Search results for: positive affect

Authors: Setareh Shayanfar

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Given the increasing importance of peer relationships during adolescence, the present study aimed to examine peer interactions that facilitate or hinder adolescents’ regulation of negative emotions. Using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique, 1-hour semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 junior high school adolescents. Participants were asked to recall situations when they experienced strong negative emotions during the past school year, indicate the peer interactions that helped or hindered their emotion regulation, and identify prospective interactions with the potential to help regulate their emotions. Data analysis extracted 182 critical incidents, including 109 helping incidents, 45 hindering incidents, and 28 wish list items, which generated 10 categories nested within four overarching themes: Positive Personal Support included (a) supportive presence, (b) expressing concern, (c) empathizing, and (d) encouraging and cheering up; while Strategy Transmission included (e) sharing perspective, and (f) giving advice; Activated Support included (g) taking action, and (h) distracting; while Negative Personal Interactions included (i) withdrawing and (j) punishing. Implications for mental health and service providers, as well as recommendations for future research, are presented.

Keywords: adolescence, emotion regulation, enhanced critical incident technique, peers

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Authors: Keven A. Prusak, William F. Christensen, Zack Beddoes

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Background: For more than a decade, the Sport Motivation Scale (SMS) has been used to measure contextual motivation across a variety of sporting and physical education (PE) settings but not without criticism as to its tenability. Consequently, a new version of the sport motivation scale (SMS-II) was created to address certain weakness of the original SMS. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the suitability of the SMS-II in the secondary PE setting. Methods: Three hundred and twenty (204 females, and 116 males; grades 7-9) completed the 18-item, six-subscale SMS-II at the end of a required PE class. Factor means, standard deviations, and correlations were calculated and further examined via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Model parameters were estimated maximum likelihood function. Results: Results indicate that participants held generally positive perceptions toward PE as a context (more so for males than females). Reliability analysis yielded adequate alphas (rα = 0.71 to 0.87, Mα = 0.78) with the exception of the AM subscale (αAM = .64). Correlation analysis indicated some support for the SIMPLEX pattern, but distal ends of the motivation continuum displayed no relationship. CFA yielded robust fit indices to the proposed structure of the SMS-II for PE. A small but significant variance across genders was noted and discussed. Conclusions: In all, the SMS-II suitably accesses PE context-specific motivational indices within Jr. High PE.

Keywords: motivation, self-determination theory, physical education, confirmatory factor analysis

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Authors: Ka Yan Chan

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Cohabitation among couples has been increasingly common in recent decades. Nonetheless, insufficient attention was given to the impact of attachment on cohabitation. This study discussed the experience of cohabitation among women with insecure attachments by collecting qualitative data through semi-structured interviews. Through thematic analysis, the study explored the characteristics of the women, the formation of cohabitation, struggles, coping mechanisms, and the impacts of cohabitation on the women. Moreover, the influences of the family-of-origin on cohabitation and the needs of the women were explored. The findings indicated that insecure attachment and the family-of-origin had significant effects on cohabitation and the interaction among the cohabitating couples. Women with insecure attachments were more likely to enter cohabitation unconsciously and without discussing what cohabitation means for their relationship with their partners. The findings also suggested that committing to marriage was not the only method for the women to feel secure in the relationship. Instead, long-lasting love and care, as well as reliability from their partners, could satisfy their emotional needs. More importantly, the findings revealed that repairing attachment problems and dealing with challenges in life stage transition is associated with positive impacts on the cohabitation experience. Additionally, to meet the needs of diverse family structures and to provide all-rounded support for enhancing the wellbeing of individuals, cohabitants, and couples, a comprehensive intervention model of relationship enrichment was discussed.

Keywords: cohabitation, family-of-origin, insecure attachment, relationship enrichment

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Authors: Zhenming Wang, Jun Zhu, Yuchen Yang, Ning Zhao

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In the present paper, an alternative framework is proposed to construct a class of finite difference multi-resolution nested weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) schemes with an increasingly higher order of accuracy for solving inviscid Euler equations. These WENO schemes firstly obtain a set of reconstruction polynomials by a hierarchy of nested central spatial stencils, and then recursively achieve a higher order approximation through the lower-order precision WENO schemes. The linear weights of such WENO schemes can be set as any positive numbers with a requirement that their sum equals one and they will not pollute the optimal order of accuracy in smooth regions and could simultaneously suppress spurious oscillations near discontinuities. Numerical results obtained indicate that these alternative finite-difference multi-resolution nested WENO schemes with different accuracies are very robust with low dissipation and use as few reconstruction stencils as possible while maintaining the same efficiency, achieving the high-resolution property without any equivalent multi-resolution representation. Besides, its finite volume form is easier to implement in unstructured grids.

