Search results for: language teaching program

Authors: Mohammad Emamjome Kashan, Alan S. Fung

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In Canada, more than 32% of the total energy demand is related to the building sector. Therefore, there is a great opportunity for Greenhouse Gases (GHG) reduction by integrating solar collectors to provide building heating load and domestic hot water (DHW). Despite the cold winter weather, Canada has a good number of sunny and clear days that can be considered for diurnal solar thermal energy storage. Due to the energy mismatch between building heating load and solar irradiation availability, relatively big storage tanks are usually needed to store solar thermal energy during the daytime and then use it at night. On the other hand, water tanks occupy huge space, especially in big cities, space is relatively expensive. This project investigates the possibility of using a specific building construction material (ICF – Insulated Concrete Form) as diurnal solar thermal energy storage that is integrated with a heat pump and microchannel solar thermal collector (MCST). Not much literature has studied the application of building pre-existing walls as active solar thermal energy storage as a feasible and industrialized solution for the solar thermal mismatch. By using ICF walls that are integrated into the building envelope, instead of big storage tanks, excess solar energy can be stored in the concrete of the ICF wall that consists of EPS insulation layers on both sides to store the thermal energy. In this study, two solar-based systems are designed and simulated inTransient Systems Simulation Program(TRNSYS)to compare ICF wall thermal storage benefits over the system without ICF walls. In this study, the heating load and DHW of a Canadian single-family house located in London, Ontario, are provided by solar-based systems. The proposed system integrates the MCST collector, a water-to-water HP, a preheat tank, the main tank, fan coils (to deliver the building heating load), and ICF walls. During the day, excess solar energy is stored in the ICF walls (charging cycle). Thermal energy can be restored from the ICF walls when the preheat tank temperature drops below the ICF wall (discharging process) to increase the COP of the heat pump. The evaporator of the heat pump is taking is coupled with the preheat tank. The provided warm water by the heat pump is stored in the second tank. Fan coil units are in contact with the tank to provide a building heating load. DHW is also delivered is provided from the main tank. It is investigated that the system with ICF walls with an average solar fraction of 82%- 88% can cover the whole heating demand+DHW of nine months and has a 10-15% higher average solar fraction than the system without ICF walls. Sensitivity analysis for different parameters influencing the solar fraction is discussed in detail.

Keywords: net-zero building, renewable energy, solar thermal storage, microchannel solar thermal collector

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Authors: Gainiya Tazhina

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Higher education systems of many countries have increased diversity and ensured equal rights and opportunities for inclusive students in the last decades. Issues of diversity-equity-inclusion (DEI) in Kazakhstani higher education began to be considered in legislation in 2021-2023. The adoption of the Road Map of the Ministry of Education and Science for universities’ inclusivity indicated strategies for change. The paper traces how this government initiative is being implemented in universities across the country. Content analysis of legislative documents, media publications, surveys of students, staff and interviews with leaders have demonstrated the inconsistency of these strategic decisions. Thus, the Road Map required that by 2023 conditions for promoting and ensuring inclusive education and barrier-free environments should be created in 60% -100% of Kazakhstani universities, including spaces inside academic buildings and dormitories in a short period of time. (March 2023-August 2025). Educational programs and curricula have not been adapted to the needs of students with special education needs (SEN); teachers do not have the skills and methods to work with students with SEN, students from minority groups, and international students. 60% of universities have not created a barrier-free environment on campuses due to the high cost of elevators, tactile tiles and assistive devices. Only 1% of school-disabled graduates enter universities due to the unwillingness of universities to educate people with disabilities. At the same time, universities do not adapt their educational programs and services to the needs of inclusive students; their needs are not identified; they study under the same conditions as regular students. Accordingly, teaching staff does not have the knowledge and skills to teach inclusive students; university lecturers misunderstand or oversimplify the social phenomena of ‘inclusion’ and ‘diversity’. The situation is more acute with the creation of a barrier-free architectural environment on university campuses. Recent reports indicate that these reforms have not been implemented to date, proven controversial in practice due to the inconsistency of national research on inclusion in higher education. Widely announced reforms have not produced the expected results leading to distortions at the local level. Inconsistent policies, contradictory legislative acts without expertise of needs and developing specific implementation criteria, without training specialists and indicators for achieving reforms are doomed to failure and mistrust of society. Based on the results of this research, recommendations have been developed: (1) to overcome inconsistencies in legislation regarding DEI in higher education; (2) to encourage initiatives in universities' inclusive environments; (3) to develop projects that will promote public awareness of DEI.

Keywords: diversity-equity-inclusion, Kazakhstani universities, reforms, legislation, accessibility

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Authors: Frazer G. Thompson

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Israel is a nation of cultural and historical diversity, yet the success factors for a modern Bedouin-Arab high-tech entrepreneur seem to be different from those of other Jewish-Israeli citizens. The purpose of this descriptive narrative case study is to explore how an Arab-Israeli all Negev-Bedouin technology company has succeeded in the Israeli high-tech industry by utilizing technology and engineering career opportunities available to Bedouin youth for ‘Sadel Tech,’ at Be’er-Sheva, the Negev, Israel. Methods: The strategy of inquiry seeks to explore real-life contextual understandings, multi-level perspectives, and the cultural influences of personal, community, educational, and entrepreneurial factors. The research methodology includes in-depth one-on-one interviews, focus group sessions, and overt observation to explore the meaning and understanding of the constructs toward determining the effect all or a few of the elements may have on the overall success factors of the company. Results: Study results indicate that the state-run educational system in Israel fails to adequately integrate important aspects of Bedouin culture into the learning environment. However, Bedouin entrepreneurs are finding ways to compensate for these inadequacies by utilizing non-traditional methods of teaching, learning, and doing business. Government incentives for Bedouin start-ups are also recognized as contributors. Employees of Sadel live and work in the Negev, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank, further informing the study that the traditions of tribal etiquette continue to contribute to modern Bedouin-Arab business culture. Conclusion: Bedouin's business success in Israel is a multi-dimensional concept. While cultural acumen plays a prominent and unique role for both Arab-Israelis and Jewish-Israelis in economic and entrepreneurial pursuits, the marginalization of the Bedouin continues to contribute to the lack of educational and professional opportunities for Bedouin in Israel. Although recognized as important at the government level, programs necessary to implement the infrastructure required to support Bedouin entrepreneurship in Israel remain infantile. The Israeli Government is providing opportunities through grants and other incentives for Bedouin entrepreneurial start-ups, indicating that Israel has recognized the impact of this growing demographic. However, although many Bedouin graduates from University each year with advanced degrees, opportunities for Bedouin within the Israeli high-tech sector remain scarce.

Keywords: Bedouin education, Bedouin entrepreneur, economic anthropology, ethnic business opportunities, Israeli tech, Silicon Wadi

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Authors: Ju-Chun Chien

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Rapid aging and depopulation could lead to serious problems, including workforce shortages and health expenditure costs. The current and predicted future LTC workforce shortages could be a real threat to Taiwan’s society. By means of comparison of data from 144 nursing aide trainees and 727 general public, the main purpose of the present study was to determine whether there were any notable differences between the two groups toward engaging in LTC services. Moreover, this study focused on recognizing the attributes of the general public who had the willingness to take LTC jobs but continue to ride the fence. A self-developed questionnaire was designed based on Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior model. After conducting exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability analysis, the questionnaire was a reliable and valid instrument for both nursing aide trainees and the general public. The main results were as follows: Firstly, nearly 70% of nursing aide trainees showed interest in LTC jobs. Most of them were middle-aged female (M = 46.85, SD = 9.31), had a high school diploma or lower, had unrelated work experience in healthcare, and were mostly unemployed. The most common reason for attending the LTC training program was to gain skills in a particular field. The second most common reason was to obtain the license. The third and fourth reasons were to be interested in caring for people and to increase income. The three major reasons that might push them to leave LTC jobs were physical exhaustion, payment is bad, and being looked down on. Secondly, the variables that best-predicted nursing aide trainees’ intention to engage in LTC services were having personal willingness, perceived behavior control, with high school diploma or lower, and supported from family and friends. Finally, only 11.80% of the general public reported having interest in LTC jobs (the disapproval rating was 50% for the general public). In comparison to nursing aide trainees who showed interest in LTC settings, 64.8% of the new workforce for LTC among the general public was male and had an associate degree, 54.8% had relevant healthcare experience, 67.1% was currently employed, and they were younger (M = 32.19, SD = 13.19) and unmarried (66.3%). Furthermore, the most commonly reason for the new workforce to engage in LTC jobs were to gain skills in a particular field. The second priority was to be interested in caring for people. The third and fourth most reasons were to give back to society and to increase income, respectively. The top five most commonly reasons for the new workforce to quitting LTC jobs were listed as follows: physical exhaustion, being looked down on, excessive working hours, payment is bad, and excessive job stress.

