Search results for: structured mechanism

Authors: M. N. Nwodo, Y. P. Cheng, N. H. Minh

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In the process of recovering oil in weak sandstone formations, the strength of sandstones around the wellbore is weakened due to the increase of effective stress/load from the completion activities around the cavity. The weakened and de-bonded sandstone may be eroded away by the produced fluid, which is termed sand production. It is one of the major trending subjects in the petroleum industry because of its significant negative impacts, as well as some observed positive impacts. For efficient sand management therefore, there has been need for a reliable study tool to understand the mechanism of sanding. One method of studying sand production is the use of the widely recognized Discrete Element Method (DEM), Particle Flow Code (PFC3D) which represents sands as granular individual elements bonded together at contact points. However, there is limited knowledge of the particle-scale behavior of the weak sandstone, and the parameters that affect sanding. This paper aims to investigate the reliability of using PFC3D and a simple Darcy flow in understanding the sand production behavior of a weak sandstone. An isotropic tri-axial test on a weak oil sandstone sample was first simulated at a confining stress of 1MPa to calibrate and validate the parallel bond models of PFC3D using a 10m height and 10m diameter solid cylindrical model. The effect of the confining stress on the number of bonds failure was studied using this cylindrical model. With the calibrated data and sample material properties obtained from the tri-axial test, simulations without and with fluid flow were carried out to check on the effect of Darcy flow on bonds failure using the same model geometry. The fluid flow network comprised of every four particles connected with tetrahedral flow pipes with a central pore or flow domain. Parametric studies included the effects of confining stress, and fluid pressure; as well as validating flow rate – permeability relationship to verify Darcy’s fluid flow law. The effect of model size scaling on sanding was also investigated using 4m height, 2m diameter model. The parallel bond model successfully calibrated the sample’s strength of 4.4MPa, showing a sharp peak strength before strain-softening, similar to the behavior of real cemented sandstones. There seems to be an exponential increasing relationship for the bigger model, but a curvilinear shape for the smaller model. The presence of the Darcy flow induced tensile forces and increased the number of broken bonds. For the parametric studies, flow rate has a linear relationship with permeability at constant pressure head. The higher the fluid flow pressure, the higher the number of broken bonds/sanding. The DEM PFC3D is a promising tool to studying the micromechanical behavior of cemented sandstones.

Keywords: discrete element method, fluid flow, parametric study, sand production/bonds failure

Procedia PDF Downloads 324

Authors: Ichiro Takahashi

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One conundrum that macroeconomic theory faces is to explain how an economy can revive from depression, in which the aggregate demand has fallen substantially below its productive capacity. This paper examines an autonomous stabilizing mechanism using an agent-based Wicksell-Keynes macroeconomic model. This paper focuses on the effects of the number of firms and the length of the gestation period for investment that are often assumed to be one in a mainstream macroeconomic model. The simulations found the virtual economy was highly unstable, or more precisely, collapsing when these parameters are fixed at one. This finding may even suggest us to question the legitimacy of these common assumptions. A perpetual decline in capital stock will eventually encourage investment if the capital stock is short-lived because an inactive investment will result in insufficient productive capacity. However, for an economy characterized by a roundabout production method, a gradual decline in productive capacity may not be able to fall below the aggregate demand that is also shrinking. Naturally, one would then ask if our economy cannot rely on an external stimulus such as population growth and technological progress to revive investment, what factors would provide such a buoyancy for stimulating investments? The current paper attempts to answer this question by employing the artificial macroeconomic model mentioned above. The baseline model has the following three features: (1) the multi-period gestation for investment, (2) a large number of heterogeneous firms, (3) demand-constrained firms. The instability is a consequence of the following dynamic interactions. (a) A multiple-period gestation period means that once a firm starts a new investment, it continues to invest over some subsequent periods. During these gestation periods, the excess demand created by the investing firm will spill over to ignite new investment of other firms that are supplying investment goods: the presence of multi-period gestation for investment provides a field for investment interactions. Conversely, the excess demand for investment goods tends to fade away before it develops into a full-fledged boom if the gestation period of investment is short. (b) A strong demand in the goods market tends to raise the price level, thereby lowering real wages. This reduction of real wages creates two opposing effects on the aggregate demand through the following two channels: (1) a reduction in the real labor income, and (2) an increase in the labor demand due to the principle of equality between the marginal labor productivity and real wage (referred as the Walrasian labor demand). If there is only a single firm, a lower real wage will increase its Walrasian labor demand, thereby an actual labor demand tends to be determined by the derived labor demand. Thus, the second positive effect would not work effectively. In contrast, for an economy with a large number of firms, Walrasian firms will increase employment. This interaction among heterogeneous firms is a key for stability. A single firm cannot expect the benefit of such an increased aggregate demand from other firms.

Keywords: agent-based macroeconomic model, business cycle, demand constraint, gestation period, representative agent model, stability

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Authors: Vita Krungleviciute, Rasa Zelvyte, Ingrida Monkeviciene, Jone Kantautaite, Rolandas Stankevicius, Modestas Ruzauskas, Elena Bartkiene

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The environmental impact of agricultural bioproducts from the processing of food crops is an increasing concern worldwide. Currently, cereal bran has been used as a low-value ingredient for both human consumption and animal feed. The most popular bioprocessing technologies for cereal bran nutritional and technological functionality increasing are enzymatic processing and fermentation, and the most popular starters in fermented feed production are lactic acid bacteria (LAB) including pediococci. However, the ruminant digestive system is unique, there are billions of microorganisms which help the cow to digest and utilize nutrients in the feed. To achieve efficient feed utilization and high milk yield, the microorganisms must have optimal conditions, and the disbalance of this system is highly undesirable. Pediococcus strains Pediococcus acidilactici BaltBio01 and Pediococcus pentosaceus BaltBio02 from spontaneous fermented rye were isolated (by rep – PCR method), identified, and characterized by their growth (by Thermo Bioscreen C automatic turbidometer), acidification rate (2 hours in 2.5 pH), gas production (Durham method), and carbohydrate metabolism (by API 50 CH test ). Antimicrobial activities of isolated pediococcus against variety of pathogenic and opportunistic bacterial strains previously isolated from diseased cattle, and their resistance to antibiotics were evaluated (EFSA-FEEDAP method). The isolated pediococcus strains were cultivated in barley/wheat bran (90 / 10, m / m) substrate, and developed supplements, with high content of valuable pediococcus, were used for Lithuanian black and white dairy cows feeding. In addition, the influence of supplements on milk production and composition was determined. Milk composition was evaluated by the LactoScope FTIR” FT1.0. 2001 (Delta Instruments, Holland). P. acidilactici BaltBio01 and P. pentosaceus BaltBio02 demonstrated versatile carbohydrate metabolism, grown at 30°C and 37°C temperatures, and acidic tolerance. Isolated pediococcus strains showed to be non resistant to antibiotics, and having antimicrobial activity against undesirable microorganisms. By barley/wheat bran utilisation using fermentation with selected pediococcus strains, it is possible to produce safer (reduced Enterobacteriaceae, total aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold count) feed stock with high content of pediococcus. Significantly higher milk yield (after 33 days) by using pediococcus supplements mix for dairy cows feeding could be obtained, while similar effect by using separate strains after 66 days of feeding could be achieved. It can be stated that barley/wheat bran could be used for higher value feed production in order to increase milk production. Therefore, further research is needed to identify what is the main mechanism of the positive action.

Keywords: barley/wheat bran, dairy cattle, fermented feed, milk, pediococcus

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Authors: Miria Gambardella

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The influence of solidarity demonstrations towards the Zapatista National Liberation Army has been constantly present over the years, both locally and internationally, guaranteeing visibility to the cause, shaping the movement’s choices, and influencing its hopes of impact worldwide. Most of the coffee produced by the autonomous cooperatives from Chiapas is exported, therefore making coffee trade the main income from international solidarity networks. The question arises about the implications of the relations established between the communities in resistance in Southeastern Mexico and international solidarity movements, specifically on the strategies adopted to conciliate army's demands for autonomy and economic asymmetries between Zapatista cooperatives producing coffee and European collectives who hold purchasing power. In order to deepen the inquiry on those topics, a year-long multi-site investigation was carried out. The first six months of fieldwork were based in Barcelona, where Zapatista coffee was first traded in Spain and where one of the historical and most important European solidarity groups can be found. The last six months of fieldwork were carried out directly in Chiapas, in contact with coffee producers, Zapatista political authorities, international activists as well as vendors, and the rest of the network implicated in coffee production, roasting, and sale. The investigation was based on qualitative research methods, including participatory observation, focus groups, and semi-structured interviews. The analysis did not only focus on retracing the steps of the market chain as if it could be considered a linear and unilateral process, but it rather aimed at exploring actors’ reciprocal perceptions, roles, and dynamics of power. Demonstrations of solidarity and the money circulation they imply aim at changing the system in place and building alternatives, among other things, on the economic level. This work analyzes the formulation of discourse and the organization of solidarity activities that aim at building opportunities for action within a highly politicized economic sphere to which access must be regularly legitimized. The meaning conveyed by coffee is constructed on a symbolic level by the attribution of moral criteria to transactions. The latter participate in the construction of imaginaries that circulate through solidarity movements with the Zapatista rebellion. Commercial exchanges linked to solidarity networks turned out to represent much more than monetary transactions. The social, cultural, and political spheres are invested by ethics, which penetrates all aspects of militant action. It is at this level that the boundaries of different collective actors connect, contaminating each other: merely following the money flow would have been limiting in order to account for a reality within which imaginary is one of the main currencies. The notions of “trust”, “dignity” and “reciprocity” are repeatedly mobilized to negotiate discontinuous and multidirectional flows in the attempt to balance and justify commercial relations in a politicized context that characterizes its own identity through demonizing “market economy” and its dehumanizing powers.

