Search results for: systematic deconstruction

Authors: Cosette Maiky

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Seven years have passed since the crisis erupted and the list of challenges to peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue is still growing ever more discouraging: Violence, displacement, sectarianism, discrimination, radicalisation, fragmentation, and collapse of various social and economic infrastructure have notoriously plagued the war-torn country. As the situation in Syria and neighbouring countries is still creating a real concern about the future of the social cohesion and the coexistence in the region, in her function as Field Expert on Arab Countries at King Abdullah bin Abdelaziz Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue, the author shall present a systematic review paper that focuses on the radicalization of Islam in Syria. The exercise was based on a series of research questions that guided both the review of literature as well as the interviews. Their relative meaningfulness shall be assessed and trade-offs discussed in each case to ensure that key questions were addressed and to avoid unnecessary effort. There was an element of flexibility, as the assessment progressed, to further provide and inject additional generic questions. The main sources for the information were: Documents and literature with a direct bearing on the issues of relevance collected in all available formats and information collected through key informant interviews. This latter was particularly helpful to understand what some of the capacity constraints are, as well as the gaps, enablers and barriers. Respondents were selected among those who are engaged in IRD activities clearly linked to peacebuilding (i.e. religious leaders, leaders in religious communities, peace actors, religious actors, conflict parties, minority groups, women initiatives, youth initiatives, civil society organizations, academia, etc.), with relevant professional qualifications and work experience. During the research process, the Consultant carefully took account of sensitivities around terminologies as well as a highly insecure and dynamic context. The Consultant (Arabic native speaker), therefore, adapted terminologies while conducting interviews according to the area and respondent. Findings revealed: the deep ideological polarization and lack of trust dividing communities and preventing meaningful dialogue opportunities; the challenge of prioritizing IRD and peacebuilding work in the context of such a severe humanitarian crisis facing the country; the need to engage religious leaders and institutions in peacebuilding processes and initiatives, the need to have institutions with specific IRD mandate, which can have a sustainable influence on peace through various levels of interventions (from grassroots level to policy and research), and lastly, the need to address stigma in media representation of Muslims and Islam. While religion and religious agendas have been massively used for political issues and power play in the Middle East – and elsewhere, more extensive policy and research efforts are needed to highlight the positive role of religion and religious actors in dialogue and peacebuilding processes.

Keywords: radicalisation, Islam, Syria, conflict

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Authors: Ansal D'cruz, Anurup K., Saritha G. Parambath

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Physical and mental strain is a growing concern arising from various stressors in an urban context. However, these stressors are relatively less explored in the domain of urban design, especially in Indian cities where the central business district falls within the heritage core. An attempt is made in the context of the heritage core of Thiruvananthapuram city, Kerala, to understand and identify the connection between the built environment and urban stress. The criteria for establishing the indicators were obtained through a systematic literature review. A thorough study conducted in Gandhi Park, East Fort area using the identified criteria resulted in valuable insights into various urban stressors. Onsite surveys established the correlation between the built environment and user stress levels. The study concludes with guidelines for approaching urban stress in urban parks in an Indian context.

Keywords: urban stress, built environment, mental health, urban stressors, urban design

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Authors: Tatiana Tunon, Gottfried Pestal

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Government agencies responsible for the management of fisheries resources publish many types of grey literature, and these materials are increasingly accessible to the public on agency websites. However, scope and quality vary considerably, and end-users need meta-data about the report series when deciding whether to use the information (e.g. apply the methods, include the results in a systematic review), or when prioritizing materials for archiving (e.g. library holdings, reference databases). A proposed taxonomy for these report series was developed based on a review of 41 report series from 6 government agencies in 4 countries (Canada, New Zealand, Scotland, and United States). Each report series was categorized according to multiple criteria describing peer-review process, content, and purpose. A robust classification tree was then fitted to these descriptions, and the resulting taxonomic groups were used to compare agency output from 4 countries using reports available in their online repositories.

Keywords: classification tree, fisheries, government, grey literature

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Authors: Kumar Vijayendra, Kumar Raghvendra, Shivanshi Bhadouria

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Using a thematic qualitative analysis, this study aims to identify dominant themes previously highlighted by various systematic literature reviews and studies in the field of sustainability and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The studies picked for this paper range from the nascent stages of the emergence of the concept of corporate sustainability in business to present-day targeted studies on SMEs. This study has attempted to highlight the recurring, emerging, and neglected themes in the literature and concludes with some key findings: 1) the research on sustainability and SMEs remains focused on generic rather than targeted studies; 2) sustainability frameworks specifically designed for SMEs remain under-researched as opposed to large firms, 3) there is a requirement to look more at the SMEs in the service sector. This paper also highlights other dominant themes in literature and, finally, offers suggestions for areas of future research.

