Search results for: simulation results using C++

Authors: Mark Heads, Carrie Adamson

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Introduction This study evaluated the educational merits of the teaching activities of ‘Sheffield Anatomy Society,’ a student society with minimal faculty oversight which delivers near peer teaching in a range of formats to support students in their revision. Near peer, teaching is defined as teaching delivered by more senior students who have themselves recently completed the course content. This study was conducted between early April and late May 2022. This programme aims to improve student knowledge of anatomy, increase student confidence in their anatomy learning and cultivate a sense of community. The sessions were delivered by more senior medical students and by medical students undertaking an intercalated Master's degree in Human Anatomy with Education. Background: The majority of studies concerning near peer teaching focus on faculty designed programmes. Few studies have examined entirely student led near peer teaching of anatomy. Existing studies have been favourable but have limited qualitative examination of the benefits and weaknesses of near peer teaching. Various drawbacks have been proposed in the literature but not extensively investigated in practice. This study examines student led near peer anatomy teaching across a range of formats and considers these proposed criticisms. Methods: The teaching series consisted of 11 online lectures, a small group teaching session, two in person mock spotter examinations, and an online mock examination. Feedback forms were given for each session, and follow up interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis utilising an interpretivist epistemology was conducted on the feedback form responses and interview transcripts. Findings: 207 first year medical students, 34 second year biomedical science students, and 12 third year biomedical science students completed one or more feedback forms following these sessions, with 875 responses being collected in total. Six interviews were conducted. 99.5% of respondents said that they would recommend these sessions to other students. The quantitative results ranged from a mean of 4.6-4.8/5 per session when asked to rate how useful the students found it. Qualitative: analysis yielded numerous strengths and some weaknesses of the programme. The most commonly cited strength was that students found the explanations readily comprehensible. Students also praised the interactive nature of the sessions, with students frequently saying they felt more able to engage with interactive elements and ask questions in these sessions than in faculty teaching. Students did, however, raise some issues. The most common drawback students mentioned was a desire for more help preparing for their examinations, especially more examination style questions. Criticisms of the teaching itself were less prominent and typically reflected time constraints and limited resources. Conclusions : This study suggests student organised near peer teaching, utilising interactive online lectures, small group teaching, and mock examinations, can be an effective method for supporting students studying anatomy. Students reported improvements in their knowledge as a result of the sessions, greater confidence approaching their examinations, and this programme has helped foster an environment where students feel able to ask questions outside of sessions and even get involved with teaching themselves the following academic year.

Keywords: medical education, near peer teaching, anatomy teaching, online learning

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Authors: Breanna Wright, Peter Bragge

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Diagnostic error rates in healthcare are approximately 10% of cases. Diagnostic errors can cause patient harm due to inappropriate, inadequate or delayed treatment, and such errors contribute heavily to medical liability claims globally. Therefore, addressing diagnostic error is a high priority. In most cases, diagnostic errors are the result of faulty information synthesis rather than lack of knowledge. Specifically, the majority of diagnostic errors involve cognitive factors, and in particular, cognitive biases. Emergency Departments are an environment with heightened risk of diagnostic error due to time and resource pressures, a frequently chaotic environment, and patients arriving undifferentiated and with minimal context. This project aimed to develop a behavioural, evidence-informed intervention to reduce diagnostic error in Emergency Departments through co-design with emergency physicians, insurers, researchers, hospital managers, citizens and consumer representatives. The Forum Process was utilised to address this aim. This involves convening a small (4 – 6 member) expert panel to guide a focused literature and practice review; convening of a 10 – 12 person citizens panel to gather perspectives of laypeople, including those affected by misdiagnoses; and a 18 – 22 person structured stakeholder dialogue bringing together representatives of the aforementioned stakeholder groups. The process not only provides in-depth analysis of the problem and associated behaviours, but brings together expertise and insight to facilitate identification of a behaviour change intervention. Informed by the literature and practice review, the Citizens Panel focused on eliciting the values and concerns of those affected or potentially affected by diagnostic error. Citizens were comfortable with diagnostic uncertainty if doctors were honest with them. They also emphasised the importance of open communication between doctors and patients and their families. Citizens expect more consistent standards across the state and better access for both patients and their doctors to patient health information to avoid time-consuming re-taking of long patient histories and medication regimes when re-presenting at Emergency Departments and to reduce the risk of unintentional omissions. The structured Stakeholder Dialogue focused on identifying a feasible behavioural intervention to review diagnoses in Emergency Departments. This needed to consider the role of cognitive bias in medical decision-making; contextual factors (in Victoria, there is a legislated 4-hour maximum time between ED triage and discharge / hospital admission); resource availability; and the need to ensure the intervention could work in large metropolitan as well as small rural and regional ED settings across Victoria. The identified behavioural intervention will be piloted in approximately ten hospital EDs across Victoria, Australia. This presentation will detail the findings of all review and consultation activities, describe the behavioural intervention developed and present results of the pilot trial.

Keywords: behavioural intervention, cognitive bias, decision-making, diagnostic error

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Authors: Muhammad Fayyaz Nazir, Ellen Wayenberg, Shahzadaah Faahed Qureshi

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Introduction: The study is based on the Contextual Interaction Theory (CIT) constructs to explore the role of policy actors in implementing the COVID-19 Disease Prevention and Control (DP&C) Policy. The study analyzes the role of healthcare workers' contextual factors, such as cognition, motives, and resources, and their interactions in implementing Social Distancing (SD). In this way, we test a two actors policy implementation theory, i.e., the CIT in a three-actor context. Methods: Data was collected through document analysis and semi-structured interviews. For a qualitative study design, interviews were conducted with questions on cognition, motives, and resources from the healthcare workers involved in implementing SD in the local context in Multan – Pakistan. The possible interactions resulting from contextual factors of the policy actors – healthcare workers were identified through framework analysis protocol guided by CIT and supported by trustworthiness criterion and data saturation. Results: This inquiry resulted in theory application, addition, and enrichment. The theoretical application in the three actor's contexts illustrates the different levels of motives, cognition, and resources of healthcare workers – senior administrators, managers, and healthcare professionals. The senior administrators working in National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), Provincial Technical Committees (PTCs), and Districts Covid Teams (DCTs) were playing their role with high motivation. They were fully informed about the policy and moderately resourceful. The policy implementors: healthcare managers working on implementing the SD within their respective hospitals were playing their role with high motivation and were fully informed about the policy. However, they lacked the required resources to implement SD. The target medical and allied healthcare professionals were moderately motivated but lack of resources and information. The interaction resulted in cooperation and the need for learning to manage the future healthcare crisis. However, the lack of resources created opposition to the implementation of SD. Objectives of the Study: The study aimed to apply a two actors theory in a multi actors context. We take this as an opportunity to qualitatively test the theory in a novel situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and make way for its quantitative application by designing a survey instrument so that implementation researchers can apply CIT through multivariate analyses or higher-order statistical modeling. Conclusion: Applying two actors' implementation theory in exploring a complex case of healthcare intervention in three actors context is a unique work that has never been done before, up to the best of our knowledge. So, the work will contribute to the policy implementation studies by applying, extending, and enriching an implementation theory in a novel case of the Covi-19 pandemic, ultimately fulfilling the gap in implementation literature. Policy institutions and other low or middle-income countries can learn from this research and improve SD implementation by working on the variables with weak significance levels.

Keywords: COVID-19, disease prevention and control policy, implementation, policy actors, social distancing

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Authors: Siddhant Sethi, Yasuharu Takashima, Shigetaka Nakamura, Kenzo Fujimoto

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Site-directed mutagenesis is a renowned technique to introduce specific mutations in the genome. To achieve site-directed mutagenesis, many chemical and enzymatic approaches have been reported in the past like disulphite induced genome editing, CRISPR-Cas9, TALEN etc. The chemical methods are invasive whereas the enzymatic approaches are time-consuming and expensive. Most of these techniques are unusable in the cellular application due to their toxicity and other limitations. Photo-chemical cytosine deamination, introduced in 2010, is one of the major technique for enzyme-free single-point mutation of cytosine to uracil in DNA and RNA, wherein, 3-cyanovinylcarbazole nucleoside (CNVK) containing oligodeoxyribonucleotide (ODN) having CNVK at -1 position to that of target cytosine is reversibly crosslinked to target DNA strand using 366 nm and then incubated at 90ºC to accommodate deamination. This technique is superior to enzymatic methods of site-directed mutagenesis but has a disadvantage that it requires the use of high temperature for the deamination step which restricts its applicability in the in vivo applications. This study has been focused on improving the technique by reducing the temperature required for deamination. Firstly, the photo-cross-linker, CNVK has been modified by replacing cyano group attached to vinyl group with methyl ester (OMeVK), amide (NH2VK), and carboxylic acid (OHVK) to observe the acceleration in the deamination of target cytosine cross-linked to vinylcarbazole derivative. Among the derivatives, OHVK has shown 2 times acceleration in deamination reaction as compared to CNVK, while the other two derivatives have shown deceleration towards deamination reaction. The trend of rate of deamination reaction follows the same order as that of hydrophilicity of the vinylcarbazole derivatives. OHVK being most hydrophilic has shown highest acceleration while OMeVK is least hydrophilic has proven to be least active for deamination. Secondly, in the related study, the counter-base of the target cytosine, guanine has been replaced by inosine, 2-aminopurine, nebularine, and 5-nitroindole having distinct hydrogen bonding patterns with target cytosine. Among the ODNs with these counter bases, ODN with inosine has shown 12 fold acceleration towards deamination of cytosine cross-linked to CNVK at physiological conditions as compared to guanosine. Whereas, when 2-aminopurine, nebularine, and 5-nitroindole were used, no deamination reaction took place. It can be concluded that inosine has potential to be used as the counter base of target cytosine for the CNVK mediated photo-cross-linking induced deamination of cytosine. The increase in rate of deamination reaction has been attributed to pattern and number of hydrogen bonding between the cytosine and counter base. One of the important factor is presence of hydrogen bond between exo-cyclic amino group of cytosine and the counter base. These results will be useful for development of more efficient technique for site-directed mutagenesis for C → U transformations in the DNA/RNA which might be used in the living system for treatment of various genetic disorders and genome engineering for making designer and non-native proteins.

