Search results for: common challenges

Authors: Kulveer Sandhu

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Background: In 1999, the Government of Canada legalized the use of cannabis for the therapeutic purpose (CTP); however, its users remain highly vulnerable to stigma and are judged by care providers and nonusers of cannabis. Findings from a literature review suggest health care providers (HCPs), including nurses in palliative care settings, lack knowledge about medical cannabis. For this reason, it is important to enhance HCPs’awarenessand knowledge of medical cannabis. Significance of the Project: Nurses are the first point of contact and spend more time with patients than other care providers; it is, therefore, important for them to be informed about CTPto provide quality and equitable care for medical cannabis users. Although nurses and other HCPs want information on CTP, the topic is rarely included in their educational curriculum. The purpose of this project is to create an evidence informed Package designed to increase knowledge among palliative care nurses about CTP. The information package will empower palliative nurses to help palliative patients make informed decisions about their treatment plan. Method: The information package will include a basic overview of the endocannabinoid system, common cannabis plants and products, and methods of consumption, as well as information to help nurses better understand consumption and harm reduction. The package will also include a set of cannabis fact sheets for nurses. Each fact sheet will comprise a high-level overview with graphics followed by a description of medical cannabis with links and references. At the end of the learning package, there are five self-reflection questions that allow nurses to examine their personal values, attitudes, and practices regarding medical cannabis. These questions will help each nurse understand their personal approach towards CTP and its users.

Keywords: medical cannabis, improve knowledge, cannabis for therapeutic purpose (CTP), patient experience, palliative care

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Authors: Ines Kovacic, Dijana Pavicic-Hamer, Petra Buric, Maja Levak Zorinc, Daniel M. Lyons

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Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs), owing to their unique physical and chemical properties, have become one of the most widely used nanoparticles in consumer products. Despite the increased use of AgNPs in science and industry over the past twenty years, only relatively recently has concern been raised over their entering brackish and marine environments. However, data on their potential impact on marine organisms, especially invertebrates are very limited. This study aimed to examine the effects of 60 nm AgNPs (10, 100, 500 and 1000 µg/l) and silver ions (100, 1000 µg/l) on the Mediterranean green crab Carcinus aestuarii Nardo, 1847. The crab mortality was assessed during seven days of exposure. After the exposure, total haemocytes (THC) and differential haemocytes number (DHC) were counted (immune response), in addition to histological examination of gills stained with haematoxylin and eosin. The effect of AgNPs and silver ions resulted in a dose dependent mortality and destruction of gills epithelium with haemocytes infiltration in the gills lacuna. Total haemocyte count was greater with increasing concentration of AgNPs, at concentrations from 10 to 500 µg/l. Hyalinocytes were the most common immunological cells noted in the crab hemolymph, while granulocytes and semigranulocytes were suppressed with increasing concentration of AgNPs (500 and 1000 µg/l). Thus, as crabs are filter feeders, they are susceptible to uptake of AgNPs by direct accumulation in gills mucus or indirectly via circulation of haemocytes in their open vascular system. Results of this study on crabs add to knowledge of the effects of AgNPs in the marine environment.

Keywords: crab, immune response, histological alteration, silver nanoparticles

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Authors: Ayelet Gur

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Background: Parents with intellectual disability are of great interest to social service professionals. Article 23 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities aims to ensure that persons with disabilities can create a family by providing adequate supports. The aim of the current investigation was to portray families with parents with intellectual disabilities within Muslim- Arab society in Israel. Method: Qualitative method using semi-structured interviews with nine-teen Muslim Israeli social workers was employed. Thematic analysis was used to identify major themes. Results: Families with parents with intellectual disability are not a rare phenomenon in the Arab society. The common type is of marriage between a man with intellectual disability and a woman without disability. Findings indicated two main motives for the arranged marriage of a man with intellectual disability: the extended family's concerns about his future and their desire for the family continuity. The non-disabled wives' motives for marrying men with intellectual disabilities revolved around their lack of other opportunities to create a family and their desire to leave their parents' household and live independently. Those women were described as partly or fully aware of their husbands' disability prior to the marriage. The family life of those families were described in relation to the fathers' involvement in family life and relation to the wives' high burden and in many cases, acceptance of their life situation. Conclusions: Findings are discussed with respect to religious values on disability, arranged marriage and the status of Muslim women. Services and supports for parents with intellectual disabilities should be developed with respect to the cultural values and norms.

Keywords: Arab society in Israel, intellectual and developmental disability, parents with intellectual disability, social work

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Authors: Krishna Pal Singh, Shailendra Kumar Gupta, Olaf Wolkenhauer

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Background: Our study aimed to identify common genes and potential targets across the four diseases, which include rheumatoid arthritis, melanoma metastasis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease. We used a network and systems biology approach to identify the hub gene, which can act as a potential target for all four disease conditions. The regulatory network was extracted from the PPI using the MCODE module present in Cytoscape. Our objective was to investigate the significance of hub genes in these diseases using gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Methods: Our methodology involved collecting disease gene-related information from DisGeNET databases and performing protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and core genes screening. We then conducted gene ontology and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. Results: We found that IL6 plays a critical role in all disease conditions and in different pathways that can be associated with the development of all four diseases. Conclusions: The theoretical importance of our research is that we employed various systems and structural biology techniques to identify a crucial protein that could serve as a promising target for treating multiple diseases. Our data collection and analysis procedures involved rigorous scrutiny, ensuring high-quality results. Our conclusion is that IL6 plays a significant role in all four diseases, and it can act as a potential target for treating them. Our findings may have important implications for the development of novel therapeutic interventions for these diseases.

