Search results for: follow up study

Authors: Diana González, Marta Gràcia, Ana Luisa Adam-Alcocer

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Incorporating digital tools into educational practices represents a valuable approach for enriching the quality of teachers' educational practices in oral competence and fostering improvements in student learning outcomes. This study aims to promote a collaborative and culturally sensitive approach to professional development between teachers and a speech therapist to enhance their self-awareness and reflection on high-quality educational practices that integrate school components to strengthen children’s oral communication and pragmatic skills. The study involved five bilingual teachers fluent in both English and Spanish, with three specializing in special education and two in general education. It focused on Spanish-English bilingual students, aged 3-6, who were experiencing speech delays or disorders in a New York City public school, with the collaboration of a speech therapist. Using EVALOE-DSS (Assessment Scale of Oral Language Teaching in the School Context - Decision Support System), teachers conducted self-assessments of their teaching practices, reflect and make-decisions throughout six classes from March to June, focusing on students' communicative competence across various activities. Concurrently, the speech therapist observed and evaluated six classes per teacher using EVALOE-DSS during the same period. Additionally, professional development meetings were held monthly between the speech therapist and teachers, centering on discussing classroom interactions, instructional strategies, and the progress of both teachers and students in their classes. Findings highlight the digital tool EVALOE-DSS's value in analyzing communication patterns and trends among bilingual children in inclusive settings. It helps in identifying improvement areas through teacher and speech therapist collaboration. After self-reflection meetings, teachers demonstrated increased awareness of student needs in oral language and pragmatic skills. They also exhibited enhanced utilization of strategies outlined in EVALOE-DSS, such as actively guiding and orienting students during oral language activities, promoting student-initiated communicative interactions, teaching students how to seek and provide information, and managing turn-taking to ensure inclusive participation. Teachers participating in the professional development program have shown positive progress in assessing their classes across all dimensions of the training tool, including instructional design, teacher conversation management, pupil conversation management, communicative functions, teacher strategies, and pupil communication functions. This includes aspects related to both teacher actions and child actions, particularly in child language development. This progress underscores the effectiveness of individual reflection (conducted weekly or biweekly using EVALOE-DSS) as well as collaborative reflection among teachers and the speech therapist during meetings. The EVALOE-SSD has proven effective in supporting teachers' self-reflection, decision-making, and classroom changes, leading to improved development of students' oral language and pragmatic skills. It has facilitated culturally sensitive evaluations of communication among bilingual children, cultivating collaboration between teachers and speech therapist to identify areas of growth. Participants in the professional development program demonstrated substantial progress across all dimensions assessed by EVALOE-DSS. This included improved management of pupil communication functions, implementation of effective teaching strategies, and better classroom dynamics. Regular reflection sessions using EVALOE-SSD supported continuous improvement in instructional practices, highlighting its role in fostering reflective teaching and enriching student learning experiences. Overall, EVALOE-DSS has proven invaluable for enhancing teaching effectiveness and promoting meaningful student interactions in diverse educational settings.

Keywords: bilingual students, collaboration, culturally sensitive, oral communication skills, self-reflection

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Authors: João Gago dos Santos, Paulo Pereira Almeida

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The present study intends to deepen and understand the reasons that led to the decline and disappearance of wooden construction systems in Portugal, for that reason, its use in history must be analyzed. It is observed that this material was an integral part of the construction systems in Europe and Portugal for centuries, and it is possible to conclude that its decline happens with the appearance of hybrid construction and later with the emergence and development of reinforced concrete technology. It is also verified that wood as a constructive element, and for that reason, an element of development had great importance in national construction, with its peak being the Pombaline period, after the 1755 earthquake. In this period, the great scarcity of materials in the metropolis led to the import wood from Brazil for the reconstruction of Lisbon. This period is linked to an accentuated exploitation of forests, resulting in laws and royal decrees aimed at protecting them, guaranteeing the continued existence of profitable forests, crucial to the reconstruction effort. The following period, with the gradual loss of memory of the catastrophe, resulted in a construction that was weakened structurally as a response to a time of real estate speculation and great urban expansion. This was the moment that precluded the inexistence of the use of wood in construction. At the beginning of the 20th century and in the 30s and 40s, with the appearance and development of reinforced concrete, it became part of the great structures of the state, and it is considered a versatile material capable of resolving issues throughout the national territory. It is at this point that the wood falls into disuse and practically disappears from the new works produced.

Keywords: construction history, construction in portugal, construction systems, wood construction

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Authors: Mebarek Boukelkoul, Abdelhalim Haroun

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By means of the first principle calculation, we have investigated the structural, magnetic and magneto-optical properties of the ultra-thin films of Fen/Cu(001) with (n=1, 2, 3). We adopted a relativistic approach using DFT theorem with local spin density approximation (LSDA). The electronic structure is performed within the framework of the Spin-Polarized Relativistic (SPR) Linear Muffin-Tin Orbitals (LMTO) with the Atomic Sphere Approximation (ASA) method. During the variational principle, the crystal wave function is expressed as a linear combination of the Bloch sums of the so-called relativistic muffin-tin orbitals centered on the atomic sites. The crystalline structure is calculated after an atomic relaxation process using the optimization of the total energy with respect to the atomic interplane distance. A body-centered tetragonal (BCT) pseudomorphic crystalline structure with a tetragonality ratio c/a larger than unity is found. The magnetic behaviour is characterized by an enhanced magnetic moment and a ferromagnetic interplane coupling. The polar magneto-optical Kerr effect spectra are given over a photon energy range extended to 15eV and the microscopic origin of the most interesting features are interpreted by interband transitions. Unlike thin layers, the anisotropy in the ultra-thin films is characterized by a perpendicular magnetization which is perpendicular to the film plane.

