Search results for: image correlation

Authors: Jignasha Derasari, Patel Krishna M, Modi Jignasa G.

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Chemical stability of pharmaceutical molecules is a matter of great concern as it affects the safety and efficacy of the drug product.Stability testing data provides the basis to understand how the quality of a drug substance and drug product changes with time under the influence of various environmental factors. Besides this, it also helps in selecting proper formulation and package as well as providing proper storage conditions and shelf life, which is essential for regulatory documentation. The ICH guideline states that stress testing is intended to identify the likely degradation products which further help in determination of the intrinsic stability of the molecule and establishing degradation pathways, and to validate the stability indicating procedures. A simple, accurate and precise stability indicating RP- HPLC method was developed and validated for simultaneous estimation of Amiloride Hydrochloride and Furosemide in tablet dosage form. Separation was achieved on an Phenomenexluna ODS C18 (250 mm × 4.6 mm i.d., 5 µm particle size) by using a mobile phase consisting of Ortho phosphoric acid: Acetonitrile (50:50 %v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min (pH 3.5 adjusted with 0.1 % TEA in Water) isocratic pump mode, Injection volume 20 µl and wavelength of detection was kept at 283 nm. Retention time for Amiloride Hydrochloride and Furosemide was 1.810 min and 4.269 min respectively. Linearity of the proposed method was obtained in the range of 40-60 µg/ml and 320-480 µg/ml and Correlation coefficient was 0.999 and 0.998 for Amiloride hydrochloride and Furosemide, respectively. Forced degradation study was carried out on combined dosage form with various stress conditions like hydrolysis (acid and base hydrolysis), oxidative and thermal conditions as per ICH guideline Q2 (R1). The RP- HPLC method has shown an adequate separation for Amiloride hydrochloride and Furosemide from its degradation products. Proposed method was validated as per ICH guidelines for specificity, linearity, accuracy; precision and robustness for estimation of Amiloride hydrochloride and Furosemide in commercially available tablet dosage form and results were found to be satisfactory and significant. The developed and validated stability indicating RP-HPLC method can be used successfully for marketed formulations. Forced degradation studies help in generating degradants in much shorter span of time, mostly a few weeks can be used to develop the stability indicating method which can be applied later for the analysis of samples generated from accelerated and long term stability studies. Further, kinetic study was also performed for different forced degradation parameters of the same combination, which help in determining order of reaction.

Keywords: amiloride hydrochloride, furosemide, kinetic study, stability indicating RP-HPLC method validation

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Authors: Zhe Li, Tao Ju, Liguo Zhang, Zehong Zhang, Baoshun Zhang

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In-grow stacking-faults (IGSFs) in 4H-SiC epilayers can cause increased leakage current and reduce the blocking voltage of 4H-SiC power devices. Double Shockley stacking fault (2SSF) is a common type of IGSF with double slips on the basal planes. In this study, a 2SSF in the 4H-SiC epilayer grown by chemical vaper deposition (CVD) is characterized. The nucleation site of the 2SSF is discussed, and a model for the 2SSF nucleation is proposed. Homo-epitaxial 4H-SiC is grown on a commercial 4 degrees off-cut substrate by a home-built hot-wall CVD. Defect-selected-etching (DSE) is conducted with melted KOH at 500 degrees Celsius for 1-2 min. Room temperature cathodoluminescence (CL) is conducted at a 20 kV acceleration voltage. Low-temperature photoluminescence (LTPL) is conducted at 3.6 K with the 325 nm He-Cd laser line. In the CL image, a triangular area with bright contrast is observed. Two partial dislocations (PDs) with a 20-degree angle in between show linear dark contrast on the edges of the IGSF. CL and LTPL spectrums are conducted to verify the IGSF’s type. The CL spectrum shows the maximum photoemission at 2.431 eV and negligible bandgap emission. In the LTPL spectrum, four phonon replicas are found at 2.468 eV, 2.438 eV, 2.420 eV and 2.410 eV, respectively. The Egx is estimated to be 2.512 eV. A shoulder with a red-shift to the main peak in CL, and a slight protrude at the same wavelength in LTPL are verified as the so called Egx- lines. Based on the CL and LTPL results, the IGSF is identified as a 2SSF. Back etching by neutral loop discharge and DSE are conducted to track the origin of the 2SSF, and the nucleation site is found to be a threading screw dislocation (TSD) in this sample. A nucleation mechanism model is proposed for the formation of the 2SSF. Steps introduced by the off-cut and the TSD on the surface are both suggested to be two C-Si bilayers height. The intersections of such two types of steps are along [11-20] direction from the TSD, while a four-bilayer step at each intersection. The nucleation of the 2SSF in the growth is proposed as follows. Firstly, the upper two bilayers of the four-bilayer step grow down and block the lower two at one intersection, and an IGSF is generated. Secondly, the step-flow grows over the IGSF successively, and forms an AC/ABCABC/BA/BC stacking sequence. Then a 2SSF is formed and extends by the step-flow growth. In conclusion, a triangular IGSF is characterized by CL approach. Base on the CL and LTPL spectrums, the estimated Egx is 2.512 eV and the IGSF is identified to be a 2SSF. By back etching, the 2SSF nucleation site is found to be a TSD. A model for the 2SSF nucleation from an intersection of off-cut- and TSD- introduced steps is proposed.

Keywords: cathodoluminescence, defect-selected-etching, double Shockley stacking fault, low-temperature photoluminescence, nucleation model, silicon carbide

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Authors: Hung-Chun Lin, Tzu-Yuan Chao

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As the population aging has become an inevitable trend globally, issues of improving the well-being of elderly people in urban areas have been a challenging task for urban planners. Recent studies of ageing trend have also expended to explore the relationship between the built environment and mental condition of elderly people. These studies have proved that even though the built environment may not necessarily play the decisive role in affecting mental health, it can have positive impacts on individual mental health by promoting social linkages and social networks among older adults. There has been a great amount of relevant research examined the impact of the built environment attributes on depression in the elderly; however, most were conducted in the Western countries. Little attention has been paid in Asian cities with contrarily high density and mix-use urban contexts such as Taiwan regarding how the built environment attributes related to depression in elderly people. Hence, more empirical cross-principle studies are needed to explore the possible impacts of Asia urban characteristics on older residents’ mental condition. This paper intends to focus on Tainan city, the fourth biggest metropolis in Taiwan. We first analyze with data from National Health Insurance Research Database to pinpoint the empirical study area where residing most elderly patients, aged over 65, with depressive disorders. Secondly, we explore the relationship between specific attributes of the built environment collected from previous studies and elderly individuals who suffer from depression, under different socio-cultural and networking circumstances. To achieve the results, the research methods adopted in this study include questionnaire and database analysis, and the results will be proceeded by correlation analysis. In addition, through literature review, by generalizing the built environment factors that have been used in Western research to evaluate the relationship between built environment and older individuals with depressive disorders, a set of local evaluative indicators of the built environment for future studies will be proposed as well. In order to move closer to develop age-friendly cities and improve the well-being for the elderly in Taiwan, the findings of this paper can provide empirical results to grab planners’ attention for how built environment makes the elderly feel and to reconsider the relationship between them. Furthermore, with an interdisciplinary topic, the research results are expected to make suggestions for amending the procedures of drawing up an urban plan or a city plan from a different point of view.

Keywords: built environment, depression, elderly, Tainan

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Authors: Amrita Sen

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In the face of a growing insurgent movement and the perceived failure of the state and the market towards sustainable resource management, a range of decentralized forest management policies was formulated in the last two decades, which recognized the need for community representations within the statutory methods of forest management. The recognition conceded on the virtues of ecological sustainability and traditional environmental knowledge, which were considered to be the principal repositories of the forest dependent communities. The present study, in the light of empirical insights, reflects on the contemporary disjunctions between the preconceived communitarian ethic in environmentalism and the lived reality of forest based life-worlds. Many of the popular as well as dominant ideologies, which have historically shaped the conceptual and theoretical understanding of sociology, needs further perusal in the context of the emerging contours of empirical knowledge, which lends opportunities for substantive reworking and analysis. The image of the community appears to be one of those concepts, an identity which has for long defined perspectives and processes associated with people living together harmoniously in small physical spaces. Through an ethnographic account of the implementation of Joint Forest Management (JFM) in a forest fringe village in Sundarban, the study explores the ways in which the idea of ‘community’ gets transformed through the process of state-making, rendering the necessity of its departure from the standard, conventional definition of homogeneity and internal equity. The study necessitates an attention towards the anthropology of micro-politics, disaggregating an essentially constructivist anthropology of ‘collective identities’, which can render the visibility of political mobilizations plausible within the seemingly culturalist production of communities. The two critical questions that the paper seeks to ask in this context are: how the ‘local’ is constituted within community based conservation practices? Within the efforts of collaborative forest management, how accurately does the depiction of ‘indigenous environmental knowledge’, subscribe to its role of sustainable conservation practices? Reflecting on the execution of JFM in Sundarban, the study critically explores the ways in which the state ceases to be ‘trans-national’ and interacts with the rural life-worlds through its local factions. Simultaneously, the study attempts to articulate the scope of constructing a competing representation of community, shaped by increasing political negotiations and bureaucratic alignments which strains against the usual preoccupations with tradition primordiality and non material culture as well as the amorous construction of indigeneity.

