Search results for: integrated care delivery

Authors: Paul Lam, Kevin Wong, Chi Him Chan

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Constant practicing and accurate, immediate feedback are the keys to improving students’ speaking skills. However, traditional oral examination often fails to provide such opportunities to students. The traditional, face-to-face oral assessment is often time consuming – attending the oral needs of one student often leads to the negligence of others. Hence, teachers can only provide limited opportunities and feedback to students. Moreover, students’ incentive to practice is also reduced by their anxiety and shyness in speaking the new language. A mobile app was developed to use artificial intelligence (AI) to provide immediate feedback to students’ speaking performance as an attempt to solve the above-mentioned problems. Firstly, it was thought that online exercises would greatly increase the learning opportunities of students as they can now practice more without the needs of teachers’ presence. Secondly, the automatic feedback provided by the AI would enhance students’ motivation to practice as there is an instant evaluation of their performance. Lastly, students should feel less anxious and shy compared to directly practicing oral in front of teachers. Technically, the program made use of speech-to-text functions to generate feedback to students. To be specific, the software analyzes students’ oral input through certain speech-to-text AI engine and then cleans up the results further to the point that can be compared with the targeted text. The mobile app has invited English teachers for the pilot use and asked for their feedback. Preliminary trials indicated that the approach has limitations. Many of the users’ pronunciation were automatically corrected by the speech recognition function as wise guessing is already integrated into many of such systems. Nevertheless, teachers have confidence that the app can be further improved for accuracy. It has the potential to significantly improve oral drilling by giving students more chances to practice. Moreover, they believe that the success of this mobile app confirms the potential to extend the AI-assisted assessment to other language skills, such as writing, reading, and listening.

Keywords: artificial Intelligence, mobile learning, oral assessment, oral practice, speech-to-text function

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Authors: Amir Shahab Shahabi, Mohsen Hasirian

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Modern societies, marked by expansive Internet connectivity and the rise of e-commerce, are now integrated with digital platforms at an unprecedented level. The efficiency, speed, and accessibility of e-commerce have garnered a substantial consumer base. Against this backdrop, electronic banking has undergone rapid proliferation within the realm of online activities. However, this growth has inadvertently given rise to an environment conducive to illicit activities, notably electronic payment fraud, posing a formidable challenge to the domain of electronic banking. A pivotal role in upholding the integrity of electronic commerce and business transactions is played by electronic fraud detection, particularly in the context of credit cards which underscores the imperative of comprehensive research in this field. To this end, our study introduces an Attentional Bi-Stream Sequence Learner (AttBiSeL) framework that leverages attention mechanisms and recurrent networks. By incorporating bidirectional recurrent layers, specifically bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) layers, the proposed model adeptly extracts past and future transaction sequences while accounting for the temporal flow of information in both directions. Moreover, the integration of an attention mechanism accentuates specific transactions to varying degrees, as manifested in the output of the recurrent networks. The effectiveness of the proposed approach in automatic credit card fraud classification is evaluated on the European Cardholders' Fraud Dataset. Empirical results validate that the hybrid architectural paradigm presented in this study yields enhanced accuracy compared to previous studies.

Keywords: credit card fraud, deep learning, attention mechanism, recurrent neural networks

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Authors: Guolong Zhong, Venkatesh Chennam Vijay, Ilias Oraifige

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In the last 20 years, Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE) has shown its advantages in product development in different engineering areas such as automation, mechanical, civil and aerospace engineering in terms of digital design automation and cost reduction by automating repetitive design tasks through capturing, integrating, utilising and reusing the existing knowledge required in various aspects of the product design. However, in primary design stages, the descriptive information of a product is discrete and unorganized while knowledge is in various forms instead of pure data. Thus, it is crucial to have an integrated product model which can represent the entire product information and its associated knowledge at the beginning of the product design. One of the shortcomings of the existing product models is a lack of required knowledge representation in various aspects of product design and its mapping to an interoperable schema. To overcome the limitation of the existing product model and methodologies, two key factors are considered. First, the product model must have well-defined classes that can represent the entire product information and its associated knowledge. Second, the product model needs to be represented in an interoperable schema to ensure a steady data exchange between different product modelling platforms and CAD software. This paper introduced a method to provide a general product model as a generative representation of a product, which consists of the geometry information and non-geometry information, through a product modelling framework. The proposed method for capturing the knowledge from the designers through a knowledge file provides a simple and efficient way of collecting and transferring knowledge. Further, the knowledge schema provides a clear view and format on the data that needed to be gathered in order to achieve a unified knowledge exchange between different platforms. This study used a game-based platform to make product modelling environment accessible for non-engineers. Further the paper goes on to test use case based on the proposed game-based product modelling environment to validate the effectiveness among non-engineers.

Keywords: game-based learning, knowledge based engineering, product modelling, design automation

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Authors: Wenyang Wan

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The study of urban land use and landscape pattern is the current hotspot in the fields of planning and design, ecology, etc., which is of great significance for the construction of the overall humanistic ecosystem of the city and optimization of the urban spatial structure. Banan District, as the main part of the eastern eco-city planning of Chongqing Municipality, is a high ground for highlighting the ecological characteristics of Chongqing, realizing effective transformation of ecological value, and promoting the integrated development of urban and rural areas. The analytical methods of land use transfer matrix (GIS) and landscape pattern index (Fragstats) were used to study the characteristics and laws of the evolution of land use landscape pattern in Banan District from 2000 to 2020, which provide some reference value for Banan District to alleviate the ecological contradiction of landscape. The results of the study show that ① Banan District is rich in land use types, of which the area of cultivated land will still account for 57.15% of the total area of the landscape until 2020, accounting for an absolute advantage in land use structure of Banan District; ② From 2000 to 2020, land use conversion in Banan District is characterized as Cropland > woodland > grassland > shrubland > built-up land > water bodies > wetlands, with cropland converted to built-up land being the largest; ③ From 2000 to 2020, the landscape elements of Banan District were distributed in a balanced way, and the landscape types were rich and diversified, but due to the influence of human interference, it also presented the characteristics that the shape of the landscape elements tended to be irregular, and the dominant patches were distributed in a scattered manner, and the patches had poor connectivity. It is recommended that in future regional ecological construction, the layout should be rationally optimized, the relationship between landscape components should be coordinated, the connectivity between landscape patches should be strengthened, and the degree of landscape fragmentation should be reduced.

