allocated timeframe as designated by their triage colour code, which therefore did not meet the 90% target. The most frequent reason for patient attendance was reduced fetal movements (30.5% of attendances). The busiest time of day (when most patients presented) was between 06:01-12:00, and this was also when the highest number of patients were not triaged (26 patients or 54% of patients presenting in this time category). The most used triage category (59%) was the green colour code (to be seen by a doctor within 4 hours), followed by orange (24%), yellow (14%), and red (3%). 45% of triaged patients were admitted, whilst 55% were discharged. 62% of patients allocated to the green triage category were discharged, as compared to 56% of yellow category patients, 27% of orange category patients, and 50% of red category patients. The time of patient presentation to the hospital was also associated with the level of urgency and outcome. Patients presenting from 12:01 to 18:00 were more likely to be discharged (72% discharged) compared to 00:01-06:00 where only 12.5% of patients were discharged. Conclusion: The triage system for assessing the urgency of acutely presenting obstetric patients is only being effectively utilised for 49% of patients. There is potential for enhancing the employment of the triage system to enable further efficiency and boost the promotion of patient safety. It is noted that MAS was busiest at 06:01 - 12:00 when there was also the highest number of non-triaged patients – this highlights some areas where we can improve, including higher levels of staffing, better use of BSOTS to triage patients, and patient education.

Keywords: birmingham, BSOTS, maternal, obstetric, pregnancy, specific, symptom, triage

Procedia PDF Downloads 108

Authors: Perpetua Modjadji, Sphiwe Madiba

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Background: The growth patterns of children are good nutritional indicators of their nutritional status, health, and socioeconomic level. However, the maternal factors and the belief system of the society affect the growth of children promoting undernutrition. This study determined the influence of maternal factors on growth patterns of schoolchildren in a rural site. Methods: A convergent mixed method study was conducted among 508 schoolchildren and their mothers in Dikgale Health and Demographic Surveillance System Site, South Africa. Multistage sampling was used to select schools (purposive) and learners (random), who were paired with their mothers. Anthropometry was measured and socio-demographic, obstetrical, household information, maternal influence on children’s nutrition, and growth were assessed using an interviewer administered questionnaire (quantitative). The influence of the cultural beliefs and practices of mothers on the nutrition and growth of their children was explored using focus group discussions (qualitative). Narratives of mothers were used to best understand growth patterns of schoolchildren (mixed method). Data were analyzed using STATA 14 (quantitative) and Nvivo 11 (qualitative). Quantitative and qualitative data were merged for integrated mixed method analysis using a joint display analysis. Results: Mean age of children was 10 ± 2 years, ranging from 6 to 15 years. Substantial percentages of thinness (25%), underweight (24%), and stunting (22%) were observed among the children. Mothers had a mean age of 37 ± 7 years, and 75% were overweight or obese. A depressed socio-economic status indicated by a higher rate of unemployment with no income (82.3%), and dependency on social grants (86.8%) was observed. Determinants of poor growth patterns were child’s age and gender, maternal age, height and BMI, access to water supply, and refrigerator use. The narratives of mothers suggested that the children in most of their households were exposed to poverty and the inadequate intake of quality food. Conclusion: Poor growth patterns were observed among schoolchildren while their mothers were overweight or obese. Child’s gender, school grade, maternal body mass index, and access to water were the main determinants. Congruence was observed between most qualitative themes and quantitative constructs. A need for a multi sectoral approach considering an evidence based and feasible nutrition programs for schoolchildren, especially those in rural settings and educating mothers, cannot be over-emphasized.