Keywords: community, environmentalism, JFM, state-making, identities, indigenous

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Authors: Rui Xing, Xiaowen Zhao, Hao Huang, Chang Liu

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Creativity is regarded as vital for new ventures' development since the whole process of entrepreneurship is rooted in the creation and exploration of new ideas. The entrepreneurial leader is central to the entrepreneurial team, who plays an especially important role in this process. However, few scholars have studied the impact entrepreneurs' leadership styles on the creativity of entrepreneurial teams. In this study, we integrate the historically disjointed literatures of leadership style and team creativity under entrepreneurship circumstance to understand why and when entrepreneurs' different leadership style relates to team creativity. Focus on answering the following questions: Is humility leadership necessarily better than narcissism leadership at increasing the creativity of entrepreneurial teams? Moreover, in which situations humility leadership or narcissism leadership is more conducive to the entrepreneurial team's creativity? Based on the componential theory of creativity and entrepreneurial cognition theory, we explore the relationship between entrepreneurs' leadership style and team creativity, treating team cognitive diversity and environmental uncertainty as moderators and psychological empowerment as mediators. We tested our hypotheses using data gathered from 64 teams and 256 individual members from 53 new firms in China's first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. We found that there was a significant positive relation between entrepreneurs' humble leadership and psychological empowerment, and the more significant the positive correlation was when the environmental uncertainty was high. In addition, there was a significant negative relation between entrepreneurs' narcissistic leadership and psychological empowerment, and the negative relation was weaker in teams with a high team cognitive diversity value. Furthermore, both entrepreneurs' humble leadership and team psychological empowerment were significantly positively related to team creativity. While entrepreneurs' narcissistic leadership was negatively related to team creativity, and the negative relationship was weaker in teams with a high team cognitive diversity or a high environmental uncertainty value. This study has some implications for both scholars and entrepreneurs. Firstly, our study enriches the understanding of the role of leadership in entrepreneurial team creativity. Different from previous team creativity literatures, focusing on TMT and R&D team, this study is a significant attempt to demonstrate that entrepreneurial leadership style is particularly relevant to the core requirements of team creativity. Secondly, this study introduces two moderating variables, cognitive diversity and environmental uncertainty, to explore the different boundary conditions under which the two leadership styles play their roles, which is helpful for entrepreneurs to understand how to leverage leadership to improve entrepreneurial team creativity, how to recruit cognitively diverse employees to moderate the effects of inappropriate leadership to the team. Finally, our findings showed that entrepreneurs' humble leadership makes a unique contribution to explaining team creativity through team psychological empowerment.

Keywords: entrepreneurs’ leadership style, entrepreneurial team creativity, team psychological empowerment, team cognitive diversity, environmental uncertainty

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Authors: Binaya Tamang, Buddhi R. Pokharel, Narayan Gautam, Puspa R. Dhakal, Yuresh Twayana

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Background and Objective: Microalbuminuria is often regarded as a sign of end-organ damage due to hypertension, with an increased risk for renal diseases. The present study was designed to find the prevalence of microalbuminuria in hypertensive patients by determining albumin creatinine ratio (ACR) and the association of ACR and microalbuminuria status with different stages and duration of hypertension (HTN). Also, to establish the correlation of systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP) with various parameters viz; ACR, urinary microalbumin (UMA), estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), urinary creatinine (Ucreat), serum creatinine (Screat), and find out their significance among HTN and ACR status. Materials and Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in the Department of Biochemistry in collaboration with the Department of Internal Medicine, UCMS, Bhairahawa, Nepal from April 2019 to September 2019 after obtaining ethical approval from institutional review committee (IRC), UCMS. A total of 120 hypertensive patients were enrolled whose blood, and spot urine samples were taken. eGFR was calculated by using Cockcroft-Gault formula after determining Screat while ACR was calculated after measuring Ucreat and UMA from the spot urine sample. Creatinine was estimated from modified jaffes’ reaction, whereas urinary micro albumin was done by Mispa i3 analyzer. Data were analyzed by using SPSS. 20 using p-value ≤ 0.05 as statistically significant. Results: In our study, the highest enrolled were grade II HTN (36.7%) followed by normal (33.3%), grade I (20.8%) and grade III (9.2%). Evaluating the ACR status, 19.2% were microalbuminuria, and the rest were normal. Though the ACR status (normal and microalbuminuria) was not statistically significant with HTN status (P=0.860) and the duration of HTN status (P=0.165), 5 (45.5%) out of 11 grade III HTN were microalbuminuria and the prevalence was also higher for longer duration .i.e., more than 10 years. In microalbuminuria, both the SBP (p=0.023, r=0.471) and DBP (P=0.034, r= 0.444) were strongly and positively correlated with Screat, in contrast to eGFR, which was negatively but weakly correlated. With the significant difference between the HTN group, the mean ACR (P=0.047) and UMA (P=0.02) were found to be highest among grade III patients, i.e., 84.3 ± 113.3 mg/gm. and 88.4 ± 83.9 mg/l respectively. The mean eGFR (64.2 ± 24.8 vs 77.2 ± 18.1 ml/min) was considerably lower in microalbuminuria ( p=0.026) than the normal in contrast to the SBP (160 ± 33.7 vs. 146.6 ± 19.5 mm of Hg) which was significantly higher (P=0.008). Among the different BMI category, the mean ACR was found to be significantly different (P= 0.01) with the highest value in underweight (115.2 ± 51.5 mg/gm.) and lowest in overweight (31.8 ± 4.3 mg/gm.). Conclusion: The study recommends that the microalbuminuria can be a very useful and imperative predictor of deranged kidney functions in hypertensive patients. The high value of ACR and UMA in hypertensive patients along with significant increased Screat, SBP whereas decreased eGFR in microalbuminuria patients explicitly supports the above statement.

Keywords: albumin creatinine ratio, hypertension, microalbuminuria, renal disease

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Authors: Mustafa Metin Donma, Orkide Donma

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Obesity in children particularly draws attention because it may threaten the individual’s future life due to many chronic diseases it may lead to. Most of these diseases, including obesity itself altogether are related to inflammation. For this reason, inflammation-related parameters gain importance. Within this context, complete blood cell counts, ratios or indices derived from these counts have recently found some platform to be used as inflammatory markers. So far, mostly adipokines were investigated within the field of obesity. The liver is at the center of the metabolic pathways network. Metabolic inflammation is closely associated with cellular dysfunction. In this study, hematologic inflammatory markers and two major hepatokines, cytokines produced predominantly by the liver, fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21) and fetuin A were investigated in pediatric obesity. Two groups were constituted from seventy-six obese children based on World Health Organization criteria. Group 1 was composed of children whose age- and sex-adjusted body mass index (BMI) percentiles were between 95 and 99. Group 2 consists of children who are above the 99ᵗʰ percentile. The first and the latter groups were defined as obese (OB) and morbid obese (MO). Anthropometric measurements of the children were performed. Informed consent forms and the approval of the institutional ethics committee were obtained. Blood cell counts and ratios were determined by an automated hematology analyzer. The related ratios and indexes were calculated. Statistical evaluation of the data was performed by the SPSS program. There was no statistically significant difference in terms of neutrophil-to lymphocyte ratio, monocyte-to-high density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio and the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio between the groups. Mean platelet volume and platelet distribution width values were decreased (p<0.05), total platelet count, red cell distribution width (RDW) and systemic immune inflammation index values were increased (p<0.01) in MO group. Both hepatokines were increased in the same group; however, increases were not statistically significant. In this group, also a strong correlation was calculated between FGF-21 and RDW when controlled by age, hematocrit, iron and ferritin (r=0.425; p<0.01). In conclusion, the association between RDW, a hematologic inflammatory marker, and FGF-21, an inflammation-related hepatokine, found in MO group is an important finding discriminating between OB and MO children. This association is even more powerful when controlled by age and iron-related parameters.

