Search results for: 3D absolute positioning

Authors: Jing Jiang, Yuguang Gao, Yang Yu

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Facing increasingly challenging insurance payment pressures, the Chinese healthcare system is undergoing significant transformations, akin to the implementation of DRG payment models by the United States' Medicare. Consequently, there is a pressing need for Chinese hospitals to establish optimizations in departmental operations tailored to the ongoing healthcare payment reforms. This abstract delineates the meticulous construction of a scientifically rigorous and comprehensive index system at the departmental level in China strategically aligned with the evolving landscape of healthcare payment reforms. Methodologically, it integrates key process areas and maturity assessment theories, synthesizing relevant literature and industry standards to construct a robust framework and indicator pool. Employing the Delphi method, consultations with 21 experts were conducted, revealing a collective demonstration of high enthusiasm, authority, and coordination in designing the index system. The resulting model comprises four primary indicators -technical capabilities, cost-effectiveness, operational efficiency, and disciplinary potential- supported by 14 secondary indicators and 23 tertiary indicators with varied coefficient adjustment for department types (platform or surgical). The application of this evaluation system in a Chinese hospital within the northeastern region yielded results aligning seamlessly with the actual operational scenario. In conclusion, the index system comprehensively considers the integrity and effectiveness of structural, process, and outcome indicators and stands as a comprehensive reflection of the collective expertise of the engaged experts, manifesting in a model designed to elevate the operational management of hospital departments. Its strategic alignment with healthcare payment reforms holds practical significance in guiding departmental development positioning, brand cultivation, and talent development.

Keywords: Chinese healthcare system, Delphi method, departmental management, evaluation indicators, hospital operations, weight coefficients

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Authors: Ola Elfmark, Lars M. Bardal, Luca Oggiano, H˚avard Myklebust

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Team pursuit is a relatively new event in international long track speed skating. For a single speed skater the aerodynamic drag will account for up to 80% of the braking force, thus reducing the drag can greatly improve the performance. In a team pursuit the interactions between athletes in near proximity will also be essential, but is not well studied. In this study, systematic measurements of the aerodynamic drag, body posture and relative positioning of speed skaters have been performed in the low speed wind tunnel at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in order to investigate the aerodynamic interaction between two speed skaters. Drag measurements of static speed skaters drafting, leading, side-by-side, and dynamic drag measurements in a synchronized and unsynchronized movement at different distances, were performed. The projected frontal area was measured for all postures and movements and a blockage correction was performed, as the blockage ratio ranged from 5-15% in the different setups. The static drag measurements where performed on two test subjects in two different postures, a low posture and a high posture, and two different distances between the test subjects 1.5T and 3T where T being the length of the torso (T=0.63m). A drag reduction was observed for all distances and configurations, from 39% to 11.4%, for the drafting test subject. The drag of the leading test subject was only influenced at -1.5T, with the biggest drag reduction of 5.6%. An increase in drag was seen for all side-by-side measurements, the biggest increase was observed to be 25.7%, at the closest distance between the test subjects, and the lowest at 2.7% with ∼ 0.7 m between the test subjects. A clear aerodynamic interaction between the test subjects and their postures was observed for most measurements during static measurements, with results corresponding well to recent studies. For the dynamic measurements, the leading test subject had a drag reduction of 3% even at -3T. The drafting showed a drag reduction of 15% when being in a synchronized (sync) motion with the leading test subject at 4.5T. The maximal drag reduction for both the leading and the drafting test subject were observed when being as close as possible in sync, with a drag reduction of 8.5% and 25.7% respectively. This study emphasize the importance of keeping a synchronized movement by showing that the maximal gain for the leading and drafting dropped to 3.2% and 3.3% respectively when the skaters are in opposite phase. Individual differences in technique also appear to influence the drag of the other test subject.

Keywords: aerodynamic interaction, drag force, frontal area, speed skating

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Authors: Ugwu O. C., Mamah R. O., Awudu W. S.

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This work is aimed at enhancing signal reception on a mobile radio network and minimizing outage probability in a mobile radio network using adaptive beamforming antenna arrays. In this research work, an empirical real-time drive measurement was done in a cellular network of Globalcom Nigeria Limited located at Ikeja, the headquarters of Lagos State, Nigeria, with reference base station number KJA 004. The empirical measurement includes Received Signal Strength and Bit Error Rate which were recorded for exact prediction of the signal strength of the network as at the time of carrying out this research work. The Received Signal Strength and Bit Error Rate were measured with a spectrum monitoring Van with the help of a Ray Tracer at an interval of 100 meters up to 700 meters from the transmitting base station. The distance and angular location measurements from the reference network were done with the help Global Positioning System (GPS). The other equipment used were transmitting equipment measurements software (Temsoftware), Laptops and log files, which showed received signal strength with distance from the base station. Results obtained were about 11% from the real-time experiment, which showed that mobile radio networks are prone to signal failure and can be minimized using an Adaptive Beamforming Antenna Array in terms of a significant reduction in Bit Error Rate, which implies improved performance of the mobile radio network. In addition, this work did not only include experiments done through empirical measurement but also enhanced mathematical models that were developed and implemented as a reference model for accurate prediction. The proposed signal models were based on the analysis of continuous time and discrete space, and some other assumptions. These developed (proposed) enhanced models were validated using MATLAB (version 7.6.3.35) program and compared with the conventional antenna for accuracy. These outage models were used to manage the blocked call experience in the mobile radio network. 20% improvement was obtained when the adaptive beamforming antenna arrays were implemented on the wireless mobile radio network.

Keywords: beamforming algorithm, adaptive beamforming, simulink, reception

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Authors: Ese Urhie, Bosede Olopade, Muyiwa Oladosun, Henry Okodua

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In the past three and half decades, aside from the fact that the contribution of the industrial sector to gross domestic product in Nigeria has nose-dived, its performance has also been highly unstable. Investment funds needed to develop the industrial sector usually come from both internal and external sources. The internal sources include surplus generated within the industrial sector and surplus diverted from other sectors of the economy. It has been observed that due to the small size of the industrial sector in developing countries, very limited funds could be raised for further investment. External sources of funds which many currently industrialized and some ‘newly industrializing countries’ have benefited from including direct and indirect investment by foreign capitalists; foreign aid and loans; and investments by nationals living abroad. Foreign direct investment inflow in Nigeria has been declining since 2009 in both absolute and relative terms. High level of human capital has been identified as one of the crucial factors that explain the miraculous growth of the ‘Asian Tigers’. Its low level has also been identified as the major cause for the low level of FDI flow to Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. There has been positive, but slow improvement in human capital indicators in Nigeria in the past three decades. In spite of this, foreign direct investment inflow has not only been low; it has declined drastically in recent years. i) Why has the improvement in human capital in Nigeria failed to attract more FDI inflow? ii) To what extent does the level of human capital influence FDI inflow in Nigeria? iii) Is there a threshold of human capital stock that guarantees sustained inflow of FDI? iv) Does the quality of human capital matter? v) Does the influence of other (negative) factors outweigh the benefits of human capital? Using time series secondary data, a system of equations is employed to evaluate the effect of human capital on FDI inflow in Nigeria on one hand and the effect of FDI on the level of industrialization on the other. A weak relationship between human capital and FDI is expected, while a strong relationship between FDI and industrial growth is expected from the result.