Keywords: finite-difference, WENO schemes, high order, inviscid Euler equations, multi-resolution

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Authors: Stellina Jolly

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July 18th to August 19th 2013 has gone down in the history of India for undertaking the country’s first environment referendum. The Supreme Court had ruled that the Vedanta Group's bauxite mining project in the Niyamgiri Hills of Orissa will have to get clearance from the gram sabha, which will consider the cultural and religious rights of the tribals and forest dwellers living in Rayagada and Kalahandi districts. In the Niyamgiri hills, people of small tribal hamlets were asked to voice their opinion on bauxite mining in their habitat. The ministry has reiterated its stand that mining cannot be allowed on the Niyamgiri hills because it will affect the rights of the Dongria Kondhs. The tribal person who occupies the Niyamgiri Hills in Eastern India accomplished their first success in 2010 in their struggle to protect and preserve their existence, culture and land against Vedanta a London-based mining giant. In August, 2010 Government of India revoked permission for Vedanta Resources to mine bauxite from hills in Orissa State where the Dongria Kondh live as forest dwellers. This came after various protests and reports including amnesty report wherein it highlighted that an alumina refinery in eastern India operated by a subsidiary of mining company. Vedanta was accused of causing air and water pollution that threatens the health of local people and their access to water. The abuse of human rights by corporate is not a new issue it has occurred in Africa, Asia and other parts of the world. Paper focuses on the instances and extent of human right especially in terms of environment violations by corporations. Further Paper details on corporations and sustainable development. Paper finally comes up with certain recommendation including call for a declaration by United Nations on Corporate environment Human Rights Liability.

Keywords: environment, corporate, human rights, sustainable development

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Authors: Fayaz Moosavi, Saeid Moradyfard

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One of the methods in avoiding management fraud and increasing the quality of financial information, is the notification of qualitative features of financial information, including conservatism characteristic. Although taking a conservatism approach, while boosting the quality of financial information, is able to reduce the informational risk and the cost of capital stock of commercial department, by presenting an improper image about the situation of the commercial department, raises the risk of failure in returning the main and capital interest, and consequently the cost of capital of the commercial department. In order to know if conservatism finally leads to the increase or decrease of the cost of capital or does not have any influence on it, information regarding accepted companies in Tehran stock exchange is utilized by application of pooling method from 2007 to 2012 and it included 124 companies. The results of the study revealed that there is an opposite and meaningful relationship between conditional conservatism and the cost of capital of the company. In other words, if bad and unsuitable news and signs are reflected sooner than good news in accounting profit, the cost of capital of the company increases. In addition, there is a positive and meaningful relationship between the cost of capital and lack of information asymmetry.

Keywords: conditional conservatism, lack of information asymmetry, the cost of capital, stock exchange

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Authors: Yu-Wen Huang, Yi-Cheng Chiang

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With urban development, lots of buildings are built around the city. The buildings always affect the urban wind environment. The accelerative situation of wind caused of buildings often makes pedestrians uncomfortable, even causes the accidents and dangers. Factors influencing pedestrian level wind including atmospheric boundary layer, wind direction, wind velocity, planting, building volume, geometric shape of the buildings and adjacent interference effects, etc. Planting has many functions including scraping and slowing urban heat island effect, creating a good visual landscape, increasing urban green area and improve pedestrian level wind. On the other hand, urban square is an important space element supporting the entrance to buildings, city landmarks, and activity collections, etc. The appropriateness of urban square environment usually dominates its success. This research focuses on the effect of tree-planting on the wind environment of urban square. This research studied the square belt of Taichung City Hall. Taichung City Hall is a cuboid building with a large mass opening. The square belt connects the front square, the central opening and the back square. There is often wind draft on the square belt. This phenomenon decreases the activities on the squares. This research applies tree-planting to improve the wind environment and evaluate the effects of two types of planting configuration. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation analysis and extensive field measurements are applied to explore the improve efficiency of planting configuration on wind environment. This research compares efficiencies of different kinds of planting configuration, including the clustering array configuration and the dispersion, and evaluates the efficiencies by the SET*.

Keywords: micro-climate, wind environment, planting configuration, comfortableness, computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

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Authors: Michelle Siao-Cing Guo

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Technology is widely adopted to assist instruction and learning across disciplines. Traditional teaching method fails to capture the attention of the generation of digital native and does not accommodate diverse needs of today’s learners. The innovation in technology allows new pedagogical approaches. One approach that converts the traditional learning classroom to a more flexible learning time and space is known as the flipped classroom. This new pedagogy extends and enhances learning and accommodates different learning styles. The flipped classroom employs technology to offer course materials online 24 hours/day and to promote active class learning. However, will Taiwanese students who are used to more traditional instructional methods embrace the flipped classroom using E-learning? Will the flipped approach have an effect on Taiwanese students’ English mastery and learning autonomy? The researcher compares a flipped classroom model using E-learning and the traditional-lecture model. A pre- and post-test and a questionnaire were utilized to examine the effect of the flipped classroom on Taiwanese college students. The test results showed that the flipped approach had a positive effect on learners’ English proficiency level, topical knowledge, and willingness to participate in class. The questionnaire also demonstrates the acceptance of the new teaching model.

Keywords: flipped classroom , E-learning, innovative teaching, technology

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Authors: Erin Louise Robinson, Emily Elsa Freeman

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Rough-and-tumble play (RTP) is a physical and competitive type of play that parents engage in with their children. While past research has reported RTP to be the preferred play type for western fathers, the frequency of these interactions in Australian families have not been explored. With parental perceptions of play importance playing a major role in the frequency of activity engagement, the present study investigated how perceptions and parent gender impact on RTP play frequency. By utilising child gender in our approach, we also examined the historical trend of boys receiving more physical play interactions with their parents. Three hundred and seventy-nine respondents completed the study with their 0–10-year-old children. The results indicated that, in line with past research, parents engaged more frequently in RTP with their sons than their daughters. While, both mothers and fathers participated in RTP with their children, fathers perceived RTP to be of greater important to their child’s development than mothers did. Moreover, supporting previous findings, this more positive perception of the play was related to greater frequency of RTP in these father-child dyads. Although RTP literature remains heavily focussed on fathers, the fact that mothers are engaging in these interactions as well, establishes the need to explore maternal influences in future research.

