Search results for: small disturbance theory

Authors: Milu T. Cherian, Sergio C. Chai, Morgan A. Casal, Taosheng Chen

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This study aims to use CINPA1, a recently discovered small-molecule inhibitor of the xenobiotic receptor CAR (constitutive androstane receptor) for understanding the binding modes of CAR and to guide CAR-mediated gene expression profiling studies in human primary hepatocytes. CAR and PXR are xenobiotic sensors that respond to drugs and endobiotics by modulating the expression of metabolic genes that enhance detoxification and elimination. Elevated levels of drug metabolizing enzymes and efflux transporters resulting from CAR activation promote the elimination of chemotherapeutic agents leading to reduced therapeutic effectiveness. Multidrug resistance in tumors after chemotherapy could be associated with errant CAR activity, as shown in the case of neuroblastoma. CAR inhibitors used in combination with existing chemotherapeutics could be utilized to attenuate multidrug resistance and resensitize chemo-resistant cancer cells. CAR and PXR have many overlapping modulating ligands as well as many overlapping target genes which confounded attempts to understand and regulate receptor-specific activity. Through a directed screening approach we previously identified a new CAR inhibitor, CINPA1, which is novel in its ability to inhibit CAR function without activating PXR. The cellular mechanisms by which CINPA1 inhibits CAR function were also extensively examined along with its pharmacokinetic properties. CINPA1 binding was shown to change CAR-coregulator interactions as well as modify CAR recruitment at DNA response elements of regulated genes. CINPA1 was shown to be broken down in the liver to form two, mostly inactive, metabolites. The structure-activity differences of CINPA1 and its metabolites were used to guide computational modeling using the CAR-LBD structure. To rationalize how ligand binding may lead to different CAR pharmacology, an analysis of the docked poses of human CAR bound to CITCO (a CAR activator) vs. CINPA1 or the metabolites was conducted. From our modeling, strong hydrogen bonding of CINPA1 with N165 and H203 in the CAR-LBD was predicted. These residues were validated to be important for CINPA1 binding using single amino-acid CAR mutants in a CAR-mediated functional reporter assay. Also predicted were residues making key hydrophobic interactions with CINPA1 but not the inactive metabolites. Some of these hydrophobic amino acids were also identified and additionally, the differential coregulator interactions of these mutants were determined in mammalian two-hybrid systems. CINPA1 represents an excellent starting point for future optimization into highly relevant probe molecules to study the function of the CAR receptor in normal- and pathophysiology, and possible development of therapeutics (for e.g. use for resensitizing chemoresistant neuroblastoma cells).

Keywords: antagonist, chemoresistance, constitutive androstane receptor (CAR), multi-drug resistance, structure activity relationship (SAR), xenobiotic resistance

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Authors: M. Beusink, E. W. C. Coenen

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The increased application of novel structural materials, such as high grade asphalt, concrete and laminated composites, has sparked the need for a better understanding of the often complex, non-linear mechanical behavior of such materials. The effective macroscopic mechanical response is generally dependent on the applied load path. Moreover, it is also significantly influenced by the microstructure of the material, e.g. embedded fibers, voids and/or grain morphology. At present, multiscale techniques are widely adopted to assess micro-macro interactions in a numerically efficient way. Computational homogenization techniques have been successfully applied over a wide range of engineering cases, e.g. cases involving first order and second order continua, thin shells and cohesive zone models. Most of these homogenization methods rely on Representative Volume Elements (RVE), which model the relevant microstructural details in a confined volume. Imposed through kinematical constraints or boundary conditions, a RVE can be subjected to a microscopic load sequence. This provides the RVE's effective stress-strain response, which can serve as constitutive input for macroscale analyses. Simultaneously, such a study of a RVE gives insight into fine scale phenomena such as microstructural damage and its evolution. It has been reported by several authors that the type of boundary conditions applied to the RVE affect the resulting homogenized stress-strain response. As a consequence, dedicated boundary conditions have been proposed to appropriately deal with this concern. For the specific case of a planar assumption for the analyzed structure, e.g. plane strain, axisymmetric or plane stress, this assumption needs to be addressed consistently in all considered scales. Although in many multiscale studies a planar condition has been employed, the related impact on the multiscale solution has not been explicitly investigated. This work therefore focuses on the influence of the planar assumption for multiscale modeling. In particular the plane stress case is highlighted, by proposing three different implementation strategies which are compatible with a first-order computational homogenization framework. The first method consists of applying classical plane stress theory at the microscale, whereas with the second method a generalized plane stress condition is assumed at the RVE level. For the third method, the plane stress condition is applied at the macroscale by requiring that the resulting macroscopic out-of-plane forces are equal to zero. These strategies are assessed through a numerical study of a thin walled structure and the resulting effective macroscale stress-strain response is compared. It is shown that there is a clear influence of the length scale at which the planar condition is applied.

Keywords: first-order computational homogenization, planar analysis, multiscale, microstrucutures

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Authors: A. V. Samokhin, A. A. Fadeev, M. A. Sinaiskii, N. V. Alekseev, A. V. Kolesnikov

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Composite materials where metal matrix is reinforced by ceramic or metal particles are of great interest for use in the manufacturing of electrical contacts. Significant improvement of the composite physical and mechanical properties as well as increase of the performance parameters of composite-based products can be achieved if the nanoscale structure in the composite materials is obtained by using nanosized powders as starting components. The results of nanosized composite powders synthesis (Ag-SnO2, W-Cu and Cu-C) in the DC thermal plasma flows are presented in this paper. The investigations included the following processes: - Recondensation of micron powder mixture Ag + SnO2 in a nitrogen plasma; - The reduction of the oxide powders mixture (WO3 + CuO) in a hydrogen-nitrogen plasma; - Decomposition of the copper formate and copper acetate powders in nitrogen plasma. The calculations of equilibrium compositions of multicomponent systems Ag-Sn-O-N, W-Cu-O-H-N and Cu-O-C-H-N in the temperature range of 400-5000 K were carried to estimate basic process characteristics. Experimental studies of the processes were performed using a plasma reactor with a confined jet flow. The plasma jet net power was in the range of 2 - 13 kW, and the feedstock flow rate was up to 0.35 kg/h. The obtained powders were characterized by TEM, HR-TEM, SEM, EDS, ED-XRF, XRD, BET and QEA methods. Nanocomposite Ag-SnO2 (12 wt. %). Processing of the initial powder mixture (Ag-SnO2) in nitrogen thermal plasma stream allowed to produce nanopowders with a specific surface area up to 24 m2/g, consisting predominantly of particles with size less than 100 nm. According to XRD results, tin was present in the obtained products as SnO2 phase, and also as intermetallic phases AgxSn. Nanocomposite W-Cu (20 wt .%). Reduction of (WO3+CuO) mixture in the hydrogen-nitrogen plasma provides W-Cu nanopowder with particle sizes in the range of 10-150 nm. The particles have mainly spherical shape and structure tungsten core - copper shell. The thickness of the shell is about several nanometers, the shell is composed of copper and its oxides (Cu2O, CuO). The nanopowders had 1.5 wt. % oxygen impurity. Heat treatment in a hydrogen atmosphere allows to reduce the oxygen content to less than 0.1 wt. %. Nanocomposite Cu-C. Copper nanopowders were found as products of the starting copper compounds decomposition. The nanopowders primarily had a spherical shape with a particle size of less than 100 nm. The main phase was copper, with small amount of Cu2O and CuO oxides. Copper formate decomposition products had a specific surface area 2.5-7 m2/g and contained 0.15 - 4 wt. % carbon; and copper acetate decomposition products had the specific surface area 5-35 m2/g, and carbon content of 0.3 - 5 wt. %. Compacting of nanocomposites (sintering in hydrogen for Ag-SnO2 and electric spark sintering (SPS) for W-Cu) showed that the samples having a relative density of 97-98 % can be obtained with a submicron structure. The studies indicate the possibility of using high-intensity plasma processes to create new technologies to produce nanocomposite materials for electric contacts.

Keywords: electrical contact, material, nanocomposite, plasma, synthesis

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Authors: Shahid Razzaq

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The governments around the globe have started taking into considerations the knowledge management dynamics while formulating, implementing, and evaluating the strategies, with or without the conscious realization, for the different public sector organizations and public policy developments. Health Department of Punjab province in Pakistan is striving to deliver quality healthcare services to the community through an efficient and effective service delivery system. Despite of this struggle some employee performance issues yet exists in the form of challenge to government. To overcome these issues department took several steps including HR strategies, use of technologies and focus of hard issues. Consequently, this study was attempted to highlight the importance of soft issue that is knowledge management in its true essence to tackle their performance issues. Knowledge management in public sector is quite an ignored area in the knowledge management-a growing multidisciplinary research discipline. Knowledge-based view of the firm theory asserts the knowledge is the most deliberate resource that can result in competitive advantage for an organization over the other competing organizations. In the context of our study it means for gaining employee performance, organizations have to increase the heterogeneous knowledge bases. The study uses the cross-sectional and quantitative research design. The data is collected from the knowledge workers of Health Department of Punjab, the biggest province of Pakistan. A total of 341 sample size is achieved. The SmartPLS 3 Version 2.6 is used for analyzing the data. The data examination revealed that knowledge management processes has a strong impact on knowledge worker performance. All hypotheses are accepted according to the results. Therefore, it can be summed up that to increase the employee performance knowledge management activities should be implemented. Health Department within province of Punjab introduces the knowledge management infrastructure and systems to make effective availability of knowledge for the service staff. This knowledge management infrastructure resulted in an increase in the knowledge management process in different remote hospitals, basic health units and care centers which resulted in greater service provisions to public. This study is to have theoretical and practical significances. In terms of theoretical contribution, this study is to establish the relationship between knowledge management and performance for the first time. In case of the practical contribution, this study is to give an insight to public sector organizations and government about role of knowledge management in employ performance. Therefore, public policymakers are strongly advised to implement the activities of knowledge management for enhancing the performance of knowledge workers. The current research validated the substantial role of knowledge management in persuading and creating employee arrogances and behavioral objectives. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study contribute to the impact of knowledge management on employee performance as its originality.

