Search results for: english for specific purposes

Authors: Tsega Asresa, Getahun Tigistu, Melaku Bayih

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Computer vision is a subfield of artificial intelligence that allows computers and systems to extract meaning from digital images and video. It is used in a wide range of fields of study, including self-driving cars, video surveillance, medical diagnosis, manufacturing, law, agriculture, quality control, health care, facial recognition, and military applications. Aromatic medicinal plants are botanical raw materials used in cosmetics, medicines, health foods, essential oils, decoration, cleaning, and other natural health products for therapeutic and Aromatic culinary purposes. These plants and their products not only serve as a valuable source of income for farmers and entrepreneurs but also going to export for valuable foreign currency exchange. In Ethiopia, there is a lack of technologies for the classification and identification of Aromatic medicinal plant parts and disease type cured by aromatic medicinal plants. Farmers, industry personnel, academicians, and pharmacists find it difficult to identify plant parts and disease types cured by plants before ingredient extraction in the laboratory. Manual plant identification is a time-consuming, labor-intensive, and lengthy process. To alleviate these challenges, few studies have been conducted in the area to address these issues. One way to overcome these problems is to develop a deep learning model for efficient identification of Aromatic medicinal plant parts with their corresponding disease type. The objective of the proposed study is to identify the aromatic medicinal plant parts and their disease type classification using computer vision technology. Therefore, this research initiated a model for the classification of aromatic medicinal plant parts and their disease type by exploring computer vision technology. Morphological characteristics are still the most important tools for the identification of plants. Leaves are the most widely used parts of plants besides roots, flowers, fruits, and latex. For this study, the researcher used RGB leaf images with a size of 128x128 x3. In this study, the researchers trained five cutting-edge models: convolutional neural network, Inception V3, Residual Neural Network, Mobile Network, and Visual Geometry Group. Those models were chosen after a comprehensive review of the best-performing models. The 80/20 percentage split is used to evaluate the model, and classification metrics are used to compare models. The pre-trained Inception V3 model outperforms well, with training and validation accuracy of 99.8% and 98.7%, respectively.

Keywords: aromatic medicinal plant, computer vision, convolutional neural network, deep learning, plant classification, residual neural network

Procedia PDF Downloads 187

Authors: Shuyu Zhao

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This study uses the cat-themed "Night at the Museum" event of the Shanghai Museum as a case to examine how museum events are portrayed across various digital news platforms. Grounded in communication and cultural creativity theories and employing a three-tier framing approach, this research provides an in-depth analysis of media strategies in cross-platform museum image building. Through a quantitative content analysis, it is investigated that how digital media employ specific narrative strategies to shape the public perception of museum events. The findings reveal a prevalent use of leadership framing, highlighting the museum's unique role in cultural dissemination. By combining elements of museum culture with a pet-friendly theme, the "catty Night at the Museum" event serves as a distinctive example in exploring museum image construction within digital media. This study sheds light on how museum events, as unique cultural arenas, are positioned in the public mind, offering a fresh perspective for the promotion and image-building of museum activities.

Keywords: cultural communication, digital media, museum, framing theory

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Authors: Xiao-Li Liu, Ling-Yun Zhao, Xing-Jie Liang, Hai-Ming Fan

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Owing to their unique properties, magnetic nanoparticles have been used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents for biomedical applications. Highly monodispersed magnetic nanoparticles with controlled particle size and surface coating have been successfully synthesized as a model system to investigate the effect of surface coating on the T2 relaxivity and specific absorption rate (SAR) under an alternating magnetic field, respectively. Amongst, by using mPEG-g-PEI to solubilize oleic-acid capped 6 nm magnetic nanoparticles, the T2 relaxivity could be significantly increased by up to 4-fold as compared to PEG coated nanoparticles. Moreover, it largely enhances the cell uptake with a T2 relaxivity of 92.6 mM-1s-1 for in vitro cell MRI. As for hyperthermia agent, SAR value increase with the decreased thickness of PEG surface coating. By elaborate optimization of surface coating and particle size, a significant increase of SAR (up to 74%) could be achieved with a minimal variation on the saturation magnetization (<5%). The 19 nm magnetic nanoparticles with 2000 Da PEG exhibited the highest SAR of 930 W•g-1 among the samples, which can be maintained in various simulated physiological conditions. This systematic work provides a general strategy for the optimization of surface coating of magnetic core for high performance MRI contrast agent and hyperthermia agent.

Keywords: magnetic nanoparticles, magnetic hyperthermia, magnetic resonance imaging, surface modification

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Authors: Zdravko Eškinja, Lovre Miljanić, Ognjen Kuljača

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This paper is an overview of simulation tools used to model specific thermal dynamics that occurs while controlling double skin façade. Research has been conducted on simplified construction with single zone where one side is glazed. Heat flow and temperature responses are simulated in three different simulation tools: IDA-ICE, EnergyPlus and HAMBASE. The excitation of observed system, used in all simulations, was a temperature step of exterior environment. Air infiltration, insulation and other disturbances are excluded from this research. Although such isolated behaviour is not possible in reality, experiments are carried out to gain novel information about heat flow transients which are not observable under regular conditions. Results revealed new possibilities for adapting the parameters of the neural network regulator. Along numerical simulations, the same set-up has been also tested in a real-time experiment with a 1:18 scaled model and thermal chamber. The comparison analysis brings out interesting conclusion about simulation accuracy in this particular case.