Keywords: long-term care services, nursing aide trainees, Taiwanese people, theory of planned behavior

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Authors: Moshe Wasserblat, Jonathan Mamou, Oren Pereg

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Natural Language Processing (NLP) has made a major leap in the last few years, in practical integration into medical solutions; for example, extracting clinical concepts from medical texts such as medical condition, medication, treatment, and symptoms. However, training and deploying those models in real environments still demands a large amount of annotated data and NLP/Machine Learning (ML) expertise, which makes this process costly and time-consuming. We present a practical and efficient method for clinical concept extraction that does not require costly labeled data nor ML expertise. The method includes three steps: Step 1- the user injects a large in-domain text corpus (e.g., PubMed). Then, the system builds a contextual model containing vector representations of concepts in the corpus, in an unsupervised manner (e.g., Phrase2Vec). Step 2- the user provides a seed set of terms representing a specific medical concept (e.g., for the concept of the symptoms, the user may provide: ‘dry mouth,’ ‘itchy skin,’ and ‘blurred vision’). Then, the system matches the seed set against the contextual model and extracts the most semantically similar terms (e.g., additional symptoms). The result is a complete set of terms related to the medical concept. Step 3 –in production, there is a need to extract medical concepts from the unseen medical text. The system extracts key-phrases from the new text, then matches them against the complete set of terms from step 2, and the most semantically similar will be annotated with the same medical concept category. As an example, the seed symptom concepts would result in the following annotation: “The patient complaints on fatigue [symptom], dry skin [symptom], and Weight loss [symptom], which can be an early sign for Diabetes.” Our evaluations show promising results for extracting concepts from medical corpora. The method allows medical analysts to easily and efficiently build taxonomies (in step 2) representing their domain-specific concepts, and automatically annotate a large number of texts (in step 3) for classification/summarization of medical reports.

Keywords: clinical concepts, concept expansion, medical records annotation, medical records summarization

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Authors: Georgia Saxami, Evangelia N. Kerezoudi, Evdokia K. Mitsou, Marigoula Vlassopoulou, Georgios Zervakis, Adamantini Kyriacou

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Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex group of developmental disorders of the brain, characterized by social and communication dysfunctions, stereotypes and repetitive behaviors. The potential interaction between gut microbiota (GM) and autism has not been fully elucidated. Children with autism often suffer gastrointestinal dysfunctions, while alterations or dysbiosis of GM have also been observed. Treatment with dietary components has been postulated to regulate GM and improve gastrointestinal symptoms, but there is a lack of evidence for such approaches in autism, especially for prebiotics. This study assessed the effects of Pleurotus eryngii mushroom (candidate prebiotic) and inulin (known prebiotic compound) on gut microbial composition, using faecal samples from autistic children in an in vitro batch culture fermentation system. Selected members of GM were enumerated at baseline (0 h) and after 24 h fermentation by quantitative PCR. After 24 h fermentation, inulin and P. eryngii mushroom induced a significant increase in total bacteria and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii compared to the negative control (gut microbiota of each autistic donor with no carbohydrate source), whereas both treatments induced a significant increase in levels of total bacteria, Bifidobacterium spp. and Prevotella spp. compared to baseline (t=0h) (p for all <0.05). Furthermore, this study evaluated the impact of fermentation supernatants (FSs), derived from P. eryngii mushroom or inulin, on the expression levels of tight junctions’ genes (zonulin-1, occludin and claudin-1) in Caco-2 cells stimulated by bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Pre-incubation of Caco-2 cells with FS from P. eryngii mushroom led to a significant increase in the expression levels of zonulin-1, occludin and claudin-1 genes compared to the untreated cells, the cells that were subjected to LPS and the cells that were challenged with FS from negative control (p for all <0.05). In addition, incubation with FS from P. eryngii mushroom led to the highest mean expression values for zonulin-1 and claudin-1 genes, which differed significantly compared to inulin (p for all <0.05). Overall, this research highlighted the beneficial in vitro effects of P. eryngii mushroom on the composition of GM of autistic children after 24 h of fermentation. Also, our data highlighted the potential preventive effect of P. eryngii FSs against dysregulation of the intestinal barrier, through upregulation of tight junctions’ genes associated with the integrity and function of the intestinal barrier. This research has been financed by "Supporting Researchers with Emphasis on Young Researchers - Round B", Operational Program "Human Resource Development, Education and Lifelong Learning."

Keywords: gut microbiota, intestinal barrier, autism spectrum disorders, Pleurotus Eryngii

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Authors: Masahiro Nochi

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This study explores the process in which a Japanese child with congenital blindness deepens understanding of the condition of being “unable to see” and develops the idea of “blind self,” despite having no direct experience of vision. The rehabilitation activities of a child with a congenital visual impairment that were video-recorded from 1 to 6 years old were analyzed qualitatively. The duration of the video was about 80 hours. The recordings were transcribed verbatim, and the episodes in which the child used the words related to the act of “looking” were extracted. Detailed transcripts were constructed referencing the notations of conversation analysis. Characteristics of interactions in those episodes were identified and compared longitudinally. Results showed that the child used the expression "look" under certain interaction patterns and her body expressions and interaction with adults developed in conjunction with the development of language use. Four stages were identified. At the age of 1, interactions involving “look” began to occur. The child said "Look" in the sequence: the child’s “Look,” an adult’s “I’m looking,” certain performances by the child, and the adult’s words of praise. At the age of 3, the child began to behave in accordance with the spatial attributes of the act of "looking," such as turning her face to the adult’s voice before saying, “Look.” She also began to use the expression “Keep looking,” which seemed to reflect her understanding of the temporality of the act of “looking.” At the age of 4, the use of “Look” or “Keep looking” became three times more frequent. She also started to refer to the act of looking in the future, such as “Come and look at my puppy someday.” At the age of 5, she moved her hands toward the adults when she was holding something she wanted to show them. She seemed to understand that people could see the object more clearly when it was in close priximity. About that time, she began to say “I cannot see” to her mother, which suggested a heightened understanding of her own blindness. The findings indicate that as she grew up, the child came to utilize nonverbal behavior before and after the order "Look" to make the progress of the interaction with adults even more certain. As a result, actions that reflect the characteristics of the sighted person's visual experience were incorporated into the interaction chain. The purpose of "Look," with which she intended to attract the adult's attention at first, changed and became something that requests a confirmation she was unable to make herself. It is considered that such a change in the use of the word as well as interaction with sighted adults reflected her heightened self-awareness as someone who could not do what sighted people could do easily. A blind child can gradually deepen their understanding of their own characteristics of blindness among sighted people around them. The child can also develop “blind self” by learning how to interact with others even without direct visual experiences.

Keywords: blindness, child development, conversation analysis, self-concept

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Authors: U. Gunal, H. I. Turgut, H. Gurler, S. Kaya

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There are many ever-increasing and newly emerging problems with rapid population growth in the world. With the increase in people's quality of life in our daily life, acoustic comfort has become an important feature in the textile industry. In order to meet all these expectations in people's comfort areas and survive in challenging competitive conditions in the market without compromising the customer product quality expectations of textile manufacturers, it has become a necessity to bring functionality to the products. It is inevitable to research and develop materials and processes that will bring these functionalities to textile products. The noise we encounter almost everywhere in our daily life, in the street, at home and work, is one of the problems which textile industry is working on. It brings with it many health problems, both mentally and physically. Therefore, noise control studies become more of an issue. Besides, materials used in noise control are not sufficient to reduce the effect of the noise level. The fabrics used in acoustic studies in the textile industry do not show sufficient performance according to their weight and high cost. Thus, acoustic textile products can not be used in daily life. In the thesis study, the attributions used in the noise control and building acoustics studies in the literature were analyzed, and the product with the highest damping value that a textile material will have was designed, manufactured, and tested. Optimum values were obtained by using different material samples that may affect the performance of the acoustic material. Acoustic measurement methods should be applied to verify the acoustic performances shown by the parameters and the designed three-dimensional structure at different values. In the measurements made in the study, the device designed for determining the acoustic performance of the material for both the impedance tube according to the relevant standards and the different noise types in the study was used. In addition, sound records of noise types encountered in daily life are taken and applied to the acoustic absorbent fabric with the aid of the device, and the feasibility of the results and the commercial ability of the product are examined. MATLAB numerical computing programming language and libraries were used in the frequency and sound power analyses made in the study.