Keywords: ultrathin films, magnetism, magneto-optics, pseudomorphic structure

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Authors: Majid Mathlouthi, Fethi Lebdi

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Throughout the world, the extent and magnitude of droughts have economic, social and environmental consequences. Today climate change has become more and more felt; most likely they increase the frequency and duration of droughts. An analysis by event of dry event, from series of observations of the daily rainfall is carried out. A daily precipitation threshold value has been set. A catchment localized in Northern Tunisia where the average rainfall is about 600 mm has been studied. Rainfall events are defined as an uninterrupted series of rainfall days understanding at least a day having received a precipitation superior or equal to a fixed threshold. The dry events are constituted of a series of dry days framed by two successive rainfall events. A rainfall event is a vector of coordinates the duration, the rainfall depth per event and the duration of the dry event. The depth and duration are found to be correlated. So we use conditional probabilities to analyse the depth per event. The negative binomial distribution fits well the dry event. The duration of the rainfall event follows a geometric distribution. The length of the climatically cycle adjusts to the Incomplete Gamma. Results of this analysis was used to study of the effects of climate change on water resources and crops and to calibrate precipitation models with little rainfall records. In response to long droughts in the basin, the drought management system is based on three phases during each of the three phases; different measurements are applied and executed. The first is before drought, preparedness and early warning; the second is drought management, mitigation in the event of drought; and the last subsequent drought, when the drought is over.

Keywords: dry spell, precipitation threshold, climate vulnerability, adaptation measures

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Authors: Xiuguo Zhao, He Li, Alireza Yazdani, Xiaoning Zheng, Xinxi Xu

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Wound infected poses a serious threat to the surgery on the patient during the process of surgery. Understanding the bacteria-carrying particles (BCPs) transportation and deposition in the open surgical wound model play essential role in protecting wound against being infected. Therefore BCPs transportation and deposition in the surgical wound model were investigated using force-coupling method (FCM) based computational fluid dynamics. The BCPs deposition in the wound was strongly associated with BCPs diameter and concentration. The results showed that the rise on the BCPs deposition was increasing not only with the increase of BCPs diameters but also with the increase of the BCPs concentration. BCPs deposition morphology was impacted by the combination of size distribution, airflow patterns and model geometry. The deposition morphology exhibited the characteristic with BCPs deposition on the sidewall in wound model and no BCPs deposition on the bottom of the wound model mainly because the airflow movement in one direction from up to down and then side created by laminar system constructing airflow patterns and then made BCPs hard deposit in the bottom of the wound model due to wound geometry limit. It was also observed that inertial impact becomes a main mechanism of the BCPs deposition. This work may contribute to next study in BCPs deposition limit, as well as wound infected estimation in surgical-site infections.

Keywords: BCPs deposition, computational fluid dynamics, force-coupling method (FCM), numerical simulation, open surgical wound model

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Authors: Arife Simsek, Gulfem Bakan

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Sediment refers to the accumulation of varying amounts of sediment material in natural waters and the formation of bottom sludge. Sediments are the most important sources of pollutants as well as important future sources and carriers of pollutants. The accumulation of pollutants in sediments can cause serious environmental problems for the surrounding areas. Heavy metals (such as Cr, Cd, Al, Pb, Cu, Al, Zn) disrupt the water quality, affect the useful use of sediment, affect the ecosystem and have a toxic effect on the life of the sediment layer. This effect, which accumulates in the aquatic organisms, can enter the human body with the food chain and affect health seriously. Potential metal toxicity can be determined by comparing acid volatile sulfides (AVS) – simultaneously extracted metal (SEM) ratio in anoxic sediments to determine the effect of metals. Determination of the concentration of SEM and AVS is useful in screening sediments for potential toxicity due to the high metal concentration. In the case of SEM/AVS < 0 (anoxic sediment); in terms of AVS biomass production, its toxicity can be controlled. No toxic effects may be observed when SEM / AVS < 0. SEM / AVS > 0 (in the case of oxic sediment); metals with sensitive fraction such as Cu, As, Ag, Zn are stored. In this study, AVS and SEM measurements of sediment samples collected from five different points in the district of Tekkeköy in Samsun province were performed. The SEM - AVS ratio was greater than 0 in all samples. Therefore, it is necessary to test the toxicity against the risks that may occur in the ecosystem.

Keywords: AVS-SEM, Black Sea, heavy metal, sediment, toxicity

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Authors: Chakrit Thapphan, Suteeraporn Chaowattanapanit, Sorutsiri Chareonsudjai, Wisitsak Phoksawat, Supranee Phantanawiboon, Kiatichai Faksri, Steve W. Edwards, Kanin Salao

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Background: Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin that is mediated by crosstalk between keratinocytes and immune cells, especially CD4+ T helper (Th) cells. To date, psoriasis is established as a T helper 17 (Th17) cell-mediated inflammatory process driven by the over-expression of Th17. However, the role of other CD4+T helper cells is rather controversial. Objective: Our study, thereby, aimed to characterize and analyze T cell subsets in the circulating blood of psoriasis patients and compare them to healthy controls. Methods: Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from the participants and stained with fluorescent dye-conjugated monoclonal antibodies specific for intracellular cytokines, including interferon-gamma (IFN- γ), interleukin (IL-4), IL-17 and forkhead box P3 (FOXP3), that can be used to define T helper 1 (Th1) cells, T helper 2 (Th2), T helper 17 (Th17) and regulatory T cells (Treg) respectively. Results: We found that the numbers of Th2 (59.6% ± 17.0) and Th17 (4.0% ± 2.0) cells in the circulating blood of psoriasis patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls (p= 0.0007 and 0.0013 respectively). In contrast, the numbers of Th1 and Treg cells were not significantly different between psoriasis patients and healthy controls (p= 0.0593 and 0.8518, respectively). Additionally, when adjusting these numbers of Th cells to Treg, we observed a similar trend that the ratio of Th2/Treg and Th17/Treg also elevated (p = 0.0007 and 0.0047, respectively). Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest an imbalanced T exhibit toward the Th2 and Th17 skewed-immune responses in psoriasis patients.