Keywords: employee performance, knowledge management, public sector, soft issues

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Authors: Sandra Biewers Grimm

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International studies such as Pisa have shown an increasing social inequality in the education system, which is determined in particular by social origin and migration status. This is especially the case in the Luxembourg school system, which creates challenges for many young people due to the multilingualism in the country. While the international and also the national debate on education in the immediate aftermath of the publications of the Pisa results mainly focused on the further development of school-based learning venues and formal educational processes, it initially remained largely unclear what role exactly out-of-school learning venues and non-formal and informal learning processes could play in this further development. This has changed in the meantime. Both in the political discourses and in the scientific disciplines, those voices have become louder that draw attention to the important educational function and the enormous educational potential of out-of-school learning places as a response to the crisis of the formal education system and more than this. Youth work as an actor and approach of non-formal education is particularly in demand here. Due to its principles of self-education, participation and openness, it is considered to have a special potential in supporting the acquisition of important key competencies. In this context, the study "Educational experiences in non-formal settings" at CCY takes a differentiated look behind the scenes of education-oriented youth work and describes on the basis of empirical data what and how young people learn in youth centers and which significance they attach to these educational experiences for their subjective life situation. In this sense, the aim of the study is to reconstruct the subjective educational experiences of young people in Open Youth Work as well as to explore the value that these experiences have for young people. In doing so, it enables scientifically founded conclusions about the educational potential of youth work from the user's perspective. Initially, the study focuses on defining the concept of education in the context of non-formal education and thus sets a theoretical framework for the empirical analysis. This socio-educational term of education differs from the relevant conception of education in curricular, formal education as the acquisition of knowledge. It also differs from the operationalization of education as competence, or the differentiation into cultural, social and personal or into factual, social or methodological competence, which is often used in the European context and which has long been interpreted as a "social science reading of the question of education" (XX). Now the aim is to define a "broader" concept of education that goes beyond the normative and educational policy dimensions of a "non-formal education" and includes the classical socio-educational dimensions. Furthermore, the study works with different methods of empirical social research: In addition to ethnographic observation and an online survey, group discussions were conducted with the young people. The presentation gives an insight into the context, the methodology and the results of this study.

Keywords: non-formal education, youth research, qualitative research, educational theory

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Authors: Bruna F. Oliveira, Teresa I. Gonçalves, Marcelo M. Sousa, Sandra M. Pimenta, Octávio F. Ramalho, José B. Cruz, Flávia V. Barbosa

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The EU Circular Economy action plan, launched in 2020, is one of the major initiatives to promote the transition into a more sustainable industry. The circular economy is a popular concept used by many companies nowadays. Some industries are better forwarded to this reality than others, and the tannery industry is a sector that needs more attention due to its strong environmental impact caused by its dimension, intensive resources consumption, lack of recyclability, and second use of its products, as well as the industrial effluents generated by the manufacturing processes. For these reasons, the zero-waste goal and the European objectives are further being achieved. In this context, a need arises to provide an effective methodology that allows to determine the level of circularity of tannery companies. Regarding the complexity of the circular economy concept, few factories have a specialist in sustainability to assess the company’s circularity or have the ability to implement circular strategies that could benefit the manufacturing processes. Although there are several methodologies to assess circularity in specific industrial sectors, there is not an easy go-to methodology applied in factories aiming for cleaner production. Therefore, a straightforward methodology to assess the level of circularity, in this case of a tannery industry, is presented and discussed in this work, allowing any company to measure the impact of its activities. The methodology developed consists in calculating the Overall Circular Index (OCI) by evaluating the circularity of four key areas -energy, material, economy and social- in a specific factory. The index is a value between 0 and 1, where 0 means a linear economy, and 1 is a complete circular economy. Each key area has a sub-index, obtained through key performance indicators (KPIs) regarding each theme, and the OCI reflects the average of the four sub-indexes. Some fieldwork in the appointed company was required in order to obtain all the necessary data. By having separate sub-indexes, one can observe which areas are more linear than others. Thus, it is possible to work on the most critical areas by implementing strategies to increase the OCI. After these strategies are implemented, the OCI is recalculated to check the improvements made and any other changes in the remaining sub-indexes. As such, the methodology in discussion works through continuous improvement, constantly reevaluating and improving the circularity of the factory. The methodology is also flexible enough to be implemented in any industrial sector by adapting the KPIs. This methodology was implemented in a selected Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) tannery industry and proved to be a relevant tool to measure the circularity level of the factory. It was witnessed that it is easier for non-specialists to evaluate circularity and identify possible solutions to increase its value, as well as learn how one action can impact their environment. In the end, energetic and environmental inefficiencies were identified and corrected, increasing the sustainability and circularity of the company. Through this work, important contributions were provided, helping the Portuguese SMEs to achieve the European and UN 2030 sustainable goals.

Keywords: circular economy, circularity index, sustainability, tannery industry, zero-waste

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Authors: Andrey A. Lipovskii, Alexey V. Redkov, Vyacheslav V. Rusan, Dmitry K. Tagantsev, Valentina V. Zhurikhina

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The presented research is related to the development of recently proposed technique of the formation of composite materials, like optical glass-ceramics, with predetermined structure and properties of the crystalline component. The technique is based on the control of the size and concentration of the crystalline grains using the phenomenon of glass-ceramics decrystallization (vitrification) induced by ion-exchange. This phenomenon was discovered and explained in the beginning of the 2000s, while related theoretical description was given in 2016 only. In general, the developed theory enables one to model the process and optimize the conditions of ion-exchange processing of glass-ceramics, which provide given properties of crystalline component, in particular, profile of the average size of the crystalline grains. The optimization is possible if one knows two dimensionless parameters of the theoretical model. One of them (β) is the value which is directly related to the solubility of crystalline component of the glass-ceramics in the glass matrix, and another (γ) is equal to the ratio of characteristic times of ion-exchange diffusion and crystalline grain dissolution. The presented study is dedicated to the development of experimental technique and simulation which allow determining these parameters. It is shown that these parameters can be deduced from the data on the space distributions of diffusant concentrations and average size of crystalline grains in the glass-ceramics samples subjected to ion-exchange treatment. Measurements at least at two temperatures and two processing times at each temperature are necessary. The composite material used was a silica-based glass-ceramics with crystalline grains of Li2OSiO2. Cubical samples of the glass-ceramics (6x6x6 mm3) underwent the ion exchange process in NaNO3 salt melt at 520 oC (for 16 and 48 h), 540 oC (for 8 and 24 h), 560 oC (for 4 and 12 h), and 580 oC (for 2 and 8 h). The ion exchange processing resulted in the glass-ceramics vitrification in the subsurface layers where ion-exchange diffusion took place. Slabs about 1 mm thick were cut from the central part of the samples and their big facets were polished. These slabs were used to find profiles of diffusant concentrations and average size of the crystalline grains. The concentration profiles were determined from refractive index profiles measured with Max-Zender interferometer, and profiles of the average size of the crystalline grains were determined with micro-Raman spectroscopy. Numerical simulation were based on the developed theoretical model of the glass-ceramics decrystallization induced by ion exchange. The simulation of the processes was carried out for different values of β and γ parameters under all above-mentioned ion exchange conditions. As a result, the temperature dependences of the parameters, which provided a reliable coincidence of the simulation and experimental data, were found. This ensured the adequate modeling of the process of the glass-ceramics decrystallization in 520-580 oC temperature interval. Developed approach provides a powerful tool for fine tuning of the glass-ceramics structure, namely, concentration and average size of crystalline grains.