Keywords: sustainability, small and medium-sized enterprises, literature review, sustainable development

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Authors: Emily Hickmann, Peggy Richter, Maren Kaehlig, Hannes Schlieter

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Patient engagement is a cornerstone of high-quality care and essential for patients with chronic diseases to achieve improved health outcomes. Through digital transformation, possibilities to engage patients in their personal healthcare have multiplied. However, the exploitation of this potential is still lagging. To support the transmission of patient engagement theory into practice, this paper’s objective is to give a state-of-the-art overview of patient engagement tools and methods. A systematic literature review was conducted. Overall, 56 tools and methods were extracted and synthesized according to the four attributes of patient engagement, i.e., personalization, access, commitment, and therapeutic alliance. The results are discussed in terms of their potential to be implemented in digital health solutions under consideration of the “computers are social actors” (CASA) paradigm. It is concluded that digital health can catalyze patient engagement in practice, and a broad future research agenda is formulated.

Keywords: chronic diseases, digitalization, patient-centeredness, patient empowerment, patient engagement

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Authors: K. S. Poutanen, P. Dussort, A. Erkner, S. Fiszman, K. Karnik, M. Kristensen, C. F. M. Marsaux, S. Miquel-Kergoat, S. Pentikäinen, P. Putz, R. E. Steinert, J. Slavin, D. J. Mela

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Dietary fiber (DF) intake has been associated with lower body weight or less weight gain. These effects are generally attributed to putative effects of DF on appetite. Many intervention studies have tested the effect of DFs on appetite-related measures, with inconsistent results. However, DF includes a wide category of different compounds with diverse chemical and physical characteristics, and correspondingly diverse effects in human digestion. Thus, inconsistent results between DF consumption and appetite are not surprising. The specific contribution of different compounds with varying physico-chemical properties to appetite control and the mediating mechanisms are not well characterized. This systematic review aimed to assess the influence of specific DF characteristics, including viscosity, gel forming capacity, fermentability, and molecular weight, on appetite-related outcomes in healthy humans. Medline and FSTA databases were searched for controlled human intervention trials, testing the effects of well-characterized DFs on subjective satiety/appetite or energy intake outcomes. Studies were included only if they reported: 1) fiber name and origin, and 2) data on viscosity, gelling properties, fermentability, or molecular weight of the DF materials tested. The search generated 3001 unique records, 322 of which were selected for further consideration from title and abstract screening. Of these, 149 were excluded due to insufficient fiber characterization and 124 for other reasons (not original article, not randomized controlled trial, or no appetite related outcome), leaving 49 papers meeting all the inclusion criteria, most of which reported results from acute testing (<1 day). The eligible 49 papers described 90 comparisons of DFs in foods, beverages or supplements. DF-containing material of interest was efficacious for at least one appetite-related outcome in 51/90 comparisons. Gel-forming DF sources were most consistently efficacious but there were no clear associations between viscosity, MW or fermentability and appetite-related outcomes. A considerable number of papers had to be excluded from the review due to shortcomings in fiber characterization. To build understanding about the impact of DF on satiety/appetite specifically there should be clear hypotheses about the mechanisms behind the proposed beneficial effect of DF material on appetite, and sufficient data about the DF properties relevant for the hypothesized mechanisms to justify clinical testing. The hypothesized mechanisms should also guide the decision about relevant duration of exposure in studies, i.e. are the effects expected to occur during acute time frame (related to stomach emptying, digestion rate, etc.) or develop from sustained exposure (gut fermentation mediated mechanisms). More consistent measurement methods and reporting of fiber specifications and characterization are needed to establish reliable structure-function relationships for DF and health outcomes.

Keywords: appetite, dietary fiber, physico-chemical properties, satiety

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Authors: Efendi Zaenudin, Chien-Hung Huang, Ka-Lok Ng

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Essential genes play an important role in the survival of an organism. It has been shown that cancer-associated essential genes are genes necessary for cancer cell proliferation, where these genes are potential therapeutic targets. Also, it was demonstrated that mutations of the cancer-associated essential genes give rise to the resistance of immunotherapy for patients with tumors. In the present study, we focus on studying the biological effects of the essential genes from a network perspective. We hypothesize that one can analyze a biological molecular network by decomposing it into both three-node and four-node digraphs (subgraphs). These network subgraphs encode the regulatory interaction information among the network’s genetic elements. In this study, the frequency of occurrence of the subgraph-associated essential genes in a molecular network was quantified by using the statistical parameter, odds ratio. Biological effects of subgraph-associated essential genes are discussed. In summary, the subgraph approach provides a systematic method for analyzing molecular networks and it can capture useful biological information for biomedical research.

