Search results for: bubble point pressure

Authors: Petcharat  Kerdonfag, Surasak Taneepanichskul, Winai Wadwongtham

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Industrial noise is usually considered as the main impact of the environmental health and safety because its exposure can cause permanently serious hearing damage. Despite providing strictly hearing protection standards and campaigning extensively encouraging public health awareness among industrial workers in Thailand, hazard noise-induced hearing loss has dramatically been massive obstacles for workers’ health. The aims of the study were to explore and specify the hearing threshold levels among steel industrial workers responsible in which higher noise levels of work zone and to examine the relationships of hearing loss and workers’ age and the length of employment in Samut Prakan province, Thailand. Cross-sectional study design was done. Ninety-three steel industrial workers in the designated zone of higher noise (> 85dBA) with more than 1 year of employment from two factories by simple random sampling and available to participate in were assessed by the audiometric screening at regional Samut Prakan hospital. Data of doing screening were collected from October to December, 2016 by the occupational medicine physician and a qualified occupational nurse. All participants were examined by the same examiners for the validity. An Audiometric testing was performed at least 14 hours after the last noise exposure from the workplace. Workers’ age and the length of employment were gathered by the developed occupational record form. Results: The range of workers’ age was from 23 to 59 years, (Mean = 41.67, SD = 9.69) and the length of employment was from 1 to 39 years, (Mean = 13.99, SD = 9.88). Fifty three (60.0%) out of all participants have been exposing to the hazard of noise in the workplace for more than 10 years. Twenty-three (24.7%) of them have been exposing to the hazard of noise less than or equal to 5 years. Seventeen (18.3%) of them have been exposing to the hazard of noise for 5 to 10 years. Using the cut point of less than or equal to 25 dBA of hearing thresholds, the average means of hearing thresholds for participants at 4, 6, and 8 kHz were 31.34, 29.62, and 25.64 dB, respectively for the right ear and 40.15, 32.20, and 25.48 dB for the left ear, respectively. The more developing age of workers in the work zone with hazard of noise, the more the hearing thresholds would be increasing at frequencies of 4, 6, and 8 kHz (p =.012, p =.026, p =.024) for the right ear, respectively and for the left ear only at the frequency 4 kHz (p =.009). Conclusion: The participants’ age in the hazard of noise work zone was significantly associated with the hearing loss in different levels while the length of participants’ employment was not significantly associated with the hearing loss. Thus hearing threshold levels among industrial workers would be regularly assessed and needed to be protected at the beginning of working.

Keywords: hearing threshold levels, hazard of noise, hearing loss, audiometric testing

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Authors: Szymon Kuczynski

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Poland is characterized by the presence of numerous sedimentary basins and hydrocarbon provinces. Since 2006 exploration for hydrocarbons in Poland become gradually more focus on new unconventional targets, particularly on the shale gas potential of the Upper Ordovician and Lower Silurian in the Baltic-Podlasie-Lublin Basin. The first forecast prepared by US Energy Information Administration in 2011 indicated to 5.3 Tcm of natural gas. In 2012, Polish Geological Institute presented its own forecast which estimated maximum reserves on 1.92 Tcm. The difference in the estimates was caused by problems with calculations of the initial amount of adsorbed, as well as free, gas trapped in shale rocks (GIIP - Gas Initially in Place). This value is dependent from sorption capacity, gas saturation and mutual interactions between gas, water, and rock. Determination of the reservoir type in the initial exploration phase brings essential knowledge, which has an impact on decisions related to the production. The study of porosity impact for phase envelope shift eliminates errors and improves production profitability. Confinement phenomenon affects flow characteristics, fluid properties, and phase equilibrium. The thermodynamic behavior of confined fluids in porous media is subject to the basic considerations for industrial applications such as hydrocarbons production. In particular the knowledge of the phase equilibrium and the critical properties of the contained fluid is essential for the design and optimization of such process. In pores with a small diameter (nanopores), the effect of the wall interaction with the fluid particles becomes significant and occurs in shale formations. Nano pore size is similar to the fluid particles’ diameter and the area of particles which flow without interaction with pore wall is almost equal to the area where this phenomenon occurs. The molecular simulation studies have shown an effect of confinement to the pseudo critical properties. Therefore, the critical parameters pressure and temperature and the flow characteristics of hydrocarbons in terms of nano-scale are under the strong influence of fluid particles with the pore wall. It can be concluded that the impact of a single pore size is crucial when it comes to the nanoscale because there is possible the above-described effect. Nano- porosity makes it difficult to predict the flow of reservoir fluid. Research are conducted to explain the mechanisms of fluid flow in the nanopores and gas extraction from porous media by desorption.

Keywords: adsorption, capillary condensation, phase envelope, nanopores, unconventional natural gas

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Authors: Paramita Banerjee, K. R. S. Chandrakumar, G. P. Das

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Bulk MgH2 has drawn much attention for the purpose of hydrogen storage because of its high hydrogen storage capacity (~7.7 wt %) as well as low cost and abundant availability. However, its practical usage has been hindered because of its high hydrogen desorption enthalpy (~0.8 eV/H2 molecule), which results in an undesirable desorption temperature of 3000C at 1 bar H2 pressure. To surmount the limitations of bulk MgH2 for the purpose of hydrogen storage, a detailed first-principles density functional theory (DFT) based study on the structure and stability of neutral (Mgm) and positively charged (Mgm+) Mg nanoclusters of different sizes (m = 2, 4, 8 and 12), as well as their interaction with molecular hydrogen (H2), is reported here. It has been found that due to the absence of d-electrons within the Mg atoms, hydrogen remained in molecular form even after its interaction with neutral and charged Mg nanoclusters. Interestingly, the H2 molecules do not enter into the interstitial positions of the nanoclusters. Rather, they remain on the surface by ornamenting these nanoclusters and forming new structures with a gravimetric density higher than 15 wt %. Our observation is that the inclusion of Grimme’s DFT-D3 dispersion correction in this weakly interacting system has a significant effect on binding of the H2 molecules with these nanoclusters. The dispersion corrected interaction energy (IE) values (0.1-0.14 eV/H2 molecule) fall in the right energy window, that is ideal for hydrogen storage. These IE values are further verified by using high-level coupled-cluster calculations with non-iterative triples corrections i.e. CCSD(T), (which has been considered to be a highly accurate quantum chemical method) and thereby confirming the accuracy of our ‘dispersion correction’ incorporated DFT calculations. The significance of the polarization and dispersion energy in binding of the H2 molecules are confirmed by performing energy decomposition analysis (EDA). A total of 16, 24, 32 and 36 H2 molecules can be attached to the neutral and charged nanoclusters of size m = 2, 4, 8 and 12 respectively. Ab-initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulation shows that the outermost H2 molecules are desorbed at a rather low temperature viz. 150 K (-1230C) which is expected. However, complete dehydrogenation of these nanoclusters occur at around 1000C. Most importantly, the host nanoclusters remain stable up to ~500 K (2270C). All these results on the adsorption and desorption of molecular hydrogen with neutral and charged Mg nanocluster systems indicate towards the possibility of reducing the dehydrogenation temperature of bulk MgH2 by designing new Mg-based nano materials which will be able to adsorb molecular hydrogen via this weak Mg-H2 interaction, rather than the strong Mg-H bonding. Notwithstanding the fact that in practical applications, these interactions will be further complicated by the effect of substrates as well as interactions with other clusters, the present study has implications on our fundamental understanding to this problem.