Keywords: double skin façade, experimental tests, heat control, heat flow, simulated tests, simulation tools

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Authors: Abla A. Ali, Heba A. Abd El Razik, Nadia A. Kotb, Amany A. Bayoumi, Laila A. Rashed

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The detection of human skin through mRNA-based profiling is a very useful tool for forensic investigations. The aim of this study was definitive identification of human skin at different time intervals using an mRNA marker late cornified envelope gene 1C. Ten middle-aged healthy volunteers of both sexes were recruited for this study. Skin samples controlled with blood samples were taken from the candidates to test for the presence of our targeted mRNA marker. Samples were kept at dry dark conditions to be tested at different time intervals (24 hours, one week, three weeks and four weeks) for detection and relative quantification of the targeted marker by RT PCR. The targeted marker could not be detected in blood samples. The targeted marker showed the highest mean value after 24 hours (11.90 ± 2.42) and the lowest mean value (7.56 ± 2.56) after three weeks. No marker could be detected at four weeks. This study verified the high specificity and sensitivity of mRNA marker in the skin at different storage times up to three weeks under the study conditions.

Keywords: human skin, late cornified envelope gene 1C, mRNA marker, time intervals

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Authors: Hossain A, Hossain S.

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Introduction: In a small cohort, we sought to assess the magnetic resonance spectroscopy's (MRS) ability to predict the presence of metastatic lesions. Method: A Popular Diagnostic Centre Limited enrolled patients with neuroepithelial tumors. The 1H CSI MRS of the brain allows us to detect changes in the concentration of specific metabolites caused by metastatic lesions. Among these metabolites are N-acetyl-aspartate (NNA), creatine (Cr), and choline (Cho). For Cho, NAA, Cr, and Cr₂, the metabolic ratio was calculated using the division method. Results: The NAA values were 0.63 and 5.65 for tumor cells, 1.86 and 5.66 for normal cells, and 1.86 and 5.66 for normal cells 2. NAA values for normal cells 1 were 1.84, 10.6, and 1.86 for normal cells 2, respectively. Cho levels were as low as 0.8 and 10.53 in the tumor cell, compared to 1.12 and 2.7 in the normal cell 1 and 1.24 and 6.36 in the normal cell 2. Cho/Cr₂ barely distinguished itself from the other ratios in terms of significance. For tumor cells, the ratios of Cho/NAA, Cho/Cr₂, NAA/Cho, and NAA/Cr₂ were significant. Normal cell 1 had significant Cho/NAA, Cho/Cr, NAA/Cho, and NAA/Cr ratios. Conclusion: The clinical result can be improved by using 1H-MRSI to guide the size of resection for metastatic lesions. Even though it is non-invasive and doesn't present any difficulties during the procedure, MRS has been shown to predict the detection of metastatic lesions.

Keywords: metabolite ratio, MRI images, metastatic lesion, MR spectroscopy, N-acetyl-aspartate

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Authors: Ana B. Vivas, Antonia Ypsilanti, Aristea I. Ladas, Angeles F. Estevez

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Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is considered an intermediate stage between normal and pathological aging, as a substantial percentage of people diagnosed with MCI converts later to dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. Memory is of the first cognitive processes to deteriorate in this condition. In the present study we employed the differential outcomes procedure (DOP) to improve visuospatial memory in a group of participants with MCI. The DOP requires the structure of a conditional discriminative learning task in which a correct choice response to a specific stimulus-stimulus association is reinforced with a particular reinforcer or outcome. A group of 10 participants with MCI, and a matched control group had to learn and keep in working memory four target locations out of eight possible locations where a shape could be presented. Results showed that participants with MCI had a statistically significant better terminal accuracy when a unique outcome was paired with a location (76% accuracy) as compared to a non differential outcome condition (64%). This finding suggests that the DOP is useful in improving working memory in MCI patients, which may delay their conversion to dementia.

Keywords: mild cognitive impairment, working memory, differential outcomes, cognitive process

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Authors: Rasha Elsawy

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Aside from the rapid growth of global information technology and the Internet, another key trend is the swift proliferation of wearable technologies. The future of wearable technologies is very bright as an emerging revolution in this technological world. Beyond this, individual continuance intention toward IT is an important area that drew academics' and practitioners' attention. The literature review exhibits that continuance usage is an important concern that needs to be addressed for any technology to be advantageous and for consumers to succeed. However, consumers noticeably abandon their wearable devices soon after purchase, losing all subsequent benefits that can only be achieved through continued usage. Purpose-This thesis aims to develop an integrated model designed to explain and predict consumers' behavioural intention(BI) and continued use (CU) of wearable fitness technology (WFT) to identify the determinants of the CU of technology. Because of this, the question arises as to whether there are differences between technology adoption and post-adoption (CU) factors. Design/methodology/approach- The study employs the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology2 (UTAUT2), which has the best explanatory power, as an underpinning framework—extending it with further factors, along with user-specific personal characteristics as moderators. All items will be adapted from previous literature and slightly modified according to the WFT/SW context. A longitudinal investigation will be carried out to examine the research model, wherein a survey will include these constructs involved in the conceptual model. A quantitative approach based on a questionnaire survey will collect data from existing wearable technology users. Data will be analysed using the structural equation modelling (SEM) method based on IBM SPSS statistics and AMOS 28.0. Findings- The research findings will provide unique perspectives on user behaviour, intention, and actual continuance usage when accepting WFT. Originality/value- Unlike previous works, the current thesis comprehensively explores factors that affect consumers' decisions to continue using wearable technology. That is influenced by technological/utilitarian, affective, emotional, psychological, and social factors, along with the role of proposed moderators. That novel research framework is proposed by extending the UTAUT2 model with additional contextual variables classified into Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Social Influence (societal pressure regarding body image), Facilitating Conditions, Hedonic Motivation (to be split up into two concepts: perceived enjoyment and perceived device annoyance), Price value, and Habit-forming techniques; adding technology upgradability as determinants of consumers' behavioural intention and continuance usage of Information Technology (IT). Further, using personality traits theory and proposing relevant user-specific personal characteristics (openness to technological innovativeness, conscientiousness in health, extraversion, neuroticism, and agreeableness) to moderate the research model. Thus, the present thesis obtains a more convincing explanation expected to provide theoretical foundations for future emerging IT (such as wearable fitness devices) research from a behavioural perspective.