Keywords: psoriasis, Th cell subsets, Th2 cells, Th17 cells, Treg cells

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Authors: Şevket Evci, Mehmet Akif Karsli

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The aim of this study is to determine nutrient contents, in situ ruminal degradation kinetics and protein fractions of screenings bean (B), chick pea (ChP), red lentil (RL) and green lentil (GL) that is used as residue in grain legume packing industry. For this purpose, four samples of each legumes species-a total of 16 samples, collected from different parts of our country were utilized. Feedstuffs used in the experiment were incubated for 0, 2 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 hours in the rumen of 3 ruminally cannulated Akkaraman rams as duplicate. The nutrient contents, in situ ruminal dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM) and crude protein (CP) degradabilities and fractions, and escape protein contents were evaluated. The highest OM and CP contents were observed in RL (P<0.05). Chick pea had the highest ether extract (EE) content and EE values were 3.47, 6.72, 2.26, 8.66 % for RL, B, GL and ChP, respectively (P<0.05). Crude fiber (CF), ADF, and NDF contents were the highest in RL and the lowest in ChP. CF values were 24.03, 10.80, 4.09 and 3.57 % for RL, GL, B and ChP (P<0.05). Acid detergent insoluble nitrogen content of samples did not differ. Escape protein content was the highest in RL and the lowest in B (P<0.05). After 48 h incubation, the lowest OM and CP degradabilities were observed in RL. While the highest OM degradability was seen in ChP the highest CP degradability was observed in B (P<0.05). The lowest water soluble OM and CP contents were observed in RL whereas the highest potentially degradable OM and CP contents were seen in B and ChP (P<0.05). Both rate of OM and CP degradations (k-1) did not differ among samples (P>0.05). In conclusion, it was noted that feedstuffs (GL, ChP and B) used in the experiment except RL had a greater ruminal degradibilities of both OM and CP and moreover, had a higher escape protein contents, except B. It was thought that these feedstuffs can be substituted with some of common protein sources used in animal nutrition.

Keywords: in situ, nutrient contents, ruminant, subsieve

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Authors: Nazym Zhumabayeva, Aleksandr Mezin, Alexandra Knysheva

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Women's underrepresentation in STEM is critical, worsened by ineffective engagement in educational practices. UNICEF Kazakhstan and GameLab KBTU's collaborative initiatives aim to enhance female STEM participation by fostering an inclusive environment. Learning from LEVEL UP's 2023 program, which featured a hackathon, the 2024 strategy pivots towards non-competitive gamification. Although the data from last year's project showed higher than average student engagement, observations and in-depth interviews with participants showed that the format was stressful for the girls, making them focus on points rather than on other values. This study presents a gamified educational system, DPG Lab, aimed at incentivizing young women's participation in STEM through the development of digital public goods (DPGs). By prioritizing collaborative gamification elements, the project seeks to create an inclusive learning environment that increases engagement and interest in STEM among young women. The DPG Lab aims to find a solution to minimize competition and support collaboration. The project is designed to motivate female participants towards the development of digital solutions through an introduction to the concept of DPGs. It consists of a short online course, a simulation videogame, and a real-time online quest with an offline finale at the KBTU campus. The online course offers short video lectures on open-source development and DPG standards. The game facilitates the practical application of theoretical knowledge, enriching the learning experience. Learners can also participate in a quest that encourages participants to develop DPG ideas in teams by choosing missions throughout the quest path. At the offline quest finale, the participants will meet in person to exchange experiences and accomplishments without engaging in comparative assessments: the quest ensures that each team’s trajectory is distinct by design. This marks a shift from competitive hackathons to a collaborative format, recognizing the unique contributions and achievements of each participant. The pilot batch of students is scheduled to commence in April 2024, with the finale anticipated in June. It is projected that this group will comprise 50 female high-school students from various regions across Kazakhstan. Expected outcomes include increased engagement and interest in STEM fields among young female participants, positive emotional and psychological impact through an emphasis on collaborative learning environments, and improved understanding and skills in DPG development. GameLab KBTU intends to undertake a hypothesis evaluation, employing a methodology similar to that utilized in the preceding LEVEL UP project. This approach will encompass the compilation of quantitative metrics (conversion funnels, test results, and surveys) and qualitative data from in-depth interviews and observational studies. For comparative analysis, a select group of participants from the previous year's project will be recruited to engage in the DPG Lab. By developing and implementing a gamified framework that emphasizes inclusion, engagement, and collaboration, the study seeks to provide practical knowledge about effective gamification strategies for promoting gender diversity in STEM. The expected outcomes of this initiative can contribute to the broader discussion on gamification in education and gender equality in STEM by offering a replicable and scalable model for similar interventions around the world.