Keywords: childhood obesity, fetuin A , fibroblast growth factor-21, hematologic markers, red cell distribution width

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Authors: Mahshid Arabi

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In recent years, remarkable advancements in the fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning have led to the development of facial recognition technologies. These technologies are now employed in a wide range of applications, including security, surveillance, healthcare, and education. In the field of education, the identification of university entrance exam candidates has been one of the fundamental challenges. Traditional methods such as using ID cards and handwritten signatures are not only inefficient and prone to fraud but also susceptible to errors. In this context, utilizing advanced technologies like facial recognition can be an effective and efficient solution to increase the accuracy and reliability of identity verification in entrance exams. This article examines the use of FaceMatch software for recognizing the faces of university entrance exam candidates in Iran. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the efficiency and accuracy of FaceMatch software in identifying university entrance exam candidates to prevent fraud and ensure the authenticity of individuals' identities. Additionally, this research investigates the advantages and challenges of using this technology in Iran's educational systems. This research was conducted using an experimental method and random sampling. In this study, 1000 university entrance exam candidates in Iran were selected as samples. The facial images of these candidates were processed and analyzed using FaceMatch software. The software's accuracy and efficiency were evaluated using various metrics, including accuracy rate, error rate, and processing time. The research results indicated that FaceMatch software could accurately identify candidates with a precision of 98.5%. The software's error rate was less than 1.5%, demonstrating its high efficiency in facial recognition. Additionally, the average processing time for each candidate's image was less than 2 seconds, indicating the software's high efficiency. Statistical evaluation of the results using precise statistical tests, including analysis of variance (ANOVA) and t-test, showed that the observed differences were significant, and the software's accuracy in identity verification is high. The findings of this research suggest that FaceMatch software can be effectively used as a tool for identifying university entrance exam candidates in Iran. This technology not only enhances security and prevents fraud but also simplifies and streamlines the exam administration process. However, challenges such as preserving candidates' privacy and the costs of implementation must also be considered. The use of facial recognition technology with FaceMatch software in Iran's educational systems can be an effective solution for preventing fraud and ensuring the authenticity of university entrance exam candidates' identities. Given the promising results of this research, it is recommended that this technology be more widely implemented and utilized in the country's educational systems.

Keywords: facial recognition, FaceMatch software, Iran, university entrance exam

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Authors: Feng Yue, Fei Dai

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With the rapid development of urbanization process in China, its environmental protection pressure is severely tested. So, analyzing and optimizing the landscape pattern is an important measure to ease the pressure on the ecological environment. This paper takes Wuhan Urban Development Zone as the research object, and studies its landscape pattern evolution and quantitative optimization strategy. First, remote sensing image data from 1990 to 2015 were interpreted by using Erdas software. Next, the landscape pattern index of landscape level, class level, and patch level was studied based on Fragstats. Then five indicators of ecological environment based on National Environmental Protection Standard of China were selected to evaluate the impact of landscape pattern evolution on the ecological environment. Besides, the cost distance analysis of ArcGIS was applied to simulate wildlife migration thus indirectly measuring the improvement of ecological environment quality. The result shows that the area of land for construction increased 491%. But the bare land, sparse grassland, forest, farmland, water decreased 82%, 47%, 36%, 25% and 11% respectively. They were mainly converted into construction land. On landscape level, the change of landscape index all showed a downward trend. Number of patches (NP), Landscape shape index (LSI), Connection index (CONNECT), Shannon's diversity index (SHDI), Aggregation index (AI) separately decreased by 2778, 25.7, 0.042, 0.6, 29.2%, all of which indicated that the NP, the degree of aggregation and the landscape connectivity declined. On class level, the construction land and forest, CPLAND, TCA, AI and LSI ascended, but the Distribution Statistics Core Area (CORE_AM) decreased. As for farmland, water, sparse grassland, bare land, CPLAND, TCA and DIVISION, the Patch Density (PD) and LSI descended, yet the patch fragmentation and CORE_AM increased. On patch level, patch area, Patch perimeter, Shape index of water, farmland and bare land continued to decline. The three indexes of forest patches increased overall, sparse grassland decreased as a whole, and construction land increased. It is obvious that the urbanization greatly influenced the landscape evolution. Ecological diversity and landscape heterogeneity of ecological patches clearly dropped. The Habitat Quality Index continuously declined by 14%. Therefore, optimization strategy based on greenway network planning is raised for discussion. This paper contributes to the study of landscape pattern evolution in planning and design and to the research on spatial layout of urbanization.

Keywords: landscape pattern, optimization strategy, ArcGIS, Erdas, landscape metrics, landscape architecture

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Authors: Victor N. Anisimov, Lyubov A. Boyko, Yazgul R. Almukhametova, Natalia V. Galkina, Alexander V. Latanov

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Modern commercials presented on billboards, TV and on the Internet contain a lot of information about the product or service in text form. However, this information cannot always be perceived and understood by consumers. Typical sociological focus group studies often cannot reveal important features of the interpretation and understanding information that has been read in text messages. In addition, there is no reliable method to determine the degree of understanding of the information contained in a text. Only the fact of viewing a text does not mean that consumer has perceived and understood the meaning of this text. At the same time, the tools based on marketing analysis allow only to indirectly estimate the process of reading and understanding a text. Therefore, the aim of this work is to develop a valid method of recording objective indicators in real time for assessing the fact of reading and the degree of text comprehension. Psychophysiological parameters recorded during text reading can form the basis for this objective method. We studied the relationship between multimodal psychophysiological parameters and the process of text comprehension during reading using the method of correlation analysis. We used eye-tracking technology to record eye movements parameters to estimate visual attention, electroencephalography (EEG) to assess cognitive load and polygraphic indicators (skin-galvanic reaction, SGR) that reflect the emotional state of the respondent during text reading. We revealed reliable interrelations between perceiving the information and the dynamics of psychophysiological parameters during reading the text in commercials. Eye movement parameters reflected the difficulties arising in respondents during perceiving ambiguous parts of text. EEG dynamics in rate of alpha band were related with cumulative effect of cognitive load. SGR dynamics were related with emotional state of the respondent and with the meaning of text and type of commercial. EEG and polygraph parameters together also reflected the mental difficulties of respondents in understanding text and showed significant differences in cases of low and high text comprehension. We also revealed differences in psychophysiological parameters for different type of commercials (static vs. video, financial vs. cinema vs. pharmaceutics vs. mobile communication, etc.). Conclusions: Our methodology allows to perform multimodal evaluation of text perusal and the quality of text reading in commercials. In general, our results indicate the possibility of designing an integral model to estimate the comprehension of reading the commercial text in percent scale based on all noticed markers.

Keywords: reading, commercials, eye movements, EEG, polygraphic indicators

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Authors: Rohit Kothari

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Background: Leprosyis a chronic granulomatous diseasecaused by Mycobacterium leprae (M. Lepra). Reactions may interrupt its usual chronic course.Type-1 (T1R)and type-2 lepra reaction(T2R) are acute events and signifytype-IV and type-III hypersensitivity responses, respectively. Various chemokines like CCL3, 5, 11, and CCL24 may be increased during the course of leprosy or during reactions and may serve as markers of early diagnosis, response to therapy, and prognosis. Objective: To find correlation of CCL3, 5, 11, and CCL24 in leprosy patients on multidrug therapy and their family contacts after ruling out active disease during leprosy treatment and during periods of lepra reactions. Methodology: This randomized control trial was conducted in 50 clinico-histopathologically diagnosed cases of leprosy in a tertiary care hospital in Bengaluru, India. 50 of their family contacts were adequately examined and investigated should the need be to rule out active disease. The two study-groups comprised of leprosy cases, and the age, sex, and area of residence matched healthy contactswho were given single-dose rifampicin prophylaxis, respectively. Blood samples were taken at baseline, six months, and after one yearin both the groups (on completion of MDT in leprosy cases)and also during periods of reaction if occurred in leprosy cases. Results: Our study found that at baseline, CCL5, 11, and 24 were higher in leprosy cases as compared to the healthy contacts, and the difference was statistically significant.CCL3 was also found to be higherat baseline in leprosy cases, however, the difference was not statistically significant. At six months and one year, the levels of CCL 5, 11, and 24 reduced, and the difference was statistically significant in leprosy cases, whereas it remained almost static in all the healthy contacts. Twenty patients of leprosy developed lepra reaction during the course of one year, and during reaction, the increase in CCL11 and 24 was statistically significant from baseline, whereas CCL3 and 5 did not rise significantly. One of the healthy contacts developed signs of leprosy in the form of hypopigmented numb patch and was clinico-histopathologically, and CCL11 and 24 were found to be higher with a statistically significant difference from the baseline values. Conclusion: CCL5, 11, and 24 are sensitive markers of diagnosing leprosy, response to MDT, and prognosis and are not increased in healthy contacts. CCL11 and 24 are sensitive markers of lepra reactions and may serve as one of the early diagnostic modalities for identifying lepra reaction and also leprosy in healthy contacts. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate these biomarkers in leprosy cases and their healthy contacts with a follow-up of upto one year with one of them developing the disease, and the same was confirmed based on these biomarkers as well.