Keywords: density functional theory, DFT, hydrogen storage, molecular dynamics, molecular hydrogen adsorption, nanoclusters, physisorption

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Authors: Chih-Chung Huang, Po-Hsun Peng

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Ultrasound transient elastography has become a valuable tool for many clinical diagnoses, such as liver diseases and breast cancer. The pathological tissue can be distinguished by elastography due to its stiffness is different from surrounding normal tissues. An ultrafast frame rate of ultrasound imaging is needed for transient elastography modality. The elastography obtained in the ultrafast system suffers from a low quality for resolution, and affects the robustness of the transient elastography. In order to overcome these problems, a coherent plane wave compounding technique has been proposed for conventional ultrasound system which the operating frequency is around 3-15 MHz. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel beamforming technique for high frequency ultrasound coherent plane-wave compounding imaging and the simulated results will provide the standards for hardware developments. Plane-wave compounding imaging produces a series of low-resolution images, which fires whole elements of an array transducer in one shot with different inclination angles and receives the echoes by conventional beamforming, and compounds them coherently. Simulations of plane-wave compounding image and focused transmit image were performed using Field II. All images were produced by point spread functions (PSFs) and cyst phantoms with a 64-element linear array working at 35MHz center frequency, 55% bandwidth, and pitch of 0.05 mm. The F number is 1.55 in all the simulations. The simulated results of PSFs and cyst phantom which were obtained using single, 17, 43 angles plane wave transmission (angle of each plane wave is separated by 0.75 degree), and focused transmission. The resolution and contrast of image were improved with the number of angles of firing plane wave. The lateral resolutions for different methods were measured by -10 dB lateral beam width. Comparison of the plane-wave compounding image and focused transmit image, both images exhibited the same lateral resolution of 70 um as 37 angles were performed. The lateral resolution can reach 55 um as the plane-wave was compounded 47 angles. All the results show the potential of using high-frequency plane-wave compound imaging for realizing the elastic properties of the microstructure tissue, such as eye, skin and vessel walls in the future.

Keywords: plane wave imaging, high frequency ultrasound, elastography, beamforming

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Authors: Chuang-Hung Lin, Cheng-Yuan Hsu, Jia-Yan Lin

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It is an indispensible strategy to adopt greenery approach on architectural bases so as to improve ecological habitats, decrease heat-island effect, purify air quality, and relieve surface runoff as well as noise pollution, all of which are done in an attempt to achieve sustainable environment. How we can do with plant design to attain the best visual quality and ideal carbon dioxide fixation depends on whether or not we can appropriately make use of greenery according to the nature of architectural bases. To achieve the goal, it is a need that architects and landscape architects should be provided with sufficient local references. Current greenery studies focus mainly on the heat-island effect of urban with large scale. Most of the architects still rely on people with years of expertise regarding the adoption and disposition of plantation in connection with microclimate scale. Therefore, environmental design, which integrates science and aesthetics, requires fundamental research on landscape environment technology divided from building environment technology. By doing so, we can create mutual benefits between green building and the environment. This issue is extremely important for the greening design of the bases of green buildings in cities and various open spaces. The purpose of this study is to establish plant selection and allocation strategies under different building sunshade levels. Initially, with the shading of sunshine on the greening bases as the starting point, the effects of the shades produced by different building types on the greening strategies were analyzed. Then, by measuring the PAR( photosynthetic active radiation), the relative DLI( daily light integral) was calculated, while the DLI Map was established in order to evaluate the effects of the building shading on the established environmental greening, thereby serving as a reference for plant selection and allocation. The discussion results were to be applied in the evaluation of environment greening of greening buildings and establish the “right plant, right place” design strategy of multi-level ecological greening for application in urban design and landscape design development, as well as the greening criteria to feedback to the eco-city greening buildings.

Keywords: daily light integral, plant design, urban open space

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Authors: Benedicta N. Nkeh-Chungag, Constance R. Sewani-Rusike, Isaac M. Malema, Daniel T. Goon, Oladele V. Adeniyi, Idowu A. Ajayi

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Background: Childhood and adolescent obesity is an important predictor of adult cardiometabolic diseases. Current data on age- and gender-specific cardiometabolic risk factors are lacking in the peri-urban Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. However, such information is important in designing innovative strategies to promote healthy living among children and adolescents. The purpose of this pilot study was to compare and determine the extent of cardiometabolic risk factors between samples of lean and overweight/obese adolescent population in a peri-urban township of South Africa. Methods: In this case-control study, age-matched, non-pregnant and non-lactating female adolescents consisting of equal number of cases (50 overweight/obese) and control (50 lean) participated in the study. Fasting venous blood samples were obtained for total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), triglyceride (Trig), highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and blood sugar. Anthropometric measurements included weight, height, waist and hip circumferences. Body mass index was calculated. Blood pressure was measured; and metabolic syndrome was assessed using appropriate diagnostic criteria for children and adolescents. Results: Of the 76 participants with complete data, 12/38 of the overweight/obese and 1/38 of the lean group met the criteria for adolescent metabolic syndrome. All cardiometabolic risk factors were elevated in the overweight/obese group compared with the lean group: low HDL-C (RR = 2.21), elevated TC (RR = 1.23), elevated LDL-C (RR = 1.42), elevated Trig (RR = 1.73), and elevated hsCRP (RR = 1.9). There were significant atherosclerotic indices among the overweight/obese group compared with the lean group: TC/HDL and LDL/HDL (2.99±0.91 vs 2.63±0.48; p=0.016 and 1.73±0.61 vs 1.41±0.46; p= 0.014, respectively). Conclusion: There are multiple cardiometabolic risk factors among the overweight/obese female adolescent group compared with lean adolescent group in the study. Female adolescent who are overweight and obese have higher relative risks of developing cardiometabolic diseases compared with their lean counterparts in the peri-urban Mthatha, South Africa. School health programme focusing on promoting physical exercise, healthy eating and keeping appropriate weight are needed in the country.

Keywords: adolescents, cardiometabolic risk factors, obesity, peri-urban South Africa

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Authors: Emilienne Lardy, Eric Ballot, Mariam Lafkihi

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Efficient urban logistics requires a comprehensive understanding of traffic dynamics, particularly as it pertains to kinetic parameters influencing energy consumption and trip duration estimations. While real-time traffic information is increasingly accessible, current high-precision forecasting services embedded in route planning often function as opaque 'black boxes' for users. These services, typically relying on AI-processed counting data, fall short in accommodating open design parameters essential for management studies, notably within Supply Chain Management. This work revisits the modelling of traffic conditions in the context of city logistics, emphasizing its significance from the user’s point of view, with two focuses. Firstly, the focus is not on the vehicle flow but on the vehicles themselves and the impact of the traffic conditions on their driving behaviour. This means opening the range of studied indicators beyond vehicle speed, to describe extensively the kinetic and dynamic aspects of the driving behaviour. To achieve this, we leverage the Art. Kinema parameters are designed to characterize driving cycles. Secondly, this study examines how the driving context (i.e., exogenous factors to the traffic flow) determines the mentioned driving behaviour. Specifically, we explore how accurately the kinetic behaviour of a vehicle can be predicted based on a limited set of exogenous factors, such as time, day, road type, orientation, slope, and weather conditions. To answer this question, statistical analysis was conducted on real-world driving data, which includes high-frequency measurements of vehicle speed. A Factor Analysis and a Generalized Linear Model have been established to link kinetic parameters with independent categorical contextual variables. The results include an assessment of the adjustment quality and the robustness of the models, as well as an overview of the model’s outputs.