Keywords: land use transfer, landscape pattern evolution, GIS and Fragstats, Banan district

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Authors: Dassou Nagassou

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Recent increase in frequency and severity of climatic impacts throughout the world has put a particular emphasis on the urgency to address the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The latter, mainly composed of carbon dioxide are responsible for the global warming of planet earth. Despite efforts to transition towards a zero-emission economy, manufacturing industries, electricity generation power plants, and transportation sectors continue to encounter challenges which hinder their progress towards a full decarbonization. The growing energy demand from both developed and under-developed economies exacerbates the situation and as a result, more carbon dioxide is discharged into the atmosphere. This situation imposes a lot of constraints on industries which are involved i.e., manufacturing industries, transportation, and electricity generation which must navigate the stringent environmental regulations in order to remain profitable. Existing solutions such as energy efficiencies, green materials (life cycle analysis), and many more have fallen short to address the problem due to their inadaptation to existing infrastructures, low efficiencies, and prohibitive costs. The proposed technology exploits the synergistic interaction between solar radiation and plasma to boost a direct decomposition of the molecules of carbon dioxide while producing alternative fuels which can be used to sustain on-site high-temperature processes via 100% solar energy harvesting in the form of photons and electricity. The advantages of this technology and its ability to be easily integrated into existing systems make it appealing for the industry which can now afford to fast track on the path towards full decarbonization, thanks to the solar plasma reactor. Despite the promising experimental results which proved the viability of this concept, solar-plasma reactors require further investigations to understand the synergistic interactions between plasma and solar radiation for a potential technology scale-up.

Keywords: solar, non-equilibrium, plasma, reactor, greenhouse-gases, solar-fuels

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Authors: Sophia Ming Lee Wen, Chao-Ching Kuo, Yu-Line Hu, Yu-Lung Ho, Chih-Cheng Huang, Yi-Hwa Lee

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Teaching and learning should involve social issues by which effectiveness and humanity is due consideration as a guideline for sharing and co-creating knowledge. A qualitative method was used after a pioneer study to confirm pre-service teachers’ awareness of open knowledge. There are 17 in-service teacher candidates sampling from 181 schools in Taiwan. Two questions are to resolve: a) How did teachers change their educational ideas, in particular, their attitudes to meet the needs of knowledge sharing and co-creativity; and b) How did they acknowledge the necessity of working out an appropriate way between the educational efficiency and the nature of education for high performance management. This interview investigated teachers’ attitude of sharing and co-creating knowledge. The results show two facts in Taiwan: A) Individuals who must be able to express themselves will be capable of taking part in an open learning environment; and B) Teachers must lead the direction to inspire high performance and improve students’ capacity via knowledge sharing and co-creating knowledge, according to the student-centered philosophy. Collected data from interviewing showed that the teachers were well aware of changing their teaching methods and make some improvements to balance the educational efficiency and the nature of education. Almost all teachers acknowledge that ICT is helpful to motivate learning enthusiasm. Further, teaching integrated with ICT saves teachers’ time and energy on teaching preparation and promoting effectiveness. Teachers are willing to co-create knowledge with students, though using information is not easy due to the lack of operating skills of the website and ICT. Some teachers are against to co-create knowledge in the informational background since they hold that is not feasible for there being a knowledge gap between teachers and students. Technology would easily mislead teachers and students to the goal of instrumental rationality, which makes pedagogy dysfunctional and inhumane; however, any high quality of teaching should take a dialectical balance between effectiveness and humanity.

Keywords: critical thinking, dialectic between effectiveness and humanity, open knowledge, pedagogy

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Authors: E. N. Masri, E. Takács

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Amplitude Versus Offset (AVO) and simultaneous model-based impedance inversion techniques have not been utilized for geothermal exploration commonly; however, some recent publications called the attention that they can be very useful in the geothermal investigations. In this study, we present rock physical attributes obtained from 3D pre-stack seismic data and well logs collected in a study area of the NW part of Pannonian Basin where the geothermal reservoir is located in the fractured zones of Triassic basement and it was hit by three productive-injection well pairs. The holes were planned very successfully based on the conventional 3D migrated stack volume prior to this study. Subsequently, the available geophysical-geological datasets provided a great opportunity to test modern inversion procedures in the same area. In this presentation, we provide a summary of the theory and application of the most promising seismic inversion techniques from the viewpoint of geothermal exploration. We demonstrate P- and S-wave impedance, as well as the velocity (Vp and Vs), the density, and the Vp/Vs ratio attribute volumes calculated from the seismic and well-logging data sets. After a detailed discussion, we conclude that P-wave impedance and Vp/Vp ratio are the most helpful parameters for lithology discrimination in the study area. They detect the hot water saturated fracture zone very well thus they can be very useful in mapping the investigated reservoir. Integrated interpretation of all the obtained rock-physical parameters is essential. We are extending the above discussed pre-stack seismic tools by studying the possibilities of Elastic Impedance Inversion (EII) for geothermal exploration. That procedure provides two other useful rock-physical properties, the compressibility and the rigidity (Lamé parameters). Results of those newly created elastic parameters will also be demonstrated in the presentation. Geothermal extraction is of great interest nowadays; and we can adopt several methods have been successfully applied in the hydrocarbon exploration for decades to discover new reservoirs and reduce drilling risk and cost.