Keywords: C to U transformation, DNA editing, genome engineering, ultra-fast photo-cross-linking

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Authors: Andrey A. Tyuftin, David Clarke, Malco C. Cruz-Romero, Declan Bolton, Seamus Fanning, Shashi K. Pankaj, Carmen Bueno-Ferrer, Patrick J. Cullen, Joe P. Kerry

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Prolonging of shelf-life is essential in order to address issues such as; supplier demands across continents, economical profit, customer satisfaction, and reduction of food wastage. Smart packaging solutions presented in the form of naturally occurred antimicrobially-active packaging may be a solution to these and other issues. Gelatin film forming solution with adding of natural sourced antimicrobials is a promising tool for the active smart packaging. The objective of this study was to coat conventional plastic hydrophobic packaging material with hydrophilic antimicrobial active beef gelatin coating and conduct shelf life trials on beef sub-primal cuts. Minimal inhibition concentration (MIC) of Caprylic acid sodium salt (SO) and commercially available Auranta FV (AFV) (bitter oranges extract with mixture of nutritive organic acids) were found of 1 and 1.5 % respectively against bacterial strains Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and aerobic and anaerobic beef microflora. Therefore SO or AFV were incorporated in beef gelatin film forming solution in concentration of two times of MIC which was coated on a conventional plastic LDPE/PA film on the inner cold plasma treated polyethylene surface. Beef samples were vacuum packed in this material and stored under chilling conditions, sampled at weekly intervals during 42 days shelf life study. No significant differences (p < 0.05) in the cook loss was observed among the different treatments compared to control samples until the day 29. Only for AFV coated beef sample it was 3% higher (37.3%) than the control (34.4 %) on the day 36. It was found antimicrobial films did not protect beef against discoloration. SO containing packages significantly (p < 0.05) reduced Total viable bacterial counts (TVC) compared to the control and AFV samples until the day 35. No significant reduction in TVC was observed between SO and AFV films on the day 42 but a significant difference was observed compared to control samples with a 1.40 log of bacteria reduction on the day 42. AFV films significantly (p < 0.05) reduced TVC compared to control samples from the day 14 until the day 42. Control samples reached the set value of 7 log CFU/g on day 27 of testing, AFV films did not reach this set limit until day 35 and SO films until day 42 of testing. The antimicrobial AFV and SO coated films significantly prolonged the shelf-life of beef steaks by 33 or 55% (on 7 and 14 days respectively) compared to control film samples. It is concluded antimicrobial coated films were successfully developed by coating the inner polyethylene layer of conventional LDPE/PA laminated films after plasma surface treatment. The results indicated that the use of antimicrobial active packaging coated with SO or AFV increased significantly (p < 0.05) the shelf life of the beef sub-primal. Overall, AFV or SO containing gelatin coatings have the potential of being used as effective antimicrobials for active packaging applications for muscle-based food products.

Keywords: active packaging, antimicrobials, edible coatings, food packaging, gelatin films, meat science

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Authors: Irena Kostovska, Katerina Tosheska Trajkovska, Svetlana Cekovska, Julijana Brezovska Kavrakova, Hristina Ampova, Sonja Topuzovska, Ognen Kostovski, Goce Spasovski, Danica Labudovic

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Background: Proteinuria is an important feature of secondary nephropathies. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of proteinuria plays an important role in determining the types of proteinuria (glomerular, tubular and mixed), in the diagnosis and prognosis of secondary nephropathies. The damage of the glomerular basement membrane is responsible for a proteinuria characterized by the presence of large amounts of protein with high molecular weights such as albumin (69 kilo Daltons-kD), transferrin (78 kD) and immunoglobulin G (150 kD). An insufficiency of proximal tubular function is the cause of a proteinuria characterized by the presence of proteins with low molecular weight (LMW), such as retinol binding protein (21 kD) and α1-microglobulin (31 kD). In some renal diseases, a mixed glomerular and tubular proteinuria is frequently seen. Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) is the most widely used method of analyzing urine proteins for clinical purposes. The main aim of the study is to determine the type of proteinuria in the most common secondary nephropathies such as diabetic, hypertensive nephropathy and preeclampsia. Material and methods: In this study were included 90 subjects: subjects with diabetic nephropathy (n=30), subjects with hypertensive nephropahty (n=30) and pregnant women with preeclampsia (n=30). We divided all subjects according to UM/CR into three subgroups: macroalbuminuric (UM/CR >300 mg/g), microalbuminuric (UM/CR 30-300 mg/g) and normolabuminuric (UM/CR<30 mg/g). In all subjects, we measured microalbumin and creatinine in urine with standard biochemical methods. Separation of urinary proteins was performed by SDS-PAGE, in several stages: linear gel preparation (4-22%), treatment of urinary samples before their application on the gel, electrophoresis, gel fixation, coloring with Coomassie blue, and identification of the separated protein fractions based on standards with exactly known molecular weight. Results: According to urinary microalbumin/creatinin ratio in group of subject with diabetic nephropathy, nine patients were macroalbuminuric, while 21 subject were microalbuminuric. In group of subjects with hypertensive nephropathy, we found macroalbuminuria (n=4), microalbuminuria (n=20) and normoalbuminuria (n=6). All pregnant women with preeclampsia were macroalbuminuric. Electrophoretic separation of urinary proteins showed that in macroalbuminric patients with diabetic nephropathy 56% have mixed proteinuria, 22% have glomerular proteinuria and 22% have tubular proteinuria. In subgroup of subjects with diabetic nephropathy and microalbuminuria, 52% have glomerular proteinuria, 8% have tubular proteinuria, and 40% of subjects have normal electrophoretic findings. All patients with maroalbuminuria and hypertensive nephropathy have mixed proteinuria. In subgroup of patients with microalbuminuria and hypertensive nephropathy, we found: 32% with mixed proteinuria, 27% with normal findings, 23% with tubular, and 18% with glomerular proteinuria. In all normoalbuminruic patiens with hypertensive nephropathy, we detected normal electrophoretic findings. In group of subjects pregnant women with preeclampsia, we found: 81% with mixed proteinuria, 13% with glomerular, and 8% with tubular proteinuria. Conclusion: By SDS PAGE method, we detected that in patients with secondary nephropathies the most common type of proteinuria is mixed proteinuria, indicating both loss of glomerular permeability and tubular function. We can conclude that SDS PAGE is high sensitive method for detection of renal impairment in patients with secondary nephropathies.

Keywords: diabetic nephropathy, preeclampsia, hypertensive nephropathy, SDS PAGE

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Authors: Aleksandra Boldyreva, Alexander Golubnichiy, Artem Abakumov

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Various perovskite materials have surprisingly high resistance towards high-energy electrons, protons, and hard ionization, such as X-rays and gamma-rays. Superior radiation hardness makes a family of perovskite semiconductors an attractive candidate for single- and multijunction solar cells for the space environment and as X-ray and gamma-ray detectors. One of the methods to study the radiation hardness of different materials is by exposing them to gamma photons with high energies (above 500 keV) Herein, we have explored the recombination dynamics and defect concentration of a mixed cation mixed halide perovskite Cs0.17FA0.83PbI1.8Br1.2 with 1.74 eV bandgap after exposure to a gamma-ray source (2.5 Gy/min). We performed an advanced STEM EDX analysis to reveal different types of defects formed during gamma exposure. It was found that 10 kGy dose results in significant improvement of perovskite crystallinity and homogeneous distribution of I ions. While the absorber layer withstood gamma exposure, the hole transport layer (PTAA) as well as indium tin oxide (ITO) were significantly damaged, which increased the interface recombination rate and reduction of fill factor in solar cells. Thus, STEM analysis is a powerful technique that can reveal defects formed by gamma exposure in perovskite solar cells. Methods: Data will be collected from perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and thin films exposed to gamma ionisator. For thin films 50 μL of the Cs0.17FA0.83PbI1.8Br1.2 solution in DMF was deposited (dynamically) at 3000 rpm followed by quenching with 100 μL of ethyl acetate (dropped 10 sec after perovskite precursor) applied at the same spin-coating frequency. The deposited Cs0.17FA0.83PbI1.8Br1.2 films were annealed for 10 min at 100 °C, which led to the development of a dark brown color. For the solar cells, 10% suspension of SnO2 nanoparticles (Alfa Aesar) was deposited at 4000 rpm, followed by annealing on air at 170 ˚C for 20 min. Next, samples were introduced into a nitrogen glovebox for the deposition of all remaining layers. Perovskite film was applied in the same way as in thin films described earlier. Solution of poly-triaryl amine PTAA (Sigma Aldrich) (4 mg in chlorobenzene) was applied at 1000 rpm atop of perovskite layer. Next, 30 nm of VOx was deposited atop the PTAA layer on the whole sample surface using the physical vapor deposition (PVD) technique. Silver electrodes (100 nm) were evaporated in a high vacuum (10-6 mbar) through a shadow mask, defining the active area of each device as ~0.16 cm2. The prepared samples (thin films and solar cells) were packed in Al lamination foil inside the argon glove box. The set of samples consisted of 6 thin films and 6 solar cells, which were exposed to 6, 10, and 21 kGy (2 samples per dose) with 137Cs gamma-ray source (E = 662 keV) with a dose rate of 2.5 Gy/min. The exposed samples will be studied on a focused ion beam (FIB) on a dual-beam scanning electron microscope from ThermoFisher, the Helios G4 Plasma FIB Uxe, operating with a xenon plasma.

