Search results for: Mark Heads

Authors: Simon Arunga, Teddy Kwaga, Rita Kageni, Michael Gichangi, Nyawira Mwangi, Fred Kagwa, Rogers Mwavu, Amos Baryashaba, Luis F. Nakayama, Katharine Morley, Michael Morley, Leo A. Celi, Jessica Haberer, Celestino Obua

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Purpose: The main aim for creating the Multimodal Database of Retinal Images for Africa (MoDRIA) was to provide a publicly available repository of retinal images for responsible researchers to conduct algorithm development in a bid to curb the challenges of ophthalmic artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa. Methods: Data and retina images were ethically sourced from sites in Uganda and Kenya. Data on medical history, visual acuity, ocular examination, blood pressure, and blood sugar were collected. Retina images were captured using fundus cameras (Foru3-nethra and Canon CR-Mark-1). Images were stored on a secure online database. Results: The database consists of 7,859 retinal images in portable network graphics format from 1,988 participants. Images from patients with human immunodeficiency virus were 18.9%, 18.2% of images were from hypertensive patients, 12.8% from diabetic patients, and the rest from normal’ participants. Conclusion: Publicly available data repositories are a valuable asset in the development of AI technology. Therefore, is a need for the expansion of MoDRIA so as to provide larger datasets that are more representative of Sub-Saharan data.

Keywords: retina images, MoDRIA, image repository, African database

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Authors: Krishna Mohan Bathula, Fatou Bintou Loucoubar, FNU Kaleemunnisa, Christelle Scharff, Mark Anthony De Castro

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Voice recognition algorithms such as automatic speech recognition and text-to-speech systems with African languages can play an important role in bridging the digital divide of Artificial Intelligence in Africa, contributing to the establishment of a fully inclusive information society. This paper proposes a Deep Learning model that can classify the user responses as inputs for an interactive voice response system. A dataset with Wolof language words ‘yes’ and ‘no’ is collected as audio recordings. A two stage Data Augmentation approach is adopted for enhancing the dataset size required by the deep neural network. Data preprocessing and feature engineering with Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients are implemented. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have proven to be very powerful in image classification and are promising for audio processing when sounds are transformed into spectra. For performing voice response classification, the recordings are transformed into sound frequency feature spectra and then applied image classification methodology using a deep CNN model. The inference model of this trained and reusable Wolof voice response recognition system can be integrated with many applications associated with both web and mobile platforms.

Keywords: automatic speech recognition, interactive voice response, voice response recognition, wolof word classification

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Authors: Scott Ashby, Emily Granger, Mark Connellan

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Background: In-hospital management of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) is complex as the aetiologies are varied. Acute coronary angiography has been shown to improve outcomes for patients with coronary occlusion as the cause; however, these patients are difficult to identify. ECG results may help identify these patients, but the accuracy of this diagnostic test is under debate, and requires further investigation. Methods: Arrest and hospital management information was collated retrospectively for OHCA patients who presented to a single clinical site between 2009 and 2013. Angiography results were then collected and checked for significance with survival to discharge. The presence of a severe lesion (>70%) was then compared to categorised ECG findings, and the accuracy of the test was calculated. Results: 104 patients were included in this study, 44 survived to discharge, 52 died and 8 were transferred to other clinical sites. Angiography appears to significantly correlate with survival to discharge. ECG showed 54.8% sensitivity for detecting the presence of a severe lesion within the group that received angiography. A combined criterion including any ECG pathology showed 100% sensitivity and negative predictive value, however, a low specificity and positive predictive value. Conclusion: In the cohort investigated, ST elevation on ECG is not a sensitive enough screening test to be used to determine whether OHCA patients have coronary stenosis as the likely cause of their arrest, and more investigation into whether screening with a combined ECG criterion, or whether all patients should receive angiography routinely following OHCA is needed.

Keywords: out of hospital cardiac arrest, coronary angiography, resuscitation, emergency medicine

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Authors: Yuhanis Ibrahim, Sung-Pil Lee

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This study attempts to address factors that contribute to outline public art factors assessment, memorial monument specifically. Memorial monuments hold significant and rich message whether the intention of the art is to mark and commemorate important event or to inform younger generation about the past. Public monument should relate to the public and raise awareness about the significant issue. Therefore, by investigating the impact of the existing public memorial art will hopefully shed some lights to the upcoming public art projects’ stakeholders to ensure the lucid memorial message is delivered to the public directly. Public is the main actor as public is the fundamental purpose that the art was created. Perception is framed as one of the reliable evaluation tools to assess the public art impact factors. The Malaysia National Monument was selected to be the case study for the investigation. The public’s perceptions were gathered using a questionnaire that involved (n-115) participants to attain keywords, and next Semantical Differential Methodology (SDM) was adopted to evaluate the perceptions about the memorial monument. These perceptions were then measured with Reliability Factor and then were factorised using Factor Analysis of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method to acquire concise factors for the monument assessment. The result revealed that there are four factors that influence public’s perception on the monument which are aesthetic, audience, topology, and public reception. The study concludes by proposing the factors for public memorial art assessment for the next future public memorial projects especially in Malaysia.