Keywords: fractured zone, seismic, well-logging, inversion

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Authors: Jorge Anibal Restrepo Morales, Sonia Martín Gómez

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A model based on a logical framework was developed to quantify SMEs' internationalization capacity. To do so, linguistic variables, such as human talent, infrastructure, innovation strategies, FTAs, marketing strategies, finance, etc. were integrated. It is argued that a company’s management of international markets depends on internal factors, especially capabilities and resources available. This study considers internal factors as the biggest business challenge because they force companies to develop an adequate set of capabilities. At this stage, importance and strategic relevance have to be defined in order to build competitive advantages. A fuzzy inference system is proposed to model the resources, skills, and capabilities that determine the success of internationalization. Data: 157 linguistic variables were used. These variables were defined by international trade entrepreneurs, experts, consultants, and researchers. Using expert judgment, the variables were condensed into18 factors that explain SMEs’ export capacity. The proposed model is applied by means of a case study of the textile and clothing cluster in Medellin, Colombia. In the model implementation, a general index of 28.2 was obtained for internationalization capabilities. The result confirms that the sector’s current capabilities and resources are not sufficient for a successful integration into the international market. The model specifies the factors and variables, which need to be worked on in order to improve export capability. In the case of textile companies, the lack of a continuous recording of information stands out. Likewise, there are very few studies directed towards developing long-term plans, and., there is little consistency in exports criteria. This method emerges as an innovative management tool linked to internal organizational spheres and their different abilities.

Keywords: business strategy, exports, internationalization, fuzzy set methods

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Authors: Iman Shabanzadeh

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In terms of its geopolitical position, Iran has been one of the main centers of migration movements in the world in recent decades. However, the policy makers' lack of preparation in completing the cycle of social integration of these immigrants, especially the second and third generation, has caused these people to always be prone to leave the country and immigrate to developed and industrialized countries. In this research, the issue of integration of immigrants in Iran from the perspective of four indicators, "Identity Documents", "Access to Banking Services", "Access to Health and Treatment Services" and "Obtaining a Driver's License" will be analyzed. The research method is descriptive-analytical. To collect information, library and document sources in the field of laws and regulations related to immigrants' rights in Iran, semi-structured interviews with experts have been used. The investigations of this study show that none of the residence documents of immigrants in Iran guarantee the full enjoyment of basic citizenship rights for them. In fact, the function of many of these identity documents, such as the census card, educational support card, etc., is only to prevent crossing the border, and none of them guarantee the basic rights of citizenship. Therefore, for many immigrants, the difference between legality and illegality is only in the risk of crossing the border, and this has led to the spread of the habit of illegal presence for them. Despite this, it seems that there is no clear and coherent policy framework around the issue of foreign immigrants in the country. This policy incoherence can be clearly seen in the diversity and plurality of identity and legal documents of the citizens present in the country and the policy maker's lack of planning to integrate and organize the identity of this huge group. Examining the differences and socioeconomic inequalities between immigrants and the native Iranian population shows that immigrants have been poorly integrated into the structures of Iranian society from an economic and social point of view.

Keywords: immigrants, social integration, citizen services, structural inequality

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Authors: Yasser Aboel-Magd

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This research addresses the critical issue of accessibility for individuals with special needs and the broader implications of disability on one's ability to lead an independent and integrated life within society. It highlights the consequences of injury, illness, or disability not only on the physical level but also on psychological, social, educational, economic, and functional aspects of life. The study emphasizes the importance of inclusive design in urban spaces, reflecting on how a society's treatment of individuals with disabilities serves as a measure of its progress. The research delves into the challenges faced by people with special needs in the Kingdom, where, despite advancements in various sectors, there is a noticeable lack of accommodating public opportunities for this significant demographic. It argues for the necessity of a Saudi building code that considers the needs of a diverse population during the design phase. The paper discusses the role of urban space as a fundamental element in urban formation and its impact on the societal integration of individuals with special needs. The study explores a variety of inclusive design principles, ranging from physical features like ramps and tactile paving to digital and cognitive accessibility measures such as screen readers, closed captions, plain language, and visual aids. It also considers the impact of wayfinding and appropriate lighting design on the orientation and assistance of individuals within urban spaces at the lowest cost. The researchers connect inclusive design with sustainable practices, advocating for environments that are not only environmentally friendly but also adaptable and lasting. The paper concludes with the assertion that the integration of accessibility, universal design, and sustainability signifies a society's commitment to inclusivity and the empowerment of all individuals, paving the way for a future where everyone can participate fully and independently in society.

Keywords: accessibility, inclusive design, Saudi building code, disability inclusion, socioeconomic progress

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Authors: N. Nivedita, S. Durbha

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Critical Infrastructure (CI) consists of services and technological networks such as healthcare, transport, water supply, electricity supply, information technology etc. These systems are necessary for the well-being and to maintain effective functioning of society. Critical Infrastructures can be represented as nodes in a network where they are connected through a set of links depicting the logical relationship among them; these nodes are interdependent on each other and interact with each at other at various levels, such that the state of each infrastructure influences or is correlated to the state of another. Disruption in the service of one infrastructure nodes of the network during a disaster would lead to cascading and escalating disruptions across other infrastructures nodes in the network. The operation of Healthcare Infrastructure is one such Critical Infrastructure that depends upon a complex interdependent network of other Critical Infrastructure, and during disasters it is very vital for the Healthcare Infrastructure to be protected, accessible and prepared for a mass casualty. To reduce the consequences of a disaster on the Critical Infrastructure and to ensure a resilient Critical Health Infrastructure network, knowledge, understanding, modeling, and analyzing the inter-dependencies between the infrastructures is required. The paper would present inter-dependencies related to Healthcare Critical Infrastructure based on Hierarchical Coloured Petri Nets modeling approach, given a flood scenario as the disaster which would disrupt the infrastructure nodes. The model properties are being analyzed for the various state changes which occur when there is a disruption or damage to any of the Critical Infrastructure. The failure probabilities for the failure risk of interconnected systems are calculated by deriving a reachability graph, which is later mapped to a Markov chain. By analytically solving and analyzing the Markov chain, the overall vulnerability of the Healthcare CI HCPN model is demonstrated. The entire model would be integrated with Geographic information-based decision support system to visualize the dynamic behavior of the interdependency of the Healthcare and related CI network in a geographically based environment.

