Search results for: structured knowledge

Authors: Nino Kobakhidze, Endi Varsimashvili, Davit Makadze

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The Caucasus is a link of the Alpine-Himalayan fold belt and involves the Greater Caucasus and the Lesser Caucasus fold systems and the Intermountain area. The study object is located within the northernmost part of the Lesser Caucasus orogen, in the eastern part of Achara-Trialeti fold -thrust belt. This area was rather well surveyed in 70th of the twentieth century in terms of oil-and-gas potential, but to our best knowledge, detailed sedimentological studies have not been conducted so far. In order to fill this gap, the authors of the present thesis started research in this direction. One of the objects selected for the research was the deposits of the Kavtura river valley situated on the northern slope of the Trialeti ridge. Paleocene-Lower Eocene deposits known in scientific literature as ‘Borjomi Flysch’ (Turbidites) are exposed in the mentioned area. During the research, the following methodologies were applied: selection of key cross sections, a collection of rock samples, microscopic description of thin sections, mineralogical and petrological analysis of material and identification of trace fossils. The study of Paleocene-Lower Eocene deposits starts with Kavtura river valley in the east, where they are well characterized by microfauna. The cross-section of the deposits starts with Danian variegated marlstone conformably overlain by the alternation of thick and thin-bedded sandstones (thickness 40-50 cm). They are continued with interbedded of thin-bedded sandstones and shales(thickness 4-5 m). On the sole surface of sandstones ichnogenera ‘Helmintopsis’ and ‘Scolicia’ are recorded and within the bed –‘Chondrites’ is found. Towards the Riverhead, there is a 1-2 m gap in sedimentation; then again the Paleocene-Lower Eocene sediments crop out. They starting with alternation of grey-green medium-grained sandstones and shales enclosing dark color plant detritus. They are overlain by the interbedded of calcareous sandstones and marls, where the thickness of sandstones is variable (20-70 cm). Ichnogenus – ‘Scolicia’ is found here. Upwards the above-mentioned deposits pass into Middle Eocenian volcanogenic-sedimentary suits. In the Kavtura river valley, the thickness of the Paleocene-Lower Eocene deposits is 300-400 m. In the process of research, the following activities are conducted: the facial analysis of host rocks, correlation of the study section with other cross sections and interpretation of depositional environment of the area. In the area the authors have found and described ichnogenera; their preliminary determination have shown that they belong to pre-depositional (‘Helmintopsis’) and post-depositional (‘Chondrites’) forms. As known, during the Cretaceous-Paleogene time, the Achara-Trialeti fold-thrust belt extensional basin was the accumulation area with great thicknesses (from shallow to deep marine sediments). It is confirmed once more by the authors investigations preliminary results of paleoichnological studies inclusive.

Keywords: flysh deposits, lithology, The Lesser Caucasus, trace fossils

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Authors: Nicole A. Alford

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The study of online graduate education started just 30 years ago, with the first online graduate program in the 1990s. Institutions are looking for ways to increase retention and support the needs of students with the rapid expansion of online higher education due to the global pandemic. Online education provides access and opportunities to those who otherwise would be unable to pursue an advanced degree for logistical reasons. Thus, the objective of the critical literature review is to survey current research of student experiences given the expanding role of online doctoral programs. The guiding research questions are: What are the personal, professional, and student life practices of graduate students who enrolled in a fully online university doctoral program or course? and How do graduate students who enrolled in a fully online doctoral program or course describe the factors that contributed to their continued study? The systematic literature review was conducted employing a variety of databases to locate articles using key Boolean terms and synonyms within three categories of the e-learning, doctoral education, and student perspectives. Inclusion criteria for the literature review consisted of empirical peer-reviewed studies with original data sources that focused on doctoral programs and courses within a fully online environment and centered around student experiences. A total of 16 articles were selected based on the inclusion criteria and systemically analyzed through coding using the Boote and Beile criteria. Major findings suggest that doctoral students face stressors related to social and emotional wellbeing in the online environment. A lack of social connection, isolation, and burnout were the main challenges experienced by students. Students found support from their colleagues, advisors, and faculty to persist. Communities and cohorts of online doctoral students were found to guard against these challenges. Moreover, in the methods section of the articles, there was a lack of specificity related to student demographics, general student information, and insufficient detail about the online doctoral program. Additionally, descriptions regarding the experiences of cohorts and communities in the online environment were vague and not easily replicable with the given details. This literature review reveals that doctoral students face social and emotional challenges related to isolation and the rigor of the academic process and lean on others for support to continue in their studies. Given the lack of current knowledge about online doctoral students, it proves to be a challenge to identify effective practices and create high-retention doctoral programs in online environments. The paucity of information combined with the dramatic transition to e-learning due to the global pandemic can provide a perfect storm for attrition in these programs. Several higher education institutions have transitioned graduate studies online, thus providing an opportunity for further exploration. Given the new necessity of online learning, this work provides insight into examining current practices in online doctoral programs that have moved to this modality during the pandemic. The significance of the literature review provides a springboard for research into online doctoral programs as the solution to continue advanced education amongst a global pandemic.

Keywords: e-learning, experiences, higher education, literature review

Procedia PDF Downloads 113

Authors: Lauren Beth Birney

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BOP-CCERS is a consortium of scientists, K-16 New York City students, faculty, academicians, teachers, stakeholders, STEM Industry professionals, CBO’s, NPO’s, citizen scientists, and local businesses working in partnership to restore New York Harbor’s oyster populations while at the same time providing clean water in New York Harbor. BOP-CCERS gives students an opportunity to learn hands-on about environmental stewardship as well as environmental law and policy by giving students real responsibility. The purpose of this REU will allow for the BOP CCERS Project to further broaden its parameters into the focus of environmental law and policy where further change can be affected. Creating opportunities for undergraduates to work collaboratively with graduate students in law and policy and envision themselves in STEM careers in the field of law continues to be of importance in this project. More importantly, creating opportunities for underrepresented students to pursue careers in STEM Education has been a goal of the project over the last ten years. By raising the level of student interest in community-based citizen science integrated into environmental law and policy, a more diversified workforce will be fostered through the momentum of this dynamic program. The continuing climate crisis facing our planet calls for 21st-century skill development that includes learning and innovation skills derived from critical thinking, which will help REU students address the issues of climate change facing our planet. The demand for a climate-friendly workforce will continue to be met through this community-based citizen science effort. Environmental laws and policies play a crucial role in protecting humans, animals, resources, and habitats. Without these laws, there would be no regulations concerning pollution or contamination of our waterways. Environmental law serves as a mechanism to protect the land, air, water, and soil of our planet. To protect the environment, it is crucial that future policymakers and legal experts both understand and value the importance of environmental protection. The Environmental Law and Policy REU provides students with the opportunity to learn, through hands-on work, the skills, and knowledge needed to help foster a legal workforce centered around environmental protection while participating alongside the BOP CCERS researchers in order to gain research experience. Broadening this area to law and policy will further increase these opportunities and permit students to ultimately affect and influence larger-scale change on a global level while further diversifying the STEM workforce. Students’ findings will be shared at the annual STEM Institute at Pace University in August 2022. Basic research methodologies include qualitative and quantitative analysis performed by the research team. Early findings indicate that providing students with an opportunity to experience, explore and participate in environmental science programs such as these enhances their interests in pursuing STEM careers in Law and Policy, with the focus being on providing opportunities for underserved, marginalized, and underrepresented populations.

Keywords: environmental restoration science, citizen science, environmental law and policy, STEM education

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Authors: Joao Ferreira Do Rosario, Maria De Lurdes Calisto, Ana Teresa Machado, Nuno Gustavo, Rui Gonçalves

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The tourism sector is increasingly important to the economic performance of countries and a relevant theme to academic research, increasing the importance of understanding how and why tourists evaluate tourism locations. The city of Lisbon is currently a tourist destination of excellence in the European and world-wide panorama, registering a significant growth of the economic weight of its tourist activities in the Gross Added Value of the region. Although there is research on the feedback of those who visit tourist sites and different methodologies for studying tourist sites have been applied, this research seeks to be innovative in the objective of obtaining insights on the competitiveness in terms of attractiveness of the city of Lisbon as a tourist destination, based the feedback of tourists in the Facebook pages of the most visited museums and monuments of Lisbon, an interpretation that is relevant in the development of strategies of tourist attraction. The intangible dimension of the tourism offer, due to its unique condition of simultaneous production and consumption, makes eWOM particularly relevant. The testimony of consumers is thus a decisive factor in the decision-making and buying process in tourism. Online social networks are one of the most used platforms for tourists to evaluate the attractiveness's points of a tourism destination (e.g. cultural and historical heritage), with this user-generated feedback enabling relevant information about the customer-tourists. This information is related to the tourist experience representing the true voice of the customer. Furthermore, this voice perceived by others as genuine, opposite to marketing messages, may have a powerful word-of-mouth influence on other potential tourists. The relevance of online reviews sharing, however, becomes particularly complex, considering social media users’ different profiles or the possible and different sources of information available, as well as their associated reputation associated with each source. In the light of these trends, our research focuses on the tourists’ feedback on Facebook pages of the most visited museums and monuments of Lisbon that contribute to its attractiveness as a tourism destination. Sentiment Analysis is the methodology selected for this research, using public available information in the online context, which was deemed as an appropriate non-participatory observation method. Data will be collected from two museums (Museu dos Coches and Museu de Arte Antiga) and three monuments ((Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Torre de Belém and Panteão Nacional) Facebook pages during a period of one year. The research results will help in the evaluation of the considered places by the tourists, their contribution to the city attractiveness and present insights helpful for the management decisions regarding this museums and monuments. The results of this study will also contribute to a better knowledge of the tourism sector, namely the identification of attributes in the evaluation and choice of the city of Lisbon as a tourist destination. Further research will evaluate the Lisbon attraction points for tourists in different categories beyond museums and monuments, will also evaluate the tourist feedback from other sources like TripAdvisor and apply the same methodology in other cities and country regions.