Keywords: human capital, foreign direct investment, industrialization, gross domestic product

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Authors: Mai A. Ibrahim, Mohammed El-Beltagy, Motaz Khorshid

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Emerging Markets return distributions have shown significance departure from normality were they are characterized by fatter tails relative to the normal distribution and exhibit levels of skewness and kurtosis that constitute a significant departure from normality. Therefore, the classical Markowitz Mean-Variance is not applicable for emerging markets since it assumes normally-distributed returns (with zero skewness and kurtosis) and a quadratic utility function. Moreover, the Markowitz mean-variance analysis can be used in cases of moderate non-normality and it still provides a good approximation of the expected utility, but it may be ineffective under large departure from normality. Higher moments models and median models have been suggested in the literature for asset allocation in this case. Higher moments models have been introduced to account for the insufficiency of the description of a portfolio by only its first two moments while the median model has been introduced as a robust statistic which is less affected by outliers than the mean. Tail risk measures such as Value-at Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value-at-Risk (CVaR) have been introduced instead of Variance to capture the effect of risk. In this research, higher moment models including the Mean-Variance-Skewness (MVS) and Mean-Variance-Skewness-Kurtosis (MVSK) are formulated as single-objective non-linear programming problems (NLP) and median models including the Median-Value at Risk (MedVaR) and Median-Mean Absolute Deviation (MedMAD) are formulated as a single-objective mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problems. The higher moment models and median models are compared to some benchmark portfolios and tested on real financial data in the Egyptian main Index EGX30. The results show that all the median models outperform the higher moment models were they provide higher final wealth for the investor over the entire period of study. In addition, the results have confirmed the inapplicability of the classical Markowitz Mean-Variance to the Egyptian stock market as it resulted in very low realized profits.

Keywords: Egyptian stock exchange, emerging markets, higher moment models, median models, mixed-integer linear programming, non-linear programming

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Authors: Nemanja Kidzin, Danka Puric

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Recently, the field of personality change has received an increasing amount of attention. Previously under-researched variables, such as the intention to change or taking on new social roles (in a working environment, education, family, etc.), have been shown to be relevant for personality change. Following this line of research, our study aimed to determine whether the process of acting can bring about personality changes in students of acting and, if yes, in which way. We hypothesized that there will be a significant difference between self-reported personality traits of students acting at the beginning and the end of preparing for a role. Additionally, as potential moderator variables, we measured the reported personality traits of the roles the students were acting, as well as empathy, disintegration, and years of formal education. The sample (N = 47) was composed of students of acting from the Faculty of Dramatic Arts (first- to fourth-year) and the Faculty of Modern Arts (first-year students only). Participants' mean age was 20.2 (SD = 1.47), and there were 64% of females. The procedure included two waves of testing (T1 at the beginning and T2 at the end of the semester), and students’ acting exercises and character immersion comprised the pseudo-experimental procedure. Students’ personality traits (HEXACO-60, self-report version), empathy (Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy, QCAE), and disintegration (DELTA9, 10-item version) were measured at both T1 and T2, while the personality of the role (HEXACO-60 observer version) was measured at T2. Responses to all instruments were given on a 5-point Likert scale. A series of repeated-measures T-tests showed significant differences in emotionality (t(46) = 2.56, p = 0.014) and conscientiousness (t(46) = -2.39, p = 0.021) between T1 and T2. Moreover, an index of absolute personality change was significantly different from 0 for all traits (range .53 to .34, t(46) = 4.20, p < .001 for the lowest index. The average test-retest correlation for HEXACO traits was 0.57, which is lower than proposed by other similar researches. As for moderator variables, neither the personality of the role nor empathy or disintegration explained the change in students’ personality traits. The magnitude of personality change was the highest in fourth-year students, with no significant differences between the remaining three years of studying. Overall, our results seem to indicate some personality changes in students of acting. However, these changes cannot be unequivocally related to the process of preparing for a role. Further and methodologically stricter research is needed to unravel the role of acting in personality change.

Keywords: theater, personality change, acting, HEXACO

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Authors: Marine Kobalava

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The article analyzes the level of Georgia's tourism potential usage during the pandemic. The conclusion is drawnthat Georgia, as a tourism brand, is in a significant crisis at this stage, revenues from this sector have been substantially reduced, communication with potential customers is interrupted, no international marketing and PR communication strategies have been developed for the post-pandemic period. In order to rehabilitate the tourism industry of Georgia, it is considered vital to take measures using international marketing and PR communication strategies adjusted to the needs of the sectorthat will improve the use of tourism potential and stimulate the development of the sector. The goal of the research is to identify the factors hindering the use of tourism potential in the direction of international marketing and PR communication strategies in the post-pandemic period and to develop recommendations on ways to solve them. Research methods. The paper uses various theoretical and methodological tools of research, including Bibliographic research has been conducted on the main research issues; Analysis, synthesis, induction, and other methods are used to select and group data, identify similarities and differences, and identify trends; Endogenous and exogenous factors affecting the field of tourism have been studied by means of SWOT and PESTEL analyzes. A comparison model is used to analyze the strategy documents. Primary accounting materials are obtained from the National Statistics Office and the relevant ministries. Based on the results of the research, the directions of correct positioning of tourism products and marketing communication in the post-pandemic period have been developed. It is substantiated that a short-term international marketing strategy should include: probable goals of communication, maintaining a position on a potential traveler's “radar,” focusing communication on key motivating factors (gastronomy, winemaking, folklore, protected areas, mountainous regions). From a marketing point of view, it is important: holding international marketing events, compiling a list of target countries, formation of stimulus mechanisms, development of incentive programs for international tour operators, etc. The paper draws conclusions about the problems of using the tourism potential, recommendations on ways to solve this problems through international marketing and PR communication strategies are offered

Keywords: PR communication, international marketing strategy, tourism potential, post-pandemic period

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Authors: Antoifi Abdoulhalik, Ashraf Ahmed

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The ever growing threat of saltwater intrusion has prompted the need to further advance the understanding of underlying processes related to SWI for effective water resource management. While research efforts have mainly been focused on steady state analysis, studies on the transience of saltwater intrusion mechanism remain very scarce and studies considering transient SWI in heterogeneous medium are, as per our knowledge, simply inexistent. This study provides for the first time a quantitative analysis of the effect of both inland and coastal water level changes on the transition zone under transient conditions in layered coastal aquifer. In all, two sets of four experiments were completed, including a homogeneous case, and four layered cases: case LH and case HL presented were two bi-layered scenarios where a low K layer was set at the top and the bottom, respectively; case HLH and case LHL presented two stratified aquifers with High K–Low K–High K and Low K–High K– Low K pattern, respectively. Experimental automated image analysis technique was used here to quantify the main SWI parameters under high spatial and temporal resolution. The findings of this study provide an invaluable insight on the underlying processes responsible of transition zone dynamics in coastal aquifers. The results show that in all the investigated cases, the width of the transition zone remains almost unchanged throughout the saltwater intrusion process regardless of where the boundary change occurs. However, the results demonstrate that the width of the transition zone considerably increases during the retreat, with largest amplitude observed in cases LH and LHL, where a low K was set at the top of the system. In all the scenarios, the amplitude of widening was slightly smaller when the retreat was prompted by instantaneous drop of the saltwater level than when caused by inland freshwater rise, despite equivalent absolute head change magnitude. The magnitude of head change significantly caused larger widening during the saltwater wedge retreat, while having no impact during the intrusion phase.