Keywords: collaborative learning, competitive learning, digital public goods, educational gamification, emerging regions, STEM, underprivileged groups

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Authors: Osama Al-Sehail

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This paper argues for sustainability as a necessity in the evolution of tall architecture. It provides a different mode for dealing with sustainability in tall architecture, taking into consideration the speciality of its typology. To this end, the article develops a Biomimetic Structural Form as a paradigm to attain Vital Sustainability. A Biomimetic Structural Form, which is derived from the amalgamation of biomimicry as an approach for sustainability defining nature as source of knowledge and inspiration in solving humans’ problems and a Structural Form as a catalyst for evolving tall architecture, is a dynamic paradigm emerging from a conceptualizing and morphological process. A Biomimetic Structural Form is a flow system whose different forces and functions tend to be “better”, more "fit", to “survive”, and to be efficient. Through geometry and function—the two aspects of knowledge extracted from nature—the attributes of the Biomimetic Structural Form are formulated. Vital Sustainability is the survival level of sustainability in natural systems through which a system enhances the performance of its internal working and its interaction with the external environment. A Biomimetic Structural Form, in this context, is a medium for evolving tall architecture to emulate natural models in their ways of coexistence with the environment. As an integral part of this article, the sustainable super tall building 3Ts is discussed as a case study of applying Biomimetic Structural Form.   

Keywords: biomimicry, design in nature, high-rise buildings, sustainability, structural form, tall architecture, vital sustainability

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Authors: Jiang Xu, Daoping Wang, Qun Li, Yinghong Pan

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2,4-Epibrassinolide (EBR), which is a kind of plant hormone Brassinosteroids (BRs), is widely studied and applied in the global scale but the proteomic characteristics of EBR alleviating low temperature stress in rice seedling leaves are still not clear. In this study, seeding rice of Nipponbare were treated with EBR and distilled water, then stressed at 4℃ or 26 ℃, and analyzed by mass spectrometry analysis, verified by parallel reaction monitoring technique (PRM). The results showed that 5778 proteins were identified in total and 4834 proteins were identified with quantitative information. Among them, 401 up-regulated and 220 down-regulated proteins may be related to EBR alleviating low temperature stress in rice seedling leaves. The molecular functions of most of up-regulated proteins are RNA binding and hydrolase activity and are mainly enriched in the pathways of carbon metabolism, folic acid synthesis, and amino acid biosynthesis. The down-regulated proteins are mainly related to catalytic activity and oxidoreductase activity and are mainly enriched in the pathways of limonene and pinene degradation, riboflavin metabolism, porphyrin and chlorophyll metabolism, and other metabolic pathways. PRM validation and literature analysis showed that NADP-malic acidase, peroxidase, 3-phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase, enolase, glyceraldehyde-3- phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase are closely related to the effect of EBR on low temperature stress. These results also suggested that BRs could relieve the effect of low temperature stress on rice seed germination in many ways.

Keywords: 2, 4-Epibrassinolid, low temperature stress, proteomic analysis, rice

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Authors: Sanpetchuda Krutkrua, Suphawatchara Malanond

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Throughout the history of Antitrust regimes in Thailand, Thailand has been trying to prevent collusive practices in the market through the amendments of the Trade Competition Act, and Thailand just passed the current Trade Competition Act of B.E. 2560 in 2017 of which several aspects of the law were amended in order to enhance the prevention of collusive outcome through both vertical trade restraints and horizontal trade restraints. An agreement is vertical when it involves arrangements that are in a complementary relationship. In Section 55 of the Act, any agreements to reduce the price, quantity, or quality of the goods, agreements to assign a sole retailer for the goods, and the agreement to impose conditions on the retailers are not allowed. However, Section 56 provides exemptions for the vertical relationship between the business operators, the franchise agreement, and the licensing agreement as long as such agreements do not surpass the necessity to do so, create monopolization, or affect the consumers in terms of price, quality, quantity, or options. The paper aims to explore the extent of the exemption under Section 56 and sequential regulations in terms of the vertical trade restraints regarding intellectual property licensing, and, at the same time, compare with the exemptions under the European Union competition law, and Singapore competition law. Comparative legal analysis with leading jurisdiction will illustrate the application of the newly enacted Thai Competition Act in terms of its enforcement in the global impact of IP rights, which, by nature are de jure or de facto international protection.

Keywords: antitrust, competition law, vertical restraint, intellectual property, IP licensing

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Authors: Gina L. Solano

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This project endeavors to enhance learning experiences for undergraduate pre-service teachers and graduate K-12 educators by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI). Firstly, the initiative delves into integrating AI within undergraduate education courses, fostering traditional literacy skills essential for academic success and extending their applicability beyond the classroom. Education students will explore AI tools to design literacy-focused activities aligned with their curriculum. Secondly, the project investigates the utilization of AI to craft instructional materials employing gamification strategies (e.g., digital and classic games, badges, quests) to amplify student engagement and motivation in mastering course content. Lastly, it aims to create a professional repertoire that can be applied by pre-service and current teachers in P-12 classrooms, promoting seamless integration for those already in teaching positions. The project's impact extends to benefiting college students, including pre-service and graduate teachers, as they enhance literacy and digital skills through AI. It also benefits current P-12 educators who can integrate AI into their classrooms, fostering innovative teaching practices. Moreover, the project contributes to faculty development, allowing them to cultivate low-risk and engaging classroom environments, ultimately enriching the learning journey. The insights gained from this project can be shared within and beyond the discipline to advance the broader field of study.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, gamification, learning experiences, literacy skills, engagement

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Authors: Xiaoyan Jiang, Huizhu Wang, Lili Gui, Dandan Shen, Xiao Wei, Xi Yu, Hailiang Liu, Min Hong