Keywords: parenting, play, child development, family, Australia

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Authors: Sara Najiazarpour, Mahsa Najiazarpour

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There are many problems in contracting projects and their performance. At each project stage and due to different reasons, these problems affect cost, time and overall project quality. Hence, in order to increase the efficiency and performance in all levels of the chain and with supply chain management approach, there will be a coordination from the beginning of a project (contractor selection) to the end of project (handover of project). Contractor selection is the foremost part of construction projects which in this multi-criteria decision-making, the best contractor is determined by expert judgment, different variables and their priorities. In this paper for selecting the best contractor, numerous criteria were collected by asking from adept experts and then among them, 16 criteria with highest frequency were considered for questionnaire. This questionnaire was distributed between experts. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was obtained as 72%. Then based on Borda's function 12 important criteria was selected which was categorized in four main criteria and related sub-criteria as follow: Environmental factors and physical equipment: procurement and materials (supplier), company's machines, contractor’s proposed cost estimate - financial capacity: bank turnover and company's assets, the income of tax declaration in last year, Ability to compensate for losses or delays - past performance- records and technical expertise: experts and key personnel, the past technical backgrounds and experiences, employer satisfaction of previous contracts, the number of similar projects was done - standards: rank and field of expertise which company is qualified for and its validity, availability and number of permitted projects done. Then with PROMTHEE method, the criteria were normalized and monitored, finally the best alternative was selected. In this research, qualitative criteria of each company is became a quantitative criteria. Finally, information of some companies was evaluated and the best contractor was selected based on all criteria and their priorities.

Keywords: contractor evaluation and selection, project development, supply chain management, PROMTHEE method

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Authors: Bassam Band, Simon Freeman, Rohan Munir, Hisham Band

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Objective: To determine efficacy of facial physiotherapy provided for patients with facial nerve palsy. Design: Retrospective study Subjects: 54 patients diagnosed with Facial nerve palsy were included in the study after they met the selection criteria including unilateral facial paralysis and start of therapy twelve months after the onset of facial nerve palsy. Interventions: Patients received the treatment offered at a facial physiotherapy clinic consisting of: Trophic electrical stimulation, surface electromyography with biofeedback, neuromuscular re-education and myofascial release. Main measures: The Sunnybrook facial grading scale was used to evaluate the severity of facial paralysis. Results: This study demonstrated the positive impact of physiotherapy for patient with facial nerve palsy with improvement of 24.2% on the Sunnybrook facial grading score from a mean baseline of 34.2% to 58.2%. The greatest improvement looking at different causes was seen in patient who had reconstructive surgery post Acoustic Neuroma at 31.3%. Conclusion: The therapy shows significant improvement for patients with facial nerve palsy even when started 12 months post onset of paralysis across different causes. This highlights the benefit of this non-invasive technique in managing facial nerve paralysis and possibly preventing the need for surgery.

Keywords: facial nerve palsy, treatment, physiotherapy, bells palsy, acoustic neuroma, ramsey-hunt syndrome

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Authors: Nkechi V. Enwuru, Bullum Nkeki, Elizabeth A. Adekoya, Olumide A. Adebesin, Rebecca F. Peters, Victoria A. Aikhomu, Mendie E. U.

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Background: Probiotics are live microbial feed supplement beneficial for host. Probiotics and their postbiotic products have been used to prevent or treat various health conditions. However, the products cell viability is often low due to harsh conditions subjected during processing, handling, storage, and gastrointestinal transit. These strongly influence probiotics’ benefits; thus, viability is essential for probiotics to produce health benefits for the host. Microencapsulation is a promising technique with considerable effects on probiotic survival. The study is aimed to formulate a microencapsulated probiotic and evaluate its viability, antimicrobial efficacy, and cytotoxic activity of its postbiotic on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. Method: Human and animal raw milk were sampled for lactic acid bacteria. The isolated bacteria were identified using conventional and VITEK 2 systems. The identified lactic acid bacterium was encapsulated using spray-dried and extrusion methods. The free, encapsulated, and chitosan-coated encapsulated probiotics were tested for viability in simulated-gastric intestinal (SGI) fluid and different storage conditions at refrigerated (4oC) and room (25oC) temperatures. The disintegration time and weight uniformity of the spray-dried hard gelatin capsules were tested. The antimicrobial property of free and encapsulated probiotics was tested against enteric pathogenic isolates from antiretroviral therapy (ART) treated HIV-positive patients. The postbiotic of the free cells was extracted, and its cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line was tested through an MTT assay. Result: The Lactobacillus plantarum was isolated from animal raw milk. Zero-size hard gelatin L. plantarum capsules with granules within a size range of 0.71–1.00 mm diameter was formulated. The disintegration time ranges from 2.14±0.045 to 2.91±0.293 minutes, while the average weight is 502.1mg. Simulated gastric solution significantly affected viability of both free and microcapsules. However, the encapsulated cells were more protected and viable due to impermeability in the microcapsules. Furthermore, the viability of free cells stored at 4oC and 25oC were less than 4 log CFU/g and 6 log CFU/g respectively after 12 weeks. However, the microcapsules stored at 4oC achieved the highest viability among the free and microcapsules stored at 25oC and the free cells stored at 4oC. Encapsulated cells were released in the simulated gastric fluid, viable and effective against the enteric pathogens tested. However, chitosan-coated calcium alginate encapsulated probiotics significantly inhibited Shigella flexneri, Candida albicans, and Escherichia coli. The Postbiotic Metabolites (PM) of L. plantarum produced a cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line. The postbiotic showed significant cytotoxic activity similar to 5FU, a standard antineoplastic agent. The inhibition concentration of 50% growth (IC50) of postbiotic metabolite K3 is low and consistent with the IC50 of the positive control (Cisplatin). Conclusions: Lactobacillus plantarum postbiotic exhibited a cytotoxic effect on the MCF-7 breast cancer cell line and could be used as combined adjuvant therapy in breast cancer management. The microencapsulation technique protects the probiotics, improving their viability and delivery to the gastrointestinal tract. Chitosan enhances antibacterial efficacy; thus, chitosan-coated microencapsulated L. plantarum probiotics could be more effective and used as a combined therapy in HIV management of opportunistic enteric infection.