Keywords: factor analysis, generalised linear model, real world driving data, traffic congestion, urban logistics, vehicle kinematics

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Authors: Lilian Bambirra De Assis, Patricia Albuquerque Gomes, Kamila Pagel De Oliveira, Deborah Oliveira Santos, Marcelo Esteves Chaves Campos

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This paper aimed to analyze how performance management occurs in the context of the modernization of the federal public sector in Chile and Portugal. To do so, the study was based on a theoretical framework that covers the modernization of public administration to performance management, passing on people management. The work consisted of qualitative-descriptive research in which 16 semi-structured interviews were applied in the countries of study and documents and legislation were used referring to the subject. Performance management, as well as other people management subsystems, is criticized for using private sector management tools, based on a results-driven logic. From this point of view, it is understood that certain practices of the private sector, regarding the measurement of performance, can not be simply inserted in the scenario of the public administration. Beyond this criticism, performance management can contribute to the achievement of the strategic objectives of the countries and its focus is upward, a trend that can be verified through the manuals produced; by the interest of consultants and professional organizations, both public and private; and OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) evaluations. In Portugal, public administration reform was implemented during the Constitutional Government (2005-2009) and had as its objective the restructuring of human resources management, with an emphasis on its integration with budget management, which is an inclination of the OECD, while in Chile HRM (Human Resource Management) practices are directed to ministries to a lesser extent than the OECD average. The central human resources management sector, for the most part, coordinates policy but is also responsible for other issues, including payment and classification systems. Chile makes less use of strategic Human Resource Management practices than the average of OECD countries, and its prominence lies in the decentralization of public bodies, which may grant autonomy, but fragments the implementation of policies and practices in that country since they are not adopted by all organs. Through the analysis, it was possible to identify that Chile and Portugal have practices and personnel management policies that make reference to performance management, which is similar to other OECD countries. The study countries also have limitations to implement performance management and the results indicate that there are still processes to be perfected, such as performance appraisal and compensation.

Keywords: management of people in the public sector, modernization of public administration, performance management in the public sector, HRM, OECD

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Authors: Katharina Kargel, Frederic Vobbe

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Sexualized violence against children and adolescents using digital media poses particular challenges for practitioners with a focus on crisis intervention (social work, psychotherapy, law enforcement). The technical delimitation of violence increases the burden on those affected and increases the complexity of interdisciplinary cooperation. Urgently needed recommendations for practical action do not yet exist in Germany. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, these recommendations for action are being developed in the HUMAN project together with science and practice. The presentation introduces the participatory approach of the HUMAN project. We discuss the application-oriented, casuistic approach of the project and present its results using the example of concrete case-based recommendations for Action. The participants will be presented with concrete prototypical case studies from the project, which will be used to illustrate quality criteria for crisis intervention in cases of sexualized violence using digital media. On the basis of case analyses, focus group interviews and interviews with victims of violence, we present the six central challenges of sexualized violence with the use of digital media, namely: • Diffusion (Ambiguities regarding the extent and significance of violence) , • Transcendence (Space and time independence of the dynamics of violence, omnipresence), • omnipresent anxiety (considering diffusion and transcendence), • being haunted (repeated confrontation with digital memories of violence or the perpetrator), • disparity (conflicts of interpretative power between those affected and the social environment) • simultaneity (of all other factors). We point out generalizable principles with which these challenges can be dealt with professionally. Dealing professionally with sexualized violence using digital media requires a stronger networking of professional actors. A clear distinction must be made between their own mission and the mission of the network partners. Those affected by violence must be shown options for crisis intervention in the context of the aid networks. The different competencies and the professional mission of the offers of help are to be made transparent. The necessity of technical possibilities for deleting abuse images beyond criminal prosecution will be discussed. Those affected are stabilized by multimodal strategies such as a combination of rational emotive therapy, legal support and technical assistance.

Keywords: sexualized violence, intervention, digital media, children and youth

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Authors: Don Anushka Sandaruwan Elvitigala, P. D. S. U. Wickramasinghe, Jehee Lee

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Cystatins are a large superfamily of proteins which act as reversible inhibitors of cysteine proteases. Papain proteases and cysteine cathepsins are predominant substrates of cystatins. Cystatin superfamily can be further clustered into three groups as Stefins, Cystatins, and Kininogens. Among them, stefines are also known as family 1 cystatins which harbors cystatin Bs and cystatin As. In this study, a homologue of family one cystatins more close to cystatin Bs was identified from Korean black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) using a prior constructed cDNA (complementary deoxyribonucleic acid) database and designated as RfCyt1. The full-length cDNA of RfCyt1 consisted of 573 bp, with a coding region of 294 bp. It comprised a 5´-untranslated region (UTR) of 55 bp, and 3´-UTR of 263 bp. The coding sequence encodes a polypeptide consisting of 97 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight of 11kDa and theoretical isoelectric point of 6.3. The RfCyt1 shared homology with other teleosts and vertebrate species and consisted conserved features of cystatin family signature including single cystatin-like domain, cysteine protease inhibitory signature of pentapeptide (QXVXG) consensus sequence and N-terminal two conserved neighboring glycine (⁸GG⁹) residues. As expected, phylogenetic reconstruction developed using the neighbor-joining method showed that RfCyt1 is clustered with the cystatin family 1 members, in which more closely with its teleostan orthologues. An SYBR Green qPCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) assay was performed to quantify the RfCytB transcripts in different tissues in healthy and immune stimulated fish. RfCyt1 was ubiquitously expressed in all tissue types of healthy animals with gill and spleen being the highest. Temporal expression of RfCyt1 displayed significant up-regulation upon infection with Aeromonas salmonicida. Recombinantly expressed RfCyt1 showed concentration-dependent papain inhibitory activity. Collectively these findings evidence for detectable protease inhibitory and immunity relevant roles of RfCyt1 in Sebastes schlegeli.

Keywords: Sebastes schlegeli, family 1 cystatin, immune stimulation, expressional modulation

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Authors: Pamela-Zoe Topalli, Niina Junttila, Päivi M. Niemi, Klaus Ranta

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Adolescents’ biased perceptions about their social competence (SC), whether negatively or positively, serve to influence their socioemotional adjustment such as early feelings of social phobia (nowadays referred to as Social Anxiety Disorder-SAD). Despite the importance of biased self-perceptions in adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment, the extent to which discrepancies between self- and others’ evaluations of one’s SC are linked to social phobic symptoms remains unclear in the literature. This study examined the perceptual discrepancy profiles between self- and peers’ as well as between self- and teachers’ evaluations of adolescents’ SC and the interrelations of these profiles with self-reported social phobic symptoms. The participants were 390 3^rd graders (15 years old) of Finnish lower secondary school (50.8% boys, 49.2% girls). In contrast with variable-centered approaches that have mainly been used by previous studies when focusing on this subject, this study used latent profile analysis (LPA), a person-centered approach which can provide information regarding risk profiles by capturing the heterogeneity within a population and classifying individuals into groups. LPA revealed the following five classes of discrepancy profiles: i) extremely negatively biased perceptions of SC, ii) negatively biased perceptions of SC, iii) quite realistic perceptions of SC, iv) positively biased perceptions of SC, and v) extremely positively biased perceptions of SC. Adolescents with extremely negatively biased perceptions and negatively biased perceptions of their own SC reported the highest number of social phobic symptoms. Adolescents with quite realistic, positively biased and extremely positively biased perceptions reported the lowest number of socio-phobic symptoms. The results point out the negatively and the extremely negatively biased perceptions as possible contributors to social phobic symptoms. Moreover, the association of quite realistic perceptions with low number of social phobic symptoms indicates its potential protective power against social phobia. Finally, positively and extremely positively biased perceptions of SC are negatively associated with social phobic symptoms in this study. However, the profile of extremely positively biased perceptions might be linked as well with the existence of externalizing problems such as antisocial behavior (e.g. disruptive impulsivity). The current findings highlight the importance of considering discrepancies between self- and others’ perceptions of one’s SC in clinical and research efforts. Interventions designed to prevent or moderate social phobic symptoms need to take into account individual needs rather than aiming for uniform treatment. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Keywords: adolescence, latent profile analysis, perceptual discrepancies, social competence, social phobia

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Authors: Syed Masood Hussain