Keywords: growth patterns, maternal factors, rural context, schoolchildren, South Africa

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Authors: Mariateresa Torchia, Helene Cristini, Hannele Kauppinen

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Leadership plays a vital role in organizations. Leaders provide directions and facilitate the processes that enable organizations to achieve their goals and objectives. However, while productivity and financial objectives are often given the greatest emphasis, leaders also have the responsibility for instituting standards of ethical conduct and moral values that guide the behavior of employees. Leaders’ behaviors such as support, empowerment and a high-quality relationship with their employees might not only prevent stress, but also improve employees’ stress coping meanwhile contributing to their affective well-being. Stemming from Girard’s Mimetic Theory, this study aims at understanding how leaders can foster well-being in organizations. To do so, we explore which is the role leaders play in conflict management, resentment management and negative emotions dissipation. Furthermore, we examine whether and to what extent religiosity impacts the way in which leaders operate in relation to employees’ well-being. Indeed, given that organizational values are crucial to ethical behavior and firms’ values may be steeled by a deep sense of spirituality and religious identification, there is a need to take a closer look at the role religion and spirituality play in influencing the way leaders impact employees’ well-being. Thus, religion might work as an overarching logic that provides a set of principles guiding leaders’ everyday practices and relations with employees. We answer our research questions using a qualitative approach. We interviewed 27 Christian leaders (members of the Christian Entrepreneurs and Leaders Association – EDC, a non-profit organization created in 1926 including 3,000 French Christian Leaders & Entrepreneurs). Our results show that well-being can have a different meaning in relation to the type of companies, size, culture, country of analysis. Moreover the values and believes of leaders influence the way they see and foster well-being among employees. Furthermore, leaders can have both a positive or negative impact on well-being. Indeed on the one side, they could increase well-being in the company while on the other hand, they could be the source of resentment and conflicts among employees. Finally, we observed that Christian leaders possess characteristics that are sometimes missing in leaders (humility, inability to compare with others, attempt to be coherent with their values and beliefs, interest in the common good instead of the personal interest, having tougher dilemmas, collectively undertaking the firm). Moreover the Christian leader believes that the common good should come before personal interest. In other words, to them, not only short –termed profit shouldn’t guide strategical decisions but also leaders should feel responsible for their employees’ well-being. Last but not least, the study is not an apologia of Christian, yet it discusses the implications of these values through the light of Girard’s mimetic theory for both theory and practice.

Keywords: Christian leaders, employees well-being, leadership, mimetic theory

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Yali Liu, Maria Avello Iturriagagoitia

Abstract:

Background: Fitness applications (apps) are one of the most popular mobile health (mHealth) apps. These apps can help prevent/control health issues such as obesity, which is one of the most serious public health challenges in the developed world in recent decades. Compared with the traditional intervention like face-to-face treatment, it is cheaper and more convenient to use fitness apps to interfere with physical activities and healthy behaviors. Nevertheless, fitness applications apps tend to have high abandonment rates and low levels of user engagement. Therefore, maintaining the endurance of users' usage is challenging. In fact, previous research shows a variety of strategies -goal-setting, self-monitoring, coaching, etc.- for promoting fitness and health behavior change. These strategies can influence the users’ perseverance and self-monitoring of the program as well as favoring their adherence to routines that involve a long-term behavioral change. However, commercial fitness apps rarely incorporate these strategies into their design, thus leading to a lack of engagement with the apps. Most of today’s mobile services and brands engage their users proactively via push notifications. Push notifications. These notifications are visual or auditory alerts to inform mobile users about a wide range of topics that entails an effective and personal mean of communication between the app and the user. One of the research purposes of this article is to implement the application of behavior change strategies through push notifications. Proposes: This study aims to better understand the influence that effective use of push notifications combined with the behavioral change strategies will have on users’ engagement with the fitness app. And the secondary objectives are 1) to discuss the sociodemographic differences in utilization of push notifications of fitness apps; 2) to determine the impact of each strategy in customer engagement. Methods: The study uses a combination of the Consumer Engagement Theory and UTAUT2 based model to conduct an online survey among current users of fitness apps. The questionnaire assessed attitudes to each behavioral change strategy, and sociodemographic variables. Findings: Results show the positive effect of push notifications in the generation of consumer engagement and the different impacts of each strategy among different groups of population in customer engagement. Conclusions: Fitness apps with behavior change strategies have a positive impact on increasing users’ usage time and customer engagement. Theoretical experts can participate in designing fitness applications, along with technical designers.

Keywords: behavioral change, customer engagement, fitness app, push notification, UTAUT2

Procedia PDF Downloads 136