Keywords: probiotics, encapsulation, gastrointestinal conditions, antimicrobial effect, postbiotic, cytotoxicity effect

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Authors: Mohammad Kargar Shouraki, Naji Yazdi, Mohsen Emami

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The environmental and social challenges have caused the organizations to put further attention and emphasis on sustainable growth and developing strategies for sustainability. Since human is both the target of development and the agent of development at the same time, one of the most important factors in the development of the sustainability strategy in organizations is the human factor. In addition, organizations have been facing the new challenge of digital transformation which impacts the human factor, meanwhile, undeniably, the human factor contributes to such transformation. Therefore, organizations are facing the challenge of digital human resource management (HRM). Thus, the present study aims to investigate how an HRM model should be so that it not only can help the consideration and of the business sustainability requirements but also can make the highest and the most appropriate positive, not destructive, utilization of the digital transformations. Furthermore, the success of the HRM regarding the two sustainability and digital transformation challenges requires dynamic human competencies, which are addressed as digital/sustainable human dynamic capabilities in this paper. The present study is conducted using a hybrid methodology consisting of the qualitative methods of meta-synthesis and content analysis and the quantitative method of interpretive-structural model (ISM). Finally, a rotatory model, including 3 approaches, 3 perspectives, and 9 dimensions, is presented.

Keywords: sustainable human resource management, digital human resource management, digital/sustainable human dynamic capabilities, talent management

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Authors: Irfan Turetgen

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Closed-circuit cooling towers are cooling units that operate according to the indirect cooling principle. Unlike the open-loop cooling tower, the filler material includes a closed-loop water-operated heat exchanger. The main purpose of this heat exchanger is to prevent the cooled process water from contacting with the external environment. In order to ensure that the hot water is cooled, the water is cooled by the air flow and the circulation water of the tower as it passes through the pipe. They are now more commonly used than open loop cooling towers that provide cooling with plastic filling material. As with all surfaces in contact with water, there is a biofilm formation on the outer surface of the pipe. Although biofilm has been studied very well on plastic surfaces in open loop cooling towers, studies on biofilm layer formed on the heat exchangers of the closed circuit tower have not been found. In the recent study, natural biofilm formation was observed on the heat exchangers of the closed loop tower for 6 months. At the same time, nano-silica coating, which is known to reduce the formation of the biofilm layer, a comparison was made between the two different surfaces in terms of biofilm formation potential. Test surfaces were placed into biofilm reactor along with the untreated control coupons up to 6-months period for biofilm maturation. Natural bacterial communities were monitored to analyze the impact to mimic the real-life conditions. Surfaces were monthly analyzed in situ for their microbial load using epifluorescence microscopy. Wettability is known to play a key role in biofilm formation on surfaces, because characteristics of surface properties affect the bacterial adhesion. Results showed that surface-conditioning with nano-silica significantly reduce (up to 90%) biofilm formation. Easy coating process is a facile and low-cost method to prepare hydrophobic surface without any kinds of expensive compounds or methods.

Keywords: biofilms, cooling towers, fill material, nano silica

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Authors: M. Ben Jrad, A. Belhaj Mohamed, S. Riahi, I. Bouazizi, M. Saidi, M. Soussi

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The generative potential, depositional environment, thermal maturity and oil seeps of the organic-rich Bou Dabbous Formation (Ypresian) from the thrust belt northwestern Tunisia, were determined by Rock Eval and molecular analyses. The paleo-tectonic units in the area show some similarities with equivalent facies in Mediterranean Sea and Sicilian. The Bou Dabbous Formation displays variable source rock characteristics through the various units Tellian and Numidian nappes Units. Organic matter contents and petroleum potentials are fair to high (reaching 1.95% and 6 kg of HC/t of rock respectively) marine type II kerogen. An increasing SE-NW maturity gradient is well documented in the study area. The Bou Dabbous organic-rich facies are marginally mature stage in the Tellian Unit (Kasseb domain), whilst they are mature-late mature stage within Nefza-Ain Allega tectonic windows. A long and north of Cap Serrat-Ghardimaou Master Fault these facies are overmature. Oil/Oil and Oil/source rock correlation, based on biomarker and carbon isotopic composition, shows a positive genetic correlation between the oil seeps and Bou Dabbous source rock.