Keywords: melanoma metastasis, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel diseases, integrated bioinformatics analysis

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Authors: Priscilla Adoley Moffat

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One common element of African cultures is gender role socialization. This is a significant component of African cultures because gender roles are considered in these cultures, to define males and females and distinguish males from females. Various studies have established the impact of gender role socialization on individuals, on activities of individuals, including business activities, and on society, in general. This study further examined the effect of gender role socialization on the marketing of gendered products. The study sought to establish whether gender role socialization affects marketing, particularly word-of-mouth marketing, of gender-specific products. For a comprehensive examination of the influence of gender role socialization on word-of-mouth marketing of gendered products, 2150 respondents (1075 males and 1075 females), comprising 550 students of Marketing from various Ghanaian universities/colleges and 1600 other individuals (100 from each of the 16 regions of Ghana, representing the various cultures) were randomly sampled and interviewed. The study found that females are more willing to market male products than males when tasked to market female products. Also, females are more efficient in marketing male products than males in marketing female products. Again, most female audiences feel uncomfortable or embarrassed and are less receptive when approached by a male marketer of female products. Then, the study found that the fear of stigmatization is a major influencer of males’ negative attitude towards marketing of female products and that female marketers of male products, however, suffer less or no stigma. Aside from its addition to the literature on the impact of gender role socialization on marketing and, for that matter, the influence of socialization on marketing, the findings of the study are useful to multinational companies, which become better informed in their strategy when assigning marketing roles, especially in Africa.

Keywords: gender, socialization, marketing, gendered, role, Ghana

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Authors: Surekha Rathod

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Sickle cell disease is a vascular disorder characterized by chronic, ongoing organ damage that is punctuated by episodes of acutely painful vascular complications.1 It is the most common genetic blood disorder in the United States, with about 2000 infants being identified through routine blood screenings annually, and an estimated 104,000-138,000 affected individuals living in the United States. Approximately 0.3%-1.3% of African American are affected by Sickle Cell Diseases (SCD).3 The aim of this paper is to present oral health status of patients with SCD. A total of 200 subjects of both sexes in the age group 18- 40 years were included in this study. The subjects were examined and the following indices were recorded • Oral hygiene index – Simplified (OHI-S). • Probing depths (PD). • Clinical Attachment Levels (CAL). • Gingival Index - Loe and Sillness. • Turesky Gillmore Glickman Modification of the Quigley Hein Plaque Index. (1970) • DMFT index. • Sickle Cell Disease Severity Index. A total of 1478 patients were screened of which 200 subjects were found to be diagnosed with SCD by electrophoresis. The study thus, included 200 subjects (111 females & 89 males) diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease in the age group of 18-40 years. The probing pocket depths (PPD) were measured in millimeters. 36% had PPD in the range of 2-4mm, 48% had PPD in the range of 4-6mm while 16% had PPD of more than 6mm. Similar results were obtained for the Clinical Attachment Levels (CAL). 29.5 % subjects had CAL 2-4mm, 44.5% had 4-6mm & 26% had CAL 6mm & above. We can thus conclude that although oral health is not a priority for patients with SCD, it is supported by increased plaque accumulation. Because of the chronic anemic state of the patients with SCD, they should be encouraged to pay strict attention to oral hygiene instructions and practice.

Keywords: chronic, genetic, oral, sickle cell disease, vascular

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Authors: Ikenna Emmanuel Idoko

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Evolution and evolutionary processes are phenomena that have come to stay in the fabrics of the universal living, hence expressions such as universal evolution. These evolutions in the universe cut across all facets of human accomplishments, which architecture is a part of. There is a notion in political sciences that politics and the act of politicking are local, meaning that politics and political processes are unique and peculiar to a people, all dependent on their sociocultural makeup. The notion is also applicable in architecture because the architecture of a people is mostly dependent on several factors such as climatic conditions, material availability, socio-cultural beliefs and religious inclinations. Stemming from the cultural dimension, it is of course common knowledge that every society is driven by its own unique culture. The fusion of architecture and culture creates the actual uniqueness which underlines the “archi-cultural” representation of a people’s material culture. This paper is aimed at appraising architectural evolution as it affects the representation of the material culture of a people. For effective systemization of the aim, various spectacular kinds of literature were reviewed, coupled with the visitation and study of existing buildings in Nigeria to properly understand the live peculiarity in the architecture of the selected area. Since architecture needs a lot of pictorial pieces of evidence, pictures and graphical representations were extensively utilized, and channelled to aid a better understanding of the study. Amongst all, an important part of this paper is that it adds to the body of existing knowledge in the Arts and Humanities by speaking extensively to the tenets of cultural representation on buildings. Similarly, the field of architecture, specifically, traditional architecture, would be gaining some extra knowledge owing to the study of some important almost-neglected or forgotten architectural elements of various traditional buildings.