Keywords: Lisbon tourism, opinion mining, sentiment analysis, tourism location attractiveness evaluation

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Authors: Till Fehlauer, Blanche Collin, Bernard Angeletti, Andrea Somogyi, Claire Lallemand, Perrine Chaurand, Cédric Dentant, Clement Levard, Jerome Rose

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Over the last decades, yttrium (Y) has gained importance in high-tech applications. It is an essential part of alloys and compounds used for lasers, displays, or cell phones, for example. Due to its chemical similarities with the lanthanides, Y is often considered a rare earth element (REE). Despite their increased usage, the environmental behavior of REEs remains poorly understood. Especially regarding their interactions with plants, many uncertainties exist. On the one hand, Y is known to have a negative effect on root development and germination, but on the other hand, it appears to promote plant growth at low concentrations. In order to understand these phenomena, a precise knowledge is necessary about how Y is absorbed by the plant and how it is handled once inside the organism. Contradictory studies exist, stating that due to a similar ionic radius, Y and the other REEs might be absorbed through Ca²⁺-channels, while others suspect that Y has a shared pathway with Al³⁺. In this study, laser ablation coupled ICP-MS, and synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence (µXRF, beamline Nanoscopium, SOLEIL, France) have been used in order to localize Y within the plant tissue and identify associated elements. The plant used in this study is Saxifraga paniculata, a rugged alpine plant that has shown an affinity for Y in previous studies (in prep.). Furthermore, Saxifraga paniculata performs guttation, which means that it possesses phloem sap secreting openings on the leaf surface that serve to regulate root pressure. These so-called hydathodes could provide special insights in elemental transport in plants. The plants have been grown on Y doped soil (500mg/kg DW) for four months. The results showed that Y was mainly concentrated in the roots of Saxifraga paniculata (260 ± 85mg/kg), and only a small amount was translocated to the leaves (10 ± 7.8mg/kg). µXRF analysis indicated that within the root transects, the majority of Y remained in the epidermis and hardly penetrated the stele. Laser ablation coupled ICP-MS confirmed this finding and showed a positive correlation in the roots between Y, Fe, Al, and to a lesser extent Ca. In the stem transect, Y was mainly detected in a hotspot of approximately 40µm in diameter situated in the endodermis area. Within the stem and especially in the hotspot, Y was highly colocalized with Al and Fe. Similar-sized Y hotspots have been detected in/on the leaves. All of them were strongly colocalized with Al and Fe, except for those situated within the hydathodes, which showed no colocalization with any of the measured elements. Accordingly, a relation between Y and Ca during root uptake remains possible, whereas a correlation to Fe and Al appears to be dominant in the aerial parts, suggesting common storage compartments, the formation of complexes, or a shared pathway during translocation.

Keywords: laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), Phytoaccumulation, Rare earth elements, Saxifraga paniculata, Synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence, Yttrium

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Authors: Yuli Hou, Jianping Sun, Mengdan Gao, Hui Liu, Ling Qin, Ang Li, Dongfu Li, Yonghong Zhang, Yan Zhao

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Background and Aims: Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) is a component of ISG (Interferon-Stimulated Gene) family. IFITM3 has been recognized as a key signal molecule regulating cell growth in some tumors. However, the function of IFITM3 rs12252-CC genotype in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unknown to author’s best knowledge. A cohort study was employed to clarify the relationship between IFITM3 rs12252-CC genotype and HCC progression, and cellular experiments were used to investigate the correlation of function of IFITM3 and the progress of HCC. Methods: 336 candidates were enrolled in study, including 156 with HBV related HCC and 180 with chronic Hepatitis B infections or liver cirrhosis. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to determine the gene polymorphism of IFITM3. The functions of IFITM3 were detected in PLC/PRF/5 cell with different treated:LV-IFITM3 transfected with lentivirus to knockdown the expression of IFITM3 and LV-NC transfected with empty lentivirus as negative control. The IFITM3 expression, proliferation and migration were detected by Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), QuantiGene Plex 2.0 assay, western blotting, immunohistochemistry, Cell Counting Kit(CCK)-8 and wound healing respectively. Six samples (three infected with empty lentiviral as control; three infected with LV-IFITM3 vector lentiviral as experimental group ) of PLC/PRF/5 were sequenced at BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute, Shenzhen,China) using RNA-seq technology to identify the IFITM3-related signaling pathways and chose PI3K/AKT pathway as related signaling to verify. Results: The patients with HCC had a significantly higher proportion of IFITM3 rs12252-CC compared with the patients with chronic HBV infection or liver cirrhosis. The distribution of CC genotype in HCC patients with low differentiation was significantly higher than that in those with high differentiation. Patients with CC genotype found with bigger tumor size, higher percentage of vascular thrombosis, higher distribution of low differentiation and higher 5-year relapse rate than those with CT/TT genotypes. The expression of IFITM3 was higher in HCC tissues than adjacent normal tissues, and the level of IFITM3 was higher in HCC tissues with low differentiation and metastatic than high/medium differentiation and without metastatic. Higher RNA level of IFITM3 was found in CC genotype than TT genotype. In PLC/PRF/5 cell with knockdown, the ability of cell proliferation and migration was inhibited. Analysis RNA sequencing and verification of RT-PCR found out the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin(PI3K/AKT/mTOR) pathway was associated with knockdown IFITM3.With the inhibition of IFITM3, the expression of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway was blocked and the expression of vimentin was decreased. Conclusions: IFITM3 rs12252-CC with the higher expression plays a vital role in the progress of HCC by regulating HCC cell proliferation and migration. These effects are associated with PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Keywords: IFITM3, interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3, HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma, PI3K/ AKT/mTOR, phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin

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Authors: Isaac Martin, Abigail Lark, Sandra Morales, Eric W. Alton, Jane C. Davies

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Objectives: The cystic fibrosis (CF) lung is a unique microbiological niche, wherein harmful bacteria persist for many years despite antibiotic therapy. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa), the major culprit leading to lung decline and increased mortality, thrives in the lungs of patients with CF due to several factors that have been linked with poor antibiotic performance. Our group is investigating alternative therapies including bacteriophage cocktails with which we have previously demonstrated efficacy against planktonic organisms. In this study, we explored the effects of a 4-phage cocktail on Pa grown in two different conditions, intended to mirror the CF lung: a) alongside standard antibiotic treatment in pre-formed biofilms (structures formed by Pa-secreted exopolysaccharides which provide both physical and cell division barriers to antimicrobials and host defenses and b) in an acidic environment postulated to be present in the CF airway due both to the primary defect in bicarbonate secretion and secondary effects of inflammation. Methods: 16 Pa strains from CF patients at the Royal Brompton Hospital were selected based on sensitivity to a) ceftazidime/ tobramycin and b) the phage cocktail in a conventional plaque assay. To assess efficacy of phage in biofilms, 96 well plates with Pa (5x10⁷ CFU/ ml) were incubated in static conditions, allowing adherent bacterial colonies to form for 24 hr. Ceftazidime and tobramycin (both at 2 × MIC) were added, +/- bacteriophage (4x10⁸ PFU/mL) for a further 24 hr. Cell viability and biomass were estimated using fluorescent resazurin and crystal violet assays, respectively. To evaluate the effect of pH, strains were grown planktonically in shaking 96 well plates at pH 6.0, 6.6, 7.0 and 7.5 with tobramycin or phage, at varying concentrations. Cell viability was quantified by fluorescent resazurin assay. Results: For the biofilm assay, treatment groups were compared with untreated controls and expressed as percent reduction in cell viability and biomass. Addition of the 4-phage cocktail resulted in a 1.3-fold reduction in cell viability and 1.7-fold reduction in biomass (p < 0.001) when compared to standard antibiotic treatment alone. Notably, there was a 50 ± 15% reduction in cell viability and 60 ± 12% reduction in biomass (95% CI) for the 4 biofilms demonstrating the most resistance to antibiotic treatment. 83% of strains tested (n=6) showed decreased bacterial killing by tobramycin at acidic pHs (p < 0.01). However, 25% of strains (n=12) showed improved phage killing at acidic pHs (p < 0.05), with none showing the pattern of reduced efficacy at acidic pH demonstrated by tobramycin. Conclusion: The 4-phage anti-Pa cocktail tested against Pa performs well in pre-formed biofilms and in acidic environments; two conditions intended to mimic the CF lung. To our knowledge, these are the first data looking at the effects of subtle pH changes on phage-mediated bacterial killing in the context of Pa infection. These findings contribute to a growing body of evidence supporting the use of nebulised lytic bacteriophage as a treatment in the context of lung infection.