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An effective control method, including system-level control and pulse width modulation for quasi-Z-source cascade multilevel inverter (qZS-CMI) based grid-tie photovoltaic (PV) power system is proposed. The system-level control achieves the grid-tie current injection, independent maximum power point tracking (MPPT) for separate PV panels, and dc-link voltage balance for all quasi-Z-source H-bridge inverter (qZS-HBI) modules. A recent upsurge in the study of photovoltaic (PV) power generation emerges, since they directly convert the solar radiation into electric power without hampering the environment. However, the stochastic fluctuation of solar power is inconsistent with the desired stable power injected to the grid, owing to variations of solar irradiation and temperature. To fully exploit the solar energy, extracting the PV panels’ maximum power and feeding them into grids at unity power factor become the most important. The contributions have been made by the cascade multilevel inverter (CMI). Nevertheless, the H-bridge inverter (HBI) module lacks boost function so that the inverter KVA rating requirement has to be increased twice with a PV voltage range of 1:2; and the different PV panel output voltages result in imbalanced dc-link voltages. However, each HBI module is a two-stage inverter, and many extra dc–dc converters not only increase the complexity of the power circuit and control and the system cost, but also decrease the efficiency. Recently, the Z-source/quasi-Z-source cascade multilevel inverter (ZS/qZS-CMI)-based PV systems were proposed. They possess the advantages of both traditional CMI and Z-source topologies. In order to properly operate the ZS/qZS-CMI, the power injection, independent control of dc-link voltages, and the pulse width modulation (PWM) are necessary. The main contributions of this paper include: 1) a novel multilevel space vector modulation (SVM) technique for the single phase qZS-CMI is proposed, which is implemented without additional resources; 2) a grid-connected control for the qZS-CMI based PV system is proposed, where the all PV panel voltage references from their independent MPPTs are used to control the grid-tie current; the dual-loop dc-link peak voltage control.

Keywords: Quzi-Z source inverter, Photo voltaic power system, space vector modulation, cascade multilevel inverter

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Authors: Vardan Melkonyan, Arman Azizyan, Astghik Boyajyan

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Virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that uses immersive virtual environments to expose individuals to the feared stimuli or situations that trigger their phobia. VR exposure therapy has become an increasingly popular treatment for phobias, including fear of heights, public speaking, and flying, due to its ability to provide a controlled and safe environment for individuals to confront their fears while also allowing therapists to tailor the virtual exposure to the specific needs and goals of each individual. It is also a cost-effective and accessible treatment option, as it can be delivered remotely and does not require the use of drugs. Overall, VR exposure therapy has the potential to be a valuable tool for therapists in the treatment of phobias. But current methods may be improved by incorporating advanced technology such as photorealistic VR environments, tactile feedback suits, and responsive systems. The aim of this study was to identify the most effective approach for enhancing VR exposure therapy for the treatment of phobias. Photorealistic VR environments and stimuli can greatly enhance the effectiveness of VR exposure therapy for the treatment of phobias. By creating immersive, realistic virtual environments that closely mimic the real-life situations that trigger phobia responses, patients are able to more fully engage in the therapeutic process and confront their fears in a controlled and safe manner. This can help to reduce the severity of phobia symptoms and increase treatment outcomes. The use of tactile feedback suits and responsive systems can further enhance the VR exposure therapy experience by adding a physical element to the virtual environment. These suits, which can mimic the sensations of touch, pressure, and movement, allow patients to fully immerse themselves in the virtual world and feel as if they are physically present in the situation. This can help to increase the realism of the virtual environment and make it more effective in reducing phobia symptoms. Additionally, responsive systems can be used to trigger specific events or responses within the virtual environment based on the patient's actions, providing a more interactive and personalized treatment experience. A comprehensive literature review was conducted, including studies on VR exposure therapy for phobias and the use of advanced technology to enhance the therapy. Results indicate that incorporating these enhancements may significantly increase the effectiveness of VR exposure therapy for phobias. Further research is needed to fully understand the potential of these enhancements and to determine the optimal combination and implementation.

Keywords: virtual reality, mental health, phobias, fears, treatment, photorealistic, immersive, phobia

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Authors: Jean Ross

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Rural nursing is not an identified professional identity in the UK, unlike the USA, Canada, and Australia which recognizes rural nursing as a specialty scope of practice. In New Zealand rural nursing is an underrepresented aspect of nursing practice, is misunderstood and does not fit easily within the wider nursing profession and policies governing practice. This study situated within the New Zealand context adds to the international studies’ aligned with rural nursing practice. The study addresses a gap in the literature by striving to identify and strengthen the awareness of and increase rural nurses’ understanding and articulation of their changing and adapting identity and furthermore an opportunity to appreciate their contribution to the delivery of rural health care. In addition, this study adds to the growing global rural nursing knowledge and theoretical base. This research is a continuation of the author’s academic involvement and ongoing relationships with the rural nursing sector, national policy analysts and health care planners since the 1990s. These relationships have led to awareness, that despite rural nurses’ efforts to explain the particular nuances which make up their practice, there has been little recognition by profession to establish rural nursing as a specialty. The research explored why nurses’ who practiced in the rural Otago region of New Zealand, between the 1990s and early 2000s moved away from the traditional identity as a district, practice or public health nurse and looked towards a more appropriate identity which reflected their emerging practice. This qualitative research situated within the interpretive paradigm embeds this retrospective study within the discipline of nursing and engages with the concepts of place and governmentality. National key informant and Otago regional rural nurse interviews generated data and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Stemming from the analyses, an analytical diagrammatic matrix was developed demonstrating rural nursing as a ‘place–based practice’ governed both from within and beyond location presenting how the nurse aligns the self in the rural community as a meaningful provider of health care. Promoting this matrix may encourage a focal discussion point within the international spectrum of nursing and likewise between rural and non-rural nurses which it is hoped will generate further debate in relation to the different nuances aligned with rural nursing practice. Further, insights from this paper may capture key aspects and issues related to identity formation in respect to rural nurses, from the UK, New Zealand, Canada, USA, and Australia.

Keywords: matrix, place, nursing, rural

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Authors: Anwar ul Haq

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Muhammad Iqbal was arguably the most significant South Asian Islamic philosopher of the last two centuries. While he is the most revered philosopher of the region, particularly in Pakistan, he is probably the least studied philosopher outside the region. The paper offers a philosophical reconstruction of Iqbal’s view of human agency; it has three sections. Section 1 focuses on Iqbal’s starting point of reflection in practical philosophy (inspired by Kant): our consciousness of ourselves as free agents. The paper brings out Iqbal’s continuity with Kant but also his divergence, in particular his non-Kantian view that we possess a non-sensory intuition of ourselves as free personal causes. It also offer an argument on Iqbal’s behalf for this claim, which is meant as a defense against a Kantian objection to the possibility of intuition of freedom and a skeptic’s challenge to the possibility of freedom in general. Remaining part of the paper offers a reconstruction of Iqbal’s two preconditions of the possibility of free agency. Section 2 discusses the first precondition, namely, the unity of consciousness involved in thought (this is a precondition of agency whether or not it is free). The unity has two aspects, a quantitative (or numerical) aspect and a qualitative (or rational) one. Section 2 offers a defense of these two aspects of the unity of consciousness presupposed by agency by focusing, with Iqbal, on the case of inference.Section 3 discusses a second precondition of the possibility of free agency, that thought and will must be identical in a free agent. Iqbal offers this condition in relief against Bergson’s view. Bergson (on Iqbal’s reading of him) argues that freedom of the will is possible only if the will’s ends are entirely its own and are wholly undetermined by anything from without, not even by thought. Iqbal observes that Bergson’s position ends in an insurmountable dualism of will and thought. Bergson’s view, Iqbal argues in particular, rests on an untenable conception of what an end consists in. An end, correctly understood, is framed by a thinking faculty, the intellect, and not by an extra-rational faculty. The present section outlines Iqbal’s argument for this claim, which rests on the premise that ends possess a certain unity which is intrinsic to particular ends and holds together different ends, and this unity is none other than the quantitative and qualitative unity of a thinking consciousness but in its practical application. Having secured the rational origin of ends, Iqbal argues that a free will must be identical with thought, or else it will be determined from without and won’t be free on that account. Freedom of the self is not a freedom from thought but a freedom in thought: it involves the ability to live a thoughtful life.