Keywords: biomarkers, Bou Dabbous Formation, Northern Tunisia, source rock

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Authors: V. K. Srivastava

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The chemistry of compounds containing transition metals bound to sulfur containing ligands has been actively studied. Interest in these compounds arises from the identification of the biological importance of iron-sulfur containing proteins as well as the unusual behaviour of several types of synthetic metal-sulfur complexes. Metal complexes (C₆H₅)₄P)₂ Pt(Mos₄)₂, (C₆H₅)₄P)₂ Pd(MoS₄)₂, (C₆H₅)₄P)₂ Ni(MoS₄)₂ of bioinorganic relevance were investigated. The complexes [M(M'S₄)₂]²⁻ were prepared with high yield and purity as salts of the variety of organic cations. The diamagnetism and spectroscopic properties of these complexes confirmed that their structures are essentially equivalent with two bidentate M'S₄²⁻ ligands coordinated to the central d⁸ metal in a square planer geometry. The interaction of the complexes with CT-DNA was studied. Results showed that metal complexes increased DNA's relative viscosity and quench the fluorescence intensity of EB bound to DNA. In antimicrobial activities, all complexes showed good antimicrobial activity higher than ligand against gram positive, gram negative bacteria and fungi. The antitumor properties have been tested in vitro against two tumor human cell lines, Hela (derived from cervical cancer) and MCF-7 (derived from breast cancer) using metabolic activity tests. Result showed that the complexes are promising chemotherapeutic alternatives in the search of anticancer agents.

Keywords: anti cancer, biocidal, DNA binding, spectra

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Authors: Pablo Vidal, Misael Martinez, Carlos Hernandez, Ananta R. Adhikari, Luis Materon, Yuanbing Mao, Karen Lozano

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Conjugated polymers are smart materials that show tremendous practical applications in diverse subjects. Polydiacetylenes are conjugated polymers with special optical properties. In response to the environmental changes such as pH and molecular binding, it changes its color. Such an interesting chromic and emissive behavior of polydiacetylenes make them a highly popular polymer in wide areas, including biomedicine such as a biosensor. In this research, we used polyvinyl butyrate as a matrix to fibrillate polydiacetylenes. We initially prepared polyvinyl butyrate/diacetylene matrix using forcespinning technique. They were then polymerized to form polyvinyl butyrate/polydiacetylene (PVB/PDA). These matrices then studied for their bio-sensing response to gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The sensing ability of the PVB/PDA biosensor was observed as early as 30 min in the presence of bacteria at 37°C. Now our effort is to decrease this effective temperature to room temperature to make this device applicable in the general daily life. These chromic biosensors will find extensive application not only alert the infection but also find other promising applications such as wearable sensors and diagnostic systems.

Keywords: smart material, conjugated polymers, biosensor, polyvinyl butyrate/polydiacetylene

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Authors: Seongryong Kang, Woonjin Kim, Sungjoo Lee

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Under the environment of fierce competition and globalized economy, international technology collaboration has gained increasing attention as a way to improve innovation efficiency. While international technology transfer helps a firm to acquire necessary technology in a short period of time, it also has a risk; embedding external technology from overseas partners may cause a transaction cost due to the regional, cultural and language barriers, which tend to offset the benefits of such transfer. Though a number of previous studies have focused on the effects of technology in-transfer on firm performance, few have conducted in the context of international technology transfer. To fill this gap, this study aims to investigate the impact of international technology in-transfer on firm performance – both innovation and financial performance, with a particular emphasis on the diversity and intensity of such transfer. To do this, we adopted technology balance payment (TBP) data of Korean firms from 2010 to 2011, where an intermediate regression analysis was used to identify the intermediate effects of absorptive capacity. The analysis results indicate that i) the diversity and intensity of international technology transfer influence innovation performance by improving R&D capability positively; and ii) the diversity has a positive impact but the intensity has a negative impact on financial performance through the intermediation of R&D intensity. The research findings are expected to provide meaningful implications for establishing global technology strategy and developing policy programs to facilitate technology transfer.

Keywords: diversity, intensity, international technology acquisition, performance, technology transfer

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Authors: Marlone D. Severo

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A pre- and post-test quasi-experimental design was used to test the intervention of Trachtenberg Speed Math on the mathematical competency of sixty (60) matched-paired students with a poor performing grade in Mathematics from one of the biggest public national high school at the South of Metro Manila. Both control and experimental group were administered with the Attitude Towards Mathematics Inventory (ATMI) before the pretest were given and both group showed high dislike for Mathematics. Pretest showed a 53 percent accuracy for the control group and 51 percent for the experimental group using a 15-item long multiplication test without any aid of a computing device. The experimental group were taught how to use the Trachtenberg number-keys and techniques in multiplication between October 2014 to March 2015. Post-test showed an improvement in the experimental group with 96 percent accuracy for the control group and a dismal 57 percent for the control group in long-multiplication. Post-test ATMI were administered. The control group showed a great dislike towards Mathematics, while the experimental group showed a positive attitude towards the subject.