Keywords: diffusion, glass-ceramics, ion exchange, vitrification

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Authors: Yana Posmitnaya, Galina Rudnitskaya, Tatyana Lukashenko, Anton Bukatin, Anatoly Evstrapov

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An important area of biological and medical research is the study of genetic mutations and polymorphisms that can alter gene function and cause inherited diseases and other diseases. The following methods to analyse DNA fragments are used: capillary electrophoresis and electrophoresis on microfluidic chip (MFC), mass spectrometry with electrophoresis on MFC, hybridization assay on microarray. Electrophoresis on MFC allows to analyse small volumes of samples with high speed and throughput. A soft lithography in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was chosen for operative fabrication of MFCs. A master-form from silicon and photoresist SU-8 2025 (MicroChem Corp.) was created for the formation of micro-sized structures in PDMS. A universal topology which combines T-injector and simple cross was selected for the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Glass K8 and PDMS Sylgard® 184 (Dow Corning Corp.) were used for fabrication of MFCs. Electroosmotic flow (EOF) plays an important role in the electrophoretic separation of the sample. Therefore, the estimate of the quantity of EOF and the ways of its regulation are of interest for the development of the new methods of the electrophoretic separation of biomolecules. The following methods of surface modification were chosen to change EOF: high-frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma treatment in oxygen and argon at low pressure (1 mbar); 1% aqueous solution of polyvinyl alcohol; 3% aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188 (Sigma-Aldrich Corp.). The electroosmotic mobility was evaluated by the method of Huang X. et al., wherein the borate buffer was used. The influence of physical and chemical methods of treatment on the wetting properties of the PDMS surface was controlled by the sessile drop method. The most effective way of surface modification of MFCs, from the standpoint of obtaining the smallest value of the contact angle and the smallest value of the EOF, was the processing with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. This method of modification has been selected for the treatment of channels of MFCs, which are used for the separation of mixture of oligonucleotides fluorescently labeled with the length of chain with 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 nucleotides. Electrophoresis was performed on the device MFAS-01 (IAI RAS, Russia) at the separation voltage of 1500 V. 6% solution of polydimethylacrylamide with the addition of 7M carbamide was used as the separation medium. The separation time of components of the mixture was determined from electropherograms. The time for untreated MFC was ~275 s, and for the ones treated with solution of Kolliphor® P 188 – ~ 220 s. Research of physical-chemical methods of surface modification of MFCs allowed to choose the most effective way for reducing EOF – the modification with aqueous solution of Kolliphor® P 188. In this case, the separation time of the mixture of oligonucleotides decreased about 20%. The further optimization of method of modification of channels of MFCs will allow decreasing the separation time of sample and increasing the throughput of analysis.

Keywords: electrophoresis, microfluidic chip, modification, nucleic acid, polydimethylsiloxane, soft lithography

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Authors: Laura Southgate

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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as much of the scholarship on the organisation, celebrates its ability to uphold the principle of regional autonomy, understood as upholding the norm of non-intervention by external powers in regional affairs. Yet, in practice, this has been repeatedly violated. This dichotomy between rhetoric and practice suggests an interesting avenue for further study. The East Timor crisis (1975-1999) has been selected as a case-study to test the dynamics of ASEAN state resistance to sovereignty violation in two distinct timeframes: Indonesia’s initial invasion of the territory in 1975, and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in 1999 which resulted in a UN-mandated, Australian-led peacekeeping intervention force. These time-periods demonstrate variation on the dependent variable. It is necessary to observe covariation in order to derive observations in support of a causal theory. To establish covariation, my independent variable is therefore a continuous variable characterised by variation in convergence of interest. Change of this variable should change the value of the dependent variable, thus establishing causal direction. This paper investigates the history of ASEAN’s relationship to the norm of non-intervention. It offers an alternative understanding of ASEAN’s history, written in terms of the relationship between a key ASEAN state, which I call a ‘vanguard state’, and selected external powers. This paper will consider when ASEAN resistance to sovereignty violation has succeeded, and when it has failed. It will contend that variation in outcomes associated with vanguard state resistance to sovereignty violation can be best explained by levels of interest convergence between the ASEAN vanguard state and designated external actors. Evidence will be provided to support the hypothesis that in 1999, ASEAN’s failure to resist violations to the sovereignty of Indonesia was a consequence of low interest convergence between Indonesia and the external powers. Conversely, in 1975, ASEAN’s ability to resist violations to the sovereignty of Indonesia was a consequence of high interest convergence between Indonesia and the external powers. As the vanguard state, Indonesia was able to apply pressure on the ASEAN states and obtain unanimous support for Indonesia’s East Timor policy in 1975 and 1999. However, the key factor explaining the variance in outcomes in both time periods resides in the critical role played by external actors. This view represents a serious challenge to much of the existing scholarship that emphasises ASEAN’s ability to defend regional autonomy. As these cases attempt to show, ASEAN autonomy is much more contingent than portrayed in the existing literature.

Keywords: ASEAN, east timor, intervention, sovereignty

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Authors: Alessandro Evangelista, Vito M. Manghisi, Michele Gattullo, Enricoandrea Laviola

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In this work, we propose a custom visualization technique for Out-Of-View-Objects in Virtual and Augmented Reality applications using Head Mounted Displays. In the last two decades, Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technologies experienced a remarkable growth of applications for navigation, interaction, and collaboration in different types of environments, real or virtual. Both environments can be potentially very complex, as they can include many virtual objects located in different places. Given the natural limitation of the human Field of View (about 210° horizontal and 150° vertical), humans cannot perceive objects outside this angular range. Moreover, despite recent technological advances in AR e VR Head-Mounted Displays (HMDs), these devices still suffer from a limited Field of View, especially regarding Optical See-Through displays, thus greatly amplifying the challenge of visualizing out-of-view objects. This problem is not negligible when the user needs to be aware of the number and the position of the out-of-view objects in the environment. For instance, during a maintenance operation on a construction site where virtual objects serve to improve the dangers' awareness. Providing such information can enhance the comprehension of the scene, enable fast navigation and focused search, and improve users' safety. In our research, we investigated how to represent out-of-view-objects in HMD User Interfaces (UI). Inspired by commercial video games such as Call of Duty Modern Warfare, we designed a customized Compass. By exploiting the Unity 3D graphics engine, we implemented our custom solution that can be used both in AR and VR environments. The Compass Bar consists of a graduated bar (in degrees) at the top center of the UI. The values of the bar range from -180 (far left) to +180 (far right), the zero is placed in front of the user. Two vertical lines on the bar show the amplitude of the user's field of view. Every virtual object within the scene is represented onto the compass bar as a specific color-coded proxy icon (a circular ring with a colored dot at its center). To provide the user with information about the distance, we implemented a specific algorithm that increases the size of the inner dot as the user approaches the virtual object (i.e., when the user reaches the object, the dot fills the ring). This visualization technique for out-of-view objects has some advantages. It allows users to be quickly aware of the number and the position of the virtual objects in the environment. For instance, if the compass bar displays the proxy icon at about +90, users will immediately know that the virtual object is to their right and so on. Furthermore, by having qualitative information about the distance, users can optimize their speed, thus gaining effectiveness in their work. Given the small size and position of the Compass Bar, our solution also helps lessening the occlusion problem thus increasing user acceptance and engagement. As soon as the lockdown measures will allow, we will carry out user-tests comparing this solution with other state-of-the-art existing ones such as 3D Radar, SidebARs and EyeSee360.

Keywords: augmented reality, situation awareness, virtual reality, visualization design

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Authors: Majid Hejazian, Nam-Trung Nguyen

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Over the past few years, microfluidic devices have generated significant attention from industry and academia due to advantages such as small sample volume, low cost and high efficiency. Microfluidic devices have applications in chemical, biological and industry analysis and can facilitate assay of bio-materials and chemical reactions, separation, and sensing. Micromixers are one of the important microfluidic concepts. Micromixers can work as stand-alone devices or be integrated in a more complex microfluidic system such as a lab on a chip (LOC). Micromixers are categorized as passive and active types. Passive micromixers rely only on the arrangement of the phases to be mixed and contain no moving parts and require no energy. Active micromixers require external fields such as pressure, temperature, electric and acoustic fields. Rapid and efficient mixing is important for many applications such as biological, chemical and biochemical analysis. Achieving fast and homogenous mixing of multiple samples in the microfluidic devices has been studied and discussed in the literature recently. Improvement in mixing rely on effective mass transport in microscale, but are currently limited to molecular diffusion due to the predominant laminar flow in this size scale. Using magnetic field to elevate mass transport is an effective solution for mixing enhancement in microfluidics. The use of a non-uniform magnetic field to improve mass transfer performance in a microfluidic device is demonstrated in this work. The phenomenon of mixing ferrofluid and DI-water streams has been reported before, but mass transfer enhancement for other non-magnetic species through magnetic field have not been studied and evaluated extensively. In the present work, permanent magnets were used in a simple microfluidic device to create a non-uniform magnetic field. Two streams are introduced into the microchannel: one contains fluorescent dye mixed with diluted ferrofluid to induce enhanced mass transport of the dye, and the other one is a non-magnetic DI-water stream. Mass transport enhancement of fluorescent dye is evaluated using fluorescent measurement techniques. The concentration field is measured for different flow rates. Due to effect of magnetic field, a body force is exerted on the paramagnetic stream and expands the ferrofluid stream into non-magnetic DI-water flow. The experimental results demonstrate that without a magnetic field, both magnetic nanoparticles of the ferrofluid and the fluorescent dye solely rely on molecular diffusion to spread. The non-uniform magnetic field, created by the permanent magnets around the microchannel, and diluted ferrofluid can improve mass transport of non-magnetic solutes in a microfluidic device. The susceptibility mismatch between the fluids results in a magnetoconvective secondary flow towards the magnets and subsequently the mass transport of the non-magnetic fluorescent dye. A significant enhancement in mass transport of the fluorescent dye was observed. The platform presented here could be used as a microfluidics-based micromixer for chemical and biological applications.