Keywords: coffee trade, economic anthropology, international cooperation, Zapatista National Liberation Army

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Authors: Lamia Bouzgarrou, Amira Omrane, Leila Mrabet, Taoufik Khalfallah

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Background and aims: School accidents are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among pupils and students. Indeed, they may induce an elevated number of lost school days, heavy emotional and physical disabilities, and financial costs on the victims and their families. This study aims to evaluate the annual incidence of school accidents in the central Tunisian governorate of Mahdia and to identify the epidemiological profile of victims and risk factors of these accidents. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted over the period of 5 school years, focusing on school accidents that occurred in public educational institutions (primary, basic, secondary and university) in the governorate of Mahdia (area = 2 966 km² and number of inhabitants in 2014 = 410 812). All accidents declared near the only official insurance of this type of injuries (MASU: Mutual School and University Accidents), and initially taken in charge at the University Hospital of Mahdia were included. Data was collected from the MASU reporting forms and the medical records of emergency and other specialized hospital departments. Results: With 3248 identified victims, the annual incidence of school accidents was equal to 0.69 per 100 pupils and students per year. The average age of victims was 14.51 ± 0.059 years and the sex ratio was 1.58. Pupils aged between 12 and 15 years, were concerned by 46.7% of the identified accidents. The practice of sports was the most relevant circumstances of these accidents (76.2 %). In 56.58 % of cases, falls were the leading mechanism. Bruises and fractures were the most frequent lesions (32.43 % and 30.51 %). Serious school accidents were noted in 28% of cases with hospitalization in 2.27 % of them. The average lost school days, was 12.23±1.73 days. Accidents occurring during sports or leisure activities were significantly more serious (p= 0.021). Furthermore, the frequency of hospitalization was significantly higher among boys (2.81% vs. 1.43%; p= 0.035), students ≤11 years (p= 0.008), and following crush trauma (p= 0.000). In addition, the surgical interventions were statistically more frequent among male victims (p=0.00), accidents occurring during physical education sessions (p=0.000); those associated to falls (p=0.000) and to crushes mechanisms (p=0.002), and injuries affecting lower limbs (p=0.000). Following this Multi-varied analysis concluded that the severity of school accident is correlated to the activity practiced during the trauma and the geographical location of the school. Conclusion: Children and adolescents are one of the most vulnerable groups against incidents with the risk of permanent disability, mainly related to the perturbation of the growth process and physiological limitations. Our five-year study, objectified a real elevate incidence of school accident among children and adolescents, with a considerable rate of severe injuries. In any community, the promotion of adolescents and children’s health is an important indicator of the public health level. Thus, it’s important to develop a multidisciplinary prevention strategy of school accident, based on safety and security rules and adapted to the specificity of our context.

Keywords: children and adolescents, children health, injuries and disability, school accident

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Authors: Stephen Bahooshy

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Co-producing services with the people that access them is considered best practice in the United Kingdom, with the Care Act 2014 arguing that people who access services and their carers should be involved in the design, commissioning and delivery of services. Co-production is a way of working with the community, breaking down barriers of access and providing meaningful opportunity for people to engage. Unfortunately, owing to a number of reported factors such as time constraints, practitioner experience and departmental budget restraints, this process is not always followed. In 2019, in a south London borough, d/Deaf people who access services were engaged in the design, commissioning and delivery of an information and advice service that would support their community to access local government services. To do this, sensory impairment social workers and commissioners collaborated to host a series of engagement events with the d/Deaf community. Interpreters were used to enable communication between the commissioners and d/Deaf participants. Initially, the community’s opinions, ideas and requirements were noted. This was then summarized and fed back to the community to ensure accuracy. Subsequently, a service specification was developed which included performance metrics, inclusive of qualitative and quantitative indicators, such as ‘I statements’, whereby participants respond on an adapted Likert scale how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement in relation to their experience of the service. The service specification was reviewed by a smaller group of d/Deaf residents and social workers, to ensure that it met the community’s requirements. The service was then tendered using the local authority’s e-tender process. Bids were evaluated and scored in two parts; part one was by commissioners and social workers and part two was a presentation by prospective providers to an evaluation panel formed of four d/Deaf residents. The internal evaluation panel formed 75% of the overall score, whilst the d/Deaf resident evaluation panel formed 25% of the overall tender score. Co-producing the evaluation panel with social workers and the d/Deaf community meant that commissioners were able to meet the requirements of this community by developing evaluation questions and tools that were easily understood and use by this community. For example, the wording of questions were reviewed and the scoring mechanism consisted of three faces to reflect the d/Deaf residents’ scores instead of traditional numbering. These faces were a happy face, a neutral face and a sad face. By making simple changes to the commissioning and tender evaluation process, d/Deaf people were able to have meaningful involvement in the design and commissioning process for a service that would benefit their community. Co-produced performance metrics means that it is incumbent on the successful provider to continue to engage with people accessing the service and ensure that the feedback is utilized. d/Deaf residents were grateful to have been involved in this process as this was not an opportunity that they had previously been afforded. In recognition of their time, each d/Deaf resident evaluator received a £40 gift voucher, bringing the total cost of this co-production to £160.

Keywords: co-production, community engagement, deaf and hearing impaired, service design

Procedia PDF Downloads 274

Authors: M. Pienaar, J. W. Odendaal, J. C. Smit, J. Joubert

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Simulations are commonly used to predict the bistatic radar cross section (RCS) of military targets since characterization measurements can be expensive and time consuming. It is thus important to accurately predict the bistatic RCS of targets. Computational electromagnetic (CEM) methods can be used for bistatic RCS prediction. CEM methods are divided into full-wave and asymptotic methods. Full-wave methods are numerical approximations to the exact solution of Maxwell’s equations. These methods are very accurate but are computationally very intensive and time consuming. Asymptotic techniques make simplifying assumptions in solving Maxwell's equations and are thus less accurate but require less computational resources and time. Asymptotic techniques can thus be very valuable for the prediction of bistatic RCS of electrically large targets, due to the decreased computational requirements. This study extends previous work by validating the accuracy of asymptotic techniques to predict bistatic RCS through comparison with full-wave simulations as well as measurements. Validation is done with canonical structures as well as complex realistic aircraft models instead of only looking at a complex slicy structure. The slicy structure is a combination of canonical structures, including cylinders, corner reflectors and cubes. Validation is done over large bistatic angles and at different polarizations. Bistatic RCS measurements were conducted in a compact range, at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The measurements were performed at different polarizations from 2 GHz to 6 GHz. Fixed bistatic angles of β = 30.8°, 45° and 90° were used. The measurements were calibrated with an active calibration target. The EM simulation tool FEKO was used to generate simulated results. The full-wave multi-level fast multipole method (MLFMM) simulated results together with the measured data were used as reference for validation. The accuracy of physical optics (PO) and geometrical optics (GO) was investigated. Differences relating to amplitude, lobing structure and null positions were observed between the asymptotic, full-wave and measured data. PO and GO were more accurate at angles close to the specular scattering directions and the accuracy seemed to decrease as the bistatic angle increased. At large bistatic angles PO did not perform well due to the shadow regions not being treated appropriately. PO also did not perform well for canonical structures where multi-bounce was the main scattering mechanism. PO and GO do not account for diffraction but these inaccuracies tended to decrease as the electrical size of objects increased. It was evident that both asymptotic techniques do not properly account for bistatic structural shadowing. Specular scattering was calculated accurately even if targets did not meet the electrically large criteria. It was evident that the bistatic RCS prediction performance of PO and GO depends on incident angle, frequency, target shape and observation angle. The improved computational efficiency of the asymptotic solvers yields a major advantage over full-wave solvers and measurements; however, there is still much room for improvement of the accuracy of these asymptotic techniques.

Keywords: asymptotic techniques, bistatic RCS, geometrical optics, physical optics

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Authors: Dmitriy Chernov, Maria Karavassilis, Suhyoun Youn, Amna Izhar, Devasenan Devendra

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Introduction and Background: A well-structured and comprehensive departmental induction improves patient safety and job satisfaction amongst doctors. The aims of our Project were as follows: 1. Assess the perceived preparedness of junior doctors starting their rotation in Acute Medicine at Watford General Hospital. 2. Develop a supplemental Induction Guide and Pocket reference in the form of an iOS mobile application. 3. To collect feedback after implementing the mobile application following a trial period of 8 weeks with a small cohort of junior doctors. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire was distributed to all new junior trainees starting in the department of Acute Medicine to assess their experience of current induction. A mobile Induction application was developed and trialled over a period of 8 weeks, distributed in addition to the existing didactic induction session. After the trial period, the same questionnaire was distributed to assess improvement in induction experience. Analytics data were collected with users’ consent to gauge user engagement and identify areas of improvement of the application. A feedback survey about the app was also distributed. Results: A total of 32 doctors used the application during the 8-week trial period. The application was accessed 7259 times in total, with the average user spending a cumulative of 37 minutes 22 seconds on the app. The most used section was Clinical Guidelines, accessed 1490 times. The App Feedback survey revealed positive reviews: 100% of participants (n=15/15) responded that the app improved their overall induction experience compared to other placements; 93% (n=14/15) responded that the app improved overall efficiency in completing daily ward jobs compared to previous rotations; and 93% (n=14/15) responded that the app improved patient safety overall. In the Pre-App and Post-App Induction Surveys, participants reported: a 48% improvement in awareness of practical aspects of the job; a 26% improvement of awareness on locating pathways and clinical guidelines; a 40% reduction of feelings of overwhelmingness. Conclusions and recommendations: This study demonstrates the importance of technology in Medical Education and Clinical Induction. The mobile application average engagement time equates to over 20 cumulative hours of on-the-job training delivered to each user, within an 8-week period. The most used and referred to section was clinical guidelines. This shows that there is high demand for an accessible pocket guide for this type of material. This simple mobile application resulted in a significant improvement in feedback about induction in our Department of Acute Medicine, and will likely impact workplace satisfaction. Limitations of the application include: post-app surveys had a small number of participants; the app is currently only available for iPhone users; some useful sections are nested deep within the app, lacks deep search functionality across all sections; lacks real time user feedback; and requires regular review and updates. Future steps for the app include: developing a web app, with an admin dashboard to simplify uploading and editing content; a comprehensive search functionality; and a user feedback and peer ratings system.