Keywords: perovskite solar cells, transmission electron microscopy, radiation hardness, gamma irradiation

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Authors: Carly Nesvat, Dominic Jarrett, Colin Thomson, Wilma Coltart, Thelma Bowers, Jan Thomson

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Introduction: Within Scotland, the Same As You strategy committed to moving people with learning disabilities out of long-stay hospital accommodation into homes in the community. Much of the focus of this movement was on the placement of people within individual homes. In order to achieve this, potentially excessive supports were put in place which created dependence, and carried significant ongoing cost primarily for local authorities. The greater focus on empowerment and community participation which has been evident in more recent learning disability strategy, along with the financial pressures being experienced across the public sector, created an imperative to re-examine that provision, particularly in relation to the use of expensive sleepover supports to individuals, and the potential for this to be appropriately scaled back through the use of telecare. Method: As part of a broader programme of redesigning overnight supports within North Ayrshire, a cluster of individuals living in close proximity were identified, who were in receipt of overnight supports, but who were identified as having the capacity to potentially benefit from their removal. In their place, a responder service was established (an individual staying overnight in a nearby service user’s home), and a variety of telecare solutions were placed within individual’s homes. Active and passive technology was connected to an Alarm Receiving Centre, which would alert the local responder service when necessary. Individuals and their families were prepared for the change, and continued to be informed about progress with the pilot. Results: 4 individuals, 2 of whom shared a tenancy, had their sleepover supports removed as part of the pilot. Extensive data collection in relation to alarm activation was combined with feedback from the 4 individuals, their families, and staff involved in their support. Varying perspectives emerged within the feedback. 3 of the individuals were clearly described as benefitting from the change, and the greater sense of independence it brought, while more concerns were evident in relation to the fourth. Some family members expressed a need for greater preparation in relation to the change and ongoing information provision. Some support staff also expressed a need for more information, to help them understand the new support arrangements for an individual, as well as noting concerns in relation to the outcomes for one participant. Conclusion: Developing a telecare response in relation to a cluster of individuals was facilitated by them all being supported by the same care provider. The number of similar clusters of individuals being identified within North Ayrshire is limited. Developing other solutions such as a response service for redesign will potentially require greater collaboration between different providers of home support, as well as continuing to explore the full range of telecare, including digital options. The pilot has highlighted the need for effective preparatory and ongoing engagement with staff and families, as well as the challenges which can accompany making changes to long-standing packages of support.

Keywords: challenges, change, engagement, telecare

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Authors: Hong Mengdi, Li Jianan, Ji Fei, Chen Aiting, Wang Qian

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Objective: To overcome the communication barriers that audiologists encounter during cochlear implant mapping, particularly the challenge of eliciting subjective feedback from recipients regarding electrical stimulation, and to enhance the capabilities of existing technologies, we teamed up with software engineers to design an interactive approach for patient-audiologist communication. This approach employs a tablet (PAD) as the interface for a communication and feedback system between patients and audiologists during the mapping process, known as the Cochlear Implant Mapping Assistance System. Methods: Capitalizing on the touchscreen functionality of the PAD, the recipients' subjective feedback during cochlear implant mapping is instantly transmitted to the audiologist's mapping computer. The system acts as a platform for auditory assessment instruments, facilitating immediate evaluation of recipients' post-mapping hearing and speech discrimination capabilities. Furthermore, the system is designed to augment the visual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) process. The system consists of six modules, including three testing projects: loudness testing, hearing threshold testing, and loudness balance testing; two assessment projects: warble tone testing and digit speech testing; and one VRA animation project. It also incorporates speech-to-text and text input display functions tailored to accommodate speech communication difficulties in hearing-impaired individuals, with pre-installed common exchange content between audiologists and recipients. Audiologists can input sentences by selecting options. The system supports switching between Chinese and English versions, suitable for audiologists and recipients who use English, facilitating international application of the system. Results: The Cochlear Implant Mapping Assistance System has been in use for over a year in the Auditory Implant Center of the Department of Otology and Neurotology, Medical Center of Otology and Head & Neck Surgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, with more than 300 recipients using this mapping system. Currently, the system operates stably, with both audiologists and recipients providing positive feedback, indicating a significant improvement over previous methods. It is particularly well-received by pediatric recipients, significantly enhancing the work efficiency of audiologists and improving the feedback efficiency and accuracy of recipients. The system enhances the comprehensibility for cochlear implant recipients, improves wearing comfort and user experience, facilitates cochlear implant auditory mapping, and increases the collection of previously challenging-to-obtain data during the existing assisted mapping process, such as loudness testing data, electrical stimulation testing data, warble tone testing data, loudness balance testing data, digit speech testing data, and visual reinforcement audiometry testing data. Real-time data recording improves the accuracy of assisted mapping. The interface design is meticulously crafted to accommodate patients of varying ages and cognitive abilities, featuring an intuitive design that allows for effortless, guidance-free use by patients.

Keywords: audiologist, subjective feedback, mapping, cochlear implant

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Authors: Carly Madge, Melanie Zurba, Ryan Bullock

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The Boreal Forest has experienced some of the most drastic climate change-induced temperature rises in Canada, with average winter temperatures increasing by 3°C since 1948. One of the main concerns of the province of Saskatchewan, and particularly wildfire managers, is the increased risk of wildfires due to climate change. With these concerns in mind Sakaw Askiy Management Inc., a forestry corporation located in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan with operations in the Boreal Forest biome, is developing wildfire risk reduction strategies that are supported by the shareholders of the corporation as well as the stakeholders of the Prince Albert Forest Management Area (which includes citizens, hunters, trappers, cottage owners, and outfitters). In the past, wildfire management strategies implemented through harvesting have been received with skepticism by some community members of Prince Albert. Engagement of the stakeholders of the Prince Albert Management Area through the development of the wildfire risk reduction strategies aims to reduce this skepticism and rebuild some of the trust that has been lost between industry and community. This research project works with the framework of social learning, which is defined as the learning that occurs when individuals come together to form a group with the purpose of understanding environmental challenges and determining appropriate responses to them. The project evaluates the social learning processes that occur through the development of the risk reduction strategies and how the learning has allowed Sakaw to work towards implementing the strategies into their forest harvesting plans. The incorporation of wildfire risk reduction strategies works to increase the adaptive capacity of Sakaw, which in this case refers to the ability to adjust to climate change, moderate potential damages, take advantage of opportunities, and cope with consequences. Using semi-structured interviews and wildfire workshop meetings shareholders and stakeholders shared their knowledge of wildfire, their main wildfire concerns, and changes they would like to see made in the Prince Albert Forest Management Area. Interviews and topics discussed in the workshops were inductively coded for themes related to learning, adaptive capacity, areas of concern, and preferred methods of wildfire risk reduction strategies. Analysis determined that some of the learning that has occurred has resulted through social interactions and the development of networks oriented towards wildfire and wildfire risk reduction strategies. Participants have learned new knowledge and skills regarding wildfire risk reduction. The formation of wildfire networks increases access to information on wildfire and the social capital (trust and strengthened relations) of wildfire personnel. Both factors can be attributed to increases in adaptive capacity. Interview results were shared with the General Manager of Sakaw, where the areas of concern and preferred strategies of wildfire risk reduction will be considered and accounted for in the implementation of new harvesting plans. This research also augments the growing conceptual and empirical evidence of the important role of learning and networks in regional wildfire risk management efforts.

Keywords: adaptive capacity, community-engagement, social learning, wildfire risk reduction

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Authors: Seyed Reza Aghili, Tahereh Shokohi, Shirin Sadat Hashemi Fesharaki, Mohammad Ali Boroumand, Bahar Salmanian

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Introduction: Intravenous catheter-associated fungal infection as nosocomial infection continue to be a deep problem among hospitalized patients, decreasing quality of life and adding healthcare costs. The capacity of catheters in the spread of candidemia in heart failure patients is obvious. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and genetic identification of Candida species in heart disorder patients. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in Tehran Hospital of Cardiology Center (Tehran, Iran, 2014) during 1.5 years on the patients hospitalized for at least 7 days and who had central or peripheral vein catheter. Culture of catheters, blood and skin of the location of catheter insertion were applied for detecting Candida colonies in 223 patients. Identification of Candida species was made on the basis of a combination of various phenotypic methods and confirmed by sequencing the ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 region amplified from the genomic DNA using PCR and the NCBI BLAST. Results: Of the 223 patients samples tested, we identified totally 15 Candida isolates obtained from 9 (4.04%) catheter cultures, 3 (1.35%) blood cultures and 2 (0.90%) skin cultures of the catheter insertion areas. On the base of ITS region sequencing, out of nine Candida isolates from catheter, 5(55.6%) C. albicans, 2(22.2%) C. glabrata, 1(11.1%) C. membranifiaciens and 1 (11.1%) C. tropicalis were identified. Among three Candida isolates from blood culture, C. tropicalis, C. carpophila and C. membranifiaciens were identified. Non-candida yeast isolated from one blood culture was Cryptococcus albidus. One case of C. glabrata and one case of Candida albicans were isolated from skin culture of the catheter insertion areas in patients with positive catheter culture. In these patients, ITS region of rDNA sequence showed a similarity between Candida isolated from the skin and catheter. However, the blood samples of these patients were negative for fungal growth. We report two cases of catheter-related candidemia caused by C. membranifiaciens and C. tropicalis on the base of genetic similarity of species isolated from blood and catheter which were treated successfully with intravenous fluconazole and catheter removal. In phenotypic identification methods, we could only identify C. albicans and C. tropicalis and other yeast isolates were diagnosed as Candida sp. Discussion: Although more than 200 species of Candida have been identified, only a few cause diseases in humans. There is some evidence that non-albicans infections are increasing. Many risk factors, including prior antibiotic therapy, use of a central venous catheter, surgery, and parenteral nutrition are considered to be associated with candidemia in hospitalized heart failure patients. Identifying the route of infection in candidemia is difficult. Non-albicans candida as the cause of candidemia is increasing dramatically. By using conventional method, many non-albicans isolates remain unidentified. So, using more sensitive and specific molecular genetic sequencing to clarify the aspects of epidemiology of the unknown candida species infections is essential. The positive blood and catheter cultures for candida isolates and high percentage of similarity of their ITS region of rDNA sequence in these two patients confirmed the diagnosis of intravenous catheter-associated candidemia.