Keywords: chemokine profile, healthy contacts, leprosy, lepra reactions

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Authors: Camille Rich, Nadine Ferris France, Ann Nolan, Webster Mavhu, Vongai Munatsi

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Background and Aim: Zimbabwe has one of the highest HIV rates in the world, with a 12.7% adult prevalence rate. Young adults are a key group affected by HIV, and one-third of all new infections in Zimbabwe are amongst people ages 18-24 years. Stigma remains one of the main barriers to managing and reducing the HIV crisis, especially for young adults. There are several types of stigma, including enacted stigma, the outward discrimination towards someone and self-stigma, the negative self-judgments one has towards themselves. Self-stigma can have severe consequences, including feelings of worthlessness, shame, suicidal thoughts, and avoidance of medical help. This can have detrimental effects on those living with HIV. However, the unique beliefs and impacts of self-stigma amongst key groups living with HIV have not yet been explored. Therefore, the focus of this study is on the beliefs and experiences of HIV-related self-stigma, as experienced by young adults living in Harare, Zimbabwe. Research Methods: A qualitative approach was taken for this study, using sixteen semi-structured interviews with young adults (18-24 years) who are living with HIV in Harare. Participants were conveniently and purposefully sampled as members of Africa, an organization dedicated to young people living with HIV. Interviews were conducted over Zoom due to the COVID-19 pandemic, recorded and then coded using the software NVivo. The data was analyzed using both inductive and deductive Thematic Analysis to find common themes. Results: All of the participants experienced HIV-related self-stigma, and both beliefs and experiences were explored. These negative self-perceptions included beliefs of worthlessness, hopelessness, and negative body image. The young adults described believing they were not good enough to be around HIV negative people or that they could never be loved due to their HIV status. Developing self-stigmatizing thoughts came from internalizing negative cultural values, stereotypes about people living with HIV, and adverse experiences. Three main themes of self-stigmatizing experiences emerged: disclosure difficulties, relationship complications, and being isolated. Fear of telling someone their status, rejection in a relationship, and being excluded by others due to their HIV status contributed to their self-stigma. These experiences caused feelings of loneliness, sadness, shame, fear, and low self-worth. Conclusions: This study explored the beliefs and experiences of HIV-related self-stigma of these young adults. The emergence of negative self-perceptions demonstrated deep-rooted beliefs of HIV-related self-stigma that adversely impact the participants. The negative self-perceptions and self-stigmatizing experiences caused the participants to feel worthless, hopeless, shameful, and alone-negatively impacting their physical and mental health, personal relationships, and sense of self-identity. These results can now be used to pursue interventions to target the specific beliefs and experiences of young adults living with HIV and reduce the adverse consequences of self-stigma.

Keywords: beliefs, HIV, self-stigma, stigma, Zimbabwe

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Authors: Szymon Rutkowski, Tomasz Korbak

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We present a reinforcement-learning-based method of training neural machine translation models without parallel corpora. The standard encoder-decoder approach to machine translation suffers from two problems we aim to address. First, it needs parallel corpora, which are scarce, especially for low-resource languages. Second, it lacks psychological plausibility of learning procedure: learning a foreign language is about learning to communicate useful information, not merely learning to transduce from one language’s 'encoding' to another. We instead pose the problem of learning to translate as learning a policy in a communication game between two agents: the translator and the classifier. The classifier is trained beforehand on a natural language inference task (determining the entailment relation between a premise and a hypothesis) in the target language. The translator produces a sequence of actions that correspond to generating translations of both the hypothesis and premise, which are then passed to the classifier. The translator is rewarded for classifier’s performance on determining entailment between sentences translated by the translator to disciple’s native language. Translator’s performance thus reflects its ability to communicate useful information to the classifier. In effect, we train a machine translation model without the need for parallel corpora altogether. While similar reinforcement learning formulations for zero-shot translation were proposed before, there is a number of improvements we introduce. While prior research aimed at grounding the translation task in the physical world by evaluating agents on an image captioning task, we found that using a linguistic task is more sample-efficient. Natural language inference (also known as recognizing textual entailment) captures semantic properties of sentence pairs that are poorly correlated with semantic similarity, thus enforcing basic understanding of the role played by compositionality. It has been shown that models trained recognizing textual entailment produce high-quality general-purpose sentence embeddings transferrable to other tasks. We use stanford natural language inference (SNLI) dataset as well as its analogous datasets for French (XNLI) and Polish (CDSCorpus). Textual entailment corpora can be obtained relatively easily for any language, which makes our approach more extensible to low-resource languages than traditional approaches based on parallel corpora. We evaluated a number of reinforcement learning algorithms (including policy gradients and actor-critic) to solve the problem of translator’s policy optimization and found that our attempts yield some promising improvements over previous approaches to reinforcement-learning based zero-shot machine translation.

Keywords: agent-based language learning, low-resource translation, natural language inference, neural machine translation, reinforcement learning

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Authors: Feng Wang, Vladislav Vasilyev

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Ferrocene (Fe(C5H5)2, i.e., di-cyclopentadienyle iron (FeCp2) or Fc) is a unique example of ‘wrong but seminal’ in chemistry history. It has significant applications in a number of areas such as homogeneous catalysis, polymer chemistry, molecular sensing, and nonlinear optical materials. However, the ‘molecular carousel’ has been a ‘notoriously difficult example’ and subject to long debate for its conformation and properties. Ferrocene is a dynamic molecule. As a result, understanding of the dynamical properties of ferrocene is very important to understand the conformational properties of Fc. In the present study, molecular dynamic (MD) simulations are performed. In the simulation, we use 5 geometrical parameters to define the overall conformation of Fc and all the rest is a thermal noise. The five parameters are defined as: three parameters d---the distance between two Cp planes, α and δ to define the relative positions of the Cp planes, in which α is the angle of the Cp tilt and δ the angle the two Cp plane rotation like a carousel. Two parameters to position the Fe atom between two Cps, i.e., d1 for Fe-Cp1 and d2 for Fe-Cp2 distances. Our preliminary MD simulation discovered the five parameters behave differently. Distances of Fe to the Cp planes show that they are independent, practically identical without correlation. The relative position of two Cp rings, α, indicates that the two Cp planes are most likely not in a parallel position, rather, they tilt in a small angle α≠ 0°. The mean plane dihedral angle δ ≠ 0°. Moreover, δ is neither 0° nor 36°, indicating under those conditions, Fc is neither in a perfect eclipsed structure nor a perfect staggered structure. The simulations show that when the temperature is above 80K, the conformers are virtually in free rotations, A very interesting result from the MD simulation is the five C-Fe bond distances from the same Cp ring. They are surprisingly not identical but in three groups of 2, 2 and 1. We describe the pentagon formed by five carbon atoms as ‘turtle swimming’ for the motion of the Cp rings of Fc as shown in their dynamical animation video. The Fe- C(1) and Fe-C(2) which are identical as ‘the turtle back legs’, Fe-C(3) and Fe-C(4) which are also identical as turtle front paws’, and Fe-C(5) ---’the turtle head’. Such as ‘turtle swimming’ analog may be able to explain the single substituted derivatives of Fc. Again, the mean Fe-C distance obtained from MD simulation is larger than the quantum mechanically calculated Fe-C distances for eclipsed and staggered Fc, with larger deviation with respect to the eclipsed Fc than the staggered Fc. The same trend is obtained for the five Fe-C-H angles from same Cp ring of Fc. The simulated mean IR spectrum at 7K shows split spectral peaks at approximately 470 cm-1 and 488 cm-1, in excellent agreement with quantum mechanically calculated gas phase IR spectrum for eclipsed Fc. As the temperature increases over 80K, the clearly splitting IR spectrum become a very board single peak. Preliminary MD results will be presented.