Keywords: critical infrastructure interdependency, hierarchical coloured petrinet, healthcare critical infrastructure, Petri Nets, Markov chain

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Authors: Ika Jorum

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The aim of this collaborative project was to develop library support that contributes in a long-term way to a technical university’s work on increased equality in education. The background was an assessment made by the Higher Education Authority that showed the need for improvement regarding equality in several programs at the university. The university’s Vice President for equality and Vice President for sustainability announced funds for projects that supported the improvement of equality in education. The library was granted funding for a one-year project that aimed both to support teachers in order to embed equality in education and to support the library staff and improve the organization’s own work. The part of the project that was directed to teachers was performed as activities in different areas and forms, such as acquisition and collections, teaching, exhibitions and book discussions. Besides the activities and support that was offered to teachers, the education team had journal clubs in order to develop and embed equality in their own teaching. The part that was directed to library staff and management was performed as workshops in collaboration with Equality Office in order to identify areas where the library could make improvements on work with equality and inclusion. The expectation was that the activities would be well attended since the project team had got indications that the content would be relevant. The outcome of this project was that some activities turned out to be more attended than others and what is expected to be found relevant, for example, a workshop on information searching from a gender and equality perspective for teachers, might still not attract participants. On the other hand, Ph.D. students and students participated in the book discussions and wanted them to continue after the project had ended. Results will be shared both on what was successful and what was challenging. Some reflections will be given on what can be done to attract participants to activities in the area of gender equality that is most likely relevant for the expected attendants and how results from a project on gender equality can be integrated into an organization’s daily work.

Keywords: equality, higher education, critical information literacy, collaboration

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Authors: Nana Segu Acquaah-Harrison, James Osei Mensah, Richard Aidoo, David Amponsah, Amy Buah, Gilbert Aboagye

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The study aimed at assessing the feasibility of commercial meat rabbit production in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. Structured and unstructured questionnaires were utilized in obtaining information from two hundred meat consumers and 15 meat rabbit farmers. Data were analyzed using Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR)/Profitability Index (PI) technique, percentages and chi-square contingency test. The study found that the current demand for rabbit meat is low (36%). The desirable nutritional attributes of rabbit meat and other socio economic factors of meat consumers make the potential demand for rabbit meat high (69%). It was estimated that GH¢5,292 (approximately $ 2672) was needed as a start-up capital for a 40-doe unit meat rabbit farm in Kumasi Metropolis. The cost of breeding animals, housing and equipment formed 12.47%, 53.97% and 24.87% respectively of the initial estimated capital. A Net Present Value of GH¢ 5,910.75 (approximately $ 2984) was obtained at the end of the fifth year, with an internal rate return and profitability index of 70% and 1.12 respectively. The major constraints identified in meat rabbit production were low price of rabbit meat, shortage of fodder, pest and diseases, high cost of capital, high cost of operating materials and veterinary care. Based on the analysis, it was concluded that meat rabbit production is feasible in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The study recommends embarking on mass advertisement; farmer association and adapting to new technologies in the production process will help to enhance productivity.

Keywords: feasibility, commercial meat rabbit, production, Kumasi, Ghana

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Authors: Devendra Gupta, Sushilk K. Agarwal, Amit Kesari, P. K. Singh

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Objectives: Pediatric patients often may experience persistent respiratory failure that requires tracheostomy placement in Pediatric ICU. We have designed a technique of tracheostomy in pediatric patients with S-shaped incision on the tracheal wall with higher success rate and lower complication rate. Technique: Following general anesthesia and positioning of the patient, the trachea was exposed in midline by a vertical skin incision. In order to make S-shaped tracheostoma, second tracheal ring was identified. The conventional vertical incision was made in second tracheal ring and then extended at both its ends laterally in the inter-cartilaginous space parallel to the tracheal cartilage in the opposite direction to make the incision S-shaped. The trachea was dilated with tracheal dilator and appropriate size of tracheostomy tube was then placed into the trachea. Results: S-shaped tracheostomy was performed in 20 children with mean age of 6.25 years (age range is 2-7) requiring tracheostomy placement. The tracheostomy tubes were successfully placed in all the patients in single attempt. There was no incidence of significant intra-operative bleeding, subcutaneous emphysema, vocal cord palsy or pneumothorax. Two patients developed pneumonia and expired within a year. However, there was no incidence of tracheo-esophageal fistula, suprastomal collapse or difficulty in decannulation on one year of follow up related to our technique. One patient developed late trachietis managed conservatively. Conclusion: S-shaped tracheoplasty was associated with high success rate, reduced risk of the early and late complications in pediatric patients requiring tracheostomy.

Keywords: peatrics, tracheostomy, ICU, tracheostoma

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Authors: Haripriya Chakraborty

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The healthcare system in the United States is considered to be one of the most inefficient and expensive systems when compared to other developed countries. Consequently, there are persistent concerns regarding the overall functioning of this system. For instance, the large number of uninsured individuals and high premiums are pressing issues that are shown to have a negative effect on health outcomes with possible life-threatening consequences. The Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was signed into law in 2010, was aimed at improving some of these inefficiencies. This paper aims at providing a computational mechanism to examine some of these inefficiencies and the effects that policy proposals may have on reducing these inefficiencies. Agent-based modeling is an invaluable tool that provides a flexible framework to model complex systems. It can provide an important perspective into the nature of some interactions that occur and how the benefits of these interactions are allocated. In this paper, we propose a novel and versatile agent-based model with realistic assumptions to simulate the dynamics of a health insurance marketplace that contains a mixture of private and public insurers and individuals. We use this model to analyze the characteristics, motivations, payoffs, and strategies of these agents. In addition, we examine the effects of certain policies, including some of the provisions of the ACA, aimed at reducing the uninsured rate and the cost of premiums to move closer to a system that is more equitable and improves health outcomes for the general population. Our test results confirm the usefulness of our agent-based model in studying this complicated issue and suggest some implications for public policies aimed at healthcare reform.