Keywords: mobile app, doctor induction, medical education, acute medicine

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Authors: Carolina Cuéllar, Paz González

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Research has shown that school leadership has a significant indirect effect on students’ achievements. In Chile, evidence has also revealed that this impact is stronger in vulnerable schools. With the aim of strengthening school leadership, public policy has taken up the challenge of enhancing capabilities of novice principals through the implementation of induction programs, which include a mentoring component, entrusting the task of delivering these programs to universities. The importance of using mentoring or coaching models in the preparation of novice school leaders has been emphasized in the international literature. Thus, it can be affirmed that building leadership capacity through partnership is crucial to facilitate cognitive and affective support required in the initial phase of the principal career, gain role clarification and socialization in context, stimulate reflective leadership practice, among others. In Chile, mentoring is a recent phenomenon in the field of school leadership and it is even more new in the preparation of new principals who work in public schools. This study, funded by the Chilean Ministry of Education, sought to explore the challenges and lessons arising from the design and implementation of mentoring processes which are part of the induction programs, according to the perception of the different actors involved: ministerial agents, university coordinators, mentors and novice principals. The investigation used a qualitative design, based on a study of three cases (three induction programs). The sources of information were 46 semi-structured interviews, applied in two moments (at the beginning and end of mentoring). Content analysis technique was employed. Data focused on the uniqueness of each case and the commonalities within the cases. Five main challenges and lessons emerged in the design and implementation of mentoring within the induction programs for new principals from Chilean public schools. They comprised the need of (i) developing a shared conceptual framework on mentoring among the institutions and actors involved, which helps align the expectations for the mentoring component within the induction programs, along with assisting in establishing a theory of action of mentoring that is relevant to the public school context; (ii) recognizing trough actions and decisions at different levels that the role of a mentor differs from the role of a principal, which challenge the idea that an effective principal will always be an effective mentor; iii) improving mentors’ selection and preparation processes trough the definition of common guiding criteria to ensure that a mentor takes responsibility for developing critical judgment of novice principals, which implies not limiting the mentor’s actions to assist in the compliance of prescriptive practices and standards; (iv) generating common evaluative models with goals, instruments and indicators consistent with the characteristics of mentoring processes, which helps to assess expected results and impact; and (v) including the design of a mentoring structure as an outcome of the induction programs, which helps sustain mentoring within schools as a collective professional development practice. Results showcased interwoven elements that entail continuous negotiations at different levels. Taking action will contribute to policy efforts aimed at professionalizing the leadership role in public schools.

Keywords: induction programs, mentoring, novice principals, school leadership preparation

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Authors: Richard Abel

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In the United States, increased incarceration rates have caused many adolescents to feel the strain of parental absence. This absence is then manifest through adolescent feelings of parental rejection. Additionally, upon reentry maternal incarceration may be related to adolescents experienced perceived excessive disciple. It is possible parents engage in this manner of discipline attempting to prevent the child from taking the same path to incarceration as the parent. According to General Strain Theory, adolescents encountering strain are likely to experience negative emotions. The emotion that is most likely to lead to delinquency is anger through reduced inhibitions and motivation to act. Additionally, males are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior, regardless of experiencing strain. This is not the case for every male who experiences maternal incarceration, parental rejection, excessive discipline, or anger. There are protective factors that enable agency within individuals. One such protective factor is mastery, or the perception that one is in control of his or her own future. The model proposed in this research suggests maternal incarceration is associated with increased parental rejection and excessive discipline in males. Males experiencing parental rejection and excessive discipline are likely to experience increased anger, which is then associated with increases in delinquent behavior. This model explores whether agency, in the form of mastery, mediates the relationship between strains and negative emotions, or between negative emotions and delinquent behavior. The Kaplan Longitudinal and Multigenerational Study (KLAMS) dataset is uniquely situated to analyze this model providing longitudinal data collected from both parents and their offspring. Maternal incarceration is constructed using parental responses such that the mother was incarcerated after the child’s birth, and any incarceration that happened prior to birth is excluded. The remaining variables of the study are all constructed from varying waves of the adolescent survey. Parental rejection, along with control variables for age, race, parental socioeconomic status, neighborhood effects, delinquent peers, and prior delinquent behavior are all constructed using Wave I data. To increase causal inference, the negative emotion of anger and the mediating variable of mastery are measured during Wave II. Lastly, delinquent behavior is measured at Wave III. Results of the analysis show expected relationships such that adolescent males encountering maternal incarceration show increased perception of parental rejection and excessive discipline. Additionally, there is a positive relationship between parental rejection and excessive discipline at Wave I and feelings of anger at Wave II for males. For males experiencing either of these strains in Wave I, feelings of anger in Wave II are found to be associated with increased delinquent behavior in Wave III. Mastery was found to mediate the relationship between both parental rejection and excessive discipline and anger, but no such mediation occurs in the relationship between anger and delinquency, regardless of the strain being experienced. These findings suggest adolescent males who feel they are in control of their own lives are less likely to experience negative emotions produced by the occurrence of strain, thereby decreasing male engagement in delinquent behavior later in life.

Keywords: delinquency, mastery, maternal incarceration, strain

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Authors: Eglal Y. Ali, Smita Rao, Anat Lubetzky, Wen Ling

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Background: Postural abnormalities, rigidity, clumsiness, and frequent falls are common among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The central nervous system’s ability to process all reliable sensory inputs (weighting) and disregard potentially perturbing sensory input (reweighting) is critical for successfully maintaining standing postural control. This study examined how sensory inputs (visual and somatosensory) are weighted and reweighted to maintain standing postural control in children with ASD compared with typically developing (TD) children. Subjects: Forty (20 (TD) and 20 ASD) children and adolescents participated in this study. The groups were matched for age, weight, and height. Participants had normal somatosensory (no somatosensory hypersensitivity), visual, and vestibular perception. Participants with ASD were categorized with severity level 1 according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) and Social Responsiveness Scale. Methods: Using one force platform, the center of pressure (COP) was measured during quiet standing for 30 seconds, 3 times first standing on stable surface with eyes open (Condition 1), followed by randomization of the following 3 conditions: Condition 2 standing on stable surface with eyes closed, (visual input perturbed); Condition 3 standing on compliant foam surface with eyes open, (somatosensory input perturbed); and Condition 4 standing on compliant foam surface with eyes closed, (both visual and somatosensory inputs perturbed). Standing postural control was measured by three outcome measures: COP sway area, COP anterior-posterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) path length (PL). A repeated measure mixed model Analysis of Variance was conducted to determine whether there was a significant difference between the two groups in the mean of the three outcome measures across the four conditions. Results: According to all three outcome measures, both groups showed a gradual increase in postural sway from condition 1 to condition 4. However, TD participants showed a larger postural sway than those with ASD. There was a significant main effect of condition on three outcome measures (p< 0.05). Only the COP AP PL showed a significant main effect of the group (p<0.05) and a significant group by condition interaction (p<0.05). In COP AP PL, TD participants showed a significant difference between condition 2 and the baseline (p<0.05), whereas the ASD group did not. This suggests that the ASD group did not weight visual input as much as the TD group. A significant difference between conditions for the ASD group was seen only when participants stood on foam regardless of the visual condition, suggesting that the ASD group relied more on the somatosensory inputs to maintain the standing postural control. Furthermore, the ASD group exhibited significantly smaller postural sway compared with TD participants during standing on the stable surface, whereas the postural sway of the ASD group was close to that of the TD group on foam. Conclusion: These results suggest that participants with high functioning ASD (level 1, no somatosensory hypersensitivity in ankles and feet) over-rely on somatosensory inputs and use a stiffening strategy for standing postural control. This deviation in the reweighting mechanism might explain the postural abnormalities mentioned above among children with ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, postural sway, sensory weighting and reweighting, standing postural control

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Authors: Eglal Y. Ali, Smita Rao, Anat Lubetzky, Wen Ling