Keywords: factor analysis, public art, public perception, semantical differential methodology

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Authors: Kevin Mark Banks, Dannis Rorisang Nkarapa Maubane, Carel Coetzee

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The influence of aluminium content, reheating temperature, and sizing (final) strain on the as-rolled microstructure was systematically investigated in vanadium-microalloyed and C-Mn plate steels. Reheating, followed by hot rolling and air cooling simulations were performed on steels containing a range of aluminium and nitrogen contents. Natural air cooling profiles, corresponding to 6 and 20mm thick plates, were applied. The austenite and ferrite/pearlite microstructures were examined using light optical microscopy. Precipitate species and volume fraction were determined on selected specimens. No influence of aluminium content was found below 0.08% on the as-rolled grain size in all steels studied. A low Al-V-steel produced the coarsest initial austenite grain size due to AlN dissolution at low temperatures leading to abnormal grain growth. An Al-free V-N steel had the finest initial microstructure. Although the as-rolled grain size for 20mm plate was similar in all steels tested, the grain distribution was relatively mixed. The final grain size in 6mm plate was similar for most compositions; the exception was an as-cast V low N steel, where the size of the second phase was inversely proportional to the sizing strain. This was attributed to both segregation and a low VN volume fraction available for effective pinning of austenite grain boundaries during cooling. Increasing the sizing strain refined the microstructure significantly in all steels.

Keywords: aluminium, grain size, nitrogen, reheating, sizing strain, steel, vanadium

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Authors: Noemi Schneider, Richard Blaese, Pietro Morandi, Brigitte Liebig

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While women are increasingly frequent among the founders of innovative companies and advanced researchers in many university research institutes today, they are still an exception among initiators of research-based spin-offs. This also applies to countries such as Switzerland, which does have a leading position in international innovation rankings. Starting from a gender-sensitive neo-institutionalist perspective, this paper examines formal and non-formal institutional framework conditions for academic spin-offs at Swiss universities of applied sciences. This field, which stresses vocational education and practice-oriented research, seems to conserve the gender gap in the area of establishing research-based spin-offs spin-off rates strongly. The analysis starts from a survey conducted in 2017 and 2018 at all seven public universities of applied sciences in Switzerland as well as on an evaluation of expert interviews performed with heads of start-up centers, where also spin-offs from universities of applied sciences get support. The results show the mechanisms, which contribute to gender gaps in academic entrepreneurship in higher education. University's female employees have hardly been discovered as target groups. Thus, only 10.5% of universities of applied sciences offer specific support measures for women in academia. And only 1 out of 7 universities of applied sciences offer mentoring programs for female entrepreneurs while in addition there are no financial resources available to support female founders in academia. Moreover, the awareness of the gender gap in academic entrepreneurship is low among founding commissioners. A consistent transfer strategy might be key for bringing in line the formal and non-formal preconditions relevant for the formation of research-based spin-offs and for providing an effective incentive structure to promote women.

Keywords: gender, science-based spin-off, universities of applied sciences, knowledge transfer strategy

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Authors: Wei Chen Chang, Ming Yu Hsiao

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The commodity takes one kind of mark, the designer how to construction and interpretation the user how to use the process and effectively convey message in design education has always been an important issue. Cultural-creative design refers to signifying cultural heritage for product design. In terms of Peirce’s Semiotic Triangle: signifying elements-object-interpretant, signifying elements are the outcomes of design, the object is cultural heritage, and the interpretant is the positioning and description of product design. How to elaborate the positioning, design, and development of a product is a narrative issue of the interpretant, and how to shape the signifying elements of a product by modifying and adapting styles is a rhetoric matter. This study investigated the rhetoric of elements signifying products to develop a rhetoric model with cultural style. Figures of speech are a rhetoric method in narrative. By adapting figures of speech to the interpretant, this study developed the rhetoric context of cultural context by narrative means. In this two-phase study, phase I defines figures of speech and phase II analyzes existing cultural-creative products in terms of figures of speech to develop a rhetoric of style model. We expect it can reference for the future development of Cultural-creative design.

Keywords: cultural-creative design, cultural-creative products, figures of speech, Peirce’s semiotic triangle, rhetoric of style model

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Authors: Felicity Aphiwe Mkhongi, Walter Musakwa

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Smallholder crop production is a defining factor in achieving food security, particularly at the household level. However, the number of abandoned arable fields is increasing in communal areas of South Africa. While substantial efforts have been devoted to addressing food insecurity in the country, ownership of arable land has not been supplemented with sustainable food production for households. This paper analyses household food security in the context of deagrarianization in two villages, Ambros (Eastern Cape) and Maramanzhi (Limpopo). Semi-structured questionnaires were administered to acquire both qualitative and quantitative data from 106 heads of households. The IBM SPSS Statistics 28.0 computer program was applied to complete data analysis. From the findings of the study, it was evident that compared to arable fields, a greater proportion of households own home-gardens with an average size of 2100m in Ambros and 3400m in Maramanzhi village. The majority of arable fields were abandoned, particularly in Ambros village. Household food access challenges were measured using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). This food security indicator revealed that the majority of households were mildly food insecure owing to food shortages emanating from insufficient monthly income and waning household crop production. Food was rated as a very important reason for engaging in cultivation in both villages of the study, but deagrarianization has eroded opportunities for increasing household crop production. Among other possible solutions, this study recommends that the government invest more in agriculture to allow for sustainable strategies that revive abandoned arable land, such as arable fields in communal areas of South Africa, as this could increase food production for households.