Keywords: ferrocene conformation, molecular dynamics simulation, conformer orientation, eclipsed and staggered ferrocene

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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

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Authors: Rashmi Uchil, A. H. Sequeira

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Post-liberalization era in India has seen an unprecedented growth of mergers, both domestic as well as cross-border deals. Indian organizations have slowly begun appreciating this inorganic method of growth. However, all is not well as is evidenced in the lowering value creation of organizations after mergers. Several studies have identified that organizational culture is one of the key factors that affects the success of mergers. But very few studies have been attempted in this realm in India. The current study attempts to identify the factors in the organizational culture variable that may be unique to India. It also focuses on the difference in the impact of organizational culture on merger of organizations in the manufacturing and service sectors in India. The study uses a mixed research approach. An exploratory research approach is adopted to identify the variables that constitute organizational culture specifically in the Indian scenario. A few hypotheses were developed from the identified variables and tested to arrive at the Grounded Theory. The Grounded Theory approach used in the study, attempts to integrate the variables related to organizational culture. Descriptive approach is used to validate the developed grounded theory with a new empirical data set and thus test the relationship between the organizational culture variables and the success of mergers. Empirical data is captured from merged organizations situated in major cities of India. These organizations represent significant proportions of the total number of organizations which have adopted mergers. The mix of industries included software, banking, manufacturing, pharmaceutical and financial services. Mixed sampling approach was adopted for this study. The first phase of sampling was conducted using the probability method of stratified random sampling. The study further used the non-probability method of judgmental sampling. Adequate sample size was identified for the study which represents the top, middle and junior management levels of the organizations that had adopted mergers. Validity and reliability of the research instrument was ensured with appropriate tests. Statistical tools like regression analysis, correlation analysis and factor analysis were used for data analysis. The results of the study revealed a strong relationship between organizational culture and its impact on the success of mergers. The study also revealed that the results were unique to the extent that they highlighted a marked difference in the manner of internalization of change of organizational culture after merger by the organizations in the manufacturing sector. Further, the study reveals that the organizations in the service sector internalized the changes at a slower rate. The study also portrays the industries in the manufacturing sector as more proactive and can contribute to a change in the perception of the said organizations.

Keywords: manufacturing industries, mergers, organizational culture, service industries

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Authors: Zhihui Liu, Dongmei Hao, Qian Qiu, Yang An, Lin Yang, Song Zhang, Yimin Yang, Xuwen Li, Dingchang Zheng

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Premature birth, defined as birth before 37 completed weeks of gestation is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality and has long-term adverse consequences for health. It has recently been reported that the worldwide preterm birth rate is around 10%. The existing measurement techniques for diagnosing preterm delivery include tocodynamometer, ultrasound and fetal fibronectin. However, they are subjective, or suffer from high measurement variability and inaccurate diagnosis and prediction of preterm labor. Electrohysterography (EHG) method based on recording of uterine electrical activity by electrodes attached to maternal abdomen, is a promising method to assess uterine activity and diagnose preterm labor. The purpose of this study is to analyze the difference of EHG signal features between term labor and preterm labor. Free access database was used with 300 signals acquired in two groups of pregnant women who delivered at term (262 cases) and preterm (38 cases). Among them, EHG signals from 38 term labor and 38 preterm labor were preprocessed with band-pass Butterworth filters of 0.08–4Hz. Then, EHG signal features were extracted, which comprised classical time domain description including root mean square and zero-crossing number, spectral parameters including peak frequency, mean frequency and median frequency, wavelet packet coefficients, autoregression (AR) model coefficients, and nonlinear measures including maximal Lyapunov exponent, sample entropy and correlation dimension. Their statistical significance for recognition of two groups of recordings was provided. The results showed that mean frequency of preterm labor was significantly smaller than term labor (p < 0.05). 5 coefficients of AR model showed significant difference between term labor and preterm labor. The maximal Lyapunov exponent of early preterm (time of recording < the 26th week of gestation) was significantly smaller than early term. The sample entropy of late preterm (time of recording > the 26th week of gestation) was significantly smaller than late term. There was no significant difference for other features between the term labor and preterm labor groups. Any future work regarding classification should therefore focus on using multiple techniques, with the mean frequency, AR coefficients, maximal Lyapunov exponent and the sample entropy being among the prime candidates. Even if these methods are not yet useful for clinical practice, they do bring the most promising indicators for the preterm labor.

Keywords: electrohysterogram, feature, preterm labor, term labor

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Authors: Nicola S. Schutte, John M. Malouff

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Introduction: Curiosity is a positive emotion and motivational state that consists of the desire to know. Curiosity consists of several related dimensions, including a desire for exploration, deprivation sensitivity, and stress tolerance. Creativity involves generating novel and valuable ideas or products. How curiosity may prompt greater creativity remains to be investigated. The phenomena of flow may link curiosity and creativity. Flow is characterized by intense concentration and absorption and gives rise to optimal performance. Objective of Study: The objective of the present study was to investigate whether the phenomenon of flow may link curiosity with creativity. Methods and Design: Fifty-seven individuals from Australia (45 women and 12 men, mean age of 35.33, SD=9.4) participated. Participants were asked to design a program encouraging residents in a local community to conserve water and to record the elements of their program in writing. Participants were then asked to rate their experience as they developed and wrote about their program. Participants rated their experience on the Dimensional Curiosity Measure sub-scales assessing the exploration, deprivation sensitivity, and stress tolerance facets of curiosity, and the Flow Short Scale. Reliability of the measures as assessed by Cronbach's alpha was as follows: Exploration Curiosity =.92, Deprivation Sensitivity Curiosity =.66, Stress Tolerance Curiosity =.93, and Flow=.96. Two raters independently coded each participant’s water conservation program description on creativity. The mixed-model intraclass correlation coefficient for the two sets of ratings was .73. The mean of the two ratings produced the final creativity score for each participant. Results: During the experience of designing the program, all three types of curiosity were significantly associated with the flow. Pearson r correlations were as follows: Exploration Curiosity and flow, r =.68 (higher Exploration Curiosity was associated with more flow); Deprivation Sensitivity Curiosity and flow, r =.39 (higher Deprivation Sensitivity Curiosity was associated with more flow); and Stress Tolerance Curiosity and flow, r = .44 (more stress tolerance in relation to novelty and exploration was associated with more flow). Greater experience of flow was significantly associated with greater creativity in designing the water conservation program, r =.39. The associations between dimensions of curiosity and creativity did not reach significance. Even though the direct relationships between dimensions of curiosity and creativity were not significant, indirect relationships through the mediating effect of the experience of flow between dimensions of curiosity and creativity were significant. Mediation analysis using PROCESS showed that flow linked Exploration Curiosity with creativity, standardized beta=.23, 95%CI [.02,.25] for the indirect effect; Deprivation Sensitivity Curiosity with creativity, standardized beta=.14, 95%CI [.04,.29] for the indirect effect; and Stress Tolerance Curiosity with creativity, standardized beta=.13, 95%CI [.02,.27] for the indirect effect. Conclusions: When engaging in an activity, higher levels of curiosity are associated with greater flow. More flow is associated with higher levels of creativity. Programs intended to increase flow or creativity might build on these findings and also explore causal relationships.

Keywords: creativity, curiosity, flow, motivation

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Authors: Juan Li, Hui Tian, Min Wang

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In China, under the considerable pressure of 'Gaokao' –the highly competitive college entrance examination, high school teachers and parents often worry that doing physical activity would take away the students’ precious study time and may have a negative impact on the academic grades. There was a tendency to achieve high academic scores at the cost of physical exercise. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the physical fitness and academic achievement of Chinese high school students. The participants were 968 grade one (N=457) and grade two students (N=511) with an average age of 16 years from three high schools of different levels in Beijing, China. 479 were boys, and 489 were girls. One of the schools is a top high school in China, another is a key high school in Beijing, and the other is an ordinary high school. All analyses were weighted using SAS 9.4 to ensure the representatives of the sample. The weights were based on 12 strata of schools, sex, and grades. Physical fitness data were collected using the scores of the National Physical Fitness Test, which is an annual official test administered by the Ministry of Education in China. It includes 50m run, sits and reach test, standing long jump, 1000m run (for boys), 800m run (for girls), pull-ups for 1 minute (for boys), and bent-knee sit-ups for 1 minute (for girls). The test is an overall evaluation of the students’ physical health on the major indexes of strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory function. Academic scores were obtained from the three schools with the students’ consent. The statistical analysis was conducted with SPSS 24. Independent-Samples T-test was used to examine the gender group differences. Spearman’s Rho bivariate correlation was adopted to test for associations between physical test results and academic performance. Statistical significance was set at p<.05. The study found that girls obtained higher fitness scores than boys (p=.000). The girls’ physical fitness test scores were positively associated with the total academic grades (rs=.103, p=.029), English (rs=.096, p=.042), physics (rs=.202, p=.000) and chemistry scores (rs=.131, p=.009). No significant relationship was observed in boys. Cardiorespiratory fitness had a positive association with physics (rs=.196, p=.000) and biology scores (rs=.168, p=.023) in girls, and with English score in boys (rs=.104, p=.029). A possible explanation for the greater association between physical fitness and academic achievement in girls rather than boys was that girls showed stronger motivation in achieving high scores in whether academic tests or fitness tests. More driven by the test results, girls probably tended to invest more time and energy in training for the fitness test. Higher fitness levels were associated with an academic benefit among girls generally in Chinese high schools. Therefore, physical fitness needs to be given greater emphasis among Chinese adolescents and gender differences need to be taken into consideration.