Keywords: ferrofluid, mass transfer, micromixer, microfluidics, magnetic

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Authors: Daniela Pellin, Wilson Engelmann

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Brazil has sought to accelerate your development through technology and innovation as a response to the global influences, which has received in internal management practices. For this, it had edited the Brazilian Law of Innovation 13.243/2016. However observing the Law overestimated economic aspects the respective application will not consider the stakeholders and the technological risks because there is no legal treatment. The economic exploitation and the technological risks must be controlled by limits of democratic system to find better social development to contribute with the economics agents for making decision to conform with global directions. The research understands this is a problem to face given the social particularities of the country because there has been the literal import of the North American Triple Helix Theory consolidated in developed countries and the negative consequences when applied in developing countries. Because of this symptomatic scenario, it is necessary to create adjustment to conduct the management of the law besides social democratic interests to increase the country development. For this, therefore, the Government will have to adopt some conducts promoting side by side with universities, civil society and companies, informational transparency, catch of partnerships, create a Confort Letter document for preparation to ensure the operation, joint elaboration of a Manual of Good Practices, make accountability and data dissemination. Also the Universities must promote informational transparency, drawing up partnership contracts and generating revenue, development of information. In addition, the civil society must do data analysis about proposals received for discussing to give opinion related. At the end, companies have to give public and transparent information about investments and economic benefits, risks and innovation manufactured. The research intends as a general objective to demonstrate that the efficiency of the propeller deployment will be possible if the innovative decision-making process goes through the institutional logic. As specific objectives, the American influence must undergo some modifications to better suit the economic-legal incentives to potentiate the development of the social system. The hypothesis points to institutional model for application to the legal system can be elaborated based on emerging characteristics of the country, in such a way that technological risks can be foreseen and there will be global conformity with attention to the full development of society as proposed by the researchers.The method of approach will be the systemic-constructivist with bibliographical review, data collection and analysis with the construction of the institutional and democratic model for the management of the Law.

Keywords: development, governance of law, institutionalization, triple helix

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Authors: Amy Buckley

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The purpose of this article is to assess the problem of constitutional hyper-rigidity to consider how it and the associated tensions with democratic constitutionalism can be diminished by means of using digital democratic technologies. In other words, this article examines how digital technologies can assist us in ensuring fidelity to the will of the constituent power without paying the price of hyper-rigidity. In doing so, it is impossible to ignore that digital strategies can also harm democracy through, for example, manipulation, hacking, ‘fake news,’ and the like. This article considers the tension between constitutional hyper-rigidity and democratic constitutionalism and the relevant strengths and weaknesses of digital democratic strategies before undertaking a case study on Canadian e-consultations and drawing its conclusions. This article observes democratic constitutionalism through the lens of the theory of deliberative democracy to suggest that the application of digital strategies can, notwithstanding their pitfalls, improve a constituency’s amendment culture and, thus, diminish constitutional hyper-rigidity. Constitutional hyper-rigidity is not a new or underexplored concept. At a high level, a constitution can be said to be ‘hyper-rigid’ when its formal amendment procedure is so difficult to enact that it does not take place or is limited in its application. This article claims that hyper-rigidity is one problem with ordinary constitutionalism that fails to satisfy the principled requirements of democratic constitutionalism. Given the rise and development of technology that has taken place since the Digital Revolution, there has been a significant expansion in the possibility for digital democratic strategies to overcome the democratic constitutionalism failures resulting from constitutional hyper-rigidity. Typically, these strategies have included, inter alia, e- consultations, e-voting systems, and online polling forums, all of which significantly improve the ability of politicians and judges to directly obtain the opinion of constituents on any number of matters. This article expands on the application of these strategies through its Canadian e-consultation case study and presents them as a solution to poor amendment culture and, consequently, constitutional hyper-rigidity. Hyper-rigidity is a common descriptor of many written and unwritten constitutions, including the United States, Australian, and Canadian constitutions as just some examples. This article undertakes a case study on Canada, in particular, as it is a jurisdiction less commonly cited in academic literature generally concerned with hyper-rigidity and because Canada has to some extent, championed the use of e-consultations. In Part I of this article, I identify the problem, being that the consequence of constitutional hyper-rigidity is in tension with the principles of democratic constitutionalism. In Part II, I identify and explore a potential solution, the implementation of digital democratic strategies as a means of reducing constitutional hyper-rigidity. In Part III, I explore Canada’s e-consultations as a case study for assessing whether digital democratic strategies do, in fact, improve a constituency’s amendment culture thus reducing constitutional hyper-rigidity and the associated tension that arises with the principles of democratic constitutionalism. The idea is to run a case study and then assess whether I can generalise the conclusions.

Keywords: constitutional hyper-rigidity, digital democracy, deliberative democracy, democratic constitutionalism

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Authors: Kim Anema, Matthias Max, Chris Zevenbergen

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For any flood risk manager the 'safety paradox' has to be a familiar concept: low probability leads to a sense of safety, which leads to more investments in the area, which leads to higher potential consequences: keeping the aggregated risk (probability*consequences) at the same level. Therefore, it is important to mitigate potential consequences apart from probability. However, when the (perceived) probability is so low that there is no recognizable trend for society to adapt to, addressing the potential consequences will always be the lagging point on the agenda. Preparedness programs fail because of lack of interest and urgency, policy makers are distracted by their day to day business and there's always a more urgent issue to spend the taxpayer's money on. The leading question in this study was how to address the social consequences of flooding in a context of (perceived) low probability. Disruptions of everyday urban life, large or small, can be caused by a variety of (un)expected things - of which flooding is only one possibility. Variability like this is typically addressed with resilience - and we used the concept of Community Resilience as the framework for this study. Drawing on face to face interviews, an extensive questionnaire and publicly available statistical data we explored the 'whole society response' to two recent urban flood events; the Brisbane Floods (AUS) in 2011 and the Dresden Floods (GE) in 2013. In Brisbane, we studied how the societal impacts of the floods were counteracted by both authorities and the public, and in Dresden we were able to validate our findings. A large part of the reactions, both public as institutional, to these two urban flood events were not fuelled by preparedness or proper planning. Instead, more important success factors in counteracting social impacts like demographic changes in neighborhoods and (non-)economic losses were dynamics like community action, flexibility and creativity from authorities, leadership, informal connections and a shared narrative. These proved to be the determining factors for the quality and speed of recovery in both cities. The resilience of the community in Brisbane was good, due to (i) the approachability of (local) authorities, (ii) a big group of ‘secondary victims’ and (iii) clear leadership. All three of these elements were amplified by the use of social media and/ or web 2.0 by both the communities and the authorities involved. The numerous contacts and social connections made through the web were fast, need driven and, in their own way, orderly. Similarly in Dresden large groups of 'unprepared', ad hoc organized citizens managed to work together with authorities in a way that was effective and speeded up recovery. The concept of community resilience is better fitted than 'social adaptation' to deal with the potential consequences of an (im)probable flood. Community resilience is built on capacities and dynamics that are part of everyday life and which can be invested in pre-event to minimize the social impact of urban flooding. Investing in these might even have beneficial trade-offs in other policy fields.

Keywords: community resilience, disaster response, social consequences, preparedness

Procedia PDF Downloads 337

Authors: J. van Vuuren, D. J. van Vuuren, R. Muigai

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In recent times, South Africa has experienced extensive droughts that created the need for reliable small water reservoirs. These reservoirs have comparatively quick fabrication and installation times compared to market alternatives. An elevated water tank has inherent potential energy, resulting in that no additional water pumps are required to sustain water pressure at the outlet point – thus ensuring that, without electricity, a water source is available. The initial construction formwork and the complex geometric shape of concrete towers that requires casting can become time-consuming, rendering steel towers preferable. Reinforced concrete foundations, cast in advance, are required to be of sufficient strength. Thereafter, the prefabricated steel supporting structure and tank, which consist of steel panels, can be assembled and erected on site within a couple of days. Due to the time effectiveness of this system, it has become a popular solution to aid drought-stricken areas. These sites are normally in rural, schools or farmland areas. As these tanks can contain up to 2000kL (approximately 19.62MN) of water, combined with supporting lattice steel structures ranging between 5m and 30m in height, failure of one of the supporting members will result in system failure. Thus, there is a need to gain a comprehensive understanding of the operation conditions because of wind loadings on both the tank and the supporting structure. The aim of the research is to investigate the relationship between the theoretical wind loading on a lattice steel tower in combination with an elevated sectional steel tank, and the current wind loading codes, as applicable to South Africa. The research compares the respective design parameters (both theoretical and wind loading codes) whereby FEA analyses are conducted on the various design solutions. The currently available wind loading codes are not sufficient to design slender cantilever latticed steel towers that support elevated water storage tanks. Numerous factors in the design codes are not comprehensively considered when designing the system as these codes are dependent on various assumptions. Factors that require investigation for the study are; the wind loading angle to the face of the structure that will result in maximum load; the internal structural effects on models with different bracing patterns; the loading influence of the aspect ratio of the tank; and the clearance height of the tank on the structural members. Wind loads, as the variable that results in the highest failure rate of cantilevered lattice steel tower structures, require greater understanding. This study aims to contribute towards the design process of elevated steel tanks with lattice tower supporting structures.