Keywords: biofilm, cystic fibrosis, pH, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, lytic bacteriophage

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Authors: H. I. Obadiah, S. N. Wieser, E. A. Omudu, B. O. Atu, O. Byanet, L. Schnittger, M. Florin-Christensen

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Sarcocystis sp. are Apicomplexan protozoan parasites with a life cycle that involves a predator and a prey as final and intermediate hosts, respectively. In tissues of the intermediate hosts, the parasites produce sarcocysts that vary in size and morphology according to the species. When a suitable predator ingests sarcocyst-containing meat, the parasites are released in the intestine and undergo sexual reproduction producing infective sporocysts, which are excreted with the feces into the environment. The cycle is closed when a prey ingests sporocyst-contaminated water or pasture; the parasites gain access to the circulation, and eventually invade tissues and reproduce asexually yielding sarcocysts. Pig farming is a common practice in Nigeria as well as in many countries around the world. In addition to its importance as protein source, pork is also a source of several pathogens relevant to humans. In the case of Sarcocystis, three species have been described both in domestic and wild pigs, namely, S. miescheriana, S. porcifelis and S. suihominis. Humans can act both as final and aberrant intermediate hosts of S. suihominis, after ingesting undercooked sarcocyst-infested pork. Infections are usually asymptomatic but can be associated with inappetence, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, or with muscle pain, fever, eosinophilia and bronchospasm, in humans acting as final or intermediate hosts, respectively. Moreover, excretion of infective forms with human feces leads to further dissemination of the infection. In this study, macroscopic sarcocysts of white color, oval shape and a size range of approximately 3-5 mm were observed in the skeletal muscle of a slaughtered pig in an abattoir in Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria, destined to human consumption. Sarcocysts were excised and washed in distilled water, and genomic DNA was extracted using a commercial kit. The near-complete length of the 18S rRNA gene was analyzed after PCR amplification of two overlapping fragments, each of which were submitted to direct sequencing. In addition, the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase (cox-1) gene was PCR-amplified and directly sequenced. Two phylogenetic trees containing the obtained sequences along with available relevant 18S rRNA and cox-1 sequences were constructed by neighbor joining after alignment, using the corresponding sequences of Toxoplasma gondii as outgroup. The results showed in both cases that the analyzed sequences grouped with S. suihominis with high bootstrap value, confirming the identity of this macroscopic sarcocyst-forming parasite as S. suihominis. To the best of our knowledge, these results represent the first demonstration of this parasite in pigs of Nigeria and the largest sarcocysts described so far for S. suihominis. The close proximity between pigs and humans in pig farms, and the frequent poor sanitary conditions in human dwellings strongly suggest that the parasite undergoes the sexual stages of its life cycle in humans as final hosts. These findings provide an important reference for the examination and control of Sarcocystis species in pigs of Nigeria.

Keywords: nigeria, pork, sarcocystis suihominis, zoonotic parasite

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Authors: Atefeh Omidkhah Kharashtomi, Rasoul Hedayat Nejad, Saeed Bakhtiyari

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Circulation paths and indoor connection network of the building play an important role both in the daily operation of the building and during evacuation in emergency situations. The degree of legibility of the paths for navigation inside the building has a deep connection with the perceptive and cognitive system of human, and the way the surrounding environment is being perceived. Human perception of the space is based on the sensory systems in a three-dimensional environment, and non-linearly, so it is necessary to avoid reducing its representations in architectural design as a two-dimensional and linear issue. Today, the advances in the field of virtual reality (VR) technology have led to various applications, and architecture and building science can benefit greatly from these capabilities. Especially in cases where the design solution requires a detailed and complete understanding of the human perception of the environment and the behavioral response, special attention to VR technologies could be a priority. Way-finding in the indoor circulation network is a proper example for such application. Success in way-finding could be achieved if human perception of the route and the behavioral reaction have been considered in advance and reflected in the architectural design. This paper discusses the VR technology applications for the way-finding improvements in indoor engineering of the building. In a systematic review, with a database consisting of numerous studies, firstly, four categories for VR applications for circulation way-finding have been identified: 1) data collection of key parameters, 2) comparison of the effect of each parameter in virtual environment versus real world (in order to improve the design), 3) comparing experiment results in the application of different VR devices/ methods with each other or with the results of building simulation, and 4) training and planning. Since the costs of technical equipment and knowledge required to use VR tools lead to the limitation of its use for all design projects, priority buildings for the use of VR during design are introduced based on case-studies analysis. The results indicate that VR technology provides opportunities for designers to solve complex buildings design challenges in an effective and efficient manner. Then environmental parameters and the architecture of the circulation routes (indicators such as route configuration, topology, signs, structural and non-structural components, etc.) and the characteristics of each (metrics such as dimensions, proportions, color, transparency, texture, etc.) are classified for the VR way-finding experiments. Then, according to human behavior and reaction in the movement-related issues, the necessity of scenario-based and experiment design for using VR technology to improve the design and receive feedback from the test participants has been described. The parameters related to the scenario design are presented in a flowchart in the form of test design, data determination and interpretation, recording results, analysis, errors, validation and reporting. Also, the experiment environment design is discussed for equipment selection according to the scenario, parameters under study as well as creating the sense of illusion in the terms of place illusion, plausibility and illusion of body ownership.

Keywords: virtual reality (VR), way-finding, indoor, circulation, design

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Authors: Sherine El-Menshawy

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Death, funerary beliefs and customs form an essential feature of belief systems and practices in many cultures. It is evident that during the pre-historical periods, various techniques of corpses burial and funerary rituals were conducted. Occasionally, corpses were merely buried in the sand, or in a grave where the body is placed in a contracted position- with knees drawn up under the chin and hands normally lying before the face- with mounds of sand, marking the grave or the bodies were burnt. However, common practice, that was demonstrable in the archaeological record, was burial. The earliest graves were very simple consisting of a shallow circular or oval pits in the ground. The current study focuses on the material culture at Qatar during the pre-historical period, specifically their funerary architecture and burial practices. Since information about burial customs and funerary practices in Qatar prehistory is both scarce and fragmentary, the importance of such study is to answer research questions related to funerary believes and burial habits during the early stages of civilization transformations at prehistory Qatar compared with Mesopotamia, since chronologically, the earliest pottery discovered in Qatar belongs to prehistoric Ubaid culture of Mesopotamia, that was collected from the excavations. This will lead to deep understanding of life and social status in pre-historical period at Qatar. The research also explores the relationship between pre-history Qatar funerary traditions and those of neighboring cultures in the Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt, with the aim of ascertaining the distinctive aspects of pre-history Qatar culture, the reception of classical culture and the role it played in the creation of local cultural identities in the Near East. Methodologies of this study based on published books and articles in addition to unpublished reports of the Danish excavation team that excavated in and around Doha, Qatar archaeological sites from the 50th. The study is also constructed on compared material related to burial customs found in Mesopotamia. Therefore this current research: (i) Advances knowledge of the burial customs of the ancient people who inhabited Qatar, a study which is unknown recently to scholars, the study though will apply deep understanding of the history of ancient Qatar and its culture and values with an aim to share this invaluable human heritage. (ii) The study is of special significance for the field of studies, since evidence derived from the current study has great value for the study of living conditions, social structure, religious beliefs and ritual practices. (iii) Excavations brought to light burials of different categories. The graves date to the bronze and Iron ages. Their structure varies between mounds above the ground or burials below the ground level. Evidence comes from sites such as Al-Da’asa, Ras Abruk, and Al-Khor. Painted Ubaid sherds of Mesopotamian culture have been discovered in Qatar from sites such as Al-Da’asa, Ras Abruk, and Bir Zekrit. In conclusion, there is no comprehensive study which has been done and lack of general synthesis of information about funerary practices is problematic. Therefore, the study will fill in the gaps in the area.

Keywords: archaeological, burial, findings, prehistory, Qatar

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Authors: Marielcio Lacerda, Angelo Paulino, Elcio Shiguemori, Alvaro Damiao, Lamartine Guimaraes, Camila Anjos

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Accurate information about the terrain is extremely important in disaster management activities or conflict. This paper proposes the use of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) at the identification of Airdrop Zones (AZs) and Helicopter Landing Zones (HLZs). In this paper we consider the AZs the zones where troops or supplies are dropped by parachute, and HLZs areas where victims can be rescued. The use of digital image processing enables the automatic generation of an orthorectified mosaic and an actual Digital Surface Model (DSM). This methodology allows obtaining this fundamental information to the terrain’s comprehension post-disaster in a short amount of time and with good accuracy. In order to get the identification and classification of AZs and HLZs images from DJI drone, model Phantom 4 have been used. The images were obtained with the knowledge and authorization of the responsible sectors and were duly registered in the control agencies. The flight was performed on May 24, 2017, and approximately 1,300 images were obtained during approximately 1 hour of flight. Afterward, new attributes were generated by Feature Extraction (FE) from the original images. The use of multispectral images and complementary attributes generated independently from them increases the accuracy of classification. The attributes of this work include the Declivity Map and Principal Component Analysis (PCA). For the classification four distinct classes were considered: HLZ 1 – small size (18m x 18m); HLZ 2 – medium size (23m x 23m); HLZ 3 – large size (28m x 28m); AZ (100m x 100m). The Decision Tree method Random Forest (RF) was used in this work. RF is a classification method that uses a large collection of de-correlated decision trees. Different random sets of samples are used as sampled objects. The results of classification from each tree and for each object is called a class vote. The resulting classification is decided by a majority of class votes. In this case, we used 200 trees for the execution of RF in the software WEKA 3.8. The classification result was visualized on QGIS Desktop 2.12.3. Through the methodology used, it was possible to classify in the study area: 6 areas as HLZ 1, 6 areas as HLZ 2, 4 areas as HLZ 3; and 2 areas as AZ. It should be noted that an area classified as AZ covers the classifications of the other classes, and may be used as AZ, HLZ of large size (HLZ3), medium size (HLZ2) and small size helicopters (HLZ1). Likewise, an area classified as HLZ for large rotary wing aircraft (HLZ3) covers the smaller area classifications, and so on. It was concluded that images obtained through small UAV are of great use in calamity situations since they can provide data with high accuracy, with low cost, low risk and ease and agility in obtaining aerial photographs. This allows the generation, in a short time, of information about the features of the terrain in order to serve as an important decision support tool.

