Search results for: vertical displacement dynamic response

Authors: Jae Ni Jang, Young Uk Kim

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Background: Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer-3 (ChatGPT; San Francisco, California, Open Artificial Intelligence) is an artificial intelligence chatbot based on a large language model designed to generate human-like text. As the usage of ChatGPT is increasing among less knowledgeable patients, medical students, and anesthesia and pain medicine residents or trainees, we aimed to evaluate the accuracy of ChatGPT-3 responses to questions about the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification based on patients’ underlying diseases and assess the quality of the generated responses. Methods: A total of 47 questions were submitted to ChatGPT using textual prompts. The questions were designed for ChatGPT-3 to provide answers regarding ASA classification in response to common underlying diseases frequently observed in adult patients. In addition, we created 18 questions regarding the ASA classification for pediatric patients and pregnant women. The accuracy of ChatGPT’s responses was evaluated by cross-referencing with Miller’s Anesthesia, Morgan & Mikhail’s Clinical Anesthesiology, and the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ ASA Physical Status Classification System (2020). Results: Out of the 47 questions pertaining to adults, ChatGPT -3 provided correct answers for only 23, resulting in an accuracy rate of 48.9%. Furthermore, the responses provided by ChatGPT-3 regarding children and pregnant women were mostly inaccurate, as indicated by a 28% accuracy rate (5 out of 18). Conclusions: ChatGPT provided correct responses to questions relevant to the daily clinical routine of anesthesiologists in approximately half of the cases, while the remaining responses contained errors. Therefore, caution is advised when using ChatGPT to retrieve anesthesia-related information. Although ChatGPT may not yet be suitable for clinical settings, we anticipate significant improvements in ChatGPT and other large language models in the near future. Regular assessments of ChatGPT's ASA classification accuracy are essential due to the evolving nature of ChatGPT as an artificial intelligence entity. This is especially important because ChatGPT has a clinically unacceptable rate of error and hallucination, particularly in pediatric patients and pregnant women. The methodology established in this study may be used to continue evaluating ChatGPT.

Keywords: American Society of Anesthesiologists, artificial intelligence, Chat Generative Pre-training Transformer-3, ChatGPT

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Authors: Nusrat Praween, Krishna Thej Pammi Guru, Palash Kumar Basu

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Designing non-invasive biosensors for cancer diagnosis is essential for developing an affordable and specific tool to measure cancer-related exosome biomarkers. Exosomes, released by healthy as well as cancer cells, contain valuable information about the biomarkers of various diseases, including cancer. Despite the availability of various isolation techniques, ultracentrifugation is the standard technique that is being employed. Post isolation, exosomes are traditionally exposed to detergents for extracting their proteins, which can often lead to protein degradation. Further to this, it is very essential to develop a sensing platform for the quantification of clinically relevant proteins in a wider range to ensure practicality. In this study, exosomes were immobilized on the Au Screen Printed Electrode (SPE) using EDC/NHS chemistry to facilitate binding. After immobilizing the exosomes on the screen-printed electrode (SPE), we investigated the impact of the electric field by applying various voltages to induce exosome lysis and release their contents. The lysed solution was used for sensing TSG101, a crucial biomarker associated with various cancers, using both faradaic and non-faradaic electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) methods. The results of non-faradaic and faradaic EIS were comparable and showed good consistency, indicating that non-faradaic sensing can be a reliable alternative. Hence, the non-faradaic sensing technique was used for label-free quantification of the TSG101 biomarker. The results were validated using ELISA. Our electrochemical immunosensor demonstrated a consistent response of TSG101 from 125 pg/mL to 8000 pg/mL, with a detection limit of 0.125 pg/mL at room temperature. Additionally, since non-faradic sensing is label-free, the ease of usage and cost of the final sensor developed can be reduced. The proposed immunosensor is capable of detecting the TSG101 protein at low levels in healthy serum with good sensitivity and specificity, making it a promising platform for biomarker detection.

Keywords: biosensor, exosomes isolation on SPE, electric field lysis of exosome, EIS sensing of TSG101

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Authors: Usha Dinakaran, Richa Ganguly

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Gastronomic tourism has evolved into a prominent niche within the travel industry, with tourists increasingly seeking unique culinary experiences as a primary motivation for their journeys. This research explores the intricate relationship between gastronomic tourism and its profound influence on the overall image of travel destinations. It delves into the multifaceted aspects of culinary experiences, tourists' perceptions, and the preservation of cultural identity, all of which play pivotal roles in shaping a destination's image. The primary aim of this study is to comprehensively examine the interplay between gastronomy and tourism, specifically focusing on its impact on destination image. The research seeks to achieve the following objectives: (1) Investigate how tourists perceive and engage with gastronomic tourism experiences. (2) Understand the significance of food in shaping the tourism image. (3.) Explore the connection between gastronomy and the destination's cultural identity Quantify the relationship between tourists' engagement in co-creation activities related to gastronomic tourism and their overall satisfaction with the quality of their culinary experiences. To achieve these objectives, a mixed-method research approach will be employed, including surveys, interviews, and content analysis. Data will be collected from tourists visiting diverse destinations known for their culinary offerings. This research anticipates uncovering valuable insights into the nexus between gastronomic tourism and destination image. It is expected to shed light on how tourists' perceptions of culinary experiences impact their overall perception of a destination. Additionally, the study aims to identify factors influencing tourist satisfaction and how cultural identity is preserved and promoted through gastronomic tourism. The findings of this research hold practical implications for destination marketers and stakeholders. Understanding the symbiotic relationship between gastronomy and tourism can guide the development of more targeted marketing strategies. Furthermore, promoting co-creation activities can enhance tourists' culinary experiences and contribute to the positive image of destinations.This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge regarding gastronomic tourism by consolidating insights from various studies and offering a comprehensive perspective on its impact on destination image. It offers a platform for future research in this domain and underscores the importance of culinary experiences in contemporary travel. In conclusion, this research endeavors to illuminate the dynamic interplay between gastronomic tourism and destination image, providing valuable insights for both academia and industry stakeholders in the field of tourism and hospitality.

Keywords: gastronomy, tourism, destination image, culinary

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Authors: Masnur Marzuki

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As in other democratic countries, the constitutional court of Indonesia has the role of interpreting and applying the Constitution in order to preserve its supremacy testing the constitutionality of statutes. With its strong power to enforce and guard the Constitution, the court is now challenged to provide people an opportunity to understand their constitutional rights close up. At the same time, the court has built up an enviable reputation among constitutional courts in new democracies for the technical quality of its legitimacy in the legal sense. Since its establishment in 2003, the Constitutional Court of Indonesia has decided more than 190 statutes in judicial review case. It has been remarkably successful to make a credible start on its work of guarding the Constitution. Unsurprisingly, many argue that the Court has elevated Indonesia’s democracy to a whole new level. In accomplishing its roles judicial review, the basic principle that can be identified is that the Constitutional Court must always be subordinated to the Constitution. It is not being allowed to invade the field of the legislator. In doing so, the court does not have any discretionary political basis in order to create legal norms or provisions that could not be deducted from the Constitution itself. When interpreting a statute “in accordance with the constitution”, the court recognizes and reasserts that it is strictly forbidden to extend the scope of a legal provision in such a way that would create a general norm not established by the law-maker. This paper aims to identify and assess the latest role of Indonesian Constitutional Court in interpreting and applying the Constitution. In particular, it questions 1) the role of the Constitutional Court in judicial review; and 2) the role of the court to assist the legislators in the accomplishment of their functions in order to preserve its supremacy testing the constitutionality of statutes. Concerning positive legislator, jurisprudential and judicial review theories will be approached. The empirical part will include qualitative and comparative research. Main questions to be addressed: Can the Constitutional Court be functionalized as positive legislator? What are the criteria for conducting role of Constitutional Courts as Positive Legislators and how can it be accepted? Concerning the subordination of Constitutional Courts to the Constitution and judicial review, both qualitative and quantitative methods will be used, and differences between Indonesia and German Constitutional Court will be observed. Other questions to be addressed: Can Constitutional Courts have any discretionary political basis in order to create legal norms or provisions that could not be deducted from the Constitution itself. Should the Constitutional Court always act as a negative legislator? However, the Constitutional Court in Indonesia has played role as positive legislators which create dynamic of Indonesian legal development. In performing the task of reviewing the constitutionality of statutes, the Constitutional Court has created legal norms or provisions that could be deducted from the Constitution itself.