Keywords: agent-based modeling, healthcare reform, insurance markets, public policy

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Authors: Mahmoud Nabilu

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The present study explored the effect of using Mobile listening applications on developing listening skills by Iranian intermediate EFL learners. Fifty male intermediate English learners whose age range was between 15 and 20, participated in the study. The participants were placed in two groups on the basis of their scores on a placement test. Therefore, the participants of the study were homogenized in terms of general proficiency, and groups were assigned as one experimental group and one control group. The experimental group was instructed by the treatment which was using mobile applications to develop their listening skills while the control group received traditional methods. The research data were obtained from the 40-item multiple-choice tests as a pre-test and a post-test. The results of the t-test clearly revealed that the learners in the experimental group performed better in the post-test than the pre-test. This implies that using a mobile application for developing listening skills as a treatment was effective in helping the language learners perform better on post-test. However, a statistically significant difference was found between the post-tests scores of the two groups. The mean of the experimental group was greater compared to the control group. The participants were Iranian and from an Iranian Language Institute, so care should be taken while generalizing the results to the learners of other nationalities. However, in the researcher's view, the findings of this study have valuable implications for teachers and learners, methodologists and syllabus designers, linguists and MALL/CALL (mobile/computer-assisted language learning) experts. Using the result of the present paper is an aim of raising the consciousness of a better technique of developing listening skills in order to make language learning more efficient for the learners.

Keywords: Mobile listening applications, intermediate EFL learners, MALL, CALL

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Authors: P. Ghosh, S. B. Sharma

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The growing problem of food waste is causing unacceptable economic, environmental and social impacts across the globe. In Australia, food waste is estimated at about AU$8 billion per year; however, information on the extent of wastage at different stages of the food value chain from farm to fork is very limited. This study aims to identify causes for and extent of food waste at wholesaler stage of the food value chain in the state of Western Australia. It also explores approaches applied to reduce and utilize food waste by the wholesalers. The study was carried out at Perth city market in Caning Vale, the main wholesale distribution centre for fruits and vegetables in Western Australia. A survey questionnaire was prepared and shared with 51 wholesalers and their responses to 10 targeted questions on quantity of produce (fruits and vegetables) delivery received and further supplied, reasons for waste generation and innovations applied or being considered to reduce and utilize food waste. Data were computed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 21). Among the wholesalers 52% were primary wholesalers (buy produce directly from growers) and 48% were secondary wholesalers (buy produce in bulk from major wholesalers and supply to the local retail market, caterers, and customers with specific requirements). Average fruit and vegetable waste was 180 Kilogram per week per primary wholesaler and 30 Kilogram per secondary wholesaler. Based on this survey, the fruit and vegetable waste at wholesaler stage was estimated at about 286 tonnes per year. The secondary wholesalers distributed pre-ordered commodities, which minimized the potential to cause waste. Non-parametric test (Mann Whitney test) was carried out to assess contributions of wholesalers to waste generation. Over 56% of secondary wholesalers generally had nothing to bin as waste. Pearson’s correlation coefficient analysis showed positive correlation (r = 0.425; P=0.01) between the quantity of produce received and waste generated. Low market demand was the predominant reason identified by the wholesalers for waste generation. About a third of the wholesalers suggested that high cosmetic standards for fruits and vegetables - appearance, shape, and size - should be relaxed to reduce waste. Donation of unutilized fruits and vegetables to charity was overwhelmingly (95%) considered as one of the best options for utilization of discarded produce. The extent of waste at other stages of fruit and vegetable supply chain is currently being studied.

Keywords: food waste, fruits and vegetables, supply chain, waste generation

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Authors: Milad Gholizadeh

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Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are very shared inflammatory diseases of the airlines. They togethercause airway tapering and are cumulative in occurrence throughout the world, imposing huge burdens on health care. It is currently recognized that some asthmatic inflammation is neutrophilic, controlled by the TH17 subset of helper T cells, and that some eosinophilic inflammation is controlled by type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2 cells) temporary together with basophils. Patients who have plain asthma or are asthmatic patients who smoke with topographies of COPD-induced inflammation and might advantage from treatments targeting neutrophils, countingmacrolides, CXCR2 antagonists, phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitors, p38 mitogen-activating protein kinase inhibitors, and antibodies in contradiction of IL-1 and IL-17.Viral and bacterial infections, not only reason acute exacerbations of COPD, but also intensify and continue chronic inflammation in steady COPD through pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Present treatment plans are absorbed on titration of inhaled therapies such as long-acting bronchodilators, with cumulative interest in the usage of beleaguered biologic therapies meant at the underlying inflammatory devices. Educationssuggest that the mucosal IgA reply is abridged in COPD, and a lacking conveyance of IgA across the bronchial epithelium in COPD has been recognized, perhaps involving neutrophil proteinases, which may damage the Ig receptor mediating this transepithelialdirection-finding. Future instructions for investigation will emphasis elucidating the diverse inflammatory signatures foremost to asthma and chronic obstrucive, the development of reliable analytic standards and biomarkers of illness, and refining the clinical organization with an eye toward targeted therapies.

Keywords: imminology, asthma, COPD, CXCR2 antagonists

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Authors: Natividad Natalia Angeles Manuel

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In the Dominican Republic, American-Dominican veterans face unique challenges due to their dual identities and wartime experiences. This case study examines an 85-year-old veteran with memory impairments and emotional distress linked to military service. A neuropsychological assessment using standardized tools evaluated cognitive domains and functional abilities. Significant deficits in memory, orientation, semantic memory, and executive functions, alongside symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and depression, were identified. A six-month cognitive stimulation program included tailored interventions to enhance memory, attention, and executive skills through weekly sessions and group activities. Medical and physical therapy support aimed to improve overall cognitive, functional, and emotional outcomes. Follow-up evaluations showed improvements in memory retention, attention, task proficiency, and reduced depressive symptoms, highlighting the program's effectiveness in promoting emotional well-being and quality of life. Despite ongoing memory challenges and military-related nightmares, the veteran responded positively to interventions, demonstrating resilience and motivation. This study emphasizes the importance of personalized neuropsychological interventions for American-Dominican veterans in the Dominican Republic. Through assessment tools and focused cognitive stimulation strategies, healthcare providers can successfully alleviate cognitive and emotional challenges stemming from traumatic experiences in elderly veterans. Overall, integrated neuropsychological assessment and stimulation programs are shown to enhance cognitive resilience and emotional well-being, thus contributing to an enhanced quality of life for aging American-Dominican veterans.