Keywords: attitude towards mathematics, mathematical competency, number-keys, trachtenberg speed math

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Authors: Genady Grabarnik, Serge Yaskolko

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Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly expanded its applicability with the incorporation of Large Language Models (LLMs) and become a technology with promise to automate some areas that were very difficult to automate before. The paper describes the introduction of generative Artificial Intelligence into Introductory Computer and Data Science courses and analysis of effect of such introduction. The generative Artificial Intelligence is incorporated in the educational process two-fold: For the instructors, we create templates of prompts for generation of tasks, and grading of the students work, including feedback on the submitted assignments. For the students, we introduce them to basic prompt engineering, which in turn will be used for generation of test cases based on description of the problems, generating code snippets for the single block complexity programming, and partitioning into such blocks of an average size complexity programming. The above-mentioned classes are run using Large Language Models, and feedback from instructors and students and courses’ outcomes are collected. The analysis shows statistically significant positive effect and preference of both stakeholders.

Keywords: introductory computer and data science education, generative AI, large language models, application of LLMS to computer and data science education

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Authors: Sarah Rietze, Hannes Zacher

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Daily stand-up meetings are the most commonly used method in agile teams. In daily stand-ups, team members gather to coordinate and align their efforts, typically for a predefined period of no more than 15 minutes. The primary purpose is to ask and answer the following three questions: What was accomplished yesterday? What will be done today? What obstacles are impeding my progress? Daily stand-ups aim to enhance communication, mutual understanding, and support within the team, as well as promote collective learning from mistakes through daily synchronization and transparency. The use of daily stand-ups is intended to positively influence psychological safety within teams, which is the belief that it is safe to show oneself and take personal risks. Two studies will be presented, which explore the relationships between daily stand-ups, psychological safety, and psychological well-being. In a first study, based on survey results (n = 318), we demonstrated that daily stand-ups have a positive indirect effect on job satisfaction and a negative indirect effect on turnover intention through their impact on psychological safety. In a second study, we investigate, using an experimental design, how the use of daily stand-ups in teams enhances psychological safety and well-being compared to a control group that does not use daily stand-ups. Psychological safety is considered one of the most crucial cultural factors for a sustainable, agile organization. Agile approaches, such as daily stand-ups, are a critical part of the evolving work environment and offer a proactive means to shape and foster psychological safety within teams.

Keywords: occupational wellbeing, agile work practices, psychological safety, daily stand-ups

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Authors: Alexander A. Tokmakov

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Cell-free protein synthesis is widely used to synthesize recombinant proteins. It allows genome-scale expression of various polypeptides under strictly controlled uniform conditions. However, only a minor fraction of all proteins can be successfully expressed in the systems of protein synthesis that are currently used. The factors determining expression success are poorly understood. At present, the vast volume of data is accumulated in cell-free expression databases. It makes possible comprehensive bioinformatics analysis and identification of multiple features associated with successful cell-free expression. Here, we describe an approach aimed at identification of multiple physicochemical and structural properties of amino acid sequences associated with protein solubility and aggregation and highlight major correlations obtained using this approach. The developed method includes: categorical assessment of the protein expression data, calculation and prediction of multiple properties of expressed amino acid sequences, correlation of the individual properties with the expression scores, and evaluation of statistical significance of the observed correlations. Using this approach, we revealed a number of statistically significant correlations between calculated and predicted features of protein sequences and their amenability to cell-free expression. It was found that some of the features, such as protein pI, hydrophobicity, presence of signal sequences, etc., are mostly related to protein solubility, whereas the others, such as protein length, number of disulfide bonds, content of secondary structure, etc., affect mainly the expression propensity. We also demonstrated that amenability of polypeptide sequences to cell-free expression correlates with the presence of multiple sites of post-translational modifications. The correlations revealed in this study provide a plethora of important insights into protein folding and rationalization of protein production. The developed bioinformatics approach can be of practical use for predicting expression success and optimizing cell-free protein synthesis.

Keywords: bioinformatics analysis, cell-free protein synthesis, expression success, optimization, recombinant proteins

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Authors: Xiaoman Dong

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The refugee problem has a long history, but the scale and severity of modern refugee crises demand us to consider if the progress of political history exacerbates the refugee problem. This paper argues that although sovereignty owes its legitimacy to the protection of human rights, the modern state system complicates the refugee problem by first introducing then blurring the line between human rights and civil rights, and making national identity indispensable to basic livelihood and dignity. This paper first explains the source of the modern state system’s legitimacy by putting it in the context of social contract theories and the politics of nation-building. It then discusses how states create the concept of statelessness, which leads to more violations on human rights. Using historical records of the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this paper reveals that neither the refugee problem of the Cold-War period nor the current refugee crisis is collateral damage of war, but rather the consequence of intentional exclusionary policies produced out of political interests. Finally, it contends that if the modern state system is to sustain, it cannot prioritize the protection of civil rights of a particular group over the protection of basic human rights of all.