Keywords: constitution, court, law, rights

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Authors: Raina J. Olsen, Andrew K. Gillespie, John W. Taylor, Cristian I. Contescu, Peter Pfeifer, James R. Morris

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While adsorbent surfaces such as graphite are known to increase the melting temperature of solid H2, this effect is normally rather small, increasing to 20 Kelvin (K) relative to 14 K in the bulk. An as-yet unidentified phase transition has been observed in a system of H2 adsorbed in a porous, locally graphitic, Saran carbon with sub-nanometer sized pores at temperatures (74-101 K) and pressures ( > 76 bar) well above the critical point of bulk H2 using hydrogen adsorption and neutron scattering experiments. Adsorption data shows a discontinuous pressure jump in the kinetics at 76 bar after nearly an hour of equilibration time, which is identified as an exothermic phase transition. This discontinuity is observed in the 87 K isotherm, but not the 77 K isotherm. At higher pressures, the measured isotherms show greater excess adsorption at 87 K than 77 K. Inelastic neutron scattering measurements also show a striking phase transition, with the amount of high angle scattering (corresponding to large momentum transfer/ large effective mass) increasing by up to a factor of 5 in the novel phase. During the course of the neutron scattering experiment, three of these reversible spectral phase transitions were observed to occur in response to only changes in sample temperature. The novel phase was observed by neutron scattering only at high H2 pressure (123 bar and 187 bar) and temperatures between 74-101 K in the sample of interest, but not at low pressure (30 bar), or in a control activated carbon at 186 bar of H2 pressure. Based on several of the more unusual observations, such as the slow equilibration and the presence of both an upper and lower temperature bound, a reasonable hypothesis is that this phase forms only in the presence of a high concentration of ortho-H2 (nuclear spin S=1). The increase in adsorption with temperature, temperatures which cross the lower temperature bound observed by neutron scattering, indicates that this novel phase is denser. Structural characterization data on the adsorbent shows that it may support a commensurate solid phase denser than those known to exist on graphite at much lower temperatures. Whatever this phase is eventually proven to be, these results show that surfaces can have a more striking effect on hydrogen phases than previously thought.

Keywords: adsorbed phases, hydrogen, neutron scattering, nuclear spin

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Authors: Errol J. Haarhoff

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Housing in New Zealand, particularly in Auckland, is dominated by low-density suburbs. Over the past 20 years, housing intensification policies aimed to curb outward low-density sprawl and to concentrate development within an urban boundary have been implemented. This requires the greater deployment of attached housing typologies such apartments, duplexes and terrace housing. There has been strong market response and uptake for higher density development, with the number of building approvals received by the Auckland Council for attached housing units increasing from around 15 percent in 2012/13, to 54 percent in 2017/18. A key question about intensification and strong market uptake in a city where lower density has been the norm, is whether higher density neighborhoods will deliver necessary housing satisfaction? This paper reports on the findings to a questionnaire survey and focus group discussions probing resident perceptions to living at higher density in relation to their dwellings, the neighborhood and their sense of community. The findings reveal strong overall housing satisfaction, including key aspects such as privacy, noise and living in close proximity to neighbors. However, when residents are differentiated in terms of length of tenure, age or whether they are bringing up children, greater variation in satisfaction is detected. For example, residents in the 65-plus age cohort express much higher levels of satisfaction, when compared to the 18-44 year cohorts who more likely to be binging up children. This suggests greater design sensitivity to better accommodate the range of household types. Those who have live in the area longer express greater satisfaction than those with shorter duration, indicating time for adaption to living at higher density. Findings strongly underpin the instrumental role that the public amenities play in overall housing satisfaction and the emergence of a strong sense of community. This underscores the necessity for appropriate investment in the public amenities often lacking in market-led higher density housing development. We conclude with an evaluation of the PPP model, and its part in delivering housing satisfaction. The findings should be of interest to cities, housing developers and built environment professional pursuing housing policies promoting intensification and higher density.

Keywords: medium density, housing satisfaction, neighborhoods, sense of community

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Authors: Moustafa Osman Mohammed

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Construction industry, as one of the main contributor in depletion of natural resources, influences climate change. This paper discusses incremental and evolutionary development of the proposed models for optimization of a life-cycle analysis to explicit strategy for evaluation systems. The main categories are virtually irresistible for introducing uncertainties, uptake composite structure model (CSM) as environmental management systems (EMSs) in a practice science of evaluation small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The model simplified complex systems to reflect nature systems’ input, output and outcomes mode influence “framework measures” and give a maximum likelihood estimation of how elements are simulated over the composite structure. The traditional knowledge of modeling is based on physical dynamic and static patterns regarding parameters influence environment. It unified methods to demonstrate how construction systems ecology interrelated from management prospective in procedure reflects the effect of the effects of engineering systems to ecology as ultimately unified technologies in extensive range beyond constructions impact so as, - energy systems. Sustainability broadens socioeconomic parameters to practice science that meets recovery performance, engineering reflects the generic control of protective systems. When the environmental model employed properly, management decision process in governments or corporations could address policy for accomplishment strategic plans precisely. The management and engineering limitation focuses on autocatalytic control as a close cellular system to naturally balance anthropogenic insertions or aggregation structure systems to pound equilibrium as steady stable conditions. Thereby, construction systems ecology incorporates engineering and management scheme, as a midpoint stage between biotic and abiotic components to predict constructions impact. The later outcomes’ theory of environmental obligation suggests either a procedures of method or technique that is achieved in sustainability impact of construction system ecology (SICSE), as a relative mitigation measure of deviation control, ultimately.