Keywords: wearable technology, wearable fitness devices/smartwatches, continuance use, behavioural intention, upgradability, longitudinal study

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Authors: Majed Zobairy, Fardin Kalvandi, Kamal Azizbaigi

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This research was carried out for evaluation of elastic, plyometric and resistance training on selected anaerobic factors in men volleyball players. For these reason 30 elite volleyball players of Sanandaj city randomly divided into 3 groups as follow: elastic training, plyometric training and resistance training. Pre-exercise tests which include vertical jumping, 50 yard speed running and scat test were done and data were recorded. Specific exercise protocol regimen was done for each group and then post-exercise tests again were done. Data analysis showed that there were significant increases in exercise test in each group. One way ANOVA analysis showed that increases in speed records in elastic group were significantly higher than the other groups (p<0/05),based on research data it seems that elastic training can be a useful method and new approach in improving functional test and training regimen.

Keywords: elastic training, plyometric training, strength training, anaerobic power

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Authors: Eun Ho Kim

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Innovations have conjured up a mode of treating GBM cancer cells in the newly diagnosed patients in a period of 4.9 months at an improved median OS, which brings along only a few minor side effects in the phase III of the clinical trial. This mode has been termed the Alternating Electric Fields (AEF). The study at hand is aimed at determining whether the AEF treatment is beneficial in sensitizing the GBM cancer cells through the process of increasing the AEF –induced senescence. The methodology to obtain the findings for this research ranged across various components, such as obtaining and testing SA-β-gal staining, flow cytometry, Western blotting, morphology, and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) / Computed Tomography (CT), immunohistochemical staining and microarray. The number of cells that displayed a senescence-specific morphology and positive SA-ß-Gal activity gradually increased up to 5 days. These results suggest that p16, p21 and p27 are essential regulators of AEF -induced senescence via NF-κB activation. The results showed that the AEF treatment is functional in enhancing the AEF –induced senescence in the GBM cells via an apoptosis- independent mechanism. This research concludes that this mode of treatment is a trustworthy protocol that can be effectively employed to overcome the limitations of the conventional mode of treatment on GBM.

Keywords: alternating electric fields, senescence, glioblastoma, cell death

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Authors: D. Henninger, A. Zopey, T. Ihde, C. Mehring

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The dynamic performance of a 4-way solenoid operated hydraulic spool valve has been analyzed by means of a one-dimensional modeling approach capturing flow, magnetic and fluid forces, valve inertia forces, fluid compressibility, and damping. Increased model accuracy was achieved by analyzing the detailed three-dimensional electromagnetic behavior of the solenoids and flow behavior through the spool valve body for a set of relevant operating conditions, thereby allowing the accurate mapping of flow and magnetic forces on the moving valve body, in lieu of representing the respective forces by lower-order models or by means of simplistic textbook correlations. The resulting high-fidelity one-dimensional model provided the basis for specific and timely design modification eliminating experimentally observed valve oscillations.

Keywords: dynamic performance model, high-fidelity model, 1D-3D decoupled analysis, solenoid-operated hydraulic servo valve, CFD and electromagnetic FEA

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Authors: Débora Ramos Santiago

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Endogenous development usually apresent a deep approach to locational aspects, considering the potential, knowledge and the workforce, as encouragement to articulate the entire productive activity of a community. In the case of communities located around the area of management of the company Precious Wood Amazon (PWA), their endogenous development is subject to the dynamic of this company, which operates a certified way, seeking alternatives to mitigate and compensate the damages caused by its activities. This article soughts to present the socio-economic and environmental challenges to promote of the endogenous development of these communities, identifying the relationship of the PWA in this process. The communities analyzed emerge with poor socioeconomic conditions, futhermore, their ecosystem characteristics differ spatially from each other, which modifies the entire production dynamics. The family agriculture was an important source of income, but needs investment and technical assistance. The participation of PWA in the promotion of the endogenous development of the communities was proved significant, because of the intense sustainable actions practice by PWA. Many are the challenges that exist in these communities, so its fundamental to elaborate public policies to these specific areas.

Keywords: endogenous development, traditional communities, Amazon, PWA

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Authors: Robert John Godby

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To be responsive now and in the future, workplaces must address the demands of multicultural teams as they become more common elements of the global labor force. This is especially the case for aged care due to the aging population, industry growth and migrant recruitment. This research identifies influences on and improvements for learning in these environments. Its unique contribution is to illuminate how culturally diverse workplaces can work and learn together more effectively. A mixed-methods approach was used to gather data about this topic in two phases. Firstly, the research methods included a survey of 102 aged care workers around Australia from two multi-site aged care organisations. The questionnaire elicited both quantitative and qualitative data about worker characteristics and perspectives on working and learning in aged care. Secondly, a case study of one aged care worksite was formulated drawing on worksite information and interviews with workers. A review of the literature suggests that learning in multicultural work environments is influenced by three main factors: 1) the individual workers themselves, 2) their interaction with each other and 3) the environment in which they work. There are various accounts of these three factors, how they are manifested and how they lead to a change in workers’ disposition, knowledge, or expertise when confronted with new circumstances. The study has found that a key individual factor influencing learning is cultural background. Their unique view of the world was shown to affect their approach to both their work and co-working. Interactional factors suggest that the high requirement for collaboration in aged care positively supports learning in this context; however, it can be hindered by cultural bias and spoken accent. The study also found that environmental factors, such as disruptions caused by the pandemic, were another key influence. For example, the need to wear face masks hindered the communication needed for workplace learning. This was especially challenging due to the diverse language backgrounds and abilities within the teams. Potential improvements for learning in multicultural aged care work environments were identified. These include more frequent and structured inter-peer learning (e.g. buddying), communication training (e.g. English language usage for both native and non-native speaking workers) and support for cross-cultural habitude (e.g. recognizing and adapting to cultural differences). Workplace learning in cross-cultural aged care environments is an area that is not extensively dealt with in the literature. This study addresses this gap and holds the potential to contribute practical insights to aged care and other diverse industries.