Keywords: acoustic, egg crate, fabric, textile

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Renu Pattanshetty

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The aim of this narrative review is to highlight the impact of menopause on osteoporosis and weight gain. The review also aims to summarize physiotherapeutic strategies to combat the same.A thorough literature search was conducted using electronic databases like MEDline, PUBmed, Highwire Press, PUBmed Central for English language studies that included search terms like menopause, osteoporosis, obesity, weight gain, exercises, physical activity, physiotherapy strategies from the year 2000 till date. Out of 157 studies that included metanalyses, critical reviews and randomized clinical trials, a total of 84 were selected that met the inclusion criteria. Prevalence of obesity is increasing world - wide and is reaching epidemic proportions even in the menopausal women. Prevalence of abdominal obesity is almost double than that general obesity with rates in the US with 65.5% in women ages 40-59 years and 73.8 in women aged 60 years or more. Physical activities and exercises play a vital role in prevention and treatment of osteoporosis and weight gain related to menopause that aim to boost the general well-being and any symptoms brought about by natural body changes. Endurance exercises lasting about 30 minutes /day for 5 days/ week has shown to decrease weight and prevent weight gain. In addition, strength training with at least 8 exercises of 8-12 repetitions working for whole body and for large muscle groups has shown to result positive outcomes. Hot flashes can be combatted through yogic breathing and relaxation exercises. Prevention of fall strategies and resistance training are key to treat diagnosed cases of osteoporosis related to menopause. One to three sets with five to eight repetitions of four to six weight bearing exercises have shown positive results. Menopause marks an important time for women to evaluate their risk of obesity and osteoporosis. It is known fact that bone benefit from exercises are lost when training is stopped, hence, practicing bone smart habits and strict adherence to recommended physical activity programs are recommended which are enjoyable, safe and effective.

Keywords: menopause, osteoporosis, obesity, weight gain, exercises, physical activity, physiotherapy strategies

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Authors: R. Kenova, K. Anguelov, R. Nikolova

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The human factor plays a major role in boosting the competitive capacity of logistic enterprises. This is of particular importance when it comes to logistic companies. On the one hand they should be strictly compliant with legislation; on the other hand, they should be competitive in terms of pricing and of delivery timelines. Moreover, their policies should allow them to be as flexible as possible. All these circumstances are reason for very serious challenges for the qualification, motivation and experience of the human resources, working in logistic companies or in logistic departments of trade and industrial enterprises. The geographic place of Bulgaria puts it in position of a country with some specific competitive advantages in the goods transport from Europe to Asia and back. Along with it, there is a number of logistic companies, that operate in this sphere in Bulgaria. In the current paper, the authors aim to establish the condition of the administrative capacity and human resources in the logistic companies and logistic departments of trade and industrial companies in Bulgaria in order to propose some guidelines for improving of their effectiveness. Due to independent empirical research, conducted in Bulgarian logistic, trade and industrial enterprises, the authors investigate both the impact degree and the interdependence of various factors that characterize the administrative capacity. The study is conducted with a prepared questionnaire, in format of direct interview with the respondents. The volume of the poll is 50 respondents, representatives of: general managers of industrial or trade enterprises; logistic managers of industrial or trade enterprises; general managers of forwarding companies – either with own or with hired transport; experts from Bulgarian association of logistics; logistic lobbyist and scientists of the relevant area. The data are gathered for 3 months, then arranged by a specialized software program and analyzed by preset criteria. Based on the results of this methodological toolbox, it can be claimed that there is a correlation between the individual criteria. Also, a commitment between the administrative capacity and other factors that determine the competitiveness of the studied companies is established. In this paper, the authors present results of the empirical research that concerns the number and the workload in the logistic departments of the enterprises. Also, what is commented is the experience, related to logistic processes management and human resources competence. Moreover, the overload level of the logistic specialists is analyzed as one of the main threats for making mistakes and losing clients. The paper stands behind the thesis that there is indispensability of forming an effective and efficient administrative capacity, based on the number, qualification, experience and motivation of the staff in the logistic companies. The paper ends with recommendations about the qualification and experience of the specialists in logistic departments; providing effective and efficient administrative capacity in the logistic departments; interdependence of the human factor and the other factors that influence the enterprise competitiveness.

Keywords: administrative capacity, human resources, logistic competitiveness, staff qualification

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Authors: Sankhanil Das, Arunava Dasgupta, Keya Mitra

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This paper investigates the relationship between natural ecological systems and modern urban morphology. Over years, ecological conditions represented by natural resources such as natural landforms, systems of water, urban geography and land covers have been a significant driving factor of how settlements have formed, expanded and functioned. These have played a pivotal role in formation of the community character and the cultural identity of the urban spaces, and have steered cultural behavior within these settings. Such cultural behaviors have been instrumental in transforming mere spaces to places with meaning and symbolism. The natural process of city formation is principally founded upon the idea of balance and harmony, mostly in a subconscious manner. Reimaging such processes of natural evolution, this paper systematically builds a development model that generates a balance between environment and development, with specific focus on the Urban-Rural fringe areas in the Temple Town of Puri, in Eastern India. Puri represents a unique cross section of ecological landscape, cultural practices and religious symbolism with a very rich history and a vibrant heritage. While the city centre gets more and more crowded by tourists and pilgrims to accommodate related businesses, the original residents of Puri relocate to move towards the urban peripheral areas for better living conditions, gradually converting agricultural lands into non agricultural uses. This rapid spread into the rural hinterland is devoid of any connection with the rich cultural identity of Puri. These past four decades of ‘development’ has been at the cost of 810 Hectares of ecological Lake systems in the region. Invaluable ecological resources at urban rural edges are often viewed as hindrances to development and conceptualized as taking away from the image of the city. This paper attempts to understand the language of development over years on existing natural resources through topo-analysis and proposes a sustainable approach of development using different planning tools, with ecological resources as the pivotal factor of development.

Keywords: livability, sustainable development, urbanization, urban-rural edge

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Authors: Birsel Canan Demirbag, Kıymet Yesilcicek Calik, Hacer Kobya Bulut

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Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the problems of women over 65 with incontinence diagnosis. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with women over 65 with incontinence diagnosis in four Family Health Centers in a city in Eastern Black Sea region between November 1, and December 20, 2015. 203, 107, 178, 180 women over 65 were registered in these centers and 262 had incontinence diagnosis at least once and had an ongoing complaint. 177 women were volunteers for the study. During home visits and using face-to-face survey methodology, participants were given socio-demographic characteristics survey, Sandvik severity scale, Incontinence Quality of Life Scale, Urogenital Distress Inventory and a questionnaire including challenges experienced due to incontinence developed by the researcher. Data were analyzed with SPSS program using percentages, numbers, Chi-square, Man-Whitney U and t test with 95% confidence interval and a significance level p <0.05. Findings: 67 ± 1.4 was the mean age, 2.05 ± 0.04 was parity, 44.5 ± 2.12 was menopause age, 66.3% were primary school graduates, 45.7% had deceased spouse, 44.4% lived in a large family, 67.2% had their own room, 77.8% had income, 89.2% could meet self- care, 73.2% had a diagnosis of mixed incontinence, 87.5% suffered for 6-20 years % 78.2 had diuretics, antidepressants and heart medicines, 20.5% had urinary fecal cases, 80.5% had bladder training at least once, 90.1% didn’t have bladder diary calendar/control training programs, 31.1% had hysterectomy for prolapse, 97.1'i% was treated with lower urinary tract infection at least once, 66.3% saw a doctor to get drug in the last three months, 76.2 could not go out alone, 99.2 % had at least one chronic disease, 87.6 % had constipation complain, 2.9% had chronic cough., 45.1% fell due to a sudden rise for toilet. Incontinence Impact Questionnaire Average score was (QOL) 54.3 ± 21.1, Sandvik score was 12.1 ± 2.5, Urogenital Distress Inventory was 47.7 ± 9.2. Difficulties experienced due to incontinence were 99.5% feeling of unhappiness, 67.1% constant feeling of urine smell due to failing to change briefs frequently, % 87.2 move away from social life, 89.7 unable to use pad, 99.2% feeling of disturbing households / other individuals, 87.5% feel dizziness/fall due to sudden rise, 87.4% feeling of others’ imperceptions about the situation, % 94.3 insomnia, 78.2 lack of assistance, 84.7% couldn’t afford urine protection briefs. Results: With this study, it was found out that there were a lot of unsolved issues at individual and community level affecting the life quality of women with incontinence. In accordance with this common problem in women, to facilitate daily life it is obvious that regular home care training programs at institutional level in our country will be effective.