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Objective: Applicate FITC to establish Th2-type allergic contact dermatitis model, and study the effect and mechanism of Cimifugin on Th2-type allergic contact dermatitis. Methods: The Balb/c mice were sensitized with painting 80 ul of 1.5% FITC onto the shaved abdomen skin at DAY1 and DAY2. The animals were challenged on their right ears with 20 ul of 0.6% FITC, and the left ears were painted with solvent alone at day 6, mice were administered cimifugin for 7 days. 24h later, ear swelling was noted, and the infiltration of eosinophils was investigated by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. while part of the ear tissue homogenates prepared for detecting interleukin-4 levels by ELISA .Mice were administered cimifugin In the initial stage of the above model for 5 days(-1DAY—DAY3), ear tissue were homogenized to detect IL-33 levels by ELISA. Results: Cimifugin 25mg/kg, 50mg/kg inhibited mouse ear swelling, ear histopathology showed that mice given Cimifugin has significantly reduced levels of local tissue fluid exudation, congestion, infiltration of lymphocytes, and other inflammatory conditions compared with the model group. At the same time, it has significantly reduce of Th2 cytokines IL-4 in the mouse ear tissue homogenate. Data of the initial stage shows that 12.5mg/kg, 50mg/kg Cimifugin significantly inhibited IL-33 levels. Conclusion: Cimifugin inhibit FITC-induced Th2-type allergic contact dermatitis, and its mechanism may be related to inhibition of IL-33.

Keywords: cimifugin, allergic contact dermatitis, Th1/Th2, IL-33

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Authors: Izian Abd. Karim, Kachalla Mohammed, Nora Farah Abd Aznieta Aziz, Law Teik Hua

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The economic use and ease of construction of profiled deck composite slab is marred with the complex and un-economic strength verification required for the serviceability and general safety considerations. Beside these, albeit factors such as shear span length, deck geometries and mechanical frictions greatly influence the longitudinal shear strength, that determines the ultimate strength of profiled deck composite slab, and number of methods available for its determination; partial shear and slope-intercept are the two methods according to Euro-code 4 provision. However, the complexity associated with shear behavior of profiled deck composite slab, the use of these methods in determining the load carrying capacities of such slab yields different and conflicting values. This couple with the time and cost constraint associated with the strength verification is a source of concern that draws more attentions nowadays, the issue is critical. Treating some of these known shear strength influencing factors as random variables, the load carrying capacity violation of profiled deck composite slab from the use of the two-methods defined according to Euro-code 4 are determined using reliability approach, and comparatively studied. The study reveals safety values from the use of m-k method shows good standing compared with that from the partial shear method.

Keywords: composite slab, first order reliability method, longitudinal shear, partial shear connection, slope-intercept

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Authors: Faisal Alsaaq

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Hydrographic surveys have traditionally relied on the availability of tide information for the reduction of sounding observations to a common datum. In most cases, tide information is obtained from tide gauge observations and/or tide predictions over space and time using local, regional or global tide models. While the latter often provides a rather crude approximation, the former relies on tide gauge stations that are spatially restricted, and often have sparse and limited distribution. A more recent method that is increasingly being used is Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning which can be utilised to monitor height variations of a vessel or buoy, thus providing information on sea level variations during the time of a hydrographic survey. However, GNSS heights obtained under the dynamic environment of a survey vessel are affected by “non-tidal” processes such as wave activity and the attitude of the vessel (roll, pitch, heave and dynamic draft). This research seeks to examine techniques that separate the tide signal from other non-tidal signals that may be contained in GNSS heights. This requires an investigation of the processes involved and their temporal, spectral and stochastic properties in order to apply suitable recovery techniques of tide information. In addition, different post-mission and near real-time GNSS positioning techniques will be investigated with focus on estimation of height at ocean. Furthermore, the study will investigate the possibility to transfer the chart datums at the location of tide gauges.

Keywords: hydrography, GNSS, datum, tide gauge

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Authors: S. K. Ashiquer Rahman

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The innovative knowledge threshold significantly shifted education from traditional to an online version which was an emergent state of arts for academic programs of any higher education institutions; the substantive situation thus raises the importance of deliberative integration of education, Knowledge, technology and sustainability as well as knowledge platforms, e.g., ePLANETe. In fact, the concept of 'ePLANETe' an innovative knowledge platform and its functionalities as an experimental digitized platform for contributing sustainable assessment of academic programs of higher education institution(HEI). Besides, this paper assessed and define the common sustainable development challenges of higher education(HE) and identified effective approach and tools of 'ePLANETe’ that is enable to practices sustainability assessment of academic programs through the deliberation methodologies. To investigate the effectiveness of knowledge tools and approach of 'ePLANETe’, I have studied sustainable challenges digitized pedagogical content as well as evaluation of academic programs of two public universities in France through the 'ePLANETe’ evaluation space. The investigation indicated that the effectiveness of 'ePLANETe’s tools and approach perfectly fit for the quality assessment of academic programs, implementation of sustainable challenges, and dynamic balance of ecosystem within the university communities and academic programs through 'ePLANETe’ evaluation process and space. The study suggests to the relevant higher educational institution’s authorities and policymakers could use this approach and tools for assessing sustainability and enhancing the sustainability competencies of academic programs for quality education

Keywords: ePLANETe, deliberation, evaluation, competencies

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Authors: Amin Pashaye Amiri

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Freedom of information, according to which the public has a right to have access to government-held information, is largely considered as a tool for improving transparency and accountability in governments, and as a requirement of self-governance and good governance. So far, more than ninety countries have recognized citizens’ right to have access to public information. This recognition often took place through the adoption of an act referred to as “freedom of information act”, “access to public records act”, and so on. A freedom of information act typically imposes a positive obligation on a government to initially and regularly release certain public information, and also obliges it to provide individuals with information they request. Such an act usually allows governmental bodies to withhold information only when it falls within a limited number of exemptions enumerated in the act such as exemptions for protecting privacy of individuals and protecting national security. Some steps have been taken at the national and international level towards the recognition of freedom of information as a human right. Freedom of information was recognized in a few countries as a part of freedom of expression, and therefore, as a human right. Freedom of information was also recognized by some international bodies as a human right. The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled in 2006 that Article 13 of the American Convention on Human Rights, which concerns the human right to freedom of expression, protects the right of all people to request access to government information. The European Court of Human Rights has recently taken a considerable step towards recognizing freedom of information as a human right. However, in spite of the measures that have been taken, public access to government information is not yet widely accepted as an international human right. The paper will consider the degree to which freedom of information has been recognized as a human right, and study the possibility of widespread recognition of such a human right in the future. It will also examine the possible benefits of such recognition for the development of the human right to free expression.

