Search results for: human factor

Authors: William L. Whitehouse, Louisa H. Y. Lo, Andrew B. Kinghorn, Simon C. C. Shiu, Julian. A. Tanner

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C-reactive protein (CRP) is an acute-phase reactant and sensitive indicator for sepsis and other life-threatening pathologies, including systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Currently, clinical turn-around times for established CRP detection methods take between 30 minutes to hours or even days from centralized laboratories. Here, we report the development of an electrochemical biosensor using redox probe-tagged DNA aptamers functionalized onto cheap, commercially available screen-printed electrodes. Binding-induced conformational switching of the CRP-targeting aptamer induces a specific and selective signal-ON event, which enables single-step and reagentless detection of CRP in as little as 1 minute. The aptasensor dynamic range spans 5-1000nM (R=0.97) or 5-500nM (R=0.99) in 50% diluted human serum, with a LOD of 3nM, corresponding to 2-orders of magnitude sensitivity under the clinically relevant cut-off for CRP. The sensor is stable for up to one week and can be reused numerous times, as judged from repeated real-time dosing and dose-response assays. By decoupling binding events from the signal induction mechanism, structure-switching electrochemical aptamer-based sensors (SS-EABs) provide considerable advantages over their adsorption-based counterparts. Our work expands on the retinue of such sensors reported in the literature and is the first instance of an SS-EAB for reagentless CRP detection. We hope this study can inspire further investigations into the suitability of SS-EABs for diagnostics, which will aid translational R&D toward fully realized devices aimed at point-of-care applications or for use more broadly by the public.

Keywords: structure-switching, C-reactive protein, electrochemical, biosensor, aptasensor.

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Authors: Shah Abid

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Leishmaniasis is a collection of zoonotic infections that affect the viscera, skin, and mucous membrane and are spread by several species of female sandflies in the subfamily phlebotominae. The study's goal was to assess the prevalence of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in District Kurram using descriptive and cross-sectional methods. From December 2022 to May 2023, the study was carried out at Tehsil Head Quarter (THQ) Hospital, Sadda, District Kurram in the Dermatology Department. The disease was identified using a laboratory method based on clinical manifestations of leishmaniasis. A clean slide's surface was applied to the scraped-off portion of the lesions and rubbed over the blood to make a smear on the slide. The slides were methanol-fixed, stained with traditional Giemsa, and meticulously examined at high magnification to search for LD bodies. The necessary information, such as residence area, lesion kind and location, age, sex, and the total number of lesions, was meticulously acquired. During the time of the investigation, 393 instances of cutaneous leishmaniasis were observed. 1 year to 70 years old was the age range (mean age: 35.45). The age group that was most severely impacted, 16 years and older, had 23 (11.67%) children with this condition. Male to female ratio was 9.7:10. Most of the cases (n=52, 26.29%), were reported in the month of May. Majority of the patients 102 (51.77%) had lesion on face. 42 (16.73) patients had multiple lesions on their body. Face was the most common site followed by lower limbs 93 (37.05). Weekly intralesional injections of sodium stibogluconate (glucantime) were administered to all patients. Without any noticeable adverse effects, all patients had positive responses to the treatment. The condition affects adults more commonly than children, according to analysis of the combined results, and it is more common in women than in men.

Keywords: District Kurram, cutaneous leishmaniasis, zoonosis, glucantime

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Authors: Mitakshara Sharma, S. K. Nema, Sanjeev Narang

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Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by metabolic abnormalities, chronic hyperglycaemia and long term macrovascular & microvascular complications. Vascular complications are due to platelet hyperactivity and dysfunction, increased inflammation, altered coagulation and endothelial dysfunction. Large proportion of patients with Type II DM suffers from preventable vascular angiopathies, and there is need to develop risk factor modifications and interventions to reduce impact of complications. These complications are attributed to platelet activation, recognised by increase in Platelet Volume Indices (PVI) including Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) and Platelet Distribution Width (PDW). The current study is prospective analytical study conducted over 2 years. Out of 1100 individuals, 930 individuals fulfilled inclusion criteria and were segregated into three groups on basis of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1C): - (a) Diabetic, (b) Non-Diabetic and (c) Subjects with Impaired fasting glucose (IFG) with 300 individuals in IFG and non-diabetic groups & 330 individuals in diabetic group. Further, diabetic group was divided into two groups on the basis of presence or absence of known diabetes related vascular complications. Samples for HbA1c and PVI were collected using Ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) as anticoagulant and processed on SYSMEX-X-800i autoanalyser. The study revealed gradual increase in PVI from non-diabetics to IFG to diabetics. PVI were markedly increased in diabetic patients. MPV and PDW of diabetics, IFG and non diabetics were (17.60 ± 2.04)fl, (11.76 ± 0.73)fl, (9.93 ± 0.64)fl and (19.17 ± 1.48)fl, (15.49 ± 0.67)fl, (10.59 ± 0.67)fl respectively with a significant p value 0.00 and a significant positive correlation (MPV-HbA1c r = 0.951; PDW-HbA1c r = 0.875). MPV & PDW of subjects with diabetes related complications were higher as compared to those without them and were (17.51±0.39)fl & (15.14 ± 1.04)fl and (20.09 ± 0.98) fl & (18.96 ± 0.83)fl respectively with a significant p value 0.00. There was a significant positive correlation between PVI and duration of diabetes across the groups (MPV-HbA1c r = 0.951; PDW-HbA1c r = 0.875). However, a significant negative correlation was found between glycaemic levels and total platelet count (PC- HbA1c r =-0.164). This is multi-parameter and comprehensive study with an adequately powered study design. It can be concluded from our study that PVI are extremely useful and important indicators of impending vascular complications in all patients with deranged glycaemic control. Introduction of automated cell counters has facilitated the availability of PVI as routine parameters. PVI is a useful means for identifying larger & active platelets which play important role in development of micro and macro angiopathic complications of diabetes leading to mortality and morbidity. PVI can be used as cost effective markers to predict and prevent impending vascular events in patients with Diabetes mellitus especially in developing countries like India. PVI, if incorporated into protocols for management of diabetes, could revolutionize care and curtail the ever increasing cost of patient management.

Keywords: diabetes, IFG, HbA1C, MPV, PDW, PVI

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Authors: James Ormrod

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This paper is concerned with volunteer livestock checking. Based on a pilot study consisting of ‘go-along’ interviews with livestock checkers, it argues that there are limitations to the insights that can be generated from approaches to ‘discourse analysis’ that would focus only on the verbalizable aspects of the practice. Volunteer livestock checking takes place across Europe as part of conservation projects aimed at maintaining particular habitats through the reintroduction of grazing animals. Volunteers are variously called ‘urban shepherds’, because these practices often take place on urban fringes, or ‘lookerers’, as their role is to make visual checks on the animals. Pilot research that took place on the South Downs (a chalk downland habitat on the South Coast of the UK) involved researchers accompanying volunteers as they checked on livestock. They were asked to give an account of what they were doing and then answer semi-structured interview questions. Participants drew on popular discourses on conservation and biodiversity, as framed by the local council who run the programme. They also framed their relationships to the animals in respect to the more formal limitations of their role as identified through the conservation programme. And yet these discourses, significant as they are, do not adequately explain why volunteers are drawn to, and emotionally invested in, lookering. The methodology employed allowed participants instead to gesture to features of the landscape and to recall memories, and for the researchers to see how volunteers interacted with the animals and the landscape in embodied and emotionally loaded ways. The paper argues that a psychosocial perspective that pays attention to the contradictions and tensions made visible through this methodology helps develop a fuller understanding of volunteer livestock checking as a social practice.