Keywords: sustainability, environmental impact assessment, environemtal management, construction ecology

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Authors: Jarot Mahendra

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The primary objective of this paper is to provide a view in the interpretation of the revitalization of heritage buildings. This objective is achieved by analyzing the concept of interpretation that is oriented in the perspective of law, urban spatial planning, and stakeholder perspective, and then develops the theoretical framework of interpretation in the cultural resources management through issues of identity, heritage as a process, and authenticity in heritage. The revitalization of heritage buildings with the interpretation of these three issues is that interpretation can be used as a communication process to express the meaning and relation of heritage to the community so as to avoid the conflict that will arise and develop as a result of different perspectives of stakeholders. Using case studies in Indonesia, this study focuses on the revitalization of heritage sites in the National Gallery of Indonesia (GNI). GNI is a cultural institution that uses several historical buildings that have been designated as heritage and have not been designated as a heritage according to the regulations applicable in Indonesia, in carrying out its function as the center of Indonesian art development and art museums. The revitalization of heritage buildings is taken as a step to meet space needs in running the current GNI function. In the revitalization master plan, there are physical interventions on the building of heritage and the removal of some historic buildings which will then be built new buildings at that location. The research matrix was used to map out the main elements of the study (the concept of GNI revitalization, heritage as identity, heritage as a process, and authenticity in the heritage). Expert interviews and document studies are the main tools used in collecting data. Qualitative data is then analyzed through content analysis and template analysis. This study identifies the significance of historic buildings (heritage buildings and buildings not defined as heritage) as an important value of history, architecture, education, and culture. The significance becomes the basis for revisiting the revitalization master plan which is then reviewed according to applicable regulations and the spatial layout of Jakarta. The interpretation that is built is (1) GNI is one of the elements of the embodiment of the National Cultural Center in the context of the region, where there are National Monument, National Museum and National Library in the same area, so the heritage not only gives identity to the past culture but the culture of current community; (2) The heritage should be seen as a dynamic cultural process towards the cultural change of community, where heritage must develop along with the urban development, so that the heritage buildings can remain alive and side by side with modern buildings but still observe the principles of preservation of heritage; (3) The authenticity of heritage should be able to balance the cultural heritage conservation approach with urban development, where authenticity can serve as a 'Value Transmitter' so that authenticity can be used to evaluate, preserve and manage heritage buildings by considering tangible and intangible aspects.

Keywords: authenticity, culture process, identity, interpretation, revitalization

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Authors: Joel Bonales, Venecia Solorzano, Carlos Garcia

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A great percentage of the wastewater generated in developing countries don’t receive any treatment, which leads to numerous environmental impacts. In response to this, a paradigm change in the current wastewater treatment model based on large scale plants towards a small and medium scale based model has been proposed. Nevertheless, small scale wastewater treatment (SS-WTTP) with novel technologies such as anaerobic digesters, as well as the utilization of derivative co-products such as biogas, still presents diverse environmental impacts which must be assessed. This study consisted in a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) performed to a SS-WWTP which treats wastewater from a small commercial block in the city of Morelia, Mexico. The treatment performed in the SS-WWTP consists in anaerobic and aerobic digesters with a daily capacity of 5,040 L. Two different scenarios were analyzed: the current plant conditions and a hypothetical energy use of biogas obtained in situ. Furthermore, two different allocation criteria were applied: full impact allocation to the system’s main product (treated water) and substitution credits for replacing Mexican grid electricity (biogas) and clean water pumping (treated water). The results showed that the analyzed plant had bigger impacts than what has been reported in the bibliography in the basis of wastewater volume treated, which may imply that this plant is currently operating inefficiently. The evaluated impacts appeared to be focused in the aerobic digestion and electric generation phases due to the plant’s particular configuration. Additional findings prove that the allocation criteria applied is crucial for the interpretation of impacts and that that the energy use of the biogas obtained in this plant can help mitigate associated climate change impacts. It is concluded that SS-WTTP is a environmentally sound alternative for wastewater treatment from a systemic perspective. However, this type of studies must be careful in the selection of the allocation criteria and replaced products, since these factors have a great influence in the results of the assessment.

Keywords: biogas, life cycle assessment, small scale treatment, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Mujahid Manzoor, Muhammad Shafique, Jam Nazeer Ahmad, Farman Ahmad, Muhammad Ali, Muhammad Rizwan Tariq, Shahbaz Ahmad, Muhammad Saleem Haider

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Date palms (P. dactylifera L.) are prominent in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Iran, UAE, and Iraq, as well as Algeria, Egypt, and Pakistan. Insect pests' attacks on different palm cultivars adversely affected their production in the last few decades. Pakistan ranked sixth for date production around the world. The most commercially grown cultivars are Aseel, Dhaki, Falsi, Karbalai, Mozawati, Jan Swore, Kohra, Hillawi, Kohra, and Begum Jhangi. Red palm weevils are considered as hazardous insect pests responsible for economic loss in palm orchards. This research work depicts the infestation of red palm weevils in eleven different palm cultivars (Hillawi, Mozawati, Kechanr, Aseel, Shamrani, Khudravi, Dhaki, Zeri, Kobra, Zaidi, Denda), which frequently grow in different regions of Pakistan through Y-shaped olfactometer analysis. In addition, the level of both antixenosis and antibiosis was spotted by examining the various parameters such as %age lure of weevils of mature females, general count of laid eggs in addition to their activeness. Furthermore, obtained results depicted that a positive contact was established with minimum antixenotic consequence revealed by a cultivar, “Hillawi” among most hold of RPW adults (22.32%), number of eggs laid (16.66%) and egg hatching (84.66%), while other cultivars, including Mozawati, Aseel, Kechanr, Shamrani, Khudravi, Dhaki, Zeri, and Zaidi, exhibited a greater level of antixenosis. Moreover, “Hillawi” documented the maximum number of eggs, while Kechanr, Mozawati, Aseel Kobra, and Denda showed minimum attraction by red palm weevils. Maximum red palm weevils were attracted in an olfactometer assay of sugarcane varieties.

Keywords: P. dactylifera, R. ferrugineus, olfactometer, antixenosis

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Authors: Omnia Elkommos

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Language is communication on several discourse levels. The target of teaching a language and the literature of a foreign language is to communicate a message. Reading, appreciating, analysing, and interpreting poetry as a sophisticated rhetorical expression of human thoughts, emotions, and philosophical messages is more feasible through the use of linguistic pragmatic tools from a communicative discourse perspective. The poet's intention, speech act, illocutionary act, and perlocutionary goal can be better understood when communicative situational context as well as linguistic discourse structure theories are employed. The use of linguistic theories in the teaching of poetry is, therefore, intrinsic to students' comprehension, interpretation, and appreciation of poetry of the different ages. It is the purpose of this study to show how both teachers as well as students can apply these linguistic theories and tools to dramatic poetic texts for an engaging, enlightening, and effective interpretation and appreciation of the language. Theories drawn from areas of pragmatics, discourse analysis, embedded discourse level, communicative situational context, and other linguistic approaches were applied to selected poetry texts from the different centuries. Further, in a simple statistical count of the number of poems with dialogic dramatic discourse with embedded two or three levels of discourse in different anthologies outweighs the number of descriptive poems with a one level of discourse, between the poet and the reader. Poetry is thus discourse on one, two, or three levels. It is, therefore, recommended that teachers and students in the area of ESL/EFL use the linguistics theories for a better understanding of poetry as communicative discourse. The practice of applying these linguistic theories in classrooms and in research will allow them to perceive the language and its linguistic, social, and cultural aspect. Texts will become live illocutionary acts with a perlocutionary acts goal rather than mere literary texts in anthologies.