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Background: Postural abnormalities, rigidity, clumsiness, and frequent falls are common among children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The central nervous system’s ability to process all reliable sensory inputs (weighting) and disregard potentially perturbing sensory input (reweighting) is critical for successfully maintaining standing postural control. This study examined how sensory inputs (visual and somatosensory) are weighted and reweighted to maintain standing postural control in children with ASD compared with typically developing (TD) children. Subjects: Forty (20 (TD) and 20 ASD) children and adolescents participated in this study. The groups were matched for age, weight, and height. Participants had normal somatosensory (no somatosensory hypersensitivity), visual, and vestibular perception. Participants with ASD were categorized with severity level 1 according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) and Social Responsiveness Scale. Methods: Using one force platform, the center of pressure (COP) was measured during quiet standing for 30 seconds, 3 times first standing on stable surface with eyes open (Condition 1), followed by randomization of the following 3 conditions: Condition 2 standing on stable surface with eyes closed, (visual input perturbed); Condition 3 standing on a compliant foam surface with eyes open, (somatosensory input perturbed); and Condition 4 standing on a compliant foam surface with eyes closed, (both visual and somatosensory inputs perturbed). Standing postural control was measured by three outcome measures: COP sway area, COP anterior-posterior (AP), and mediolateral (ML) path length (PL). A repeated measure mixed model analysis of variance was conducted to determine whether there was a significant difference between the two groups in the mean of the three outcome measures across the four conditions. Results: According to all three outcome measures, both groups showed a gradual increase in postural sway from condition 1 to condition 4. However, TD participants showed a larger postural sway than those with ASD. There was a significant main effect of the condition on three outcome measures (p< 0.05). Only the COP AP PL showed a significant main effect of the group (p<0.05) and a significant group by condition interaction (p<0.05). In COP AP PL, TD participants showed a significant difference between condition 2 and the baseline (p<0.05), whereas the ASD group did not. This suggests that the ASD group did not weigh visual input as much as the TD group. A significant difference between conditions for the ASD group was seen only when participants stood on foam regardless of the visual condition, suggesting that the ASD group relied more on the somatosensory inputs to maintain the standing postural control. Furthermore, the ASD group exhibited significantly smaller postural sway compared with TD participants during standing on a stable surface, whereas the postural sway of the ASD group was close to that of the TD group on foam. Conclusion: These results suggest that participants with high-functioning ASD (level 1, no somatosensory hypersensitivity in ankles and feet) over-rely on somatosensory inputs and use a stiffening strategy for standing postural control. This deviation in the reweighting mechanism might explain the postural abnormalities mentioned above among children with ASD.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, postural sway, sensory weighting and reweighting, standing postural control

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Authors: Mariam Anwaar, Kiran B. Ahmad

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Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is an invasive presence of affect instability, disturbance in self-concept and attachment in relationships. The profound indicator is the dichotomous approach of the world in which the ego categorizes individuals, especially their significant others, into secure or threatful beings, leaving little room for a complex combination of characteristics in one person. This defense mechanism of splitting their world has been described through the explanatory model of unconscious conflict theorized by Sigmund Freud’s Electra Complex in the Phallic Stage. The central role is of the father with whom the daughter experiences penis envy, thus identifying with the mother’s characteristics to receive the father’s attention. However, Margret Mahler, an object relation theorist, elucidates the central role of the mother and that the split occurs during the pre-Electra complex stage. Amid the 14 and 24 months of the infant, it acknowledges the world away from the mother as they have developed milestones such as crawling. In such novelty, the infant crawls away from the mother creating a sense of independence (individuation). On the other hand, being distant causes anxiety, making them return to their original object of security (separation). In BPD, the separation-individuation stage is disrupted, due to contradictory actions of the caregiver, which results in splitting the object into negative and positive aspects, repressing the former and adhering to the latter for survival. Thus, with time, the ego distorts the reality into dichotomous categories, using the splitting defenses, and the mental representation of the self is distorted due to the internalization of the negative objects. The explanatory model was recognized in the case study of Fizza, at 21-year-old Pakistani female, residing in Karachi. Her marital status is single with an occupation being a dental student. Fizza lives in a nuclear family but is surrounded by her extended family as they all are in close vicinity. She came with the complaints of depressive symptoms for two-years along with self-harm due to severe family conflicts. Through the intervention of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), the self-harming actions were reduced, however, this libidinal energy transformed into claustrophobic symptoms and, along with this, Fizza has always experienced vivid dreams. A retrospective method of Jungian dream-analysis was applied to locate the origins of the splitting in the unconscious. The result was the revelation of a sexual harassment trauma at the age of six-years which was displaced in the form of self-harm. In addition to this, the presence of a conflict at the separation-individuation stage was detected during the dream-analysis, and it was the underlying explanation of the claustrophobic symptoms. This qualitative case study implicates the use of a patient’s subjective experiences, such as dreams, to journey through the spiral of the unconscious in order to not only detect repressed memories but to use them in psychotherapy as a means of healing the patient.

Keywords: borderline personality disorder, dream-analysis, Electra complex, separation-individuation, splitting, unconscious

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Authors: Jessica Kate Simonds

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The last successful hijacking perpetrated by Somali pirates in 2012 represented a critical turning point for the identity and brand of Indian Ocean (IO) insecurity, coined in this paper as the era of the post-piratical. This paper explores the broadening of the PMSC business model to account and contribute to the design of a new IO security environment that prioritises foreign and insurgency drone activity and Houthi rebel operations as the main threat to merchant shipping in the post-2012 era. This study is situated within a longer history of analysing maritime insecurity and also contributes a bespoke conceptual framework that understands the sea as a space that is produced and reproduced relative to existing and emerging threats to merchant shipping based on bespoke models of information sharing and intelligence acquisition. This paper also makes a prominent empirical contribution by drawing on a post-positivist methodology, data drawn from original semi-structured interviews with senior maritime insurers and active merchant seafarers that is triangulated with industry-produced guidance such as the BMP series as primary data sources. Each set is analysed through qualitative discourse and content analysis and supported by the quantitative data sets provided by the IMB Piracy Reporting center and intelligence networks. This analysis reveals that mechanisms such as the IGP&I Maritime Security Committee and intelligence divisions of PMSC’s have driven the exchanges of knowledge between land and sea and thus the reproduction of the maritime security environment through new regulations and guidance to account dones, rebels and bombs as the key challenges in the IO, beyond piracy. A contribution of this paper is the argument that experts who may not be in the highest-profile jobs are the architects of maritime insecurity based on their detailed knowledge and connections to vessels in transit. This paper shares the original insights of those who have served in critical decision making spaces to demonstrate that the development and refinement of industry produced deterrence guidance that has been accredited to the mitigation of piracy, have shaped new editions such as BMP 5 that now serve to frame a new security environment that prioritises the mitigation of risks from drones and WBEID’s from both state and insurgency risk groups. By highlighting the experiences and perspectives of key players on both land and at sea, the key finding of this paper is outlining that as pirates experienced a financial boom by profiteering from their bespoke business model during the peak of successful hijackings, the private security market encountered a similar level of financial success and guaranteed risk environment in which to prospect business. Thus, the reproduction of the Indian Ocean as a maritime security environment reflects a new found purpose for PMSC’s as part of the broader conglomerate of maritime insurers, regulators, shipowners and managers who continue to redirect the security consciousness and IO brand of insecurity.

Keywords: maritime security, private security, risk intelligence, political geography, international relations, political economy, maritime law, security studies

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Authors: Kamelia Hamza

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Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are the most prescribed drug classes for pediatric gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).Many patients are treated with these drugs for atypical manifestations attributed to gastroesophageal reflux (GER), even in the absence of proved causal relationship. There is an impression of increase use of PPI's treatment for reflux in "clalit health services," the largest health organization in Israel. In the recent years, the medicine is given without restriction, it's not limited to pediatric gastroenterologists only, but pediatricians and family doctors. The objective of this study is to evaluate the hypothesis that exposure to PPIs during the first year of life is associated with an increased risk of developing late adverse diseases: pneumonia, asthma, AGE, IBD, celiac disease, allergic disorders, obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Methods: The study is a retrospective case-control cohort study based on a computerized database of Clalit Health Services (CHS). It includes 9844 children born between 2002-2018 and reported to complain of at least one of the symptoms (reflux/ spitting up, irritability, feeding difficulties, colics). The study population included the study group (n=4922) of children exposed to PPIs at any time prior to the first year of life and a control group (n=4922) child not exposed to PPIs who were matched to each case of the study group on age, race, socioeconomic status, and year of birth. The prevalence of late complications/diseases in the study group was compared with the prevalence of late complications/diseases diagnosis between 2002-2020 in the control group. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated by using logistic regression models. Results: We found that compared to the control group, children exposed to PPIs in the first year of life had an increased risk of developing several late complications/ disorders: pneumonia, asthma, various allergies (urticaria, allergic rhinitis, or allergic conjunctivitis) OR, inhalant allergies, and food allergies. In addition, they showed an increased risk of being diagnosed with ADHD or ASD, but children exposed to PPIs in the first year of life had decrease the risk of obesity by 17% (OR 0.825, 95%CI 0.697-0.976). Conclusions: We found significant associations between the use of PPIs during the first year of life and subsequent development of late complications/diseases such as respiratory diseases, allergy diseases, ADHD, and ASD. More studies are needed to prove causality and determine the mechanism behind the effect of PPIs and the development of late complications.