Keywords: health problems, incontinence, incontinence quality of life questionnaire, old age, urinary urogenital distress inventory, Sandviken severity, women

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Authors: Lynne McCormack, Andrew Digges

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Since 2013, the Australian government has enforced mandatory detention of anyone arriving in Australia without a valid visa, including those subsequently identified as a refugee or seeking asylum. While consistent with the increased use of immigration detention internationally, Australia’s use of offshore processing facilities both during and subsequent to refugee status determination processing has until recently remained a unique feature of Australia’s program of deterrence. The commonplace detention of refugees and asylum seekers following displacement is a significant and independent source of trauma and a contributory factor in adverse psychological outcomes. Officially, these individuals have no prospect of resettlement in Australia, are barred from applying for substantive visas, and are frequently and indefinitely detained in closed facilities such as immigration detention centres, or alternative places of detention, including hotels. It is also important to note that the limited access to Australia’s immigration detention population made available to researchers often means that data available for secondary analysis may be incomplete or delayed in its release. Further, studies into the lived experience of refugees and asylum seekers are typically cross-sectional and convenience sampled, employing a variety of designs and research methodologies that limit comparability and focused on the immediacy of the individual’s experience. Consequently, how former detainees make sense of their experience, redefine their future trajectory upon release, and recover a sense of authenticity and purpose, is unknown. As such, the present study sought the positive and negative subjective interpretations of 6 participants in Australia regarding their lived experiences as refugees and asylum seekers within Australia’s immigration detention system and its impact on their future sense of self. It made use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA), a qualitative research methodology that is interested in how individuals make sense of, and ascribe meaning to, their unique lived experiences of phenomena. Underpinned by phenomenology, hermeneutics, and critical realism, this idiographic study aimed to explore both positive and negative subjective interpretations of former refugees and asylum seekers held in detention in Australia. It sought to understand how they make sense of their experiences, how detention has impacted their overall journey as displaced persons, and how they have moved forward in the aftermath of protracted detention in Australia. Examining the unique lived experiences of previously detained refugees and asylum seekers may inform the future development of theoretical models of posttraumatic growth among this vulnerable population, thereby informing the delivery of future mental health and resettlement services.

Keywords: mandatory detention, refugee, asylum seeker, authenticity, Interpretative phenomenological analysis

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Authors: Boriana Karamanova, Svetlana Veleva, Luybomir Soserov, Ana Arenillas, Francesco Lufrano, Antonia Stoyanova

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Supercapacitors have received a lot of research attention and are promising energy storage devices due to their high power and long cycle life. In order to developed an advanced device with significant capacity for storing charge and cheap carbon materials, efforts must focus not only on improving synthesis by controlling the morphology and pore size but also on improving electrode-electrolyte compatibility of the resulting systems. The present study examines the relationship between the surface chemistry of two activated carbon xerogels, the electrolyte type, and the electrochemical properties of supercapacitors. Activated carbon xerogels were prepared by varying the initial pH of the resorcinol-formaldehyde aqueous solution. The materials produced are physicochemical characterized by DTA/TGA, porous characterization, and SEM analysis. The carbon xerogel based electrodes were prepared by spreading over glass plate a slurry containing the carbon gel, graphite, and poly vinylidene difluoride (PVDF) binder. The layer formed was dried consecutively at different temperatures and then detached by water. After, the layer was dried again to improve its mechanical stability. The developed electrode materials and the Aquivion® E87-05S membrane (Solvay Specialty Polymers), socked in Na2SO4 as a polymer electrolyte, were used to assembly the solid-state supercapacitor. Symmetric supercapacitor cells composed by same electrodes and 1 M KOH electrolytes are also assembled and tested for comparison. The supercapacitor performances are verified by different electrochemical methods - cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and long-term durability tests in neutral and alkaline electrolytes. Specific capacitances, energy, and power density, energy efficiencies, and durability were compared into studied supercapacitors. Ex-situ physicochemical analyses on the synthesized materials have also been performed, which provide information about chemical and structural changes in the electrode morphology during charge / discharge durability tests. They are discussed on the basis of electrode-electrolyte interaction. The obtained correlations could be of significance in order to design sustainable solid-state supercapacitors with high power and energy density. Acknowledgement: This research is funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of Bulgaria under the National Program "European Scientific Networks" (Agreement D01-286 / 07.10.2020, D01-78/30.03.2021). Authors gratefully acknowledge.

Keywords: carbon xerogel, electrochemical tests, neutral and alkaline electrolytes, supercapacitors

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Authors: C. Miranda, S. Cunha, R. Soares, M. Maia, G. Igrejas, F. Silva, P. Poeta

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The worldwide inappropriate use of antibiotics has increased the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms isolated from animals, humans, food, and the environment. To combat this complex and multifaceted problem is essential to know the prevalence in livestock animals and possible ways of transmission among animals and between these and humans. Enterococci species, in particular E. faecalis and E. faecium, are the most common nosocomial bacteria, causing infections in animals and humans. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize resistance and virulence factors genes among two enterococci species isolated from calf colostrums in Portuguese dairy farms. The 55 enterococci isolates (44 E. faecalis and 11 E. faecium) were tested for the presence of the resistance genes for the following antibiotics: erythromicyn (ermA, ermB, and ermC), tetracycline (tetL, tetM, tetK, and tetO), quinupristin/dalfopristin (vatD and vatE) and vancomycin (vanB). Of which, 25 isolates (15 E. faecalis and 10 E. faecium) were tested until now for 8 virulence factors genes (esp, ace, gelE, agg, cpd, cylA, cylB, and cylLL). The resistance and virulence genes were performed by PCR, using specific primers and conditions. Negative and positive controls were used in all PCR assays. All enterococci isolates showed resistance to erythromicyn and tetracycline through the presence of the genes: ermB (n=29, 53%), ermC (n=10, 18%), tetL (n=49, 89%), tetM (n=39, 71%) and tetK (n=33, 60%). Only two (4%) E. faecalis isolates showed the presence of tetO gene. No resistance genes for vancomycin were found. The virulence genes detected in both species were cpd (n=17, 68%), agg (n=16, 64%), ace (n=15, 60%), esp (n=13, 52%), gelE (n=13, 52%) and cylLL (n=8, 32%). In general, each isolate showed at least three virulence genes. In three E. faecalis isolates was not found virulence genes and only E. faecalis isolates showed virulence genes for cylA (n=4, 16%) and cylB (n=6, 24%). In conclusion, these colostrum samples that were consumed by calves demonstrated the presence of antibiotic-resistant enterococci harbored virulence genes. This genotypic characterization is crucial to control the antibiotic-resistant bacteria through the implementation of restricts measures safeguarding public health. Acknowledgements: This work was funded by the R&D Project CAREBIO2 (Comparative assessment of antimicrobial resistance in environmental biofilms through proteomics - towards innovative theragnostic biomarkers), with reference NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-030101 and PTDC/SAU-INF/30101/2017, financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Northern Regional Operational Program (NORTE 2020) and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). This work was supported by the Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry - LAQV which is financed by national funds from FCT/MCTES (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020).