Keywords: freshwater-saltwater transition-zone dynamics, heterogeneous coastal aquifers, laboratory experiments, transience seawater intrusion

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Authors: Clara T. Fatoye, April Betts, Abayomi Odeyemi, Francis A. Fatoye, Isaac O. Odeyemi

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Background: The post-launch stage is the last stage in the development of a pharmaceutical product. It is important to involve patients in the development of pharmaceutical products at the post-launch stage, as patients are the end-users of pharmaceutical products. It is expected that involving them might ensure an effective working relationship among the various stakeholders. However, involving patients in the development of pharmaceutical products comes with its problems. Hence, this study examined how to resolve problems experienced by involving patients in the developments of pharmaceutical products’ at post-launch consisting of Positioning of pharmaceutical products (POPP), detailing of pharmaceutical products (DOPP) and reimbursement and Formulary Submission (R&FS). Methods: A questionnaire was used for the present study. It was administered at the ISPOR Glasgow 2017 to 104 participants, all of which were professionals from Market access (MA) and health economics and outcomes research (HEOR) backgrounds. They were asked how the issues experienced by patients can be resolved. Participants responded under six domains as follows: communication, cost, effectiveness, external factors, Quality of life (QoL) and safety. Thematic analysis was carried out to identify strategies to resolve issues experienced by patients at the post-launch stage. Results: Three (3) factors cut across at POPP, DOPP, and R&FS that is (external factors, communication and QoL). The first resolution method was an external factor that is, the relationship with stakeholders and policymakers. Communication was also identified as a resolution method that can help to resolve problems experienced by patients at the post-launch stage. The third method was QoL as perceived by the patients based on professionals’ opinions. Other strategies that could be used to resolve problems experienced were the effectiveness of pharmaceutical products at the DOPP level and cost at R&FS. Conclusion: The study showed that focusing on external factors, communication, and patients’ QoL are methods for resolving issues experienced by involving patients at the post-launch stage of pharmaceutical product development. Hence, effective working relationships between patients, policymakers and stakeholders may help to resolve problems experienced at the post-launch stage. Healthcare policymakers are to be aware of these findings as they may help them to put appropriate strategies in place to enhance the involvement of patients in pharmaceutical product development at the post-launch stage, thereby improving the health outcomes of the patients.

Keywords: patients, pharmaceutical products, post-launch stage, quality of life, QoL

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Authors: Nabil A. A. Mohamed, Alaa A. A. Balbaa, Khaled E. Ayad

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Osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee is the most common form of arthritis and leads to more activity limitations (e.g., disability in walking and stair climbing) than any other disease, especially in the elderly. Recently, impaired proprioceptive accuracy of the knee has been proposed as a local factor in the onset and progression of radiographic knee OA (ROA). Purpose: To compare the clinical and radiological findings in healthy with that of knee OA. Also, to determine if there is a correlation between the clinical and radiological findings in patients with knee OA. Subjects: Fifty one patients diagnosed as unilateral or bilateral knee OA with age ranged between 35-70 years, from both gender without any previous history of knee trauma or surgery, and twenty one normal subjects with age ranged from 35 - 68 years. METHODS: peak torque/body weight (PT/BW) was recorded from knee extensors at isokinetic isometric mode at angle of 45 degree. Also, the Absolute Angular Error was recorded at 45O and 30O to measure joint position sense (JPS). They made anteroposterior (AP) plain X-rays from standing semiflexed knee position and their average score of Timed Up and Go test(TUG) and WOMAC were recorded as a measure of knee pain, stiffness and function. Comparison between the mean values of different variables in the two groups was performed using unpaired student t test. The P value less or equal to 0.05 was considered significant. Results: There were significant differences between the studied variables between the experimental and control groups except the values of AAE at 30O. Also, there were no significant correlation between the clinical findings (pain, function, muscle strength and proprioception) and the severity of arthritic changes in X-rays. CONCLUSION: From the finding of the current study we can conclude that there were a significant difference between the both groups in all studied parameters (the WOMAC, functional level, quadriceps muscle strength and the joint proprioception). Also this study did not support the dependency on radiological findings in management of knee OA as the radiological features did not necessarily indicate the level of structural damage of patients with knee OA and we should consider the clinical features in our treatment plan.

Keywords: joint position sense, peak torque, proprioception, radiological knee osteoarthritis

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Authors: Yali Liu

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The ethnographic research involved a multi-sited field trip study in China to compile in-depth data from Chinese multilingual academics of Korean, Japanese, and Russian. It aimed to create a culturally-informed portrait of their values and perceptions regarding their choice of language for academic publishing. Extended and lengthy fieldwork, or known as ‘deep hanging out’, enabled the author to gain a comprehensive understanding of the research context at the macro-level and the participants’ experiences at the micro-level. This research involved multiple fieldwork sites, which the author selected in acknowledgment of the diversity in China’s regions with respect to their geopolitical context, socio-economic development, cultural traditions, and administrative status. The 14 weeks of data collection took the author over-land to five regions in northern China: Hebei province, Tianjin, Jilin province, Gansu province, and Xinjiang. Responding to the fieldwork dynamics, the author positioned herself at different degrees of insiderness and outsiderness. This occurred at three levels: the regional level, the individual level, and the within-individual level. To enhance the ability to reflect on the authors’ researcher subjectivity, the author explored her understanding of the five ‘I’s, derived from the authors’ natural attributes. This helped the author to monitor her subjectivity, particularly during critical decision-making. The methodological challenges the author navigated were related to interviewing elites; this involved the initial approach, establishing a relationship, and negotiating the unequal power relationship during our contact. The author developed a number of strategies to strengthen her authority, and to gain the confidence of her envisaged participants and secure their collaboration, and the author negotiated a form of reciprocity that reflected their needs and expectations. The current ethnographic research has both theoretical and practical significance. It contributes to the methodological development regarding multi-sited ethnographic research. The messiness and strategies about positioning and interviewing elites will provide practical lessons for researchers who conduct ethnographic research, especially from power-‘less’ positions.