Keywords: acid suppressing medications, proton pump inhibitors, histamine 2 blocker, late complications, gastroesophageal reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease, acute gastroenteritis, community acquired pneumonia, asthma, allergic diseases, obesity, inflammatory bowel diseases, ulcerative colitis, crohn disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, autism spectrum disorders

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Authors: De-Shin Liu, Po-Chun Wen, Zhen-Wei Zhuang, Hsueh-Chih Liu, Pei-Chen Huang

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Wafer probing tests play an important role in semiconductor manufacturing procedures in accordance with the yield and reliability requirement of the wafer after the backend-of-the-line process. Accordingly, the stable physical and electrical contact between the probe and the tested wafer during wafer probing is regarded as an essential issue in identifying the known good die. The probe card can be integrated with multiple probe needles, which are classified as vertical, cantilever and micro-electro-mechanical systems type probe selections. Among all potential probe types, the vertical probe has several advantages as compared with other probe types, including maintainability, high probe density and feasibility for high-speed wafer testing. In the present study, the mechanical response of the wafer probing test with the vertical cobra probe on 720 μm thick silicon (Si) substrate with a 1.4 μm thick aluminum (Al) pad is investigated by the experiment and transient dynamic simulation approach. Because the deformation mechanism of the vertical cobra probe is determined by both bending and buckling mechanisms, the stable correlation between contact forces and overdrive (OD) length must be carefully verified. Moreover, the decent OD length with corresponding contact force contributed to piercing the native oxide layer of the Al pad and preventing the probing test-induced damage on the interconnect system. Accordingly, the scratch depth of the Al pad under various OD lengths is estimated by the atomic force microscope (AFM) and simulation work. In the wafer probing test configuration, the contact phenomenon between the probe needle and the tested object introduced large deformation and twisting of mesh gridding, causing the subsequent numerical divergence issue. For this reason, the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian method is utilized in the present simulation work to conquer the aforementioned issue. The analytic results revealed a slight difference when the OD is considered as 40 μm, and the simulated is almost identical to the measured scratch depths of the Al pad under higher OD lengths up to 70 μm. This phenomenon can be attributed to the unstable contact of the probe at low OD length with the scratch depth below 30% of Al pad thickness, and the contact status will be being stable when the scratch depth over 30% of pad thickness. The splash of the Al pad is observed by the AFM, and the splashed Al debris accumulates on a specific side; this phenomenon is successfully simulated in the transient dynamic simulation. Thus, the preferred testing OD lengths are found as 45 μm to 70 μm, and the corresponding scratch depths on the Al pad are represented as 31.4% and 47.1% of Al pad thickness, respectively. The investigation approach demonstrated in this study contributed to analyzing the mechanical response of wafer probing test configuration under large strain conditions and assessed the geometric designs and material selections of probe needles to meet the requirement of high resolution and high-speed wafer-level probing test for thinned wafer application.

Keywords: wafer probing test, vertical probe, probe mark, mechanical response, FEA simulation

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Authors: Freya Harding, Anne Gatuguta, Chi Eziefula

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Introduction Research shows the quality of experiences of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum impacts the health and well-being of the mother and baby. This is recognised by the WHO in their recommendations ‘Intrapartum care for a positive childbirth experience’. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the transformation of the NHS Maternity services to prevent the transmission of COVID-19. Physical and social isolation may have affected women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth and postpartum; especially those of healthcare. Examples of such changes made to the NHS include both the reduction in volume of face-to-face consultations and restrictions to visitor time in hospitals. One notable detriment due to these changes was the absence of a partner during certain stages of birth. The aim of this study was to explore women’s experiences of pregnancy, birth, and postnatal period during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Methods We collected qualitative data from women who had given birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve participants recruited from mother and baby groups in Southeast England. Data were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed thematically using both inductive and deductive approaches. Ethics permission was granted from Brighton and Sussex Medical School (ER/BSMS9A83/1). Results Interviews were conducted with 12 women who gave birth between May 2020 and February 2021. Ages of the participants ranged between 28 and 42 years, most of which were white British, with one being Asian British. All participants were heterosexual and either married or co-habiting with their partner. Five participants worked in the NHS, and all participants had professional occupations. Women felt inadequately supported both socially and medically. An appropriate sense of control over their own birthing experience was lacking. Safety mechanisms, such as in-person visits from the midwife, had no suitable alternatives in place. Serious health issues were able to “slip through the net.” Mental health conditions in some of those interviewed worsened or developed. Similarly, reduced support from partners during birth and during the immediate postpartum period at the hospital, coupled with reduced ward staffing, resulted in some traumatic experiences; particularly for women who had undergone caesarean section. However, some unexpected positive effects were reported; one example being that partners were able to spend more time with their baby due to furlough schemes and working from home. Similarly, emergency care was not felt to have been compromised. Overall, six themes emerged: (1) Self-reported traumatic experiences, (2) Challenges of caring for a baby with reduced medical and social support, (3) Unexpected benefits to the parenting experience, (4) The effects of a sudden change in medical management (5) Poor communication from healthcare professionals (6) Social change; with subthemes of support accessing medical care, the workplace, family and friends, and antenatal & baby groups. Conclusions The results indicate that the healthcare system was unable to adequately deliver maternity care to facilitate positive pregnancy, birth, and postnatal experiences during the heights of the pandemic. The poor quality of such experiences has been linked an increased risk of long-term health complications in both the mother and child.

Keywords: pregnancy, birth, postpartum, postnatal, COVID-19, maternity, social support, qualitative, pandemic

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Authors: I. Brezeanu, J. Mackrill, A. Cajo, C. Mogollon

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Modern Slavery is a serious crime, where often the victims are unable to leave their situation of exploitation, being controlled by threats, punishment, violence, coercion, and deception. In the UK, this term encompasses both Slavery and Human Trafficking. The number of potential victims who were referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) increased exponentially in the past decade, passing from fewer than 700 potential victims referred in 2010 to more than 12.000 in 2021. Our study aims to explore how the concept of Trauma-Informed Care (TIC) approach can be adopted by services working with survivors of Modern Slavery and Trafficking (MST). Notably, in this paper, we will elaborate on how the complex needs of survivors are related to their traumatic experiences and what are the necessary steps and resources for implementing a Modern Slavery Trauma-Informed model. While there are relatively few services in the UK that have a deep understanding of the survivors’ and practitioners’ views of how trauma impacts their daily life, there is a strong need for developing services that are organised and delivered in ways that prevent retraumatisation and enable trauma survivors to engage safely with the right professionals at the right time, promoting healing through positive relationships. Such models, known as Trauma-Informed Approaches (TIAs), are seen as crucial to the empowerment of survivors, yet they remain a marginal implementation model by governments, law enforcement, judiciary, or care providers, who are frequently survivors’ first point of contact in the recovery process. In order to understand better how to provide best practice and to adopt the concept, this study is based on a multi-disciplinary approach, encompassing both theoretical perspectives and co-production. By combining qualitative and quantitative research and comparing different analysis of applied examples of TIC in the US and the UK, we gained important insights about the prevention and impact of trauma on survivors’ life. The articulation between more general expertise on Trauma-Informed Care developed by other institutions operating in the field, and the SJOG delivery, based on the Salvation Army’s Modern Slavery Victim Care and Coordination Contract (MSVCC) and the Care Quality Commission regulations, allowed to identify on one side what are the complex needs of survivors derived from their traumatic experiences, and on the other side, how could MST services prevent retraumatisation. Additional, two in-depth interviews with survivors, who receive support from one of our services at Olallo House in London, and a survey shared among all colleagues working with MST services completed the findings of the research with their personal experience and knowledge. Ultimately, we developed an evidence-based Trauma-Informed Care Pathway that aims to improve the wellbeing of survivors and to support them to live a meaningful life. The establishedpathway delivers three main outcomes belonging to the social determinants of health criteria – health and wellbeing, purpose and relationship, and covers key themes of the context of trauma, needs of individuals, and service support.

Keywords: trauma-informed care, modern slavery, human trafficking, trauma, retraumatisation

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Authors: Sevelina Ndlovu

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Financial Technology (fintech) advancement is recognised as one of the most transformational innovations in the financial industry. Fintech has given rise to internet-only digital banking, a novel financial technology advancement, and innovation that allows banking services through internet applications with no need for physical branches. This technology is becoming a new banking normal among consumers for its ubiquitous and real-time access advantages. There is evident switching and migration from traditional banking towards these fintech facilities, which could possibly pose a systemic risk if not properly understood and monitored. Fintech advancement has also brought about the emergence and escalation of financial technology consumption themes such as trust, security, perceived risk, and sustainability within the banking industry, themes scarcely covered in existing theoretic literature. To that end, the objective of this research is to investigate factors that determine fintech adoption and propose an integrated adoption model. This study aims to establish what the significant drivers of adoption are and develop a conceptual model that integrates technological, behavioral, and environmental constructs by extending the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2). It proposes integrating constructs that influence financial consumption themes such as trust, perceived risk, security, financial incentives, micro-investing opportunities, and environmental consciousness to determine the impact of these factors on the adoption and intention to use digital banking apps. The main advantage of this conceptual model is the consolidation of a greater number of predictor variables that can provide a fuller explanation of the consumer's adoption of digital banking Apps. Moderating variables of age, gender, and income are incorporated. To the best of author’s knowledge, this study is the first that extends the UTAUT2 model with this combination of constructs to investigate user’s intention to adopt internet-only digital banking apps in the UK context. By investigating factors that are not included in the existing theories but are highly pertinent to the adoption of internet-only banking services, this research adds to existing knowledge and extends the generalisability of the UTAUT2 in a financial services adoption context. This is something that fills a gap in knowledge, as highlighted to needing further research on UTAUT2 after reviewing the theory in 2016 from its original version of 2003. To achieve the objectives of this study, this research assumes a quantitative research approach to empirically test the hypotheses derived from existing literature and pilot studies to give statistical support to generalise the research findings for further possible applications in theory and practice. This research is explanatory or casual in nature and uses cross-section primary data collected through a survey method. Convenient and purposive sampling using structured self-administered online questionnaires is used for data collection. The proposed model is tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), and the analysis of primary data collected through an online survey is processed using Smart PLS software with a sample size of 386 digital bank users. The results are expected to establish if there are significant relationships between the dependent and independent variables and establish what the most influencing factors are.