Keywords: burden sharing, human rights, legitimacy of state, positive externality, sovereignty

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Authors: Saleh Nabiyev

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Renewable energy is becoming increasingly important in today's world due to its significant impact on the green economy, ecology, environment, and climate change. Renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind, are clean and sustainable, making them an ideal solution to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. The Karabakh region is located in the South Caucasus and covers an area of approximately 11,500 km². The region has a mountainous terrain, which can affect the availability of wind and solar resources. The Karabakh region has significant wind power potential, particularly in its mountainous areas where wind speeds are typically higher. According to a study conducted by the European Commission Joint Research Centre, the average wind speed in the Karabakh region is between 4 and 6 meters per second (m/s) at a height of 50 meters above ground level (AGL). However, wind speeds can be higher in some areas, reaching up to 10 m/s in some mountainous areas. The region also has significant solar power potential, with an average of 2,000 to 2,200 hours of sunshine per year. The region's high altitude and clear skies make it particularly suitable for the development of solar power projects. In this research, the application of satellite images, solar radiation, wind speed and direction, as well as various other materials to determine suitable areas for alternative energy sources, is investigated. The methodology for selecting suitable locations for solar and wind energy consists of four main parts: identification of factors, evaluation of factors, data preparation, and application of suitability analysis. At the end of the research, the territory of the Kalbajar and Lachin districts is suitable for wind energy. The southern plain part of Karabakh is highly evaluated in terms of solar energy potential, especially Jabrayil district. Generally, outcomes taken from this research are essential data for increasing of rational using natural resources, as well as combating climate change.

Keywords: GIS, remote sensing, suitability analysis, solar energy, wind energy

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Authors: D. O. Ramadan, R. S. Dwyer-Joyce

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The measurement of the interface conditions in a cutting tool contact is essential information for performance monitoring and control. This interface provides the path for the heat flux to the cutting tool. This elevate in the cutting tool temperature leads to motivate the mechanism of tool wear, thus affect the life of the cutting tool and the productivity. This zone is representative by the tool-chip interface. Therefore, understanding and monitoring this interface is considered an important issue in machining. In this paper, an acoustic emission (AE) technique was used to find the correlation between AE parameters and the tool-chip interface. For this reason, a response surface design (RSD) has been used to analyse and optimize the machining parameters. The experiment design was based on the face centered, central composite design (CCD) in the Minitab environment. According to this design, a series of orthogonal cutting experiments for different cutting conditions were conducted on a Triumph 2500 lathe machine to study the sensitivity of the acoustic emission (AE) signal to change in tool-chip contact length. The cutting parameters investigated were the cutting speed, depth of cut, and feed and the experiments were performed for 6082-T6 aluminium tube. All the orthogonal cutting experiments were conducted unlubricated. The tool-chip contact area was investigated using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results obtained in this paper indicate that there is a strong dependence of the root mean square (RMS) on the cutting speed, where the RMS increases with increasing the cutting speed. A dependence on the tool-chip contact length has been also observed. However there was no effect observed of changing the cutting depth and feed on the RMS. These dependencies have been clarified in terms of the strain and temperature in the primary and secondary shear zones, also the tool-chip sticking and sliding phenomenon and the effect of these mechanical variables on dislocation activity at high strain rates. In conclusion, the acoustic emission technique has the potential to monitor in situ the tool-chip interface in turning and consequently could indicate the approaching end of life of a cutting tool.

Keywords: Acoustic emission, tool-chip interface, orthogonal cutting, monitoring

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Authors: M. Budakoglu, M. Karaman, A. Abdelnasser, D. Kiran, M. Kumral

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About 50 mg lake sediment was digested in two steps. While first stage was completed with 6 ml 37% HCl, 2 ml 65% HNO3 and 1 ml 38-40% HF in an pressure and temperature controlled Teflon beaker using Berghoff Microwave™ at average 135°C, digestion procedure was completed with the addition of 6 ml 5% boric acid solution. REE contents of sediment samples were determined by Perkin Elmer DRC II ICP-MS in Geochemistry Research Laboratories (JAL/GRL) of Faculty of Mines, Istanbul Technical University. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of Lake Acıgöl sediments show generally high abundance of REE compared to chondritic concentrations, with particular enrichment in LREE [(La/Lu)N = 4.85-19.90], [(La/Lu)N = 7.09-15.14], [(La/Lu)N = 9.42-15.52] and [(La/Lu)N = 7.69-15.63] for the surface sediment and 0-10 cm-, 10-20 cm- and 20-30 cm-subsurface sediments respectively. Also these samples showed flat HREE normalized to chondrite as (La/Sm)N ranging from 2.98 to 4.8 for surface sediments and for subsurface sediments from 3.28 to 3.97 (0-10 cm), 3.57 to 3.94 (10-20 cm) and 3.36 to 3.94 (20-30 cm) while (Gd/Yb)N ranging from 2.14 to 2.93, from 2.03 to 2.76, from 2.26 to 2.79 and from 2.05 to 2.76 from the surface and subsurface sediments respectively. Moreover, their REE profiles are similar to profiles of the continental collision basin (CCB) with negative Eu anomalies. In addition, their REE patterns illustrate generally low abundance of REE compared to concentrations of NASC, PAAS and UCC with very slight enrichment of LREE and positive Eu* anomalies. Therefore there is no comparable between our samples of surface and subsurface sediments and these types of international sediments.