Keywords: coda, commissives, communicative situation, context of culture, context of reference, context of utterance, dialogue, directives, discourse analysis, dramatic discourse interaction, duologue, embedded discourse levels, language for communication, linguistic structures, literary texts, poetry, pragmatic theories, reader response, speech acts (macro/micro), stylistics, teaching literature, TEFL, terms of address, turn-taking

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Authors: Fatemeh Dehghan Khangahi, Hakan Gunes

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Transforming a public necessity into a commercial commodity becomes more and more evident as time goes on, and it is one of the issues of water shortage. Development projects of countries, consume the water and waterbeds in various forms, ignoring the concepts such as sustainability and the negative effects they place on the environment, pollute and change the ways of waterways. Throughout these processes, the water basins and all the vital environments sometimes can suffer damage to the irreparable level. In this context, the issue of Lake Urmia that is located in the North West of Iran left alone by drought, has been researched. The lake, which is on the list of UNESCO's biosphere reserves, is now exposed to the danger of desiccation. If the desiccation is fully realized, more than 5.000.000 people that they are living around the lake, will have to migrate as a result of negative living conditions. As a matter of fact, along with the recent years of increasing drought level, regional migrations have begun. In addition to migration issues, it is also necessary to specify the negative effects on human and all-round’s life that depend on the formation of salt storms, mixing of salt into the air and soil, which threaten human health seriously because the lake is salty. The main aim of this work is to raise national and international awareness of this problem, which is an environment and a human tragedy at the same time. This research has two basic questions: 1) In the case of Lake Urmia, what are environmental problems and how they have emerged and what is the role of governments? 2) What is the social consequence of this problem in relation to the first question? In response, after the literature search, having a comparative view of the situation of the Aral Sea and the Great Salt Lake (Utah, USA), which involved the two major international examples. The first, one is related to the terms of population and migration, the second is about biological properties. Then, data and status information that provided after 3 years area research has been evaluated. Towards the end, with the support of qualitative and quantitative methods, the study of social mobilization in the region has been carried out. An example of it is using the public space of TRAXTOR matches like a protests area.

Keywords: environment problems, water, social mobilization, Lake Urmia, migration

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Authors: Cristóbal Moënne-Loccoz, Rodrigo C. Vergara, Vladimir López, Domingo Mery, Diego Cosmelli

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Our daily interaction with computational interfaces is plagued of situations in which we go from inexperienced users to experts through self-motivated exploration of the same task. In many of these interactions, we must learn to find our way through a sequence of decisions and actions before obtaining the desired result. For instance, when drawing cash from an ATM machine, choices are presented in a step-by-step fashion so that a specific sequence of actions must be performed in order to produce the expected outcome. But, as they become experts in the use of such interfaces, do users adopt specific search and learning strategies? Moreover, if so, can we use this information to follow the process of expertise development and, eventually, predict future actions? This would be a critical step towards building truly adaptive interfaces that can facilitate interaction at different moments of the learning curve. Furthermore, it could provide a window into potential mechanisms underlying decision-making behavior in real world scenarios. Here we tackle this question using a simple game interface that instantiates a 4-level binary decision tree (BDT) sequential decision-making task. Participants have to explore the interface and discover an underlying concept-icon mapping in order to complete the game. We develop a Hidden Markov Model (HMM)-based approach whereby a set of stereotyped, hierarchically related search behaviors act as hidden states. Using this model, we are able to track the decision-making process as participants explore, learn and develop expertise in the use of the interface. Our results show that partitioning the problem space into such stereotyped strategies is sufficient to capture a host of exploratory and learning behaviors. Moreover, using the modular architecture of stereotyped strategies as a Mixture of Experts, we are able to simultaneously ask the experts about the user's most probable future actions. We show that for those participants that learn the task, it becomes possible to predict their next decision, above chance, approximately halfway through the game. Our long-term goal is, on the basis of a better understanding of real-world decision-making processes, to inform the construction of interfaces that can establish dynamic conversations with their users in order to facilitate the development of expertise.

Keywords: behavioral modeling, expertise acquisition, hidden markov models, sequential decision-making

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Authors: Atousa Khodadadyan, Gabe Mythen, Hirbod Assa, Beverley Bishop

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Risk assessment and the knowledge provided through this process is a crucial part of any decision-making process in the management of risks and uncertainties. Failure in assessment of risks can cause inadequacy in the entire process of risk management, which in turn can lead to failure in achieving organisational objectives as well as having significant damaging consequences on populations affected by the potential risks being assessed. The choice of tools and techniques in risk assessment can influence the degree and scope of decision-making and subsequently the risk response strategy. There are various available qualitative and quantitative tools and techniques that are deployed within the broad process of risk assessment. The sheer diversity of tools and techniques available to practitioners makes it difficult for organisations to consistently employ the most appropriate methods. This tools and techniques adaptation is rendered more difficult in public risk regulation organisations due to the sensitive and complex nature of their activities. This is particularly the case in areas relating to the environment, food, and human health and safety, when organisational goals are tied up with societal, political and individuals’ goals at national and international levels. Hence, recognising, analysing and evaluating different decision support tools and techniques employed in assessing risks in public risk management organisations was considered. This research is part of a mixed method study which aimed to examine the perception of risk assessment and the extent to which organisations practise risk assessment’ tools and techniques. The study adopted a semi-structured questionnaire with qualitative and quantitative data analysis to include a range of public risk regulation organisations from the UK, Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The results indicated the public risk management organisations mainly use diverse tools and techniques in the risk assessment process. The primary hazard analysis; brainstorming; hazard analysis and critical control points were described as the most practiced risk identification techniques. Within qualitative and quantitative risk analysis, the participants named the expert judgement, risk probability and impact assessment, sensitivity analysis and data gathering and representation as the most practised techniques.

Keywords: decision-making, public risk management organisations, risk assessment, tools and techniques

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Authors: Hilly Moodrick-Even Khen

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This study analyzes the legal regulation of the use of force in international law in the context of three emerging Palestinian forms of struggle against Israeli occupation: the Knife Intifada, Gaza border disturbances, and the launching of incendiary kites. It discusses what legal paradigms or concepts should regulate the type and level of force used in each situation—a question that is complicated by various dilemmas—and appraises the Israel Defence Forces policies tailored in response. Methodologically, the study is based on analysis of scholarship on the conceptual legal issues as well as dicta of the courts. It evaluates the applicability of two legal paradigms regulating the use of force in military operations—(i) the conduct of hostilities and (ii) law enforcement—as well as the concept of self-defense in international law and the escalation of force procedure. While the “Knife Intifada” clearly falls under the law enforcement paradigm, the disturbances at the border and the launching of incendiary kites raise more difficult questions, as applying law enforcement, especially in the latter case, can have undesirable ramifications for safeguarding humanitarian interests. The use of force in the cases of the border disturbances and the incendiary kites should thus be regulated, mutatis mutandis, by the concept of self-defense and escalation of force procedures; and in the latter case, the hostilities paradigm can also be applied. The study provides a factual description and analysis of the background and nature of the forms of struggle in Gaza and the West Bank—in each case surveying the geo-political developments since operation Protective Edge, contextualizing how the organized and unorganized violent activities evolved, and analyzing them in terms of level of organization and intensity. It then presents the two paradigms of the use of force—law enforcement and conduct of hostilities—and the concept of self-defense. Lastly, it uses the factual findings as the basis for legally analyzing which paradigm or concept regulating the use of force applies for each form of struggle. The study concludes that in most cases, the concept of self-defense is preferable to the hostilities or the law enforcement paradigms, as it best safeguards humanitarian interests and ensures the least loss of civilian lives.