Keywords: iqbal, freedom, will, self

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Authors: Angel Pérez Sánchez

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Magnet attraction or repulsion is not a product of a strange force from afar but comes from anchored lines of force inside the magnet as if it were reinforced concrete since you can move a small block by taking the steel rods that protrude from its interior. This approach serves as a basis for studying the behavior of diamagnetic materials. The significance of this study is to unify all diamagnetic phenomena: Movement of grapes, cooper approaching a magnet, Magnet levitation, etc., with a single explanation for all these phenomena. The method followed has consisted of observation of hundreds of diamagnetism experiments (in copper, aluminum, grapes, tomatoes, and bismuth), including the creation of own and new experiments and application of logical deduction product of these observations. Approaching a magnet to a hanging grape, Diamagnetism seems to consist not only of a slight repulsion but also of a slight attraction at a small distance. Replacing the grapes with a copper sphere, it behaves like the grape, pushing and pulling a nearby magnet. Diamagnetism could be redefined in the following way: There are materials that don't magnetize their internal structure when approaching a magnet, as ferromagnetic materials do. But they do allow magnetic lines of force to run through its interior, enhancing them without creating their own lines of force. Magnet levitates on superconducting ceramics because magnet gives lines near poles a force superior to what a superconductor can enhance these lines. Little further from the magnet, enhancing of lines by the superconductor is greater than the strength provided by the magnet due to the distance from the magnet's pole. It is this point that defines the magnet's levitation band. The anchoring effect of lines is what ultimately keeps the magnet and superconductor at a certain distance. The magnet seeks to levitate the area in which magnetic lines are stronger near de magnet's poles. Pouring ferrofluid into a magnet, lines of force are observed coming out of the poles. On other occasions, diamagnetic materials simply enhance the lines they receive without moving their position since their own weight is greater than the strength of the enhanced lines. (This is the case with grapes and copper). Magnet and diamagnetic materials look for a place where the lines of force are most enhanced, and this is at a small distance. Once the ideal distance is established, they tend to keep it by pushing or pulling on each other. At a certain distance from the magnet: the power exerted by diamagnetic materials is greater than the force of lines in the vicinity of the magnet's poles. All Diamagnetism phenomena: copper, aluminum, grapes, tomatoes, bismuth levitation, and magnet levitation on superconducting ceramics can now be explained with the support of magnetic lines of force.

Keywords: diamagnetism, magnetic levitation, magnetic lines of force, enhancing magnetic lines

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Authors: Aylin W Sahin, Alice Jaeger, Laura Nyhan, Gregory Belt, Steffen Münch, Elke K. Arendt

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Our current food systems cause an increase in malnutrition resulting in more people being overweight or obese in the Western World. Additionally, our natural resources are under enormous pressure and the greenhouse gas emission increases yearly with a significant contribution to climate change. Hence, transforming our food systems is of highest priority. Plant-based food products have a lower environmental impact compared to their animal-based counterpart, representing a more sustainable protein source. However, most plant-based protein ingredients, such as soy and pea, are lacking indispensable amino acids and extremely limited in their functionality and, thus, in their food application potential. They are known to have a low solubility in water and change their properties during processing. The low solubility displays the biggest challenge in the development of milk alternatives leading to inferior protein content and protein quality in dairy alternatives on the market. Moreover, plant-based protein ingredients often possess an off-flavour, which makes them less attractive to consumers. EverPro, a plant-protein isolate originated from Brewer’s Spent Grain, the most abundant by-product in the brewing industry, represents the missing piece in the plant protein portfolio. With a protein content of >85%, it is of high nutritional value, including all indispensable amino acids which allows closing the protein quality gap of plant proteins. Moreover, it possesses high techno-functional properties. It is fully soluble in water (101.7 ± 2.9%), has a high fat absorption capacity (182.4 ± 1.9%), and a foaming capacity which is superior to soy protein or pea protein. This makes EverPro suitable for a vast range of food applications. Furthermore, it does not cause changes in viscosity during heating and cooling of dispersions, such as beverages. Besides its outstanding nutritional and functional characteristics, the production of EverPro has a much lower environmental impact compared to dairy or other plant protein ingredients. Life cycle assessment analysis showed that EverPro has the lowest impact on global warming compared to soy protein isolate, pea protein isolate, whey protein isolate, and egg white powder. It also contributes significantly less to freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication and land use compared the protein sources mentioned above. EverPro is the prime example of sustainable ingredients, and the type of plant protein the food industry was waiting for: nutritious, multi-functional, and environmentally friendly.

Keywords: plant-based protein, upcycled, brewers' spent grain, low environmental impact, highly functional ingredient

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Authors: Neşe Alkan

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Purpose: The point that applied/clinical psychology, which is the practice and research discipline of the mental health field, has reached today can be summarized as the necessity of handling the psychological well-being of people from multiple perspectives and the goal of moving it to a higher level. Clients' subjective assessment of their own condition and wellbeing is an integral part of evidence-based interventions. There is a need for tools through which clients can evaluate the effectiveness of the psychotherapy/intervention performed with them and their contribution to the wellbeing and wellbeing of this process in a valid and reliable manner. The aim of this research is to meet this need, to test the reliability and validity of the index in Turkish, and explore its usability in the practices of both researchers and psychotherapists. Method: A total of 213 adults aged between 18-54, 69.5% working and 29.5% university students, were included in the study. Along with their demographic information, the participants were administered a set of scales: wellbeing, life satisfaction, spiritual satisfaction, shopping addiction, and loneliness, namely via an online platform. The construct validity of the wellbeing scale was tested with exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, convergent and discriminant validity were tested with two-way full and partial correlation analyses and, measurement invariance was tested with one-way analysis of variance. Results: Factor analyzes showed that the scale consisted of six dimensions as it is in its original structure. The internal consistency of the scale was found to be Cronbach α = .82. Two-way correlation analyzes revealed that the wellbeing scale total score was positively correlated with general life satisfaction (r = .62) and spiritual satisfaction (r = .29), as expected. It was negatively correlated with loneliness (r = -.51) and shopping addiction (r = -.15). While the scale score did not vary by gender, previous illness, or nicotine addiction, it was found that the total wellbeing scale scores of the participants who had used antidepressant medication during the past year were lower than those who did not use antidepressant medication (F(1,204) = 7.713, p = .005). Conclusion: It has been concluded that the 12-item wellbeing scale consisting of six dimensions can be used in research and health sciences practices as a valid and reliable measurement tool. Further research which examines the reliability and validity of the scale in different widely used languages such as Spanish and Chinese is recommended.

Keywords: wellbeing, intervention effectiveness, reliability and validity, effectiveness

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Authors: Goodness Onwuka, Khaled Abou-El-Hossein

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The increase in the demand for precision optics, coupled with the absence of much research output in the ultra high precision grinding of precision optics as compared to the ultrahigh precision diamond turning of optical metals has fostered the need for more research in the ultra high precision grinding of an optical lens. Furthermore, the increase in the stringent demands for nanometric surface finishes through lapping, polishing and grinding processes necessary for the use of borosilicate-crown glass in the automotive and optics industries has created the demand to effectively monitor the surface roughness during the production process. Acoustic emission phenomenon has been proven as useful monitoring technique in several manufacturing processes ranging from monitoring of bearing production to tool wear estimation. This paper introduces a rare and unique approach with the application of acoustic emission technique to monitor the surface roughness of borosilicate-crown glass during an ultra high precision grinding process. This research was carried out on a 4-axes Nanoform 250 ultrahigh precision lathe machine using an ultra high precision grinding spindle to machine the flat surface of the borosilicate-crown glass with the tip of the grinding wheel. A careful selection of parameters and design of experiment was implemented using Box-Behnken method to vary the wheel speed, feed rate and depth of cut at three levels with a 3-center point design. Furthermore, the average surface roughness was measured using Taylor Hobson PGI Dimension XL optical profilometer, and an acoustic emission data acquisition device from National Instruments was utilized to acquire the signals while the data acquisition codes were designed with National Instrument LabVIEW software for acquisition at a sampling rate of 2 million samples per second. The results show that the raw and root mean square amplitude values of the acoustic signals increased with a corresponding increase in the measured average surface roughness values for the different parameter combinations. Therefore, this research concludes that acoustic emission monitoring technique is a potential technique for monitoring the surface roughness in the ultra high precision grinding of borosilicate-crown glass.