Keywords: aspect ratio, bracing patterns, clearance height, elevated steel tanks, lattice steel tower, wind loads

Procedia PDF Downloads 132

Authors: Cherng-Jye Jeng, Ming-Feng Hou, Hsing-Yuan Liu, Chuan-Feng Chang, Lih-Rong Wang, Yen-Chin Lin

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Introduction: The incidence of breast cancer has gradually increased in Taiwan, and the characteristic of younger ages impact these women in their middle age, and may also cause challenges in terms of family, work, and illness. Breasts are symbols of femininity, as well as of sex. For women, breasts are important organs for the female identity and sexual expression. Losing breasts not only affects the female role, but would also affect sexual attraction and sexual desire. Thus, women with breast cancer who have need for mastectomies experience physical incompletion, which affects women’s self-confidence, physical image, and self-orientation. Purposes: 1. To understand the physical experience of women with breast cancer. 2. To explore the issue of sexual issues on the health effects of women with breast cancer. 3. To construct a domestic sex life issue group model for domestic women with breast cancer. 4. To explore the accompaniment experiences and sexual relationship adjustments of spouses when women have breast cancer. Method: After the research plan passes IRB review, participants will be recruited at breast surgery clinic in the affiliated hospital, to screen suitable subjects for entry into the group. Between March and May 2015, two sexual health and sex life consultation groups were conducted, which were (1) 10 in postoperative groups for women with cancer; (2) 4 married couples group for postoperative women with cancer. After sharing experiences and dialogue, women can achieve mutual support and growth. Data organization and analysis underwent descriptive analysis in qualitative research, and the group process was transcribed into transcripts for overall-content and category-content analysis. Results: Ten women with breast cancer believed that participating in group can help them exchange experiences, and elevate sexual health. The main issues include: (1) after breast cancer surgery, patients generally received chemotherapy or estrogen suppressants, causing early menopause; in particular, vaginal dryness can cause pain or bleeding in intercourse, reducing their desire for sexual activity; (2) breast cancer accentuates original spousal or family and friend relationships; some people have support and care from their family, and spouses emphasize health over the appearance of breasts; however, some people do not have acceptance and support from their family, and some even hear spousal sarcasm about loss of breasts; (3) women with breast cancer have polarized expressions of optimism and pessimism in regards to their emotions, beliefs, and body image regarding cancer; this is related to the women’s original personalities, attribution of causes of cancer, and extent of worry about relapse. Conclusion: The research results can be provided as a reference to medical institutions or breast cancer volunteer teams, to pay attention to maintaining the health of women with breast cancer.

Keywords: women with breast cancer, experiences of objectifying the body, quality of sex life, sexual health

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Authors: Maryam Azish

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Russia, as an emerging global player in recent years, has projected a special place in the Middle East. Despite all the challenges it has faced over the years, it has always considered its presence in various fields with a strategy that has defined its maneuvering power as a level of competition and even confrontation with the United States. Therefore, its current approach is considered important as an influential actor in the Middle East. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, when the Russians withdrew completely from the Middle East, the American scene remained almost unrivaled by the Americans. With the start of the US-led war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the subsequent developments that led to the US military and political defeat, a new chapter in regional security was created in which ISIL and Taliban terrorism went along with the Arab Spring to destabilize the Middle East. Because of this, the Americans took every opportunity to strengthen their military presence. Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have always been the three areas where terrorism was shaped, and the countries of the region have each reacted to this evil phenomenon accordingly. The West dealt with this phenomenon on a case-by-case basis in the general circumstances that created the fluid situation in the Arab countries and the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the US of falling asleep in the face of ISIS and terrorism in Syria. In fact, this was an opportunity for the Russians to revive their presence in Syria. This article suggests that utilizing the recognition policy along with the constructivism theory will offer a better knowledge of Russia’s endeavors to endorse its international position. Accordingly, Russia’s distinctiveness and its ambitions for a situation of great power have played a vital role in shaping national interests and, subsequently, in foreign policy, in Putin's era in particular. The focal claim of the paper is that scrutinize Russia’s foreign policy with realistic methods cannot be attained. Consequently, with an aim to fill the prevailing vacuum, this study exploits the politics of acknowledgment in the context of constructivism to examine Russia’s foreign policy in the Middle East. The results of this paper show that the key aim of Russian foreign policy discourse, accompanied by increasing power and wealth, is to recognize and reinstate the position of great power in the universal system. The Syrian crisis has created an opportunity for Russia to unite its position in the developing global and regional order after ages of dynamic and prevalent existence in the Middle East as well as contradicting US unilateralism. In the meantime, the writer thinks that the question of identifying Russia’s position in the global system by the West has played a foremost role in serving its national interests.

Keywords: constructivism, foreign Policy, middle East, Russia, regionalism

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Authors: John Dimopoulos

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This proposal attempts a refabrication of Heidegger’s classic thing-being and object-being analysis in order to provide better ontological tools for understanding contemporary culture, technology, and society. In his work, Heidegger sought to understand and comment on the problem of technology in an era of rampant innovation and increased perils for society and the planet. Today we seem to be at another crossroads in this course, coming after postmodernity, during which dreams and dangers of modernity augmented with critical speculations of the post-war era take shape. The new era which we are now living in, referred to as hypermodernity by researchers in various fields such as architecture and cultural theory, is defined by the horizontal implementation of digital technologies, cybernetic networks, and mixed reality. Technology today is rapidly approaching a turning point, namely the point of no return for humanity’s supervision over its creations. The techno-scientific civilization of the 21st century creates a series of problems, progressively more difficult and complex to solve and impossible to ignore, climate change, data safety, cyber depression, and digital stress being some of the most prevalent. Humans often have no other option than to address technology-induced problems with even more technology, as in the case of neuron networks, machine learning, and AI, thus widening the gap between creating technological artifacts and understanding their broad impact and possible future development. As all technical disciplines and particularly design, become enmeshed in a matrix of digital hyper-objects, a conceptual toolbox that allows us to handle the new reality becomes more and more necessary. Weaponized design, prevalent in many fields, such as social and traditional media, urban planning, industrial design, advertising, and the internet in general, hints towards an increase in conflicts. These conflicts between tech companies, stakeholders, and users with implications in politics, work, education, and production as apparent in the cases of Amazon workers’ strikes, Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, Facebook and Microsoft data scandals, and more are often non-transparent to the wide public’s eye, thus consolidating new elites and technocratic classes and making the public scene less and less democratic. The new category proposed, weapon-being, is outlined in respect to the basic function of reducing complexity, subtracting materials, actants, and parameters, not strictly in favor of a humanistic re-orientation but in a more inclusive ontology of objects and subjects. Utilizing insights of Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO) and its schematization of technological objects, an outline for a radical ontology of technology is approached.

Keywords: design, hypermodernity, object-oriented ontology, weapon-being

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Authors: Belcher Fulele, W. A. A. Ddamba

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Study of solvent systems contributes to the understanding of intermolecular interactions that occur in binary mixtures. These interactions involves among others strong dipole-dipole interactions and weak van de Waals interactions which are of significant application in pharmaceuticals, solvent extractions, design of reactors and solvent handling and storage processes. Binary mixtures of solvents can thus be used as a model to interpret thermodynamic behavior that occur in a real solution mixture. Densities of pure DFM, n-alkanes (n-pentane, n-hexane, n-heptane and n-octane) and amides (N-methylformamide, N-ethylformamide, N,N-dimethylformamide and N,N-dimethylacetamide) as well as their [DFM + ((C5-C8) n-alkane or amide)] binary mixtures over the entire composition range, have been reported at temperature 293.15, 298.15 and 303.15 K and atmospheric pressure. These data has been used to derive the thermodynamic properties: the excess molar volume of solution, apparent molar volumes, excess partial molar volumes, limiting excess partial molar volumes, limiting partial molar volumes of each component of a binary mixture. The results are discussed in terms of possible intermolecular interactions and structural effects that occur in the binary mixtures. The variation of excess molar volume with DFM composition for the [DFM + (C5-C7) n-alkane] binary mixture exhibit a sigmoidal behavior while for the [DFM + n-octane] binary system, positive deviation of excess molar volume function was observed over the entire composition range. For each of the [DFM + (C5-C8) n-alkane] binary mixture, the excess molar volume exhibited a fall with increase in temperature. The excess molar volume for each of [DFM + (NMF or NEF or DMF or DMA)] binary system was negative over the entire DFM composition at each of the three temperatures investigated. The negative deviations in excess molar volume values follow the order: DMA > DMF > NEF > NMF. Increase in temperature has a greater effect on component self-association than it has on complex formation between molecules of components in [DFM + (NMF or NEF or DMF or DMA)] binary mixture which shifts complex formation equilibrium towards complex to give a drop in excess molar volume with increase in temperature. The Prigogine-Flory-Patterson model has been applied at 298.15 K and reveals that the free volume is the most important contributing term to the excess experimental molar volume data for [DFM + (n-pentane or n-octane)] binary system. For [DFM + (NMF or DMF or DMA)] binary mixture, the interactional term and characteristic pressure term contributions are the most important contributing terms in describing the sign of experimental excess molar volume. The mixture systems contributed to the understanding of interactions of polar solvents with proteins (amides) with non-polar solvents (alkanes) in biological systems.