Keywords: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, self defense, terrorism, use of force

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Authors: Islam Nowisser, Noha Farag, Mohamed El Azizi

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Helicobacter pylori is a highly important human pathogen which inhabits about 50% of the population worldwide. Infection with this bacteria is very hard to treat, with high probability of recurrence. H. pylori causes severe gastric diseases, including peptic ulcer, gastritis, and gastric cancer, which has been linked to chronic inflammation. The infection has been reported to be associated with high levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-1β and TNF-α. The aim of the current study is to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which H. pylori activates NLRP3 inflammasome and its contribution to Il-1 β production in an innate cellular model. H. pylori PMSS1 and G27 standard strains, as well as the PMSS1 isogenic mutant strain PMSS1ΔVacA and G27ΔVacA, G27ΔCagA in addition to clinical isolates obtained from biopsy samples from the antrum and corpus mucosa of chronic gastritis patients, were used to establish infection in RAW-264.7 macrophages. The production levels of TNF-α and IL-1β was assessed using ELISA. Since expression of these cytokines is often regulated by the transcription factor complex, nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB), the activation of NF-κB in H. pylori infected cells was also evaluated by luciferase assay. Genomic DNA was extracted from bacterial cultures of H. pylori clinical isolates as well as the standard strains and their corresponding mutants, where they were evaluated for the cagA pathogenicity island and vacA expression. The correlation between these findings and expression of the cagA Pathogenicity Island and vacA in the bacteria was also investigated. The results showed IL-1β, and TNF-α production significantly increased in raw macrophages following H. pylori infection. The cagA+ and vacA+ H. pylori strains induced significant production of IL-1β compared to cagA- and vacA- strains. The activation pattern of NF-κB was correlated in the isolates to their cagA and vacA expression profiles. A similar finding could not be confirmed for TNF-α production. Our study shows the ability of H. pylori to activate NF-kB and induce significant IL-1β production as a possible mechanism for the augmented inflammatory response seen in subjects infected with cagA+ and vacA+ H. pylori strains that would lead to the progression to more severe form of the disease.

Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, IL-1β, inflammatory cytokines, nuclear factor KB, TNF-α

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Authors: Lydia Booney Jyrwa, Rabindra Nath Bhuyan

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Chocolate Mahseer (Neolissochilus hexagonolepis) is one of the Mahseer species inhabiting the North-eastern region of India and is a native species to the state of Meghalaya since it can adapt and grow well under the agro climatic conditions of the region. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The natural population of this fish has been declining over the years from this part of the country. The fish is considered as one of the endangered species of the Mahseer group, which is having tremendous scope for culture, sports and tourism. But non-availability of quality seed is a hindrance for the culture of this fish. Thus induced breeding of the fish by hormonal administration with pituitary gland and synthetic hormones is the only reliable method to procure the pure seed of the fish. Chocolate Mahseer was successfully bred at the Hatchery Complex, St. Anthony’s College, Shillong, Meghalaya by using pituitary extract and synthetic hormone viz. ovaprim, ovatide and gonopro-FH. The dose standardized is @ 4mg/kg body weight to both male and female as 1st dose and @ 7.9 mg/kg body weight only to female as 2nd dose for pituitary extract and single dose @ 0.8 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of both ovaprim and ovatide, while a single dose @ 0.9 ml/kg body weight to female and @ 0.3 ml/kg body weight to male of gonopro-FH. The doses are standardized after a series of trial and error experiment performed. The fecundity of the fish was 3500 eggs/ kg body weight. The final hatching percentage achieved was 60%. The survival rate of hatchling was 50% up to fry stage. The use of synthetic hormone and positive response of the fish to the hormone will go in long way for production of quality seed of the fish which in turn help in culture of the species as the fish can be a very good candidate species for the culture in the state. This study will also help in the ranching of the fish in the natural habitat leading to conservation of the species. However, the study should be continued further for the large scale production of seeds.

Keywords: chocolate mahseer, induced breeding, pituitary extract, synthetic hormone

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Authors: Mokgophana Ramasobana

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Background: At the core of the demand to utilize evidence-based approaches in the policy-making cycle, prioritization of limited financial resources and results driven initiatives is the urgency to develop a cohort of competent Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) practitioners and public servants. The ongoing strides in the evaluation capacity building (ECB) initiatives are a direct response to produce the highly-sought after M&E skills. Notwithstanding the rapid growth of M&E short courses, participants perceived value and expectation of M&E short courses as a panacea for ECB have not been empirically quantified or measured. The objective of this article is to explicitly illustrate the importance of measuring ECB interventions and understanding what works in ECB and why it works. Objectives: This article illustrates the importance of establishing empirical ECB measurement tools to evaluate ECB interventions in order to ascertain its contribution to the broader evaluation practice. Method: The study was primarily a desktop review of existing literature, juxtaposed by a survey of the participants across the African continent based on the 43 M&E short courses hosted by the Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results Anglophone Africa (CLEAR-AA) in collaboration with the Department of Planning Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME) Results: The article established that participants perceive short course training as a panacea to improve their M&E practical skill critical to executing their organizational duties. In tandem, participants are likely to demand customized training as opposed to general topics in Evaluation. However, the organizational environments constrain the application of the newly acquired skills. Conclusion: This article aims to contribute to the 'how to' measure ECB interventions discourse and contribute towards the improvement to evaluate ECB interventions. The study finds that participants prefer training courses with longer duration to cover more topics. At the same time, whilst organizations call for customization of programmes, the study found that individual participants demand knowledge of generic and popular evaluation topics.

Keywords: evaluation capacity building, effectiveness and training, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) short course training, perceptions and expectations

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Authors: Ruchi Agarwal

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In today’s world, companies are operating in dynamic, uncertain and ambiguous business environments. Globally, more companies are failing due to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors than ever. Corporate governance and risk management are intertwined in nature. For decades, corporate governance and risk management have been influenced by internal and external factors. Three schools of thought have influenced risk governance for decades: Agency theory, Contingency theory, and Institutional theory. Agency theory argues that agents have interests conflicting with principal interests and the information problem. Contingency theory suggests that risk management adoption is influenced by internal and external factors, while Institutional theory suggests that organizations legitimize risk management with regulators, competitors, and professional bodies. The conflicting objectives of theories have created problems for executives in organizations in the adoption of Risk Governance. So far, there are many studies that discussed risk culture and the role of actors in risk governance, but there are rare studies discussing the role of risk culture in the adoption of risk governance from a leadership style perspective. This study explores the adoption of risk governance in two contrasting industries, such as the Insurance and energy business, to understand whether risk governance is influenced by internal/external factors or whether risk culture is influenced by leaders. We draw empirical evidence by comparing the cases of an Indian insurance company and a renewable energy-based firm in India. We interviewed more than 20 senior executives of companies and collected annual reports, risk management policies, and more than 10 PPTs and other reports from 2017 to 2024. We visited the company for follow-up questions several times. The findings of my research revealed that both companies have used risk governance for strategic renewal of the company. Insurance companies use a transactional leadership style based on performance and reward for improving risk, while energy companies use rather symbolic management to make debt restructuring meaningful for stakeholders. Overall, both companies turned from loss-making to profitable ones in a few years. This comparative study highlights the role of different leadership styles in the adoption of risk governance. The study is also distinct as previous research rarely studied risk governance in two contrasting industries in reference to leadership styles.