Keywords: cultivation, deagrarianization, food security, rural households, smallholder farmers

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Authors: Pisit Poolprasert, Auttpol Nakwa, Keerati Tanruean, Ezra Mongkolchaichana, Ezra Mongkolchaichana, Sinlapachai Senarat, Mark Tunmore

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This present preliminary study aimed to observe the butterfly species diversity in two selected subdistricts i.e., Mae Klong and Umphang of Umphang district, Tak province, northern Thailand, during May to September 2018. A survey method using sweep net was employed along line transects between 10.00-12.00 a.m. and 13.00-15.00 p.m. A total of 337 butterflies representing 37 species, 26 genera in five families were encountered. The family Nymphalidae held the highest species richness (15 species), followed by Papilionidae (9 species) and Pieridae (6 speices), respectively. Herein, four uncommon species, namely Junonia iphita iphita, Tanaecia julii odilina, Penthema darlisa melema, and Papilio alcmenor alcmenor, were discovered in this time. The Shannon diversity (H’) for all samples obtained from the pooled data set of this observation valued 2.563 with relatively high values of Evenness (J’= 0.710) and Simpson index and (D = 0.829). For similarity index (Ss), the assemblage recorded of butterfly species between Mae Klang-Umphang shared about 0.629, implying that the environmental conditions in both surveyed zones were alike. Additionally, the accumulation curve in both locations of the butterfly was still increasing gradually when the collection ended, indicating that the lepidopteran species would be raised if we continue to survey more in next month. Nevertheless, to gain more butterfly taxa, observing different plant communities covering every season and using several survey techniques should be considered for further investigation.

Keywords: butterfly, biodiversity, tak province, thailand

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Authors: Prasanti Widyasih Sarli, Prayatni Soewondo

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Greater access to sanitation in developing countries is urgent. However even though sanitation is crucial, overall budget for sanitation is limited. With this budget limitation, it is important to (1) allocate resources strategically to maximize impact and (2) take into account communal agency to potentially be a source for sanitation improvements. The Jodipan and Kesatrian Project in Malang, Indonesia is an interesting alternative for solving the sanitation problem in which resources were allocated strategically and communal agency was also observed. Although the projects initial goal was only to improve visually the situation in the slums, it became a new tourist destination, and the economic benefit that came with it had an effect also on the change of behavior of the residents and the government towards sanitation. It also grew from only including the Kesatrian Village to expanding to the Jodipan Village in the course of less than a year. To investigate the success of this project, in this paper a descriptive model will be used and data will be drawn from intensive interviews with the initiators of the project, residents affected by the project and government officials. In this research it is argued that three points mark the success of the project: (1) the strategic initial impact due to choice of location, (2) the influx of tourists that triggered behavioral change among residents and, (3) the direct economic impact which ensured its sustainability and growth by gaining government officials support and attention for more public spending in the area for slum development and sanitation improvement.

Keywords: behaviour change, sanitation, slum, strategic thinking

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Authors: Tanja Salary

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This paper discusses a study conducted in a juvenile justice facility regarding medication errors. It includes an introduction to data collected about medication errors in a juvenile justice facility from 2011 - 2019 and explores contributing factors that relate to those errors. The data was obtained from electronic incident records of medication errors that were documented from the years 2011 through 2019. In addition, the presentation reviews both current and historical research of empirical data about patient safety standards and quality care comparing traditional health care facilities to juvenile justice residential facilities and acknowledges a gap in research. The theoretical/conceptual framework for the research study was Bandura and Adams’s self-efficacy theory of behavioral change and Mark Friedman’s results-based accountability theory. Despite the lack of evidence in previous studies addressing medication errors in juvenile justice facilities, this presenter will share information that adds to the body of knowledge, including the potential relationship of medication errors and contributing factors of race and age. Implications for future research include the effect that education and training will have on the communication among juvenile justice staff, including nurses, who administer medications to juveniles to ensure adherence to patient safety standards. There are several opportunities for future research concerning other characteristics about factors that may affect medication administration errors within the residential juvenile justice facility.

Keywords: Juvenile justice, medication errors, juveniles, error reduction strategies

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Authors: Jonathan D. Moore, Mark G. Reith, David S. Long

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Serious games (SGs) have been shown to be an effective teaching tool in many contexts. Because of the success of SGs, several design frameworks have been created to expedite the process of making original serious games to teach specific learning objectives (LOs). Even with these frameworks, the time required to create a custom SG from conception to implementation can range from months to years. Furthermore, it is even more difficult to design a game framework that allows an instructor to create customized game variants supporting multiple LOs within the same field. This paper proposes a refactoring methodology to apply the theoretical principles from well-established design frameworks to a pre-existing serious game. The expected result is a generalized game that can be quickly customized to teach LOs not originally targeted by the game. This methodology begins by describing the general components in a game, then uses a combination of two SG design frameworks to extract the teaching elements present in the game. The identified teaching elements are then used as the theoretical basis to determine the range of LOs that can be taught by the game. This paper evaluates the proposed methodology by presenting a case study of refactoring the serious game Battlespace Next (BSN) to teach joint military capabilities. The range of LOs that can be taught by the generalized BSN are identified, and examples of creating custom LOs are given. Survey results from users of the generalized game are also provided. Lastly, the expected impact of this work is discussed and a road map for future work and evaluation is presented.