Keywords: catheter-associated infections, heart failure patient, molecular genetic sequencing, ITS region of rDNA, Candidemia

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Authors: Fouzia Khanam, Belal Hossain, Kaosar Afsana, Mahfuzar Rahman

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Aim: Although cardiovascular diseases (CVD) has already been recognized as a major cause of death in developed countries, its prevalence is rising in developing countries as well, and engendering a challenge for the health sector. Bangladesh has experienced an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases over the last few decades. So, the rising prevalence of CVD and its risk factors are imposing a major problem for the country. We aimed to examine the prevalence of CVDs and socioeconomic and lifestyle factors related to it from a population-based survey. Methods: The data used for this study were collected as a part of a large-scale cross-sectional study conducted to explore the overall health status of children, mothers and senior citizens of Bangladesh. Multistage cluster random sampling procedure was applied by considering unions as clusters and households as the primary sampling unit to select a total of 11,428 households for the base survey. Present analysis encompassed 12338 respondents of ≥ 35 years, selected from both rural areas and urban slums of the country. Socio-economic, demographic and lifestyle information were obtained through individual by a face-to-face interview which was noted in ODK platform. And height, weight, blood pressure and glycosuria were measured using standardized methods. Chi-square test, Univariate modified Poisson regression model, and multivariate modified Poisson regression model were done using STATA software (version 13.0) for analysis. Results: Overall, the prevalence of CVD was 4.51%, of which 1.78% had stroke and 3.17% suffered from heart diseases. Male had higher prevalence of stroke (2.20%) than their counterparts (1.37%). Notably, thirty percent of respondents had high blood pressure and 5% population had diabetes and more than half of the population was pre-hypertensive. Additionally, 20% were overweight, 77% were smoker or consumed smokeless tobacco and 28% of respondents were physically inactive. Eighty-two percent of respondents took extra salt while eating and 29% of respondents had deprived sleep. Furthermore, the prevalence of risk factor of CVD varied according to gender. Women had a higher prevalence of overweight, obesity and diabetes. Women were also less physically active compared to men and took more extra salt. Smoking was lower in women compared to men. Moreover, women slept less compared to their counterpart. After adjusting confounders in modified Poisson regression model, age, gender, occupation, wealth quintile, BMI, extra salt intake, daily sleep, tiredness, diabetes, and hypertension remained as risk factors for CVD. Conclusion: The prevalence of CVD is significant in Bangladesh, and there is an evidence of rising trend for its risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes especially in older population, women and high-income groups. Therefore, in this current epidemiological transition, immediate public health intervention is warranted to address the overwhelming CVD risk.

Keywords: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hypertension, stroke

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Authors: Pei-Shan Liang

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Objective: This article explores the nursing experience of caring for a patient with terminal gastric cancer complicated by an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The patient experienced physical discomfort due to the disease, initially unable to accept the situation, leading to anxiety, and eventually accepting the need for surgery. Methods: The nursing period was from June 6 to June 10, 2024. Through observation, direct care, conversations, and physical assessments, and using Gordon's eleven functional health patterns for a one-on-one holistic assessment, interdisciplinary team meetings were held with the critical care team and family. Three nursing health issues were identified: pain related to the disease and invasive procedures, anxiety related to uncertainty about disease recovery, and decreased cardiac tissue perfusion related to hemodynamic instability. Results: Open communication techniques and empathetic care were employed to establish a trusting nurse-patient relationship, and patient-centered nursing interventions were developed. Pain was assessed using a 10-point pain scale, and pain medications were adjusted by a pharmacist. Initially, Fentanyl 500mcg with pump run at 1ml/hr was administered, later changed to Ultracet 37.5mg/325mg, 1 tablet every 6 hours orally, reducing the pain score to 3. Lavender aromatherapy and listening to crystal music were used as distractions to alleviate pain, allowing the patient to sleep uninterrupted for at least 7 hours. The patient was encouraged to express feelings and fears through LINE messages or drawings, and a psychologist was invited to provide support. Family members were present at least twice a day for over an hour each time, reducing psychological distress and uncertainty about the prognosis. According to the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the anxiety score dropped from 17 (moderate anxiety) to 6 (no anxiety). Focused nursing care was implemented with close monitoring of vital signs maintaining systolic blood pressure between 112-118 mmHg to ensure adequate myocardial perfusion. The patient was encouraged to get out of bed for postoperative rehabilitation and to strengthen cardiopulmonary function. A chest X-ray showed no abnormalities, and breathing was smooth with Triflow use, maintaining at least 5 seconds with 2 balls four times a day, and SpO2 >96%. Conclusion: The care process highlighted the importance of addressing psychological care in addition to maintaining life when the patient’s condition changes. The presence of family often provided the greatest source of comfort for the patient, helping to reduce anxiety and pain. Nurses must play multiple roles, including advocate, coordinator, educator, and consultant, using various communication techniques and fostering hope by listening to and accepting the patient’s emotional responses. It is hoped that this report will provide a reference for clinical nursing staff and contribute to improving the quality of care.

Keywords: intensive care, gastric cancer, aortic aneurysm, quality of care

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Authors: Suparna Roy, Anatharaman Perumal

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The industrial effluent with high amount of heavy metals is known to have adverse effects on the environment. For the removal of heavy metals from aqueous environment, different conventional treatment technologies had been applied gradually which are not economically beneficial and also produce huge quantity of toxic chemical sludge. So, bio-sorption of heavy metals by marine plant is an eco-friendly innovative and alternative technology for removal of these pollutants from aqueous environment. The aim of this study is to evaluate the capacity of heavy metals accumulation and removal by some selected marine macroalgae (seaweeds) from marine environment. Methods: Seaweeds Acanthophora spicifera (Vahl.) Boergesen, Codium tomentosum Stackhouse, Halimeda gracilis Harvey ex. J. Agardh, Gracilaria opuntia Durairatnam.nom. inval. Valoniopsis pachynema (Martens) Boergesen, Caulerpa racemosa var. macrophysa (Sonder ex Kutzing) W. R. Taylor and Hydroclathrus clathratus (C. Agardh) Howe were collected from Olaikuda (09°17.526'N-079°19.662'E), Rameshwaram, south east coast of India during post monsoon period (April’2016). Seaweeds were washed with sterilized and filtered in-situ seawater repeatedly to remove all the epiphytes and debris and clean seaweeds were kept for shade drying for one week. The dried seaweeds were grinded to powder, and one gm powder seaweeds were taken in a 250ml conical flask, and 8 ml of 10 % HNO3 (70 % pure) was added to each sample and kept in room temperature (28 ̊C) for 24 hours and then samples were heated in hotplate at 120 ̊C, boiled to evaporate up to dryness and 20 ml of Nitric acid: Percholoric acid in 4:1 were added to it and again heated to hotplate at 90 ̊C up to evaporate to dryness, then samples were kept in room temperature for few minutes to cool and 10ml 10 % HNO3 were added to it and kept for 24 hours in cool and dark place and filtered with Whatman (589/2) filter paper and the filtrates were collected in 250ml clean conical flask and diluted accurately to 25 ml volume with double deionised water and triplicate of each sample were analysed with Inductively-Coupled plasma analysis (ICP-OES) to analyse total eleven heavy metals (Ag, Cd, B, Cu, Mn, Co, Ni, Cr, Pb, Zn, and Al content of the specified species and data were statistically evaluated for standard deviation. Results: Acanthophora spicifera contains highest amount of Ag (0.1± 0.2 mg/mg) followed by Cu (0.16±0.01 mg/mg), Mn (1.86±0.02 mg/mg), B (3.59±0.2 mg/mg), Halimeda gracilis showed highest accumulation of Al (384.75±0.12mg/mg), Valoniopsis pachynema accumulates maximum amount of Co (0.12±0.01 mg/mg), Zn (0.64±0.02 mg/mg), Caulerpa racemosa var. macrophysa contains Zn (0.63±0.01), Cr (0.26±0.01 mg/mg ), Ni (0.21±0.05), Pb (0.16±0.03 ) and Cd ( 0.02±00 ). Hydroclathrus clathratus, Codium tomentosum and Gracilaria opuntia also contain adequate amount of heavy metals. Conclusions: The mentioned species of seaweeds are contributing important role for decreasing the heavy metals pollution in marine environment by bioaccumulation. So, we can utilise this species to remove excess amount of heavy metals from polluted area.

Keywords: heavy metals pollution, seaweeds, bioaccumulation, eco-friendly, phyco-remediation

Procedia PDF Downloads 235

Authors: Innocent Atuhe, Babra Nalwadda, Grace Mulyowa, Annabella Habinka Ejiri

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Background: Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is one of the most prevalent and growing chronic inflammatory skin diseases in African prisons. AD care is limited in African due to a lack of information about the disease amongst primary care workers, limited access to dermatologists, lack of proper training of healthcare workers, and shortage of appropriate treatments. We designed and implemented the Prisons Telederma project based on the recommendations of the International Society of Atopic Dermatitis. We aimed at; i) increase awareness and understanding of teledermatology among prison health workers and ii) improve treatment outcomes of prisoners with atopic dermatitis through increased access to and utilization of consultant dermatologists through teledermatology in Uganda prisons. Approach: We used Store-and-forward Teledermatology (SAF-TD) to increase access to dermatologist-led care for prisoners and prison staff with AD. We conducted five days of training for prison health workers using an adapted WHO training guide on recognizing neglected tropical diseases through changes on the skin together with an adapted American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Childhood AD Basic Dermatology Curriculum designed to help trainees develop a clinical approach to the evaluation and initial management of patients with AD. This training was followed by blended e-learning, webinars facilitated by consultant Dermatologists with local knowledge of medication and local practices, apps adjusted for pigmented skin, WhatsApp group discussions, and sharing pigmented skin AD pictures and treatment via zoom meetings. We hired a team of Ugandan Senior Consultant dermatologists to draft an iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin and shared this atlas with prison health staff for use as a job aid. We had planned to use MySkinSelfie mobile phone application to take and share skin pictures of prisoners with AD with Consultant Dermatologists, who would review the pictures and prescribe appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, the National Health Service withdrew the app from the market due to technical issues. We monitored and evaluated treatment outcomes using the Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM) tool. We held four advocacy meetings to persuade relevant stakeholders to increase supplies and availability of first-line AD treatments such as emollients in prison health facilities. Results: We have the very first iconographic atlas of the main dermatoses in pigmented African skin. We increased; i) the proportion of prison health staff with adequate knowledge of AD and teledermatology from 20% to 80%; ii) the proportion of prisoners with AD reporting improvement in disease severity (POEM scores) from 25% to 35% in one year; iii) increased proportion of prisoners with AD seen by consultant dermatologist through teledermatology from 0% to 20% in one year and iv)Increased the availability of AD recommended treatments in prisons health facilities from 5% to 10% in one year. Our study contributes to the use, evaluation, and verification of the use of teledermatology to increase access to specialist dermatology services to the most hard to reach areas and vulnerable populations such as that of prisoners.