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, calf, colostrums, enterococci

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Authors: Jacques Lamarche, Juhani Dickinson

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This paper introduces a computational model of a Grammar as Logic of Labeling (GLL), where the lexical primitives of morphosyntax are phonological matrixes, the form of words, understood as labels that apply to realities (or targets) assumed to be outside of grammar altogether. The hypothesis is that even though a lexical label relates to its target arbitrarily, this label in a complex (constituent) label is part of a labeling pattern which, depending on its value (i.e., N, V, Adj, etc.), imposes language-specific restrictions on what it targets outside of grammar (in the world/semantics or in cognitive knowledge). Lexical forms categorized as nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc., are effectively targets of labeling patterns in use. The paper illustrates GLL through a computer model of basic patterns in English NPs. A constituent label is a binary object that encodes: i) alignment of input forms so that labels occurring at different points in time are understood as applying at once; ii) endocentric structuring - every grammatical constituent has a head label that determines the target of the constituent, and a limiter label (the non-head) that restricts this target. The N or A values are restricted to limiter label, the two differing in terms of alignment with a head. Consider the head initial DP ‘the dog’: the label ‘dog’ gets an N value because it is a limiter that is evenly aligned with the head ‘the’, restricting application of the DP. Adapting a traditional analysis of ‘the’ to GLL – apply label to something familiar – the DP targets and identifies one reality familiar to participants by applying to it the label ‘dog’ (singular). Consider next the DP ‘the large dog’: ‘large dog’ is nominal by even alignment with ‘the’, as before, and since ‘dog’ is the head of (head final) ‘large dog’, it is also nominal. The label ‘large’, however, is adjectival by narrow alignment with the head ‘dog’: it doesn’t target the head but targets a property of what dog applies to (a property or value of attribute). In other words, the internal composition of constituents determines that a form targets a property or a reality: ‘large’ and ‘dog’ happen to be valid targets to realize this constituent. In the presentation, the computer model of the analysis derives the 8 possible sequences of grammatical values with three labels after the determiner (the x y z): 1- D [ N [ N N ]]; 2- D [ A [ N N ] ]; 3- D [ N [ A N ] ]; 4- D [ A [ A N ] ]; 5- D [ [ N N ] N ]; 5- D [ [ A N ] N ]; 6- D [ [ N A ] N ] 7- [ [ N A ] N ] 8- D [ [ Adv A ] N ]. This approach that suggests that a computer model of these grammatical patterns could be used to construct ontologies/knowledge using speakers’ judgments about the validity of lexical meaning in grammatical patterns.

Keywords: syntactic theory, computational linguistics, logic and grammar, semantics, knowledge and grammar

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Authors: Phoenix W. Y. Lam

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As one of the most important service-oriented industries in contemporary society, tourism has increasingly seen the influence of the Internet on all aspects of travelling. Travellers nowadays habitually research online before making travel-related decisions. One platform on which such research is conducted is destination forums. The emergence of such online destination forums in the last decade has allowed tourists to share their travel experiences quickly and easily with a large number of online users around the world. As such, these destination forums also provide invaluable data for tourism bodies to better understand travellers’ views on their destinations. Collecting posts from the Hong Kong travel forum on the world’s largest travel website TripAdvisor®, the present study identifies the top questions asked by TripAdvisor users about Hong Kong through a corpus-based discourse analytic approach. Based on questions posted on the forum and their associated meta-data gathered in a one-year period, the study examines the top questions asked by travellers around the world to identify the key geographical locations in which users have shown the greatest interest in the city. Questions raised by travellers from different geographical locations are also compared to see if traveller communities by location vary in terms of their areas of interest. This analysis involves the study of key words and concordance of frequently-occurring items and a close reading of representative examples in context. Findings from the present study show that travellers who asked the most questions about Hong Kong are from North America and Asia, and that travellers from different locations have different concerns and interests, which are clearly reflected in the language of the questions asked on the travel forum. These findings can therefore provide tourism organisations with useful information about the key markets that should be targeted for promotional purposes, and can also allow such organisations to design advertising campaigns which better address the specific needs of such markets. The present study thus demonstrates the value of applying linguistic knowledge and methodologies to the domain of tourism to address practical issues.

Keywords: corpus, hong kong, online travel forum, tourism, TripAdvisor

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Authors: M. Benjamin Stacey

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Energy efficiency has been increasingly recognized as a high value resource through state policies that require utility companies to implement efficiency programs. While policymakers have recognized the statewide economic, environmental, and health related value to residents who rely on this grid supplied resource, varying interests in energy efficiency between socioeconomic groups stands undifferentiated in most state legislation. Instead, the benefits are oftentimes assumed to be distributed equitably across these groups. Despite this fact, these policies are frequently sited by advocacy groups, regulatory bodies and utility companies for their ability to address the negative financial, health and other social impacts of energy poverty in low income communities. Yet, while most states like Michigan require programs that target low income consumers, oftentimes no requirements exist for the equitable investment and energy savings for low income consumers, nor does it stipulate minimal spending levels on low income programs. To further understand the impact of the absence of these factors in legislation, this study examines the distribution of program funds and energy efficiency savings to answer a fundamental energy justice concern; Are there disparities in the investment and benefits of energy efficiency programs between socioeconomic groups? This study compiles data covering the history of Michigan’s Energy Efficiency policy implementation from 2010-2016, analyzing the energy efficiency portfolios of Michigan’s two main energy providers. To make accurate comparisons between these two energy providers' investments and energy savings in low and non-low income programs, the socioeconomic variation for each utility coverage area was captured and accounted for using GIS and US Census data. Interestingly, this study found that both providers invested more equitably in natural gas efficiency programs, however, together these providers invested roughly three times less per household in low income electricity efficiency programs, which resulted in ten times less electricity savings per household. This study also compares variation in commission approved utility plans and actual spending and savings results, with varying patterns pointing to differing portfolio management strategies between companies. This study reveals that for the history of the implementation of Michigan’s Energy Efficiency Policy, that the 35% of Michigan’s population who qualify as low income have received substantially disproportionate funding and energy savings because of the policy. This study provides an overview of results from a social perspective, raises concerns about the impact on energy poverty and equity between consumer groups and is an applicable tool for law makers, regulatory agencies, utility portfolio managers, and advocacy groups concerned with addressing issues related to energy poverty.

Keywords: energy efficiency, energy justice, low income, state policy

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Authors: Ashleigh Beales, Anne Whitworth, Jade Cartwright

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Background: While significant benefits of lexical retrieval intervention are evident within the Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) literature, an understanding of the mechanisms that underlie change or improvement is limited. Change mechanisms have been explored in the non-progressive post-stroke literature that may offer insight into how interventions affect change with progressive language disorders. The potential influences of cognitive factors may also play a role here, interacting with the aims of intervention. Exploring how such processes have been applied is likely to grow our understanding of how interventions have, or have not, been effective, and how and why generalisation is likely, or not, to occur. Aims: This review of the literature aimed to (1) investigate the proposed mechanisms of change which underpin lexical interventions, mapping the PPA and AD lexical retrieval literature to theoretical accounts of mechanisms that underlie change within the broader intervention literature, (2) identify whether and which nonlinguistic cognitive functions have been engaged in intervention with these populations and any proposed influence, and (3) explore evidence of linguistic generalisation, with particular reference to change mechanisms employed in interventions. Main contribution: A search of Medline, PsycINFO, and CINAHL identified 36 articles that reported data for individuals with PPA or AD following lexical retrieval intervention. A review of the mechanisms of change identified 10 studies that used stimulation, 21 studies utilised relearning, three studies drew on reorganisation, and two studies used cognitive-relay. Significant treatment gains, predominantly based on linguistic performance measures, were reported for all client groups for each of the proposed mechanisms. Reorganisation and cognitive-relay change mechanisms were only targeted in PPA. Eighteen studies incorporated nonlinguistic cognitive functions in intervention; these were limited to autobiographical memory (16 studies), episodic memory (three studies), or both (one study). Linguistic generalisation outcomes were inconsistently reported in PPA and AD studies. Conclusion: This review highlights that individuals with PPA and AD may benefit from lexical retrieval intervention, irrespective of the mechanism of change. Thorough application of a theory of intervention is required to gain a greater understanding of the change mechanisms, as well as the interplay of nonlinguistic cognitive functions.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, lexical retrieval, mechanisms of change, primary progressive aphasia