Keywords: multi-sited ethnographic research, elite interview, multilingual China, subjectivity, reciprocity

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Authors: U. Ali Rahoma, Nabil Esawy, Fawzia Ibrahim Moursy, A. H. Hassan, Samy A. Khalil, Ashraf S. Khamees

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The design of any solar energy conversion system requires the knowledge of solar radiation data obtained over a long period. Satellite data has been widely used to estimate solar energy where no ground observation of solar radiation is available, yet there are limitations on the temporal coverage of satellite data. Reanalysis is a “retrospective analysis” of the atmosphere parameters generated by assimilating observation data from various sources, including ground observation, satellites, ships, and aircraft observation with the output of NWP (Numerical Weather Prediction) models, to develop an exhaustive record of weather and climate parameters. The evaluation of the performance of reanalysis datasets (ERA-5) for North Africa against high-quality surface measured data was performed using statistical analysis. The estimation of global solar radiation (GSR) distribution over six different selected locations in North Africa during ten years from the period time 2011 to 2020. The root means square error (RMSE), mean bias error (MBE) and mean absolute error (MAE) of reanalysis data of solar radiation range from 0.079 to 0.222, 0.0145 to 0.198, and 0.055 to 0.178, respectively. The seasonal statistical analysis was performed to study seasonal variation of performance of datasets, which reveals the significant variation of errors in different seasons—the performance of the dataset changes by changing the temporal resolution of the data used for comparison. The monthly mean values of data show better performance, but the accuracy of data is compromised. The solar radiation data of ERA-5 is used for preliminary solar resource assessment and power estimation. The correlation coefficient (R2) varies from 0.93 to 99% for the different selected sites in North Africa in the present research. The goal of this research is to give a good representation for global solar radiation to help in solar energy application in all fields, and this can be done by using gridded data from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ECMWF and producing a new model to give a good result.

Keywords: solar energy, solar radiation, ERA-5, potential energy

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Authors: Aliyu J. Abubakar, Mazlan Hashim, Amin B. Pour

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Exploiting geothermal resources for either power, home heating, Spa, greenhouses, industrial or tourism requires an initial identification of suitable areas. This can be done cost-effectively using remote sensing satellite imagery which has synoptic capabilities of covering large areas in real time and by identifying possible areas of hydrothermal alteration and minerals related to Geothermal systems. Earth features and minerals are known to have unique diagnostic spectral reflectance characteristics that can be used to discriminate them. The focus of this paper is to investigate the applicability of mapping hydrothermal alteration in relation to geothermal systems (thermal springs) at Yankari Park Northeastern Nigeria, using Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) satellite data for resource exploration. The ASTER Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) bands are used to highlight and discriminate alteration areas by employing sophisticated digital image processing techniques including image transformations and spectral mapping methods. Field verifications are conducted at the Yankari Park using hand held Global Positioning System (GPS) monterra to identify locations of hydrothermal alteration and rock samples obtained at the vicinity and surrounding areas of the ‘Mawulgo’ and ‘Wikki’ thermal springs. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) results of rock samples obtained from the field validated hydrothermal alteration by the presence of indicator minerals including; Dickite, Kaolinite, Hematite and Quart. The study indicated the applicability of mapping geothermal anomalies for resource exploration in unmapped sparsely vegetated savanna environment characterized by subtle surface manifestations such as thermal springs. The results could have implication for geothermal resource exploration especially at the prefeasibility stages by narrowing targets for comprehensive surveys and in unexplored savanna regions where expensive airborne surveys are unaffordable.

Keywords: geothermal exploration, image enhancement, minerals, spectral mapping

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Authors: Rolando Volzone

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The Congregation of Saint Paul of Serra de Ossa (Ossa Mountain) was founded in 1482, originated by the eremitic movement of the homens da pobre vida (poor life men), which is documented since 1366. The community of hermits expanded up to the first half of the 15th century, mostly in southern Portugal in the Alentejo region. In 1578, following a process of institutionalization led by the Church, an autonomous congregation was set up, affiliated in the Hungarian Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit, until 1834, when the decree of dissolution of the religious orders disbanded all the convents and monasteries in Portugal. The architectural evidences that reached our days as a legacy of the hermitical movement in Serra de Ossa, although studied and analysed from an historical point of view, are still little known with respect to the architectural characteristics of its physical implantation and its relationship with the natural systems. This research intends to expose the appropriation process of the locus eremus as a starting point for the interpretation of this landscape, evidencing the close relationship between the religious experience and the physical space chosen to reach the perfection of the soul. The locus eremus is thus determined not only by practical aspects such as the absolute and relative location, orography, existence of water resources, or the King’s favoring to the religious and settlement action of the hermits, but also by spiritual aspects related to the symbolism of the physical elements present and the solitary walk of these men. These aspects, combined with the built architectural elements and other exerted human action, may be fertile ground for the definition of a hypothetical hermitical landscape based on the sufficiently distinctive characteristics that sustain it. The landscape built by these hermits is established as a cultural and material heritage, and its preservation is of utmost importance. They deeply understood this place and took advantage of its natural resources, manipulating them in an ecological and economically sustainable way, respecting the place, without overcoming its own genius loci but becoming part of it.

Keywords: architecture, congregation of Saint Paul of Serra de Ossa, heremitical landscape, locus eremus

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Authors: Brennan Lodge

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Amidst a complex regulatory landscape, Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) emerges as a transformative tool for Governance Risk and Compliance (GRC) officers. This paper details the application of RAG in synthesizing Large Language Models (LLMs) with external knowledge bases, offering GRC professionals an advanced means to adapt to rapid changes in compliance requirements. While the development for standalone LLM’s (Large Language Models) is exciting, such models do have their downsides. LLM’s cannot easily expand or revise their memory, and they can’t straightforwardly provide insight into their predictions, and may produce “hallucinations.” Leveraging a pre-trained seq2seq transformer and a dense vector index of domain-specific data, this approach integrates real-time data retrieval into the generative process, enabling gap analysis and the dynamic generation of compliance and risk management content. We delve into the mechanics of RAG, focusing on its dual structure that pairs parametric knowledge contained within the transformer model with non-parametric data extracted from an updatable corpus. This hybrid model enhances decision-making through context-rich insights, drawing from the most current and relevant information, thereby enabling GRC officers to maintain a proactive compliance stance. Our methodology aligns with the latest advances in neural network fine-tuning, providing a granular, token-level application of retrieved information to inform and generate compliance narratives. By employing RAG, we exhibit a scalable solution that can adapt to novel regulatory challenges and cybersecurity threats, offering GRC officers a robust, predictive tool that augments their expertise. The granular application of RAG’s dual structure not only improves compliance and risk management protocols but also informs the development of compliance narratives with pinpoint accuracy. It underscores AI’s emerging role in strategic risk mitigation and proactive policy formation, positioning GRC officers to anticipate and navigate the complexities of regulatory evolution confidently.

Keywords: cybersecurity, gen AI, retrieval augmented generation, cybersecurity defense strategies

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Authors: Vincent Mokoka, Kai Behn, Edwin Mudongo, Jan Ruppert, Kingsley Ayisi, Anja Linstädter

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Severe drought may trigger a transition of vegetation composition in dryland grasslands, with productive perennial grasses often being replaced by annual grasses. Grazing pressure is thought to exacerbate drought effects, but little is known on the joint effects of grazing and drought on the functional and taxonomic composition of the herbaceous vegetation in African savannas. This study thus aimed to elucidate which herbaceous species and plant functional types (PFTs) are most resistant to prolonged drought and grazing and whether resting plays a role in this context. Thus, we performed a six-year field experiment in South Africa’s Limpopo province, combining drought and grazing treatments. Aboveground herbaceous biomass was harvested annually and separated into species. We grouped species into five PFTs, i.e. very broad-leaved perennial grasses, broad-leaved perennial grasses, narrow-leaved perennial grasses, annual grasses, and forbs. For all species, we also recorded three-leaf traits (leaf area - LA, specific leaf area – SLA, and leaf dry matter content – LDM) to describe their resource acquisition strategies. We used generalized linear models to test for treatment effects and their interaction. Association indices were used to detect the relationship between species and treatments. We found that there were no absolute winner species or PFTs, as the six-year severe drought had a pronounced negative impact on the biomass production of all species and PFTs. However, we detected relative winners with increases in relative abundances, mainly forbs and less palatable narrow-leafed grasses with comparatively low LA and high LDMC, such as Aristida stipidata Hack. These species and PFTs also tended to be favored by grazing. Although few species profited from resting, for most species, the combination of drought and resting proved to be particularly unfavorable. Winners and losers can indicate ecological transition and may be used to guide management decisions.