Keywords: freedom of information, freedom of expression, human rights, government information

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Authors: Monique de Ritter, Annemieke Roobeek

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This study takes a holistic multi-layered systems approach on entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainability. Concretely we looked how mission driven entrepreneurs (level 1) employ new business models and launch innovative products and/or ideas in their enterprises, which are (level 2) operating in entrepreneurial ecosystems (level 3), and how these in turn may generate higher level sustainable change (level 4). We employed a qualitative grounded research approach in which our aim is to contribute to theory. Fourteen in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with mission driven entrepreneurs in the Netherlands in which their individual drives, business models, and ecosystems were discussed. Interview transcripts were systematically coded and analysed and the ecosystems were visually mapped. Most important patterns include 1) entrepreneurs have a clear sustainable mission and regard this mission as de raison d’être of their enterprise; 2) entrepreneurs employ new business models with a focus on collaboration for innovation; the business model supports or enhances the sustainable mission of the enterprise, 3) entrepreneurs collaborate in ecosystems in which a) they also regard suppliers as partners for innovation and clients as ambassadors for the sustainable mission, b) would like to improve their relationships with financial institutions as they are in the entrepreneurs’ perspective often lagging behind with their innovative ideas and models, c) they collaborate for knowledge and innovation with several parties, d) personal informal connections are very important, and e) in which the higher sustainable mission is not a point of competition but of collaboration.

Keywords: sustainability, entrepreneurship, innovation, ecosystem, business models

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Authors: Justice Dadzie, Stacy H. Surman, Ruth K. Annan-Brew, Ifesinachi J. Ezugwu, Evans Addison

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This study aimed to explore the correlation between students' performance in educational statistics and research methods in education, as well as investigate potential differences in performance based on their undergraduate programs. A cross-sectional design was employed, and data was collected from 170 students enrolled in master of philosophy programs in the department of education and psychology. The correlation analysis revealed a strong positive correlation between students' performance in intermediate statistics in education and research methods in education. This indicates a close relationship between the two domains. The MANOVA analysis showed no significant differences in the linear combination of intermediate statistics in education and research methods in education scores across the different undergraduate programs. The tests of between-subjects effects further confirmed that the student's performance in intermediate statistics in education and research methods in education did not differ significantly across the different undergraduate programs. These findings contribute to the existing literature by providing insights into the correlation between educational statistics and research methods, and the influence of undergraduate program backgrounds on students' performance in these domains. The strong positive correlation between intermediate statistics and research methods highlights the importance of a solid foundation in statistics for understanding and applying research methods. Moreover, the consistent relationship across different academic backgrounds emphasizes the need for targeted interventions and support systems to enhance graduate students' competencies in these critical areas.

Keywords: educational statistics, research methods, undergraduate programs, students performance

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Authors: Renata Mekovec, Dijana Peras, Ruben Picek

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The advent of the Internet, mobile devices and social media is revolutionizing the experience of retail customers by linking multiple sources through various channels. Omnichannel retailing is a retailing that combines multiple channels to allow customers to seamlessly leverage all the distribution information online and offline while shopping. Therefore, today data are an asset more critical than ever for all organizations. Nonetheless, because of its heterogeneity through platforms, developers are currently facing difficulties in dealing with personal data. Considering the possibilities of omnichannel communication, this paper presents channel categorization that could enhance the customer experience of omnichannel center called hyper center. The purpose of this paper is fundamentally to describe the connection between the omnichannel hyper center and the customer, with particular attention to privacy protection. The first phase was finding the most appropriate channels of communication for hyper center. Consequently, a selection of widely used communication channels has been identified and analyzed with regard to the effect requirements for optimizing user experience. The evaluation criteria are divided into 3 groups: general, user profile and channel options. For each criterion the weight of importance for omnichannel communication was defined. The most important thing was to consider how the hyper center can make user identification while respecting the privacy protection requirements. The study carried out also shows what customer experience across digital networks would look like, based on an omnichannel approach owing to privacy protection principles.

Keywords: personal data, privacy protection, omnichannel communication, retail

Procedia PDF Downloads 123

Authors: Ghada A. Gamea, Nabila A. Yaseen, Ahmed A. Othman, Ahmed S. Tawfik

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Infection with Toxoplasma gondii can cause serious complications in pregnant women, leading to abortion, stillbirth, and congenital anomalies in the fetus. Definitive diagnosis of T. gondii acute infection is therefore critical for the clinical management of a mother and her fetus. This study was conducted on 250 pregnant females in the first trimester who were inpatients or outpatients at Obstetrics and Gynaecology Department at Tanta University Hospital. Screening of the selected females was done for the detection of immunoglobulin (IgG and IgM), and all subjects were submitted to history taking through a questionnaire including personal data, risk factors for Toxoplasma, complaint and history of the present illness. Thirty-eight samples, including 18 IgM +ve and 20 IgM-ve cases were further investigated by the avidity and IgE ELISA tests. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in pregnant women was (42.8%) based on the presence of IgG antibodies in their sera. Contact with cats and consumption of raw or undercooked meat are important risk factors that were associated with toxoplasmosis in pregnant women. By serology, it could be observed that in the IgM +ve group, only one case (5.6%) showed an acute pattern by using the avidity test, though 10 (55.6%) cases were found to be acute by the IgE assay. On the other hand, in the IgM –ve group, 3 (15%) showed low avidity, but none of them was positive by using the IgE assay. In conclusion, there is no single serological test that can be used to confirm whether T. gondii infection is recent or was acquired in the distant past. A panel of tests for detection of toxoplasmosis will certainly have higher discriminatory power than any test alone.