Keywords: cross-cultural learning, learning in aged care, migrant learning, workplace learning

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Authors: Salim Ahmad, Ahamed Sani Kazaure, Haruna Musa

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Outsourcing had been the contractual relationship in which the responsibility for a function or task is handed over to an outside firm for a fixed period of time which is not the same as contracting where a specific one-off task is allocated to an external business; therefore in information technology a specialist area such as maintenance of web servers is controlled by an outside firm or if the department is not a critical factor the whole IT section may be outsourced. Organisation contracts is frequently a major area in successful outsourcing relationship, whereby the contracts specify the right, liability and expectation of the vendor and contracts are mostly of high value and last for very long. Therefore, in this research one particular project that is been outsourced for the financial industry (Guarantee Trust Assurance PlC) is been discussed along with the approach used and the various problems encountered, though Outsourcing is not necessarily a perfect and easy way out for business. It is extremely critical for a company to look at all the aspect of outsourcing before deciding to use it as an instrument for development. Moreover, critical analysis of the management issues encountered while implementing the outsourcing project have been fully discussed in the paper.

Keywords: outsourcing, techniques used in outsourcing, challenges of outsourcing implementation, management issues during implementation of outsourcing project

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Authors: Vidhya Venugopal, Jeremiah Chinnadurai, Rebekah A. I. Lucas, Tord Kjellstrom, Bruno Lemke

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Introduction: The effects of climate change (CC) are largely discussed across the globe in terms of impacts on the environment and the general population, but the impacts on workers remain largely unexplored. The predicted rise in temperatures and heat events in the CC scenario have health implications on millions of workers in physically exerting jobs. The current health and productivity risks associated with heat exposures are characterized, future risk estimates as temperature rises and recommendations towards developing protective and preventive occupational health and safety guidelines for India are discussed. Methodology: Cross-sectional studies were conducted in several occupational sectors with workers engaged in moderate to heavy labor (n=1580). Quantitative data on heat exposures (WBGT°C), physiological heat strain indicators viz., Core temperature (CBT), Urine specific gravity (USG), Sweat rate (SwR) and qualitative data on heat-related health symptoms and productivity losses were collected. Data were analyzed for associations between heat exposures, health and productivity outcomes related to heat stress. Findings: Heat conditions exceeded the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) for safe manual work in 66% of the workers across several sectors (Avg.WBGT of 28.7°C±3.1°C). Widespread concerns about heat-related health outcomes (86%) were prevalent among workers exposed to high TLVs, with excessive sweating, fatigue and tiredness being commonly reported by workers. The heat stress indicators, core temperature (14%), Sweat rate (8%) and USG (9%), were above normal levels in the study population. A significant association was found between rise in Core Temperatures and WBGT exposures (p=0.000179) Elevated USG and SwR in the worker population indicate moderate dehydration, with potential risks of developing heat-related illnesses. In a steel industry with high heat exposures, an alarming 9% prevalence of kidney/urogenital anomalies was observed in a young workforce. Heat exposures above TLVs were associated with significantly increased odds of various adverse health outcomes (OR=2.43, 95% CI 1.88 to 3.13, p-value = <0.0001) and productivity losses (OR=1.79, 95% CI 1.32 to 2.4, p-value = 0.0002). Rough estimates for the number of workers who would be subjected to higher than TLV levels in the various RCP scenarios are RCP2.6 =79%, RCP4.5 & RCP6 = 81% and at RCP 8.5 = 85%. Rising temperatures due to CC has the capacity to further reduce already compromised health and productivity by subjecting the workers to increased heat exposures in the RCP scenarios are of concern for the country’s occupational health and economy. Conclusion: The findings of this study clearly identify that health protection from hot weather will become increasingly necessary in the Indian subcontinent and understanding the various adaptation techniques needs urgent attention. Further research with a multi-targeted approach to develop strategies for implementing interventions to protect the millions of workers is imperative. Approaches to include health aspects of climate change within sectoral and climate change specific policies should be encouraged, via a number of mechanisms, such as the “Health in All Policies” approach to avert adverse health and productivity consequences as climate change proceeds.

Keywords: heat stress, occupational health, productivity loss, heat strain, adverse health outcomes

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Authors: Soumaya Mrabet, Imen Akkari, Amira Atig, Elhem Ben Jazia

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Introduction: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory liver disease of unknown cause. Concomitant autoimmune disorders have been described in 30–50% of patients with AIH. The aim of our study is to determine the prevalence and the type of autoimmune disorders associated with AIH. Material and Methods: It is a retrospective study over a period of 16 years (2000-2015) including all patients followed for AIH. The diagnosis of AHI was based on the criteria of the revised International AIH group scoring system (IAIHG). Results: Twenty-for patients (21 women and 3 men) followed for AIH were collected. The mean age was 39 years (17-65 years). Among these patients, 11 patients(45.8%) had at least one autoimmune disease associated to AIH. These diseases were Hashimoto's thyroiditis (n = 5), Gougerot Sjogren syndrome (n=5), Primary biliary cirrhosis (n=2), Primitive sclerosant Cholangitis (n=1), Addison disease (n = 1) and systemic sclerosis (n=1). Patients were treated with corticosteroids alone or with azathioprine associated to the specific treatment of associated diseases with complete remission of AIH in 90% of cases and clinical improvement of other diseases. Conclusion: In our study, the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in AIH patients was 45.8%. These diseases were dominated by autoimmune thyroiditis and Gougerot Sjogren syndrome. The investigation of autoimmune diseases in autoimmune hepatitis must be systematic because of their frequency and the importance of adequate management.