Keywords: teledermatology, prisoners, reaching, un-reachable

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Authors: K. S. Rao, Ankesh Kumar

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The search for alternative energy sources to petroleum has increased these days because of increase in need and depletion of petroleum reserves. Therefore the importance of oil shales as an economically viable substitute has increased many folds in last 20 years. The technologies like hydro-fracturing have opened the field of oil extraction from these unconventional rocks. Oil shale is a compact laminated rock of sedimentary origin containing organic matter known as kerogen which yields oil when distilled. Oil shales are formed from the contemporaneous deposition of fine grained mineral debris and organic degradation products derived from the breakdown of biota. Conditions required for the formation of oil shales include abundant organic productivity, early development of anaerobic conditions, and a lack of destructive organisms. These rocks are not gown through the high temperature and high pressure conditions in Mother Nature. The most common approach for oil extraction is drastically breaking the bond of the organics which involves retorting process. The two approaches for retorting are surface retorting and in-situ processing. The most environmental friendly approach for extraction is In-situ processing. The three steps involved in this process are fracturing, injection to achieve communication, and fluid migration at the underground location. Upon heating (retorting) oil shale at temperatures in the range of 300 to 400°C, the kerogen decomposes into oil, gas and residual carbon in a process referred to as pyrolysis. Therefore it is very important to understand the physico-mechenical behavior of such rocks, to improve the technology for in-situ extraction. It is clear from the past research and the physical observations that these rocks will behave as an anisotropic rock so it is very important to understand the mechanical behavior under high pressure at different orientation angles for the economical use of these resources. By knowing the engineering behavior under above conditions will allow us to simulate the deep ground retorting conditions numerically and experimentally. Many researchers have investigate the effect of organic content on the engineering behavior of oil shale but the coupled effect of organic and inorganic matrix is yet to be analyzed. The favourable characteristics of Assam coal for conversion to liquid fuels have been known for a long time. Studies have indicated that these coals and carbonaceous shale constitute the principal source rocks that have generated the hydrocarbons produced from the region. Rock cores of the representative samples are collected by performing on site drilling, as coring in laboratory is very difficult due to its highly anisotropic nature. Different tests are performed to understand the petrology of these samples, further the chemical analyses are also done to exactly quantify the organic content in these rocks. The mechanical properties of these rocks are investigated by considering different anisotropic angles. Now the results obtained from petrology and chemical analysis are correlated with the mechanical properties. These properties and correlations will further help in increasing the producibility of these rocks. It is well established that the organic content is negatively correlated to tensile strength, compressive strength and modulus of elasticity.

Keywords: oil shale, producibility, hydro-fracturing, kerogen, petrology, mechanical behavior

Procedia PDF Downloads 347

Authors: Akeel A. Shah, Tong Zhang

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Computational approaches to learning the properties of materials are commonplace, motivated by the need to screen or design materials for a given application, e.g., semiconductors and energy storage. Experimental approaches can be both time consuming and costly. Unfortunately, computational approaches such as ab-initio electronic structure calculations and classical or ab-initio molecular dynamics are themselves can be too slow for the rapid evaluation of materials, often involving thousands to hundreds of thousands of candidates. Machine learning assisted approaches have been developed to overcome the time limitations of purely physics-based approaches. These approaches, on the other hand, require large volumes of data for training (hundreds of thousands on many standard data sets such as QM7b). This means that they are limited by how quickly such a large data set of physics-based simulations can be established. At high fidelity, such as configuration interaction, composite methods such as G4, and coupled cluster theory, gathering such a large data set can become infeasible, which can compromise the accuracy of the predictions - many applications require high accuracy, for example band structures and energy levels in semiconductor materials and the energetics of charge transfer in energy storage materials. In order to circumvent this problem, multi-fidelity approaches can be adopted, for example the Δ-ML method, which learns a high-fidelity output from a low-fidelity result such as Hartree-Fock or density functional theory (DFT). The general strategy is to learn a map between the low and high fidelity outputs, so that the high-fidelity output is obtained a simple sum of the physics-based low-fidelity and correction, Although this requires a low-fidelity calculation, it typically requires far fewer high-fidelity results to learn the correction map, and furthermore, the low-fidelity result, such as Hartree-Fock or semi-empirical ZINDO, is typically quick to obtain, For high-fidelity outputs the result can be an order of magnitude or more in speed up. In this work, a new multi-fidelity approach is developed, based on a graph convolutional network (GCN) combined with semi-supervised learning. The GCN allows for the material or molecule to be represented as a graph, which is known to improve accuracy, for example SchNet and MEGNET. The graph incorporates information regarding the numbers of, types and properties of atoms; the types of bonds; and bond angles. They key to the accuracy in multi-fidelity methods, however, is the incorporation of low-fidelity output to learn the high-fidelity equivalent, in this case by learning their difference. Semi-supervised learning is employed to allow for different numbers of low and high-fidelity training points, by using an additional GCN-based low-fidelity map to predict high fidelity outputs. It is shown on 4 different data sets that a significant (at least one order of magnitude) increase in accuracy is obtained, using one to two orders of magnitude fewer low and high fidelity training points. One of the data sets is developed in this work, pertaining to 1000 simulations of quinone molecules (up to 24 atoms) at 5 different levels of fidelity, furnishing the energy, dipole moment and HOMO/LUMO.

Keywords: .materials screening, computational materials, machine learning, multi-fidelity, graph convolutional network, semi-supervised learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Esther Ranero Carrazana, Maria Karla Ramirez Valdes

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First responders, including firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel, are frequently exposed to high-stress scenarios that significantly increase their risk of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their work involves life-threatening situations, witnessing suffering, and making critical decisions under pressure, all contributing to psychological strain. The objectives of this research on "Stress Reduction Techniques for First Responders: Scientifically Proven Methods" are as follows. One of them is to evaluate the effectiveness of stress reduction techniques. The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of various scientifically proven stress reduction techniques explicitly tailored for first responders. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness are scrutinized for their ability to mitigate stress-related symptoms. Furthermore, we evaluate and enhance the understanding of stress mechanisms in first responders by exploring how different techniques influence the physiological and psychological responses to stress. The study aims to deepen the understanding of stress mechanisms in high-risk professions. Additionally, the study promotes psychological resilience by seeking to identify and recommend methods that can significantly enhance the psychological resilience of first responders, thereby supporting their mental health and operational efficiency in high-stress environments. Guide training and policy development is an additional objective to provide evidence-based recommendations that can be used to guide training programs and policy development aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of first responders. Lastly, the study aims to contribute valuable insights to the existing body of knowledge in stress management, specifically tailored to the unique needs of first responders. This study involved a comprehensive literature review assessing the effectiveness of various stress reduction techniques tailored for first responders. Techniques evaluated include Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness, focusing on their ability to alleviate stress-related symptoms. The review indicates promising results for several stress reduction methods. HRV Training demonstrates the potential to reflect stress vulnerability and enhance physiological and behavioral flexibility. Interoception and Exteroception help modulate the stress response by enhancing awareness of the body's internal state and its interaction with the environment. Sensory integration plays a crucial role in adaptive responses to stress by focusing on individual senses and their integration. Therefore, body perception awareness addresses stress and anxiety through enhanced body perception and mindfulness. The evaluated techniques show significant potential in reducing stress and improving the mental health of first responders. Implementing these scientifically supported methods into routine training could significantly enhance their psychological resilience and operational effectiveness in high-stress environments.

Keywords: first responders, HRV training, mental health, sensory integration, stress reduction

Procedia PDF Downloads 37

Authors: Iryna Atamaniuk, Hannah Boysen, Nils Wieczorek, Natalia Politaeva, Iuliia Bazarnova, Kerstin Kuchta

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Over the last decade due to climate change and a strategy of natural resources preservation, the interest for the aquatic biomass has dramatically increased. Along with mitigation of the environmental pressure and connection of waste streams (including CO₂ and heat emissions), microalgae bioeconomy can supply food, feed, as well as the pharmaceutical and power industry with number of value-added products. Furthermore, in comparison to conventional biomass, microalgae can be cultivated in wide range of conditions without compromising food and feed production, thus addressing issues associated with negative social and the environmental impacts. This paper presents the state-of-the art technology for microalgae bioeconomy from cultivation process to production of valuable components and by-streams. Microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana were cultivated in the pilot-scale innovation concept in Hamburg (Germany) using different systems such as race way pond (5000 L) and flat panel reactors (8 x 180 L). In order to achieve the optimum growth conditions along with suitable cellular composition for the further extraction of the value-added components, process parameters such as light intensity, temperature and pH are continuously being monitored. On the other hand, metabolic needs in nutrients were provided by addition of micro- and macro-nutrients into a medium to ensure autotrophic growth conditions of microalgae. The cultivation was further followed by downstream process and extraction of lipids, proteins and saccharides. Lipids extraction is conducted in repeated-batch semi-automatic mode using hot extraction method according to Randall. As solvents hexane and ethanol are used at different ratio of 9:1 and 1:9, respectively. Depending on cell disruption method along with solvents ratio, the total lipids content showed significant variations between 8.1% and 13.9 %. The highest percentage of extracted biomass was reached with a sample pretreated with microwave digestion using 90% of hexane and 10% of ethanol as solvents. Proteins content in microalgae was determined by two different methods, namely: Total Kejadahl Nitrogen (TKN), which further was converted to protein content, as well as Bradford method using Brilliant Blue G-250 dye. Obtained results, showed a good correlation between both methods with protein content being in the range of 39.8–47.1%. Characterization of neutral and acid saccharides from microalgae was conducted by phenol-sulfuric acid method at two wavelengths of 480 nm and 490 nm. The average concentration of neutral and acid saccharides under the optimal cultivation conditions was 19.5% and 26.1%, respectively. Subsequently, biomass residues are used as substrate for anaerobic digestion on the laboratory-scale. The methane concentration, which was measured on the daily bases, showed some variations for different samples after extraction steps but was in the range between 48% and 55%. CO₂ which is formed during the fermentation process and after the combustion in the Combined Heat and Power unit can potentially be used within the cultivation process as a carbon source for the photoautotrophic synthesis of biomass.