Keywords: diagnosis, serology, seroprevalence, toxoplasmosis

Procedia PDF Downloads 138

Authors: Yves Lacroix, Van Van Than, Didier Léandri, Pierre Liardet

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The western Tombolo of the Giens peninsula in southern France, known as Almanarre beach, is subject to coastal erosion. We are trying to use computer simulation in order to propose solutions to stop this erosion. Our aim was first to determine the main factors for this erosion and successfully apply a coupled hydro-sedimentological numerical model based on observations and measurements that have been performed on the site for decades. We have gathered all available information and data about waves, winds, currents, tides, bathymetry, coastal line, and sediments concerning the site. These have been divided into two sets: one devoted to calibrating a numerical model using Mike 21 software, the other to serve as a reference in order to numerically compare the present situation to what it could be if we implemented different types of underwater constructions. This paper presents the first part of the study: selecting and melting different sources into a coherent data basis, identifying the main erosion factors, and calibrating the coupled software model against the selected reference period. Our results bring calibration of the numerical model with good fitting coefficients. They also show that the winter South-Western storm events conjugated to depressive weather conditions constitute a major factor of erosion, mainly due to wave impact in the northern part of the Almanarre beach. Together, current and wind impact is shown negligible.

Keywords: Almanarre beach, coastal erosion, hydro-sedimentological, numerical model

Procedia PDF Downloads 304

Authors: Ashfaq Khan, Aftab Khan, Mushtaq Khan, Sarem Sattar, Mohammad A Sheikh, Lin Li

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Chip removal processes are one of key processes of the manufacturing industry where chip removal is conducted by tool inserts of exceptionally hard materials. Tungsten carbide has been extensively used as tool insert for machining processes involving chip removal processes. These hard materials are generally fabricated by single step sintering process as further modification after fabrication in these materials cannot be done easily. Advances in tool surface modification have revealed that advantages such as improved tribological properties and extended tool life can be harnessed from the same tool by texturing the tool rake surface. Moreover, it has been observed that the shape and location of the texture also influences the behavior. Although texturing offers plentiful advantages the challenge lies in the generation of textures on the tool surface. Extremely hard material such as diamond is required to process tungsten carbide. Laser is unique processing tool that does not have a physical contact with the material and thus does not wear. In this research the potential of utilizing laser for texturing of tungsten carbide to develop custom features would be studied. A parametric study of texturing of Tungsten Carbide with a femtosecond laser would be conducted to investigate the process parameters and establish the feasible processing window. The effect of fluence, scan speed and number of repetition would be viewed in detail. Moreover, the mechanism for the generation of features would also be reviewed.

Keywords: laser, texturing, femtosecond, tungsten carbide

Procedia PDF Downloads 637

Authors: Tareq Nikzad

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Since the first bank was established in 1933, Afghanistan's banking sector has seen a number of variations but hasn't been able to grow to its full potential because of the civil war. The implementation of dual banks in Afghanistan is investigated in this study in relation to the effects of inflation and interest rates. This research took data from World Bank Data (WBD) over a period of nineteen years. For the banking sector, inflation, which is the general rise in prices of goods and services over time, presents considerable difficulties. The objectives of this research are to analyze the effect of inflation and interest rates on conventional and Islamic banks in Afghanistan, identify potential differences between these two banking models, and provide insights for policymakers and practitioners. A mixed-methods approach is used in the research to analyze quantitative data and qualitatively examine the unique difficulties that banks in Afghanistan's economic atmosphere encounter. The findings contribute to the understanding of the relationship between interest rate, inflation rate, and the performance of both banking systems in Afghanistan. The paper concludes with recommendations for policymakers and banking institutions to enhance the stability and growth of the banking sector in Afghanistan. Interest is described as "a prefixed rate for use or borrowing of money" from an Islamic perspective. This "prefixed rate," known in Islamic economics as "riba," has been described as "something undesirable." Furthermore, by using the time series regression data technique on the annual data from 2003 to 2021, this research examines the effect of CPI inflation rate and interest rate of Banking in Afghanistan.

Keywords: inflation, Islamic banking, conventional banking, interest, Afghanistan, impact

Procedia PDF Downloads 58

Authors: Jia Xue, Frederica G. Lamar, Siyu Lin, Jennifer G. Lamori, Samendra Sherchan

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Brackish water samples from Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana were assessed for the presence of pathogenic amoeba Naegleria fowleri, which causes primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). In our study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methods were used to determine N. fowleri, E. coli, and Enterococcus in water collected from Lake Pontchartrain. A total of 158 water samples were analyzed over the 10-month sampling period. Statistically significant positive correlation between water temperature and N. fowleri concentration was observed. N. fowleri target sequence was detected at 35.4% (56/158) of the water samples from ten sites around the Lake ranged from 11.6 GC/100 ml water to 457.8 GC/100 ml water. A single factor (ANOVA) analysis shows the average concentration of N. fowleri in summer (119.8 GC/100 ml) was significantly higher than in winter (58.6 GC/100 ml) (p < 0.01). Statistically significant positive correlations were found between N. fowleri and qPCR E. coli results and N. fowleri and colilert E. coli (culture method), respectively. A weak positive correlation between E. coli and Enterococcus was observed from both qPCR (r = 0.27, p < 0.05) and culture based method (r = 0.52, p < 0.05). Meanwhile, significant positive correlation between qPCR and culture based methods for E. coli (r = 0.30, p < 0.05) and Enterococcus concentration was observed (r = 0.26, p < 0.05), respectively. Future research is needed to determine whether sediment is a source of N. fowleri found in the water column.