Keywords: alkanes, amides, excess thermodynamic parameters, Prigogine-Flory-Patterson model

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Authors: Jiabei Zhang

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Although adapted physical education (APE) teacher preparation programs are available in the nation, a consistent standards-based competency evaluation scale for preparing of qualified personnel for teaching children with disabilities in APE cannot be identified in the literature. The purpose of this study was to develop a standard-based competency evaluation scale for assessing qualifications for teaching children with disabilities in APE. Standard-based competencies were reviewed and identified based on research evidence documented as effective in teaching children with disabilities in APE. A standard-based competency scale was developed for assessing qualifications for teaching children with disabilities in APE. This scale included 20 standard-based competencies and a 4-point Likert-type scale for each standard-based competency. The first standard-based competency is knowledgeable of the causes of disabilities and their effects. The second competency is the ability to assess physical education skills of children with disabilities. The third competency is able to collaborate with other personnel. The fourth competency is knowledgeable of the measurement and evaluation. The fifth competency is to understand federal and state laws. The sixth competency is knowledgeable of the unique characteristics of all learners. The seventh competency is the ability to write in behavioral terms for objectives. The eighth competency is knowledgeable of developmental characteristics. The ninth competency is knowledgeable of normal and abnormal motor behaviors. The tenth competency is the ability to analyze and adapt the physical education curriculums. The eleventh competency is to understand the history and the philosophy of physical education. The twelfth competency is to understand curriculum theory and development. The thirteenth competency is the ability to utilize instructional designs and plans. The fourteenth competency is the ability to create and implement physical activities. The fifteenth competency is the ability to utilize technology applications. The sixteenth competency is to understand the value of program evaluation. The seventeenth competency is to understand professional standards. The eighteenth competency is knowledgeable of the focused instruction and individualized interventions. The nineteenth competency is able to complete a research project independently. The twentieth competency is to teach children with disabilities in APE independently. The 4-point Likert-type scale ranges from 1 for incompetent to 4 for highly competent. This scale is used for assessing if one completing all course works is eligible for receiving an endorsement for teaching children with disabilities in APE, which is completed based on the grades earned on three courses targeted for each standard-based competency. A mean grade received in three courses primarily addressing a standard-based competency will be marked on a competency level in the above scale. The level 4 is marked for a mean grade of A one receives over three courses, the level 3 for a mean grade of B over three courses, and so on. One should receive a mean score of 3 (competent level) or higher (highly competent) across 19 standard-based competencies after completing all courses specified for receiving an endorsement for teaching children with disabilities in APE. The validity, reliability, and objectivity of this standard-based competency evaluation scale are to be documented.

Keywords: evaluation scale, teacher preparation, adapted physical education teachers, and children with disabilities

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Authors: Linda Weinberg, Miriam Symon

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While few institutions of higher education in Israel offer international programs taught entirely in English, many Israeli students today can study at least one content course taught in English during their degree program. In particular, with the growth of international partnerships and opportunities for student mobility, English medium instruction is a growing phenomenon. There are however no official guidelines in Israel for how to develop and implement content courses in English and no training to help lecturers prepare for teaching their materials in a foreign language. Furthermore, the implications for the students and the nature of the courses themselves have not been sufficiently considered. In addition, the institution must have lecturers who are able to teach these courses effectively in English. An international project funded by the European Union addresses these issues and a set of guidelines which provide guidance for lecturers in adapting their courses for delivery in English have been developed. A train-the-trainer approach is adopted in order to cascade knowledge and experience in English medium instruction from experts to language teachers and on to content teachers thus maximizing the scope of professional development. To accompany training, a model English medium course has been created which serves the dual purpose of highlighting alternatives to the frontal lecture while integrating language learning objectives with content goals. This course can also be used as a standalone content course. The development of the guidelines and of the course utilized backwards, forwards and central design in an iterative process. The goals for combined language and content outcomes were identified first after which a suitable framework for achieving these goals was constructed. The assessment procedures evolved through collaboration between content and language specialists and subsequently were put into action during a piloting phase. Feedback from the piloting teachers and from the students highlight the need for clear channels of communication to encourage frank and honest discussion of expectations versus reality. While much of what goes on in the English medium classroom requires no better teaching skills than are required in any classroom, the understanding of students' abilities in achieving reasonable learning outcomes in a foreign language must be rationalized and accommodated within the course design. Concomitantly, preparatory language classes for students must be able to adapt to prepare students for specific language and cognitive skills and activities that courses conducted in English require. This paper presents findings from the implementation of a purpose-designed English medium instruction course arrived at through an iterative backwards, forwards and central design process utilizing feedback from students and lecturers alike leading to suggested guidelines for English medium instruction in higher education.

Keywords: English medium instruction, higher education, iterative design process, train-the-trainer

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Authors: C. A. Sharma, Birendra P. Singh

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We recovered 40 well preserved ribbon-shaped, meandering specimens of S. ningqiangensis from the Earthy Dolomite Member (Krol Group) and calcareous siltstone beds of the Earthy Siltstone Member (Tal Group) showing closely spaced annulations that lacked branching. The beginning and terminal points are indistinguishable. In certain cases, individual specimens are characterized by irregular, low-angle to high-angle sinuosity. It has been variously described as body fossil, ichnofossil and algae. Detailed study of this enigmatic fossil is needed to resolve the long standing controversy regarding its phylogenetic and stratigraphic placements, which will be an important contribution to the evolutionary history of metazoans. S. ningqiangensis has been known from the late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) of southern and central China (Sichuan, Shaanxi, Quinghai and Guizhou provinces and Ningxia Hui Autonomous region), Siberian platform and across Pc/C Boundary from latest Neoprterozoic to earliest Cambrian of northern India. Shaanxilithes is considered an Ediacaran organism that spans the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary, an interval marked by significant taphonomic and ecological transformations that include not only innovation but also probable extinction. All the past well constrained finds of S. ningqiangensis are restricted to Ediacaran age. However, due to the new recoveries of the fossil from Nigalidhar Syncline, the stratigraphic status of S. ningqiangensis-bearing Earthy Siltstone Member of the Shaliyan Formation of the Tal Group (Cambrian) is rendered uncertain, though the overlying Chert Member in the adjoining Korgai Syncline has yielded definite early Cambrian acritarchs. The moot question is whether the Earthy Siltstone Member represents an Ediacaran or an early Cambrian age?. It would be interesting to find if Shaanxilithes, so far known from Ediacaran sequences, could it transgress to the early Cambrian or in simple words could it withstand the Pc/C Boundary event? GC-MS data shows the S. ningqiangensis structure is formed by hydrocarbon organic compounds which are filled with inorganic elements filler like silica, Calcium, phosphorus etc. The S. ningqiangensis structure is a mixture of organic compounds of high molecular weight, containing several saturated rings with hydrocarbon chains having an occasional isolated carbon-carbon double bond and also containing, in addition, to small amounts of nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Data also revealed that the presence of nitrogen which would be either in the form of peptide chains means amide/amine or chemical form i.e. nitrates/nitrites etc. The formula weight and the weight ratio of C/H shows that it would be expected for algae derived organics, since algae produce fatty acids as well as other hydrocarbons such as cartenoids.

Keywords: GC-MS Analysis, lesser himalaya, Pc/C Boundary, shaanxilithes

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Authors: Daniel Dahis, Haim Azhari

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Noninvasive image-guided intracranial treatments using high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) are on the course of translation into clinical applications. They include, among others, tumor ablation, hyperthermia, and blood-brain-barrier (BBB) penetration. Since many of these procedures are associated with local temperature elevation, thermal monitoring is essential. MRI constitutes an imaging method with high spatial resolution and thermal mapping capacity. It is the currently leading modality for temperature guidance, commonly under the name MRgHIFU (magnetic-resonance guided HIFU). Nevertheless, MRI is a very expensive non-portable modality which jeopardizes its accessibility. Ultrasonic thermal monitoring, on the other hand, could provide a modular, cost-effective alternative with higher temporal resolution and accessibility. In order to assess the feasibility of ultrasonic brain thermal monitoring, this study investigated the usage of brain tissue attenuation coefficient (AC) temporal changes as potential estimators of thermal changes. Newton's law of cooling describes a temporal exponential decay behavior for the temperature of a heated object immersed in a relatively cold surrounding. Similarly, in the case of cerebral HIFU treatments, the temperature in the region of interest, i.e., focal zone, is suggested to follow the same law. Thus, it was hypothesized that the AC of the irradiated tissue may follow a temporal exponential behavior during cool down regime. Three ex-vivo bovine brain tissue specimens were inserted into plastic containers along with four thermocouple probes in each sample. The containers were placed inside a specially built ultrasonic tomograph and scanned at room temperature. The corresponding pixel-averaged AC was acquired for each specimen and used as a reference. Subsequently, the containers were placed in a beaker containing hot water and gradually heated to about 45ᵒC. They were then repeatedly rescanned during cool down using ultrasonic through-transmission raster trajectory until reaching about 30ᵒC. From the obtained images, the normalized AC and its temporal derivative as a function of temperature and time were registered. The results have demonstrated high correlation (R² > 0.92) between both the brain AC and its temporal derivative to temperature. This indicates the validity of the hypothesis and the possibility of obtaining brain tissue temperature estimation from the temporal AC thermal changes. It is important to note that each brain yielded different AC values and slopes. This implies that a calibration step is required for each specimen. Thus, for a practical acoustic monitoring of the brain, two steps are suggested. The first step consists of simply measuring the AC at normal body temperature. The second step entails measuring the AC after small temperature elevation. In face of the urging need for a more accessible thermal monitoring technique for brain treatments, the proposed methodology enables a cost-effective high temporal resolution acoustical temperature estimation during HIFU treatments.