Keywords: autoimmune diseases, autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune thyroiditis, gougerot sjogren syndrome

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Authors: Po-Jen Chen, Jian-Jiun Ding, Hung-Wei Hsu, Chien-Yao Wang, Jia-Ching Wang

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A more accurate scene classification algorithm using label relations and the hierarchy neural network was developed in this work. In many classification algorithms, it is assumed that the labels are mutually exclusive. This assumption is true in some specific problems, however, for scene classification, the assumption is not reasonable. Because there are a variety of objects with a photo image, it is more practical to assign multiple labels for an image. In this paper, two label relations, which are exclusive relation and hierarchical relation, were adopted in the classification process to achieve more accurate multiple label classification results. Moreover, the hierarchy neural network (hierarchy NN) is applied to classify the image and the directed acyclic graph structure is used for predicting a more reasonable result which obey exclusive and hierarchical relations. Simulations show that, with these techniques, a much more accurate scene classification result can be achieved.

Keywords: convolutional neural network, label relation, hierarchy neural network, scene classification

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Authors: Binay Pattanayak

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Multilingual state, Jharkhand is home to more than 19 tribal and regional languages. These are used by more than 33 communities in the state. The state has declared 12 of these languages as official languages of the state. However, schools in the state do not recognize any of these community languages even in early grades! Children, who speak in their mother tongues at home, local market and playground, find it very difficult to understand their teacher and textbooks in school. They fail to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills in early grades. Out of frustration due to lack of comprehension, the majority of children leave school. Jharkhand sees the highest dropout in early grades in India. To address this, the state under the guidance of the author designed a mother tongue based pre-school education programme named Bhasha Puliya and bilingual picture dictionaries in 9 tribal and regional mother tongues of children. This contributed significantly to children’s school readiness in the school. Followed by this, the state designed a mother-tongue based multilingual education programme (MTB-MLE) for multilingual context. The author guided textbook development in 5 tribal (Santhali, Mundari, Ho, Kurukh and Kharia) and two regional (Odia and Bangla) languages. Teachers and community members were trained for MTB-MLE in around 1,000 schools of the concerned language pockets. Community resource groups were constituted along with their academic calendars in each school to promote story-telling, singing, painting, dancing, riddles, etc. with community support. This, on the one hand, created rich learning environments for children. On the other hand, the communities have discovered a great potential in the process of developing a wide variety of learning materials for children in own mother-tongue using their local stories, songs, riddles, paintings, idioms, skits, etc. as a process of their literary, cultural and technical enrichment. The majority of children are acquiring strong early grade reading skills (basic literacy and numeracy) in grades I-II thereby getting well prepared for higher studies. In a phased manner they are learning Hindi and English after 4-5 years of MTB-MLE using the foundational language learning skills. Community members have started designing new books, audio-visual learning materials in their mother-tongues seeing a great potential for their cultural and technological rejuvenation.

Keywords: community resource groups, MTB-MLE, multilingual, socio-linguistic survey, learning

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Authors: Agnetha Schuchardt, Jennifer Hartmann, Laura Schulte, Roman Peperhove, Lars Gerhold

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If critical infrastructures fail, even for a short period of time, it can have significant negative consequences for the affected population. This is especially true for the food sector that is strongly interlinked with other sectors like the power supply. A blackout could lead to several cities being without food supply for numerous days, simply because cash register systems do no longer work properly. Following the public opinion, securing the food supply in emergencies is considered a task of the state, however, in the German context, the key players are private enterprises and private households. Both are not aware of their responsibility and both cannot be forced to take any preventive measures prior to an emergency. This problem became evident to officials and politicians so that the law covering food security was revised in order to include private stakeholders into mitigation processes. The paper will present a scientific review of governmental and regulatory literature. The focus is the inclusion of the food industry through a law reform and the challenges that still exist. Together with legal experts, an analysis of regulations will be presented that explains the development of the law reform concerning food security and emergency storage in Germany. The main findings are that the existing public food emergency storage is out-dated, insufficient and too expensive. The state is required to protect food as a critical infrastructure but does not have the capacities to live up to this role. Through a law reform in 2017, new structures should to established. The innovation was to include the private sector into the civil defense concept since it has the required knowledge and experience. But the food industry is still reluctant. Preventive measures do not serve economic purposes – on the contrary, they cost money. The paper will discuss respective examples like equipping supermarkets with emergency power supply or self-sufficient cash register systems and why the state is not willing to cover the costs of these measures, but neither is the economy. The biggest problem with the new law is that private enterprises can only be forced to support food security if the state of emergency has occurred already and not one minute earlier. The paper will cover two main results: the literature review and an expert workshop that will be conducted in summer 2018 with stakeholders from different parts of the food supply chain as well as officials of the public food emergency concept. The results from this participative process will be presented and recommendations will be offered that show how the private economy could be better included into a modern food emergency concept (e. g. tax reductions for stockpiling).

Keywords: critical infrastructure, disaster control, emergency food storage, food security, private economy, resilience

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Authors: Nicole Kaye A. Callanta, Shalimar B. Baruang, Anne Edelienne P. Tadena, Imelu G. Mordeno, Odessa May D. Escalona

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Untold numbers of children and adolescents around the world are exposed increasingly to the war on a daily basis. These experiences shape how they will view themselves, others, and the world. A wealth of studies have shown the role of family dynamics in the development of children’s attitudes, particularly their social behaviors. This specific study, however, contends that family dynamics influence peace and conflict resolution attitude and further asserts that it is brought about by the degree of emotional regulation strategies they use. Utilising purposive sampling, adolescent participant-respondents were from different schools in Southern Philipines, specifically of the cities of Marawi and Iligan, where exposure to warring clans, internal struggle between the Philippine Military and insurgencies, and the recent Marawi Seige caused by Al-Qaeda and ISIS-spawned terrorism. Results showed emotional regulation strategies mediate the relationship between family dynamics, particularly on family cohesion, and attitude towards peace. Thus implying the association between family cohesion and attitude towards peace strengthens with the use of emotional regulation strategies.