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Authors: Soumya Dutta

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This research paper aims at investigating the impact of emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence on radio presenter’s performance in the All India Radio, Kolkata (India’s public service broadcaster). The ancient concept of productivity is the ratio of what is produced to what is required to produce it. But, father of modern management Peter F. Drucker (1909-2005) defined productivity of knowledge work and knowledge workers in a new form. In the other hand, the concept of Emotional Intelligence (EI) originated back in 1920’s when Thorndike (1920) for the first time proposed the emotional intelligence into three dimensions, i.e., abstract intelligence, mechanical intelligence, and social intelligence. The contribution of Salovey and Mayer (1990) is substantive, as they proposed a model for emotional intelligence by defining EI as part of the social intelligence, which takes measures the ability of an individual to regulate his/her personal and other’s emotions and feeling. Cognitive intelligence illustrates the specialization of general intelligence in the domain of cognition in ways that possess experience and learning about cognitive processes such as memory. The outcomes of past research on emotional intelligence show that emotional intelligence has a positive effect on social- mental factors of human resource; positive effects of emotional intelligence on leaders and followers in terms of performance, results, work, satisfaction; emotional intelligence has a positive and significant relationship with the teachers' job performance. In this paper, we made a conceptual framework based on theories of emotional intelligence proposed by Salovey and Mayer (1989-1990) and a compensatory model of emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and job performance proposed by Stephen Cote and Christopher T. H. Miners (2006). For investigating the impact of emotional intelligence and cognitive intelligence on radio presenter’s performance, sample size consists 59 radio presenters (considering gender, academic qualification, instructional mood, age group, etc.) from All India Radio, Kolkata station. Questionnaires prepared based on cognitive (henceforth called C based and represented by C1, C2,.., C5) as well as emotional intelligence (henceforth called E based and represented by E1, E2,., E20). These were sent to around 59 respondents (Presenters) for getting their responses. Performance score was collected from the report of program executive of All India Radio, Kolkata. The linear regression has been carried out using all the E-based and C-based variables as the predictor variables. The possible problem of autocorrelation has been tested by having the Durbinson-Watson (DW) Statistic. Values of this statistic, almost within the range of 1.80-2.20, indicate the absence of any significant problem of autocorrelation. The possible problem of multicollinearity has been tested by having the Variable Inflation Factor (VIF) value. Values of this statistic, around within 2, indicates the absence of any significant problem of multicollinearity. It is inferred that the performance scores can be statistically regressed linearly on the E-based and C-based scores, which can explain 74.50% of the variations in the performance.

Keywords: cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence, performance, productivity

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Authors: Keenoo Bibi Sumera, Alsheikh Mona, Mubarak Jan Beebee Zeba Mahetaab

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Background: Due to the busy schedule of the practicing clinicians at the hospitals, students may not always be attended to, which is to their detriment. The clinicians at the hospitals are also not always acquainted with teaching and/or supervising students on their placements. Additionally, there is a high student-patient ratio. Since they are the prospective clinical doctors under training, they need to reach the competence levels in clinical decision-making skills to be able to serve the healthcare system of the country and to be safe doctors. Aims and Objectives: A reflective portfolio was used to provide a means for students to learn by reflecting on their experiences and obtaining continuous feedback. This practice is an attempt to compensate for the scarcity of lack of resources, that is, clinical placement supervisors and patients. It is also anticipated that it will provide learners with a continuous monitoring and learning gap analysis tool for their clinical skills. Methodology: A hardcopy reflective portfolio was designed and validated. The portfolio incorporated a mini clinical evaluation exercise (mini-CEX), direct observation of procedural skills and reflection sections. Workshops were organized for the stakeholders, that is the management, faculty and students, separately. The rationale of reflection was emphasized. Students were given samples of reflective writing. The portfolio was then implemented amongst the undergraduate medical students of years four, five and six during clinical clerkship. After 16 weeks of implementation of the portfolio, a survey questionnaire was introduced to explore how undergraduate students perceive the educational value of the reflective portfolio and its impact on their deep information processing. Results: The majority of the respondents are in MD Year 5. Out of 52 respondents, 57.7% were doing the internal medicine clinical placement rotation, and 42.3% were in Otorhinolaryngology clinical placement rotation. The respondents believe that the implementation of a reflective portfolio helped them identify their weaknesses, gain professional development in terms of helping them to identify areas where the knowledge is good, increase the learning value if it is used as a formative assessment, try to relate to different courses and in improving their professional skills. However, it is not necessary that the portfolio will improve the self-esteem of respondents or help in developing their critical thinking, The portfolio takes time to complete, and the supervisors are not useful. They had to chase supervisors for feedback. 53.8% of the respondents followed the Gibbs reflective model to write the reflection, whilst the others did not follow any guidelines to write the reflection 48.1% said that the feedback was helpful, 17.3% preferred the use of written feedback, whilst 11.5% preferred oral feedback. Most of them suggested more frequent feedback. 59.6% of respondents found the current portfolio user-friendly, and 28.8% thought it was too bulky. 27.5% have mentioned that for a mobile application. Conclusion: The reflective portfolio, through the reflection of their work and regular feedback from supervisors, has an overall positive impact on the learning process of undergraduate medical students during their clinical clerkship.

Keywords: Portfolio, Reflection, Feedback, Clinical Placement, Undergraduate Medical Education

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Authors: Jin-Hee Ahn, Seok-Hyeon Jeon, Young-Bin Lee, Min-Gyun Ha, Yu-Chan Hong

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Corrosion durability of steel bridges can be generally affected by atmospheric environments of bridge installation, since corrosion problem is related to environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, airborne salt, chemical components as SO₂, chlorides, etc. Thus, atmospheric environment condition should be measured to estimate corrosion condition of steel bridges as well as measurement of actual corrosion damage of structural members of steel bridge. Even in the same atmospheric environment, the corrosion environment may be different depending on the installation direction of structural members. In this study, therefore, atmospheric corrosion monitoring was conducted using atmospheric corrosion monitoring sensor, hygrometer, thermometer and airborne salt collection device to examine the corrosion durability of steel bridges. As a target steel bridge for corrosion durability monitoring, a cable-stayed bridge with truss steel members was selected. This cable-stayed bridge was located on the coast to connect the islands with the islands. Especially, atmospheric corrosion monitoring was carried out depending on structural direction of a cable-stayed bridge with truss type girders since it consists of structural members with various directions. For atmospheric corrosion monitoring, daily average electricity (corrosion current) was measured at each monitoring members to evaluate corrosion environments and corrosion level depending on structural members with various direction which have different corrosion environment in the same installed area. To compare corrosion durability connected with monitoring data depending on corrosion monitoring members, monitoring steel plate was additionally installed in same monitoring members. Monitoring steel plates of carbon steel was fabricated with dimension of 60mm width and 3mm thickness. And its surface was cleaned for removing rust on the surface by blasting, and its weight was measured before its installation on each structural members. After a 3 month exposure period on real atmospheric corrosion environment at bridge, surface condition of atmospheric corrosion monitoring sensors and monitoring steel plates were observed for corrosion damage. When severe deterioration of atmospheric corrosion monitoring sensors or corrosion damage of monitoring steel plates were found, they were replaced or collected. From 3month exposure tests in the actual steel bridge with various structural member with various direction, the rust on the surface of monitoring steel plate was found, and the difference in the corrosion rate was found depending on the direction of structural member from their visual inspection. And daily average electricity (corrosion current) was changed depending on the direction of structural member. However, it is difficult to identify the relative differences in corrosion durability of steel structural members using short-term monitoring results. After long exposure tests in this corrosion environments, it can be clearly evaluated the difference in corrosion durability depending on installed conditions of steel bridges. Acknowledgements: This research was supported by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2017R1D1A1B03028755).