Keywords: biological molecular networks, essential genes, graph theory, network subgraphs

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Authors: Nadia Diyana Mohd Muhaiyuddin, Dayang Rohaya Awang Rambli

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The aim of our work is to identify whether user’s calmness can be a factor to elicit user’s spatial presence experience. Hence, a systematic mental model technique called repertory grid was selected to collect data because users can freely give their opinions in this approach. Three image-based virtual reality (IBVR) environments were created to satisfy the requirement of the repertory grid. Different virtual environments were necessary to allow users to compare and give feedback. Result was analyzed by using descriptive analysis through the SPSS software. The result revealed that ‘users feel calm’ is accepted as one of the factors that can elicit spatial presence. Users also highlighted five IBVR characteristics that could elicit spatial presence, namely, calm sound, calm content, calm color, calm story line, and the calm feeling of the user.

Keywords: spatial presence, presence, virtual reality, image-based virtual reality, human-computer interaction

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Authors: Ayesha Imtiaz, Darlina Md. Naim

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Family Nemipteridae is among the most abundantly distributed family in Malaysian fish markets due to its high contribution to landing sites of Malaysia. Using an advanced molecular approach that used two mitochondrial (Cytochrome oxidase c I and Cytochrome oxidase b) and one nuclear gene (Recombination activating gene, RAGI) to expose cryptic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among commercially important species of family Nemipteridae. Our research covered all genera (including 31 species out total 45 species) of family Nemipteridae, distributed in Malaysia. We also found certain type of geographical barriers in the South China sea that reduces dispersal and stops a few species to intermix. Northside of the South China Sea (near Vietnam) does not allow genetic diversity to mix with the Southern side of the South China sea (Sarawak) and reduces dispersal. Straits of Malacca reduce the intermixing genetic diversity of South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Keywords: Nemipteridae, RAG I, south east Asia, Malaysia

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Authors: Maharjan Shree Kumar

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Climate change impacts are observed in all livelihood sectors primarily in agriculture and forestry. Multiple factors have influenced the climate vulnerabilities and adaptations in agricultural at the household level. This study focused on the factors affecting adaptation in agriculture in Madi and Deukhuri valleys of Central and Western Nepal. The systematic random sampling technique was applied to select 154 households in Madi and 150 households in Deukhuri. The main purpose of the study was to analyze the socio-economic factors that either influence or restrain the farmers’ adaptation to climate change at the household level by applying the linear probability model. Based on the analysis, it is revealed that crop diversity, education, training and total land holding (acre) were positively significant for adaptation choices the study sites. Rest of the variables were not significant though indicated positive as expected except age, occupation, ethnicity, family size, and access to credit.

Keywords: adaptation, agriculture, climate, factors, Nepal

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Authors: Malaw Ndiaye, Karim Konate

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Smart contracts are computer protocols that facilitate, verify, and execute the negotiation or execution of a contract, or that render a contractual term unnecessary. Blockchain and smart contracts can be used to facilitate almost any financial transaction. Thanks to these smart contracts, the settlement of dividends and coupons could be automated. Smart contracts have become lucrative and profitable targets for attackers because they can hold a great amount of money. Smart contracts, although widely used in blockchain technology, are far from perfect due to security concerns. Since there are recent studies on smart contract security, none of them systematically study the strengths and weaknesses of smart contract security. Some have focused on an analysis of program-related vulnerabilities by providing a taxonomy of vulnerabilities. Other studies are responsible for listing the series of attacks linked to smart contracts. Although a series of attacks are listed, there is a lack of discussions and proposals on improving security. This survey takes stock of smart contract security from a more comprehensive perspective by correlating the level of vulnerability and systematic review of security levels in smart contracts.

Keywords: blockchain, Bitcoin, smart contract, criminal smart contract, security

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Authors: Wann-Yun Shieh, Chin-Man Wang, Ya-Cheng Shieh

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This study aims to develop an objective scoring system to evaluate hand-eye coordination and hand dexterity for Parkinson’s disease. This system contains three boards, and each of them is implemented with the sensors to sense a user’s finger operations. The operations include the peg test, the block test, and the blind block test. A user has to use the vision, hearing, and tactile abilities to finish these operations, and the board will record the results automatically. These results can help the physicians to evaluate a user’s reaction, coordination, dexterity function. The results will be collected to a cloud database for further analysis and statistics. A researcher can use this system to obtain systematic, graphic reports for an individual or a group of users. Particularly, a deep learning model is developed to learn the features of the data from different users. This model will help the physicians to assess the Parkinson’s disease symptoms by a more intellective algorithm.