Keywords: serious games, learning objectives, game design, learning theory, game framework

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Authors: Warunpun Kongsom, Chaiwat Kongsom

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The objective of this study was to investigate the awareness, knowledge and consumer behavior towards organic products in Thailand. For this study, a purposive sampling technique was used to identify a sample group of 2,575 consumers over the age of 20 years who intended or made purchases from 1) green shops; 2) supermarkets with branches; and, 3) green markets. A questionnaire was used for data collection across the country. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The results showed that more than 92% of consumers were aware of organic agriculture, but had less knowledge about it. More than 60% of consumers knew that organic agriculture production and processing did not allow the use of chemicals. And about 40% of consumers were confused between the food safety logo and the certified organic logo, and whether GMO was allowed in organic agriculture practice or not. In addition, most consumers perceived that organic agricultural products, good agricultural practice (GAP) products, agricultural chemicals free products, and hydroponic vegetable products had the same standard. In the view of organic consumers, the organic Thailand label was the most seen and reliable among various organic labels. Less than 3% of consumers thought that the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) Global Organic Mark (GOM) was the most seen and reliable. For the behaviors of organic consumers, they purchased organic products mainly at the supermarket and green shop (55.4%), one to two times per month, and with a total expenditure of about 200 to 400 baht each time. The main reason for buying organic products was safety and free from agricultural chemicals. The considered factors in organic product selection were price (29.5%), convenience (22.4%), and a reliable certification system (21.3%). The demands for organic products were mainly rice, vegetables and fruits. Processed organic products were relatively small in quantity.

Keywords: consumer behavior, consumer knowledge, organic products, Thailand

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Authors: Nadine Sammy, Mark Wilson, Samuel Vine

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The Theory of Challenge and Threat States in Athletes (TCTSA) states that self-efficacy is an antecedent of challenge and threat. These states result from conscious and unconscious evaluations of situational demands and personal resources and are represented by both cognitive and physiological markers. Challenge is considered a more adaptive stress response as it is associated with a more efficient cardiovascular profile, as well as better performance and attention effects compared with threat. Self-efficacy is proposed to influence challenge/threat because an individual’s belief that they have the skills necessary to execute the courses of action required to succeed contributes to a perception that they can cope with the demands of the situation. This study experimentally examined the effects of self-efficacy on cardiovascular responses (challenge and threat), demand and resource evaluations, performance and attention under pressurised conditions. Forty-five university students were randomly assigned to either a control (n=15), low self-efficacy (n=15) or high self-efficacy (n=15) group and completed baseline and pressurised golf putting tasks. Self-efficacy was manipulated using false feedback adapted from previous studies. Measures of self-efficacy, cardiovascular reactivity, demand and resource evaluations, task performance and attention were recorded. The high self-efficacy group displayed more favourable cardiovascular reactivity, indicative of a challenge state, compared with the low self-efficacy group. The former group also reported high resource evaluations, but no task performance or attention effects were detected. These findings demonstrate that levels of self-efficacy influence cardiovascular reactivity and perceptions of resources under pressurised conditions.

Keywords: cardiovascular, challenge, performance, threat

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Authors: Marcin Jakiel, Maria Kurek, Karolina Gutkowska, Sylwia Sanakiewicz, Dominika Stolarczyk, Jakub Batko, Rafał Jakiel, Mateusz K. Hołda

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The geometry of RVOT is extremely complicated. It is an irregular block with an ellipsoidal cross-section, whose dimensions decrease toward the pulmonary valve and measure 33.82 (IQR 30,51-39,36), 28.82 (IQR 26,11-32,22), 27.95 ± 4,11 for width [mm] and 33.41 ± 6,14, 26.99 ± 4,41, 26.91 ± 4,00 [mm] for depth, in the basal, middle and subpulmonary parts, respectively. In a sagittal section view, the RVOT heads upward and slightly backward. Its anterior perimeter has an average length of 41.96 mm and inclines to the transverse plane at an angle of 50.77° (IQR 46,53°-58,70°). In the posterior region, the RVOT is shorter (18.17mm) and flexes anteriorly. Therefore, the slope of the upper part of the rear wall to the transverse plane is an acute angle (open toward the rear) of 44,58° (IQR 37,30°-51,25°), while in the lower part it is an angle close to a right angle of 94,30°±15,44°. In addition, the thickness of the RVOT wall in the diastolic phase, at the posterior perimeter at the base, in the middle of the length and subpulmonary measure 3,80 mm ± 0,88 mm, 3,56 mm ± 0,73 mm, 3,56 mm ± 0,65 mm, respectively. In frontal cross-section, the RVOT rises on the interventricular septum, which makes it possible to distinguish the septal and supraseptal parts on its left periphery. The angles (facing the vertices to the right) of the inclination of these parts to the transverse plane are 75.5° (IQR 66,44°-81,11°) and 107.01° (IQR 99,09 – 115,23°), respectively, which allows us to conclude that the direction of the RVOT long axis changes from left to right. The above analysis shows that there is no single RVOT axis. Two axes can be distinguished, the one for the upper RVOT being more backward and leftward. The aforementioned forward deflection of the posterior wall and the RVOT's elevation over the interventricular septum, suggest that access to the subpulmonary region may be difficult. It should be emphasized that this area is often the target for ablation of ventricular arrhythmias. The small thickness of the RVOT posterior wall, with its difficult geometry, may favor its perforation into the pericardium or ascending aorta.