Keywords: bioeconomy, lipids, microalgae, proteins, saccharides

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Authors: Miranda E. Karban

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A distinctive pattern of occipital squama convexity, known as the occipital bun or chignon, has traditionally been considered a derived Neandertal trait. However, some early modern and extant Homo sapiens share similar occipital bone morphology, showing pronounced internal and external occipital squama curvature and paralambdoidal flattening. It has been posited that these morphological patterns are homologous in the two groups, but this claim remains disputed. Many developmental hypotheses have been proposed, including assertions that the chignon represents a developmental response to a long and narrow cranial vault, a narrow or flexed basicranium, or a prognathic face. These claims, however, remain to be metrically quantified in a large subadult sample, and little is known about the feature’s developmental, functional, or evolutionary significance. This study assesses patterns of chignon development and covariation in a comparative sample of extant human growth study cephalograms. Cephalograms from a total of 549 European-derived North American subjects (286 male, 263 female) were scored on a 5-stage ranking system of chignon prominence. Occipital squama shape was found to exist along a continuum, with 34 subjects (6.19%) possessing defined chignons, and 54 subjects (9.84%) possessing very little occipital squama convexity. From this larger sample, those subjects represented by a complete radiographic series were selected for metric analysis. Measurements were collected from lateral and posteroanterior (PA) cephalograms of 26 subjects (16 male, 10 female), each represented at 3 longitudinal age groups. Age group 1 (range: 3.0-6.0 years) includes subjects during a period of rapid brain growth. Age group 2 (range: 8.0-9.5 years) includes subjects during a stage in which brain growth has largely ceased, but cranial and facial development continues. Age group 3 (range: 15.9-20.4 years) includes subjects at their adult stage. A total of 16 landmarks and 153 sliding semi-landmarks were digitized at each age point, and geometric morphometric analyses, including relative warps analysis and two-block partial least squares analysis, were conducted to study covariation patterns between midsagittal occipital bone shape and other aspects of craniofacial morphology. A convex occipital squama was found to covary significantly with a low, elongated neurocranial vault, and this pattern was found to exist from the youngest age group. Other tested patterns of covariation, including cranial and basicranial breadth, basicranial angle, midcoronal cranial vault shape, and facial prognathism, were not found to be significant at any age group. These results suggest that the chignon, at least in this sample, should not be considered an independent feature, but rather the result of developmental interactions relating to neurocranial elongation. While more work must be done to quantify chignon morphology in fossil subadults, this study finds no evidence to disprove the developmental homology of the feature in modern humans and Neandertals.

Keywords: chignon, craniofacial covariation, human cranial development, longitudinal growth study, occipital bun

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Authors: Sandy Elsayed, Aya Mohamed, Noha Nassar

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Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social deficits and repetitive behavior. Multiple studies suggest that oxidative stress and neuroinflammation are key factors in the etiology of ASD and often associated with worsening of ASD-related behaviors. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NRF-2) is a transcription factor that promotes expression of antioxidant response element genes in oxidative stress. In ASD subjects, decreased expression of NRF-2 in frontal cortex shifted the redox homeostasis towards oxidative stress, and resulted in inflammation evidenced by elevation of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) transcriptional activity. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) is a NRF-2 activator that is used in the treatment of psoriasis and multiple sclerosis. It participates in the transcriptional control of inflammatory factors via inhibition of NF-κB and its downstream targets. This study aimed to investigate the role of DMF in alleviating the cognitive impairments and behavior deficits associated with ASD through mitigation of oxidative stress and inflammation in prenatal valproic acid (VPA) rat model of autism. Methods: Pregnant female Wistar rats received a single intraperitoneal injection of VPA (600 mg/kg) to induce autistic-like-behavioral and neurobiological alterations in their offspring. Chronic oral gavage of DMF (150mg/kg/day) started from postnatal day (PND) 24 till PND62 (39 days). Prenatal VPA exposure elicited autistic behaviors including decreased social interaction and stereotyped behavior. Social interaction was evaluated using three-chamber sociability test and calculation of sociability index (SI), while stereotyped repetitive behavior and anxiety associated with ASD were assessed using marble burying test (MBT). Biochemical analyses were done on prefrontal cortex homogenates including NRF-2, and NF-κB expression. Moreover, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-) protein expression were evaluated as markers of inflammation. Results: Prenatal VPA elicited decreased social interaction shown by decreased SI compared to control group (p < 0.001) and DMF enhanced SI (p < 0.05). In MBT, prenatal injection of VPA manifested stereotyped behavior and enhanced number of buried marbles compared to control (p < 0.05) and DMF reduced the anxiety-related behavior in rats exhibiting ASD-like behaviors (p < 0.05). In prefrontal cortex, NRF-2 expression was downregulated in prenatal VPA model (p < 0.0001) and DMF reversed this effect (p < 0.0001). The inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB was elevated in prenatal VPA model (p < 0.0001) and reduced (p < 0.0001) upon NRF-2 activation by DMF. Prenatal VPA expressed higher levels of proinflammatory cytokine TNF- compared to control group (p < 0.0001) and DMF reduced it (p < 0.0001). Finally, the gene expression of iNOS was downregulated upon NRF-2 activation by DMF (p < 0.01). Conclusion: This study proposes that DMF is a potential agent that can be used to ameliorate autistic-like-changes through NRF-2 activation along with NF-κB downregulation and therefore, it is a promising novel therapy for ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, dimethyl fumarate, neuroinflammation, NRF-2

Procedia PDF Downloads 41

Authors: Michal Pachocki

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This study investigates the effects of mobility in the context of a different environment and work culture through analysing the learners perception of their international work experience. Since this kind of professional training abroad is becoming more popular in Europe, mainly due to the EU funding opportunities, it is of paramount importance to assess its long-term impact on educational and career paths of former students. Moreover, the tracer study aimed at defining what professional, social and intercultural competencies were gained or developed by the interns and to which extent those competences proved to be useful meeting the labor market requirements. Being a populous EU member state which actively modernizes its vocational education system (also with European funds), Poland can serve as an illustrative case study to investigate the above described research problems. However, the examined processes are most certainly universal, wherever mobility is included in the learning process. The target group of this research was the former mobility participants and the study was conducted using quantitative and qualitative methods, such as the online survey with over 2 600 questionnaires completed by the former mobility participants; -individual in-depth interviews (IDIs) with 20 Polish graduates already present in the labour market; - 5 focus group interviews (FGIs) with 60 current students of the Polish vocational schools, who have recently returned from the training abroad. As the adopted methodology included a data triangulation, the collected findings have also been supplemented with data obtained by the desk research (mainly contextual information and statistical summary of mobility implementation). The results of this research – to be presented in full scope within the conference presentation – include the participants’ perception of their work mobility. The vast majority of graduates agrees that such an experience has had a significant impact on their professional careers and claims that they would recommend training abroad to persons who are about to enter the labor market. Moreover, in their view, such form of practical training going beyond formal education provided them with an opportunity to try their hand in the world of work. This allowed them – as they accounted for them – to get acquainted with a work system and context different from the ones experienced in Poland. Although the work mobility becomes an important element of the learning process in the growing number of Polish schools, this study reveals that many sending institutions suffer from a lack of the coherent strategy for planning domestic and foreign training programmes. Nevertheless, the significant number of graduates claims that such a synergy improves the quality of provided training. Despite that, the research proved that the transnational mobilities exert an impact on their future careers and personal development. However, such impact is, in their opinion, dependant on other factors, such as length of the training period, the nature and extent of work, recruitment criteria and the quality of organizational arrangement and mentoring provided to learners. This may indicate the salience of the sending and receiving institutions organizational capacity to deal with mobility.