Keywords: evolution, architecture, material, culture

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Authors: M. Kashiripoor

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Existing indicators for sustainable urban development do not identify the features of cities’ planning structures and their architecture. Iranian city has special relevance problem of assessing the conformity of their planning and development of the concept of sustainable development. Based on theoretical sources, the author concludes that, despite the existence of common indicators for sustainable development of settlements, specialized evaluation criteria city structure planning has not been developed. He is trying to fill this gap and put forward a system of indicators characterizing the level of development of the architectural-planning structure of the city. The proposed system of indicators is designed based on technical and economic urban standard indicators from different countries. Alternative designing systems and requirements of modern rating systems like LEED-ND comprise a criterion for evaluation of urban structures in accordance with principles of "Green" building and New Urbanism. Urban development trends are close in spirit of sustainable development and developed under its influence. The study allowed concluding that a system of indicators to identify the relevant architectural-planning structure of the city, requirements of sustainable development, should be adapted to the conditions of each country, particularly in Iran. The article attempts typology proposed indicators, which are presented in tabular form and are divided into two types: planning and spatial. This article discusses the known indicators of sustainable development and proposed specific system of indicators characterizing the level of development of architectural-planning structure of the city. This article examines indicators for evaluating level of city' planning structure development. The proposed system of indicators is derived from the urban planning standards and rating systems such as LEED-ND, BREEAM Community and CASBEE-UD.

Keywords: architectural-planning structure of cities, urban planning indicators, urban space indicators, urban development

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Authors: Camille Intson

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This paper endeavors to explore the opportunities, challenges, and ethics of reconstructing and re-enacting archives of memory through virtual reality (VR) performance, using Jordan Tannahill’s Draw Me Close as an exemplary case study. Draw Me Close is a 1:1 virtual reality (VR) performance in which the artist’s childhood memories, experiences, and interactions with his mother are reconstructed in the wake of her passing. Solo audience members are positioned as Jordan (the subject and character) and taken through a series of narratives, (virtual) spaces, and interactions with his “mother,” played by a live actor. Piece by piece, audiences are brought into the world of the “shifting” archive, inhabiting Jordan’s reconstructed virtual world from his early explorations of queer sexuality through to his mother’s cancer diagnosis and passing. This paper will explore how the world of Draw Me Close represents a “touching” and/or “queering” of time within its archive, blurring and transgressing the boundaries between the animate and the inanimate, life and death. On a philosophical level, considering foundational queer performance scholarship and archival theory, it will also examine how performance’s ephemerality rewards its artists with the dual advantages of visibility and protection, allowing for an ethical exploration of traumatic memory and loss within a disappearing medium. Finally, this provocation will use Draw Me Close as a point of departure from which to outline future possibilities for performance and emerging technologies’ engagements with archival theory and practice. By positioning virtual reality (VR) as an archive-constructing medium, it aims to move beyond the question of how we can take performances seriously as archives towards how personal archive construction is itself a performative act.

Keywords: intermedial theatre, new media arts, queer performance, virtual reality

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Authors: Angelis P. Barlampas

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Purpose: A 29 years old woman presented in the emergency department with psychiatric symptoms. The psychiatrist ordered a computed tomography scan as part of a general examination. Material and methods: The CT showed bilateral enlarged choroid plexus structures mimicking papillomata and situated in the trigones of the lateral ventricles. The left choroid plexus was heavily calcified, but the right one has no any obvious calcifications. Results: It is well kown that any brain mass can present with behavioral changes and even psychiatric symptomatology. Papillomata of the ventricular system have been described to cause psychotic episodes. According to literature, choroid plexus papillomas are seldom neuroepithelial intraventricular tumors, which are benign and categorized as WHO grade 1 tumors. They are more common in the pediatric population, but they can occur in the adults, too1. In addition, the distinction between choroid plexus papilloma and carcinoma is very difficult and impossible by imagine alone. It can only be implied with more advanced imaging, such as arterial spin labeling and MRI. The final diagnosis is, of course, after surgical excision. The usual location in adults is the fourth ventricle, but in children, it is the lateral ventricles. Their imaging appearance is that of a solid vascular tumor, which enhances intensely after the intravenous administration of contrast material. One out of fourth tumors presents speckled calcifications1. In our case, there are symmetrically sized masses at the trigones, and there are no calcifications in one of them, whereas the other one is grossly calcified. Also, there is no obvious hydrocephalus or any other evidence of increased intracranial pressure. General conclusions: When there is a new psychiatric patient, someone must undergo any possible examination, and of course, a brain CT study should be done to exclude any rare organic causes that may be responsible for the disease.

Keywords: phycosis, intraventricular masses, CT, brain calcifications

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Authors: Ann D. Christy, Beenish Saba

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The Microbial fuel Cell (MFC) is a successful integrated technology for power production and wastewater treatment. MFCs are recognized for their dual function, but research in this field is still ongoing to increase efficiency and power output. One such effort is successful integration of phototrophic and autotrophic microorganisms to create bacterio-algal MFCs for sustainable electricity production along with wastewater treatment and algal biomass production. An MFC is typically configured with an anaerobic anodic chamber containing exoelectrogenic microorganisms separated by a cation exchange membrane from an adjacent aerobic cathodic chamber. The two electrodes are connected by an external circuit. This conventional MFC can be converted into a phototrophic MFC by introducing photosynthetic microorganisms into the cathode chamber. This study examines adding a third desalination chamber to a two-chamber bacterio-algal MFC. Successful results have been observed from these three-chamber MFCs demonstrating wastewater treatment in the anodic chamber, phototrophic algal growth in the cathodic chamber, and desalination in the middle chamber. The present article will summarize successful results of the bacterio-algal fuel cells and offer insights about the mechanisms involved. Tables summarizing the input substrate along with optimized operational conditions and output performance in terms of power production and efficiencies of water and wastewater treatment will be presented. The negative impacts and challenges will be discussed, along with possible future research directions. Results suggest that the three chamber bacterio-algal desalination cell has potential as a feasible technology for power production, wastewater treatment and desalination, but it needs further investigation under optimized conditions.