Keywords: disaster management, unmanned aircraft systems, helicopter landing zones, airdrop zones, random forest

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Authors: Jessica Neri, Elena Faccio

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In Europe, except for Denmark and Malta, the legal gender change and the stages of the possible process of gender transition are bound to the diagnosis of a gender identity disorder. The requirement of the evaluation of a mental disorder might have many implications on trans people’s self-representations, interpersonal relations in different social contexts and the therapeutic relations with clinicians during the transition. Psychopathological language may contribute to define the individual’s reality from normative presuppositions with value implications related to the dominant cultural principles. In an effort to mark the boundaries between sanity and pathology, it concurs to the definition of the management procedures of the constructed diversities and deviances, legitimizing the operational practices of particular professional figures. The aim of this research concerns the analysis of the diagnostic category of gender dysphoria contained in the last edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. In particular, this study focuses on the relationship between the implicit and explicit assumptions related to the expressions of gender non-conformity, that sustain the language and the criteria characterizing the Manual, and the possible implications on people’s narratives of transition. In order to achieve this objective two main research methods were used: historical reconstruction of the diagnostic category in the different versions of the Manual and content analysis of that category in the present version. From the historical analysis, in the medical and psychiatric field gender non-conformity has been predominantly explicated by naturalistic perspectives, naming it ‘transsexualism’ and collocating it in the category of gender identity disorder. Currently, pathological judged experiences are represented by gender dysphoria, described in the DSM-5 as the distress that may accompany the incongruence between one's experienced or expressed gender and one's assigned gender, specifying that there must be ‘evidence’ of this. Implicit theories about gender binary, parallelism between gender identity, sex and sexuality and the understanding of the mental health and the subject’s agency as subordinated to the expert knowledge, can be found in the process of designation of the category. A lack of awareness of the historical, social and political aspects connected to the cultural and normative dimensions at the basis of these implicit theories, can be noticed and data given by culture and data given by supposed -biological or psychological- nature, are often confused. This reductionist interpretation of gender and its presumed diversities legitimize the clinician to assume the role of searching and orienting, in a correctional perspective, the biographical elements that correspond to him specific expectations, with no space for other possibilities and identity configurations for people in transition. This research may contribute to the current critical debate about the epistemological foundation of the psychodiagnosis, emphasizing the pragmatic effects on the individuals and on the psychological practice in its wider social context. This work also permits to underline the risks due to the lack of awareness of the processes of social construction of the diagnostic system and its essential role of defence of the values that hold up the symbolic universe of reference.

Keywords: diagnosis, gender dysphoria, narratives, social constructionism

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Authors: Ruairi J. McMillan

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Introduction: This critical analysis aims to ascertain how well neuroanatomical aetiologies are communicated within 20 case reports of aphasia. Neuroanatomical visualisations based on dissected brain specimens were produced and combined with white matter tract and vascular taxonomies of function in order to address the most consistently underreported features found within the aphasic case study reports. Together, these approaches are intended to integrate aphasiological knowledge from the past 20 years with aphasiological diagnostics, and to act as prototypal resources for both researchers and clinical professionals. The medico-legal precedent for aphasia diagnostics under Canadian, US and UK case law and the neuroimaging/neurological diagnostics relative to the functional capacity of aphasic patients are discussed in relation to the major findings of the literary analysis, neuroimaging protocols in clinical use today, and the neuroanatomical aetiologies of different aphasias. Basic Methodology: Literature searches of relevant scientific databases (e.g, OVID medline) were carried out using search terms such as aphasia case study (year) & stroke induced aphasia case study. A series of 7 diagnostic reporting criteria were formulated, and the resulting case studies were scored / 7 alongside clinical stroke criteria. In order to focus on the diagnostic assessment of the patient’s condition, only the case report proper (not the discussion) was used to quantify results. Statistical testing established if specific reporting criteria were associated with higher overall scores and potentially inferable increases in quality of reporting. Statistical testing of whether criteria scores were associated with an unclear/adjusted diagnosis were also tested, as well as the probability of a given criterion deviating from an expected estimate. Major Findings: The quantitative analysis of neuroanatomically driven diagnostics in case studies of aphasia revealed particularly low scores in the connection of neuroanatomical functions to aphasiological assessment (10%), and in the inclusion of white matter tracts within neuroimaging or assessment diagnostics (30%). Case studies which included clinical mention of white matter tracts within the report itself were distributed among higher scoring cases, as were case studies which (as clinically indicated) related the affected vascular region to the brain parenchyma of the language network. Concluding Statement: These findings indicate that certain neuroanatomical functions are integrated less often within the patient report than others, despite a precedent for well-integrated neuroanatomical aphasiology also being found among the case studies sampled, and despite these functions being clinically essential in diagnostic neuroimaging and aphasiological assessment. Therefore, ultimately the integration and specificity of aetiological neuroanatomy may contribute positively to the capacity and autonomy of aphasic patients as well as their clinicians. The integration of a full aetiological neuroanatomy within the reporting of aphasias may improve patient outcomes and sustain autonomy in the event of medico-ethical investigation.

Keywords: aphasia, language network, functional neuroanatomy, aphasiological diagnostics, medico-legal ethics

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Authors: Sascha Kraus, Wolfgang Hora, Philipp Stieg, Thomas Niemand, Ferdinand Thies, Matthias Filser

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In most countries, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are the backbone of the economy due to their impact on job creation, innovation and wealth creation. Moreover, the ongoing globalization makes it inevitable – even for SME that traditionally focused on their domestic markets – to internationalize their business activities to realize further growth and survive in international markets. Thus, internationalization has become one of the most common growth strategies for SME and has received increasing scholarly attention over the last two decades. One the downside internationalization can be also regarded as the most complex strategy that a firm can undertake. Particularly for family firms, that are often characterized by limited financial capital, a risk-averse nature and limited growth aspirations, it could be argued that family firms are more likely to face greater challenges when taking the pathway to internationalization. Especially the triangulation of family, ownership, and management (so-called ‘familiness’) manifests in a unique behavior and decision-making process which is often characterized by the importance given to noneconomic goals and distinguishes a family firm from other businesses. Taking this into account, the concept of socio-emotional wealth (SEW) has been evolved to describe the behavior of family firms. In order to investigate how different internal and external firm characteristics shape internationalization success of family firms, we drew on a sample consisting of 297 small and medium-sized family firms from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. Thus, we include SEW as essential family firm characteristic and added the two major intra-organizational characteristics, entrepreneurial orientation (EO), absorptive capacity (AC) as well as collaboration intensity (CI) and relational knowledge (RK) as two major external network characteristics. Based on previous research we assume that these characteristics are important to explain internationalization success of family firm SME. Regarding the data analysis, we applied a Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), an approach that allows identifying configurations of firm characteristics, specifically used to study complex causal relationships where traditional regression techniques reach their limits. Results indicate that several combinations of these family firm characteristics can lead to international success, with no permanently required key characteristic. Instead, there are many roads to walk down for family firms to achieve internationalization success. Consequently, our data states that family owned SME are heterogeneous and internationalization is a complex and dynamic process. Results further show that network related characteristics occur in all sets, thus represent an essential element in the internationalization process of family owned SME. The contribution of our study is twofold, as we investigate different forms of international expansion for family firms and how to improve them. First, we are able to broaden the understanding of the intersection between family firm and SME internationalization with respect to major intra-organizational and network-related variables. Second, from a practical perspective, we offer family firm owners a basis for setting up internal capabilities to achieve international success.

Keywords: entrepreneurial orientation, family firm, fsQCA, internationalization, socio-emotional wealth

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Authors: A. Kourou, A. Ioakeimidou, S. Hadjiefthymiades, V. Abramea

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During the last decades, the task of engaging governments, communities and citizens to reduce risk and vulnerability of the populations has made variable progress. Experience has demonstrated that lack of awareness, education and preparedness may result in significant material and other losses both on the onset of the disaster. Schools play a vital role in the community and are important elements of values and culture of the society. A proper school education not only teaches children, but also is a key factor in the promotion of a safety culture into the wider community. In Greece School Earthquake Safety Initiative has been undertaken by Earthquake Planning and Protection Ogranization with specific actions (seminars, lectures, guidelines, educational material, campaigns, national or EU projects, drills etc.). The objective of this initiative is to develop disaster-resilient school communities through awareness, self-help, cooperation and education. School preparedness requires the participation of Principals, teachers, students, parents, and competent authorities. Preparation and earthquake readiness involves: a) learning what should be done before, during, and after earthquake; b) doing or preparing to do these things now, before the next earthquake; and c) developing teachers’ and students’ skills to cope efficiently in case of an earthquake. In the above given framework this paper presents the results of a survey aimed to identify the level of education and preparedness of school community in Greece. More specifically, the survey questionnaire investigates issues regarding earthquake protection actions, appropriate attitudes and behaviors during an earthquake and existence of contingency plans at elementary and secondary schools. The questionnaires were administered to Principals and teachers from different regions of the country that attend the EPPO national training project 'Earthquake Safety at Schools'. A closed-form questionnaire was developed for the survey, which contained questions regarding the following: a) knowledge of self protective actions b) existence of emergency planning at home and c) existence of emergency planning at school (hazard mitigation actions, evacuation plan, and performance of drills). Survey results revealed that a high percentage of teachers have taken the appropriate preparedness measures concerning non-structural hazards at schools, emergency school plan and simulation drills every year. In order to improve the action-planning for ongoing school disaster risk reduction, the implementation of earthquake drills, the involvement of students with disabilities and the evaluation of school emergency plans, EPPO participates in E-PreS project. The main objective of this project is to create smart tools which define, simulate and evaluate all hazards emergency steps customized to the unique district and school. The project comes up with a holistic methodology using real-time evaluation involving different categories of actors, districts, steps and metrics. The project is supported by EU Civil Protection Financial Instrument with a duration of two years. Coordinator is the Kapodistrian University of Athens and partners are from four countries; Greece, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria.