Keywords: learning mobility, transnational training, vocational education and training graduates, tracer study

Procedia PDF Downloads 96

Authors: Violet Petit-Steeghs, Jochem J. R. Van Roon, Jacqueline E. W. Broerse

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Last decennia the retirement age in Europe is gradually increasing. As a result, people have to continue working for a longer period of time. Health problems due to increased sedentary behavior and mental conditions like burn-out, pose a threat in fulfilling employees’ working life. In order to stimulate the ability and willingness to work in the present and future, it is important to stay vital. Vitality is regarded in literature as a sense of energy, motivation and resilience. It is assumed that by increasing their vitality, employees will stay healthier and be more satisfied with their job, leading to a more sustainable employment and less absenteeism in the future. The aim of this project is to obtain insights into the experiences and barriers of employees, and specifically office workers, with regard to their vitality. These insights are essential in order to develop appropriate measures in the future. To get more insights in the experiences of office workers on their vitality, 8 focus group discussions were organized with 6-10 office workers from 4 different employers (an university, a national construction company and a large juridical and care service organization) in the Netherlands. The discussions were transcribed and analyzed via open coding. This project is part of a larger consortium project Provita2, and conducted in collaboration with University of Technology Eindhoven. Results showed that a range of interdependent factors form a complex network that influences office workers’ vitality. These factors can be divided in three overarching groups: (1) personal (2) organizational and (3) environmental factors. Personal intrinsic factors, relating to the office worker, comprise someone’s physical health, coping style, life style, needs, and private life. Organizational factors, relating to the employer, are the workload, management style and the structure, vision and culture of the organization. Lastly, environmental factors consist of the air, light, temperature at the workplace and whether the workplace is inspiring and workable. Office workers experienced barriers to improve their own vitality due to a lack of autonomy. On the one hand, because most factors were not only intrinsic but extrinsic, like work atmosphere or the temperature in the room. On the other hand, office workers were restricted in adapting both intrinsic as well as extrinsic factors. Restrictions to for instance the flexibility of working times and the workload, can set limitations for improving vitality through personal factors like physical activity and mental relaxation. In conclusion, a large range of interdependent factors influence the vitality of office workers. Office workers are often regarded to have a responsibility to improve their vitality, but are limitedly autonomous in adapting these factors. Measures to improve vitality should therefore not only focus on increasing awareness among office workers, but also on empowering them to fulfill this responsibility. A holistic approach that takes the complex mutual dependencies between the different factors and actors (like managers, employees and HR personnel) into account is highly recommended.

Keywords: occupational health, perspectives office workers, sustainable employment, vitality at work, work & wellbeing

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Blaga Alexandra Cristina, Kloetzer Lenuta, Bompa Amalia Stela, Galaction Anca Irina, Cascaval Dan

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Vitamin B9 is an important member of vitamins B group, being a growth factor, important for making genetic material as DNA and RNA, red blood cells, for building muscle tissues, especially during periods of infancy, adolescence and pregnancy. Its production by biosynthesis is based on the high metabolic potential of mutant Bacillus subtilis, due to a superior biodisponibility compared to that obtained by chemical pathways. Pertraction, defined as the extraction and transport through liquid membranes consists in the transfer of a solute between two aqueous phases of different pH-values, phases that are separated by a solvent layer of various sizes. The pertraction efficiency and selectivity could be significantly enhanced by adding a carrier in the liquid membrane, such as organophosphoric compounds, long chain amines or crown-ethers etc., the separation process being called facilitated pertraction. The aim of the work is to determine the impact of the presence of two extractants/carriers in the bulk liquid membrane, i.e. di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and lauryltrialkylmetilamine (Amberlite LA2) on the transport kinetics of vitamin B9. The experiments have been carried out using two pertraction equipments for a free liquid membrane or bulk liquid membrane. One pertraction cell consists on a U-shaped glass pipe (used for the dichloromethane membrane) and the second one is an H-shaped glass pipe (used for h-heptane), having 45 mm inner diameter of the total volume of 450 mL, the volume of each compartment being of 150 mL. The aqueous solutions are independently mixed by means of double blade stirrers with 6 mm diameter and 3 mm height, having the rotation speed of 500 rpm. In order to reach high diffusional rates through the solvent layer, the organic phase has been mixed with a similar stirrer, at a similar rotation speed (500 rpm). The area of mass transfer surface, both for extraction and for reextraction, was of 1.59x10-³ m2. The study on facilitated pertraction with the mixture of two carriers, namely D2EHPA and Amberlite LA-2, dissolved in two solvents with different polarities: n-heptane and dichloromethane, indicated the possibility to obtain the synergic effect. The synergism has been analyzed by considering the vitamin initial and final mass flows, as well as the permeability factors through liquid membrane. The synergic effect has been observed at low D2EHPA concentrations and high Amberlite LA-2 concentrations, being more important for the low-polar solvent (n-heptane). The results suggest that the mechanism of synergic pertraction consists on the reaction between the organophosphoric carrier and vitamin B9 at the interface between the feed and membrane phases, while the aminic carrier enhances the hydrophobicity of this compound by solvation. However, the formation of this complex reduced the reextraction rate and, consequently, affects the synergism related to the final mass flows and permeability factor. For describing the influences of carriers concentrations on the synergistic coefficients, some equations have been proposed by taking into account the vitamin mass flows or permeability factors, with an average deviations between 4.85% and 10.73%.

Keywords: pertraction, synergism, vitamin B9, Amberlite LA-2, di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid

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Authors: Vijayabhaskar Reddy Kandula, Peter Provost Taillac, Balasubramanya M. A., Ram Krishnan Nair, Gokul Toshnival, Vibhu Dhawan, Vijaya Karanam, Buffy Cramer

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Introduction: The lack of Emergency Care Services (ECS) is a cause of extensive and serious public health problems in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), Many LMIC countries have ambulance services that allow timely transfer of ill patients but due to poor care during the ‘Golden Hour’ many deaths occur which are otherwise preventable. Lack of adequate training as evidenced by a study in India is a major reason for poor care during the ‘Golden Hour’. Adapting developed country models which includes staffing specialty-trained doctors in emergency care, is neither feasible nor guarantees cost-effective ECS. Methods: Based on our assessment and felt needs by first-line doctors providing emergency care in 2014, Rajiv Gandhi Health Sciences University’s JeevaRaksha Trust in partnership with the University of Utah, USA, designed, piloted and successfully implemented a 4-day Comprehensive-Emergency Care and Life Support course (C-ECLS) for allopathic doctors. 1730 doctors completed the 4-day course between June 2014 and December- 2020. Subsequently, we conducted a survey to investigate the utilization rates and usefulness of the training. 1662 were contacted but only 309 completed the survey. The respondents had the following designations: Senior faculty (33%), junior faculty (25), Resident (16%), Private-Practitioners (8%), Medical-Officer (16%) and not-working (11%). 51% were generalists (51%) and the rest were specialists (>30 specialties). Results: 97% (271/280) felt they are better doctors because of C-ECLS. 79% (244/309) reported that training helped to save life- specialists more likely than generalists (91% v/s 68%. P<0.05). 64% agreed that they were confident of managing COVID-19 symptomatic patients better because of C-ECLS. 27% (77) were neutral; 9% (24) disagreed. 66% agreed that training helps to be confident in managing COVID-19 critically ill patients. 26% (72) were neutral; 8% (23) disagreed. Frequency of use of C-ECLS skills: Hemorrhage-control (70%), Airway (67%), circulation skills (62%), Safe-transport and communication (60%), managing critically ill patients (58%), cardiac arrest (51%), Trauma (49%), poisoning/animal bites/stings (44%), neonatal-resuscitation (39%), breathing (36%), post-partum-hemorrhage and eclampsia (35%). Among those who used the skills, the majority (ranging from (88%-94%) reported that they were able to apply the skill more effectively because of ECLS training. Conclusion: JeevaRaksha’s C-ECLS is the world’s first comprehensive training. It improves the confidence of front-line doctors and enables them to provide quality care during the ‘Golden Hour’ of emergency. It also prepares doctors to manage unknown emergencies (e.g., COVID-19). C-ECLS was piloted in Morocco, and Uzbekistan and implemented countrywide in Bhutan. C-ECLS is relevant to most settings and offers a replicable model across LMIC.

Keywords: comprehensive emergency care and life support, training, capacity building, low- and middle-income countries, developing countries

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Authors: Sandra Hartl, Meena Chavan

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This paper presents the outcome of a four year Ph.D. research on cross-cultural conflict management in transnational business relationships. An important and complex problem about managing conflicts that arise across cultures in business relationships is investigated, and conflict resolution strategies are identified. This paper particularly focuses on transnational relationships within a Chinese, German and Middle Eastern framework. Unlike many papers on this issue which have been built on experiments with international MBA students, this research provides real-life cases of cross-cultural conflicts which are not easy to capture. Its uniqueness is underpinned as the real case data was gathered by interviewing top executives at management positions in large multinational corporations through a qualitative case study method approach. This paper makes a valuable contribution to the theory of cross-cultural conflicts, and despite the sensitivity, this research primarily presents real-time business data about breaches of contracts between two counterparties engaged in transnational operating organizations. The overarching aim of this research is to identify the degree of significance for the cultural factors and the communication factors embedded in cross-cultural business conflicts. It questions from a cultural perspective what factors lead to the conflicts in each of the cases, what the causes are and the role of culture in identifying effective strategies for resolving international disputes in an increasingly globalized business world. The results of 20 face to face interviews are outlined, which were conducted, recorded, transcribed and then analyzed using the NVIVO qualitative data analysis system. The outcomes make evident that the factors leading to conflicts are broadly organized under seven themes, which are communication, cultural difference, environmental issues, work structures, knowledge and skills, cultural anxiety and personal characteristics. When evaluating the causes of the conflict it is to notice that these are rather multidimensional. Irrespective of the conflict types (relationship or task-based conflict or due to individual personal differences), relationships are almost always an element of all conflicts. Cultural differences, which are a critical factor for conflicts, result from different cultures placing different levels of importance on relationships. Communication issues which are another cause of conflict also reflect different relationships styles favored by different cultures. In identifying effective strategies for solving cross-cultural business conflicts this research identifies that solutions need to consider the national cultures (country specific characteristics), organizational cultures and individual culture, of the persons engaged in the conflict and how these are interlinked to each other. Outcomes identify practical dispute resolution strategies to resolve cross-cultural business conflicts in reference to communication, empathy and training to improve cultural understanding and cultural competence, through the use of mediation. To conclude, the findings of this research will not only add value to academic knowledge of cross-cultural conflict management across transnational businesses but will also add value to numerous cross-border business relationships worldwide. Above all it identifies the influence of cultures and communication and cross-cultural competence in reducing cross-cultural business conflicts in transnational business.