Keywords: chondrite-normalized REE patterns, hypersaline lake, surface sediments, subsurface sediments, Lake Acıgöl, Turkey

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Authors: Sze Ming Yau

Abstract:

Social worker-client interacting experience is scarcely studied in Hong Kong. Through this qualitative study, the experiences of Hong Kong social work practitioners in relating with clients provide new insights on social worker training and development. Thematic analysis is applied to examine the data collected by in-depth interviews with six local social work practitioners. The results show all practitioners have experienced both positive and challenging situations during the relating process. Their reactions either facilitate or hinder the process. Most of the practitioners’ strong reactions can be accounted for by using the concept of countertransference reactions during the interview session with clients. Moreover, they also have rarely reviewed the implications of those reactions after the session. In addition to countertransference, the self-expectation of practitioners also influences the relating process. Their self-expectations of being capable to help lead to anxiety. Though countertransference and anxiety of practitioners significantly influence the relating process, the practitioners do not adequately address personal issues and anxiety. Enhancing case conceptualization ability is their major coping strategy. The study has implications, including enhancement of social work training, workplace support, practitioner’s self-reflection, and integration of theory and practice.

Keywords: coping, countertransference, reactions, relating process, social workers

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Authors: Farzaneh Askari, Jila Ganji, Sedigheh Hasani Moghadam

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Background and Aim: Endometriosis has been reported as one of the most common chronic gynecological conditions characterized by physical and psychological complications. Given that the impact of this disease on marital relationships and quality of life is multidimensional, the present review study aimed to reflect on the effect of psychosomatic aspects of endometriosis on marital relationships and quality of life. Materials and Methods: A narrative review methodology using keywords determined by the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) thesaurus was adopted in this study. For this purpose, the databases of ScienceDirect, Scientific Information Database (SID), Google Scholar, and PubMed were searched by means of key terms including endometriosis, marital relationships, physical complications, psychological complications, and quality of life in English and Persian from 2005 to 2020. At the end of the search, 38 articles were retrieved, and ultimately a total number of 16 studies were recruited for this review. Results: A review of the selected articles demonstrated that endometriosis could affect marital relationships and quality of life among couples featuring in three different categories, i.e. “category I: physical health dimension” (chronic pelvic pain, dysmenorrhea, cramps but not period, reduction and loss of fertility), “category II: sexual health dimension” (no sexual intercourse, dyspareunia, lack of sexual satisfaction), and “category III: psychosocial health dimension” (negative self-esteem, low energy, sense of loneliness, depression, social isolation, insufficient sleep, marital distress, divorce and marriage breakdown, inability to work and socialize). Conclusion: In general, it is suggested to pay particular attention to psychosomatic aspects of marital problems in patients affected with endometriosis. Accordingly, implementing educational and counseling strategies to minimize the complications of this disease can provide the grounds for improving marital relationships and maintaining the quality of life in these patients.

Keywords: Endometriosis, marital relationships, psychosomatic complications, quality of life

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Authors: Sadık Ata, Kevser Dincer

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In this study, performance of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell was experimentally investigated and modelled with Rule-Based Mamdani-Type Fuzzy (RBMTF) modelling technique. Coating on the anode side of the PEM fuel cell was accomplished with the spin method by using Yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ). Input parameters voltage density (V/cm2), and current density (A/cm2), temperature (°C), time (s); output parameter power density (W/cm2) were described by RBMTF if-then rules. Numerical parameters of input and output variables were fuzzificated as linguistic variables: Very Very Low (L1), Very Low (L2), Low (L3), Negative Medium (L4), Medium (L5), Positive Medium (L6), High (L7), Very High (L8) and Very Very High (L9) linguistic classes. The comparison between experimental data and RBMTF is done by using statistical methods like absolute fraction of variance (R2). The actual values and RBMTF results indicated that RBMTF can be successfully used for the analysis of performance of PEM fuel cell.

Keywords: proton exchange membrane (PEM), fuel cell, rule-based Mamdani-type fuzzy (RMBTF) modeling, yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)

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Authors: Kwame Amoah

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the prospect of transforming project management, significantly improving efficiency and accuracy. By automating specific tasks with defined guidelines, AI can assist project managers in making better decisions and allocating resources efficiently, with possible risk mitigation. This study explores how AI is already impacting project management and likely future AI's impact on the field. The AI's reaction has been a divided opinion; while others picture it as a destroyer of jobs, some welcome it as an innovation advocate. Both sides agree that AI will be disruptive and revolutionize PM's functions. If current research is to go by, AI or some form will replace one-third of all learning graduate PM jobs by as early as 2030. A recent survey indicates AI spending will reach $97.9 billion by the end of 2023. Considering such a profound impact, the project management profession will also see a paradigm shift driven by AI. The study examines what the project management profession will look like in the next 5-10 years after this technological disruption. The research methods incorporate existing literature, develop trend analysis, and conduct structured interviews with project management stakeholders from North America to gauge the trend. PM professionals can harness the power of AI, ensuring a smooth transition and positive outcomes. AI adoption will maximize benefits, minimize adverse consequences, and uphold ethical standards, leading to improved project performance.

Keywords: project management, disruptive teacnologies, project management function, AL applications, artificial intelligence

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