Keywords: conservation, human-animal relations, lookering, volunteering

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Authors: Magdalena Maria Rost-Roszkowska, Alina Chachulska-Żymełka, Monika Tarnawska, Maria Augustyniak, Alina Kafel, Agnieszka Babczyńska

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Autophagy is a form of cell remodeling in which an internalization of organelles into vacuoles that are called autophagosomes occur. Autophagosomes are the targets of lysosomes, thus causing digestion of cytoplasmic components. Eventually, it can lead to the death of the entire cell. However, in response to several stress factors, e.g., starvation, heavy metals (e.g., cadmium) autophagy can also act as a pro-survival factor, protecting the cell against its death. The main aim of our studies was to check if the process of autophagy, which could appear in the midgut epithelium after Cd treatment, can be fixed during the following generations of insects. As a model animal, we chose the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a well-known polyphagous pest of many vegetable crops. We analyzed specimens at final larval stage (5th larval stage), due to its hyperfagy, resulting in great amount of cadmium assimilate. The culture consisted of two strains: a control strain (K) fed a standard diet, and a cadmium strain (Cd), fed on standard diet supplemented with cadmium (44 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food) for 146 generations, both strains. In addition, the control insects were transferred to the Cd supplemented diet (5 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food, 10 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food, 20 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food, 44 mg Cd per kg of dry weight of food). Therefore, we obtained Cd1, Cd2, Cd3 and KCd experimental groups. Autophagy has been examined using transmission electron microscope. During this process, degenerated organelles were surrounded by a membranous phagophore and enclosed in an autophagosome. Eventually, after the autophagosome fused with a lysosome, an autolysosome was formed and the process of the digestion of organelles began. During the 1st year of the experiment, we analyzed specimens of 6 generations in all the lines. The intensity of autophagy depends significantly on the generation, tissue and cadmium concentration in the insect rearing medium. In the Ist, IInd, IIIrd, IVth, Vth and VIth generation the intensity of autophagy in the midguts from cadmium-exposed strains decreased gradually according to the following order of strains: Cd1, Cd2, Cd3 and KCd. The higher amount of cells with autophagy was observed in Cd1 and Cd2. However, it was still higher than the percentage of cells with autophagy in the same tissues of the insects from the control and multigenerational cadmium strain. This may indicate that during 6-generational exposure to various Cd concentration, a preserved tolerance to cadmium was not maintained. The study has been financed by the National Science Centre Poland, grant no 2016/21/B/NZ8/00831.

Keywords: autophagy, cell death, digestive system, ultrastructure

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Authors: Mercy D. Chirwa, Juliet Nyasulu, Lebisti Modiba, Makombo Ganga-Limando

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Maternal death review is an initiative that provides a deeper understanding of the causes and circumstances sorounding of maternal deaths in Malawi and globally. Midwives are frontline members of the healthcare team and have stories about what pregnant women go through as such they are better placed to contribute to these reviews. Despite midwives’ participation as members of the facility-based maternal death review team, maternal deaths continues to occur. A lot has been documented around processes involved in maternal review, however, not much has been written around challenges experienced by midwives in maternal death review. This study explored the challenges faced by midwives in the implementation of maternal death reviews in the context of the healthcare system in Malawi. Methodology: This was a qualitative exploratory study design. Focus group discussions and individual face-to-face interviews were used to collect data in the study. A total of 40 midwives, who met the inclusion criteria, participated in the study. Data was analysed manually using a thematic content procedure. Findings: The four major challenges identified were: knowledge and skill gaps; lack of leadership and accountability; lack of institutional political will and inconsistency in conducting FBMDR, impeding midwives’ effective contribution to the implementation of maternal death review. The practical solutions and recommendations that emerged were: need-based knowledge and skills updates, supportive leadership, effective and efficient interdisciplinary work ethics, and sustained availability of material and human resources. Conclusion: Midwives have the highest potential to contribute to the reduction of maternal deaths. Practice development strategies are required to improve their practice in all the areas they are challenged with.

Keywords: facility-based maternal death review, maternal deaths, midwife, midwife challenges

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Authors: Jacqueline Jasmine Kumar

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This paper seeks to challenge the predominate Western-centric paradigm concerning empathy by conducting an exploration of its presence within both Western and Eastern philosophical traditions. The primary focus of this inquiry is the examination of the Indian yogic tradition, encompassing the four yogas: bhakti (love/devotion), karma (action), jnāna (knowledge), and rāja (psychic control). Through this examination, it is demonstrated that empathy does not exclusively originate from Western philosophical thought. Rather than superimposing the Western conceptualization of empathy onto the tenets of Indian philosophy, this study endeavours to unearth a distinct array of ideas and concepts within the four yogas, which significantly contribute to our comprehension of empathy as a universally relevant phenomenon. To achieve this objective, an innovative approach is adopted, delving into various facets of empathy, including the propositional, affective/intuitive, perspective-taking, and actionable dimensions. This approach intentionally deviates from conventional Western frameworks, shifting the emphasis towards lived morally as opposed to engagement in abstract theoretical discourse. While it is acknowledged that the explicit term “empathy” may not be overly articulated within the yogic tradition, a scrupulous examination reveals the underlying substance and significance of this phenomenon. Throughout this comparative analysis, the paper aims to lay a robust foundation for the discourse of empathy within the contexts of the human experience. By assimilating insights gleaned from the Indian yogic tradition, it contributes to the expansion of our comprehension of empathy, enabling an exploration of its multifaceted dimensions. Ultimately, this scholarly endeavour facilitates the development of a more comprehensive and inclusive perspective on empathy, transcending cultural boundaries and enriching our collective repository of knowledge.