Keywords: corrosion, atmospheric environments, steel bridge, monitoring

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Authors: Rai Sachindra Prasad

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Thought is physical force. This has been well recognized but hardly translated visually or otherwise in the sense of its transfer from one individual to another. In the present world of chaos and disorder with yawning gaps between right and wrong thinking individuals, if it is possible to transfer the right thoughts to replace the wrong ones it would indeed be a great achievement in the present situation of the world which is torn with violence with dangerous thoughts of individuals. Moreover, such a possibility would completely remove the barrier of language between two persons, which at times proves to be a great obstacle in realizing a desired purpose. If a proper instrumentation scheme containing appropriate transducers and electronics is designed and implemented to realize this thought ransfer phenomenon, this would prove to be extremely useful when properly used. Considering the advancements already made in recording the nerve impulses in the brain, which are electrical events of very short durations that move along the axon, it is conceivable that this may be used to good effect in implementing the scheme. In such a proposition one shoud consider the roles played by pineal body, pituitary gland and ‘association’ areas. Pioneer students of brain have thought that associations or connections between sensory input and motor output were made in these areas. It is currently believed that rather than being regions of simple sensory-motor connections, the association areas process and integrate sensory information relayed to them from the primary sensory areas of the cortex and from the thalamus, after the information has been processed, it may be sent to motor areas to be acted upon. Again, even though the role played by pineal body is not known fully to neurologists its interconnection with pituitary gland is a matter of great significance to the ‘Rishis’ and; Seers’ s described in Vedas and Puranas- the ancient Holy books of Hindus. If the pineal body is activated through meditation it would control the pituitary gland thereby the individual’s thoughts and acts. Thus, if thoughts can be picked up by special transducers, these can be connected to suitable electronics circuitry to amplify the signals. These signals in the form of electromagnetic waves can then be transmitted using modems for long distance transmission and eventually received by or passed on to a subject of interest through another set of electronics circuit and devices.

Keywords: modems, pituitary gland, pineal body, thought transfer

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Authors: Alireza Barari, Ahmad Abdi

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Regular body trainings cause adaption in various system in body. One of the important effect of body training is its effect on immune system. It seems that cytokines usually release after long period exercises or some exercises which cause skeletal muscular damages. If some of the cytokines which cause responses such as inflammation of cells in skeletal muscles, with manipulating of training program, it can be avoided or limited from those exercises which induct cytokines release. Ginger plant is a kind of medicinal plants which is known as a anti inflammation plant. This plant is as most precedence medicinal plants in medicine science especially in inflammation cure. The aim of the present study was the effect of selected resistance training and consumption of ginger extract on IL-1α and TNFα untrained young women. The population includes young women interested in participating in the study with the average of 30±2 years old from Abbas Abad city among which 32 participants were chosen randomly and divided into 4 four groups, resistance training (R), resistance training and ginger consumption(RG), Ginger consumption(G)and Control group(C). The training groups performed circuit resistance training at the intensity of 65-75% one repeat maximum, 3 days a week for 6 weeks. Besides resistance training, subjects were given either ginseng (5 mg/kg per day) or placebo. Prior to and 48 hours after interventions body composition was measured and blood samples were taken in order to assess serum levels of IL-1α and TNFα. Plasma levels of cytokines were measured with commercially available ELISA Kits.IL-1α kit and TNFα kit were used in this research. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the independent variable and the comparison between groups, t-test and ANOVA were used. To determine differences between the groups, the Scheffe test was used that showed significant changes in any of the variables. we observed that circuit resistance training in R and RG groups can significant decreased in weight and body mass index in untrained females (p<0.05). The results showed a significant decreased in the mean level of IL-1α levels before and after the training period in G group (p=0.046) and RG group (p=0.022). Comparison between groups also showed there was significant difference between groups R-RG and RG-C. Intergroup comparison results showed that the mean levels of TNFα before and after the training in group G (p=0.044) and RG (p=0.037), significantly decreased. Comparison between groups also showed there was significant difference between groups R–RG , R-G ,RG-C and G-C. The research shows that circuit resistance training with reducing overload method results in systemic inflammation had significant effect on IL-1α levels and TNFα. Of course, Ginger can counteract the negative effects of resistance training exercise on immune function and stability of the mast cell membrane. Considerable evidence supported the anti-inflammatory properties of ginger for several constituents, especially gingerols, shogaols, paradols, and zingerones, through decreased cytokine gene TNF α and IL-1Α expression and inhibition of cyclooxygenase 1 and 2. These established biological actions suggest that ingested ginger could block the increase in IL-1α.

Keywords: resistance training, ginger, IL-1α , TNFα

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Authors: Fatemah Al-Baroud, Sudharani Shreenivas Kshatriya

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Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) is one of the companies for gas & oil production in Kuwait. The oil and gas industry is truly global; with operations conducted in every corner of the globe, the global community will rely heavily on oil and gas supplies. KOC has made many commitments to protect all due to KOC’s operations and operational releases. As per KOC’s strategy, the substantial increase in production activities will bring many challenges in managing various environmental hazards and stresses in the company. In order to handle those environmental challenges, the need of implementing effectively the health, safety, and environmental management system (HSEMS) is significant. And by implementing the HSEMS system properly, the environmental aspects of the activities, products, and services were identified, evaluated, and controlled in order to (i) Comply with local regulatory and other obligatory requirements; (ii) Comply with company policy and business requirements; and (iii) Reduce adverse environmental impact, including adverse impact to company reputation. Assessments for the Jurassic Production Facilities are being carried out as a part of the KOC HSEMS procedural requirement and monitoring the implementation of the relevant HSEMS procedures in the facilities. The assessments have been done by conducting series of theme audits using KOC’s audit protocol at JPFs. The objectives of the audits are to evaluate the compliance of the facilities towards the implementation of environmental procedures and the status of the KEPA requirement at all JPFs. The list of the facilities that were covered during the theme audit program are the following: (1) Jurassic Production Facility (JPF) – Sabriya (2) Jurassic Production Facility (JPF) – East Raudhatian (3) Jurassic Production Facility (JPF) – West Raudhatian (4)Early Production Facility (EPF 50). The auditing process comprehensively focuses on the application of KOC HSE MS procedures at JPFs and their ability to reduce the resultant negative impacts on the environment from the operations. Number of findings and observations were noted and highlighted in the audit reports and sent to all concerned controlling teams. The results of these audits indicated that the facilities, in general view, were in line with KOC HSE Procedures, and there were commitments in documenting all the HSE issues in the right records and plans. Further, implemented several control measures at JPFs that minimized/reduced the environmental impact, such as SRU were installed for sulphur recovery. Future scope and monitoring audit after a sufficient period of time will be carried out in conjunction with the controlling teams in order to verify the current status of the recommendations and evaluate the contractors' performance towards the required actions in preserving the environment.

Keywords: assessment of the environmental compliance, environmental and social impact assessment, kuwait environment public authority regulations, health, safety and environment management procedures, jurassic production facilities

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Authors: Fernando Cabo Aseguinolaza, Víctor Bouzas Blanco, Alberto Martí Ezpeleta

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Santiago de Compostela became a stable object of literary representation during the period between 1840 and 1915, approximately. This study offers a partial cartographical look at this process, suggesting that a cultural space like Compostela’s becoming an object of literary representation paralleled the first stages of its becoming a tourist destination. We use maps as a method of analysis to show the interaction between a corpus of novels and the emerging tradition of tourist guides on Compostela during the selected period. Often, the novels constitute ways to present a city to the outside, marking it for the gaze of others, as guidebooks do. That leads us to examine the ways of constructing and rendering communicable the local in other contexts. For that matter, we should also acknowledge the fact that a good number of the narratives in the corpus evoke the representation of the city through the figure of one who comes from elsewhere: a traveler, a student or a professor. The guidebooks coincide in this with the emerging fiction, of which the mimesis of a city is a key characteristic. The local cannot define itself except through a process of symbolic negotiation, in which recognition and self-recognition play important roles. Cartography shows some of the forms that these processes of symbolic representation take through the treatment of space. The research uses GIS to find significant models of representation. We used the program ArcGIS for the mapping, defining the databases starting from an adapted version of the methodology applied by Barbara Piatti and Lorenz Hurni’s team at the University of Zurich. First, we designed maps that emphasize the peripheral position of Compostela from a historical and institutional perspective using elements found in the texts of our corpus (novels and tourist guides). Second, other maps delve into the parallels between recurring techniques in the fictional texts and characteristic devices of the guidebooks (sketching itineraries and the selection of zones and indexicalization), like a foreigner’s visit guided by someone who knows the city or the description of one’s first entrance into the city’s premises. Last, we offer a cartography that demonstrates the connection between the best known of the novels in our corpus (Alejandro Pérez Lugín’s 1915 novel La casa de la Troya) and the first attempt to create package tourist tours with Galicia as a destination, in a joint venture of Galician and British business owners, in the years immediately preceding the Great War. Literary cartography becomes a crucial instrument for digging deeply into the methods of cultural production of places. Through maps, the interaction between discursive forms seemingly so far removed from each other as novels and tourist guides becomes obvious and suggests the need to go deeper into a complex process through which a city like Compostela becomes visible on the contemporary cultural horizon.