Keywords: bacterio-algal MFC, three chamber, microbial fuel cell, wastewater treatment and desalination

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Authors: Surbhi Aggarwal, Jaishree Paul

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Background: Role of GABA has been implicated in autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, type1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis where they modulate the immune response but role in gut inflammation has not been defined. Ulcerative colitis (UC) and diarrhoeal predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) both involve inflammation of gastrointestinal tract. UC is a chronic, relapsing and idiopathic inflammation of gut. IBS is a common functional gastrointestinal disorder characterised by abdominal pain, discomfort and alternating bowel habits. Mild inflammation is known to occur in IBS-D. Aim: Aim of this study was to investigate the role of GABA in UC as well as in IBS-D. Materials and methods: Blood and biopsy samples from UC, IBS-D and controls were collected. ELISA was used for measuring level of GABA in serum of UC, IBS-D and controls. RT-PCR analysis was done to determine GABAergic signal system in colon biopsy of UC, IBS-D and controls. RT-PCR was done to check the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. CurveExpert 1.4, Graphpad prism-6 software were used for data analysis. Statistical analysis was done by unpaired, two-way student`s t-test. All sets of data were represented as mean± SEM. A probability level of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results and conclusion: Significantly decreased level of GABA and altered GABAergic signal system was detected in UC and IBS-D as compared to controls. Significantly increased expression of proinflammatory cytokines was also determined in UC and IBS-D as compared to controls. Hence we conclude that insufficient level of GABA in UC and IBS-D leads to overproduction of proinflammatory cytokines which further contributes to inflammation. GABA may be used as a promising therapeutic target for treatment of gut inflammation or other inflammatory diseases.

Keywords: diarrheal predominant irritable bowel syndrome, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), inflammation, ulcerative colitis

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Authors: Mulugeta K. Tefera, Xiaolong Yang, Jian Liu

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Detection and tracking of moving objects are very important in many application contexts such as detection and recognition of people, visual surveillance and automatic generation of video effect and so on. However, the task of detecting a real shape of an object in motion becomes tricky due to various challenges like dynamic scene changes, presence of shadow, and illumination variations due to light switch. For such systems, once the moving object is detected, tracking is also a crucial step for those applications that used in military defense, video surveillance, human computer interaction, and medical diagnostics as well as in commercial fields such as video games. In this paper, an object presents in dynamic background is detected using adaptive mixture of Gaussian based analysis of the video sequences. Then the detected moving object is tracked using the region based moving object tracking and inter-frame differential mechanisms to address the partial overlapping and occlusion problems. Firstly, the detection algorithm effectively detects and extracts the moving object target by enhancing and post processing morphological operations. Secondly, the extracted object uses region based moving object tracking and inter-frame difference to improve the tracking speed of real-time moving objects in different video frames. Finally, the plotting method was applied to detect the moving objects effectively and describes the object’s motion being tracked. The experiment has been performed on image sequences acquired both indoor and outdoor environments and one stationary and web camera has been used.

Keywords: background modeling, Gaussian mixture model, inter-frame difference, object detection and tracking, video surveillance

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Authors: Wilman Septina, Rajiv R. Prabhakar, Thomas Moehl, David Tilley

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Cupric oxide (CuO) is a promising absorber material for the fabrication of scalable, low cost solar energy conversion devices, due to the high abundance and low toxicity of copper. It is a p-type semiconductor with a band gap of around 1.5 eV, absorbing a significant portion of the solar spectrum. One of the main challenges in using CuO as solar absorber in an aqueous system is its tendency towards photocorrosion, generating Cu2O and metallic Cu. Although there have been several reports of CuO as a photocathode for hydrogen production, it is unclear how much of the observed current actually corresponds to H2 evolution, as the inevitability of photocorrosion is usually not addressed. In this research, we investigated the effect of the deposition of overlayers onto CuO thin films for the purpose of enhancing its photostability as well as performance for water splitting applications. CuO thin film was fabricated by galvanic electrodeposition of metallic copper onto gold-coated FTO substrates, followed by annealing in air at 600 °C. Photoelectrochemical measurement of the bare CuO film using 1 M phosphate buffer (pH 6.9) under simulated AM 1.5 sunlight showed a current density of ca. 1.5 mA cm-2 (at 0.4 VRHE), which photocorroded to Cu metal upon prolonged illumination. This photocorrosion could be suppressed by deposition of 50 nm-thick TiO2, deposited by atomic layer deposition. In addition, we found that insertion of an n-type CdS layer, deposited by chemical bath deposition, between the CuO and TiO2 layers was able to enhance significantly the photocurrent compared to without the CdS layer. A photocurrent of over 2 mA cm-2 (at 0 VRHE) was observed using the photocathode stack FTO/Au/CuO/CdS/TiO2/Pt. Structural, electrochemical, and photostability characterizations of the photocathode as well as results on various overlayers will be presented.