Keywords: neuropsychology, cognitive stimulation, American-Dominican veterans, Dominican Republic, PTSD, memory deficits

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Authors: Nirman Kumar Ojha

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Bamboo plantation can be integrated for natural embankment against flood and live fencing against wild animals, at the same time provide economic opportunity for the poor farmers as a sustainable solution and adaptation alternative. 2010 flood in the Rui River completely inundated fields of four VDCs in Madi, Chitwan National Park with extensive bank erosion. The main aim of this action research was to identify an economically sustainable natural embankment against flood and also providing wildlife friendly fencing to reduce human-wildlife conflict. Community people especially poor farmers were trained for soil testing, land identification, plantation, and the harvesting regime, nursery set up and intercropping along with bamboo plantation on the edge of the river bank in order to reduce or minimize soil erosion. Results show that farmers are able to establish cost efficient and economically sustainable river embankment with bamboo plantation also creating a fence for wildlife which has also promoted bamboo cultivation and conservation. This action research has amalgamated flood control and wildlife control with the livelihood of the farmers which otherwise would cost huge resource. Another major impact of the bamboo plantation is its role in climate change and its adaptation process reducing degradation and improving vegetation cover contributing to landscape management. Based on this study, we conclude that bamboo plantation in Madi, Chitwan promoted the livelihood of the poor farmers providing a sustainable economic solution to reduce bank erosion, human-wildlife conflict and contributes to landscape management.

Keywords: climate change and conservation, economic opportunity, flood control, national park

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Authors: Ndukwe, Chinedu O.

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Background: There are only a few epidemiological studies published on skin disorders in the elderly within the Nigerian context and none from the Southeast Region of the country. In addition, none of these studies has considered the pattern and frequency of histopathologically diagnosed geriatric skin lesions. Hence, we attempted to determine the frequency as well as the age and gender distributions of histologically diagnosed dermatological diseases in the geriatric population from skin biopsies submitted to the histopathology department of a tertiary care hospital in Southeast Nigeria. Material and methods: This is a cross-sectional retrospective hospital-based study involving all skin biopsies of patients 60 years and above, received at the Department of Histopathology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Nigeria from January 2004 to December 2019. Results: During the study period, 751 skin biopsies were received in the histopathology department. Of these, 142 were from patients who were older than 60 years. Thus, the overall share of geriatric patients was 18.9%. The mean age at presentation was 71.1 ± 8.6 years. The M: F was 1:1 and most of the patients belonged to the age group of 60–69 years (69 cases, 48.6%). The mean age of the male patients was 72.1±9.5 years. In the female patients, it was 70.1±7.5 years. The commonest disease category was neoplasms (91, 64.1%). Most neoplasms were malignant. There were 67/142 (47.2%) malignant lesions. Commonest was Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) (30 cases) which is 21.1% of all geriatric skin biopsies and 44.8% of malignant skin biopsies. This is closely followed by melanoma (29 cases). Conclusion: Malignant neoplasms, benign neoplasms and papulosquamous disorders are the three commonest histologically diagnosed skin lesions in our geriatric population. The commonest skin malignancies in this group of patients are squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma.

Keywords: geriatric, skin, Nigeria, histopathology

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Authors: Lamia Emam

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The attractiveness of entrepreneurship education stems from its perceived value as a venue through which students can develop an entrepreneurial mindset, skill set, and practice, which may not necessarily lead to them starting a new business, but could, more importantly, be manifested as a life skill that could be applied to all types of organizations and career endeavors. This, in turn, raises important questions about what happens in our classrooms; our role as educators, the role of students, center of learning, and the instructional approach; all of which eventually contribute to achieving the desired EE outcomes. With application to an undergraduate entrepreneurship course -Entrepreneurship as Practice- the current paper aims to explore the effect of entrepreneurship education on the development of students’ general entrepreneurial tendencies. Towards that purpose, the researcher herein uses a pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental research design where the Durham University General Enterprising Tendency Test (GET2) is administered to the same group of students before and after course delivery. As designed and delivered, the Entrepreneurship as Practice module is a highly applied and experiential course where students are required to develop an idea for a start-up while practicing the entrepreneurship-related knowledge, mindset, and skills that are taught in class, both individually and in groups. The course is delivered using a combination of short lectures, readings, group discussions, case analysis, guest speakers, and, more importantly, actively engaging in a series of activities that are inspired by diverse methods for developing successful and innovative business ideas, including design thinking, lean-start up and business feasibility analysis. The instructional approach of the course particularly aims at developing the students' critical thinking, reflective, analytical, and creativity-based problem-solving skills that are needed to launch one’s own start-up. The analysis and interpretation of the experiment’s outcomes shall simultaneously incorporate the views of both the educator and students. As presented, the study responds to the rising call for the application of experimental designs in entrepreneurship in general and EE in particular. While doing so, the paper presents an educator’s perspective of EE to complement the dominant stream of research which is constrained to the students’ point of view. Finally, the study sheds light on EE in the MENA region, where the study is applied.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, andragogy and heutagogy, scholarship of teaching and learning, experiment

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Authors: Enido Fabiano de Ramos, Ieda Kanashiro Makiya, Francisco I. Giocondo Cesar

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This study investigates the application of Digital Twins (DT) in Smart Hospital Environments (SHE), through a bibliometric study and literature review, including comparison with the principles of Industry 4.0. It aims to analyze the current state of the implementation of digital twins in clinical and non-clinical operations in healthcare settings, identifying trends and challenges, comparing these practices with Industry 4.0 concepts and technologies, in order to present a basic framework including stages and maturity levels. The bibliometric methodology will allow mapping the existing scientific production on the theme, while the literature review will synthesize and critically analyze the relevant studies, highlighting pertinent methodologies and results, additionally the comparison with Industry 4.0 will provide insights on how the principles of automation, interconnectivity and digitalization can be applied in healthcare environments/operations, aiming at improvements in operational efficiency and quality of care. The results of this study will contribute to a deeper understanding of the potential of Digital Twins in Smart Hospitals, in addition to the future potential from the effective integration of Industry 4.0 concepts in this specific environment, presented through the practical framework, after all, the urgent need for changes addressed in this article is undeniable, as well as all their value contribution to human sustainability, designed in SDG3 – Health and well-being: ensuring that all citizens have a healthy life and well-being, at all ages and in all situations. We know that the validity of these relationships will be constantly discussed, and technology can always change the rules of the game.