Keywords: drills, earthquake, emergency plans, E-PreS project

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Authors: Guoheng Liu, Zhilong Huang

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For more than the past ten years, oil and gas production from marine shale such as the Barnett shale. In addition, in recent years, major breakthroughs have also been made in lacustrine shale gas exploration, such as the Yanchang Formation of the Ordos Basin in China. Lucaogou Formation shale, which is also lacustrine shale, has also yielded a high production in recent years, for wells such as M1, M6, and ML2, yielding a daily oil production of 5.6 tons, 37.4 tons and 13.56 tons, respectively. Lithologic identification and classification of reservoirs are the base and keys to oil and gas exploration. Lithology and lithofacies obviously control the distribution of oil and gas in lithological reservoirs, so it is of great significance to describe characteristics of lithology and lithofacies of reservoirs finely. Lithofacies is an intrinsic property of rock formed under certain conditions of sedimentation. Fine-grained sedimentary rocks such as shale formed under different sedimentary conditions display great particularity and distinctiveness. Hence, to our best knowledge, no constant and unified criteria and methods exist for fine-grained sedimentary rocks regarding lithofacies definition and classification. Consequently, multi-parameters and multi-disciplines are necessary. A series of qualitative descriptions and quantitative analysis were used to figure out the lithofacies characteristics and its effect on oil accumulation of Lucaogou formation fine-grained sedimentary rocks in Santanghu basin. The qualitative description includes core description, petrographic thin section observation, fluorescent thin-section observation, cathode luminescence observation and scanning electron microscope observation. The quantitative analyses include X-ray diffraction, total organic content analysis, ROCK-EVAL.II Methodology, soxhlet extraction, porosity and permeability analysis and oil saturation analysis. Three types of lithofacies were mainly well-developed in this study area, which is organic-rich massive shale lithofacies, organic-rich laminated and cloddy hybrid sedimentary lithofacies and organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies. Organic-rich massive shale lithofacies mainly include massive shale and tuffaceous shale, of which quartz and clay minerals are the major components. Organic-rich laminated and cloddy hybrid sedimentary lithofacies contain lamina and cloddy structure. Rocks from this lithofacies chiefly consist of dolomite and quartz. Organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies mainly contains massive bedding fine-grained carbonate rocks, of which fine-grained dolomite accounts for the main part. Organic-rich massive shale lithofacies contain the highest content of free hydrocarbon and solid organic matter. Moreover, more pores were developed in organic-rich massive shale lithofacies. Organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies contain the lowest content solid organic matter and develop the least amount of pores. Organic-rich laminated and cloddy hybrid sedimentary lithofacies develop the largest number of cracks and fractures. To sum up, organic-rich massive shale lithofacies is the most favorable type of lithofacies. Organic-lean massive carbonate lithofacies is impossible for large scale oil accumulation.

Keywords: lithofacies classification, tuffaceous shale, oil enrichment, Lucaogou formation

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Authors: Alla Ovsyannikova, Oksana Rymar, Elena Shakhtshneider, Mikhail Voevoda

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In Siberia endocrinologists increasingly noted young patients with the course of diabetes mellitus differing from 1 and 2 types. Therefore we did a molecular genetic study for this group of patients to verify the monogenic forms of diabetes mellitus in them and researched the characteristics of this pathology. When confirming the monogenic form of diabetes, we performed a correction therapy for many patients (transfer from insulin to tablets), prevented specific complications, examined relatives and diagnosed their diabetes at the preclinical stage, revealed phenotypic characteristics of the pathology which led to the high significance of this work. Materials and Methods: We observed 5 patients (4 families). We diagnosed MODY (Maturity Onset Diabetes of the Young) during the molecular genetic testing (direct automatic sequencing). All patients had a full clinical examination, blood samples for biochemical research, determination of C-peptide and TSH, antibodies to b-cells, microalbuminuria, abdominal ultrasound, heart and thyroid ultrasound, examination of ophthalmologist. Results: We diagnosed 3 rare types of MODY: two women had MODY8, one man – MODY6 and man and his mother - MODY12. Patients with types 8 and 12 had clinical features. Age of onset hyperglycemia ranged from 26 to 34 years. In a patient with MODY6 fasting hyperglycemia was detected during a routine examination. Clinical symptoms, complications were not diagnosed. The patient observes a diet. In the first patient MODY8 was detected during first pregnancy, she had itchy skin and mostly postprandial hyperglycemia. Upon examination we determined glycated hemoglobin 7.5%, retinopathy, non-proliferative stage, peripheral neuropathy. She uses a basic bolus insulin therapy. The second patient with MODY8 also had clinical manifestations of hyperglycemia (pruritus, thirst), postprandial hyperglycemia and diabetic nephropathy, a stage of microalbuminuria. The patient was diagnosed autoimmune thyroiditis. She used inhibitors of DPP-4. The patient with MODY12 had an aggressive course. In the detection of hyperglycemia he had complaints of visual impairment, intense headaches, leg cramps. The patient had a history of childhood convulsive seizures of non-epileptic genesis, without organic pathology, which themselves were stopped at the age of 12 years. When we diagnosed diabetes a patient was 28 years, he had hypertriglyceridemia, atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery, proliferative retinopathy (lacerocoagulation). Diabetes and early myocardial infarction were observed in three cases in family. We prescribe therapy with sulfonylureas and SGLT-2 inhibitors with a positive effect. At the patient's mother diabetes began at a later age (30 years) and a less aggressive course was observed. She also has hypertriglyceridemia and uses oral hypoglycemic drugs. Conclusions: 1) When young patients with hyperglycemia have extrapancreatic pathologies and diabetic complications with a short duration of diabetes we can assume they have one of type of MODY diabetes. 2) In patients with monogenic forms of diabetes mellitus, the clinical manifestations of hyperglycemia in each succeeding generation are revealed at an earlier age. Research had increased our knowledge of the monogenic forms of diabetes. The reported study was supported by RSCF, research project No. 14-15-00496-P.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, MODY diabetes, monogenic forms, young patients

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Authors: Yichao Liu, Peter Fransson, Julian Heidecke, Jonas Wallin, Joacim Rockloev

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Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease, poses a significant public health challenge in endemic tropical or subtropical countries, including Sri Lanka. To reveal insights into the complexity of the dynamics of this disease and study the drivers, a comprehensive model capable of both robust forecasting and insightful inference of drivers while capturing the co-circulating of several virus strains is essential. However, existing studies mostly focus on only one aspect at a time and do not integrate and carry insights across the siloed approach. While mechanistic models are developed to capture immunity dynamics, they are often oversimplified and lack integration of all the diverse drivers of disease transmission. On the other hand, purely data-driven methods lack constraints imposed by immuno-epidemiological processes, making them prone to overfitting and inference bias. This research presents a hybrid model that combines machine learning techniques with mechanistic modelling to overcome the limitations of existing approaches. Leveraging eight years of newly reported dengue case data, along with socioeconomic factors, such as human mobility, weekly climate data from 2011 to 2018, genetic data detecting the introduction and presence of new strains, and estimates of seropositivity for different districts in Sri Lanka, we derive a data-driven vector (SEI) to human (SEIR) model across 16 regions in Sri Lanka at the weekly time scale. By conducting ablation studies, the lag effects allowing delays up to 12 weeks of time-varying climate factors were determined. The model demonstrates superior predictive performance over a pure machine learning approach when considering lead times of 5 and 10 weeks on data withheld from model fitting. It further reveals several interesting interpretable findings of drivers while adjusting for the dynamics and influences of immunity and introduction of a new strain. The study uncovers strong influences of socioeconomic variables: population density, mobility, household income and rural vs. urban population. The study reveals substantial sensitivity to the diurnal temperature range and precipitation, while mean temperature and humidity appear less important in the study location. Additionally, the model indicated sensitivity to vegetation index, both max and average. Predictions on testing data reveal high model accuracy. Overall, this study advances the knowledge of dengue transmission in Sri Lanka and demonstrates the importance of incorporating hybrid modelling techniques to use biologically informed model structures with flexible data-driven estimates of model parameters. The findings show the potential to both inference of drivers in situations of complex disease dynamics and robust forecasting models.

Keywords: compartmental model, climate, dengue, machine learning, social-economic

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Authors: Catarina Ferreira Rebelo, Luis Madeira de Carvalho, Fernando González González

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The order Passeridae corresponds to the richest and most abundant group of birds, with approximately 6500 species, making it possible to assert that two out of every three bird species are passerines. They are globally distributed and exhibit remarkable morphological and ecological variability. While numerous species of parasites have been identified and described in wild birds, there has been little focus on passeriformes. Seventeen passerines admitted to GREFA, a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, throughout the months of October, November and December 2022 were analyzed. The species included Aegithalos caudatus, Anthus pratensis, Carduelis chloris, Certhia brachydactyla, Erithacus rubecula, Fringilla coelebs, Parus ater, Passer domesticus, Sturnus unicolor, Sylvia atricapilla, Turdus merula and Turdus philomelos. Data regarding past history was collected, and necropsies were conducted to identify the cause of death and body condition and determine the presence of parasites. Additionally, samples of intestinal content were collected for direct/fecal smear, flotation and sedimentation techniques. Sixteen (94.1%) passerines were considered positive for the presence of parasitic forms in at least one of the techniques used, including parasites detected in necropsy. Adult specimens of both sexes and tritonymphs of Monojoubertia microhylla and ectoparasites of the genus Ornithonyssus were identified. Macroscopic adult endoparasitic forms were also found during necropsies, including Diplotriaena sp., Serratospiculum sp. and Porrocaecum sp.. Parasitism by coccidia was observed with no sporulation. Additionally, eggs of nematodes from various genera were detected, such as Diplotriaena sp., Capillaria sp., Porrocaecum sp., Syngamus sp. and Strongyloides sp., eggs of trematodes, specifically the genus Brachylecithum and cestode oncospheres, whose genera were not identified. To our knowledge, the respiratory nematode Serratospiculum sp. found in this study is being reported for the first time in passerines in the Iberian Peninsula, along with the application of common coprological techniques for the identification of eggs in the intestinal content. The majority of parasites identified utilize intermediary hosts present in the diet of the passerines sampled. Furthermore, the discovery of certain parasites with a direct life cycle could potentially exert greater influence, particularly in specific scenarios such as within nests or during the rehabilitation process in wildlife centers. These parasites may impact intraspecific competition, increase susceptibility to predators or lead to death. However, their cost to wild birds is often not clear, as individuals can endure various parasites without significant harm. Furthermore, wild birds serve as important sources of parasites across different animal groups, including humans and other mammals. This study provides invaluable insights into the parasitic fauna of these birds, not only serving as a cornerstone for future epidemiological investigations but also enhancing our comprehension of these avian species.