Keywords: deep learning, hand-eye coordination, reaction, hand dexterity

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Authors: Debesh R. Roy

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The fundamental issue in understanding the origin and growth mechanism of nanomaterials, from a fundamental unit is a big challenging problem to the scientists. Recently, an immense attention is generated to the researchers for prediction of exceptionally stable atomic cluster units as the building units for future smart materials. The present study is a systematic investigation on the stability and electronic properties of a series of bimetallic (semiconductor-alkaline earth) clusters, viz., BxMg3 (x=1-5) is performed, in search for exceptional and/ or unusual stable motifs. A very popular hybrid exchange-correlation functional, B3LYP as proposed by A. D. Becke along with a higher basis set, viz., 6-31+G[d,p] is employed for this purpose under the density functional formalism. The magic stability among the concerned clusters is explained using the jellium model. It is evident from the present study that the magic stability of B4Mg3 cluster arises due to the jellium shell closure.

Keywords: atomic clusters, density functional theory, jellium model, magic clusters, smart nanomaterials

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Authors: Shabnam Dadparvar, Laijin Shen

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Undoubtedly, children are one of the biggest assets of any society and it is the duty of all officials to have a systematic plan to educate the next generation and make a better life for children so that they can progress and be effective for their communities. In an effort, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has adopted standards to improve the condition for Izadis children; however, there are challenges that remain; such as: Izadis child abuse, Izadis child labor, Izadis children right’s law, orphans, Izadis street children and etc. In this paper, by a descriptive-analytical method the authors try to discuss the general situation of Izadis children in today s Iraqi Kurdistan and the issues such as drug abuse, Izadis child labor, orphans and Izadis street children. The questions are: How is the situation of Izadis children in Iraqi Kurdistan and what are their challenges? Also, what is the KRG’s strategy and through which ways, they can make a better life for minority children and change their current status? The authors believe that nowadays, the KRG is trying to crack down on problems against Izadis children; however, their effort is not adequate and some other activities should be performed; one of which is passing the Izadis children s law against violence.

Keywords: children right, Iraqi Kurdistan, Izadis children, Kurdistan Regional Government

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Authors: Khulud Alhussain, Anna Gavine, Stephen Macgillivray, Sushila Chowdhry

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Background: Estimates show that by the year 2030, mental illness will account for more than half of the global economic burden, second to non-communicable diseases. Often, the perinatal period is characterised by psychological ambivalence and a mixed anxiety-depressive condition. Maternal mental disorder is associated with perinatal anxiety and depression and affects breastfeeding behaviors. Studies also indicate that maternal mental health can considerably influence a baby's health in numerous aspects and impact the newborn health due to lack of adequate breastfeeding. However, studies reporting factors associated with breastfeeding behaviors are predominantly quantitative. Therefore, it is not clear what literature is available to understand the factors affecting breastfeeding and perinatal women’s perspectives and experiences. Aim: This review aimed to explore the perceptions and experiences of women with perinatal anxiety and depression, as well as how these experiences influence their breastfeeding behaviours. Methods: A systematic literature review of qualitative studies in line with the Enhancing Transparency in Reporting the Synthesis of Qualitative Research (ENTREQ). Four electronic databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, and Google Scholar) were explored for relevant studies using a search strategy. The search was restricted to studies published in the English language between 2000 and 2022. Findings from the literature were screened using a pre-defined screening criterion and the quality of eligible studies was appraised using the Walsh and Downe (2006) checklist. Findings were extracted and synthesised based on Braun and Clark. The review protocol was registered on PROSPERO (Ref: CRD42022319609). Result: A total of 4947 studies were identified from the four databases. Following duplicate removal and screening 16 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies included 87 pregnant and 302 post-partum women from 12 countries. The participants were from a variety of economic, regional, and religious backgrounds, mainly from the age of 18 to 45 years old. Three main themes were identified: Barriers to breastfeeding, breastfeeding facilitators, emotional disturbance, and breastfeeding. Seven subthemes emerged from the data: expectation versus reality, uncertainly about maternal competencies, body image and breastfeeding, lack of sufficient breastfeeding support for family and caregivers’ support, influences positive breastfeeding practices, breastfeeding education, and causes of mental strain among breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding duration is affected in women with mental health disorders, irrespective of their desire to breastfeed. Conclusion: There is significant empirical evidence that breastfeeding behaviour and perinatal mental disturbance are linked. However, there is a lack of evidence to apply the findings to Saudi women due to lack of empirical qualitative information. To improve the psychological well-being of mothers, it is crucial to explore and recognise any concerns with their mental, physical, and emotional well-being. Therefore, robust research is needed so that breastfeeding intervention researchers and policymakers can focus on specifically what needs to be done to help mentally distressed perinatal women and their new-born.