Keywords: leadership style, corporate governance, risk management, risk culture, strategic renewal

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Authors: Sila Akhan, Muge Toygar, Murat Sayan, Simge Fidan

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Chronic viral hepatitis B, C, and D can cause hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), cirrhosis and death. The proper treatment reduce the risk of development of HCC importantly, but not to zero point. Materials and Methods: We analysed retrospectively our chronic viral hepatitis B, C and D patients who attended to our Infectious Diseases policlinic between 2004-2018. From 589 biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis patients 3 have hepatocellular carcinoma on our follow up. First case is 74 years old patient. His HCV infection diagnosis was made 8 years ago. First treatment was pegylated interferon plus ribavirin only 28 weeks, because of HCV RNA breakthrough under treatment. In 2013 he was retreated with telaprevir, pegylated interferon plus ribavirin 24 weeks. But at the end of the therapy HCV RNA was found 1.290.000 IU/mL. He has abdominal ultrasonography (US) controls and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) at 6 months intervals. All seemed normal until 2015 then he has an abdominal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and found HCC by chance. His treatment began in Oncology Clinic after verified with biopsy of HCC. And then sofosbuvir/ledipasvir was given to him for HCV 24 weeks. Sustained virologic response (SVR) was obtained. He is on cure for HCV infection and under control of Oncology for HCC. Second patient is 36 years old man. He knows his HBV infection since 2008. HBsAg and HBeAg positive; HDV RNA negative. Liver biopsy revealed grade:4, stage 3-4 according modified Knodell scoring system. In 2010 tenofovir treatment was began. His abdominal US and AFP were normal. His controls took place at 6 months intervals and HBV DNA negative, US, and AFP were normal until 2016 continuously. AFP found 37 above the normal range and then HCC was found in MRI. Third patient is 57 years old man. As hepatitis B infection was first diagnosed; he has cirrhosis and was began tenofovir as treatment. In short time he has HCC despite normal AFP values. Conclusion: In Mediterranian countries including Turkey naturally occurring pre-S/S variants are more than 75% of all chronic hepatitis B patients. This variants may contribute to the development of progressive liver damage and hepatocarcinogenesis. HCV-induced development of HCC is a gradual process and is affected by the duration of disease and viral genotype. All the chronic viral hepatitis patients should be followed up in 6 months intervals not only with US and AFP for HCC. Despite they have proper treatment there is always the risk development of HCC. Chronic hepatitis patients cannot be dropped from follow up even treated well.

Keywords: HCC, HCV, HBV, DAA

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Authors: Megan Weisbart

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Background/Significance: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) environment contributes to nurse burnout. Burnout costs include decreased employee compassion, missed workdays, worse patient outcomes, diminished job performance, high turnover, and higher organizational cost. Meaningful recognition, nurturing of interpersonal connections, and mindfulness-based interventions are associated with decreased burnout. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to decrease Neonatal ICU (NICU) nurse burnout using a Wellness Bundle that fosters meaningful recognition, interpersonal connections and includes mindfulness-based interventions. Methods: The Professional Quality of Life Scale Version 5 (ProQOL5) was used to measure burnout before Wellness Bundle implementation, after six months, and will be given yearly for three years. Meaningful recognition bundle items include Online submission and posting of staff shoutouts, recognition events, Nurses Week and Unit Practice Council member gifts, and an employee recognition program. Fostering of interpersonal connections bundle items include: Monthly staff games with prizes, social events, raffle fundraisers, unit blog, unit wellness basket, and a wellness resource sheet. Quick coherence techniques were implemented at staff meetings and huddles as a mindfulness-based intervention. Findings: The mean baseline burnout score of 14 NICU nurses was 20.71 (low burnout). The baseline range was 13-28, with 11 nurses experiencing low burnout, three nurses experiencing moderate burnout, and zero nurses experiencing high burnout. After six months of the Wellness Bundle Implementation, the mean burnout score of 39 NICU nurses was 22.28 (low burnout). The range was 14-31, with 22 nurses experiencing low burnout, 17 nurses experiencing moderate burnout, and zero nurses experiencing high burnout. Conclusion: A NICU Wellness Bundle that incorporated meaningful recognition, fostering of interpersonal connections, and mindfulness-based activities was implemented to improve work environments and decrease nurse burnout. Participation bias and low baseline response rate may have affected the reliability of the data and necessitate another comparative measure of burnout in one year.

Keywords: burnout, NICU, nurse, wellness

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Authors: Atitallah Sofien, Bouyahia Olfa, Krifi farah, Missaoui Nada, Ben Rabeh Rania, Yahyaoui Salem, Mazigh Sonia, Boukthir Samir

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Introduction: Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn (SCFN) is a rare acute hypodermatitis characterized by skin lesions in the form of infiltrated, hard plaques and subcutaneous nodules, with a purplish-red color, occurring between the first and sixth week of life. SCFN is generally a benign condition that spontaneously regresses without sequelae, but it can be complicated by severe hypercalcemia. Methodology: This is a retrospective case report of neonatal subcutaneous fat necrosis complicated with severe hypercalcemia and nephrocalcinosis. Results: This is a case of a female newborn with a family history of a hypothyroid mother on Levothyrox, born to non-consanguineous parents and from a well-monitored pregnancy. The newborn was delivered by cesarean section at 39 weeks gestation due to severe preeclampsia. She was admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at 1 hour of life for the management of grade 1 perinatal asphyxia and immediate neonatal respiratory distress related to transient respiratory distress. Hospitalization was complicated by a healthcare-associated infection, requiring intravenous antibiotics for ten days, with a good clinical and biological response. On the 20th day of life, she developed skin lesions in the form of indurated purplish-red nodules on the back and on both arms. A SCFN was suspected. A calcium level test was conducted, which returned a result of 3 mmol/L. The rest of the phosphocalcic assessment was normal, with early signs of nephrocalcinosis observed on renal ultrasound. The diagnosis of SCFN complicated by nephrocalcinosis associated with severe hypercalcemia was made, and the condition improved with intravenous hydration and corticosteroid therapy. Conclusion: SCFN is a rare and generally benign hypodermatitis in newborns with an etiology that is still poorly understood. Despite its benign nature, SCFN can be complicated by hypercalcemia, which can sometimes be life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to conduct a thorough skin examination of newborns, especially those with risk factors, to detect and correct any potential hypercalcemia.