Keywords: Bhakti, Yogic, Jnana, Karma

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Authors: I. L. Kim, J. Y. Lee, A. K. Tekile

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In consequence of the very high urbanization rate of Korea, the number of traffic noise damages in areas congested with population and facilities is steadily increasing. The current environmental noise levels data in major cities of the country show that the noise levels exceed the standards set for both day and night times. This research was about comparative analysis in search for optimal soundproof panel shape and design factor that can minimize sound reflection noise. In addition to the normal flat-type panel shape, the reflection noise reduction of swelling-type, combined swelling and curved-type, and screen-type were evaluated. The noise source model Nord 2000, which often provides abundant information compared to models for the similar purpose, was used in the study to determine the overall noise level. Based on vehicle categorization in Korea, the noise levels for varying frequency from different heights of the sound source (directivity heights of Harmonize model) have been calculated for simulation. Each simulation has been made using the ray-tracing method. The noise level has also been calculated using the noise prediction program called SoundPlan 7.2, for comparison. The noise level prediction was made at 15m (R1), 30 m (R2) and at middle of the road, 2m (R3) receiving the point. By designing the noise barriers by shape and running the prediction program by inserting the noise source on the 2nd lane to the noise barrier side, among the 6 lanes considered, the reflection noise slightly decreased or increased in all noise barriers. At R1, especially in the cases of the screen-type noise barriers, there was no reduction effect predicted in all conditions. However, the swelling-type showed a decrease of 0.7~1.2 dB at R1, performing the best reduction effect among the tested noise barriers. Compared to other forms of noise barriers, the swelling-type was thought to be the most suitable for reducing the reflection noise; however, since a slight increase was predicted at R2, further research based on a more sophisticated categorization of related design factors is necessary. Moreover, as swellings are difficult to produce and the size of the modules are smaller than other panels, it is challenging to install swelling-type noise barriers. If these problems are solved, its applicable region will not be limited to other types of noise barriers. Hence, when a swelling-type noise barrier is installed at a downtown region where the amount of traffic is increasing every day, it will both secure visibility through the transparent walls and diminish any noise pollution due to the reflection. Moreover, when decorated with shapes and design, noise barriers will achieve a visual attraction than a flat-type one and thus will alleviate any psychological hardships related to noise, other than the unique physical soundproofing functions of the soundproof panels.

Keywords: reflection noise, shaped noise barriers, sound proof panel, traffic noise

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Authors: Thabiso Michael Mokotjomela, Jasper Knight

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Intensification of agricultural food production in sub-Saharan Africa is of paramount importance as a means of increasing the food security of communities that are already experiencing a range of environmental and socio-economic stresses. However, achieving this aim faces several challenges including ongoing climate change, increased resistance of diseases and pests, extreme environmental degradation partly due to biological invasions, land tenure and management practices, socio-economic developments of rural populations, and national population growth. In particular, non-native plant species tend to display greater adaptation capacity to environmental stress than native species that form important food resource base for human beings, thus suggesting a potential for usage to shift accordingly. Based on review of the historical benefits of non-native plant species in food production in sub-Saharan Africa, we propose that use of non-invasive, non-native plant species and/or the genetic modification of native species might be viable options for future agricultural sustainability in this region. Coupled with strategic foresight planning (e.g. use of biological control agents that suppress plant species’ invasions), the consumptive use of already-introduced non-native species might help in containment and control of possible negative environmental impacts of non-native species on native species, ecosystems and biodiversity, and soil fertility and hydrology. Use of non-native species in food production should be accompanied by low cost agroecology practices (e.g. conservation agriculture and agrobiodiversity) that may promote the gradual recovery of natural capital, ecosystem services, and promote conservation of the natural environment as well as enhance food security.

Keywords: food security, invasive species, agroecology, agrobiodiversity, socio-economic stresses

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Authors: Ishara Madusanka, So Morikawa

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Natural disasters, particularly floods, pose severe challenges globally, affecting both developed and developing countries. In many regions, especially Asia, riverine floods are prevalent and devastating. Integrated flood management incorporates structural and non-structural measures, with preventive relocation emerging as a cost-effective and proactive strategy for areas repeatedly impacted by severe flooding. However, preventive relocation is often hindered by economic, psychological, social, and institutional barriers. This study investigates the factors influencing resistance to preventive relocation and evaluates the role of flood risk information in shaping relocation decisions through risk perception. A conceptual model was developed, incorporating variables such as Flood Risk Information (FRI), Place Attachment (PA), Good Living Conditions (GLC), and Adaptation to Flooding (ATF), with Flood Risk Perception (FRP) serving as a mediating variable. The research was conducted in Welipitiya in the Polwatta river basin, Matara district, Sri Lanka, a region experiencing recurrent flood damage. For this study, an experimental design involving a structured questionnaire survey was utilized, with 185 households participating. The treatment group received flood risk information, including flood risk maps and historical data, while the control group did not. Data were collected in 2023 and analyzed using independent sample t-tests and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). PLS-SEM was chosen for its ability to model latent variables, handle complex relationships, and suitability for exploratory research. Multi-group Analysis (MGA) assessed variations across different flood risk areas. Findings indicate that flood risk information had a limited impact on flood risk perception and relocation decisions, though its effect was significant in specific high-risk areas. Place attachment was a significant factor influencing relocation decisions across the sample. One potential reason for the limited impact of flood risk information on relocation decisions could be the lack of specificity in the information provided. The results suggest that while flood risk information alone may not significantly influence relocation decisions, it is crucial in specific contexts. Future studies and practitioners should focus on providing more detailed risk information and addressing psychological factors like place attachments to enhance preventive relocation efforts.

Keywords: flood risk communication, flood risk perception, place attachment, preventive relocation, structural equation modeling

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Authors: Yassets Egaña, Patricio Núñez, Juan C. Rios, Ivan Balic, Alex Manquez, Yarela Flores, Maria C. Gatica, Sergio Diez De Medina, Rocio Tijaro-Rojas

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Globally, humans produce millions of tons of waste per year. An important percentage of this waste is plastic, which frequently ends up in landfills and oceans. During the last decades, the greatest plastics production in history have been made, a few amount of this plastic is recycled, the rest ending up as plastic pollution in soils and seas. Plastic pollution is disastrous for the environment, affecting essential species, quality of consumption water, and some economic activities such as tourism, in different parts of the world. Due to its durability and decomposition on micro-plastics, animals and humans are accumulating a variety of plastic components without having clear their effects on human health, economy, and wildlife. In dry regions as the Atacama Desert, up to 95% of the water consumption comes from underground reservoirs, therefore preventing the soil pollution is an urgent need. This contribution focused on isolating, genotyping and optimizing microorganisms that use plastic waste as the only source of food to construct a batch-type bioreactor able to degrade in a faster way the plastic waste before it gets the desert soils and groundwater consumed by people living in this areas. Preliminary results, under laboratory conditions, has shown an improved degradation of polyethylene when three species of bacteria and three of fungi act on a selected plastic material. These microorganisms have been inoculated in dry soils, initially lacking organic matter, under environmental conditions in the laboratory. Our team designed and constructed a prototype using the natural conditions of the region and the best experimental results.