Keywords: pregnancy, perinatal period, anxiety, depression, emotional disturbance, breastfeeding

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Authors: Ekemini M. Okon, Reuben C. Okocha, Babatunde T. Adesina, Judith O. Ehigie, Babatunde M. Falana, Boluwape T. Okikiola

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Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has evolved to become a significant threat to global public health and food safety. The development of AMR in animals has been associated with antimicrobial overuse. In recent years, the number of antimicrobials used in food animals such as fish and poultry has escalated. It, therefore, becomes imperative to understand the patterns of AMR in fish and poultry and map out future directions for better surveillance efforts. This study used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses(PRISMA) to assess the trend, patterns, and spatial distribution for AMR research in Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa. A literature search was conducted through the Scopus and Web of Science databases in which published studies on AMR between 1989 and 2021 were assessed. A total of 172 articles were relevant for this study. The result showed progressive attention on AMR studies in fish and poultry from 2018 to 2021 across the selected countries. The period between 2018 (23 studies) and 2021 (25 studies) showed a significant increase in AMR publications with a peak in 2019 (28 studies). Egypt was the leading exponent of AMR research (43%, n=74) followed by Nigeria (40%, n=69), then South Africa (17%, n=29). AMR studies in fish received relatively little attention across countries. The majority of the AMR studies were on poultry in Egypt (82%, n=61), Nigeria (87%, n=60), and South Africa (83%, n=24). Further, most of the studies were on Escherichia and Salmonella species. Antimicrobials frequently researched were ampicillin, erythromycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim, chloramphenicol, and sulfamethoxazole groups. Multiple drug resistance was prevalent, as demonstrated by antimicrobial resistance patterns. In poultry, Escherichia coli isolates were resistant to cefotaxime, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, enrofloxacin, gentamycin, ciprofloxacin, oxytetracycline, kanamycin, nalidixic acid, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole, erythromycin, and ampicillin. Salmonella enterica serovars were resistant to tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole, cefotaxime, and ampicillin. Staphylococcusaureus showed high-level resistance to streptomycin, kanamycin, erythromycin, cefoxitin, trimethoprim, vancomycin, ampicillin, and tetracycline. Campylobacter isolates were resistant to ceftriaxone, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and nalidixic acid at varying degrees. In fish, Enterococcus isolates showed resistance to penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, vancomycin, and tetracycline but sensitive to ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, and rifampicin. Isolated strains of Vibrio species showed sensitivity to florfenicol and ciprofloxacin, butresistance to trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole and erythromycin. Isolates of Aeromonas and Pseudomonas species exhibited resistance to ampicillin and amoxicillin. Specifically, Aeromonashydrophila isolates showed sensitivity to cephradine, doxycycline, erythromycin, and florfenicol. However, resistance was also exhibited against augmentinandtetracycline. The findings constitute public and environmental health threats and suggest the need to promote and advance AMR research in other countries, particularly those on the global hotspot for antimicrobial use.

Keywords: antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance, bacteria, environment, public health

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Authors: Sean Taylor, Sayantani Neogi, Julia Budka

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The important Egyptian New Kingdom settlement at Sai Island Sudan presents a complex stratigraphic archaeological record. This study takes the theoretic stance that it, not just the archaeological material being retrieved from the deposits but the sediments themselves that reflect human agency. These anthropogenic sediments reflect the use life of the buildings and spaces between and the post-depositional processes which operate to complicate the archaeological record. The application of soil micromorphology is a technique that takes intact block samples of sediment and analyses them in thin section under a petrological microscope. A detailed understanding of site formation processes and a contextualized knowledge of the material culture can be understood through careful and systematic observation of the changing facies. The major findings of the study are that soil and sedimentary information can provide valuable insights to the use of space during the New Kingdom and elucidate the complexities of site formation processes.

Keywords: anthropogenic sediment, New Kingdom, site formation processes, soil micromorphology

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Authors: Yuxi Wang, Xuan Gao

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Traditional Chinese medicine has been used in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) for centuries, and in recent years, the research data on the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine through clinical trials has gradually increased to explore its real efficacy and internal pharmacology. However, due to the complexity of traditional Chinese medicine prescriptions, the efficacy of each component is difficult to clarify, and pharmacological research is challenging. This study aims to systematically review and clarify the clinical efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of coronary heart disease through a meta-analysis. Based on PubMed, CNKI database, Wanfang data, and other databases, eleven randomized controlled trials and 1091 CHD subjects were included. Two researchers conducted a systematic review of the papers and conducted a meta-analysis supporting the positive therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of CHD.

Keywords: coronary heart disease, Chinese medicine, treatment, meta-analysis

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Authors: D. Garg, S. Luthra, A. Haleem

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Reverse logistics (RL) is supposed to be a systematic procedure that helps in improving the environmental hazards and maintain business sustainability for industries. Industries in Indian are now opting for adoption of RL techniques in business. But, RL practices are not popular in Indian industries because of many barriers for its successful implementation. Therefore, need arises to identify and evaluate the barriers to implement RL practices by taking an Indian industries perspective. Literature review approach and case study approach have been adapted to identify relevant barriers to implement RL practices. Further, Fuzzy Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory methodology has been brought into use for evaluating causal relationships among the barriers to implement RL practices. Seven barriers out of ten barriers have been categorized into the cause group and remaining into effect group. This research will help Indian industries to manage these barriers towards effective implementing RL practices.