Keywords: aboveground net primary production, drought, functional diversity, winner and loser species

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Authors: Somnath Bhattachryya, Montree Bunruangses, Somchat Sonasang, Preecha Yupapin

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In this study and research on meditation and insight, the design and experiment with electronic circuits to manipulate the meditators' mental circles that call the chakras to have the same size is proposed. The shape of the circuit is 4-ports, called an add-drop multiplexer, that studies the meditation structure called the four-mindfulness foundation, then uses an AC power signal as an input instead of the meditation time function, where various behaviors with the method of re-filtering the signal (successive filtering), like eight noble paths. Start by inputting a signal at a frequency that causes the velocity of the wave on the perimeter of the circuit to cause particles to have the speed of light in a vacuum. The signal changes from electromagnetic waves and matter waves according to the velocity (frequency) until it reaches the point of the relativistic limit. The electromagnetic waves are transformed into photons with properties of wave-particle overcoming the limits of the speed of light. As for the matter wave, it will travel to the other side and cannot pass through the relativistic limit, called a shadow signal (echo) that can have power from increasing speed but cannot create speed faster than light or insight. In the experiment, the only the side where the velocity is positive, only where the speed above light or the corresponding frequency indicates intelligence. Other side(echo) can be done by changing the input signal to the other side of the circuit to get the same result. But there is no intelligence or speed beyond light. It is also used to study the stretching, contraction of time and wormholes that can be applied for teleporting, Bose-Einstein condensate and teleprinting, quantum telephone. The teleporting can happen throughout the system with wave-particle and echo, which is when the speed of the particle is faster than the stretching or contraction of time, the particle will submerge in the wormhole, when the destination and time are determined, will travel through the wormhole. In a wormhole, time can determine in the future and the past. The experimental results using the microstrip circuit have been found to be by the principle of quantum relativity, which can be further developed for both tools and meditation practitioners for quantum technology.

Keywords: quantu meditation, insight picture, quantum circuit, absolute time, teleportation

Procedia PDF Downloads 61

Authors: Hans Tjio, Wee Meng Seng

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The interaction of contract and property has always been a concern in corporate and commercial law, where there are internal structures created that may not match the externally perceived image generated by the labels attached to those structures. We will focus, in particular, on the priority structures created by affirmative asset partitioning, which have increasingly come under challenge by those attempting to negotiate around them. The most prominent has been the AT1 bonds issued by Credit Suisse which were wiped out before its equity when the troubled bank was acquired by UBS. However, this should not have come as a surprise to those whose “bonds” had similarly been “redeemed” upon the occurrence of certain reference events in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan during their Minibond crisis linked to US sub-prime defaults. These were derivatives classified as debentures and sold as such. At the same time, we are again witnessing “liabilities” seemingly ranking higher up the balance sheet ladder, finding themselves lowered in events of default. We will examine the mechanisms holders of perpetual securities or preference shares have tried to use to protect themselves. This is happening against a backdrop that sees a rise in the strength of private credit and inter-creditor conflicts. The restructuring regime of the hybrid scheme in Singapore now, while adopting the absolute priority rule in Chapter 11 as the quid pro quo for creditor cramdown, does not apply to shareholders and so exempts them from cramdown. Complicating the picture further, shareholders are not exempted from cramdown in the Dutch scheme, but it adopts a relative priority rule. At the same time, the important UK Supreme Court decision in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana [2022] UKSC 25 has held that directors’ duties to take account of creditor interests are activated only when a company is almost insolvent. All this has been complicated by digital assets created by businesses. Investors are quite happy to have them classified as property (like a thing) when it comes to their transferability, but then when the issuer defaults to have them seen as a claim on the business (as a choice in action), that puts them at the level of a creditor. But these hidden interests will not show themselves on an issuer’s balance sheet until it is too late to be considered and yet if accepted, may also prevent any meaningful restructuring.

Keywords: asset partitioning, creditor priority, restructuring, BTI v Sequana, digital assets

Procedia PDF Downloads 71

Authors: Hamid Oumer Seid

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Piled raft foundation (PRF) is a union of pile and raft working together through the interaction of soil-pile, pile-raft, soil-raft and pile-pile to provide adequate bearing capacity and controlled settlement. A uniform pile positioning is used in PRF; however, there is a wide room for optimization through parametric study under vertical load to result in a safer and economical foundation. Addis Ababa is found in seismic zone 3 with a peak ground acceleration (PGA) above the threshold of damage, which makes investigating the performance of PRF under seismic load considering the dynamic kinematic soil structure interaction (SSI) vital. The study area is located in Addis Ababa around Mexico (commercial bank) and Kirkos (Nib, Zemen and United Bank) in which input parameters (pile length, pile diameter, pile spacing, raft area, raft thickness and load) are taken. A finite difference-based numerical software, FLAC3D V6, was used for the analysis. The Kobe (1995) and Northridge (1994) earthquakes were selected, and deconvolution analysis was done. A close load sharing between pile and raft was achieved at a spacing of 7D with different pile lengths and diameters. The maximum settlement reduction achieved is 9% for a pile of 2m diameter by increasing length from 10m to 20m, which shows pile length is not effective in reducing settlement. The installation of piles results in an increase in the negative bending moment of the raft compared with an unpiled raft. Hence, the optimized design depends on pile spacing and the raft edge length, while pile length and diameter are not significant parameters. An optimized piled raft configuration (𝐴𝐺/𝐴𝑅 = 0.25 at the center and piles provided around the edge) has reduced pile number by 40% and differential settlement by 95%. The dynamic analysis shows acceleration plot at the top of the piled raft has PGA of 0.25𝑚2/𝑠𝑒𝑐 and 0.63𝑚2/𝑠𝑒𝑐 for Northridge (1994) and Kobe (1995) earthquakes, respectively, due to attenuation of seismic waves. Pile head displacement (maximum is 2mm, and it is under the allowable limit) is affected by the PGA rather than the duration of an earthquake. End bearing and friction PRF performed similarly under two different earthquakes except for their vertical settlement considering SSI. Hence, PRF has shown adequate resistance to seismic loads.