Keywords: angle, geometry, operation access, position, RVOT, shape

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Authors: Yuanyi (Richard) Fang

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Under the theory of La Porta, Lopez-de-Silanes, Shleifer, and Vishny, if a country can increase its legal protections for minority shareholders, the country can develop an ideal securities market that only arises under the dispersed ownership corporate governance. However, the path-dependence scholarship, such as Lucian Arye Bebchuk and Mark J. Roe, presented a different view with LLS&V. They pointed out that the initial framework of the ownership structure and traditional culture will prevent the change of the corporate governance structure through legal reform. This paper contends that traditional culture factors as an important aspect when forming the corporate governance structure. However, it is not impossible for the government to change its traditional corporate governance structure and traditional culture because the culture does not remain intact. Culture evolves with time. The occurrence of the important events will affect the people’s psychological process. The psychological process affects the evolution of culture. The new cultural norms can help defeat the force of the traditional culture and the resistance from the initial corporate ownership structure. Using Taiwan as an example, through analyzing the historical background, related corporate rules and the reactions of adoption new rules from the media, this paper try to show that Taiwan’s culture norms do not remain intact and have changed with time. It further provides that the culture is not always the hurdle for the adoption of the dispersed ownership corporate governance structure as the culture can change. A new culture can provide strong support for the adoption of the new corporate governance structure.

Keywords: LLS&V theory, corporate governance, culture, path–dependent theory

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Authors: Sumia Fatima, Tayyaba Idrees

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Cardiac Arrest and Heart Failures are an important causes of mortality in developed and developing countries and even a second spent without Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) increases the risk of mortality. Youngs doctors are expected to partake in CPR from the first day and if they are not taught basic life support (BLS) skills during their studies. They have next to no opportunity to learn them in clinical settings. To determine the exact level of knowledge of Basic Life Support among medical students. To compare the degree of knowledge among 1st and 2nd year medical students of RMU (Rawalpindi Medical University), using self-structured questionnaires. A cross sectional, qualitative primary study was conducted in March 2020 in order to analyse theoretical and practical knowledge of Basic Life Support among Medical Students of 1st and 2nd year MBBS. Self-Structured Questionnaires were distributed among 300 students, 150 from 1st year and 150 from 2nd year. Data was analysed using SPSS v 22. Chi Square test was employed. The results showed that only 13 (4%) students had received formal BLS training.129 (42%) students had encountered accidents in real life but had not known how to react. Majority responded that Basic Life Support should be made part of medical college curriculum (189 students), 194 participants (64%) had moderate knowledge of both theoretical and practical aspects of BLS. 75-80% students of both 1st and 2nd year had only moderate knowledge, which must be improved for them to be better healthcare providers in future. It was also found that male students had more practical knowledge than females, but both had almost the same proficiency in theoretical knowledge. The study concluded that the level of knowledge of BLS among the students was not up to the mark, and there is a dire need to include BLS training in the medical colleges’ curriculum.

Keywords: basic cardiac life support, cardiac arrest, awareness, medical students

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Authors: Selena Ferrian, Erin Mccaffrey, Toshie Saito, Aiqin Cao, Noah Greenwald, Mark Robert Nicolls, Trevor Bruce, Roham T. Zamanian, Patricia Del Rosario, Marlene Rabinovitch, Michael Angelo

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Recent experimental and clinical observations are advancing immunotherapies to clinical trials in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). However, comprehensive mapping of the immune landscape in pulmonary arteries (PAs) is necessary to understand how immune cell subsets interact to induce pulmonary vascular pathology. We used multiplexed ion beam imaging by time-of-flight (MIBI-TOF) to interrogate the immune landscape in PAs from idiopathic (IPAH) and hereditary (HPAH) PAH patients. Massive immune infiltration in I/HPAH was observed with intramural infiltration linked to PA occlusive changes. The spatial context of CD11c+DCs expressing SAMHD1, TIM-3 and IDO-1 within immune-enriched microenvironments and neutrophils were associated with greater immune activation in HPAH. Furthermore, CD11c-DC3s (mo-DC-like cells) within a smooth muscle cell (SMC) enriched microenvironment were linked to vessel score, proliferating SMCs, and inflamed endothelial cells. Experimental data in cultured cells reinforced a causal relationship between neutrophils and mo-DCs in mediating pulmonary arterial SMC proliferation. These findings merit consideration in developing effective immunotherapies for PAH.

Keywords: pulmonary arterial hypertension, vascular remodeling, indoleamine 2-3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO-1), neutrophils, monocyte-derived dendritic cells, BMPR2 mutation, interferon gamma (IFN-γ)

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Authors: Joseph E. Cobbinah, Abigail A. Aryeh-Adjei

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Over the years, entry into the academia in any Ghanaian university requires an advanced research degree, more preferably traditional doctorate (PhD or DPhil). It is however argued that PhD is more research intensive, so since university teaching involves a lot of research, those having traditional doctorate have good research background to teach in a university and are thus recruited as lecturers. However, in the last ten years, a reasonable number of academics enter Ghanaian universities with professional doctorate degrees, which hitherto was considered to be only suitable for industry, because it gives individuals with just basic research skills needed for professional practice, unlike the traditional PhD which is research intensive degree. Currently, there are a reasonable number of professional doctorate degree holders with qualifications like DBA, EdD, PsychD, DPharm, EngD, among others in various departments in many Ghanaian universities. Maybe, because such degree holders also use the title Dr, some university authorities put them at par with their counterparts with traditional doctorate, although some lecturers with PhD seem to look down upon those with traditional doctorate degrees and this has created some tension amongst those academics. This makes their promotions and holding of university academic positions very problematic in some ways. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the types of professional doctorate degree holders working as lecturers in some selected universities in Ghana and the challenges associated with their recruitment, acceptability and proper integration into universities’ teaching and learning. The paper adopted qualitative research methodology. In all, respondents from three state-owned and privately owned universities were involved in the study. Administrators, lecturers, heads of departments and deans of faculty were interviewed to assess the challenges associated with the recruitment of professional doctorate degree holders and any problems they face in the departments they work. It became evident that, although some lecturers enter the academia with professional doctorate degrees, their counterparts seem not to give them the recognition and respect they deserve. Although there is little or no evidence that professional doctorate degree holders are under performing, recruiting professional doctorate degree holders does not only become a challenge, but also their progression into the university’s promotion ladder become very slow compared to their counterparts with traditional PhD degrees.