Keywords: physical fitness; adolescents; academic achievement; high school

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Authors: I. Tiahi

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The aim of the current paper is to explore educational practices in contemporary Algeria. Researches explain such practices bear traditional approach and the overlooks modern teaching methods such as mobile learning. That is why the research output of examining student engagement in respect of mobile learning was obtained from the following objectives: (1) To evaluate the current practice of English language teaching within Algerian higher education institutions, (2) To explore how social constructivism theory and m-learning help students’ engagement in the classroom and (3) To explore the feasibility and acceptability of m-learning amongst institutional leaders. The methodology underpins a case study and action research. For the case study, the researcher engaged with 6 teachers, 4 institutional leaders, and 30 students subjected for semi-structured interviews and classroom observations to explore the current teaching methods for English as a foreign language. For the action research, the researcher applied an intervention course to investigate the possibility and implications for future implementation of mobile learning in higher education institutions. The results were deployed using thematic analysis. The research outcome showed that the disengagement of students in English language learning has many aspects. As seen from the interviews from the teachers, the researcher found that they do not have enough resources except for using ppt for some teacher. According to them, the teaching method they are using is mostly communicative and competency-based approach. Teachers informed that students are disengaged because they have psychological barriers. In classroom setting, the students are conscious about social approval from the peer, and thus if they are to face negative reinforcement which would damage their image, it is seen as a preventive mechanism to be scared of committing mistakes. This was also very reflective in this finding. A lot of other arguments can be given for this claim; however, in Algerian setting, it is usual practice where teachers do not provide positive reinforcement which is open up students for possible learning. Thus, in order to overcome such a psychological barrier, proper measures can be taken. On a conclusive remark, it is evident that teachers, students, and institutional leaders provided positive feedback for using mobile learning. It is not only motivating but also engaging in learning processes. Apps such as Kahoot, Padlet and Slido were well received and thus can be taken further to examine its higher impact in Algerian context. Thus, in the future, it will be important to implement m-learning effectively in higher education to transform the current traditional practices into modern, innovative and active learning. Persuasion for this change for stakeholder may be challenging; however, its long-term benefits can be reflective from the current research paper.

Keywords: Algerian context, mobile learning, social constructivism, student engagement

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Authors: Diamant Irene, Dar Tamar

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Burnout, conceptualized within the framework of stress research, is to a large extent a result of a threat on resources of time or a feeling of time shortage. In reaction to numerous tasks, deadlines, high output, management of different duties encompassing work-home conflicts, many individuals experience ‘time pressure’. Time pressure is characterized as the perception of a lack of available time in relation to the amount of workload. It can be a result of local objective constraints, but it can also be a chronic attribute in coping with life. As such, time pressure is associated in the literature with general stress experience and can therefore be a direct, contributory burnout factor. The present study examines the relation of chronic time pressure – feeling of time shortage and of being rushed, with another central aspect in subjective temporal experience - time perspective. Time perspective is a stable personal disposition, capturing the extent to which people subjectively remember the past, live the present and\or anticipate the future. Based on Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources Theory, it was hypothesized that individuals with chronic time pressure would experience a permanent threat on their time resources resulting in relatively increased burnout. In addition, it was hypothesized that different time perspective profiles, based on Zimbardo’s typology of five dimensions – Past Positive, Past Negative, Present Hedonistic, Present Fatalistic, and Future, would be related to different magnitudes of chronic time pressure and of burnout. We expected that individuals with ‘Past Negative’ or ‘Present Fatalist’ time perspectives would experience more burnout, with chronic time pressure being a moderator variable. Conversely, individuals with a ‘Present Hedonistic’ - with little concern with the future consequences of actions, would experience less chronic time pressure and less burnout. Another temporal experience angle examined in this study is the difference between the actual distribution of time (as in a typical day) versus desired distribution of time (such as would have been distributed optimally during a day). It was hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between the gap between these time distributions and chronic time pressure and burnout. Data was collected through an online self-reporting survey distributed on social networks, with 240 participants (aged 21-65) recruited through convenience and snowball sampling methods from various organizational sectors. The results of the present study support the hypotheses and constitute a basis for future debate regarding the elements of burnout in the modern work environment, with an emphasis on subjective temporal experience. Our findings point to the importance of chronic and stable temporal experiences, as time pressure and time perspective, in occupational experience. The findings are also discussed with a view to the development of practical methods of burnout prevention.

Keywords: conservation of resources, burnout, time pressure, time perspective

Procedia PDF Downloads 171

Authors: Matthew Cardeiro, Amalia D. Ardeljan, Lexi Frankel, Dianela Prado Escobar, Catalina Molnar, Omar M. Rashid

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Introduction: Enterococci comprise the natural flora of nearly all animals and are ubiquitous in food manufacturing and probiotics. However, its role in the microbiome remains controversial. The gut microbiome has shown to play an important role in immunology and cancer. Further, recent data has suggested a relationship between gut microbiota and breast cancer. These studies have shown that the gut microbiome of patients with breast cancer differs from that of healthy patients. Research regarding enterococcus infection and its sequala is limited, and further research is needed in order to understand the relationship between infection and cancer. Enterococcus may prevent the development of breast cancer (BC) through complex immunologic and microbiotic adaptations following an enterococcus infection. This study investigated the effect of enterococcus infection and the incidence of BC. Methods: A retrospective study (January 2010- December 2019) was provided by a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant national database and conducted using a Humans Health Insurance Database. International Classification of Disease (ICD) 9th and 10th codes, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), and National Drug Codes were used to identify BC diagnosis and enterococcus infection. Patients were matched for age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), antibiotic treatment, and region of residence. Chi-squared, logistic regression, and odds ratio were implemented to assess the significance and estimate relative risk. Results: 671 out of 28,518 (2.35%) patients with a prior enterococcus infection and 1,459 out of 28,518 (5.12%) patients without enterococcus infection subsequently developed BC, and the difference was statistically significant (p<2.2x10⁻¹⁶). Logistic regression also indicated enterococcus infection was associated with a decreased incidence of BC (RR=0.60, 95% CI [0.57, 0.63]). Treatment for enterococcus infection was analyzed and controlled for in both enterococcus infected and noninfected populations. 398 out of 11,523 (3.34%) patients with a prior enterococcus infection and treated with antibiotics were compared to 624 out of 11,523 (5.41%) patients with no history of enterococcus infection (control) and received antibiotic treatment. Both populations subsequently developed BC. Results remained statistically significant (p<2.2x10-16) with a relative risk of 0.57 (95% CI [0.54, 0.60]). Conclusion & Discussion: This study shows a statistically significant correlation between enterococcus infection and a decrease incidence of breast cancer. Further exploration is needed to identify and understand not only the role of enterococcus in the microbiome but also the protective mechanism(s) and impact enterococcus infection may have on breast cancer development. Ultimately, further research is needed in order to understand the complex and intricate relationship between the microbiome, immunology, bacterial infections, and carcinogenesis.