Keywords: FLAC3D V6, earthquake, optimized piled raft foundation, pile head department

Procedia PDF Downloads 18

Authors: Baba Mbaye

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In collaborative filtering recommendation systems, a user receives suggested items based on the opinions and evaluations of a community of users. This type of recommendation system uses only the information (notes in numerical values) contained in a usage matrix as input data. This matrix can be constructed based on users' behaviors or by offering users to declare their opinions on the items they know. The cold start problem leads to very poor performance for new users. It is a phenomenon that occurs at the beginning of use, in the situation where the system lacks data to make recommendations. There are three types of cold start problems: cold start for a new item, a new system, and a new user. We are interested in this article at the cold start for a new user. When the system welcomes a new user, the profile exists but does not have enough data, and its communities with other users profiles are still unknown. This leads to recommendations not adapted to the profile of the new user. In this paper, we propose an approach that improves cold start by using the notions of similarity and semantic proximity between users profiles during cold start. We will use the cold-metadata available (metadata extracted from the new user's data) useful in positioning the new user within a community. The aim is to look for similarities and semantic proximities with the old and current user profiles of the system. Proximity is represented by close concepts considered to belong to the same group, while similarity groups together elements that appear similar. Similarity and proximity are two close but not similar concepts. This similarity leads us to the construction of similarity which is based on: a) the concepts (properties, terms, instances) independent of ontology structure and, b) the simultaneous representation of the two concepts (relations, presence of terms in a document, simultaneous presence of the authorities). We propose an ontology, OIVCSRS (Ontology of Improvement Visitor Cold Start in Recommender Systems), in order to structure the terms and concepts representing the meaning of an information field, whether by the metadata of a namespace, or the elements of a knowledge domain. This approach allows us to automatically attach the new user to a user community, partially compensate for the data that was not initially provided and ultimately to associate a better first profile with the cold start. Thus, the aim of this paper is to propose an approach to improving cold start using semantic technologies.

Keywords: visitor cold start, recommender systems, collaborative filtering, semantic filtering

Procedia PDF Downloads 214

Authors: V. Mani Rathnam, Giridhar Madras

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Fossil fuels are depleting rapidly as the demand for energy, and its allied chemicals are continuously increasing in the modern world. Therefore, sustainable renewable energy sources based on non-edible oils are being explored as a viable option as they do not compete with the food commodities. Oils such as castor oil are rich in fatty acids and thus can be used for the synthesis of biodiesel, bio-lubricants, and many other fine industrial chemicals. There are several processes available for the synthesis of different chemicals obtained from the castor oil. One such process is the transesterification of castor oil, which results in a mixture of fatty acid methyl esters. The main products in the above reaction are methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate. To separate these compounds, supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO₂) was used as a green solvent. SCCO₂ was chosen as a solvent due to its easy availability, non-toxic, non-flammable, and low cost. In order to design any separation process, the preliminary requirement is the solubility or phase equilibrium data. Therefore, the solubility of a mixture of methyl ricinoleate with methyl 10-undecenoate in SCCO₂ was determined in the present study. The temperature and pressure range selected for the investigation were T = 313 K to 333 K and P = 10 MPa to 18 MPa. It was observed that the solubility (mol·mol⁻¹) of methyl 10-undecenoate varied from 2.44 x 10⁻³ to 8.42 x 10⁻³ whereas it varied from 0.203 x 10⁻³ to 6.28 x 10⁻³ for methyl ricinoleate within the chosen operating conditions. These solubilities followed a retrograde behavior (characterized by the decrease in the solubility values with the increase in temperature) throughout the range of investigated operating conditions. An association theory model, coupled with regular solution theory for activity coefficients, was developed in the present study. The deviation from the experimental data using this model can be quantified using the average absolute relative deviation (AARD). The AARD% for the present compounds is 4.69 and 8.08 for methyl 10-undecenoate and methyl ricinoleate, respectively in a mixture of methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate. The maximum solubility enhancement of 32% was observed for the methyl ricinoleate in a mixture of methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate. The highest selectivity of SCCO₂ was observed to be 12 for methyl 10-undecenoate in a mixture of methyl ricinoleate and methyl 10-undecenoate.

Keywords: association theory, liquid mixtures, solubilities, supercritical carbon dioxide

Procedia PDF Downloads 131

Authors: Jae-Yong Park, Yeo-Kyeong Lee, Hee-Sun Kim

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Purpose: This study aims at investigating the mechanical behaviors of mastication, according to various teeth movement. There are three masticatory cases which are general case and 2 cases of teeth movement. General case includes the common arrange of all teeth and 2 cases of teeth movement are that one is the half movement location case of molar teeth in no. 14 tooth seat after extraction of no. 14 tooth and the other is no. 14 tooth seat location case of molar teeth after extraction in the same case before. Materials and Methods: In order to analyze these cases, 3 dimensional finite element (FE) model of the skull were generated based on computed tomography images, 964 dicom files of 38 year old male having normal occlusion status. An FE model in general occlusal case was used to develop CAE procedure. This procedure was applied to FE models in other occlusal cases. The displacement controls according to loading condition were applied effectively to simulate occlusal behaviors in all cases. From the FE analyses, von Mises stress distribution of skull and teeth was observed. The von Mises stress, effective stress, had been widely used to determine the absolute stress value, regardless of stress direction and yield characteristics of materials. Results: High stress was distributed over the periodontal area of mandible under molar teeth when the mandible was transmitted to the coronal-apical direction in the general occlusal case. According to the stress propagation from teeth to cranium, stress distribution decreased as the distribution propagated from molar teeth to infratemporal crest of the greater wing of the sphenoid bone and lateral pterygoid plate in general case. In 2 cases of teeth movement, there were observed that high stresses were distributed over the periodontal area of mandible under teeth where they are located under the moved molar teeth in cranium. Conclusion: The predictions of the mechanical behaviors of general case and 2 cases of teeth movement during the masticatory process were investigated including qualitative validation. The displacement controls as the loading condition were applied effectively to simulate occlusal behaviors in 2 cases of teeth movement of molar teeth.

Keywords: cranium, finite element analysis, mandible, masticatory action, occlusal force

Procedia PDF Downloads 386

Authors: Aprajeeta Jha, Punyadarshini P. Tripathy

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Drying is one of the most critical unit operations for prolonging the shelf-life of food grains in order to ensure global food security. Photovoltaic integrated solar dryers can be a sustainable solution for replacing energy intensive thermal dryers as it is capable of drying in off-sunshine hours and provide better control over drying conditions. But, performance and reliability of PV based solar dryers depend hugely on climatic conditions thereby, drastically affecting process parameters. Therefore, to ensure quality and prolonged shelf-life of paddy, optimization of process parameters for solar dryers is critical. Proper moisture distribution within the grains is most detrimental factor to enhance the shelf-life of paddy therefore; modeling of mass transport can help in providing a better insight of moisture migration. Hence, present work aims at optimizing the process parameters and to develop a 3D finite element model (FEM) for predicting moisture profile in paddy during solar drying. Optimization of process parameters (power level, air velocity and moisture content) was done using box Behnken model in Design expert software. Furthermore, COMSOL Multiphysics was employed to develop a 3D finite element model for predicting moisture profile. Optimized model for drying paddy was found to be 700W, 2.75 m/s and 13% wb with optimum temperature, milling yield and drying time of 42˚C, 62%, 86 min respectively, having desirability of 0.905. Furthermore, 3D finite element model (FEM) for predicting moisture migration in single kernel for every time step has been developed. The mean absolute error (MAE), mean relative error (MRE) and standard error (SE) were found to be 0.003, 0.0531 and 0.0007, respectively, indicating close agreement of model with experimental results. Above optimized conditions can be successfully used to dry paddy in PV integrated solar dryer in order to attain maximum uniformity, quality and yield of product to achieve global food and energy security