Keywords: birds, parasites, passerines, wild, spain

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Authors: Marta Polec

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The paper outlines the problem of street performances in Poland in context of humanistic management studies. The Author perceives activity of street performers of various art and entertainment actions as a phenomenon of informal organizing, self-management and cultural entrepreneurship in urban sphere. What has to be highlighted, performative street art is not currently being an interest of scientific research as often as visual street art. That is why the Author indicates the need of including new approaches of humanistic and social disciplines, especially different management paradigms, in examining various aspects of the activity of street performers. The paper shows the results of ethnographic study based on anthropological interviews, participant observation non-participant observation, shadowing, field notes, audiovisual documentation and text analysis. The fieldwork was performed since 2014 in the old towns and major areas of several the most popular touristic Polish cities, mainly in Gdansk, Cracow, Lublin, Warsaw, and Wroclaw. The research group included street artists of various kinds of performative arts. The investigation was prepared within the ‘Ethnography of the informal organization of street artists in Poland’ project, as a part of Diamond Grant programme (the Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland). The first conclusion of the study is that street shows form a way of artistic self-realization and unusual promotion of creative activity in public space. As street performance helps to make some extra money and even earning a living in general, it seems to constitute a new profession. Street performers as a specific environment usually know each other and in many ways cooperate informally to carry on their shows successfully. Secondly, this activity brings plenty benefits for the local communities. Street shows attract inhabitants and tourists quite often by appealing to intangible cultural heritage and memorializing it. They also pose a space for discussing current social issues. Moreover, they disseminate relatively inexpensive public access to culture, but also state an example of social courage of choosing unconventional occupation. Finally, currently being used terms of street performers/street artists/buskers in different languages, as instance as in Polish, are still fluent and undefined. As a consequence, it brings implications for existing common knowledge about street performers, for example in establishing and implementing public policies. It impedes solving many ethical and social dilemmas concerning the question of performances in public sphere, which in some cases seem to be related to, as: children’s work, beggars’ practices or question of harmony of public space. The main aim of this study was to expose street performances as yet undefined profession, including different possibilities of interacting with the audience, based on providing impressions, experiences and memories. Although the issue seems to be current and common, in indicated context there is a lack of equal and unified approach of managing urban sphere, which in practice differs both in informal rules and official policies concerning street performances not only in cities in Poland, but also generally in Europe.

Keywords: informal, organizing, street performance, urban sphere

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Authors: Shelley Y. Hawkins

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Introduction/Background: As technology has grown exponentially in healthcare, nurse educators must prepare Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) graduates with the knowledge and skills in information systems/technology to support and improve patient care and health care systems. APRN’s are expected to lead in caring for populations who lack accessibility and availability through the use of technology, specifically telehealth. The capacity to effectively and efficiently use technology in patient care delivery is clearly delineated in the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) Essentials. However, APRN’s have minimal, or no, exposure to formalized telehealth education and lack necessary technical skills needed to incorporate telehealth into their patient care. APRN’s must successfully master the technology using telehealth/telemedicine, electronic health records, health information technology, and clinical decision support systems to advance health. Furthermore, APRN’s must be prepared to lead the coordination and collaboration with other healthcare providers in their use and application. Aim/Goal/Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to establish and operationalize telehealth-focused educational partnerships between one University School of Nursing and two health care systems in order to enhance the preparation of APRN NP students for practice, teaching, and/or scholarly endeavors. Methods: The proposed project was initially presented by the project director to selected multidisciplinary stakeholders including leadership, home telehealth personnel, primary care providers, and decision support systems within two major health care systems to garner their support for acceptance and implementation. Concurrently, backing was obtained from key university-affiliated colleagues including the Director of Simulation and Innovative Learning Lab and Coordinator of the Health Care Informatics Program. Technology experts skilled in design and production in web applications and electronic modules were secured from two local based technology companies. Results: Two telehealth-focused APRN Program academic/practice partnerships have been established. Students have opportunities to engage in clinically based telehealth experiences focused on: (1) providing patient care while incorporating various technology with a specific emphasis on telehealth; (2) conducting research and/or evidence-based practice projects in order to further develop the scientific foundation regarding incorporation of telehealth with patient care; and (3) participating in the production of patient-level educational materials related to specific topical areas. Conclusions: Evidence-based APRN student telehealth clinical experiences will assist in preparing graduates who can effectively incorporate telehealth into their clinical practice. Greater access for diverse populations will be available as a result of the telehealth service model as well as better care and better outcomes at lower costs. Furthermore, APRN’s will provide the necessary leadership and coordination through interprofessional practice by transforming health care through new innovative care models using information systems and technology.

Keywords: academic/practice partnerships, advanced practice nursing, nursing education, telehealth

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Authors: Ntandazo Dlatu, Benjamin Longo-Mbenza, Andre Renzaho, Ruffin Appalata, Yolande Yvonne Valeria Matoumona Mavoungou, Mbenza Ben Longo, Kenneth Ekoru, Blaise Makoso, Gedeon Longo Longo

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Background: The gap between complexities related to the integration of Tuberculosis /HIV control and evidence-based knowledge motivated the initiation of the study. Therefore, the objective of this study was to explore correlations between national TB management guidelines, multiple deprivation indexes, quantiles, components and levels of Tuberculosis control programme using mathematical modeling in rural O.R. Tambo District Health Facilities, South Africa. Methods: The study design used mixed secondary data analysis and cross-sectional analysis between 2009 and 2013 across O.R Tambo District, Eastern Cape, South Africa using univariate/ bivariate analysis, linear multiple regression models, and multivariate discriminant analysis. Health inequalities indicators and component of an impediment to the tuberculosis control programme were evaluated. Results: In total, 62 400 records for TB notification were analyzed for the period 2009-2013. There was a significant but negative between Financial Year Expenditure (r= -0.894; P= 0.041) Seropositive HIV status(r= -0.979; P= 0.004), Population Density (r = -0.881; P= 0.048) and the number of TB defaulter in all TB cases. It was shown unsuccessful control of TB management program through correlations between numbers of new PTB smear positive, TB defaulter new smear-positive, TB failure all TB, Pulmonary Tuberculosis case finding index and deprivation-concentration-dispersion index. It was shown successful TB program control through significant and negative associations between declining numbers of death in co-infection of HIV and TB, TB deaths all TB and SMIAD gradient/ deprivation-concentration-dispersion index. The multivariate linear model was summarized by unadjusted r of 96%, adjusted R2 of 95 %, Standard Error of estimate of 0.110, R2 changed of 0.959 and significance for variance change for P=0.004 to explain the prediction of TB defaulter in all TB with equation y= 8.558-0.979 x number of HIV seropositive. After adjusting for confounding factors (PTB case finding the index, TB defaulter new smear-positive, TB death in all TB, TB defaulter all TB, and TB failure in all TB). The HIV and TB death, as well as new PTB smear positive, were identified as the most important, significant, and independent indicator to discriminate most deprived deprivation index far from other deprivation quintiles 2-5 using discriminant analysis. Conclusion: Elimination of poverty such as overcrowding, lack of sanitation and environment of highest burden of HIV might end the TB threat in O.R Tambo District, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Furthermore, ongoing adequate budget comprehensive, holistic and collaborative initiative towards Sustainable Developmental Goals (SDGs) is necessary for complete elimination of TB in poor O.R Tambo District.

Keywords: tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, success, failure, control program, health inequalities, South Africa

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Authors: Liou Shyhnan, Chia Han Yang

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The study aims to investigate the promotion of innovation in the development of cultural and creative industries (CCI) and apply research on culture and creativity to this promotion. Using the research perspectives of culture and creativity as the starting points, this study has examined the challenges, trends, and opportunities that have emerged from the development of the CCI until the present. It is found that a definite context of cause and effect exist between them, and that a homologous theoretical basis can be used to understand and interpret them. Based on the characteristics of the aforementioned challenges and trends, this study has compiled two main theoretical systems for conducting research on culture and creativity: (i) reciprocal process between creativity and culture, and (ii) a mechanism for innovation involving multicultural convergence. Both theoretical systems were then used as the foundation to arrive at possible research propositions relating to the two developmental systems. This was respectively done through identification of the theoretical context through a literature review, and interviews and observations of actual case studies within Taiwan’s CCI. In so doing, the critical factors that can address the aforementioned challenges and trends were discovered. Our results indicated that, for reciprocal process between creativity and culture, we recognize that culture serves as creative resources in cultural and creative industries. According to shared consensus, culture provides symbolic meanings and emotional attachment for products and experiences offered by CCI. Besides, different cultures vary in their effects on creativity processes and standards, thus engendering distinctive preferences for and evaluations of the creative expressions and experiences of CCIs. In addition, we identify that creativity serves as the engine for driving the continuation and rebirth of cultures. Accounting for the core of culture, the employment of technology, design, and business facilitates the transformation and innovation mechanism for promoting culture continuity. In addition, with cultural centered, the digital technology, design thinking, and business model are critical constitutes of the innovation mechanism to promote the cultural continuity. Regarding cultural preservation and regeneration of local spaces and folk customs, we argue that the preservation and regeneration of local spaces and cultural cultures must embody the interactive experiences of present-day life. And cultural space and folk custom would regenerate with interact and experience in modern life. Regarding innovation mechanism for multicultural convergence, we propose that innovative stakeholders from different disciplines (e.g., creators, designers, engineers, and marketers) in CCIs rely on the establishment of a cocreation mechanism to promote interdisciplinary interaction. Furthermore, CCI development needs to develop a cocreation mechanism for enhancing the interdisciplinary collaboration among CCI innovation stakeholders. We further argue multicultural mixing would enhance innovation in developing CCI, and assuming an open and mutually enlightening attitude to enrich one another’s cultures in the multicultural exchanges under globalization will create diversity in homogenous CCIs. Finally, for promoting innovation in developing cultural and creative industries, we further propose a model for joint knowledge creation that can be established for enhancing the mutual reinforcement of theoretical and practical research on culture and creativity.