Keywords: attitude towards peace, emotional regulation strategies, family cohesion, family dynamics

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Authors: Harold Jideofor

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The application of Project Management (PM) tools and techniques in the public sector is gradually becoming an important issue in developing economies, especially in a country like Nigeria where projects of different size and structures are undertaken. The paper examined the application of the project management practice in the public sector in Nigeria. The PM lifecycles, tools, and techniques were presented. The study was carried out in Lagos because of its metropolitan nature and rapidly growing economy. Twenty-three copies of questionnaire were administered to 23 public institutions in Lagos to generate primary data. The descriptive analysis techniques using percentages and table presentations coupled with the coefficient of correlation were used for data analysis. The study revealed that application of PM tools and techniques is an essential management approach that tends to achieve specified objectives within specific time and budget limits through the optimum use of resources. Furthermore, the study noted that there is a lack of in-depth knowledge of PM tools and techniques in public sector institutions sampled, also a high cost of the application was also observed by the respondents. The study recommended among others that PM tools and techniques should be applied gradually especially in old government institutions where resistance to change is perceived to be high.

Keywords: project management, public sector, practice, Nigeria

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Authors: Gerhard D. Muller, Nadine C. Sonnenberg, Suné Donoghue

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This study delves into the intricacies of male and female consumers’ perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the South African clothing retail sector, a sector experiencing increasing consumption, yet facing significant environmental and social challenges. The aim is to discern between male and female consumers’ perceptions of clothing retailers’ CSR initiatives based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, which evaluates organizational sustainability across social, environmental, and economic domains. Methodologically, the study is embedded in a quantitative research paradigm adopting a cross-sectional survey design. A purposive sampling strategy was used to recruit male and female respondents from a diverse South African demographic background. A structured questionnaire was developed and included established consumer CSR perception scales that were adapted for the purposes of this study. The questionnaire was distributed via online platforms. The data collected from the online survey, were split by gender to allow for comparison between male and female consumers’ perceptions of clothing retailers’ CSR initiatives. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted on each of the datasets. The EFA for females revealed a five-factor solution, whereas the male EFA presented a six-factor solution, with the notable addition of an Economic Performance dimension. Results indicate subtle differences in the gender groups’ CSR perceptions. While both genders seem to value clothing retailers’ focus on quality services, females seem to have more pronounced perceptions surrounding clothing retailers’ contributions to social and environmental causes. Males, on the other hand, seem to be more discerning in their perceptions surrounding clothing retailers’ support of social and environmental causes. Ethical stakeholder relationships emerged as a shared concern across genders. Still, males presented a distinct factor, Economic Performance, highlighting a gendered divergence in the weighting of economic success and financial performance in CSR evaluation. The implications of these results are multifaceted. Theoretically, the study enriches the discourse on CSR by integrating gender insights into the TBL framework, offering a greater understanding of consumers’ CSR perceptions in the South African clothing retail context. Practically, it provides actionable insights for clothing retailers, suggesting that CSR initiatives should be gender-sensitive and communicate the TBL's elements effectively to resonate with the pertinent concerns of each segment. Additionally, the findings advocate for a contextualized approach to CSR in emerging markets that aligns with local cultural and social differences.

Keywords: consumer perceptions, corporate Social responsibility, gender differentiation, triple bottom line

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Authors: Ala’a F. Jaber, Bara’ah A. Bsharat, Noor T. Ismael

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Background: Sensory processing is a fundamental skill needed for the successful performance of daily living activities. These skills are impaired as parts of the neurodevelopmental process issues among children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This systematic review aimed to summarize the evidence on the differences in sensory processing and motor characteristic between children with ASD and children with TD. Method: This systematic review followed the guidelines of the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis. The search terms included sensory, motor, condition, and child-related terms or phrases. The electronic search utilized Academic Search Ultimate, CINAHL Plus with Full Text, ERIC, MEDLINE, MEDLINE Complete, Psychology, and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and SocINDEX with full-text databases. The hand search included looking for potential studies in the references of related studies. The inclusion criteria included studies published in English between years 2009-2020 that included children aged 3-18 years with a confirmed ASD diagnosis, according to the DSM-V criteria, included a control group of typical children, included outcome measures related to the sensory processing and/or motor functions, and studies available in full-text. The review of included studies followed the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine guidelines, and the Guidelines for Critical Review Form of Quantitative Studies, and the guidelines for conducting systematic reviews by the American Occupational Therapy Association. Results: Eighty-eight full-text studies related to the differences between children with ASD and children with TD in terms of sensory processing and motor characteristics were reviewed, of which eighteen articles were included in the quantitative synthesis. The results reveal that children with ASD had more extreme sensory processing patterns than children with TD, like hyper-responsiveness and hypo-responsiveness to sensory stimuli. Also, children with ASD had limited gross and fine motor abilities and lower strength, endurance, balance, eye-hand coordination, movement velocity, cadence, dexterity with a higher rate of gait abnormalities than children with TD. Conclusion: This systematic review provided preliminary evidence suggesting that motor functioning should be addressed in the evaluation and intervention for children with ASD, and sensory processing should be supported among children with TD. More future research should investigate whether how the performance and engagement in daily life activities are affected by sensory processing and motor skills.