Keywords: business conflict, conflict management, cross-cultural communication, dispute resolution

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Authors: Alberto Veses, Olga Sanhauja, María Soledad Callén, Tomás García

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The appropriate use of renewable sources emerges as a decisive point to minimize the environmental impact caused by fossil fuels use. Particularly, the use of lignocellulosic biomass becomes one of the best promising alternatives since it is the only carbon-containing renewable source that can produce bioproducts similar to fossil fuels and it does not compete with food market. Among all the processes that can valorize lignocellulosic biomass, pyrolysis is an attractive alternative because it is the only thermochemical process that can produce a liquid biofuel (bio-oil) in a simple way and solid and gas fractions that can be used as energy sources to support the process. However, in order to incorporate bio-oils in current infrastructures and further process in future biorefineries, their quality needs to be improved. Introducing different low-cost catalysts and/or incorporating different polymer residues to the process are some of the new, simple and low-cost strategies that allow the user to directly obtain advanced bio-oils to be used in future biorefineries in an economic way. In this manner, from previous thermogravimetric analyses, local agricultural wastes such as grape seeds (GS) were selected as lignocellulosic biomass while, waste tires (WT) were selected as polymer residue. On the other hand, CaO was selected as low-cost catalyst based on previous experiences by the group. To reach this aim, a specially-designed fixed bed reactor using N₂ as a carrier gas was used. This reactor has the peculiarity to incorporate a vertical mobile liner that allows the user to introduce the feedstock in the oven once the selected temperature (550 ºC) is reached, ensuring higher heating rates needed for the process. Obtaining a well-defined phase distribution in the resulting bio-oil is crucial to ensure the viability to the process. Thus, once experiments were carried out, not only a well-defined two layers was observed introducing several mixtures (reaching values up to 40 wt.% of WT) but also, an upgraded organic phase, which is the one considered to be processed in further biorefineries. Radical interactions between GS and WT released during the pyrolysis process and dehydration reactions enhanced by CaO can promote the formation of better-quality bio-oils. The latter was reflected in a reduction of water and oxygen content of bio-oil and hence, a substantial increase of its heating value and its stability. Moreover, not only sulphur content was reduced from solely WT pyrolysis but also potential and negative issues related to a strong acidic environment of conventional bio-oils were minimized due to its basic pH and lower total acid numbers. Therefore, acidic compounds obtained in the pyrolysis such as CO₂-like substances can react with the CaO and minimize acidic problems related to lignocellulosic bio-oils. Moreover, this CO₂ capture promotes H₂ production from water gas shift reaction favoring hydrogen-transfer reactions, improving the final quality of the bio-oil. These results show the great potential of grapes seeds to carry out the catalytic co-pyrolysis process with different plastic residues in order to produce a liquid bio-oil that can be considered as a high-quality renewable vector.

Keywords: advanced bio-oils, biorefinery, catalytic co-pyrolysis of biomass and waste tires, lignocellulosic biomass

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Authors: Abha Gupta, Deepak K. Mishra

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Food security issue in India has surrounded over availability and accessibility of cereal which is regarded as the only food group to check hunger and improve nutrition. Significance of fruits, vegetables, meat and other food products have totally been neglected given the fact that they provide essential nutrients to the body. There is a need to shift the emphasis from cereal-based approach to a more diverse diet so that aim of achieving food security may change from just reducing hunger to an overall health. This paper attempts to analyse how far dietary diversity level has been achieved across different socio-economic groups in India. For this purpose, present paper sets objectives to determine (a) percentage share of different food groups to total food expenditure and consumption by background characteristics (b) source of and preference for all food items and, (c) diversity of diet across socio-economic groups. A cross sectional survey covering 304 households selected through proportional stratified random sampling was conducted in six villages of Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, India. Information on amount of food consumed, source of consumption and expenditure on food (74 food items grouped into 10 major food groups) was collected with a recall period of seven days. Per capita per day food consumption/expenditure was calculated through dividing consumption/expenditure by household size and number seven. Food variety score was estimated by giving 0 values to those food groups/items which had not been eaten and 1 to those which had been taken by households in last seven days. Addition of all food group/item score gave result of food variety score. Diversity of diet was computed using Herfindahl-Hirschman index. Findings of the paper show that cereal, milk, roots and tuber food groups contribute a major share in total consumption/expenditure. Consumption of these food groups vary across socio-economic groups whereas fruit, vegetables, meat and other food consumption remain low and same. Estimation of dietary diversity show higher concentration of diet due to higher consumption of cereals, milk, root and tuber products and dietary diversity slightly varies across background groups. Muslims, Scheduled caste, small farmers, lower income class, food insecure, below poverty line and labour families show higher concentration of diet as compared to their counterpart groups. These groups also evince lower mean intake of number of food item in a week due to poor economic constraints and resultant lower accessibility to number of expensive food items. Results advocate to make a shift from cereal based diet to dietary diversity which not only includes cereal and milk products but also nutrition rich food items such as fruits, vegetables, meat and other products. Integrating a dietary diversity approach in food security programmes of the country would help to achieve nutrition security as hidden hunger is widespread among the Indian population.

Keywords: dietary diversity, food Security, India, socio-economic groups

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Authors: Irina-Emily Hansen, Ola Jon Mork

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The European economic growth strategy and supporting it framework for research and innovation highlight the importance of nurturing new open innovation in order to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness. One of the main approaches to enhance innovation in European society is the Triple Helix model that centres on science- industry collaboration where the universities are assigned the managerial role. In spite of the defined collaboration strategy, the collaboration between academics and in-dustry in Europe has still many challenges. Many of them are explained by culture difference: academic culture aims towards scientific knowledge, while businesses are oriented towards pro-duction and profitable results; also execution of collaborative projects is seen differently by part-ners involved. That proves that traditional management strategies applied to collaboration between researchers and businesses are not effective. There is a need for dynamic strategies that can support the interaction between researchers and industry intensifying knowledge co-creation and contributing to development of national innovation system (NIS) by incorporating individual, organizational and inter-organizational learning. In order to find a good subject to follow, the researchers of a given paper have investigated one of the most rapidly developing knowledge-based, innovation society, Singapore. Singapore does not dispose much land- or sea- resources that normally provide income for any country. Therefore, Singapore was forced to think differently and build society on resources that are available: talented people and knowledge. Singapore has during the last twenty years developed attracting high rated university camps, research institutions and leading industrial companies from all over the world. This article elucidates and elaborates Singapore’s national innovation strategies from Knowledge Management perspective. The research is done on the variety of organizations that enable and support knowledge development in this state: governmental research and development (R&D) centers in universities, private talent incubators for entrepreneurs, and industrial companies with own R&D departments. The research methods are based on presentations, documents, and visits at a number of universities, research institutes, innovation parks, governmental institutions, industrial companies and innovation exhibitions in Singapore. In addition, a literature review of science articles is made regarding the topic. The first finding is that objectives of collaboration between researchers, entrepreneurs and industry in Singapore correspond primary goals of the state: knowledge- and economy growth. There are common objectives for all stakeholders on all national levels. The second finding is that Singapore has enabled system on a national level that supports innovation the entire way from fostering or capturing the new knowledge, providing knowledge exchange and co-creation to application of it in real-life. The conclusion is that innovation means not only new idea, but also the enabling mechanism for its execution and the marked-oriented approach in order that new knowledge can be absorbed in society. The future research can be done with regards to application of Singapore knowledge management strategy in innovation to European countries.

Keywords: knowledge management strategy, national innovation system, research industry and business collaboration, knowledge enabling

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Authors: Marcus Goh Tian Xi, Alicia Chua Si Wen, Eunice Gan Ghee Wu, Helen Bound, Lee Liang Ying, Albert Lee

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The Map of Dialogical Inquiry provides a conceptual look at the underlying nature of future-oriented skills. According to the Map, learning is learner-oriented, with conversational time shifted from teachers to learners, who play a strong role in deciding what and how they learn. For example, in courses operating on the principles of Dialogical Inquiry, learners were able to leave the classroom with a deeper understanding of the topic, broader exposure to differing perspectives, and stronger critical thinking capabilities, compared to traditional approaches to teaching. Despite its contributions to learning, the Map is grounded in a qualitative approach both in its development and its application for providing feedback to learners and educators. Studies hinge on openended responses by Map users, which can be time consuming and resource intensive. The present research is motivated by this gap in practicality by aiming to develop and validate a quantitative measure of the Map. In addition, a quantifiable measure may also strengthen applicability by making learning experiences trackable and comparable. The Map outlines eight learning aspects that learners should holistically engage. This research focuses on the Analysing aspect of learning. According to the Map, Analysing has four key components: liking or engaging in logic, using interpretative lenses, seeking patterns, and critiquing and deconstructing. Existing scales of constructs (e.g., critical thinking, rationality) related to these components were identified so that the current scale could adapt items from. Specifically, items were phrased beginning with an “I”, followed by an action phrase, to fulfil the purpose of assessing learners' engagement with Analysing either in general or in classroom contexts. Paralleling standard scale development procedure, the 26-item Analysing scale was administered to 330 participants alongside existing scales with varying levels of association to Analysing, to establish construct validity. Subsequently, the scale was refined and its dimensionality, reliability, and validity were determined. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed if scale items loaded onto the four factors corresponding to the components of Analysing. To refine the scale, items were systematically removed via an iterative procedure, according to their factor loadings and results of likelihood ratio tests at each step. Eight items were removed this way. The Analysing scale is better conceptualised as unidimensional, rather than comprising the four components identified by the Map, for three reasons: 1) the covariance matrix of the model specified for the CFA was not positive definite, 2) correlations among the four factors were high, and 3) exploratory factor analyses did not yield an easily interpretable factor structure of Analysing. Regarding validity, since the Analysing scale had higher correlations with conceptually similar scales than conceptually distinct scales, with minor exceptions, construct validity was largely established. Overall, satisfactory reliability and validity of the scale suggest that the current procedure can result in a valid and easy-touse measure for each aspect of the Map.

Keywords: analytical thinking, dialogical inquiry, education, lifelong learning, pedagogy, scale development

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