Keywords: digital twin, smart hospital, healthcare operations, industry 4.0, SDG3, technology

Procedia PDF Downloads 53

Authors: Matthew J. I. Woolley, Gemma J. M. Read, Paul M. Salmon, Natassia Goode

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The significance of high consequence, workplace failures within construction continues to resonate with a combined average of 12 fatal incidents occurring daily throughout Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Within the Australian construction domain, more than 35 serious, compensable injury incidents are reported daily. These alarming figures, in conjunction with the continued occurrence of fatal and serious, occupational injury incidents globally suggest existing approaches to incident analysis may not be achieving required injury prevention outcomes. One reason may be that, incident analysis methods used in construction have not kept pace with advances in the field of safety science and are not uncovering the full range system-wide contributory factors that are required to achieve optimal levels of construction safety performance. Another reason underpinning this global issue may also be the absence of information surrounding the construction operating and project delivery system. For example, it is not clear who shares the responsibility for construction safety in different contexts. To respond to this issue, to the author’s best knowledge, a first of its kind, control structure model of the construction industry is presented and then used to analyse a fatal construction incident. The model was developed by applying and extending the Systems Theoretic and Incident Model and Process method to hierarchically represent the actors, constraints, feedback mechanisms, and relationships that are involved in managing construction safety performance. The Causal Analysis based on Systems Theory (CAST) method was then used to identify the control and feedback failures involved in the fatal incident. The conclusions from the Coronial investigation into the event are compared with the findings stemming from the CAST analysis. The CAST analysis highlighted additional issues across the construction system that were not identified in the coroner’s recommendations, suggested there is a potential benefit in applying a systems theory approach to incident analysis in construction. The findings demonstrate the utility applying systems theory-based methods to the analysis of construction incidents. Specifically, this study shows the utility of the construction control structure and the potential benefits for project leaders, construction entities, regulators, and construction clients in controlling construction performance.

Keywords: construction project management, construction performance, incident analysis, systems thinking

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Authors: Varsha Kheradiya, Ganga Prasad Pandey

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The use of wearable antennas is rising because wireless devices become small. The wearable antenna is part of clothes used in communication applications, including energy harvesting, medical application, navigation, and tracking. In current years, Antennas embroidered on clothes, conducting antennas based on fabric, polymer embedded antennas, and inkjet-printed antennas are all attractive ways. Also shows the analysis required for wearable antennas, such as wearable antennae interacting with the human body. The primary requirements for the antenna are small size, low profile minimizing radiation absorption by the human body, high efficiency, structural integrity to survive worst situations, and good gain. Therefore, research in energy harvesting, biomedicine, and military application design is increasingly favoring flexible wearable antennas. Textile materials that are effectively used for designing and developing wearable antennas for body area networks. The wireless body area network is primarily concerned with creating effective antenna systems. The antenna should reduce their size, be lightweight, and be adaptable when integrated into clothes. When antennas integrate into clothes, it provides a convenient alternative to those fabricated using rigid substrates. This paper presents a study of U slot loaded wearable textile antenna. U slot patch antenna design is illustrated for wideband from 1GHz to 6 GHz using textile material jeans as substrate and pure copper polyester taffeta fabric as conducting material. This antenna design exhibits dual band results for WLAN at 2.4 GHz and 3.6 GHz frequencies. Also, study U slot position horizontal and vertical shifting. Shifting the horizontal positive X-axis position of the U slot produces the third band at 5.8 GHz.

Keywords: microstrip patch antenna, textile material, U slot wearable antenna, wireless body area network

Procedia PDF Downloads 90

Authors: Mark Linden, Trisha Forbes, Michael Brown, Lynne Marsh, Maria Truesdale, Stuart Todd, Nathan Hughes

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a reduction of health care services for many family carers of people with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities (PMID). Due to lack of services, family carers turned to charities for support during the pandemic. We explored the views of charity workers across the UK and Ireland who supported family carers during the COVID-19 pandemic and explored their views on effective online support programmes for family carers. Methods This was a qualitative study using online focus groups with participants (n = 24) from five charities across the UK and Ireland. Questions focused on challenges, supports, coping and resources which helped during lockdown restrictions. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed through thematic analysis. Findings Four themes were identified (i) ‘mental and emotional health’, (ii) ‘they who shout the loudest’ (fighting for services), (iii) ‘lack of trust in statutory services’ and (iv) ‘creating an online support programme’. Mental and emotional health emerged as the most prominent theme and included three subthemes named as ‘isolation’, ‘fear of COVID-19’ and ‘the exhaustion of caring’. Conclusions The withdrawal of many services during the COVID-19 pandemic further isolated and placed strain on family carers. Even after the end of the pandemic family cares continue to report on the struggle to receive adequate support. There is a critical need to design services, including online support programmes, in partnership with family carers which adequately address their needs.

Keywords: intellectual disability, family carers, COVID-19, charities

Procedia PDF Downloads 74

Authors: Basant H. El-Refay, Nabeel T. Faiad

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Background: The high prevalence of obesity in Egypt has a great impact on the health care system, economic and social situation. Evidence suggests that even a moderate amount of weight loss can be useful. Aim of the study: To analyze the effects of lower body positive pressure supported treadmill training, conducted with hypocaloric diet, on body composition of obese children. Methods: Thirty children aged between 8 and 14 years, were randomly assigned into two groups: intervention group (15 children) and control group (15 children). All of them were evaluated using body composition analysis through bioelectric impedance. The following parameters were measured before and after the intervention: body mass, body fat mass, muscle mass, body mass index (BMI), percentage of body fat and basal metabolic rate (BMR). The study group exercised with antigravity treadmill three times a week during 2 months, and participated in a hypocaloric diet program. The control group participated in a hypocaloric diet program only. Results: Both groups showed significant reduction in body mass, body fat mass and BMI. Only study group showed significant reduction in percentage of body fat (p = 0.0.043). Changes in muscle mass and BMR didn't reach statistical significance in both groups. No significant differences were observed between groups except for muscle mass (p = 0.049) and BMR (p = 0.042) favoring study group. Conclusion: Both programs proved effective in the reduction of obesity indicators, but lower body positive pressure supported treadmill training was more effective in improving muscle mass and BMR.