Keywords: CuO, hydrogen, photoelectrochemical, photostability, water splitting

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Authors: Solmaz Jahed Shiran, John Hearne, Tayebeh Saghapour

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Daily travel behavior is strongly influenced by the location of the places of residence, education, and employment. Hence a change in those locations due to a move or changes in an occupation leads to a change in travel behavior. Given the interventions of housing mobility and travel behaviors, the hypothesis is that a mobile housing market allows households to move as a result of any change in their life course, allowing them to be closer to central services, public transport facilities and workplace and hence reducing the time spent by individuals on daily travel. Conversely, household’s immobility may lead to longer commutes of residents, for example, after a change of a job or a need for new services such as schools for children who have reached their school age. This paper aims to investigate the association between residential mobility and travel behavior. The Victorian Integrated Survey of Travel and Activity (VISTA) data is used for the empirical analysis. Car ownership and journey to work time and distance of employed people are used as indicators of travel behavior. Change of usual residence within the last five years used to identify movers and non-movers. Statistical analysis, including regression models, is used to compare the travel behavior of movers and non-movers. The results show travel time, and the distance does not differ for movers and non-movers. However, this is not the case when taking into account the residence tenure-type. In addition, car ownership rate and number found to be significantly higher for non-movers. It is hoped that the results from this study will contribute to a better understanding of factors other than common socioeconomic and built environment features influencing travel behavior.

Keywords: journey to work, regression models, residential mobility, commute mode, car ownership

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Authors: Smriti Gour, Neelam Pandey

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The objective of this study was to describe and analyse the mutual relationship between the coping mechanisms used by the families of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and family dynamics and the effect sibling interactions have on the dynamics and coping mechanisms in an urban setup. In-depth interviews were conducted for 25 families, with 4 members each in the Delhi NCR area in India. The families who were interviewed had a younger child who had received a diagnosis of ASD between the ages of 5-12. The in-depth questionnaires contained open-ended questions and the interviews were conducted separately for the mother, father and the typically developing sibling. The key findings of the study suggested that lack of communication was a common factor in most families (n=19) leading to other difficulties like stress and relationship dysfunction. It also fostered a fallacious perception of the relationship dynamics in the family in most of the interviewed families and changed depending on the family member being interviewed. In families where the typically developing elder sibling had a good relationship with the autistic child, the family dynamics were found to be more stable, and the overall family well-being was better maintained. The coping mechanisms employed by the families were also more positive and tended to work better if the typically developing sibling maintained a positive and interactive relationship with the parents and the autistic child. The type of coping mechanisms had a major impact on the relationship between the parents and in dictating the dynamics of the family of the child with ASD. Spirituality, professional help, family support and household help emerged to be the most effective coping mechanisms for the families, with spirituality emerging to be the most positive and effective coping mechanism in the families interviewed.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, coping mechanism, family dynamics, parental relationships, siblings

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Authors: Tünde Tifordiána Simonyi, Tímea Harmath-Tánczos

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The primary aim of the current research is to present the significance of a multicultural perspective in clinical neuropsychology and to present the test battery of the Multicultural Neuropsychological Scale (MUNS). The method includes the MUNS screening tool that involves stimuli common to most cultures in the world. The test battery measures general cognitive functioning focusing on five cognitive domains (memory, executive function, language, visual construction, and attention) tested with seven subtests that can be utilized within a wide age range (15-89), and lower and higher education participants. It is a scale that is sensitive to mild cognitive impairments. Our study presents the first results with the Hungarian translation of MUNS on a healthy sample. The education range was 4-25 years of schooling. The Hungarian sample was recruited by snowball sampling. Within the investigated population (N=151) the age curve follows an inverted U-shaped curve regarding cognitive performance with a high load on memory. Age, reading fluency, and years of education significantly influenced test scores. The sample was tested twice within a 14-49 days interval to determine test-retest reliability, which is satisfactory. Besides the findings of the study and the introduction of the test battery, the article also highlights its potential benefits for both research and clinical neuropsychological practice. The importance of adapting, validating and standardizing the test in other languages besides the Hungarian language context is also stressed. This test battery could serve as a helpful tool in mapping general cognitive functions in psychiatric and neurological disorders regardless of the cultural background of the patients.

Keywords: general cognitive functioning, multicultural, MUNS, neuropsychological test battery

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Authors: Mohammad J. Rezai, Fereshteh Davarpanah

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Producing a text in a language which is not one’s mother tongue can be a demanding task for language learners. Examining lexical errors committed by EFL learners is a challenging area of investigation which can shed light on the process of second language acquisition. Despite the considerable number of investigations into grammatical errors, few studies have tackled formal and semantic errors of lexis committed by EFL learners. The current study aimed at examining Persian learners’ formal and semantic errors of lexis in English. To this end, 60 students at three different proficiency levels were asked to write on 10 different topics in 10 separate sessions. Finally, 600 essays written by Persian EFL learners were collected, acting as the corpus of the study. An error taxonomy comprising formal and semantic errors was selected to analyze the corpus. The formal category covered misselection and misformation errors, while the semantic errors were classified into lexical, collocational and lexicogrammatical categories. Each category was further classified into subcategories depending on the identified errors. The results showed that there were 2583 errors in the corpus of 9600 words, among which, 2030 formal errors and 553 semantic errors were identified. The most frequent errors in the corpus included formal error commitment (78.6%), which were more prevalent at the advanced level (42.4%). The semantic errors (21.4%) were more frequent at the low intermediate level (40.5%). Among formal errors of lexis, the highest number of errors was devoted to misformation errors (98%), while misselection errors constituted 2% of the errors. Additionally, no significant differences were observed among the three semantic error subcategories, namely collocational, lexical choice and lexicogrammatical. The results of the study can shed light on the challenges faced by EFL learners in the second language acquisition process.