Keywords: biological breakdown, plastic bags, prototype, desert regions

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Authors: Mahtab Abdollahi Sarvi, Siamak Epackachi, Ali Imanpour

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Reinforced concrete shear walls are commonly used as the lateral load-resisting system of mid- to high-rise office or residential buildings around the world. Design of such systems is often governed by wind rather than seismic effects, in particular in low-to-moderate seismic regions. The current design philosophy as per the majority of building codes under wind loads require elastic response of lateral load-resisting systems including reinforced concrete shear walls when subjected to the rare design wind load, resulting in significantly large wall sections needed to meet strength requirements and drift limits. The latter can highly influence the design in upper stories due to stringent drift limits specified by building codes, leading to substantial added costs to the construction of the wall. However, such walls may offer limited to moderate over-strength and ductility due to their large reserve capacity provided that they are designed and detailed to appropriately develop such over-strength and ductility under extreme wind loads. This would significantly contribute to reducing construction time and costs, while maintaining structural integrity under gravity and frequently-occurring and less frequent wind events. This paper aims to investigate the over-strength and ductility capacity of several imaginary office buildings located in Edmonton, Canada with a glance at earthquake design philosophy. Selected models are 10- to 25-story buildings with three types of reinforced concrete shear wall configurations including rectangular, barbell, and flanged. The buildings are designed according to National Building Code of Canada. Then fiber-based numerical models of the walls are developed in Perform 3D and by conducting nonlinear static (pushover) analysis, lateral nonlinear behavior of the walls are evaluated. Ductility and over-strength of the structures are obtained based on the results of the pushover analyses. The results confirmed moderate nonlinear capacity of reinforced concrete shear walls under extreme wind loads. This is while lateral displacements of the walls pass the serviceability limit states defined in Pre standard for Performance-Based Wind Design (ASCE). The results indicate that we can benefit the limited nonlinear response observed in the reinforced concrete shear walls to economize the design of such systems under wind loads.

Keywords: concrete shear wall, high-rise buildings, nonlinear static analysis, response modification factor, wind load

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Authors: Cigdem Karaaslan, Yalcin Duydu, Aylin Ustundag, Can Ozgur Yalcın, Hakan Goker

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Benzazole nucleus is found in the structure of many compounds as anticancer agents. Bendamustine (Alkylating agent), Nocodazole (Mitotic inhibitor), Veliparib (PARP inhibitor), Glasdegib (SMO inhibitor) are clinically used as anticancer therapeutics which bearing benzimidazole moiety. Based on the principle of bioisosterism in the present work, 23 compounds belonging to 2-(3,4-dimethoxy-phenyl) benzazoles and imidazopyridine series were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activities. N-(5-Chloro-2-hydroxyphenyl)-3,4-dimethoxybenzamide, was obtained by the amidation of 2-hydroxy-5-chloroaniline with 3,4-dimethoxybenzoic acid by using 1,1'-carbonyldiimidazole. Cyclization of benzamide derivative to benzoxazole, was achieved by p-toluenesulfonic acid. Other 1H-benz (or pyrido) azoles were prepared by the reaction between 2-aminothiophenol, o-phenylenediamine, o-pyridinediamine with sodium metabisulfite adduct of 3,4-dimethoxybenzaldehyde. The NMR assignments of the dimethoxy groups were established by the Nuclear Overhauser Effect Spectroscopy. A compound named, 5(4),7(6)-Dichloro-2-(3,4-dimethoxy) phenyl-1H-benzimidazole, bearing two chlorine atoms at the 5(4) and 7(6) positions of the benzene moiety of benzimidazole was found the most potent analogue, against A549 cells with the GI50 value of 1.5 µg/mL. In addition, 2-(3,4-Dimethoxyphenyl)-5,6-dimethyl-1H-benzimi-dazole showed remarkable cell growth inhibition against MCF-7 and HeLa cells with the GI₅₀ values of 7 and 5.5 µg/mL, respectively. It could be concluded that introduction of di-chloro atoms at the phenyl ring of 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)-1H-benzimidazoles increase significant cytotoxicity to selected human tumor cell lines in comparison to other all benzazoles synthesized in this study. Unsubstituted 2-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl) imidazopyridines also gave the good inhibitory profile against A549 and HeLa cells.

Keywords: 3, 4-Dimethoxyphenyl, 1H-benzimidazole, benzazole, imidazopyridine

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Authors: Farideh Gheitasi, Amir Hossain Jaberansari, Payam Abedini

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The World Health Organization (WHO) Manifesto for Safe Communities states that "All human beings have an equal right to health and safety". The purpose of a safe Community is to minimize the damages threatening people. It seems that not sufficient attention has been given to relate environment and objectives of the safe Community. The reason for that can be assigned to the lack of enough information about environmental parameters and their relation with indices of the safe community like type and effect time of damages resulting from air pollution. Air pollution can be characterized as one of main environmental problems of Tehran. This problem is mostly due to the special geographic and climate situation, high population density and irregular growth in the number of vehicles. This paper is aimed at investigating the necessity of considering environmental factors to obtain a safe community through determining the effects of environmental pollution, particularly air pollution, on 490000 elders (+65) of Tehran. The methodology used in this study was on the basis of Random sampling and social surveying. The number of questionnaires was determined to be 321 through using Cochran method and the questionnaires were filled out by elders during personal interviews. The analysis of obtained results indicated that elders believe the major effects of air pollution include heart and respiratory diseases, obligation to stay at home on polluted days and its associated mental problems. Moreover, it was found that there is direct link between the number of polluted days and mortality frequency of elders. Having an environmental view may have an appreciable influence on the qualitative and quantitative development of activities and also facilitate obtaining the goals of the Safe Communities. In addition to reduce damages caused by pollutions, this view will encourage friends of the environment to cooperate with authorities of the safe community.

Keywords: air pollution, elderly people, environment, waste management

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Authors: Chantal Maille

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This paper is about gender-based analysis plus (GBA+), an intersectional gender policy used in Canada to assess the impact of policies and programs for men and women from different origins. It looks at Canada’s political culture to explain the nature of its gender policies. GBA+ is defined as an analysis method that makes it possible to assess the eventual effects of policies, programs, services, and other initiatives on women and men of different backgrounds because it takes account of gender and other identity factors. The ‘plus’ in the name serves to emphasize that GBA+ goes beyond gender to include an examination of a wide range of other related identity factors, such as age, education, language, geography, culture, and income. The point of departure for GBA+ is that women and men are not homogeneous populations and gender is never the only factor in defining a person’s identity; rather, it interacts with factors such as ethnic origin, age, disabilities, where the person lives, and other aspects of individual and social identity. GBA+ takes account of these factors and thus challenges notions of similarity or homogeneity within populations of women and men. Comparative analysis based on sex and gender may serve as a gateway to studying a given question, but women, men, girls, and boys do not form homogeneous populations. In the 1990s, intersectionality emerged as a new feminist framework. The popularity of the notion of intersectionality corresponds to a time when, in hindsight, the damage done to minoritized groups by state disengagement policies in concert with global intensification of neoliberalism, and vice versa, can be measured. Although GBA+ constitutes a form of intersectionalization of GBA, it must be understood that the two frameworks do not spring from a similar logic. Intersectionality first emerged as a dynamic analysis of differences between women that was oriented toward change and social justice, whereas GBA is a technique developed by state feminists in a context of analyzing governmental policies and aiming to promote equality between men and women. It can nevertheless be assumed that there might be interest in such a policy and program analysis grid that is decentred from gender and offers enough flexibility to take account of a group of inequalities. In terms of methodology, the research is supported by a qualitative analysis of governmental documents about GBA+ in Canada. Research findings identify links between Canadian gender policies and its political culture. In Canada, diversity has been taken into account as an element at the basis of gendered analysis of public policies since 1995. The GBA+ adopted by the government of Canada conveys an opening to intersectionality and a sensitivity to multiculturalism. The Canadian Multiculturalism Act, adopted 1988, proposes to recognize the fact that multiculturalism is a fundamental characteristic of the Canadian identity and heritage and constitutes an invaluable resource for the future of the country. In conclusion, Canada’s distinct political culture can be associated with the specific nature of its gender policies.