Keywords: banking applications, digital banking, financial technology, technology adoption, UTAUT2

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Authors: Madalena Corte-real, João Pedro Nunes, Bernardo Fernandes, Ana Jorge Correira

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This presentation looks, from a sociological perspective, at neighboring practices in the inner city of Lisbon. The capital of Portugal, with half a million inhabitants, inserted in a metropolitan area with almost 2,9 million people, has been in the international spotlight seen as an interesting city to live in and to invest in, especially in the real estate market. This promotion emerged in the context of the financial crisis, where local authorities aimed to make Lisbon a more competitive city, calling for visitors and financial and human capital. Especially in the last decade, Portugal’s capital has been experiencing a significant increase in terms of migration from creative and entrepreneurial exiles to economic and political expats. In this context, the territory under analysis, in particular, is a mixed-used area undergoing rapid transformations in recent years marked by the presence of newcomers and non-nationals as well as social and cultural heterogeneity. It is next to one of the main arteries, considered the most multicultural part of the city, and presented in the press as one of the coolest neighborhoods in Europe. In view of these aspects, this research aims to address key-topics in current urban research: anonymity often related to big cities, socio-spatial attachment to the neighborhood, and the effects of diversity in the everyday relations of residents and shopkeepers. This case-study intends to look at particularities in local regimes differently affected by growing mobility. Against a backdrop of unidimensional generalizations and a tendency to refer to central countries and global cities, it aims to discuss national and local specificities. In methodological terms, the project comprises essentially a qualitative approach that consists of direct observation techniques and ethnographic methods as well semi-structured interviews to residents and local stakeholders whose narratives are subject to content analysis. The paper starts with a characterization of the broader context of the city of Lisbon, followed by territorial specificities regarding socio-spatial development, namely the city’s and the inner-areas morphology as well as the population’s socioeconomic profile. Following the residents and stakeholders’ narratives and practices it will assess the perception and behaviors regarding the representation of the area, relationships and experiences, routines, and sociability. Results point to a significant presence of neighborhood relations and different forms of support, in particular, among the different groups – e.g., old long-time residents, middle-class families, global creative class, and communities of economic migrants. Fieldwork reveals low levels of place-attachment although some residents refer, presently, high levels of satisfaction. Engagement with living space, this case-study suggests, reveals the social construction and lived the experience of neighboring by different groups, but also the way different and contrasting visions and desires are articulated to the profound urban, cultural and political changes that permeate the area.

Keywords: diversity, lisbon, neighboring and neighborhood, place-attachment

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Authors: Mingqian Zhang

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Tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (TERS) is a scanning probe technique for individual objects and structured surfaces investigation that provides a wealth of enhanced spectral information with nanoscale spatial resolution and high detection sensitivity. It has become a powerful and promising chemical and physical information detection method in the nanometer scale. The TERS technique uses a sharp metallic tip regulated in the near-field of a sample surface, which is illuminated with a certain incident beam meeting the excitation conditions of the wave-vector matching. The local electric field, and, consequently, the Raman scattering, from the sample in the vicinity of the tip apex are both greatly tip-enhanced owning to the excitation of localized surface plasmons and the lightning-rod effect. Typically, a TERS setup is composed of a scanning probe microscope, excitation and collection optical configurations, and a Raman spectroscope. In the illumination configuration, an objective lens or a parabolic mirror is always used as the most important component, in order to focus the incident beam on the tip apex for excitation. In this research, a novel TERS setup was built up by introducing a plasmonic lens to the excitation optics as a focusing device. A plasmonic lens with symmetry breaking semi-annular slits corrugated on gold film was designed for the purpose of generating concentrated sub-wavelength light spots with strong longitudinal electric field. Compared to conventional far-field optical components, the designed plasmonic lens not only focuses an incident beam to a sub-wavelength light spot, but also realizes a strong z-component that dominants the electric field illumination, which is ideal for the excitation of tip-enhancement. Therefore, using a PL in the illumination configuration of TERS contributes to improve the detection sensitivity by both reducing the far-field background and effectively exciting the localized electric field enhancement. The FDTD method was employed to investigate the optical near-field distribution resulting from the light-nanostructure interaction. And the optical field distribution was characterized using an scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope to demonstrate the focusing performance of the lens. The experimental result is in agreement with the theoretically calculated one. It verifies the focusing performance of the plasmonic lens. The optical field distribution shows a bright elliptic spot in the lens center and several arc-like side-lobes on both sides. After the focusing performance was experimentally verified, the designed plasmonic lens was used as a focusing component in the excitation configuration of TERS setup to concentrate incident energy and generate a longitudinal optical field. A collimated linearly polarized laser beam, with along x-axis polarization, was incident from the bottom glass side on the plasmonic lens. The incident light focused by the plasmonic lens interacted with the silver-coated tip apex and enhanced the Raman signal of the sample locally. The scattered Raman signal was gathered by a parabolic mirror and detected with a Raman spectroscopy. Then, the plasmonic lens based setup was employed to investigate carbon nanotubes and TERS experiment was performed. Experimental results indicate that the Raman signal is considerably enhanced which proves that the novel TERS configuration is feasible and promising.

Keywords: longitudinal electric field, plasmonics, raman spectroscopy, tip-enhancement

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Authors: Salwa Mohamed Salah Eldin, Howida Kamal Ibrahim

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Introduction: Major depressive disorder affects high proportion of the world’s population presenting cost load in health care. Extended release venlafaxine is more convenient and could reduce discontinuation syndrome. The once daily dosing also reduces the potential for adverse events such as nausea due to reduced Cmax. Venlafaxine is an effective first-line agent in the treatment of depression. A once daily formulation was designed to enhance patient compliance. Complexing with a resin was suggested to improve loading of the water soluble drug. The formulated systems were thoroughly evaluated in vitro to prove superiority to previous trials and were compared to the commercial extended release product in experimental animals. Materials and Methods: Venlafaxine-resinates were prepared using Dowex®50WX4-400 and Dowex®50WX8-100 at drug to resin weight ratio of 1: 1. The prepared resinates were evaluated for their drug content, particle shape and surface properties and in vitro release profile in gradient pH. The release kinetics and mechanism were evaluated. Venlafaxine-Dowex® resinates were encapsulated using O/W solvent evaporation technique. Poly-ε-caprolactone, Poly(D, L-lactide-co-glycolide) ester, Poly(D, L-lactide) ester and Eudragit®RS100 were used as coating polymers alone and in combination. Drug-resinate microcapsules were evaluated for morphology, entrapment efficiency and in-vitro release profile. The selected formula was tested in rabbits using a randomized, single-dose, 2-way crossover study against Effexor-XR tablets under fasting condition. Results and Discussion: The equilibrium time was 30 min for Dowex®50WX4-400 and 90 min for Dowex®50WX8-100. The percentage drug loaded was 93.96 and 83.56% for both resins, respectively. Both drug-Dowex® resintes were efficient in sustaining venlafaxine release in comparison to the free drug (up to 8h.). Dowex®50WX4-400 based venlafaxine-resinate was selected for further encapsulation to optimize the release profile for once daily dosing and to lower the burst effect. The selected formula (coated with a mixture of Eudragit RS and PLGA in a ratio of 50/50) was chosen by applying a group of mathematical equations according to targeted values. It recorded the minimum burst effect, the maximum MDT (Mean dissolution time) and a Q24h (percentage drug released after 24 hours) between 95 and 100%. The 90% confidence intervals for the test/reference mean ratio of the log-transformed data of AUC0–24 and AUC0−∞ are within (0.8–1.25), which satisfies the bioequivalence criteria. Conclusion: The optimized formula could be a promising extended release form of the water soluble, short half lived venlafaxine. Being a multiple unit formulation, it lowers the probability of dose dumping and reduces the inter-subject variability in absorption.

Keywords: biodegradable polymers, cation-exchange resin, microencapsulation, venlafaxine hcl

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Authors: Ippei Torii, Kaoruko Ohtani, Takahito Niwa, Naohiro Ishii

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This paper shows developing an objectivity index using the measurement of subtle eyeball movement to diagnose autism. The developmentally disabled assessment varies, and the diagnosis depends on the subjective judgment of professionals. Therefore, a supplementary inspection method that will enable anyone to obtain the same quantitative judgment is needed. The diagnosis are made based on a comparison of the time of gazing an object in the conventional autistic study, but the results do not match. First, we divided the pupil into four parts from the center using measurements of subtle eyeball movement and comparing the number of pixels in the overlapping parts based on an afterimage. Then we developed the objective evaluation indicator to judge non-autistic and autistic people more clearly than conventional methods by analyzing the differences of subtle eyeball movements between the right and left eyes. Even when a person gazes at one point and his/her eyeballs always stay fixed at that point, their eyes perform subtle fixating movements (ie. tremors, drifting, microsaccades) to keep the retinal image clear. Particularly, the microsaccades link with nerves and reflect the mechanism that process the sight in a brain. We converted the differences between these movements into numbers. The process of the conversion is as followed: 1) Select the pixel indicating the subject's pupil from images of captured frames. 2) Set up a reference image, known as an afterimage, from the pixel indicating the subject's pupil. 3) Divide the pupil of the subject into four from the center in the acquired frame image. 4) Select the pixel in each divided part and count the number of the pixels of the overlapping part with the present pixel based on the afterimage. 5) Process the images with precision in 24 - 30fps from a camera and convert the amount of change in the pixels of the subtle movements of the right and left eyeballs in to numbers. The difference in the area of the amount of change occurs by measuring the difference between the afterimage in consecutive frames and the present frame. We set the amount of change to the quantity of the subtle eyeball movements. This method made it possible to detect a change of the eyeball vibration in numerical value. By comparing the numerical value between the right and left eyes, we found that there is a difference in how much they move. We compared the difference in these movements between non-autistc and autistic people and analyzed the result. Our research subjects consists of 8 children and 10 adults with autism, and 6 children and 18 adults with no disability. We measured the values through pasuit movements and fixations. We converted the difference in subtle movements between the right and left eyes into a graph and define it in multidimensional measure. Then we set the identification border with density function of the distribution, cumulative frequency function, and ROC curve. With this, we established an objective index to determine autism, normal, false positive, and false negative.