Keywords: sensory processing, occupational therapy, children, motor skills

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Authors: Raya Al Khayari, Rasha Al Jassim, Muna Al Balushi, Fatma Al Moqbali, Said El Hajjar

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This study utilizes linear regression analysis to investigate the correlation between user account passwords and the probability of civil ID exposure, offering statistical insights into civil ID security. The study employs multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis to further investigate the elements that influence consumers’ views of civil ID security. This aims to increase awareness and improve preventive measures. The results obtained from the MLR analysis provide a thorough comprehension and can guide specific educational and awareness campaigns aimed at promoting improved security procedures. In summary, the study’s results offer significant insights for improving existing security measures and developing more efficient tactics to reduce risks related to civil ID security in Oman. By identifying key factors that impact consumers’ perceptions, organizations can tailor their strategies to address vulnerabilities effectively. Additionally, the findings can inform policymakers on potential regulatory changes to enhance civil ID security in the country.

Keywords: civil-id disclosure, awareness, linear regression, multiple regression

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Authors: Kamal Amarouche, Houda Benbrahim, Ismail Kassou

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Nowadays, e-commerce shopping websites have experienced noticeable growth. These websites have gained consumers’ trust. After purchasing a product, many consumers share comments where opinions are usually embedded about the given product. Research on the automatic management of opinions that gives suggestions to potential consumers and portrays an image of the product to manufactures has been growing recently. After launching the product in the market, the reviews generated around it do not usually contain helpful information or generic opinions about this product (e.g. telephone: great phone...); in the sense that the product is still in the launching phase in the market. Within time, the product becomes old. Therefore, consumers perceive the advantages/ disadvantages about each specific product feature. Therefore, they will generate comments that contain their sentiments about these features. In this paper, we present an unsupervised method to extract different product features hidden in the opinions which influence its purchase, and that combines Time Weighting (TW) which depends on the time opinions were expressed with Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TF-IDF). We conduct several experiments using two different datasets about cell phones and hotels. The results show the effectiveness of our automatic feature extraction, as well as its domain independent characteristic.

Keywords: opinion mining, product feature extraction, sentiment analysis, SentiWordNet

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Authors: Hyeon Seok Kim, Inhoi Lee, Seong Baeg Kim, Kyunghee Ko, Kyung Eon Lee, Dong Sik Kang

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In the age of globalization, higher education institutions attempt to equip students with global competence. In response, most universities have been developing and running various international programs. However, teacher education has been a neglected area in this trend. Therefore, in this study, we suggest a program that offers a dual bachelor’s degree from both universities located on different countries, focusing on teacher education institutions with different policies and regulations of teacher education programs that may become obstacles to designing a dual degree program. We discuss a possible way to get a dual degree including a teaching certificate at a specialized college, college of secondary education. To be specific, this research presents a way to attain two diplomas from Jeju National University (JNU) in Korea and Boise State University (BSU) in the U.S. It attempts to build an effective plan for students to declare simultaneous degrees at both universities. From the study, we find that it takes about 5 years to fulfill requirements for the dual degree at the undergraduate level.

Keywords: dual degree, curriculum, teaching certificate, college of secondary education, international program

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Authors: Ahmed Gonnah, Omar Masoud, Mohamed Abdel-Wahab, Ahmed ElMosalamy, Abdulrahman Al-Naseem

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Introduction: Fibroadenomas are solid, mobile, and non-tender benign breast lumps, with the highest prevalence amongst young women aged between 15 and 35. Symptoms can include discomfort, and they can become problematic, particularly when they enlarge, resulting in many referrals for biopsies, with fibroadenomas accounting for 30-75% of the cases. Diagnosis is based on triple assessment that involves a clinical examination, ultrasound imaging and mammography, as well as core needle biopsies. Current management includes observation for 6-12 months, with the indication of definitive surgery, in cases that are older than 35 years or with fibroadenoma persistence. Serious adverse effects of surgery might include nipple-areolar distortion, scarring and damage to the breast tissue, as well as the risks associated with surgery and anesthesia, making it a non-feasible option. Methods: A literature search was performed on the databases EMBASE. MEDLINE/PubMed, Google scholar and Ovid, for English language papers published between 1st of January 2000 and 17th of March 2021. A structured protocol was employed to devise a comprehensive search strategy with keywords and Boolean operators defined by the research question. The keywords used for the search were ‘HIFU’, ‘High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound’, ‘Fibroadenoma’, ‘Breast’, ‘Lesion’. This review was carried out in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: Recently, a thermal ablative technique, High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU), was found to be a safe, non-invasive, and technically successful alternative, having displayed promising outcomes in reducing the volume of fibroadenomas, pain experienced by patients, and the length of hospitalization. Quality of life improvement was also evidenced, exhibited by the disappearance of symptoms, and enhanced physical activity post-intervention, in addition to patients’ satisfaction with the cosmetic results and future recommendation of the procedure to other patients. Conclusion: Overall, HIFU is a well-tolerated treatment associated with a low risk of complications that can potentially include erythema, skin discoloration and bruising, with the majority of this self-resolving shortly after the procedure.

Keywords: ultrasound, HIFU, breast, efficacy, side effects, fibroadenoma

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Authors: Maryam Hasanali, Syed Mohammad Mojtabaei, Iman Hajirasouliha, G. Charles Clifton, James B. P. Lim