Keywords: collocational errors, lexical errors, Persian EFL learners, semantic errors

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Authors: Jelena Filipović, Milenko Košutić, Vladimir Filipović

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In the last decades urban population is characterized by sedentary lifestyles, low physical activity and "fast food". These changes in diet and physical non activity have been associated with the increase of chronic non diseases. Bread is one of the most popularly wheat products consumed worldwide. Spelt wheat has shown potential in various food applications, including bread, pasta, breakfast cereal and other products of altered nutritional characteristics compared to conventional wheat products. It has very high protein content and even 30 to 60% higher concentration of mineral elements Fe, Zn, Cu, Mg and P compared to Triticum Aestivum. Spelt wheat is growing without the use of pesticides in harsh ecological conditions and it is an old cultivar. So it can be used for organic and health safe food. Changes in the formulation of bread with the aim to improve their nutritional and functional properties usually lead to changes in the dough properties which is related reflected to the quality of the finished product. The aim of this paper is researching the impact of adding yeast extract to bread on sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of a new product as a key factor for successful marketing of a new product. The sensory analysis of bread with 5% yeast extract is as follows: the technological quality is very good (3.8) and the color of the product is excellent (4.85). Based on data consumers survey declared that they liked the taste of bread with 5% yeast extract (74%), consumers marked the product as likeable (70%), and 75% of the total number of respondents would buy this new product. This paper is promoting a new type of bread with 5% yeast extract (Z score 0.80) to improve diet and novel functional product which intended for consumers conscious about their health and diet.

Keywords: bread, yeast extract, sensory analysis, consumer survey, score analysis Z

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Authors: Alvite Singh Ningthoujam

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The most recent terror phenomenon, which is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), or Islamic State (IS), has its influence felt in South Asia. This dreaded Sunni militant group, today, has become a concern in India as well. Already affected by various terror activities in the country, the influence of the IS on the radicalised Muslim youths in India has been watched closely by the security agencies. There had already been a few IS-related incidents in India due to which this issue has emerged as a threat or challenge to India’s internal security. The rapid radicalisation of youths in a few states where there are sizeable Muslim populations has gone, to some extent, in favour of the IS, particularly in the terror outfit’s recruitment process. What has added to the worry of the Indian security agencies is the announcement of the Al-Qaeda leader, Ayman al-Zawahari, of the creation of the Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent. In fact, this is a worrisome factor as both the militant groups, that is, al-Qaeda and ISIS, have a similar objective to target India and to turn this South Asian country as one of the recruiting grounds for extremists. There is also a possibility that an Indian Mujahedeen (IM) man was believed to be instrumental in recruiting for the ISIS poor Muslims in a few Indian states. If this nexus between ISIS and India’s home-grown terror groups manages to establish a robust link, then the headache of combating such amalgamated force will be a hard task for Indian security agencies. In the wake of the above developments, this paper would seek to analyse the developing trend in India in regard to IS. It would also bring out the reasons as to why further penetration of the IS influence on India would be a grave concern in the internal security of the country. The last section of the paper would highlight the steps that have been taken by the Indian government to tackle this menace effectively.

Keywords: India, Islamic State, Muslim, Security

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Authors: Marwa Abdulsalam, Osamu Suzuki, Wirawan Dony Dahana

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One of the remarkable and unique industries in Japan is the food samples industry which can be noticed in most of the restaurants located around Japan. However, the market is getting saturated, which has pushed Japanese food sample manufacturers to start exploring new international markets. Most of the markets they explored were in the East Asian region, such as China or Korea. In this research, we examine the feasibility and the potential adoption rate of food samples in the international market outside the East Asian region. The main focus of this study is on the Saudi Arabian market. Nonetheless, since Saudi Arabia is a big market, the study results could possibly be applied to the international market as well. The study has conducted a quantitative survey to test the potential of the food samples industry in Saudi Arabia especially in 4 major cities: Jeddah, Mecca, Riyadh, and Dammam. The survey also tests the willingness to purchase, the average price point that the consumer is willing to pay for food samples, and the factors that drive restaurant owners to adopt the food samples system. The study created a correlation analysis between different factors, such as the geographic factor and the size of the restaurant factor, to examine the effect of different aspects on the purchasing decision. The study has found that the Japanese food samples system is predicted to adapt successfully in the Saudi Arabian market and in the international market alike due to the high importance of the food culture and the existence of the communication challenges that the food samples can solve. Additionally, the market survey stated in this study indicated that 83% of the restaurants’ managers are willing to adopt this system in their restaurants.

Keywords: food samples, innovative marketing, international market, marketing method

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Authors: Kwaku Damoah

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The agricultural sector is characterized by continuous transformation, driven by factors such as demographic shifts, evolving consumer preferences, climate change, and migration trends. This dynamic environment presents complex challenges for key stakeholders including farmers, governments, and investors, who must navigate these changes to achieve optimal investment returns. To effectively predict market trends and uncover promising investment opportunities, a systematic, data-driven approach is essential. This paper introduces the Structural Evolution Index (SEI), a machine learning-based methodology. SEI is specifically designed to analyse long-term trends and forecast the potential of emerging agricultural products for investment. Versatile in application, it evaluates various agricultural metrics such as production, yield, trade, land use, and consumption, providing a comprehensive view of the evolution within agricultural markets. By harnessing data from the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAOSTAT), this study demonstrates the SEI's capabilities through Comparative Exploratory Analysis and evaluation of international trade in agricultural products, focusing on Malaysia and Singapore. The SEI methodology reveals intricate patterns and transitions within the agricultural sector, enabling stakeholders to strategically identify and capitalize on emerging markets. This predictive framework is a powerful tool for decision-makers, offering crucial insights that help anticipate market shifts and align investments with anticipated returns.