Keywords: brackish water, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus, Naegleria fowleri, primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), qPCR

Procedia PDF Downloads 149

Authors: Quang Dung Le, Kentaro Tanaka, Viet Dung Luu, Kotaro Shirai

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Mercury pollutant is great concerns in globe due to its toxicity and biomagnification through the food web. Recently increasing approaches of stable isotope analyses which have applied in food-web structure are enabled to elucidate more insight trophic transfer of pollutants in ecosystems. In this study, the integration of total mercury (Hg) and stable isotopic analyses (δ13C and δ15N) were measured from basal food sources to invertebrates and fishes in order to determine Hg transfer in Setiu lagoon food webs. The average Hg concentrations showed the increasing trend from low to high trophic levels. The result also indicated that potential Hg exposure from inside mangrove could be higher than that from the tidal flat of mangrove creek. Fish Hg concentrations are highly variable, and many factors driving this variability need further examinations. A positive correlation found between Hg concentrations and δ15N values (the trophic magnification factor was 3.02), suggesting Hg biomagnification through the lagoon food web. Almost all Hg concentrations in fishes and mud crabs did not present a risk for human consumption, however, the Hg concentrations of Caranx ignobilis exceed the permitted level could raise a concern of the potential risk for the marine system. Further investigations should be done to elucidate whether trophic relay relates to high Hg concentrations of some fish species in coastal systems.

Keywords: mercury, transfer, stable isotopes, health risk, mangrove, food web

Procedia PDF Downloads 295

Authors: Afrah E. Mohammed, Mudawi M. Nour

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Environmentally friendly green synthesis of nanomaterial has a very significant part in nanotechnology. In the present research, the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was established by treating silver ions with the aqueous extract of Calligonum comosum green shoots at room temperature. AgNPs formation was firstly detected by the colour change of mixed extract (plant extract and AgNO3). Further characterization was done by ultraviolet (UV)-Vis spectrophotometer, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), zeta potential and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The peak values for UV-VIS- spectroscopy were in the range of 440 nm, TEM micrograph showed a spherical shape for the particles and zeta potential showed the formation of negative charged nanoparticles with an average size of about 105.8 nm. 1635.41 and 3249.83 cm−1 are the peaks detected from the FTIR analysis. In this study, biosynthesized silver nanoparticles mediated by C. comosum were tested for their antimycotic activity using a well diffusion method against fungal species; Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium sp, Fusarium oxysporum. Our findings indicated that biosynthesized AgNPs showed an efficient antimycotic activity against tested species. The antimycotic action of AgNPs varied according to different fungal species. Results confirmed the ability of C. comosum green shoot extract to act as an reducing and stabilizing agent during the synthesis of AgNPs.

Keywords: AGNPS, zeta potential, TEM, SEM

Procedia PDF Downloads 63

Authors: Deva Kanta Phukan

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An investigation is made to carry out to study the thermal-diffusion and diffusion thermo-effects in hydro-magnetic unsteady flow by a mixed convection boundary layer past an impermeable vertical stretching sheet embedded in a conducting fluid-saturated porous medium in the presence of a chemical reaction effect. The velocity of stretching surface, the surface temperature and the concentration are assumed to vary linearly with the distance along the surface. The governing partial differential equations are transformed in to self similar unsteady equations using similarity transformations and solved numerically by the Runge kutta fourth order scheme in association with the shooting method for the whole transient domain from the initial state to the final steady state flow. Numerical results for the velocity, temperature, the concentration, the skin friction , and the Nusselt and Sherwood numbers are shown graphically for various flow parameters. The results reveal that there is a smooth transition of flow from unsteady state to the final steady state. A special case of our results is in good agreement with an earlier published work.

Keywords: heat and mass transfer, boundary layer flow, porous media, magnetic field, Soret number, Dufour’s number

Procedia PDF Downloads 434

Authors: K. Petcharaporn

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The external characteristics of tomatoes, such as freshness, color and size are typically used in quality control processes for tomatoes sorting. However, the internal mold infection of intact tomato cannot be sorted based on a visible assessment and destructive method alone. In this study, a non-destructive technique was used to predict the internal mold infection of intact tomatoes by using transmittance visible and near infrared (VIS-NIR) spectroscopy. Spectra for 200 samples contained 100 samples for normal tomatoes and 100 samples for mold infected tomatoes were acquired in the wavelength range between 665-955 nm. This data was used in conjunction with partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) method to generate a classification model for tomato quality between groups of internal mold infection of intact tomato samples. For this task, the data was split into two groups, 140 samples were used for a training set and 60 samples were used for a test set. The spectra of both normal and internally mold infected tomatoes showed different features in the visible wavelength range. Combined spectral pretreatments of standard normal variate transformation (SNV) and smoothing (Savitzky-Golay) gave the optimal calibration model in training set, 85.0% (63 out of 71 for the normal samples and 56 out of 69 for the internal mold samples). The classification accuracy of the best model on the test set was 91.7% (29 out of 29 for the normal samples and 26 out of 31 for the internal mold tomato samples). The results from this experiment showed that transmittance VIS-NIR spectroscopy can be used as a non-destructive technique to predict the internal mold infection of intact tomatoes.

Keywords: tomato, mold, quality, prediction, transmittance

Procedia PDF Downloads 354