Keywords: attenuation coefficient, brain, HIFU, image-guidance, temperature

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Authors: Javier Carroquino, Nieves García-Casarejos, Pilar Gargallo, F. Javier García-Ramos

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The energy used in agriculture is a source of global emissions of greenhouse gases. The two main types of this energy are electricity for pumping and diesel for agricultural machinery. In order to reduce these emissions, the European project LIFE REWIND addresses the supply of this demand from renewable sources. First of all, comprehensive data on energy demand and available renewable resources have been obtained in several case studies. Secondly, a set of simulations and optimizations have been performed, in search of the best configuration and sizing, both from an economic and emission reduction point of view. For this purpose, it was used software based on genetic algorithms. Thirdly, a prototype has been designed and installed, that it is being used for the validation in a real case. Finally, throughout a year of operation, various technical and economic parameters are being measured for further analysis. The prototype is not connected to the utility grid, avoiding the cost and environmental impact of a grid extension. The system includes three kinds of photovoltaic fields. One is located on a fixed structure on the terrain. Another one is floating on an irrigation raft. The last one is mounted on a two axis solar tracker. Each has its own solar inverter. The total amount of nominal power is 44 kW. A lead acid battery with 120 kWh of capacity carries out the energy storage. Three isolated inverters support a three phase, 400 V 50 Hz micro-grid, the same characteristics of the utility grid. An advanced control subsystem has been constructed, using free hardware and software. The electricity produced feeds a set of seven pumps used for purification, elevation and pressurization of water in a drip irrigation system located in a vineyard. Since the irrigation season does not include the whole year, as well as a small oversize of the generator, there is an amount of surplus energy. With this surplus, a hydrolyser produces on site hydrogen by electrolysis of water. An off-road vehicle with fuel cell feeds on that hydrogen and carries people in the vineyard. The only emission of the process is high purity water. On the one hand, the results show the technical and economic feasibility of stand-alone renewable energy systems to feed seasonal pumping. In this way, the economic costs, the environmental impacts and the landscape impacts of grid extensions are avoided. The use of diesel gensets and their associated emissions are also avoided. On the other hand, it is shown that it is possible to replace diesel in agricultural machinery, substituting it for electricity or hydrogen of 100% renewable origin and produced on the farm itself, without any external energy input. In addition, it is expected to obtain positive effects on the rural economy and employment, which will be quantified through interviews.

Keywords: drip irrigation, greenhouse gases, hydrogen, renewable energy, vineyard

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Authors: Ana-María Gómez-Carvajal, Hernando Santamaría-García, Mateo Bernal, Mario Valderrama, Daniela Lizarazo, Juliana Restrepo, María Fernanda Barreto, Angélica Parra, Paula Torres, Diana Matallana, Jaime Silva, José Santamaría-García, Sandra Baez

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Higher levels of oxytocin are associated with better performance on social cognition tasks. However, higher levels of oxytocin have also been associated with increased levels of envy and schadenfreude. Considering these antecedents, this study aims to explore social emotions (i.e., envy and schadenfreude) and other components of social cognition (i.e. ToM and empathy), in women in the puerperal period and their respective partners, compared to a control group of men and women without children or partners. Control women should be in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle or taking oral contraceptives as they allow oxytocin levels to remain stable. We selected this population since increased levels of oxytocin are present in both mothers and fathers of newborn babies. Both groups were matched by age, sex, and education level. Twenty-two parents of newborns (11 women, 11 men) and 15 controls (8 women, 7 men) performed an experimental task designed to trigger schadenfreude and envy. In this task, each participant was shown a real-life photograph and a description of two target characters matched in age and gender with the participant. The task comprised two experimental blocks. In the first block, participants read 15 sentences describing fortunate events involving either character. After reading each sentence, participants rated the event in terms of how much envy they felt for the character (1=no envy, 9=extreme envy). In the second block, participants read and reported the intensity of their pleasure (schadenfreude, 1=no pleasure, 9=extreme pleasure) in response to 15 unfortunate events happening to the characters. Five neutral events were included in each block. Moreover, participants were assessed with ToM and empathy tests. Potential confounding variables such as general cognitive functioning, stress levels, hours of sleep and depression symptoms were also measured. Results showed that parents of newborns showed increased levels of envy and schadenfreude. These effects are not explained by any confounding factor. Moreover, no significant differences were found in ToM or empathy tests. Our results offer unprecedented evidence of specific differences in envy and schadenfreude levels in parents of newborns. Our findings support previous studies showing a negative relationship between oxytocin levels and negative social emotions. Further studies should assess the direct relationship between oxytocin levels in parents of newborns and the performance in social emotions tasks.

Keywords: envy, empathy, oxytocin, schadenfreude, social emotions, theory of mind

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Authors: Flora Takayindisa, Tsoaledi Thobejane, Thizwilondi Mudau

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This study highlights what people in polygamous marriages face on a daily basis. It argues that there are more disadvantages for women in polygamous marriages than their counterparts in monogamous relationships. The study further suggests that the patriarchal power structure seems to take a powerful and effective role on polygamous marriages in our societies, particularly in Zimbabwe where this study took place. The study explored the intricacies of polygamous marriages and how these dominances can be resolved. The research is therefore presented through the ‘lived realities’ of the affected women in polygamous marriages in Gutu District located in Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. Polygamous marriages are practised in different societies. Some women who are practising a polygamous lifestyle are emotionally and physically abused in their relationships. Evidence also suggests children from polygamous marriages also suffer psychologically when their fathers take other wives. Relationships within the family are very difficult because of the husband’s seeming favouritism for one wife. Children are mostly affected by disputes between co-wives and they often lack quality time with their fathers. There are mixed feelings about polygamous marriages. There are some people who condemn it saying inhumane. However, considerations must be made of what it might mean to other people who do not have choices of any other form of marriage. The other factor that has to be noted is that polygamous marriages are not always negative. There are some positive things that result from the polygamous marriages. The study was conducted in a village called Matizha. In the study, a qualitative research approach was employed to stimulate awareness of the social, cultural, religious and the effect of economic factors in polygamous marriages. This approach facilitates a unique understanding of the experiences of women in polygamous marriages, their experiences being both negative and positive. The qualitative type of research method enabled the respondents to have an open minded when they were being asked questions. The researcher utilised the feminist theory in the study. The researcher employed guide interviews to acquire information from the participants. The chapter focuses on the participants who took part in the study, how the participants were selected, ethical considerations, data collection, the interview process, the research instruments and the summary. The data was obtained using a guided interview for all the respondents ranging from all ages who are in polygamous marriages. The researcher presented the demographic information of the participants. Thereafter, the researcher presented other aspects of the data collection like social factors, economic factors and also religious affiliation. The conclusions and recommendations are made from the four main themes that came up from the discussions. The recommendations were made for the women, the policies and laws affecting women, and finally, recommendations for future research. It is believed that the overall objectives of the study have been met and research questions have been answered based on the findings of the study discussed.