Keywords: finite element modeling, hybrid solar drying, mass transport, paddy, process optimization

Procedia PDF Downloads 135

Authors: Christine O. Wangia, Jennifer A. Orwa, Francis W. Muregi, Patrick G. Kareru, Kipyegon Cheruiyot, Eric Guantai

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Ruellia (syn. Dipteracanthus) species are wild perennial creepers belonging to the Acanthaceae family. These species are reported to possess anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antioxidant, gastroprotective, anticancer, and immuno-stimulant properties. Phytochemical screening of both aqueous and methanolic extracts of Ruellia species revealed the presence of saponins. Saponins have been reported to possess anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immuno-stimulant, antihepatotoxic, antibacterial, anticarcinogenic, and antiulcerogenic activities. The objective of this study was to quantify and analyze the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra of saponins in crude extracts of three Kenyan Ruellia species namely Ruellia prostrata (RPM), Ruellia lineari-bracteolata (RLB) and Ruellia bignoniiflora (RBK). Sequential organic extraction of the ground whole plant material was done using petroleum ether (PE), chloroform, ethyl acetate (EtOAc), and absolute methanol by cold maceration, while aqueous extraction was by hot maceration. The plant powders and extracts were mixed with spectroscopic grade KBr and compressed into a pellet. The infrared spectra were recorded using a Shimadzu FTIR spectrophotometer of 8000 series in the range of 3500 cm^-1 - 500 cm^-1. Quantitative determination of the saponins was done using standard procedures. Quantitative analysis of saponins showed that RPM had the highest quantity of crude saponins (2.05% ± 0.03), followed by RLB (1.4% ± 0.15) and RBK (1.25% ± 0.11), respectively. FTIR spectra revealed the spectral peaks characteristic for saponins in RPM, RLB, and RBK plant powders, aqueous and methanol extracts; O-H absorption (3265 - 3393 cm^-1), C-H absorption ranging from 2851 to 2924 cm^-1, C=C absorbance (1628 - 1655 cm^-1), oligosaccharide linkage (C-O-C) absorption due to sapogenins (1036 - 1042 cm^-1). The crude saponins from RPM, RLB and RBK showed similar peaks to their respective extracts. The presence of the saponins in extracts of RPM, RLB and RBK may be responsible for some of the biological activities reported in the Ruellia species.1

Keywords: Ruellia bignoniiflora, Ruellia linearibracteolata, Ruellia prostrata, Saponins

Procedia PDF Downloads 168

Authors: Violina Angelova, Galina Pevicharova

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A comparative research had been carried out to allow us to determine the quantities and the centers of accumulation of Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd in the vegetative and reproductive organs of the sweet potatoes and to ascertain the possibilities for growing them on soils, polluted with heavy metals. The experiments were performed on agricultural fields contaminated by the (1) Non-Ferrous-Metal Works near Plovdiv, (2) Lead and Zinc Complex near Kardjali and (3) a copper smelter near Pirdop, Bulgaria. The soils used in this experiment were characterized by acid, neutral and slightly alkaline reaction, loamy texture and a moderate content of organic matter. The total content of Zn, Pb, and Cd was high and exceeded the limit value in agriculture soils. Sweet potatoes were in a 2-year rotation scheme on three blocks in the experimental field. On reaching commercial ripeness the sweet potatoes were gathered and the contents of heavy metals in their different parts – root, tuber (peel and core), leaves and stems, were determined after microwave mineralization. The quantitative measurements were carried out with inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The contamination of the sweet potatoes was due mainly to the presence of heavy metals in the soil, which entered the plants through their root system, as well as by diffusion through the peel. Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd were selectively accumulated in the underground parts of the sweet potatoes, and most of all in the root system and the peel. Heavy metals have an impact on the development and productivity of the sweet potatoes. The high anthropogenic contamination leads to an increased assimilation of heavy metals which reduces the yield and the quality of the production of sweet potatoes, as well as leads to decrease of the absolute dry substance and the quantity of sugars in sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes could be grown on soils, which are light to medium polluted with lead, zinc, and cadmium, as they do not accumulate these elements. On heavily polluted soils, however, (Pb – 1504 mg/kg, Zn – 3322 mg/kg, Cd – 47 mg/kg) the growing of sweet potatoes is not allowed, as the accumulation of Pb and Cd in the core of the potatoes exceeds the Maximum Acceptable Concentration. Acknowledgment: The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support by the Bulgarian National Science Fund (Project DFNI DH04/9).

Keywords: heavy metals, polluted soils, sweet potatoes, uptake

Procedia PDF Downloads 202

Authors: T. Almutairi, K. Naudi, N. Nairn, X. Ju, B. Eng, J. Whitters, A. Ayoub

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Purpose: At present Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) imaging does not record dental morphology accurately due to the scattering produced by metallic restorations and the reported magnification. The aim of this pilot study is the development and validation of a new method for the replacement of the distorted dentition of CBCT scans with the dental image captured by the digital intraoral camera. Materials and Method: Six dried skulls with orthodontics brackets on the teeth were used in this study. Three intra-oral markers made of dental stone were constructed which were attached to orthodontics brackets. The skulls were CBCT scanned, and occlusal surface was captured using TRIOS® 3D intraoral scanner. Marker based and surface based registrations were performed to fuse the digital intra-oral scan(IOS) into the CBCT models. This produced a new composite digital model of the skull and dentition. The skulls were scanned again using the commercially accurate Laser Faro® arm to produce the 'gold standard' model for the assessment of the accuracy of the developed method. The accuracy of the method was assessed by measuring the distance between the occlusal surfaces of the new composite model and the 'gold standard' 3D model of the skull and teeth. The procedure was repeated a week apart to measure the reproducibility of the method. Results: The results showed no statistically significant difference between the measurements on the first and second occasions. The absolute mean distance between the new composite model and the laser model ranged between 0.11 mm to 0.20 mm. Conclusion: The dentition of the CBCT can be accurately replaced with the dental image captured by the intra-oral scanner to create a composite model. This method will improve the accuracy of orthognathic surgical prediction planning, with the final goal of the fabrication of a physical occlusal wafer without to guide orthognathic surgery and eliminate the need for dental impression.