Keywords: acoustic emission, borosilicate-crown glass, surface roughness, ultra high precision grinding

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Authors: Kaila A. Vento

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Within the field of sports science, financial situations have been reported as a key barrier in purchasing high-quality foods. A lack of proper nutrition leads to insecurities of health, impairs training, and diminishes optimal performances. Consequently, insufficient nutrient intake, disordered eating patterns, and eating disorders may arise, leading to poor health and well-being. Athletic scholarships, nutrition resources, and meal programs are available, yet are disproportionally allocated, favoring male sports, Caucasian athletes, and higher sport levels. Direct athlete finances towards nutrition at various sport levels and the role race influences aid received has yet to be examined. Additionally, a diverse female athlete population is missing in the sports science literature, specifically in nutrition. To address this gap, the current project assesses how financial and nutrition support and nutrition knowledge impacts physical health, dietary intake, and overall quality of life of a diverse sample of female athletes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association (NJCAA), and cub sport levels. The project will identify differences in financial support in relation to race, as well. Approximately (N = 120) female athletes will participate in a single 30-minute lab visit. At this visit, body composition (i.e., height, weight, body mass index, and fat percent), blood health indicators (fasted blood glucose and lipids), and resting blood pressure are measured. In addition, three validated questionnaires pertaining to nutrition knowledge (Sports Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire; SNKQ), dietary intake (Rapid Eating Assessment for Participants; REAP), and quality of life (World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief; WHOQL-B) are gathered. Body composition and blood health indicators will be compared with the results of self-reported sports nutrition knowledge, dietary intake, and quality of life questionnaires. It is hypothesized that 1) financial and nutrition support and nutrition knowledge will differ between the sport levels and 2) financial and nutrition support and nutrition knowledge will have a positive association with quality of dietary intake and blood health indicators, 3) financial and nutrition support will differ significantly among racial background across the various competition levels, and 4) dietary intake will influence blood health indicators and quality of life. The findings from this study could have positive implications on athletic associations' policies on equity of financial and nutrition support to improve the health and safety of all female athletes across several sport levels.

Keywords: athlete, equity, finances, health, resources

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Authors: I. Belyamani, M. K. Hassan, J. U. Otaigbe, W. R. Fielding, K. A. Mauritz, J. S. Wiggins, W. L. Jarrett

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We have investigated the flame-retardant efficiency of special new phosphate glass (P-glass) compositions having different glass transition temperatures (Tg) on the processing conditions of polyamide 6,6 (PA6,6) and the final hybrid flame retardancy (FR). We have showed that the low Tg P glass composition (i.e., ILT 1) is a promising flame retardant for PA6,6 at a concentration of up to 15 wt. % compared to intermediate (IIT 3) and high (IHT 1) Tg P glasses. Cone calorimetry data showed that the ILT 1 decreased both the peak heat release rate and the total heat amount released from the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrids, resulting in an efficient formation of a glassy char layer. These intriguing findings prompted to address several questions concerning the mechanism of action of the different P glasses studied. The general mechanism of action of phosphorous based FR additives occurs during the combustion stage by enhancing the morphology of the char and the thermal shielding effect. However, the present work shows that P glass based FR additives act during melt processing of PA6,6/P glass hybrids. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed that the Tg of PA6,6/ILT 1 was significantly shifted to a lower Tg (~65 oC) and another transition appeared at high temperature (~ 166 oC), thus indicating a strong interaction between PA6,6 and ILT 1. This was supported by a drop in the melting point and crystallinity of the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrid material as detected by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The dielectric spectroscopic investigation of the networks’ molecular level structural variations (i.e. hybrids chain motion, Tg and sub-Tg relaxations) agreed very well with the DMA and DSC findings; it was found that the three different P glass compositions did not show any effect on the PA6,6 sub-Tg relaxations (related to the NH2 and OH chain end groups motions). Nevertheless, contrary to IIT 3 and IHT 1 based hybrids, the PA6,6/ILT 1 hybrid material showed an evidence of splitting the PA6,6 Tg relaxations into two peaks. Finally, the CPMAS 31P-NMR data confirmed the miscibility between ILT 1 and PA6,6 at the molecular level, as a much larger enhancement in cross-polarization for the PA6,6/15%ILT 1 hybrids was observed. It can be concluded that compounding low Tg P-glass (i.e. ILT 1) with PA6,6 facilitates hydrolytic chain scission of the PA6,6 macromolecules through a potential chemical interaction between phosphate and the alpha-Carbon of the amide bonds of the PA6,6, leading to better flame retardant properties.

Keywords: broadband dielectric spectroscopy, composites, flame retardant, polyamide, phosphate glass, sustainable

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Authors: Abu S. Mustafa, Mohammad W. Khan, Faraz Shaheed Khan, Nazima Habibi

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Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of worldwide prevalence. There are at least four species and several strains of Brucella that cause human disease. Brucella genomes have very limited variation across strains, which hinder strain identification using classical molecular techniques, including PCR and 16 S rDNA sequencing. The aim of this study was to perform whole genome sequencing of clinical isolates of Brucella and perform bioinformatics and comparative genomics analyses to determine the existence of genetic differences across the isolates of a single Brucella species and strain. The draft sequence data were generated from 15 clinical isolates of Brucella melitensis (biovar 2 strain 63/9) using MiSeq next generation sequencing platform. The generated reads were used for further assembly and analysis. All the analysis was performed using Bioinformatics work station (8 core i7 processor, 8GB RAM with Bio-Linux operating system). FastQC was used to determine the quality of reads and low quality reads were trimmed or eliminated using Fastx_trimmer. Assembly was done by using Velvet and ABySS softwares. The ordering of assembled contigs was performed by Mauve. An online server RAST was employed to annotate the contigs assembly. Annotated genomes were compared using Mauve and ACT tools. The QC score for DNA sequence data, generated by MiSeq, was higher than 30 for 80% of reads with more than 100x coverage, which suggested that data could be utilized for further analysis. However when analyzed by FastQC, quality of four reads was not good enough for creating a complete genome draft so remaining 11 samples were used for further analysis. The comparative genome analyses showed that despite sharing same gene sets, single nucleotide polymorphisms and insertions/deletions existed across different genomes, which provided a variable extent of diversity to these bacteria. In conclusion, the next generation sequencing, bioinformatics, and comparative genome analysis can be utilized to find variations (point mutations, insertions and deletions) across different genomes of Brucella within a single strain. This information could be useful in surveillance and epidemiological studies supported by Kuwait University Research Sector grants MI04/15 and SRUL02/13.