Keywords: professional doctorate, academia, lecturers, Ghanaian universities, orate

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Authors: Elena K. Schneider, Johnny X. Huang, Vincenzo Carbone, Mark Baker, Mohammad A. K. Azad, Matthew A. Cooper, Jian Li, Tony Velkov

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Ivacaftor is a novel CF trans-membrane conductance regulator (CFTR) potentiator that improves the pulmonary function for cystic fibrosis patients bearing a G551D CFTR-protein mutation. Because ivacaftor is highly bound (>97%) to plasma proteins, there is the strong possibility that co-administered CF drugs that compete for the same plasma protein binding sites and impact the free drug concentration. This in turn could lead to drastic changes in the in vivo efficacy of ivacaftor and therapeutic outcomes. This study compares the binding affinity of ivacaftor and co-administered CF drugs for human serum albumin (HSA) and α1-acid glycoprotein (AGP) using surface plasmon resonance and fluorimetric binding assays that measure the displacement of site selective probes. Due to their high plasma protein binding affinities, drug-drug interactions between ivacaftor are to be expected with ducosate, montelukast, ibuprofen, dicloxacillin, omeprazole and loratadine. The significance of these drug-drug interactions is interpreted in terms of the pharmacodynamic/pharmacokinetic parameters and molecular docking simulations. The translational outcomes of the data are presented as recommendations for a staggered treatment regimen for future clinical trials which aims to maximize the effective free drug concentration and clinical efficacy of ivacaftor.

Keywords: human α-1-acid glycoprotein, binding affinity, human serum albumin, ivacaftor, cystic fibrosis

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Authors: Mark T. Hanson, Alan T. Varughese

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Osteoporosis is a disease affecting bone quality which in turn can increase the risk of low energy fractures. Treatment of osteoporosis using Bisphosphonates has the beneficial effect of increasing bone mass while at the same time has been linked to the formation of atypical femoral fractures. This has led to the increased study of micro-fractures in bones of patients using Bisphosphonate treatment. One of the mechanics related issues which have been identified in this regard is the loss in stiffness of bones containing one or many micro-fractures. Different theories have been put forth using fracture mechanics to determine the effect of crack presence on elastic properties such as modulus. However, validation of these results in a deterministic way has not been forthcoming. The present analysis seeks to provide this deterministic evaluation of fracture’s effect on the elastic modulus. In particular, the effect of crack size, crack orientation and crack number on elastic modulus is investigated. In particular, the Finite Element method is used to explicitly determine the elastic modulus reduction caused by the presence of cracks in a representative volume element. Single cracks of various lengths and orientations are examined as well as cases of multiple cracks. Cracks in tension as well as under shear stress are considered. Although the focus is predominantly two-dimensional, some three-dimensional results are also presented. The results obtained show the explicit reduction in modulus caused by the parameters of crack size, orientation and number noted above. The present results allow the interpretation of the various theories which currently exist in the literature.

Keywords: cracks, elastic, fracture, modulus

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Authors: C. Akhras

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Change is the life blood of business. Dynamic factors inspire change yet may act as barriers, influencing the company’s position in the market and challenging its organizational mission and culture. Today, the business context has globalized with business enterprises in the North and South joint in mergers and the East forges a strategic alliance with the West. Moreover, given that very little remains stable in certain industries, national business goals in the millennial marketplaces might be rapid, accelerated, and differentiated growth while distinctive competitive advantage might mark new qualitative excellence in others. In a new age culture marked by change, organizations, leaders, and followers are impacted; indigenous business leaders seem to have a very important role to play in change management. This case study was carried out on 178 business employees employed in local industry to evaluate perceptions of indigenous business leadership, workplace assessment, and organizational change management in the Middle East and North Africa. Three research questions were posed: (1) In your work context, do you think business leaders are essentially changing agents? (2) In your work context, is workplace change more effective in business leaders perceived as a hierarchical change agent rather than those perceived as an empowering change agent? (3) In your work context, is workplace change more efficient in business leaders perceived as a hierarchical change agent rather than those perceived as an empowering change agent? The results of the study and its limitations imposed by time and space indicate that more comprehensive research is required in this area.

Keywords: catalyst, change management, business enterprise, workplace assessment

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Authors: Riccardo Pasquali, Keith Harlin, Mark Muller

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The ShallowTherm project is focussed on developing and applying a methodology for extrapolating relatively sparsely sampled thermal conductivity measurements across Ireland using mapped Litho-Electrical (LE) units. The primary data used consist of electrical resistivities derived from the Geological Survey Ireland Tellus airborne electromagnetic dataset, GIS-based maps of Irish geology, and rock thermal conductivities derived from both the current Irish Ground Thermal Properties (IGTP) database and a new programme of sampling and laboratory measurement. The workflow has been developed across three case-study areas that sample a range of different calcareous, arenaceous, argillaceous, and volcanic lithologies. Statistical analysis of resistivity data from individual geological formations has been assessed and integrated with detailed lithological descriptions to define distinct LE units. Thermal conductivity measurements from core and hand samples have been acquired for every geological formation within each study area. The variability and consistency of thermal conductivity measurements within each LE unit is examined with the aim of defining a characteristic thermal conductivity (or range of thermal conductivities) for each LE unit. Mapping of LE units, coupled with characteristic thermal conductivities, provides a method of defining thermal conductivity properties at a regional scale and facilitating the design of ground source heat pump closed-loop collectors.