Keywords: barriers, decision making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL), fuzzy set theory, Indian industries, reverse logistics (RL)

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Authors: Maged Kamal

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Previous research papers have suggested that enhancing the environmental performance in textiles and apparel industry would affect positively on the overall enterprise competitiveness. However, there is a gap in the literature regarding simplifying the available theory to get it practically implemented with more confidence of the expected results, especially for small and medium enterprises. The aim of this paper is to simplify and best use of the concerned international norms to produce a systematic approach that could be used as a guideline for practical application of the main sustainable principles in medium size textile business. The increasing in efficiency which has been resulted from the implementation of the suggested approach/model originated from reduction in raw materials usage, energy, and water savings, in addition to the risk reduction for the people and the environment. The practical case study has been implemented in a textile factory producing knitted fabrics, readymade garments, dyed and printed fabrics. The results were analyzed to examine the effect of the suggested change on the enterprise profitability.

Keywords: apparel industry, environmental management, sustainability, textiles

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Authors: Li Shiyue

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In an urban built environment, urban green space is scarce, especially around old residential areas. Due to the innate design deficiency and the non-core location of these areas, they lack green space, and the recreational opportunities of the surrounding residents are not guaranteed. Micro greenspace becomes a "patch" to compensate for the urban function. To realize the renewal and transformation of micro greenspace, and make it meet the use needs of most groups, this paper introduces the concept of inclusive design. Based on relevant research at home and abroad, this paper discusses the connotation and current situation of micro greenspace. Combining with the realistic conditions of China, this paper thinks about the planning path of inclusive renewal from the aspects of selecting micro greenspace transformation potential points and exploring the key points of site renewal. Among them, the key points of site renewal are explored from five angles: land guarantee, systematic coordination, refined design, and shared space creation, to provide useful references for related research and practice.

Keywords: inclusive design, micro greenspace, old city area, space renewal

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Authors: Samuel Olugbenga King

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This review article, which is a synthesis of the relevant research literature, focuses on the capabilities of digital video to support, facilitate and enhance faculty development. Based on the literature review, faculty development (i.e., academic or educational development) requires the continued adoption of cohesive, theoretical frameworks to guide research and practice; incorporation of relevant tools from analogous fields, such as teacher professional development; systematic program evaluations; and detailed descriptions of practice to further practice and creative development. A cohesive, five-heuristic framework is subsequently outlined to inform the design and evaluation of the use of digital video, so as to address the barriers to advancing faculty development, as identified through the literature review. Alternative impact evaluation approaches are also described, while the limitations of using digital video for faculty development are highlighted. This paper is therefore conceived as one way to meaningfully leverage the educational affordances of digital video to address some lingering gaps in faculty development.

Keywords: digital video, faculty/educational development, evaluation, scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)

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Authors: Chamseddine Barki, Salam Labidi, Hanen Boussi Rahmouni

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In this article, we present the principle and suitable methodology for the design of a medical ontology that highlights the radiological and dosimetric knowledge, applied in diagnostic radiology and radiation-therapy. Our ontology, which we named «Onto.Rap», is the subject of radiation protection in medical and radiology centers by providing a standardized regulatory oversight. Thanks to its added values of knowledge-sharing, reuse and the ease of maintenance, this ontology tends to solve many problems. Of which we name the confusion between radiological procedures a practitioner might face while performing a patient radiological exam. Adding to it, the difficulties they might have in interpreting applicable patient radioprotection standards. Here, the ontology, thanks to its concepts simplification and expressiveness capabilities, can ensure an efficient classification of radiological procedures. It also provides an explicit representation of the relations between the different components of the studied concept. In fact, an ontology based-radioprotection expert system, when used in radiological center, could implement systematic radioprotection best practices during patient exam and a regulatory compliance service auditing afterwards.

Keywords: knowledge, ontology, radiation protection, radiology

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Authors: Choo Fatt Foo

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The Five Aggregates is core to Buddhism teaching. According to Buddhism, human beings and all sentient beings are made up of nothing but the Five Aggregates. If that is the case, the Five Aggregates must be found in all natural sciences. So far, there has not been any systematic connection between the Five Aggregates and natural sciences. This study aims at identifying traces of the Five Aggregates in various levels of natural sciences and pointing possible directions for future research. The following areas are briefly explored to identify the connection with the Five Aggregates: physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, DNA, cell, and human body and brain. Traces of the Five Aggregates should be found in each level of this hierarchy of natural sciences for human and sentient beings to be said to be made up of the Five Aggregates. This study proposes a hierarchical structure of nature cutting every level with the Five Aggregates and the Four Great Elements as its basis. The structure proposed by this study would revolutionize how we look at nature. Hopefully, better understanding of sciences in this manner will steer the application of scientific methods and technology towards a brighter future with compassion and tolerance.