Keywords: subcutaneous fat necrosis, newborn, hypercalcemia, nephrocalcinosis

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Authors: Jeremy Bost, Matthew Brett, Jacob Flynn, Weihui Li

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One response during anaphylaxis is reduced blood pressure due to blood vessels relaxing and dilating. Epinephrine causes the blood vessels to constrict, which raises blood pressure to counteract the symptoms. When going through an allergic reaction, an Epinephrine injector is used to administer a shot of epinephrine intramuscularly. Epinephrine injectors have become an integral part of day-to-day life for people with allergies. Current Epinephrine injectors (EpiPen) are completely mechanical and have no sensors to monitor the vital signs of patients or give suggestions the optimal time for the shot. The EpiPens are also large and inconvenient to carry daily. The current price of an EpiPen is roughly 600$ for a pack of two. This makes carrying an EpiPen very expensive, especially when they need to be switched out when the epinephrine expires. This new design is in the form of a bracelet, which has the ability to inject epinephrine. The bracelet will be equipped with vital signs monitors that can aid the patient to sense the allergic reaction. The vital signs that would be of interest are blood pressure, heart rate and Electrodermal activity (EDA). The heart rate of the patient will be tracked by a photoplethysmograph (PPG) that is incorporated into the sensors. The heart rate is expected to increase during anaphylaxis. Blood pressure will be monitored through a radar sensor, which monitors the phase changes in electromagnetic waves as they reflect off of the blood vessel. EDA is under autonomic control. Allergen-induced anaphylaxis is caused by a release of chemical mediators from mast cells and basophils, thus changes the autonomic activity of the patient. So by measuring EDA, it will give the wearer an alert on how their autonomic nervous system is reacting. After the vital signs are collected, they will be sent to an application on a smartphone to be analyzed, which can then alert an emergency contact if the epinephrine injector on the bracelet is activated. Overall, this design creates a safer system by aiding the user in keeping track of their epinephrine injector, while making it easier to track their vital signs. Also, our design will be more affordable and more convenient to replace. Rather than replacing the entire product, only the needle and drug will be switched out and not the entire design.

Keywords: allergy, anaphylaxis, epinephrine, injector, vital signs monitor

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Authors: Maria Giovanna Lupo, Marina Camera, Marcello Rattazzi, Nicola Ferri

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A complex interplay among chronic kidney disease, lipid metabolism and aortic calcification has been recognized starting from results of many clinical and experimental studies. Here we investigated the influence of kidney function on PCSK9 levels, both in uremic rats and in clinical observation study, and its potential direct action on cultured smooth muscle cells (SMCs) calcification. In a cohort of 594 subjects enrolled in a single centre, observational, cross-sectional and longitudinal study, a negative association between GFR and plasma PCSK9 was found. Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), as co-morbidity, further increased PCSK9 plasma levels. Diet-induced uremic condition in rats, induced aortic calcification and increased total cholesterol and PCSK9 levels in plasma, livers and kidneys. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed PCSK9 expression in aortic SMCs. SMCs overexpressing PCSK9 (SMCsPCSK9), cultured for 7-days in a pro-calcification environment (2.0mM or 2.4mM inorganic phosphate, Pi) showed a significantly higher extracellular calcium (Ca2+) deposition compared to mocked SMCs. Under the same experimental conditions, the addition of exogenous recombinant PCSK9 did not increase the extracellular calcification of SMCs. By flow cytometry analysis we showed that SMCsPCSK9, in response to 2.4mM Pi, released higher number of extracellular vesicles (EVs) positive for three tetraspanin molecules, such as CD63, CD9, and CD81. EVs derived from SMCsPCSK9 tended to be more enriched in calcium and alkaline phosphatase (ALPL), compared to EVs from mocks SMCs. In conclusion, our study reveals a direct role of PCSK9 on vascular calcification induced by higher inorganic phosphate levels associated to CKD condition. This effect appears to be mediated by a positive effect of endogenous PCSK9 on the release of EVs containing Ca2+ and ALP, which facilitate the deposition inorganic calcium phosphate crystals.

Keywords: PCSK9, calcification, extracellular vesicles, chronic kidney disease

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Authors: Janneth Gonzalez, Andres Pinzon Velasco, Maria Angarita, Nicolas Mendoza

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Astrocytes play an important role in various processes in the brain, including pathological conditions such as neurodegenerative diseases. Recent studies have shown that the increase in saturated fatty acids such as palmitic acid (PA) triggers pro-inflammatory pathways in the brain. The use of synthetic neurosteroids such as tibolone has demonstrated neuro-protective mechanisms. However, there are few studies on the neuro-protective mechanisms of tibolone, especially at the systemic (omic) level. In this study, we performed the integration of multi-omic data (transcriptome and proteome) into a human astrocyte genomic scale metabolic model to study the astrocytic response during palmitate treatment. We evaluated metabolic fluxes in three scenarios (healthy, induced inflammation by PA, and tibolone treatment under PA inflammation). We also use control theory to identify those reactions that control the astrocytic system. Our results suggest that PA generates a modulation of central and secondary metabolism, showing a change in energy source use through inhibition of folate cycle and fatty acid β-oxidation and upregulation of ketone bodies formation.We found 25 metabolic switches under PA-mediated cellular regulation, 9 of which were critical only in the inflammatory scenario but not in the protective tibolone one. Within these reactions, inhibitory, total, and directional coupling profiles were key findings, playing a fundamental role in the (de)regulation in metabolic pathways that increase neurotoxicity and represent potential treatment targets. Finally, this study framework facilitates the understanding of metabolic regulation strategies, andit can be used for in silico exploring the mechanisms of astrocytic cell regulation, directing a more complex future experimental work in neurodegenerative diseases.

Keywords: astrocytes, data integration, palmitic acid, computational model, multi-omics, control theory

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Authors: Mercedes Rodriguez Sanchez, Laura Luceño Casals

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With the rise of social media, creative people and brands everywhere are constantly generating content. The students with Bachelor's Degrees in Fashion Design use platforms such as Instagram or TikTok to look for inspiration and entertainment, as well as a way to develop their own ideas and share them with a wide audience. Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) have become a central aspect of higher education, virtually affecting every aspect of the student experience. Following the current trend, during the first semester of the second year, a collaborative project across two subjects –Design Management and History of Fashion Design– was implemented. After an introductory class focused on the relationship between fashion and cinema, as well as a brief history of 20th-century fashion, the students freely chose a work team and an iconic look from a movie costume. They researched the selected movie and its sociocultural context, analyzed the costume and the work of the designer, and studied the style, fashion magazines and most popular films of the time. Students then redesigned and recreated the costume, for which they were compelled to recycle the materials they had available at home as an unavoidable requirement of the activity. Once completed the garment, students delivered in-class, team-based presentations supported by the final design, a project summary poster and a making-of video, which served as a documentation tool of the costume design process. The methodologies used include Challenge-Based Learning (CBL), debates, Internet research, application of Information and Communications Technologies, and viewing clips of classic films, among others. After finishing the projects, students were asked to complete two electronic surveys to measure the acquisition of transversal and specific competencies of each subject. Results reveal that this activity helped the students' knowledge acquisition, a deeper understanding of both subjects and their skills development. The classroom dynamic changed. The multidisciplinary approach encouraged students to collaborate with their peers, while educators were better able to keep students' interest and promote an engaging learning process. As a result, the activity discussed in this paper confirmed the research hypothesis: it is positive to propose innovative teaching projects that combine academic research with playful learning environments.