Keywords: thermal conductivity, ground source heat pumps, resistivity, heat exchange, shallow geothermal, Ireland

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Authors: Richard Adu Antwako

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Coastal wetland destruction and its consequences have recently taken the center stage of global discussions. This phenomenon is no gray area to humanity as coastal wetland-human interaction seems inevitably ingrained in the earliest civilizations, amidst the demanding use of its resources to meet their necessities. The severity of coastal wetland destruction parallels with growing civilizations, and it is against this backdrop that, this paper interrogated the causes of coastal wetland destruction in Harper City in Liberia, compared the degree of coastal wetland stressors to the non-equilibrium thermodynamic scale as well as suggested an integrated coastal zone management to address the problems. Literature complemented the primary data gleaned via global positioning system devices, field observation, questionnaire, and interviews. Multi-sampling techniques were used to generate data from the sand miners, institutional heads, fisherfolk, community-based groups, and other stakeholders. Non-equilibrium thermodynamic theory remains vibrant in discerning the ecological stability, and it would be employed to further understand the coastal wetland destruction in Harper City, Liberia and to measure the coastal wetland stresses-amplitude and elasticity. The non-equilibrium thermodynamics postulates that the coastal wetlands are capable of assimilating resources (inputs), as well as discharging products (outputs). However, the input-output relationship exceedingly stretches beyond the thresholds of the coastal wetlands, leading to coastal wetland disequilibrium. Findings revealed that the sand mining, mangrove removal, and crude dumping have transformed the coastal wetlands, resulting in water pollution, flooding, habitat loss and disfigured beaches in Harper City in Liberia. This paper demonstrates that the coastal wetlands are converted into developmental projects and agricultural fields, thus, endangering the future society against nature.

Keywords: amplitude, crude dumping, elasticity, non-equilibrium thermodynamics, wetland destruction

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Authors: Mohammad Rawashdeh, Mark McEntee, Maha Zaitoun, Mostafa Abdelrahman, Patrick Brennan, Haytham Alewaidat, Sarah Lewis, Charbel Saade

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Despite the tremendous advancements that have been generated by Computed Tomography (CT) in the field of diagnosis, concerns have been raised about the potential cancer induction risk from CT because of the exponentially increased use of it in medicine. This study aims at investigating the application and knowledge of practicing radiographers in Jordan about CT radiation. In order to collect the primary data of this study, a questionnaire was designed and distributed by social media using a snow-balling sampling method. The respondents (n=54) have answered 36 questions including the questions about their demographic information, knowledge about Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs), CT exposure and adaptation of pediatric patients exposure. The educational level of the respondents was either at a diploma degree (35.2%) or bachelor (64.8%). The results of this study have indicated a good level of general knowledge between radiographers about the relationship between image quality, exposure parameters, and patient dose. The level of knowledge related to DRL was poor where less than 7.4 percent of the sample members were able to give specific values for a number of common anatomical fields, including abdomen, brain, and chest. Overall, Jordanian radiographers need to gain more knowledge about the expected levels of the dose when applying good practice. Additional education on DRL or DRL inclusion in educational programs is highlighted.

Keywords: computed tomography, CT scan, DRLs, exposure parameters, image quality, radiation dose

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Authors: Mahadula I. P. Kumari, Kasturiratne A., De Silva AP

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Doping refers to an athlete's use of banned substances as a method to improve training and performance in sports. It is known that some young athletes use banned substances in Sri Lanka without knowing their side effects and associated health risks. The main objective of this study was to describe the level of knowledge and attitude among junior athletes and coaches on doping in sports. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. Four individual sports and six team sports were taken into the study. Schools were selected considering the results of the all-island school sports competitions 2017. Two hundred sixty-two female athletes, 290 male athletes and 30 coaches representing all sports counted into this study. The data collection method was a self-administered questionnaire and SPSS Version 21 was used for the data analysis. According to the result, 79% of athletes have heard of the term "doping," and 21% have never heard of it. This means these children have not been educated on doping. A number of questions were asked to study the level of knowledge of the coaches and players. Those who answered the questions correctly were given a mark. According to the marks, it is evident that the level of knowledge of the players and coaches is very low. All athletes and coaches do not accept the use of banned substances. This shows that athletes and coaches have a good attitude about winning without cheating. It was evident that athletes in athletics, weightlifting, rugby, and badminton had some level of knowledge about banned substances. All coaches stated that school athletes and coaches do not have sufficient knowledge of banned substances. And they should be made aware of it. This study has revealed that school/Junior athletes and coaches have limited knowledge of banned substances. School children and coaches need to be educated about banned substances and their harmful effects.