Keywords: Canada, gender-based analysis, gender policies, political culture

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Authors: A. E. Mukhametov, M. T. Yerbulekova, D. R. Dautkanova, G. A. Tuyakova, G. Aitkhozhayeva

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The accumulation of heavy metals in food is a constant problem in many parts of the world. Vegetable oils are widely used, both for cooking and for processing in the food industry, meeting the main dietary requirements. One of the main chemical pollutants, heavy metals, is usually found in vegetable oils. These chemical pollutants are carcinogenic, teratogenic and immunotoxic, harmful to consumption and have a negative effect on human health even in trace amounts. Residues of these substances can easily accumulate in vegetable oil during cultivation, processing and storage. In this article, the content of the concentration of heavy metal ions in vegetable oils of Kazakhstan production is studied: sunflower, rapeseed, safflower and linseed oil. Heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead and nickel, were determined in three repetitions by the method of flame atomic absorption. Analysis of vegetable oil samples revealed that the largest lead contamination (Pb) was determined to be 0.065 mg/kg in linseed oil. The content of cadmium (Cd) in the largest amount of 0.009 mg/kg was found in safflower oil. Arsenic (As) content was determined in rapeseed and safflower oils at 0.003 mg/kg, and arsenic (As) was not detected in linseed and sunflower oil. The nickel (Ni) content in the largest amount of 0.433 mg/kg was in linseed oil. The heavy metal contents in the test samples complied with the requirements of regulatory documents for vegetable oils. An assessment of the health risk of vegetable oils with a daily consumption of 36 g per day shows that all samples of vegetable oils produced in Kazakhstan are safe for consumption. But further monitoring is needed, since all these metals are toxic and their harmful effects become apparent only after several years of exposure.

Keywords: vegetable oil, sunflower oil, linseed oil, safflower oil, toxic metals, food safety, rape oil

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Authors: Asrarul H. Jeelani

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Arsenic contamination of groundwater and its’ health implications in lower Gangetic plain of Indian states started reporting in the 1980s. The same period was declared as the first water decade (1981-1990) to achieve ‘water for all.’ To fulfill the aim, the Indian government, with the support of international agencies installed millions of hand-pumps through water resources development programs. The hand-pumps improve the accessibility if the groundwater, but over-extraction of it increases the chances of mixing of trivalent arsenic which is more toxic than pentavalent arsenic of dug well water in Gangetic plain and has different physical manifestations. Now after three decades, Bihar (middle Gangetic plain) is also facing arsenic contamination of groundwater and its’ health implications. Objective: This interdisciplinary research attempts to understand the health and social implications of arsenicosis among different castes in Haldi Chhapra village and to find the association of ramifications with water resources development. Methodology: The Study used concurrent quantitative dominant mix method (QUAN+qual). The researcher had employed household survey, social mapping, interviews, and participatory interactions. However, the researcher used secondary data for retrospective analysis of hand-pumps and implications of arsenicosis. Findings: The study found 88.5% (115) household have hand-pumps as a source of water however 13.8% uses purified supplied water bottle and 3.6% uses combinations of hand-pump, bottled water and dug well water for drinking purposes. Among the population, 3.65% of individuals have arsenicosis, and 2.72% of children between the age group of 5 to 15 years are affected. The caste variable has also emerged through quantitative as well as geophysical locations analysis as 5.44% of arsenicosis manifested individual belong to scheduled caste (SC), 3.89% to extremely backward caste (EBC), 2.57% to backward caste (BC) and 3% to other. Among three clusters of arsenic poisoned locations, two belong to SC and EBC. The village as arsenic affected is being discriminated, whereas the affected individual is also facing discrimination, isolation, stigma, and problem in getting married. The forceful intervention to install hand-pumps in the first water decades and later restructuring of the dug well destroyed a conventional method of dug well cleaning. Conclusion: The common manifestation of arsenicosis has increased by 1.3% within six years of span in the village. This raised the need for setting up a proper surveillance system in the village. It is imperative to consider the social structure for arsenic mitigation program as this research reveals caste as a significant factor. The health and social implications found in the study; retrospectively analyzed as the collateral impact of water resource development programs in the village.

Keywords: arsenicosis, caste, collateral impact, water resources

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Authors: Hilal Keklicek, Fatih Erbahceci, Elif Kirdi, Ali Yalcin, Semra Topuz, Ozlem Ulger, Gul Sener

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Objectives and Goals: The stride-to-stride fluctuations in gait is a determinant of qualified locomotion as known as gait variability. Gait variability is an important predictive factor of fall risk and useful for monitoring the effects of therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation. Comparison of gait variability in individuals with trans-tibial lower limb loss and trans femoral lower limb loss was the aim of the study. Methods: Ten individuals with traumatic unilateral trans femoral limb loss(TF), 12 individuals with traumatic transtibial lower limb loss(TT) and 12 healthy individuals(HI) were the participants of the study. All participants were evaluated with treadmill. Gait characteristics including mean step length, step length variability, ambulation index, time on each foot of participants were evaluated with treadmill. Participants were walked at their preferred speed for six minutes. Data from 4th minutes to 6th minutes were selected for statistical analyses to eliminate learning effect. Results: There were differences between the groups in intact limb step length variation, time on each foot, ambulation index and mean age (p < .05) according to the Kruskal Wallis Test. Pairwise analyses showed that there were differences between the TT and TF in residual limb variation (p=.041), time on intact foot (p=.024), time on prosthetic foot(p=.024), ambulation index(p = .003) in favor of TT group. There were differences between the TT and HI group in intact limb variation (p = .002), time on intact foot (p<.001), time on prosthetic foot (p < .001), ambulation index result (p < .001) in favor of HI group. There were differences between the TF and HI group in intact limb variation (p = .001), time on intact foot (p=.01) ambulation index result (p < .001) in favor of HI group. There was difference between the groups in mean age result from HI group were younger (p < .05).There were similarity between the groups in step lengths (p>.05) and time of prosthesis using in individuals with lower limb loss (p > .05). Conclusions: The pilot study provided basic data about gait stability in individuals with traumatic lower limb loss. Results of the study showed that to evaluate the gait differences between in different amputation level, long-range gait analyses methods may be useful to get more valuable information. On the other hand, similarity in step length may be resulted from effective prosthetic using or effective gait rehabilitation, in conclusion, all participants with lower limb loss were already trained. The differences between the TT and HI; TF and HI may be resulted from the age related features, therefore, age matched population in HI were recommended future studies. Increasing the number of participants and comparison of age-matched groups also recommended to generalize these result.