Keywords: compostela, literary geography, literary cartography, tourism

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Authors: Mandeep Saini

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The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming various fields, including intellectual property law. This paper explores the emerging role of AI in interpreting patent claims, a critical and highly specialized area within intellectual property rights. Patent claims define the scope of legal protection granted to an invention, and their precise interpretation is crucial in determining the boundaries of the patent holder's rights. Traditionally, this interpretation has relied heavily on the expertise of patent examiners, legal professionals, and judges. However, the increasing complexity of modern inventions, especially in fields like biotechnology, software, and electronics, poses significant challenges to human interpretation. Introducing AI into patent claim interpretation raises several legal and ethical concerns. This paper addresses critical issues such as the reliability of AI-driven interpretations, the potential for algorithmic bias, and the lack of transparency in AI decision-making processes. It considers the legal implications of relying on AI, particularly regarding accountability for errors and the potential challenges to AI interpretations in court. The paper includes a comparative study of AI-driven patent claim interpretations versus human interpretations across different jurisdictions to provide a comprehensive analysis. This comparison highlights the variations in legal standards and practices, offering insights into how AI could impact the harmonization of international patent laws. The paper proposes policy recommendations for the responsible use of AI in patent law. It suggests legal frameworks that ensure AI tools complement, rather than replace, human expertise in patent claim interpretation. These recommendations aim to balance the benefits of AI with the need for maintaining trust, transparency, and fairness in the legal process. By addressing these critical issues, this research contributes to the ongoing discourse on integrating AI into the legal field, specifically within intellectual property rights. It provides a forward-looking perspective on how AI could reshape patent law, offering both opportunities for innovation and challenges that must be carefully managed to protect the integrity of the legal system.

Keywords: artificial intelligence (ai), patent claim interpretation, intellectual property rights, algorithmic bias, natural language processing, patent law harmonization, legal ethics

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Authors: T. Lazzarini, M. Imbiki, P. E. Sutter, G. Borragan

Abstract:

While several strategies, such as the development of more efficient appliances, the financing of insulation programs or the rolling out of smart meters represent promising tools to reduce future energy consumption, their implementation relies on people’s decisions-actions. Likewise, engaging with consumers to reshape their behavior has shown to be another important way to reduce energy usage. For these reasons, integrating the human factor in the energy transition has become a major objective for researchers and policymakers. Digital education programs based on tangible and gamified user interfaces have become a new tool with potential effects to reduce energy consumption4. The B2020 program, developed by the firm “Économie d’Énergie SAS”, proposes a digital platform to encourage pro-environmental behavior change among employees and citizens. The platform integrates 160 eco-behaviors to help saving energy and water and reducing waste and CO2 emissions. A total of 13,146 citizens have used the tool so far to declare the range of eco-behaviors they adopt in their daily lives. The present work seeks to build on this database to identify the potential impact of adopted energy-saving behaviors (n=62) to reduce the use of energy in buildings. To this end, behaviors were classified into three categories regarding the nature of its implementation (Eco-habits: e.g., turning-off the light, Eco-actions: e.g., installing low carbon technology such as led light-bulbs and Home-Refurbishments: e.g., such as wall-insulation or double-glazed energy efficient windows). General Linear Models (GLM) disclosed the existence of a significantly higher frequency of Eco-habits when compared to the number of home-refurbishments realized by the platform users. While this might be explained in part by the high financial costs that are associated with home renovation works, it also contrasts with the up to three times larger energy-savings that can be accomplished by these means. Furthermore, multiple regression models failed to disclose the expected relationship between energy-savings and frequency of adopted eco behaviors, suggesting that energy-related practices are not necessarily driven by the correspondent energy-savings. Finally, our results also suggested that people adopting more Eco-habits and Eco-actions were more likely to engage in Home-Refurbishments. Altogether, these results fit well with a growing body of scientific research, showing that energy-related practices do not necessarily maximize utility, as postulated by traditional economic models, and suggest that other variables might be triggering them. Promoting home refurbishments could benefit from the adoption of complementary energy-saving habits and actions.

Keywords: energy-saving behavior, human performance, behavioral change, energy efficiency

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Authors: Elvis Munyoka

Abstract:

While the number of African refugees settling in Australia has significantly increased since the mid-1990s, the marginalisation and exclusion of young people from refugee backgrounds in employment remain a critical challenge. Unemployment or underemployment can negatively impact refugees in multiple areas, such as income, housing, life satisfaction, and social status. Higher rates of unemployment among refugees are linked in part to the intersection of pre-migration and daily challenges like trauma, racism, gender identity, and English language competency, all of which generate multiple employability disadvantages. However, the intersection of gender, race, social class, and age in impacting African refugee youth’s access to employment has received less attention. Using a qualitative case study approach, the presentation will explore how gender, race, social class, and age influence African refugee youth graduates’ access to employment in South Australia. The intersectionality theory and capability approach to social justice is used to explore intersecting factors impacting African refugee youth’s access to employment in South Australia. Participants were 16 African refugee graduates aged 18-30 living in South Australia who took part in the study for one year. Based on the trends in the data, the results suggest that long-term unemployment and underemployment, coupled with ongoing racism and marginalisation, have the potential to make refugees more vulnerable to several mental disorders such as depression, hopelessness, and suicidal thoughts. The analysis also reveals that resettlement challenges may limit refugees’ ability to recover from pre-migration trauma. The impact of resettlement challenges on refugee mental health highlights the need for comprehensive policy interventions to address the barriers refugees face in finding employment in resettlement communities. With African refugees constituting such an important part of Australian society, they should have equal access to meaningful employment, as decent work promotes good mental health, successful resettlement, hope, and self-sufficiency.

Keywords: African refugees, employment, mental health, Australia, underemployment

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Authors: Panagiotis Platanitis

Abstract:

Purpose: This research paper seeks to review the empirical studies in the field of expatriate adjustment in East Asia in order to produce a thematic understanding of the current adjustment challenges, thus enabling practitioners to enrich their knowledge. Background: Learning to live, work, and function in a country and culture vastly different from that of one’s upbringing can pose some unique challenges in terms of adaptation and adjustment. This has led to a growing body of research about the adjustment of expatriate workers. Adjustment itself has been posited as a three-dimensional construct; work adjustment, interaction adjustment and general or cultural adjustment. Methodology: This qualitative systematic review has been conducted on all identified peer-reviewed empirical studies related to expatriate adjustment in East Asia. Five electronic databases (PsychInfo, Emerald, Scopus, EBSCO and JSTOR) were searched to December 2015. Out of 625 identified records, thorough evaluation for eligibility resulted in 15 relevant studies being subjected to data analysis. The quality of the identified research was assessed according to the Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research Papers from a Variety of Fields. The data were analysed by means of thematic synthesis for systematic reviews of qualitative research. Findings: Data analysis revealed five key themes. The themes developed were: (1) personality traits (2) types of adjustment, (3) language, (4) culture and (5) coping strategies. Types of adjustment included subthemes such as: Interaction, general, work, psychological, sociocultural and cross-cultural adjustment. Conclusion: The present review supported previous literature on the different themes of adjustment and it takes the focus from work and general adjustment to the psychological challenges and it introduces the psychological adjustment. It also gives a different perspective about the use of cross-cultural training and the coping strategies expatriates use when they are abroad. This review helps counselling psychologists to understand the importance of a multicultural approach when working with expatriates and also to be aware of what expatriates might face when working and living in East Asia.

Keywords: adjustment, counselling psychology, East Asia, expatriates

Procedia PDF Downloads 269