Keywords: attitude, doping, knowledge, Sri Lanka

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Authors: Harshada Vaidya-Kannur, Dattatraya Naik

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Propolis, one of the beehive products also referred as bee-glue is sticky dark coloured complex mixture of compounds. The volatile oil can be isolated from the propolis by hydrodistillation. The mark that is left behind after the removal of volatile oil is referred as the de-oiled propolis. Antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties of total ethanolic extract of de-oiled propolis (TEEDP) was investigated. Another lot of deoiled propolis was successively exacted with hexane, ethyl acetate and ethanol. Activities of these fractions were also determined. Antioxidant activity was determined by studying ABTS, DPPH and NO radical scavenging. Determination of anti-inflammatory activity was carried out by topical TPA induced mouse ear oedema model. It is noteworthy that ethyl acetate fraction of deoiled propolis (EAFDP) exhibited 49.45 % TEAC activity at the concentration 0.2 mg/ml which is equivalent to the activity of trolox at the concentration 0.2 mg/ml. Its DPPH scavenging activity (72.56%) was closely comparable to that of trolox (75%). However its NO scavenging activity was comparatively low. From IC50 values it could be concluded that the efficiency of scavenging ABTS radicals by the de-oiled propolis was more pronounced as compared to scavenging of other radicals. Studies by TPA induced mouse ear inflammation model indicated that the de-oiled propolis of Indian origin had significant topical anti-inflammatory activity. The EAFDP was found to be the most active fraction for this activity also. The purification of EAFP yielded six pure crystalline compounds. These compounds were identified by their physical data and spectral data.

Keywords: anti-inflammatory activity, anti-oxidant activity, column chromatography, de-oiled propolis

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Authors: Mardiati Zain, Elihasridas, Yolani Utami, Bima Bagaskara, Muhammad Taufic

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The purpose of this study is to formulated a ration that can increased concentration of bioactive compounds in the form of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids acid (PUFA) in milk to produce functional milk that is beneficial for health. It has been proven that forage-based feeds (grass and legumes) are able to increased the presence of polyunsaturated fatty acids and in particular conjugated linoleic acid CLA in milk. Presence of bioactive compounds in product fat of ruminant origin these have generated great interest because they are associated with their potential as anti carcinogenic, anti diabetogenic and stimulant of the immune response. PUFA and CLA and especially n-3 fatty acids, only 4% of the fatty acids present in milk. For that, efforts need to be made to change the fatty acid composition of milk to increase the nutritional value for consumers through increasing the concentration of PUFA and CLA This is very important in the midst of the covid pandemic 19 which is increasing, it is necessary to drink and food that can improve the system body immunity. . The study was conducted in vivo using a randomized block design with 4 treatments and 4 replications. This experiment used 16 heads of 40-55 kg lactating goats. Goat were fed a basal diet containing (dry matter basis) 60% native grass and 40% concentrate. The treatment was A. 60% native grass + 40% concentrate, B. 60% native grass + 30% concentrate + 10% I. zollengeriana C. 60% native grass + 20% concentrate + 20% I. zollengeriana, D, 60% native grass + 10% concentrate + 30% I. zollengeriana.The results showed that the using of I. zollengeriana until 30% in ration gave the same result with using concentrate of nutrien intake, and milk production but increased the CLA dan PUFA content in milk. The results of this study concluded that I. zollengeriana can increased the content of CLA and PUFA at the use of 75% substitute concentrate in the diet of lactating goats.

Keywords: Indigofera zollengeriana, lactation goat, milk production, CLA, PUFA

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Authors: Tatiana Stanchuliak

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It is common knowledge that intonation is not laid over a ready text. On the contrary, intonation forms and accompanies the text on the level of its birth in the speaker’s mind. As a result, intonation plays one of the fundamental roles in the process of transferring a thought into external speech. Intonation structure can highlight the semantic significance of textual elements and become a ranging mark in understanding the information structure of the text. Intonation functions by means of prosodic characteristics, one of which is intonation salience, whose function in texts results in making some textual elements more prominent than others. This function of intonation, therefore, performs as organizing. It helps to form the frame of key elements of the text. The study under consideration made an attempt to look into the inner nature of salience and create a sort of a text intonation model. This general goal brought to some more specific intermediate results. First, there were established degrees of salience on the level of the smallest semantic element - intonation group, as well as prosodic means of creating salience, were examined. Second, the most frequent combinations of prosodic means made it possible to distinguish patterns of salience, which then became constituent elements of a text intonation model. Third, the analysis of the predicate structure allowed to divide the whole text into smaller parts, or units, which performed a specific function in the developing of the general communicative intention. It appeared that such units can be found in any text and they have common characteristics of their intonation arrangement. These findings are certainly very important both for the theory of intonation and their practical application.

Keywords: accentuation , inner speech, intention, intonation, intonation functions, models, patterns, predicate, salience, semantics, sentence stress, text

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Authors: Sinead Impey, Damon Berry, Selma Furtado, Miriam Galvin, Loretto Grogan, Orla Hardiman, Lucy Hederman, Mark Heverin, Vincent Wade, Linda Douris, Declan O'Sullivan, Gaye Stephens

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Healthcare is a knowledge-rich environment. This knowledge, while valuable, is not always accessible outside the borders of individual clinics. This research aims to address part of this problem (at a study site) by constructing a maximal data set (knowledge artefact) for motor neurone disease (MND). This data set is proposed as an initial knowledge base for a concurrent project to develop an MND patient data platform. It represents the domain knowledge at the study site for the duration of the research (12 months). A knowledge elicitation method was also developed from the lessons learned during this process - the WICKED method. WICKED is an anagram of the words: eliciting and confirming data, information, knowledge, wisdom. But it is also a reference to the concept of wicked problems, which are complex and challenging, as is eliciting expert knowledge. The method was evaluated at a second site, and benefits and limitations were noted. Benefits include that the method provided a systematic way to manage data, information, knowledge and wisdom (DIKW) from various sources, including healthcare specialists and existing data sets. Limitations surrounded the time required and how the data set produced only represents DIKW known during the research period. Future work is underway to address these limitations.

Keywords: healthcare, knowledge acquisition, maximal data sets, action design science

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