Keywords: lower limb loss, amputee, gait variability, gait analyses

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Authors: Juan C. Torrado, Javier Gomez, Guadalupe Montero, German Montoro, M. Dolores Villalba

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One of the most challenging aspects of the executive dysfunction of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders is the behavior control. This is related to a deficit in their ability to regulate, recognize and manage their own emotions. Some researchers have developed applications for tablets and smartphones to practice strategies of relaxation and emotion recognition. However, they cannot be applied to the very moment of temper outbursts, anger episodes or anxiety, since they require to carry the device, start the application and be helped by caretakers. Also, some of these systems are developed for either obsolete technologies (old versions of tablet devices, PDAs, outdated operative systems of smartphones) or specific devices (self-developed or proprietary ones) that create differentiation between the users and the rest of the individuals in their context. For this project we selected smartwatches. Focusing on emergent technologies ensures a wide lifespan of the developed products, because the derived products are intended to be available in the same moment the very technology gets popularized, not later. We also focused our research in commercial versions of smartwatches, since this way differentiation is easily avoided, so the users’ abandonment rate lowers. We have developed a smartwatch system along with a smartphone authoring tool to display self-regulation strategies. These micro-prompting strategies are conformed of pictograms, animations and temporizers, and they are designed by means of the authoring tool: When both devices synchronize their data, the smartwatch holds the self-regulation strategies, which are triggered when the smartwatch sensors detect a remarkable rise of heart rate and movement. The system is being currently tested in an educational center of people with ASD of Madrid, Spain.

Keywords: assistive technologies, emotion regulation, human-computer interaction, smartwatches

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Authors: Sihyun Chae, Ryoto Arai, Waldo Concepcion, Paula Popescu

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The kidneys perform an important role in the human hormones that regulate the blood pressure, produce an active form of vitamin D and control the production of red blood cells. Kidney disease can cause health problems, such as heart disease. Also, increase the chance of having a stroke or heart attack. There are mainly to types of treatments for kidney disease, dialysis, and kidney transplant. For a better quality of life, the kidney transplant is desirable. However, kidney transplant can cause antibody reaction and patients’ body would be attacked by immune system of their own. For solving that issue, patients with transplanted kidney always take immunosuppressive drugs which can hurt kidney as side effects. Patients willing to do a kidney transplant have a waiting time of 3.6 years in average searching to find an appropriate kidney, considering there are almost 96,380 patients waiting for kidney transplant. There is a promising method to solve these issues: bioartificial kidney. Our membrane is specially designed with unique perforations capable to filter the blood cells separating the white blood cells from red blood cells. White blood cells will not pass through the encapsulated kidney preventing the immune system to attack the new organ and eliminating the need of a matching donor. It is possible to construct life-time long encapsulation without needing pumps or a power supply on the cell’s separation method preventing futures surgeries due the Cross-Channel Flow inside the device. This technology allows the possibility to use an animal kidney, prevent cancer cells to spread through the body, arm and leg transplants in the future. This project aims to improve the quality of life of patients with kidney disease.

Keywords: kidney encapsulation, immunosuppression filter, leukocyte filter, leukocyte

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Authors: Armand Okende, Joëlle De Weerdt, Esther Fichtler, Maaike De Ridder, Hans Beeckman

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The rainforest plays a crucial role in regulating the climate balance. The biodiversity of tropical rainforests is undeniable, but many aspects remain poorly known, which directly influences its management. Despite the efforts of sustainable forest management, human pressure in terms of exploitation and smuggling of timber forms a problem compared to exploited species whose status is considered "vulnerable" on the IUCN red list compiled by. Commercial species in Class III of the Democratic Republic of Congo are the least known in the market operating, and their biology is unknown or non-existent. Identification of wood in terms of descriptions and anatomical measurements of the wood is in great demand for various stakeholders such as scientists, customs, IUCN, etc. The objective of this study is the qualitative and quantitative description of the anatomical characteristics of commercial species in Class III of DR Congo. The site of the Luki Biosphere Reserve was chosen because of its high tree species richness. This study focuses on the wood anatomy of 14 commercial species of Class III of DR Congo. Thirty-four wooden discs were collected for these species. The following parameters were measured in the field: Diameter at breast height (DBH), total height and geographic coordinates. Microtomy, identification of vessel parameters (diameter, density and grouping) and photograph of the microscopic sections and determining age were performed in this study. The results obtained are detailed anatomical descriptions of species in Class III of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Keywords: sustainable management of forest, rainforest, commercial species of class iii, vessel diameter, vessel density, grouping vessel

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Authors: Pegah Ebrahimi, Farshad Oveissi, Iman Manavi-Tehrani, Sina Naficy, David F. Fletcher, Fariba Dehghani, David S. Winlaw

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Despite advances in modern surgery, congenital heart disease remains a medical challenge and a major cause of infant mortality. Cardiovascular prostheses are routinely used in surgical procedures to address congenital malformations, for example establishing a pathway from the right ventricle to the pulmonary arteries in pulmonary valvar atresia. Current off-the-shelf options including human and adult products have limited biocompatibility and durability, and their fixed size necessitates multiple subsequent operations to upsize the conduit to match with patients’ growth over their lifetime. Non-physiological blood flow is another major problem, reducing the longevity of these prostheses. These limitations call for better designs that take into account the hemodynamical and anatomical characteristics of different patients. We have integrated tissue engineering techniques with modern medical imaging and image processing tools along with mathematical modeling to optimize the design of cardiovascular grafts in a patient-specific manner. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis is done according to models constructed from each individual patient’s data. This allows for improved geometrical design and achieving better hemodynamic performance. Tissue engineering strives to provide a material that grows with the patient and mimic the durability and elasticity of the native tissue. Simulations also give insight on the performance of the tissues produced in our lab and reduce the need for costly and time-consuming methods of evaluation of the grafts. We are also developing a methodology for the fabrication of the optimized designs.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics, cardiovascular grafts, design optimization, tissue engineering

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Authors: Maryam Mostafaee, Hassan Sadeghi Naeini, Sara Mostowfi