Keywords: culture and creativity, innovation, cultural and creative industries, cultural mixing

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Authors: Yuliana Wahyu, Ambros Leonangung Edu

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The learning praxis that is proposed by 2013 Curriculum (K-13) is no longer school-oriented as a supply-driven, but now a demand-driven provider. This vision is connected with Jokowi-Kalla Nawacita program to create a competitive nation in the global era. Competition is a social fact that must be faced. Therefore the curriculum will design a process to be the innovators and entrepreneurs.To get this goal, K-13 implements the character education. This aims at creating the innovators and entrepreneurs from an early age (primary school). One part of strengthening it is literacy formations (reading, numeracy, science, ICT, finance, and culture). Thus, science literacy is an integral part of character education. The above outputs are only formed through the innovative process through intra-curricular (blended learning), co-curriculer (hands-on learning) and extra-curricular (personalized learning). Unlike the curriculums before that child cram with the theories dominating the intellectual process, new breakthroughs make natural, social, and cultural phenomena as learning sources. For example, Science in primary schoolsplaceBiology as the platform. And Science places natural, social, and cultural phenomena as a learning field so that students can learn, discover, solve concrete problems, and the prospects of development and application in their everyday lives. Science education not only learns about facts collection or natural phenomena but also methods and scientific attitudes. In turn, Science will form the science literacy. Science literacy have critical, creative, logical, and initiative competences in responding to the issues of culture, science and technology. This is linked with science nature which includes hands-on and minds-on. To sustain the effectiveness of science learning, K-13 opens a new way of viewing a contextual learning model in which facts or natural phenomena are drawn closer to the child's learning environment to be studied and analyzed scientifically. Thus, the topic of elementary science discussion is the practical and contextual things that students encounter. This research is about to contextualize Science in primary schools at Manggarai, NTT, by placing local wisdom as a learning source and media to form the science literacy. Explicitly, this study discovers the concept of science and mathematics in Mbaru Niang. Mbaru Niang is a forgotten potentials of the centralistic-theoretical mainstream curriculum so far. In fact, the traditional Manggarai community stores and inherits much of the science-mathematical indigenous sciences. In the traditional house structures are full of science and mathematics knowledge. Every details have style, sound and mathematical symbols. Learning this, students are able to collaborate and synergize the content and learning resources in student learning activities. This is constructivist contextual learning that will be applied in meaningful learning. Meaningful learning allows students to learn by doing. Students then connect topics to the context, and science literacy is constructed from their factual experiences. The research location will be conducted in Manggarai through observation, interview, and literature study.

Keywords: indigenous science, Mbaru Niang, science literacy, science

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Authors: Mabel Y. C. Yau, Roy C. F. Lai, Hugo Y. H. Or

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This study is a pilot surveillance of hygiene compliance and food microbial safety of both licensed and mobile vendors selling Chinese ready–to-eat snack foods in Hong Kong. The study reflects similar situations in running mobile food vending business on trucks. Hong Kong is about to launch the Food Truck Pilot Scheme by the end of 2016 or early 2017. Technically, selling food on the vehicle is no different from hawking food on the street or vending food on the street. Each type of business bears similar food safety issues and cast the same impact on public health. Present findings demonstrate exemplarily situations that also apply to food trucks. 9 types of Cantonese style snacks of 32 samples in total were selected for microbial screening. A total of 16 vending sites including supermarkets, street markets, and snack stores were visited. The study finally focused on a traditional snack, the steamed rice cake with red beans called Put Chai Ko (PCK). PCK is a type of classical Cantonese pastry sold on push carts on the street. It used to be sold at room temperature and served with bamboo sticks in the old days. Some shops would have them sold steam fresh. Microbial examinations on aerobic counts, yeast, and mould, coliform, salmonella as well as Staphylococcus aureus detections were carried out. Salmonella was not detected in all samples. Since PCK does not contain ingredients of beef, poultry, eggs or dairy products, the risk of the presence of Salmonella in PCK was relatively lower although other source of contamination might be possible. Coagulase positive Staphylococcus aureus was found in 6 of the 14 samples sold at room temperature. Among these 6 samples, 3 were PCK. One of the samples was in an unacceptable range of total colony forming units higher than 105. The rest were only satisfactory. Observational evaluations were made with checklists on personal hygiene, premises hygiene, food safety control, food storage, cleaning and sanitization as well as waste disposals. The maximum score was 25 if total compliance were obtained. The highest score among vendors was 20. Three stores were below average, and two of these stores were selling PCK. Most of the non-compliances were on food processing facilities, sanitization conditions and waste disposal. In conclusion, although no food poisoning outbreaks happened during the time of the investigation, the risk of food hazard existed in these stores, especially among street vendors. Attention is needed in the traditional practice of food selling, and that food handlers might not have sufficient knowledge to properly handle food products. Variations in food qualities existed among supply chains or franchise eateries or shops. It was commonly observed that packaging and storage conditions are not properly enforced in the retails. The same situation could be reflected across the food business. It did indicate need of food safety training in the industry and loopholes in quality control among business.

Keywords: cantonese snacks, food safety, microbial, hygiene, street food

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Authors: Ruth Goldschmidt, Vyacheslav Kalchenko, Lilah Agemy, Rachel Elmoalem, Avigdor Scherz

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Vascular Targeted Photodynamic therapy (VTP) is a new modality for selective cancer treatment that leads to the complete tumor ablation. A photosensitizer, a bacteriochlorophyll derivative in our case, is first administered to the patient and followed by the illumination of the tumor area, by a near-IR laser for its photoactivation. The photoactivated drug releases reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the circulation, which reacts with blood cells and the endothelium leading to the occlusion of the blood vasculature. If the blood vessels are only partially closed, the tumor may recover, and cancer cells could survive. On the other hand, excessive treatment may lead to toxicity of healthy tissues nearby. Simultaneous VTP monitoring and image processing independent of the photoexcitation laser has not yet been reported, to our knowledge. Here we present a method for blood flow monitoring, using a real-time laser speckle imaging (RTLSI) in the tumor during VTP. We have synthesized over the years a library of bacteriochlorophyll derivatives, among them WST11 and STL-6014. Both are water soluble derivatives that are retained in the blood vasculature through their partial binding to HSA. WST11 has been approved in Mexico for VTP treatment of prostate cancer at a certain drug dose, and time/intensity of illumination. Application to other bacteriochlorophyll derivatives or other cancers may require different treatment parameters (such as light/drug administration). VTP parameters for STL-6014 are still under study. This new derivative mainly differs from WST11 by its lack of the central Palladium, and its conjugation to an Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence. RGD is a tumor-specific ligand that is used for targeting the necrotic tumor domains through its affinity to αVβ3 integrin receptors. This enables the study of cell-targeted VTP. We developed a special RTLSI module, based on Labview software environment for data processing. The new module enables to acquire raw laser speckle images and calculate the values of the laser temporal statistics of time-integrated speckles in real time, without additional off-line processing. Using RTLSI, we could monitor the tumor’s blood flow following VTP in a CT26 colon carcinoma ear model. VTP with WST11 induced an immediate slow down of the blood flow within the tumor and a complete final flow arrest, after some sporadic reperfusions. If the irradiation continued further, the blood flow stopped also in the blood vessels of the surrounding healthy tissue. This emphasizes the significance of light dose control. Using our RTLSI system, we could prevent any additional healthy tissue damage by controlling the illumination time and restrict blood flow arrest within the tumor only. In addition, we found that VTP with STL-6014 was the most effective when the photoactivation was conducted 4h post-injection, in terms of tumor ablation success in-vivo and blood vessel flow arrest. In conclusion, RTSLI application should allow to optimize VTP efficacy vs. toxicity in both the preclinical and clinical arenas.