Keywords: children, hypocaloric diet, lower body positive pressure supported treadmill, obesity

Procedia PDF Downloads 243

Authors: Isabelle Snyder

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Microgrid protection presents challenges to conventional protection techniques due to the low induced fault current. Protection relays present in microgrid applications require a combination of settings groups to adjust based on the architecture of the microgrid in islanded and grid-connected mode. In a radial system where the microgrid is at the other end of the feeder, directional elements can be used to identify the direction of the fault current and switch settings groups accordingly (grid connected or microgrid connected). However, with multiple microgrid connections, this concept becomes more challenging, and the direction of the current alone is not sufficient to identify the source of the fault current contribution. ORNL has previously developed adaptive relaying schemes through other DOE-funded research projects that will be evaluated and used as a baseline for this research. The four protection techniques in this study are the following: (1) Adaptive Current only Protection System (ACPS), Intentional (2) Unbalanced Control for Protection Control (IUCPC), (3) Adaptive Protection System with Communication Controller (APSCC) (4) Adaptive Model-Driven Protective Relay (AMDPR). The first two methods focus on identifying the islanded mode without communication by monitoring the current sequence component generated by the system (ACPS) or induced with inverter control during islanded mode (IUCPC) to identify the islanding condition without communication at the relay to adjust the settings. These two methods are used as a backup to the APSCC, which relies on a communication network to communicate the islanded configuration to the system components. The fourth method relies on a short circuit model inside the relay that is used in conjunction with communication to adjust the system configuration and computes the fault current and adjusts the settings accordingly.

Keywords: adaptive relaying, microgrid protection, sequence components, islanding detection, communication controlled protection, integrated short circuit model

Procedia PDF Downloads 95

Authors: Nenita Pambid Domingo

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The komedya otherwise known as moro-moro or pretending to be Moors, is a traditional Filipino play in the vernacular adapted from the Spanish comedia de capa y espada. It was used by Spanish colonizers in the Philippines, circa 1766 to evangelize and strengthen the faith of Indios or Filipino natives to Christianity. Unlike the Moros y Cristianos festival held all over Spain celebrating the Reconquista from the 8th to the 15th century, the Philippine Moro-Moro or Komedya is a romance between a Muslim and a Christian and the battles between Christians and Moros, where the Moros are always defeated and the Muslim prince is converted to the Christian faith and marries the Christian princess at the end of the play. For over 200 years, the komedya has been part of the Filipinos’ life and has been dubbed by some Philippine scholars as the Philippine’s national theater. Until now postings of performances in different parts of the Philippines in different Philippine languages are uploaded at youtube. In the US, “San Dionisio sa America (SDA),” an organization of natives from Barrio San Dionisio, Parañaque, Philippines has been performing the komedya for the past 16 years during their town’s fiesta, in honor of the barrio's patron saints St Denis of Paris, France and Saint Joseph whom the devotees fondly call "Tata Dune" and "Tata Hosep". The komedya performed in the US is infused with modern elements in the production and content, but retain the basic form in verse and the stylized war dance, marches, and singsong delivery of lines. Most of the Celebras or town fiestas and komedya performances are held at The Barnsdall Art Park and Gallery Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The presentation will focus on the linguistic and content analysis of the Tagalog verses in the 2010 komedya entitled Mga Prinsesa ng Cordova (The Princesses of Cordova) publicized as a modern komedya. The presentation will also touch on the healing function of the language and performance that is part of the town’s religious festivities. It will also look into the aesthetics of the production, audience reception, participation of the sponsors, producers called Hermana/Hermano Mayor, the performers who are a mix of Filipinos from the Philippines and Filipino-Americans who are starting to lose the Tagalog language and the non-Filipino participants, as well as the general audience who are from Parañaque and those not from Parañaque, who come to witness the event and enjoy the festivities.

Keywords: devotion, diaspora nationalism, komedya, st. denis of Paris, France, traditional Philippine theater

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Authors: Aferdita Stroka Koka, Laver Stroka, Juna Musa, Samanda Celaj

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Non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) are the most common human malignancies. About 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the US and new cases continue to grow. About eight out of ten of these are basal cell cancers. Squamous cell cancers occur less often. NMSC usually are treatable, but treatment is expensive and can leave scars. In 2019, 167 patients of both sexes suffering from NMSC were treated by traditional medicine. Patients who have been diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma were 122 cases, Squamous Cell Carcinoma 32 cases and both of them 13 cases. Of these,122 cases were ulcerated lesions and 45 unulcerated lesions. All patients were treated with the herbal solution called NILS, which contains extracts of some Albanian plants such as Allium sativum, Jugulans regia and Laurus nobilis. The treatment is done locally, on the surface of the tumor, applying the solution until the tumor mass is destroyed and, after that, giving the necessary time to the wound to make the regeneration that coincides with the complete healing of the wound. We have prepared a collection of photos for each case. Since the first sessions, a shrinkage and reduction of the tumor mass were evident, up to the total disappearance of the lesion at the end of treatment. The normal period of treatment lasted 1 to 2 weeks, depending on the size of the tumor, then take care of it until the closure of the wound, taking the whole process from 1 to 3 months. In 7 patients, the lesion failed to be dominated by treatment and they underwent standard treatment with radiotherapy or surgery, while in 10 patients, the lesion recurred and was treated again. The aim of this survey was to put in evidence the good results obtained by treatment of NMSC with Albanian traditional medicine methods.

Keywords: local treatment, nils, NMSC, traditional medicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 210