Keywords: brucella, bioinformatics, comparative genomics, whole genome sequencing

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Authors: Muhammad Awais Kiani

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The field of electronics engineering plays a vital role in the marketing of smart materials. Smart materials are innovative, adaptive materials that can respond to external stimuli, such as temperature, light, or pressure, in order to enhance performance or functionality. As the demand for smart materials continues to grow, it is crucial to understand how electronics engineering can contribute to their marketing strategies. This abstract presents an overview of the role of electronics engineering in the marketing of smart materials. It explores the various ways in which electronics engineering enables the development and integration of smart features within materials, enhancing their marketability. Firstly, electronics engineering facilitates the design and development of sensing and actuating systems for smart materials. These systems enable the detection and response to external stimuli, providing valuable data and feedback to users. By integrating sensors and actuators into materials, their functionality and performance can be significantly enhanced, making them more appealing to potential customers. Secondly, electronics engineering enables the creation of smart materials with wireless communication capabilities. By incorporating wireless technologies such as Bluetooth or Wi-Fi, smart materials can seamlessly interact with other devices, providing real-time data and enabling remote control and monitoring. This connectivity enhances the marketability of smart materials by offering convenience, efficiency, and improved user experience. Furthermore, electronics engineering plays a crucial role in power management for smart materials. Implementing energy-efficient systems and power harvesting techniques ensures that smart materials can operate autonomously for extended periods. This aspect not only increases their market appeal but also reduces the need for constant maintenance or battery replacements, thus enhancing customer satisfaction. Lastly, electronics engineering contributes to the marketing of smart materials through innovative user interfaces and intuitive control mechanisms. By designing user-friendly interfaces and integrating advanced control systems, smart materials become more accessible to a broader range of users. Clear and intuitive controls enhance the user experience and encourage wider adoption of smart materials in various industries. In conclusion, electronics engineering significantly influences the marketing of smart materials by enabling the design of sensing and actuating systems, wireless connectivity, efficient power management, and user-friendly interfaces. The integration of electronics engineering principles enhances the functionality, performance, and marketability of smart materials, making them more adaptable to the growing demand for innovative and connected materials in diverse industries.

Keywords: electronics engineering, smart materials, marketing, power management

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Authors: Shekoufeh Behdad, Amirhossein Yadegari, Leila Ghodrati, Saman Yadegari

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Context: Preoperative anxiety is a common psychological reaction experienced by all patients undergoing surgery. It can have negative effects on the patient's well-being and even impact surgical outcomes. Therefore, finding effective interventions to reduce preoperative anxiety is important in improving patient care. Research Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the effects of oral administration of zaleplon (5 mg) and alprazolam (0.5 mg) on preoperative anxiety levels in women undergoing gynecological abdominal surgery. Methodology: This study is a double-blind, randomized clinical trial conducted after receiving approval from the university's ethics committee and obtaining written informed consent from the patients. The night before the surgery, patients were randomly assigned to receive either 0.5 mg of alprazolam or 5 mg of zaleplon orally. Anxiety levels, measured using a 10-cm visual analog scale, and hemodynamic variables (blood pressure and heart rate) were assessed before drug administration and on the morning of the operation after the patient entered the pre-operation room. Findings: The study found that there were no significant differences in mean anxiety levels or hemodynamic variables before and after administration of either drug in both groups (P value > 0.05). This suggests that both 0.5 mg of alprazolam and 5 mg of zaleplon effectively reduce preoperative anxiety in women undergoing abdominal surgery without serious side effects. Theoretical Importance: This study contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of alprazolam and zaleplon in reducing preoperative anxiety. It adds to the existing literature on pharmacological interventions for anxiety management, specifically in the context of gynecological abdominal surgery. Data Collection: Data for this study were collected through the assessment of anxiety levels using a visual analog scale and measuring hemodynamic variables, including systolic, diastolic, and mean arterial blood pressures, as well as heart rate. These measurements were taken before drug administration and on the morning of the surgery. Analysis Procedures: Statistical analysis was performed to compare the mean anxiety levels and hemodynamic variables before and after drug administration in the two groups. The significance of the differences was determined using appropriate statistical tests. Questions Addressed: This study aimed to answer the question of whether there are differences in the effects of alprazolam and zaleplon on preoperative anxiety levels in women undergoing gynecological abdominal surgery. Conclusion: The oral administration of both 0.5 mg of alprazolam and 5 mg of zaleplon the night before surgery effectively reduces preoperative anxiety in women undergoing abdominal surgery. These findings have important implications for the management of preoperative anxiety and can contribute to improving the overall surgical experience for patients.

Keywords: zaleplon, alprazolam, premedication, abdominal surgery

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Authors: Tatiana Ivushkina

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The paper is aimed at studying the use of literary words of foreign origin in modern fiction from a sociolinguistic point of view, which presupposes establishing correlation between this category of words in a speech portrayal or narrative and a social status of the speaker, verifying that it bears social implications and serves as a social marker or index of socially privileged identity in the British literature of the 21-st century. To this end, there were selected literary words of foreign origin in context (60 contexts) and subjected to careful examination. The study is carried out on two novels by Jeffrey Archer – Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less and A Prisoner of Birth – who, being a graduate from Oxford, represents socially privileged classes himself and gives a wide depiction of characters with different social backgrounds and statuses. The analysis of the novels enabled us to categorize the selected words into four relevant groups. The first represented by terms (commodity, debenture, recuperation, syringe, luminescence, umpire, etc.) serves to unambiguously indicate education, occupation, a field of knowledge in which a character is involved or a situation of communication. The second group is formed of words used in conjunction with their Germanic counterparts (perspiration – sweat, padre – priest, convivial – friendly) to contrast social position of the characters: literary words serving as social indices of upper class speakers whereas their synonyms of Germanic origin characterize middle or lower class speech portrayals. The third class of words comprises socially marked words (verbs, nouns, and adjectives), or U-words (the term first coined by Allan Ross and Nancy Mitford), the status acquired in the course of social history development (elegant, excellent, sophistication, authoritative, preposterous, etc.). The fourth includes words used in a humorous or ironic meaning to convey the narrator’s attitude to the characters or situation itself (ministrations, histrionic, etc.). Words of this group are perceived as 'alien', stylistically distant as they create incongruity between style and subject matter. Social implication of the selected words is enhanced by French words and phrases often accompanying them.

Keywords: British literature of the XXI century, literary words of foreign origin, social context, social meaning

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Authors: Nada Mohamed, Abdel Aziz Mohamed

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Climate change in coastal areas is a global issue that can be felt on local scale and will be around for decades and centuries to come to an end; it also has critical risks on the city’s economy, communities, and the natural environment. One of these changes that cause a huge risk on coastal cities is the sea level rise (SLR). SLR is a result of scarcity and reduction in global environmental system. The main cause of climate change and global warming is the countries with high development index (HDI) as Japan and Germany while the medium and low HDI countries as Egypt does not have enough awareness and advanced tactics to adapt with this changes that destroy urban areas and cause loss in land and economy. This is why Climate Resilience is one of the UN sustainable development goals 2030, which is calling for actions to strengthen climate change resilience through mitigation and adaptation. For many reasons, adaptation has received less attention than mitigation and it is only recently that adaptation has become a focal global point of attention. This adaption can be achieved through some actions such as upgrading the use and the design of the land, adjusting business and activities of people, and increasing community understanding of climate risks. To reach the adaption goals, and we have to apply a strategic pathway to Climate Resilience, which is the Urban Bioregionalism Paradigm. Resiliency has been framed as persistence, adaptation, and transformation. Climate Resilience decision support system includes a visualization platform where ecological, social, and economic information can be viewed alongside with specific geographies that's why Urban Bioregionalism is a socio-ecological system which is defined as a paradigm that has potential to help move social attitudes toward environmental understanding and deepen human-environment connections within ecological development. The research aim is to achieve an adaptive integrated urban development model throughout the analyses of tactics and strategies that can be used to adapt urban areas and coastal communities to the challenges of climate changes especially SLR and also simulation model using advanced technological software for a coastal city corridor to elaborates the suitable strategy to apply.