Keywords: the five aggregates, Buddhism, four great elements, physics, calabi-yau manifold

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Authors: A. Mavrikos, N. Petsas, E. Kaltsi, D. Kaliampakos

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The lignite-fired power plants in the Western Macedonia Lignite Center produce more than 8 106 t of fly ash per year. Approximately 90% of this quantity is used for restoration-reclamation of exhausted open-cast lignite mines and slope stabilization of the overburden. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the environmental behavior of the mixture of waste rock and fly ash that is being used in the external deposition site of the South Field lignite mine. For this reason, a borehole was made within the site and 86 samples were taken and subjected to chemical analyses and leaching tests. The results showed very limited leaching of trace elements and heavy metals from this mixture. Moreover, when compared to the limit values set for waste acceptable in inert waste landfills, only few excesses were observed, indicating only minor risk for groundwater pollution. However, due to the complexity of both the leaching process and the contaminant pathway, more boreholes and analyses should be made in nearby locations and a systematic groundwater monitoring program should be implemented both downstream and within the external deposition site.

Keywords: co-deposition, fly ash, leaching tests, lignite, waste rock

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Authors: Mariia Karizhenskaia, Tanvi Nandani, Ali Tafazoli Moghadam

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Hospice palliative care (HPC) is one of the most complicated philosophies of care in which physical, social/cultural, and spiritual aspects of human life are intermingled with an undeniably significant role in every aspect. Among these dimensions of care, culture possesses an outstanding position in the process and goal determination of HPC. This study shows the importance of cultural elements in the establishment of effective and optimized structures of HPC in the Canadian healthcare environment. Our systematic search included Medline, Google Scholar, and St. Lawrence College Library, considering original, peer-reviewed research papers published from 1998 to 2023 to identify recent national literature connecting culture and palliative care delivery. The most frequently presented feature among the articles is the role of culture in the efficiency of the HPC. It has been shown frequently that including the culturespecific parameters of each nation in this system of care is vital for its success. On the other hand, ignorance about the exclusive cultural trends in a specific location has been accompanied by significant failure rates. Accordingly, implementing a culture-wise adaptable approach is mandatory for multicultural societies. The following outcome of research studies in this field underscores the importance of culture-oriented education for healthcare staff. Thus, all the practitioners involved in HPC will recognize the importance of traditions, religions, and social habits for processing the care requirements. Cultural competency training is a telling sample of the establishment of this strategy in health care that has come to the aid of HPC in recent years. Another complexity of the culturized HPC nowadays is the long-standing issue of racialization. Systematic and subconscious deprivation of minorities has always been an adversity of advanced levels of care. The last part of the constellation of our research outcomes is comprised of the ethical considerations of culturally driven HPC. This part is the most sophisticated aspect of our topic because almost all the analyses, arguments, and justifications are subjective. While there was no standard measure for ethical elements in clinical studies with palliative interventions, many research teams endorsed applying ethical principles for all the involved patients. Notably, interpretations and projections of ethics differ in varying cultural backgrounds. Therefore, healthcare providers should always be aware of the most respectable methodologies of HPC on a case-by-case basis. Cultural training programs have been utilized as one of the main tactics to improve the ability of healthcare providers to address the cultural needs and preferences of diverse patients and families. In this way, most of the involved health care practitioners will be equipped with cultural competence. Considerations for ethical and racial specifications of the clients of this service will boost the effectiveness and fruitfulness of the HPC. Canadian society is a colorful compilation of multiple nationalities; accordingly, healthcare clients are diverse, and this divergence is also translated into HPC patients. This fact justifies the importance of studying all the cultural aspects of HPC to provide optimal care on this enormous land.

Keywords: cultural competence, end-of-life care, hospice, palliative care

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Authors: Abdelghani Alidra, Mohamed Tahar Kimour

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Genetic algorithm must adapt themselves at design time to cope with the search problem specific requirements and at runtime to balance exploration and convergence objectives. In a previous article, we have shown that modeling and implementing Genetic Algorithms (GA) using the software product line (SPL) paradigm is very appreciable because they constitute a product family sharing a common base of code. In the present article we propose to extend the use of the feature model of the genetic algorithms family to model the potential states of the GA in what is called a Dynamic Software Product Line. The objective of this paper is the systematic generation of a reconfigurable architecture that supports the dynamic of the GA and which is easily deduced from the feature model. The resultant GA is able to perform dynamic reconfiguration autonomously to fasten the convergence process while producing better solutions. Another important advantage of our approach is the exploitation of recent advances in the domain of dynamic SPLs to enhance the performance of the GAs.