Keywords: subtle eyeball movement, autism, microsaccade, pursuit eye movements, ROC curve

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Authors: Sophie Del Fa, Loup Ducol

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This presentation will focus on the discursive practices of Les Soulèvements de la Terre (hereafter SdlT), a French environmentalist group mobilized against agribusiness. More specifically, we will use, as a case study, the violently repressed demonstration that took place in Sainte-Soline on March 25, 2023 (see after for details). The SdlT embodies the renewal of anti-capitalist and environmentalist struggles that began with Occupy Wall Street in 2009 and in France with the Nuit debout in 2016 and the yellow vests movement from 2019 to 2020. These struggles have three things in common: they are self-organized without official leaders, they rely mainly on occupations to reappropriate public places (squares, roundabouts, natural territories) and they are anti-capitalist. The SdlT was created in 2021 by activists coming from the Zone-to-Defend of Notre-Dame-des-Landes, a victorious 10 yearlong occupation movement against an airport near Nantes, France (from 2009 to 2018). The SdlT is not labeled as a formal association, nor as a constituted group, but as an anti-capitalist network of local struggles at the crossroads of ecology and social issues. Indeed, although they target agro-industry, land grabbing, soil artificialization and ecology without transition, the SdlT considers ecological and social questions as interdependent. Moreover, they have an encompassing vision of ecology that they consider as a concern for the living as a whole by erasing the division between Nature and Culture. Their radicality is structured around three main elements: federative and decentralized dimensions, the rhetoric of living alliances and militant creatives strategies. The objective of this reflexion is to understand how these three dimensions are articulated through the SdlT’s discursive practices. To explore these elements, we take as a case study one specific event: the demonstration against the ‘basins’ held in Sainte-Soline on March 25, 2023, on the construction site of new water storage infrastructure for agricultural irrigation in western France. This event represents a turning point for the SdlT. Indeed, the protest was violently repressed: 5000 grenades were fired by the police, hundreds of people were injured, and one person was still in a coma at the time of writing these lines. Moreover, following Saint-Soline’s events, the Minister of Interior Affairs, Gérald Darmin, threatened to dissolve the SdlT, thus adding fuel to the fire in an already tense social climate (with the ongoing strikes against the pensions reform). We anchor our reflexion on three types of data: 1) our own experiences (inspired by ethnography) of the Sainte-Soline demonstration; 2) the collection of more than 500 000 Tweets with the #SainteSoline hashtag and 3) a press review of texts and articles published after Sainte-Soline’s demonstration. The exploration of these data from a turning point in the history of the SdlT will allow us to analyze how the three dimensions highlighted earlier (federative and decentralized dimensions, rhetoric of living alliances and creatives militant strategies) are materialized through the discursive practices surrounding the Sainte-Soline event. This will allow us to shed light on how a new contemporary movement implements contemporary environmental struggles.

Keywords: discursive practices, Sainte-Soline, Ecology, radical ecology

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Authors: Adil Murtaza, Muhammad Tahir Khan, Awais Ghani, Chao Zhou, Sen Yang, Xiaoping Song

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The morphotropic phase boundary (MPB); a boundary between two different crystallographic symmetries in the composition–temperature phase diagram has been widely studied in ferroelectrics and recently has drawn interest in ferromagnets for obtaining enhanced large field-induced strain. At MPB, the system gets a compressed free energy state, which allows the polarization to freely rotate and hence results in a high magnetoelastic response (e.g., high magnetization, low coercivity, and large magnetostriction). Based on the same mechanism, we designed MPB in a ferromagnetic Tb₁₋ₓNdₓCo₂ system. The temperature-dependent magnetization curves showed spin reorientation (SR); which can be explained by a two-sublattice model. Contrary to previously reported MPB involved ferromagnetic systems, the MPB composition of Tb₀.₃₅Nd₀.₆₅Co₂ exhibits a low saturation magnetization (MS), indicating a compensation of the Tb and Nd magnetic moments at MPB. The coercive field (HC) under a low magnetic field and first anisotropy constant (K₁) shows a minimum value at MPB composition of x=0.65. A detailed spin configuration diagram is provided for the Tb₁₋ₓNdₓCo₂ around the composition for the anisotropy compensation; this can guide the development of novel magnetostrictive materials. The anisotropic magnetostriction (λS) first decreased until x=0.8 and then continuously increased in the negative direction with further increase of Nd concentration. In addition, the large ratio between magnetostriction and the absolute values of the first anisotropy constant (λS/K₁) appears at MPB, indicating that Tb₀.₃₅Nd₀.₆₅Co₂ has good magnetostrictive properties. Present work shows an anomalous type of MPB in ferromagnetic materials, revealing that MPB can also lead to a weakening of magnetoelastic behavior as shown in the ferromagnetic Tb₁₋ₓNdₓCo₂ system. Our work shows the universal presence of MPB in ferromagnetic materials and suggests the differences between different ferromagnetic MPB systems that are important for substantial improvement of magnetic and magnetostrictive properties. Based on the results of this study, similar MPB effects might be achieved in other ferroic systems that can be used for technological applications. The finding of magnetic MPB in the ferromagnetic system leads to some important significances. First, it provides a better understanding of the fundamental concept of spin reorientation transitions (SRT) like ferro-ferro transitions are not only reorientation of magnetization but also crystal symmetry change upon magnetic ordering. Second, the flattened free energy corresponding to a low energy barrier for magnetization rotation and enhanced magnetoelastic response near MPB. Third, to attain large magnetostriction with MPB approach two terminal compounds have different easy magnetization directions below Curie temperature Tc in order to accomplish the weakening of magnetization anisotropy at MPB (as in ferroelectrics), thus easing the magnetic domain switching and the lattice distortion difference between two terminal compounds should be large enough, e.g., lattice distortion of R symmetry ˃˃ lattice distortion of T symmetry). So that the MPB composition agrees to a nearly isotropic state along with large ‘net’ lattice distortion, which is revealed in a higher value of magnetostriction.

Keywords: magnetization, magnetostriction, morphotropic phase boundary (MPB), phase transition

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Authors: Gerd Wilsch, Tobias Guenther, Tobias Voelker

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In view of the ageing of vital infrastructure facilities, a reliable condition assessment of concrete structures is becoming of increasing interest for asset owners to plan timely and appropriate maintenance and repair interventions. For concrete structures, reinforcement corrosion induced by penetrating chlorides is the dominant deterioration mechanism affecting the serviceability and, eventually, structural performance. The determination of the quantitative chloride ingress is required not only to provide valuable information on the present condition of a structure, but the data obtained can also be used for the prediction of its future development and associated risks. At present, wet chemical analysis of ground concrete samples by a laboratory is the most common test procedure for the determination of the chloride content. As the chloride content is expressed by the mass of the binder, the analysis should involve determination of both the amount of binder and the amount of chloride contained in a concrete sample. This procedure is laborious, time-consuming, and costly. The chloride profile obtained is based on depth intervals of 10 mm. LIBS is an economically viable alternative providing chloride contents at depth intervals of 1 mm or less. It provides two-dimensional maps of quantitative element distributions and can locate spots of higher concentrations like in a crack. The results are correlated directly to the mass of the binder, and it can be applied on-site to deliver instantaneous results for the evaluation of the structure. Examples for the application of the method in the laboratory for the investigation of diffusion and migration of chlorides, sulfates, and alkalis are presented. An example for the visualization of the Li transport in concrete is also shown. These examples show the potential of the method for a fast, reliable, and automated two-dimensional investigation of transport processes. Due to the better spatial resolution, more accurate input parameters for model calculations are determined. By the simultaneous detection of elements such as carbon, chlorine, sodium, and potassium, the mutual influence of the different processes can be determined in only one measurement. Furthermore, the application of a mobile LIBS system in a parking garage is demonstrated. It uses a diode-pumped low energy laser (3 mJ, 1.5 ns, 100 Hz) and a compact NIR spectrometer. A portable scanner allows a two-dimensional quantitative element mapping. Results show the quantitative chloride analysis on wall and floor surfaces. To determine the 2-D distribution of harmful elements (Cl, C), concrete cores were drilled, split, and analyzed directly on-site. Results obtained were compared and verified with laboratory measurements. The results presented show that the LIBS method is a valuable addition to the standard procedures - the wet chemical analysis of ground concrete samples. Currently, work is underway to develop a technical code of practice for the application of the method for the determination of chloride concentration in concrete.