Keywords: climate resilience, sea level rise, SLR, coastal resilience, adaptive development simulation

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Authors: Nadeem Yousuf Khan

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This paper proposes the formation of a digital emergency response system (dERS) in the aged, long-term care, and chronic disease setups in the post-COVID healthcare ecosystem, focusing on the Asia Pacific market where the aging population is increasing significantly. It focuses on the use of digital technologies such as wearables, a global positioning system (GPS), and mobile applications to build an integrated care system for old folks with co-morbidities and other chronic diseases. The paper presents a conceptual framework of a connected digital health ecosystem that not only provides proactive care to registered patients but also prevents the damages due to sudden conditions such as strokes by alerting and treating the patients in a digitally connected and coordinated manner. A detailed review of existing digital health technologies such as wearables, GPS, and mobile apps was conducted in context with the new post-COVID healthcare paradigm, along with a detailed literature review on the digital health policies and usability. A good amount of research papers is available in the application of digital health, but very few of them discuss the formation of a new framework for a connected digital ecosystem for the aged care population, which is increasing around the globe. A connected digital emergency response system has been proposed by the author whereby all registered patients (chronic disease and aged/long term care) will be connected to the proposed digital emergency response system (dERS). In the proposed ecosystem, patients will be provided with a tracking wrist band and a mobile app through which the control room will be monitoring the mobility and vitals such as atrial fibrillation (AF), blood sugar, blood pressure, and other vital signs. In addition to that, an alert in case if the patient falls down will add value to this system. In case of any variation in the vitals, an alert is sent to the dERS 24/7, and dERS clinical staff immediately trigger that alert which goes to the connected hospital and the adulatory service providers, and the patient is escorted to the nearest connected tertiary care hospital. By the time, the patient reaches the hospital, dERS team is ready to take appropriate clinical action to save the life of the patient. Strokes or myocardial infarction patients can be prevented from disaster if they are accessible to engagement healthcare. This dERS will play an effective role in saving the lives of aged patients or patients with chronic co-morbidities.

Keywords: aged care, atrial fibrillation, digital health, digital emergency response system, digital technology

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Authors: Noury Bakrim

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Formalization is indeed a foundational Mathematical Linguistics as demonstrated by the pioneering works. While dialoguing with this frame, we nonetheless propone, in our approach of language as a real object, a mathematical linguistics/biosemiotics defined as a dialectical synthesis between induction and computational deduction. Therefore, relying on the parametric interaction of cycles, rules, and features giving way to a sub-hypothetic biological point of view, we first hypothesize a factorial equation as an explanatory principle within Category Mathematics of the Ergobrain: our computation proposal of Universal Grammar rules per cycle or a scalar determination (multiplying right/left columns of the determinant matrix and right/left columns of the logarithmic matrix) of the transformable matrix for rule addition/deletion and cycles within representational mapping/cycle heredity basing on the factorial example, being the logarithmic exponent or power of rule deletion/addition. It enables us to propone an extension of minimalist merge/label notions to a Language Merge (as a computing principle) within cycle recursion relying on combinatorial mapping of rules hierarchies on external Entax of the Event Sequence. Therefore, to define combinatorial maps as language merge of features and combinatorial hierarchical restrictions (governing, commanding, and other rules), we secondly hypothesize from our results feature/hierarchy exponentiation on graph representation deriving from Gromov's Symbolic Dynamics where combinatorial vertices from Fe are set to combinatorial vertices of Hie and edges from Fe to Hie such as for all combinatorial group, there are restriction maps representing different derivational levels that are subgraphs: the intersection on I defines pullbacks and deletion rules (under restriction maps) then under disjunction edges H such that for the combinatorial map P belonging to Hie exponentiation by intersection there are pullbacks and projections that are equal to restriction maps RM₁ and RM₂. The model will draw on experimental biomathematics as well as structural frames with focus on Amazigh and English (cases from phonology/micro-semantics, Syntax) shift from Structure to event (especially Amazigh formant principle resolving its morphological heterogeneity).

Keywords: rule/cycle addition/deletion, bio-mathematical methodology, general merge calculation, feature exponentiation, combinatorial maps, event sequence

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Authors: Meital Amzalag, Sharon Hardof-Jaffe

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In the last few decades, children and youth have been immersed in digital technologies. Indeed, recent studies explored the implication of technology use in their leisure and learning activities. Educators face an essential need to utilize technology and implement them into the curriculum. To do that, educators need to understand how young people use digital technology. This study aims to explore K12 students' digital lives from their point of view, to reveal their digital activities, age and gender differences with respect to digital activities, and to present the students' attitudes towards technologies in learning. The study approach is quantitative and includes354 students ages 6-16 from three schools in Israel. The online questionnaire was based on self-reports and consists of four parts: Digital activities: leisure time activities (such as social networks, gaming types), search activities (information types and platforms), and digital application use (e.g., calendar, notes); Digital skills (requisite digital platform skills such as evaluation and creativity); Social and emotional aspects of digital use (conducting digital activities alone and with friends, feelings, and emotions during digital use such as happiness, bullying); Digital attitudes towards digital integration in learning. An academic ethics board approved the study. The main findings reveal the most popular K12digital activities: Navigating social network sites, watching TV, playing mobile games, seeking information on the internet, and playing computer games. In addition, the findings reveal age differences in digital activities, such as significant differences in the use of social network sites. Moreover, the finding raises gender differences as girls use more social network sites and boys use more digital games, which are characterized by high complexity and challenges. Additionally, we found positive attitudes towards technology integration in school. Students perceive technology as enhancing creativity, promoting active learning, encouraging self-learning, and helping students with learning difficulties. The presentation will provide an up-to-date, accurate picture of the use of various digital technologies by k12 students. In addition, it will discuss the learning potentials of such use and how to implement digital technologies in the curriculum. Acknowledgments: This study is a part of a broader study about K-12 digital life in Israel and is supported by Mofet-the Israel Institute for Teachers'Development.

Keywords: technology and learning, K-12, digital life, gender differences

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Authors: Aliaksandr Huminski

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Semantic Role Labeling (SRL) as shallow semantic parsing approach includes recognition and labeling arguments of a verb in a sentence. Verb participants are linked with specific semantic roles (Agent, Patient, Instrument, Location, etc.). Thus, SRL can answer on key questions such as ‘Who’, ‘When’, ‘What’, ‘Where’ in a text and it is widely applied in dialog systems, question-answering, named entity recognition, information retrieval, and other fields of NLP. However, SRL has the following flaw: Two sentences with identical (or almost identical) meaning can have different semantic role structures. Let consider 2 sentences: (1) John put butter on the bread. (2) John buttered the bread. SRL for (1) and (2) will be significantly different. For the verb put in (1) it is [Agent + Patient + Goal], but for the verb butter in (2) it is [Agent + Goal]. It happens because of one of the most interesting and intriguing features of a verb: Its ability to capture participants as in the case of the verb butter, or their features as, say, in the case of the verb drink where the participant’s feature being liquid is shared with the verb. This capture looks like a total fusion of meaning and cannot be decomposed in direct way (in comparison with compound verbs like babysit or breastfeed). From this perspective, SRL looks really shallow to represent semantic structure. If the key point in semantic representation is an opportunity to use it for making inferences and finding hidden reasons, it assumes by default that two different but semantically identical sentences must have the same semantic structure. Otherwise we will have different inferences from the same meaning. To overcome the above-mentioned flaw, the following approach is suggested. Assume that: P is a participant of relation; F is a feature of a participant; Vcp is a verb that captures a participant; Vcf is a verb that captures a feature of a participant; Vpr is a primitive verb or a verb that does not capture any participant and represents only a relation. In another word, a primitive verb is a verb whose meaning does not include meanings from its surroundings. Then Vcp and Vcf can be decomposed as: Vcp = Vpr +P; Vcf = Vpr +F. If all Vcp and Vcf will be represented this way, then primitive verbs Vpr can be considered as a canonical form for SRL. As a result of that, there will be no hidden participants caught by a verb since all participants will be explicitly unfolded. An obvious example of Vpr is the verb go, which represents pure movement. In this case the verb drink can be represented as man-made movement of liquid into specific direction. Extraction and using primitive verbs for SRL create a canonical representation unique for semantically identical sentences. It leads to the unification of semantic representation. In this case, the critical flaw related to SRL will be resolved.

Keywords: decomposition, labeling, primitive verbs, semantic roles

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