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Cold-formed steel (CFS) elements are increasingly being used as main load-bearing components in the modern construction industry, including low- to mid-rise buildings. In typical multi-storey buildings, CFS structural members act as beam-column elements since they are exposed to combined axial compression and bending actions, both in moment-resisting frames and stud wall systems. Current design specifications, including the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI S100) and the Australian/New Zealand Standard (AS/NZS 4600), neglect the beneficial effects of warping-restrained boundary conditions in the design of beam-column elements. Furthermore, while a non-linear relationship governs the interaction of axial compression and bending, the combined effect of these actions is taken into account through a simplified linear expression combining pure axial and flexural strengths. This paper aims to evaluate the reliability of the well-known Direct Strength Method (DSM) as well as design proposals found in the literature to provide a better understanding of the efficiency of the code-prescribed linear interaction equation in the strength predictions of CFS beam columns and the effects of warping-restrained boundary conditions on their behavior. To this end, the experimentally validated finite element (FE) models of CFS elements under compression and bending were developed in ABAQUS software, which accounts for both non-linear material properties and geometric imperfections. The validated models were then used for a comprehensive parametric study containing 270 FE models, covering a wide range of key design parameters, such as length (i.e., 0.5, 1.5, and 3 m), thickness (i.e., 1, 2, and 4 mm) and cross-sectional dimensions under ten different load eccentricity levels. The results of this parametric study demonstrated that using the DSM led to the most conservative strength predictions for beam-column members by up to 55%, depending on the element’s length and thickness. This can be sourced by the errors associated with (i) the absence of warping-restrained boundary condition effects, (ii) equations for the calculations of buckling loads, and (iii) the linear interaction equation. While the influence of warping restraint is generally less than 6%, the code suggested interaction equation led to an average error of 4% to 22%, based on the element lengths. This paper highlights the need to provide more reliable design solutions for CFS beam-column elements for practical design purposes.

Keywords: beam-columns, cold-formed steel, finite element model, interaction equation, warping-restrained boundary conditions

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Authors: Neringa Bagdonaite

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Study Aims: The current study aimed to systematically analyse various research done in the area of female post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and alcohol abuse, and to critically review these results on the basis of theoretical models as well as answer following questions: (I) What is the reciprocal relationship between PTSD and problem alcohol use among females; (II) What are the moderating/mediating factors of this relationship? Methods: The computer bibliographic databases Ebsco, Scopus, Springer, Web of Science, Medline, Science Direct were used to search for scientific articles. Systematic analyses sample consisted of peer-reviewed, English written articles addressing mixed gender and female PTSD and alcohol abuse issues from Jan 2012 to May 2017. Results: Total of 1011 articles were found in scientific databases related to searched keywords of which 29 met the selection criteria and were analysed. The results of longitudinal studies indicate that (I) various trauma, especially interpersonal trauma exposure in childhood is linked with increased risk of revictimization in later life and problem alcohol use; (II) revictimization in adolescence or adulthood, rather than victimization in childhood has a greater impact on the onset and progression of problematic alcohol use in adulthood. Cross-sectional and epidemiological studies also support significant relationships between female PTSD and problem alcohol use. Regards to the negative impact of alcohol use on PTSD symptoms results are yet controversial; some evidence suggests that alcohol does not exacerbate symptoms of PTSD over time, while others argue that problem alcohol use worsens PTSD symptoms and is linked to chronicity of both disorders, especially among women with previous alcohol use problems. Analysis of moderating/mediating factors of PTSD and problem alcohol use revealed, that higher motives/expectancies, specifically distress coping motives for alcohol use significantly moderates the relationship between PTSD and problematic alcohol use. Whereas negative affective states mediate relationship between symptoms of PTSD and alcohol use, but only among woman with alcohol use problems already developed. Conclusions: Interpersonal trauma experience, especially in childhood and its reappearance in lifetime is linked with PTSD symptoms and problem drinking among women. Moreover, problem alcohol use can be both a cause and a consequence of trauma and PTSD, and if used for coping it, increases the likelihood of chronicity of both disorders. In order to effectively treat both disorders, it’s worthwhile taking into account this dynamic interplay of women's PTSD symptoms and problem drinking.

Keywords: female, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, problem alcohol use, systemic analysis

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Authors: Vladislav Grigorovitch, Marina Grigorovitch, David Pearlmutter, Erez Gal

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The concept of “electric island” is involved with achieving the balance between the self-power generation ability of each educational institution and energy consumption demand. Photo-Voltaic (PV) solar system installed on the roofs of educational buildings is a common way to absorb the available solar energy and generate electricity for self-consumption and even for returning to the grid. The main objective of this research is to develop and implement an “electric island” monitoring infrastructure for promoting energy efficiency in educational buildings. A microscale monitoring methodology will be developed to provide a platform to estimate energy consumption performance classified by rooms and subspaces rather than the more common macroscale monitoring of the whole building. The monitoring platform will be established on the experimental sites, enabling an estimation and further analysis of the variety of environmental and physical conditions. For each building, separate measurement configurations will be applied taking into account the specific requirements, restrictions, location and infrastructure issues. The direct results of the measurements will be analyzed to provide deeper understanding of the impact of environmental conditions and sustainability construction standards, not only on the energy demand of public building, but also on the energy consumption habits of the children that study in those schools and the educational and administrative staff that is responsible for providing the thermal comfort conditions and healthy studying atmosphere for the children. A monitoring methodology being developed in this research is providing online access to real-time data of Interferential Therapy (IFTs) from any mobile phone or computer by simply browsing the dedicated website, providing powerful tools for policy makers for better decision making while developing PV production infrastructure to achieve “electric islands” in educational buildings. A detailed measurement configuration was technically designed based on the specific conditions and restriction of each of the pilot buildings. A monitoring and analysis methodology includes a large variety of environmental parameters inside and outside the schools to investigate the impact of environmental conditions both on the energy performance of the school and educational abilities of the children. Indoor measurements are mandatory to acquire the energy consumption data, temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and other air quality conditions in different parts of the building. In addition to that, we aim to study the awareness of the users to the energy consideration and thus the impact on their energy consumption habits. The monitoring of outdoor conditions is vital for proper design of the off-grid energy supply system and validation of its sufficient capacity. The suggested outcomes of this research include: 1. both experimental sites are designed to have PV production and storage capabilities; 2. Developing an online information feedback platform. The platform will provide consumer dedicated information to academic researchers, municipality officials and educational staff and students; 3. Designing an environmental work path for educational staff regarding optimal conditions and efficient hours for operating air conditioning, natural ventilation, closing of blinds, etc.

Keywords: sustainability, electric island, IOT, smart building

Procedia PDF Downloads 179