Keywords: agricultural investment, algorithm, comparative exploratory analytics, machine learning, market trends, predictive analytics, structural evolution index

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Authors: Saritdikhun Somasa

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3D printing fabrication has empowered many artists in many fields. Artists who work in stop motion, 3D modeling, toy design, product design, sculpture, and fine arts become one-stop shop operations–where they can design, prototype, and distribute their designs for commercial or fine art purposes. The author has developed a digital sculpting course that fosters digital software, peripheral hardware, and 3D printing with traditional sculpting concept techniques to address the complexities of this multifaceted process, allowing the students to produce complex 3d-printed work. The author will detail the preparation and planning for pre- to post-process 3D printing elements, including software, materials, space, equipment, tools, and schedule consideration for small to medium figurine design statues in a semester-long class. In addition, the author provides insight into teaching challenges in the non-studio space that requires students to work intensively on post-printed models to assemble parts, finish, and refine the 3D printed surface. Even though this paper focuses on the 3D printing processes and techniques for small to medium design statue projects for the Digital Media program, the author hopes the paper will benefit other fields of study such as craft practices, product design, and fine-arts programs. Other schools that might implement 3D printing and fabrication in their programs will find helpful information in this paper, such as a teaching plan, choices of equipment and materials, adaptation for non-studio spaces, and putting together a complete and well-resolved project for students.

Keywords: 3D digital modeling, 3D digital sculpting, 3D modeling, 3D printing, 3D digital fabrication

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Authors: Raed Kouta

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A fuel cell is a multi-physical system. Its electrical performance depends on chemical, electrochemical, fluid, and mechanical parameters. Many studies focus on physical and chemical aspects. Our study contributes to the evaluation of the influence of mechanical aspects on the performance of a fuel cell. This study is carried out as part of a reliability approach. Reliability modeling allows to consider the uncertainties of the incoming parameters and the probabilistic modeling of the outgoing parameters. The fuel cell studied is the one often used in land, sea, or air transport. This is the Low-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). This battery can provide the required power level. One of the main scientific and technical challenges in mastering the design and production of a fuel cell is to know its behavior in its actual operating environment. The study proposes to highlight the influence on the production of electrical energy: Mechanical design and manufacturing parameters and their uncertainties (Young module, GDL porosity, permeability, etc.). The influence of the geometry of the bipolar plates is also considered. An experimental design is proposed with two types of materials as well as three geometric shapes for three joining pressures. Other experimental designs are also proposed for studying the influence of uncertainties of mechanical parameters on cell performance. - Mechanical (static, dynamic) and thermal (tightening - compression, vibrations (road rolling and tests on vibration-climatic bench, etc.) loads. This study is also carried out according to an experimental scheme on a fuel cell system for vibration loads recorded on a vehicle test track with three temperatures and three expected performance levels. The work will improve the coupling between mechanical, physical, and chemical phenomena.

Keywords: fuel cell, mechanic, reliability, uncertainties

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Authors: Indira Sinha

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According to the Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary of Current English, environment is the complex of physical, chemical and biotic factors that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determines its form and survival. It is defined as conditions and circumstances which are affecting people's lives. The meaning of environmental degradation is the degradation of the environment through depletion of resources such as air, water and soil and the destruction of ecosystems and extinction of wildlife. Globalization is a significant feature of recent world history. The aim of this phenomenon is to integrate societies, economies and cultures through a common link of trading policies, technology and communication. Undoubtedly it has opened up the world economy at a very high speed but at the same time it has an adverse impact on the environment. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the impact of globalization on the environmental conditions. An overview of what the forces of globalization have in store for the environment with constructing large number of industries and destroying large forests lands will be given in this paper. The forces of globalization have created many serious environmental problems like high temperature, extinction of many species of plant and animal and outlet of poisonous chemicals from industries. The revelation of this study is that in case of developing economics these problems are more critical. In developing countries like India many factories are built with less environmental regulations, while developed economies maintain positive environmental practices. The present study is a micro level study which aims to employ a combination of theoretical, descriptive, empirical and analytical approach in addition to the time tested case method.

Keywords: globalization, trade policies, environmental degradation, developing economies, large industries

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Authors: Sy, Melecio Jr

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The decision to adopt vertical integration (VI) is firm-specific, but there is a common practice among businesses in an industry to maximize the massive potential benefits of VI. This study aims to determine VI adoption in the restaurant industry in Davao City. Using a two-step sampling process, the study used a validated survey questionnaire among 264 restaurant owners and managers randomly selected and geographically classified. It is a quantitative study where the data were subjected to a structural equation model (SEM). The results revealed that VI is present but limited to procurement, production, restaurant services, and online marketing. Raw materials were outsourced while delivery to customers through third-party delivery services. VI slowly increased over ten years except for online marketing, which has grown significantly in a few years. The endogenous and exogenous variables were correlated and established the linear regression model. The SEM's best fit model revealed that strategic motives (SMOT) and market factors (MFAC) influenced VI adoption while MFAC is the best predictor. Favorable market factors may lead restaurants to adopt VI. It is, thus, recommended for restaurants to institutionalize strategic management, quantify the impact of double marginalization in future studies as a reason for VI and conduct this study during the new normal to see the influence of business efficiencies and firm economies on VI adoption.