Keywords: cinema, cooperative learning, fashion design, higher education, upcycling

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Authors: Aaron G. Laylo

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This paper mainly assumes that social entrepreneurship contributes significantly to youth empowerment i.e., work and community engagement. Two questions are thus raised in order to establish this hypothesis: 1) First, how does social entrepreneurship contribute to youth empowerment?; and 2) secondly, why is social entrpreneurship significantly incremental to youth empowerment? This research aims a) to investigate on the social aspect of entrepreneurship; b) to explore challenges in youth empowerment particularly in respect to work and community engagement; and c) to inquire into whether social enterprises have truly served as a catalyst for, thus an effective response to, youth empowerment. It must be emphasized that young people, which comprise 1.8 billion in a world of seven billion are an asset; Apparently, how to maximize that potential is crucial. By utilizing exploratory research design, the paper endeavors to generate new ideas in regards to both components, develop tentative theories on social entrepreneurship, and refine certain issues that are under observation and seek scholarly attention— a rather emerging phenomenon vis a vis the challenge to empower a significant cluster of the society. Case studies will be utilized as an approach in order to comparatively analyze youth-driven social enterprises in the Philippines that have been widely recognized as successful insofar as social impact is concerned. As most scholars attested, social entrepreneurship is still at its infancy stage. Youth empowerment, meanwhile, is yet a vast area to explore insofar as academic research is concerned. Programs and projects that advocate the pursuit of these components abound. However, academic research is yet to be undertaken to see and understand their social and economic relevance. This research is also an opportunity for scholars to explore, understand, and make sense of the promise that lies in social entrepreneurship research and how it can serve as a catalyst for youth empowerment. Youth-driven social enterprises can be an influential tool in sustaining development across the globe as they intend to provide opportunities for optimal economic productivity that recognizes social inclusion. Ultimately, this study should be able to contribute to both research and development-in-practice communities for the greater good of the society. By establishing the nexus between these two components, the research may contribute to fostering greater exploration of the benefits that both may yield to human progress as well as the gaps that have to be filled in by various policy stakeholders relevant to these units.

Keywords: social entpreneurship, youth, empowerment, social inclusion

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Authors: Weirong Wang, Shenghong Huang, Xisheng Luo, Zhenyu Li

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Material mixing process and related dynamic issues at extreme compressing conditions have gained more and more concerns in last ten years because of the engineering appealings in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and hypervelocity aircraft developments. However, there lacks models and methods that can handle fully coupled turbulent material mixing and complex fluid evolution under conditions of high energy density regime up to now. In aspects of macro hydrodynamics, three numerical methods such as direct numerical simulation (DNS), large eddy simulation (LES) and Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations (RANS) has obtained relative acceptable consensus under the conditions of low energy density regime. However, under the conditions of high energy density regime, they can not be applied directly due to occurrence of dissociation, ionization, dramatic change of equation of state, thermodynamic properties etc., which may make the governing equations invalid in some coupled situations. However, in view of micro/meso scale regime, the methods based on Molecular Dynamics (MD) as well as Monte Carlo (MC) model are proved to be promising and effective ways to investigate such issues. In this study, both classical MD and first-principle based electron force field MD (eFF-MD) methods are applied to investigate Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability of metal Lithium and gas Hydrogen (Li-H2) interface mixing at different shock loading speed ranging from 3 km/s to 30 km/s. It is found that: 1) Classical MD method based on predefined potential functions has some limits in application to extreme conditions, since it cannot simulate the ionization process and its potential functions are not suitable to all conditions, while the eFF-MD method can correctly simulate the ionization process due to its ‘ab initio’ feature; 2) Due to computational cost, the eFF-MD results are also influenced by simulation domain dimensions, boundary conditions and relaxation time choices, etc., in computations. Series of tests have been conducted to determine the optimized parameters. 3) Ionization induced by strong shock compression has important effects on Li-H2 interface evolutions of RMI, indicating a new micromechanism of RMI under conditions of high energy density regime.

Keywords: first-principle, ionization, molecular dynamics, material mixture, Richtmyer-Meshkov instability

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Authors: Kareem Kalo Qassim, Hassan A. M. Mezori

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The bioaccumulation of heavy metals in the environment has become a matter of public interest because it persists in the soil longer than other components of the biosphere. Bioremediation has emerged as the ideal alternative environmentally friendly and ecological sound technology for removing pollutants from polluted sites. Phytoremediation is an attractive remediation technology that makes use of plants to remove contaminants from the environment. A pot experiment was conducted under lath house conditions to evaluate the ability of plants (H. Annuus, S. Bicolor, and Z. Mays) to phytoextract heavy metals from artificially polluted soils by different concentrations of Cadmium, Lead, and Copper (0, 100, 200, 200 + EDTA). The Seed germination was influenced by the presence of heavy metals and inhibition increased by increasing the heavy metals concentration. A significant difference was observed in the effect of lead and copper. Generally, the length of root, shoot, and intact plant was reduced by all the concentrations used in the experiments. The root system was affected more than the shoot system of the same plants. All heavy metals concentrations caused a reduction in the dry weight and chlorophyll content of all tested plant species; the reduction was increased by increasing the concentration of all heavy metals, especially when EDTA was added. The Bioaccumulation of heavy metals concentration of all the tested plants increased by increasing the concentration. The highest accumulation of cadmium was (81.77mg kg⁻¹), and copper was ( 65.07 mg kg⁻¹) in S. bicolor, while lead-in H. annuus was (60.74 mg kg⁻¹). The order of accumulation of heavy metals in all the tested plant species in the root system and the intact plant was as follows: H. annuus ˃ S. bicolor ˃ Z. mays and shoot system was: H. annuus ˃ Z. mays ˃ S. bicolor. The highest TF of cadmium was (0.41) in H. annuus; lead was (0.72) in Z. mays and S. bicolor, and copper was (0.44) in Z. mays. The tested plant species varied in their response to the heavy metals and the inhibition was concentration depended. In general, the roots system was more affected by heavy metals toxicity than the shoots system; the roots system accumulated more heavy metals in the roots than the shoots system. The addition of EDTA to the last concentration of heavy metals facilitated the availably and absorption of heavy metals from the polluted soil by all tested plant species.

Keywords: phytoextyraction, phytoremediation, translocation, heavy metals, soil pollution

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Authors: Oloruntegbe Kunle Oke, Alake Ese Monica, Odutuyi Olubu Musili

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This research explores the differing effectiveness of cascade and cluster models in professional development programs for educators in Ondo State, Nigeria. The cascade model emphasizes a top-down approach, where training is cascaded from expert trainers to lower levels of teachers. In contrast, the cluster model, a bottom-up approach, fosters collaborative learning among teachers within specific clusters. Through a review of the literature and empirical studies of the implementations of the former in two academic sessions followed by the cluster model in another two, the study examined their effectiveness on teacher development, productivity and students’ achievements. The study also drew a comparative analysis of the strengths and weaknesses associated with each model, considering factors such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, adaptability in various contexts, and sustainability. 2500 teachers from Ondo State Primary Schools participated in the cascade with intensive training in five zones for a week each in two academic sessions. On the other hand, 1,980 and 1,663 teachers in 52 and 34 clusters, respectively, were in the first and the following session. The programs were designed for one week of rigorous training of teachers by facilitators in the former while the latter was made up of four components: sit-in-observation, need-based assessment workshop, pre-cluster and the actual cluster meetings in addition to sensitization, and took place one day a week for ten weeks. Validated Cluster Impact Survey Instruments, CISI and Teacher’s Assessment Questionnaire (TAQ) were administered to ascertain the effectiveness of the models during and after implementation. The findings from the literature detailed specific effectiveness, strengths and limitations of each approach, especially the potential for inconsistencies and resistance to change. Findings from the data collected revealed the superiority of the cluster model. Response to TAQ equally showed content knowledge and skill update in both but were more sustained in the cluster model. Overall, the study contributes to the ongoing discourse on effective strategies for improving teacher training and enhancing student outcomes, offering practical recommendations for the development and implementation of future professional development projects.

Keywords: cascade model, cluster model, teachers’ development, productivity, students’ achievement

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