Keywords: blood vessel occlusion, cancer treatment, photodynamic therapy, real time imaging

Procedia PDF Downloads 223

Authors: Sarah Müller-Sägebrecht

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Today’s volatile environment challenges executives to make the right strategic decisions to gain sustainable success. Entrepreneurship scholars postulate mainly positive effects of environmental changes on entrepreneurship behavior, such as developing new business opportunities, promoting ingenuity, and the satisfaction of resource voids. A strategic solution approach to overcome threatening environmental changes and catch new business opportunities is business model innovation (BMI). Although this research stream has gained further importance in the last decade, BMI research is still insufficient. Especially BMI barriers, such as inefficient strategic decision-making processes, need to be identified. Strategic decisions strongly impact organizational future and are, therefore, usually made in groups. Although groups draw on a more extensive information base than single individuals, group-interaction effects can influence the decision-making process - in a favorable but also unfavorable way. Decisions are characterized by uncertainty and risk, whereby their intensity is perceived individually differently. The individual risk-willingness influences which option humans choose. The special nature of strategic decisions, such as in BMI processes, is that these decisions are not made individually but in groups due to their high organizational scope. These groups consist of different personalities whose individual risk-willingness can vary considerably. It is known from group decision theory that these individuals influence each other, observable in different group-interaction effects. The following research questions arise: i) How does group interaction shape BMI decision-making from managers’ perspective? ii) What are the potential interrelations among managers’ risk-willingness, group biases, and BMI decision-making? After conducting 26 in-depth interviews with executives from the manufacturing industry, applied Gioia methodology reveals the following results: i) Risk-averse decision-makers have an increased need to be guided by facts. The more information available to them, the lower they perceive uncertainty and the more willing they are to pursue a specific decision option. However, the results also show that social interaction does not change the individual risk-willingness in the decision-making process. ii) Generally, it could be observed that during BMI decisions, group interaction is primarily beneficial to increase the group’s information base for making good decisions, less than for social interaction. Further, decision-makers mainly focus on information available to all decision-makers in the team but less on personal knowledge. This work contributes to strategic decision-making literature twofold. First, it gives insights into how group-interaction effects influence an organization’s strategic BMI decision-making. Second, it enriches risk-management research by highlighting how individual risk-willingness impacts organizational strategic decision-making. To date, it was known in BMI research that risk aversion would be an internal BMI barrier. However, with this study, it becomes clear that it is not risk aversion that inhibits BMI. Instead, the lack of information prevents risk-averse decision-makers from choosing a riskier option. Simultaneously, results show that risk-averse decision-makers are not easily carried away by the higher risk-willingness of their team members. Instead, they use social interaction to gather missing information. Therefore, executives need to provide sufficient information to all decision-makers to catch promising business opportunities.

Keywords: business model innovation, cognitive biases, group-interaction effects, strategic decision-making, risk-willingness

Procedia PDF Downloads 78

Authors: Srijata Mitra, Mobina Parveen, Pranab Roy, Narayan Chandra Chattopadhyay

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Chlorinated hydrocarbon can be a major pollution problem in groundwater as well as soil. Many people interact with these chemicals on daily accidentally or by professionally in the laboratory. One of the most common sources for Chlorinated hydrocarbon contamination of soil and groundwater are industrial effluents. The wide use and discharge of Trichloroethylene (TCE), a volatile chlorohydrocarbon from chemical industry, led to major water pollution in rural areas. TCE is an mainly used as an industrial metal degreaser in industries. Biotransformation of TCE to the potent carcinogen vinyl chloride (VC) by consortia of anaerobic bacteria might have role for the above purpose. For these reasons, the aim of current study was to isolate and characterized the genes involved in TCE metabolism and also to investigate the in silico study of those genes. To our knowledge, only one aromatic dioxygenase system, the toluene dioxygenase in Pseudomonas putida F1 has been shown to be involved in TCE degradation. This is first instance where Bacillus cereus group being used in biodegradation of trichloroethylene. A novel bacterial strain 2479 was isolated from oil depot site at Rajbandh, Durgapur (West Bengal, India) by enrichment culture technique. It was identified based on polyphasic approach and ribotyping. The bacterium was gram positive, rod shaped, endospore forming and capable of degrading trichloroethylene as the sole carbon source. On the basis of phylogenetic data and Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Analysis, strain 2479 should be placed within the genus Bacillus and species cereus. However, the present isolate (strain 2479) is unique and sharply different from the usual Bacillus strains in its biodegrading nature. Fujiwara test was done to estimate that the strain 2479 could degrade TCE efficiently. The gene for TCE biodegradation was PCR amplified from genomic DNA of Bacillus cereus 2479 by using todC1 gene specific primers. The 600bp amplicon was cloned into expression vector pUC I8 in the E. coli host XL1-Blue and expressed under the control of lac promoter and nucleotide sequence was determined. The gene sequence was deposited at NCBI under the Accession no. GU183105. In Silico approach involved predicting the physico-chemical properties of deduced Tce1 protein by using ProtParam tool. The tce1 gene contained 342 bp long ORF encoding 114 amino acids with a predicted molecular weight 12.6 kDa and the theoretical pI value of the polypeptide was 5.17, molecular formula: C559H886N152O165S8, total number of atoms: 1770, aliphatic index: 101.93, instability index: 28.60, Grand Average of Hydropathicity (GRAVY): 0.152. Three differentially expressed proteins (97.1, 40 and 30 kDa) were directly involved in TCE biodegradation, found to react immunologically to the antibodies raised against TCE inducible proteins in Western blot analysis. The present study suggested that cloned gene product (TCE1) was capable of degrading TCE as verified chemically.

Keywords: cloning, Bacillus cereus, in silico analysis, TCE

Procedia PDF Downloads 398

Authors: Esther Ranero Carrazana, Maria Karla Ramirez Valdes

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First responders, including firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical personnel, are frequently exposed to high-stress scenarios that significantly increase their risk of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Their work involves life-threatening situations, witnessing suffering, and making critical decisions under pressure, all contributing to psychological strain. The objectives of this research on "Stress Reduction Techniques for First Responders: Scientifically Proven Methods" are as follows. One of them is to evaluate the effectiveness of stress reduction techniques. The primary objective is to assess the efficacy of various scientifically proven stress reduction techniques explicitly tailored for first responders. Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness are scrutinized for their ability to mitigate stress-related symptoms. Furthermore, we evaluate and enhance the understanding of stress mechanisms in first responders by exploring how different techniques influence the physiological and psychological responses to stress. The study aims to deepen the understanding of stress mechanisms in high-risk professions. Additionally, the study promotes psychological resilience by seeking to identify and recommend methods that can significantly enhance the psychological resilience of first responders, thereby supporting their mental health and operational efficiency in high-stress environments. Guide training and policy development is an additional objective to provide evidence-based recommendations that can be used to guide training programs and policy development aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of first responders. Lastly, the study aims to contribute valuable insights to the existing body of knowledge in stress management, specifically tailored to the unique needs of first responders. This study involved a comprehensive literature review assessing the effectiveness of various stress reduction techniques tailored for first responders. Techniques evaluated include Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Training, Interoception and Exteroception, Sensory Integration, and Body Perception Awareness, focusing on their ability to alleviate stress-related symptoms. The review indicates promising results for several stress reduction methods. HRV Training demonstrates the potential to reflect stress vulnerability and enhance physiological and behavioral flexibility. Interoception and Exteroception help modulate the stress response by enhancing awareness of the body's internal state and its interaction with the environment. Sensory integration plays a crucial role in adaptive responses to stress by focusing on individual senses and their integration. Therefore, body perception awareness addresses stress and anxiety through enhanced body perception and mindfulness. The evaluated techniques show significant potential in reducing stress and improving the mental health of first responders. Implementing these scientifically supported methods into routine training could significantly enhance their psychological resilience and operational effectiveness in high-stress environments.

Keywords: first responders, HRV training, mental health, sensory integration, stress reduction

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Authors: Irene Capecchi, Tommaso Borghini, Iacopo Bernetti

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An important tool for the enhancement of cultural sites is serious games (SG), i.e., games designed for educational purposes; SG is applied in cultural sites through trivia, puzzles, and mini-games for participation in interactive exhibitions, mobile applications, and simulations of past events. The combination of Augmented Reality (AR) and digital cultural content has also produced examples of cultural heritage recovery and revitalization around the world. Through AR, the user perceives the information of the visited place in a more real and interactive way. Another interesting technological development for the revitalization of cultural sites is the combination of AR and Global Positioning System (GPS), which integrated have the ability to enhance the user's perception of reality by providing historical and architectural information linked to specific locations organized on a route. To the author’s best knowledge, there are currently no applications that combine GPS AR and SG for cultural heritage revitalization. The present research focused on the development of an SG based on GPS and AR. The study area is the village of Caldana in Tuscany, Italy. Caldana is a fortified Renaissance village; the most important architectures are the walls, the church of San Biagio, the rectory, and the marquis' palace. The historical information is derived from extensive research by the Department of Architecture at the University of Florence. The storyboard of the SG is based on the history of the three characters who built the village: marquis Marcello Agostini, who was commissioned by Cosimo I de Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, to build the village, his son Ippolito and his architect Lorenzo Pomarelli. The three historical characters were modeled in 3D using the freeware MakeHuman and imported into Blender and Mixamo to associate a skeleton and blend shapes to have gestural animations and reproduce lip movement during speech. The Unity Rhubarb Lip Syncer plugin was used for the lip sync animation. The historical costumes were created by Marvelous Designer. The application was developed using the Unity 3D graphics and game engine. The AR+GPS Location plugin was used to position the 3D historical characters based on GPS coordinates. The ARFoundation library was used to display AR content. The SG is available in two versions: for children and adults. the children's version consists of finding a digital treasure consisting of valuable items and historical rarities. Players must find 9 village locations where 3D AR models of historical figures explaining the history of the village provide clues. To stimulate players, there are 3 levels of rewards for every 3 clues discovered. The rewards consist of AR masks for archaeologist, professor, and explorer. At the adult level, the SG consists of finding the 16 historical landmarks in the village, and learning historical and architectural information interactively and engagingly. The application is being tested on a sample of adults and children. Test subjects will be surveyed on a Likert scale to find out their perceptions of using the app and the learning experience between the guided tour and interaction with the app.

Keywords: augmented reality, cultural heritage, GPS, serious game

Procedia PDF Downloads 95