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Today’s Knowledge management (KM), plays an important role in organizations. Basically, knowledge management is in the relation of using it for taking advantage of work forces in an organization for forwarding the goals and demand of that organization used at the most. The purpose of knowledge management is not only to manage existing documentation, information, and Data through an organization, but the most important part of KM is to control most important and key factor of those information and Data. For sure it is to chase the information needed for the employees in the right time of needed to take from genuine source for bringing out the best performance and result then in this matter the performance of organization will be at most of it. There are a lot of definitions over the objective of management released. Management is the science that in force the accurate knowledge with repeating to the organization to shape it and take full advantages for reaching goals and targets in the organization to be used by employees and users, but the definition of Knowledge based on Kalinz dictionary is: Facts, emotions or experiences known by man or group of people is ‘ knowledge ‘: Based on the Merriam Webster Dictionary: the act or skill of controlling and making decision about a business, department, sport team, etc, based on the Oxford Dictionary: Efficient handling of information and resources within a commercial organization, and based on the Oxford Dictionary: The art or process of designing manufactured products: the scale is a beautiful work of industrial design. When knowledge management performed executive in universities, discovery and create a new knowledge be facilitated. Make procedures between different units for knowledge exchange. College's officials and employees understand the importance of knowledge for University's success and will make more efforts to prevent the errors. In this strategy, is explored factors and affective trends and manage of it in University. In this research, Iranian universities for a time being analyzed that over usage of knowledge management, how they are behaving and having understood this matter: 1. Discovery of knowledge management in Iranian Universities, 2. Transferring exciting knowledge between faculties and unites, 3. Participate of employees for getting and using and transferring knowledge, 4.The accessibility of valid sources, 5. Researching over factors and correct processes in the university. We are pointing in some examples that we have already analyzed which is: -Enabling better and faster decision-making, -Making it easy to find relevant information and resources, -Reusing ideas, documents, and expertise, -Avoiding redundant effort. Consequence: It is found that effectiveness of knowledge management in the Industrial design field is low. Based on filled checklist by Education officials and professors in universities, and coefficient of effectiveness Calculate, knowledge management could not get the right place.

Keywords: knowledge management, industrial design, educational curriculum, learning performance

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Authors: Mahmoud M. AbuAlSamen, Tamam El-Elimat

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Amid the economic crisis in Jordan, the Jordanian government has opted for a knowledge economy where education is promoted as a mean for economic development. University education usually comes at the expense of study-related stress that may adversely impact the health of students. Since stress is a latent variable that is difficult to measure, a valid tool should be used in doing so. The effort-reward imbalance (ERI) is a model used as a measurement tool for occupational stress. The model was built on the notion of reciprocity, which relates ‘effort’ to ‘reward’ through the mediating ‘over-commitment’. Reciprocity assumes equilibrium between both effort and reward, where ‘high’ effort is adequately compensated with ‘high’ reward. When this equilibrium is violated (i.e., high effort with low reward), this may elicit negative emotions and stress, which have been correlated to adverse health conditions. The theory of ERI was established in many different parts of the world, and associations with chronic diseases and the health of workers were explored at length. While much of the effort-reward imbalance was investigated in work conditions, there has been a growing interest in understanding the validity of the ERI model when applied to other social settings such as schools and universities. The ERI questionnaire was developed in Arabic recently to measure ERI among high school teachers. However, little information is available on the validity of the ERI questionnaire in university students. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 833 students in Jordan to measure the validity and reliability of the ERI questionnaire in Arabic among university students. Reliability, as measured by Cronbach’s alpha of the effort, reward, and overcommitment scales, was 0.73, 0.76, and 0.69, respectively, suggesting satisfactory reliability. The factorial structure was explored using principal axis factoring. The results fitted a five-solution model where both the effort and overcommitment were uni-dimensional while the reward scale was three-dimensional with its factors, namely being ‘support’, ‘esteem’, and ‘security’. The solution explained 56% of the variance in the data. The established ERI theory was replicated with excellent validity in this study. The effort-reward ratio in university students was 1.19, which suggests a slight degree of failed reciprocity. The study also investigated the association of effort, reward, overcommitment, and ERI with participants’ demographic factors and self-reported health. ERI was found to be significantly associated with absenteeism (p < 0.0001), past history of failed courses (p=0.03), and poor academic performance (p < 0.001). Moreover, ERI was found to be associated with poor self-reported health among university students (p=0.01). In conclusion, the Arabic ERI questionnaire is reliable and valid for use in measuring effort-reward imbalance in university students in Jordan. The results of this research are important in informing higher education policy in Jordan.

Keywords: effort-reward imbalance, factor analysis, validity, self-reported health

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Authors: Leah Samples

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Barriers to participation persist for people with disabilities despite a long history of legislation designed to support equal opportunity for people with disabilities. Historically, the focus has been solely placed on structural barriers, but newer research highlights the importance of looking at social and informational barriers to participation. Collectively, these barriers prevent people with disabilities from fully engaging in community life and consequently from achieving full citizenship. Disability is crucial to understanding the meaning of citizenship. Drawing upon the influences of feminist, critical race and human rights theorists, citizenship can be defined as a set of rights and responsibilities that an individual has because they are a part of a community. However, when those rights are taken away or denied one’s citizenship is in question. Employing this definition of citizenship allows one to examine how barriers to citizenship present themselves in societies that are built on an ideal of a non-disabled person. To understand at a deeper level how this notion of citizenship manifests itself, this study seeks to unearth commonly experienced barriers to participation in the lives of visually-impaired adults in everyday environments. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore commonly-experienced barriers to participation in the lives of visually impaired adults in leisure settings (e.g. restaurants, stores, etc.). Thirty adults with visual impairments participated in semi-structured interviews, as well as participant observations. The results suggest that barriers to participation are still pervasive in everyday environments and subsequently have an adverse effect on participation and belonging for people with visual impairments. This study highlights the importance of exploring and acknowledging the daily tensions that persons with disabilities face in their communities. A full exploration of these tensions is necessary in order to develop solutions and tools to create more just communities for everyone.

Keywords: barriers, citizenship, belonging, everyday environments

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Authors: Manjula Weerasekera, Chris Sissons, Lisa Wong, Sally Anderson, Ann Holmes, Richard Cannon

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The aim of this study was to characterize bacterial population and yeasts in saliva by Polymerase chain reaction followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) and measure yeast levels by culture. PCR-DGGE was performed to identify oral bacteria and yeasts in 24 saliva samples. DNA was extracted and used to generate DNA amplicons of the V2–V3 hypervariable region of the bacterial 16S rDNA gene using PCR. Further universal primers targeting the large subunit rDNA gene (25S-28S) of fungi were used to amplify yeasts present in human saliva. Resulting PCR products were subjected to denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis using Universal mutation detection system. DGGE bands were extracted and sequenced using Sanger method. A potential relationship was evaluated between groups of bacteria identified by cluster analysis of DGGE fingerprints with the yeast levels and with their diversity. Significant interpersonal variation of salivary microbiome was observed. Cluster and principal component analysis of the bacterial DGGE patterns yielded three significant major clusters, and outliers. Seventeen of the 24 (71%) saliva samples were yeast positive going up to 10³ cfu/mL. Predominately, C. albicans, and six other species of yeast were detected. The presence, amount and species of yeast showed no clear relationship to the bacterial clusters. Microbial community in saliva showed a significant variation between individuals. A lack of association between yeasts and the bacterial fingerprints in saliva suggests the significant ecological person-specific independence in highly complex oral biofilm systems under normal oral conditions.