Keywords: business efficiencies, business management, davao city, firm economies, market factors, philippines, strategic motives, structural equation model, supply chain, vertical integration adoption

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Authors: Tsoaledi D. Thobejane, Barnabas C. Okere

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Gender mainstreaming has been adopted as a strategy for promoting gender equality in institutions of higher learning Worldwide, not least in Africa. This study investigated Gender Mainstreaming at the University of Venda, in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study was based on the Feminist Theoretical Framework. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were used. A case study research design was adopted. The study involved a population of 60 participants and a sample of 25 male and female workers selected using the purposive sampling technique. Data were presented in pie charts, tables, themes and in textual forms. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. The major findings and conclusions of the study were that the University of Venda faces enormous challenges in mainstreaming gender in the university functions. There are perceptions that most strategic higher positions in the institution are dominated by men while women are marginalized. Although the University has policies on gender, staff members do not know about them while management does not implement its policies. University of Venda makes use of the Employment Equity Act of 1998, but it is not clear whether line managers are aware of its implementation and how. In addition, favouritism, nepotism, patronage, and patriarchy played a role in gender mainstreaming. The study recommended that there should be more gender awareness activities, such as workshops, conferences, and symposia for workers and staff members in order to sensitize them about gender towards understanding. The study also recommended that deserving female staff members should be promoted, and all employees should be encouraged to read and understand gender policies. In addition, management should implement the institutions and national gender policies without fear or favour.

Keywords: gender mainstreaming, gender equality, institutions, representation

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Authors: Richard Briginshaw, Hana Alaojeli, Javaria Ahmad, Hamza Gaffar, Nourtan Murad

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Sustainable renovations to cultural buildings and sites require a high level of competency in the sometimes conflicting areas of social/historical demands, environmental concerns, and the programmatic and technical requirements of the project. A detailed analysis of the existing site, building and client program are critical to reveal both challenges and opportunities. This forms the starting point for the design process – empirical explorations that search for a balanced and inspired architectural solution to the project. The Red Bay National Historic Site on the Labrador Coast of eastern Canada is a challenging project to explore and resolve these ideas. Originally the site of a 16ᵗʰ century whaling station occupied by Basque sailors from France and Spain, visitors now experience this history at the interpretive center, along with the unique geography, climate, local culture and vernacular architecture of the area. Working with our client, Parks Canada, the project called for significant alterations and expansion to the existing facility due to an increase in the number of annual visitors. Sustainable aspects of the design are focused on sensitive site development, passive energy strategies such as building orientation and building envelope efficiency, active renewable energy systems, carefully considered material selections, water efficiency, and interiors that respond to human comfort and a unique visitor experience.

Keywords: sustainability, renovations and expansion, cultural project, architectural design, green building

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Authors: Phyo Kyaw Kyaw

Abstract:

In the Yangon urban landscape, one could not help, but notice old buildings from the colonial period along with condominium developments recently, and many walk-up apartment buildings to accommodate the urbanization, growing population and social-economic status of Myanmar people. Walk-up apartments were built and popular after the British colonial period (around 1950s) and are still built up to today due to its cost-effectiveness and to accommodate low to mid-income residents in the metropolitan Yangon. Approximately 90% of apartment buildings are walk-up apartments. The common impression of walk-up apartments in Yangon appears to be old rectangular box shape, homogenous envelope and limited square feet dull interior small space. In other words, the buildings are full of constraints, lack of good user experiences, and they are not well-fitted in the modern days. Therefore, the resident suffers consequently many years, some may live in the apartment their entire lives. Thousands of people living in the walk-up apartment on a daily basis are being shaped by the space and its inadequate quality of living. Can it be called “Home” by the dwellers or is the place a temporary shelter?. Online semi-structured interviews of 15 apartments’ residents and online questionnaire surveys of 70 apartment residents are conducted. This research aims to explore what makes “Home” “A sense of Home” for walk-up apartment users in Yangon, Myanmar by studying subjective responses shaped by the interior and experience of the spaces in apartment to understand the perception of the residents and improve the quality of living. The result reflects the priority level of important factors in relation to the sense of home framework.

Keywords: home, living quality, space, perception, residents, walk-up apartment, Yangon

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Authors: Bisola Olumegbon

Abstract:

Globally, there were about 229 million cases of malaria in 2022. The sub-Saharan African region accounted for 92% of the reported cases and 94% of deaths. Nigeria had the highest number of malaria cases and deaths, representing 27% of global cases. This scholarly project was a case study guided by the political determinants of health. Triangulation of data using thematic analysis was used to identify the political determinants of malaria in Nigeria and to understand how the concept of interaction contributes to the persistence of the disease. The analysis involved a deductive and inductive approach based on the literature review and the evidence of political determinants gathered in the data. Participants’ in-depth interviews were used to collect data from frontline personnel. Data triangulation was done using thematic analysis, a method used to identify patterns and themes in qualitative data. The study findings revealed a correlation between political determinants of health and malaria management efforts in Nigeria. Some influencing factors included voting challenges, inadequate funding, lack of health priority from the government, noncompliance among patients, and hurdles to effective communication. The findings suggest a need to deliberately increase dedication to the political agenda, provide sufficient financial resources, enhance communication, and active community involvement to address the persistent malaria endemic effectively. Further study is recommended to identify interventions to address identified factors of political determinants of health to reduce malaria in Nigeria. Such intervention must involve collaboration with diverse stakeholders such as policymakers, healthcare professionals, community leaders, and researchers.

Keywords: malaria, malaria management, health worker, stakeholders, political determinant of health

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