Keywords: breast cancer, enterococcus, immunology, infection, microbiome

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Authors: T. Thein, S. Kalyar Myo

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Human uses visual information for understanding the speech contents in noisy conditions or in situations where the audio signal is not available. The primary advantage of visual information is that it is not affected by the acoustic noise and cross talk among speakers. Using visual information from the lip movements can improve the accuracy and robustness of automatic speech recognition. However, a major challenge with most automatic lip reading system is to find a robust and efficient method for extracting the linguistically relevant speech information from a lip image sequence. This is a difficult task due to variation caused by different speakers, illumination, camera setting and the inherent low luminance and chrominance contrast between lip and non-lip region. Several researchers have been developing methods to overcome these problems; the one is lip reading. Moreover, it is well known that visual information about speech through lip reading is very useful for human speech recognition system. Lip reading is the technique of a comprehensive understanding of underlying speech by processing on the movement of lips. Therefore, lip reading system is one of the different supportive technologies for hearing impaired or elderly people, and it is an active research area. The need for lip reading system is ever increasing for every language. This research aims to develop a visual teaching method system for the hearing impaired persons in Myanmar, how to pronounce words precisely by identifying the features of lip movement. The proposed research will work a lip reading system for Myanmar Consonants, one syllable consonants (င (Nga)၊ ည (Nya)၊ မ (Ma)၊ လ (La)၊ ၀ (Wa)၊ သ (Tha)၊ ဟ (Ha)၊ အ (Ah) ) and two syllable consonants ( က(Ka Gyi)၊ ခ (Kha Gway)၊ ဂ (Ga Nge)၊ ဃ (Ga Gyi)၊ စ (Sa Lone)၊ ဆ (Sa Lain)၊ ဇ (Za Gwe) ၊ ဒ (Da Dway)၊ ဏ (Na Gyi)၊ န (Na Nge)၊ ပ (Pa Saug)၊ ဘ (Ba Gone)၊ ရ (Ya Gaug)၊ ဠ (La Gyi) ). In the proposed system, there are three subsystems, the first one is the lip localization system, which localizes the lips in the digital inputs. The next one is the feature extraction system, which extracts features of lip movement suitable for visual speech recognition. And the final one is the classification system. In the proposed research, Two Dimensional Discrete Cosine Transform (2D-DCT) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) with Active Contour Model (ACM) will be used for lip movement features extraction. Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier is used for finding class parameter and class number in training set and testing set. Then, experiments will be carried out for the recognition accuracy of Myanmar consonants using the only visual information on lip movements which are useful for visual speech of Myanmar languages. The result will show the effectiveness of the lip movement recognition for Myanmar Consonants. This system will help the hearing impaired persons to use as the language learning application. This system can also be useful for normal hearing persons in noisy environments or conditions where they can find out what was said by other people without hearing voice.

Keywords: feature extraction, lip reading, lip localization, Active Contour Model (ACM), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Two Dimensional Discrete Cosine Transform (2D-DCT)

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Authors: Jayshree P. Zend, Ashatai B. Pawar

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The study was carried out in Parbhani district of Maharashtra state, India with the objectives to study environmental problems faced by flour mill workers, prevalence of work-related health hazards and the physiological cost of workers while performing work in flour mill in traditional method as well as improved method. The use of flour presser, dust controlling bag and noise and dust controlling mask developed by AICRP College of Home Science, VNMKV, Parbhani was considered as an improved method. This investigation consisted survey and experiment which was conducted in the respective locations of flour mills. Healthy, non-smoking 30 flour mill workers ranged between the age group of 20-50 yrs comprising 16 female and 14 male working at flour mill for 4-8 hrs/ day and 6 days/ week and had minimum five years experience of work in flour mill were selected for the study. Pulmonary function test of flour mill workers was carried out by trained technician at Dr. ShankarraoChavan Government Medical College, Nanded by using Electronic Spirometer. The data regarding heart rate (resting, working and recovery), energy expenditure, musculoskeletal problems and occupational health hazards and accidents were recorded by using pretested questionnaire. Scientific equipment used in the experiment were polar sport test heart rate monitor, Hygrometer, Goniometer, Dialed Thermometer, Sound Level Meter, Lux Meter, Ambient Air Sampler and Air Quality Monitor. The collected data were subjected to appropriate statistical analysis such as 't' test and correlation coefficient test. Results indicated that improved method i.e. use of noise and dust controlling mask, flour presser and dust controlling bag were effective in reducing physiological cost of work of flour mill workers. Lung function test of flour mill workers showed decreased values of all parameters, hence the results of present study support paying attention to use of personal protective noise and dust controlling mask by flour mill workers and also to the working conditions in flour mill especially ventilation and illumination level needs to be enhanced in flour mill. The study also emphasizes the need to develop some mechanism for lifting load of grains and unloading in the hopper. It is also suggested that the flour mill workers should use flour presser suitable to their height to avoid frequent bending and should use dust controlling bag to flour outlet of machine to reduce inhalable flour dust level in the flour mill.

Keywords: physiological cost, energy expenditure, musculoskeletal problems

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Authors: Emily Warren

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Despite the growing body of research on Japanese food history, little has been written about the attitudes and perspectives premodern Japanese people held about their food, even on special celebratory days. In fact, the overall image that arises from the literature is one of ambivalence: that the medieval nobility of the Heian and Kamakura periods (795-1333) did not much care about what they ate and for that reason, food seems relatively scarce in certain historical records. This study challenges this perspective by analyzing the manuals written to guide palace management and feast preparation for royals, introducing two of the sources into English for the first time. This research is primarily based on three manuals that address different aspects of royal food culture and preparation. The Chujiruiki, or Record of the Palace Kitchens (1295), is a fragmentary manual written by a bureaucrat in charge of the main palace kitchen office. This document collection details the utensils, furnishing, and courses that officials organized for the royals’ two daily meals in the morning (asagarei gozen) and in the afternoon (hiru gozen) when they enjoyed seven courses, each one carefully cooked and plated. The orchestration of daily meals and frequent banquets would have been complicated affairs for those preparing the tableware and food, thus requiring texts like the Chûjiruiki, as well as another manual, the Nicchûgyôji (11th c.), or The Daily Functions. Because of the complex coordination between various kitchen-related bureaucratic offices, kitchen officials endeavored to standardize the menus and place settings depending on the time of year, religious abstinence days, and available ingredients flowing into the capital as taxes. For the most important annual banquets and rites celebrating deities and the royal family, kitchen officials would likely refer to the Engi Shiki (927), or Protocols of the Engi Era, for details on offerings, servant payments, and menus. This study proposes that many of the great feast events, and indeed even daily meals at the palace, were so standardized and carefully planned for repetition that there would have been little need for the contents of such feasts to be detailed in diaries or novels—places where historians have noted a lack of the mention of food descriptions. These descriptions were not included for lack of interest on the part of the nobility, but rather because knowledge of what would be served at banquets and feasts would be considered a matter-of-course in the same way that a modern American would likely not need to state the menu of a traditional Thanksgiving meal to an American audience. Where food was concerned, novelty more so than tradition prompted a response in personal records, like diaries.

Keywords: banquets, bureaucracy, Engi shiki, Japanese food

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Authors: Ramoshweu Melvin Sethobya, Emmanuel Chirenje, Mihlali Hobo, Simon Sebothoma

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The recent surge in residential infrastructure development around the metropolitan areas of South Africa has necessitated conditions for thorough geotechnical assessments to be conducted prior to site developments to ensure human and infrastructure safety. This paper appraises the success in the application of multi-method geophysical techniques for the delineation of sinkhole vulnerability in a residential landscape. Geophysical techniques ERT, MASW, VES, Magnetics and gravity surveys were conducted to assist in mapping sinkhole vulnerability, using an existing sinkhole as a constraint at Venterspost town, West of Johannesburg city. A combination of different geophysical techniques and results integration from those proved to be useful in the delineation of the lithologic succession around sinkhole locality, and determining the geotechnical characteristics of each layer for its contribution to the development of sinkholes, subsidence and cavities at the vicinity of the site. Study results have also assisted in the determination of the possible depth extension of the currently existing sinkhole and the location of sites where other similar karstic features and sinkholes could form. Results of the ERT, VES and MASW surveys have uncovered dolomitic bedrock at varying depths around the sites, which exhibits high resistivity values in the range 2500-8000ohm.m and corresponding high velocities in the range 1000-2400 m/s. The dolomite layer was found to be overlain by a weathered chert-poor dolomite layer, which has resistivities between the range 250-2400ohm.m, and velocities ranging from 500-600m/s, from which the large sinkhole has been found to collapse/ cave in. A compiled 2.5D high resolution Shear Wave Velocity (Vs) map of the study area was created using 2D profiles of MASW data, offering insights into the prevailing lithological setup conducive for formation various types of karstic features around the site. 3D magnetic models of the site highlighted the regions of possible subsurface interconnections between the currently existing large sinkhole and the other subsidence feature at the site. A number of depth slices were used to detail the conditions near the sinkhole as depth increases. Gravity surveys results mapped the possible formational pathways for development of new karstic features around the site. Combination and correlation of different geophysical techniques proved useful in delineation of the site geotechnical characteristics and mapping the possible depth extend of the currently existing sinkhole.