Keywords: self-adaptive genetic algorithms, software engineering, dynamic software product lines, reconfigurable architecture

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Authors: Angela Luft, Sebastian Bremen, Nicolae Balc

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Additive manufacturing processes have entered large parts of the industry and their range of application have progressed and grown significantly in the course of time. A major advantage of additive manufacturing is the innate flexibility of the machines. This corelates with the ongoing demand of creating highly flexible production environments. However, the potential of additive manufacturing technologies to enhance the flexibility of production systems has not yet been truly considered and quantified in a systematic way. In order to determine the potential of additive manufacturing technologies with regards to the strategic flexibility design in production systems, an integrated evaluation model has been developed, that allows for the simultaneous consideration of both conventional as well as additive production resources. With the described model, an operational scope of action can be identified and quantified in terms of mix and volume flexibility, process complexity, and machine capacity that goes beyond the current cost-oriented approaches and offers a much broader and more holistic view on the potential of additive manufacturing. A respective evaluation model is presented this paper.

Keywords: additive manufacturing, capacity planning, production systems, strategic production planning, flexibility enhancement

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Authors: Teresita Lopez Joy, Jose A. Acevedo Suarez, Martha I. Gomez Acosta, Ana Julia Acevedo Urquiaga

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Current trends in business competitiveness indicate the need to manage businesses as supply chains and not in isolation. The use of strategies aimed at maximum satisfaction of customers in a network and based on inter-company cooperation; contribute to obtaining successful joint results. In the Cuban economic context, the development of productive linkages to achieve integrated management of supply chains is considering a key aspect. In order to achieve this jump, it is necessary to develop acting capabilities in the entities that make up the chains through a systematic procedure that allows arriving at a management model in consonance with the environment. The objective of the research focuses on: designing a model and procedure for the development of integrated management of supply chains in economic entities. The results obtained are: the Model and the Procedure for the Development of the Supply Chains Integrated Management (MP-SCIM). The Model is based on the development of logistics in the network actors, the joint work between companies, collaborative planning and the monitoring of a main indicator according to the end customers. The application Procedure starts from the well-founded need for development in a supply chain and focuses on training entrepreneurs as doers. The characterization and diagnosis is done to later define the design of the network and the relationships between the companies. It takes into account the feedback as a method of updating the conditions and way to focus the objectives according to the final customers. The MP-SCIM is the result of systematic work with a supply chain approach in companies that have consolidated as coordinators of their network. The cases of the edible oil chain and explosives for construction sector reflect results of more remarkable advances since they have applied this approach for more than 5 years and maintain it as a general strategy of successful development. The edible oil trading company experienced a jump in sales. In 2006, the company started the analysis in order to define the supply chain, apply diagnosis techniques, define problems and implement solutions. The involvement of the management and the progressive formation of performance capacities in the personnel allowed the application of tools according to the context. The company that coordinates the explosives chain for construction sector shows adequate training with independence and opportunity in the face of different situations and variations of their business environment. The appropriation of tools and techniques for the analysis and implementation of proposals is a characteristic feature of this case. The coordinating entity applies integrated supply chain management to its decisions based on the timely training of the necessary action capabilities for each situation. Other cases of study and application that validate these tools are also detailed in this paper, and they highlight the results of generalization in the quantitative and qualitative improvement according to the final clients. These cases are: teaching literature in universities, agricultural products of local scope and medicine supply chains.

Keywords: integrated management, logistic system, supply chain management, tactical-operative planning

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Authors: Fatemeh Khalili Varnamkhasti

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In recent times, there has been a notable shift in the application of Total Quality Management (TQM) from manufacturing to service organizations, prompting numerous studies on the subject. TQM has firmly established itself across various sectors, emerging as an approach to process improvement, waste reduction, business optimization, and quality performance. Many researchers and academics have recognized the relevance of TQM for sustainable competitive advantage, particularly in service organizations. In light of this, the purpose of this research study is to explore the applicability of TQM within the service framework. The study delves into existing literature on TQM in service organizations and examines the reasons for its occasional shortcomings. Ultimately, the paper provides systematic guidelines for the effective implementation of TQM in service organizations. The findings of this study offer a much-improved understanding of TQM and its practices, shedding light on the evolution of service organizations. Additionally, the study highlights key insights from recent research on TQM in service organizations and proposes a ten-step approach for the successful implementation of TQM in the service sector. This framework aims to provide service managers and professionals with a comprehensive understanding of TQM fundamentals and encourages a deeper exploration of TQM theory.

Keywords: quality, control, service, management, teamwork

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