Keywords: orthognathic surgery, superimposition, models, cone beam computed tomography

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Rita Phillips, Mark Burgess, Maga Berlinski

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Although the positive impact of religiosity on well-being, health, and life-coping abilities is well known, up to date research has failed to provide scientific evidence for the relationship reasons. Therefore the present study took a qualitative approach by examining how religiosity interacts in coping with emotionally distressful situations, for which wedding preparations are an example. Wedding preparations, related to the experience of ambiguous emotions, can be the reason for phases of high distress. Although being per-se religious ceremonies, they are also socially-scripted and characterized by people’s striving for personally meaningful celebrations. The negotiation of these many influences can evoke conflicts. To reveal components of religiosity which contribute to stress-resolution, eight biographic-narrative interviews with recently married spouses were conducted. Participants were from different nationalities and Catholic deep-belief communities in order to determine factors independent from national-culture and social-subgroup. The audio-tape recorded, transcribed and translated interviews were analyzed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Opposing previous research on wedding-related conflicts but in-line with the quantitative account on the relation between stress-resilience and religiosity, the present study found participants reporting very low levels of distress and ambiguity. Although similar areas of potential conflicts were revealed, deep-belief Christians seemed to handle them in a different way. Participants freed themselves from own and others’ rigor mundane expectations by their spiritual preparation and the focus on a divine instance. This evoked a feeling of perceived closeness to God and of unconditional love, resulting in acceptance of oneself and others. Through relativizing mundane goods, participants perceived absolute freedom. Thus belief did not supplement coping strategies, previously defined in the literature, but substituted them. The paper implies that in explaining the connection between stress-resilience and religiosity, one’s perception and experience of unconditional love might outweigh other social or personal factors. However, further qualitative investigations are needed to fully explain the phenomenon.

Keywords: deep-belief, religiosity, resilience, wedding

Procedia PDF Downloads 241

Authors: O. O. Aiyelokun, O. A. Agbede

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Numerical modelling of groundwater flow can be susceptible to calibration errors due to lack of adequate ground-based hydro-metrological stations in river basins. Groundwater resources management in Southwest Nigeria is currently challenged by overexploitation, lack of planning and monitoring, urbanization and climate change; hence to adopt models as decision support tools for sustainable management of groundwater; they must be adequately calibrated. Since river basins in Southwest Nigeria are characterized by missing data, and lack of adequate ground-based hydro-meteorological stations; the need for adopting satellite-based data for constructing distributed models is crucial. This study seeks to evaluate the suitability of satellite-based data as substitute for ground-based, for computing boundary conditions; by determining if ground and satellite based meteorological data fit well in Ogun and Oshun River basins. The Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) global meteorological dataset was firstly obtained in daily form and converted to monthly form for the period of 432 months (January 1979 to June, 2014). Afterwards, ground-based meteorological data for Ikeja (1981-2010), Abeokuta (1983-2010), and Oshogbo (1981-2010) were compared with CFSR data using Goodness of Fit (GOF) statistics. The study revealed that based on mean absolute error (MEA), coefficient of correlation, (r) and coefficient of determination (R²); all meteorological variables except wind speed fit well. It was further revealed that maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity and rainfall had high range of index of agreement (d) and ratio of standard deviation (rSD), implying that CFSR dataset could be used to compute boundary conditions such as groundwater recharge and potential evapotranspiration. The study concluded that satellite-based data such as the CFSR should be used as input when constructing groundwater flow models in river basins in Southwest Nigeria, where majority of the river basins are partially gaged and characterized with long missing hydro-metrological data.

Keywords: boundary condition, goodness of fit, groundwater, satellite-based data

Procedia PDF Downloads 122

Authors: Olivera Lupescu, Taina Elena Avramescu, Mihail Nagea, Alexandru Dimitriu

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Acetabular fractures represent a real challenge due to their impact upon the long term function of the hip joint, and due to the risk of intra- and peri-operative complications especially that they affect young, active people. That is why treating these fractures require certain skills which must be exercised, regarding the pre-operative planning, as well as the execution of surgery.The authors retrospectively analyse 38 cases with acetabular fractures operated using the posterior approach in our hospital between 01.01.2013- 01.01.2015 for which complete medical records ensure a follow-up of 24 months, in order to establish the main causes of potential errors and to underline the methods for preventing them. This target is included in the Erasmus + project ‘Collaborative learning for enhancing practical skills for patient-focused interventions in gait rehabilitation after orthopedic surgery COR-skills’. This paper analyses the pitfalls revealed by these cases, as well as the measures necessary to enhance the practical skills of the surgeons who perform acetabular surgery. Pre-op planning matched the intra and post-operative outcome in 88% of the analyzed points, from 72% at the beginning to 94% in the last case, meaning that experience is very important in treating this injury. The main problems detected for the posterior approach were: nervous complications - 3 cases, 1 of them a complete paralysis of the sciatic nerve, which recovered 6 months after surgery, and in other 2 cases intra-articular position of the screws was demonstrated by post-operative CT scans, so secondary screw removal was necessary in these cases. We analysed this incident, too, due to lack of information about the relationship between the screws and the joint secondary to this approach. Septic complications appeared in 3 cases, 2 superficial and 1 profound (requiring implant removal). The most important problems were the reduction of the fractures and the positioning of the screws so as not to interfere with the the articular space. In posterior acetabular fractures, pre-op complex planning is important in order to achieve maximum treatment efficacy with minimum of risk; an optimal training of the surgeons insisting on the main points of potential mistakes ensure the success of the procedure, as well as a favorable outcome for the patient.

Keywords: acetabular fractures, articular congruency, surgical skills, vocational training

Procedia PDF Downloads 203

Authors: Lauren Schuldt Wilson

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Felicia Hemans’ memorializing of the unwritten lives of women and the consequent allowance for marginalized voices to remember and be remembered has been considered by many critics in terms of ekphrasis and elegy, terms which privilege the question of whether Hemans’ poeticizing can represent lost voices of history or only her poetic expression. Amy Gates, Brian Elliott, and others point out Hemans’ acknowledgement of the self-projection necessary for imaginatively filling the absences of unrecorded histories. Yet, few have examined the complex temporal positioning Hemans inscribes in these moments of self-projection and imaginative historicizing. In poems like ‘The Image in Lava,’ Hemans maps not only a lost past, but also a lost potential future onto the image of a dead infant in its mother’s arms, the discovery and consideration of which moves the imagined viewer to recover and incorporate the ‘hope’ encapsulated in the figure of the infant into a reevaluation of national time embodied by the ‘relics / Left by the pomps of old.’ By examining Hemans’ acknowledgement and response to Percy Bysshe Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias,’ this essay explores how Hemans’ depictions of imaginative historicizing open new horizons of possibility and reevaluate temporal value structures by imagining previously undiscovered or unexplored potentialities of the past. Where Shelley’s poem mocks the futility of national power and time, this essay outlines Hemans’ suggestion of alternative threads of identity and temporal meaning-making which, regardless of historical veracity, exist outside of and against the structures Shelley challenges. Counter to previous readings of Hemans’ poem as celebration of either recovered or poetically constructed maternal love, this essay argues that Hemans offers a meditation on sites of reproduction—both of personal reproductive futurity and of national reproduction of power. This meditation culminates in Hemans’ gesturing towards a method of historicism by which the imagined viewer reinvigorates the sterile, ‘shattered visage’ of national time by forming temporal identity through the imagining of trans-historical hope inscribed on the infant body of the universal, individual subject rather than the broken monument of the king.

Keywords: futurity, national temporalities, reproduction, revisionary histories

Procedia PDF Downloads 161