Keywords: resistivity, magnetics, sinkhole, gravity, karst, delineation, VES

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Authors: D. Supaporn, B. Julaluk

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The purposes of this study were to study symptom cluster, functional status and quality of life of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and to examine factors related to and predicting symptom cluster, functional status and quality of life of COPD patients. The sample was 180 COPD patients multi-stage random sampling from 4 hospitals in the eastern region, Thailand. The research instruments were 8 questionnaires and recorded forms measuring personal and illness data, co-morbidity, physical and psychological symptom, health status perception, social support, and regimen adherence, functional status and quality of life. Spearman rank and Pearson correlation coefficient, exploratory factors analysis and standard multiple regression were used to analyzed data. The findings revealed that two symptom clusters were generated: physical symptom cluster including dyspnea, fatigue and insomnia; and, psychological symptom cluster including anxiety and depression. Scores of physical symptom cluster was at moderate level while that of psychological symptom cluster was at low level. Scores on functional status, social support and overall regimen adherence were at good level whereas scores on quality of life and health status perception were at moderate level. Disease severity was positively related to physical symptom cluster, psychological symptom cluster and quality of life, and was negatively related to functional status at a moderate level (rs = .512, .509, .588 and -.611, respectively). Co-morbidity was positively related to physical symptom cluster and psychological symptom cluster at a low level (r = .179 and .176, respectively). Regimen adherence was negatively related to quality of life and psychological symptom cluster at a low level (r=-.277 and -.309, respectively), and was positively related to functional status at a moderate level (r=.331). Health status perception was negatively related to physical symptom cluster, psychological symptom cluster and quality of life at a moderate to high level (r = -.567, -.640 and -.721, respectively) and was positively related to functional status at a high level (r = .732). Social support was positively related to functional status (r=.235) and was negatively related to quality of life at a low level (r=-.178). Physical symptom cluster was negatively related to functional status (r= -.490) and was positively related to quality of life at a moderate level (r=.566). Psychological symptom cluster was negatively related to functional status and was positively related to quality of life at a moderate level (r= -.566 and .559, respectively). Disease severity, co-morbidity and health status perception could predict 40.2% of the variance of physical symptom cluster. Disease severity, co-morbidity, regimen adherence and health status perception could predict 49.8% of the variance of psychological symptom cluster. Co-morbidity, regimen adherence and health status perception could predict 65.0% of the variance of functional status. Disease severity, health status perception and physical symptom cluster could predict 60.0% of the variance of quality of life in COPD patients. The results of this study can be used for enhancing quality of life of COPD patients.

Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, functional status, quality of life, symptom cluster

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Authors: Heribert R. Kaijage, Samuel N. A. Codjoe, Simon H. D. Mamuya, Mangi J. Ezekiel

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There is strong evidence that climate has changed significantly affecting various sectors including public health. The recommended feasible solution is adopting development trajectories which combine both mitigation and adaptation measures for improving resilience pathways. This approach demands a consideration for complex interactions between climate and social-ecological systems. While other sectors such as agriculture and water have developed climate resilience indices, the public health sector in Tanzania is still lagging behind. The aim of this study was to find out how can we use Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) linked with Remote Sensing (RS) technology and metrological information as tools to inform climate change resilient development and evaluation for the health sector. Methodological review was conducted whereby a number of studies were content analyzed to find appropriate indicators and indices for climate resilience household and their integration approach. These indicators were critically reviewed, listed, filtered and their sources determined. Preliminary identification and ranking of indicators were conducted using participatory approach of pairwise weighting by selected national stakeholders from meeting/conferences on human health and climate change sciences in Tanzania. DHS datasets were retrieved from Measure Evaluation project, processed and critically analyzed for possible climate change indicators. Other sources for indicators of climate change exposure were also identified. For the purpose of preliminary reporting, operationalization of selected indicators was discussed to produce methodological approach to be used in resilience comparative analysis study. It was found that household climate resilient index depends on the combination of three indices namely Household Adaptive and Mitigation Capacity (HC), Household Health Sensitivity (HHS) and Household Exposure Status (HES). It was also found that, DHS alone cannot complement resilient evaluation unless integrated with other data sources notably flooding data as a measure of vulnerability, remote sensing image of Normalized Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Metrological data (deviation from rainfall pattern). It can be concluded that if these indices retrieved from DHS data sets are computed and scientifically integrated can produce single climate resilience index and resilience maps could be generated at different spatial and time scales to enhance targeted interventions for climate resilient development and evaluations. However, further studies are need to test for the sensitivity of index in resilience comparative analysis among selected regions.

Keywords: climate change, resilience, remote sensing, demographic and health surveys

Procedia PDF Downloads 162

Authors: Hanieh Sakha, Nader Nader, Haleh Farzin

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Introduction: Throughout history, pain theories have been supposed by biomedicine, especially regarding its diagnosis and treatment aspects. Therefore, the feeling of pain is not only a personal experience and is affected by social background; therefore, it involves extensive systems of signals. The challenges in emotional and sentimental dimensions of pain originate from scientific medicine (i.e., the dominant theory is also referred to as the specificity theory); however, this theory has accepted some alterations by emerging physiology. Then, Von Frey suggested the theory of cutaneous senses (i.e., Muller’s concept: the common sensation of combined four major skin receptors leading to a proper sensation) 50 years after the specificity theory. The pain pathway was composed of spinothalamic tracts and thalamus with an inhibitory effect on the cortex. Pain is referred to as a series of unique experiences with various reasons and qualities. Despite the gate control theory, the biological aspect overcomes the social aspect. Vrancken provided a more extensive definition of pain and found five approaches: Somatico-technical, dualistic body-oriented, behaviorist, phenomenological, and consciousness approaches. The Western model combined physical, emotional, and existential aspects of the human body. On the other hand, Kotarba felt confused about the basic origins of chronic pain. Freund demonstrated and argued with Durkhemian about the sociological approach to emotions. Lynch provided a piece of evidence about the correlation between cardiovascular disease and emotionally life-threatening occurrences. Helman supposed a distinction between private and public pain. Conclusion: The consideration of the emotional aspect of pain could lead to effective, emotional, and social responses to pain. On the contrary, the theory of embodiment is based on the sociological view of health and illness. Social epidemiology shows an imbalanced distribution of health, illness, and disability among various social groups. The social support and socio-cultural level can result in several types of pain. It means the status of athletes might define their pain experiences. Gender is one of the important contributing factors affecting the type of pain (i.e., females are more likely to seek health services for pain relief.) Chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) has become a serious public health issue affecting more than 70 million people globally. CNCP is a serious public health issue which is caused by the lack of awareness about chronic pain management among the general population.

Keywords: pain, sociology, sociological, body

Procedia PDF Downloads 65

Authors: E. V. Fakhrutdinova, K. R. Maksimova, P. B. Chursin

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At the present stage of the society progress the health care is an integral part of both the economic system and social, while in the second case the medicine is a major component of a number of basic and necessary social programs. Since the foundation of the health system are highly qualified health professionals, it is logical proposition that increase of doctor`s professionalism improves the effectiveness of the system as a whole. Professionalism of the doctor is a collection of many components, essential role played by such personal-psychological factors as honesty, willingness and desire to help people, and motivation. A number of researchers consider motivation as an expression of basic human needs that have passed through the “filter” which is a worldview and values learned in the process of socialization by the individual, to commit certain actions designed to achieve the expected result. From this point of view a number of researchers propose the following classification of highly skilled employee’s needs: 1. the need for confirmation the competence (setting goals that meet the professionalism and receipt of positive emotions in their decision), 2. The need for independence (the ability to make their own choices in contentious situations arising in the process carry out specialist functions), 3. The need for ownership (in the case of health care workers, to the profession and accordingly, high in the eyes of the public status of the doctor). Nevertheless, it is important to understand that in a market economy a significant motivator for physicians (both legal and natural persons) is to maximize its own profits. In the case of health professionals duality motivational structure creates an additional contrast, as in the public mind the image of the ideal physician; usually a altruistically minded person thinking is not primarily about their own benefit, and to assist others. In this context, the question of the real motivation of health workers deserves special attention. The survey conducted by the American researcher Harrison Terni for the magazine "Med Tech" in 2010 revealed the opinion of more than 200 medical students starting courses, and the primary motivation in a profession choice is "desire to help people", only 15% said that they want become a doctor, "to earn a lot". From the point of view of most of the classical theories of motivation this trend can be called positive, as intangible incentives are more effective. However, it is likely that over time the opinion of the respondents may change in the direction of mercantile motives. Thus, it is logical to assume that well-designed system of motivation of doctor`s labor should be based on motivational foundations laid during training in higher education.

Keywords: motivation, quality of working life, health system, personal-psychological factors, motivational structure

Procedia PDF Downloads 354