Keywords: co-wives, egalitarianism, experiences, polyandry, polygamy, woman

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Authors: Luiza Toschi

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This work presents part of an empirical and theoretical master's degree meta-research that is interested in the relationship between the disciplinary area of Social Communication, to be investigated with the characteristics of the Bourdieusian scientific field, and the emergence of public interest in Nonviolent Communication (NVC) in Brazil and the world. To this end, the state of the art of this conceptual and practical relationship is investigated based on scientific productions available in spaces of academic credibility, such as conferences and scientific journals renowned in the field. From there, agents and the sociological aspects that make them contribute or not to scientific production in Brazil and the world are mapped. In this work, a brief dive into the international context is presented to understand if and how nonviolent communication permeates scientific production in communication in a systematic way. Using three accessible articles published between 2013 and 2022 in the 117 magazines classified as Quartiles Q1 in the Journal Ranking of Communication, the international production on the subject is compared with the Brazilian one from its context. The social conditions of the international circulation of ideas are thus discussed. Science is a product of its social environment, arising from relations of interest and power that compete in the political dimension at the same time as in the epistemological dimension. In this way, scientific choices are linked to the resources mobilized from or through the prestige and recognition of peers. In this sense, an object of interest stands out to a scientist for its academic value, but also and inseparably that which has a social interest within the collective, their social stratification, and the context of legitimacy created in their surroundings, influenced by cultural universalism. In Brazil, three published articles were found in congresses and journals that mention NVC in their abstract or keywords. All were written by Public Relations undergraduate students. Between the most experienced researchers who guided or validated the publications, it is possible to find two professionals who are interested in the Culture of Peace and Dialogy. Likewise, internationally, only three of the articles found mention the term in their abstract or title. Two analyze journalistic coverage based on the principles of NVC and Journalism for Peace. The third is from one of the Brazilian researchers identified as interested in dialogic practices, who analyses audiovisual material and promotes epistemological reflections. If, on the one hand, some characteristics inside and outside Brazil are similar: small samples, relationship with peace studies, and female researchers, two of whom are Brazilian, on the other hand, differences are obvious. If within the country, the subject is mostly Organizational Communication, outside this intersection, it is not presented explicitly. Furthermore, internationally, there is an interest in analyzing from the perspective of NVC, which has not been found so far in publications in Brazil. Up to the present moment, it is possible to presume that, universally, the legitimacy of the topic is sought by its association with conflict conciliation research and communication for peace.

Keywords: academic field sociology, international circulation of ideas, meta research in communication, nonviolent communication

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Authors: Mahdi Farajzadeh Ajirlou

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Prior evidence of normal cardiac anatomy is desirable to relieve the anxiety of cases with a family history of congenital heart disease or to offer the option of early gestation termination or close follow-up should a cardiac anomaly be proved. Fetal heart discovery plays an important part in the opinion of the fetus, and it can reflect the fetal heart function of the fetus, which is regulated by the central nervous system. Acquisition of ventricular volume and inflow data would be useful to quantify more valve regurgitation and ventricular function to determine the degree of cardiovascular concession in fetal conditions at threat for hydrops fetalis. This study discusses imaging the fetal heart with transvaginal ultrasound, Doppler ultrasound, three-dimensional ultrasound (3DUS) and four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound, spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC), glamorous resonance imaging and cardiac catheterization. Doppler ultrasound (DUS) image is a kind of real- time image with a better imaging effect on blood vessels and soft tissues. DUS imaging can observe the shape of the fetus, but it cannot show whether the fetus is hypoxic or distressed. Spatiotemporal image correlation (STIC) enables the acquisition of a volume of data concomitant with the beating heart. The automated volume accession is made possible by the array in the transducer performing a slow single reach, recording a single 3D data set conforming to numerous 2D frames one behind the other. The volume accession can be done in a stationary 3D, either online 4D (direct volume scan, live 3D ultrasound or a so-called 4D (3D/ 4D)), or either spatiotemporal image correlation-STIC (off-line 4D, which is a circular volume check-up). Fetal cardiovascular MRI would appear to be an ideal approach to the noninvasive disquisition of the impact of abnormal cardiovascular hemodynamics on antenatal brain growth and development. Still, there are practical limitations to the use of conventional MRI for fetal cardiovascular assessment, including the small size and high heart rate of the mortal fetus, the lack of conventional cardiac gating styles to attend data accession, and the implicit corruption of MRI data due to motherly respiration and unpredictable fetal movements. Fetal cardiac MRI has the implicit to complement ultrasound in detecting cardiovascular deformations and extracardiac lesions. Fetal cardiac intervention (FCI), minimally invasive catheter interventions, is a new and evolving fashion that allows for in-utero treatment of a subset of severe forms of congenital heart deficiency. In special cases, it may be possible to modify the natural history of congenital heart disorders. It's entirely possible that future generations will ‘repair’ congenital heart deficiency in utero using nanotechnologies or remote computer-guided micro-robots that work in the cellular layer.

Keywords: fetal, cardiac MRI, ultrasound, 3D, 4D, heart disease, invasive, noninvasive, catheter

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Authors: Bruce Wrightsman

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Construction and design are inexorably linked. Traditional building methodologies, including those using wood, comprise a series of material layers differentiated and separated from each other. This results in the separation of two agencies of building envelope (skin) separate from the structure. However, from a material performance position reliant on additional materials, this is not an efficient strategy for the building. The merits of traditional platform framing are well known. However, its enormous effectiveness within wood-framed construction has seldom led to serious questioning and challenges in defining what it means to build. There are several downsides of using this method, which is less widely discussed. The first and perhaps biggest downside is waste. Second, its reliance on wood assemblies forming walls, floors and roofs conventionally nailed together through simple plate surfaces is structurally inefficient. It requires additional material through plates, blocking, nailers, etc., for stability that only adds to the material waste. In contrast, when we look back at the history of wood construction in airplane and boat manufacturing industries, we will see a significant transformation in the relationship of structure with skin. The history of boat construction transformed from indigenous wood practices of birch bark canoes to copper sheathing over wood to improve performance in the late 18th century and the evolution of merged assemblies that drives the industry today. In 1911, Swiss engineer Emile Ruchonnet designed the first wood monocoque structure for an airplane called the Cigare. The wing and tail assemblies consisted of thin, lightweight, and often fabric skin stretched tightly over a wood frame. This stressed skin has evolved into semi-monocoque construction, in which the skin merges with structural fins that take additional forces. It provides even greater strength with less material. The monocoque, which translates to ‘mono or single shell,’ is a structural system that supports loads and transfers them through an external enclosure system. They have largely existed outside the domain of architecture. However, this uniting of divergent systems has been demonstrated to be lighter, utilizing less material than traditional wood building practices. This paper will examine the role monocoque systems have played in the history of wood construction through lineage of boat and airplane building industries and its design potential for wood building systems in architecture through a case-study examination of a unique wood construction approach. The innovative approach uses a wood monocoque system comprised of interlocking small wood members to create thin shell assemblies for the walls, roof and floor, increasing structural efficiency and wasting less than 2% of the wood. The goal of the analysis is to expand the work of practice and the academy in order to foster deeper, more honest discourse regarding the limitations and impact of traditional wood framing.

Keywords: wood building systems, material histories, monocoque systems, construction waste

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Authors: Yakup Ulusu, Faruk Ozel, Numan Eczacioglu, Abdurrahman Ozen, Sabriye Acikgoz

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GFP discovered in the mid-1970s, has been used as a marker after replicated genetic study by scientists. In biotechnology, cell, molecular biology, the GFP gene is frequently used as a reporter of expression. In modified forms, it has been used to make biosensors. Many animals have been created that express GFP as an evidence that a gene can be expressed throughout a given organism. Proteins labeled with GFP identified locations are determined. And so, cell connections can be monitored, gene expression can be reported, protein-protein interactions can be observed and signals that create events can be detected. Additionally, monitoring GFP is noninvasive; it can be detected by under UV-light because of simply generating fluorescence. Moreover, GFP is a relatively small and inert molecule, that does not seem to treat any biological processes of interest. The synthesis of GFP has some steps like, to construct the plasmid system, transformation in E. coli, production and purification of protein. GFP carrying plasmid vector pBAD–GFPuv was digested using two different restriction endonuclease enzymes (NheI and Eco RI) and DNA fragment of GFP was gel purified before cloning. The GFP-encoding DNA fragment was ligated into pET28a plasmid using NheI and Eco RI restriction sites. The final plasmid was named pETGFP and DNA sequencing of this plasmid indicated that the hexa histidine-tagged GFP was correctly inserted. Histidine-tagged GFP was expressed in an Escherichia coli BL21 DE3 (pLysE) strain. The strain was transformed with pETGFP plasmid and grown on LuiraBertoni (LB) plates with kanamycin and chloramphenicol selection. E. coli cells were grown up to an optical density (OD 600) of 0.8 and induced by the addition of a final concentration of 1mM isopropyl-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) and then grown for additional 4 h. The amino-terminal hexa-histidine-tag facilitated purification of the GFP by using a His Bind affinity chromatography resin (Novagen). Purity of GFP protein was analyzed by a 12 % sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The concentration of protein was determined by UV absorption at 280 nm (Varian Cary 50 Scan UV/VIS spectrophotometer). Synthesis of GFP-Polymer composite nanofibers was produced by using GFP solution (10mg/mL) and polymer precursor Polyvinylpyrrolidone, (PVP, Mw=1300000) as starting materials and template, respectively. For the fabrication of nanofibers with the different fiber diameter; a sol–gel solution comprising of 0.40, 0.60 and 0.80 g PVP (depending upon the desired fiber diameter) and 100 mg GFP in 10 mL water: ethanol (3:2) mixtures were prepared and then the solution was covered on collecting plate via electro spinning at 10 kV with a feed-rate of 0.25 mL h-1 using Spellman electro spinning system. Results show that GFP-based nano-fiber can be used plenty of biomedical applications such as bio-imaging, bio-mechanic, bio-material and tissue engineering.

Keywords: biomaterial, GFP, nano-fibers, protein expression

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