Keywords: chemical analysis, concrete, LIBS, spectroscopy

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Authors: Nitin Bhagat

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Drought is a global phenomenon. It has a huge impact on agriculture and allied sector activities. Agriculture plays a substantial role in the economy of developing countries, which mainly depends on rainfall. The present study illustrates the drought conditions in Masurdi village of Latur district in the Marathwada region, Maharashtra. This paper is based on both primary as well as secondary data sources. The multistage sample method was used for primary data collection. The 100 households sample survey data has been collected from the village through a semi-structured questionnaire. The crop production data is collected from the Department of Agriculture, Government of Maharashtra. The rainfall data is obtained from the Department of Revenue, Office of Divisional Commissioner, Aurangabad for the period from 1988 to 2018. This paper examines the severity of drought consequences of the 2015 drought on domestic water supply, crop production, and the effect on children's schooling, livestock assets, bank credit, and migration. The study also analyzed climate variables' impact on the Latur district's total food grain production for 19 years from 2000 to 2018. This study applied multiple regression analysis to check the relationship between climatic variables and the Latur district's total food grain production. The climate variables are annual rainfall, maximum temperature and minimum temperature. The study considered that climatic variables are independent variables and total food grain as the dependent variable. It shows there is a significant relationship between rainfall and maximum temperature. The study also calculated rainfall deviations to find out the drought and normal years. According to drought manual 2016, the rainfall deviation calculated using the following formula. RF dev = {(RFi – RFn) / RFn}*100.Approximately 27.43 % of the workforce migrated from rural to urban areas for searching jobs, and crop production decreased tremendously due to inadequate rainfall in the drought year 2015. Many farm and non-farm labor, some marginal and small cultivators, migrated from rural to urban areas (like Pune, Mumbai, and Western Maharashtra).About 48 % of the households' children faced education difficulties; in the drought period, children were not going to school. They left their school and joined to bring water with their mother and fathers, sometimes they fetched water on their head or using a bicycle, near about 2 km from the village. In their school-going days, drinking water was not available in their schools, so the government declared holidays early in the academic education year 2015-16 compared to another academic year. Some college and 10th class students left their education due to financial problems. Many households benefited from state government schemes, like drought subsidies, crop insurance, and bank loans. Out of 100 households, about 50 (50 %) have obtained financial support from the state government’s subsidy scheme, 58 ( 58 %) have got crop insurance, and 41(41 %) irrigated households have got bank loans from national banks; besides that, only two families have obtained loans from their relatives and moneylenders.

Keywords: agriculture, drought, household, rainfall

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Authors: Anjali Singh, Ashwani Raju, Vandana Devi, Mohmad Mohsin Atique, Satyendra Singh, Munendra Singh

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India is the biggest consumer of mercury and, consequently, a major emitter too. The increasing mercury contamination in India’s water resources has gained widespread attention and, therefore, atmospheric deposition is of critical concern. However, little emphasis was placed on the role of precipitation in the aquatic mercury cycle of the Ganga Alluvial Plain which provides drinking water to nearly 7% of the world’s human population. A majority of the precipitation here occurs primarily in 10% duration of the year in the monsoon season. To evaluate the sources and transportation of mercury, water sample analysis has been conducted from two selected sites near Lucknow, which have a strong hydraulic gradient towards the river. 31 groundwater samples from Jehta village (26°55’15’’N; 80°50’21’’E; 119 m above mean sea level) and 31 river water samples from the Behta Nadi (a tributary of the Gomati River draining into the Ganga River) were collected during the monsoon season on every alternate day between 01 July to 30 August 2019. The total mercury analysis was performed by using Flow Injection Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)-Mercury Hybride System, and daily rainfall data was collected from the India Meteorological Department, Amausi, Lucknow. The ambient groundwater and river-water concentrations were both 2-4 ng/L as there is no known geogenic source of mercury found in the area. Before the onset of the monsoon season, the groundwater and the river-water recorded mercury concentrations two orders of magnitude higher than the ambient concentrations, indicating the regional transportation of the mercury from the non-point source into the aquatic environment. Maximum mercury concentrations in groundwater and river-water were three orders of magnitude higher than the ambient concentrations after the onset of the monsoon season characterizing the considerable mobilization and redistribution of mercury by monsoonal precipitation. About 50% of both of the water samples were reported mercury below the detection limit, which can be mostly linked to the low intensity of precipitation in August and also with the dilution factor by precipitation. The highest concentration ( > 1200 ng/L) of mercury in groundwater was reported after 6-days lag from the first precipitation peak. Two high concentration peaks (>1000 ng/L) in river-water were separately correlated with the surface flow and groundwater outflow of mercury. We attribute the elevated mercury concentration in both of the water samples before the precipitation event to mercury originating from the extensive use of agrochemicals in mango farming in the plain. However, the elevated mercury concentration during the onset of monsoon appears to increase in area wetted with atmospherically deposited mercury, which migrated down from surface water to groundwater as downslope migration is a fundamental mechanism seen in rivers of the alluvial plain. The present study underscores the significance of monsoonal precipitation in the transportation of mercury to drinking water resources of the Ganga Alluvial Plain. This study also suggests that future research must be pursued for a better understand of the human health impact of mercury contamination and for quantification of the role of Ganga Alluvial Plain in the Global Mercury Cycle.

Keywords: drinking water resources, Ganga alluvial plain, india, mercury

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Authors: Cecile Laval, Harriet Lowe

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Processing Instruction is a psycholinguistic pedagogical approach drawing insights from the Input Processing Model which establishes the initial innate strategies used by second language learners to connect form and meaning of linguistic features. With the ever-growing use of technology in Second Language Acquisition research, the present study uses eye-tracking to measure the effectiveness of Processing Instruction in the acquisition of French and its effects on learner’s cognitive strategies. The experiment was designed using a TOBII Pro-TX300 eye-tracker to measure participants’ default strategies when processing French linguistic input and any cognitive changes after receiving Processing Instruction treatment. Participants were drawn from lower intermediate adult learners of French at the University of Greenwich and randomly assigned to two groups. The study used a pre-test/post-test methodology. The pre-tests (one per linguistic item) were administered via the eye-tracker to both groups one week prior to instructional treatment. One group received full Processing Instruction treatment (explicit information on the grammatical item and on the processing strategies, and structured input activities) on the primary target linguistic feature (French past tense imperfective aspect). The second group received Processing Instruction treatment except the explicit information on the processing strategies. Three immediate post-tests on the three grammatical structures under investigation (French past tense imperfective aspect, French Subjunctive used for the expression of doubt, and the French causative construction with Faire) were administered with the eye-tracker. The eye-tracking data showed the positive change in learners’ processing of the French target features after instruction with improvement in the interpretation of the three linguistic features under investigation. 100% of participants in both groups made a statistically significant improvement (p=0.001) in the interpretation of the primary target feature (French past tense imperfective aspect) after treatment. 62.5% of participants made an improvement in the secondary target item (French Subjunctive used for the expression of doubt) and 37.5% of participants made an improvement in the cumulative target feature (French causative construction with Faire). Statistically there was no significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores in the cumulative target feature; however, the variance approximately tripled between the pre-test and the post-test (3.9 pre-test and 9.6 post-test). This suggests that the treatment does not affect participants homogenously and implies a role for individual differences in the transfer-of-training effect of Processing Instruction. The use of eye-tracking provides an opportunity for the study of unconscious processing decisions made during moment-by-moment comprehension. The visual data from the eye-tracking demonstrates changes in participants’ processing strategies. Gaze plots from pre- and post-tests display participants fixation points changing from focusing on content words to focusing on the verb ending. This change in processing strategies can be clearly seen in the interpretation of sentences in both primary and secondary target features. This paper will present the research methodology, design and results of the experimental study using eye-tracking to investigate the primary effects and transfer-of-training effects of Processing Instruction. It will then provide evidence of the cognitive benefits of Processing Instruction in Second Language Acquisition and offer suggestion in second language teaching of grammar.

Keywords: eye-tracking, language teaching, processing instruction, second language acquisition

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Authors: Ana L. Sánchez Regla, Igor A. Rivera González, María del Pilar Monserrat Pérez Hernández

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The ability of an organization to identify and get useful information from external sources, assimilate it, transform and apply to generate products or services with added value is called absorptive capacity. Absorptive capabilities contribute to have market opportunities to firms and get a leader position with respect to others competitors. The Bioprocess Development and Research Unit (UDIBI) is a Research and Development (R&D) laboratory that belongs to the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), which is a higher education institute in Mexico. The UDIBI was created with the purpose of carrying out R and D activities for the Transferon®, a biopharmaceutical product developed and patented by IPN. The evolution of competence and scientific and technological platform made UDIBI expand its scope by providing technological services (preclínical studies and bio-compatibility evaluation) to the national pharmaceutical industry and biopharmaceutical industry. The relevance of this study is that those industries are classified as high scientific and technological intensity, and yet, after a review of the state of the art, there is only one study of absorption capabilities in biopharmaceutical industry with a similar scope to this research; in the case of Mexico, there is none. In addition to this, UDIBI belongs to a public university and its operation does not depend on the federal budget, but on the income generated by its external technological services. This fact represents a highly remarkable case in Mexico's public higher education context. This current doctoral research (2015-2019) is contextualized within a case study, its main objective is to identify and analyze the absorptive capabilities that characterise the UDIBI that allows it had become in a one of two third authorized laboratory by the sanitary authority in Mexico for developed bio-comparability studies to bio-pharmaceutical products. The development of this work in the field is divided into two phases. In a first phase, 15 interviews were conducted with the UDIBI personnel, covering management levels, heads of services, project leaders and laboratory personnel. These interviews were structured under a questionnaire, which was designed to integrate open questions and to a lesser extent, others, whose answers would be answered on a Likert-type rating scale. From the information obtained in this phase, a scientific article was made (in review and a proposal of presentation was submitted in different academic forums. A second stage will be made from the conduct of an ethnographic study within this organization under study that will last about 3 months. On the other hand, it is intended to carry out interviews with external actors around the UDIBI (suppliers, advisors, IPN officials, including contact with an academic specialized in absorption capacities to express their comments on this thesis. The inicial findings had shown two lines: i) exist institutional, technological and organizational management elements that encourage and/or limit the creation of absorption capacities in this scientific and technological laboratory and, ii) UDIBI has had created a set of multiple transfer technology of knowledge mechanisms which have had permitted to build a huge base of prior knowledge.

Keywords: absorptive capabilities, biopharmaceutical industry, high research and development intensity industries, knowledge management, transfer of knowledge

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