Keywords: bacteria, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis, oral biofilm, yeasts

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Authors: Renata Kurpiewska-Korbut

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Making an assumption that the use and sharing of data generated in humanitarian action constitute a core function of humanitarian organizations, the paper analyzes the position of the largest Polish humanitarian non-governmental organizations in the humanitarian data ecosystem in Ukraine and their approach to non-personal and personal data management since February of 2022. Both expert interviews and document analysis of non-profit organizations providing a direct response in the Ukrainian crisis context, i.e., the Polish Humanitarian Action, Caritas, Polish Medical Mission, Polish Red Cross, and the Polish Center for International Aid and the applicability of theoretical perspective of contingency theory – with its central point that the context or specific set of conditions determining the way of behavior and the choice of methods of action – help to examine the significance of data complexity and adaptive approach to data management by relief organizations in the humanitarian supply chain network. The purpose of this study is to determine how the existence of well-established and accurate internal procedures and good practices of using and sharing data (including safeguards for sensitive data) by the surveyed organizations with comparable human and technological capabilities are implemented and adjusted to Ukrainian humanitarian settings and data infrastructure. The study also poses a fundamental question of whether this crisis experience will have a determining effect on their future performance. The obtained finding indicate that Polish humanitarian organizations in Ukraine, which have their own unique code of conduct and effective managerial data practices determined by contingencies, have limited influence on improving the situational awareness of other assistance providers in the data ecosystem despite their attempts to undertake interagency work in the area of data sharing.

Keywords: humanitarian data ecosystem, humanitarian data management, polish NGOs, Ukraine

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Authors: Alejandro Adorjan

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Universities are motivated to understand the factor contributing to low retention of engineering undergraduates. While precollege students for engineering increases, the number of engineering graduates continues to decrease and attrition rates for engineering undergraduates remains high. Calculus 1 (C1) is the entry point of most undergraduate Engineering Science and often a prerequisite for Computing Curricula courses. Mathematics continues to be a major hurdle for engineering students and many students who drop out from engineering cite specifically Calculus as one of the most influential factors in that decision. In this context, creating course activities that increase retention and motivate students to obtain better final results is a challenge. In order to develop several competencies in our students of Software Engineering courses, Calculus 1 at Universidad ORT Uruguay focuses on developing several competencies such as capacity of synthesis, abstraction, and problem solving (based on the ACM/AIS/IEEE). Every semester we try to reflect on our practice and try to answer the following research question: What kind of teaching approach in Calculus 1 can we design to retain students and obtain better results? Since 2010, Universidad ORT Uruguay offers a six-week summer noncompulsory bridge course of preparatory math (to bridge the math gap between high school and university). Last semester was the first time the Department of Mathematics offered the course while students were enrolled in C1. Traditional lectures in this bridge course lead to just transcribe notes from blackboard. Last semester we proposed a Hands On Lab course using Geogebra (interactive geometry and Computer Algebra System (CAS) software) as a Math Driven Development Tool. Students worked in a computer laboratory class and developed most of the tasks and topics in Geogebra. As a result of this approach, several pros and cons were found. It was an excessive amount of weekly hours of mathematics for students and, as the course was non-compulsory; the attendance decreased with time. Nevertheless, this activity succeeds in improving final test results and most students expressed the pleasure of working with this methodology. This teaching technology oriented approach strengthens student math competencies needed for Calculus 1 and improves student performance, engagement, and self-confidence. It is important as a teacher to reflect on our practice, including innovative proposals with the objective of engaging students, increasing retention and obtaining better results. The high degree of motivation and engagement of participants with this methodology exceeded our initial expectations, so we plan to experiment with more groups during the summer so as to validate preliminary results.

Keywords: calculus, engineering education, PreCalculus, Summer Program

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Authors: Kiyanoush Ghalavand

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We have a complex paradox in the agriculture and environment sectors in the age of technology. In the one side, the achievements of the science and information ages are shaping to come that is very dangerous than ever last decades. The progress of the past decades is historic, connecting people, empowering individuals, groups, and states, and lifting a thousand people out of land and poverty in the process. Floods are the most frequent natural hazards damaging and recurring of all disasters in Iran. Additionally, floods are morphing into new and even more devastating forms in recent years. Khuzestan and Lorestan Provinces experienced heavy rains that began on March 28, 2019, and led to unprecedented widespread flooding and landslides across the provinces. The study was based on both secondary and primary data. For the present study, a questionnaire-based primary survey was conducted. Data were collected by using a specially designed questionnaire and other instruments, such as focus groups, interview schedules, inception workshops, and roundtable discussions with stakeholders at different levels. Farmers in Khuzestan and Lorestan provinces were the statistical population for this study. Data were analyzed with several software such as ATLASti, NVivo SPSS Win, ،E-Views. According to a factorial analysis conducted for the present study, 10 groups of factors were categorized climatic, economic, cultural, supportive, instructive, planning, military, policymaking, geographical, and human factors. They estimated 71.6 percent of explanatory factors of flood management obstacles in the agricultural sector in Lorestan and Khuzestan provinces. Several recommendations were finally made based on the study findings.

Keywords: chaos theory, natural hazards, risks, environmental risks, paradox

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Authors: An Chengrui, Yin Zi, Wu Bingbing, Ma Yuanzhu, Jin Kaixiu, Chen Xiao, Ouyang Hongwei

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Single cell RNA sequence (scRNA-seq) is one of the effective tools to study transcriptomics of biological processes. Recently, similarity measurement of cells is Euclidian distance or its derivatives. However, the process of scRNA-seq is a multi-variate Bernoulli event model, thus we hypothesize that it would be more efficient when the divergence between cells is valued with relative entropy than Euclidian distance. In this study, we compared the performances of Euclidian distance, Spearman correlation distance and Relative Entropy using scRNA-seq data of the early, medial and late stage of limb development generated in our lab. Relative Entropy is better than other methods according to cluster potential test. Furthermore, we developed KL-SNE, an algorithm modifying t-SNE whose definition of divergence between cells Euclidian distance to Kullback–Leibler divergence. Results showed that KL-SNE was more effective to dissect cell heterogeneity than t-SNE, indicating the better performance of relative entropy than Euclidian distance. Specifically, the chondrocyte expressing Comp was clustered together with KL-SNE but not with t-SNE. Surprisingly, cells in early stage were surrounded by cells in medial stage in the processing of KL-SNE while medial cells neighbored to late stage with the process of t-SNE. This results parallel to Heatmap which showed cells in medial stage were more heterogenic than cells in other stages. In addition, we also found that results of KL-SNE tend to follow Gaussian distribution compared with those of the t-SNE, which could also be verified with the analysis of scRNA-seq data from another study on human embryo development. Therefore, it is also an effective way to convert non-Gaussian distribution to Gaussian distribution and facilitate the subsequent statistic possesses. Thus, relative entropy is potentially a better way to determine the divergence of cells in scRNA-seq data analysis.

Keywords: Single cell RNA sequence, Similarity measurement, Relative Entropy, KL-SNE, t-SNE

Procedia PDF Downloads 339